Dreams and justice

Itadori Xia Xia's happiness had stopped on the afternoon his Cursed Technique awakened, and it never returned.

He looked at the transparent pen in his hand, seemingly made of glass, and tried to understand it-it transformed into an equally crystal-clear carving knife.

This carving knife could kill anything he understood completely. Nothing could withstand it, and nothing lay beyond its edge.

Even Kenjaku, the Special Grade Sorcerer who had lived for over a thousand years-his own mother-could be killed by this blade.

For an instant, Xia Xia wanted to plunge the knife into his own chest, stop his heart, and bring all these terrifying hallucinations and delusions to an end.

But he couldn't.

He already knew everything about Sukuna, Sukuna's Finger, and Kenjaku's plan to resurrect Sukuna.

Dying now would be too cowardly.

If Xia Xia did nothing, Sukuna would return, Yuji would surely die, and his father, his grandfather, and many more people still alive now would perish because of this plan.

Xia Xia knew what a terrifying monster Sukuna was.

Slashes that could cleave mountains, flames that could burn entire nations-in the Heian Era a thousand years ago, Sukuna had single-handedly turned the human world into hell.

He had to kill Kenjaku.

He had to kill-his mother.

And his father, his grandfather, and himself, perhaps even Yuji. Only when the Itadori bloodline was completely extinguished and Kenjaku, the mastermind, died before everything began could Sukuna's life be ended for good, cut off in the Underworld.

Xia Xia sighed.

The only answer to his despair was the Cursed Technique he had gained at the cost of this tragedy-that cold carving knife.

And so, to save this world, to save the lives of more people who had nothing to do with him, the person named Xia Xia finally abandoned the selfishness and humanity he should have possessed as a human being and became a monster.

In this trolley problem, he turned the blade toward himself and the family he loved most-to save more people, he sometimes had to kill a few, even if those few were his dearest family.

"Father and Grandpa are just ordinary people. Those two won't be too difficult..."

He knew what "too difficult" meant.

As long as he found an opportunity, it would be simple.

"But Mother..."

Kaori Itadori, the mother who had given birth to him, was in essence a vessel controlled by a brain, an ancient Special Grade Sorcerer whose true name was Kenjaku, the culprit behind the beginning of this entire tragedy. Killing her would require far too much preparation.

A novice Jujutsu Sorcerer like Xia Xia, whose Cursed Technique had only just awakened, would not last an instant against a true Special Grade. Besides, even if he wanted to use his Cursed Technique for a guaranteed kill, his understanding of Kenjaku fell far short of what he needed to trigger its effect.

The Kenjaku he understood was only her role as Kaori Itadori. He knew nothing of her more distant past or the many other identities she had assumed.

Xia Xia had to understand her better before he could deliver that fatal strike and nip that evil plan in the bud.

"Heh..."

The soul in the deepest part of him gave a cold laugh. A son who did not understand his own mother, planning to understand her better so he could gain the means to kill her? What a sick joke.

According to the knowledge and information he had gained when his Cursed Technique awakened, Kenjaku devoted herself wholeheartedly to every role she played and never let her facade slip before she grew bored. In that sense, she truly invested genuine feelings and emotions into the roles she played after stealing other people's identities.

Her maternal love for Xia Xia and Yuji was genuine, but so was her desire to turn Yuji into a vessel for Sukuna's resurrection. The two did not contradict each other.

In fact, she could have left long ago. It was only because of the childish innocence Xia Xia and Yuji had shown that she had stayed out of love, choosing to continue passing the time.

What Xia Xia had to do, unbelievably, was exploit Kenjaku's love as his birth mother, using it as a pretext to get close to her and understand her.

Why?

The suffering in this world never ended. The pain in this world never ended. An age when people understood one another would never come.

He no longer had any chance to escape. Like a loaded pistol, once it appeared on the screen, it was bound to be fired, creating wounds and death.

Yuji raised the toy pistol in his hand and made his way past the slide and sandpit in the little park.

"Found you, big brother."

The game of hide-and-seek ended there.

Xia Xia was exceptionally gifted at hiding himself. He could tuck himself into the deepest shadows of a flower bed, but Yuji always found him.

Perhaps there really was telepathy between twins.

Yuji only had to think carefully to know where his brother was hiding. Even when he couldn't find him, all he had to do was make a tiny bit of noise, and Xia Xia would reveal himself from his hiding place. This trick worked every time.

On the other hand, they could easily tell what the other was thinking, as though even their ways of thinking could be delivered straight to each other.

Xia Xia had said that Yuji was his other half.

"We'll never deceive each other, and we'll never betray each other."

The little brothers had once held out their pinkies and made a promise like that. As he vaguely recalled, it had been because Xia Xia tricked Yuji into taking some very bitter cold medicine. To keep it from happening again, Yuji had made his brother promise.

They hooked their pinkies and swore that anyone who lied or broke their word would swallow a thousand needles.

Children's vows were always so careless about their consequences.

"You hardly play with me lately, big brother. You just keep clinging to Mom. Don't tell me you're a little kid who hasn't grown up yet. That's hilarious."

Yuji held Xia Xia's hand as he said this.

"I don't think so?"

"I just suddenly felt that I didn't know enough about Mom. I can talk about everything to do with Dad and Grandpa right away, but I always have to think for ages when it comes to Mom."

"You know me, Yuji. I'm always gathering all the knowledge and information about everything around me. I've always done that. I even keep a diary."

Xia Xia calmly offered his explanation. He casually stated facts his little brother could not refute, bringing the matter to an end.

"Hmm?"

"I guess that is true, but I like Dad and Grandpa more. Mom always likes obedient people like you, big brother. I always end up arguing with her."

Xia Xia easily steered Yuji's thoughts off course. Perhaps it was because Yuji trusted his brother too much. He did not give it much thought and simply voiced his likes and dislikes on instinct, like a child.

But he still looked into Xia Xia's eyes.

His brother seemed to have been troubled by something lately that he had not told the family about. Yuji often saw him frowning and poring over newspapers and books Yuji had never seen before, and he vanished as soon as he finished his homework.

"That's because I've been finding stories from the Heian Era really interesting lately. I want to find more legends to write down and add to my story collection."

Xia Xia offered another reasonable explanation.

"Don't you think the myths and legends Grandpa tells us are fascinating? The great onmyoji and mighty demons that exist only in people's memories, the epics about swordsmen and ronin, and Takama-ga-hara and the Eight Million Gods..."

"You know so much, big brother. I can't remember anything. Grandpa's stories sound so interesting when he tells them, but I forget them as soon as he's done."

Yuji scratched his head. The little boy was stunned that his brother had rattled off so many terms at once. There was even more in these stories than in their textbooks. They were twin brothers, so how could his brother remember it all?

"No matter how I look at it, you're amazing, big brother. Maybe you could become an archivist someday."

Yuji voiced his admiration outright.

"Not really. I just like reading things about history and literature. Maybe I'll only end up as a novelist who can't make any money, or an office worker."

Xia Xia spoke modestly, but his feelings were terribly complicated.

There is no future anymore, Yuji.

Your big brother is already beyond saving, a sinner destined to destroy happiness and everything beautiful.

"Then what kind of person do you want to become, big brother? I want to know."

Yuji's little eyes shone. Warm from the afternoon and his exercise, the boy radiated warmth like a tiny pink sun.

"I..."

"What kind of person do you want to become, Yuji?"

Xia Xia did not answer directly. Instead, he looked at his little brother with a deep, almost lingering gaze and answered the question with one of his own.

"You're so sneaky, big brother, making me go first."

"I don't really have any dreams. I'm dumb, and I'm not hardworking or smart like you. Maybe I can only become an ordinary person, like a convenience store clerk?"

"Then maybe I'd have more time after work to spend with you and Mom and Dad."

Yuji Itadori pointed at the convenience store on the street corner.

"Really? That's a pretty nice wish."

"But Yuji, being a convenience store clerk is hard work. If you work the night shift, you have to stay at the store at night, too. You can't go home."

Xia Xia smiled faintly and ruffled his little brother's warm hair.

"Really? Then I want to change my wish..."

"It has to be something really close to home with really short hours, or I won't be able to stand it."

"Oh, and don't change the subject!"

"What kind of person do you want to become, big brother?"

Yuji bristled when he heard that convenience store clerks could not go home at night, shaking his little head like a rattle drum. Then he realized his brother had tricked him again and buried his head against his brother's chest, his warm breath close against him.

"You really do love being spoiled, Yuji."

Resigned, Xia Xia soothed his little brother, who nestled against him like a puppy and would not budge no matter how he tried to push him away.

But Yuji did not know that his brother's gaze had already grown somewhat pale and hollow.

"My dream? That's a tough one."

"I want to become..."

"A champion of justice."