[ Yuji remembers how it felt, seeing Gojo-sensei come back to the field after the hours of fighting.
He had just lost Choso, he had fought with Todo, he had been pushing and pushing because he thought he was the only one left, the only one who believed in the chance of saving Megumi rather than just killing Sukuna, and the attention of the King of Curses had shifted from him to the new surge of cursed energy. Feeling the familiarity of it had given him such a surge of hope, such an immediate desire to burst into the tears he had been holding back that he had felt fragile with it, until...
Until it wasn't Gojo-sensei. Until he had seen the stitch marks on the forehead of his mentor's body, and the slowness of his brain had twisted into some form of understanding. He knew that Kenjaku had been dealt with, he knew what Yuta-senpai's technique was, and the pieces of the puzzle slammed into him like a chokehold around his neck. Watching Sukuna turn away from him, watching his attacks towards the barrier between souls get ignored...
He hadn't really had time to process how he felt about it, not in the burnout that came after the fighting, but... When he had rejoined everyone and had realised that all his senpais had been aware of the plan, that he had been the only one left out... There's a kind of hurt there, too, that makes him feel sour and bitter now as he watches this scene unfold. Even as he looks at Rika and her grief, he can't help but be angry. He can't help but feel the burn of something bitter and harsh inside of him, as he steps back and stands beside the older boy beside him.
They didn't believe in him at all, did they? With all the effort he put in to fighting Sukuna, all the things he ate, the lengths he went through, they still didn't trust that he could do it. It's probably fair, he supposes - what reason did they have to trust in him?
He had failed in every effort before.
Not able to turn his head and look over at Yuta, he breathes out sharply. ]
01. b.
He had just lost Choso, he had fought with Todo, he had been pushing and pushing because he thought he was the only one left, the only one who believed in the chance of saving Megumi rather than just killing Sukuna, and the attention of the King of Curses had shifted from him to the new surge of cursed energy. Feeling the familiarity of it had given him such a surge of hope, such an immediate desire to burst into the tears he had been holding back that he had felt fragile with it, until...
Until it wasn't Gojo-sensei. Until he had seen the stitch marks on the forehead of his mentor's body, and the slowness of his brain had twisted into some form of understanding. He knew that Kenjaku had been dealt with, he knew what Yuta-senpai's technique was, and the pieces of the puzzle slammed into him like a chokehold around his neck. Watching Sukuna turn away from him, watching his attacks towards the barrier between souls get ignored...
He hadn't really had time to process how he felt about it, not in the burnout that came after the fighting, but... When he had rejoined everyone and had realised that all his senpais had been aware of the plan, that he had been the only one left out... There's a kind of hurt there, too, that makes him feel sour and bitter now as he watches this scene unfold. Even as he looks at Rika and her grief, he can't help but be angry. He can't help but feel the burn of something bitter and harsh inside of him, as he steps back and stands beside the older boy beside him.
They didn't believe in him at all, did they? With all the effort he put in to fighting Sukuna, all the things he ate, the lengths he went through, they still didn't trust that he could do it. It's probably fair, he supposes - what reason did they have to trust in him?
He had failed in every effort before.
Not able to turn his head and look over at Yuta, he breathes out sharply. ]
... You know, I really want to hit you, senpai.