Jujutsu Kaisen: I have everything I need now!

After the meal.

On the first day of the twelfth lunar month, he volunteered to wash the dishes.

He stood in front of the sink, the warm water rinsing the porcelain bowl in his hands. Zhen leaned against the counter beside him, holding a cup of hot tea, looking at his profile.

"So what are you planning to do next?" Zhenyi asked. "Just keep drifting like this?"

"I don't know." December turned off the tap, shook the water droplets off her hands, and said, "I'd like to stay here for a few days. Is that okay?"

He turned his head and looked at Zhenyi, his eyes filled with a cautious question.

Zhenyi took a sip of tea and turned her gaze to the window.

"We happen to need someone to move flower pots at the shop," she said casually. "Even though you're a ghost, if you can wash dishes, you should be able to do other work too, right?"

December 1st paused for a moment, then grinned.

"Of course, I'm very strong now."

"Then stay," Mayu said, putting down her teacup. "But I won't pay you."

"As long as meals are provided."

"Dream on."

……

The next morning.

Sunlight streamed through the thin clouds in Furano, gilding the snow-covered streets with a golden edge.

Tianxiang Flower Shop opened for business on time.

Today, however, there was a strange "employee" in the store.

On December 1st, wearing a loose gray sweater that Zhenyi had found for him, he was squatting on the ground arranging the freshly cut flowers that had just been delivered.

"Um... Miss Mayu, how much are these lilies?"

A boy in a high school uniform pushed open the door and asked somewhat shyly. His gaze completely pierced through December, who was squatting by the door, and went straight to May behind the counter.

"That bouquet costs 1,500 yen," May replied with a smile.

The boy was clearly trying to use the opportunity of buying flowers to strike up a conversation with Zhenyi, and he lingered there, unwilling to leave.

"Um, if you don't mind, this weekend..."

For some reason, the boy's foot suddenly tripped, and he stumbled forward, almost knocking over the flower stand next to him.

"Wow!"

Just as the flower stand was about to collapse, an invisible force steadily supported it, restoring its balance.

The boy, still shaken, steadied himself and looked around blankly.

"What's wrong?" Zhenyi suppressed a laugh, pretending nothing had happened.

"No...it's nothing. Maybe the ground was a little slippery." The boy blushed, hurriedly paid, and fled with the flowers in his arms.

"Do high school students or sorcerers these days not even look where they're going?"

Zhenyi rolled her eyes at him. "Aren't you childish? Using that kind of power to trip up an ordinary person."

"I was just helping you maintain order," December said seriously. "And I only lightly touched his shoelaces."

"I think you're just bored." Zhenyi shoved a bucket of roses into his arms. "Since you have so much free time, move these flowers to the shelf outside. Remember to arrange them neatly."

"Okay."

On the first day of the twelfth month, he went outside carrying a flower bucket.

Passersby will not see him; they will only see a bucket of roses suddenly appear on the shelf. The world will erase the process for him or find a reasonable memory to attach to him.

This feeling of being directed and needed made him feel incredibly at ease.

In the afternoon, an elderly woman came into the shop.

She was a regular customer at the store, and every time she came, she would buy a bunch of lisianthus to pay respects to her deceased husband.

"Makoto, the flowers are blooming so beautifully today," the old lady said with a smile. "Did you use some special fertilizer?"

"No, Grandma," Zhenyi replied with a smile as she wrapped the bouquet. "It's probably because the sun is shining so brightly today."

December 1st sat on the stool next to him, quietly watching this scene.

He could see a faint gray aura lingering around the old woman—a sign of old age and frailty.

He thought for a moment and then quietly activated a trace of the power of the [Horse] talisman.

A milky white light flowed from his fingertips and gently adhered to the bunch of lisianthus.

This little bit of power can't bring someone back to life or make them young again, but it can at least make this bouquet of flowers bloom a little longer and give the person holding the flowers a little warmth and comfort.

The old lady took the flowers, a look of surprise on her face.

"Oh, why does this flower feel so warm and cozy in my hands? It feels so nice."

"Really?" Zhenyi glanced at December 1st, who was sitting next to her pretending to be nonchalant, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly. "Then this bouquet of flowers must also be meant to make Grandma happy."

"Zhenyi, what a sweet talker she is!" The old lady left happily.

"Mind your own business." After the old lady left, Zhenyi said softly, but there was no blame in her tone.

"Just doing it on a whim." December stretched. "Anyway, I don't have anywhere to use my power right now, so I might as well do some good deeds and accumulate some merit."

"Accumulating good karma?" Mai seemed to find it amusing. "You, who blew up Tokyo, are now thinking about accumulating good karma?"

"People should always look forward."

On the first day of December, I looked out the window at the street. Several children were building a snowman in the snow, their laughter ringing out.

"Senior Zhenyi."

"Um?"

"I wish life could go on forever."

Zhenyi paused for a moment. She looked up at December 1st's somewhat forlorn profile.

She knew that this peace was only temporary.

The black hole in the sky still hangs there, a Damocles' sword constantly hovering over the New Moon.

"Then live each day to the fullest."

Zhenyi walked to his side and looked out the window with him. "Since you're a ghost, don't think about the future. Ghosts are only responsible for scaring people and causing trouble."

On the first day of December, he turned his head and looked at Zhenyi.

The sunlight shone on her short hair, softening its originally harsh lines.

"That's right."

He smiled on the first day of December.

"Then I'll hide the bakery owner's wig tomorrow."

"That's not necessary."

……

Night falls.

The flower shop is closed.

After dinner, the two sat on the second-floor windowsill watching the snow.

The snowy night in Hokkaido was very quiet, with only the occasional sound of passing cars.

On December 1st, she held an old magazine she had found on the bookshelf, flipping through it idly. Zhenyi, on the other hand, was pruning a potted asparagus fern that had just been repotted.

"December."

"Um?"

"Even though you seem fine, I can tell." Mayi put down the scissors, her tone turning serious. "You've actually been very tired, haven't you?"

The hand that was turning the pages of the book stopped on the first day of December.

He closed the magazine and remained silent for a moment.

"I can't hide it from you."

He sighed and leaned against the wall. "Being kept in a state of being unobservable has made me question my own existence. I often wonder if I'm still alive."

"Only here, when you can see me, does that feeling lessen a little."

Looking at Zhenyi, December 1st revealed a hint of dependence in her eyes, "Because in your perception, I exist. This gives me a foothold in this world."

After hearing this, Zhenyi did not show much surprise or sympathy.

She simply stood up and walked to the front of the first day of December.

"Then go to sleep."

"Huh?" December 1st was taken aback.

"I said, go to sleep." Zhenyi pointed to the sofa next to her. "If you're tired, just rest. I'm not going to run away, and the shop isn't going to run away either."

"But I don't need to sleep..."

"Shut up." Zhenyi pressed down on his shoulders, forcibly pinning him to the sofa. "That's an order."

Looking into Zhenyi's unwavering eyes, December 1st had no choice but to raise his hands in surrender.

"Okay, okay, I'll listen to you."

He lay on the sofa, covered with a blanket that smelled of Mayi.

Zhenyi turned off the main light in the living room, leaving only a dim floor lamp.

Goodnight, December.

After Zhenyi finished speaking, she turned around and went to the bedroom.

On the first day of December, I lay in the darkness, listening to Zhenyi's footsteps upstairs and the sound of wind and snow outside the window.

The repulsive noise that had been lingering deep in his mind, like an electric current, miraculously quieted down at this moment.

He closed his eyes.

This was the first time since he came into this world that he had felt so completely at ease.

There's no need to be wary of cursed spirits, no need to calculate the timing of spells, and no need to think about how to fight against the world's malice.

All I need to do is stay here, as someone who is "needed," and quietly get some sleep.

Consciousness gradually sank into darkness.

Before falling completely asleep, a faint smile lingered on December 1st's lips.

Goodnight, Zhenyi.

He fell into a deep sleep on the first day of the twelfth month, but in a corner he couldn't see, a shadow suddenly flashed outside the door.