The air of the night sky was so cold that even time itself seemed frozen because of it.
The lingering days of summer started to fade and the wind that caressed the tarmac road was extremely dry.
Itadori listened to the bustling of the city from the distance and walked under the dim lights of the streetlamps by himself aimlessly.
According to Gojou, he planned to publicly reveal that Itadori was still alive in the near future. At the same time, he also told Itadori that if it was at a time and place when and where there were very few people, he could go out to take a breather.
Once Itadori recalled that he had "died and revived once" and went through a period of time of hiding that could not be considered short, he felt that the chance to be able to walk around without restrictions like this was precious.
Right now, the moon hung high in the sky and the time was already nine at night.
He took care to avoid the area around Jujutsu technical college as well as the city centre where related personnel could be at and chose one of the satellite towns which was quieter to stroll around in. At this time, the downtown area was full of people's voices but the amount of traffic on the roads of the residential areas were far sparser, yet he could still feel that there were people doing their own things nearby.
Sometimes he could hear faint laughter coming from one of the houses nearby. This sounded so melodious to him.
"I seemed to have walked pretty far."
Itadori walked till he was in front of a main road and thought that it should be time he headed back. He took a turn, leapt across a small street and went back to where he came from.
Unexpectedly, once he walked into a side road, the scene before his eyes had a large change from earlier.
"Strange, once it's night, the crows would disappear without a trace. I wonder where they have flown to?" Itadori inadvertently raised his head to look towards the overhead electric cables and thought about things that were insignificant.
He kept walking and walking, just going where his legs took him.
Admiring the different appearances of the homes that slowly went past the corner of his eyes, he continued to move forward.
And like this, he walked for around ten minutes. The walls that have stretched out next to him came to its end and the view before his eyes opened up.
"Wow, there's actually a park here."
Itadori discovered a park built in the residential area as though it had been stuffed there.
There was a slide and a cube like climbing frame as well as an empty ground that looked out of place but it seemed like there used to be a merry-go-round there. Itadori could not help but feel that it looked dreary.
Suddenly, the creaking sound of metal rubbing against each other reached his ears.
Following the sound, he found that there was a swing moving. There was no wind.
Under the light from old fashioned streetlights, he could see a small dark figure swinging on the swing.
–It was a boy. He thought it was an elementary schooler but the other party looked far too mature to be one. He should be a middle schooler.
The swing slowly moved with a rhythm as though the boy was saying "I'm not swinging here because it's fun", the boy's expression also gave off the same message.
In the time when Itadori blinked a few times, he observed the situation and went towards the boy.
"Hi, what are you doing?"
"….eh?"
The boy raised his head in an instant when he suddenly heard something talking to himself.
When he first looked at Itadori, he seemed to be wary. Perhaps he felt that he got targeted by a delinquent. After all, there was a hoodie underneath Itadori's uniform and he had a head of hair that appeared to be dyed.
But as Itadori got closer and the streetlights showed his face, the boy could clearly see that naturally warm smile and he quietly relaxed his nerves.
"Are you thinking about something?"
"….Yeah, you're right, I'm thinking about something."
A slightly low creaking sound rang out around the place. It turned out that Itadori had sat on the swing next to the youth. However in this playground that was meant for children, it did not seem like it could support a high schooler who was just built of muscle.
"It definitely is nerve wrecking to talk a stranger who you don't even recognise or know the name of. Nice to meet you, I'm Itadori Yuuji."
"….I'm Minato Kairi （湊海里）."
"That's a cool name."
"I heard from my granny who passed away last year that the sea is a man's romance so she gave me this name."
"Seems like your granny has a romantic personality. That's a good name."
"If I really had to say it, when my granny was alive, she was really tough. I heard that when she encountered an Asian black bear, she really went to fight it and it seems like she even won."
"Your granny has personality."
The boy kept talking about unexpectedly interesting experiences and Itadori listened, his expression changing. When he heard about the boy's grandmother's deeds, he faintly thought about his own grandfather.
He could not help but sigh in his heart. No matter how tough the grandmother was or how much his own grandfather liked acting cool, as long as they were people, they would meet the inevitable fate of death.
But, Itadori did not forget the issue at hand.
"Your granny might be tough but that might not be the case for your father and mother, right? It's pretty late. Won't they be worried that you haven't gone home?"
"Ah...."
Perhaps this boy by the name of Kairi already had the feeling that Itadori was going to ask him such a question. He made a expression that said, "You asked it after all" and then looked up at the streetlights.
Perhaps the filament of the bulb of the streetlight was old, so it flickered from time to time.
The appearance of the small insects, forgotten by the summer, reflected by the flickering slight made people think of those old movies projected from damaged film strips.
Itadori did not push the boy to answer and just waited for It while swinging the swing.
After pushing both feet against the ground, the swing will swing back and forth with a creak. This kind of equipment had the comfort of a cradle. Perhaps that was why when a person was thinking of something, it was suitable to do so on a swing.
After the time taken to take four breaths, Kairi finally spoke.
"I can't go home."
"Did you argue with your parents or something?"
"It's not because of that kind of issue. It's an issue that has to do with actual physical properties."
"Physical properties? Is your home far away?"
"Nope, my home is nearby….I can tell you the reason but you have to promise not to laugh at me after I'm done talking, alright?"
"I won't laugh because you have not laughed at all."
Rather than seeing a serious expression, Kairi only managed to relax his brow that was scrunched up from unease after hearing Itadori's undoubtedly sincere voice.
Still, the matter he was about to speak of was not a trivial one.
So Kairi took a few breaths again and after sucking in a deep breath, he finally started to explain the reason.
"Because a demon will appear at my home."
"Demon?"
"Once it's night, a demon about this big….it's not that big, would show up in front of my home."
Kairi made a gesture like he was hugging a beach ball.
It seemed like when he was making the gesture, some kind of actual existence appeared in his memories so he was able to show such a specific size. As though he could see that "demon", he spoke of in the darkness.
After a while, Kairi stopped gesturing and then raised his head, seemingly to have realised something, then he frowned and showed a deeply apologetic expression.
"....You probably don't believe what I just said."
"No, I believe you."
"Eh?"
"Since you said there's a demon, then there should really be one. I just have to use my eyes to know if you are really bothered by this. Even though I can only say I'm going by my feeling."
"So you believe my words?"
Itadori thought back to his encounters.
Even though his history as a Jujutsu sorcerer could not be considered long, the number of cursed spirits he had encountered was close to exceeding the number of fingers he had on both hands. Until now, he had encountered various kinds of curses. There were strong ones and weak ones.
In addition, this demon appeared in a regular residential area and Kairi had described the size of the demon from his memory.
From these points, Itadori could deduce that it should not be a strong curse. Also, Kairi who had seen it was also unhurt so it probably had the strength of a fly head or even at most a third-grade cursed spirit.
"Because I have also seen plenty of similar things."
Itadori forcefully swung the swing two, three times then after it created a huge arc, as though he was preparing to leap in a long jump segment, he leapt from the swing and landed.
"Alright, let's go."
"Ah? ...go where?"
"Back to your home."
"Didn't I say a demon would appear?"
"You don't have to be scared, I'll go back with you. If things start to go south, we can come back. Also, earlier, you managed to get close enough to see it but nothing happened right?"
Actually Itadori did not think too much about the matter.
Things like he could finish the demon off without much effort or this was a good chance to look cool or even something like this was the duty of a Jujutsu sorcerer. Such thoughts never even crossed his mind.
Itadori just simply felt:
"It must feel terrible to not be able to go home."
He decided to lend a helping hand just based on such a simple logic.
*
Itadori followed Kairi and they left the park and walked for about ten minutes.
In order to lower the tension as they walked with the night wind, he spoke to Kairi about daily life things such as club activities, favourite movies and manga.
The streetlights lit up sections of the road that were shrouded in darkness.
One of the streetlights just happened to shine on the entrance way to a house. It was a normal house with a triangular roof and the appearance was a deep blue that was close to being swallowed by the darkness.
When they reach a place where they could see the house clearly, Kairi suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.
"—There."
He barely managed to move his dry throat and squeezed out a sound.
Because of an instinctiveness nervousness, both his legs were unable to move.
Itadori, who had been walking behind Kairi the whole time came before him for the first time. After that, he fixed his gaze at the darkness.
A dark figure slowly walked out from the shadows of the pillars in front of the door of that house that was shone by the streetlights.
It was not the size of a human nor did it feel as adorable as an animal.
The black figure was different from humans in a way that was difficult to describe. Also an air of evil oozed out from within it, making one feel disgust from the bottom of their soul.
That was definitely a curse.
"Mo—————————–ther———-"
If one used the appearance of a human as a standard, there were two mouths growing at the place of the cursed spirit's eyes.
The nose looked like it was shaved off and it had no ears while its original mouth was sealed up.
The peculiar traits of its body that looked like it showed its entire muscle structure were short legs, a short body and long and thick arms with large fists at the end.
The side of its head also grew two strange structures that seemed to be made of entangled blood vessels and the silhouette made people think of the horns of demons.
No wonder, this did indeed look like a "demon".
The demon gritted its teeth in its two bizarre mouths with a grinding noise like it was growling to intimidate Itadori.
"Issssssssssssssssittttttttttttttalrightttttttttttttnowwwwwwwwwww?"
"....Itadori..."
Kairi's voice was shaking out of fear.
In order to soothe Kairi's fear, Itadori stood between the boy and the demon and slowly spread out his arms.
"Don't worry, I'll figure out a way to get rid of it."
Itadori's voice was extremely calm.
Even though this cursed spirit was termed a "demon", it was not as though it was as strong as a demon. Even with a conservative estimate, this was at most a third-grade cursed spirit. Since it was a cursed spirit, Itadori could not just leave it be and it was at a level that Itadori could handle.
Itadori decided to exorcise it at one go.
His actions were not to show his excessive strength nor was he looking down on the curse.
He just wanted to bring Kairi a peace of mind.
Itadori's wish was to help him get rid of the fear within his heart so he will be able to walk on the roads back home without worry.
"Kairi, you need to back up a bit later."
Itadori curled up hands into fists and the demon also made a pose like it was about to get ready to fight.
The demon bent its short legs forwards and waved its arms up and down. Then using the recoil from squatting deeply, it leapt to a high place. Its bizarre body covered the moon light.
"Issssssssssssssssittttttttttttttalrightttttttttttttnowwwwwwwwwww?"
At the same time the demon landed, it swung down its arms like it was swinging a hammer. As this attack was simple, Itadori lightly avoided it with a sidestep.
The demon's body might be small but its arms were abnormally long. After swinging both its arms in an arc, it swept them forward. Without rushing, Itadori took a step back to increase the distance between them.
"Issssssssssssssssittttttttttttttalrightttttttttttttnowwwwwwwwwww?"
The demon seemed to be in a panic because it kept throwing straight punches.
"Alright, take this!"
Itadori felt that it was a good chance to strike while the other party was using this set of simple attacks so he twisted his body and raised his arm. After dodging the demon's fists, he immediately leapt forward. This time it was the demon that entered the range of Itadori's fists.
–Divergent fists.
The demon's small body took the strong blow from the fist and was sent flying into the air.
"Mo———————–ah——ther———-"
There was a short delay from the cursed energy which became a second blow.
The demon in the air was struck torn into pieces as though it was shot by an invisible cannonball.
This battle in the residential area came to an end in a few blows.
"Alright, done."
"Eh? May I ask…what's going on….?"
"I finished off that demon, now you can go home with no problem."
"….."
After Kairi saw Itadori give a smile, he blinked his eyes a few times.
Even though he had a look of hesitation, after a few seconds in this silent area under the night sky, he finally bowed deeply.
"...Thank you for your help."
From the tone, it sounded like Kairi still had no clue what had happened but he still gave his thanks and kept bowing at over and over again towards Itadori before he slowly entered his house.
After Itadori saw the boy off with a smile, he finally ended the slightly long night stroll and headed back.
However he was bothered by the expression on Kairi's face while they were talking. It was the same as when he was alone in the park.
*
A few days later, Itadori walked on the roads at night again.
Although there was nothing interesting about just strolling, he was able to enjoy the freedom of being alone. Every time Itadori went out for a walk, he would change his route but today, he subconsciously walked to the residential district he went to the last time.
–Speaking of which, it was only during that walk when he encountered a small issue.
Perhaps Itadori was recalling that moment as he walked so naturally, he went with his feeling towards the same side road.
After that, just like before, he went to that same park.
Then—Itadori could not believe his own eyes.
"...….Kairi?"
A boy sat on the swing with his head lowered.
Kairi had the same melancholic expression that he had the previous time and was gazing at the streetlights in the park at night by himself.
"Ah….Itadori."
"What are you doing here? Isn't the demon already gone?"
"….."
Kairi silently turned his face towards Itadori and showed an apologetic expression.
Just this action was enough to make Itadori extremely uneasy.
"Don't tell me….!"
With the momentum like he was going to leap somewhere, Itadori sprinted out of the park.
This time he left Kairi and rushed to the road where the residential district was by himself.
Large movements from his arms sliced across the dusky night, his hurried pace dug into the tarmac road. The cold night air buried into his lungs made his chest feel some pain.
The reason his heart was beating so furiously was definitely not solely due to the intense exercise. The complex feeling of anxiety became that of alarm, urging Itadori to run.
He used his highest speed to run, to keep running.
Finally, he reached the front of that house.
The object reflected in his eyes was—
"—How can this be?"
The same demon from that day.
The same cursed spirit from that day showed the same pose as that day before his eyes.
Were there two demons?—But that doubt immediately disappeared. Because, from its appearance and the air it gave off as they faced each other was scarcely different, it was not two demons that looked identical, this was the demon from that day.
"Mo—————————–ther———-"
"Guh…."
Once the demon realised that Itadori was "looking at" itself, as though to repeat the same image from a few days ago, it leapt into the air and swung its fists down at Itadori.
"You monster!"
After Itadori avoided that blow on reflex, he struck back immediately, using divergent fists.
"Mot————-AHHHHH!"
Whether was it the distance of attack or the opening created by the demon when it attacked, his own body remembered it. Therefore, with hardly any effort, his fists landed a critical hit on the target and the demon's body was sent flying by the impact of the cursed energy.
In a way that was so easy that it was strange, he exorcised this demon once more.
"..."
After having defeated the demon, Itadori stared at his own fists and clenched it and relaxed it repeatedly.
There was definitely the feeling that it hit, he definitely gave it a lethal blow, he definitely exorcised his target.
All in all, the feeling he had when facing this demon a few nights ago was exactly the same.
That night he should have successfully exorcised, successfully gotten rid of his opponent.
–If so, then what was the demon he fought against just now?
"Please don't waste your effort anymore, Itadori."
A voice suddenly reached his ears and Itadori turned his head to look at the source. Even without looking into a mirror, he knew that the current him was sure to have a face full of doubt.
"...Kairi."
"That demon….probably can't be defeated."
In comparison to Itadori who sounded troubled, Kairi sounded especially calm.
His voice sounded way beyond his age, full of fatigue and expressed that he had completely given up.
"I know you are an extremely strong person…but I get the feeling that even if that demon was defeated, it would probably keep coming back."
"What do you mean by that?"
Kairi stopped talking and raised his head to look at the roof of his own house. Itadori also followed that gaze and observed the roof then his eyes grew wide.
"That demon is probably protecting this house."
"...."
"So no matter how many times you defeat it, in order to scare away the bad guys, it is sure to continue appearing at this place."
Even though Itadori was listening to Kairi's words, he was unable to think any further. The chaos growing in his heart took precedence over his brain and his widened eyes could not close at all.
An unexplainable phenomenon was before him.
That familiar silhouette had appeared on the roof with its back against the moon.
That demon had appeared before Itadori once more.
*
"—So such a thing happened."
"I see."
The next day, Itadori told Gojou about the incident with the "demon"
As they were going to wait till the "Kyoto sister school exchange event" to announce that Itadori was still alive, so right now, he was hiding in the house that Gojou had prepared, leisurely living his days away out of sight and hearing from others.
Gojou was wearing sunglasses, sportswear and looked like he was dressed to lounge at home. He quickly flipped through a magazine of sightseeing spots while talking to Itadori.
"And after that?"
"There isn't an after that. What I mean is that I am unable to defeat a curse that can revive like that so I wanted to say that if you handled it, Gojou-sensei, you should be able to settle the problem more quickly.
"But I'm busy."
"You don't look busy at all right now."
Gojou held the magazine with both hands and paced around then he laid down on the sofa and even started to eat daifuku. Itadori frowned and lowered his head, looking at Gojou.
"Then I'm going to ask Nanamin to help me."
"Can you please not treat a first-grade sorcerer as your support center?"
"I can't?"
"You defeated that demon with ease, right? And from the description just now, that cursed spirits ability can't be more than a third grade. You don't have any reason to need my help, right?"
"I already said, no matter how many times I exorcise it, that demon will still show up….even though it has not caused any harm, but if we just leave alone, it might become some kind of terrible disaster..."
"Then wouldn't it be fine if you kept exorcising it until it no longer come back?"
"If I could do it then I wouldn't be so troubled."
"Yuuji."
Gojou raised his head from the magazine and looked at Itadori through his sunglasses, his face not showing his usual frivolous smile.
"What do you think is the main reason why someone is unable to help others?"
Itadori froze.
Large amounts of memories, as though erupting from the depths of his body, filled his brain in an instant. Countless images crossed his mind and his vision felt like it kept flashing.
A human that warped and transformed, a human with impure intentions, a mother and son he could not save.
As well as himself, powerless.
"….Because they're too weak."
At the same time when Itadori replied, his heart felt so much pain that he frowned.
Gojou let out a slight sigh and then got up from the sofa.
"That is indeed one of the reasons. But the strength of one's abilities do not determine everything."
After he got up, he walked towards Itadori who had his head lowered and stood beside him.
The incidents that occurred before at the cinema and Satozakura high school – Gojou only knew the details after a report about it was written up.
But he was able to imagine how torturous the tragedies that happened at these places, also the realities that Itadori had experienced for himself, must be towards Itadori's soul. He also knew that until now, Itadori was still brooding over those matters.
Even though Itadori had the makings of a Jujutsu sorcerer both in terms of his body and mind and also had peculiar physical abilities, in the end, he was only a youth who was only past the first decade of his life, someone who just entered the Jujutsu world.
Cursed energy and physical abilities could be made stronger through training, but it was not that easy for his heart.
Even so—Gojou still did not want to see Itadori be ruined by such a thing.
"In this world, there are far too many tragedies that can only meet a tragic end, it's the same even though they should have been saved. However, the real terror isn't in the lack of strength or not being able to reach out in time."
Gojou did not look at Itadori's eyes but only walked past him lightly. At the same time, with a gentle strength, he lightly stroked his student's head.
Then with a gentle tone, he said some stern words.
"It's forgetting that they have the ability to help others."
"——————"
After hearing these words, Itadori suddenly raised his head.
These words were not powerful to let Itadori definitively understand the direction he should take to move forward but it definitely was enough to let him reexamine his current standing.
After Gojou saw Itadori's reaction, he smiled, satisfied.
"Also, let me revise something with you. What do you think is the main reason curses are born?"
"Let me think….a human's negative emotions, right?"
"Then you should know the answer to this problem already, right? After all, winning a cursed spirit and exorcising them is not some magic pill."
"Ah, I get it now."
"Yuuji, you really are pretty straightforward so you can find the answer quickly. This is also your strong point."
Gojou's smile became his last push forward.
Right now, Itadori's mind was clear and even his body felt nimbler so he went to take action once more.
"Sensei, then I'll go over and have a look."
Once Itadori finished speaking, he rushed towards the bright streets.
After Gojou watched Itadori sprint towards the door, he went back to sit on the sofa. He looked at the closed magazine, having completely forgotten which page he had read until.
"It's easier to pull up a child that had fallen on the ground but as a teacher, my duty is to teach children how to stand up on their own….but to them, that's no easy matter."
Rather than being a vessel of Sukuna, Itadori's will to fight on tirelessly was definitely a skill that made him even stronger.
Also because of that reason, once his heart was hurt, it would become a terrifying curse.
Furthermore, what was more troublesome was that to get rid of this cruse, one could only face their own heart.
So when cultivating his students, rather than providing spiritual support, he might as well teach them to have the correct mindset.
"Seriously, this is more difficult than teaching cursed techniques."
Gojou complained but he smiled, not matching what he was saying, and continued to bite on the daifuku that he had not finished.
*
Itadori had completely familiarised himself with the route he was threading upon.
As it was daytime, the atmosphere on the road was different. He could see a few cars as well as sporadic number people who came out to empty their garbage, do grocery shopping or even gather around to chat.
And it was too coincidental.
Itadori encountered a woman who should be Kairi's mother in front of Kairi's house.
"—Are you Kairi's friend?"
"Yes, I guess we're friends even though there's some gap between our ages."
She seemed to be an extremely kind person.
Her age should be more than forty but at the first glance, she looked younger. The woman saw Itadori, a high schooler, yet only asked "are you Kairi's friend" first. From there, he could tell that she was friendly towards people.
Compared to Kairi, this lady did not seem to be bothered by any curses so she should not know that the house that she lived in had a demon.
Itadori talked about Kairi with this woman and just from that, she showed emotions of happiness.
From her words and gestures, he could feel that the woman was a harmonious and amiable person who also felt much love towards Kairi.
Because of this, Itadori felt it was painful to ask this question.
"Did Kairi not come home at all?"
"….Oh it's about that."
The woman should have been mentally prepared for Itadori to ask about that incident.
She frowned sadly but her attitude was calm.
"Actually he did come home. But I'm ashamed to say that me and my husband have no idea when he came home. He seems to only sneak back home after we have fallen asleep….If we switch off the lights earlier to rest, he will come back before ten."
But that guy is still a middle schooler, right? Isn't it too dangerous for him to come home that late?"
"Yes. Hm….it is very dangerous. At one point of time, I did think whether I should go find him and drag him back home…it's too much, isn't it. I really have no right to call myself his mother."
"Ah, I have no intention of criticizing you."
The woman's expression was extremely sorrowful, even Itadori felt his heart twist into a knot upon looking at her.
As a mother, she actually left Kairi to roam around at night. This point would definitely bring about criticism. However, Itadori did not have say it. The woman had probably blamed herself multiple times. Also, sadness and fatigue peered out from her eyes made all this self-evident.
–I'm definitely not here to blame the person in front of me.
Itadori reexamined his position as well as his goal for coming here.
"Um, I want to ask you something weird….have you heard anything about a "demon"?"
"Demon?"
The woman's expression froze in an instant but she did not seem as bothered as Itadori had imagined. Instead, she went straight to the core of this question and was so frank that it was unexpected.
"Could you have heard it from Kairi?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"….That so called demon is actually a story that that child's grandmother told him. I guess it could be considered discipline. His grandmother always said that demon would look for bad children so I suppose it's something like a Namahage."
"Ah, so it's Kairi's tough granny who told him."
"That's right, that's right, that child told you about his grandmother after all."
The woman smiled, her expression mixed with nostalgia and loneliness. Itadori was quite bothered by this woman's sorrowful smile.
"Kairi likes his grandmother that much?"
"Yes…he does like her a lot. To that child, his grandmother was equivalent to his parents. So when his grandmother passed away, he was heartbroken..."
"You said that his granny was equivalent to his parents?"
"Yes, that child's parents died in a traffic accident not long after he was born."
"Wait, then auntie, you are—"
*
As the sun started to sink, the air grew colder.
The sky changed from the sun to the moon and after the city slowly sank into darkness, the artificial lights started to shine. If was as though the born was changed anew from the sky and the scenery on the ground also followed suit, changing the appearance of the world.
Itadori continued to move forward in the night, not knowing how many lights, that shone on the ground, he had passed on the streets.
Curses existed in this world.
Curses were like the dark night that even swallowed up shadows, seeping into everyone's lives.
However, Itadori was not able to exorcise all the world's curses like the sun eliminated darkness, the current him could not even compare to the faint moon.
Even so, he still had ways if it was just saving one person.
He still had the chance to become the light to shine on the path that was going forward.
"Kairi."
"As expected, Kairi was in such a place.
At the same time, in the same park.
Just like before, he slowly swung on the swing and the old metal parts made the same creaking noise.
"Itadori….Hello."
"Hi."
After Itadori gave a simple greeting, he sat on the old swing that was next to Kairi.
However, once he came into contact with the playground equipment that had become ice cold from the low night temperature, he felt the chill burrow deep into his body. Itadori felt the cold within him and at the same time observed the part. The scene seemed especially desolate.
Within the part, there were only the sounds of bugs occasionally chirping and the creaking when the swings moved.
Itadori and Kairi only kept looking forward and did not look at each other as they slowly moved the swings. The swings were like a moving metronome and using the beat from the swings, Itadori counted when he should get to the topic.
"That demon is still at that house, right?"
After the swing went back and forth a few times, Itadori broke the silence first.
Kairi continued to look forward and nodded.
"I guess that demon is probably going to stay at that house from now on."
Even though Kairi's voice was calm, there was some sense of strong bitterness within it.
His voice was extremely low as though he was confirming a reality that would definitely not change. At the same time Itadori was listening, he occasionally raised his head to look at the street lights.
"It was your granny who told you about the demon, right?"
"….Who told you that?"
"Your mother."
Itadori used this term without thinking.
However, he did not know how he should describe Kairi's expression. It felt like it could be described as pulling a long face or it could be described as someone putting salt on his wound. Whichever it was, it was obvious to the discerning eye that he did not wish to talk about it.
Even so, Itadori persisted in the conversation.
"If you don't feel like calling that person "mother" then I'm going to apologise beforehand."
"….Since you're already saying this, it seems like you already know the details and you know that they're not my biological parents."
"I should have noticed. The name plaque on the door of that house is not Minato, but Okazaki."
"….It's not that I wanted to hide it form you on purpose. It's just that I'm not used to my new name so I used my old one when I introduced myself.
"I thought that might be the case, it's fine."
Kairi was not speaking his words clearly like a child who was being scolded. On the contrary, Itadori sounded light and steady.
"Didn't your granny say that the demon would look for bad children?"
"Yeah."
"Then Kairi, why do you think that ghost appeared?"
"That's because…."
Kairi words stopped for a few seconds.
That did not mean he did not know how to reply but it was because the answer was too obvious and he needed a certain amount of courage to speak out.
Not long after, Kairi lowered his head as if to hide his feelings and continued to answer the question from earlier.
"I'm a bad child."
"….Why are you a bad child?"
"Uncle and Auntie Okazaki have no blood relations with me but because they live nearby, they are familiar with granny and I….when granny passed away, I had no one to rely on so Uncle and Auntie adopted me. But….I feel like I have no right to stay at that home."
"It's not that you don't feel like you don't want to be there but you feel that you don't have the right?"
"Because I'm not their family so I feel that they are always apprehensive about me. Even though they give me food to eat and let me go to school…but I'm afraid that I've become a burden to them."
"So that's how it is."
Itadori ruminated on those in his words in his mind for a moment, leaving a gap in the time.
Rather than saying he needed to arrange his thoughts, he needed some time steel his determination. After a few seconds, Itadori took a deep breath and spoke.
"That demon is a curse created by you."
This was the first time Itadori looked straight at Kairi.
"Because this is a curse created by you, only you can get rid of it."
"….Me? How is that possible, how did I do it? Besides, what do you mean a curse I created, I don't even understand what you're saying."
"Is it alright even if your mother is in danger?"
The sound of the moving swing came to a stop.
Kairi's shaky vision looked towards Itadori. Currently, his gaze was filled with much more fear than it had a few days when he saw the demon.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"That demon always appeared near your house, right? Have you ever thought that the demon might attack the people within it?"
"How could that be?! That demon would only cause trouble for me–"
"But a few days ago, it attacked me, right? So there's no way anyone would be able to guarantee that nothing regrettable is going to happen….you actually really love that family, don't you?"
"….about that…."
"That demon is a curse born from your fear. If you feel that whatever I just said is prying into your business, it's fine. But…if you really want to return to that home, then I'm begging you to help me out. But we have to act fast and get rid of that demon before your home disappears."
Itadori got off the swing stood in front of Kairi.
He held his head out towards Kairi and the lights behind him were like spotlights shining on him.
"I feel bad saying this but I can't defeat the demon with my own power."
"....."
The hands of the watch happened to stop at nine thirty.
Kairi grabbed the large palm that Itadori stretched over and stood up from the swing.
*
The two of them ran all the way back.
Kairi was very bothered within his heart about one thing that Itadori said — Have you ever thought that the demon might attack the people within it?—this thought kept repeating in his mind. When he came back to his senses, he had not realised that he was running ahead already.
He was choked up by the cold air all the way and coughed frequently and his heart beat like crazy.
Under the dim lights, thoughts of unease kept crossing Kairi's mind. The thoughts of that demon that had attacked Itadori and the faces of the Okazakis who had adopted him appeared one after another repeatedly.
After an unknown number of turns, he finally ran to a familiar small street.
He just had to rush straight and he would be able to reach that house.
But—
"Ita, Itadori…."
"Seriously? It actually got bigger."
Even though there was still some distance till they reached the house, they could see that demon clearly.
"Issssssssssssssssittttttttttttttalrightttttttttttttnowwwwwwwwwww?"
The demon that was originally the size of a beach ball was now the size of a van.
And as though it wanted to block the road, it spread its thick and powerful arms and gritted the teeth of the two mouths that were on its eyeless face with grinding noises, baring its teeth to threaten Itadori and Kairi.
Itadori probably knew the reason why the demon grew big. This curse came from Kairi so if his fear increased, the demon would also become stronger.
To Kairi who had faced the matter of going home, the fear in his heart and long grown huge.
At the same time, it increased the curse's power.
"No, I can't do it! I can't do it after all!"
Kairi turned tail, wanting to run but Itadori did not grab hold of him.
He only shouted from behind Kairi.
"Are you sure about running away?"
"But if I don't run–!"
"If you're scared and ran away then does that mean you don't care about what happens, when you really become homeless?"
"—-This!"
Kairi stopped his legs that were prepared to run and warily looked towards the front of the road.
Before his eyes was that same giant and ugly demon. Fear gushed up from within the depths of his heart, screaming at him to "Run away now, run away now!"
However the next scene made Kairi's mind turn blank for a moment.
"Kairi!"
The demon used its arm to block Kairi's and Itadori's way forward and that woman was actually on the other side.
Perhaps she happened to be out for a walk or perhaps after talking to Itadori, she had a change in mindset and left the house to look for Kairi.
Regardless of the reason, she was indeed standing right there.
She was standing next to the demon.
At that moment, the demon's attention seemed to shift from Itadori and Kairi to the woman.
"Mom!"
Kairi did not think about anything else.
As though he dashed froward just solely on reflex.
He was not intending to run – his two legs took him straight towards his house.
And as he ran, he shouted "Mom".
"Issssssssssssssssittttttttttttttalrightttttttttttttnowwwwwwwwwww?"
The demon that originally had its eyes on the woman returned its gaze to Kairi.
To any normal person, the pressure that came from being faced with a curse was the same as a nightmare.
Even so, Kairi did not stop moving.
Rather than facing the demon seriously, he was more afraid of losing the person he called his mother.
He steadied his steps and sped up, as though he was going to trample a hole into the ground.
As though he intended to blow away the darkness that was nearby, he dashed on the road towards home.
Then–
"Issssssssssssssssittttttttttttttalrightttttttttttttnowwwwwwwwwww?"
"Yeah—I think it's alright now."
Then a figure as fast as the wind overtook Kairi.
A right arm that was filled with cursed energy was raised up high.
This time he would not leisurely dodge the enemy's attack before striking.
He had to defeat the enemy in the shortest amount of time with the fastest speed. Itadori pushed against the tarmac ground.
And leapt into the air under the moon light.
"—Divergent fist."
With a fist that had a shocking amount of power, he hit the demon's face heavily.
Even though the demon swung its arms that are as big as round logs in an arc, it did not make it in time to block Itadori's attack.
"Al—–right."
The cursed energy pierced through the demon's body.
That ginormous body was really unexpected. The demon's body actually got bounced by the impact and like a deflated balloon, it just grew smaller and smaller as it flew.
The punch from the Jujutsu sorcerer cleared the cursed wall that had blocked the road.
The nightmarish night had reached its end.
On the road that was unblocked, the mother and son were finally reunited once more.
"Mo….! Mom, mom...!"
"Kairi….sorry, you must have been very lonely by yourself….!"
Kairi kept shouting "Mom", as though he was hurriedly trying to make up for the emptiness he felt during this period of time.
Perhaps they will not be able to close up this gap in such a short time.
But at the very least, Kairi should not be hiding in the park to pass the time away.
*
"Itadori, thank you very much."
"You're welcome. You have to get along with your dad as well."
A few minutes after the fight ended, or perhaps it had been much longer than that.
The three of them finished talking at the side of the road then Kairi bowed several times to thank Itadori before heading back home.
This time he was not alone, his mother was with him.
Itadori watched the two, feeling some bitterness within his heart as well as the urge to cry…. however, on the surface, he just watched the two people he managed to save leave.
After the figures of the mother and son were completely gone, he happened to look at the road and this time he noticed a being about the size of a beach ball had fallen on the road.
"This thing…."
Itadori increased his cautiousness but dismissed it as quickly.
This demon was already close to death and it looked at Itadori with its eyeless face.
The lips that have been sealed shut tore open bit by bit.
"Kairi has gone home."
When Itadori said that, the demon's shoulders shook a bit.
After that, the face that only had mouths showed a grin with a "hee" and then disappeared.
This road did not have the remnants of the commotion caused by a battle, nor did it have a mother and son that left the world without intending to and there were no demons. It was truly enveloped in the tranquil silence of the night.
"…Could that demon actually be Kairi's granny?"
Yet, there was no evidence to really prove that.
But it that really was the case, Itadori could only believe that Kairi's grandmother was seriously tough.
And believe that the grandmother protected and worried about Kairi more than he thought.
"Looks like I shouldn't let Gramps worry too much about me either."
It was Itadori himself who decided on the reason to join the fight.
However, he did not forget the words that his grandfather left behind for him on his death bed.
His own two hands were sure to be able to save more people, he did not have the free time to stay where he was.
Once he thought to this point, Itadori naturally started to walk down this road at night.
"Right, not just Gramps."
When he thought back to the day when he himself died.
Who knew how Fushiguro felt at that time.
Kugisaki was probably upset too.
"—I have to go back as well."
He had to show up full of vim and vigour.
And then with a cheerful smile say, see, there's nothing to worry about.
He had to become stronger and reach this pair of hands to an even further place.
At the same time Itadori made this decision, he also stepped on the road back home.
Itadori walked for a long time and finally the stroll reached its end.