Jujutsu Kaisen: False Dawn

We walked in silence, the two of us—me and the boy I once thought would be the strongest. The air was soft, the sky overcast. A weak wind carried the scent of wet stone and cigarettes from somewhere off the street. I didn't say much, not at first. I didn't need to. Yuta's eyes flicked my way every few seconds, like he was trying to piece me together, like I was some puzzle he couldn't solve.

"How… how do you know about Rika?" He finally asked, the tension trembling in his voice.

I looked at him, slightly amused. He really had no idea. The fear on his face was real—raw, fresh. I pitied him a little. But only a little.

"Me?" I said, raising an eyebrow. "I'm nobody. Just someone flowing with the river of life. But once, long ago, people called me… Kintaro."

Yuta blinked. His footsteps slowed just slightly. Kintaro. Yeah, I expected that reaction. A name from folklore. A hero of strength. Clearly, he'd heard the name before. And now his mind raced, trying to bridge the gap between an ancient myth and the quiet teenager standing beside him.

I kept walking. Calm, serene. Like I didn't just drop something designed to throw him off.

"Kintaro…?" he mumbled.

I glanced toward him again. He was overthinking it. Good. That's what I wanted. That was the goal, right? Create confusion. Shake him up. Open space for influence.

He looked down, almost ashamed, and said awkwardly, "M-My name is Yuta… I mean… Okkotsu Yūta…"

Poor kid. He couldn't even say his name right.

I almost laughed. This was the boy who would one day be a special grade? The wielder of Rika? The second Gojo? Right now, he was just a trembling wreck with dark circles under his eyes and the posture of someone who hadn't had a good night's sleep in weeks.

I clapped him on the back gently. "Yuta, huh? Nice name."

We arrived at a quiet park—half-dead trees and a lone swing squeaking in the wind. There was no one around. Perfect.

Yuta sat down at the edge of a wooden bench. I remained standing. The stillness made it easy to sense her.

Rika.

I could feel her pulsing just behind him. Watching me. Watching him. Her energy was like a second heartbeat in the air—slow, suffocating, and way too possessive.

"She's getting stronger," I said under my breath.

Yuta looked up at me, confused. "Rika?"

I nodded and said, "About your curse... I don't think there's a way to free you from it."

He froze. Just stared at me.

And then came the outburst.

"What?! You're saying I'm stuck like this? That there's no way? I can't live like this! I can't even be with my family! Every time I get scared or stressed, she shows up and hurts people!" His voice cracked. "I even tried to… I even tried to kill myself once—but Rika stopped me. I—I can't do this anymore!"

His hands trembled. His whole body looked ready to collapse in on itself. And his cursed energy surged with his emotions.

And Rika?

She reacted.

Her presence slammed into me like a crashing wave. Not just anger. Panic. Desperation. Possessiveness. She was responding to his sadness, and if I hadn't been used to spiritual pressure, I might've choked.

But what hit me even harder wasn't Rika.

It was Yuta.

The raw weight of it all.

This kid had watched his best friend die. She bled out right in front of him. And she promised to marry him. Of course he clung to that memory. Of course his cursed energy latched onto it. Love becomes a curse in this world. And in Yuta's case, it literally did.

I didn't say the next line I had rehearsed. I had a whole speech planned. Something about how the soul is the true prison and how curses like this only fade when love dies. Manipulation. Theatrics. I could've milked this kid dry with words like that.

But I couldn't.

Yuta looked like he was about to cry.

I exhaled and sat down beside him. "There is a way," I said. "But not the way you think."

He blinked.

"Yuta, a curse of love doesn't vanish. It doesn't fade. It can't be exorcised or sealed. But… it can be given away."

His eyes widened.

"If you gave it to someone else… if you trusted someone else to carry that burden… Rika might leave you alone."

He stared at me like I had dropped the weight of the world at his feet.

"Would… would that work?" he asked, almost whispering.

I didn't answer right away.

Because the truth was… I didn't know. This was all theory. But it was a theory I believed in. The theory is based on what I had seen. Binding vows. Emotional anchors. Curses born of trauma and love.

It could work. It had to work.

"Yes," I finally said. "I believe it can. But the person must truly accept the curse. It can't be a trick. It can't be forced."

And right there… the plan formed again.

I'll be that person.

I'll take Rika from you. I'll bind her to me through a vow. I'll carry her weight. I'll make her mine.

Not just to free this kid. No.

To grow. To evolve. To become something more. She's not just a curse. She's a shortcut. A weapon beyond comprehension.

But now, looking at him?

Yuta wasn't just a stepping stone anymore.

He was a kid. Just a broken kid who needed someone.

"Why… why are you helping me?" he asked.

I stood up, dusted off my pants, and put my hands behind my back like some wise old monk.

"I'm not a monk," I said. "Monks live for others. I live for myself. But sometimes… those things overlap."

He stood too, still shaky. Still confused.

But he had hope in his eyes now. Small, but real.

And I knew this was the start.

The first domino.

The beginning of my biggest gamble.