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[cursedwords]

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[cursedwords]

[ He knew Maki was missing, and he's been worried, but sometimes she goes off on her own to get a break from them so he wasn't too bothered.

Toge's alarmed when he sees her. He's in the kitchen, which is not weird, but he's just making tea. ]

Ikura. [ He breathes. ]

[fuckthefamily]

...Yeah, more or less. [She runs a hand through her hair, exhales a breath.]

Did I miss anything?

[cursedwords]

[ Not really, and Toge's response is to raise his eyebrows at that and gesture to her. Clearly he's missed a lot. Yuta didn't mention her state at all. He probably just didn't think of it. Not to him anyway.

Toge makes a beckoning motion and opens his arms. ]

[fuckthefamily]

[She does hesitate even if only briefly before she closes the space between them, wrapping arms around him and letting her head drop, resting against his.]

Good to know. [Against the side of his head, her eyes closing.]

[cursedwords]

[ He smiles slightly and wraps his arms around her, giving her a firm squeeze. He's not afraid of hurting her, she's scarred but it doesn't look fresh enough to be too painful that a hug would change that. She'll tell him if he's hurting her. ]

Tuna mayo? [ The question can be only one - what happened? ]

[fuckthefamily]

We should probably sit down before I go into everything. [Even if she doesn't want to move just yet.

Which means carrying him to the sofa. Maki lets her head drop back against the couch, stares at the ceiling before she starts talking. ]

[cursedwords]

[ Getting scooped up doesn't illicit a protest from him, just a soft grunt, and being pulled onto her lap, he just makes himself comfortable, resting his arms on top of hers, tilting his head to listen. ]

[fuckthefamily]

[There's still a lot to cover even if it's only a few months of time back home and she does go through it, manages to keep her voice even as she talks. ]

[cursedpromises]

[ Yuta doesn't even knock anymore - a far cry from when he was too hesitant to let himself in, wanting to respect Toge's space. Toge's made it very clear that it's all their space now. And that it was okay with him, which was the important part. He'd just been out on a run, he's glowing a bit from his exercise and - ]

[ Entering the front door, seeing Maki's short hair - her scars - he stopped. Were they ... from the same time, now? Or maybe she was taken a little earlier? ... Or later? ]

[ Now wasn't the time for those questions. Something major happened - even if it's just that Maki remembered what happened right after Halloween now - he went to kneel down on the couch beside them, face full of concern. ]

[ His expression did the speaking for him - but he still said; ] I'm glad you're back with us now.



[ Even if whatever Thirteen did to make them remember things in the future ... didn't usually take long for them. He didn't even realize she'd left Folkmore. ]

[cursedwords]

[ Toge's quiet, which is not surprising, just leaning back in Maki's hold, resting his arms on hers, his head on her shoulder. He doesn't seem too bothered that she'd essentially scooped him up for a cuddle while she talked.

He nods a bit as he hears about he clan - he'd like to say it's tragic but frankly they've never liked him anyway.

Yuta's arrival makes him glance at him and he reaches out to offer Yuta his hand. Hi Yuta. ]

[fuckthefamily]

[ She'd stopped when the door open, gaze finding Yuta and just lingering on him, fingers flexing in the fabric of Toge's shirt. When he comes to kneel beside them though, Maki turns her head, locks eyes with him. ]

Yeah, I wouldn't have left it I'd had a choice.

[cursedpromises]

[ Yuta squeezed Toge's hand tightly - and reached out to touch one of Maki's knees, rubbing with his thumb, with his other hand. ]

[ He nodded a little, his eyes filled with naked concern while he looked at Maki's face, her expression, her entire mood. ]

I know.

[ Yuta was sure that she was filling Toge in, but. If anything, there's one thing that he had to know. It just ... he braced himself. Took a deep breath; ]

When?

[cursedwords]

[ He has questions of course, but that's more pointed than Toge would have asked so all he can do is look between them.

He's starting to feel like he's missing out, but it's missing out on something completely miserable so does he really want to know?

Probably not, but also he does. ]

[fuckthefamily]

You were fighting Sukuna when I left. [That's as much she's going to say about his fight with Sukuna, at least at the point they were at.]

We're doing everything we've planned for the fight.

[cursedpromises]

Oh. [ His voice was choked and small. ]

[ If he's fighting Sukuna, it meant that Gojo failed. ]

[ If Gojo failed, he's probably dead. ]

[ And if Gojo was dead ... ]

[ Yuta closed his eyes in an effort not to cry, and leaned forward to press himself against Maki and Toge. To hide his face in Toge's lap. He's sorry. He's sorry. He needed to - he was going to have to, but - it probably meant ... god. If he wasn't strong enough to beat Sukuna the first time, if he failed ... ]

[ He took a deep breath. He couldn't assume he failed. He - he just couldn't. Maybe he could be able to use his domain and ... ]

[ Muffled; ] I'm going to do my best to beat him. I - I won't let him get to any of you guys. I'll do anything.

[cursedwords]

[ Toge releases his grasp on Maki's arms to put his hand in Yuta's hair, gently brushing the strands with his fingertips.

Both of them will hear him pipe up in their heads. ]

Are you two going to fill me in?

[fuckthefamily]

[ She'd been trying to avoid talking about it, her fingers curling into her palms, eyes closing for a moment. ]
Yuta was about to take his second run at Sukuna. We had contingencies in place for Gojo losing and those are now in play.

[ Her voice is blank, just speaking facts but Maki lets her head drop back against the couch, staring up at the ceiling. ]

Wearing him down is the only thing we can do at this point but we're getting there.

[cursedpromises]

[ The second time? Yuta’s entire body cringed with his wince and he held onto Toge and Maki even tighter. The second time - his backup plan - ]

[ shitshitshitshitshitshitshit ]

[ and Maki sounded so defeated too, and - ]

I had to make a terrible choice, Toge. I’m … [ his voice hitched but he took a deep breath and soldiered on; ] I’m sorry. Maki, I - to both of you. If - if I can change it when I go back, I will, to beat him the first time … I’m sorry that I couldn’t, Maki. I … Toge, I’m.

[ Does it kill him, becoming that kind of monster? Or is he then stuck that way? Did Maki know? And, god, was there any way he could actually remember when he went back, so he could win the first time? ]

[cursedwords]

[ Gojo losing? Gojo lost? Shit. He doesn't know what they're talking about, not really, but he's glancing between them. They got Gojo back, he knew that. Yuta told him. But none of them had wanted to think that Gojo would...

Shit. Shit is right. He's just...slumping slightly.

It's not good to know that other people they care about die. That Yuta is fighting Sukuna in Gojo's place that's...

Yuta might die.

Toge, for himself, is rendered speechless. The best he can do is raise his hands slightly as though he's going to say something, but he can't. He doesn't know what to say. He's afraid to ask what the contingency plan is. ]

[fuckthefamily]

It was still going before I came back. I don't know what happens next. [She repeasts, exhales a breath. ]

But it doesn't change anything here, right?

[cursedpromises]

[ Yuta squeezed his arms around them tighter, but Maki's right, he nodded. ]

It doesn't. You're - you're both still here. And I'm here.

[ His throat felt tight, eyes burning. ]

And - if I get sent back - I promise. I'll do everything I can to change things if I remember anything at all. If it's even possible, I'll try, so ...

[ Another shuddering breath; ] And even if I forget, I promise I'll come back. I'll always come back here, to both of you. Please believe me. I'll stay with you here forever - so - please, don't ... don't worry about me ...

[ He's trying to reassure them both, but he felt like it wasn't really working. But what else could he say? ]

[cursedwords]

[ Things at home don’t affect here, that’s true. Toge knows this. They’re here, that’s true enough, but he’s still concerned.

He’d like to ask more questions, but Yuta seems to be falling apart, and from how Maki scooped him up, he thought she might be close to the same. He leaned forward a bit to wrap his arms around Yuta. ]

Takana. [ Toge whispers softly. No. He doesn’t understand, but offering comfort regardless is something he can do. ]

[fuckthefamily]

We agreed as long as we win in the end, it's worth it. [She'd agreed, but she hadn't been happy about it, not that any of them were happy about any of this. But it's different here, there's a different level of anger over everything they've had to sacrifice. She shifts slightly, moves until she's a little more between both Toge and Yuta.]

And of course you'll come back, idiot. You know we're waiting here for you, whether you remember it there or not.

[cursedpromises]

[ Yuta held them both tightly - and as tense as he was, as upset by the idea he failed was - he didn't cry. He's not going to. He refused. ]

[ After all, whether or not he remembered - he had to be strong enough to win. Even if it's by becoming a monster, he had no other choice. ]

[ Eventually, holding them like that, the tension would leave his shoulders a little. He hadn't cried at all, but his voice was still rough all the same while he apologized; ] S-sorry for falling apart like that, guys.

[cursedwords]

[ Toge is still in the dark and it’s annoying, but the fact that Yuta is falling apart means this isn’t the time to ask. He can ask later. He hugs Yuta back with one arm, just giving him a squeeze. ]

Takana. [ Toge whispers to him. It’s okay, he can fall apart if he wants, he’s just confused. His confusion doesn’t outweigh Yuta’s upset.

His other arm goes around Maki’s back, there, he can hug them both at once. It’s good for them. ]