Night of the blood moon

What could you do in fifteen days?

Even Xia Xia could hardly believe it. He had actually run into a student from Jujutsu High. Through her, he had obtained information about Satoru Gojo, then followed the chain from Gojo to Suguru Geto, Riko Amanai, Toji Fushiguro, and Tengen.

The odds of meeting a jujutsu sorcerer on the way to school were low, but they were never zero.

The rewards for deciphering information and linking knowledge were almost absurdly generous. Vast quantities of knowledge poured into his mind.

He sorted through the enormous amount of knowledge he had just gained from the chain reaction. The connections between one piece of knowledge and another were like the long, tangled roots that came up when he pulled a radish from the earth, and his mind was the fertile soil into which that plant was transplanted.

It all lined up. The subjective information he had obtained from Kenjaku meshed with the objective perspective he had gained from Tengen's records. Those extensive accounts fit together as precisely as interlocking gears.

Tengen was someone from the same era as Kenjaku.

Thanks to this remarkable coincidence, Xia Xia had indirectly filled in many gaps in his understanding of Kenjaku. Combined with all the contact he had accumulated with Kenjaku-Kaori Itadori-over the years, he had now fulfilled his cursed technique's requirements and met the prerequisite for unleashing his jujutsu.

One hundred percent.

One hundred percent!

Fifteen days ago, the carving knife had only been half charged. Now, it was filled to the brim with knowledge made tangible.

It was a deep crimson, still crystal clear, like a flawless ruby. Yet it was also eerily beautiful, as bright as a drop of blood congealed into crystal.

When transformed into a fountain pen, it could write Kenjaku's entire life story on any sheet of paper, from his birth to his present life as Kaori Itadori, without a single word wrong.

And when transformed into a carving knife, as long as it pierced Kenjaku's heart, it could grant him an absolute death that he could neither escape nor negate. All knowledge and information concerning him would end at that moment-an eternal erasure.

Xia Xia's hands were trembling.

The nails he had forgotten to trim a few days earlier almost pierced his palms. His extreme excitement and despair had drowned out even the physical pain.

Xia Xia felt as though molten lava had been poured into his brain. His human emotions and reason were both urging him not to make an irreversible mistake.

But it was already too late. Everything was already ruined!

He had to kill Kenjaku. Only then, only then could he save this world, which might face its end as soon as this year. Only then could he keep so many people from dying. Only then could he save Yuji.

It was all Kenjaku's fault, wasn't it?

As long as he died...

As long as...

Xia Xia suddenly wanted to vomit. His stomach churned violently. The delicious sandwiches he had eaten that morning now felt like maggots and garbage, making him want to throw them up.

Why...

Why did it have to be today?!

Why! Why! Why!!!

Today was March 20.

Yuji Itadori and Itadori Xia Xia's birthday.

In a sense, it was on this very day that Xia Xia had obtained the weapon that could kill his own mother. Fate had such a cruel, twisted sense of humor.

Nine years ago today, Kenjaku, as Kaori Itadori, had given Xia Xia and Yuji life.

Nine years later, was he really going to take that life away as the price of a peaceful tomorrow?

This shouldn't happen. It couldn't...

Xia Xia was laughing and crying. Bright red blood dripped from his eyes, falling drop by drop onto the concrete beneath his feet, into his heart.

"But it's already too late."

"Didn't you say you wanted to become a champion of justice? To save more people? This choice may be bitter, but refusing it isn't an option."

The voice within him whispered those words.

After planning for so long, you want to give up now? Think about the hell on earth when Sukuna returns. Think about Yuji Itadori's gruesome death. Can you still afford any hesitation?

Don't be ridiculous, Xia Xia.

You have to do this. You're the only one in this world who can. Go. Fulfill your destiny-your cursed technique was payment in advance. What you're about to do isn't a matter of choice. You're going to repay your debt.

To become the hero who saves the world, the pain and despair you're suffering now are necessary sacrifices. You brought all of this upon yourself!

Go, Xia Xia.

The school fence was not particularly difficult to climb, and skipping two afternoon classes was hardly impossible. The elderly gatekeeper did not even notice a child running out.

Had Xia Xia asked for permission to leave?

There was no need to bother with such trivial matters.

Today was his birthday. Birthdays held a special meaning for children. Hadn't his luck been particularly good today?

Xia Xia thought about many things on his way home.

His heart pounded, and his blood boiled in his veins, but his hands and feet had gone numb from a lack of circulation.

That morning, Mom had said that since it was their birthday, Grandpa would be coming over too.

The perfect opportunity.

An opportunity missed might never come again.

A birthday. The day of your birth. A day worth remembering. Xia Xia, are you sure this is all right?

His bag still held gifts from his classmates: a few greeting cards, a few pens, and a beautiful diary. His teacher had even given him candy that morning.

Was he finally going to cast aside this beautiful, fragile life?

Even though he still felt as if this scene were an illusion, he was ready to do what he had to do.

He drew the carving knife across a utility pole along the road. It left a mark, a deep one. The blade was far sharper than he had imagined. Cutting concrete was like slicing tofu.

So it wasn't an illusion. What a shame.

A shame...

"I'm home."

He opened his front door with the spare key.

Everyone was there.

His father, his mother, and his grandfather were all there.

His mother was still preparing dinner, while his father and grandfather were wrapping gifts for him and his younger brother. Balloons and streamers decorated the house.

Xia Xia's tears fell, but the tears flowing from those eyes were heavier than blood.

The time for farewell had come.

Kaori Itadori found it strange that her son had returned so early. When she saw him crying, she hurried over, worried that someone at school had mistreated him.

Xia Xia had always been such a well-behaved child. He never skipped class. His teachers had never scolded him, much less summoned his parents. Why had he come home so early today?

"Mom."

Xia Xia called out, his voice thick with tears.

Kaori reached out and gathered him into her arms.

"What's wrong? It's all right, it's all right. Mommy's here..."

"You can tell Mommy anything, little Xia Xia. Don't cry, don't cry. Mommy's here."

Xia Xia hugged his mother tightly.

"Mom, I love you."

He leaned close to Kaori's ear and spoke each word distinctly.

It was time to say goodbye.

Mother, my beloved mother, if there is another life, I would still want to be your son. But if there truly is another life, please don't give birth to a child like me again, a child unworthy of being human.

The crystal carving knife clenched in his hand plunged into Kaori Itadori's chest, swift and without hesitation.

It all happened too quickly.

Before Kaori Itadori could react, the cursed technique had already activated. Even as Kenjaku, he could no longer resist or use Domain Expansion.

Every possibility flashed through Kenjaku's mind. If he counterattacked in that instant, he could kill Xia Xia and take him down with him. In the end, however, Kenjaku chose to give up. Only scenes from a thousand years ago continued to play through his mind, with nothing but his feelings as a mother lingering at the end.

The moment that cursed tool injured him, Kenjaku knew he would not survive. Yet he did not ask why, nor did he utter a word of reproach. He simply gazed at the child in his arms with such tenderness and compassion.

Yes, he had actually known long ago, and had always tacitly allowed Xia Xia to get close to him. But that was not because he had been careless.

The identity was false. The love was real.

What an exceptional child. His own flesh and blood, the child he loved most:

"Xia Xia, happy birthday."

"Hug Mommy one more time..."

The dying Kaori Itadori said those words and wrapped her fading body around Xia Xia. Then she breathed her last and slowly collapsed into the boy's arms.

Kenjaku was a Special Grade Sorcerer, yet he died quietly, just like an ordinary person.

When he died, he was Kaori Itadori.

He did not regret his choice, nor had he ever blamed Xia Xia. To him, this was a rather good ending.

Xia Xia held his mother as she slowly grew cold and stiff.

Everything had gone unbelievably smoothly.

His hands were still trembling, but there was more left to do-his father, and his grandfather.

Neither of them was a powerful jujutsu sorcerer like Kenjaku, and Xia Xia had long since learned enough about them.

"Xia Xia, we support your choice."

"Take good care of yourself from now on. Take good care of Yuji."

At some point, his father and grandfather had both come over. They did not ask why he had done this, or what he had done it all for.

Xia Xia's father, Jin Itadori, had actually known all along that his wife, Kaori Itadori, was long dead. But for the sake of his children, he had chosen to accept it in silence. Kenjaku's machinations had played a part, as had his own insistence. Whatever the reason, his love for Xia Xia and Yuji had never changed or wavered.

His grandfather, Wasuke Itadori, had long known of Kenjaku's existence and had always been wary of him. As the reincarnation of Sukuna's brother who had never been born, he also knew a small part of the plan that might bring Sukuna back. Now, seeing what Xia Xia had done, he felt both glad that the family's cursed bloodline had been severed and sorrowful for the child's future.

"..."

No one knew how Xia Xia spent the next hour and a half. All he remembered was that his father and grandfather told him everything they needed to tell him, gently closed their hands around his knife-holding hand, and then...

They both fell into pools of blood.

Perhaps to lessen Xia Xia's guilt, his father and grandfather had pretended to be at ease.

This place was hell.

The door opened, and a boy stepped inside.

"I'm home!"

"Brother, the teacher said you skipped class. You're supposed to bring Mom to school tomorrow."

"Brother?!"

Yuji was home too.

I really didn't want you to see this. But I'm sorry, Yuji. This is something you have to go through.

Xia Xia sat on the sofa, wiping the blood from the carving knife. His face was expressionless, his gaze cold.

The bodies on the floor had already gone completely cold. What filled Yuji Itadori's eyes were vast, glaring swaths of scarlet, accompanied by the pungent stench of blood.

It was late, and a blood moon hung in the sky.

Night has fallen. Disappear quietly.