What If... Volume 1 - Our Blue Spring, My One and Only

What If... Volume 1 - Part 1: Hidden Inventory 3 and 4

What if… Riko Amanai never died? What if Yuji Tsukumo never approached Suguru Geto? What if…Suguru Geto and Satoru Gojo never split ways? What if Suguru Geto didn’t die? What would’ve become of them? Their future? Well… that’s what I’m here to tell you. I’m here to tell you what might have been for Gojo and Geto, for Itadori, Fushiguro, Kugisaki, everyone. What might’ve been different if those things hadn’t happened

“Riko, let’s go home.” Suguru extended his hand out for Riko, giving her a soft, close-eyed smile. All he wanted right now was to give Riko what she wanted, to make sure she was happy.

“Yeah, let’s do that...” Nodding, Riko reached out to take his hand, smiling with teary eyes and her other hand clutched close to her chest. Heavy footsteps pounded through the room, and before either Suguru or Riko could look, Satoru’s voice came loud and clear:

“Riko, move!”

His shouts pierced their ears, the sound of a gunshot rang through the air less than a second later, the sound deafening. A bullet whizzed between Riko and Suguru, narrowly missing her head. Whipping their heads back towards the ruckus, they could see Satoru in the midst of tackling Toji to the ground, Satoru’s face and white shirt spattered with bright red blood.

“Suguru, go! Get Riko out of here!” Satoru called out, tussling with Toji, who was also notably scuffed up. Without so much as a word, Suguru swiftly reached out and grabbed Riko by the wrist, rushing off into the maze of buildings. As they ran as fast as their legs could carry them, the commotion of Toji and Satoru’s brawl cut through the atmosphere with loud bangs and yells.

“There’s no time, we need to get you safe as fast as possible.” Suguru spoke as they ran, his grip on Riko’s wrist tight. The only way he could think of her being truly safe would be if she were to assimilate with Tengen, but she had said just confessed to him how much she wasn’t ready to leave her life behind. But it was clear that she could not stay safe in this world. Starting when he and Satoru were assigned to protect and escort the Star Plasma Vessel, she had only been in danger with people hunting her down, and a bounty on her head. Riko could never be safe anymore. Not unless she was killed or assimilated.

“But where is that going to be?” She called back trying to keep her breath as she kept up with Suguru’s brutally fast pace. When he was silent, she knew exactly what he was thinking. 'No… no no no no…’ where the only words going through her head. From his response, or rather lack of, she knew that her only chance at safety was assimilation. She had spent her whole life preparing for this day, and she knew, at this point, she couldn’t back down. Not anymore. There was no turning back, no other choice than death. And there was no telling what would happen to not only Tengen, but to Jujutsu Society if she wasn’t able to be assimilated.

“… so be it then…” Riko muttered under her breath. She wasn’t ready, she wanted to keep living her life, but deep down, she knew she would never truly be ready. There was no point in waiting for the right time, because it would never come. And now, it was now or never. Assimilation or death. Suguru looked back at her, seeing her grim expression of acceptance. It made his heart ache; this girl just wanted to live a normal childhood, a normal life, but that had all been taken away from her. That was something she was robbed of the day she was born.

The racket behind them had halted to a silence. Why? Did Satoru kill Toji? Surely that had to be it. But Suguru felt that his assumption of such wasn’t right. There was no way that it was the other way around, right? No way. However, a pit filled his stomach, leaving him with a feeling of dread. He couldn’t feel Satoru’s presence anymore... Something wasn’t right…

“Riko, I need you to run to the center as fast as you can. Don’t look back and don’t stop for anything.” Suguru’s voice was assertive and cold as he commanded Riko. She looked up at him, worry and fear in her eyes as she hesitated for a moment. This was it for her… She nodded after a short moment and dashed off as fast as her legs could carry her, fearing what might happen if she didn’t.