Kiyotaka to Yuki and Shiro as they were sitting down and eating, as he thought, 'Not many classmates left. Still, there's no point in worrying about such things.'
Shiro paid attention to his food, eating it while observing her surroundings subtly.
Yuki seemed to just be enjoying her meal as she looked to Kiyotaka and smiled, saying, "You know. I think we should become friends. The three of us."
Shiro put down his spoon and said, "I don't see any problem in that."
It was clear that his intentions were not to be friends but to gain an advantage over Yuki with a [Friendship].
Yuki knew this but chose to ignore it as she looked to Kiyotaka expectantly, but Kiyotaka dismissed it, saying, "There's no point in doing something like that."
Yuki frowned and said, "Even still..."
Kiyotaka ate from his plate, not saying another word and ignoring.
Kiyotaka looked to his younger self and thought, 'Back then, it was learn or die. Relationships weren't beneficial, but... if I had helped her, could things have been better even for just a little while? And what about Shiro? If I had made a genuine effort in spite of the futility, would I have ended up on my own as [The Masterpiece]?'
Kiyotaka wondered this with a sigh as he decided to go to the next significant event.
Kiyotaka looked to Shiro and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Yuki was eliminated from the program a year ago."
"I'm aware."
Kiyotaka said this coldly and without emotion as Shiro then said, "It's... a bit painful to know she won't be here with us anymore."
Kiyotaka raised his eyebrow, asking, "Why?"
Kiyotaka sighed, thinking, 'My younger self truly was emotionally inept.'
"I'm not sure. I think I was... growing fond of her."
Shiro said this as Kiyotaka shrugged, saying, "I don't understand what you mean."
Shiro looked tired and said, "We're the only ones left, and in spite of everything, you're slowly surpassing me in every single standard. I won't be able to keep up for much longer."
Kiyotaka nodded and said, "And?"
Shiro looked to Kiyotaka and said, "I want to leave this place, Kiyotaka."
"Leave? Why?"
Kiyotaka asked this as Shiro responded, saying, "Because anywhere is better than here. Because I'm starting to hate myself. All the things I did to stay at the top... They're finally starting to weigh down on me. Every now and then, I expect Yuki to walk out of her dorm room and greet us with that smile. I didn't choose to be her friend towards good intentions, but that's how things ended up. I miss those days. The three of us."
"I don't recall being part of any kind of trio."
Kiyotaka said this, and Shiro nodded, saying, "You're right, but Yuki always managed to get us to sit together. That's probably another reason I want to leave. Because that way I can meet people like her out there and form genuine connections. If I can't manage that, then... I might end up wanting to die."
Kiyotaka stared thinking, 'Wanting to die? Strange.'
Kiyotaka then fixed his question, asking, "Why do you think you'll be able to get away?"
Shiro sighed and said, "I know I can."
Kiyotaka nodded and said, "That's your choice. Obviously, I won't try to stop you since that would clearly be pointless."
Shiro turned and walked away, saying, "I'll be leaving now, Kiyotaka. Goodbye."
Kiyotaka looked at the younger Shiro walking away from his younger self and thought, 'If I had called out to him and asked him to stay, would he have? Would he have considered taking me with him?'
Kiyotaka sighed, thinking, 'There are still so many things I don't know about you... Shiro.'
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Kiyotaka's eyes opened as he felt his Shikigami floating above him and gave it mass to see it, and said, "Shiro. It'll be fine to name you that, right?"
He slowly got up as he walked over to Yuki, who was lying there completely out of breath, as he thought, 'I'll apologise to you when you wake up.'
Kiyotaka picked her up in a bridal carry and began walking towards the Infirmary as he called out, "Kogane, send a message to the following Players: Fushiguro Megumi, Zenin Maki, Panda, Okkotsu Yuta, Kamo Noritoshi, Hakari Kinji. The Message is: Ryomen Sukuna has swapped vessels. The new vessel is about the same height as me, with a similar build and light purple hair. Do not approach or attempt to fight him. Even Okkotsu and Hakari-Senpai would fail to kill him right now."
Kogane buzzed before saying, "Sending... Sending... Sending..."
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Kiyotaka arrived at the infirmary, pushing open the doors, and Hiyori looked to him and rushed over, helping him get Yuki to a bed, asking, "What happened out there?"
"I lost."
Kiyotaka said this as he sat down and said, "I'll have to leave this Colony soon. That guy who defeated me has no interest in the Culling Games. As long as everyone lies low and out of sight, he won't attack."
Then Kogane appeared and said, "A Message from Zenin Maki has arrived. [Tengen-Sama has been captured by Kenjaku]."
Kiyotaka's eyes widened, and he said, "Things just get worse and worse."
"Who... is Tengen?"
Hiyori asked this as Kiyotaka responded, saying, "Someone very important. Them being captured could spell the end of the entire world."
Hiyori's eyes widened, asking, "You're... not being serious, right, Ayanokoji-Kun?"
Kiyotaka felt Hiyori begin to heal him when Ichinose moved over, and he moved his hand away from her, saying, "Don't use your technique on me. You won't be able to withstand the pain I'm in being transferred into you."
"But I want to help..."
"Don't touch Yuki either. She had it even worse than me."
Kiyotaka shut her down completely as he grabbed a bottle of water and began drinking it.
That's when he saw Suzune and walked over towards her to see her defeated expression and Sudo holding her hand. When she noticed his hand, Kiyotaka could hear her heartbeat calming as her expression softened. Kiyotaka's eyes widened for a second before he smiled, thinking, 'It seems like you managed it in the end, Sudo.'
"Are you both doing alright?"
Kiyotaka called out to them as Sudo let go of her hand in embarrassment as they shouted, "You're alright!"
"Actually. Not really. I'm exhausted and almost out of Cursed Energy."
Kiyotaka said this as Sudo asked, "What happened out there?"
Kiyotaka looked to them and asked, "You remember that guy who saved you both, right?"
They nodded, asking, "Yeah. What about him?"
"He's been possessed by an ancient Sorcerer. Do not approach him. He will kill you."
Kiyotaka said this as their faces dropped, asking, "What the hell... why is this all happening? It's bullshit."
In the distance, Shinohara's cries could be heard as she clung to Ike's body, shouting, "You idiot! Why didn't you just leave me there?!"
Suzune and Sudo grimaced as Hirata rushed over, trying to comfort her as she shouted, "Don't touch me!"
Hiirata gritted his teeth, thinking, 'Why? Why did all this happen?'
Suzune then turned to Kiyotaka and said, "Kiyotaka, that man who appeared in our dreams...."
Many seemed to turn their heads, interested in what Suzune was about to ask as she asked, "... was that your father?"
"That was my mother."
Everyone deadpanned as Suzune asked, "Are you serious? That was definitely a man."
"Yes, it was."
Kiyotaka said this as everyone deadpanned again, and he then said, "His Cursed Technique allows him to swap brains with another person and gain control of their body. My mother was one of those unlucky people. The stitches on his forehead are from brain swapping."
The entire infirmary went silent as Sudo said three simple words.
"What the fuck?"
Kiyotaka sighed and said, "Trust me. That's not the worst of it. My father was a mad scientist who wanted to create a world where people are equally superior."
"Was?"
Suzune asked this, and Kiyotaka nodded, saying, "He's dead."
Ichika's eyes widened as she asked, "Professor Ayanokoji is dead?!"
"Yes."
Ichika nodded, thinking, 'He's really gone. Really dead.'
Ryuen then looked to Kiyotaka and asked, 'What the hell does your [Mom] even want anyway?"
"To merge humanity with Tengen using me as a template for the souls of everyone in Japan."
Kiyotaka said this, and Hiyori asked, "Kogane-chan said someone captured Tengen. That wouldn't happen to be..."
"My Mother. Kenjaku."
Kiyotaka said this as everyone went pale and asked, "How bad is the situation?"
Then Kogane appeared and said, "Message from Fushiguro Megumi. Come to Tokyo 01 Colony. We need to find [The Disgraced One] and kill him so that [The Angel] will help us free Gojo-Sensei."
Kiyotaka sighed, saying, "Kogane. Tell Player Fushiguro Megumi: I need rest. I'm exhausted, and I'm low on Cursed Energy. I'll be there after a day's rest. If you can't wait, then you can act without me, but I think it's better if you wait for me to get there."
Kogane nodded, saying, "Sending... Sending... Sending..."
Suzune looked to him and asked, "Who is [Gojo-Sensei]?"
"The Strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer of the modern age."
Everyone seemed to feel a bit more at ease from hearing this as Sudo asked, "How strong is he?"
Kiyotaka smiled and said, "If we manage to free him, then everything should turn out fine."
Sudo grinned, asking, "He's that strong?"
"Yeah."
Sudo grinned as people seemed to seem hopeful.
Then Sudo asked, "Who's the girl by the way?"
"She's a childhood friend."
Kiyotaka said this as Suzune deadpanned, asking, "You have childhood friends?" in feigned disbelief.
In response, Kiyotaka said, "How... hilarious," sarcastically.
Suzune then asked, "Are you heading out tomorrow?"
"Yes. Hopefully, Yuki will be awake and ready to move by then. I think Hiyori's Reverse Cursed Technique is actually quite flawless, though. Probably the best I've ever seen, barring Techniques that naturally enhance Reverse Cursed Technique, so it might be possible."
Suzune nodded in understanding and said, "I'll let you get some rest then."
"We can... talk once this is all over, okay?"
Kiyotaka said this, and Suzune nodded, saying, "Al-right."
Kiyotaka lay on the bed as he closed his eyes.
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Kiyotaka's eyes slowly opened to see Yuki sitting on a seat, asleep. He slowly got up, and her eyes flickered open.
"You're awake, Kiyotaka."
She said this as Kiyotaka nodded, saying, "Yeah. I'm up."
Suddenly she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him and saying, "I'm glad you're alright. I'm sorry I took so long to get back to you."
Kiyotaka sighed and said, "It's fine. You probably ran into someone strong on your way."
He looked to her and said, "I'm sorry."
Yuki looked surprised, asking, "For what?"
"If I'd tried to be friends with you back then, I'm sure that even if it was for a little while, both of us would have been happier. I was the one who didn't put in the effort."
Yuki smiled and said, "It's fine. Because you're here now."
She hugged him tighter for a second before letting go as Kiyotaka got up out of bed to see everyone in the infirmary, exhausted, and Hiyori walked over, saying, "Everyone gave up a lot of their Cursed Energy to help me heal you both up."
Kei stood next to her and said, "I have to use Cursed Energy during the transfer, so I'm actually pretty tired too."
Kiyotaka smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work. Are you ready to go, Yuki?"
Yuki nodded, saying, "Yeah. I'm ready."
Kiyotaka turned to the other students and said, "I'll be going now."
Koenji nodded and asked, "Can you leave a weapon with me, Ayanokoji-Boy? We don't want a repeat for Yagami-boy now, do we?"
Kiyotaka sighed, thinking, 'I have gotten to the level where I can make things into Cursed Tools very easily, so it should be possible to replicate the effects of Null Rod. But is it a good idea to leave weapons like that in Koenji's hands?'
Kiyotaka sighed and chanted, "Manifest", as a pair of gauntlets and boots appeared, and he said, "These work better the less Cursed Energy you have and the more physical power you have. Be careful not to wipe the school off the map by overdoing it."
Koenji nodded, saying, "Why of course, Ayanokoji-boy."
Kiyotaka took off his ring and threw it to Ichika, who caught it and asked, "Why are you...?"
"It's a Cursed Tool called Fluid Staff. You can change the shape into anything similar to a staff in shape with the command [Shift]. I'll leave it in your hands from now on. From now on, it's yours."
Kiyotaka said this as Ichika asked, "But... why me?"
Kiyotaka patted her head and said, "So that you won't die."
Ichika looked surprised before blushing and saying, "Well... alright."
Yuki stared at this as Kiyotaka deadpanned and said, "It's not what you're thinking. She's like a younger sister."
Ichika stared and said, "Ah, I'm so sad. The boy I like so much just siter-zoned me" in a playful tone as many laughed.
Kiyotaka patted her head again and said, "Try not to die, okay?"
Ichika's eyes widened, realising how serious he was, and smiled, saying, "Got it."
Kiyotaka and Yuki walked away as Kiyotaka thought, 'They should be fine with Koenji and Ichika here.'
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Choso was sitting next to a bed. Tsukumo Yuki was lying there as Shoko walked in and said, "Sorry to say, but Kugisaki's Reverse Cursed Technique wasn't very good. There's permanent damage to Tsukumo-San's navel. She's got just enough control to prevent her Cursed Energy from leaking."
Choso nodded and said, "I understand."
Choso sighed as Tsukumo sighed and said, "Hey, don't go looking so sad. We had a nice fight with Kenjaku. You heard what Tengen said. We can entrust the rest to everyone else."
"Tsukumo. Thank you for convincing me that I can live beside Kiyotaka."
Choso said this as Tsukumo smiled and said, "It's fine."
Choso looked to her and said, "I'll make sure to take care of you from now on."
Tsukumo smiled and said, "I'm a bit eccentric, you know."
Choso sighed and said, "That's normal for me. But...please wait a while. I'm going to go help them. Kiyotaka and the others."
Tsukumo nodded and said, "I know that. That's fine. Just come back, alright? You're my favourite visitor after all."
Choso deadpanned, saying, "I'm your only visitor."
Tsukumo smiled and said, "Even still."
Choso smiled and said, "Got it."
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Everyone stood together on the roof as Kiyotaka and Yuki arrived. They noticed Nobara standing and thought, 'She's wearing a prosthetic leg under that boot.'
Maki looked to her and asked, "Hey, Ayanokoji. Who's the girl?"
Yuki bowed slightly and said, "Sakurako Yuki. It's good to see you all."
Yuta smiled, thinking, 'The same first name as Tsukumo-san, huh?'
Megumi's and Nobara's eyes widened, asking, "Yuki?!!"
Yuki smiled and said, "Oh. It's you two. I'm glad to see you both."
Nobara smiled and said, "It's good to see you again. You're a sorcerer as well?"
"Um... more like Kiyotaka knocked the ancient sorcerer using my body out of me."
Everyone deadpanned at this as Yuta then asked, "If you brought her here, she must be pretty strong, right, Kiyotaka?"
"Yes. She traded blows with Sukuna for a while."
Kiyotaka said this as they looked surprised, and Yuki said, "I wasn't going to win. If he were serious, he would have aimed for my head and killed me in a single hit. Even if he didn't, I was tearing my own body apart just in an attempt to keep up with him."
Kashimo raised an eyebrow, thinking, 'Tearing her own body apart? Is her Cursed Technique similar to mine? No. She's still alive.'
Hakari sighed and asked, "You're serious, though, right? Sukuna really swapped skins?"
"Yes. He's currently incarnated in the body of a boy named Kanamori Shiro. His Cursed technique is equalisation. It doesn't matter how strong you are. This Cursed technique can equalise the playing field. That goes for Cursed Techniques as well."
Kiyotaka said this as their eyes went wide, and Maki clicked her tongue, saying, "Well fuck. Only Gojo can deal with this, then."
Kiyotaka nodded, saying, "Agreed."
Angel then said, "If what you're saying is true and that Ryomen Sukuna has gained control of a vessel, then I'll agree to freeing Satoru Gojo now."
Megumi's eyes widened as he asked, "Huh? Are you serious? But our agreement."
"Ryomen Sukuna is [The Disgraced One]. If he's in control of his vessel, then killing him with our strength is no longer realistic.]
Angel said this as Megumi's eyes widened, thinking, 'Wait... [The Disgraced One] is Sukuna... Then, when I made that binding vow, I was signing up to kill Ayanokoji?!! I need to be more careful with binding vows.'
Hana looked to Megumi as Angel, then said, "Let's annul the Binding Vow Fushiguro."
Megumi nodded as he faced her, and through a mutual agreement, they annulled the vow.
Kashimo then looked to Kiyotaka and Yuki, asking, "What was it like to fight Sukuna?"
Kiyotaka deadpanned, asking, "Who is this? And where's Panda-Senpai?"
Yuki looked confused, thinking, 'Panda? As in the bear?'
Yuta glared at Kashimo as Hakari sweat-dropped and said, "Panda's out of commission. Kashimo's filling in for him."
Kashimo looked to Kiyotaka and said, "Answer my question."
Kiyotaka sighed and said, "I'll admit it. It was exhilarating."
Yuki nodded and said, "He was way too strong. To beat Kiyotaka while he had help and still have enough strength left over to overpower me. I can't imagine how strong he is."
Kashimo smirked, thinking, 'It will definitely be worth the wait.'
Kashimo turned to Yuki and asked, "Your Cursed Technique? What did you mean by tearing yourself apart?"
"My Technique, or rather the Technique that was engraved into me, involves becoming a Heat Conduit. The more heat I take in, the faster and stronger I get, but... even with a heightened Thermal Limit, I can reach a limit. I ignored it, trying to keep up with Sukuna."
Yuki said this as many grimaced, thinking, 'Her entire body was melting.'
Kashimo smirked, thinking, 'Not bad.'
Nobara then asked, "I want to ask you guys something. If Tengen-sama has already been captured, then why hasn't the merger started yet?"
Angel then spoke, "I suspect corcerers can reject the merger with Cursed..."
"No. That's not it. I saw multiple non-sorcers in the colonies that were completely fine."
Kiyotaka debunked this instantly as Maki nodded, saying, "The news is reporting that some more vulnerable people have fallen ill, but overall Japan is functioning as usual."
Megumi then said, "We don't know why. Maybe the Merger can't be started yet, or maybe he doesn't want to do it yet."
Kiyotaka pondered this, thinking, 'Is he waiting for an ideal circumstance?'
Nobara then asked, "Since we got the points, shouldn't we get to making a rule to get Tsumiki-Nee out?"
Megumi then called out to Kogane, saying, "Kogane, add a rule. Players may withdraw from the Culling Game."
"Rejected. This Rule Conflicts with Rule 7."
Kogane said this as Megumi thought, 'That's to be expected', and then said, "A player may withdraw from the Culling Game by inviting a new player from outside the colony as a substitute. How about that?"
"Rejected."
Kogane said this before continuing and saying, "This is a proposal regarding the addition of a rule to the Culling Game. A player may withdraw from the Culling game by inviting a new player from outside the colony as a substitute and spending 100 points."
Megumi then said, "But that change in the rules would mean each withdrawal would require at least 20 players to die. That has a longer-lasting effect on the game as Rule 7 forbids than our previous choice."
"A player may withdraw from the Culling game by inviting a new player from outside the colony as a substitute and spending 100 points. This is acceptable."
Megumi sighed, saying, "Okay, that's fine", while thinking, 'Looks like it won't accept any further negotiation.'
Megumi looked to Maki and said, "Maki-San. Please bring Tsumiki here into the colony for me."
Maki nodded, saying, "Got it."
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To Be Continued
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Rating Out Of 10 For This Chapter?
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