19 The future

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I sat in place watching movies after movies, shows after shows whilst holding the doll to improve my focus. My focused waned for the briefest of seconds and the doll released a powerful punch upon my face.

"It'll get easier, Itadori," Aki said calmly seated beside me. His normally excited and seemingly bubbly personality was locked behind whatever facade of stoicism he was trying to lead me on to believe he had.

"How'd that fight with your uncle go?" I questioned offhandedly and he gave me a sidewards glance before facing the TV screen one more. The monkey doll threw a punch at my face, due to my slip in concentration.

"I lost." He spoke up dejectedly. "It's only natural. He is the strongest, after all."

His words were compliments but they seemed bitter, filled with disdain that wasn't originally there. But they weren't directed towards his uncle, not in the slightest, it was hard to tell who they were at.

"As I am now, I could only last 6 minutes against the strongest" he said his eyes locking with his phone screen.

"Anyways what the hell happened to you? You and principal Yaga disappeared as soon as the fight started," Akito reminisced and I awkwardly chuckled.

"Well... It's a death sentence trying to stop a fight between you from happening so Yaga ordered we simply got out of range" he stated calmly .

"Everybody in that building was a sorcerer so I'm sure whatever destruction you cause didn't do too much harm" I said trying to ease the situation, he didnt look at all relieved simply to deep in thought to fully process my words.

I understood how he felt, that feeling of hopelessness you get after making things worse even though you felt you were doing the right thing. However, it wasn't my place to speak on it. I barely even knew him other than the fact that he was Fushiguros best friend and Satoru Senseis nephew, so i didnt really know what to say to keep the flow of the conversation going. 

"Satoru was right..." he sighed with resignation resting his head into the couch as he allowed himself to seemingly be swallowed in.

"Uh yeah... I think so too" i agreed not fully understanding the entirety situation but nontheless i felt he was trying to speak his mind and id at least try to listen. 

he looked at me blue eyes met pink hue and he let out a light chuckle that held defeat. "figures... but its understandable"

He let out a sigh as he stood from the couch, and made his way towards the exit. "Hey where are you going?" I called out and he didn't bother looking at me his eyes stationed at the door in front of him.

"Catching a breather" he said as he left.

Akito's Pov

Talking curses, masked assassination and the growing strength of curses? Not to add the man that had been attempting to end my life.

I had too much on my plate to think about.

That dream I had seen, was without a doubt real. It was something that was going to happen but with no future knowledge I was unsure of how to stop it.

For all I knew Itadori might've been someone Sukuna had considered an ally, they bore a striking resemblance after all.

I buried my hands into my pockets as I began to hasten my pace navigating my way through the crowded city that was Kyoto.

Eventually opting to take to the skies, though I ensured I did so whilst out of range of any non sorcerers. I sat atop a GameStop store taking in the sights the city held.

I looked down at my fists clenching them in frustration. As much as I hated to admit it, Satoru was right, I was to rash and doing what I had done had likely set more unnecessary attention on Mai than needed.

"Akito," an unfamiliar voice called out to me, my eyes shot in the direction the voice had come from, my infinity materialized in an instant, swear beads threatened to fall from my temples as I assessed were the voice had come from.

"Who are you?" I said towards the unfamiliar woman, her tone of voice was soft, her purple eyes was shrouded by clouds that made it impossible to perceive her current state of mind.

"That's what I wanted to ask you, I don't remember Satoru Gojo having a nephew in Jujutsu kaisen," she said casually sweeping dark purple hair out of her line of vision.

My eyes widened slightly at her as her smile grew even wider. "You're like me...?"

"Assuming that you died on earth and was brought here id suppose so," she let out a somewhat relieved sigh as she took a seat beside me her eyes looking over Shinjuku with insight.

"How did yours happen?" I asked calmly and the ravennette gave me a sideways glance before her attention shifted towards the sun on the horizon.

Her eyes became unfocused as she finally turned to me.

"I don't know," she said calmly her eyes turned back towards the sky which held a distinctive pinkish hue.

It couldn't have been that long ago that she reincarnated, considering she looks about the same age as me.

"Is it that long ago that you've already forgotten?" I said with a light chuckle which she didn't reciprocate my amusement in the slightest.

"A few hundred years I suppose?" She said calmly and my jaw slackened at her words.

"Pardon?" I said slightly shocked at the things she had stated.

"I'm sure you're aware of what's to come, flashes of visions, I suppose?" She said turning towards me ignoring my confusion.

"Yea--- but that's besides the point, what the fuck do you mean a few centuries??" The woman before me looked no older than 18, her skin was clear and her face held youth.

A few centuries? Was such a lifespan possible for a jujutsu sorcerer?

"I was reborn here, Tokyo Shinjuku..." She said clearly remembering the moment vividly. "I had been reborn in my favourite anime so I guess you could say I was a little excited,"

"Sounds a lot like me, but Jujutsu kaisen didn't exists a few centuries ago," I said still bewildered by her previous words.

"It did for me, what year is it currently," she asked casually.

"I left in late 2021, probably some time in December," I replied casually and she chuckled at my words.

"I left just a few months earlier," she calmly stated leaning her head against my shoulders. I promptly scooched over causing her to nearly lose her balance and fall off the building.

She looked at me with a raised brow before smirking at my embarrassed expression.

"You have someone in mind..." She said with certainty.

"Mai Zen'in?" She asked almost certain she was right. I didn't reply almost confirming her suspicions instantly.

"Wow, that's gonna be quite the heartbreak in the future," she said humming thoughtfully.

"What are you talking about?" I replied still unsure of whether to trust her or not.

"You're not curious about how I've been here for centuries?" She said with a pout, her eyes locked with mine, I'd never met such emptiness in my life, she looked like someone who had taken the full blow of unlimited void.

"What happens to Mai?" I said in a somewhat mildly threatening tone.

"The same thing that happens in almost every regression if you don't save her," she replied casually tapping her hand against her chin as if in thought.

"Regression?" I said taken slightly aback.

"Yes. To put it simply, every time I die, I'm brought back to the very first day I was reborn here," she said casually, her eyes devoid of hope.

"I'm not exactly sure what the clear conditions are, so I'll continue to regress until I lose my sense of self and fully assimilate with this world," she looked forward at the painted colorful sky and then turned her head back to me.

"You've never been able to stop Sukuna from incarnating?" I asked with a clearly shocked face.

"Nope, he's too damn powerful. Kill Itadori, he incarnates as Megumi, kill both another 20 years down the line a new vessel might be born. Whether or not he's able to possess that vessel doesn't matter, since at the end of it all, killing him with Gojo's help is impossible, and ultimately you'll live till old age, die and regress," she said briefly.

"The clear conditions are killing Sukuna?" I asked calmly.

"I don't know... I've sacrificed a lot but even if we do all that killing him doesn't guarantee freedom," she replied once more.

"You'll regress to the past, all the relationships you've built up will be forgotten by your loved ones, each regression causes a different person, a lover might be an enemy, it's hard to really differentiate at this point," I looked over at her certain that Sukuna wouldn't win if we had so much info on what's to come.

"Well, that happened when it was just you, I've inherited limitless, I'm sure that..." I trailed off at the empty look she gave me unsure of how to reply to her cold gaze.

"What about Mai?" I suddenly realized. She had a bounty of information on what's to come, so what was stopping her from sharing such info. She looked at me with a calm gaze before standing up.

"Mai Zen'in is killed though you've probably hastened her death," she said calmly.

"In my opinion, she's not worth saving in the first place." As soon as those words were uttered, a black sphere of gravitational potential energy was exerted in the regressor's direction. However, her reflexes, keen sharp, and attuned to counterattacks, deftly dodged said attacks as she created distance between the two of us.

She didn't look panicked, not in the slightest, her gaze calculated each and every step I took, her centuries of experience seemingly becoming clear. A purple shadow shrouded her, unveiling a weapon and two creatures that seemed to be the shadows themselves.

A summoning technique. In a burst of speed, she appeared just before me. She was fast, faster than me by a long shot and probably as fast as Satoru himself.

While my mind and body couldn't keep up, my other senses certainly could. I had borne witness to it once but that was all I had needed for me to be able to figure out how to use it myself .

"Simple domain" was all that was uttered and she quickly backed away once more realizing the threat a domain expansion would harbor. She sheathed her weapon and the shadows dispersed.

"I'm not about to waste so much time and energy in killing you over someone as irrelevant as Mai Zen'in," she said calmly as the weapon before her dispersed into the shadow itself.

"Do what you want," she said holding her nose bridge in slight annoyance.

"It's clear getting through that thick skull of yours won't work until you experience regression for the first time," she let out a sigh as she looked outward towards the setting sun.

"I'm taking things at face value. Trusting you is the last thing on my mind, considering you've been stuck in a loop for over several centuries and still haven't been capable of taking out Sukuna," I replied just as harshly and she grasped upon her temple preparing to speak but opting not too.

"The next time I see you, don't get in my way, I have several blades in my possession with the capability of bypassing that infinity of yours," she said pointing a finger in my direction, her gaze held fire within them as she left the area at such blistering speeds that I could merely see her afterimage.

I grasped my neck feeling over my skin, somewhat thankful I hadn't been worried about that blade she had unsheathed. The moment she had made her fist move, an image of my impending decapitation flashed within my mind.

She was dangerous and she had the ability to summon shadows that bended to her will.

I narrowed my eyes unsure of how progressing with such a person would be like.

Just how many regressors existed!?

There was no way she was the only one.

My phone dinged, and I smiled once I saw the name of who I had been expecting.

Mai- You alright? You don't normally send so many texts at a time.

I smiled at her reply. She was right, and I was planning on notifying her of the stupid thing I had done. She was possibly in more danger than before, and I wanted to let her know that in person. I looked down at my phone screen typing in the next set of words.

Me: I want to see u.

I said what I truly felt at the moment and felt my cheeks flush at the message as I shoved it in my pocket. I didn't bother sending anything else, other than my location, of course.

What was I so nervous for??

I was just meeting up with a friend.

I paced back and forth feeling my heart rate quicken with each passing minute.

My phone dinged once more as I read over the message.

Mai: here. But I don't see you anywhere? This better not be some sort of prank, Aki.

I looked over the ledge of the roof noting her form in the empty street just below me.

I let out a deep breath as I calmly levitated downwards.

"Yo," I said casually, and her head whipped towards me, slightly panicked at my sudden appearance.

"Can you not do that?" She replied, playfully punching me as she regained her composure.

A reddish hue painted her cheeks as she removed a stray strand of hair from her face. She looked at the ground then, albeit nervously, towards me. "...what did you... Wanna talk about?"

I took a step closer towards her, our eyes never leaving each other as I swept her hair back.

"You've been growing it out? I thought you said what I thought about you doesn't matter?" I questioned teasingly, and I stifled a laugh watching her face squirm as she tried to look angry. Not too long ago, I had told her how she'd look nice if she let her long hair grow out and here she was now.

"It doesn't! I just... Happened to think long hair would suit me," she said, slowly regaining her composure.

Her eyes glanced over me for a brief moment before she gave me a smile that made my heart skip a beat.

"You've gotten taller again, huh?" She asked playfully.

I lightly chuckled at her surprise. It felt great, being with her, I forgot all the problems that seemed to haunt me.

"Yeah...." I said, my voice trailing off as I dug my hands into my hoodied pocket.

"What's wrong?" She asked, concern overwriting her features as she took another step closer; at this point, our bodies were mere centimeters apart.

I awkwardly grasped my neck, finally breaking the seemingly inseparable eye contact we had held. She grasped my face and forced our eyes to meet before asking once more.

"Aki... tell me what's wrong?"

I grasped ahold of one of her hands, feeling over her smooth skin and taking in the warm sensation it provided against my skin.

"That's the thing... I can't tell you..." I replied, somewhat disappointed in myself.

She looked at me with a raised brow before I scratched the back of my head and replied. "Well, I can tell you some of it... The rest is... Classified."

That's a lie. It wasn't classified.

"What is it?" She asked, her gaze innocent and understanding, a far cry from the Mai I had grown to see and understand in the show.

"I argued with your clan head over you..." I replied, and she raised a brow curious at my words and I sighed as I prepared to explain again.

"I broke some rules, did something that prevented the higher-ups from killing someone and they got mad," I explained and she nodded, understanding my brief debriefing.

"And..." She asked.

"It resulted in me standing trial. Your clan representative only attended to order my immediate separation in interactions with you, in exchange for a more lenient punishment," Mai looked up at me in disbelief, her eyes narrowing as to what their motive could possibly have been.

"I refused. They pushed on. I threatened them because of what they said about you being a... Long story short, you should watch yourself more... I've put unnecessary attention on you," I explained, my gaze avoiding hers and she rubbed her hands over my cheeks.

"So you defended me? Why?" She said, looking at me expectantly. She already asked this question with an answer in mind.

Her eyes locked with mine as I gently removed one of her hands away from my face.

"... You're my friend," I replied, and her demeanor shifted at my words. She wasn't in uniform, she wore black baggy cargo pants alongside her white sweater, and black and white Jordans. Her makeup had been carefully put on and was done to accentuate her best features.

She was... Breathtaking.

"I see so... You're sure that's the only reason..." She said, looking up at me.

I'll admit it, Satoru. You were right. I do love her.

But...

A relationship with her... now wasn't the right time.

I looked over her face, caressing her cheek before pulling her into my chest. Whispering into her ears rather than telling her the truth.

"Just wait a while longer," I said softly, and she buried her face against my chest before nodding.