Chapter 2) Season 1 Episode 2 - FOR MYSELF Part 1

After the previous screening, the girls were perplexed, confused, and worried all at the same time.

What the hell just happened to Hiroki? Moreover, who is possessing Hiroki? Will Hiroki be okay? What will happen after that?

What does Fushiguro mean by: "You're not human anymore"?

Hundreds of unanswered questions began piling up in their clueless minds.

Kanoko - "H-Hiroki just swallows that... f-fuckin' thing?!" she stands up from her seat, looking at the now-dark screen, "Is he stupid or something?!"

Nao - "N-No, it's not that. It's just that... he thought he would have died in there, so... He did that. It's not because of anything else!" she responded, shaking her head lightly.

Kanoko - "But swallowing it even after hearing of all the bad things that could describe it?!" she pointed at the giant screen with her open palm, "Cursed Object, deadly poison! What does he think is going to happen?!"

Nao - "W-Well, obviously nothing happens!" she retorted, "He's fine, right? He's alive and still breathing, so why are you complaining?!"

Kanoko - "Did you see those markings on him? And also the way he talked to himself?! Does that look fine to you?!" she questioned, "It's like he became crazy by eating that ugly cursed object or whatever!"

Nao - "It's not like he has a choice! He needs to do something, or else he would have died there!" she countered.

Kanoko - "And?! Fushiguro is also there!" she shouted, her teeth now gritting, "He could have survived without swallowing the finger if he just waited for Fushiguro!"

Nao - "J-Jeez, what's up with the sudden aggressiveness?" she questioned quietly, but Kanoko could still hear it, "He could have survived if he just waited for Fushiguro. That's dumb... Can't you see he's not fully conscious after being busted through a wall by that giant curse?"

Kanoko - "Hah? Are you trying to tell me that I'm a moron, you bitch?" she swore hoarsely.

Nao - "B-Bitch?!" she repeated with wide eyes, seemingly offended.

Kanoko - "Well, at least I'm not as entirely brain-dead as you from all your sex-deprived escapade with that Exchange Student!" she pointed, her index finger literally on Nao's chest.

Nao - "W-Where did that come from?!" she questioned, quite surprised by her unforeseen aggressive behavior, "Aren't you also one to do it with Kokujin as well?!"

Kanoko - "H-He forced himself onto me!" she hisses.

Nao - "Bullcrap!" she scoffed, "You're probably willing enough to join him and his venture!"

Kanoko - "Well, whatever, I regretted it like hell!" she pointed her hand near Nao's face.

Nao - "And so am I!" she slaps her hand away, "What makes me different?!"

Kanoko - "I'm his sister, damn it!" she clenched her fist in anger.

Nao - "It doesn't matter now, does it?" she argued back.

Ayumu - "Oh no... They're fighting now..." she said with a nervous look on her face, standing next to Kaede. She did not think a simple confusion would eventually turn chaotic.

Kaede - "Kanoko, please..." she sighed, attempting to defuse the situation.

Kanoko - "What do you know?! You're not his big sister!" she swapped her arm, still looking at Nao in fury, "You probably don't know the pain I'm going through! Maybe I've gone through worse than you, who is not even a close relative to him!"

Nao - "Oh, I for sure don't need to know what it feels like. Stop trying to paint like I'm the bad one here! Besides..." she took a deep breath, "You're his big sister, aren't you? Aren't you supposed to protect your little brother instead of abandoning him?"

Kanoko - "Wh- Why you-!" before she could even tackle Nao, they were interrupted with-

"WOULD YOU TWO PLEASE BE QUIET?!"

Kaede's voice boomed throughout the theater, causing all of them to stay still quiet and look at only Mother in the situation with wide eyes.

Kanoko - "M-Mom?!" she stares at her mother in disbelief.

Kaede - "You two, please. Refrain from fighting. It's... It's also my fault too..." She rubs the bridge of her nose, still stressed about the last screening, "I'm... No, we. We're the ones who caused him to do that."

Kanoko - "What are you saying, Mom-" she was cut off again.

Kaede - "Kanoko, please. We should stop acting like we're innocent." her eyebrows furrow, causing her daughter to stay silent, "We are all at fault here. All of us."

As Kanoko and Nao were about to protest... they quickly shut their mouth in realization. No matter how sibling or not, or how close they are with him, they are still in the wrong.

Those words added another extra layer of guilt that weighed down their shoulders.

In addition, Ayumu clearly remembers what Hiroki had thought about from the previous screening, that being: "It's alright, right? No one is waiting for me back at home!"

He would have reconsidered the consequence of the action he was about to take, but he still did it anyway because he thought none of them would worry about him even if he died or not.

It is almost as if... He had given up hope.

He never acknowledged himself as the best when it comes to saving others as far as she knows, but he wanted to at least make a last-ditch effort to make his death worthwhile instead of just randomly dying to a curse, no matter how risky it takes... and thus, carrying on his own grandpa's words.

He does not care if he dies anymore, as long as his death is a dignified one.

However, Ayumu instinctively yelped when the screen turned on again, as it reads:

"You may ask only one question."

Blinking, they all glance at each other.

Kanoko - "So... Who's gonna ask a question?" she raised her eyebrows at the other three.

After a minute of talking and careful consideration, they concluded by asking one of their main questions for now.

Nao - "In the screen, we just reacted to, at what time does it take place back in our world?" she asked, anticipating the answer.

"Approximately 6 months into the future."

This took them by surprise.

They had just reacted to the future? They did not know the theatre or so-called "Domain" they are in is capable of doing such things as projecting the future onto the screen.

At least... that answer makes some sense as to what happened to Wasuke on the last screening. They were just witnessing the day of Wasuke's passing which is happening four months into the future.

Kanoko - 'Hiroki disappeared six months ago... And the one we're reacting to him six months later into the future. So technically, we are reacting to Hiroki a year after that day?' she asked herself in a thinking position.

Their thoughts were abruptly interrupted by another message appearing on the screen.

"Episode starting... You may return to your seat."

Kaede simply coughs to gain their attention.

Kaede - "Let's just all... calm down and continue watching." she went back to her seat, taking deep breaths of what was about to come.

Kanoko let out a sigh and nodded at her own mother's statement, sitting down in her seat next to her as Ayumu and Nao returned to their respective seat. Kanoko and Nao were quite embarrassed by the outburst they had earlier and chose to stay quiet and not look at each other.

Eyes fixated on the screen, they are anticipating what is more to come after the previous screening.

The screen plays back to a sight of Fushiguro clenching his hands, as shadows envelop him.

Megumi - "Under Jujutsu Regulations, Itadori Hiroki, I will exorcise you as a curse!" he announced treating, blood dripping down his forehead.

Kanoko - "Oh, this again." she remarked, her arms crossing.

Ayumu - "I'm still confused as to what he meant by: He's not human anymore." she recalled, eyes filled with curiosity and concern.

Hiroki held his hands up defendedly.

Hiroki - "Wait, really, I'm just fine!" he reassured, "More importantly, you and I are both pretty beat up."

In the middle of talking, the markings on his body slowly begin to fade. Though the two pairs of eyes under his main ones are still visible, they are just closed.

Hiroki - "Let's go to a hospital." he suggested, attempting to calm Megumi down.

Megumi - 'I can't tell if the one speaking right now is Itadori or the cursed object...' he thought, two drops of sweat rolling down the side of his cheek.

Nao - "So Hiroki just got possessed?" she guessed.

Ayumu - "That kind of explains why he acted so weird before." she looks down to the ground, before looking at Nao, "So, something... or rather someone is inside his body right now?"

Nao - "It's still a theory, so I'm still not sure of yet." she shrugs, eyes still fixated on the screen.

Megumi's fists clench even more.

Megumi - 'Damn it! What should I do?!' he shouted in his mind in uncertainty and hesitancy... Until-

Gojo - "What's the situation?" he asked casually, suddenly appearing behind Megumi which startled the boy.

Ayumu - "Hey! It's that blindfolded guy!" she pointed at the big screen, taken back as much as Fushiguro in the scene by Gojo's sudden appearance.

Nao - "What's his name again?... Gojo, right?" she recalled, head tilting slightly.

Megumi - "Gojo-sensei?! What are you doing here?!" he questioned back, the shadows around him now disappearing.

Kanoko - "Fushiguro calls him sensei." she marked down, "So he must be a teacher?"

Gojo - "Hey!" he held his hand up in a laid-back manner, "I wasn't planning on coming, but man, you're roughed up."

He then pulls out his phone.

Gojo - "I should show the second-years." he chuckled while changing angles on the spot and repeatedly took a flashing photo of the bleeding Megumi, as the teenager looked away and covered his face with his forearm in embarrassment.

Two of the girls snickered, that being Kanoko and Ayumu as they both found the comical scene amusing.

Gojo - "The higher-ups wouldn't shut up with a special-grade cursed object gone missing. So I stopped by while doing some sightseeing." he stopped scrolling on his phone and looked back at Megumi, "So, did you get it?"

Megumi held his head down, while Hiroki, who was watching them the entire time, decided to reply.

Hiroki - "Um..." he said awkwardly, holding his hand up which caught the attention of Gojo, "Sorry, but I ate it."

Gojo simply looks at Hiroki pointing toward himself, both of them holding a baffled smile.

Gojo - "For real?" he queried after a brief moment of silence.

Megumi & Hiroki - "For real." they both replied in synchronization, confirming the blindfolded guy's suspicion.

Nao comically sweatdrops at the way Hiroki announces it. She could already see the awkwardness surrounding the three opposing men.

Kanoko - "I still can't believe he did it." she gagged in both disbelief and disgust, her face puckering in grimace at just the mere thought of that.

The three others, though, could not agree more with her.

Gojo took a step forward toward Hiroki and began inspecting his face closely.

Gojo - "Haha! Damn, it combined with you." he told the clueless boy, leaning closer before taking a step back, "That's hilarious."

Kanoko - "Combined?" she repeated, seemingly more confused than ever, "So he's not just possessed, but also merged with whatever is inside him as a whole?"

Ayumu - "That's..." She can not find the right words for it, as she is so baffled by both the newly existing information and every event that had occurred to Hiroki on that very same day.

First, they were witnessing the plan of his execution, next they showcased his new-found physical attributes that are impossible for any other regular teenager to achieve, next, he battles curses and then swallows a finger so that he... turns into a demon.

It is like everything is just thrown at them with very little explanation.

However, something bothered Nao at that moment.

Nao - 'Why is he that close to him...?' she could not help but frown, pouting even if you want to call it that.

Hiroki does this to the point he breaks records, and then fights curses. Then he swallows a finger and... turns into a demon? Everything just came out of nowhere with no explanation whatsoever.

Gojo - "Anything off with your body?" he asked, his hands still in his pockets.

Hiroki - "Not particularly." he shook his head, rubbing his chest to try and remove any weird sensation.

Gojo - "Can you swap out with Sukuna?" he hinted, curious.

Hiroki - "Sukuna?" he asked back, unsure.

Gojo - "The curse you ate." he stated.

Ayumu - "So the person he merges is called Sukuna?" she stated, her mouth forming an 'o' shape.

Kanoko - "Well, it's kinda obvious considering he swallowed Ryomen Sukuna's finger like what Urchin had mentioned before." she shrugs.

Hiroki - "Oh. Yeah, I think I can do that." with his hand on his hip, he nods.

Gojo - "Then give us ten seconds. Once ten seconds are up, come back to us." he says as he is stretching on the spot.

Hiroki - "But..." he considered, obviously concerned. He still does not know how crazy and powerful the curse inside his body is, but he thinks that letting him out is a bad idea.

Gojo - "Don't worry, I'm the Strongest." he reassured with a confident smile.

Kanoko - "Strongest? He seems confident." she commented, crossing her arms while somewhat slightly annoyed by the man's arrogant attitude.

Ayumu - "Maybe he's super strong!" she pumps her fist in the air.

Kaede - 'Hiroki... What happened to you?' she thought, still worried about her son in his current situation.

Gojo - "Megumi, hold onto this." he tosses a bag to him, which the young teen catches and looks at it confusingly.

Megumi - "What is this?" he looked back at the white-haired guy who continued stretching.

Gojo - "Kikufuku from Kikusuian" he responded nonchalantly.

[ Kikufuku ]

Gojo - "It's Sendai's specialty, and it's super good. I recommend the zunan and cream flavor." he explained, sounding strangely enthusiastic.

Megumi - 'This guy went and bought souvenirs! When people were out here dying!' he looks again at Gojo's recently bought treat with a frustrated sweatdrop, imagining Chibi Gojo buying stuff at a Kikufuku stand.

Kaede - "He... just shops around while his students are in danger?" she could not help but frown. Though, she is not one to complain as she, herself once ignores Hiroki for the sake of pleasure.

Kanoko - "Wow, sounds like a very responsible teacher." she rolls her eyes in a sarcastic remark.

Gojo - "It's not a souvenir!" he interjected, almost as if he read Megumi's mind while holding a finger up, "I'm going to eat it on the bullet train home."

Nao - 'He sounds like a very carefree individual.' she thought with a dumbfounded look, 'He's like those type of people who do not take their job seriously.'

Though, as Megumi and Gojo talked, the tattoos across Hiroki's body appear once more, marking the arrival of the curse inside Hiroki called "Sukuna".

And in a matter of a second, Sukuna suddenly appears in the air intending to direct his attack toward the seemingly oblivious Gojo.

Nao - "Wait, THAT'S-!" her eyes widened, looking at Hiroki's silhouette in the background.

Kanoko - "Dodge!" she yelled instinctively, gripping the arms of her seat.

Megumi - "Behind you!" he shouted, eyes widening in alarm.

Gojo - "Kikufuku's not like other souvenirs..." he continued, though, his chattering was cut off by...

Sukuna comes down from the air at a rapid speed and tackles Gojo from behind, causing dust to surround the place.

The girls' breath hitches, some even stopped. The tension surrounds the air once more.

Ayumu - "Is... Is he okay...?" she asked nervously, moving her hands away to the side after closing her face.

Nao - "I-It doesn't seem like it?!" she said, in disbelief.

Once the clouds of dust clear out, Megumi opens his eyes and sees the sight of...

Sukuna stared down at his soul maliciously, being dangerously close with bright glowing eyes in the dim.

The sight of Sukuna's glowing red eyes, even from Hiroki's body sends chills down the girls' spines.

Kanoko - "W-What the hell...?" she asked confusingly, shivering a little.

Nao - "S-Scary..." she muttered, feeling a cold sweat dripping down her cheek.

However, in a third-person perspective, Gojo can be seen sitting casually on the back of Sukuna while facing the other way.

Gojo - "And the whipped cream inside are simply exquisite..." he continued listing off what he said, holding up a finger like nothing happened.

This startled the girls. They did not expect Gojo to just be chill like that.

Visually speaking, if something like this ever happened to a regular person, they would have simply been blown away or better yet, killed on the spot by the sheer amount of force from Sukuna's tackle. And yet, there he was, sitting on top of the curse like it was nobody's business.

Ayumu - "He... H-He just...?" she stuttered while slightly pointing at the screen with her shaky hand, quite speechless.

Kanoko - "W-When does he...?" she wondered, leaning back against her chair with her mouth open.

This irritates Sukuna and he attempts to grab Gojo with a crazed smile.

Though, Gojo grabbed his hand as he teleported away which caused Sukuna to be flung back by his momentum. Sukuna made a fast recovery and attempted to hit Gojo again with a kick, a punch, and another grab. But each time he does it, Gojo would simply disappear and reappear in a completely different spot close to where he was standing.

Effectively dodging Sukuna's attempts to attack him.

Ayumu - "S-So fast!" her eyes widened even more, but this time she had sparkles in her eyes.

Nao - "I can't even see him!" she exclaimed with a gasp.

Kanoko and Kaede simply look at the screen with surprised and amazed looks on their face.

Kanoko - 'H-How's he doing this?' she asked herself, perplexed and bewildered.

Kaede - "O-Oh, wow..." she muttered in her seat, impressed.

With a dodge, he goes back to back with Sukuna keeping his confident smirk.

Gojo - "My student's watching, so I'm going to show off a little." he stated,

Dodging another incoming fist from behind, Gojo twirls around Sukuna and makes Sukuna circle alongside him using his movements.

Confused, the curse tries to back away by leaping into the air after Gojo manages to land a hit to his face while he is in a daze.

Sukuna - 'He's unbelievably fast?' he guessed with a disbelief face, 'No, that's not it...'

Kanoko - "Holy cow..." She, was both amazed and overwhelmed by just the simple maneuver Gojo was displaying.

Ayumu - "N-Nevermind what I said, now that is fast!" she pointed at the screen.

Gojo pulls his fist back and hits the air in front, causing a MASSIVE shockwave aiming toward one direction which flung back Sukuna and the surroundings around the curse.

Nao - "S-Such power!" her eyes widened even more.

Kanoko - "How the hell does he keep doing this?!" she finally asked out loud, desperate for an answer.

Ayumu - "M-Maybe he's like Fushiguro? He may not have those summoning abilities, but he may have other powers if I'm correct." she theorized, though, she do not know just how powerful Gojo is.

Landing on a railing, the grin on Sukuna's face returned once more.

Sukuna - "For crying out loud..." he scowled with an amused smile, before turning around and running back at an alarming speed, "You jujutsu sorcerers are always troubles, no matter what era!"

Hand-covered in mysterious dark cursed energy, Sukuna attacks Gojo with a powerful slam from above. Which, destroys a portion of the school's top, covering the areas with clouds of dust and debris again.

A jaw-drop from the girls, well, at least not to an extent with Kaede.

Nao - "W-What is going on?!" she blurted out, overly confused by whatever is happening right now.

Ayumu - "They're destroying parts of the school like it's nothing!" she hinted, gripping the arms of her seat.

Kanoko - "Just how strong are these guys?!" she questioned, puzzled.

Kaede simply watches everything unfold. She may be as confused as Nao, overwhelmed by everything that is happening all at once, but her mind cannot shake off what happens to Hiroki.

Kaede - 'Is he fine?' she asked internally with her motherly worries.

Sukuna - "Though, that doesn't mean much to me." he said with a grin, thinking he finally caught the blindfolded sorcerer in his attacks until his eyes widened in realization.

Once the dust clears out, the one standing there is Gojo and his prideful smile, looking completely fine from head to toe while debris floats around him.

Ayumu - "H-He's fine!" she beamed. Despite not knowing Gojo much, she can not help but feel relieved.

Kanoko - "He's fine?!" she exclaimed in disbelief, "How did he survive that?! Better yet, how are those debris floating around him?!"

Nao - "Is it...?" she murmured, narrowing her eyes a little, 'Sukuna mentions Gojo is a sorcerer... Does that have anything to do with his abnormal strength and speed?'

Gojo - "Eight... Nine..." he counted down while holding a finger up.

While this was all happening, Megumi, who was sitting with his legs crossed behind Gojo the entire time sighed in relief.

Gojo - "Should be the time." he concluded, watching to see if his theory is correct or not.

Feeling a powerful pulse in his or his host body's heart, Sukuna slowly began to lose consciousness.

Sukuna - 'Damn it... Again? I can't take over.' he thought, confused with a hint of irritation, 'Who is this... Itadori... brat?'

With Sukuna's markings disappearing, he looks down for a moment before looking back up again. Hiroki's natural expression returning.

Hiroki - "Oh, was everything okay?" he asked warily, clueless at what just happened.

Ayumu - "H-He can suppress it!" she stated, amazed by her best friend's strength to hold the curse back.

Kanoko - "So we can tell whenever it is Sukuna or Hiroki if he has those tattoos across his body and face or not?" she questioned, making a slight gesture with her hand.

Nao - "It seems like it." she nods in agreement, impressed.

Kaede - 'Oh, son... You're alright.' she sighed in relief, resting her hand on her chest.

Gojo - "I'm shocked." he in slight disbelief, moving his hand to the side so that the debris around him fell off, "You really can control it!"

Hiroki - "He's kind of annoying, though." he commented while patting the side of his skull, "I can hear his voice."

Gojo - "It's a miracle that's all he's doing." he smiled while walking toward Hiroki.

Once close, he simply touched his forehead with two fingers which knocks him into a daze state, before slowly... His body went limp alongside his eyes closing, falling onto Gojo's arm.

Kaede - "Hiroki!" she gasped in worry.

Ayumu - "W-What happened to him?" she questioned, hoping nothing bad-related happened to her dear "Best Friend".

Megumi - "What did you do?" he asked, having a hint of worry in his voice.

Gojo - "Knocked him out." he reassured, causing Megumi to feel at ease again.

This earns an audible sigh of relief from the girls.

Ayumu - "O-Oh... He's just unconscious..." she smiled again, laughing nervously in an attempt to calm herself down.

Nao - 'With just a simple poke to the forehead?' she recalled, feeling a little uneased by the blindfolded sorcerer.

Gojo - "If he isn't possessed by Sukuna when he wakes up, he might have potential as a vessel." he explains while looking down at the unconscious Hiroki.

Ayumu - "V-Vessel?" she repeated, horrified by the thought. Being a host of the curse living inside of you already sounds terrifying from her perspective.

Kaede - "Hiroki..." she muttered, feeling extreme worry and regret for her son. She almost could not believe her stupid actions would eventually lead Hiroki to... there on the screen.

Gojo - "So, I have a question for you." he looked over his shoulder and toward Megumi, "What should we do with him?"

This caused a trigger reaction to occur to Kaede and Kanoko. They are unsure why, but they just feel like it.

Kaede & Kanoko - 'He better not do anything to Hiroki...' they both thought in unison with a threatening glare, almost as if they shared a single mind.

Megumi - "Even if he is a vessel, jujutsu regulations demand Itadori to be executed.", "However, I don't want to let him die."

Gojo - "Personal feelings?" he guessed, still keeping his smile.

Megumi - "Yes, please do something about this." he pleaded through his cold exterior.

This earned surprising reactions from the girls. They did not expect Megumi to be so calm and collected, even after almost attacking Hiroki while saying that he must be executed according to the jujutsu regulations as he mentioned.

Even so, Kaede secretly thanked Megumi for at least defending Hiroki in his case, even if the situation was already bad enough for Hiroki himself.

With a chuckle, Gojo lifts Hiroki and carries him on his shoulder.

Gojo - "Now it's a request from a precious student." he gives Megumi a thumbs up, "Leave it to me!"

The screen suddenly froze in statics.

Gojo - "Now, allow me to say it once more." his voice is heard over the frozen statical screen.

The screen cuts back to the same place in the beginning part of the previous episode.

Gojo - "You're being executed." he informed while making motions with his hands, earning an even more horrified but comical look from Hiroki.

Ayumu - "... Oh." she muttered, now seeing everything somewhat connected.

Kanoko - "But the recap and the current events don't even match up!" she complained in her seat.

Hiroki - "The recap and current events don't line up, though." he said, back slouching forward ever so slightly.

Kanoko's flat frown drops down to her chin by her thoughts slightly match that of Hiroki's.

Gojo - "Hey, I did my best." he held a finger up, "The execution's still on, but I got your sentence suspended."

Hiroki - "Suspended?" he repeated, eyes filled with confusion to the brim.

Nao - "Suspended?" she repeated in unison, also confused.

They wondered why, but they could not help but feel a little relieved. At least they are not gonna see him getting killed on the screen anytime soon... Well, at least not yet.

Hiroki - "So you're not gonna kill me right away?" he asked in need of confirmation, almost in disbelief.

Gojo - "Yep." he nods in confirmation as his hand travels down to his back pocket in an attempt to reach for something, "I'll explain from the top."

He pulls out another one of Sukuna's fingers.

Kanoko - "Egh..." she shivered at the sight, 'Just looking at it makes me wanna barf...'

Ayumu - "I wonder what it tastes like." she asked out of the blue, causing the three girls to look at her with dumbfounded stares.

Nao - "A-Ayumu?!" she exclaimed, causing Ayumu to shake her head and form an 'X' with her arms defended.

Ayumu - "I-I don't mean it like that! I'm just... curious." she looks away with a tiny pout.

Gojo - "This is the same as the cursed object you ate." he explains, "There are twenty in total. We possess six of them."

Hiroki - "Twenty?" he repeated, sounding confused, "Oh, each finger and toe?"

Both Kanoko and Nao gagged a little at the possibility, while the other two girls scrunched their faces slightly in grimace.

Eating a finger is already a thing, a toe is on a whole other level.

Gojo - "No, Sukuna has four arms." he corrected.

This newly-found information drives more interest within the girls' already curious minds. Just who is this Sukuna? He sounds like more than just a regular Cursed living inside Hiroki's body... or soul.

Ayumu - "Four... arms..." She looked up while trying to imagine the sight of Sukuna with four arms.

He tosses the finger up in the air as Hiroki watches it. Right when it passes Gojo, he opens his palm and, with a sudden, mysterious force, it flies onto the wall rapidly, creating a burning crater on the wall.

The finger though, is still intact and clung onto the center of the small crater.

This caused the girls to flinch.

Kanoko - "Damn!" she grips the arm of her seat to calm herself down, "D-Didn't expect that."

Nao - "That thing sure is strong." she muttered, looking baffled and surprised by the sheer toughness of Sukuna's finger.

Gojo - "As you can see, we can't destroy them." he noted while taking the finger back from the crater, "The curse is just that powerful."

Kanoko - 'How powerful are we talking about, really?' she asked herself, clueless to the point where she was curious.

Gojo - "The curse grows stronger day by day, and the seals of modern-day jujutsu sorcerers can't keep up." he explains furthermore, looking at the cursed object in his hand before switching his attention back to Hiroki, "That's where you come in."

Hiroki - "Huh?" he muttered out in confusion.

Kaede - "Hiroki?" she curved her eyebrows, confused as much as Hiroki was on the screen.

Kanoko - "What does he have anything to do with this?" she questioned, her arms crossing again.

Gojo - "When you die, the curse inside you dies as well." he explained, showing an image of Hiroki with the shadow of Sukuna in purple imbued to his back.

This shocked the girls.

Ayumu - "If... Hiroki-senpai dies... the curse also dies with him?" she repeated, voice shaking.

Kaede - "No... He's not planning to..." her eyes widened in both realization and horror. That could only mean one thing.

'Is Hiroki gonna die?' is what fills the thought of the worried mother's mind.

Gojo - "Our elderly is a coward, you know." he huffed, "They're demanding to kill you right away. But that would be a waste, wouldn't it?"

Ayumu - "A waste?" she repeated once more, her eyebrows furrow into a mix of confusion and worry.

Nao - "What is he planning to do...?" she questioned. It all makes sense now! They no longer see him as a human because he has a curse inside of him. And they are planning to execute him before anything else happens to him and the others.

They are afraid that Hiroki might cause even more death if he is alive, so they go on with the sentence.

It feels her with even more regret, knowing she was also most likely the one who caused him to go down this path. Willing or not.

Hiroki - "A waste?" he repeated once more, looking at Gojo strolling to the opposite side of the room.

Gojo - "There's no guarantee another vessel capable of handling Sukuna will ever be born again." he looks back at Hiroki, "So this is what I propose: If we're gonna kill you right away, why not kill you after you absorbed all of Sukuna? The higher-ups agreed, so now you have two options before you..."

"You can die right now, or you can find all the parts of Sukuna and die after you absorbed them."

Silence... Is what fills the room afterward.

As they looked at Hiroki contemplating the two disturbing options before him, no one could say a word. Would he just die right there and now? or continue to swallow more of the cursed object to save the lives of others?

Their eyes fill with shock and horror. They are witnessing the result of their dirty hands toward Hiroki. How is he gonna be saved now? Can he even be saved anymore?

Their mind was quickly filled with confusion and panic. Even if he was sentenced to death, they still wanted to meet Hiroki again in person. They do not care how they just want to. To at least apologize for what they did to him. No matter how big or small, they wanted to apologize.

Even in a small moment.

Kanoko - "... Shit." was the only thing she could mutter out quietly.

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(I am re-reading a good story called 'Summertime Loving. ')