The first thing I noticed was the silence.
The wrong kind.
The kind that comes after something violent leaves the room.
Yuji staggered.
A breath ripped out of him like he'd just been drowning.
"Hah—"
His hand went straight to his chest, fingers gripping the fabric of his uniform like he was trying to anchor himself back into his own body.
For a second… he just stood there.
Breathing.
Confused.
"…What…?"
His voice came out rough. Disoriented.
He blinked once. Twice.
Then finally looked around.
The abandoned industrial site.
Broken concrete. Rusted beams. Wind scraping through empty structures.
"…Where are we?"
His brows pulled together, trying to piece it together.
"I was just—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
His memory didn't connect.
You could see it.
The gap.
I didn't answer immediately.
I was still standing where he left me.
Exactly where Sukuna left me.
My body felt… off.
Too aware.
Too still.
Like my skin remembered something my brain was still trying to process.
Yuji looked at me then.
Really looked.
And his expression shifted.
"…Hey."
Softer now.
Concerned.
"Are you okay?"
Of course he'd ask that first.
Of course he would.
I forced my shoulders to relax.
"I should be asking you that."
My voice came out steady.
Too steady.
He blinked again, clearly thrown off.
"Me?"
A small, awkward laugh left him.
"I mean—I feel weird, yeah—but that's kinda normal at this point…"
He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing around again.
"…But I don't remember coming here."
There it was.
No panic.
Just confusion.
His eyes moved back to me.
Then narrowed slightly.
Just… noticing.
"You look like something happened."
Direct.
For a second—
I almost said it.
Everything.
The way Sukuna looked at me.
The way he recognized something I didn't understand.
The way he touched me like I wasn't something fragile—but something he was testing.
Claiming.
Studying.
My fingers curled slightly at my side.
I exhaled.
"…You lost control for a second."
Half-truth.
Not a lie.
But not the truth either.
Yuji froze.
Completely.
"…Oh."
That one word carried weight.
Heavy.
Immediate.
His jaw tightened.
"Did I—"
He stopped.
Couldn't even finish it.
Did I hurt someone?
I shook my head.
"No."
That part was true.
The tension in his shoulders dropped instantly.
Not fully.
But enough.
"…Okay."
A quiet breath left him.
Like he'd been bracing for something worse.
Silence settled between us again.
But this time—
It wasn't empty.
Yuji shifted his weight, glancing around one last time.
"…So how did we get here?"
There it was.
The question I didn't want.
I met his eyes.
Calm.
"He moved us."
Yuji stilled.
"…He?"
Yuji looked away.
His hand clenched slightly.
"…Right."
A beat passed.
Then he let out a breath and forced a small smile.
"…Man. He really does whatever he wants, huh?"
Light tone.
But it didn't quite land.
I didn't respond.
Another pause.
Then—
"Well… uh…"
He scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"Should we… head back?"
Normal.
Like this was just another day.
I nodded once.
"Yeah."
We started walking.
Side by side.
Not touching.
Not close.
But not distant either.
Gravel crunched under our shoes.
The wind followed us.
Yuji kept glancing at me.
Not obvious.
But enough.
Like he was trying to read something.
Figure something out.
"…Hey."
I didn't look at him.
"Hmm?"
He hesitated.
Just for a second.
Then—
"…Thanks."
That made me stop.
I turned slightly.
"For what?"
He gave a small shrug.
"For being there, I guess."
A faint smile.
Genuine.
"I don't really know what happened… but it's kinda reassuring."
Reassuring.
I held his gaze for a second longer than necessary.
Then looked away.
"…Don't rely on that."
He blinked.
"Huh?"
I started walking again.
"If you lose control again," I said calmly, "I won't hesitate."
He went quiet.
Completely.
A few steps passed.
Then—
"…Yeah."
"I know."
No defensiveness.
No denial.
Just acceptance.
That made something in my chest tighten.
We walked the rest of the way in silence.
But the quiet wasn't empty anymore.
Because even though Yuji didn't remember—
I did.
The way Ryomen Sukuna looked at me.
The way his voice dropped when he said it.
That scent.
And worse—
The way he didn't kill me.
My fingers tightened slightly.
Somewhere deep inside Yuji—
He was still there.
Watching.
Waiting.
Amused.
And for the first time—
It didn't feel like a coincidence.
It felt like the beginning of something.
Something I didn't understand yet.