I Could Have

[Third Person's PoV]

When Yuji walked through the portal he was surprised to be back in Junpei's apartment. "What are we doing here?" Yuji asked but before he could say anything Nanami interrupted their conversation.

"Ash if you don't release me in the next second I swear I'll punch you"

"Oh, you're awake, that's good" Ash said before taking him off his shoulder and putting him on the ground in front of him.

"So what are we doing here?" Nanami asked.

Ash motioned towards Junpei on Yuji's arm, "Waiting for him to wake up and see what to do with him"

"So when's he supposed to wake up?" Yuji asked worriedly.

Ash then looked at his imaginary watch in his hand and started to count down, "Three. Two, One" on one Ash snapped his causing Junpei's eye's to snap and gasp for air as if he was a fish out of water.

He tried to move, which just caused Yuji to accidentally release him, dropping him to the floor with a thud.

Junpei started groaning in pain on the floor before he slowly started getting up. He looked around the room confused, "What am I doing back home? And who are–"

Junpei's eyes widened when he laid his eyes on his mother's body. The last time he previously saw her, she was disfigured and mangled due to a curse spirit.

But now, now his mother was seen on the dinner table with her head down taking a nap with a yellow talisman on her forehead.

"MOM!" Junpei yelled before running towards her, he saw her breathing and hope kindled inside him.

He started to shake her trying to wake her up with tears running down his face. Seeing that she wasn't she went and reached for the talisman on her forehead but Ash stopped him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" Ash warned him.

Junpei looked at Ash in confusion and a bit angered, "Why?"

"Cause that's the thing keep her unconscious at the moment, and we need to have a discussion about what to do with you"

"What are you talking about" Junpei asked slowly, laying his mother down, "Wait, who even are you guys?"

"We're Jujutsu Sorcerer, and we're from Tokyo Jujutsu High school, name's Ash, this serious looking guy is Nanami and you already met Yuji" Ash introduced themselves.

"What's the last thing you remember and what's your relationship with the stitched face curse spirit" Nanami asked without wasting time.

Junpei's eyebrow scrunch up trying to remember, "I remember waking up the next and…" Junpei paused as it wasn't a happy memory to remember, "I found my mom dead… with a curse object in front of her. Mahito then appeared, the name of the curse spirit, telling me the cause of her death.

And putting the idea in my mind that someone I know had resented us enough to kill her and make me miserable. I had thought that it was someone from school, so I immediately went towards the one I thought was responsible, a school bully of mine.

But luckily Yuji appeared and managed to stop me on time. But before anything else happened Mahito touched me (mahito likes touching little kids you heard it her first folks) and I remembered turning into this monstrosity before dying…

I should be dead… my mom should be dead, how, how is it possible that we're fine" Junpei said while softly crying towards the end, in both disbelief and relief.

"Wait, you healed ms.Yoshino as well" Yuji turned towards Ash in surprise.

Ash just shrugged his shoulders, "I could have possibly done that yes"

Junpei then realized that Ash was the reason both him and his mother were still both alive, Junpei got onto the floor and kowtow towards him with his head near the floor.

"Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, for not only saving me but also my mother. Thank you" Junpei repeated with tears in his eyes.

"Geez kid, there's no need to be doing all this. I got it, you're thankful, you can get up already" Ash said shaking his head.

Junpei looked up with quivering lips and nodded his head before sitting back down where he was.

Junpei then continued what he was previously saying, "As for how I met Mahito… I saw him using his technique on a couple of bullies from my school and without thinking much about it I got curious and followed him. He found me and we just mostly spent the day talking"

Junpei then lifted his bangs that were covering his scar and then went onto explained, "He used his technique on me and gave me the ability to have a curse technique of my own which ended up taking the form of a jellyfish"

Junpei put up a hand sign and summoned his shikigami showing it to them. Normally he wouldn't have said much about it but he felt he owed it to Ash and Yuji, for helping him and saving his life.

"I see…" Nanami said with a pondering expression

"What's going to happen with Junpei? Is he going to get into trouble for what happened?" Yuji asked worriedly.

"You don't have to worry, I would make sure nothing like that happens after all he's just a kid that didn't know any better" Nanami responded adjusting his glasses.

"Well I think it's best if Junpei goes to Tokyo Jujutsu High, what do you think Nanam?i" Ash asked.

"I'm not a faculty member of the school I don't get a say in this, but as an adult I will say this, going to the school would indeed help him" Nanami then took out his phone and called for Ijichi.

He turned towards Junpei and said, "Thanks for the information" and as he got up he turned towards the others and said, "I have some things to investigate, I'll see you later"

Ash then turned towards Junpei and nodded his head before saying, "Go ahead you can wake up your mom up just take off the talisman, me and Yuji would be outside, come talk to us if you have anything to discuss"

Ash got up and took Yuji with him. And as Ash exited the building Junpei went and ripped the talisman right off his mom's forehead.

As he did the paper soon burned up and Junpei's mom slowly lifted her head before slowly opening and closing her eyes trying to get her bearing together.

The first thing she saw was her son crying in front of her, "Mom" he weakly called out before enveloping her in a tight hug.

Although surprised and unsure of what was going on she just smiled and returned the hug without asking any questions…