ตอน 19: Chapter 19: Our shadows
Itadori was in a huge environment. It was a vast empty hall, dominated by an oppressive gloom. The walls, covered in damp black moss, seemed to absorb any trace of light that dared to penetrate. The ceiling, so high that it was lost in darkness, seemed to drip with constant moisture, creating a monotonous sound of drops falling onto the cold, rough stone floor.
The air was thick and musty, permeated with a pungent smell of mold and decay. The shadows danced eerily, suggesting distorted and unsettling shapes. The silence was almost absolute, broken only by the distant echo of drops and the occasional rustle of something that moved quickly, almost invisible, around the edges of the room.
No furniture or objects decorated the space; just the empty vastness, increasing the feeling of desolation and abandonment. The environment seemed to exude a dark energy, as if it held ancient and forgotten secrets, ready to swallow any unprepared visitor who dared to enter that realm of darkness and solitude.
"W-what place is this?" - Itadori said, talking to himself.
The boy hears someone crying, it sounded like a child. Itadori was going down a staircase towards the crying.
After finishing down the stairs, Itadori sees a girl who was crying. - "Hey... Why are you crying?"
The girl had black hair. - "...B-Because it hurts a lot..."
Itadori puts his hand on the shoulder of the girl who had her back to him. - "What's hurting?"
The girl's hair gradually turned purple. - "...M-my whole body..."
"...Your name....It's Sakura, isn't it?..."
Itadori said before waking up.
"Damn.... I've been dreaming a lot lately..." - Itadori said, getting up from the bed. - "Today I will talk to Iri..."
In the present...
Itadori was in front of the door that separated him and his Master. The boy was restless, but he had already decided what he was going to do from now on.
However, he needed one last conversation, something that would decide the course of this war.
Itadori gathers all his courage and knocks on the door three times, waiting for his Master to call.
"Come in, Itadori!" -said his Master.
The boy opened the door and asked in surprise. - "How did you know it was me?!".
"I am your Master, I feel your presence." - Irisviel said, smiling at the boy.
Irisviel was lying on the floor, apparently she couldn't move anymore.
"How are you?" - Itadori said a little uneasily.
"I'm fine, Itadori. And you?" - said Irisviel.
"I'm... Well.... I'm only here because there are several things I would like to say to you." - Itadori said, sitting next to Irisviel.
"Is this about what happened?" - Irisviel said worriedly.
"Also, but know that I'm not mad at you. I know it was Kiritsugu who told you to do all this." - Itadori said, comforting Iri.
"Kiritsugu is a difficult man.... I can understand your anger. I was very happy that you contained yourself."- Irisviel said proudly.
"I'm kind of used to being stabbed in the back... That's the price for trying to be too 'nice' to people... Maybe Megumi is right about that." - Itadori said looking to the side.
"Itadori... Don't think like that. That's your greatest virtue." - Irisviel said, smiling at Itadori. - "It may not seem like it, but you are as virtuous as you are honorable."
"I'm not... I told you, I'm a Jujutsu sorcerer, I'm just a cog." - Itadori said.
Irisviel raises her tone. - "It's not true. My family raised me to be part of this War. I may not be human in a physical body, but both you, Kiritsugu and Saber see me as a human. That made me so happy... That's why , Itadori, you are not a cog or a killing machine, you are a human just like me." - Irisviel said, smiling at the boy.
That answer surprises the boy.
"You are not a murderer." -Irisviel said looking into his eyes.
Without realizing it, a small tear falls into Itadori's eyes. Iri's sudden response made the boy cry.
"S-Sorry... " - Itadori said trying to dry his tears.
"No need to apologize for crying." - Irisviel said, forcing her entire body to raise an arm to calm her servant. It was a pat on the head.
Itadori couldn't help but think, but even though she was his Master, she often acted like a mother to him. Something Itadori could never have... A mother's affection.
After a while...
Itadori managed to calm down. - "There's something I'd like to tell you..."
"About what?..." - Irisviel asked.
"Do you remember what happened in the attack on the mansion?" - Itadori said.
"I remember..." - Irisviel replied.
"When Saber and I were fighting Caster. That bastard pulled me into a domain where I thought I was going to die... Until someone saved me." - Itadori said.
"Was it Saber?" - asked Irisviel.
"No... Actually, I don't know who that person was. But anyway, I knew that I'm not from here." - Itadori said.
"You're from the future, aren't you?" - said Irisviel.
"Yes. But not from this universe." - Itadori said.
This surprises Irisviel. - "What?!"
"Well... I don't know why I was sent here, but there must be a meaning to it... since in my world there never was a city called Fuyuki." - Itadori said looking up.
"And what happened to that person who saved you?" - said Irisviel.
"It's kind of hard to explain.... But she's not here. Anyway! There's one more thing I have to say." - Itadori said, getting ready to speak.
"You can say." - said Irisviel.
"The day we defeated Caster, I had said that I would go after Caster's master. But along the way I found someone..." - Itadori said.
"An enemy?" - said Irisviel.
"Well... Yes, that someone is Matou Kariya" - Itadori said.
"Matou....He belongs to the Matou family, one of the three founding families of the Holy Grail War, he is the master of Berserker, isn't he?" - said Irisviel.
"Yes, he was fighting the Archer Master." - Itadori said.
"Tohsaka Tokiomi..." - said Irisviel.
"When I arrived, the Berserker Master was burning to death, and…. I ended up saving his life." - Itadori said.
"Why?" - Irisviel asked.
"Well... He is one of the few members of the Matou family who rejects the cruel and sadistic methods of his lineage. He initially abandoned the family to live a normal life, but returns to participate in the Fourth Holy Grail War with the hopes of saving a girl. Her name is Matou Sakura, who is being tortured and transformed into a magician by the Matou family..." - Itadori said.
"What horror!..." - said Irisviel, scared.
"That's why I saved him, because he wasn't a bad person. He told me that this Sakura was from the Tohsaka family, but that she was practically sold to the Matou, that Tokiomi sold his own daughter..." - Itadori said angrily .
"Now I understand why it took you so long to get to that battle... It's like I said, you really are a good person." - said Irisviel proudly
"After we talked to Tohsaka, I ended up meeting again with Mr. Matou, and he made me a proposal... It was basically, I help Mr. Matou by rescuing his niece and he helps us win the war." - Itadori said.
Irisviel just continues to listen to what Itadori wanted to say.
"The Berserker is someone very strong, he told me that he doesn't even care about the Holy Grail, he just wants to save Sakura. That's why he can help us!" - Itadori said trying to convince Irisviel.
"You know Kiritsugu won't listen to you... He's a very problematic man in that sense, he likes to solve things his own way." - said Irisviel
"I know... That's why I came here to talk to you. You're the only one who can help me..." - Itadori said.
"Itadori..." - Irisviel said worriedly.
"There's one last thing I haven't told you yet. It's about this girl, Sakura..." - Itadori said.
"Do you know anything else about this girl?" - asked Irisviel.
"I ended up dreaming about her... I think I know where she is. It's not very far from here." - Itadori said.
Irisviel looked up. - "She must be feeling very alone, right?... I felt exactly like that." - said Irisviel.
"It couldn't have been easy..." - added Itadori.
"To be honest, my loneliness is a constant in my life, a subtle presence that has always accompanied me. From the time I was raised, I knew that my destiny was to serve a specific purpose, without much choice about my own path. I was raised with the goal of being a vessel for the Grail, and that has always been in my mind, like a shadow that never disappears." - said Irisviel.
Itadori tried to say something, but something stopped him.
"I spent much of my life isolated in the Einzbern mansion, surrounded by cold walls and even colder expectations. Although I had Illya, my beloved daughter, and Kiritsugu, I always felt like there was a part of me that no one could truly reach. There was a invisible barrier between me and the rest of the world, one that was constructed by my own nature and the destiny that awaited me." - said Irisviel.
Itadori listened carefully to what the girl was saying.
"Even in the happiest moments, when I was with my family, the awareness of my purpose brought me a feeling of isolation. I knew that my existence had a deadline, and this prevented me from giving myself completely to the joy of the present. It is a peculiar loneliness , not from a physical absence of companionship, but from a deep understanding that, in many ways, I am fundamentally alone in my destiny. However, I found some solace in realizing that my loneliness was not in vain. meaning to my existence, and, however much the shadow of my purpose hung over me, the moments of love and affection we shared were precious and genuine. These connections, even if fleeting, were my anchor, and helped me endure the loneliness. inevitable part of my role." - Irisviel said smiling.
Itadori was uneasy. - "Loneliness is the death that little by little takes you to the end..."
Irisviel looked at the boy.
"I never considered myself a lonely person, especially because I always tried to keep a smile on my face and make friends. But since I entered this world of Jujutsu, I realized that loneliness can manifest itself in ways I never imagined. When my grandfather died , I felt a deep loneliness, one that I couldn't quite understand. He was the only family I had around, and suddenly, I was alone, with no one to guide me. But at the same time, it was this feeling that motivated me. to do what he asked of me: to help others so that I could die surrounded by loved ones." - Itadori said while looking at the ground.
"Human beings were not made to live alone." - said Irisviel.
"Entering Tokyo Jujutsu High brought new friends. They gave me a new purpose, and for a while, I thought the loneliness was leaving me behind. But the truth is, by harboring Sukuna within me, I carried a loneliness that no one could to really understand. It was like having a shadow that always accompanied me, a part of me that separated me from others, even when we were together, fighting curses, facing death head on, and knowing that any moment could be the last – that creates. a different kind of loneliness. A loneliness of constantly being on the line between life and death, carrying a burden that no one else can carry for me. But it's that same loneliness that makes me value my friends and every moment we spend together even more. ." - Itadori said.
"Itadori..." - Irisviel said.
"In the end, I think we all feel loneliness in some way, but what really matters is how we choose to deal with it. I choose to fight, not only against the curses, but also against loneliness, trying to do good and protect those who I love it. And maybe in doing so, I'll find some peace." - Itadori said smiling at his Master.
"Itadori....Come here." - Irisviel said, calling her Servant.
The boy approaches his Master. - "What it was?"
"There's one thing I won't regret." - said Irisviel, trying to raise her forearm.
"Itadori, save this girl." - said Irisviel using her Command Seal.
Irisviel's Command Seal resembled a heart. - "With this Command Seal, I order Itadori Yuji to rescue Matou Sakura." - the Command Seal began to glow.
"Thank you very much..." - Itadori said smiling.
The boy felt the command flow through his body. - "You've run out of your Command Seals, now what?"
"After I used my last Command Seal, I stopped being your Master." - said Irisviel.
"I understand... It means that I will disappear after a while..." - Itadori said.
"Yes... But I'm sure you'll be able to save her before that." - Irisviel said smiling.
"Yes I will!" - Itadori turned to Irisviel. - "Thank you very much for being my Master!" - Itadori said, leaving the room.
"I'm the one who should be grateful for this..." - Irisviel said after closing her eyes.
Itadori walked towards the exit and met Maya. The boy went straight for her and the only thing she said to him was: "Be careful."
Itadori turned to Maya and said. - "I will!"
A while later...
Itadori ran through the streets of Fuyuki, until he felt a strangely familiar presence. - "That feeling... It can't be!"
The boy stopped what he was doing and went towards the strange presence, this someone wasn't just anyone...
The individual was in a gigantic, abandoned area, a perfect place to hide.
"So you came... I let my presence show and you fell right..." - said the man, turning to Itadori.
That man was his brother.
"C-Choso?!"
End of chapter 19
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