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The floating figure of the Naoya-turned-cursed-womb looms in front of Noritoshi ominously, spitting words and curses that Noritoshi can’t quite understand. He thinks his lack of comprehension might be due to the faceful of cursed-womb fist he had received just seconds prior. Noritoshi doesn’t actually know if that thing floating in his face is Naoya since his vision has been reduced to wiggly blobs of constantly-changing color and shape.
Noritoshi can faintly decipher the cursed womb’s ungodly level of cursed energy. He thinks he hears Maki calling out his name from somewhere to his left, but due to his unreliable eyesight and Maki’s lack of cursed energy, Noritoshi can’t see her.
Mercifully, Naoya’s attention seems to be directed away from Noritoshi and onto Maki; at least, who he thinks is Maki–the black and white floaters in his eyes have yet to fade. Noritoshi lays in the dirt and listens to the sounds of battle gradually fade in around him. Pained grunts and wet slashing sounds fill the air as the floaters in Noritoshi’s eyes reduce in size and he catches sight of Maki leaping through the air to stab at Naoya’s…face? Naoya’s face bares little resemblance to a human face and looks a bit like an insect instead.
It’s quite an ugly face, Noritoshi decides in his semi-delirious state.
A sharp shout shakes him from his haze and Noritoshi shoots up to his feet, immediately regretting it as the world spins and Noritoshi’s stomach completes a double-full gymnastic flip in his body. Noritoshi doubles over and clutches his stomach and head, stuck in his spot as Maki loses consciousness from being tossed into a wall.
Naoya’s hideous face whirls around to face Noritoshi and Noritoshi is not ashamed to admit, out loud, that he is “holding back a gag that would normally express his horror at seeing such an unattractive face; however, I was raised by politicians and attendants who taught me to speak in an educated manner with classy and graceful manners.” Noritoshi goes on to add that “since I no longer have my side bangs that obstructed about twenty percent of my vision, I have been subjected to seeing your unsightly form with one-hundred percent of my eyesight.”
Noritoshi watches as Naoya’s face turns from gleeful to enraged and realizes that he needs to get a better hold on his vocal cords. A slow stream of blood trickles down Noritoshi’s temple but he can’t wipe it away as he remains frozen to the spot under the cursed womb’s offended glare.
“Do you have a death wish, illegitimate heir of the Kamo clan?” Naoya snarls.
“I think I might have a concussion,” admits Noritoshi.
“You’ve got a pretty smart mouth for a concubine’s son,” says Naoya. “I think I’ll try to knock your teeth out of your head.”
Noritoshi quickly says, “Oh, please don’t–” but it’s too late. Naoya rears back with the speed of a cobra and lunges towards Noritoshi’s hunched-over figure.
The moment before one’s death is strange. Time seems to slow to a stop as if the universe is giving you a moment to contemplate everything that has led you to this exact moment and your inevitable death.
Noritoshi’s life flashes before his eyes in the milliseconds he has before Naoya pounds his skull into the dirt below him.
His first memory is of his mother. She smiles down at him and runs a fine-toothed comb through his tangled hair and a small furrow appears on her brow as she focuses on untangling a knot in Noritoshi’s locks.
The second memory presented is of the Kamo clan’s annual reunion. He is five years old and hides behind the folds in his mother’s skirt as the clan leaders scoff in disgust at his presence. Noritoshi feels something sticky cover the back of his neck as one of his uncles “accidentally” spills a bit of sake on him.
Third comes a memory of Noritoshi training in the Kamo clan’s garden. The elders observe him from under a shaded porch as Noritoshi is put through exhausting drills and workouts to “enhance” his potential as the clan’s future leader. Noritoshi remembers regretting the day he had directed the flow of his nosebleed into his cousin’s face after she had yanked on his bangs, resulting in the manifestation of his cursed technique.
Memories of his life with the Kamo clan flash by in insignificant specs.
Noritoshi pauses on the day he arrived at Kyoto Jujustu High. He remembers meeting Nishimiya Momo for the first time and how she had assumed he was like all other clan members; stuck up, pretentious, and entitled. Noritoshi also recalls how she had warmed up to him after he had not received a visit from any of his family members on visitation days.
Noritoshi remembers meeting Todo Aoi for the first time in clear and full detail.
He chooses to skip over that memory. Noritoshi doesn’t want to regret anything in his final moments.
He looks back on that one time Momo found Todo’s stash of seventeen different kinds of protein powder.
He looks back on the first time he met Mai. Miwa. Mechamaru. Arata.
Noritoshi remembers the time when Mai dared Todo to steal Principal Gakuganji’s guitar for their karaoke night. He also remembers Todo’s punishment for stealing said guitar; Todo had to get rid of the Takada-chan shrine in his room, and Noritoshi also recalls sneaking out at night to go buy tissues at the store because Todo ran out of tissues to cry into and if Noritoshi had offered his shoulder to him, Momo and Mai would never let him hear the end of it.
Noritoshi looks back on the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.
The Kyoto-Tokyo Goodwill Exchange Event. He remembers trying to kill Itadori Yuuji and failing to do so since Todo declared it unfit according to the “bro code.” To this moment, he’s still confused about the situation regarding Toge Inumaki and his classmates perfectly understanding his cursed speech.
Noritoshi recalls, with great sorrow, the Shibuya Incident. He’ll never forget the night he rushed into the medical wing to see Todo’s bravado and cocky mask fall away to reveal a quiet, somber expression. He remembers that Todo was quiet as Noritoshi sat down on his bed and held the only hand Todo had remaining.
He remembers the announcement of the Culling Games.
Noritoshi sees himself go into his ancestral home, only to be kicked out by Noritoshi-Kamo-turned-Geto-Suguru.
Noritoshi remembers wanting no ties back to the Kamo clan. To his childhood days of grooming and abuse. Noritoshi remembers cutting his hair and changing his clothes because the Kamo clan has no more control over him.
Now, from just a few minutes ago, Noritoshi sees himself meeting up with Maki and being confronted by Naoya the cursed womb.
After having watched his life’s documentary, Noritoshi knows it’s time to live in the present for the few milliseconds he has left.
Noritoshi sees the blur of Naoya’s fist.
He thanks the heavens for allowing him a happy life at Kyoto Jujutsu High. He apologizes to his mother for not having a chance to go find her.
Maybe the heavens heard Noritoshi and took pity on him. Or perhaps they decided it wasn’t quite his time to die.
Noritoshi braces himself for death but something slams into his side from the right and he falls.
The next thing he knows, Noritoshi is carefully being lowered to the ground and he promptly throws up whatever he has in his stomach. Which isn’t much, seeing as that his breakfast was half of a protein bar that Todo had stuck into one of his pockets. (Noritoshi gets it; laundry days at Kyoto High are a perfect opportunity to accidentally grab the wrong pair of uniform pants and use them as your own.)
He looks up to see none other than Aoi Todo, repeatedly stabbing Naoya with the remaining, sharpened edge of the cursed tool Playful Cloud. Once Todo is satisfied with Naoya’s…deceased and exorcised state, he carefully wipes Playful Cloud on his tank top.
Noritoshi doesn’t know if he’s more shocked that Todo is actually here and just exorcised a cursed womb or that Todo actually has a top on.
Todo tosses Playful Cloud onto the ground after it’s clean enough and meets Noritoshi’s gaze with a dorky grin.
“Hey,” Todo greets.
“You’re late,” Noritoshi decides to say. He doesn’t think a comment about Todo’s abundance of clothing would be too appropriate at the moment.
“You’re missing a few inches of hair,” replies Todo. He takes a seat on the ground next to Noritoshi.
“And your old uniform,” Todo adds.
Noritoshi allows the corners of his mouth to curve up ever so slightly.
“I thought the old style didn’t suit me all that well,” he admits.
Todo takes a moment to think and then nods his head in agreement. “I like it. This turtleneck is a lot cooler than that old man outfit you had.” Todo laughs when Noritoshi punches his arm.
“Where’d you get the cursed tool?”
“Megumi Fushiguro’s dead dad.”
“That sounds…”
“Like a can of worms that we don’t need to open.”
“Yeah,” agrees Noritoshi.
Todo nudges Noritoshi and hands him a small, rectangular-shaped package.
“What’s this?”
“Protein bar. Figured you might need it more than I do.”
Noritoshi feels strangely touched. He unwraps the bar and takes a bite of it. Todo watches as he chews and swallows, gauging Noritoshi’s reaction to the flavor.
“Chocolate?” he asks after a few moments.
Todo nods. “When we go to the store with our fellow classmates on White Day, I noticed you always buy a singular bar of dark chocolate for yourself. I thought you might like this bar better than the strawberry-flavored ones I usually tend to buy–”
“It tastes great, Aoi. Thank you.”
Noritoshi wonders if the reddish tint on Todo’s ears is a trick of the light.
“Of course,” Todo replies. “I will warn you, though, that I have a full box of those back at Kyoto High and somebody’s gonna have to eat them.”
“I think you’re more than capable, Aoi.”
Todo chuckles uneasily. “Oh, I don’t really like them all that much.”
Noritoshi sits up, confused.
“Then why did you buy them?”
Todo opens his mouth to say something but then opts for nervously taking Noritoshi’s hand instead.
“For you,” he admits. “Is that okay, ‘Toshi?”
Noritoshi, despite having gotten beat up by a curse ten minutes prior, grins and feels like he’s on top of the world.
He laughs and Todo visibly brightens and relaxes.
“I like you too, Aoi Todo.”
Maki wakes soon after Todo’s arrival.
She slowly gets to her feet, sees Noritoshi holding a protein bar in one hand and Todo’s hand in the other, and thinks that she and Noritoshi Kamo are more similar than she originally thought.