A young Reiji Kamo was playing in the garden. His tiny hands were smeared with dirt as he drew rough shapes in the bare soil, humming softly to himself. The afternoon sun filtered through the branches above, wrapping the small courtyard in gentle warmth.
Not far away, his mother sat quietly on the grass, a half-finished piece of embroidery in her lap. Her fingers moved delicately, though the tremor in them betrayed exhaustion. When Reiji turned to look at her, his cheerful humming slowly faded.
For the first time, his gaze truly lingered on her face. The faint scars: remnants of old abuse… caught his eyes. Scratches and faint discoloration marred the soft beauty of her features. Yet there was still warmth in her eyes, a fragile kindness that had survived despite everything.
Reiji rose and walked toward her on unsteady legs, his little feet leaving prints in the dirt. Until now, he had never noticed how much she hid from him.
When he finally stood before her, he reached out. His small, trembling hand touched her cheek. The movement was hesitant, instinctive. It was an innocent attempt to comfort her.
Understanding his intention, his mother smiled faintly and placed her hand over his. Her skin was cool, her touch gentle, as if she were the one reassuring him instead.
"Mother," Reiji asked quietly, "why do they treat you so badly?"
Her fingers froze. For a moment, her eyes wavered. The question had struck deeper than expected.
The answer was simple. Everyone in the Kamo clan knew it. She had given birth to a child they called cursed — a boy born incomplete, frail, with organs missing and an empty socket where his left eye should have been. To them, Reiji was an omen, not a son.
He was a child who had yet to awaken any cursed technique, whose body was too weak to withstand training. But in his mother's eyes, he was simply her little boy… kind, soft-spoken, and undeserving of the cruelty the world offered him.
She forced a smile, masking her sorrow.
"That's nothing you should concern yourself with, Rei."
But her words didn't fool him.
A spark of determination kindled in the young boy's eyes. His lips quivered before forming a shaky smile.
"Then I'll grow really strong," he declared, voice trembling with both fear and resolve. "I'll protect you, Mother. I promise!"
For a moment, silence hung between them. Then, his mother's expression softened, her eyes glistening with quiet emotion. A soft, beautiful laugh escaped her... gentle, yet tinged with melancholy.
She reached out and brushed the dirt from his cheek.
"Is that so?" she whispered warmly. "Then I'll be waiting for that day, my little hero."
Reiji's grin widened, sunlight catching in his eyes. In that moment, the cruel world around them seemed to fade away.
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Gojo lazily leaned against the wall of a hospital dorm while Geto sat on a chair behind him. Both youngsters wore a rare, serious expression on their faces.
Geto, staring at his clasped hands, spoke quietly, "I'm sure you didn't bother to read the report, but he was almost dead when they found him."
"I don't need a report to tell me something I can already see right in front of me," Gojo replied, gazing through the wall ahead, his hands snugly tucked into his pockets.
Geto glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "And what else do you see?"
"Nothing more," Gojo said, his tone uncharacteristically serious.
He continued, "He was banned from combat missions. Just how did he end up like that…?"
"What could even do that to him? He's strong…"
Geto closed his eyes and sighed. "The report says there was a powerful curse user involved... the same one who's been going around stealing cursed objects."
"Tch. He shouldn't have ended up half-dead like that. He's got a lot of explaining to do," Gojo muttered, worried yet visibly irritated.
"That's not something you should ask someone who's just waking up after almost dying, Satoru."
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Gojo perked up and turned toward the corridor entrance. "Eh? Who's that?"
Reiji woke up on a hospital bed, his eyes weakly opening to a bland ceiling. His breathing was slow, shallow. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his bare torso, once marred with deep scars was now unnaturally pristine. As if someone had chiseled all the marks away.
"He's waking up," came Shoko's voice, it was soft, but firm.
She was sitting beside him, a clipboard resting on her lap.
Before Reiji could respond, the door burst open unnaturally, the wood cracking against the wall. The mighty elder of the Kamo clan strode into the room.
Gojo and Geto, who had been standing outside and were waiting to enter, froze mid-step. The oppressive presence of the old man demanded silence. Even they knew better than to interrupt.
Standing tall in front of Reiji's bed, Kamo Dairoku bellowed a single word:
"Leave."
Shoko hesitated but didn't argue. She stood up and quietly exited the room, glancing back once before closing the door behind her.
Dairoku's hawk-like eyes bore into Reiji's soul. Yet behind the harshness, there lingered a faint trace of concern. Something almost human that flickered in his tone when he finally spoke.
"Was it your choice?"
Reiji's lips parted weakly. "...Yes."
His voice was so faint it was nearly lost beneath the hum of the nearby machines.
For a long moment, Dairoku said nothing. The old man, usually full of authority and composure, now looked strangely unsure, awkward even.
Reiji's mind was blank, but he managed to whisper the one thing his teacher had the right to know.
"Akame… activated."
At those words, Dairoku's sharp eyes widened slightly. His expression softened into something unreadable before a thin grin formed on his lips.
Interpreting his student's statement as a sign of progress, Dairoku turned briskly toward the door.
"At least he gained something out of it…" he muttered under his breath.
He stopped only once at the doorway.
"Get well soon, kid," he said simply, before walking out.
Outside, he glanced briefly at the three students in the hall; Gojo, Geto, and Shoko, before hurriedly striding away, his robes brushing the floor.
Gojo raised an eyebrow. "What's his deal?" he muttered, watching the old man vanish down the corridor.
Shoko and Geto entered the room, Yaga appearing not far behind.
Inside, Reiji still stared blankly at the ceiling. His breathing was steady now, but his expression was distant and hollow. The images from the orphanage still lingered, etched into the back of his mind. He wanted to cry, but no tears would come.
Geto was the first to speak. "How do you feel, Reiji?"
Reiji didn't answer. He just kept staring upward, unblinking.
Geto drew back slightly, instantly realizing that Reiji wasn't in any state to talk. Gojo, however, was never one for restraint.
He leaned forward, hands still in his pockets, his voice unusually soft.
"You know, I don't think I've ever seen you like this…" he said, his usual teasing tone carrying a faint tremor of worry.
Reiji didn't move. His eyes stayed fixed on the ceiling tiles, still dull and lifeless.
Gojo frowned, his mask of cocky humor slipping for a second. He straightened up, exhaling through his nose.
"You look pathetic, you know that?" he said, forcing a grin.
Geto sighed quietly. "Gojo..."
But Gojo continued, a bit louder this time, frustration surging into his voice.
"You were supposed to be the careful one, right? the one who thinks things through? So what the hell happened out there, huh? How did you end up like this?"
Reiji's silence pressed heavier into the room. The monitor beeped softly, measuring each frail heartbeat.
Gojo took a step closer, his grin gone now.
"Is this really all your will amounts to, Reiji?" he said quietly, almost accusingly. "You were supposed to be stronger than this."
The words hung in the air, sharp and unintended, but they struck deep.
Reiji flinched; that tone, that line… it was the same as the Green Dragon's.
Rage that had been beaten out of him by helplessness flickered again inside him.
His dull eyes glimmered faintly with renewed resolve. Slowly, painfully, he turned his head toward Gojo.
'All the promises I made… I need to keep them. I can't break down again.'
Despite his aching body, Reiji forced himself upright.
"Hey, take it easy," Shoko said quickly, stepping forward to support him. "You're not supposed to be moving so soon."
Reiji ignored her warning. His gaze locked onto Gojo's, now flaring with determination.
"I fought that person for quite a while," he said, voice weak but resolute. "He's an ancient sorcerer… who calls himself the Green Dragon."
Gojo and Geto exchanged startled looks. An ancient sorcerer? in the modern age?
Reiji continued, his tone heavy.
"His cursed technique stops time within any barrier he creates."
Geto frowned. "Reiji, you don't have to do this right now…"
Reiji waved him off with a tired smile.
"I don't know much about his domain… but it activates instantly. So fast that I couldn't even perceive it."
Gojo, now serious again, leaned in.
"How do you know he's an ancient sorcerer? And how the hell did you even survive a domain?"
The question hung in the air. None of them had even come close to manifesting a Domain Expansion yet… but Reiji had somehow lived through one.
Reiji's head drooped slightly as he muttered,
"I survived because I wasn't his target…"
He looked down at the sheets, his hands trembling faintly.
"When I fought him, he used strange martial arts. The movements felt ancient… too deliberate and extremely refined. It was similar to the old Kamo clan styles that were abandoned centuries ago."
The room fell into silence. The idea of an ancient sorcerer resurfacing in their era was beyond belief.
Reiji's hands quivered as he continued.
"He seemed to have a grudge with the progenitor of the Kamo clan."
Geto quietly made a mental note of every word Reiji spoke.
Reiji's expression turned grim as his eyes fell on his trembling palms.
"And… his cursed energy was unlike anything I've ever felt. Whenever I touched him, it felt like hitting solid steel… and then, I was shredded. His cursed energy tore through anything that made contact, like the jagged scales of a dragon."
Geto's eyes widened. Such an effect on cursed energy defied logic.
Gojo's gaze, however, was unreadable. His lips pressed into a thin line, his expression a strange mix of concern and curiosity.
Reiji exhaled weakly.
"That's all I've got. Please report this to Yaga. It might help prevent more thefts... not that I think anyone here can beat him."
Gojo flinched, then smirked… a familiar, arrogant grin returning.
"Don't be so sure about that," he said, turning toward the door.
He paused, glancing over his shoulder.
"Come to the grounds later if you want to train."
And with that, he walked out.
Geto gave Reiji a curt nod. "Rest for now," he said quietly, then followed Gojo out.
That left Reiji and Shoko alone.
She sat back in the chair beside his bed, watching him closely. There was something brittle in his expression. It was not just exhaustion, but there was something darker beneath the surface.
Reiji finally let his body relax and fell back against the bed. He lifted an arm, draping it across his eyes.
"Shoko…" he muttered softly, his voice low and heavy. "We need to talk."