The dust hadn't fully settled.
Fragments of concrete still ticked softly against the ground, bouncing in small, fading echoes. The air itself felt smoky. Like reality had briefly been bent—and only now remembered how to breathe.
At the center of it all—
Satoru Gojo stood relaxed, one hand in his pocket.
And in front of him—
Yuji Itadori blinked.
"…Huh?"
His body felt heavy.
No—
Not heavy. Empty.
Like something had just left.
His vision wavered. The world came back in pieces—broken walls, scattered debris, and those unmistakable blindfolded eyes staring straight at him.
Gojo tilted his head slightly.
"Oh? That was faster than expected."
Yuji opened his mouth—
"What… happened to—"
Tap.
Two fingers pressed lightly against his forehead.
For a moment—
Nothing.
Then everything went dark.
Yuji's body slackened instantly, collapsing forward—but Gojo caught him casually by the collar.
"Night-night."
Silence returned again.
From a short distance away, Megumi Fushiguro stepped forward, his expression tight.
"…Sensei."
Gojo glanced sideways, still holding Yuji like it was nothing.
"Yeah?"
Megumi's fists clenched slightly.
"The kung of curses is inside him… it's not gone."
"Obviously."
Gojo answered instantly, like it wasn't even worth thinking about.
"That was Ryomen Sukuna. King of Curses. You don't 'get rid' of him that easily."
Megumi's gaze hardened.
"Then we should exorcise him now."
The words came out firm.
The way a jujutsu sorcerer was supposed to think.
Yuji's unconscious body hung between them like a question.
Megumi took a step forward.
"If we destroy the vessel now, we eliminate one of Sukuna's fingers along with him. It's the safest route—"
He stopped.
His jaw tightened.
"…But."
A brief pause.
Something human slipped through the cracks.
"I believe that he should be given a proper death instead of an immediate execution."
Gojo said nothing.
Megumi exhaled slowly, like forcing the words out.
"I know the rules. I know what we're supposed to do."
"But I believe that he should do something meaningful before his death."
Silence.
For a moment—
Only the wind moved.
Then—
Gojo smiled.
Not wide.
Not joking.
A smile of a silent pride.
"Yeah."
Megumi looked up.
"I figured you'd say that."
A beat.
"But I won't tell you what I'm gonna do next."
The lightness snapped back instantly.
"Because spoilers are boring."
"…Sensei."
"Anyway!"
Gojo suddenly turned—far too energetically for the mood.
"Enough of that depressing stuff."
His gaze shifted.
Landed directly on—
Sora.
"You've been watching this whole time, right?"
The air shifted subtly.
Like something that had always been there was now being acknowledged.
Sora stood a short distance away, hands in his pockets, expression unreadable.
"…Yeah."
Gojo grinned.
"Megumi, meet our mysterious spectator and also your fellow future schoolmate."
He gestured dramatically.
"This is Sora."
A pause.
Then, like it was an afterthought—
"—He's pretty interesting."
Sora sighed internally.
Of course he was getting dragged into this.
" I am Hagane Sora. You may call me Sora."
He introduced himself simply.
Megumi's eyes narrowed slightly.
He studied him.
Not his face—
His presence.
"…Sora."
A beat.
Then—
"You're the metal curse hunter, aren't you?"
Silence.
Sora blinked.
"…The what?"
Megumi didn't look like he was joking.
"The one active at night. Curses found dismantled or captured. Metallic traces were left behind. Gojo sensei confirmed it was someone named Sora."
Sora's brain clicked.
Ah.
That.
His nightly routine.
Unintentional reputation.
Shit.
He looked away slightly, scratching the back of his head.
"I didn't know it had a name."
Then, reluctantly—
"…Yeah. That's me."
Gojo's grin widened like he'd just found a new toy.
"Ohhh, so it is you."
Sora immediately regretted confirming it.
Megumi's gaze sharpened further—but there was something else now.
Recognition.
"…I see."
No more questions.
Not for now.
Gojo clapped once.
"Great! Introductions done!"
He casually hoisted Yuji over his shoulder like luggage.
"Let's get going."
Megumi frowned slightly.
"…Going where?"
Gojo looked back with a bright smile.
"Tokyo, obviously."
The tone was light.
The meaning?
It was not.
Gojo was thinking something and looked half-serious and half-mischievous.
'The remergance of Sukuna is probably going to rattle the old bones of the higher ups'.
This is probably the thought running in his mind.
Sora exhaled quietly.
Trouble.
That's what this was.
Still—
He started walking.
Megumi followed.
Gojo led the way.
And under the dim, fading sky—
They left the shattered remains behind.
Toward Tokyo.
Toward the beginning of something far bigger.