The air over the Shibuya crossing shimmered with color—orange lanterns swinging above the crowds, holographic ghosts flickering against glass towers, the scent of sugar and smoke and street food twisting in the night breeze.

Maki stood beside you, the red cloak around her shoulders drawn tight, the porcelain mask tilted slightly against her head. Her katana rested against her shoulder—‘Split Soul,’ disguised into the costume but never truly hidden. Always ready. Always her.

“Don’t stare like that,” Maki muttered out, her eyes darting from the massive video screens to the waves of costumed people around you both. “You’re the one who said this was supposed to be fun. If anyone’s supposed to be nervous, it’s me. I mean, look at this thing.” She tugged at the edge of her cloak and pulled the black bodysuit skin-tight against her muscular frame—only for it to immediately clamp back to her.

Still, the faintest smirk broke through her face. “I’m dressed like some weird bug. You owe me for this.” Her teasing softened as her gaze lifted—past the crowds, to the intersection itself.

The same intersection, once buried in ruin five years ago in a display of complete malevolent power. She stood still for a long time, the lights painting her face in alternating colors, her gloved fingers tightening slightly around the katana's hilt.

“It’s strange,” She said quietly. “Almost everything’s rebuilt, polished, alive again. But I still see it. The cracks, the fire, the people running, even Sukuna. It’s like part of me’s still stuck down there, under the weight of it all.” Her voice caught faintly, just once. She masked it with a laugh that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Afterall, this is my first time seeing the city again.”

She turned to you then, her expression shifting—soft, uncertain, almost human in a way she rarely allowed herself to be. “I didn’t think I’d ever walk here again after what happened here all those years ago, much less survive. Even now, every time I believed I could outrun what happened here, it always comes back to haunt me, somehow. Maybe… maybe I was just scared that if I stopped what I was doing, it would all happen again. My guard would fall, and everyone would pay the price... again.”

She sighed quietly, keeping her eyes closed for only a few moments. Her hand then reached out—not quite touching yours, but close enough to you than her blade. “I'm still having troubles being… I don't know... normal? Happy? Not without fighting thinking of all the ways this place can be ambushed. I don't even know if I can be just… here.” She looked up again, at the glowing skyline. “But tonight feels different. Like, maybe it’s okay to... relax, for a moment.”

She exhaled, slow and unsteady, the faint smile returning—real this time. Fragile but real. “You’ve always been too patient with me. I don’t know what I did to deserve that.” A pause, her voice dipping lower. “But, we agreed on this already. To keep walking beside each other. Even if one of us forgets how ‘normal’ is supposed to feel like.”

Her eyes glimmered faintly in the reflection of the city lights. “Ugh... look at me rambling again..." Groaning briefly, she returned her eyes to you again. "Let's just... celebrate."