Rays of light bled through my eyelids and through the pain, I opened them to see a familiar grey coat.
"Sasaki-san!"
I winced as Suguru's voice boomed near my ear. That's when I realized—I was in his... arms?
I didn't have much time to think about it before a sharp flare of pain surged through my side. I looked down and saw the source—a gunshot wound.
"Get Riko out of here. Now."
I looked up. Sasaki's voice was tired, but firm. I opened my mouth to say something, anything—but Suguru lifted me up and backed away. As he did, my eyes caught sight of a man with black hair and a broad build.
'Scary...'
His gaze was locked onto Sasaki, who I now realized was clutching his own side.
"S...S-Sas—"
My throat tightened. So did Suguru's grip. A wave of something malicious swept over the area like a tsunami, suffocating and cold.
~Ryou POV~
I never should've left them.
I should've acted my age. I should've grabbed Riko and Misato and run the fuck away from all of this. I knew I could've—if I'd just stopped wanting to meet my end.
I should've listened to the hallucination of Kaede. She would've known Gojo was lying there... bloody and dead.
I should've done a lot of things better.
But as I stood there, listening to Kuroi—clutching her side, covering a shallow wound—shouting that Riko and Suguru were in danger underground, something in me cracked. Emotions I'd long buried surged up, raw and unfiltered.
I knew there were barriers beneath the ground, meant to stop anyone from breaching the underground chambers. But they weren't strong enough to stop me. That much became clear the moment I channeled Cursed Energy and sacrificed a sliver of my lifespan, driving my fist into the earth.
The ground quaked.
For a moment, I debated giving up even more of my lifespan—but the barrier, one that might've stood for decades or centuries, shattered. The ground gave way and I dropped into the depths below.
In seconds, I saw the one Kuroi had warned me about. And I was remind of Kaede mentioning briefly, an older brother—one who couldn't use Cursed Energy.
'I can't lose track of him.'
The chaos I'd caused made the black haired assassin fire early. Using the falling rubble to close the distance, I landed faster—and stood between Riko and the bullet.
It pierced my body clean through... and hit Riko in the side.
Not enough to kill her. But enough to knock her out.
'Didn't think it'd go through me that easily...'
Which led us to now.
I stood, clutching my side as Suguru held Riko and backed away. The assassin and I stared at each other.
"Hmm... they did mention an old geezer traveling with the girl."
I took off my grey coat and rolled up the sleeves of my dress shirt.
"You killed the Gojo brat?"
I heard the kids choke on their breath at my words. The assassin chuckled, grin spreading wide as he slowly walked toward me.
"Yeah. I killed Gojo Satoru—"
I was on him before he could finish.
My hand shot out, ready to rip his head clean off—but I underestimated him.
He leaned back and spun, catching me with a sharp kick to my wounded side.
"Fast for an old—"
I ignored the sharp stab of pain, grabbed his ankle and with a grunt, smashed him into the wall he'd just stepped away from.
BOOM
His back slammed into the wall, the impact shaking the hallway. I moved to follow up, only to catch a kick to the face. The blow made me release his ankle and stumble back a step—just in time to dodge a massive blade that whooshed past my neck.
Looking down, I saw him crouched low, seemingly unfazed by the impact.
'Sturdy.'
I ran cursed energy through my arms to brace for the weapon.
"Ha!"
With a snort and laugh, he swung the broadsword with one hand—effortlessly. I caught it with both forearms and tried to land a front kick, but he backed off.
I started pressing him harder.
"Toji." he said simply as he sidestepped an axe kick that cracked the ground beneath us.
"Ryou." I replied, gritting my teeth. Pain flared through my chest and side, but I swallowed it down.
His smirk widened.
He cracked the ground beneath us and vanished, appearing in front of me instantly. I was caught off guard as his palm struck my chest.
Pain exploded through me.
I was launched back, crashing through a building. Rubble collapsed atop me, burying me in a dark tomb of debris.
'Fuck…'
Coughing up a thick glob of blood, I saw her.
Kaede.
She stood in the darkness, expression unreadable.
"I know, Kaede…"
With a grunt, I pushed off the debris just as Suguru's cursed energy spiked in the distance—he needed help. I took one step toward the fight, only to stop at the sound of light footsteps.
Toji?
No.
A woman.
I froze.
"So it was you…" she said. Her voice carried familiarity and my blood chilled. She looked the same as the woman who aided in sealing me long ago.
"I thought they were wrong. You truly did escape that seal."
In my mind, I felt the cold weight of Kaede's body. My arms remembered the grief. My soul remembered the silence.
"I should fucking kill you."
I could. I knew I could. She wouldn't be able to react in time.
But as the image of Kaede shifted—her warmth, her hand reaching for mine—I hesitated.
"You could." the woman said calmly. "and I would not resist."
The distant sounds of Suguru battling Toji grew louder behind me.
"Why aren't you helping her? Isn't Riko important to you?" I asked. I had to know. Why let it come to this?
"If I help her now, we'll merge. If I don't… she might still be free."
"You don't want to merge anymore? Why?"
She hummed softly, her eyes rising to the twisted branches overhead.
"I was told about a man." she began. "A man I'd never met—said to be a tyrant who killed for nothing but the thrill. A monster incapable of love."
Her eyes fell back to mine. And in them… guilt.
"But when I saw him for myself, I realized… while he was feared, he had a heart. One that others tried to crush."
She bowed her head.
"I'm sorry. I can't bring your family back… but I did bury them myself. In a place where they can overlook the beauty of the world."
I stared at her. For what felt like years.
"I… I can't hate you, woman."
I wanted to. I deserved to. But the truth was—I had spent centuries pouring every drop of hatred into myself. For failing as a father. As a husband.
I rolled my shoulders and turned toward the battle. The sounds were fading. That could be good—or very bad.
"Make sure my body's buried next to Kaede's." I muttered.
"Got it?"
I didn't wait for an answer. I pushed my battered, aged body forward… toward the final fight.