Chapter Text
Report:
September 2007
■■ Prefecture, ■■ City (Formerly ■ Village)
Mission Summary
Spirit kidnappings and abnormal deaths within said village.
The curse thought to be responsible is to be exorcised.
- Five days after dispatching the person in charge(Jujutsu High Third-Year Geto Suguru), 112 Residents of the former village ■■ were found dead.
- Initially thought to be caused by the curse, further investigation discovered residuals belonging to Geto Suguru's Curse Manipulation technique.
- Geto Suguru fled
In accordance to Article 9 of the Jujutsu Regulations, he is now considered a curse user and subject to execution.
“Ryona Makoto, explain yourself. Geto Suguru, whom you are the guarantor of, has defected.”
The council room feels as cold and stuffy as they ever did. Yuuji isn't sure what he expected when he was summoned here but he supposed this was to be expected.
He lets them cry their outrage first, whining about Geto's defection and murder. Their hypocrisy ticks him off. If they didn't shove him with so many missions, he would have been fine. He was getting about as many missions as Gojo, even though that boy is an anomaly.
A normal kid shouldn't be getting workloads as insane as Gojo or himself. Especially not a fresh sorcerer who only found out about Jujutsu 3 scant years ago.
Hell, Yuuji himself knows this. He had fewer missions than Geto as a first year! Granted, most of those missions were disguised executions from the elders but still, it was less than Geto.
Even with that workload, Yuuji's mind was broken beyond repair. Nightmares, guilt, doubt. He was too busy trying to stay alive and avenge his loved ones to think, to care, to grieve.
But Geto didn't have that. He's just a boy, all alone with his thoughts with nothing to take them away. At least with Yuuji, he had no time to let the devil on his shoulders talk.
You failed him. Yuuji clenches his fists, hardening his expression. No, he didn't fail Geto. He couldn't control the boy's missions, it was all the elders’ doing.
The relentless buzzing of the elders finally comes to a stop and the man fights an eye roll when they demand his answer. How did Sensei deal with them?
Yuuji looks at the ground, he's changed a lot. No longer hiding his face behind a hood because there's no death warrant for him, his shoes are branded and his clothes are custom made.
The love of his family as Makoto can be felt in every item he owns. From the specialised gear his father insisted he have to the fashion his mother urged him to wear.
Geto must have felt this love as well, but he was hurt too much. Yuuji doesn't know what went on in his student's mind when he killed his family, but he can imagine the pain he must be in.
Even if it means he has to hurt him.
Even if it means Geto's life will be taken by him.
“He is my responsibility,” Yuuji tilts his head up, staring the elders down with a menacing presence. “I will handle his execution, as his guarantor.”
“Insolence!” Some old coot yells, making Yuuji's eyes narrow. He whines like a baby about Yuuji favouring Geto or something and being biased and thus unreliable to properly get rid of him.
They speak of him like an object, The man grits his teeth as he fights the urge to slash every one of the shoji screens in half.
The elders continue whining again, like fussy children. Their voices are like the buzzing of flies in his ears and it makes him sick to his stomach.
In the other timeline, they were afraid of him. It was blissful to be left alone, occasionally being sent assassins. But now… these elders were testing his patience far too much. He's 100 years old, far too old to entertain the relentless whining of manchildren like these utter fools.
“Enough,” Yuuji keeps his posture relaxed, hands in his pockets with no chant or handsigns needed. ‘X’ shaped cuts mark each and every shoji screen hiding the elders, which makes their buzzing come to a stop.
“I brought Geto Suguru into Jujutsu society, his defection is my responsibility. I will not entertain any arguments.”
With no response from the elders, Yuuji takes his leave, storming out of the council room.
Rushed footsteps follow behind him and the familiar sight of a traditional miko uniform catches his eye. “Ryona!” Utahime runs up behind him.
She must have rushed over when she heard about his summoning to the council room… the girl pinches her nose bridge and lets out a long sigh, no scars marring her face yet. “Hey… how are you holding up?”
She fixes her hair and pulls it back a little, wiping the sweat at her neck. Having long hair in the summer must suck, now that he thought about it.
“I… I just want to know why Geto did this,” Yuuji confesses honestly to her. Utahime looks at him with a soft gaze, pity or perhaps understanding.
She nods and crosses her arms. “I can't believe it either, it's hard to think that he used to get into fights with Gojo over what it means to be a sorcerer,” She looks out the windows, at the Kyoto Jujutsu school. There are some familiar faces among them but Yuuji doesn't know any of their names.
He agrees with her. Geto used to talk about his pride as a sorcerer, how he was protecting people in need of help and being a good person. That society-loving boy is gone now, replaced with madness and insanity.
“So, the execution…” Utahime's words trail off into silence as she turns to Yuuji with a concerned gaze.
The man ruffles his hair as he lets out a tired sigh. He doesn't want to, but he must. If he can show Geto that it's still okay, can the boy come back? Will he even come back?
Where can the boy even go? He's a criminal, both in the eyes of the law and in Jujutsu society. “I… don't know. I think Mr. Yaga should be telling Go- Satoru now,” Yuuji narrows his eyes.
Satoru was Geto's best friend… he must be devastated. Equally as much as Yuuji, if not more.
“If you see him, will you…?” Utahime's uncertain and tense question makes him feel a heavy weight settle on his shoulders.
Yuuji leans on the window, exhausted, confused, and overwhelmed. “If I don't see him it doesn't count, right?” His voice cracks unintentionally when he speaks, making the man deflate even more against the open window.
Utahime looks out the window with him, understanding across her features. “Yeah, it doesn't. So we won't have to think about it,” she pats him on the back firmly.
What a coward I am, Yuuji scoffs to himself and gets up. “Shoko misses you and I think Satoru would enjoy someone to talk to, stop by Tokyo some time,” he waves goodbye to the shrine maiden.
Utahime rolls her eyes but a soft smile remains on her face as she returns the gesture.
I talked so much but in the end, I'm all bark and no bite… Yuuji sighs when he arrives back in Shinjuku.
He moves around the streets, searching for the smoking spot Ieiri likes. She had a mission around Shinjuku so if he's lucky he should be able to find her…
While roaming around to find the correct spot, Yuuji's eyes land on pure white hair, a stark contrast to the blacks and browns of the crowd.
Following Satoru's gaze, he sees Geto. The boy looks… better. No more sunken eyes and eyebags, his complexion improved slightly and his eyes showed conviction.
So this is the path you want to walk? Yuuji stares at his student with a bittersweet gaze. His two juniors talk, the two of them seem to be in disagreement as Satoru's posture grows increasingly agitated.
His words ring in the back of his mind. “He's my responsibility.” What does it mean for him to be responsible for Geto's action?
Can he talk it out with his student anymore? Especially with the conviction behind those eyes? Is he heartless if the only option is execution?
He watches as Geto turns his back on him and Satoru, the latter raising the mudra for hollow purple. Cursed energy pulses, gathering to his hands, but it fizzles into nothing as Satoru's hands fall to his side.
I guess I really am just another no-good adult.
“Explain yourself… Suguru…!” Satoru rushed to Shinjuku when Shoko called him. His best friend disappears for a week and suddenly he finds out that Suguru committed parricide and murdered an entire village! And it wasn't even from his friend's mouth, it was from his teacher!
Suguru doesn't look shocked whatsoever when he bumps into him. The boy he once knew as his best friend was gone, replaced by some kind of cryptic murderous thing! Why else would Suguru do this?!
His friend is calm as he speaks, he doesn't stutter nor show any signs of regret when he talks about killing his own family.
Suguru goes into cryptic speech again, saying his family consists of more than his parents now and it would be unfair to make an exception for his parents.
He took back his own words about killing non-sorcerers, calling the act justice when he would have been furious at Satoru if he even joked about it in the past.
Who is this? This… this isn't his best friend! This isn't the same guy who jokes around with him, who keeps getting in trouble with him because they fight too much, who became a sorcerer because he wants to help the weak!
Besides, killing all non-sorcerers is impossible. What will he do when children of sorcerers are born without cursed energy? Does he want those parents to just kill their own children? To hand them off to some corrupt ‘peaceful government’ he made up?
“How arrogant,” Suguru lowers his gaze slightly, then his purple irises stare at him. It's cold, devoid of the usual warmth. There is no laughter, no joke, and no regret. “You could do it… Satoru.”
The cold gaze doesn't belong to Suguru, he refuses to acknowledge it. That's… that's not his friend! That's not… it's not…
“You're trying to convince me that it's impossible when you yourself could do it…” Suguru takes a slow breath, the intense look in his eyes is replaced by something akin to acceptance or defeat. As if he's prematurely decided that Satoru refuses to understand or listen to him.
“Are you the strongest because you're Gojo Satoru, or are you Gojo Satoru because you're the strongest?”
“Wh… What are you getting at?!” Satoru steps forward as he barks, some in the crowd turn to look at them but he ignores their mutterings.
The six eyes don't lie, the person in front of him is Suguru.
But that… that's not his friend… Suguru isn't this cold. He doesn't hate the world like this. He doesn't needlessly kill others. The Suguru he knows… the Suguru who always praised Makoto because he's ‘the ideal sorcerer’...
“If I could be you… Wouldn't my impossible ideal become possible?”
“People like him… Their bleeding heart becomes their downfall.”
Satoru falters, he staggers on his feet and stumbles back as he regains balance. His best friend turns his back on him, walking away.
“This is the life I've chosen, all I can do now is give it all I've got.” He doesn't like how resolved and determined Suguru sounds when he speaks.
What does he mean he chose this life…? All he's done is speak. Satoru knows he's not the best at reading people but… he can see it in his friend. The Suguru he knows… the Suguru Shoko knows.
He wouldn't have thought like this. He would have been disgusted by this. Suguru would have been devastated by what he became, no different than the curses he wanted to protect innocent civilians from.
I can't… I can't let him do this… Satoru forms his hands into a mudra, readying an attack. Suguru's tall frame stands out among the crowd and he walks in a perfect straight line. Just one attack, and it will all be over.
“If you want to kill me, kill me. There's meaning in that too,” Suguru's cold and dead eyes turn back to look at him one final time before the boy continues his retreat.
…He can't. He just… can't.
What's the point in being the strongest if he can't even do this? What's the point at all?
Yuuji trails behind Geto when he walks away, the boy makes his way to a secluded house. Judging by the traces of his cursed energy, he likely killed the previous resident.
Making him a sorcerer was the wrong choice, he grits his teeth in frustration. If it weren't for him… what kind of life would Geto Suguru have lived?
Would he have been taken in by another sorcerer? Or would he have lived an entirely normal life? Forever unaware of sorcery until Kenjaku manipulated him? Would this boy still have a criminal record if Yuuji didn’t bring him into the world of sorcery?
There's no point dwelling on this now. He can't change the past, no matter how much he wants to. This regression to another timeline… it's a miracle he's only getting once. Even if he can't save some people, he wants to at least save as many as he can.
It's too late for Geto to return to sorcery, he's already been marked with an execution decree. But maybe… Maybe Yuuji can convince him to live peacefully. That he doesn't need to kill to reach his goals.
He moves toward the building and one of Geto's curses rises from the ground with eerie hands coming up to pull him into the ground.
Ah, the graveyard curse, Yuuji doesn't move and remains still. This curse reacted to movement, if he remembered correctly. If it was his other life, he could probably brute force himself out of its grasp but he's unfortunately a normal human.
“Geto, I'm here to talk. I won't attack you or anyone with you without hearing you out. Please, talk to me,” He calls out to the building, no malice in his words.
A few seconds pass before the curse lets him go, with Geto exiting the building. Two small girls, clearly underweight and unhealthy, cling to him as he leaves.
They stare at Yuuji with fear, tightening their grip on Geto further as their bodies tremble like leaves in the wind.
“Senpai. I heard from Shoko, the higher ups want you to kill me,” Geto is unable to look him in the eyes when he speaks. The girls flinch at the word ‘kill’ and the fear in their eyes is replaced with hatred.
Yuuji wonders if Geto brought the girls out with him in an attempt to gain sympathy. The compassionate boy he once knew would have wanted to keep young children like them far from violence.
The world of sorcery broke his student down until he went against his morals. Yuuji clenches his fists as he thought about the boy he met in front of the traditional sweets shop, with innocent eyes determined to protect others. “I want to convince you that the genocide of non-sorcerers is not the only choice.”
Geto scoffs, his eyes narrow further and the boy smirks in anger. “What choice? Sorcerers live and die to protect these monkeys. And what do we get from the monkeys…? They hurt us. They injure us because they're scared of us.”
The two girls cower behind him, now fully hiding behind his legs. Geto bends down to pat their heads, a hint of the original warmth and kindness the boy had shown on his features.
“They told me I was crazy. No matter how scared I was, they laughed at me,” Geto snarls furiously. He removes his hands from the girls’ heads and clenches his fists with knuckle-white strength. “And they hurt them.” The girls tug at Geto's shirt.
“I'm not you, Senpai,” Geto's rage simmers down to defeat when he relaxes his fist. “I'm not strong like you and Satoru. I can't turn a blind eye to the people like us who die because of ignorant monkeys who cause these damned curses.”
The boy's eyes grow firm, turning to Makoto with a serious gaze. “I chose this life. I can't stand to see us sorcerers get shunned by monkeys any longer.”
The curses in his collection appear one by one, some for regeneration, defense, hallucinations, offense. “If you want to kill me, kill me. There's meaning in that. But I won't give up the life I want to live. I can't turn a blind eye to the suffering of us sorcerers any longer!”
Yuuji remains calm, not wishing to aggravate the boy any further. “What will you do when sorcerers give birth to a normal child? The innate hatred and vengeance held by sorcerers will also result in the birth of a curse in some cases, what about those?”
Geto remains firmly set in his convictions. “I killed my own family, no one should be exempt from this.”
I see… Yuuji lets out a long and slow breath. “I'm sorry I made you a sorcerer, Geto.” He waves his arm casually, the lesser curses instantly perish from the slash while the stronger ones move to attack him without hesitation.
“If I had known, I wouldn't have brought you into this world. It's too cruel for a caring heart like yours,” He easily cuts through the rest of the curses and moves for the final attack on Geto but-
He's gone, Yuuji pants slightly, all the dodging tires him out a lot more than he thought it would. Being a normal human kinda sucks…
Examining the scene, he can see the residuals of an unknown cursed technique, maybe one of the girls or someone else.
A part of him is relieved, his student is alive. He didn't have to kill him.
On the other hand, Geto's set firm in his desire to massacre all non-sorcerers. And now, he'd just escaped without anyone knowing where he ended up.
His hairs stand on end at the sudden disappearance. Logically, Yuuji knows it must have been a curse or maybe one of the girls. But his mind drifts to the future, where Geto has stitches across his forehead.
Report:
September 2007
Tokyo Prefecture, ■■ City
Mission Summary
Geto Suguru has defected and is under subject to execution in accordance to article 9 of the Jujutsu Regulations.
- Two days after dispatching the person in charge (Special Grade Sorcerer Ryona Makoto), contact was made with the suspect.
- Execution was attempted but the suspect fled. Exact whereabouts unknown but cursed energy residuals reveal collaboration with a window (Grade 3 Izuru Miki)
- Izuru Miki aided the Curse User Geto Suguru in avoiding execution.
In accordance to Article 10 of the Jujutsu Regulations, she is now considered a curse user by association and subject to execution.
Special Grade sorcerer Ryona Makoto may no longer be given sole responsibility of the mission after the failure to subjugate Geto Suguru.