Haruka's Other Half, Yuji

I must have cried myself to sleep, clutching the note.

I suddenly opened my eyes to pitch darkness.

I let out a breath and tried to speak, but something warm and slender pressed against my lips. Probably someone's finger.

The finger brushed gently over my cheek, along my chin, and toward my ear. Then it lightly tapped something tucked inside my ear.

Earphones...?

Judging by how it sat in my ear and the sound coming from it, it was clearly something meant for listening.

Before I could fully grasp my situation, I tried to lift my head... and just then-

"Okay, that should do it."

A familiar voice, one I had missed so badly it drove me mad, reached my ears.

I forgot to breathe and focused every nerve on listening.

"Ah... um, leaving Haruka a video like this is kind of embarrassing. But hey, we're best friends, so I won't worry about that."

It was my best friend's voice... a voice I hadn't heard in days, whose exact sound I had almost forgotten.

In an instant, tears welled up, and my eyes burned in the darkness.

"So, if you're watching this, that means I'm already dead, right?"

Yes. You died protecting me.

Regret and pain nearly made me sob aloud, but I bit my lip and desperately held it back.

"...But don't blame yourself too much.

I'm sure I have no regrets about how I died. If I died protecting you, then I'm satisfied.

...Though, what if...? If we both end up dead, well, we'll deal with that then.

But I'm sure I'm the only one who died. Since you're listening to this."

His voice was sometimes serious, sometimes deliberately light.

Even that way of speaking made me ache with longing now.

"I have no regrets. After all, you're the 'best friend' I prayed to the gods for.

These four weeks with you were full of new things and so much fun that they went by in a flash. Everything we did was fun. Eating together, wandering around the nearby sights, looking for local souvenirs. So much fun that the things I used to enjoy doing alone felt dull in comparison.

Just getting to make a friend like you, even if we only got to hang out for a little while, was already enough..."

At that point, his voice grew quieter and weaker. His trembling, hitching breaths came clearly through the earphones.

Was he... crying?

Even though I knew full well that he wasn't here, my hand reached out on its own.

Someone's hand firmly caught mine as it groped through the air.

At the same time, the voice that seemed to be a recording finally continued.

"...Ah, but no. I can't accept it. It's so frustrating."

Those words pierced straight into my chest, deep and true.

"Not being able to make you laugh anymore, not being able to stay beside you and crack jokes until you smile-it's so frustrating.

I made all those promises by your side, and now I won't be the one who gets to fulfill them. It's so frustrating."

Those heartfelt, utterly unguarded words made Haruka Itadori's tears flow all the more.

"The truth is, there's so, so much I can't let go of.

There are so many things we promised to do together, more games we haven't played together than I can count, and I haven't even introduced you to my mom. And I... I'd been waiting for you all this time.

Before I knew about Haruka, before I met you, there were already so many things I wanted to do with you, things I wanted you to do. More than we could ever get through."

A sniffle, the sound of him drawing in through his nose.

"And there's something else I wanted to do, no matter what."

His voice was so tender, reaching only me.

"I... wanted to really spoil Haruka.

I wanted to praise you properly, because you always act like you love being fussed over when you never actually let anyone fuss over you. I wanted to pat your head, lie around with you doing nothing, and take another bath together."

It was a loneliness deep in the heart that he understood only because they shared the same circumstances, because they were both reincarnated.

The fear of loss Haruka carried, the grief he could never forget, the helplessness he could do nothing about. Those tender places inside him could only be touched by a friend who knew everything and understood how he felt.

"I wanted to stay beside you forever, to always be there and spoil you properly.

Not as your older brother, or as your teacher... but as your friend."

Feeling Kai Sagami's affection once again, Haruka couldn't stop his tears from spilling over.

Haruka desperately wanted the future Kai Sagami had imagined, too. Even if that future could never come true.

Even so, he couldn't help wishing it could have been that way.

"But... yeah. If you're listening to this, I guess it didn't work out. I didn't manage it after all.

...Ah... (sob).

...Yeah. That's right.

There are things I can't let go of, but I'm satisfied with my death.

I'm sure I'll leave a scar on you that never fades. I'm sure I'll make you cry your heart out. And that's okay.

Maybe that's a little cruel to say.

But I'm happy I can leave a scar on you that never fades.

Maybe the right thing would be to say something cool like 'forget me,' but I don't want you to forget me. I don't want to become just one of the many people you met in your life.

I want to stay deep in your heart, more and longer, like an ugly scar."

Then he paused.

His voice coming through the earphones was unusually calm as he said goodbye.

"So... goodbye.

Haruka Itadori, my very best friend.

Cry, cry, and then get back up carrying the memory of me. I'm the only one watching that face of yours all messed up with tears.

...My friend, you're strong even when you're weak."

I couldn't hold back anymore.

I cried aloud, curling up and sobbing like a child.

The grief and frustration of losing my only friend. And now I knew his grief and frustration, too.

Forced to hear all of that, forced to hear his voice like this.

...There was no way I could simply cast my feelings aside.

Then, suddenly, whatever covered my eyes was gently lifted away, and light flooded my vision. I squinted against the glare, and when I finally adjusted to the brightness, I saw a black phone screen in front of me.

"Kai!"

Then my own voice burst in.

"Whoa, you scared me."

The next line sounded familiar.

A thumping commotion. My disgruntled voice.

This was before we left... back then.

Then, after a little while-

"Whoa, I've been recording with the rear camera this whole time," came a quiet mutter.

The darkness filled with color.

Short, jet-black hair. Clearly defined eyebrows. Eyes with white showing beneath the irises, which people had once said looked a little fierce. A slender chin and a typically Japanese nose.

Kai Sagami wore an expression that suited him perfectly, a little troubled yet almost smiling.

And right beside him was Haruka Itadori, not smirking, but smiling naturally.

Oh, so that's... what I looked like.

As I realized that, tears blurred my vision again.

I knew nothing could be done. I knew nothing could change. But the words slipped out anyway.

"...Give him back.

Give me back... my friend."

The one listening to those words was neither the god who had created this fate, nor Haruka's other half, Yuji, nor Ryomen Sukuna, who had entered into the brotherly binding vow.

It was a teacher who sat beside the quietly sobbing child, holding his hand tightly.

Without a word, Satoru Gojo cradled that small head in his arms.