Unconscious

Hajime Kashimo's rambling still rang in his ears. Even lying on the ground, the guy kept muttering.

"What are you trying to pull? I beat you this badly without even using my cursed technique."

"But you're not worth using it on anyway. I can only use that move once in my life, so I'm saving it for Sukuna."

Gu Yanzhi did not answer Hajime Kashimo. His consciousness grew heavier and heavier, the words beside him gradually blurring into a meaningless hum. His injuries were too severe, and he had lost too much blood. His entire body was charred black, and the wounds split open by lightning were still seeping blood. Barely a patch of intact skin remained on him. He should have gone into shock and died long ago; only the absurdly powerful constitution built up over several lifetimes had kept him going until now.

Before he lost consciousness, Gu Yanzhi grumbled inwardly.

What a waste of this life. It really was a pretty good start, too. I had the cursed energy reserves of a special grade cursed spirit, a decent cursed technique, and an incredible wealth of barrier technique knowledge. Sigh. I finally got a decent account, only for Hajime Kashimo to wreck it outright. Whatever. At least it was a draw.

With a sigh, Gu Yanzhi's consciousness sank completely into darkness.

When he regained consciousness, a bright light shone onto his face. The glare made him instinctively try to raise a hand to shield his eyes, only to discover that his arm was covered in bandages.

This was not the familiar System Space. Its cold, glowing screen was nowhere to be seen. He lay flat on a hard bed, a white ceiling overhead and the smell of disinfectant filling his nose.

A woman wearing a mask stood beside the bed. Seeing him open his eyes, she stretched with the relief of someone finally finishing her shift, then walked aside and leaned against the windowsill. She took a pack of cigarettes from her white coat pocket, pulled one out, and lit it. Smoke slowly rose in the sunlight. Her expression was hidden behind her mask and the smoke, but the dark circles beneath her eyes were unmistakable-she had probably been working for a very long time without a break.

Is that Shoko? Gu Yanzhi stared at her for a few seconds and confirmed his guess.

Shoko Ieiri, Jujutsu High's school doctor, one of the very few people in the entire Jujutsu Society who could output reverse cursed technique to heal others. Had she saved him instead of the system reclaiming him?

He braced himself against the bed and sat up. The movement tugged at a wound on his abdomen that had not fully healed, making him suck in a sharp breath. He steadied his still-dizzy head and looked around-a standard infirmary, with anatomical diagrams and organ donation posters on the white walls, and light reflecting off the glass doors of a medicine cabinet against the wall.

When he looked toward the doorway, he saw a panda's head peeking around the doorframe, its round black eye patches facing him. The moment the panda noticed him looking, his head whipped out of sight.

Before Gu Yanzhi could react, he heard a hushed conversation outside the door.

"What's up, Panda?" asked a casual-sounding male voice.

"Turns out that guy isn't Black." Panda's voice carried the shock of someone who had uncovered the truth.

"Really?!" The man sounded astonished, and his shock did not seem feigned.

Gu Yanzhi looked down at his arms. The few small patches of skin visible between the bandages were their normal color.

Hajime Kashimo's lightning had charred his entire body black. Panda had probably seen him like that while carrying him off the battlefield and assumed he was Black.

Exasperated, Gu Yanzhi swung himself out of bed. His knees still felt weak when his feet touched the floor. The infirmary door swung open, and a blond man strode in-Kinji Hakari, a third-year student at Jujutsu High.

The moment he entered, he stared hard at Gu Yanzhi, looking him up and down, then down and up, before turning to shout through the doorway, "He really isn't Black!"

"I never was." Gu Yanzhi irritably rubbed his still-bandaged wrist.

After moving around a little, Gu Yanzhi nodded to Shoko, then looked at Panda and Kinji Hakari by the door. "Thanks, everyone, for getting me patched up."

Kinji Hakari was about to say something when another person entered-Yuta Okkotsu. His expression was more serious than usual, his brows slightly furrowed, and he still held his Samurai Sword. He said to Shoko, "Angel's awake."

The atmosphere in the room changed instantly. Shoko stubbed her cigarette out on the windowsill. Her mask concealed most of her face, but the ease in her exposed eyes was already gone.

Okkotsu turned and headed out at a brisk pace, with Shoko close behind. Kinji Hakari and Panda exchanged a glance and followed.

Standing in the middle of the infirmary, Gu Yanzhi watched their backs disappear down the corridor. He recalled what he knew about "Angel" from the original story-Hana Kurusu, the girl who could use the cursed technique "Jacob's Ladder," was the key to unsealing Satoru Gojo. Her awakening meant that everyone at Jujutsu High would soon begin preparing to break open the Prison Realm.

He swung straight out of bed and caught up with Kinji Hakari to ask him a question.

"How long was I out?"

Kinji Hakari tilted his head as he walked, thinking it over and counting on his fingers. "Five or six days, I think!" Then he slapped Gu Yanzhi on the back, hard enough to produce an audible thud against the bandages. "Your vitality is seriously something else. You were roasted until you looked Black, and you still managed to hang on until we got you out for treatment. You're like a cockroach."

Gu Yanzhi did not respond to his teasing. Fuck! he cursed inwardly. Surviving alone was already a welcome surprise, but he had actually slept for five or six days. The plot would not stop moving just because he was absent. He had not had a single chance to earn any causality points.

According to the original timeline, Sukuna should have already taken over Megumi Fushiguro's body, and everyone at Jujutsu High should be about to unseal Satoru Gojo. The story had reached an extremely critical juncture.

He arrived at the hall with Kinji Hakari and Panda, and the scene gradually unfolded before him.

Everyone from Jujutsu High had gathered, their faces solemn. Gu Yanzhi stood at the edge of the crowd without pushing forward. He was merely a surviving Swimmer they had picked up, a passerby they had taken out of the barrier along the way after he and Hajime Kashimo had beaten each other half to death.

The hall doors opened, and the protagonist of Jujutsu Kaisen-Yuji Itadori-strode inside.

At the sight, Gu Yanzhi put his frustration over the missed chances to earn causality points behind him, and a faint smile tugged at his lips.

"Whatever happens."

"Sukuna Battle Continent, launch."