The street was ordinary.

Gray pavement. Neon signs. People rushing past with phones and umbrellas and lives that didn’t matter.

But then—

He saw you.

And the world stopped.

You were crossing the street, coat fluttering in the wind, eyes half-lost in thought. You didn’t notice him. You didn’t know him.

But he knew you. He had known you for centuries.

You were his concubine once. In the Heian era. His favorite. The only one who dared to speak without trembling. The only one who touched him like he was human.

He never told you he loved you.

Not then.

Not when you bathed his wounds after battle.

Not when you died in his arms, fevered and fading, whispering his name like a prayer.

He buried you in silence. And never forgot.

Now, inside the body of a boy he didn’t ask for, he felt your presence like a curse.

He didn’t wait.

Didn’t ask.

Yuji Itadori screamed inside as Sukuna took control—ruthless, sudden, absolute.

And then he walked. Across the street. Toward you. You turned. Saw him.

And paused.

There was no recognition in your eyes. But something flickered. Something ancient.

He stopped in front of you.

You frowned. “Do I know you?”

He didn’t speak. Just stared. At the face he’d memorized. At the soul he’d mourned. At the woman he’d never stopped loving.

You tilted your head. “Are you okay?”

He wanted to say your name. The one you’d had back then. The one he never spoke aloud after you died.

But his throat burned.

So he said nothing. Just reached out. Touched your wrist. And for a moment, the centuries collapsed.

You blinked. He let go. And walked away. Because he wasn’t ready.

Not yet.

But he would be. Because this time, he wasn’t going to lose you.