Yuji Itadori's point of view
I held out my hand to Haruka, who looked embarrassed. He took it.
"Thanks, Yuji."
I squeezed his hand in return, and at that moment-
Slip.
For some reason, the hand that should have been holding mine pulled away.
Then an unnatural red glow rose in Haruka's eyes. His other hand, opposite the one that had just held mine, raised a blade.
But rather than that, my eyes were fixed on the hand that had pulled away.
I could count on one hand the number of times that hand had brushed mine aside.
The first had been the day we first met Gojo-sensei and Fushiguro. He had brushed aside my protests to protect me.
The second had been when we faced the cursed spirit called Mahito. He had refused to let me stand beside him, all to protect me.
...The third was now.
"I've been waiting a long time for this moment."
Sukuna's voice came from Haruka's mouth. Wearing a smile my other half would never have worn, he swung the cursed tool down at me.
Then the tip of the blade-
Instead of stabbing into my neck, it changed direction with a sharp twist of his wrist.
Its path shifted, and it pierced Haruka himself.
Red sprayed everywhere-a color I never wanted to grow familiar with, even after stepping into this world. The ground, already stained with blood whose owners I couldn't distinguish, was painted an even more vivid red.
"How... could..."
Before my disbelieving eyes, Haruka's hand drove the cursed tool deeper with a wet squelch.
His gaze wasn't directed at me, or the station platform, or the pool of blood. None of them.
Slowly, the color of his eyes softened and changed.
A thin film covered the rusty hue steeped in hatred and resentment, and copper seeped through.
Those eyes, branded with his friend's death, their dawn colors never having faded... narrowed, too, returning to their original shade.
Their corners drooped gently, and his lashes lightly veiled his pupils. More creases appeared, and his weary eyes, ringed with deep shadows, relaxed as though with some kind of satisfaction.
Having protected me for the third time, Haruka smiled with his eyes alone.
So perhaps that was why.
I could believe.
It didn't reside in that body as it crumpled to the ground.
What I wanted to protect. Haruka's heart, which had wished that day to become kinder.
Surely, always... it had been right beside me.
Sukuna, who had stolen Haruka's body, stood up.
Blood kept dripping from his abdomen and chest, refusing to stop. He merely looked down without concern and tightened his grip on the cursed tool again. His long bangs hid his expression, but I could clearly see those bright red... blood-colored eyes gleaming.
"This is the end, brat."
Sukuna spoke in an unhurried voice.
He had taken Haruka's body, and now he probably wanted to take mine, too. I understood that he would kill me if I didn't run right away, and that I shouldn't fight him, for everyone's sake.
But... it was just-
Because I had seen that face.
Because I had seen those eyes.
All I could do was believe. I had no other choice.
"...It won't end. I won't let it end, Sukuna."
I shouted the words along with my own resolve.
I won't let this end. I won't lose. I won't give up.
This world where kind people lived. My little brother, who wanted to be kinder to me than anyone else.
I absolutely couldn't give up either of them.
"Then can you kill your little brother, Haruka Itadori? Can you beg that of your own flesh and blood, who gave you more of his heart and soul than anyone else-even his life?"
He asked me that.
I neither agreed nor denied it.
"Pay here and now for the sin of making your little brother lose everything!"
Sukuna shouted.
He raised the sharp cursed tool high and swung it down at me.
Though my eyes tracked it steadily, I didn't move a step, or even a finger.
Because I knew.
Haruka.
All I had to do was whisper it in my heart. Even without making a sound.
I could picture it. That head of pink hair that would have been hard to flatten even with an iron.
I could remember it. That surprisingly sharp tongue, his lips moving only slightly at the corners.
I could feel them. Those small, dependable hands, always covered in wounds for my sake.
I could hear it. That voice answering my call with "Yuji," even when it was so faint it might disappear.
I could see them. Those slightly sleepy, drooping copper eyes, glinting with a sharpness unlike him.
"Sukuna, I haven't lost everything of Haruka."
I spoke as the grating metallic creaks and clangs repeated in my ears.
He was surely... right here.
That little brother who always walked ahead of me stood there, holding a weapon.
Protecting me, the one Grandpa had told to become strong.
So kind, and so much stronger than me...
"Haruka's heart is still here!!"
As I shouted, I swung up the cursed tool hanging at my waist.
The one Haruka had gripped and raised countless times on the day everything began. The one whose fragments he had clung to, even after it had nearly shattered time and again.
Silver gleamed dully.
The platform's cheap white light created countless reflective surfaces.
I... looked at the faces reflected in them, at the memories they mirrored, and tears almost spilled down my cheeks. My lips twisted. My resolve wavered.
-When we were little, I often searched everywhere for him, and every time I found him, he would awkwardly turn his face away.
-When we were a little older, I would grumble as I looked after him, listless about everything, and he would show a faint, contented smile.
-When we first encountered this world, he had fought the strongest with everything he had, truly wanting to save me.
-When I deceived him by faking my death, he had cried with joy upon learning I was still alive.
-When, despite being lost and dazed after losing his friend, he had rushed to save Junpei and me.
I clenched my teeth.
My eyes opened as wide as they could.
Not the thing in my hand. A reflective surface on the cursed tool Sukuna held showed something.
There.
Relieved, content. But... a little lonely.
Smiling... that face was clearly visible.
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