Abandoned | Jujutsu Kaisen

Chapter 36

I have Ichika in my arms, her head leaning heavily against my shoulder. She is surprisingly light.

When I look down, I see my arms splashed with blood, and some areas on my clothes have become a darker shade from splotches of the liquid.

[So your name is... Haneki, right?]_Ichika

I'm taken aback by the sudden question, but nod. When did she hear that?

[Haneki. Thank you for trying to save me but...]_Ichika

I sigh as I know what she is going to say. But I continue walking

[There's no time for me anymore. It's too late]_Ichika

Reading her mind gets a bit harder now. It sounds clogged and blocked off with sponges or something.

[I just want to say thank you and-]_Ichika

Her sentence stops as the last of her life drains out of her. Ichika's body now feels limp and empty. Blood still pours out of her, but there are no signs of pain on her face. Her expression is peaceful, with a small smile on her face. By only looking at her face, you wouldn't guess that she has had two limbs cut off. But I guess I'll never hear what she had to say to me now.

"She's gone," I say, my voice surprisingly calm.

I'm about to put her down when Gojo-sensei turns around and says, "Bring her," His expression is heavy with different emotions. Guilt, perhaps.

We walk for a few seconds in silence when I suddenly remember, "What about Inumaki?"

"Oh yeah," Gojo-sensei perks up, as if he forgot all about him too, "Give me the girl. Go find and get him back here," I nod and carefully hand Ichika over to Gojo-sensei's outstretched arms. Then I turn around and walk back while Gojo-sensei heads out.

"Inumaki?" I call out after I turn a few corners. The structure of this building is more complicated than I expected.

[Is that Haneki?]_Inumaki

I hear his thoughts from not too far away, and soon, he calls out for me too, "Haneki?" But his voice sounds cracked and dry; he probably overused his Cursed Speech.

I turn one last corner and finally find Inumaki on his knees. His face is paler than usual and I see small drops of blood on the ground beneath him.

"Ha... neki..." He croaks, the dryness in his voice clearly audible.

"Let's go," I help him up to his feet and start walking. He staggers a bit before slowly coming beside me. We soon reach the opening we came through when we first entered, and outside, Gojo-sensei is waiting with Ichika in his arms. A black car is parked just a few steps away, and I spot Fushiguro inside, tired, but otherwise well.

"Here you go," Gojo-sensei lightly tosses a water bottle to Inumaki, who nearly drops the bottle. He hurriedly gulps at the water, thirsty.

"Fushiguro takana?" Inumaki asks, clearing his voice with a small cough.

[Is Fushiguro okay?]_Inumaki

"Yeah, he's inside," Sensei gestures at the car. Inumaki gives a relieved sigh.

[Thank God]_Inumaki

We all climb into the car, and I immediately notice the amount of blood Fushiguro has lost already. He's pale, although not as much as Inumaki, but still. There is lots of blood near his arm, so much so that I can barely see his skin. But he's alive.

"You guys go ahead first," Gojo-sensei suddenly says, closing the car door shut. He still has Ichika in his arms. No one bothers to wave him goodbye as Ijichi-san starts driving.

Time Skip

We arrive at the school building and get off the car. We are greeted by Maki and Panda, who looks taken back at Fushiguro and Inumaki's state.

"Where did you guys go?" Panda asks, tilting his head in a worried way.

"Mission," Fushiguro answers, the blood on his arm mostly off by now, "Sensei took us with him,"

We start walking into the building and drop Fushiguro and Inumaki at Ieiri-san's office.

"Did you... see the news?" Maki suddenly asks, heaviness in her voice. I'm a little surprised since we haven't talked that much yet.

[You're on the news...]_Maki

I shake my head and ask, "Why?" But I feel like I already know what it's going to be about.

"Well..." Panda exchanges a look with Maki before continuing, "You were on there and..."

"It said I killed someone?" I guess, taking my hand out of my pockets and nervously scratching the back of my neck.

"No, but it said that you..." Panda looks as nervous as I do.

"That you were dead," Maki finishes for him.

[What happened to you?]_Maki

"Oh," My body relaxes at that.

(731 words)

i can't believe its been almost 5 days... sry for the late update