Sukuna Was Back!~

Sukuna was back!~

Itadori hurried to announce the good news to everyone.

Everyone immediately dropped what they were doing and crowded around, excitedly chattering greetings to Sukuna's mouth on Itadori's hand.

Nobara: "Sukuna, Sukuna, you're finally back!"

Inumaki: "Mustard greens, mustard greens!" (Are you okay?)

Panda: "If you'd stayed away any longer, Yuji would've turned to stone waiting for his husband~"

Itadori: ...? Waiting for his what?

Maki: "Thank goodness. Sukuna, I'm so glad you're back... that blindfolded idiot came by so many times these past two days. He looked so serious it was scary, like he'd lost his soul!"

Itadori: ...Huh? No, wait... wasn't Teacher Gojo only standing guard because he was worried Sukuna might recover his memories and go on a killing spree?

Even Megumi Fushiguro awkwardly stepped forward and said, "Glad you're back. Nothing happened to you these past two days, did it?"

Sukuna listened to their chattering words of concern and watched them smile at him as they said, "Welcome back!-"

He stood stunned for quite a while, feeling a little overwhelmed by the attention, and unconsciously pinched the hem of his kimono.

...Why did it feel like he was getting the celebrity treatment...?

He felt a little awkward, but the sincere smiles on these young jujutsu sorcerers' faces filled his heart with warmth.

His face grew slightly hot.

He was touched, and a trace of happiness slipped into his voice despite his efforts to contain it.

"Yeah, I'm back."

"I'm okay."

"Thank you."

At Sukuna's response, everyone's eyes lit up, and they inwardly pumped their fists and cheered.

...Thank goodness!

He was still the same Sukuna as before!

Still just as polite. He hadn't changed at all!

Quick, tell Teacher Gojo the good news! The Sukuna he'd been waiting for was finally back!!-

Far away on a business trip, Gojo sat beside a window, gazing absentmindedly outside.

His phone suddenly chimed several times in succession. He paused, then immediately pulled it out.

At the rows of new messages on the screen, his azure blue eyes shifted slightly behind his sunglasses.

He quickly read every message, slowly breathed a sigh of relief, and replied to each one with "Got it."

Then he put down his phone and turned to look out the window again.

The window clearly reflected his image. He couldn't help raising a hand to his lips.

In the reflection, the corners of his perfectly sculpted lips curved upward in a smile he simply couldn't suppress~

"Ta-da-!!"

Back in the dorm room, Itadori eagerly showed Sukuna his favorite thing-a whole table full of snacks!

"Everyone brought these over during the past two days. I saved all of them for you!"

Sukuna stared at the snacks on the table in astonishment, his eyes full of delighted surprise.

Then a warm current flowed through his heart.

He had never imagined everyone would do something like this.

Did this mean that, more and more, everyone had begun...

To see him as...

Sukuna pressed his lips together and covered his eyes with one hand, feeling them grow slightly hot.

[Yeah.]

He answered, taking deep breaths to try to calm himself.

He was only a curse, after all... honestly, these people...

His eyes still burned a little, but he couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from lifting-

Into a joyful smile.

When Itadori received no further response, he grew puzzled and was about to ask something. Sukuna hurriedly cleared his throat and spoke loudly to cover it up.

[Open them, open them! What are you standing around for?]

[I'm going to make up for all the snacks I missed!]

Itadori immediately burst out laughing. "You got it!"

After eating and drinking his fill, Itadori sat on the bed.

Sukuna's serious, deep voice sounded in his mind.

[Ready?]

Itadori took a deep breath, suppressing the nervousness in his heart.

"Ready!"

He was about to enter the inner world Sukuna had described, with its mountains of corpses, seas of blood, and heaps of bones...

He had already run through every scene from "Resident Xvil," "Battle Xoyale," "Train to Xusan," "The X-ing"... in his head!

"Then I'm coming in?"

Sukuna answered, [Okay.]

Itadori's vision went black, and he collapsed onto the bed.

In a vast, eerie, cold, silent space, Itadori stood in bloody water, staring blankly at the sight before him-

Dressed in a white kimono, Sukuna sat atop a rather tall mound built from cattle skulls, looking just as bewildered as he was.

...Huh?

Sukuna couldn't quite process it.

...His Yuji had indeed come in here... but why hadn't he been switched out?

Their earlier conversation immediately resurfaced in his mind-

-[Then I'm coming in?]

-[Okay.]

It dawned on him.

...Oh, right. This time, he hadn't said anything about switching out.

...So it could work like this, too!

"Su... Sukuna?!-"

After his initial surprise, Itadori stared wide-eyed at Sukuna-this was the first time he had ever seen him this way.

Although he didn't understand what had happened, a delighted surprise welled up inside him, making him forget his surroundings as he rushed up the pile of bones.

"Sukuna?... Is it really you?"

Itadori's eyes shone, his excitement mingling with nervous disbelief.

Looking at Sukuna, who was slightly shorter than him while seated, he couldn't resist reaching out and cautiously poking his shoulder.

-Then he poked him again.

Sukuna: "..."

What am I, a lump of dough? Why do you keep poking me?

"Yes, it's me."

He patted the spot beside him and said one simple word.

"Sit."

Itadori sat down immediately without another word.

It was his first time sitting side by side with Sukuna, and the novelty filled his heart.

"Why are you here? Weren't you switched out?"

Sukuna shrugged. "Probably because you asked for something different this time."

He quickly explained the rules of binding vows that Gojo had taught him.

After listening, Itadori understood.

"Nice," he said, nodding in satisfaction. "Then from now on, I can come in and keep you company whenever I want!~"

He looked at Sukuna beside him, unable to keep his eyes from curving into a smile.

He couldn't have been more pleased with this miraculous phenomenon.

"So..."

Propping his chin on one hand, Sukuna looked helplessly at the space before them.

"This is my inner world, and my innate domain."

He didn't dare look at Yuji's expression, figuring he probably needed some time to recover.

After all, even he had been frightened when he first saw it. He hoped Yuji wouldn't be too scared.

Only then did Itadori turn his attention back to the innate domain.

He looked up, then down, rubbed his chin in serious thought, and offered what he considered a fairly balanced assessment.

"It's pretty impressive."

Sukuna: "...?"

Huh? What did you say?

"Don't you think this place is... eerie, terrifying, bloody, and violent?"

Sukuna gestured around them as he asked in disbelief.

"It's not that bad, is it?" Itadori shook his head honestly.

He reached out and lightly tapped a bone beneath his feet.

"None of these bones are human. They're all cattle skulls... so, it feels okay."

"And this place looks a lot better than 'Resident Xvil,' 'Train to Xusan,' 'The X-ing,' and 'The X-rudge.'"

-It even had a unique visual beauty.

Sukuna: "..."

...You really know how to pick your comparisons.

...No! Wait! What the hell were "The X-ing" and "The X-rudge" doing in there? Why bring those two up?

This place was mountains of corpses and seas of blood, not supernatural horror, okay?!