( ㄕཀ ʖ̯ ཀ) — chapter eight
"live a long life"

"STOP ARGUING!"

HIYORI DIDN'T HAVE the patience to deal with the two bickering boys in front of her. They were arguing over whether or not to take the time and save this now deceased human body. But something was nagging at her, screaming from the deep pit in her stomach. Something was entirely wrong.

After the whole Gojo and Hiyori showdown — both first years rushed to get ready and head down to Ijichi to head off for the mission. Gojo seemed to disappear into the night, reckoning he had his own mission to take care of. None of the feelings from last night remained in the group, only a fierce and determined force echoed from them now. So, after Ijichi gave the specific details of the mission and what it entailed — saving five juveniles, they set off.

      Once the group of four first-years entered the building with caution, but the outline appeared entirely different from the original design Ijichi had shown them. To Hiyori, it looked like some kind of damn maze in its current state. There was no way this was supposed to be the same building as the one in the building plan.

"There's something wrong," Hiyori spoke gentler this time, gaining her fellow first-years attention. She exhaled a heavy breath, trying to focus on the area around her like there was a warning sign, but then she heard a light gasp behind her.

      She switched on her heels as quickly as her brain could process, but before she knew it — Kugisaki had already disappeared into a dark hole that was right below her feet.

      Yuji murmured to himself at the sudden disappearance of his friend, "Kugi. . .saki."

      Hiyori hissed in annoyance, and she glanced up to Fushiguro and Yuji, and then it felt as if her body was completely frozen. The two boys didn't even have to shift their gaze to understand Hiyori's reaction — they felt it.

      Standing right in behind both Fushiguro and Yuji, was in no doubt, a special grade curse. She couldn't even describe the monster, which looked faintly human with a tinted white skin, multiple eyes, and a grinning smile as he threw his long arms in random directions.

      Hiyori's brain was frantically yelling, pleading, desperately begging, screaming with all hell to run. But it was like her feet had become one with the ground beneath her, not a single muscle in her body would obey the pleas of her brain.

      Her eyes finally averted the gaze of the cursed creature, and switched over towards Yuji. He had just unlocked the cursed weapon he had strapped around his waist, before Hiyori could even think about muttering a word — the cursed spirit had ripped Yuji's hand from wrist up.

Hiyori gasped loudly, immediately covering her mouth with both hands in complete and utter shock. Blood squirted directly from Yuji's wound, he was recovering from his own shock when he finally noticed.

"Yuji!"

( '◇')

      "I'm not sure if this was a good idea, Megumi."

      Hiyori was standing almost completely still as she stared up at the building she was just currently in. She squeezed her eyelids tightly, anxiety bubbling in her veins — I feel like he should've been back already.

      She was surprised that Fushiguro and she were able to make it out with a slightly injured Kugisaki, but leaving Yuji behind was regrettable. But she trusts him, and if he knew to get the rest of them out before switching with Sukuna — it's probably because he's protecting them. But that curse spirit. . .Hiyori hadn't known that power like that could ever exist.

      That she could be so threatened just by what she was feeling.

     "Itadori will be fine," Fushiguro spoke back, but she wasn't sure if it was saying it to convince her, or himself.

But then, both of the first-years froze in their movements. All that strength, all that power from the special grade disappeared from the distance in an instant — even Hiyori could feel that much.

Hiyori instantly turned to Fushiguro for his reaction, but it was practically the same as hers, "Did you feel that?"

"The special grade is dead," Fushiguro confirmed her suspicions.

But then, something even more sinister appeared out of the darkness. The fear, the anger, the horror that that special grade released into the stomp sphere could be compared to practically nothing to this current state. But that could only mean. . .

"Yeah, sorry, but he isn't going to be coming back."

Before both Fushiguro and Hiyori — stood what Hiyori would've believed to be Yuji at first glance. But there was no doubt now that she got a good look at him, it was Sukuna. The crisp black lines that Yuji had shown Hiyori once in a picture he'd drawn were plastered across his face. Not to mention, Hiyori could feel just how devilish and pure evil the aura he had surrounding his body was.

Hiyori tried to remain strong, she was a coward before with the special grade — but Yuji stayed behind because it was the only logical way for the possibility of them to survive. And look at what happened, because she was too scared before. She had to do this, for Yuji.

"There's no reason to be scared, I'm in such a great mood right now," Sukuna cooed towards Fushiguro, who still had a startled reaction written on his face. "Let's just chat for a bit."

Sukuna, much to both Fushiguro and Hiyori's surprise, walked right past them to be standing face in front of them, instead. Both of the first-years stayed silent through Sukuna's introduction, unsure how or why or even if they should even mutter one word.

Hiyori didn't like to look at 'Yuji' while Sukuna possessed his body, it sent a shiver completely down her spine. The things she loved more about Yuji, his bright eyes, soft smile, and warm skin were all gone while Sukuna was in control. It was like looking at a twin of Yuji, but being able to decipher the two clearly through how they behave.

"The kid had it coming for using me without making any kind of a deal," Sukuna growled under his breath, and then his eyes shifted over to Hiyori for the first time. A teasing smirk traced his pink lips, "And now, it feels like he's having some troubles switching back. But then again, no matter what he did, this would've ended up the same."

Sukuna's longer fingernails dug into the fabric of Yuji's uniform, and ripped the fabric apart with ease. The leftover split fabric of Yuji's hoodie fell to the ground. Hiyori's eyes tried to refrain from staring at Yuji's slightly exposed body, is that a six pack? The thought quickly exited her mind while Sukuna raised his left hand, flaunting off the dangerously long and sharp fingernails he had.

"So, I have been thinking about the different ways I could do this."

      Sukuna dug in hand into his very own chest, well, Yuji's chest. Ripping through skin aimlessly, his whole fist was actually inside his body. Blood dripped down his chest and onto the ground before him. Hiyori's eyes became as wide as saucers, and her lips fell ajar, absolutely appalled.

      "Wh-What are you doing?" Fushiguro managed to get out in from his hoarse throat.

      "I'm taking this brat hostage," Sukuna grinned victoriously.

The rest of the conversation carried out between Sukuna and Fushiguro, Hiyori's haunted eyes were stuck on the dripping-with-blood heart Sukuna had tossed to the grass like it was trash. Yuji's heart. How could she convince Sukuna to replace his heart so Yuji could come back safely? She was racking her mind with the possibilities — how she could save Yuji, how he could switch over and still remain alive.

Yuji can't die.

Hiyori seemed to be brought back from her disassociated state just as Fushiguro summoned Nue. This was a fight, after all, and here she was — too damn distracted to be able to focus. Sukuna's power radiated from him, she had never once encountered something so utterly dangerous on her lifetime.

She balled her hand into a fist, and dove in for the first attack. Hiyori's fists contain a lot of cursed energy, hence why that is her preferred fighting style. Even though she is a woman and statistically is wearing, she somehow had the cursed energy to match at least five men.

      Fushiguro didn't hesitate to follow her, while Nue flew from behind and tried attacking from the top. Sukuna was dodging each and every left and right punch Hiyori and Fushiguro delivered in unison. His hands were placed comfortably in Yuji's pockets, clearly he was using zero effort to dodge their attacks. Hiyori growled out in annoyance, deciding for an alternative attack.

She balanced her body to lean one of her palm's on the cement, swinging her body in such a swift moment it actually appeared as a somewhat decent attack. However, Sukuna's wrapped his palm around her ankle — lifting her so she would be swinging under his grasp upside down.

"More!" Sukuna shouted with a steady grin still plastered on his face. "Put more curse behind it when you strike me, girl."

He didn't hesitate to fling Hiyori halfway across the courtyard. Her body came in contact with several tree branches as she seemingly flew through them, breaking them the instant her weight collided with them. Once her back hit a wide, hardened tree trunk — her body came crumbling to the ground. From the impact, all the oxygen in her lungs disappeared in a second and she was left gasping for air.

This was when Fushiguro took control of the fight, he also attempted his best at ganging up his shikigami, Nue and Orochi, on Sukuna. However, the attempt was short lasted — Sukuna managed to destroy Orochi within a single minute, leaving Fushiguro in dismay.

Sukuna grabbed a handful of Fushiguro's jacket from behind him, and launched his body throughout the sky with such force a blast of wind ran through Hiyori's hair. Sukuna seemingly appeared to be on the chase after Fushiguro, she knew she had to somehow catch up to them.

With both palms on the grass, she hatefully ripped up some of grass in under her hands. A scream bellowed from her lungs, and she darted from her position. Even when her brain was screamingly repeatedly about the natural instinct to run in order to survive — she never listened once.

She had to save Yuji, and she had to save Fushiguro.

It only took a minute for her to finally appear from the shadows of the courtyard. She spotted Sukuna in the sky, he had just landed a nasty kick to Fushiguro and Nue — sending them flying into a nearby building.

"Bastard!" Hiyori screamed uncontrollably, her eyes widened as Sukuna immediately disappeared from her vision in the sky.

"Say it to my face, brat."

Hiyori exhaled loudly as she heard the voice of Sukuna directly behind her. His movements, how are they so fast? I can't even see him move in my vision. She tried her best to turn around swift enough so she could be ready for any attack — but Sukuna was incredibly faster.

Sukuna swung a leg directly into Hiyori's side, sending her flying into a small building nearby. A cough unwillingly escaped her lungs, but dark blood was all that came up her throat. The collision with the steel bars for support made it feel like every bone in her body broke in a second.

      Still, after she had a second to recover her unsteady breathing, Hiyori struggled to peel herself from the rumble, but nonetheless didn't give up. She winced while grasping her lower stomach in pain, it appeared some metal from the building managed to get a deep cut into her skin. Her uniform was pretty wrecked from all the damage she'd incurred thus far, rips in fabric in both her jacket and skirt.

      How am I so weak. . .I haven't gotten a single hit in so far. . .

      She glanced up through the smoky atmosphere to Sukuna walking towards her, his hands comfortably placed in his pockets, once again.

      "Bastard," Hiyori hissed out, a sudden strength found in her system. If he wanted her to say it to his face, then she would. "Let Yuji live."

      "You're a feisty one," Sukuna teased, the corners of his mouth turning upward. "Yuji liked that about you."

      Hiyori's hand crumbled into a fist, she felt her nails digging into her skin, "Shut the hell up."

      "Oh?" Sukuna cooed, moving in an instant and perching his palm on Hiyori's face — slamming the girls skull into the damaged cement wall behind her. "Let's count how many seconds you'll stay alive, then."

       Sukuna released his grasp on Hiyori, her body sliding down the cement wall as blood seeped from her skull. Her vision was blurred, she was just barely still conscious. The only picture that flashed in her mind was Yuji's smile.

      Very slowly, Hiyori placed a hand on a piece of rumble beside her — she heaved her heavier-than-usual body and managed to just barely hover on both feet. Her eyes flickered, staring down Sukuna a few feet in front of her.

      "You're a bit more resilient than I imagined, brat," Sukuna spat, but the words couldn't even register in her brain because of how rattled it was. "Are these weak and uncontrolled punches the only thing you have?"

     Hiyori couldn't recognize this bubbling feeling, which felt an overwhelming sense of power erupt in her heart — like every ounce of her once depleted energy had been repaired and doubled. She could feel the ripple power even in her skin. Her squeezed shut eyelids tightened even more. It felt like the power also had pain shortly following behind it — it was a mix that she couldn't tell if she enjoyed or not.

      Sukuna tilted his head in interest, he could feel the shift of power in the air — this was all coming from her? The immense amount of cursed energy around her doubled, no tripled, Sukuna thought to himself. What an interesting twist.

      The mere second she peeled her eyes back open, her once beautiful purple eyes were replaced by a shining bright mix of orange, red, and yellow. The colors were like watercolor, mixing in and out from one another to create a wonderful masterpiece.

"Well, in that case," Sukuna devilishly smiled, meeting Hiyori's now differently lit eyes. "Hiyori, show me what you got!"

      Hiyori darted forward in such speed it was like she had morphed into a cheetah, a strong right hook was in motion — a bright orange aura flame burning from her wrist down. But her body froze unconsciously as she was merely an inch away from Yuji's face. The water color dancing around her eyes faded uncontrollably, fading back into her usual purple. The pain came rippling throughout her body, was that immense power she felt some kind of shield at the same time?

     Hiyori dove into a bear hug with the boy she'd call her best friend half of her life.

      "Yuji," Hiyori choked out as a whisper, it was hard to get her voice any louder with the pain echoing in her body. Tears were already rolling down her cheeks from the realization.

     The black lines faded from Yuji's face and body, she could sense the exact second he had changed back with Sukuna — hence why she had paused her attack right after the switch happened and launched into full hug mode.

      "Yori. . .how hurt are you?" Yuji immediately reacted to the hug and wrapped his own arms around Hiyori's waist. She was showered with blood, her body was covered in scraps and bruises. The uniform she just had in perfect condition an hour ago was shredded.

      "Yuji, your heart. . ." Hiyori whimpered, nuzzling her face, now from wet tears, into the crook of Yuji's neck.

      "Oh, right," Yuji sheepishly laughed with his eyes closed, the feeling of no longer having a heart in him was slowly becoming apparent. "Looks like I won't have to worry about you, Fushiguro, Kugisaki, or Gojo-sensei anymore."

      "Stop, you idiot," Hiyori cried out, wrapping her arms even tighter around Yuji's body — she felt his own grasp slipping away. "Don't die on me, Yuji, please."

      "Live a long life, Yori."

      And with that, Yuji Itadori's lifeless body collapsed into Hiyori Hinata's arms.

a/n: oh boy