After a long absence, Yukino Yukinoshita returned to her family home. Following dinner with her family, she retreated to her room.
Though she hadn't stayed here for some time, her room was spotless, evidently maintained in her absence.
Finally, she had time to address the messages on her phone.
She opened a chat app, reluctantly downloaded at Yui Yuigahama's urging. Unsurprisingly, Yui remained her sole contact on the platform.
It seemed Yui noticed her absence at school during lunchtime. After asking Hiratsuka-sensei, she learned Yukino had taken the day off.
Yuigahama-san:
"Yukinon, are you feeling unwell? Is that why you weren't at school today?"
"Or did something come up that kept you away?"
"I'm just a little worried! Please reply when you see this!"
Warmth filled Yukino's chest as her lips curved into a subtle smile. She quickly typed a reply:
Yukinoshita Yukino:
"I'm fine. Everything's resolved, and I'll be back at school next week."
Yui's response came almost instantly:
Yuigahama-san:
"That's a relief!"
"Let's have lunch together in the Service Club next week!"
"Oh, by the way, Hikki asked me for your contact info. He should've added you by now."
Messages flooded in, leaving Yukino scrambling to keep up. She noticed Hachiman Hikigaya's pending friend request, approved it, and received his message almost immediately.
Hikigaya-kun:
"A curse spirit appeared at school yesterday."
Yukino's eyes widened in shock as she quickly typed to inquire about the details.
Hikigaya-kun:
"It attacked me in the hallway outside the Service Club. There were five of them, likely targeting me. They were weak, probably grade-four curse spirits. I handled them, and Yui wasn't hurt. Oh, and I think I awakened a cursed technique."
Targeting him? Yukino quickly surmised the reason. "It must've been the residual cursed energy you left on the tennis court while playing against Hayama," she muttered to herself.
After relaying an abbreviated version of her theory to Hikigaya, she was startled by his response.
Hikigaya-kun:
"Hayama... Haha, did Sukuna-sama come up with that nickname?"
Sukuna's voice echoed in her thoughts, urging her to ask about Hikigaya's awakened technique. She followed suit, her typing speed improving with practice.
Hikigaya-kun:
"I'm not entirely sure. It seems like I can trap targets within a mirror-like space?"
A space-related technique? Yukino found it interesting but thought, I'll have to see it in action to judge properly. Let's wait until Monday.
After ending the conversation with Hikigaya, Sukuna cautioned her to erase their chat logs.
"Why delete them?" Yukino asked through their mental connection.
"Your sister might snoop through your phone," Sukuna replied bluntly. His caution toward Haruno Yukinoshita had increased after previous incidents.
Sure enough, as if on cue, the door to Yukino's room swung open.
There stood Haruno Yukinoshita, dressed in a thin nightgown, clutching a pillow and a hairdryer.
"Yukinon~ I'm sleeping here tonight!" she announced cheerfully, the scent of her freshly bathed skin lingering in the air.
Yukino sighed, though she quietly resigned herself to her sister's whims.
So she didn't want Yukino to follow in her footsteps.
Recently, she had indeed noticed that Yukino had stopped chasing after her.
This should have been something to be happy about, yet for some reason, an inexplicable frustration surged within her. This feeling gradually grew and spread, eventually turning into an unnamed fear.
A fear that little Yukino would be taken away from her life.
"Isn't this a good thing? Doesn't my sister want me to become a better person?" Yukino Yukinoshita turned around and asked, puzzled.
"It's a good thing… It's certainly a good thing for little Yukino," Haruno Yukinoshita said with a complicated expression. Then, she turned over, this time leaving her back to her younger sister.
"Time to sleep, time to sleep! Little Yukino, don't sneak over and hug me in the middle of the night~"
"I won't," Yukino replied.
The orange light in the room went out, and darkness spread throughout the space.
I hope you can live freely, within the reach of my sight.
Doubt #1: After school, Yukino left her usual activity area and went to a slum area in Chiba with a club member named Hachiman Hikigaya.
Doubt #2: That day, an old office building from a company construction project mysteriously collapsed. The cause remains unknown, but Hachiman Hikigaya's bicycle was found at the scene. This suggests that Yukino and Hikigaya were likely present during the collapse, though no direct evidence confirms this.
Doubt #3: Yukino occasionally appears to be talking to someone, though she's actually talking to herself.
Doubt #4: After witnessing the gruesome scene of a murder, Yukino's actual reaction didn't match her parents' claim that she was "shaken and distraught."
These four doubts were what Haruno Yukinoshita recently noticed as unusual about Yukino. But what these doubts ultimately pointed to was something Haruno couldn't figure out.
After all, she wasn't a detective. These observations, if anything, only seemed to suggest that her sister might be suffering from severe mental illness.
Other than that, her mind wandered to supernatural urban legends.
But that was clearly impossible.
Lost in thought, Haruno didn't notice the step beneath her feet as she carried a tea tray. She twisted her ankle slightly, and the cups on the tray slid to the edge. In her mind, she already envisioned her mother scolding her for being careless.
Just as a porcelain cup was about to shatter on the wooden floor, a pale hand darted out and caught it mid-air. Apart from a small spill of tea, the expensive porcelain cup was intact.
"Be careful, Sister. Did you twist your ankle?" Yukino asked as she took the tea tray from Haruno, her face full of concern.
Haruno blinked her jewel-like eyes in surprise at her sister, her expression frozen in shock and disbelief.
Yukino's reflexes… were they always this fast?
Doubt #5: …My sister might have turned into Spider-Man.
Perhaps supernatural events weren't entirely impossible after all.
"Haruno?" Yukino's voice broke Haruno's daze.
"Ah, nothing, just zoned out," Haruno said, recovering her composure and flashing a charming smile. "By the way, Yukino, your reflexes are amazing! You caught it so easily. Otherwise, I'd be scolded by Mother again."
Hearing this, Yukino realized she had "messed up" again. Frustrated at her carelessness, she handed back the tea tray and left quickly.
Why is she always watching me, testing me? Is she that bored?
I should have just left her to be scolded by Mother!
Watching Yukino's retreating figure, Haruno's smile faded. Her face turned grave, with a hint of confusion hidden in her eyes.
There were too many mysteries surrounding her sister, and she always seemed to find herself in dangerous situations. While this made Haruno worried, it also stirred a dark desire to unravel the enigma of her sister's recent changes.
She knew this feeling was wrong. But unless the truth came to light, this emotion would only fester, feeding the darkness within her and twisting her already distorted nature further.
So…
Forgive me, Yukino, just this once.
"Yukino! You're finally back!"
When Yui Yukinoshita went to Hiratsuka-sensei's office to grab the club keys, she was told that they had already been taken by Yukino. She immediately rushed out of the office, excited like a golden retriever who had just seen its long-lost owner, and headed straight to the Service Club room.
She flung open the door to the clubroom, and as soon as she saw Yukino sitting elegantly by the window, she rushed over, full of excitement.
"It feels like it's been so long since I've seen you, Yukino!" Yui said, quickly moving a chair to sit next to Yukino's.
She had taken Friday off, then there was the weekend, and before that, she had been eating lunch with Yui and spending time at the club. The only day she missed activities was Thursday.
Speaking of which, the broken window in the clubroom still hadn't been replaced due to various delays. The heat was becoming unbearable, and soon they'd have to rely on the air conditioning. Before that, she'd have to ask Sukuna to bring the new window down from the rooftop.
"But it really feels like it's been a long time since I've seen you. 'Time flies when you're having fun,' right?" Yui said with a smile, then began rambling about some interesting things she had encountered. Yukino listened quietly, occasionally chiming in with a few comments.
The afternoon sunlight streamed through the window, casting beams of light with floating dust particles. The clock ticked steadily.
Just like always.
Before long, footsteps and voices approached, growing louder. Hachiman Hikigaya entered, followed by Ayaka Hozuki.
When Hachiman saw Yukino, he instinctively flinched.
"Didn't Yukino mention that Sukuna would be testing my awakened technique today? I hope it's not another real combat training session…" Hachiman thought to himself.
"Hey, Hachi! Ayaka!" Yui cheerfully greeted them, standing up.
"Hey, Yui! Yukino!" Ayaka waved with a smile as she peeked out from behind Hachiman.
Yui quickly moved past Hachiman, who was blocking the door, and dragged Ayaka inside. "Ayaka, what brings you here?"
"I wanted to come and thank everyone in the Service Club," Ayaka said, sitting down with a light blush on her pale cheeks. "I think my efforts at practice really motivated the tennis club members. They've started practicing seriously, thanks to the time we spent together."
Yukino's mind raced, sensing a connection to the situation. "Sukuna, if I'm not wrong, this is the result of those Grade-4 curses Sukuna took care of, isn't it?" she thought internally. She was likely right. Those curses had been affecting the tennis club, and after Sukuna dealt with them, the members would gradually return to normal.
"That's great," Yukino thought with a slight smile.
"Well, all we did was offer some support," Yukino said gently. "The real credit goes to you, Ayaka, for your own hard work."
Ayaka blushed even more, a shy smile spreading across her face. Hachiman stared at her, entranced by her charm. He even imagined a scene with flowers blooming behind her, like something out of a shoujo manga.
It wasn't until Ayaka gave him a shy glance that Hachiman snapped out of it, realizing he'd been staring for a while.
Meanwhile, Yukino and Yui exchanged looks, both of them sending him glares full of disdain, as if he were a piece of trash.
"Ahem... Anyway, Ayaka, it looks like your request has been successfully fulfilled," Hachiman awkwardly coughed to mask his embarrassment.
"Yes, and Hachiman helped protect the tennis court from the likes of Ie-yama and the others. He deserves some recognition, don't you think?" Yukino said with a mischievous smile, her eyes gleaming with amusement.
Hachiman immediately turned pale.
He understood Yukino's gaze—it was one full of mischief and amusement, like she was waiting for something.
What kind of reward? Would it be Sukuna's signature iron fist?
"Anyway, thank you all so much! If the Service Club needs anything, I'll definitely help out!" Ayaka stood up and formally bowed to everyone.
After the club activities ended, everyone began heading their separate ways.
Hachiman received a brief message from Yukino: "Go to the rooftop."
He sighed in resignation.
He walked his bike back to the parking lot and tucked it away, then headed toward the school building. His lone figure against the setting sun was a stark contrast to the busy crowd.
If he were to think positively, maybe this was just a casual test to confirm the effectiveness of his technique. If it's just testing, there's no need for real combat, right?
But just as he entertained this thought, a memory flashed in his mind—Sukuna cutting off his own hand to help him feel and control cursed energy.
That person wouldn't just test things casually.
Hachiman wished the staircase in front of him was longer, and he could walk even slower to delay meeting Sukuna.
Just as he dragged his feet up the stairs, his phone vibrated again. Another message from Yukino: "Your cursed energy is fully within my perception range. Understand?"
Hachiman groaned. It was over now.
He quickly stashed his phone and sprinted toward the rooftop.
Pushing open the rooftop door, the first thing that caught his eye was the sight of Sukuna standing there, arms crossed, a mischievous smile on his face… wait, no, it was Sukuna-sama!
Noticing him beckoning with a finger, Hachiman quickly walked over, already thinking about whether he should slide into an apology when suddenly his arm was grabbed.
"Hold on tight," Sukuna said.
Before Hachiman could react, Sukuna made a leap, and the two of them soared off the rooftop.
Before Hachiman could even ask where they were headed, the wind rushed past his ears. As he tried to speak, his mouth filled with air, forcing him to clamp it shut and widen his eyes as Sukuna led him over and between buildings in a swift series of jumps.
When they landed again, they were in front of an orphanage.
The moment Hachiman touched the ground, his legs gave way beneath him, and he staggered, falling right in front of a pair of long, imposing legs.
Looking up, he saw a tall, white-haired man, his eyes covered with a black band, making Hachiman wonder how on earth he could see where he was going.
"Well, that was fast," Gojo Satoru said, raising his hand in a casual greeting.