In the end, my silver tongue, combined with the Art of Cuteness, successfully persuaded Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara to leave with Ijichi first. Ijichi would come back later to pick up Yuji Itadori and me.
As for why Yuji Itadori stayed too, he had found his best friend and wanted to spend a little more time with Junpei.
With so many people gone, the house suddenly felt much quieter.
Junpei Yoshino put the disc away and sat on the sofa. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke. "Itadori, have you ever killed anyone?"
"Huh?" Yuji Itadori looked at me in confusion. I blinked and shook my head to show that I didn't know either.
"Oh, no."
"But you'll have to fight evil jujutsu sorcerers sooner or later. What will you do then?"
"Even then, I still don't want to kill anyone."
"Why? They're bad people."
"How do I put it? Once I've killed someone, 'killing' will become an option in my everyday life. The value of a life will get blurry, and I might not even understand the value of the people important to me anymore..."
"I'm afraid of becoming like that..."
"..."
Ah, I suddenly realized I might be a lunatic. Aside from hesitating the first time I exorcised a "human," I'd finished every one after that decisively, with a single lethal blow. My heart hadn't seemed to waver at all.
Why? Was I really that cold-blooded?
[Not at all, Edano! Being able to adapt so quickly means you're really amazing! Remember, if you don't act, they'll hurt you or the people around you!]
Besides, if she really were cold-blooded, she wouldn't immediately notice how her friends were feeling and comfort them, nor would she think of them in everything she did. But Xiao Ba didn't say that aloud.
[I understand. Thank you, Xiao Ba!]
"Edano, the movie's starting!" At some point, Yuji Itadori had quietly moved behind me. His sudden voice made me jump.
"Aaaaah! Yuji, why did you scare me?!"
"Heh-heh, that's what you get for always scaring me~"
"Hey, that's not fair! Junpei, tell him!"
"Huh? Edano, why are you dragging me into this?"
"Ring, ring. Ring, ring."
"Hello? Yuji Itadori speaking... Ah... Okay, we'll be right there." Yuji Itadori hung up, looked at me, then turned reluctantly toward Junpei Yoshino.
"Sorry, Junpei. Mr. Ijichi's here. We have to head back."
"All right." I straightened my clothes and deliberately left the bag of desserts behind without drawing attention to it. "We'll get going, then, Junpei!"
"I'll walk you out."
"It's so late. You should get some rest, Junpei!"
"Yeah, it's only a short walk. Don't worry!"
Junpei Yoshino said nothing. He simply picked up my coat and stared stubbornly at us. I winked at Yuji Itadori. Unable to win against Junpei, we had to agree.
"Okay, let's go!"
"Yeah!"
Seeing Ijichi's anxious, sweat-covered face, I climbed into the car feeling a little guilty. Then I rolled down the window to say goodbye. "Bye, Junpei! Get some rest. We'll come visit again!"
"Okay."
Junpei Yoshino stood there for a long time, only turning to go back inside once the car had completely disappeared.
He lay on his bed, the cheerful voices and laughter of the past few days echoing in his mind. He placed a hand over his heart, feeling the strong, vigorous beat inside his chest.
Do people really have no hearts?
Even though that idea had saved him, he was wavering now.
He pressed his hand firmly against his chest. This is clearly a heart. It's beating.
I had barely set one foot inside Jujutsu High when Xiao Ba warned me, [Edano, Sukuna's Finger has been planted in Nagi Yoshino's house! We have to hurry!]
I hastily called out to Yuji Itadori, "Yuji, I just remembered I left the souvenirs I brought for Gojo-sensei behind. I'm heading back to Junpei's for a bit. Don't wait for me. Get some rest!"
Yuji Itadori had only just opened his mouth when the person in front of him disappeared. In the end, everything he wanted to say became one single response.
"...Huh???"
I crouched furtively outside Junpei's front door.
[Sweetie, you really look like you're sneaking in to steal something.]
[...]
"[Open]."
"Click." The door opened, and I tiptoed inside. I turned back to close it gently, then turned around and locked eyes with a cursed spirit standing outside Nagi Yoshino's bedroom, looking every bit as furtive as I did.
...Why was it here?
Oh, probably because Junpei had helped Nagi Yoshino into her bedroom. No big deal!
Right in front of the cursed spirit, I muttered under my breath, "So ugly. I'd better keep the noise down so I don't scare Junpei's mom..."
"[Split into Four]."
With a splat, the cursed spirit burst apart, coating the wall in purple blood.
I fell silent and exchanged a long, meaningful stare with Nagi Yoshino and Junpei Yoshino, who had opened their doors to investigate the noise.
"Uh, would you believe me if I said this was an accident?"
"...I... guess." Junpei Yoshino struggled to get the words out.
"..."
I gave them a rough explanation of why I'd come back and how this scene had happened, then held up the bag of desserts I'd deliberately left behind earlier. Thank goodness. Nothing dirty had gotten on it.
But just as I finished reassuring Junpei and his mother, ushered them into another bedroom, and closed the door to leave-shhk.
I stared blankly down at my pierced abdomen.
Junpei Yoshino immediately sensed something was wrong. His voice was anxious. "Edano, what happened? Are you okay?!"
"[Don't come out. Don't make a sound]. I'm fine. It's just a cursed spirit. I can handle it, so please don't come out and make things harder for me, Junpei, Auntie." I frantically circulated Reverse Cursed Technique through my body, struggling to keep my voice steady.
The one who had ambushed me was none other than Mahito.
[Xiao Ba, didn't Mahito leave? Why is he still here?]
[Let me check... It's because Brain Flower saw you earlier today, and when he went to see Mahito afterward, he specifically mentioned you! So Mahito's been waiting here just for you!]
[Damn it.]
"Huh? Reverse Cursed Technique? Interesting. This is so interesting! Hahahahaha!" Mahito altered his voice, making it deeper. Paired with the scene before me, it was horribly creepy.
"Come out, my masterpieces." Mahito waved his hand and scattered a pile of tiny, shriveled figures. As soon as they hit the floor, they rapidly expanded and lunged at me.
I gritted my teeth and fired off Cursed Speech one command after another as though it cost me nothing. There were simply too many, and I could feel my voice starting to grow hoarse.
"Ah~ You really surprised me~ They're humans just like you, yet you're so decisive. I'm really curious-what would you be like if you killed someone you cherished with your own hands~?"
"Humans? Can these even be called human anymore?"
"Of course. Look at them. They still have a little awareness left~ Oh, the one you've got your hands on is crying!"
I instinctively looked at the "human" in front of me, whose entire body was as shriveled and wrinkled as a piece of bark. Two tears really did seem to spill from the corners of his eyes.
At some point, Mahito had sidled up beside me and nestled his cheek intimately against the crook of my neck. "Look, he's crying... [Idle Transfiguration]!" He suddenly placed his hand on my neck.
Mahito's puzzled voice reached my ears. "Huh? Why are you fine?"
What? A sneak attack!
But why was I fine?
[Don't worry, Edano. Your mental strength-that is, the strength of your soul-is already very high. With the system's protection on top of that, his cursed technique can't do much damage to you, as long as...]
Xiao Ba's voice suddenly turned terrified. [Aaaaaah! Why is this lunatic activating his cursed technique over and over like it costs nothing?! Your body won't be able to take it, Edano! Aaaaaah!]
[Edano, cut off his hand, now!!!]
I activated my cursed technique, [Netherworld Crossing Guide]. "[Explode]."
"Guh!"
It actually failed. A mouthful of blood spilled from the corner of my mouth.
"Ha, is that really all you've got~?" Mahito watched me continuously heal my injuries with Reverse Cursed Technique. "You're a bit of a pain to deal with, but it looks like you're not completely immune to damage after all~"
As he spoke, he waved his hand and released more transfigured humans.
Between eliminating the transfigured humans, dealing with Mahito's sneak attacks, and continuously running Reverse Cursed Technique at full intensity to heal my injuries, I gradually struggled to keep up and fell on the defensive. And right behind me was the room where Junpei Yoshino and Nagi Yoshino were hiding.
Before you continue