Some day in February on Este’s birthday…

  Satoru arrived to at the gate of dreams in the middle of the day—what in the dream look like afternoon daytime—as soon as he entered the dream, he saw something that was off from the usual scenery. Where supposed to be part of a range of mountains, and a valley was instead a vivid reproduction of part of Tokyo and the foothills of Mount Mushiro. Satoru knew the pce closely in the awake world.

  He ran toward the mountain as fast as he could because he felt some ache in his chest, some pain that remembered him the past. He ran up the foothill. It was a clear recreation into the dream of the Tokyo Jujutsu High Barrier and Master Tengen’s home.

  When he crossed the main torii gate and got inside was Tengen’s home entrance; he saw the vivid reproduction of one relevant moment in his life when he was 17. Este was in his pce, and Toji Fushiguro, who just had broken Satoru’s limitless technique with the Special-Grade Cursed Tool Inverted Spear of Heaven. Satoru felt the stroke from the stab in his throat while Este suffered the real stabbing in hers.

  What continued to happen was an exact reproduction of the first time Satoru experienced death himself and how he learned to use his reverse curse technique.

  Este tried to stop Toji from slicing her chest and right leg by holding the spear with her hands, but it was in vain. Finally, Toji made her body fall and stabbed her in the left side of her forehead with a knife using his left hand. Satoru couldn’t stop feeling all the pain and sensations coming from Este. He realized that the one suffering in real agony at that moment was her.

  He instantly thought, No, Este can’t use reverse curse technique. She’s going to die right here. I must do something. He didn’t notice there were Maru and Sharu behind him since the moment he arrived at the pce. They took him by both of his arms, Maru from the right and Sharu from the left, then by the first time they talked to him.

  “Gojo-sama, Yumesaki-san, can’t be interrupted now.” Maru and Sharu talked in unison.

  “She’s recreating one of your memories in the dream realm. If you see her now, she’s in a state in which she’s basically you, yourself, from the time of that event in your life.” Maru said.

  “I don’t understand why she is doing this?” Satoru asked, full of concern for Este.

  “It’s not like she wants to do this. It’s a side effect of acquiring powerful memories from another person.” Sharu said. “Looks like she is going to die, but do not worry about it. She will not die while she is here.”

  “Though, it could be true death for her if she was in the awake world when something like this happens.” Maru added.

  It was a gruesome scenery to see Este’s chest open, wounded and feeling her complete agony. Satoru wanted to take her to another pce to see her wounds, but Maru and Sharu didn’t allow it. He just stood there, observing.

  Some minutes after Toji disappeared from the memory recreation, Este reproduced the effects of the reverse curse technique that originally Satoru used. Something like forty minutes or more passed and Este got up and walked towards Satoru and the others.

  “Satoru… I’m so, so happy to see you!” Este scream while radiating excitement with all her being.

  “Este, are you really, really, okey?” Satoru asked while looking at her eyes and seeing how her pupils were huge and burning like real suns.

  Este’s clothes were torn apart, and Satoru could see her chest and her right leg. So, he took off his bck jacket and tried to cover her. But as he held his jacket in his right hand, Este jumped onto him and embraced him with her legs and arms.

  “Este, you’re too close to me. Do you remember I’m a guy, right?” Satoru didn’t hold her, but he didn’t want her to fall, either. He just held her by her legs.

  “Huh… Of course, I know you are a guy, Satoru. Now, take me home.” After saying this, she pushed Satoru’s head by behind with her hands and got close to his face, trying to kiss him.

  “What has got into you? Why are you trying all the sudden to kiss me?” Satoru noticed something was off with Este. She was behaving strange.

  I know this feeling. I felt this before a long time ago. It’s euphoria… it’s overwhelming. She is immersing in this state. It really feels great. It’s all coming back to me. While thinking this, Satoru was in the same euphoric state, Este was being immersed.

  Este got closer to Satoru’s ear and whispered. “I just feel so great right now, that I want to really be with you, and share it with you, ah.”

  In that moment, Satoru realized Este had moved them somehow to her home. They both were at Este’s bedroom. He didn’t know where Maru and Sharu were. He didn’t have time to think about that as Este kissed his neck.

  Now, Satoru was on the verge of giving up. Besides of feeling Este’s euphoria were the kisses, the view and feeling of her naked chest and the closeness of their bodies.

  “Ah, Satoru, I want to be touched by you. I always wanted I just couldn’t bring myself to tell you that.” Este said this as she made Satoru fall over her bed. “Can you please touch me?”

  Still over him, Este took off the rest of her ripped shirt and bra. While Satoru tried to move out of the bed. However, as she was over him, with all the closeness and their bonding feelings. He finally gave up while Este kept kissing his neck.

  “Este, can you move and let me take off my pants?”

  She nodded with her head. Both took off their clothes.

  “Satoru, touch me, please touch me.” Este whispered.

  Satoru started touching her face, first her lips, and then her forehead, passed his thumbs by both of her eyes, and kissed her passionately for a long time. Then he continued kissing her neck and her chest.

  “Este, is it all right if I touch there?” Satoru asked, signaling down her belly.

  She nodded. “Can you y down by my side while you do that? I want to feel you closer.”

  “Satoru, I want… just promise me you will not act all weird after today.”

  “Ok, I promise.”

  Satoru touched the more sensitive parts of Este: her back, her neck, her belly, her legs, and in between them. In the same way Este kissed Satoru everywhere, there was no space in their bodies that they didn’t touch from one another.

  “Satoru” Este wanted to say something else, so she called his name.

  “What is it?”

  “No, it’s nothing, never mind.”

  “Come on, tell me.”

  “Ah… I’m going to tell you ter, I promise.”

  They gaze at each other, kissed and contempte each other like they were going to die inevitably the next day. Satoru felt great content while Este felt a deep excitement in all her being and maybe happiness.

  They were two lonely people who were together just by chance. They needed each other and yet they could not admit this to themselves. While they were in their state of euphoria, they didn’t care about anything else. Maybe their curiosity pyed an important role in letting it go into each other with no reserve.

  Este knew exactly who Satoru was since childhood and secretly yearned to be touched and care by him. While Satoru wanted to feel any kind of human touch, a connection. Perhaps the love he didn’t feel since Suguru, and the pleasure that he had never experienced deep in his body, given for another one.

  After many hours, and after sleeping for some time, both y side by side looking at each other face.

  “Satoru, I’m fond of you.” Este said it calmly and with no sense of rushing things.

  Satoru just kept quiet. He just didn’t know what to say at that moment. He thought this decration from Este was maybe a product of the same euphoria they felt before. Besides, he didn’t want to hurt Este by saying something he could regret ter.

  “I know you maybe don’t feel the same as me, and that’s ok.” She continued speaking. “I just wanted to let you know how I feel, but that doesn’t mean you have to feel the same.”

  “Honestly, I don’t know what to say.”

  “You don’t have to say anything right now… Just don’t be weird after all what happened.” Este got sit on the bed as she said this.

  “Hey, Este… I’m sorry, you had to revive that event from my memories. I’m sorry you had to experience that pain in your own body.” Satoru said this while grabbing Este’s right arm to call her attention to him.

  “Don’t worry about it. I have experienced worse things before, and I felt sad more than anything else.” She looked like she was going to cry.

  “Why do you feel sad now?”

  “Because I know about Suguru, and I feel really sad about everything reted to him.” She ended crying anyway.

  “You don’t have to cry because of that. Nothing can be done about him now.” Satoru felt sad too, but he didn’t want to feel worse or make Este feel even more sad.

  “You now Satoru, I have been thinking and there is maybe something that can be done.” Este stared at the ceiling of the bedroom while thinking about it.

  “What are you talking about? Suguru is dead and there’s nothing we can do.” He said, showing a little distress.

  “Never mind. I’m just thinking about something and imagining possibilities.”

  Este already knew something, but seeing Satoru’s reaction, she decided not to say anything further.

  “You know I’ll never return to the awake world. The pn is to stay here and take Madarajin’s pce after I gain enough experience, and I can assimite the totality of his power.”

  “Wow, you’re going to be here permanently. But you’re human too, a part of you, I mean.”

  Este got up and went to the bathroom by the bedroom.

  “You know I can’t touch people or being touched by people… as a human I could die if I’m touched by more than one person at the same time.” She spoke from the bathroom. “I don’t want to have the memories of others. It’s not a good thing.”

  “I understand. You are in a way in the same position as me. You have a compromise with your father to take after him.” Satoru said this with not much emotion.

  “By having all kinds of memories from other people. I feel like I have multiple personalities.” Este went back to the bedroom and opened the door to the exterior hall. “It’s nothing fun as you saw today.”

  “I get what you’re saying.” Satoru got up from the bed and got dressed. “I have to leave soon before it gets too te in the awake world.”

  Both dress up, one to go to the awake world and the other to go back to sleep.

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  Next day, Satoru woke up. The first thing that he did after waking up was smiling. Putting his right hand on his forehead. He was excited about what he dreamed, so excited that he didn’t notice something important about himself. He was going to realize about it some days ter.

  While Este woke up to a new day, she didn’t feel so good after what happened. She felt responsible for all of them. A thought crossed her mind, making her feel like she committed a crime. I think I mirrored my feelings on Satoru. Did I push him into that situation through those feelings?... I wish he wasn’t present when I recreated that memory of his. I should talk to him when he comes back.

  Este got up from her bed and when to the bathroom. There, she noticed something important that could change her whole life. However, she didn’t know what to feel exactly. She felt loneliness, anxiety, worry, a little of uncertainty, but not regret. Regret was something that didn’t cross her mind at that moment.

  Later that same day, Este remembered that in the middle of everything the day before, she didn’t ask Satoru for help to find out Baku’s whereabouts. She was running out of time to find him. So, she decided that if Satoru came back in the next few days, she would ask him for help. But if days passed by and he didn’t return. She was going to the awake world by herself.

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  Five days passed, and Satoru didn’t visit Este. She thought he might be busier than normal. After all, he was the only sorcerer that could take the heavy special grade curses. She always respected the fact that he had major responsibilities in the awake world. Thus, this situation to her was simply normal and didn’t give it too much thought.

  Este was getting ready to go to the awake world, even when she hated the idea. She didn’t have other option. She was pnning on staying only one day to avoid any other complication dealing with humans.

  Satoru was busier, as Este guessed. No busier than he couldn’t go visit Este while sleeping, as he normally did. He just felt the need to have space to think about what happened the st time they were together. Breaking his own rules, and not keeping Este at bay, to him, it was a serious matter.

  Although Satoru valued Este’s friendship and kindness. He didn’t want to get too close to her. So, he decided he was going to visit Este after clearing his own thoughts.

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  Author’s Notes

  Spoiler Alert!

  Please refer to Jujutsu Kaisen by Gege Akutami Volume 8 Hidden Inventory Ach chapter 65 to 70, if you want to understand better about Satoru’s past. Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 9 Hidden Inventory Ach chapter 71 to 75. The events from the reproduction of Satoru’s memory described in this chapter took pce between chapters 70 to 73.

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