July 11th, 2000

  A young girl walked down a forest trail, stepping over fallen leaves and twigs. The woods were barren, no animals in sight aside from the occasional bird. The trees were tall and densely packed in the woods. There were branches full of leaves that acted as a shield against the sun for the young girl.

  She had been walking this path for over ten minutes now. The bored and distant expression she held had remained constant since her journey to her new home had begun. It wasn’t that she was disinterested in staying with this supposed famous clan; in fact, she found the prospect rather exciting. She merely was apathetic by nature—no, made apathetic by nature would be the more accurate phrasing.

  The girl was considered a prodigy unlike any other in the field of sorcery. Her combat ability was non-existent; in addition to this, she was born without a curse technique. Despite these objective flaws as a sorcerer, her talent was comparable to—surpassed that of any other in one specific area. Her proficiency in reverse cursed technique.

  The Reverse Curse Technique is created by multiplying cursed energy against itself in order to create positive energy. It’s a technique that is as hard, if not even harder, than domain expansion to master. Of the sorcerers who were currently registered at Jujutsu High, she was the only one who was capable of using the Reverse Curse Technique with the exception of Yuki Tsukumo. Even when comparing her Reverse Curse technique to the Reverse Curse technique of the special grades. She was in a league of her own; not only was her output greater than the special grades. She was able to utilize that very same output when it came to healing others. Something no sorcerer in history other than the Sugawara clan’s last known remaining member before they vanished in the Heian era was capable of doing.

  Having been born to a civilian family, Jujutsu High became aware of a young child being able to perform miracles. Believing this miracle worker to be a curse, they sent a sorcerer to exorcize it. However, upon arrival, the conclusion that this girl was no curse and instead held immeasurable talent was quickly realized. Soon after, the three major clans were in conflict over who would take possession of such a valuable asset.

  This dispute was settled as quickly as it arose, an ironclad order having been given out by an individual no one dared to defy. With his proclamation, it was decided the girl would become a ward of the Gojo clan. Living with and learning jujutsu from them. The girl herself was unaware of how highly sought after she was by the three major jujutsu families. Even if she was, she wouldn’t have particularly cared for their subhuman treatment of her.

  “Ugh.”

  Hearing a low grunt come from somewhere to her left, the girl decided to wander off the path to investigate it. She was in no rush to arrive at her new home and had nothing better to do than entertain her curiosity.

  The girl found the source of the noise a dozen or so feet off the path. It came from a deer that was currently leaning against a tree, eyes glossed over and letting out wheezes of pain as it breathed out. Upon further inspection, the girl noticed its right hind leg was bent at an unnatural angle. Discoloration typical of a bruise being found around the bend.

  The girl walked around the animal and kneeled down where its injured leg was. Placing her hands upon it. The animal ordinarily would have bolted in such close proximity to a human; however, it had been limping on its broken leg for quite some time and was well past exhausted. So it merely stayed stationary, having no choice but to accept the girl's touch.

  After a few moments passed, the animal felt a force envelope its broken leg; the pain it felt began to dull as bones and muscle fibers restored themselves to their original place. After a short minute had passed, the animal stood up surprised. Putting weight on its formerly injured leg to see if it would hurt, unsurprisingly the limb held its ground.

  While the deer was testing its healed limb, the girl had circled around to the front of the animal. Maintaining her blank expression as she stared at it, the two locked eyes after the deer was sure its limb would hold its own.

  “You were broken; I fixed you. Don’t break again,” Speaking to the animal as if it were one of her toys, the girl turned and walked towards her path.

  She hadn’t healed the animal out of kindness. She merely repaired it because she could; it irked the girl to see something broken when she could fix it easily. No matter how broken something was, she had always been able to fix it.

  Having been capable of using reverse cursed technique since she was born. The girl had come to view the world differently than others. This difference in view led to a fundamental division between her and everyone else around her. She saw others as organic machines that had three stages: beyond fixing, broken, and fine.

  What everyone would call a blessing had become a curse on that girl. Her power to fix any wound leading her sense of value in life to degrade. She had come to understand a fundamental truth of the world. A truth of the world that she would have given anything to never have been proven wrong on.

  Anything that’s broken can be fixed.

  November 17th, 2018, Tokyo Jujutsu High

  “Can’t believe I quit this.”

  Breathing out a breath full of smoke, Jujutsu High's healer voiced her disappointment in her past self for stopping her supposedly unhealthy habit. She had just finished all of Makis's skin grafts and needed a break before she went about fixing the problem of Hakari's missing limb. Her search for a place to smoke led her to the medbay's garden.

  She had the higher-ups installed it over a decade ago when she had begun working for JuJutsu High full time. It wasn’t anything grand or overly lavish. In fact, it was quite small, less of a garden and more of an area that had some shrubbery. It was a walled-off circular area that was only 10 feet wide, having some small trees and flowers sprinkled about. She requested it be put in so she could have somewhere quiet to destress. That’s what she told the higher-ups anyway, and they didn’t bat an eye.

  She moved to the center of her safe haven. In the center, standing tall, was a stone block surrounded by spider lilies. She had Satoru put it in as the last renovation after everything was done. The spider lilies had been her own addition, and she replanted them every year or so.

  Her only remaining friend had no objections to placing the grave prematurely; they both were well aware the person they knew was long dead. Then came the day when he had fully passed on December twenty-fourth. A death date had finally been added to his makeshift grave. But that wasn’t good enough either. He was still about being puppeteered by the one who had orchestrated all this madness. Soon he would die for a third time, hopefully the final one.

  Letting out a sigh full of smoke, she turned her back to his faulty grave and moved towards the exit. She was in no rush to finish Hakari's treatment; it didn’t really matter when she finished healing the third-year rebel. So long as it was before Okkotsu got back from checking on Sendai, it would be fine. Still, getting it done now rather than later would give her more time to smoke uninterrupted. Not like there was anything better to do.

  July 11th, 2000

  “So you’re saying she won’t look like a witch?”

  “I’m saying she’ll probably look like a normal person. We’ve gotta work on your manners, Satoru.”

  “My manners are exquisitely refined, Suguru.”

  Burying his head into his palms, the young boy couldn’t help but let out a sigh of irritation at his friend's typical rude remarks. He had been attempting to subtly hint to him that they should put effort into being more considerate to others. But he ethier hadn’t picked up on it or didn’t care to listen. Either one was likely if the boy was being honest with himself.

  They were about to meet the child prodigy who could use reverse cursed technique, and since they were going to be staying with them for the foreseeable future, The boy wanted his friend to make a good first impression with her. He wasn’t unsatisfied with the reality that they were the only ones each other's age they could be around. It had been that way for several years, and the boy was happy with the arrangement.

  Though it would be a lie to say that when he heard talk of there being another child their age who would be taken in under one of the clans, his interest hadn’t been piqued. Aware of the kind of pull his friend had, he had informed him of the situation and explained that the girl could teach him how to perform reverse cursed technique. Thankfully, his friend took the bait and informed everyone he wanted the girl to go to his clan. He had always been aware of the kind of pull his friend had on the world. Even still, it stunned him to see just how much weight his friends' words held.

  “Yes, well, just so you know, your exquisitely refined manners might not be the best for someone you’re just meeting. Remember you want her to ask her to teach you reverse cursed technique. If you make her dislike you, it may prove difficult to get her to help you. Do at least try to make a good first impression, Satoru.”

  “Fiiiiiiiine, I’ll do my best to act all uptight like you,” acquiescing to Suguru’s request, the child lowered his head to the table they were resting at, looking across to meet his gaze.

  “It’s not being uptight; it's called being polite. You should try it sometime.”

  “Whatever.”

  Creek

  Hearing the sound of a door opening, the pair turned to see what it was. One of the housemaids stood in the doorway; standing next to her was a young girl. She had hazel eyes and hair; stepping into the room, she looked around with a bored expression on her face. The room itself wasn’t overly fancy; it was large in size and had a few chairs, tables, and other furniture in it. It was where the two boys spent most of their time.

  The maid bowed before closing the door behind her, leaving the children to themselves.

  “Hi, nice to meet you; I’m Suguru Geto.”

  “I’m Satoru Gojo.”

  The boy with black hair—Suguru Geto—stood up from his seat as he gave his introduction. Smiling at her wildly while he waved. The other one with white hair—Satoru Gojo—gave his name while resting his head on the table. He looked towards Suguru and quickly followed his lead of standing up.

  They aren’t broken.

  “Shoko Ieri… so who’s the head of this family?”

  It had been explained to her in broad strokes how sorcerer society functioned. Family clans having their own agency and operating with and against one another. After being told she would be staying with the Gojo clan while she learned about jujutsu, she had made the assumption that the head of the clan would be greeting her upon her arrival. Instead she had been directed to this room by a silent maid and found herself surrounded by two others her age. Following along with their lead, she gave her name, inquiring about the whereabouts of whoever might be in charge.

  “That would be--”

  “I am!”

  Interrupting Suguru, Satoru pronounced his position energetically. Placing his hands on his hips and tilting his head up with a smile on his face. Suguru let out a sigh at this display before putting a hand on his shoulder.

  “Careful, Satoru. Your ego is showing.”

  “... He’s the head of the Gojo clan?”

  “Yep,” Both boys responded at the same time. Overjoyed and tired voices mingled together as they gave confirmation to the girl's question.

  “... he’s just a kid.”

  Suguru took his hand off Satoru's shoulder and scratched the back of his head. Waiting a few moments to see if Satoru wanted to explain himself. After he was satisfied he could speak uninterrupted, he began to explain the situation to a perplexed Shoko.

  “Sorcerers are often born with cursed techniques. The strength of one’s technique and their aptitude for sorcery often determine one’s place in their clan and society. Satoru is the first person born with both of the Gojo’s clans strongest techniques in four hundred years. He was officially pronounced the clan head a few months ago and somehow has been even more full of himself since then.”

  “You’re just jealous of my awesomeness, Suguru.”

  “I can assure you that you’re not in possession of a single attribute I would feel jealousy over.”

  “So you’re the one who wanted me here.” Interrupting their bickering, Shoko tried to refocus the conversation back to her.

  “Yeah, I was wondering if you could teach me how to do reverse cursed technique.” As he said so, the white-haired boy closed the distance between them, taking hold of her hands and opening his eyes for the first time to look into hers.

  His eyes were a shade of deep blue, overcome with shining curiosity. The display in combination with his sudden proximity caused Shoko’s eyes to widen slightly. The bored look on her face changed slightly for the first time.

  “Subtly, Satoru.”

  “Shush, so what do you think?” Sparing a moment to retort Suguru, he quickly refocused on the girl whose hands he still held. Said girl quickly freed herself from his grasp before stepping back slightly.

  “... I’ll try my best to,” Her voice came out quiet and sheepish.

  Satoru smiled widely before turning around and pointing towards Suguru.

  “See, my manners are way better than yours.”

  “Maybe, in a few… centuries,” walking up to him, Suguru turned Satoru around before resting his arm on his shoulder.

  “When someone agrees to do something for us, what do we say?” His tone was soft, and he spoke slowly. Like a mother explaining to a child why things fell down after you tossed them up. It seemed to be a frighteningly accurate comparison to what Shoko was witnessing. She could practically see the lightbulb start to glow above his head as he came to the realization.

  “Thank you.”

  “Good job, Satoru,” Suguru started patting Satoru on the head after he finished talking with his free hand. That didn’t last long before Gojo threw him off, and the two started bickering back and forth. Not paying mind to the girl who was quietly observing them as they did so. She watched intently, observing if they broke during their scuffle. She would have to fix them if they did.

  November 17th, `2018, Tokyo Jujutsu High

  Standing outside the door to the medical bay, Shoko rinsed her hands thoroughly with water. Her attire was the same as a doctor in the midst of surgery. After finishing her wash, she put on a medical mask before entering the medical bay. The room was small and had various cold lockers that stored cadavers Shoko used for her treatments. The floor and table in the center were full of small holes for blood to fall through.

  In the corner of the room, Maki and Angel had each been placed on their respective gurneys. Hooked up to IV drips of anesthesia, partly so they wouldn’t wake up before their bodies had fully adjusted to the repairs she had done, partly so Shoko wouldn’t have to explain what she was doing in between each of their treatments. Walking over to her sedated patients, Shoko took stock of their injuries to ensure everything was patched up ok. She had never made a mistake before, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

  Angel’s injuries had been less severe then Maki’s but were still well beyond what any ordinary sorcerer should be able to survive so long with. Both her arms had been ripped off at the shoulder, the flesh wasn’t cut or had marks of crushing on either side. It left Shoko to conclude Sukuna had simply applied pressure to her body while holding onto her arms. Other than that her left shoulder had been practically removed. The entirety of it having been gouged out in a circular manner, when stitching on the replacement flesh she had noticed what looked like teeth marks in at least half a dozen places.

  Maki had been subjected to dozens of cases of first degree frostbite across her body, if not for her heavenly restriction she would have died the moment she was struck by the glacier. Shoko had carefully cut away the frozen skin and stitched new skin on from the many cadavers she kept on standby for such purposes. While she could heal severed limbs or missing flesh in their entirety. That was only the case shortly after the injury had been dealt, trying to heal it good as new hours or even days after was impossible. As such her only option was to apply a replacement of what was missing, stitch it on, then use her reverse cursed technique to fully apply it.

  Using this method of reattachment in conjunction with her medical skills and reverse curse technique. Shoko Ieri had been able to fix anything in relation to the human body without fault for the entirety of her twenty nine years on earth. There had only ever been two instances in which she was unable to fix a problem. The second time and by far least concerning had been wounds dealt by idle transfiguration. She had stitched a new arm onto Todo Aoi and healed him to the best of her ability. Even still the boy had been unable to move the limb, the part refused to function since that portion of his soul had been destroyed. The same was true of Nobara kugisaki. Who remained in a coma despite Shoko’s best efforts.

  Having lived her entire life being able to heal anything, one might expect the shock that someone was able to deal wounds incapable of ever being fixed to be immense. Though in truth she didn’t take much issue with idle transfiguration being something she was incapable of fixing. Even to Shoko, how little she cared about being presented with something so broken that it could not be fixed by her came as a surprise.

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  She had always believed that no matter how broken something was, it could be fixed exactly to how it was before breaking. A seamless replacement to the extent that no one would ever know it was broken. Even if the pieces were from a different puzzle, she had always managed to assemble it back exactly to how it was.

  Except the only time it ever mattered.

  May 19th, 2003

  Night had fallen on the Gojo clan's estate. Sneaking through the dimly lit halls was one rogue Shoko Ieri. Stauru and Suguru both were out on their own respective missions; it wasn’t a common occurrence by any means, but it still happened often enough for Shoko to develop a routine of things to do while they were away.

  Opening one of the folding doors, Shoko reached her usual spot; it was a courtyard that was typically quiet even when those two rambunctious idiots were around. Its discreteness is what made it a favorite of Shokos. Glancing around furtively, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a pack of cigars once she was sure she was alone. Taking out a lighter and setting a cigar ablaze before placing it in her mouth.

  She had been smoking in secret for a few months now, at first trying it out on a whim, but the girl had quickly developed a taste for it. She had one of the maids get them for her, and they didn’t bat an eye. She wasn’t sure why she felt compelled to smoke in secret. She’d never bothered with hiding anything from either of them before, but something about this felt different.

  It was a strange occurrence to the girl, never having cared enough about her relationship with anyone to conceal acts or opinions that may damage those very relationships. Had she grown to care about what Sugaru and Satoru thought of her? The self-imposed question made the girl's head spin.

  She had been staying with the Gojo clan for three years now; during that time, unless they were on a mission, she rarely parted from either of them. Neither of them was able to understand her instructions on how to perform reverse cursed technique; the three of them agreed to stop trying after about a month. Despite that neither of them seemed to hold it against her.

  At first she felt as if she were no more than a third wheel to their escapades. The two seemingly had an already well-developed relationship by the time she came along, but that gap didn’t persist for very long. The two had never treated her like an outsider to her surprise, bringing her along wherever they went and welcoming her.

  Shoko had been alone back at her home, always keeping her distance from everyone around her including her family. She could never grasp what everyone else had that drew them to one another. Companionship was something she neither sought after nor ever wanted. Content with keeping everything at a distance and regulating others' roles to things that needed to be fixed when they broke down.

  When she had first met Satoru and Suguru, she intended to treat them the same way she had everyone else. As time went on, keeping them at a distance became less of an impossibility due to their living situation and more so something she didn’t want to happen. Shoko had never really known what a friend could be classified as, but that seemed to be what they were to her. The thought made her smile.

  “Shoko, are you smoking?”

  Suguru couldn’t help but exclaim at the sight before him, his surprise at seeing his friend doing something she was 5 years too young for was heard in his voice. Shoko turned to meet his gaze after a few moments had passed; her not-so-perfect sleight of hand attempts to move the cigar from her mouth to her hand before she turned were noticed by the boy.

  “No, I was just… observing the scenery.”

  “... In the middle of the night?”

  “Why are you back early Suguru,” Side stepping his questions, Shoko inquired into his early arrival.

  “The cursed spirit was weaker than they thought, so I was able to absorb it without a fight.”

  “That so, huh… Well, I’m going to head to bed. Good night.”

  Announcing her course of action, Shoko began to walk towards Geto, stepping past him and moving towards the entrance she came from.

  “You know, Shoko, I don’t care if your smo—”

  “Wasn’t smoking,” Turning quickly, the girl pursed her lips and stared intently at the boy. In response he let out a long sigh.

  “Ok, if you were hypothetically smoking, I don’t think Satoru or I would really care. It’s your choice to do what you want. We’d just be concerned over your health if you were doing it in secret.”

  Attempting to express his concern over his friend's mental state, Suguru posed his hypothetical with clear intent. He wasn’t oblivious to the fact that Shoko looked and acted depressed. She always seemed detached from what was happening, her distant and cold expression rarely having left her face over the years.

  Still, despite her appearance and general attitude, it was never cause for concern to the boy. Shoko, over time, had stopped trying to exclude herself from whatever stupidity Satoru was embarking on, joining Suguru in tagging along to the young clan heads' hijinks. Though if she was smoking in secret… perhaps things were more dire than he thought.

  “Your concern in this hypothetical is rather silly. If end up breaking myself from smoking. I can just fix it like everything else… Hypothetically, of course, since I’m not smoking.”

  “Why’d you phrase it like that?”

  “Like what?”

  “ breaking yourself.”

  “Don't know. I just… I’ve always regulated things to either broken, fixed, or fine. Just serves my thought process better.”

  Shoko leaned back against the courtyard wall as she finished talking. Averting her gaze from Sugurus. A brief silence took root between the two, as Suguru thought over what she said. Eventually the words he wanted to tell his friend reached him.

  “Shoko, people are more than just things that you’ll have to fix when they break down.”

  “... Not really,” Her voice came out quiet. Looking towards the ground before lifting up to meet Geto’s gaze.

  “Humans are like any other organism. They're born, they live, they break, they get fixed, and eventually a point is reached where they’re broken beyond repair, and they die. That’s the secret of the world: things getting broken, then things getting fixed.”

  “Everything’s equally pointless.”

  November 17th, 2018, Tokyo Jujutsu High

  The sound of metal clanging against itself rang throughout the medhall as the door of a cold locker was opened. Reaching down, Shoko slid the contents of the cold locker out, metal rolling across wheels. Atop the massive tray was one of the cadavers Shoko used to get replacement parts. Shoko didn’t know the history of any of the corpses or where Jujutsu High got them from. After getting them, she just estimated their body’s age and took measurements.

  Reaching over to her side, she grabbed an abnormally large scalpel from a rolling table. It was half a foot long, and its handle was about the same length. With her free hand she made use of a measuring tape and made a slight cut roughly twenty-seven inches up from the fingers. Placing the measuring tape back on the rolling table before she continued.

  Reinforcing the scalpel with a small amount of cursed energy, Shoko began to cut through the arm at a slow pace. Blood seeped out of the wound as she pierced the skin. Eventually she passed through the skin and made it to muscle, then bone. Ordinarily such things would have stopped such a meager instrument. But her sloppy usage of cursed energy was able to circumvent such a thing.

  A slight clink was made as the scalpel reached the metal on the other side. Shoko put the tool away as she separated the piece of arm she had cut off from the body. The bleeding was minimal on both sums, so Shoko didn’t bother to apply any bandages. A side effect of using dead bodies was she could be lazy. Placing the arm on the rolling tray, she stored the body for later use and walked over to the center of the room.

  Lying on his back with an IV drip in his neck was the last who needed to receive treatment. He was by far the least severe out of everyone who had returned with injuries, only missing his arm a little bit after the elbow. Shoko had saved him for last and instead dealt with the more seriously broken people first.

  Before beginning the process of reattachment, Shoko took a look at the clock. Over ten hours had passed since Yuta had left for Sendai, meaning he would probably be back tomorrow morning at the earliest. If she got done with this now, there would be enough time for her to knock back a few drinks before he got back.

  She smiled slightly at her good fortune. Setting the arm next to Hakari’s missing one, aligning the stumps with one another. Reaching onto her table, she took hold of a pair of stitches, sneaking one more glance at the clock before she began fixing the boy.

  May 19th, 2003

  “Everything’s equally pointless.”

  Why’d I tell him that?

  Having voiced to her friend the realization her ability had led her to. The girl couldn’t help the worry that crept into her mind. Shifting on her feet slightly while she kept his gaze. Her fists clenched as she wormed her bottom lip between her teeth.

  She had never consciously tried to hide her outlook on the world from either of them. Though it wasn’t as if she had made it a point to inform them of it. Why was she worried anyway? She never cared what anyone thought of her before. Had she really changed that much…

  “Yeah, that’s probably true.”

  “...Huh?”

  “I’m saying you're right. In the grand scheme of things, we’re probably pointless.”

  Shoko didn’t know what she had been expecting to hear him say; Suguru reaffirming her beliefs with certainty was not it. As he finished talking, he began to close the distance between them, continuing as he went on.

  “Jujutsu sorcerer isn't a large profession; there’s a small number of sorcerers at any given time. So much so, they have to send talented children like me and Satoru out to deal with lower-rank curses. But even though it’s small, the wheel still turns, and new sorcerers enter the fray every year. Even Satoru, a talent not seen in four hundred years, is just that. In another four hundred years or so, someone with an equal talent will be born. Looking beyond our small bubble, there are six billion people, most of whom are all probably doing the same thing. Looking through that lens, pretty much everyone’s actions will amount to nothing.”

  By the time he had finished Suguru was next to Shoko, leaning on the railing beside her and looking in the opposite direction. Shoko looked on in confusion at him, he was always so cheerful and uppity. It wasn’t like him to sound so much… so much like her.

  A few moments passed in silence between the two, Shoko got off the support pole she had been leaning on and moved off it slightly. Wondering what exactly she should be doing in a situation like this. Suguru stood up from his own position as those thoughts crossed her mind. Turning to meet her gaze.

  “That being said, there's still a point in pointlessness.”

  “... I don’t follow,” Shoko tilted her head at his statement.

  “We’re jujutsu sorcerers; the point of our being is to protect non-sorcerers. You can say actions amount to nothing, but is that really the case? Today I saved a couple from a grade three curse; without me they wouldn’t be alive. Last week there was a baby carrying a cursed spirit from his older brother that I exorcised. If you keep thinking bigger and bigger, you can drum up countless reasons for why my actions amounted to nothing.” He accentuated the meaninglessness with a shrug before continuing on.

  “Even still, I choose to believe that the people we sorcerers help matter. Everyone lives their lives with some meaning or point. As long as people have that, I don’t think it’s right to say it doesn't matter. Besides coming from you, it just sounds like an excuse.”

  “Excuse?”

  “Yeah, an excuse so you don’t have to talk with anyone else. You’ve been going to JuJutsu High for three years now. Have you ever even tried to talk to anyone other than me and Satoru?”

  “...”

  “Maybe have lunch with Utahime or something. She constantly keeps trying to get to know you, and Satoru won’t leave her alone,” Suguru sighed at the mention of his friend's usual antics.

  “She what?”

  Shoko tilted her head at the mention of Utahime, having no recollection of what Suguru was talking about. Suguru let out a sigh and brought his hand up to his forehead to crease his brow.

  “I’ll show you tomorrow; anyway, you get my point, right?”

  “Yeah, I think I do. Your optimism might be infectious, Suguru.”

  Shoko smiled slightly as she admitted the point got across, a rare sight for the apathetic girl.

  “Just doing my part, Shoko.”

  The two parted ways after that, heading to their respective places of lounging. While Suguru had meant everything he said. The day would eventually fade from his memory, along with the words he had spoken to Shoko. He was oblivious to the curse he had burned away from her heart.

  The distance Shoko kept between herself and the rest of the world began to shrink after that day. It was a nearly imperceptible shift, something only the two who bore the title of strongest noticed. She was happy—till the day it all came crashing down.

  November 17th, 2018, Tokyo Jujutsu High

  “All done.”

  As she threaded the final needle through Hakari’s elbow and the arm she was attaching to it, she voiced its completion out loud. Glancing at the clock, she took note of how the process had taken her about an hour and fifteen minutes, half an hour longer than she originally thought it would. It seemed she was off her game for some reason.

  Looking down at the stitch job she had done, she double-checked to make sure everything was in line. What she had done was messy work, working stitches all across the surface of the two pieces of flesh. Connecting them to one another, that being said, it was still far from optimal.

  All she had done was attach two broken pieces to one another. If she were doing this on a doll or some other non-sentient being. Then stitching the two broken pieces would have been sufficient enough to fix it. However, human beings were far more complex than dolls anatomically. If stitching the two parts together was like connecting two pieces of a puzzle. Then what Shoko was about to do was apply the glue. Taking hold of Hakari’s body right above the elbow. Shoko began to apply reverse cursed technique.

  The process was sudden and far from gradual. Steam began to rise from where the two stumps met. A whooshing noise was heard as the flesh began to meld together. It was a simple process from the outside, but like most things, it was far easier said than done. When applying the reverse cursed technique in the same manner as Shoko was. It required an advanced understanding of the human body.

  In order to mend the boy's broken body, the bones, muscles, skin, arteries, and veins all had to be connected within a small margin of error. Not to mention blood had to be restored to accommodate the addition of the new flesh. In order to ensure all was put back in proper order, Shoko worked her way from the center outwards. Starting with the bone, then moving onto the veins, then the arteries, and so on. It was a delicate process that, if done incorrectly, would likely lead to death from a clot or some other medical emergency.

  From the outside looking in, Shoko was effortlessly healing the boy with her god-given talent. On the inside, Shoko was playing an incredibly intricate game of connect the dots. Painstakingly reassembling every cell and placing it back in its proper location with frightening speed. The rate at which the steam arose from the wound was a testament to her skill.

  A few minutes went by as Shoko’s healing neared its completion. The steam generated as a byproduct covered the ceiling in a thin sheet. All that was left was for her to heal the skin. As she began the process, the countless stitches she had applied to attach the broken pieces began to pop out—a byproduct of her process.

  It started suddenly and ended just as suddenly. The clinks of the metal pins colliding with the table drowned out the fizzling of the healing. Before both noises stopped altogether. Shoko took her hands off the boy to wipe the perspiration that had formed on her face.

  Fixed

  Looking down on the mended area, she ran her finger across the scar that was still present. It went around the boy's entire arm, a mark of where it had been severed. She could remove the sign of her treatment rather easily. All it took was her cutting off some skin from one of her cadavers, stitching on the scar, then fixing it. The boy had not asked her to do so, nor did she feel like putting the time in for something trivial. The world as she knew it was on the verge of ending, and there were much-- better ways to spend her time.

  August 24th, 2007, Shinjuku

  What the hell is going on?

  Having heard the news from Satoru, Shoko had wandered through the city streets till she found somewhere to smoke. Though she hadn’t bothered to light the cigar. Letting it sit in her mouth while she chewed on it to ease her nerves. Nothing made any sense. Suguru wouldn’t do something like that, but it wasn’t like Satoru would lie about something like this. Shoko took the cigar out of her mouth and began to fiddle with it idly.

  “Need a light?”

  Hearing an unmistakable voice, Shoko turned to see if she was just imagining it. Low and beyond there he was, waving at her with a smile on her face.

  “Hey.”

  Don’t say that like everything's normal.

  “If it isn’t the culprit himself,” her voice came out cheerful, a sharp contrast to the turmoil she felt inside.

  Why…

  “What do you want.”

  Why would you…

  “You could say I’m testing my luck,” He walked over and stood at her side while he spoke, face downcast.

  You had both of us; wasn’t that enough luck for you?

  “I see… I’ll ask for the hell of it. Are these accusations against you false?”

  Please. Please just say it’s all--

  “No, I’m afraid not.”

  Time seemed to freeze as the gravity of his words sunk in. Shoko took out her lighter and methodically lit her cigar. The simplicity of the action grounding her rapidly exploding sense of reality. Her expression stayed neutral as her thoughts began to spiral. After what felt like an eternity but was only a few seconds in reality, she managed to choke out a question with far more composure than she ever felt.

  This can’t be…

  “Another one for ya… Why’d you do it?”

  Suguru, this isn’t…

  “I’m going to create a world of only Jujutsu sorcerers.”

  Stop it.

  “HaHa!” A slight chuckle spilled from her lips, born from the absurdity of his statement.

  STOP IT.

  “I’m not a child anymore; I don’t need everyone to understand.”

  This can’t… You’re not a monster… How long has he… Why didn’t you tell us?

  “Sulking because no one understands you. Sounds awfully childish if you ask me.”

  Grabbing her phone from her pocket, Shoko dialed some numbers in before putting it to her ear.

  Please pick up.

  “Hey, Gojo?”

  You have to get here.

  “What,” His voice was tired and irritated, something Shoko couldn’t blame him for.

  It took all the will she had to keep her voice level as she spoke.

  “Geto’s here.”

  Or whatever's left of him.

  “With you?” His voice rose an octave as he spoke.

  Please, Gojo.

  “Yeah, in Shinjuku.”

  I’m sorry.

  “STOP HIM!”

  But it’s up to you now.

  “No way. I don’t want to be killed.”

  You’re the only one that can fix him.

  She stuffed her phone into her pocket as Gojo hung up on her. Suguru took that as his cue to leave. Turning his back on her and beginning to walk away, the distance between them growing by the second. Shoko reached out her hand towards him as he walked away. It shook slightly before falling back down to her side.

  Anything that’s broken can be fixed.

  To every rule there lies an exception. Such was the realization that blossomed in the girl's mind. She had believed anything and everything in the world could be repaired. Throughout her life this belief had never wavered. It wasn’t until now that the curse she had held within her mind began to shift. As her friend walked away from her, and further down his spiral into madness. Shoko Ieri came to a conclusion.

  “Sensei, I’m strong, right?”

  It was a rhetorical question; ordinarily the boy would gladly welcome any strokes to his ego. However, the emptiness in his heart drowned out any such selfish desires.

  “Yes, frighteningly so.”

  “... does it really matter how strong I am? The only people I can save, are those who want me to.”

  The boy's teacher stayed quiet for a moment before walking away. Realizing there was nothing he could do but give his student space. Once he was out of earshot, the boy buried his head in his hands. Staring down at the stone steps he was seated on. A guilty realization about the reality of the situation dawned on him.

  It’s my fault.

  The signs were surely there; he could have done something. If he hadn’t left his friend all alone. If he hadn’t been so wrapped up in his own potential. Had he not been so selfish--

  “Mind if I sit?”

  The boy slowly looked up towards the unwanted voice. Face downcasting once more when he saw who it was.

  “Sure, Shoko.”

  He didn’t look, but he heard her sit down a moment later; the flick of a lighter rang out before the smell of smoke took root in the boy's nostrils. The two sat there in silence for quite some time, the

  seconds dragging into minutes. Both searching for the words to best express the emotions they wished to convey to one another. The strongest broke the deadlock first.

  “I’m sorry, Shoko, I let him drift too far away… And I can’t bring him back.

  He expressed his sorrow over the situation mixed with his own self-deprecation. It was a feeling unlike any other the boy had experienced before, the filthy emotion called regret. An emotion that had developed from the very selfishness rooted so deeply within him. Even now this selfishness reared its head. Throwing those words with the intention of making his friend spit words of scorn towards him. It was only proper she hate him after everything he had done—everything he hadn’t done. To the boys surprise, those words never came.

  “Don’t sweat it; you're fine. It’s not your fault he decided to dedicate himself to something so pointless.”

  “... That so.”

  She spoke with her usual apathy; no amount of care could be heard in her voice. Not once had it bothered him before, but in a situation like this. He couldn’t help the anger that stirred towards her from within his heart. He had never called into question whether or not she considered them both friends. Despite her usual nature and tone, the strongest thought he understood his friend well. Perhaps she truly didn--

  “If anyone’s to blame, it’s probably me after all. My whole life I’ve been able to fix whatever's broken before me. It got to a point where I could only see things as broken or fixed,” she spoke with an uncharacteristic waver in her voice.

  It surprised the boy to the degree that he looked up to met her gaze, the sight that he was greeted with surprising him anymore.

  “Yet Suguru’s been broken so deeply… and I can’t fix him at all. Seems the only things I can’t fix are the people I care about .”

  She plucked the cigar from her mouth as she finished speaking, her trembling hands dropped it a moment later. Falling to the ground with a slight thud. Silent tears rolled down her face as she let out a shaky breath. Seeing her stoic demenor fall away, the boy didn’t know what he should do.

  Before he realized it, he had wrapped his arms around her. Pulling her in close to him so her head rested on his shoulder. She turned in towards him after a moment, letting out a quiet shriek before her sobbing began anew.

  Suguru Geto, needless to say, was an important individual to them both. Serving as a pillar that held them both up from the pit of loneliness that threatened to consume them. After their pillar fell, both responded to the loss in different ways. The strongest sorcerer gave his all to foster a generation of the mighty, so no one would be left behind the way he was. Shoko Ieri…

  Simply crumbled.

  November 17th, 2018, Tokyo Jujutsu High

  Finishing her work for the day, Shoko returned to her garden. She sat cross-legged in front of the faulty headstone. Setting a low-hanging circular bowl in front of the grave herself, a third one rested in between the two and a few feet to the right. After she finished placing the cups, she set the back of the prison realm in front of the third one.

  Having completed her preparations, she began to pour one of the three bottles of finely aged sake she brought. Setting the bottle next to her cup when she finished.

  “Gojo’s joining us this time, Suguru. It only took him ten years. Who would have thought the strongest is such a lightweight?

  Raising her glass into the air, she moved it forward in an imaginary toast before bringing it to her lips. Drinking most of the glass in a single breath, setting it down with a sigh before refilling it.

  “I’m sorry I’ve kept you waiting for so long, Suguru.”

  Setting down the bottle, she reached over to lightly stroke the front of the headstone.

  “I’ll be coming to meet you soon enough.”