[You strode toward Itadori, deliberately reining in the chill about you that might cause discomfort, and approached the pink-haired child holding half an ice pop with as peaceful and nonthreatening a demeanor as possible.]
[You slowly crouched down to bring your eyes level with his. Looking at him through your somewhat cold-looking black-framed glasses, you asked softly.]
["Are you Yuji Itadori?"]
[Hearing someone call his name, the child stopped.]
[Unlike Megumi Fushiguro when you first met him, bristling like a frightened little wild animal and full of wary vigilance, the Yuji Itadori before you showed no such excessive tension or defensiveness.]
[But his clear little child's eyes still held a trace of scrutiny and curiosity toward a stranger. He took a bite of his ice pop and spoke indistinctly but politely.]
["I am."]
["Were you looking for me, mister?"]
[You chose not to probe in any roundabout way. Any meaningless preamble was unnecessary.]
[You raised a hand and pointed to the corresponding spot on your own cheek, beneath your eye. Staring straight at Yuji Itadori, you asked with utter calm.]
["Is there someone else inside your body?"]
[The moment those words left your mouth, the surrounding air seemed to freeze.]
[Yuji Itadori's previously innocent little eyes suddenly widened in surprise. He did not even notice his nearly melted ice pop dripping onto his shoes.]
[As though someone had exposed a little secret that belonged to him alone, he spoke with astonishment all over his face.]
["Huh?!"]
["Mister... how did you know?"]
[Just as he innocently said those words, the slit that had only just closed abruptly tore open again on his lower cheek!]
[Those eyes fixed on you, filled with a shudder-inducing, intense malice.]
[That gaze brimmed with a thousand years of arrogance and scrutiny, as though it meant to