Stars

"Alluka?"

Wasuke Itadori gazed at the child before him for a few moments. Once he was sure he wasn't dreaming, he softly called her name.

Despite his fear, he reached out and stroked the unknown being's head.

The cold, clammy, heavy sensation was physically unsettling.

Yet the unknown being, which seemed to have been possessed by Kaori, hadn't hurt anyone like the female ghost in The Grudge, which had come out a couple of years earlier.

Wasuke Itadori's mind raced.

What do I do? What do I do? How can I turn Alluka back to normal?

Should I buy some beans and scatter them over Alluka? Or go to a shrine right now and ask for an omamori? Would going to a Buddhist temple work?

While Wasuke Itadori's thoughts ran wild, Nanika tilted her head slightly, turning her face toward Yuji Itadori.

As her neck moved, it creaked like rusty machinery, making his scalp prickle.

"Brother Yuji, do you have a wish?"

She repeated what she had said before.

"Huh? My wish?"

Little Yuji had been focused entirely on his younger sister's transformed features and hadn't paid attention to what Alluka had said.

When Nanika repeated the question, he bit a finger and began thinking about what he could wish for.

The day before yesterday, he'd wanted a lollipop, but Grandpa had taken it away because he was afraid it would give him a toothache.

Yesterday, he'd sneaked a bite of the cake Auntie Little Ume had bought for Alluka. It had been so delicious that he wanted another slice.

And, and some of the other children had made fun of them for not having a mom or dad. He knew their parents had gone back to the sky to become stars, but he didn't know whether they were happy up there. He really wanted the two of them to stay together forever!

Little Yuji thought for a few seconds. Just as he was about to say something, he saw Uraume sprint over from nearby as though running a hundred-meter dash.

Uraume swiftly stripped off his monk's robe and draped it over Nanika's head. Her face was full of anticipation, though her stiff expression made it hard to tell.

"Let's go home first!"

Without waiting for the bewildered Wasuke Itadori and Yuji, he rushed home from the park as fast as he could.

Wasuke Itadori was much slower on his feet than Uraume. By the time he arrived home, panting, Alluka was sitting on the sofa with her features still pitch-black.

The entire room felt exceptionally eerie. Cold air entered his lungs with every breath and spread through his limbs, making him shiver involuntarily.

Once Yuji returned, Nanika repeated her earlier question.

"Yuji, just wish for something like having Nanika give you a hug!"

Uraume had thought it over at length, afraid that a child with an imagination as wild as little Yuji's might actually make some outrageous wish to fly a plane or a rocket, or meet Ultraman or Kamen Rider.

In an ordinary family, that would have been fine, but Nanika really could bring those things here!

Back when Alluka had still been around, he hadn't known much about the rules for making wishes. Over the years that followed, he had investigated them thoroughly.

Even setting aside where they would put whatever appeared, there was no telling what would happen with the rope people created afterward as the price. There were plenty of surveillance cameras in society now, and unlike curses, rope people could be caught on camera. It would be bad if they caused a panic and drew people from Jujutsu High here.

"Huh?"

Little Yuji tilted his head, then nodded firmly.

He trotted over to Nanika, took her icy little hands in his, and smiled brightly. "Then give me a kiss, little sister!"

Well, he actually wanted his little sister to lift him up high, too, but she was much weaker than he was. He couldn't wear her out.

With her pitch-black features, Nanika slowly stood up. Giggling, she brought her face close to Yuji Itadori. Her short black strands brushed his neck, and the clammy, itchy sensation made him tremble involuntarily.

As she exhaled, her icy breath lightly touched Yuji's cheek. A damp chill spread across his skin, and he nearly went numb from the cold.

He touched his cheek in confusion. When he looked again, Alluka's eyes had returned to normal.

"Brother!"

The child's clear laughter filled the room.

"Alluka, what happened to you just now?"

Little Yuji curiously tugged Alluka closer and examined her for a while, discovering that the unknown being from earlier really had vanished just like that!

"Nanika just wanted to see you, Brother!"

Alluka clung to Yuji Itadori's side, a sweet, cheerful smile spreading across her face.

"Who's Nanika?"

"Our little sister!"

"Did Mommy have another little sister for us? Where is she? Where is she?"

"Nanika is our little sister!"

Seeing his granddaughter return to normal, Wasuke Itadori, who had been quietly watching all along, let out a long sigh of relief.

Noticing that Uraume seemed to know something, he pulled him aside.

"Um... was that Kaori's spirit coming back?"

Wasuke Itadori pointed at the two children, who were already playing together, and asked worriedly.

Ever since Kaori Itadori had returned from the dead, Wasuke Itadori had felt there was something eerie about his daughter-in-law. Especially after she became pregnant, he had never stopped worrying.

He had always felt that his daughter-in-law might have died long ago. He simply hadn't expected her to pass away like that after giving birth to his two grandchildren. It had all happened too suddenly.

Wasuke Itadori couldn't help suspecting that his daughter-in-law's spirit had returned for revenge.

Uraume furrowed his brows, stunned by the old man's wild imagination.

"She... you don't need to worry. Kaori won't be coming back."

Uraume's voice was somewhat cold and hard, and his attitude wasn't particularly friendly.

How could Kenjaku possibly compare to Nanika?!

"If Alluka becomes like that again, just have her hug or kiss you. She'll go back to normal soon. Oh, and if she makes a request, you must never refuse!"

Uraume had no intention of telling this ordinary man about Alluka's cursed technique. He chose to reveal only part of it.

All the cursed spirits in modern society were formed from cursed energy that leaked out of ordinary people who couldn't control it. If this old man lost control of himself and made some wish, Uraume would have to clean up Wasuke Itadori's mess.

He also couldn't let Wasuke Itadori or Yuji Itadori refuse Alluka. If they did, no matter which of them turned into a rope person, the other would die along with him. Lord Sukuna's vessel would have been born for nothing, and Uraume would not allow that to happen.

He had never expected Alluka to show abnormalities at just three years old. It seemed he would have to keep a closer eye on her from now on.

"I understand."

Seeing that Uraume didn't seem willing to say any more, Wasuke Itadori nodded anxiously.

Uraume said it wasn't Kaori coming back for revenge, but there really did seem to be something strange inside Alluka's body.

Wasuke Itadori blamed the child's abnormalities on his unsettling daughter-in-law. If not for her, the child couldn't have become so strange after birth.

Kenjaku, who was hiding in the Kamo Clan's home, inexplicably sneezed.

The bodies he occupied remained in their postmortem state, so in theory, they couldn't get sick. Just as he was puzzling over it, he received a call from Uraume.

"What? You're saying that thing appeared again?"

Kenjaku tightened his grip on his phone.

The blade that had been hanging over his head had finally fallen. When he gave birth to Alluka, he had known this day would come. He simply hadn't expected it to come so soon.

He leafed through the documents in his hand and said quietly, "By the way, keep a close eye on that Six Eyes. I've deliberately kept his missions away from Sendai, but if something slips through and that child is discovered, you can't blame me."

Other jujutsu sorcerers were manageable, but Satoru Gojo's Six Eyes could spot the abnormalities in that child at a glance.

He still didn't want the child's ability exposed to Jujutsu Society.

"I understand."

Uraume glanced at the two children playing together and nodded lightly.