"You said you'd never come back."Shoko's voice broke the silence of the room before I could even open my eyes.
My body felt like it had been shattered and stitched together with glass threads. Every breath ached. My lips were dry. My fingers barely moved.
I blinked, vision blurry. Slowly, Shoko came into focus—older than before, but not much had changed. Her tired eyes softened as she leaned closer.
"You said you'd never return to Tokyo," she whispered, brushing a damp strand of hair from my face. "And now here you are, unconscious in my infirmary for two weeks."
Two weeks?
I tried to speak but only a hoarse sound left my throat. She handed me water gently.
"Don't try to talk yet. Your body's been through hell. Your muscles were shredded, internal bleeding, cursed energy backlash. I barely held you together. Dia—what did you do?"
I didn't answer. Not because I didn't want to—but because before I woke up here, I wasn't even here.
I was there… again.
That battlefield.
The smell of blood.
The woman.
Her voice echoed in my head even now.
"You opened the seal, didn't you?"Her golden eyes stared right through me. "You don't even know what it will cost you. Never use it again—until you read the scroll hidden in your clan. You're not ready. Not yet."
I woke with a jolt, heart thudding.
"I… I saw her again," I whispered, voice still cracked.
Shoko frowned. "Her? Dia, what technique did you use?"
I looked away, guilt pressing heavy on my chest. "The one Mom forbade me from ever touching. I didn't know what else to do. Yuji… he…"
"Is alive." Shoko said it quickly, before I broke again. "He came back."
"What?"
Her voice turned serious. "Gojo arrived just in time. Whatever connection Yuji had with Sukuna—it was enough. The King of Curses gave control back just to prove a point. Yuji's body was heavily damaged, but he regenerated. He's stable now. Sleeping. You weren't the only one pushing yourself to death out there."
I stared at the ceiling, breathing shakily. "So Gojo came. He… he knows?"
Shoko's lips pressed into a thin line. "We don't know for sure. He didn't say anything. Just picked up Yuji.… and left."
I closed my eyes, the thought pressing into my chest like a weight.
I had made Yaga-sensei promise—Gojo can't know I'm here.
But it was Gojo. He always knew.
The door creaked open then, and Shoko turned her head. A moment later, she stepped aside.
"Speak of the storm," she muttered under her breath. "I'll leave you two."
Nanami walked in, stiff as always, a frown deep on his face, but his eyes—those tired eyes—relieved.
"You idiot," he muttered. "You promised you'd stay out of it."
I laughed weakly. "And you promised you'd keep me out of it."
He sighed, walking closer, pulling a chair beside me. "You scared me."
"I scare myself," I whispered.
Nanami looked at me for a long time. "We'll talk later. You need rest. But I'll be here when you wake up again."
"Wait, Nanami," I said, my voice cracking as I pushed myself up just a little. The pain in my chest flared, but I had to ask. "Did… did Gojo save me?"
Nanami looked at me—silent, still.
"No," he finally said, voice low and firm. "It was me."
I blinked. "What?"
Nanami stood, walking slowly to the window, staring out like he was watching the rain from that night again.
"I didn't have time to go after Yuji. When I got there, he was already bleeding out. His chest—" he swallowed, jaw clenched tight "—it was empty. I knew Gojo was coming. I could feel his cursed energy from blocks away. But you—Dia—you were barely breathing."
He turned to face me, glasses catching the light, hiding the pain in his eyes.
"I chose you."
The words hit like a punch to the heart.
"I carried you out while the rain poured down. Your scent was fading fast. I don't think Gojo noticed. Or maybe he did, and just didn't say anything. Either way—" he took a deep breath "—I made sure he didn't see your face. I didn't let him look at you."
I stared at him, speechless.
"I'll tell Shoko to keep quiet too. You're safe here. Just… stay calm, Dia. I won't let him know you're here. Not unless you want him to."
I looked away, my throat tight. Rain still drummed softly against the glass, like a memory that refused to fade.
He chose me.
Even when the world was falling apart—he chose me.
Far from the infirmary, on the night of the cursed womb mission…
The rain poured hard, soaking through the city's silence like static.
Gojo stood still for a moment in the shadows outside the scene.The kids were safe now—more or less. Yuji had collapsed, his chest torn open. It was chaos before he arrived, but everything had finally calmed.
And yet…
He tilted his head slightly, his brows furrowing beneath the blindfold.
"...That's weird," he murmured to himself.
He could feel it. A ripple. A signature of cursed energy so faint it was almost a whisper. It brushed past his senses like a memory half-dreamed—familiar, but distant. Old, yet still alive.
For a split second, he felt his chest tighten.
"It can't be…"
He stood there longer than he should have, ignoring the sound of the rain hitting his coat.
"No way. She said she'd never come back," he muttered, almost to himself. "I mean… she wouldn't."
But the cursed energy didn't lie. Even if it was faint, drenched by the storm and masked by bloodshed, he had known it once like the back of his hand.
Dia.
Still, he shook his head and clicked his tongue.
"Tch. I'm just tired. Overthinking it. I've got bigger things to worry about than ghosts from the past…"
And just like that, he turned and walked away—convincing himself it had been nothing.Just a trick of his mind.
He never noticed Nanami standing in the shadows. Watching. Guarding. Making sure Gojo didn't see her.
Not yet.
But the seed of doubt was planted.
And Gojo Satoru never ignored his instincts for long.