Chapter Text
Title
[to look behind; to look ahead] This was meant to be a nod towards Orpheus and Eurydice, and the fact that Orpheus can’t help but look back at his love even though to do so would be to lose her. Of course, it also signifies the confusion that Yuji has in existing between two places at once as someone who’s come from the future.
Funnily enough, this works well with what Yuji says in Modulo Chapter 25: “If I don’t look at the present, I lose sight of the future and past, too.” Although I think Yuji is still too preoccupied with the future in Modulo for this to mean as much (to me) as it should.
Chapter One
[…although Yuji can’t remember the last time he was in Sendai… the stars are twinkling above him in a way they simply don’t in Tokyo.] Here, I’ve taken the liberty of assuming that the areas of Tokyo that are overrun by curses are the 23 special wards, which leaves the Tama region (where Jujutsu High would be in this fic) habitable, thus making it plausible for there to still be light pollution.
Chapter Two
[Yuji listens to the rain hiss against the roof and knows this isn’t special. That Kugisaki does this with Maki and sometimes Okkotsu, that Inumaki occasionally keeps Panda beside him…] At this point, Yuta, Maki, Panda, and Inumaki are in their fourth and final year. (In Season 1 Episode 8, Nobara mentions that the Jujutsu schools are four years rather than the usual Japanese three.) This puts Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara in their third year in this flashback. (Note what Megumi says in his confession in Chapter Six.) I’m excluding Hana because, despite her abilities, I think she would’ve finished her normal schooling before maybe attending Jujutsu High for their fourth year. I also assume this because she wasn’t included in those final panels of JJK Chapter 271.
[Jujutsu High is located a bit west of Hachioji] We have no real knowledge of where Jujutsu High would be located. In the original version, this read as Atsugi, but I eventually realized that it was slightly out of the boundaries of Tokyo. Placing Jujutsu High in the Tama region makes it easy for sorcerers to access even after the events of the Culling Games, and explains why there’s so much nature/why it’s so secluded. Of course, it’s still just conjecture, and logically there’s no room for Jujutsu High in Hachioji, so we’re all gonna have to suspend our disbelief for a bit.
[Kumoi Ginjiro] Ginjiro is a given name translating to “good silver.” It uses the kanji 次 to denote that he is a second son. Kumoi is a surname translating to “cloud,” using the kanji 雲, although I chose it because “Kumo,” when read as 蜘蛛, means spider. This is a nod to the spiderweb tattoos on his arms, which are part of his technique.
[Suzuki Yu] While “Yu” itself might be relatively low on the list of most popular names, “Suzuki” is the second most common surname in Japan. It could be compared to the American “Johnson,” English “Jones,” or Latin American “Rodriguez.”
Chapter Three
[…the school had several of Sukuna’s fingers already collected…] Although counting them becomes difficult, in Season 1 Episode 2, Gojo says that Jujutsu High is in possession of six of Sukuna’s fingers. This number goes down when Gojo feeds Yuji one before the end of the episode. This is why Yuji only feeds himself five fingers in this chapter.
[And yet, just beyond the pale brown door, he can feel his brothers.] I had to completely change this chapter a while after posting, as I’d forgotten some key facts, like Yuji being able to sense the Death Paintings to find the storeroom and the exact positioning of Tengen within the Tombs of the Star (i know, dumbbb). So for those who read this immediately after posting, there could be some confusion, though I did mention the edits in the pre-chapter notes of Chapter Six.
[“Listen to me — I want Itadori Yuji to live a very long life with all of you this time.”] In the original version, Yuji says, “I want to live a very long life with you all…” That’s partly because this is his true wish; in another universe, he would’ve liked to be immortal with them. I ended up changing this later on because, in my mind, Yuji never once considered staying, and the new dialogue here reflects that.
[“Did my death have any meaning?”] I reasoned that Tengen might ask this question based on the flippant way that Yuji treats their death. In Chapter 202, Yuki and Tengen discuss why they did not merge with another Star Plasma Vessel, and Tengen says that they would only be delaying the inevitable by doing so. They’ve become comfortable being passive because they’re assured of their own existence. However, Yuji saying that Kenjaku killed them, and for him to have very little trepidation about it makes them rethink this. In a slightly selfish way, they would hope that their sacrifices would have some effect in preserving the Jujutsu world, but they hesitate in asking Yuji about it. Therefore the question they’re really asking here is: How catastrophic was it for the Jujutsu world when they died?
Yuji’s reply to the quoted question, saying that it matters more how and that someone lived, tells them their death, in the end, meant nothing. This is what leads them to later come to their enlightened conclusion, as Yuki said they would if presented with information that conflicted with their worldview.
Chapter Four
[Fushiguro crouches in front of the grave and sets the flowers against the stone. Yuji watches him fluff them up, the white lilies and cherry blossoms and camellias, and waits patiently for his turn.] White lilies symbolize purity and innocence, cherry blossoms symbolize spiritual beauty, and camellias symbolize admiration.
[He focuses on the light that is Tsumiki, and the next thing he knows, he’s being pulled into her mindscape.] The inspiration for what Tsumiki’s soul looks like came from this image
Megumi’s soul-scape hasn’t been animated yet, but I wanted to juxtapose the dark void that it’s depicted as in the manga with Tsumiki’s being bright and peaceful. The trees I describe (sugi) are Japanese cedar, and are evergreen. It only read as evergreen in the original, but I thought I should be more specific. Evergreen trees symbolize eternal life, and sugi are specifically used to line the path to shrines and temples.
[Okaji Shinsuke] This is completely irrelevant, but Okaji is a surname meaning mountain or hill and foundation (as in to be the base of something). Shinsuke is a given name, which, when read as 晋輔, means “advancement/progress” and to be the support of a thing. Both essentially show how he’s Kumoi’s mentor in the same way Nanami is to Ino.
Chapter Five
[Ever since he ran into Kugisaki and Tsumiki, he’s made it a point not to wander when others might be around.] Things get hazy here, but the time between fixing Tsumiki and saving Junpei is nearly a month-and-a-half, during which Yuji does not get much rest or food. This is part of the explanation for why he ends up so exhausted that he passes out. (But, honestly, most of it was me needing him to reunite with someone so that the game of cat and mouse could end before it became a drag. For this (these) reason(s), it might seem a little contrived.)
[He can hear Mahito’s cry of surprise, his whine that Yuji is too fast, and Junpei’s choked breath as the speed catches up to him.] When Mahito describes this later, Kenjaku isn’t sure what to make of it. He thinks of Naobito and Naoya’s Projection Sorcery, but they would never get involved. He has to assume that it’s someone else with a speed-based technique, and likely searches Jujutsu High’s database for them. In my mind, he discreetly took out the person who best fit the description, and no one ever noticed (rip). This is good for Yuji, because Kenjaku thinks he’s taken care of that problem.
Chapter Six
[“大切 is not 大好き.”] 大切, or taisetsu, translates to “important,” while 大好き, or daisuki, literally translates to “big like,” which is the way love is expressed verbally in Japan. “Love,” aishiteru, 愛してる, is not commonly used.
[When he doesn’t say anything, Gojo-sensei takes a piece of tempura and pops it into his mouth.] In Japan, it’s generally considered rude to eat without chopsticks, and to touch someone else’s food. The fact Gojo does this here is both indicative of their close relationship and further demonstrates his flippant attitude towards tradition.
[“Did you know there would be an attack on Satozakura High School?”] The curses’ plan to recruit Sukuna and have Yuji make a pact with him was independent of Junpei. In Season 1 Episode 12, Mahito says he wants to transform the other students one by one until Yuji turns to Sukuna in desperation. Here, with Junpei missing due to Older Yuji’s interference, they attack his school anyway, and this is the scenario that plays out. Nanami and Yuji’s relationship is able to develop as you saw it in the anime/manga.
[“Since I’ve been here so long, it’s likely a technique that’s affected me independently of the user.”] Since I am not Gege Akutami, I don’t know if this would even be feasibly possible, but this is the explanation I came up with:
In a similar fashion to Kirara’s Love Rendezvous, the Simurian who attacked Yuji leaves a curse mark on his body and soul (which they cannot change, only release) in order to do two things: the first is to be able to pick through his memories, which we see at the beginning of Chapter One, and the second is to be able to transport him into a conjured space which replicates these memories through cursed energy/the realization of a domain. However, due to a mistake when creating their domain (ahem, my need for this plot to happen), and Yuji’s haste to escape, he ends up transported physically into the reality of one of these memories, which ends up being the night he swallowed the finger. With Yuji being in an entirely different time, the connection between him and the Simurian is gone, which is why Gojo can’t see it despite his Six Eyes. This means Yuji is essentially stuck in the past permanently. Gojo’s avoidance of the topic is because he correctly assumes this. Yuji avoids it because he already has his plan. (*This is a bit of a retcon. I’ll explain more below.)
[This is a nice bento. He can tell a lot of care went into making it.] In my head, Gojo thought, “He’ll be hungry when he wakes up, I should make him something,” and when Yuji kept sleeping, he just kept cooking, eating the food he made, then cooking again.
[“Man, I can’t believe you look like this after just a few short years… You’re bigger than I am.”] This is in reference to Yuji’s physique, not his physical height, which I would mark at exactly 6 feet or 182 cm. Gojo is 6’3, or 190 cm, for reference.
[His eyes catch on a pale chrysanthemum growing at the base of one of the matsu trees.] In Japan, white chrysanthemums can symbolize mourning, grief, and death, and are commonly present at funerals. Matsu trees are pine, which makes them evergreen, also symbolizing immortality and eternal life.
Chapter Seven
[“Those aren’t part of your disguise?”] Yuji’s speech about Megumi and the fact he used to live in the house tips Gojo off to their relationship, but, given how they’re still feeling each other out, he doesn’t turn it into a full conversation. I also imagine Gojo to be awkward in discussing romantic relationships of any kind due to his own inexperience. I believe that if it were anyone else, Gojo also wouldn’t encourage it like he does in later chapters, given how he thinks love is “the most twisted curse of all,” but since it’s Yuji, he’s willing to put aside his reservations about it.
[“The only thing that scares me is your insistence on calling me that. Come on, you can use my name. You’re like my age.”] In Japan, it’s expected that you will continue calling your teacher sensei even after graduation, unless you become friends or they ask you to stop. I’ve characterized Yuji to be generally respectful of tradition (see Chapter Four, when they don’t need to wear suits for graduation, but Yuji insists), which makes him reluctant to take Gojo up on the offer here. Gojo, again, doesn’t care about tradition or formalities, and the second-years like Maki and Panda already comfortably call him by his given name, without honorifics.
Speaking of, the lack of honorifics in this fic is something I regretted after the fact, seeing as it would’ve made distinguishing the Yuji’s more easily with a simple Itadori-kun vs Itadori-san. But I thought using them would be awkward, and thus ended up making things more confusing than they needed to be. I tried to stay conscious of the Japanese language otherwise.
[“What am I looking at?” his younger self asks.] It’s times like these that make me think I need a few chapters of Sukuna’s POV. To make it short, he wasn’t very interested in Older Yuji in the beginning. He was intrigued at the thought of him time-traveling, yes, but, almost like Nobara, thought he was stupid for getting caught by such a technique.
[“How are we gonna go about not replacing you?”] Said in reference to Yuji saying he’s not here to replace Younger Yuji. This is dialogue that I had to change several times, while I was still figuring out how exactly the issue of Yuji’s curse would play out. *Before I landed on the above explanation, I imagined the time-travel as being similar to Kirara’s curse where it was stuck to Yuji regardless of how far he went (since Panda was marked for a long time before confronting Kirara in Season 3 Episode 6). But the severing of their connection, I think, makes more sense. Sorry if you read different dialogue here! This is what happens when you write without an outline and post before you have everything thought out like an idiot (learn from my mistakes).
[Yuji decided to skip the mess of explaining his family relations and focused on the upcoming terrorist attack in Shibuya.] It might be unclear because Yuji and I summarized (I didn’t want you guys to read stuff you already knew about, and Yuji explaining things over and over would be more grueling than it already is), but he only mentioned the sealing, the curse users, and Sukuna and Mahoraga’s fight. They all assume that the goal is to get Gojo out of the way to cause chaos in jujutsu society, because the plan to merge humanity with Tengen is complicated (and ends up being sort of irrelevant to the story), so Yuji doesn’t mention it for the sake of keeping things simple.
Chapter Eight
[“…He needs me at Senso-ji. They’ve closed it off until this high-level curse is exorcised.”] Senso-ji is the oldest temple in Tokyo, located in Asakusa, in the Taito ward. For reference, it’s only 7.5 miles or 12 km away from Shinjuku. Here, I’m imagining that government officials wouldn’t stand for their culture being destroyed and would insist on having sorcerers guard the path so the bell could be rung on New Year’s, despite the danger.
[…he’s still lamenting the loss of his fresh vegetables and his perfect lunch and dinner plans when Okkotsu calls. Yuji ignores it, but then he keeps calling and calling on the train.] In case I never get to it, Maki knew about Yuji’s plan to propose on New Year’s Eve from Nobara. When Yuta said he called Yuji out for a mission, she immediately told him what was going on and asked him to find literally anyone else. Yuta was trying to tell him to go home, and when Yuji didn’t answer, Maki was pissed. At them both.
[“… Okkotsu called that high level! Literally anyone could’ve exorcised that… I swear, he’s doing this to get back at me for bailing on him two months ago.”] Further disclaimer, Yuta was not trying to get back at him, and was actually going to take care of the curse himself if Yuji had just answered his phone.
[Yuji remains silent.] In reference to the curses sneaking through the barriers. This was a way of me getting around the confusion of mentioning his conversation with Tengen in Chapter Three, where he asks her to weaken the barriers specifically during the event. In Three’s original version, Yuji didn’t say anything like that, and so I thought this would make sense regardless of the version you read.
[He looks so small now. Megumi’s always been taller than him.] I would put a full-grown Megumi between 6’1, or 185 cm, and 6’3, or 190 cm. We’ve seen how big Toji is, after all. Yuji would definitely be more muscular, but I don’t imagine there to be that much of a size difference between them (like, we all saw Megumi’s fight with Kirara, come on. gege was just tripping about the 60 vs 80 kg thing). I feel like making Megumi much shorter and thinner after a timeskip is actually sort of misogynistic (we won’t get into that here lol, but i hope you start noticing how the perceived bottom in every mlm relationship ends up small, feminized, and presents as “more gay” than the other. i don’t think Megumi “fuck my dad for giving me a girl’s name” Fushiguro would ever behave the way people write him sometimes. !!this is just my opinion!! on a slightly related note, i really have no opinion on itafushi vs fushiita, so i guess you can read them however you like? i feel like they’d have the same dynamic no matter what)
[He sees a mouth form on his younger self’s cheek and quickly slaps a hand over it.] Here, Sukuna assumes that they killed Megumi because Yuji isn’t a vessel and is missing a few fingers. He wants to throw Megumi’s death in Yuji’s face (and is already plotting a way to win this time), but Yuji’s knee-jerk reaction of slapping himself is both embarrassing and unexpected. Sukuna retreats, and in my mind is probably telling himself this is why he interacts with him as little as possible. He’s a little put off by how unfazed Yuji is, but he’s not worried yet.
Chapter Nine
[It’s a small relief that he’s gone now — out on a mission to Fukuoka, something about exorcizing a special-grade…] A reference to JJK Phantom Parade, where the students learn about the third Jujutsu school in Fukuoka.
[“What happened to the equivalency test?”] Tsumiki being out of school for so long means she would be pulled back to Megumi’s year if she went back. In order to avoid this, they plan to give her private tutoring and have her take the Upper Secondary School Equivalency Exam, which would mean she’s completed the educational equivalent of high school. It would allow her to go on to university without putting herself in danger by leaving Jujutsu High in the meantime.
[“Fushiguro, I love gyudon.”] Itadori’s favorite food is canonically donburi, also known as a rice bowl. Gyudon is a bowl of steamed rice topped with slices of meat and onions.
[“…we got the finger… Sukuna kept trying to spit it out.”] By this point, Sukuna has realized that the person who delivered the five fingers was not Gojo, but was, in fact, Yuji. He doesn’t like that Yuji wants him to eat the fingers, and so he’s: one, trying to avoid it until he can think of a way to make a second pact, and two, trying to gauge Older Yuji’s reaction. Older Yuji doesn’t care whatsoever, which makes him grow increasingly annoyed.
[“You know,” Itadori says, making him flinch, “every time I see a horse, its face is bigger than I remember it being. Is it like that for you, too?”] This is a reference to JJK Chapter 265, where Yuji shows Sukuna around his hometown and says this almost verbatim.
Chapter Ten
[“My body doesn’t work like yours.”] Yuji and Megumi are in their forties in this flashback.
[It bounces off his shoulder and falls lamely to the floor.] It’s minor, but shows that Gojo doesn’t ever have Infinity up around Yuji.
[Yuji punches him and is surprised when it connects.] This is another example.
Chapter Eleven
[“She doesn’t want—” he gestures to his face “—this around when she’s turning fifty-six.”] Megumi is referring to the fact Yuji skipped Nobara’s birthday (August 7th). Her being fifty-six makes them both fifty-five at this time. This also means that it’s been over three months since Yuji went grocery shopping (April 22nd) or hung out with his friends (May 6th).
[“Chōmei ends ashamed of himself, but Kenkō accepts his paradoxical nature because he understands that he can do nothing but feel. He’s comfortable letting his mind wander.”] Hōjōki is a thirteenth century writing from Kamo no Chōmei, a Buddhist monk who resigned himself to living in a 10-foot hut. The work discusses how things are impermanent through the use of natural disasters and tragedy. There comes a turning point when Chōmei moves to his hut and decides to enjoy his peaceful life, but what Megumi is talking about here is the twist, when at the end Chōmei says, “But though you have all the trappings of a holy man, your heart is corrupt.” In contrast to Chōmei, we have Kenkō, who wrote Essays in Idleness in the fourteenth century. The work never settles on a single message and is really more a collection of short stories and rambles, which is what Megumi means by letting his mind wander.
[“Kenkō thinks he’s a superior person because he lives the way he thinks life should be lived.”] Yuji’s reply here is something I personally took away from Kenkō’s instructional attitude, although I’m sure his advice served people well in 14th century Japan. He seems like a fun guy. One example:
“One morning after a beautiful fall of snow, I had reason to write a letter to an acquaintance, but I omitted to make any mention of the snow. I was delighted when she responded, ‘Do you expect me to pay any attention to the words of someone so perverse that he fails to enquire how I find this snowy landscape? What deplorable insensitivity!’”
I think Kenkō’s love of nature is beautiful, and sort of mirrors what I was trying to do with Yuji in his attempt to shut himself from the world. It also goes weirdly well with Nobara saying she thought Yuji “went all spiritual” on them in Modulo Chapter 25.
[“He and Chōmei are both wrong for not admitting that no one really knows anything.”] This, I think, is where Yuji is wrong, because I think they both understand too well that they don’t know anything, and that’s the true reason for their despair and confusion.
It actually reminds me of a story I heard of a monk passing a family in mourning. When he asks them why they’re weeping, they explain one of their family members has died. The monk immediately drops to the floor and starts wailing with them. When he and his disciple leave, his disciple asks if he knew them. The monk says no. Why did you weep, then? the disciple asks. His reply is something along the lines of “feeling their sorrow,” which I take to mean as him being able to feel everything and nothing at the same time. Like that quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, where he becomes a transparent eyeball observing the world, the monk takes everything in in its entirety, letting it pass through him, and letting it go. At least, that’s how I understand it.
sorry, this has gone really off topic. just remember i haven’t studied this, and although i like philosophy, i am coming at it from a western angle! do your own research and come to your own conclusions!
[Kugisaki drags him out of the school on Sunday morning.] This takes place on October 7th, 2018.
Chapter Twelve
[He’d been rambling on about the newest issue of Shark Punch when Megumi stopped him.] This is a reference to Fujimoto Tatsuki’s manga Look Back, where his main character Fujino has a popular manga called Shark Punch, which is itself a reference to Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man.
[“また後で”] Mata ato de is translated as “See you later.” It’s used casually, when you mean to see the person you’re speaking to again soon.
[“I love you,” Megumi says.] This is the only time he ever says it back in this fic.
[You were like this once, even if now you somehow know Kenkō and Chōmei, and maybe Kūkai and Saichō if you’re really telling the truth.] Kūkai (also known as Kōbō Daishi) was the founder of the Shingon school of Buddhism, also known as “Tantric Buddhism.” Saichō (also known as Dengyō Daishi) brought the Chinese Tiantai teachings back to Japan, which is now called the Tendai school of Buddhism. Both men were alive during the Heian era, and both schools are considered “esoteric” Buddhism, meaning the focus is on interiority and secret, complex rituals aiming for rapid spiritual enlightenment. The secrecy makes it more difficult to misinterpret.
Megumi says the above because Yuji’s “newfound interest” in Buddhist teachings means he should naturally be acquainted with Kūkai and Saichō due to them founding important Buddhist schools of thought. Buddhist concepts are embedded in Jujutsu Kaisen’s power system and philosophy, so I think it’s natural that these characters would study it thoroughly, maybe even to a monastic degree. Megumi, who has been a part of Jujutsu society for a long time, would probably have studied this on his own.
[“To be born into this world of ours, it seems… brings with it so much to long for.”] This, and all of the following dialogue, are excerpts from Kenkō’s Essays in Idleness. Here I’m using Meredith McKinney’s translation.
[“If our life did not fade and vanish like the dews of Adashino’s graves or the drifting smoke from Toribe’s burning grounds, but lingered on forever, how little the world would move us…”] The places mentioned here are where the dead were disposed of.
[“It is most seemly to die before forty at the latest.”] It was a commonly held belief that forty marked the beginning of old age. Kenkō expresses disgust at people’s desperation as they pass this age, their desire for children and grandchildren, and a few sentences down says, “Their greed for the things of this world grows ever deeper” (although that’s not included here). I find this an interesting juxtaposition to Yuji and Gojo’s convictions in being greedy/selfish in their lives. One of the central questions of Jujutsu Kaisen is whether it’s right to be selfish or selfless, and I’ve tried my best to give Yuji the perspective that being selfless is selfish, and that there’s nothing necessarily wrong with that as long as you’re not impeding on anyone else’s ability to live.
[He can hear him flipping through the pages. / “There is a deep contradiction in failing to enjoy life and yet fearing death when faced with it.”] Here, Yuji is getting carried away and skips much farther ahead than he was supposed to. I think he’s trying to read them his favorite essays/the things that intrigue him the most.
[“…But no, ‘cause I’d want mini-versions of me and my spouse and that wouldn’t work.”] The word Yuji uses is 伴侶, hanryo, translated as “spouse,” which is why Megumi still doesn’t realize that Yuji did not have a wife. (That, and the fact gay marriage is not currently legal in Japan.)
[He crouches down and picks the stem of a stray purple hyacinth.] Purple hyacinth represents apology and regret.
[October is drawing to a close, and everyone might be losing it a little.] This scene takes place on October 18th, 2018. As far as I could tell, the beginning of Season 2 Episode 6 takes place before Mechamaru’s fight with Mahito and Kenjaku, which happens on October 19th, so that was my reasoning.
[It’s a fear that he knows shouldn’t exist — the type that is ascribed to gods and monsters and things that live in the space between dreams and reality] This is a reference to what Kenjaku says in JJK Chapter 160/Season 3 Episode 7: “The space between dream(s) and reality is a curse.”
Chapter Thirteen
[“It’s Emori.”] Emori is a surname that, when read as 衛守, means “to protect.” The inspiration for this actually comes from Gege Akutami’s reasoning for Ieiri Shoko’s name, which is a reference to the medical drama House (when you break down the kanji in her surname, 家 means “house” and 入 means “enter”). I decided to make Emori, the new RCT user, a reference to another character in the show: Wilson. The name Wilson means “son of William,” and William comes from the germanic Wilhelm. “Wil” roughly means “will” or “desire,” and “helm” means “helmet” or “protection.” So I ended up choosing protection, as it was the only thing that worked. If only all House characters could be named after inanimate objects.
[“So I was going to talk to Kugisaki…”] In this fic, Yuji never had a chance to have the conversation with Kugisaki that happened in Modulo Chapter 25. He didn’t have a chance to talk to Panda either.
[“Whatever the curse was that brought you here, it’s gone now. I hope you know that.”] This is more of me trying to make the retcon work regardless of what version of Ch 8 you read.
[Kenjaku had said that it was done by using the body’s information to maintain the soul, and then condensing that soul into one part of the body.] Here I’ve used Yaga’s explanation of autonomous cursed corpses to think of a plausible explanation of how to make someone into a cursed object.
Unfortunately, though, the real way to do this isn’t something we’ve ever been told. We don’t know if sorcerers had to over their bodies upon death for Kenjaku to do something artificial to them afterwards (which sounds unlikely until you remember the nature of his technique and thus the reality he lives in; see his conversation with Mahito in Season 2 Episode 10) or if it means consuming something which is able to act as a sort of receptacle for the information of their souls (which I think is unlikely, since Sukuna’s own fingers housed him). I think it’s also implied that Kenjaku used Binding Vows specifically to be able to do this, but we don’t know if that has any real consequences for the process, like allowing their souls to be manipulated in exchange for being forced to participate in the Culling Games. But the very strong give-and-take scenario could explain why they were given a second chance at life with no other consequences.
What confuses me further is how the Angel says in Chapter 220 that people accepted the terms of Kenjaku’s deal because they didn’t know how to do it themselves, but that Sukuna might know after experiencing it once (which also explains why he can jump bodies). This means that, conceivably, there should be no consequences to becoming a cursed object if the person knows how to do it themselves. Though when Sukuna rips off his finger, which contained the entirety (?) of his soul, he remains alive and standing in Chapter 212. I can only assume that if he hadn’t fed his finger to Megumi quickly enough, he would’ve faded from Yuji’s body and been stuck only in the finger.
In the end, my main reasoning for Yuji going with his execution plan was wanting to stay as true to canon as possible, as a lot of things weren’t fully explained. Like how does Yaga know how to manipulate souls in the first place? How does he use the body to make a soul’s information? How does he place a soul into a cursed corpse’s core? How can he tell when he’s found compatible souls? How does he make them observe each other? Frankly, I didn’t want to mess with this side of the lore at all. (sorry for the lengthy explanation)
I also began writing this mid-January of 2026 when the latest Modulo chapter leak was number 18, long before we knew about Yuji’s plan to become a cursed object. I honestly preferred the way I was planning to end his story, because I hate the thought of his soul never being at peace until someone eats him and finally lets him die.
[“They’re not even a clan anymore.”] As a disclaimer, the fate of the Zen’in clan remains unknown in Modulo. I just assumed here that it was more like a one-man team consisting of Megumi and that when he died, the clan lost all remaining importance.
[“Gojo-sensei wants us to go to Kawaguchi and do some sort of test…”] This is a reference to the 2nd Juppon Grand Prix, which you can find on YouTube.
[It matches his middle finger perfectly.] Aside from the irony of Sukuna flipping him off one more time, the middle finger is associated with the Buddha.
Chapter Fourteen
[And he imagines Megumi’s response a thousand different ways, but it’s always, always, “Yes.” ] Maybe as a disclaimer/a way to give you a little bit of peace (not really), Megumi did not actually die thinking that! This is just Yuji’s slightly unreliable narration, probably a mix of hoping that Megumi was being honest and hoping that he didn’t die regretting his decision (which he unfortunately did).
[Yuji rests in the shape of his soul as he waits for Sukuna to finish parsing through his memories. Though it’s really less a shape than the thing his mind conjures up as he sits there, and what his mind conjures is the garden.] My interpretation of Yuji’s domain is that his unique ability to perceive his soul, along with his earnest personality, gives him the ability to sort of let people into his soul. I’m sure he would still have a traditional one-hit domain, but I think he could change it depending on his opponent (and Gege has a terrible habit of putting random stuff in and not explaining so this is the bullshit i must do to compensate). My evidence is JJK Chapter 265, when Yuji talks to Sukuna immediately following a Domain Expansion and they walk around places that he spent time in in his childhood. To me, this reads as either his domain/soul manifesting as the places in his life that are the most important to him, hence being at the garden/his old home in this fic. So I think it’s actually changed throughout the decades, and probably didn’t look like this at the time of him being sent back to the past. It could also be that his domain is just disproportionately huge on the inside, but I doubt it because of the fact Sukuna isn’t in his true form there.
Yuji’s memories and soul being separate is also an important distinction. I would say that when he lets Sukuna into his body, he lets him explore as he likes while leaving his soul open for Sukuna to enter once he’s done, using the same logic as an open domain.
[He can see the outlines of ivy, laurel, daphne odora…There are the primroses he planted thirty years ago, and in the same spot the hydrangeas that he had for a spring before deciding he liked the challenge of lisianthus.] Ivy: friendship, fidelity, marriage, wedded love. Laure; (bay leaf): no change till death. Daphne odora: hope, renewal. Primroses: youth, sincerity, beauty. Hydrangeas: heartlessness, boastfulness (I point you all to Ch 265 and Sukuna and Yuji’s dialogue around them). Isanthius: honesty.
[Blush pink camellias.] Represent longing; are meant to be given to someone you miss.
[“A crossroads for every soul on earth,” he called it.] From Modulo Ch 21
[じゃね] Jaa ne, translated as a casual “See you.”
[さよなら] Sayonara, translated as “Goodbye” or “Farewell,” meant to be used only when you don’t expect to see the person ever again.
[“Where are we going?” He clears his throat, trying not to sound so hoarse. “Are we going to reincarnate? Or do you think I was wrong about things at the end and our souls will become something else?”] What Yuji means is the difference between Buddhism and Hinduism. Buddhism does not believe in an immortal soul that remains intact after death. Souls are rebirthed, not reincarnated. In Hinduism, people do have immortal souls, and they can be reborn in another body. Yuji asking if he was wrong in the end is another way of asking if Buddhism was really the path he was supposed to follow, where the goal is to end the suffering of all people and end the cycle of rebirth. That’s the path he chose in JJK. (With this in mind, I would like to point out that Itadori Wasuke was the reincarnation of Sukuna’s twin brother in the story, and that they look alike.)