"I didn't know you were so close to Maki. When did that happen?"

Walking side by side through the city center, Nobara suddenly asked Itadori, who seemed a bit distracted before having his attention caught.

After training with Maki, he returned to his dorm to take a shower. Feeling refreshed, he was about to put on some clothes.

He would be lying if he said he wasn't startled when Nobara suddenly barged into his room.

.

"Hey, idiot! You're coming with me to the city center—"

The moment the girl opened the door, she froze as soon as she saw Itadori dressed in nothing but a towel.

"..."

The boy blinked at her but didn't care that his chest was exposed. He was a man, and showing his body wasn't an issue for him.

With that in mind, he just turned around while looking for some clothes to wear.

"I spent the night training. I want to sleep." He simply declared with little interest, grabbing a plain white shirt and sweatpants. "I need to change clothes."

He waved his hand as if to shoo her away, causing the girl to blink for a few seconds before her face turned red.

"Idiot! There's a huge clothing sale! I need you to help carry the bags!" Nobara simply ignored the fact that he was just in a towel, her mind returning to the reason she was there.

"Go ask Megumi or someone." Returning to the bathroom with the clothes, he quickly got dressed, coming back to the room soon after. "I'm really tired, so it's not happening."

Nobara watched in silence as he moved slowly towards his bed, adjusting the air conditioning before lying down and covering himself completely with the blanket. All very casually, as if she wasn't even there.

But while Itadori seemed to think he had won, he was surprised when he opened his eyes to see Nobara glaring at him, their faces close enough for him to notice her intimidating expression.

"I've been waiting for this sale for two months, so I won't take no for an answer."

"..."

They stared at each other for countless seconds, a deadly silence hanging in the air, before Itadori just closed his eyes.

"No."

.

To be honest, he didn't know how he ended up agreeing to follow her in the end. Maybe his tired mind betrayed him, thinking that just agreeing with her was the easiest path.

"I found her training late at night, so I decided to join. We didn't talk much before that." He declared with little enthusiasm, dark circles under his eyes. "Damn, let's just get this over with."

Nobara rolled her eyes at that.

"Okay, okay." Shrugging, the girl moved towards a clothing store, with Itadori following her.

He noticed that the store seemed crowded, the checkout line long enough for him to conclude that this would take a considerable amount of time.

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'I should be sleeping.' Rubbing his face, he moved to sit in a chair.

He watched as Nobara disappeared among the other women with an excited face, like a child in a candy store.

"Women."

He declared, receiving a tired nod from other men who were seated beside him.

"..."

As the activity in the store continued, Itadori felt his eyes getting heavier. He fought against sleep a bit, but at this point, he knew it was a losing battle.

After an intense training session, it was normal for him to feel tired. The fact that he had been awake for over a day only intensified that.

There was no reason for him to resist it, so he just gave in.

If something happened, he was sure his instincts would wake him up immediately.

Probably...

"..."

Opening his eyes slowly, Itadori was surprised to notice he was no longer in the clothing store.

No, he was in a different place, one he knew like the back of his hand.

With the metallic shine of the walls and the sound of high technology originating from every corner, he realized immediately.

He was back on the international space station, the one he had fought so hard to be a part of one day.

And it seemed intact, as if nothing had changed since he left.

"Is this... real?" Touching the wall, he felt the cold sensation of metal, his eyes shining for a moment before his expression filled with doubt. "No, it can't be."

To be honest, he couldn't say. And if the same thing that had taken him to the world of Jujutsu Kaisen had decided to bring him back? It was a possibility.

A possibility that excited him but also deeply scared him.

If that were the case, would he be sent back?

Besides...

"..."

Looking at his reflection, he noticed he didn't see his old face... He was still Itadori Yuji.

That disheartened him a bit, but it made him understand that all of this probably wasn't real.

Was he dreaming?

Boom!

Widening his eyes when the station suddenly shook, Itadori immediately went on alert, his eyes turning to the end of the corridor when the sounds of hurried footsteps reached his ears.

'What the hell is going on?'

Raising his hands in anticipation for battle, he froze when he saw the people responsible for all the commotion.

!

A person suddenly appeared from the corridor, Carlos, who should have been one of the communication officers on the station.

"Run! We need to get—"

But seeing him running desperately while giving orders, Itadori froze when something pierced his body, impaling him but not killing him immediately, leaving him agonizing while struggling to breathe.

"Itadori Yuji!"

Itadori, who was about to move in an attempt to do something, stopped when a familiar voice called his name, his eyes widening as he turned to the end of the corridor, only to find numerous members of his crew meeting the same fate as Carlos.

"I found you!"

The one responsible for this? It was the one Itadori had sworn to kill, the one who had tormented him in his new life, and now, seemed to want to do the same in his old one.

"Mahito!"

He roared, wasting no time running towards the curse, his teeth clenched as veins bulged on his forehead.

If Mahito wanted him to hate him even more, he had succeeded.

"No need to shout, I can hear you!"

With a mocking laugh, the curse threw the crew members' bodies towards the sorcerer, who dodged them while continuing his charge.

"Bring it on!"

Mahito prepared as Itadori reached him, a punch landing squarely and making his body tremble for a moment.

Of course, a direct hit should have been a reason for victory, after all, Itadori could pride himself on having one of the most powerful punches among sorcerers...

But something was wrong...

Why had he been unable to release his cursed energy?

!

Itadori choked when a huge spike pierced his stomach, his eyes widening in pain as he was pinned against the wall.

"Is that all?" Mahito licked his lips, and with a proud smile, he expanded the spike, causing Itadori to growl in pain.

"You damn..."

Unable to stop the blood from spilling from his throat, Itadori vomited, his eyes moving to Mahito, glaring at him with a deadly intensity that only drew laughter from the curse.

"Oh, I'm so scared." Raising his hand, Mahito placed his palm in front of the boy's face. "Try to stay quiet."

Itadori widened his eyes when he noticed a spike forming from the curse's palm, his face filling with irritation as he saw the tip advancing towards his forehead.

"You son of a—"

.

"Hey, hey!"

Opening his eyes when he felt a touch on his cheek, Itadori found himself staring at Nobara's face, who looked at him with an indifferent expression.

"I'm done."

Blinking, the boy yawned, getting up while stretching.

"All right, then let's go." He declared, receiving an approving nod from the girl.

"..."

About to leave the store, he paused for a moment, his mind returning to the content of the dream he had just had.

But choosing to set it aside, he just shrugged while continuing.

"It's not going to be like that."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Nothing."

"Hmm... Weirdo."