Chapter 23: Awakening in the Morgue

In Itadori's consciousness, the tension was palpable. The dark and endless space where they used to meet with Sukuna was now occupied by four presences: Itadori, Sukuna, Kaede, and Kagekiri. Sukuna was seated on his improvised throne, watching Itadori with a barely concealed look of disdain. Kaede, with Kagekiri beside him in her human form, stood at a distance, observing.

"So, what do you think, brat?" Sukuna broke the silence, his tone laden with impatience. "I'm offering you a simple deal. One minute of absolute control when I say, and I'll heal you so you can continue living. Of course, if you accept, you won't remember this deal."

Itadori frowned, clearly uncomfortable with the proposal. "Why should I trust you? What guarantees me that you won't do something horrible?"

Sukuna let out a dry laugh. "It's simple, Itadori. If you don't accept, you'll be in a much worse position. You saw what happened to Kaede. He's in a deplorable state after his confrontation with that woman. I, on the other hand, know what I'm doing."

Kaede, leaning on the ground with Kagekiri beside him, looked at Sukuna with disdain. "Don't try to include me in your manipulations. My decisions have nothing to do with you." Kagekiri, in her child form, looked up at her master with concern, not accustomed to seeing Kaede in a position of apparent weakness.

Itadori observed the interaction between Sukuna and Kaede, feeling a knot in his stomach. "And you? What do you think about all this? Do you think it's safe to accept his deal?"

Kaede raised an eyebrow, as if the question were irrelevant. "I don't care what you decide. Do whatever you want."

Sukuna smiled, seeing the doubt in Itadori's eyes. "It's your choice. One minute."

Itadori thought for a moment, trying to decide what to do. "... No, I won't accept that. You'll end up killing everyone."

Sukuna, already tired of this game, approached Itadori. "Look, let's do this. If you defeat me, I'll heal you without asking for anything in return. If I defeat you, we'll do it my way, and I won't harm anyone."

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Itadori slowly awoke, feeling the cold and hardness of the gurney beneath him. The first sensation that hit him was a severe headache, but what surprised him most was the feeling of being completely alive. He opened his eyes and found himself in a room he didn't immediately recognize. Everything was bathed in a cold white light, and there were papers with seals scattered across the walls and ceiling, covering every inch of the room. It was the morgue of the Jujutsu High School, but this time, reinforced with precautionary measures.

Beside him, Shoko and Gojo were in the middle of a conversation. Shoko, with her professional but somewhat grim tone, was talking as she prepared for the autopsy.

"It's a pity, Satoru," Shoko said with a sigh, reviewing the surgical instruments. "But we knew the boy's situation was volatile."

Gojo, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, observed the scene with an unusually serious expression. "I know, Shoko. I take full responsibility. I shouldn't have let things get this far. I regret not intervening sooner."

Shoko nodded slightly, moving toward Itadori's body. "Sometimes, Satoru, we can't predict how things will end. But we must learn from this to prevent it from happening again." She was about to begin the autopsy when Itadori let out a groan, his eyes fluttering as he tried to focus.

When Shoko saw Itadori waking up, her expression remained almost impassive, though there was a trace of relief in her eyes. The situation was complicated, but her main concern was the medical logistics and the details that needed attention.

"Ah, it seems the test subject isn't so dead after all," Shoko remarked, without much enthusiasm, as she headed to her workbench to put away her instruments. "This is unexpected, but at least we won't have to worry about what to do with his body now."

Gojo, who had been observing the interaction, approached Itadori. "It seems you're stronger than we thought, Yuji. We don't yet know exactly how you managed to endure all this, but for now, we're just glad to see you awake."

Itadori, still a bit dazed, looked at Gojo with confusion. "I don't remember much... What happened?"

Gojo merely nodded and spoke. "We don't know; you should know better than us. But for now, just focus on clearing your mind."

Shoko raised an eyebrow, as if the information was of little relevance. "What I really regret is that we can't study further your ability to withstand special grade curses. It's not common for someone to survive such an experience. However, at least you'll have the chance to keep living."

Itadori remained silent, processing the information as his mind tried to piece together what had happened. "And what now? What do we do with them?"

Gojo looked at him with a hint of concern. "That's something we need to discuss. For now, the most important thing is that you recover and that we figure out how to handle the situation with Kaede and Sukuna moving forward. Your case is exceptional, and we need to be cautious with the next steps."

Shoko, finishing up and heading towards Gojo, said, "We'll need to conduct a deeper analysis to understand how to prevent this from happening again. But in the meantime, Yuji, rest and recover your strength."

Itadori nodded, grateful for the information even though he was still somewhat confused by everything that had happened. "Thank you... I appreciate what you're doing."

Gojo gave him a reassuring smile. "We'll get through this, Yuji. And as for Sukuna, we'll see how we handle that. For now, focus on recovering."

The conversation left Itadori with much to think about as he watched Shoko and Gojo leave, leaving the room in a silence that allowed only the sound of his breathing. Aware that the road ahead would be challenging, he prepared to face the new challenges that awaited him.