Chapter Text
Megumi awoke with a gasp.
He sat up and looked around the room in a panic only to realize he was in Shoko’s office. He was lying on a bed with some bandages on his arm presumably from that fight with the curse.
Wait... The curse!
The last thing he remembered was a white shark-like curse emerging from the ink and taking a bite out of the original curse they were fighting.
‘Where the hell did that shark curse come from? And how did I end up here? Were there two curses that we were supposed to exorcize?’ Megumi thought with furrowed brows. None of this was making sense.
“Ah good, you’re finally awake,” A familiar female voice chimed in from the doorway, “I was getting worried that you might’ve gotten a concussion.”
“Concussion?” Megumi reached up to rub his head, “What happened? Did we exorcise the curse?”
“Of course you did. Your shadows were the thing that did the finishing blow. Don’t you remember?” Shoko asked with a head tilt.
“What? No, they weren’t. There was a shark-like curse that just appeared out of nowhere and started devouring the other curse.” Megumi scowled, “I don’t have any aquatic animals in my ten shadows.”
“You probably summoned Nue and thought it was a shark then,” Shoko pointed out, “You know I looked into that ink from your clothing and I believe it made you three hallucinate. It made you think you’re seeing one thing when you’re seeing something else.”
“No you’re lying,” Megumi glared, “I know what I saw. There was another curse that showed up and ate that curse.”
“Look, I know when something causes hallucination or not and that ink has all the components. It made you, Nobara, and Itadori imagine seeing an extra curse when you summoned Nue and exercised it.”
“Then explain why I felt something constricting my breathing and passing out!” Megumi huffed.
“Happens when you get high for the first time.” Shoko shrugged, “I’ve seen it happen to Gojo.”
Megumi’s glare only persisted in irritation. He knew what he saw, what he felt, and he knew it wasn’t some stupid hallucination. Shoko was hiding something and he had a feeling it had something to do with that curse that’s always lurking around Gojo.
He was about to call out her bullshit but drew his attention to the door being shoved open.
“Fushiguro! You’re awake!” Itadori exclaimed with a bright smile.
Behind him was Nobara who was waving her phone back and forth. “Just in time too, Itadori made his famous spaghetti and meatballs.”
“What?” Megumi asked with an exasperated sigh, “You came all this way to tell me food was ready?”
“Well yeah,” Itadori teased as he made his way over to the bed Megumi was lying in, “And we wanted to check on you too.”
“You should get going Megumi,” Shoko suggested, “Your injuries are healed for the most part and it’s rude to turn down food.”
“Right…” Megumi mumbled in annoyance while pushing off the bed. He continued to glare at Shoko as Itadori practically dragged him out of the office. As they were leaving, Megumi couldn’t help but notice just how dark and weird Shoko’s shadow looked under the fluorescent lighting.
Chatter amongst the three began to echo throughout the hallway. Once they were far away enough Shoko shut the door. Then her eyes trailed down to the shadow below her.
It took a moment but the shadowy figure emerged and a familiar cursed spirit took form. “Seems like Megumi wasn’t buying the whole ‘the ink from the curse causes hallucinations.”
“Yes well I wouldn’t have had to come up with that shitty excuse if you hadn’t made such a flashy entrance,” Shoko spoke before lighting a cigarette.
The curse scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I didn’t have much time to be discreet, okay? It was either I step in and help my students or they get hurt like Haibara.”
“Haibara?” Shoko mused before taking a drag of her cigarette, “You remember him?”
“I didn’t until Satoru reminded me about him. I don’t want the students to end up like him, and I don’t want Satoru to be sad.”
“I see…” Shoko sighed while blowing the smoke out of her mouth, “Well next time just be more discreet, okay? Megumi is already suspicious of you and I don’t need him giving those two any stupid ideas.”
“I’ll be more discreet, I promise,” Geto hummed while reaching out for one of her cigarettes, “Can I have one?”
“No, you’ll eat it whole.” Shoko huffed out a laugh, “Now come on, we got work to do.”
The curse let out a pitiful whine and eased his way back into Shoko’s shadow. “You’re no fun…”
“Never said I was.” Shoko smiled as they made their way into the research lab.
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The next day rolled around and Shoko could be found in her office looking over some unique cells in a microscope.
Off to the side was Geto’s cursed form lounging on one of the lab tables. He was looking up at his left hand with a determined expression on his face. With his right hand, he was chewing on some of the mochi Satoru had left him. Normally he would bother Shoko with questions but she was adamant about ‘needing silence to focus.’
And so the curse continued to try and mimic how human hands looked, all the while munching on a sweet. He almost had it at one point. His blackened hand briefly turned to that natural fleshy tone, but the black shadows reappeared and his efforts went to waste.
Geto frowned as his brows furrowed in concentration.
Unfortunately, the pair were knocked out of their thoughts due to a door being slammed open.
At that moment Shoko accidentally cracked the slide with the cells. She let out a noise of frustration.
“Shoko!” Itadori exclaimed, “Me and Maki were sparring and I accidentally flung her in a tree and now her arm is bleeding—wait.”
She looked up when she heard Itadori but her eyes landed on a curse floating in the air. She narrowed her eyes at the curse only to realize it was Geto. Floating above one of her tables was a sick black beta fish curse with various white orbs being reflected when the light shone on it.
“Is that a curse?” Itadori asked with a perplexed look on his face.
“It uh, yeah it is. It’s Gojo’s.” She blurted out without thinking, “Look he—it’s practically harmless. A grade three curse, so don’t worry about it.”
Shoko tried to dismiss their concerns but judging by their expressions they weren’t buying it. She knew this would be difficult to explain, especially with Megumi and Nobara who had decided to follow Itadori and Maki.
“Why does Gojo have a curse and why is it here?” Nobara asked with a skeptical eyebrow raised.
“It…stores things easily,” She lied as the blackened beta fish swam toward her through the air. “Think of it as a neverending storage unit. Gojo left it with me to keep an eye on.”
“Wouldn’t he need it for the trip to the Philippines?” Megumi asked with a skeptical look on his face, “Why would he leave a mini luggage curse with you?”
“He’s afraid it might freak out since it’s never been outside the country so he left me in charge of it. I’ve mainly had it hold items I use in the lab.”
“Well, that doesn’t explain why it’s got an alarming amount of cursed energy. That curse is dangerous.”
“I assure you it’s a grade three curse Megumi,” Shoko stated before motioning for Itadori to bring Maki forward, “Now let me take a look at your arm Maki.”
“If Gojo had this curse on him the whole time why didn’t he tell us?” Maki grounded out while sitting on one of the spare lab tables.
“He didn’t see any reason too since it’s only a grade three curse that stores things.” Shoko explained, “Though it’s a bit mischievous at times.”
Itadori watched the curse with curious eyes as it floated toward him. Itadori lifted his hand to try and touch the curse and to his surprise, the curse practically nuzzled in his hand. This curse felt oddly strong for a grade three and it wasn’t making an effort to attack them which was unusual.
“Mischievous, huh? It seems pretty friendly to me.”
Nobara peered over Itadori’s arm at it, “I’ve never seen a curse act like this before. It seems weirdly nice.”
“There’s no such thing as a ‘nice curse.’” Megumi crossed his arms, “You of all people should know that Itadori.”
“I mean yeah Sukuna’s a jerk but this curse doesn’t seem all bad,” Itadori suggested while ignoring the king’s laughter resounding in his head, “Besides if it’s Gojo-sensei’s then it can’t be that dangerous right?”
“I highly doubt that Gojo only likes strong things.” Megumi pointed out.
The curse practically preened at that comment and made its way out from Itadori’s hold to swim toward Nobara. She held out her hand to see if the curse would do the same thing it did to Itadori which it did. Additionally, it gave off a weird noise that resembled a cat’s purring.
“It acts more like an eager pet.” Nobara mused while running her hand over the blackened fins.
Shoko was watching the students interact with Gojo’s ‘curse’ with an amused expression. They truly had no idea how strong that curse was or what it could be. This would be an interesting situation to bring up to the six-eyed sorcerer.
“So does it have a name?” Maki questioned as Shoko focused on using her reversed cursed technique on her arm.
Now that was an unexpected question. Shoko knew she couldn’t tell them his real name otherwise Maki and Megumi would be able to deduce who the curse really was. She pondered the idea for a moment before a light bulb turned on.
“Its name is Void, and it likes to consume and store things.”
“Void, huh?” Megumi echoed, “Like a neverending void in space?”
“Yes, exactly.” Shoko agreed before looking over Maki’s now healed arm, “There, how does that feel? Better?”
“Much better, thank you Shoko.” Maki moved her arm up and down to test it out before outstretching her hand to the curse. She expected it to swim toward her like it did with Nobara and Itadori but instead, it swam further away from her and made a beeline for Megumi.
From Megumi’s expression, he looked unamused.
“Guess it doesn’t like you, Maki,” Itadori frowned.
“Yeah, the curse is really picky on who it likes, sorry about that.” Shoko sighed as she watched ‘Void’ swim around Megumi’s shoulder. “Anyway it’s about lunchtime for all of you, right? How about you hold off on training for now and go get something to eat? Oh and take Void with you, I’m sure it’d enjoy more treats.”
“You’re allowing us to walk around with Gojo’s weird curse?” Megumi asked skeptically.
“Ignore Megumi, Shoko!” Nobara interrupted, “We’ll take good care of Void! We might even teach him new tricks. Oh, like stealing Gojo’s credit card!”
Shoko sighed in annoyance and leaned back in her seat, “I don’t doubt it.”
At that statement, Megumi was shoved out the door by Itadori while Nobara gently grasped the curse and headed out the door. Shoko couldn’t help but give Geto a sly smirk as he was pulled away by the enthusiastic first years.
Maki side-eyed Shoko due to her smirk but decided not to comment on it. Instead, she followed after the first years and planned on telling the second years about her new discovery.
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During the first year's lunch break, they managed to convince Ijichi to take them to visit a new yakitori restaurant. Megumi wasn’t fond of going out to eat with a supposed grade three curse; however, Itadori was adamant about bringing their ‘new friend along.’
And so here they were in the yakitori restaurant waiting for their food to be served.
Both Itadori and Nobara didn’t mind the curse which alarmed Megumi. For new sorcerers, they should still be able to feel the alarming amount of cursed energy radiating off Void. Sure it was small in size but that didn’t mean it lacked power. If anything it was just a ploy, a disguise to try and make them trust it. Not to mention how horrified Ijichi looked when they showed him the curse. He nearly fainted at the sight and frantically began asking questions such as, ‘How did you get that?!’ and ‘Does Shoko know he’s with you?!’
To put it simply, Megumi didn’t trust the curse. He knew it had to be something to do with Gojo’s shadow even if he didn’t have proof.
“You know staring daggers at him isn’t going to make him disappear,” Nobara said with an elbow nudge.
Megumi looked down at the table and shook his head in irritation.
“Oh come on Megumi,” Itadori piped up, “Void isn’t that bad. He’s a good curse.”
“Oh, so it’s a ‘he’ now?” Megumi questioned.
“Well, Ijichi called him a he earlier so I’m assuming that’s what Void is. Besides, Void doesn’t seem to mind.” With that said Void flew around Itadori’s shoulders, similar to an excited puppy.
“You’re acting like this is normal curse behavior Itadori. Curses aren’t supposed to act like that.” Megumi pointed out.
“What, are you an expert on curse behavior now?” Nobara asked while setting her elbow on the table and laying her head in her hand, “Come on and lighten up! Sure Void is weird but doesn’t that make sense? Gojo’s weird so of course his little curse friend is going to be weird too. Besides a nice curse that stores our luggage and shopping bags is exactly what we need.”
“You only like him because you want to use him to carry around your bags.” Itadori frowned while grasping his hands around the curse. “He’s so much more than that.”
“It’s a curse!” Megumi huffed, “Do you two not hear yourselves?! You’re talking about it as if it isn’t made up of humanity’s negativity!”
Nobara rolled her eyes. “I think you’re made of humanity’s negativity.”
Megumi shot her a look but paused when he saw their waitress come by with their meals. She handed out each of their meals and made sure everyone got what they asked for before walking off to handle other customers.
“Maybe you just need to eat, that’ll make you feel better,” Nobara suggested before taking a bite out of her udon.
Megumi let out an irritated sigh but complied.
‘Maybe I’ll call Gojo later and demand an explanation regarding the curse but then again he’d just ignore or deflect the conversation… Maybe I could ask Ijichi. He has to know something, right? The guy was so jumpy when he saw the damn curse so something’s up and Shoko knows but she won’t tell me. Does Mei Mei know? If she does then I could just bribe her with Gojo’s money. I doubt Nanami knows or cares. Hm…’
While lost in thought he didn’t notice Itadori feeding Void some of his yakitori until Nobara nudged him. He blinked in confusion and nearly choked on his yakitori.
“Itadori!” He said in between coughs, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
“Feeding him?” Itadori spoke like it was obvious, “Why? Did you want some?”
“No! I mean why are you feeding him?! It’s a curse! It doesn’t need to eat!”
Nobara elbowed Megumi again, “Will you quiet down? People are starting to stare.”
“They’re probably staring because to them food is just disappearing midair because someone is feeding a curse..!” Megumi accused in a hushed tone.
“Come on Megumi, a few bites of yakitori isn’t going to hurt him. Besides it’s not doing any harm.” Itadori pleaded.
As their arguing continued they didn’t seem to notice Void swimming to the window and looking outside. He didn’t know why he was suddenly interested in watching the monkeys walk down the street but it was like something was calling to him.
Just then his eyes landed on a pair of teenage girls.
One had blonde hair tied up in a bun with two pieces of hair falling down the side of her face along with bangs. She wore a yellow cardigan and an outfit that resembled a school uniform of sorts but the most noticeable thing had to be the green bunny phone she was holding in her hand. The phone case was radiating a ton of cursed energy and she was showing it off to the girl next to her. The other girl had long dark brown hair with bangs wearing a similar uniform to the blond girl except her uniform was navy blue. Her skirt was also longer making her look a bit more modest as well. In her hand was a bag with a familiar mochi brand on the bag.
He didn’t know why but these girls felt familiar to him and judging by their cursed energy they weren’t monkeys either. He watched the girls as they crossed the street and weaved through the monkeys as if they were on a mission of their own.
‘Who are these girls and why does it feel like I know them?’ Geto thought solemnly, ‘Is this another Haibara situation? Did I know them when I was alive?’
“Whatcha looking at Void?” Itadori chimed in while peering out the window. “Oh, are you checking out those cute girls? They look nice but they’re not my type.”
“Maybe he’s checking out their fashion. I think that bunny phone case she has is cute.” Nobara pointed out.
“They’re obviously curse users.” Megumi scoffed with an eye roll, “They were a part of the Night Parade of Hundred Demons, Gojo told me about them.”
“Wait if they’re curse users then why doesn’t Gojo-sensei do anything about them?”
Megumi shrugged. “They don’t really pose a threat without their leader.”
“Hang on backtrack, what was Night Parade of Hundred Demons?” Itadori questioned which caused Void to perk up and look at the three.
“Last year on December 24th Geto Suguru orchestrated an attack on Kyoto and Shinjuku. He unleashed a thousand cursed spirits in these areas and told them to kill as many non-sorcerers as possible. From what I’ve gathered, Geto did this because he wanted to create a world with no non-sorcerers. He also went after the second year Yuta Okkotsu and tried to retrieve a cursed spirit that had attached to him. Those girls out there were apparently curse users that helped aid Geto in the attack on Kyoto and Shinjuku along with other people part of his organization. I just remember them because Gojo showed me some pictures from Geto’s social media feed, those two ran it from what I could gather.”
“Huh…You would think Gojo would tell us something like that 'cause it sounds important.” Itadori said before taking a bite of his food.
‘So I did know those girls!’ Geto thought before flicking one of his fins, ‘But wait, why didn’t Satoru tell me about them? What else hasn’t he told me?’
“Gojo rarely tells us important things,” Nobara pointed out before her phone dinged, “Hey I think Ijichi wants us back in the car. Apparently, Shoko sent him some new mission information.”
“Where to now?” Megumi asked with a frown.
“I haven’t even finished lunch yet!” Itadori complained.
“You could’ve if you didn’t feed Void.” Nobara teased before focusing on the message at hand, “Says here we need to an abandoned warehouse and there isn’t much information on the curse other than it being a grade one.”
“That doesn’t sound concerning at all.” Megumi scoffed sarcastically.
“Wait, what are we going to do about Void?” Itadori asked in concern.
Nobara shrugged. “Guess he’s coming on the mission with us. Either that or he stays with Ijichi.”
At that notion, Void flew over to Itadori and swam around him several times. He landed in a part of his red hoodie and snuggled close to his neck.
“Something tells me he wants to join,” Itadori said with a laugh.
“Well, then you both better finish up! We got a curse we gotta exorcise!” Nobara grinned.
Megumi could already tell that this was a bad idea.
Geto on the other hand was more than happy to accompany his students on their latest mission.