Chapter Text
Utahime cherished the rare moments when she had the luxury to sleep in. As an obedient individual, such opportunities were a scarce commodity. Weekdays commenced early with their 7 a.m. classes, and weekends were no different, often filled with commitments, such as assisting Yaga Sensei in organizing records.
However, on this particular morning, an unfamiliar and sweet, sickly scent roused her from her slumber. It overwhelmed her senses and it reminded her of someone. But, she just couldn’t place a finger as to who.
Utahime groaned, squinting against the intrusive brightness that assailed her still-closed eyes. Few people had access to her dorm, and she was ready to exact vengeance on whoever dared to disrupt her precious beauty sleep.
The throbbing in her head intensified, making her wince. As the pain surged, she reflected on her recent indulgences. Perhaps it was time to reconsider her drinking habits. Since reaching the legal drinking age, Utahime had frequented the Moonlight Bar, located conveniently near the campus. She wouldn't classify herself as an alcoholic, but the pounding in her head and the foggy memories of last night's escapades were troubling signs that she might be treading dangerously close to that line.
A rush of unease coursed through Utahime as she sensed the approaching cursed energy. Her muscles tensed, for it was unusual for any of her classmates to linger or draw near without a word. Alarms clamored in her mind as she struggled to pry open her eyes.
"Utahime" a voice called out, but she paid it no heed, focusing solely on the task of regaining her vision. However, her eyelids seemed uncooperative. Panic gripped her as she tried to shout, only to be silenced by a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Uta, can you hear me?"
Shoko. She finally identified the voice with the cursed energy she had sensed. There was a hushed conversation, and another familiar presence, Geto, joined the mix.
"Maybe we should ask Satoru to come back. He would be pissed if..."
The sentence remained unfinished, leaving Utahime puzzled. What could Gojo possibly be angry about?
"Uta? Can you please open your eyes?"
Her throbbing head made it abundantly clear that she wasn't in her dorm. The environment was too bright and oddly pristine. Where was she? Had she been transferred to the morgue? Was she dead?
The notion bewildered her. She couldn't recall embarking on a mission, and nothing in her memory hinted at circumstances that could lead to her death. A snort of amusement threatened to escape her lips, a stark reminder of the irony in perishing due to overconsumption of alcohol. If such an unlikely fate were to befall her, it would undoubtedly prove Gojo's taunts about her frailty.
"Utahime , please wake up," Shoko's voice carried an undercurrent of desperation, yanking her from her contemplations. With steely determination, she made another attempt to pry her heavy eyelids apart.
As the world gradually swam into focus, she saw Shoko peering down at her, her once-familiar brown eyes etched with worry. Something was off, and her hand instinctively reached out, seeking a touch of Shoko's hair.
"Shoko?" Utahime whispered, the name escaping her lips as she noticed the change in her friend's appearance. Shoko seemed to have aged.
"Utahime" Another gentle voice emerged from her right. Utahime turned to find Geto, now wearing glasses that couldn't quite conceal the small wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.
Utahime's breath caught in her throat.
What was happening?
Why did Shoko and Geto appear different? Had she inadvertently stumbled into an alternate reality? Could a powerful curse have disrupted her perception of the world? Or perhaps it was some elaborate prank orchestrated by Satoru?
Satoru? When had she begun addressing him so casually?
Gojo. Her thoughts instinctively gravitated towards him. If Shoko and Geto were here, Gojo couldn't be far behind.
"Uta, your cursed energy is fluctuating. You've got to breathe, Uta." Shoko insisted, offering a warm cup. Utahime gazed into it and recognized her favorite, hot chocolate. She attempted to convey her gratitude, but her vocal cords felt uncooperative.
"You shouldn't talk. Miwa mentioned that the cursed energy slashed your neck. It may have affected your vocal cords. I've healed it, and they should be fine within the next few hours, but you should rest."
Miwa? Who was Miwa?
Wait, she was on a mission? Why couldn't she recollect the details? Most perplexing of all, her head throbbed incessantly, a relentless discomfort.
A sudden knock on the door interrupted Shoko's attempts to provide more answers. A group of students, clad in Kyoto campus uniforms, burst into the room. Yet, something felt amiss. While Utahime had met Kyoto students previously, these faces were entirely unfamiliar. Utahime regarded them with wariness, but Shoko welcomed them inside.
"Sensei, are you okay? I'm so sorry," a girl with blue hair stammered, tears welling in her eyes.
Utahime scanned the room, finding no teachers in sight. Was this girl addressing her? She had served as a teaching assistant for Yaga, but no one had ever addressed her as "Sensei" before.
Another boy in a dark blue uniform stepped forward, his hair flowing loosely, with white runes woven into two strands.
"Don't overwhelm Utahime-sensei the moment you arrive. It's enough that she's been hurt because of you," he chastised.
"Kamo, that's enough. Let's not discuss this now," Geto intervened from her side. Though she appreciated his support, Utahime still grappled with an unsettling anxiety.
"Utahime-sensei?" They addressed her once more. Why were they calling her "Sensei"? Who were they?
"Something's wrong," Utahime croaked, her cursed energy faltering, gasping for breath. Everything appeared surreal and confounding. What was going on?
"Something's wrong, Shoko," she stated again, struggling to convey her concern. "Who are they?" She pointed at the students who had just entered.
Shoko furrowed her brow. "They are your students, Uta."
"Students?"
"Miwa and Momo were on a mission. It went awry, and you stepped in. Uta, are you okay?"
Utahime couldn't fathom it. Why did she have students? What was happening? The students peered at her with evident worry, sharing concerned glances as if communicating silently.
Utahime couldn't catch her breath. Geto squeezed her shoulder, expressing his concern to Shoko. "Maybe we should truly summon Satoru. She seems distressed."
"Why does Gojo need to be here?"
A sharp silence hung in the air, but no one provided an answer.
"Shoko, please. Something is wrong. Where’s Atyaki?"
"Atyaki?" Shoko repeated, her expression perplexed. Utahime grew increasingly frustrated. She didn't understand what was so challenging about her question. Due to her cursed technique, she was often paired with Atyaki. If she was on a mission, he would have been with her.
"Yes, Ataki. Is he okay? Where is he?"
Shoko gazed at her with concern but still answered her, "Well, I believe Atyaki is on vacation in the Netherlands right now. Uta, do you want to see Satoru—"
"Why would I want to see Gojo?" Utahime's comment burst out involuntarily, her tone harsh. She hadn't intended to react that way, but Gojo had a knack for provoking such responses from her.
Another sharp gasp, this time from Geto, and Shoko appeared exceptionally nervous. Utahime had never witnessed Shoko so uneasy.
"Shoko?" she pressed.
"Uta, what year do you think it is?"
"What do you—" Utahime's patience had reached its limits. No one was providing her with clear answers, and everyone seemed to regard her as if she were broken.
"Uta, tell me."
"It's 2006."
A strangled gasp emanated from the student with the prominent ponytail standing behind Miwa. Utahime felt her head throb even more, exacerbated by the tension in the room. Everything ached.
Her throat felt as if it had been scraped raw from the inside. Her stomach churned relentlessly, and her eyes grew heavy.
She couldn't endure it any longer. Surrendering to the encroaching darkness, she heard the clamor of voices and people calling her name, until it all faded into silence.
Utahime firmly believed there was a special place in hell for morning people. She had never comprehended how people could willingly wake up at the crack of dawn to exercise or meditate. Her parents used to rouse her from slumber for shrine duties, and she always fell asleep right before the sun fully revealed itself. Even though she had to wake up early for school, she loathed every moment of it. That's why she cherished the rare days when she could sleep in.
Today was supposed to be one of those days.
However, an unusual clamor disrupted her slumber.
Wait.
She opened her eyes, and an immediate sense of regret washed over her. Bright white lights radiated from above, with fluorescent bulbs flickering overhead. A smacking of lips sounded nearby.
"Uta, welcome back," a familiar voice greeted her.
Mei Mei.
"Mei Senpai?"
The light-blue-haired sorcerer only smirked in response, placing a magazine on the nearby table. Utahime couldn't help but be relieved that Shoko wasn't around. After the strange dream she had experienced yesterday, she couldn't be certain of anything anymore. It was just a dream, right?
She sneakily cast a glance at Mei Mei, who was pouring a glass of water. She slid the water across the table to Utahime, all the while observing Mei Mei with caution.
Mei Mei appeared different. Her usually loose hair was now tied into plaits over her shoulders, with a few strands of white hair catching Utahime's attention. This was utterly uncharacteristic of Mei Mei. The Mei Mei she knew would never allow such white hair to be visible.
Something was terribly wrong.
Concern flickered in Mei Mei's eyes as she watched Utahime. "Uta, are you okay?"
Utahime could hardly speak. Her confusion was overwhelming. Why was everything so wrong? Had she entered a different universe? Could she really be dead? She tore her gaze away to consider her surroundings. She was still in the morgue. The Tokyo one. She was sure because she saw Gojo and Geto defile the wall just last year. The writing was still on the wall although it is much more faded than she remembered.
The morgue was largely the same but it was brighter. Cleaner. And bigger. Somehow, there were more medical equipments that she never seen before. But she hardly spend time in the morgue. She wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
"Uta, are you okay?" Mei Mei asked again, her eyebrows furrowed in worry.
Mei Mei really looks older.
But Mei Mei's concerned expression seemed the same. Despite her different appearance, Mei Mei remained the same Mei Mei.
"Mei Senpai, something's wrong."
"Well, if you're calling me senpai again, something is definitely wrong," Mei Mei replied with a light chuckle, her eyes betraying her worry.
Everything was different, and it wasn't just the people she cared about.
"Utahime, what are you thinking?" Mei Mei's soft voice brought her back to the present.
Utahime was perplexed. Why was everything different? Why were everyone she knew altered? Why was her memory filled with gaps?
"Utahime, tell me. What's concerning you?"
Utahime struggled to speak, her mind racing. What could possibly explain this? Why had everything changed so drastically?
"Utahime, what are you thinking?" Mei Mei's soft voice reached Utahime's ears.
"Mei Senpai, I think a curse hit me. And I think it hit me bad. I think I've gone mad."
Mei Mei said nothing as Utahime continued to speak.
"The whole world is different. I don't know—"
Suddenly, Utahime sat up, a surge of determination propelling her to see the outside world. She needed to know it was the same world, that she wasn't losing her mind.
As she stood up, her legs gave way, and her head spun wildly. She would have fallen if Mei Mei hadn't been there to catch her.
"Okay, breathe, Uta. Shoko said you're supposed to be on bed rest, and she'll be upset to see you up and about."
Mei Mei gently guided her back to the bed, but Utahime's restlessness persisted. Something was undeniably wrong.
"Tell me, Mei Senpai. Tell me what happened."
Mei Mei stared at her, seemingly contemplating her options.
"Please, I really need to know."
With a sigh, Mei Mei began to recount the unsettling events.
"You weren't supposed to be there. You haven't been on missions in a while. However, there's a lack of competent supervisors, so you were sent to oversee. Miwa and Momo were your students, so you probably didn't give it much thought. The mission was for Miwa and Momo to deal with three Grade 4 Curses. But somehow, those curses had grown into a Grade 1 Curse, and Momo was taken out immediately. Miwa refused to leave you alone despite everything, and in your desperation to get her to safety, you didn't notice the curse and were attacked in the head, rather violently. You did manage to exorcise it in the end, but not before the curse slashed your throat."
"I exorcised a Grade 1 curse?"
Mei Mei chuckled at her response, "That's all you took from it?"
Utahime questioned, "How can I exorcise a Grade 1 curse? I'm only a Grade 2." She looked down at her hands, grappling with the extraordinary revelation. How could she, the one who had always been perceived as weak, have achieved such a feat?
"Utahime, you're a semi-Grade 1," Mei Mei clarified. "Well, you should be a Grade 1, considering you've exorcised several Grade 1 curses. But you know the higher-ups; they'd never agree to it."
"I'm a Grade 2," Utahime insisted, repeating her classification as if trying to cling to the one certainty she had about herself. Amid all the bewildering changes, this was the only thing she knew.
"Uta, what year do you think it is?" Mei Mei asked after a prolonged silence.
Utahime whispered, "It isn't 2006, is it?"
"It's 2017."
Tears welled up in her eyes, her surroundings seemingly spinning around her. The realization that she had lost eleven years of her life was incomprehensible.
"It's okay, Uta. Shoko will figure something out."
Utahime couldn't help but question if Shoko could truly resolve this situation. She had never heard of a sorcerer with memory loss, especially not an eleven-year memory loss.
"Breathe, Uta. Tell me what you last remember."
Utahime took a deep breath, knowing she had to keep her composure. She couldn't afford to freak out, not when she needed to uncover the truth.
She attempted to recollect her memories, but her mind felt like a blank canvas, devoid of any significant details.
"Where were you? Can you remember the mission?"
She could only manage a feeble shake of her head.
"What is the last thing you can remember at all? Not just about today, but in general?"
The memory emerged faintly, like a distant echo in the recesses of her mind. It was an elusive scene—a sensation of being pressed against a tree, the sound of a low chuckle and a giggle. Utahime could recognize her own laughter, but the other person's face remained concealed. There was a gentle push, and she realized she was at school. But the identity of the other person eluded her.
"Stop it, your students will see."
She could hear the voice, but it was enigmatic. White hair brushed against her shoulders.
"It's not that they will be surprised."
Then it clicked. White hair. Utahime's eyes widened as she finally connected the familiar voice to the hair. It was Gojo. But she couldn't fathom why she would be in such an intimate moment with Gojo.
"Uta." Mei Mei touched her arm gently, breaking her reverie, and Utahime jerked back in shock.
She vehemently denied the possibility of being close to Gojo like that, believing it couldn't be real.
Mei Mei's phone rang, and she offered Utahime an apologetic smile before taking the call. Her voice was hushed, and her expression grew worried as she returned to Utahime's bedside.
"Shoko's caught up in school. They refused to let her come; there have been more incidents—"
"She's still in lessons?"
"No, Shoko's a healer. There have been more mission-related injuries, and she's needed. She'll be here as soon as she can, and we can get some answers."
"Maybe I should get some food for you-" Mei Mei started,
"NO!"
Startled, Mei Mei hesitated,
"I'm kinda- I just don't want to be alone."
Mei Mei nodded and sat down next to her.
"Mei Senpai, I know Atyaki isn't here, but I need to speak with him."
This statement puzzled Mei Mei.
"Atyaki?"
"Yes, Atyaki. My classmate," Utahime responded, lips pressed into a thin line. She couldn't fathom why there was confusion about this. Even though eleven years had passed, she assumed they were still friends. Of all her classmates, she had collaborated with Atyaki the most. He had an unparalleled understanding of her powers, and she trusted him with her life.
"Why would you—" Mei Mei began to ask but then stopped. "Well, I'm not sure if you're still in constant contact with Atyaki."
"Why wouldn't I be?" Utahime couldn't fathom a life without Atyaki. She couldn't recall a time when they weren't friends.
"I doubt your husband likes it," Mei Mei murmured.
"I have a husband?"
Utahime felt the walls closing in around her, overwhelmed by all she didn't know.
"What else am I missing? Do I have kids? Am I—"
"Breathe, Uta."
Hyperventilating, Utahime forced herself to take deep breaths. Exhausted, she looked to Mei Mei for answers.
"You have a husband. No, you don't have kids. Although, you are a teacher. I suppose your students are considered your children, in a sense."
"Who..." She hesitated, a hint of trepidation in her voice. "Who is my husband?"
Utahime wasn't certain she wanted to know the answer. Her ringless finger served as a reminder that something was off. The question of her happiness loomed.
Mei Mei offered a cryptic smile. "Oh, I want to be there when you find out."
Utahime stared at her in confusion, but Mei Mei stood to fluff her pillow, gently coaxing her to rest.
"Rest, Uta. We can find out more later."
Utahime sighed, allowing herself to surrender to exhaustion as she reclined on the bed. The mysteries surrounding her life were overwhelming, and she could only hope that time would unveil the answers she desperately sought.