The Past, Present, and Future

[Author Note]

Disc: HrPrTeam

Happy New Year, goobers.

__________

Toji P.O.V.

*BAM*

After a single punch, the punching bag gets thrown across the room with a large hole in the middle.

Damn, what a waste of time.

I'm still trying to figure out how to train effectively. I'm stronger than everyone in the Order and have already cut off Takamura's hands.

Nobody can match me to help me grow.

I could work with the woman since she's got that weird eye thing, but I've already dealt with people with even more strange abilities.

She would have a mediocre cursed technique if she were in my world.

If I want to work on myself, then I'll need more than her to do so.

In any case, I'll need to figure out how my training will work.

I haven't needed to train in the past since every job aside from Satoru Gojo has been a sinch.

That and the heavenly restriction made training near-useless.

The only problem I would run into is being out of practice.

It gave me insane physical strength, but it might not be enough in this world.

There's only one person who's been able to fight me seriously.

Satoru Gojo...

I won't make that same mistake again. I've gotta keep my edge if I don't want to end up with a hole in my side.

Even if I'm currently stronger than I was during the fight with Satoru Gojo, all it takes is lying around to lose it.

These superhuman freaks are going to become stronger, and if I laze around, things are going to be a pain in the ass when we next meet.

I'm not going to wait around to lose in our next encounter.

I could hunt down the freaks, but I've got no clue what they have at their disposal.

Rushing in there is stupid, but the more time I take, the more time they can create more powerful versions of me.

Not exactly me, but the same abilities that I've got. That guy I fought proved it.

However, one of the best ways to train is to fight against strong opponents; those freaks can be my ticket to surpassing my previous self.

I've made up my mind. I'll hunt down some of the superhumans.

I'll need to be careful since I'll be treading into unknown territory.

I'm going to over-prepare.

Tracking, scouting, and acquiring more weapons to deal with the unknowns. After I'm sure I can take them on, I'll use them as training dummies.

A wide smile appears on my face but quickly vanishes when I think about something else.

I was going to put off training for a little longer, but I've been in a bad mood since last night's conversation.

Why did I tell my past to some random teenager?

It was initially for the money, but I didn't care about it at the end.

I could've left it alone, but I didn't.

That woman...

I guess Rion had changed me after all.

The last person who did that was Fushiguro.

*sigh*

I'm tired.

...

Speak of the devil.

...

Rion spoke while leaning on the entrance. "You know I'm not cleaning this crap up, right?"

Glancing at the destroyed punching bag, sand was already flowing onto the ground.

I sat down on a bench in the second gym. "What are you doing here?"

Of course, she follows me everywhere.

She raised an eyebrow. "You didn't show up for Akira's training at the main gym. I couldn't find you for a while, so I gave up and trained her myself for a few hours."

Oh, right. I forgot about the kid.

Well, all the equipment was in the second gym.

I stare at the ceiling. "I've been thinking about some other stuff and lost track of time."

She sighed. "What's got you, of all people, thinking?"

Surprisingly, a lot.

Instead of replying, I ask her a question. "What would you do if you could never see the kid again?"

Now that I can't see Megumi anymore, is there even a point to what I'm doing in the first place?

I've got nothing to protect, nothing to do, and nothing that I really care about.

With how her eyes widened, I probably caught her off guard.

After a moment, she spoke. "Well, that's a difficult question since it depends on the circumstance. If someone took her, then I'd kill 'em, and if she..."

Rion didn't need to finish her words. However, she continued. "I don't know what I would do. I'd throw away my life for the kid. She's the only person who gives me a reason to keep living. Why are you asking that in the first place?"

Throwing your life away for someone.

Would I throw my life away for Fushiguro?

Probably, but I'll never know now that she's gone.

I take a moment and reply. "After waking up in a random tank of water supposedly six years after I got a massive hole in my body and died, I figured out that everything is different than what I know. Nothing is the same. Everything that I've experienced in my life is gone. Zenin clan, Satoru Gojo, Jujutsu society, and my kid. All of it is gone."

Why bother hiding shit anymore?

It's not like I've been great at keeping things to myself, and maybe saying it out loud to the woman will help, considering all she's done.

She's a good therapist for someone like me who has similar experiences.

...

Although she didn't abandon her kid and gamble all her money away.

...

Besides, it isn't like this information can be used against me anymore. They would need to travel to a different world.

I continued. "Not only that, but my body looks how it did when I was younger. I'm supposed to be 27-28, but I look like I was when I was 18. Turns out that I can't even see my kid anymore since he doesn't exist here. It's like I traveled to an entirely different world."

Whatever, if she thinks I'm crazy, then I don't really care.

You would probably think someone is high if they told you they transferred worlds and his son didn't exist.

It sounds like a badly written story.

Glancing at her, all she did was shrug. "To be honest, some things check out with that story. Although I didn't understand most of the stuff you said."

I huff my laugh and roll my eyes. "I thought you would think I was fuckin' crazy."

She smirks. "I have 'magic eyes,' you have superhuman abilities, people can cut buildings in half with a sword, and others can speak and control people's minds. Although it is the most far-fetched thing I've heard, I wouldn't be surprised if everything is true, so I'll believe you...for now."

Had it been anyone else, they would probably look at me like I was a child.

I raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "I would say I'm surprised, but I'm not."

She narrowed her eyes. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

I shake my head, keeping my smile. "Nothin'."

She put her hands on her hips. "Whatever. Just show up for the next practice session, or I'll cut your pay."

Having her as a boss is weird, but it doesn't matter if I can have a job.

I just nod and stare back up at the ceiling.

Rion walks out with narrowed eyes.

Hmm.

...

She ain't half bad.