ONLY EXCEPTION

"You have been sentenced to exile in the realms of the gods!"

"Supreme God, what have I done wrong?"

"For defying and loving a fallen angel who has been abandoned in God's realm!" said the supreme god.

"Esme, goddess of love. You appear to have misinterpreted what we were saying to you."

"Not at all, sire. As the goddess of love, I'm wondering what I've done wrong by loving everyone, including a fallen angel." He posed questions to the Gods and Goddesses."

"Are you that stupid, Esme?" exclaimed the almighty god.

"No, supreme gods, I am not. As a simple goddess of love, I have no enmity for any living thing, as I love them all equally," Esme declared, standing tall in front of mighty and superior gods.

"INSOLENCE!"

"FOOLISH"

"SMARTY MOUTH"

All of the gods and goddesses unanimously condemn Esme. Esme, on the other hand, has no ill will against them. He just believes that they are motivated by their feelings, which are inappropriate for gods and goddesses to experience. They are so overcome with emotion that he believes they have no idea what they are doing. He believes he has the right to love anyone, no matter who they are. What are their statuses, where they stand, and what mistake have they made?

Nobody should ever feel lonely, alienated, or unwanted. As the goddess of love, his love must be fair, and this is the correct thing for him to do in order to fulfill his role as a goddess.

"I am innocent. However, reducing my presence may make you all gods feel more at ease."

"I will do as you wish," he says as he lays his palm on his chest and says those lines.

---------

Yuji Itadori was hiking with his occult club members, Sasaki-senpai and Iguchi-senpai. They're on their way to the top of the hill to ascend an abandoned shrine.

"Senpai, it's been a while since we've hung out and gone exploring like this." Though, don't you think it's quite a distance? Not that I mind." Yuji inquired of his seniors.

"I'm dying to know what it's like at the top of this hill, Yuji!"

"I heard this shrine belongs to a fallen god," Sasaki said as he staggered up the stairs, panting. Yuji attempted to assist her, but Iguchi-san had difficulty mounting the steps as well.

"Fallen god? That would be impolite of us to just inspect his shrine, Sasaki-senpai. At the very least, we should pay our respects and pray," Yuji said, now piggybacking Sasaki on his back.

"Are you crazy?!? That is just a rumor! Myths! That's why we need to view the shrine, and why would we pay homage to someone who has been accused of being a fallen god? According to legend, he became a fallen deity after violating the deity's will and massacred mankind after his love disappeared and they passed away. That is what I search for on Google. Other versions claim that his love cheated on him or that he was imprisoned because he loved him. Anyway, why should he massacre others because his love was betrayed? Duh," says Sasaki Senpai as she tells her narrative. When Yuji hears this narrative, he feels an ache in his chest.

Yuji placed Sasaki senpai after she stated that she could keep up and go now.

"That's a lot of sources Sasaki, the one I read, it was because he had fallen into one of the goddesses who reside in the gods realm and he was just a mere mortal, he was punished for his lustful desires," Iguchi said, slowing his walk and attempting to sit on the dusty floor.

"We don't know their stories, senpai, perhaps there's a deeper meaning behind his action, that's why he did it," Yuji said as he continued up the steps six blocks ahead of them.

"It is still an immoral act, he should have done those things to innocent lives! He should not have directed his rage at them because they were innocent," Sasaki said.

"I didn't say he wasn't in the wrong, sasaki-senpai, what I mean. It's simply rumor. "We don't know the full story," Yuji said.

"Well, you know Yuji, rumors won't appear if there are no sources for them." Iguchi senpai extends his hand and asks for Yuji's assistance in mounting the stairs.

"Iguchi, right. Itadori. People love to gossip, and it is history that has been passed down-"

"and branded it with new ones, each rumor has a different content, and every rumor passed on to others made it appear exaggerated and new to make it entertaining." Humans have a tendency to do this. We still do it, regardless of history or presence. What I'm trying to express is that rumors are rumors. That's why we're looking into if the reports are true." Yuji stated firmly, not knowing why he did it. He simply feels like it, and his feelings are telling him so. He doesn't want to misinterpret someone because of gossip. He dislikes passing judgment on someone based just on gossip.

Sasaki and Iguchi's eyes widen in astonishment when itadori cuts Sasaki's sentences, forcing them to gaze at each other.

"I didn't intend it that way, Yuji. Don't get worked up over nothing," Iguchi urged as they approached the shrine's entrance. Both Iguchi and Sasaki celebrate reaching the top by holding each other's hands and facing Yuji to celebrate with him. They were taken aback, however, by the sight of Yuji, a tear streaming down his cheek as he peered at the crimson torii in front of them.

"Yuji..?"

There was no reply.

"Yuji..?"

Still no answer.

Itadori, on the other hand, feels as if he's being pelted with feelings he doesn't comprehend. It has a remote feeling about it. He believes he has been here before, but he is unable to explain how or why.

"Have I seen this before?" Yuji mumbled loud enough for the two young people to hear him.

"Yuji, are you okay?"" Sasaki inquired as Yuji touched his face and he felt his palm damp on wet items on his face. He was sobbing?

"I'm not sure, I feel like for some reason. I feel like I've been here before, but I never went." Yuji said, brushing his tears away, and smiled sweetly at them.

"Alright! I apologize for being a downer, senpai. Let's go, senpai."

------

The two young people are busy roaming about and viewing the surroundings, while Yuji approaches the haiden and pays reverence, as well as tossing a coin inside the saisen.

"Please excuse us, God of this sanctuary. We're simply wandering here, I hope you'll pardon us for the time being, we don't mean any harm to your precious spot," Yuji says as he bows down before leaving where he was, but is interrupted by a quick voice in his ear.

"Still respectful as always, Esme, my love."

Yuji sought to figure out where the voice was coming from when he noticed something in his peripheral vision. When he looks at it again, it has vanished.

It appears to be a huge guy, a towering and enormous figure. But suddenly it was gone. He's no longer in his sights. Yuji turns his head, and almost jumps, to be greeted by a young-looking lady...?

No, it doesn't. He is unsure of the gender and does not know whether to address him or her. Because of the hue of their hair and the icy expression on their face, they resemble a fairy spirit of winter.

"Oh, hi. I apologize for intruding your space. We'll leave right away," Yuji remarked, sauntering and smiling at the individual in front of him.

"Uraume.." they muttered, prompting Yuji to tilt his head in confusion.

"Yes..?" Yuji inquired.

"Just call me, Uraume yuji-sa-" they paused and cleared their throats, causing Yuji to widen in surprise if he hadn't misheard it wrong.

"Stranger," the person named uraume remarked coldly, staring at Yuji. Yuji smiles and lowers his head in reverence.

"Thank you very much!" "I hope you're not mad, and I'm really sorry for disturbing this shrine," Yuji added, smiling as he looked at the individual again.

He bid his goodbyes to the individual and began looking for his colleagues who had come here with him. However, they claim that his friend is simply enjoying the settings of the shrine, which is quite large for an abandoned shrine. The person stated that, along with their master, are in charge of the shrine. As a result, it was never abandoned; nonetheless, due to such rumors, few people visit the shrine.

"Master..?" Yuji inquired, following along with uraume, who had invited him for tea, and he is a sucker for ignoring such hospitality request.

"Ah, yes."

"I called him master because I've been serving him for far too long," they stated as they arrived at their destination.

"Do you think my friends are okay?" I'm worried about them." Yuji turns around to search for his friend, and when he sees that they are nearby, he sighs. Calming down as he recognized them right away.

"I'll call them later, uhm-"

"Yuji, Yuji Itadori." Yuji grinned, causing the other to avoid their sight. Hiding their faces with the hem of their kimono, which is the hue of ice and ocean and has a cute design of snowflakes. Yuji notices that their ears are very red.

"Yuji-sama," they said, making Yuji feel ashamed.

"Oh, no, no, you don't have to call me that," Yuji says, waving his hand in shame.

"yuji-sama?" They bend their heads, innocently glancing at Yuji.

Yuji finds this individual adorable in some ways; he feels as if he is seeing a younger sibling even though he does not have one, and yet he feels as if he can get along with this person.

"All right, all right, do whatever you want. As an exchange, I'm going to call you Ume-chan." Yuji grinned, and the person's mood brightened for some reason. Yuji smiled as they turned around and began walking ahead of him.

They invited Yuji inside the room, and Yuji sat down. Uraume stated they would grab some tea and snacks. For the time being, they will boil boiling water. They apologize for not preparing ahead of time, but Itadori says they don't need to do such things because they were mistaken for an abandoned shrine. Nonetheless, they just expressed gratitude for Yuji's brief stay.

Which makes Yuji confused, if he ever visited this place before. However he can't recall visiting this before and he just smiled. Uraume excuses himself to go get his friend and yuji thank them as he said he will watch over the boiling water while uraume is away.

Yuji hummed while waiting for them as he was greeted by a huge figure who stood in the door. Yuji, look in that direction where the voice is coming from.

"Uraume, can you make some tea for me-" as their gazes locked.

Yuji's world stopped spinning for some reason when he was greeted by blue eyes that locked profoundly on his golden one.

"H-hi," Yuji's voice cracks for an inexplicable reason, and his chest tightens as he sees the person in front of him.

"State your name," the guy in front of him says, and Yuji bows nicely.

"My name is Itadori Yuji, and please excuse my interruption, sir."

"Ume-chan, they let me in here, sir. If you find it bothersome, we will leave immediately."

"Yuji.. It means serenity and healing, which is perfect for your name for this lifetime, right," the man added, causing Yuji to gaze up at him, puzzled.

"Uhh, yes, sir, thank you." "

"Forget it; you can stay as long as you want."

"This place has been unusually silent. Humans- I mean people- don't come here very often. I'm glad your friends have plans to visit here," replied the man with peach hair.

"Yes, sir."

"We heard rumors that this shrine had been abandoned, but it appears that this is not the case," Yuji stated as he transferred the boiling water into the container. And make tea for five people, including the man in front of him.

They say down since the man summoned them to the balcony to have some tea. Yuji feels closer to this man for some reason, even though he rarely responds to him. However, he does not disregard Yuji.

"Ryomen Sukuna." he introduces himself.

Yuji's heartbeats began to race as he stared at the man named Ryomen Sukuna, and he had no idea why.

"R-ryomen..Sukuna.." Yuji mumbled gently. He sounded as if he meant every word he uttered. Yuji smiled unconsciously as he said it.