Life had dealt the worst of cards to the Strongest Duo.

If this was how things were for Special Grade sorcerers, then she did not ever want to be one. How could Gojo and Geto shoulder this constant burden and not break? Or were they just good at hiding their distress from the world. But sometimes, Hitomi noticed the cracks in their facade, which they immediately covered.

The only good incident in their life had been the 'cuddling incident'. It happened as regularly as it could. They cuddled, they lay in bed with each other as long as they could. Even if it was just the two of them, it became important to the trio to be around each other in some way.

But the thing with the Strongest Duo was that they had constant missions to go to. These moments of rest were few and far between. That was why Hitomi had splurged on an expensive, comfortable mattress in case the two boys wanted to crash. It was the least she could do for them; besides begging Yaga-sensei to give her some of their missions so the duo could rest.

Since the Star Plasma vessel incident, the number of curses appearing across the country had grown exponentially. Hitomi had seen Gojo and Geto be busy with multiple missions over the course of the week, but now it seemed like it was finally her turn.

Mission after mission, curse after curse...her whole week had been wild. It started with a semi-special grade curse in Osaka, then an assist to the Kyoto school (which she hated), then a haunted resort in Hokkaido, then back to a cemetery in Osaka to exorcize some low level curses. Izuki's grumblings that she was overworking herself had been ignored.

But arriving back at Tokyo Jujutsu High, Hitomi hadn't even realised how dead she was on her feet. It was the middle of the afternoon or the evening; she couldn't really tell.

"Oh, I need to get back to bed," Hitomi mumbled to herself. She walked down the corridor towards her room, yawning. She paused when she was in front of her door. The presence of a strange cursed energy made her stop in her tracks. When she touched the doorknob, she immediately recognized it.

'Master Tengen.' Hitomi blinked, like she couldn't believe it. There was no doubt about it. The energy had to belong to Master Tengen. What did Master Tengen want with her? Especially after everything that had happened...This had to be some sort of divine punishment.

Even being back in the building had brought Hitomi back to that day. Memories rushed through her mind, but with a deep breath, she pushed them away. She ignored the dried blood caked on the floor and let her feet guide her forward. She walked down the same passage that she had watched Geto and Riko disappear that time.

'Be careful,' Izuki suddenly warned. 'Tengen is powerful, even without a proper vessel.'

"I know that," Hitomi whispered under her breath. "Trust me, I know that."

Izuki's presence lingered as she walked on. The passage opened up to a massive empty space, with dilapidated walls and cracks on the floor. Her heart lurched when she spotted more dried blood on the floor here. She pressed a hand to her heart. It was going to be fine. She had not traveled back in time. She was here, at this moment.

Master Tengen's presence filled this place. This was probably the origin point of the barrier and here Tengen's cursed energy would be the strongest.

"You are here," An unusual-sounding voice whispered.

Hitomi turned around, eyes wide and hands raised to attack. "Master Tengen?"

Tengen looked entirely different than she had imagined. They had a humanoid body, but instead of a human head, their head resembled that of a cylinder and had no hair at all. They had four eyes and wore a simple light-coloured robe.

"It is just me, child," Tengen said. "You have no reason to attack."

"Please excuse me if I find that a little hard to believe," Hitomi grumbled quietly, lowering her hands. "This place brings back a lot of bad memories."

"I can understand that," Tengen replied. "You and your friends have suffered a lot."

"That's really understating it," She said. She looked at Tengen, taking a small breath to relax. "I felt your cursed energy on my door. Was that your way of sending a message? What do you want from me?"

"Yes," They answered. "I wanted to summon you here and speak with you about something important."

Tengen looked at her, their expression somewhat grim. All four of their eyes were focused on her. "You are a vessel."

Hitomi's eyes widened. 'Does he know about...'

Izuki stirred. But she pushed him back down. There was no way Master Tengen would know. Izuki was a well-treasured secret that she had sworn to take to her grave. How could Tengen find this out? They were lying. They had to be.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Master Tengen," Hitomi replied, keeping a straight face.

"I can feel it, child," Tengen said. "Your soul is expansive, large. And there is a secondary soul that lives within you. It resides deep within your soul, but its presence plays a role in your cursed technique. You are a vessel for a very powerful cursed being."

"How'd you even-"

"I have always known about you, young Hitomi, since the moment you were born."

"What?" Hitomi said, shocked. "What are you even on about? How do you know about me? Why-"

"A thousand years ago, your family was born with unique cursed techniques. They were much different in comparison to the sorcerers of the time," Tengen explained. "That is how your family originally rose in power in the Jujutsu realm in Japan. They gained fame for the prolific nature of their techniques and their abilities to craft strong cursed tools. A thousand years ago, the head of your family was born with an exceptionally powerful cursed technique. He could steal souls and use them to strengthen his technique. Your secondary soul, Izuki, was a renowned sorcerer at the time and when your family member learned about his technique, he wanted it for himself."

Hitomi immediately understood the implications.

She covered her mouth, eyes wide. "No, Izuki, tell me that's not-"

'All true. Tengen is telling you the truth,' Izuki suddenly surfaced. His voice sounded grim, nothing like she had ever felt before, and she felt a wave of his despair pass through her. 'That man took everything from me.'

"Master Tengen, tell me what happened. I need to know this."

Tengen nodded and continued with their explanation. "When Izuki's soul was stolen, what the Ayase family sorcerer did not realise was that they had brought upon themselves and their family members a vicious curse. The combination of their cursed technique and Izuki's cursed technique had resulted in the creation of a curse that would destroy the proclivity of your family to have unique cursed techniques for centuries. Till you were born, at least."

Hitomi knew. She had always known that there was a dark past surrounding her family. But never had she thought it would be this dark. Izuki had been an innocent man and then had his soul stolen by her ancestor. The Ayase clan was poisonous and Hitomi was ashamed to even be a part of it.

"What does me being born have to do with this?"

Tengen looked at her. The expression on their face, if you could even call it that, was oddly sympathetic. "Your cursed technique, when you were born, was much different than what it is now. It was called Abundant Soul. It is hard to explain but your soul had a massive presence and power, akin to what your family once used to have. Precautions are always taken when a Star Plasma vessel is chosen to ensure that nothing goes wrong at the time of the merge. Your cursed technique made..."

"No...no way." Hitomi shook her head. If what Tengen was saying was true, then...

"In this era, you were chosen to be the Star Plasma vessel first, before Riko Amanai was even in consideration. Your soul was powerful enough that you would be able to absorb me and still maintain your own physical form. You would not be able to leave the boundaries of Tokyo Jujutsu High, but you would have been able to live a life here in your own form. But misfortune struck when your father forcefully transferred Izuki's soul into yours. And a new vessel had to be chosen. That was when Riko Amanai was selected as the Vessel."

Hitomi couldn't breathe. The ground had started to spin beneath her feet. Tengen's words felt like massive weights had been dropped on her shoulders.

She was the original Star Plasma vessel?

If her father hadn't done what he did, Riko and Kuroi would still be alive...?

Gojo and Geto would not have had to go through what they did. Hitomi would not have had to go through what she did.

Was it all her fault-

"Are you saying that Riko would be living right now if Izuki's soul didn't reside in mine? All of what happened could have...could have been prevented?" Hitomi clenched her fists, her cursed energy slowly growing out of control. "Is it my fault?"

Tengen immediately shook their head. "It is not your fault, child. Your fate changed because of unexpected circumstances, but you have made the most of your life. Even without your true cursed technique, you are strong. You should have already known, but it seems that your father kept this knowledge from you. I wished for you to know this before too much time passed."

"Even dead, that man is causing me so much agony," Hitomi growled out. Her breathing was heavy and the sheer amount of anger she was feeling right now was nothing like she had ever felt. "My family is poisonous and hateful and power-hungry. Why do I have to suffer because of them? And Riko, she did not do anything at all. What happened to that poor girl happened because of my family..."

"Don't despair, young Hitomi," Tengen stepped closer to her. "You have done a lot already and you have shown immense strength. Believe me when I say you are as important in this world as a Six-Eyes user or a Cursed Spirit Manipulation user. You have and you will have an important role to play in this world we live in."

Hitomi slowly took in Tengen's words. There was comfort in them. But there was also responsibility.

Things were already different, but they were going to be even more different now. 

First update of 2025 let's go!! 🥳🥳

And it's finally time for the tragedy and the angst to begin. I had always planned for Hitomi to be a former Star Plasma vessel and have that information told to her by Tengen at a time where things weren't exactly great to increase the potential for angst lol. This is also coming at a time when Hitomi, Gojo and Geto are slowly separating (we all know what's coming up...)

As for why I didn't update...well, I was quite disappointed with how things went with the JJK manga. It kind of took me out of wanting to write for this fic for a bit but I recently read JJK 0 and Gojo's past arc in the manga, and wanted to write for Hitomi again. Now that the manga has an ending, I have an idea of how I want this fic to end (although in no way I am prepared to say goodbye to these characters including my beloved OC 🥲

In the meantime, I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter! Comments and votes are always appreciated <33