#otcoaa

At around 6:30AM you awoke to a knock on your door, and you grumbled your way to answer it. Half of you was praying that this was all just a bad dream and that you’d wake up back in your own bed in your old apartment, but unfortunately luck didn’t seem to be on your side as the door opened to reveal your new teacher.

He looked FAR too energetic for someone who was awake at this time, and if you didn’t know better you’d say he was practically radiating sparkles at you. “Good morning Y/n!! How did you sleep?”

You rub your eyes groggily and blink dumbly at him. “Okay I think.” He takes a moment to assess your appearance, looking you up and down with a smile that you couldn’t read. He seemed to always have that expression, from what you could gather. Your hair was messy, face contorted into a grumpy ‘just woken up’ scowl, and your outfit definitely didn’t scream ‘ready to take on the day’. 

“I see you’re not dressed yet, no worries - I brought you this!” With a flourish, he presents what he’d been hiding behind his back, a plain uniform just for you. Yayy. “Typically all female students wear skirts so that’s what I opted for, but if you want trousers let me know and we can order some in for you.”

You take the uniform and after opening your eyes properly, you assess it. A black jacket and skirt, and a white shirt. Very plain for sorcerers in training, although it’d probably help you blend in when going out on ‘excursions’ as Gojo called them. You had a funny feeling that they weren’t the fun outings he made them out to be…

“Today officially marks your first day of training, so get ready and meet me out here as soon as you’re done.” Without waiting for a reply he drops the rest of the uniform into your arms and pushes you back into the room, closing the door behind you. 

‘Okay… moving quick, huh?’

There was a small bathroom attached to your dorm so you use that to wash your face, brush your teeth, do your hair and then you don the uniform. It fits perfectly (somehow) and feels nice. The material is breathable and light, but secure and well-structured. Exactly what you’d want in a uniform. 

-

“So, we’ll have a brief tour and then I’ll hand you off to Megumi for your official first day of training. Sounds fun right?” You follow after him pretty quietly, just kind of taking it all in. You’re really doing this, huh.

“Uh- yeah. Great. Sorry, it’s all just a lot to wrap my head around.” He puts an arm around you in a sympathetic manner, stopping to talk. 

“Hey, I get it. Fast paced is good though, best way to learn. I’m eager to see what you can do with all that cursed energy though, so you’ll have to forgive me for jumping the gun a bit.” He gives you a reassuring squeeze and pulls away, although his hand remains on your shoulder for a minute.

He’s not saying anything… weird. “Uh, Gojo?” He’s just looking at you now, and although the blindfold covers his eyes you know they’re fixated on you. He probably isn’t even blinking, and it’s starting to give you the creeps.

You pat his hand with some awkwardness. “You good?”

That seemed to snap him to his senses, and he chuckles. “Woops! In my own little world there. Oh, we’re near the infirmary. Sorry to say you’ll be visiting this place a lot. I’ll introduce you to Shoko.”

So we’re just glossing over that? Very odd. You really didn’t know what to make of it, but whatever. Whilst your inner thoughts are mainly quiet, Gojo’s inner monologue is positively screaming at him.

The strongest was never distracted. Not that easily anyway. And yet, something about the way you looked up at him, that slightly confused expression you were pulling, the feel of his hand on your shoulder… It really got him caught up in the moment and he just blanked. Jujutsu sorcerers are supposed to have way better emotional control than that, what the hell was he doing?

As you continued walking and talking, he managed to shake it off, but there was still some doubt in the back of his mind. He hasn’t known you for that long, you're his newest student for god’s sake and yet…

‘What are you doing to me?’

-

“Megumi, there you are. Perfect timing!”

You wave a small wave at him, as Gojo steps forward to explain what he wants Fushiguro to focus on for today. Mostly just learning how to feel your cursed energy, and focus it into various body parts. A bit of basic sparring, all preempted by some cardio and resistance training. 

God, this was going to be brutal, you think to yourself. As a regular human you had been very average in terms of fitness, enough to get by just fine but by no means an athlete of any kind. You really hope Fushiguro is easy on you, being your first day and all.

“Okay. Follow me, Y/n.” As Gojo leaves, you switch to following Fushiguro now and attempt to strike up conversation with him as he leads you to a nearby training field.

“So, do you know how many other students will be in our class?” That seemed like a good start, Gojo had done a good job on explaining exactly how the school worked but he’d forgotten a few small details. Hopefully your classmate could fill you in.

“One other confirmed but it could always change. Gojo could always pick up another one of you anytime he feels like.” You laugh softly.

“Heh, you make us sound like strays. That’s really small for a college class though, I guess it makes sense though. Jujutsu sorcerers must be few and far between.” He nods in approval, stopping in a nice clear area.

“Okay, we’ll start really simple. Ready?”

“I think so. Bring it on.”

-

You really, really underestimated how rigorous your first day would go. Fushiguro had you bending over backwards to try and match his every move, and the running! Why was there so much running?! Was he trying to kill you off early?? 

You splat onto the grass, your body catching up to all the exercise you’d put it through, and he stands above you with a slightly amused expression. “Okay, I guess you can have a little break.” 

“Gee… huff… thanks…” You can barely spit out a response, your face sinking back into the grass. He steps over and takes a seat next to you, thinking for a moment. It’s fairly quiet aside from your occasional huffs and puffs. 

Eventually you drag yourself up and arrange yourself into a sitting position, and plonk yourself down next to him. The silence isn’t actually that awkward, and as you look over at him you realise he is doing the same. 

You can’t help but laugh, and he gives you a quizzical look. “You don’t seem so bad now. I don’t really enjoy being here so far, but I thought you’d be way worse.” Fushiguro doesn’t really know what to make of that. 

So far, his impression of you was mixed. On one hand, you don’t seem very enthusiastic to be a sorcerer, or to really be here in the first place. You’re not very tactful and you lack discipline, but you also seem quite easy-going and surprisingly hardworking.

“I guess we both gave each other bad first impressions, huh.” 

“Wait- what kind of first impression did I give off?” You demand answers, and although your mind is yelling at you that you weren’t going to make friends whilst you were here, you find yourself leaning closer to him.

“Awkward and lazy.” 

“Wow, that’s harsh. Better than being a rude emo boy.” You laugh, and although he doesn’t, you do enjoy the funny angry expression he is pulling. With a sigh you stand up, stretching a bit and then offer your hand to Fushiguro.

“I think I’m ready to continue if that’s okay.”

With some hesitance, he takes your hand, and despite his best efforts to continue being aloof his scowl has softened. “Alright. Let’s go back to focusing your energy. Copy my movements.” 

He enters a more battle-ready stance and you do the same, taking a deep breath. Here we go again. “Feel it in your chest first. Think of something that makes you feel a strong emotion, and focus on that feeling.” You close your eyes, and conjure up something from your not-so-distant past.

That asshole from the coffee shop. Nothing pisses you off like a good old entitled customer, and it seemed to do the trick. Your chest tightens and a sensation begins to grow, full of energy. It’s both hot and cold, soft and sharp, like a thousand needles mixed with a thousand petals all fighting inside you at once.

“Now draw your fist back, and try to concentrate that energy there. When you feel ready, hit me.” That surprises you as he hadn’t given you a target before, especially not himself.

“Won’t I hurt you?”

“No, I’ll focus my cursed energy to negate any damage you could do. Which won’t be much.” Ouch, rude. He’s still pretty rough around the edges, and you’ve noticed he’s pretty easy to irritate. It’s a shame, you thought he could be pretty cute if it weren’t for his rudeness.

You shake your mind of any excess feelings and focus on pulling your cursed energy to your fist for strength, and your shoulder to be able to throw a good punch. Steady… steady… now!

CRACK

“FUCKKKKKK!!” 

You recoil physically, holding your injured hand and hissing in pain. “Great, now you’ve done it. C’mon.” Clearly you didn’t hear him, too focused on staring at your probably-broken hand and wailing about the whole experience.

You try to quiet down but in your defence, you just broke your actual hand. The knuckles were clearly a bit swollen, a deep bruising was setting in already and you’d managed to skin them a little bit, just to add insult to injury. It hurt more than anything you’d felt in a good long time, and you'd soon come to realise that this was normal for sorcerers. 

“It wasn’t bad for your first punch.” 

Did you just hear that right? Did… did Fushiguro just say something nice to you? Wow. Maybe there’s hope for your friendship yet.

“Oh, thanks? I think I overdid it a bit though..” You grimace as you try to move your fingers, assessing the damage. It was pretty bad but apparently Shoko could use a reversed cursed technique to heal most things, so it would be easy for her. You hoped the process wouldn’t hurt anymore.

-

After arriving at the infirmary, Shoko took one look at your hand and shook her head. “Fushiguro, you pushed her too hard.” He scowled and put his hands in his pockets, back to his usual brooding self.

“It was Gojo-sensei’s idea, not mine.” Shoko tsks disapprovingly and shakes her head, turning her attention back to you. She’s completely unsurprised at how hard they’d pushed you on your first day, after all Gojo had come to yap her ear off about his newest student a few weeks ago.

“I can fix you up just fine, although the surface damage will take about a day or two to clear up,” She explains, wrapping your knuckles and hand with a protective bandage. “Don’t take this off ‘til tomorrow alright?” 

As she spoke she used her reversed cursed technique to fix your hand, and you gasped at how normal it felt in just a few seconds. “That’s magical. What!?” You could scarcely believe it, this was next level wizardry to you, what do you mean this woman had healing powers?!

That might have been the first thing you’d actually been excited over since you’d arrived. Miracles do happen.

“You should be good to go now, just don’t throw anymore punches like that.” Shoko pats your shoulder and you stand up, grinning. 

“Thanks. That’s really cool.” Shoko waves you off idly and you take your leave. At some point Fushiguro must have left, because as you poke your head out the door you can’t see him anywhere.

Rude. You thought about looking for him, but you figured breaking your hand was probably a sign to stop training for today. In that case, you didn’t really need to find him. May as well head back to your dorm. What a day…

-

The following days continued in the same sort of pattern, you’d train your body to become stronger and more capable of handling such raw power, and gradually you began to feel a bit more normal about it all.

Sure you weren’t ecstatic about basically training to become a human weapon, but it was a big step up from how you used to live. You still complained a lot about all the training though, much to Fushiguro’s annoyance.

A few days after breaking your hand, you received a sword from Gojo to try out instead. “You’ve got the body of a normal human, no way you can keep up with your cursed energy just yet. Use this for now and tell me how you get on with it, ‘kay?”

The blade was thin, slightly curved, and razor sharp. It glistened a beautiful metallic silver, decorated with inscribed flourishes and symbols. The blade was slightly wider than average, resembling a seax or knife more than a typical katana-style blade. Even the hilt was a bit unusual for a wakizashi, it was longer and quite ornate, wrapped in comfortable black fabric. 

It was beautiful, to put it bluntly, and the craftsmanship was truly something to behold. You took it gratefully, giving it a few swings. It felt good in your hand, nicely weighted and balanced. Admittedly you were excited to use it for real, against a proper opponent. 

Oh how you would soon come to regret that wish, as it would be granted far sooner than you were prepared for.

-

One month had passed since you had come to live at Jujutsu Tech, and you were growing fonder by the day. Today would be different though, as you were going to be sent on your very first ‘excursion’ with Fushiguro.

“A cursed object? What’s that?”

“They can be anything, just like your weapon they scale in power - this particular one happens to be special grade.” You bring your hand to your chin, deep in thought. Why on earth would a school keep something like that if it was so dangerous?

As if reading your mind, Gojo laughed. “It does seem weird for a school to have one, but if sealed properly they do a good job of warding away lower cursed spirits. This one cannot fall into the wrong hands though, so I’m trusting the two of you to find it and bring it back to the college.” 

And like that, you found yourself on your way to a very ordinary looking high school. If you hadn’t dropped out, you’d probably have been in one very similar to this. 

The car ride over was pretty boring, Fushiguro didn’t speak to you much in favour of scrolling on his phone. He seems to do that a lot when he’s irritated, is he annoyed that you’re coming with him? You really hope not, it felt this past month that you guys were actually kind of becoming friends. 

It’s… a picture of a dog? One of those silly looking ones, where the camera is far too warped so the nose looks huge. It’s so out-of-character for him that you just burst out laughing, and he seems a little relieved. 

“That’s so stupid, I had no idea you had a silly side Fushiguro.” His cheeks turn the slightest shade of red and he immediately takes his phone back. 

“I’m not silly. I’m never silly. Shut up.” You chuckle and pull out your phone, opening up your contacts. This seemed like a great opportunity to do something you’d been putting off for a while now.

“Whilst you’ve got your phone out, can I have your number? It’d be good to have a way to contact you if we’re going to be on missions together. Or ‘excursions’ as Gojo likes to call them…” You roll your eyes thinking of the audacity of that man.

Whilst you two were going to look for some dangerous object, he was out somewhere on a mission of his own. Probably just sightseeing and collecting trinkets. Asshole.

“I guess that’s fine. Don’t go spamming me all the time though.” He takes your phone to add his number, and as soon as he hands it back, the car comes to a smooth stop. 

“Ah, we’ve arrived. Let’s go.”

-

You start your search at a side entrance, and Fushiguro tells you to keep an eye out for any cursed energy with ‘bad vibes’. You admire his ability to dumb things down to a level where you can understand them, you’re still a rookie after all. 

‘Miyagi Prefectural Sugisawa Third High School.’ You read the sign as the two of you walk in silence, and your brain begins imagining what life would have been like if you’d continued going. 

Due to unforeseen circumstances regarding your parents, you made the tough decision to drop out before your final year, just before you turned 18. You needed a full-time job to support yourself, and as a result you never got to finish your education. Thinking about it almost makes Jujutsu Tech feel like a fresh start. Almost.

“They’re keeping a cursed object here? In a place like this? Could they be any more stupid?” Fushiguro voices his thoughts aloud, leading the both of you to a very plain looking cabinet in the field. 

“Seems a bit too good to be true if you ask me.” You respond, approaching the box. You hang back at the last second though, sudden nerves sprouting inside you. Maybe you’ll just let him deal with looking inside.

He slowly opens it up, and you hear him make a slightly surprised sound, and then began frantically digging inside the box. “What, is it not there? Let me see that.” You shove him aside slightly and the two of you scan the entire interior of the box, even searching around and under it, but to no avail.

“Well now what?? It has to be here somewhere!” Fushiguro stares at you with annoyance, and you notice his hand on his hip. Makes him look a bit fruity. Huh.

“I’ll call Gojo-sensei and update him…” He states, and pulls out his phone.

“There’s nothing here.”

“What?”

“The Stevenson screen’s empty.” Fushiguro looks irritated to say the least.

“For real? That’s hilarious. Maybe it went for a midnight stroll?” You recognise Gojo’s sarcastic voice even over the phone, and his lack of seriousness starts to annoy you as well.

“I’ll punch you.” He deadpans. Seems like he isn’t getting any useful answers after all… great.

“Well, no going home until it’s recovered. Bye-” Fushiguro cuts him off by hanging up and turns to you.

“Next time I see him I’m gonna punch him… Anyway, we need to keep looking. Don’t stray far.” You nod in agreement and continue following him, scanning the area all the while for cursed energy in the air.

-

After a lot more looking around, the day drags on and the school becomes less populated. Fushiguro has taken his jacket off to blend in a bit better, and you follow suit. Feeling a bit useless, you offer to carry his jacket for him. It’s basically all you could do at this point.

Suddenly a shiver runs across your back and chills you, and you point to a nearby P.E field. “Hey, I think there’s something weird going on over there.” Without waiting for him, you march over to investigate.

“Hm. Cursed spirit, maybe 2nd grade?” You physically recoil as you watch it slip through the dirt and then emerge, climbing a pole. It looks awful, massive teeth, 4 eyes, what a disgusting creature! It doesn’t seem to bother Fushiguro though, as he just stands there to observe with his hands in his pockets.

“This really is a pain. It feels close but could really be anywhere. There’s no proper way to pin it down.” He groans in annoyance, checking his phone again. You were beginning to feel the same way to be frank. It was a huge pain wandering around like this with no leads.

“Maybe we should head closer to the main building. Could a student have picked it up?” 

He furrows his brow, hand on chin, thinking. “Maybe. Worth a shot at least. Let’s try-” He’s cut off by a crowd yelling, and the two of you walk over to the source. The group is rustling about some boy, you think? Taking on some sort of sports challenge.

You root yourself next to the dark haired boy and peer out, to see what all the fuss is about. A boy wearing a yellow hoodie emerges - he must be ‘Itadori’, the one everyone is yelling and chanting about.  

Well, that was a shock and a half. He threw the ball so hard it broke a metal goal. Wow. “Good god, what do they feed kids these days?” You mutter, struggling to comprehend whatever you’ve just seen. Kid probably isn’t the right word though, he looks to be about the same age as you. 

You hear your classmate mumble something about that Itadori guy but you’re not really listening, instead you’re trying to follow the whiff of cursed energy you just detected. Frustratingly, you can’t pinpoint it to a single student. Typical.

Ouch, what the hell was that? The boy from earlier suddenly runs away, probably late for something but as he passes you you feel it - a major surge of energy, enough to give you a minor headache and fading vision for just a moment.

You turn to Fushiguro but he’s already felt it, and he looks at you with a wide-eyed expression. “That was definitely it, wasn’t it?” You ask, worriedly. 

“Yeah. Hey, you- wait-!!” He calls after the boy but he’s long gone, and you add superhuman speed to his list of rapidly growing feats. 

“Who the hell is that guy?” A nice crease forms in your brow, can normal humans move like that? He has to have the cursed object on him, it’s the only option. Both you and Fushiguro are having the same thought - you need to follow that guy, or else he could be in grave danger. 

-

You ended up following him to a hospital, arriving just in time to hear that his granddad just died. Could this situation get any worse?

“If I don’t stop him now, people will die, Y/n. Just wait here.” He whispers back, and steps forward into the light. You can only meagerly follow him, an apologetic look on your face. Poor guy… this is the last thing he ought to be dealing with.

“Itadori Yuji, right?” He steps out fully now. “I am Fushiguro from Jujustu Tech, I need to have a word with you right now.” He ushers Itadori to a far corner of the room, and you foresee this ending badly for all involved.

“Um, I’m kinda in mourning right now?”

“I’m sorry but this really can’t wait.” He pulls out his phone and shows Itadori the image of the cursed object. “This. You have this. You need to give it to me right now. It’s exceptionally dangerous.” His voice is quite serious, even for him.

“Ohh, that. Yeah I did find it, but my senpai quite liked it so I gave it to her. What do you mean ‘dangerous’?” Fushiguro then gives him quite a chilling speech on cursed objects and their influence on humanity, involving lovely topics such as death and missing persons.

It does a good job at giving Itadori a grasp on how dire the situationship is though, even though he seemed skeptical of them at first. He begins to walk away after tossing the box to Fushiguro, but a panicked expression floods his face and he grabs the other boy, shaking him.

“Where are the contents?! Hand it over before people die!” 

“I told you, my upperclassman has it. Come to think of it, they were thinking of removing the seal from it tonight.” Your heart sinks. Despite your little knowledge on the subject, you know that’s bad. Really bad.

“Huh? Is that bad?”

“Really bad. They’re going to die.”

-

The three of you waste no time in legging it back to the school. God, if only those poor students knew what they had gotten themselves into. You really hope you can get there in time.

Meanwhile, the two friends of Itadori were bundled up in their clubroom, having snuck in after hours. 

The girl timidly begins peeling off the seal slowly, and the tension grows by the second. As she finally unwraps the whole thing, they both gasp. “A human finger..? Is it real?”

A cold chill settles over them and their candle extinguishes itself, adding to the unsettling atmosphere. “What is this??” All they can do is cower as horrible creatures begin crawling out, emerging from the walls…

You urge your legs forward, and you’re thankful that Itadori seems to be able to keep up with you guys just fine. “Turn right here! It’s a shortcut!” He calls out, and you all race to reach the school. 

Arriving at the school, you stop at the gate but Itadori stops a little further behind you guys. “What is this seal?” He frowns. There’s some sort of invisible barrier, no doubt from the horrible cursed object, and he seems to have trouble moving through it.

“Stay here. Y/n, with me.” You nod and follow him over the gate, though Fushiguro is noticeably better at scaling it than you are. Somehow, Itadori has passed the barrier and runs up to the fence just as you hop over the other side.

“Wait! I have to come with you - they’re my friends, I can’t just stand by!” He pleads, but your classmate is having none of it.

“Stay here.” He demands, and urges the two of you onwards. You flash Itadori a sympathetic smile, but deep down you’re still really nervous yourself. You’re very new to everything, and you retrieve your sword hidden in the folds of your skirt. Having a weapon is just enough to slightly ease your mind, but doubt still remains.

Running forwards, you finally come across the now-ruined school. It’s utter carnage in here- doors are smashed, debris is everywhere and this sense of dread encompasses everything.

You run forwards, up the stairs as fast as you possibly can. “Excorcise anything you see! We need to save those students!” He calls over to you, and you brandish your sword with all the confidence of a wet teatowel. 

You branch off into one direction, and Fushiguro takes the other, both of you determined to save Itadori’s friends. It isn’t long before you run into your first cursed spirit, a horrible, ugly looking thing with too many eyes and no legs. Gross.

“Alright, I’m not afraid, I’m not afraid, I’m not…” You mutter to yourself, assuming a fighting stance. You rush towards it, squeezing your eyes shut and slicing in the direction you think the curse is in. When you open them, the spirit is dead on the ground, having been cleanly sliced in half by you.

Maybe you can do this. There’s no time to get caught up with that though, you can’t rest until those students are safe. You press onward, listening out to see if you could hear the students anywhere.

Rounding the corner, you find yourself at the back of a particularly large and gruesome cursed spirit. Peeking over, you see Fushiguro on the other side, accompanied by two rather voracious-looking dogs? Wolves? Whatever they are, they seem to be on your side so you don’t question it.

Focusing on the spirit, you gasp as you realise that it has the two students in its grasp. A girl and a boy, maybe a little younger than you - just normal people who didn’t deserve to be dragged into a horrible situation like this.

You almost feel a sense of deja-vu, you yourself were unwillingly dragged into this new world, but unlike these innocent civilians you could hold your own against cursed spirits -  at least, you told yourself you could. These were just regular people who would die if you didn’t intervene. 

So what’s your next move?

Before you could react, your eyes follow movement outside the window and in the blink of an eye Itadori is bursting through, landing in such a way to dislodge the girl and the boy from the mouth of the monster.

He takes her in his arms, jumping backwards with her, so that she is safe. For now, anyway. “Just who is this guy??” The boy lands at his feet, and you can see that he is bleeding but thankfully still alive.

The cursed spirit goes to strike at them but you’re quicker, jumping over and holding your sword up to defend them. You succeed, which gives Fushiguro a window to land a devastating blow, ending the fight. The cursed spirit is dead. 

“Are you okay?” You turn back to ask, your hands shaking as you lower your weapon. 

“Yeah, I think so… By the way, what are those eating the curse?” Itadori asks, and you turn to see Fushiguro’s shikigami actually eating the curse. Your face crinkles with obvious disgust, and he explains what the demon dogs are to Itadori. 

“You’re not scared at all?” You turn back to the boy on the ground, as his gaze lowers to his classmates. He shakes his head with a solemn expression.

“People really can die. I want the people I know to have proper deaths, at least. Maybe I was scared to begin with but not anymore.” God, he’s noble. You wish you could feel that way -  the tremor in your hands hasn’t subsided at all. If anyone has noticed, they don’t say anything thankfully.

Itadori rises to his feet, catching the cursed object as it falls from the girl’s pocket. “So, this is the cursed object?”

“Yeah. Ryomen Sukuna’s finger. It’s a miracle it didn’t get swallowed.” 

“Why would anyone eat it? Does it taste good?”

“Don’t be stupid. You’d do it to earn stronger cursed energy. Hand it over already.” He reaches out to give the finger to the other boy, but before anyone can react a giant hand is emerging from the ceiling, hellbent on getting that finger.

“Look out!” You yell, and Fushiguro shoves the both of you out of the way. You tumble backwards, and as the dust settles you see an even larger cursed spirit. This time the stakes are even higher - your heart sinks as you realise it’s holding your classmate firmly.

He summons another shikigami, and as he does it tosses him into a nearby wall, causing him to spit out blood. ‘Dear god we’re all dead.’ You think, picking your sword back up and jumping in front of him.

Shit, what now? You swing at it, but clearly you’ve bitten off more than you can chew as it grabs you now, throwing you back into that same wall, and you almost black out from the impact.

The wall shatters upon impact, and for a moment everything is peaceful, wind rushing in your ears as you suddenly see the sky all around you. That feeling of peace is quickly replaced with dread as you realise you’re falling, and fast.

And then you hit the ground.

You’re in agony, how did that not kill you? You’re too stunned to open your eyes, having landed painfully beside Fushiguro. You’re toast. You absolutely have to be dead right now, there’s no way you survived that. And yet…

You open your eyes. Movement is out of the question, but you’re not dead. Not yet, anyway. Blood seeps into your vision, temporarily blinding you, and all you can do is wince as the pain doesn’t subside. 

Whatever happens now, you’re no longer part of the playing field. You hear Itadori and Fushiguro exchange petty arguments, and from the sounds of things it’s not going well for whoever is fighting the spirit.

You need to get up. Right now. Struggling, you roll onto your front, and drag yourself to your hands and knees. Every breath feels painful and laboured, you’re sure you’ve broken several ribs. 

All you can do is watch as both Itadori and the finger are tossed into the air, and you look over to see how Fushiguro is doing. He seems to be in a similar boat as you, and the two of you watch in complete horror as the finger is swallowed.

But not by the cursed spirit. No - Itadori has swallowed the finger. “Don’t!” Your classmate scrambles to his feet but it’s too little, too late as Itadori finished the rest of the finger in one fell bite.

Oh my god he’s dead. That poor boy just committed suicide - you’re sure of it. It had been explained to you that no one could survive eating something like that, not if they were just a regular human.

You want to go home. You’re all going to die, why did you agree to come to this godforsaken place?! There’s no way he survived eating that, but maybe..?

“How is he alive?” You question, finally standing up as Itadori bursts out of the spirit’s grasp. Fushiguro looks terrified, and you begin to suspect you should probably be running right about now. Something about the situation just felt like it was off, and horribly so.

One blow of his hand sends the cursed spirit into the stratosphere, and you can hardly believe your eyes. There’s something different about him now, he seems to have gone from 0 to 100 in the blink of an eye. Did he unlock the power of the cursed object?

No. Something is wrong.

Itadori isn’t himself anymore, as the fog lifts and the moon emerges from behind the clouds, you can see it clearly now. Strange black markings have appeared on his body, and you grimace as an extra pair of eyes opens up under his first pair. 

He begins to laugh, then cackle and howl maniacally, tearing off his jacket to reveal even more of those strange markings. You’re scared again now, although it’s paired with confusion this time. 

“A cursed spirit’s flesh is so boring! Where are the people? The women! The children?!” He steps up onto the wall and a terror begins to fill you, shaking you to your core. There’s no way…

The cursed object has reincarnated. Who you see before you is none other than Ryomen Sukuna himself. You’re well and truly fucked.

That horrible laugh fills the air again as he babbles on about a massacre, and you see itadori fighting from inside to try and regain control. “Don’t move!”

Fuhsiguro steps forward, and you see him adopt the stance for summoning an untamed shikigami. He really does look worse for wear, blood running down his face and his uniform is torn in a few places. Poor guy.

“Under Jujutsu regulations, Itadori Yuji, I will exorcise you as a curse!”

Itadori raises his hands in surrender, the marks fading slowly from his body. “Wait! I’m fine!” His voice sounds how it was before, did he really get rid of Sukuna that easily?

Fushiguro seems to be struggling with what to do internally, and as you step forward to try and figure out what to do next, you feel a hand on your shoulder.

“Hey there, what’s the situation?”

Whipping around you’re both relieved and angry to see Gojo, holding a paper bag of some kind. As much as he pisses you off, you’re well aware of the difference in skill between you and him, which brings a sense of relief. If any more cursed spirits arrive, you know he should be able to handle them.

“Gojo-sensei?! Why are you here?” Fushiguro seems very surprised to see him, facing him with wide eyes. It really has been strange to see him so riled up today.

“Well, I wasn’t planning on coming but man, the two of you are roughed up! I should show the second years.” He pulls out his phone and begins taking pictures of the two of you, which really pisses you off.

He explains why he had stopped by to check in on the two of you, asking where the finger had gone, and Itadori had to nervously answer that he had eaten it.

A silence fills the air.

“For real?” He asks.

“For real.” The three of you answer in sync.

Gojo steps forward to examine Itadori, chuckling to himself as he does. “Hey, what’s so funny?” He asks, clearly bewildered.

“It really did combine with you… that’s hilarious.” He steps back now, examing the rest of him. “Can you swap out with Sukuna?”

“Sukuna?” Itadori echoes. 

“Yes, the curse you ate.”

“Oh, yeah, I think I can do that.” 

“Alright,” Gojo says, and begins stretching. Just what does he plan to do? “Then give us ten seconds. Once they’re up, come back to us, okay?”

“Don’t worry, I’m the strongest. Y/n-” He tosses the bag he was holding at you, and you almost fail to catch it in time. “Hold onto this.”

“What is it?” Your curiosity gets the better of you.

“Kikufuku from Kikusuian. I recommend the cream flavour.” Your eyes widen and then narrow again. There’s no way this guy actually went and bought souvenirs. 

“...I hate you.”

Whilst you were talking, evidently Sukuna had already switched in for Itadori, and he leapt up into the air, ready to strike. “Behind you!” Warned Fushiguro, but evidently Gojo wasn’t just bragging as when the smoke clears, you see Sukuna pinned in place by Gojo.

You’re absolutely horrified to find yourself face-to-face with those evil red eyes, and as you clutch the paper bag, all you can do is stare.

He jumps up, ready to attack Gojo again, becoming angrier by the second as Gojo hardly seems to be putting in any effort. He’s even still talking about the dessert which, as much as it pains you to admit, is actually pretty impressive.

You watch him lean in and mumble something to Sukuna, and their fight seems pretty weighted in the favour of Gojo. They exchange blows, destroying half of the school in the process, and finally Itadori switches back out.

He looks tired as he returns, but quickly perks back up. After a quick chat, Gojo walks up to Itadori and places two fingers on his forehead, sending him into a deep sleep almost instantaneously. Creepy trick if you think about it.

“So, what should we do with him?” He turns to ask you and Fushiguro, and Fushiguro mentions regulations that state vessels like him must be killed.

“I don’t want him to die!” You exclaim, catching both of their attention. 

“Hm. Your personal feelings?” 

You nod. “Yeah. He’s still human, even if he is possessed. Please don’t kill him.”

“Now it’s a request from a precious student. Megumi, do you feel the same?” You look over to Fushiguro, who nods in agreement. “Alright, leave it to me.”

-

Eventually, you arrive back at Jujutsu Tech, and both of you get seen by Shoko before reuniting with Gojo and unsurprisingly Itadori as well.

Itadori was to become a first year, just like you, and you supposed it couldn’t hurt to have an extra classmate. That would make four of you, right?

You exit out of your dorm room, after yesterday’s debacle you figure you could all benefit from a good night’s rest. Unfortunately it had been disturbed by some loud idiot from across the hall, and as you exit you notice Fushiguro doing the same.

Looks like you’d both been disturbed. You see Itadori and Gojo standing outside of what you presume to be Itadori’s new dorm room. “Oh, Y/n, Fushiguro, you look like you’re both doing much better now.” 

You give a wry smile and nod. “Some sleep helped, I suppose.” Itadori creeps over to have a look into Fushiguro’s room which makes you chuckle, as your irritated peer grumbles about Itadori having his room next to him. Watching him slam the door on Itadori’s head was both mean and very funny, and you suppress a chuckle as you compare the two.

Fushiguro is always serious, and quick to anger. You’ve become very familiar with that over the past month. On the other hand, Itadori seems much more free-spirited and happy, although you haven’t known him for long. They’re either going to become firm friends or end up killing each other by the end of the year.

“Get some rest for today you three. Tomorrow we’re going out to pick up the last first year.” Gojo explains, leaving the three of you to your own devices. As expected, Fushiguro disappears straight back into his room, leaving just you and Itadori together.

“So,” You begin, looking over at his room. “Can I see how you’ve decorated?” He beams at you and nods, leading you into his room.

“Don’t mind Fushiguro by the way.” You comment as you take a look around. “He’s an asshole. It’s not personal though, he’s just like that.” Itadori takes a seat on the bed, patting beside him. You accept the invitation, doing your best to avoid looking at his pinup poster in the process. The model's boobs are… very much on display, so to speak.

“Ah he seems alright, I don’t mind. You seem a lot nicer though, thank you both for helping my classmates and I yesterday.” He offers a grateful smile. Maybe he won’t be as insufferable as your other company so far. The thought makes you smile too.

“Ah, I didn’t do much. That was my first mission, you know?”

“No way, I’d have never guessed! You were super cool L/n!” You chuckle at his enthusiasm.

“Call me Y/n, everyone else does.” 

“In that case, call me Yuji.” He reaches over, a hand extended towards you. You take it and shake his hand firmly with a laugh. 

“Alright then, Yuji. How are you feeling anyway? It’s strange to be pulled into a new life like this.” He considers your words, but his smile never falters.

“Ah, it’s sad to leave my old life behind but I’m pretty excited you know? This place seems really cool and I look forward to being able to help people.” This kid has a heart of gold it seems, far more than you ever could. 

“That’s nice. I wish I was as confident as you when I joined.” 

You sit back, thoughts of your old life flooding your mind. Since Yuji doesn’t say anything, he must be expecting you to explain. He seems nice so you don’t mind telling him more about yourself.

“I used to just be a regular person, I worked at a cafe and everything. Then one day I started seeing those cursed spirits, and that’s about the time Gojo showed up. He basically bullied me into joining this damn college, uh that was about a month ago now.”

You sigh, thinking about how much had changed, but there was no point dwelling in the past.

“I still don’t really know what I’m doing here, or even whether I want to be here, but I guess it’s not all bad. It’ll be nice to have someone other than Fushiguro to hang out with.” You admit with a chuckle.

The two of you talk for a while longer, but unbeknownst to you a hidden onlooker is studying your every move, everything you say, all of it. Inside Yuji’s mind, Sukuna studies you carefully. Unlike Yuji, he can read cursed energy very well, and there’s something about yours that’s really drawing him in. He’ll have to keep a close eye on you for now.

As the shadows grow longer, and moonlight creeps in, you feel sleep tug at your mind once again. Yuji doesn't seem to mind when you say you want to go to bed, and he's kind enough to walk back over to your dorm with you.

Bidding you goodnight, he watches your door swing shut and sighs. In his mind, Sukuna hasn't fucking shut up since he got here. It's really starting to irritate him.

He shuts his door with admittedly more force than necessary, and throws himself down on the bed, but covering his head with a pillow does nothing to quiet his thoughts.

'There's no use in shutting me out, brat. My soul is in here too, we are one now, get used to it.' The voice snarls, and Yuji just groans.

"Just shut up already!" He yells out to seemingly no-one, and the voice in his head just laughs.

Yuji isn't stupid, he knows that this is Sukuna, but he can't do anything about it. And to make things even worse, that stupid curse won't shut up about one thing:

You.

He doesn't really get it- sure, Yuji thinks you're pretty, and brave, and like super cool, but... Actually he kind of gets why someone would be interested in you, but why the King of Curses himself?

'You're a fool boy. That girl has power beyond anything these pathetic sorcerers could ever dream of. I have already decided that she will be mine.'

Yuji slaps the mouth that has appeared on his cheek and throws himself back under the covers, deciding he'd had enough. One thing was for certain though.

He didn't want to let Sukuna near you ever again. It was overwhelming obvious how excited he'd become coming face to face with you earlier, when he was first unleashed, and the thought alone scared Yuji senseless.

Despite only having known you for a short period of time, he really adored you, and he'd already made up his mind.

He would protect you, no matter the cost.

-

thanks for reading! chapter four coming very soon! updates are every 3-4 days, or at least once a week.

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A few weeks later you’re woken up earlier than normal, as something urgent has evidently come up. “A special grade curse? And they want us to deal with it?” You whisper to Nobara as the four of you line up outside of the detention centre. 

She shrugs back, and despite her nonchalance it’s clear she’s just as confused as you were. See, you’d been told by Ijichi, one of your teachers at Jujutsu Tech that you were all being sent on a special mission today. One that someone with a power level like Gojo would normally be handling.

An anxious feeling claws at your chest, but you ignore it and focus on the older man’s explanation of things like ‘Windows’ and ‘Grades’ to Yuji. Bless him, he still had a lot to learn.

A window was someone who could see cursed spirits, but wasn’t a sorcerer, whether by choice or lack of abilities. They definitely seemed invaluable to jujutsu society. “Unfortunately, due to the lack of sorcerers, you’ll often find yourself undertaking missions beyond your current skill level. That’s just the way it is in jujutsu society.” Ijichi explains, his soft voice holding a pang of almost guilt? He clearly pities the four of you, that’s for certain.

“This, however, is a special case,” He adjusts his glasses and fixes you with a more serious look. “If you do encounter a special-grade spirit, do not under any circumstances fight it. Your options are to fight…” “...or die.” A shiver crawls down your spine, and you clutch your small sword for reassurance. “Do not forget that your mission here is strictly the verification and rescue of survivors.” Great, you’re diving head first into the most danger you’ve ever been in in your entire life. Just peachy, in fact.

From the sidelines, you catch sight of a woman desperately trying to break through the guards. “Please! Tadashi, my son, is he alright?!” She calls out, tears brimming in her wide eyes. The poor woman looked beside herself with grief.

‘I’m sorry,’ You think to yourself. ‘At least now we know his name, we know who we’re looking for. One of them at least.’ - It’s finally time to head inside, and as you walk away, Ijichi puts up his veil around the centre. You still aren’t entirely sure what the purpose of veils are, but you hazard a guess at some kind of damage control. Something to hide you, perhaps. 

Fushiguro clasps his hands together and summons his demon dogs to begin with, and you’re quite pleased to see them doing well. “He’ll let us know if the curse gets close.” As you pass by the dog, you give him a small pat, and finally delve into the building.

Your hands are shaking, but you run with everyone else, Fushiguro as your lead, and Nobara bringing up the rear. You almost stumble as Fushiguro suddenly stops you all, holding out his hand.

“Wait!” “What’s going on, I thought this was only a two story building?” Yuji asks, as you all look around, bewildered. The room has grown seemingly infinitely, with no clear routes or exits. Strange.

Yuji and Nobara discuss what it could be, and you notice Fushiguro has gone worryingly quiet. You place a hand on his shoulder, and ask the question nobody wanted to ask.

“This is the cursed spirit’s doing, right?”

He turns to you and then snaps his head towards the direction you all had just come from, his face twisted with confusion, fear and anger. “Where’s the door?!” “Ohhh, god, the door’s gone!” “But we just came through there?!” “It’ll be fine. The dog remembers the scent of the entrance.” Fushiguro reassures you all, and it does help a bit to steel your nerves. Yuji begins to compliment Fushiguro, but he brushes it off and instructs you all to keep moving. He makes a good team lead, even if you are just a rookie little group.

-

You press onward, deeper into the detention centre, looking everywhere for signs of life. It sounded horrible, but you needed to bring back information, even if it was just names of corpses.

The group shuffled out into a more open room, where a tragic sight was about to greet you.

There, sat up against a wall, was a corpse. No- three corpses.

Two of them had been horribly and gruesomely mangled together into a disgusting ball of twisted flesh and bone, which is why you didn’t register it at first. Words couldn’t do the scene justice, it was sickening to even think about.

The first corpse, the less mutilated one, was sat in an upright position. though his legs had been ripped off by something evil. Yuji ran upto them with panic on his face- and he registers exactly who he is looking at.

Tadashi. That woman’s soon. A heavy feeling settles in your stomach as you realise that you are going to have to tell this woman that she can never see her son alive ever again. It is a heartbreaking thing to think about. “We should bring this body back with us. His mother won’t accept that he’s dead without a body.” Yuji motions to pick up the corpse, but Fushiguro stops him, dragging him back by the hood. “We still have to find and verify two more. Leave that behind.” “But we won’t be able to come back for it later!” “I didn’t say to come back for it! I said leave it behind!” Fushiguro snaps, and you can feel the tensions rising. Both sides in this instance have good points, but neither backs down as Fushiguro’s next words cut through the air like ice.

“I will not risk my own life saving someone I had no intention of saving in the first place!” Yuji looks shocked, but says nothing, so the other boy continues.

“This is a juvenile detention centre. Jujutsu sorcerers are granted access to all information about the scene beforehand. This… Tadashi… he hit a little girl on her way home from school while driving without a licence.”

The words hang heavily in the air. You hadn’t read the individual character files, just an overview of the place, but you can’t say you’re surprised. This is basically a prison for those who aren’t old enough to go. “I know you’re stuck on saving people and guiding them to proper deaths. But what are you going to do when someone you saved kills someone else in the future?” Yuji’s face burns with anger, and he finally lashes out.

“Then why did any of you bother saving me!?” Before anything else could come of the argument, Nobara finally interrupts them, yelling at them to cut it out. “God, think about the right time and place if you’re going to-” But she never gets to finish her last sentence, as a mysterious shadow opens up on the floor and she slips away, as if she was never there to begin with.

“Nobara!” You run over to the area, but she’s nowhere to be seen. Then, turning your head, you’re met with yet another gruesome sight.

The demon dog’s head has been crudely detached from its body, and shoved into a crater in the wall. Your stomach churns, and Fushiguro calls out to all of you to run, that you could find your friend later.

Just as you are ready to leg it, a twisted, pale blue figure appears in your peripherals, and you feel your heart sink faster than the titanic.

The cursed spirit is right next to you. 

You’re paralysed with fear, there’s nothing you can do in the presence of such malevolence. It takes every muscle you have to try and step back, but to no avail.

Yuji is the first to make a move, shaking hands grip his sword and swipe, but he yells out as not only did he break his sword, he’d lost his hand. You feel sick. This cannot be happening to you.

What the hell could you do in this situation? Yuji unwraps the belt from his waist, using it as a makeshift tourniquet to slow the bleeding from his… stump. You couldn’t call it a hand because, simply put, there was no hand left to save.

Yuji had a plan, though, as it turned out, and as you take off running in the opposite direction to Fushiguro, Yuji’s words echo in your mind.

He was going to switch out to Sukuna, which is basically the equivalent of nuking a carpet bomb to stop it. Special grade versus special grade, you suppose it’s probably a better idea than you could come up with.

Still, your heart burned as you raced through this labyrinthian building, each turn confusing you even more than the last. You really had no idea where to go, so you stop, panting, straightening up to try and make sense of your surroundings.

‘We came in roughly from a northern direction. Maybe I go-’

That thought would remain ever unfinished, as the wall next to you suddenly bursts open, a massive wave of pure cursed energy breaking through and obliterating everything in its path.

Your body screams out as you’re sent flying back, crushed beneath rubble and burnt by the cursed energy. A large piece of concrete lands on you as the world turns black, and your last memory is someone yelling your name and the cursed energy presence growing infinitely stronger by the second.

Were you dead? No, no you couldn’t be, but even now, trapped in your own mind as your state slips between unconscious and awake, you can’t really tell. Everything hurts, and silence is all you can hear now.

At the same time, Yuji is absolutely traumatised by the sight. He’d just watched the cursed spirit hone in on seemingly a random wall, only to find out it’d been targeting you through the concrete.

It turns back to him, its twisted face pulled into a taunting grin, those claws flexing and relaxing out of pure excitement. That thing really was playing with you all. It got a sick sense of enjoyment out of watching you all suffer, one by one.

Damnit damnit damnit! He’d lost Nobara, he didn’t know where Fushiguro could have gotten to and now you might be dead! There is only one move for him to make now, but he doesn’t know if he has the gaul. 

You were supposed to leave the building before he switched out, Sukuna had promised him that he’d go after Yuji’s friends, one by one. To switch with you in such close quarters, could he risk it? 

He had no choice. The smile on his face slips away, as black markings fade through the skin. Something in the air shifts, and if you’d been awake you’d have been bloody terrified. “What a terrifyingly annoying brat.” Sukuna straight up ignores the other cursed spirit next to him, bringing a hand to his chin as he closes his eyes, deep in thought.

The special grade looks just as terrified as the three of you did when it had appeared right beside you. How the tables turn.

“How can I make him regret this..?” He wonders aloud, and it is then that his gaze lands on your unconscious figure, slumped under rubble in a far corner.

His smile widens as he strides over, not another thought spared towards the spirit that seemed very confused and very afraid. 

With ease he slides the concrete off of you, taking a moment to look down. When he first saw the light of day after Yuji had released him back at his school, he’d clocked a strange font of cursed energy emanating from somewhere nearby, but he’d been too busy fighting Gojo to properly piece where it was coming from.

Now, though, he could see. Even in your state, the energy crashed around you, humming and vibrating as it had nothing to channel itself into. It was like it was multiplying constantly - definitely not your standard run-of-the-mill cursed energy. How could you have so much power, yet be so weak? The thought made him laugh.

Though mostly he was dormant inside of Yuji, he’d kept an eye on what he was up to, including who his classmates were. The three of you intrigued him in different ways, but the most interesting one to Sukuna was you.

There’s just something drawing him in, like a lion catching movement in the savannah. Something that made him want to give chase, to pursue and hunt and find. How peculiar life turns out to be.

He lifts you by the collar, watching your limp limbs fall to your side. Now that would be a way to piss that brat off… He could take this useless special grade and have it attack that other brat, the one with dark hair. And maybe hold you as an item of interest for the time being.

Effortlessly he tosses you over his shoulder like you’re nothing more than a sack of rice, and turns back to the cursed spirit.

“Hey, you, wanna go kill some kids?” The cursed spirit seems to grow angry at being treated like a pet, and Sukuna rolls his eyes as it tries to attack him. He wanted to keep you mostly intact for now, so he’s strategic with his attacks so as to not put you in further harm’s way.

He could always crush you later, he thought.

Sukuna sends the cursed spirit hurtling down into the water far below, and casually makes his way down there to sit with it. The cursed spirit doesn’t seem to be much of a threat in this state, not that he was ever worried about losing to something so weak.

“Hey, did you know we’re both classes as special grades?” The cursed spirit is struggling to get out of the crater, but it manages after a struggle, even using reverse-cursed technique to regrow its limbs.

It looks very pleased with itself after that. “Aw, good job special grade. Want me to praise you? Ah, but healing with reverse cursed technique is far easier for a cursed spirit than a human.” “Neither you, nor this brat, truly understand what curses truly are. But don’t worry- I’ll show you.” He tosses your body to the side, and something crunches as you land on a stray piece of the bridge that had fallen. If Sukuna had been a nicer spirit, he may have felt slightly pitiful towards you.

“Now- Domain expansion; Malevolent Shrine.” The cursed spirit is sliced and diced nine ways to heaven, and Sukuna steps forward gladly retrieving the hidden finger that had been trapped inside of it. No wonder it had been so powerful. “Alright brat, it’s over! You can switch out now.” He calls out, looking around boredly. He fully expected Yuji to swap out with him, but to his utter delight nothing happened. It seemed he had more control than expected.

Sukuna’s gaze once more drops down to your damaged figure, a twisted grin on his features. Oh, he was going to have a lot of fun with this. -

Outside, Fushiguro has managed to get Nobara to Ijichi, who promised to take her to the hospital as soon as possible. The former chooses to stay behind, however, as he wanted to wait for Yuji to come out, alive and well.

Standing in the rain, he looks around uneasily. Something didn’t feel right, and his eyes widened as a pang of major curses energy rushed around and then disappeared completely. ‘The cursed spirit is… dead!’

He had little time to dwell on that fact though, as his worst fears were confirmed at the sight of Sukuna standing before him. His heart sank seeing your lifeless body in his arms, and he wondered what Sukuna could possibly be up to.

You looked dead, truthfully. Dirt and blood covered your form, your uniform was muddy and ripped in several places. Your head hung languidly over one arm, your legs over the other. Sukuna was holding you in what was almost a nice way, although it was clear his intentions were going to be anything but.

“Y/n!” Fushiguro calls out, but there is no response. Sukuna laughs, bringing you closer, a smile on his painted face.

“Don’t worry brat, she’s alive. You have me to thank for that.” He looks down at you, as does Fushiguro, at your pale and lifeless face. He reaches out instinctively, but Sukuna pulls you away before he can reach you.

“Not so fast, brat. It’s your lucky day though! You get to choose which one lives, and which one dies. I’m in a good mood right now.”

He can hardly believe his ears. This is Sukuna’s way of being nice? “...No. I refuse.” He glares at the curse, looking between you and the man holding you. “My patience is wearing thin, brat. Choose or I’ll choose for you. The girl or the brat, c’mon choose already!” He’s almost like a spoiled child, the way he huffs and rolls his eyes. Fushiguro’s heart is racing, he couldn’t possibly choose between his friends.

He wants both of you to live. Yuji was an idiot but he had a heart of gold and a strong resolve. There’s no way he could let him die like this, at the hands of the strongest curse in history.

And you. Oh, you. Someone he never envisioned himself actually caring truly about, but something about your lifeless body made his heart hurt just a bit more than the idea of losing Yuji. It’s not a decision he wants to make, but he’s made up his mind. Could he really choose between the two of you?

“...please. Just put her down.” Sukuna laughs, but for some reason he obliges. With a wry chuckle he tosses you at your classmate, who stumbles to catch you, crouching down with you in his arms. “You’re a fool. I never cared about that girl, just this brat. And now I see where your loyalties lie.”

Fushiguro grits his teeth, holding you with shaking hands. Revealing a weakness like that to an enemy was not the most sensible move ever, but what choice did he have? Yuji could at least try to switch out, but you… you could have been dead.

“I don’t need that one… yet. I have a better idea on how to ruin that brat’s day.” Sukuna reaches up to his chest, claws ready to pierce. Fushiguro has no idea what he’s planning, but it cannot be good.

“I can live without a heart, but that brat? He’ll die if he switches out with me!” And with a sickening wet crunch, his hand delves into his chest, pulling out the most vital organ in the human body. There is nothing either of you could have done as you watch Yuji’s heart go flying onto the wet grass, a gaping wound left in his chest.

“And for good measure,” Sukuna begins, as you just barely stir in Fushiguro’s arms. “this too.” The first thing you see as you wake up is Sukuna consuming yet another finger, before sending an attack straight at the two of you that knocks you right back out once more.

The only thought in your mind is to pray that both of your friends can survive for long enough. You really can’t think about the alternative.

-

Itadori Yuji is dead.

That was one of the first things you’d found out after waking up in the infirmary. Aside from some general wear and tear, the rest of you had somehow survived. The same cannot be said for Sukuna’s vessel. Your injuries were easy enough to fix, and soon enough you were up and about again but that deep, empty feeling wasn’t going away. Fushiguro explained what had happened to you as soon as you were well enough to walk.

You and Nobara listened as your classmate told you how Sukuna had ripped Yuji’s heart right out of his body, and how despite Yuji being strong enough to switch back, even he couldn’t survive in those conditions.

And now here you all are, sat on the steps together in silence. Nobara idly comments something about how she isn’t the type of girl to cry over someone she’d just met, but you see her lip begin to tremble out of the corner of your eye.

If you were a better person, you may have said something reassuring, but as things were you didn’t know what you could possibly say. You just rest your head in your hands, thinking about what could have been.

The brooding silence is broken only by the sound of boots on the concrete, and an older girl appears before you, carrying what looks like a weapon. “What’s this? You’re looking more glum than usual, Megumi.” She calls out, an unimpressed look on her face.

“Is this a wake?”

You almost laughed. Talk about hitting the nail on the head. “Zen’in.” Fushiguro greets her. “Don’t call me by my last name!” She yells, and you hear a few voices from behind a statue. Somehow, this is just enough to distract you from wallowing for a few minutes, as you ogle the… panda? That is talking to the girl in front of her.

“Psst! Maki! Maki!” Panda calls out, a reproachful look on his face. “You really don’t know why they’re down? Someone really did die yesterday- one of the first year boys!” At that, Maki’s face twisted with rage and embarrassment, drawing a very small chuckle from you. Poor girl. She really must not have known. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?! Now I look like some heartless demon!” She berates her classmates for not telling her such an important fact, and you’re a bit confused at the answers that one of them is giving.

‘Why… is he talking about fish?’ “Um… who are those guys?” Nobara asks with an unimpressed face, and Fushiguro answers with an equal lack of enthusiasm.

“Our second year upperclassmen.” And one by one, he introduces them.

“Zen’in is the best of all the students at wielding cursed tools.” He starts with the girl who had approached you all first. “That’s the cursed speech user, Inumaki. He can only speak in rice ball ingredients.” Well, that answered that question for you at least.

“That one’s Panda. And there’s one more, Yuta, the only one I openly respect. He’s away at the minute though.” You give him a funny look.

“Not gonna tell us anymore about the panda named panda?” Nobara speaks your exact thoughts like she had read your mind, but evidently you weren’t getting any further elaboration. 

You hold back a sniffle. These people seem nice. Yuji would surely have liked to meet them.

“We’re really sorry to bother you during a time of mourning, but the truth is we approached you about the Kyoto sister school exchange event.” Panda says, bringing his hands (or paws maybe) together as a sign of respect.

“What’s that?” You ask. It sounded interesting, and might be just what the three of you need right now. Something to take your mind off of the recent death of your classmate. As harsh as it was, Yuji wouldn’t have wanted you to lay around and mope. This could be good for you- all of you.

A bit more is explained about the event, as it would turn out you’d be fighting other jujutsu sorcerers from the other school. Normally it’s more about the second and third years, but apparently the third years from your school are all suspended right now. 

Nobody volunteers the information as to why they were suspended though.

“So, we’re here to offer to train you up in time for the event.” Panda excitedly announces. Some training would do you some good, you’d barely been able to do anything the last two times you’d faced battle.  If you were truly a part of this life now, maybe you needed to start taking it a bit more seriously. ‘I need to do anything I can to get stronger…’

“Alright. Count us in.” - thanks for reading :D sorry it took me so long to upload last time. here's a super quick upload to make up for it. also, this part of the story is gonna seem very megumi-centric i promise it's not on purpose but we're almost onto the next phase dont worry fans of everyone else! chapter six will be out in the next few days, already halfway done!

Training with the second years was the right move, as luck would have it. So far, you have mostly been training with Maki, as she also uses cursed weapons, just like you.

Maki was a strong-spirited girl with a ‘take no shit, give no shits’ attitude. Headstrong and fierce, she was exactly the kind of role model you needed right now. And she wasn’t all rage and rudeness, she was nice enough to you in her own ways.

This mostly included critiquing your form and commenting ‘not bad’ when you actually managed to land blows. You’d thought about training with either of the other two, Inumaki had been the first to offer actually, but Maki butted in saying she would make a better mentor for you.

You promised Inumaki that you would train with him soon though, as he would be able to challenge you in ways that Maki couldn’t. Panda had offered a bit as well, but felt he was less suited to someone like you. He and Inumaki trained with Fushiguro and Nobara in turn, the three of you growing stronger day by day.

Today you were running generic errands around the campus. Nothing exciting really, and you find yourself in front of a few vending machines in one of the various buildings scattered around. “These options suck.” Nobara complains, punching in a number.

“We were hoping to find you first years today. Guess my intuition was right to look for you here.” A smooth, silky woman’s voice cuts through the air, getting the three of you to turn in sync.

“What are you doing here, Zen’in?” Fushiguro asks with some curiosity in his tone. The girl he is addressing must be a relative of Maki then, if they have the same last name. Cousin? Sister, perhaps?

They were very similar looking, although this girl had a much different air about her. 

“Don’t call me that, Fushiguro, you make me sound like her. Call me Mai.” She purs with a wink, and you inwardly cringe. There’s something sly about this girl. You don’t like her.

Mai isn’t alone, at a guess the boy standing next to her is also from the sister school. He’s positively huge, in stature and physique. Could’ve been carved from marble for all you know.

“So, these are the pinch hitters filling in for Okkotsu and the third years?” He asks, a stern look on his face. You’re not quite sure what vibes you’re getting from this guy, but he’s definitely intimidating enough.

Mai speaks next. “We came here with the principal because we were worried about you. Your classmate died, right?” Is she… trying to be nice? No, there’s some ulterior motive here, you’re sure of it.

“Was that rough? Or,” She tilts her head innocently. “Did you think nothing of it?”

At those words, you visibly see your classmates stiffen. They’re definitely thinking the same thing as you now. This girl is trouble.

“What are you trying to say?”

“It’s okay! Some things are hard to say outloud, so I’ll say it for you; calling him a vessel was just a polite way of calling him what he truly was. A disgusting halfbreed, half human, half curse. Having such a vile creature besides you brazenly calling himself a jujutsu sorcerer must have made you sick. Aren’t you feeling better now that he’s dead?”

You can’t take this, your hand shaking as you clutch the handle of your little sword in rage. 

“Don’t talk about him like that.” You spit, trying not to lose your cool. Mai only tilts her head at you, feigning innocence. Nobara is practically vibrating with rage, but her hand on your shoulder is enough to keep you grounded.

“Ah, don’t talk about such pointless topics Mai.” The boy next to her speaks up before tensions can rise any further, and he steps forwards towards the three of you.

“I’m only here to see if these guys are worthy to replace Okkotsu. Fushiguro was it?” 

The next words from Todo were probably the last thing you expected a jujutsu sorcerer to ask a future opponent.

“What kind of woman is your type?!”

Your mouth opens, and then closes again, as you realise you have no idea what to say about why this guy is asking such a question. Your classmates look equally as confused.

“Depending on your answer, I’ll beat you half to death right here- by the way,” He rips off his shirt (you’re beyond questioning this guy now) and readies himself into a fighting stance. “My type is a tall woman with a big ass!”

“Why do I have to talk about my type in women with a guy I just met?”

“He’s right. That’s a tall hurdle for an antisocial guy.” Nobara unhelpfully affirms. 

“You be quiet.” He snaps in return. “This is confusing enough already. You’ll just make it more complicated.” 

“Kyoto student, Todo Aoi. There. Introduction over. Now we’re friends. Hurry up and answer, if you prefer men that’s fine too.” Wow, we love an inclusive king. Just what is this guy playing at? He really wanted to know?

Todo goes on to explain some questionable stuff about people’s fetishes linking back to their personalities, and you really wish you could be anywhere else as he describes some straight bullshit. It probably makes sense to him.

“Now come on! Answer the question!”

Fushiguro takes a small glance back at both you and Nobara. You can tell what he’s thinking. She’s unarmed and you’re not exactly a first class fighter. He wants to avoid confrontation.

“I don’t have a particular preference. As long as she has unshakeable character,” You do a double-take as you see his eyes drift over to you for just a second. “That’s enough for me.”

What a sweet answer. You weren’t really sure what you were expecting, but why… Why did he look at you of all people when he spoke? “Not a bad answer! If you’d have said something like ‘big boobs’ I would have killed you.” Nobara chimes in, in a very matter-of-fact tone, which makes you chuckle.

“It was a nice response.” You send a reassuring smile his way. Would that answer have been enough to appease Todo?

“I knew it…” Todo’s face falls as a single tear rolls down his cheek.

“You’re boring, Fushiguro.” 

Bamn. He launched at your classmate with frightening power, leaving him barely any time to at least try and block. 

“Fushiguro!” You and Nobara both call out, and you make a dash for him. Nobara isn’t so lucky, as Mai wraps herself around the shorter girl, all the while making mocking remarks about your classmate.

Fushiguro is sent flying across the courtyard, as Todo slowly walks towards him. You draw your little sword as you run, stopping just as he pulls himself to his knees. 

You rest a hand on his shoulder as he glances up at you for a moment before turning back to Todo. Said third year is currently monologuing about how he had hoped for an interesting rival, but everyone is the same. 

“Do you have fruit for brains? You can’t determine who he is with a question like that!” You call out, but Todo doesn’t really take any notice.

“I’ve heard you don’t use cursed techniques.” Fushiguro states, hopping up to stand level (as level as you can be to a person who is a foot taller than you, anyway) with Todo.

“Hm? Oh, that rumor's false. I only used them against the special-grade.” Fushiguro must know something you don’t, as his expression twists at that. A face like that cannot mean good news though.

“Really? That’s good to know.” He forms a shape with his hands, and you realise what he’s doing. A small army of winged frogs appears around you, he must have a plan in mind. “Y/n, leave.”

You side-eye him. “I’m not letting this meat head kill you. Let me try.” He shrugs, and the two of you ready a stance. 

“You’re really going to involve your classmate in your personal battles? Weak, shallow and cowardly. You disappoint me, Fushiguro.” 

Before you can even process the words, Todo has the one-up over you, and it seems he plans on eliminating you cleanly to focus better on your friend. Lightning fast movements are all you see before you feel the front of your uniform bunched up, and you are tossed god knows where at mach speed.

The ground explodes around you, rubble and concrete rain down as your vision turns white. There’s a delightfully high pitched ringing in your ears, and pain washes over you. If this was what he had planned for you, then god help Fushiguro.

With a groan you clamber back to your feet just in time to see Todo having tossed your friend into a wooden building, and all you can think to do is run after them to make sure no-one dies.

You rush towards them, and the only thing you can think to do is throw your sword as hard as you can at Todo to get his attention away from Fushiguro. He whips around, clearly frustrated, and slams down on the concrete.

This creates a shockwave that sprawls through the ground, taking you down once more. Before you can quite get to your feet, a powerful sensation washes over you as you are frozen in place.

“Don’t move.”

 Todo and Fushiguro have stopped moving too, and you realise as someone steps into view that Inumaki has used his cursed technique on you all to stop you in your tracks. Thank the heavens.

Panda jumps in to yell and scold Todo, who has decided it was time for him to go home. As you were the closest to him, Inumaki offers you a hand to help you up, which you take with a pained groan. 

“That guy sucks.. fucking hell, Fushiguro!” Your complaining is cut short at the sight of your friend on the floor. He hasn’t stood up yet and you let go of Inumaki’s hand to stumble over to the other boy, crouching down besides him.

“What the hell is that guy’s problem..?!” The whole top half of his face is covered in blood, and despite warning from Panda you pull your sleeve over your hand to gently wipe some off, being careful not to agitate his wounds further.

“I’m fine.” He mutters stoically, and you know better than to push. You’re not that close yet, as much as he doesn’t seem to mind your company you don’t want to scare him away.

You’re just settling into this life, it’d suck if you pushed your first friend away by giving him bad signals.

Panda pats you on the head and you both stand up, although for Fushiguro it isn’t without effort. “I should take you to Shoko. You two should go on ahead, I’ll take care of this stray.”

“But what about Nobara, shouldn’t we-” Panda laughs, and you almost feel insulted.

“Mustard leaf.” Inumaki echoes you, and you raise an eyebrow.

“Maki is with her. She’ll be fine. Now go on, get out of here you two. Maybe change your clothes, Y/n, you’re covered in rubble.” You look down and sure enough, your tracksuit is in pretty rough shape. No major damage or holes, but it’s filthy. 

“Ah, good call. Uh, Inumaki, wanna come with?”

“Salmon.”

-

After a short walk in mostly silence, you arrive at the dorm building, and step forward into your room. Inumaki follows as you invite him and you sigh.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be rude. I just wish I understood what you were saying. I feel a bit lost, yaknow?” Inumaki shoots you a sympathetic look, and once you turn your back to dig through your drawers he discretely pick up a pad and pencil from your desk.

“I’m just gonna change in here, be out in a min.” You inform him and step into the bathroom to change into a better tracksuit. The other one lands in the washing basket with a splat, accepting its fate of being left there for a week.

Once you come out, looking much better in clean clothes, Inumaki hands you a piece of paper. It’s a drawing of… Shoko? In the infirmary? Is he trying to drop a hint or what?

“You…. want to go see Shoko?”

This feels unnecessarily awkward, and part of you wonders why he wasn’t just writing what he thought on the paper, and then it dawned on you that that way of thinking was pretty damn insensitive. 

He shakes his head and gestures towards you, which makes you look down at yourself for a moment before the realisation hits you. “Oh, you think I should go and see Shoko.”

“Mustard leaf." You’re a bit lost with that one but that’s okay. You get the idea that he means well. Come to think of it, he’d seemed vaguely attached to you this past week whilst you’d been training with Maki, and if you put two and two together ‘mustard leaf’ must’ve meant something along the lines of showing concern.

How sweet.

You motion for him to follow you out of the room and together you walk in a stale silence, not really knowing where to take the conversation from here.

“Those kyoto students are kinda weird, aren’t they?” You settle for gossip, it’s never failed you in the past.

When you worked at the cafe, the best way you found to talk to customers was to drop a tiny bit of gossip, and it hooked most people in like a charm. And you couldn’t deny it, even you liked a bit of a rumor here and there. 

“Bonito flakes.” He mutters, distaste evident in his tone. Intonation was going to be your friend here, to really be able to hold a conversation with the cursed speech user. It was pretty easy to infer what he meant as you continued chatting about the kyoto students.

“-and not to be rude, but why did he rip his shirt off?? Looked like he was trying to make himself Fushiguro’s type.” Inumaki laughs, and you immediately decide you liked the sound. He reminded you a lot of an old friend you once had at the cafe, making you think of a simpler time.

You really missed that old life.

“Hello, Y/n, I figured you’d be stopping by.” Shoko greets the two of you tiredly, making no effort to hide her boredness. There’s something strange in her eyes as she looks down at you for a moment though, something you can’t quite describe.

“Uh, everything okay?” She raises an eyebrow, and turns back to her desk. 

“Yeah, fine. I’m just tired, god knows why so many of you get into fights all the time. Makes my life so much harder…” She whittles off into absent chitchat and you decide to just drop it. Didn’t really matter anyway.

After bidding thanks to Shoko, you take Inumaki and leave, wondering if he’d want to part ways with you now or not. Not that it mattered to you, some alone time would have been appreciated.

Inumaki seems to want to stick with you though, as he tugs gently on your sleeve whilst pointing outside. “Is this the part where you force me to finally train with you?” You side-eye him with a sigh, and he nods with an enthusiastic glimmer in his eye.

“Fine, I guess I have nothing better to do today.” You follow him outside to one of the fields, taking in the lovely view of the sky as you did. The sun was just beginning to go down, casting rays of gold and orange light as far as the eye could see. 

Summer really was on its way now, you think, turning your attention back to Inumaki. He’s too busy looking at the sunset to notice your gaze. It’s probably for the best, you didn’t want to look like any more of a weirdo than you already did.

The two of you began sparring for a little bit, mostly focusing on physical form and movement rather than technique. You could save that for the next day when you weren’t so tired.

“You want to make this interesting?” You call out after a few rounds, and he tilted his head slightly, lowering his guard.

“Next round - no holds barred. Cursed techniques are on the table, but only once. So you gotta choose your moment carefully, okay?” He nods, a mischievous glint in his eye. You;ve clearly interested him with your proposal.

He stops you though to take out that notepad from earlier, and on it he writes a single word.

‘Prize?’

“Huh, winner gets a prize? Alright, I’ll try and think of something. You should too, although it’s unlikely I’ll lose.” Sometimes it’s fun to be an arrogant prick, not that you actually thought you had a chance against Inunaki, but there was something refreshing about messing around with a friend.

He nods to signify that he’s thought of something and you begin once more. From inside, Maki and Nobara are watching the two of you with amusement. 

Maki hoped you’d get along with the other second years, out of the first years you’d definitely seemed the most affected by the death of Yuji. To see you happy warmed her heart, not that she’d admit that to you just yet.

Nobara on the other hand was pissed, why were you having such a good time with someone other than her? And a boy no less… was she not good enough for you? Ah, but you looked so happy as you dodged and attacked with full force, who was she to interrupt? She’d just have to steal you away tomorrow.

Back to the playing field, and it wasn’t clear who was currently winning. Inumaki wasn’t much of a full on fighter, much better at avoiding your attacks rather than countering them. You were strong but your precision was still a bit off, although it was clear that your cursed energy was growing day by day.

You furrowed your brow, taking a moment to look for an opening. You hadn’t actually thought of anything if you did win, but the bragging rights were enough for you. At this point in time you’d resorted to using your small sword but still in its sheath, so it wouldn’t do any actual harm.

Lady luck was definitely on your side as opportunity arose, in an attempt to evade one of your attacks Inumaki had left a perfect gap to throw the sheath down as a distraction, and you hooked your leg around his to send him sprawling in the grass.

You crouched down beside him with a very cheerful expression, offering him a hand to get back up. “Looks like I win, hm?” 

“Salmon…” He muttered, his gaze lowered, and for a moment you believed that you’d actually gone too far and hurt your upperclassman. You had no time to react as he launched himself at you though, and this time you would find yourself in the grass.

The grass was dry and prickly, but all you could focus on was those piercing violet eyes that were fixed intently on your own. Your mouth opened but no sound came out, had he been holding back this whole time?

And then you finally got to see the one thing that you’d been thinking about since you’d met. Inumaki reached up and undid the fastening on his collar, letting it fall down as he spoke.

“Stay down.”

An overwhelming power crashed over you, not at all dissimilar to the one you’d felt when he’d stopped the fight between Todo and Fushiguro earlier, but unlike then you could see all of his pretty face.

You understood now why he kept it covered - those markings on his cheeks were a dead giveaway of what his abilities were. Definitely a sight you’d like to see again, not that you’d ever tell him that outright.

On the flip side, Inumaki is positively beaming internally. He really was very fond of you, but wasn’t entirely sure if you’d feel the same. As well as the other second years, he’d noticed you before but wasn’t sure when would be the right time to introduce himself.

And now he was mere inches away from you, one hand still on his collar, the other holding your arm in place as you struggled to break away from his cursed technique. 

All good things must come to an end though, as it wore off in time and you half-heartedly rolled your eyes at him. Inumaki stood up after doing up his collar and offered you a hand, which you took after some slight hesitation.

There was no doubt your face was a delightful shade of red, and your eyes struggled to meet his. “That was playing dirty…” You complain, and he gave you an indignant nudge.

“Bonito flakes!” The sun had almost completely set by this point, so you fell into pace with him as you made your way back to the dorm rooms.

“Yeah yeah, whatever. I guess I still owe you a prize though, any ideas what you want? I’m broke as hell though so if lunch is on me then you’ll have to wait ‘til next week.” 

The walk back to your dorm was quicker than you’d have liked, and you hovered at your doorway for his answer. He thought for a minute before pulling something out of his pocket. You mistook it for the notepad at first, but then realised it was his phone.

He pushed the device into your hands, and it was already on the ‘new contact’ screen. Crafty bastard. 

“Wow, bit forward, no? You might give me the wrong idea.” You chuckle but save yourself in his phone anyway, handing it back to him. You didn’t miss the way his hands stayed on yours for just a moment too long, although you pretended not to notice.

“We can pick back up tomorrow, goodnight for now.” And with one last smile, you slipped into your room, closing the door with a gentle thud. Finally alone, you could breathe normally for once, feeling the tension in your shoulders finally melt away.

As much as you want to deny it, you couldn’t deny the way your heart fluttered just a little bit too much thinking about how intense that had all been. Inumaki really was a shameless flirt, huh?

You try not to pay it any mind as you change into some light pyjamas, flopping into your bed to scroll through some crappy videos, trying to take your mind off of it all. 

-

Just a few feet outside of your door, Inumaki very happily pocketed his phone, planning on heading back to his own dorm, when a voice cut through the peaceful silence sharply.

“Inumaki, what are you doing here this late?” He turns to see Fushiguro frowning at him from his own doorway. Great. 

Inumaki didn’t hate Fushiguro, but both would be lying if either said that they respected the other. Fushiguro had always been too uptight for Inumaki, although at least they had common ground when it came to respecting Yuta. 

“Bonito flakes.” He said, dismissively, evidently not in the mood to converse with the gloomier boy, but Fushiguro had other plans.

“Hey- you were with Y/n, right?” He puts a hand on his shoulder, although it is immediately shaken off by Inumaki, who turns to stare at him with a mixture of confusion and distaste. 

‘So what if I was? Why do you care?’ He thought irately, but all that he could say was “Salmon.” Sometimes, his cursed speech was very annoying.

Fushiguro’s frown deepened. “I don’t know what the hell you’re playing at, but I saw the two of you out there. She is in mourning, have some respect for god’s sake. I’ve got my eye on you.” 

Whilst Fushiguro could be angry at you for messing around whilst the death of your best friend was so recent, the logical part of his brain simply refused to make that connection, chalking it up to you needing a distraction. The three of you first years had also resolved to get stronger together as well, so he understood why you’d want to train so much.

Inumaki just rolled his eyes and turned away, very much not in the mood for a conversation like that. If Fushiguro was jealous, well, he didn’t give a shit quite frankly. It was his business, this was between you and him, not Fushiguro. He needed to mind his own business.

The younger boy let him go, watching his figure recede until he was out of view. He had half a mind to check on you, but he’d settle that score tomorrow. You probably needed to sleep for the time being. Still…

Once he was back in his room, he spotted his phone on his desk, and he couldn’t help himself. 

-

You were just on the cusp of falling asleep when your phone buzzed a few times, indicating that somebody had messaged you. In your groggy state you fumbled to grab it from the nightstand, and you were surprised to see Fushiguro’s name off all people.

There was another text from someone else too, but you were already opening the one from your classmate.

<[are you alright? i saw you training with inumaki earlier] It read. You roll your eyes, did you seem that weak to him? You must do, after all he had taken far worse hits than you had and still come out better than you.

[i’m cool, i totally wiped the floor with him.]> [anwyays you should be resting after the whole todo thing earlier :p]> You send two messages in return before switching to the other message. It was from an unsaved contact, but piecing it together you realise it was just Inumaki wishing you a goodnight. You’d save his contact in the morning, you can already feel your eyes trying to shut on you.

Tossing your phone back on the nightstand, you close your eyes and fall back asleep straight away. Your phone buzzes again, but you were already sound asleep, so you wouldn’t read any until tomorrow.

Today was good. You hoped you could have more days like today.

-

oh yeah three uploads in three days i'm a writing machine bro. anyways it's 30 fucking degrees where i am which is far too hot for me so i'm making it summertime in the fic hashtag projection.

next chapter will have some conflict oOoOo how scary, uhh anyway sorry the texting is a bit janky it was the easiest thing for me to do at the time.

-

The following day was a Saturday, which meant you didn't need to be as focused on training. You'd probably find Maki or someone later to do so, but you had been meaning to go into town for a while now anyway.

And so, at the ungodly hour of 5:48AM you're showered, dressed, and already heading outside to get a head start on the day. You don't really know why you're up so early, but as Socrates once said 'the early bird is miserable but occasionally productive' so you'd take the opportunity to get something done.

The air is just cool enough as you walk down the stairs, although you're sure that as the day went on it'd become unbearable. Summer was such a pretty season, why did it have to ruin everything by being unbearably warm?

-

Here you are, the train station. A long time ago you used to pass through this station to go to middle school. You felt old just thinking about it. You choose not to sit down, instead using one of the hanging hand-holds. At 14 you hadn't been tall enough to reach them, so this was like a full circle moment for you.

You chide yourself for having the most boring thoughts on earth, and shift your weight from one foot to another. Which stop did you need again?

Casting your mind back to the last time you were in the city, you recall that it was the stop after the next, so you happily waited until the train arrived a few stations over.

You stepped out, feeling the sun already beginning to attack you, and look around. You frown, the station looks different to the one you were thinking of before.

You see a nearby station attendant, a young woman with a nervous smile on her face, and approach her directly.

"Uh, hi there. Is this Shinegawa station?" She gives you an apologetic smile and shakes her head.

"I'm afraid not, this is Shinjuku. They're often mixed up, but you should be able to catch the next train- it's the next station over." You smile and shake your head.

"No that's alright, it wouldn't hurt to look around a new place. Thanks for the help though." She bows her head politely and you move away, picking a random direction to go. Catching the train back wouldn't be too hard, so you decided to take advantage of the opportunity.

When in Rome, right?

Maybe this would be exactly what you'd needed. A fresh day out to shake off the cobwebs and just... be yourself for a bit. No curses, no sorcery, no questionable relationships with your peers, just you and the money in your wallet. Not that there was that much of it...

Most things were just starting to open around this time, so you decided to weave through a local outdoor market as not to be rude. At the café, you'd always disliked when people had come in right as you opened.

It's not wrong to go into a shop as soon as it opens but boy does it feel rude. Anyway, moving on from your mundane thoughts, you weaved a path for yourself through the market, which seemed to be full of antiques and oddities.

One stall in particular caught your eye, draped satins and beautiful linens rolled across the table as a man sat on a cushion in the corner, working on one of the gorgeous garments.

"Ah, hello there."

You look over, not expecting him to take notice of you, and give a polite, sort of awkward wave. "Hiya."

You can't really see his face as his head is craned down to look at the fabric in his hands. He appears to be stitching some sort of ornamental bird onto a stretch of fabric. The way he moves his nimble fingers has you mesmerized for a moment, before you remember that it's rude to stare.

"Are you looking for anything in particular today, or just browsing?" He asks, not looking up, and you shake your head, passively admiring his handiwork.

"Just having a look. Do you make all of these yourself?"

The man laughs. It's a smooth sound but for some reason it fills you with unease. It didn't sound friendly, despite the situation.

Strange.

"Actually, I... obtained this stall not long ago. These are mostly the old tailor's work. But do feel free to try anything you like."

You force a smile, inching away from the stall.

"That's kind, but I really don't think it's in my budget today. Have a good day, sir." With a small bow of politeness, you turn as fast as you possibly can without looking like a maniac and stride past several stalls, only stopping once you were safely out of view of that clothing stall.

God, that was really weird. The aura that guy gave off was just... wrong. And yet nothing about him seemed out of place! Long dark hair, not unusual for this part of Japan. Traditional garb- he was selling the same style of clothing he was wearing, that made sense. And yet...

It was just a bad vibe overall, and you'd learnt to trust your gut after all these years of making your own way in the world.

The man smiled as he watched your figure disappear through the market, doing your best not to seem alarmed in any way.

"Hanami," he calls out to a figure residing just behind the changing screen in the corner. "She's here. Stay close, okay?"

".oteG ,seY." - The rest of the market was pretty normal, no more creepy vendors, and before you knew it you'd spent a good few hours browsing the various stalls.

You even managed to pick up a few trinkets for those back at the college, some jewellery for Nobara, a new stationary set for Fushiguro, some sweets for Gojo (not that he deserved anything) and a few other bits for the second years too.

All in all, not a bad haul. Maybe you didn't even need to head into the main shopping strip, this market had pretty much everything you were looking for.

Counting your gifts, a sudden pang of emotion struck your heart as you realised something rather upsetting; there was an extra gift in your bag.

Oh.

You had bought something for Yuji without even thinking twice. Some stupid themed sunglasses, something bright and gaudy.

Biting back a sniff, you shove them back in your bag and head towards a quieter area. Away from the bustling crowds and noisy vendors, you follow the calmer paths until you found a scenic little park.

It was quite picturesque- lush grass, bubbling fountain. You couldn't help but relax, swinging yourself onto a bench and leaning back, just taking it all in. Such a peaceful area, and those flowers were so beautiful too.

It was bliss. Unfortunately for you, some things are just too good to be true.

One minute, you were absolutely living the good life on a park bench without a care in the world. The next, the world span around you as a powerful blow sends you a good fifty metres across the field, landing you in a pile of grass and pain.

Your mind races as you roll onto your back, groaning from the impact.

'A cursed spirit?! But how could it sneak up on me so easily...?'

Smacking the side of your head as you jump to your feet, you curse yourself for getting so complacent. That relaxing feeling must have been a side effect from the cursed spirit somehow, but where...?

There. Amongst the trees. Tall, pale and vaguely humanoid, this cursed spirit looked eerily similar to the one from the juvenile detention centre. Could it be the same one? No, that was impossible.

This one feels stronger, you thought, gripping your blade in a battle-ready stance.

"I expected more. You are easily distracted." They called out, in a soft-spoken tone that didn't match their appearance at all. Not that you liked their appearance- it was a frightening sight. Something that powerful in the middle of a city full of citizens?

This was bad.

But before you could call any backup, they were attacking once more. With a punch so hard you saw stars, you landed crudely against the statue of the fountain, crumbling it to rubble and landing in a pile of dust and water.

You cough and groan, pain seeping through your shoulder, but you force yourself to get back up. Close quarters weren't going to work here, you'd need to try something new. 

Adapt, or whatever. One idea comes to your head, something you'd been working on for the past few weeks with Panda, actually, when you weren't sparring with Maki.

Taking a deep breath, you focus. Your mind is calm. Your energy flows as you command it. The cursed spirit rushes towards you, and you allow it, drawing your fist back as they closed in.

CRUNCH

A sickening snap is heard as the cursed energy around your fist solidifies into a pure burning, vicious force that cannot be broken. You are in charge here. You need to keep your mind clear and your techniques sharp to get out of here alive.

The cursed spirit staggers back, clutching one of its eye stalks that you had managed to snap off entirely, and lets out a low chuckle.

"Not bad. Not bad at all. But not enough."

Hanami bursts forward, a clawed hand ready to strike and you slide under, jumping up as their back is turned and plunging your sword into whatever you can reach. They scream out and thrash you off, sending you back a good several yards.

Damn, you thought, barely scratched 'em. Alright, time to play dirty, and you do a 180, turning on your tail and making a dash for the nearby trees. This needs to end, now, as you know you can't win alone.

You let your cursed energy surround you, growing with every frantic step, Hanami hot on your heels as you race through the undergrowth. Fuck fuck fuck they're gaining on you, you urge your legs to carry you even faster than before.

Based on their appearance, this forested area is their natural habitat- you'll only be at a disadvantage if you stay.

Almost there... come on, just a little further.

You run until your lungs want to give out, and then you run some more, using the forest to put as much distance between you and the spirit. This area would have to do though, as you open out to the bank of an old river.

The river had long since gone, leaving you a nice ditch to work with. The overhead bridge is just about visible from where you stand, and you see there are no civilians on it at this moment. This was going to be your only shot.

Hanami is not far away now, so you gather all of your cursed energy at your core, letting it simmer and boil beneath your skin, allowing your thoughts to leave you and your mind to clear.

Wait for it... wait for it...

NOW!

As Hanami jumps at you, as you'd anticipated, you release all of the cursed energy back onto itself in a single instant, creating a blinding white flash of golden blinding light and an immense heat and force. It was like a tiny dying star, and your head hits the grass bank with a dull thud as your hearing completely shuts off.

It was part of your cursed technique, you'd found out as you explored your abilities with your peers and teacher a while ago. Working alongside Maki and Panda, you'd discovered that this abundance of cursed energy could be channelled and refined into something.. more.

Something powerful. By concentrating it and forcing it into place, it got volatile, unstable and then channelled at something- or in this case, someone. 

The world feels like it's in slow motion, as your vision whites-out and the sound cuts out. The only indication you have that Hanami has retreated is that you're not dead. Judging by the high-pitched ringing in your ears, your plan had worked, but perhaps a little too well.

Your eyes want to close. The air is cooler now, but the ringing doesn't stop. As you flutter them shut though, you see a lone figure racing across the bridge, and they're running fast.

How funny. That pink hair looked so familiar. Come to think of it, so did those red shoes...

-

A cool breeze is all it takes to wake you up a few hours later, and a glance at the sky confirms that more time had passed than you'd have liked.

Shit. Your train was at 5:45, and it was just approaching, maybe 5 now? You'd intended to be back at around 4 as not to worry anyone, but in your defence being attacked by a cursed spirit wasn't in your agenda.

You checked your phone, but it must have been damaged during the fight because the screen is shattered and it won't turn on. Bastard.

The trek back through the little forest area wasn't too bad, and by some miracle your bag had actually been left untouched on the bench. You would have laughed at the stupid juxtaposition between your state and the bag, but your ribs were already hurting.

Laughing would probably just make the pain worse.

As you limped back to the train station, you tried to assess the damage to yourself based on what hurt and what didn't.

Your shoulder was definitely some sort of broken, maybe your collarbone and a few ribs. Nothing below the waist was too bad, although you might have a splitting headache for a few days.

Back at the station, the same woman from earlier went to greet you, although from her reaction you imagined you looked pretty rough.

"Ah... are you... alright?" She asked, the forced politeness slipping away for genuine concern. You just shrugged and mumbled something about being mugged before shuffling onto the train, finding an empty seat under a window.

As the train filled up more and more, you took notice that no-one sat next to you, which made you inwardly smile. Funnily enough you wouldn't mind that normally, but at that moment in time you felt like a right beaten-up freak.

The train finally starts moving, and the first tunnel is when you catch the first glimpse of yourself in the mirror.

Shit... You looked bad. Really bad. There was dirt and blood covering one side of your face, and the rest of you was dishevelled and filthy. You were really hoping no-one saw you sneaking back into the college, as the lectures you'd get would be unbearable.

As the train chunters along, something nags in your mind, something you saw just before you had a lovely nap on a grass verge, something strangely familiar.

It took a moment to place it, but as you idly look around the train, at eyes that refuse to meet yours, everything finally clicks into place, and a crease forms in your brow as the dots begin to line up.

'That boy...'

You ignore the glances the other passengers give you as you slump back in the seat, shoving your hands in your pockets. Today was...

Pretty shit, to put it bluntly. Being attacked like that in broad daylight can not have been a coincidence. That cursed spirit, you hadn't caught it's name but you'd definitely be able to describe it back to your teacher. 

What would you say though?

'Hey guys, sorry I'm late, I went shopping and a cursed spirit tried to kill me. My bad. What's for dinner?'

Yeah no that wouldn't really fly. The train crawls to a stop as you stand, staggering a little and pushing past the crowd to get out of the station.

You make it no further than the main entrance as your eyes land on a very familiar figure, Gojo's snow white hair and height set him aside in any crowd. A grimace etches itself on your face- you'd have a lot of explaining to do.

As you approach, he offers you a smile but it lacks warmth. His expression is as grim as your own, but you didn't know where to begin. You swallow nervously and look to the side, rubbing the back of your neck.

"Sooo..." You draw the word out, almost sarcastically. Now probably wasn't the time for jokes, but you really had no idea what else to say.

"So," Gojo echoes, gesturing towards the car behind him. "nice of you to finally show up." You slip into the backseat on the passenger side, as he sits behind the driver. You don't need to look to know that it's probably Ijichi.

The car pulls off and silence fills the air. Where to begin?

"If it helps, I wasn't planning on staying out this late..?" You offer, finally looking over at your mentor for the first time. You can't read his expression, concern, anger, something else?

"Yeah I gathered that." He chuckles lightly. "I want to know what happened, Y/n. We felt your cursed energy from the station. If you'd have been any later I'd have been out there looking for you myself. We thought--" 

He cuts himself off, his voice unusually terse and he sighs, running a hand through his hair out of habit.

"Thought something had happened. But you're here now, and that's the important part. Come on, you can tell me more inside." You glance out the window, the drive to the station had been very brief. 

You just follow Gojo out of the car, and up the steps to the college, as quietly as you can. It had been a long day.

-

Shoko's tired eyes landed on you as you entered the infirmary, closely followed by Gojo, and she just sighed. "I'm not even gonna ask. Sit." She gestured to a sterile bed and you hopped up, still silent.

Her reversed cursed technique felt good after all you'd been through, and you let your shoulders drop as relief washed over you for the first time in hours.

After a few minutes of this, she stops, seemingly satisfied with your state. "Hang on, I'll be back in a minute." She leaves the room after that, probably grabbing some sort of wrap for your head. It had been hit pretty bad after all.

Gojo settles down next to you, too tall really for the seat but he doesn't seem to mind. He turns to you, and you know it's finally time to start talking. 

"...got attacked by a cursed spirit." You mumbled, messing with the hem of your jacket. The more you fiddled, the more the threads unravelled but you didn't mind. It had been old anyway.

"Special grade I think. Like the one in the detention centre, but.. stronger. More plantlike." You further explained, causing Gojo's frown to deepen. You get the impression he might know more about this spirit than you'd originally thought.

"This can't be a coincidence. First, the attack on the way, now this." He seems deep in thought, and you get the picture pretty clearly.

Something is trying to pick you off one-by-one. You didn't understand though, why you? Going after the strongest sorcerer is a no-brainer, like, he's Mr. Sorcerer. Of course the cursed spirits would want him off the map.

But you??? What did they want, your subpar food serving abilities?? 

But there's a bigger question on your mind. Something that had been nagging at your mind for a while now, actually. You'd thought about it in the car earlier but there had been no great time to mention it.

Gojo had gotten off the bed at this point and was pacing in front of you, and you can tell he's stressed despite trying to keep up his normal laidback demeanour. It makes you feel bad for the bombshell you're about to drop on him.

"If it helps, I know Yuji's still alive." 

"It doesn't but thanks for the info." He retorts a little too quickly. As if noticing his harsh tone, he stops, pivots and places himself in front of you. He has to stoop to reach your level which is fun to watch.

Maybe it's to make himself more comfortable, or maybe it's for you, but he slips off his blindfold so that you can see his true expression. There is something sad there, but a hopefulness too.

"Oh, Y/n, Y/n, Y/n. Whatever are we going to do with you? Geez, you kids are for more trouble than you're worth." He jokes, his hands finding their way on top of yours. 

He squeezes reassuringly, and it's actually quite a nice feeling. 

"Okay. You're a lot of trouble but I guess we can't get anything past you. Yuji is alive, yes. But I need you to promise me that you won't tell anyone, okay? He's... it's complicated. But he will come back to you soon. Keep this between us, alright? Just for now."

The information weighs on your mind like a lead weight. It drags your thoughts down and around, muddling everything up in your brain, but you think you finally understand.

"Yuji was only kept around to contain Sukuna, right?" Gojo nods so you continue. "So, the higher ups must have taken the opportunity to... dispatch him." You shudder. What a disgusting thought.

"Look this is a lot of information for you to digest. Why don't you get some rest, and we can talk about this in the morning?" 

Your face scrunches into distaste. "How can I sleep with all.. this?" With all the grace of a wet chip, you slip out of the bed, and Gojo doesn't stop you. In fact he even moves to let you past him, watching with a bemused smile.

He fixes his blindfold as you reach the door, hesitating.

"Um. Where exactly is Yuji now?" You turn back a bit sheepishly, and he chuckles. 

"Come on. I think you'll find someone else a bit more helpful in this situation. I've got loads of paperwork to do now anyway..." Gojo is back to his normal self now as he guides you out of Shoko's corner of the college, towards a different building.

He seemed fine on the outside, but on the inside his mind was swirling with thoughts. More importantly, a plan. The cursed spirits were getting more confident now, more tactical. And to go as far as to target you...

From the beginning he'd feared this. There was almost a similarity between your technique and his, he thought. Like his Six Eyes, you couldn't turn yours off. The target on your back only grew with each passing day.

And the cursed spirits had teamed up, solely to start picking off sorcerers they deemed as threats. Like him. But that begged the question, why not you?

Why kill him, and not you?

The answer was something he refused to entertain. The mere motion of one of his students, you no less, being used as a weapon like that...

Absolutely fucking not. Not if he was still alive. He was certain you'd survived sheerly because they needed you to execute some plan. But he had yet to figure that plan out yet, and so his next move was to call in some untimely backup.

The room you enter is neat and cool, a small fan busying itself with the latter task. Sat on a sofa, looking deeply unimpressed with the disruption, was another sorcerer whom you only sort of recognised. 

"Hii Nanamin! I've brought you a present!" Wait, were you the present? Anyway, who was this guy again? Gojo greeted him so warmly, but the feeling evidently wasn't mutual.

"Why am I always playing babysitter for your students?" He asked bluntly, returning to his newspaper. Ouch.

"Y/n, this is Nanami Kento, the ex-salaryman jujutsu sorcerer. He's the one I've entrusted Yuji too whilst he's 'dead' so to speak." At the mention of Yuji, Nanami finally seemed vaguely interested.

"I thought Itadori wasn't returning to his classmates until the sister school event." He commented, and Gojo pushes you into the seat opposite him whilst idly dismissing his peer.

"Nah, he's still dead. Y/n here is just a bit too perceptive and so I want you to fill her in on the situation. She's pinky promised to keep quiet though, don't worry!" God he's so annoying sometimes. Switching moods faster than uhhh can't make that joke. 

As Rodrick Heffley once said, 'sorry women' or something (this is a joke that i will probably forget to edit out). 

Your teacher pats Nanami on the shoulder as he announces his departure, and as he passes by you he does something rather unexpected. 

"Oh, but don't get too attached. Y/n here is my favourite student and I can't have you taking a shine to her. Get yourself back to the infirmary once you're done here, alright?"

He directs the last part to you, and as he does he leans down and places the tiniest kiss to your cheek. The feeling lingers on your face far longer than you'd care to admit and your ears burn as you push down any feelings that may or may not have sparked.

Before you can even question what he just did he'd already left, leaving you alone in a room with Mr. Nanami 'I don't care about anything' Kento. Wonderful.

He sets down his newspaper with a sigh, pushing up his strange little glasses. A lot of jujutsu sorcerers hide their faces in someway or another you've noticed. Suppose it's just part of the job. 

"Hi." You decide to attempt a conversation with the man before you. Not like there was much else to do here. Nanami finally puts the paper down, folding it neatly on the table in front of him and looks at you.

Not much of a talker it seemed, although maybe someone grounded was what you needed right now. 

Nanami seems to study you for a moment, taking in the overload of information he'd just received. Firstly, you knew about Yuji. Okay, fair enough. Someone was bound to find out eventually.

But that last part... Gojo seemed oddly fond of you. Obviously he adored his students - but you moreso than usual. How peculiar.

"You want to see your friend, right?"

His words surprise you, and you nod. "Yeah. I just want to know he's alive and safe. Could I..?" The question sits in the air for a moment, and you brace yourself for rejection.

It doesn't come. Nanami stands up, and gestures for you to follow him. He walks as if carrying a lot on his plate, although that is to be expected of a grade one sorcerer. 

"What do you think of all this so far?" He asks you, cutting through the silence suddenly. "I apologise for the suddenness of the question but I imagine no-one has checked in with you in some time." 

He's actually quite thoughtful, you think, pattering along behind him. "Well it's not exactly a picnic, but I think I'm becoming suited to this life. As much as anyone could in my shoes."

He nods thoughtfully as you come to a stop outside of a very unassuming building.

"You've got a good head on your shoulders. And.." He pats you on the shoulder (his actions are a bit stiff but you can tell he means well). "If that idiot ever gets too much for you, you know where to find me. Please make your way back to the infirmary after this."

He adjusts his glasses and with that he's gone, leaving you to think about his words. He seemed a lot nicer than Gojo made him out to be in passing. It's good to have a responsible adult around.

Anyway! Enough thinking. Apparently Yuji was in here, so you waste no time in turning your attention to the door and knocking on it with fervour. 

Your excitement is barely contained as the door creaks open after a moment, and your patience has finally paid off. 

Half asleep and a bit confused, Yuji stands just behind the half open door, not quite registering who was there in his state. He blinks tiredly before gripping the reality of the situation, his eyes wide and a beam on his face.

"Y/n?!"

-

sorry it took so long i wont yap here because that's what wattpad is for but i got rlly sick and have tonsilitis and im fine now but man

“Y/n?!” The door clattered closed behind you as you practically jumped on your friend, and although he was exceptionally surprised, he wasn’t displeased to see you at all.

In fact he was ecstatic. Even though he’d been trying to sleep, he’d gladly give up a week of sleep if it meant seeing you just for a moment. These weeks away from everyone else had only been made slightly comfortable by letting himself think of you at every chance he got.

And if he could become stronger, he could keep you safe. He could make you happy.

“But what are you doing here?? I mean, I’m so happy to see you, but,” He reluctantly pulls away although your hands stay entwined with his, something he tries really hard not to fixate on. “I thought no-one was allowed to see me until the sister school event?”

You chuckle, the smile still etched into your features. “It’s a… long story. Let’s just say I got lucky, or unlucky depending on how you look at it.”

Yuji notices the slight drop in your smile and guides you to sit on the sofa with him, the screensaver from the TV being the only illumination for the two of you.

You sit comfortably whilst Yuji tucks one leg beneath him, sticking close but trying to stay in your space as much as he could without coming across as creepy. God, he was just really happy to see you.

More than you’d ever know.

“I’ve heard bits and pieces from Gojo, but if you want to talk about anything I’m a great listener.” Yuji jokes, and you chuckle at his silly antics.

“Ah, it’s nothing super interesting. There’s just been a lot of cursed spirit attacks whilst you’ve been off the scene. I got targeted, shockingly.” Yuji’s eyes widened, and for a fleeting moment his mind could only conjure one image.

The scene of Junpei’s death was still raw and fresh in his mind, always lingering as a reminder that he couldn’t save everyone he cared about. What if–?

“What did it look like??” Yuji turns to you with a very worried expression, gripping your shoulders in a motion that caught you off guard. The sudden change in demeanour really took you by surprise and you raised your eyebrow.

“Uh, like this tree spirit? Like, humanoid but with branches n’ stuff… you okay?” He blinks and looks down at you, your confused yet concerned expression, his hands white knuckling as they gripped your shoulders.

“Ah. Okay.” And then he lets go, seemingly back to how he was before. Okay… that was weird. But you’re not the type of person to pry into others' behaviour, so you drop it for now.

You may come to regret that eventually, but for now you’re just sympathetic. Yuji hasn’t really seen anyone or done anything other than train (that you know of) whilst he’s been gone, so you imagine he’s just worried about you.

“I’m fine. It’s nothing, really.” He settles back down after that and the conversation switches back to something comfortable. Yuji tells you bits and pieces of what he’s been up to in these weeks, and you do the same.

You take a lot of care not to reveal too much to make him worry, although you do put him in the picture about the Kyoto students. At least, the two you’ve met so far.

“-and Fushiguro was fine in the end but if Inumaki hadn’t been there, I’m not sure what could have happened.”

“I see. That’s the one with cursed speech, right?” You nod, and his face is glowing with excitement and wonder. “Wow!! That’s so cool!! Ugh, everyone else sounds like they’ve gotten so much stronger, I hope I can keep up.”

You pat his shoulder reassuringly. “I’m certain you’re way stronger than all of us now. You said you’ve been working with Nanami, right?” 

“Mhm. He’s a tough cookie to crack, but I think he cares in his own way. And he sure can hold his own against the toughest cursed spirits. What do you think of him, Y/n?”

Your hand comes to your chin as you think for a moment. “He seems nice, very opposite to Gojo for sure. I think he’s cool too. Not as cool as you, though.” You shoot him a wink and laugh as his face burns every shade of red possible.

You two continue your friendly chatting back and forth, not knowing of an observer from the depths of Yuji’s mind. Sukuna was taking in everything you said, not just because he was interested in you, but because he was also intrigued by the special grade spirits’ union.

It was interesting, to say the least.

Cursed spirits were born of malice, selfishness, and bitter hatred. They never worked together; take the special grade at the detention centre for example.

He’d offered a truce just to ruin the sorcerers’ day, but it had flat out refused and as a result been sliced to ribbons. That behaviour was typical.

He’d have to keep an eye on that in the background.

At some point, Yuji had suggested watching one of those daft movies that Gojo had been making him watch, so the two of you settled down to watch something. 

You couldn’t even remember what he’d put on, as you were sound asleep within the first 20 minutes. In your defence, you were very peaceful here with your friend. 

On the other hand, Yuji was practically vibrating with anxiety and giddiness. You were here, asleep, on his shoulder, just the two of you. And he didn’t even think he’d see you for another week.

Yet you’d sought him out on your own- not Fushiguro, not Nobara (not that he’d be unhappy to see either of them) but you.

Oh, you. Wonderful you. Beautiful, strong, caring, enchanting, positively breathtaking - you. It was hard to deny his feelings when being forced to confront them like this. He just couldn’t get enough of you, but who ever could?

As Yuji got lost in his thoughts once more, he was completely unaware of the plan the curse living inside of him was plotting.

His mind dulls, letting go, as one word is uttered.

“Enchain.”

-

Your peaceful sleep is severed by a choking force, the breath being forced from your lungs as your eyes lose focus. 

The world darkens, and panic begins to set in.

Tiny stars of white just begin to dance at the edges of your vision when it stops, and you gasp out, thankful for the air.

Breathe.

You really wish your vision never cleared up, as hovering above you with a gaze full of malice and curiosity is none other than the King of Curses himself.

What god had you pissed off this time?

“Oh dear. Did I wake you?” His tone has a light chuckle to it, although his expression is far from friendly. 

“You– what– why…?” Your words come out as a jumble of messed up thoughts. Your voice is slightly hoarse as your throat still hurts. What a way to wake someone up.

“I’m going to make this short, because frankly I am bored of being trapped in that brat. I want something from you, and if you give it to me, I won’t kill this brat again, okay?”

He lays it out so simply, punctuating his sentence with a manic smile. Your head spins. How has no-one sensed his cursed energy yet? Shouldn’t Gojo’s six eyes have sensed him the moment he appeared?

As if to answer your question, Sukuna laughs. “You’re wondering why nobody has come to help you, aren’t you? I’m suppressing my cursed energy. You’d have to look very hard to find me now. Although,”

He drags a finger down your neck, as if playing with you, before settling it back over your throat comfortably. “I’m not a patient curse. What’s your answer?”

There’s something so overly confident in his words, like he already knows what your answer will be. 

Something tells you he’s already decided for you.

“Okay, okay. Don’t- don’t hurt Yuji.” The words come from your mouth a bit too quickly, you despise the sadness that creeps into your voice, but you can’t bear the thought of losing your friend again.

He might not come back this time.

Sukuna doesn’t waste anymore time exchanging idle chatter with you (at least, that’s what he views it as) and the hand that was covering your neck comes up to bury itself in your hair, tugging harshly so that your face turns upwards, leaving your neck completely exposed.

You don’t have time to react, barely having the thought to protect yourself with cursed energy as his teeth clamp on your comparatively weak flesh, and you cry out in pain.

“Put more cursed energy in it, that’s it.” He murmurs through a mouthful of your blood and skin, and despite your best efforts you can’t. After what felt like far too long, he sits up, although he doesn’t get off of you just yet.

“You’re not quite there yet, brat. Try again.”

Try again??? No no no no no—

The pain doesn’t come immediately though, and you realise he is healing the area he just bit. What.

“More cursed energy. I like it when you fight back.”

And this time you listen. You focus your cursed energy into that spot, and his teeth don’t penetrate your flesh quite as badly. Sure, it hurts, but not quite as badly as before. 

“Come on brat, that’s it.”

Are his words of encouragement supposed to help you through this??? He bites you over and over, healing you and then repeating the whole process, leaving tears streaming down your face. 

Each time is slightly less painful than the last though, as painful as it is to admit his advice did work. Some sick and twisted way of showing mercy, you suppose.

A pathetic noise escapes your mouth though after he stays there for a touch too long, and at that he finally perks up, clocking your fun reactions.

“Too much for you? Want me to stop?” He laughs at you, but he knows when to quit, at least for now.

“That’s too bad. I was enjoying that.” 

Every fibre of you is screaming at you to hit him, tear into his flesh, bite or scratch or something-! But you know not to antagonise something so dangerous.

Don’t poke the bear, even if it is playing with you.

“You’d do well to remember how to do that. You may need it sooner than you think. Ah, but before I go.” His hand grips your jaw, turning your face this way and that to get one final look at you.

Then he does something completely unexpected. The king of curses leans down and kisses you, with less force than you’d expect. 

It is sour, you can feel the taste of your own blood on his lips, and as he bites down you fear he may draw more. Thankfully, he pulls away, seemingly savouring the final taste of you.

As he does, you feel the warm rush of his reversed cursed technique on your neck, and with one final chuckle the marks fade away from his face, and at once Yuji is back.

You’re struggling to process everything that just happened, when he slumps onto your chest blearily, before seemingly coming to his senses and scrambling to put some distance between the two of you.

“Y/n!! I-I’m so sorry!! Did I fall asleep..?”

You push down everything you were feeling in that moment, and focus on him. It helps you cope.

‘That’s interesting. So Sukuna can switch himself out, but Yuji doesn’t remember?’ You scan his face for any signs of the curse, but he seems to be back to himself, and so you force a neutral smile.

“I think we both did. Sorry.” 

You both laugh, the tension easing slightly, and you yawn as you glance at your phone clock. It’s about 22:20, so realistically you could afford to spend more time here, but after what just happened…

You’re not sure you want to stick around for much longer.

“I guess I should probably head back to the infirmary, I was meant to spend the night there.” You explain, standing up and stretching. Yuji nods but there is a wistful smile on his face at the thought of you leaving.

“Hey, don’t look too sad. I’ll see you next week, remember?”

His face lights up once more. Of course, the sister school event! He could come back into everyone’s life then!

But the thought of reuniting with his old friends didn’t feel quite as good as the thought of meeting up with you. Oh, you.

Yuji’s puppy-dog eyes plead for you to stay but you stand your ground, and after finally bidding him goodnight, you step back outside. 

-

After a few corridors, once you’re certain Yuji won’t hear you (you don’t want him to worry) you race as fast as you can to the nearest bathroom. 

It’s one building over, and at first you’re afraid you won’t make it, but thankfully you do.

The door slams open, and you throw yourself into one of the cubicles, bending over and proceeding to absolutely chuck your guts up.

Tears crinkle in the corners of your eyes. It burns. Not just the feeling of acid burning your throat and mouth, or the disgusting taste it leaves, but the residuals. 

The King of Curses himself had just… played with you. Like you were some disposable toy. Hurting you over and over just to heal you and have some fun. The fear and disgust was finally catching up to you, and it made you sick.

Finally you calm down, slumping against one of the walls. After a moment or two you stagger to your feet, flush the chain to get rid of the evidence and patter over to the sink to wash your hands and rinse your mouth.

God, you looked rough. Though your physical wounds were pretty much all healed now, the fatigue presented itself clear as day in your eyes. And after… that… you were feeling even worse. 

‘Being a jujutsu sorcerer fucking blows.’ You roll your eyes at yourself, monologuing away in your head about all of your troubles. There seems to be a target on your back no matter where you go recently.

Sure would be nice to get away from it all.

But that’s the life you’d signed up for. A few gentle slaps to the side of your face and a splash of cold water later, you felt better. Not great but better. 

You were going to get through this. Come morning, you’d tell Gojo about what had happened, and you’d hang out with your friends like normal. And next week, you could kick ass at the sister school event.

At least that’s what you told yourself. God why did you have to always get yourself into these situations?? Oh, you. Only you.

Only you.

-

After having dragged yourself back to the infirmary, you’d settled in and gotten a half decent amount of sleep. It didn’t really take much for you to pass the hell out on the cot, after everything your body craved rest.

Shoko checked back over to you in the morning, and seemingly you were free to go. She did finish healing the rest of your neck though, claiming she probably missed it the day prior. 

“Oh, Satoru is out for now by the way. Not that any of you lot probably care, but he won’t be back ‘til next week.” She tells you as you’re on your way out.

Ah, great. Just peachy in fact. 

So tattling on Sukuna would have to wait for a bit. Ah well, you would probably remember to let him know. It didn’t really seem like something you could just throw into a text message, so you choose to bide your time.

As soon as you step foot back in the dormitory, you are greeted by yells, squeals, and a very big (and vaguely bone crushing) hug. Nobara won the fight on who was first to greet you, though everyone else wasn’t far behind.

“Y/n!! Thank god you’re okay!!” Of course, they haven’t really seen you since the other day. Yesterday you’d left early, so naturally no-one had seen you leave. To them you’d just disappeared and come back mysteriously bruised and bloodied.

“I’m sorry for dishappearin’ on you guysh.” Your voice is a bit muffled and squished from being shoved into her chest, and she seems to realise you can’t really talk from there, so she reluctantly lets you go.

This then gives Fushiguro the chance to swoop in and give you a once-over, settling his own mind that you’re okay. As he is inspecting one of your bandage wraps, muttering things about you being ‘reckless’, you catch the eye of Maki from across the room.

Her expression is serious as usual, but you catch an unmistakable look in her eye - it’s the same one her cousin is wearing right now. You bite back a small sniffle. Your friends really do care. It’s sweet that they all worry so much for you.

Inumaki and Panda are there too, and as they bombard you with questions (well, mostly Panda is the one doing the questioning) Maki finally steps over and shoos them away.

“Alright! Y/n needs to rest for a bit. I’m sure she’s just glad to be home. We can all talk to her later, alright?” Her tone of voice suggests that this is not a request, and although nobody looks like they want to listen to her, they leave you for the time being.

You shoot her a relieved expression as the crowd dissolves, and she lifts her glasses to rub the bridge of her nose.

“God, you’d think it was their first day on Earth.” She huffs, and you chuckle.

“Thanks for saving me. I’m glad to see everyone but… it’s been a long few days. I think I just wanna go back to my room and crash for today.” She nods approvingly as the two of you stop just outside of your dorm room.

“You know Y/n…” She begins, unusually gentle in the way she takes your hand in her own.

“We were all really worried about you. When you disappeared, even though it was only for a day– Look, I just. I care about you. So much…” Her other hands comes up to cup your face, and the motion catches you off guard.

“I don’t want to scare you off but I want- no, I need you to know. You’re very important to me, Y/n. To all of us. Look after yourself, alright?” Tears threaten to prick in the corners of your eyes and you blink them away.

Despite the tears, the smile that graces your lips is real. 

“Thank you, Maki.” Her smile widens hearing her own name from your mouth. It sounds so right when it comes from you. Everything does.

“Alright, enough sentimental crap. Go and get some rest, I want you back and sparring with me tomorrow, no excuses.” You laugh and mock a salute as her hands draw away.

“Yes Ma’am. I’ll be there.” Just before you close the door, stepping into your room, you call out to her one last time.

“Oh, and Maki?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you. For, y’know.” She dips her head slightly but the smile on her face remains warm. You beam back and she lets out a slight sigh, as you disappear from sight once and for all.

You really don’t know the effect you’ve had on everyone, do you? Oh, you. You’re such an impossible thing. That’s why they’re all so happy you’re here.

-

oh boy what a chapter. sorry it got kinda dark woopsies lol. hey you know what you signed up for