The smell of smoke clung to her lungs long after she stopped breathing.
She had done it, she'd achieved Mai's dying wish. Even as her consciousness faded she remembered everything. Ogi trapping them with all those cursed spirits. Mai sacrificing her life to make a powerful cursed tool, a weapon suited for her.
With her twin sister's sacrifice, she had also taken all the cursed energy they had between them. All of Mai's energy and the little that Maki had in her.
That fulfilled the Restriction. She had gained the power to kill everyone who had tormented her and her sister. No one was spared, she had started at the main clan compound, then hunted the last of the Zenin clan.
The last few members had set a trap, she had been too angry to notice, or perhaps she didn't care anymore.
Her body had been ruined, her life spent, but for the first time in a while she had finally felt… free.
She didn't expect to wake up again.
Instead of fire and blood, there was light… warm, golden, almost blinding.
Her own cries made her ears prickle and her mind race. Her arms flailing in the air as something wrapped her up and lifted her up to the softest smile she had ever seen. Pink hair, green eyes, tired looking but nevertheless filled with pride. The smile was filled with a warmth that hit her like a truck.
Her new mother.
She blinked, tiny and confused. Across from her, in her mothers other arm, was another baby. Light lashes, curious sky blue eyes. The moment their gazes met, she felt something inside her chest stir.
'Familiar…'
She didn't know why, but seeing her new family made her feel… steady.
[Scene Break]
Himari, that was her name now, unlike her twin, didn't stay idle even as a baby again. She didn't question her situation, reincarnation or fate, neither really concerned her.
A new life, a better family, a chance to do everything over?
'Hell yeah!'
She embraced her new life. Enjoyed being an 'older' sister again. She turned everything into a competition. If Hikari wiggled, she'd crawl. If she babbled, she'd scream louder.
Mitsuri, her new mother, would just laugh whenever Himari would pull herself up on the side of the crib like a soldier preparing for battle.
Then there was her father.
When she had first saw him on the day of her rebirth, she had thought that Gojo-sensei had time travelled or something. It wouldn't have surprised her if that unreliable teacher of hers had found a way to do so.
But no, Satoru, wasn't anything like Gojo-sensei.
No, that's a lie.
Her new father was like if someone had taken Gojo-sensei and pumped him full of ADHD medication. Not that it really mattered since her father still had his moments that made her question if that particular brand of insanity ran in the Gojo clan.
Yes, she had realised that she was now a part of a rival clan from her past life. The Zenin elders would turn in their shallow graves if they saw her now. The one who wiped out the whole clan, reborn as the daughter of the Gojo patriarch.
At least she assumed that's who he was. Her and her twin sister had inherited his looks after all. White hair, flawless skin, stupidly perfect face.
Her father had tucked her and her sister into bed with a 'bedtime story' once. Really he just told them about how three clans had fought and defeated The King of Curses with the help of Abe no Seimei.
Apparently the clans got wiped out along with Sukuna and her father was the only living Gojo clan member. Though, now that she and her siblings existed, there were five. She had a feeling he wasn't telling her the whole story but she didn't mind.
Ryomen Sukuna was gone, the Zenin clan didn't exist and Jujutsu Sorcery was in its infancy because cursed energy was just now making a comeback.
To her, this meant that she wouldn't have to worry about curses or having to fight them. Not when her parents were strong, not when she was confident that their whole family was part of a secret government organisation.
Still, at first, she had expected cold indifference, maybe even the same unreliable behaviour that Gojo-sensei had. Instead she had gotten dumb jokes, and impromptu hide and seek games with her father being the only seeker. She always laughed until her baby cheeks hurt despite herself.
She had found herself liking this new father of hers immediately.
[Scene Break]
When she turned three, her father had set Hikari down with her and explained cursed techniques to them. For her it was just a 'refresher' course. She already knew most of what he told her.
None of it shocked her, she had been at first. Especially when she learned that the Heavenly Restriction had followed her across lives.
She still blinked at him during his explanation though, pretending to be confused. She didn't think it'd be wise to let anyone know about how she had lived a previous life before.
Her parents hugged her and 'comforted' her for having a Heavenly Restriction. She didn't miss how Hikari had stepped forward, as if to pull her away if her parents suddenly revealed that they were secretly like the Zenin clan.
When her mother had finally set her and her sister down. Her father had ruffled the hair on their heads with a soft smile.
"You're both perfect, you got that? Anyone who says otherwise is gonna be eating a 100% Hollow Purple." He had told them in a low voice so that their mother couldn't hear him threatening people with violence.
Himari had almost choked on her own spit. Partially from the emotion she was feeling, but also from her father revealing that he knew Gojo-sensei's secret technique.
That left her with more questions about who he really was, but really she didn't care who he was, he was her father first and foremost and he clearly cared very deeply for them all if he was willing to use absolute erasure on anyone who insulted them.
Life was chaotic in her new home. The house was always lively with laughter, her older siblings Ai and Akira were always up to their own mischief.
Akira with his attempts to imitate their father, and Ai with her constant 'schemes' that usually spelled disaster for everyone in the immediate vicinity.
She always joined Ai on her antics. She'd drag Hikari along whenever she could. She noticed how her twin sister was getting quite broody the older the two of them got. She felt that the inheritor of the legendary Six Eyes should definitely smile more.
She loved every moment of her new life, even with the chaos of her siblings and her parents being sickeningly sweet and in love every chance they could get. She was sure that her mother was expecting another baby soon.
The only real thorn on her side was Mei-Mei.
It was one of the things that shocked her when she had first regained her motor skills. A fluffy white cat with circular frame sunglasses to match her fathers. The father who just so happened to name the little gremlin 'Mei-Mei'.
She remembered the woman the cat was definitely named after from her life before. That woman had irked her to no end.
Always teasing her. Always setting her up on blind dates just to watch her squirm.
Thankfully the cat wasn't anything like that, or so she hoped. There was still plenty of time for Mei-Mei to reveal her true colours. She knew the damn cat was hiding something.
She was always there, watching. No matter where she was she'd always end up spotting a flash of white fur off to the corner of her vision.
She secretly liked how cute this 'Mei-Mei' was though. She'd scratch the cat behind her ears when she was alone, though she'd rather die again rather than admit that to anyone who asked.
[Scene Break]
Himari and Hikari shared a birthday, they were both eleven now. Hikari had been training with their father for a while, and Himari had grown into her own strength.
Her Heavenly Restriction gave her unparalleled strength and speed beyond her siblings. Even with their own unique strength that they inherited from their mother, and the Limitless they all had gained from their fathers side, she could still run circles around all of them.
Her abilities had grown so much that she had started enjoying sparring with her father. Satoru was probably the only one who could keep up with her. Her father was full of surprises, she could have sworn that she saw strange tattoos appear on his face one day. She had dismissed it as a trick of the light.
She noticed her twin spending more time by the koi pond. She had thought that her sister was just imitating their older sister Ai. She didn't press, she knew that Hikari would eventually tell her what was bothering her.
Then it happened.
Snow drifted outside as she went to fetch Hikari and tell her that dinner was ready. She found her twin sitting by the pond, Mei-Mei curled up into a fluffy white loaf on her lap.
She almost called out something stupid, like 'Talking to the fish again?', but she didn't, not when her twin uttered a name she hadn't heard in years.
"I wish you were here… Maki."
Her heart stopped, her mouth went dry. That name, that was her name from before this life.
'How could she possibly know that…'
Then it all hit her at once. The familiarity, the same quirks she hadn't noticed before. The way Hikari's lips twitched the same way when she would try to lie about something. Exactly like her, exactly like Mai.
She hesitantly stepped forward, as if she was afraid that the world would suddenly change around her. That the last eleven beautiful years with her new family was just a dream.
Snow crunched under her sandals. She saw her twin sister's shoulders stiffen as she slowly turned to face her, her eyes wide.
"What did you say?"
Hikari stood up, made an excuse as she hugged Himari. It was flimsy at best, hardly believable. She decided to just out right confront Hikari.
"You always did talk to yourself when you thought no one was watching… Mai."
She felt her in both lives stiffen again, she let Hikari pull away. She felt some amusement in seeing the confusion in her twin sister's eyes.
"What—," Hikari started.
"Relax," Himari pulled her sister back down and sat next to her, she bumped their shoulders like she used to when they were growing up in their first life. "I always wondered why I felt a connection to you, why you felt so familiar."
She looked at the koi pond, eyes softening. "You know… I died not long after you sacrificed yourself. Cut them all down though… the whole clan gone. They got desperate enough to set a trap at the last hideout they had because they knew I was hunting them. They knew I was coming for them."
Hikari sat next to her, quietly listening, eyes shimmering with unshed tears. Himari continued speaking.
"It wasn't a bad way to go, I fulfilled your last wish. I destroyed everything… I guess the universe has a humour huh?" Himari let out a wet chuckle. "We're sisters again in this life, just like in the last."
"Y-you remember too?" Hikari whispered softly.
"Yeah…" Himari replied, as she reached out to grab Hikari's hand.
They sat there silently for a moment.
"…What do we do now?" Hikari finally asked.
Himari shrugged, "No idea… but maybe we keep it between us. You think Dad would buy this whole thing? I mean besides… what would we even say? 'Hey we're actually from the future and we were sisters that reincarnated as your daughters.'?"
Hikari snorted, "He'd probably say 'cool story'. He's clearly not normal himself. He looks exactly like Gojo Satoru, his name is even Satoru."
Himari snorted, "He'd be a pretty terrible time traveller with how much he doesn't hide his cursed techniques."
Hikari sighed, "Ugh… fine, whatever. I guess we'll keep it—
"Between us?"
Their fathers voice came from behind them.
This time they both stiffened.
Satoru stood there, the moon reflected off his sunglasses, smug grin on his face, hands in his yukata's sleeves.
"…You two have quite the story." He said casually.
The twins froze, a single word popped up in their minds at the same time.
"Fuck…"
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[AN: Zehahaha cliffhanger… but worry not, I have decided to do two more side chapters, one for Satoru's reaction and a lead up chapter for the next volume]