When the two teams’ performances ended, the judges sorted out the scores.
There were two survivors, but only one final winner.
Who would take that glorious place?
Dugu dugudugudugudugudugu
With tense background music playing, the atmosphere rose higher and higher.
Kenjaku, Takaba, Junpei, and Nobara all wore tense expressions as they waited for the result.
As the cheers of the audience died down, the host finally opened his mouth.
"The final winner of the 297th C-1 is!"
Indeed.
Who would win...!
The host, dragging out the moment for suspense, announced the final result.
"Congratulations!"
The victory was,
"Pinch and Chance!"
The final winners.
Takaba Fumihiko & Kenjaku.
-Waaaaaah!!
The dolls, who had only been laughing until now, let out cheers so naturally it was almost eerie.
Smiles worthy of a celebration were on their faces as they congratulated the birth of the new champions.
At this moment, there was no one here who was being insincere.
"Ah..."
Takaba’s eyes reddened.
He still didn’t seem to have a proper sense of reality.
He pinched his own cheek, looked around in every direction, and then finally collapsed to the floor and started sobbing.
"Uuugh...."
"......"
And Kenjaku, the co-champion, did not look pleased.
He clicked his tongue and met Junpei’s gaze.
"You planned this from the beginning?"
"Yes."
The losers, Junpei and Nobara, were smiling.
From the start, Junpei had expected defeat.
'Trying to beat those two with comedy in the first place is ridiculous.'
Takaba was a third-rate comedian, but he was still a veteran who had spent over ten years on stage.
Add Kenjaku, who had spent a thousand years studying humor, and even most professionals would be no match.
The odds of a rookie duo, fresh off their debut, pulling off a reversal against them were as close to zero as possible.
But that wasn’t what he was aiming for.
'Bring out Takaba’s "true feelings."'
They hadn’t half-assed it. They had put everything into the performance and fought for the win.
Takaba had to truly believe that he had achieved results on his "dream stage."
So that he could be reborn not as a "clown" who sat dolls down and rambled alone because he was afraid of getting hurt, but as a proper "comedian" who performed proudly before an audience.
"Mr. Takaba was already satisfied."
The plan had succeeded brilliantly.
Once he approached comedy with sincerity, the technique binding the audience changed, and genuine laughter burst forth.
No more grotesque laughter could be heard, and Takaba won amid the cheers of many people.
At that point, Takaba lost all will to fight.
Why?
Because his dream had come true.
"Partner."
"Takaba, wait..."
"It’s fine now."
As Takaba wiped away his tears and waved a hand, Kenjaku, who had been trying to say something urgently, vanished with a pop.
In an instant, the scenery changed, and they were no longer in the Tokyo Dome.
Only Junpei and Takaba remained in the pure white space that gave off a warm feeling.
"Have you come back to your senses?"
"Yeah... I showed you an ugly sight."
"Don’t worry about it. It’s not like anyone’s watching you bawl your eyes out."
Takaba burst out laughing with a pahat and looked up at Junpei with swollen eyes.
It was a little pathetic, but far more pleasant to look at than the murky gaze he’d had before.
With his dream fulfilled and his fighting spirit gone, it seemed the suggestion that had bound him had also flown away.
"I’m sorry. For tormenting you and your teammates."
"It wasn’t Mr. Takaba’s fault. You were being controlled."
"That’s true, but are you saying I had zero will in the process? No. That’s not it."
There had been a chance when they first met.
If only he hadn’t followed Kenjaku then and there.
Because someone had told him for the first time that he was "funny," he had gone blind to that light.
"I wanted to form a duo. I needed someone who would understand me. If someone understood me better, I thought I could make them laugh more...."
"Do you still think of Kenjaku as a friend?"
"It’s embarrassing, but yes."
Even though he’d been hit hard from behind, the time he spent with Kenjaku had been fun.
Even though they had known each other for less than a month, they had clicked as if they’d been friends for ten years.
At least in that moment, Kenjaku had treated Takaba as a true friend.
"I hate that guy. I hate him, but when I was with him, I was happy. So I couldn’t bring myself to do anything to hurt him."
"You’re a foolish person."
"Go ahead and call me a sucker. It’s over anyway."
It had been fun.
Now, they would never be able to stand on stage together again.
"....."
Takaba lowered his head deeply.
Junpei couldn’t even imagine how immense the love-hate he felt must be.
Searching for the right words to comfort him, Junpei finally spoke with difficulty.
"Still, it was fun, right?"
"...Yeah."
"Then smile. You’re a comedian, aren’t you?"
Takaba stared at him for a moment, then let out a dry laugh.
"I hate being forced to smile."
"And yet you put dolls on stage and performed?"
Struck right in the weak point, Takaba grimaced as if a bad memory had surfaced.
"That... forget about it. I wasn’t in my right mind."
No matter how crazy he was, for the person whose job was to make people laugh to do something like that.
It was a situation where he’d have nothing to say even if he were kicked out of the industry.
It was one of the biggest mistakes he had made by not taking comedy seriously.
"I wanted to make people laugh seriously, but I guess I was only ever that kind of guy."
"What do you mean, ‘make people laugh seriously’?"
"Making other people laugh no matter how much I break myself or get hurt. I guess it’s a kind of greed, not wanting to lose even a single audience member."
Once, his mentor Ken had said it.
It was impossible for all 100 out of 100 people to think something was funny.
Back then, he had taken those words as comfort, but now he understood.
Ken hadn’t been telling him to give up.
"I gave up by interpreting things in a way convenient to me so I could keep affirming myself."
Even if 99 out of 100 people laughed, if one person didn’t, he couldn’t be satisfied.
He wanted to make the last one laugh, even if he had to be stubborn about it.
That was the mindset a proper comedian should have.
"At some point, I stopped facing comedy seriously. Because I didn’t want to get hurt. I pushed the people who said I wasn’t funny out of the audience."
"......."
"The reason I was able to come to my senses was because of you, Yoshino."
From clown to comedian.
From an unknown third-rate comedian to the C-1 champion.
He had fulfilled every dream he wanted.
"You woke me up. You helped me recover the right heart—the desire to truly make people laugh."
"...Tch."
As Takaba bowed his head excessively, Junpei didn’t wave it off but instead smiled.
The end of a comedian should be sent off like a comedian’s.
This gloomy, serious mood didn’t suit the road he was taking.
"Don’t suddenly get all serious. It’s killing the mood."
"Haha... fair enough."
"How was our stage?"
"Not bad. You’ve got talent. If you polish it up, you’ll be at pro level in no time."
"Don’t butter me up. I want you to tell me what needs improving and stuff like that. You know better than I do, after all."
"If I had to pick one thing... maybe it feels like you’re using material that’s too provocative? It can get a big laugh at first, but if you keep repeating it, people get tired of it quickly."
"Don’t take that up with me, take it up with the author."
"Don’t suddenly break the fourth wall!!"
Takaba and Junpei traded simple banter back and forth.
Before they knew it, while they were talking away and losing track of time, smiles had bloomed across both their faces.
And then,
-Saaruk
the time for Takaba to come down from the stage was also drawing near.
"Ah..."
The price of overdriving the technique was Takaba’s life.
The reason he had been able to stay alive and talk until now was entirely due to the technique’s unusual nature.
Now that he was satisfied and the technique had been released, it was time for him to meet his end.
"I wanted to talk a little more...."
"Are you satisfied?"
"Honestly, I’m a little disappointed. I didn’t want it to end."
Even as he complained that he still had regrets, Takaba’s expression looked relieved.
"You’re supposed to leave while the applause is still going."
"You brat! Do you know how bitter it is to go your whole life without ever getting a single round of applause?! I’m at my peak now!"
"You peaked young and died, so you’ll become a legend. Congratulations."
"Puh..."
Before long, Takaba was wearing a white funeral shroud.
Lying straight with his hands resting on his stomach, he moved the only part of his body that still had sensation and looked at Junpei.
"This is enough."
"I figured as much."
He had relied on many people and caused them trouble.
To want more than this would be greed.
Leaving while being sent off with laughter—what a perfect life it was.
Suddenly, someone who had lived a life dozens of times longer than this came to mind.
'Partner.'
Will you keep living like that?
Even I couldn’t fully understand you, so do you really have the confidence to live alone, in loneliness?
Every time you meet someone, you hide your true feelings, betray them, curse them...
It might be called living fiercely, but is that really a human life?
'I’ll go on ahead and wait for you.'
We’ll probably be able to meet again before long.
When that time comes, let’s laugh and talk and have fun without any worries.
"Mr. Takaba..."
Ah, right. You were still there.
Don’t look at me like that. I’m already satisfied.
So you too... live for yourself.
"Thank you."
Truly.
-Sarururuk
With those words, Takaba stopped moving.
After a brief silence before his corpse, Junpei grinned and gave his final farewell.
"That was insanely fun."
Takaba Fumihiko.
Comedian.
Died at 35.
Here lies.
-Kuurururung!!
With Takaba’s death, the palace began to collapse.
The white space that had trapped him and Takaba also crumbled, and Nobara appeared beyond the broken wall.
"Junpei! You did it!"
"We did it. I couldn’t have done it without you."
"Who cares! Just enjoy it now!"
Junpei lifted her as she lunged into his arms and spun her around once.
As he was buried in her warmth and scent, the fact that it was truly over finally sank in.
'The others... should be fine.'
The teammates who had been flung somewhere else would have been released as the palace collapsed.
Kusakabe, Choso, and Todo, who had been laughing in the audience seats, should be coming to their senses by now too.
All that remained now was...
"Do you know where Kenjaku is?"
"No idea. Looks like Takaba sealed him up tight."
Once this entire space collapsed, Kenjaku would be freed too.
He was certainly not an easy opponent, but Junpei wasn’t too worried.
Kenjaku without Takaba could be handled however they needed.
'Okkotsu-senpai said he beat him once.'
There were ten Jujutsu High sorcerers total, including himself and Okkotsu, and there was also the Angel.
On the other hand, Kenjaku was completely alone.
There was no way he’d survive now.
"What do we do now?"
"Let’s wait. It looks wide, but in reality this is just a space built on top of the vacant lot we were in, so we can get back easily."
Junpei and Nobara’s hands touched.
They looked at each other and smiled once, then stood quietly and watched the collapsing space.
-Kugugugugung!
At last, the Tokyo Dome completely collapsed, and they returned to the original place.
Immediately, Junpei drew up all the cursed energy in his body, and his eyes flashed with killing intent.
'Kenjaku.'
If he killed that bastard, this insane mess would all be over.
Thinking that, he raised his head and met Kenjaku’s eyes at close range.
'I’m killing him right now.'
There are forms of chaos in this world that cannot be compromised with.
It was impossible to understand a guy who was the very incarnation of chaos.
Junpei, who had been preparing to attack without exchanging a single word, had his expression twist in an instant.
-Drip
He was crying.
Kenjaku was.
'Crying?'
His confusion lasted only a moment before disgust came first.
"Why are you crying? How are you crying?"
How many people had you made bleed tears?
And now you’re showing tears?
Are you saying even a bastard like you is human?
"Kenjaku....!"
As the enraged Junpei kicked off the ground and lunged at him, Kenjaku’s lips moved.
Even while he was readying his attack, Junpei’s eyes did not miss the shape of his mouth.
'You still have something to say now?'
What the hell....
"!"
Junpei’s expression twisted.
Kenjaku wasn’t crying tears of remorse now.
Rather, it was closer to the ecstasy of having his wish fulfilled perfectly.
He was leaving behind a warning, not a deathbed message.
'Look behind you.'
-Slash!
A slash carved across Junpei’s back, spraying blood.
Then a follow-up strike flew in and caught Junpei’s sense of danger.
"Mapari!"
-Gulugul!
He hurriedly summoned Mapari to block the attack, then turned around, and an unbelievable sight unfolded before him.
"Long time no see."
"You... you...!!!"
Ryomen Sukuna.
And the other teammates who had been cut down by slashes.
"Kehihihit, surprised?"
How could he ever forget it?
There it was—the nauseating evil he had witnessed for the very first time in his life.
The difference from back then was.
"This woman’s body is pretty lousy, though."
The black wings on her back fluttered.
"I said I’d show you something interesting, brat."
Sukuna had the face of Angel, not Yuji’s face.
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