Yuji, don't look

"I didn't have any black clothes, so I opened Mom's wardrobe and put on the first thing I saw."

Expressionless, Junpei Yoshino took a black coat from Nagi Yoshino's wardrobe, put it on, and pushed open the front door.

It was bright outside, the sunlight almost blinding.

He descended the steps one at a time and followed the route to school he had walked countless times before, but something was different today.

"Sukuna's Finger turned up in your house. It's a cursed object that attracts curses."

"Why would something like that be in my house?!"

"With the right connections and enough money, it's easy to kill someone with a curse. Any ideas? Someone who hated you and your mother."

"Or someone rich, idle, and twisted..."

They were the ones who brought the curse! That was why Mom died! That was why Edano still hadn't woken up!

The seed of hatred Mahito had planted in Junpei Yoshino's heart finally broke through the soil and sprouted, growing at a terrifying pace.

Without hesitation, he stepped into the school auditorium.

My soul had finally recovered in the system space and returned to my body. This had been a blessing in disguise, too: my soul's strength had risen another level.

I opened my eyes and stared blankly at the infirmary's white ceiling.

[Xiao Ba, how long was I asleep?]

[Three days already... wait, something terrible happened. Nagi Yoshino wasn't saved!]

[What?!]

[Ding! Side quest: Save Nagi Yoshino and prevent Junpei Yoshino from succumbing completely to darkness. Quest failed!]

[Oh no, then Junpei-!]

"The school auditorium!" ×2

I used Teleportation to reach Rikō High School, only to find that a [Curtain] had already been lowered over the entire school.

Damn it, I was too late.

I immediately used Teleportation to get to the auditorium, but all I saw were people sprawled across the floor. Junpei was nowhere in sight.

Dread sank into my heart. Junpei, please don't.

Rikō High School, classroom building

"[Idle Transfiguration]"

"Junpei-!!!" The instant I landed, I saw something that nearly tore me apart.

Mahito's hand touched Junpei Yoshino's shoulder. His skin instantly turned purple, and his entire body swelled and twisted, becoming a "human" in the space of a breath.

"Ah~ Edano's here too. Time for round two, then!" As he finished speaking, the cursed spirit Junpei Yoshino had become charged at Yuji Itadori. Still frozen in shock, Yuji Itadori took several punches head-on.

Overwhelmed by grief, Yuji Itadori cried, "Sukuna, Sukuna! You can do whatever you want with me, so please heal Junpei!!!"

"I refuse! Hahahahahahahahaha!" A mouth appeared on Yuji Itadori's face, and Sukuna laughed mockingly.

I used Teleportation to appear in front of Sukuna and punched straight at his mouth. "[Shut up]!"

"[Yuji, don't look]." The corners of my eyes reddened as I stepped in front of Yuji Itadori, forming a barrier of cursed energy to separate us from the cursed spirit Junpei Yoshino had become.

Looking at Junpei, who had lost all awareness, I closed my eyes and forced back the tears welling up in them.

[Xiao Ba, is there any way to save Junpei? Even if it's only his soul.]

[...I can spend energy to condense a Soul Seed when Junpei disperses. Water it with cursed energy every day, and it'll gradually sprout. Once it grows branches and leaves, Junpei's soul will have finished reforming.]

I dug my nails hard into my palm, but felt no pain. All I heard was my own trembling voice. "Junpei, I'm sorry. Wait for me..."

"E... dano..." For a moment, the grotesque "cursed spirit" before me seemed to regain awareness, and tears slipped from the corners of his eyes.

[Edano, hurry. I'm ready.]

"[Annihilate]"

Something warm seemed to spill from my eyes and slide down my cheeks. My limply hanging hand felt sticky, too, and blood dripped onto the floor, drop after drop.

Mahito doubled over, laughing uncontrollably. "Hahahahaha! I thought you'd go soft. How cold-blooded! Hahahahahahaha~ Still, I like it~"

A Soul Seed appeared in my pocket.

The cursed spirit Junpei Yoshino had become dispersed on the spot, as though he had never existed in this world.

I couldn't remember clearly what happened afterward. I only vaguely remembered activating my cursed technique and hurling cursed speech at Mahito like a madwoman, determined to hurt him even if I nearly destroyed myself in the process.

Then Mahito expanded his domain, pulling me and the newly arrived Kento Nanami inside. I shattered his domain and defeated him.

I had no memory at all of what happened after that. Before losing consciousness, I only dimly saw a tall figure in white.

[Ding! Main quest: Save Junpei Yoshino. Quest failed.]

[Applying penalty: Constitution reduced by 1 point. Current Constitution: 3.]

Jujutsu High infirmary

"Mm..." I moved my fingers, feeling utterly drained.

"Edano, you're finally awake! Are you okay? Does anything hurt?" Nobara Kugisaki's tearful shout of joy brought over Megumi Fushiguro, who had also been keeping watch over me.

"I'm okay. Sorry for making you worry... oh, how's Yuji? That hit him pretty hard." I looked around but couldn't find that pink-haired figure anywhere, so I asked weakly.

"Why is worrying about everyone else always the first thing you do when you wake up...?" Nobara Kugisaki puffed out her cheeks and gently poked mine with a finger, looking exasperated.

"He's fine. What about you? According to Mr. Nanami, your cursed energy went berserk. You lost awareness and started destroying everything. Gojo-sensei finally arrived and knocked you out with a chop before you could cause any more trouble."

Megumi Fushiguro's expression was icy.

"Ah..." I awkwardly rubbed my nose. "There weren't any casualties, right...?"

Nobara Kugisaki's temper flared, and she rapped me on the head. "Thank goodness Ieiri-sensei was there! You're as destructive as a curse. You nearly had hundreds of deaths on your hands!"

"What?!!"

"That's right. Ieiri-sensei, Gojo-sensei, and Principal Yaga practically worked themselves unconscious cleaning up after you," Megumi Fushiguro added flatly, twisting the knife.

So I was the problem child after all. Boohoo!

I'd have to take Shoko shopping and pay for everything, buy Satoru Gojo every dessert on the market, and as for Yaga... hmm, I'd have some panda merchandise airfreighted over from China!

So much to do. Thank goodness I had Xiao Ba!

Wait, where was Xiao Ba?

[...Edano... I didn't have enough energy to condense the Soul Seed, so I borrowed a lot. I'm afraid it'll be a very long time before I can upgrade...]

After calling for Xiao Ba in my mind for ages, I finally heard his weak voice.

[And I'm afraid I'll be weak for a while. I'll fall asleep from time to time, so you'll probably have to rely on yourself from now on, Edano...]

[I'm sorry... is there anything I can do to help you?]

[Don't blame yourself, Edano. You can work on entering the enlightenment state or completing system quests to help me gain more energy...] Before he even finished, Xiao Ba fell completely silent.

For the first time since entering Jujutsu Society, I felt lost. If I had been stronger, could I have prevented all of this?

I truly understood now how cruel Jujutsu Society was, and how powerless I was. It felt awful, as though an invisible hand had clenched around my heart, squeezing until I couldn't breathe.

"Edano?" Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara noticed that something was wrong.

I came back to my senses and put on a cheerful act. "Hehe, I'm fine. I was just thinking about how to make it up to Gojo-sensei and the others~"

"If you want to make it up to your teacher, let's talk it over properly~" Satoru Gojo appeared out of thin air and pushed Nobara and Megumi out of the infirmary, one hand on each student. "Your teacher needs a private chat with Edano. You two, no interrupting."

Bang!

The infirmary door slammed shut, leaving Nobara Kugisaki and Megumi Fushiguro shut out.

"...?" ×2