Salmon - Agree/Affirm
Bonito flakes - Disagree/deny
Kelp - Greeting
Mustard Leaf - Concern / Worry
Salmon Roe - To grab attention
Tuna - Focus
Tuna tuna - Look
Tuna mayo - Talk
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Where is she? Inumaki frantically searches the crowd from the rooftops of the shrine. Panda and Maki are currently dealing with evacuation while Okkotsu helps with the search of Y/N. Itadori is safely sent off towards the evacuation site where other sorcerers are guarding the surrounding area. Inumaki groans from frustration. Everything was going too smoothly like he predicted.
He has been on high alert all day and did not expect for a stampede to tear him apart from Y/N. Inumaki struggles to remain calm as his eyes dart left and right. His only thought is the fear of Y/N being alone in the darkness. There's barely any light around this location. The shrine is perched on a hill with several trees in the surrounding area. Not only are there yards of trees but the snow blankets every inch of the land.
Inumaki forces his eyes shut as he inhales deeply with tight knit brows. He has to think as if he is Mahito. Where would Mahito hide? What is his next plan? Why did Mahito decide to strike now? What does all of this have to do with him and Y/N's relationship? There's too many questions for Inumaki to form an answer to.
The cursed spirit who roams around as he pleases while killing innocent humans on Halloween night. What was his intention that night? Is this some power trip bullshit? Or maybe he feels pleasure from seeing despair from others? Whatever it is, Inumaki is sure this is just another joke to Mahito. Another thing for him to do to pass the time.
Feeling less frantic as before, Inumaki flutters his eyes open. There's no time for him to idle. He needs to search for Y/N. He's sure Mahito may be in an open area in attempts to lure Inumaki there. Somewhere among these rows of trees has to be an open area. Inumaki takes a deep inhale before leaping off the rooftops of the shrine.
*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*
One moment you are standing in front of the cursed spirit and the next you're captured by him with a blindfold over your eyes. Screaming is pointless since you're unsure if your voice is being heard. You couldn't risk exhausting yourself by the screams. You attempted to pound your fists and feet against his body but it causes you more harm than him. He quickly solved the problem by tying your hands and feet with rope that appeared out of no where. With a thud, your body is enveloped in coldness. The surface isn't entirely hard so you can only assume he's tossed you onto the snow.
You slowly prop yourself up using your elbows. Goosebumps easily litter your body from the low temperature. You sense the cursed spirit which causes you to remain still. The man squats behind you, his hair tickling your face when he leans beside your left ear. "I think we can have a proper chat here without all of the screaming. Don't you think?"
Your body naturally shivers when you feel his arm raise up. The man unties the blindfold that drops onto the snow. Your eyelashes flutter rapidly as you readjust to seeing again. But you're unable to feel a moment of relief when the man reminds you how closely he is. You stare at his fingertips that reach up towards your stray hairs. He wraps his left pointer finger around your hair with a satisfied hum.
"I never introduced myself. The name is Mahito." The man grins from ear to ear. Your only response is to remain still while swallowing the saliva that builds in your throat. "No need to tell me your name. I already know it. Y/L/N Y/N. The "colorblind" girl who only sees color when Inumaki Toge presents himself to her. How peculiar."
Mahito laughs loudly as if this situation is amusing. You force your eyes shut, creeped out of your own skin from his laughter. With trembling lips, you part them to speak in a shaky tone. "W-What do you want from me?" You feel Mahito's presence back away. He stands up on his feet to walk around to situate himself in front of you.
You slowly peer your eyes open to look up at the man. The moon shines behind him, casting a shadow over his face. "I want you dead." Mahito casually answers in a matter-of-fact tone. There's a curt smile to his face. One you cast your eyes down to.
Dead? The thought of dying sends you into high alert. You don't want to die. There's too many people you want to live for. There's many more memories to create and sights for you to witness.
Mahito cackles once more as he's pleased to see the fear shine in Y/N's eyes. The girl is trembling as she's kneeling in the snow. The color in her face is paling over as her thoughts are running a thousand miles per second. Oh how he loves that kind of reaction. The reaction of someone fearing for their life. The desperate glow in those beady eyes of humans. It's such a thrill for Mahito.
Now comes the next part, where the human will beg for their life. Mahito quietly waits for Y/N to speak up. Her thoughts seeming to be collected when her wavering eyes stare up at him. The corner of his lip turns into a smirk as he stares directly into her eyes. "Something to say Y/N?"
The only thing you can do is stare at this wicked man. He finds enjoyment from your misery. But the only thing you can question is, "Why?". The single question seems to confuse Mahito. His smirk falls flat and his brows raised.
Mahito scoffs and places his hands on his hips. "Why? Were you not the one who wanted to die so badly on that bridge? You ached the thought of death so much that a hideous cursed spirit lurched onto you to the very end. Until someone had intervened." Mahito squats down, his hand roughly grabbing onto your jaw. He seems furious now as you feel his fingertips dig into your skin.
Clenching your teeth, you hiss at the pain. How did Mahito know this? Was he watching from afar? Had someone as awful as him followed you without your awareness?
A darkness casts over Mahito's eyes as he tightens his grip. Blood now dripping onto the blank white snow. "Do you really think escaping from the Reaper after all these years will be so easy just because you found a bit of happiness these past few months? Don't be fooled Y/N. Remember where you came from." Mahito roughly pulls his hand away from your jaw, relieving you of the pain.
His words begin to cloud your mind. You forced yourself to forget the you before you had been saved by your friends. Now you're being told to recall them? As if. "No. I won't." You speak hesitantly with fear still cloaking over you. Not avoiding eye contact, you stare directly at Mahito who scoffs in your face.
"I'm no longer that girl. So don't tell me to remember her!" You find strength in your voice. "I don't know how you know these dark secrets of mine, but I've grown past those old thoughts. There's someone out there I find worth living for. I can't leave Toge behind to die to someone like you! There's so much more to life for me to see with him." Before you can speak any further the looming darkness of death begins to wrap around you.
A darkness clouds over Mahito's eyes as he grabs hold of your neck. Despite how frail he looks, the man easily lifts you up single-handedly. You're unable to pry his hand away from your neck due to the ropes and breathing begins to be difficult as he chokes you. "Listen here." Mahito's words seethe out from his clench teeth.
You can't do anything but listen to him in your current situation. "I must've let you off too easily. The Reaper is me, Y/N. Death surrounds my every step and to have you be the first to slip away is something I don't take lightly. My underling couldn't handle the job so I've stepped in. I figured your death will be more exciting with more people roped into your measly life."
You're unable to accept what's coming out of Mahito's mouth. But seeing as how he finds pleasure from your pain, it may be possible for him to toy you like this. Mahito with one swift motion tosses you aside as if you're a ragdoll. The impact of the snow hurts as you choke and gasp for oxygen to fill your lungs. Tears begin to brim up in the corner of your eyes as you watch Mahito slowly walk towards you.
The man squats in front of you again with a crooked smile. "Now let me remind you, Y/N. I'm here to have you dead. Cry about wanting to be with that voiceless brat all you want, your fate remains the same. You'll die by my hands."
Your nostrils flare as you attempt to sit up once more. "Fate can always be changed." You bitterly spit out in response to Mahito. He scoffs in response, eyes rolling. "Do you really believe that? Let me remind you Y/N, your life is in the palm of my hand. I weaved those happy memories for you so killing you will be much more satisfying."
Mahito roughly pokes your shoulder, jabbing the same spot over and over. "If fate is real, do you believe your lover boy will find you? Or maybe that lone wolf boy you casted away? Maybe the wild Panda? Or hell, the green haired glasses girl. OH! Let me not forget that energetic pink haired boy too."
Pain shocks your body from the jabs Mahito presses against your shoulder. What you believed were simple jabs must have incredible strength hidden underneath. Each nerve in your body begins to fail and you're in excruciating pain. Your body slumps back onto the snow. "By the time they find you, it'll be too late Y/N. We're in the middle of the woods. It may take them days to locate you."
You feel as if your own body is shutting down now. But despite your own body failing, your mind remains firm. "They'll find me. I know they will. And you'll be the one to die Mahito." You can hardly say anything more as you strain to stare at Mahito who looks indifferent. He responds with cackles of laughter and a wave of his hand to your words.
"Sha'll I end your slow death with ease Y/N? I'm sure your body is shutting down and you're finding it hard to stay awake, right? From being choked, tossed around, and taking my jabs." Mahito glides his tongue on his bottom lip, a twinkle shining in his eyes. "Or do you have more energy to fight back?"
Mahito pulls a pocket knife from his back pocket, the metal shines against the moonlight. You feel the cold material pressed against your cheek. You try to distract yourself by monitoring your breathing as you feel a sharp cut against your right cheek. You fight the urge to close your eyes. If you closed your eyes, you feared you won't wake up. You blankly watch Mahito hum in delight.
You curse at the man mentally while he licks your blood from his blade. Is this really how you're going to die? The last sight you'll have is of this cruel man? Just moments earlier you were planning to enter the New Year with Inumaki. As if on queue, you hear a loud shriek. Mahito is unfazed, thinking it may be fireworks but what you see is smoke streaking against the sky. Far from fireworks.
The smoke streak seems far away. You wonder if that is a signal from the sorcerers. They must be out here looking for Mahito. The very thought somewhat puts you at ease. Slowly your eyes begin to grow heavy and you easily want to slip away with the thought that the sorcerers will find Mahito soon. But you're rattled out of your drifting by a single call of your name.
"Y/N!" Inumaki frantically runs towards who he believes to be Y/N and Mahito. The red flare caught his attention as he roamed the woods aimlessly. Inumaki recalled Nanami stating over the phone call that red flares will be released if sightings of Mahito is nearby. Which means Inumaki will receive backup shortly. Typically he would be one to fight on the backlines with his supporting skill. But the love of his life is more important than waiting for help.
Inumaki hardly cares about the amount of pain he'll receive from this high grade cursed spirit. He must hurry to Y/N's side. She must've been terrified this entire time. But with his distracted thoughts of Y/N, Inumaki does not anticipate the speed Mahito carries. In a flash Mahito is before him, sending a blow to his stomach. Inumaki grunts the moment his back slams into a tree. Snow falls from the branches, hitting him in the process.
He pushes himself off the tree, clenching his fists tightly before running again towards Y/N who's laying in the snow. But his efforts are useless. Every time he gets close, Mahito finds a way to be in front of him. "Not so fast pretty boy. I'm not letting you near her." Mahito growls out as he sends another fist towards Inumaki. But before he's able to land a hit on Inumaki's chest, Inumaki shouts loudly, "STOP."
Mahito clicks his tongue when he's momentarily paused. This one open window of time allows Inumaki to rush towards Y/N. But the spell only lasts for mere seconds since Inumaki's strength is weak from taking multiple hits by Mahito. Just like that, Inumaki is once again tossed against another tree. His vision blurs slightly when he watches Mahito walk towards Y/N. Inumaki squints his eyes to focus on Mahito, he once again shouts stop to freeze Mahito in his spot.
Breathing in and out deeply, Inumaki strains to focus on his strength. Where are the sorcerers? His eyes stare at Mahito's lack of movement, never does he look away from the man as he trudges towards the two. But exhaustion begins to take over Inumaki. He used a lot of his stamina earlier calling out Y/N's name as he ran through the woods helplessly.
Inumaki successfully makes it to Y/N but he's unable to look at her. His main focus is Mahito. "Sleep." Inumaki orders and in seconds, Mahito's body goes limp as it lands in the snow. He should've used that command moments earlier but his mind was too frazzled.
Turning around, Inumaki quickly sits up Y/N. Her body feels lifeless, cold, and heavy. The thought sends fear down Inumaki's spine. "Y/N?" Inumaki frantically warms her up by coddling her in his arms.
"Toge." Y/N's voice is barely audible but she responded. Relief washes over him as he looks at her. "You're here.", she murmurs. Inumaki nods his head, examining her closely. Her neck is bruised in shades of purples while her arms and legs are tied up. Inumaki carefully unties the ropes from her, not wanting to hurt her further. His brows knit together when he sees a gash in her cheek and nail marks along her jawline.
With a shaky hand, Inumaki frowns as he brushes the gash with his right thumb. "I'm here. I'm here now. Everything will be okay." Inumaki's throat aches as he speaks to her. There's an innocent smile placed on her face as Inumaki watches Y/N breathe slowly.
"I knew you'd find me. I knew fate would bring us together." You whisper weakly. The grayscale darkness you see slowly comes into color as you stare at Inumaki's platinum blonde hair. Despite your body against Inumaki, you still feel incredibly cold. You start to face reality that you're soon having to say goodbye despite just now saying hello to Inumaki.
The thought pains you as tears trickle free from your eyes. A loud explosion rings into the sky and this time it's from fireworks. The beautiful colors shine the dark sky and welcomes you into a New Year. "Do you remember the summer school festival?" Your eyes remain on the sky as you speak. Inumaki hides his face in the crook of your neck, rocking you back and forth as he hides his tears with a nod to his head.
"I never seen the fireworks look so beautiful until that night." You inhale and exhale slowly, trying to buy as much time as you possibly can. "But what made the day more meaningful is when you said my smile is beautiful." You purse your lips to avoid sobbing between words. Fluttering your tears away with your eyelashes, you continue to speak until you no longer can.
"I'm so glad you agreed to join me that day. Or else I wouldn't have made more of the memories we have now Toge." You attempt to kiss the side of his head. But it only causes Inumaki's body to shake violently. He pulls away to look at you, eyes filled with tears.
"Stop...save your breath Y/N." Inumaki pleads. Shaking your head, you deny his request. You know time is ending now as your vision slowly starts to blacken out. Weakly raising your hand up, you stroke Inumaki's right cheek.
"Thank you for giving me a world of color Toge. I only wish we had more time...I love you. My one and only soulmate." A tiny smile laces your lips before a sharp pain jabs directly into your chest.
Inumaki's eyes widen in terror when he watches Y/N's kimono stain red. A loud cackle rings out from in front of him. Mahito stands behind Y/N with a smirk. "Sheesh, just die already." Mahito spits out. Enraged, Inumaki screams at Mahito. How? How is Mahito not knocked out?
"Did you really believe your little sleep command would work on me? I'm not your average curse spirit, Toge." Mahito taunts Inumaki with a wave to his left pointer finger. He wears a smug look on his face. Inumaki readies to fight but Y/N clutches onto his shirt.
"Toge...get out of here." Y/N whimpers out with a sadness staining her face. Inumaki shakes his head, refusing to leave without Y/N. He tears off his jacket, tightening it around her open wound. Inumaki senses another attack by Mahito but this time he avoids it.
Multiple attacks then land on Mahito from the surrounding area. The sorcerers have finally arrived along with a familiar face. "TOGE! Y/N!" A voice shrieks into the cold night air. Other voices blend in with orders of surrounding Mahito. Mahito rolls his eyes in annoyance with a click to his tongue.
Okkotsu makes his way over to Inumaki, pulling him away from the battle ground as other high grade sorcerers inch closer to them. "GET OUT OF HERE YOU THREE." Nanami unveils his weapon among the crowd of sorcerers. "I'd listen to him if I were you." A cocky voice belonging to Gojo follows up and in an instant a barrier is made around the group.
Away from the battle, Okkotsu looks over Inumaki and Y/N. His heart stops when he sees the lifeless body of Y/N in Inumaki's arms. Inumaki is far from stable as he cries out cursed speech at Y/N to breath. Tears streaks down Inumaki's face as he begins to cough out blood. Mortified, Okkotsu grabs hold of Inumaki's shoulders, giving him a squeeze.
"Toge stop! You're damaging yourself! Y/N wouldn't want this! SHE'S GONE." Okkotsu is unable to believe the words he's shouting out. Inumaki stares at Okkotsu, a heartbroken boy. He carefully places Y/N between the two.
Inumaki's tears seem to flow nonstop, his vision a blur when he looks at Okkotsu. "Please...Yuta. Use your reverse cursed tech--". Inumaki's throat is in flames as he coughs up more blood profusely. "PLEASE." He reaches over to grip onto Okkotsu's shoulders, shaking the boy. "Bring her back. YUTA. PLEASE."
Okkotsu lifelessly gets shaken up by Inumaki. Okkotsu wields a cursed technique where he's able to heal others. But the technique is far from strong enough to bring someone back to life. He's not like Sukuna. The man rumored to be able to bring the dead alive with his skills. Parting his lips, Okkotsu speaks lowly. "I can't."
Furious, Inumaki pounds his fists against Okkotsu's chest. "LIAR. YOU CAN." More blood splatters out of Inumaki's mouth, landing on Okkotsu's face. "DON'T YOU LOVE HER TOO YUTA?"
Inumaki's very words pierces into Okkotsu's chest. The final straw in sending Okkotsu into his own despair. Okkotsu grabs hold of Inumaki's flying fists, stopping Inumaki from beating against his chest. "OF COURSE I DO." His raised voice gets through Inumaki, grabbing the platinum blonde haired boys attention.
Okkotsu's eyes gloss over as his nose crinkles slightly. He speaks in a softer firm tone. "But I can't revive the dead Toge. It's impossible." A heavy silence fills the air with the faint noise of battling nearby. Reality sets in for Inumaki as he drops his hands by his side. He sobs loudly as he cradles Y/N's body. Okkotsu casts his eyes to the side, unable to watch as he struggles with the Y/N's death himself.
"Y/N..." Inumaki cries out. He replays her last moments over and over again, wishing he could have said something other than telling her to save her breath. "Y/N, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I arrived too late." Inumaki strokes the back of Y/N's head, tears staining the side of her face. He whimpers out the response he wished he had said to her.
"I love you too Y/N. The world will never be as colorful without you by my side. My one and only soulmate."
- - - -
& this concludes Actions will always be louder!
I typically never end stories like this. Usually they're much happier but my cruel imagination took a turn for this plot.
I'm super grateful to finish this story since it's been a few months in the process of writing. I can't thank you enough for being patient with updates and giving this story a go.
I apologize in advance if I broke your heart. My heart is definitely broken too.
But, I'm happy to say that there will be more stories in the future. I hope to see you then!