Jujutsu Kaisen: False Dawn

BANG! BANG!

The sound of gunfire echoed through the thick Congolese woods. Birds scattered from the treetops as Ren lowered his revolver, blowing away the faint curl of smoke from the barrel. His shot had pierced a tree cleanly, right through the center of where he had marked it with a knife earlier.

Ren grinned, chewing on his gum.

"Ha! Bullseye."

He spun the revolver around his finger once before holstering it in his waistband and heading back toward the house.

Inside, Mei Mei sat on the couch, arms crossed, watching him like he had just performed some miracle. Her sharp eyes narrowed slightly as she thought, "How? He didn't even flinch from the recoil! He's never fired this gun before, yet he moves like a trained marksman… Is this how geniuses work? No hesitation, no fumbling—just perfection on the first try? It's irritating!"

Ren didn't say much to her as he strolled past, casually tossing his hoodie onto a chair.

"Don't come in until, uh… tonight."

Mei Mei blinked.

"What? Why? What are you going to do, sleep all day? Watch some dumb TV show?"

Ren didn't even turn around. He just waved lazily as he walked into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him.

Mei Mei slumped back onto the couch, exhaling.

"Ugh! He's going to waste all that talent, isn't he? Maybe just nap until evening like some lazy cat…"

But inside the bedroom, Ren wasn't planning to sleep. He placed the revolver on the bed and sat down, fingers drumming against his knee. The silence of the woods surrounded him; the air felt heavy but peaceful.

The sun leaked in through the window, painting stripes of light across the room. Ren tilted his head slightly, watching something outside—a crow perched on a tree branch, its black eyes gleaming like glass.

Ren smirked. Without hesitation, he grabbed the revolver, cocked it, and fired.

BANG!

The crow screeched and flapped away at the very last moment, barely avoiding the shot. Ren let out a quiet laugh.

"Hah. Too slow, bird."

Meanwhile, in the living room, Mei Mei's lips tightened.

"Tch… How the hell did he know I was watching through that crow? I swear, sometimes he just knows everything. It's like he can sense me spying on him…"

Ren lowered the gun, satisfied.

"Alright… enough of that."

He looked at the floor.

"Come out, Kai2 and Kai3."

In an instant, the room's shadows rippled like water. A small fish-like curse jumped out first—Kai2, its fins twitching irritably. Right behind it emerged a wriggling worm-like spirit, Kai3, who immediately tried to crawl up Ren's arm.

"Mommy!" the worm squealed in its unsettling voice.

Kai2 smacked it with its tail, glaring as if to say, 'Stay in your lane.'

"Hey, Kai, don't bully Worm," Ren said, pointing at the fish-curse. Then he paused, tilting his head thoughtfully.

"Worm, huh? That's a better name than Kai3. Yeah, okay—your name's Worm from now on. Kai2, you better get used to Worm. Got it?"

Kai2 let out a weird, wet-sounding huff in protest but didn't argue further. Worm, on the other hand, wiggled happily, finally managing to wrap itself around Ren's shoulder.

Ren patted both curses like someone soothing two misbehaving pets.

"Both of you freaks are going to solve my problems, you know that? Now, Worm—spit everything out."

The worm's mouth stretched disturbingly wide, and the sound of liquid and metal clanging filled the room. One by one, objects spilled out:

The *Playful Cloud**, still stained with old blood.

The Cursed Death Womb Paintings, their containers glistening ominously.

Scrolls of ancient paper, some cracked with age.

And finally… the broken Inverted Spear of Heaven, its fractured blade gleaming faintly even without cursed energy.

Ren raised an eyebrow.

"Good. You didn't lose anything."

But then Worm coughed up a few more things: a handful of knives Ren had never seen and a small, perfectly round black sphere.

Ren's eyes narrowed. He picked up the sphere carefully.

"Oh? A cursed spirit in orb form… This is how Geto tames curses, huh? He turns them into these little orbs, like storage containers, before swallowing them. But…"

He turned the orb over in his palm.

"Why didn't he eat this one? Was it too strong? Or… something else?"

Ren frowned but shrugged after a moment.

"Whatever. Keep this one inside you for now, Worm. We'll test it later."

The worm eagerly swallowed the orb again, its body glowing faintly for a split second.

Ren didn't notice it, but for the briefest moment, before the orb vanished into Worm's body, the surface of the black sphere rippled—like a mirror.

But the reflection wasn't Ren.

It was a woman.

Tall, with white hair and eyes without pupils, and a calm but unsettling expression.

The reflection smirked slightly before the orb disappeared into Worm's mouth.

Ren blinked, unaware. He sat back, leaning against the wall, running a hand through his hair.

"Alright… Let's see what I can do with all this crap…"

Outside the room, Mei Mei sat with her legs crossed on the couch, her crow perched on the window sill now, watching the sun dip lower. For some reason, an odd chill ran through her body.