Upon their return.
Toji sat side-by-side with Sae, the two of them lost in conversation.
"Really? That sounds great to me."
"Then it's settled. I'll handle the driving, so we just need to pick up a decent rental."
Toji knew how to drive.
He knew, but he didn't own a car.
In his line of work, he rarely needed one, and he usually relied on public transportation to stay under the radar.
Zenin Sae lacked a vehicle for the same reasons.
Besides, cars were an expense they didn't need to prioritize.
"Sae. Even if we make do this time, should we think about buying a car soon?"
"Hmm? Because of Megumi?"
"Not specifically, just... I figured it might be nice to finally have one."
"I wouldn't mind, Toji. But would you actually use it? We'd probably only take it out a few times a year, wouldn't we?"
"True enough."
Toji nodded in simple agreement.
His wife was perfectly right.
"Then there's no real need to buy one yet. Besides, remember when my water broke? You threw me over your shoulder and sprinted all the way to the hospital yourself. I was so flustered back then..."
Sae laughed, the memory warming her face.
The final days of her pregnancy.
She remembered the sensation of Toji carrying her, his movements so fast it felt as though he were flying through the air.
It was in that moment that Sae had first caught a glimpse of the sheer scale of Toji's strength.
A glimpse of what kind of man he truly was.
Of course, since he was reluctant to speak of it, she didn't know the details of his past.
She didn't care to know.
All she needed was the knowledge that Toji possessed superhuman abilities,
And that he loved her.
With those two things, she wanted for nothing more.
"Ah... right. That did happen," Toji muttered, scratching his head.
It was one of the few true crises he had faced in his life, and the memory was vivid.
No matter how much time passed,
Even if he succumbed to a disease that robbed him of his mind, he doubted he would ever forget it.
"Anyway, forget the car. If getting around is that much of a chore, just buy a motorcycle instead."
"I'll think about it."
"Good. More importantly—Fukuoka. When was the last time we went? I feel like I visited once a long time ago, but the memory is so hazy."
"Same here."
Toji and Sae both recalled entirely different versions of the city.
Sae thought of trips she had taken with friends.
Toji thought of the time he had driven the Soul-Liberation Blade through a Curse User's skull during an assassination mission.
"Oh. I've already handled the reservations, so we're leaving tomorrow. It's only a three-day, two-night trip, so just pack light."
"Really? Understood. Toji, would you mind helping me pack?"
"Yeah."
A vacation, huh?
Toji blinked and rose from the sofa.
After finishing his preparations, the Master stepped out of the hotel.
Toji would be coming to pick them up soon.
The two Koyanskayas had split the luggage between them.
"Master. You look troubled. Did something happen?"
The Assassin, Koyanskaya of Light, inquired.
Because of the height difference, the deep keyhole cutout in her chest was perfectly visible from his vantage point.
"Yeah. Something just occurred to me."
"May I ask what it is? Also, please look at my eyes, not my chest. While I'm certainly flattered, you know it's quite rude, don't you?"
"Ahem! Sorry."
After a light, awkward cough, he confessed what was weighing on his mind.
"To be honest, I'm worried about a very peculiar villain."
"By 'peculiar villain,' do you mean the one you mentioned before...?"
"Yeah. The one who walks around with stitch marks all over his forehead."
The mastermind of the Shibuya Incident.
The character who would eventually derail the later parts of the story.
The man who drove fans and haters alike to madness.
Kenjaku.
By the nature of his technique, his exact location had always been a mystery, and it remained so even now.
That was the greatest problem.
A Cursed Technique that allowed him to swap bodies.
The Master knew the entity had once taken the form of a woman to give birth to the protagonist... but beyond that?
The problem was not knowing whose body he had hopped into next.
'I should have caught him while he was still a woman.'
Specifically, when he gave birth to the protagonist, Itadori Yuji.
That was the window of opportunity, but the timing of the Master's own rebirth had been off.
There was a chance, theoretically, but back then, he had been too young.
He had been an infant.
Because of that, he couldn't catch Kenjaku and the mastermind slipped away.
Thinking about it now still left a bitter taste of regret.
"His name was... Kenjaku, right? You say we must eliminate him?"
"If we don't, things are going to go to hell. I told you this before, didn't I?"
"Of course, I remember it well. However, for now, you must focus on building your strength."
She was right.
While someone of Koyanskaya's caliber was a one-woman army, more security was always better.
"First, I'll prioritize increasing my Cost. I need to be able to summon at least four Servants."
"A wise decision. There are crises on the horizon, but there is no immediate rush. You should advance steadily, step by step."
The Assassin crouched down in front of him, smiling.
Her ample curves swayed right before his eyes.
In the face of such a sight, his worries evaporated, and his mind felt at ease.
In fact, his head felt dangerously empty.
"Hold on a moment. Could you please stop using 'consolation' as an excuse to seduce the Master? If you're going to do that, save it for the hotel room..."
Koyanskaya of Darkness, the Foreigner, grumbled with narrowed eyes.
She looked distinctly displeased.
"Honestly. I don't know why you've become so prickly. Since you're technically another version of 'me,' shouldn't you know exactly how I feel?"
"It's because I know that I'm stopping you. Child-milking should be restricted to R-18 doujins."
"Wait. Master is technically an adult, isn't he?"
"The problem is that his body is that of a child. Anyway, don't try to find loopholes..."
The two Koyanskayas conversed casually.
It was only a mock argument.
Their tone was soft, their voices calm.
It seemed they were merely bickering to kill time and ward off boredom.
"Sorry, have you been waiting long?"
Toji approached from the distance.
He was accompanied by a woman and a child.
'She looks just like she did in the anime.'
In the original series, she only appeared for a single panel.
Hardly a sentence of dialogue.
Her appearance had been brief, but so impactful that the memory of her was vivid.
He recognized her instantly.
"Ah, hello. You're Toji-san's wife, right? It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Oh my. A child? He's so adorable. And polite, too."
When the Master bowed his head first, the woman met his eyes.
She had the quintessential expression of a doting parent looking at a child.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Zenin Sae. You're quite mature for your age."
"Thank you. These are my guardians, they're twins. Both are from Russia and can't speak Japanese, so I apologize for any inconvenience."
After a moment of deliberation, the Master offered a lie.
It made things simpler.
"Oh, is that so? Then it can't be helped. It's a pleasure to meet you both."
Zenin Sae bowed to the two Koyanskayas.
It was a polite, respectful greeting.
Naturally, both Koyanskayas returned the bow.
Toji, watching this absurdity unfold, was the only one who looked awkward.
"Ah. Right. Let's get moving then."
"Lead the way."
They used public transit to reach their destination.
They headed toward their hotel in Fukuoka.
From what he'd heard, the hotel featured a built-in sauna, which the Master was looking forward to.
It had been a while since he'd been able to sweat out some stress.
'She can't stop staring.'
Even while moving, Sae kept glancing at the two foxes.
She looked halfway entranced.
"Stop. It's rude to stare that much."
Toji eventually stepped in and covered her eyes.
Normally, shouldn't it be the other way around?
The two Koyanskayas didn't care whether Sae stared or not.
They were indifferent to the gazes of humans in general.
"By the way, that miracle medicine... was it your sisters who obtained it for you?"
In the amidst of the pleasant atmosphere,
Sae, sitting next to the Master, asked a question.
Perhaps it was the pressure change from the flight, but his ears felt slightly muffled.
"Yes. That's right."
The Master nodded simply.
Since the medicine was processed and refined from Ibuki-douji's Divine Blood, it wasn't a total lie.
"Thank you so much. I can't tell you how grateful I am to your sisters for helping me recover."
"We are happy to see you in good health. However, it wasn't an act of pure altruism."
"Yes, I heard it was an experimental drug that needed clinical testing. Still, thank you."
Sae was endlessly grateful as she looked at the Master and the Koyanskayas.
It was almost overwhelming.
But since he understood where she was coming from, he accepted her gratitude with a warm heart.
Most people would probably react the same way after returning from the brink of death.
Toji, on the other hand, watched them with a strange gaze.
His expression was complex, as if he were savoring old memories or fighting off a lingering bitterness.
'The vibe here is nice.'
Heartwarming and cozy.
Even the baby in Sae's arms was sleeping soundly.
'So that's the little Mahoraga-spammer... wait, no, that's Megumi.'
He shook his head, correcting his thoughts.
He couldn't call a real-life baby a "Sacred Treasure Spammer."
Even if the kid did have a tendency to go for the self-destruct button the moment things got dicey.
Even if he eventually left a massive mess for everyone else to clean up.
'This... we can't just leave it like this, can we?'
While the Master was deep in thought, the Foreigner established a Mental Link.
Telepathy, Transmission,
Or perhaps a direct phone call to the brain.
There were many ways to describe it, but he understood the sensation well enough.
—Master.
The Foreigner's voice echoed in his mind.
Servant and Master.
Once a contract was established, this kind of internal communication became possible.
—Yeah? What is it?
—You looked quite serious while staring at the baby. Is there something bothersome about him?
—I'm just worried. His future isn't exactly a bright one.
Fushiguro Megumi in the original story.
The current Zenin Megumi had failed to live up to his full potential.
He didn't know what happened after the original series ended, but within the scope of the plot,
At least until the finale, it had remained that way.
'Dogs. Toads. Birds. Snakes. Elephants. Rabbits. Was that it?'
The Ten Shadows Technique.
A Cursed Technique that manipulated ten shikigami, yet he had failed to master four of them.
One of those four was Mahoraga.
The shikigami that was the sole reason behind his infamous reputation for hitting the panic button.
—If it weighs on your mind, should I take charge of his training? Or we could order that man, Zenin Toji, to do it.
—I'll think about that too.
Even if this timeline differed from the main story, the boy was destined to live as a Jujutsu Sorcerer.
Building his strength wouldn't hurt.
—Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our destination.
While he was lost in thought, they arrived in Fukuoka.
Flying was certainly fast.
—Master. Let us disembark.
The two Koyanskayas sent a telepathic message simultaneously.
It was time to get off.
"Hngh...!"
He didn't have to carry his luggage; he just had to follow along. It was incredibly convenient.
Best of all, since Toji was footing the bill, his own wallet remained full.
It was a spectacular free vacation.
Perhaps that was why.
Even after checking into the hotel, his heart felt light.
Since he was still physically a child, he couldn't stay in the sauna for long, but...
Even a brief taste of it was enough to leave him satisfied.
"Well then, good night."
"Yes. You sleep well too. We'll see you tomorrow?"
Standing in front of their respective rooms,
The Master's party and the Zenin family parted for the night.
Theirs was a twin room.
Since there were only two beds, two of them would have to share.
"Master?"
"Whose bed would you like to choose?"
The two Koyanskayas asked with glinting eyes.
He appreciated how proactive they were about pulling him into their beds.
"You two share a bed. Tonight, I just want to sleep without any... extra pillows."
"Aww."
In the end, following his whim, he banished the two Koyanskayas to the other bed.
He took a bed for himself.
'This is what I'm talking about.'
Lying alone and comfortable, he let out a long yawn.
Since he planned to head out at dawn, he needed to catch some shut-eye now.
*Ding-dong.*
The moment he closed his eyes, someone rang the doorbell.
Room service?
Or did someone have the wrong room?
"Yes. Just a moment, please."
The Assassin, sighing, stepped up to open the door.
The Foreigner watched calmly from the sidelines.
Who was it?
As he sat up, the door swung open.
'I don't see anyone.'
His senses told him someone was there, but no one was in sight.
Were they short?
"Who is it? Room service?"
"And who might you be, sticking so close to Toji-kun?"
As he poked his head forward to check, a voice answered from the other side.
It was the voice of a young man.