Gaining friends helps Yuta gain confidence in himself and establish the goal to help set Rika free. He felt responsible for her turning into a curse in the first place. When Yuta returned to Jujutsu High after time away overseas, he was accompanied by a new Rika and it appeared as if he was lost in his darkness. However, this was all an act to help protect Yuji from the higher-ups. Yuta had to act a certain way to make it believable and he healed Yuji before the first-year died permanently.