Chapter Text
The sound of the rain did little to calm L/N’s nerves. The ominous look of the juvenile detention center along with the dark clouds and menacing aura radiating from it made her want to puke. It’s been a few weeks since she joined the college. Her studies of curses and experience with Itadori’s unwanted ‘friend’ inside him made her believe she’d be ready to face the cruse womb. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. She nervously played with the chains wrapped around her waist.
As Kiyotaka Ijichi, the assistant director, continued to debrief the group about the situation, L/N passively listen to the information while she stared intently at the building. Apparently, there are five detainees that are inside the building with the curse womb. The staff are unsure of they’re even alive. This gave her the chills since there was a high chance they’ll enter and see a blood bath. Ijichi went into it’s grading but was interrupted by an oblivious Itadori.
“Uh what does ‘special grade’ mean?” he whispered to Fushiguro and Kugisaki. The two of them signed in disappointment while L/N held in a chuckle.
“Does your brain even work?” mumbled Kugisaki as she pinched her nose. L/N placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort the girl.
“I can assure you,” L/N began, peering over to Itadori then back to Kugisaki. “Itadori’s brain works fine, he’s just a lazy bum.”
Itadori gawked while Fushiguro failed to hide his amused face. Ijichi swiftly interjected and explained the different levels of what a special grade curse is. Once the explanation was over, Itadori finally realized the dire situation they were about to enter.
“That’s really bad!”
“Normally someone on par with the cursed spirit would take on this mission,” Fushiguro began. “In this case that would be Gojou-sensei.”
“But he’s not here,” mumbled L/N in disappointment, fidgeting with her weapon again.
“So, where is he?” Itadori questioned, looking at the entrance gates.
“He’s away on business,” Fushiguro responded. “Gojou-sensei is always needed in other locations.”
“It’s true,” interjected Ijichi. “Unfortunately, we’re constantly in need for skilled jujutsu sorcerers.”
“Great, that means we’re stuck taking on missions we’re not even qualified for,” cried L/N in despair.
“Precisely.”
L/N tuned out the rest of the conversation in order to calm her mind. They really were about to enter a location with a special grade curse that may nor may not kill them upon entry. Her survival instinct told her this was a horrible idea, but she knew they were the only ones that could do anything since its an urgent case.
She stayed inside her own head until she heard the words ‘run or die’ leave Ijichi’s lips. L/N noticed Itadori and Kugisaki cringe while Fushiguro remained composed. If there was anyone she wanted to be like, it was Fushiguro.
“Just remember, your mission is to verify and rescue any survivors.”
The four of them nodded in unions. Whether they were ready or not, they couldn’t let their fear get the better of them. Especially L/N. She’s had some trouble getting over her trauma from her last incident with a curse spirit. She could only hope that this won’t turn out as bad as last time.
“Um, excuse me! Where’s Tadashi?” yelled out a woman from the entry gates.
Everyone turned around and saw a distraught woman being held back by the guards. The worry on her face made Itadori and L/N sad. She continued to break down as Ijichi explained the situation to her while leaving out crucial details. L/N noticed Itadori’s sudden change of expression.
“Hey guys,” he began, his voice firm and filled with determination. “We’re going to rescue them, got it?”
“Of course, we are,” stated Kugisaki as Fushiguro and L/N remained silent.
It didn’t take much longer after the debriefing was over for them to enter the juvenile detention center. Ijichi set up a Veil around the area which caught Itadori’s attention. Kugisaki let out an exasperated sigh, confusing the astounded boy. L/N never felt so compelled to call Itadori lazy bum again. This man really doesn’t pay attention in class now does he, she thought.
“Ready?” Fushiguro said to the rest of the group, gaining their attention and then approval. He used both his hands to form a head. “Demon dogs!”
L/N awed at the white curse dog that formed from his shadowed. She resisted the urge to pet it. Why does he have such a cool curse technique, she pouted to herself.
Itadori immediately approached the dog and began cooing him. L/N shook in her place, wanting to join in on the petting session. It was a good thing she didn’t because Kugisaki scolded him for not taking the situation seriously.
Fushiguro ignored their antics and opened the metal doors. The white demon dog entered before them on high alert. The hallway looked normal but it quickly turned into an elaborate maze of metal beams, concrete walls, and windows. L/N knew that the building was slowly becoming a domain, something she recently learned from Gojou.
“What’s going on here?” cried Itadori. “Isn’t this supposed to be a two-story dormitory!?”
“K-keep it down!” hissed Kugisaki. “It’s just two stories, right?” She turned to Fushiguro and LL/N for confirmation.
“That’s not it,” Fushiguro mumbled, clearly distracted. “It’s-”
“A domain,” finished L/N. “It’s incomplete but still a domain.”
Fushiguro nodded which caused chills to run up and down their spines. Suddenly, he turned behind the three and noticed that the hallway they just came from was gone.
“Shit, where’s the door?”
“Huh, th-the door is gone!”
“How is that possible!? We just came in through there, didn’t we?”
L/N wanted to scream in part agony and frustration as she saw Itadori and Kugisaki dance around aimlessly, losing their wits. Luckily, the always calm and collected Fushiguro reassured them that his dog remembered the scent of the entrance, giving them hope that they can escape when needed.
The two pounced on the dog. They complimented him and rubbed his belly and head. The dog began to wag its tail and the scene before L/N made her calm down a bit. Unfortunately, the always calm and collected Fushiguro lost his temper for a moment.
“Stop fooling around!”
“You really are dependable, Fushiguro! Now we can save the inmates and ourselves!”
Itadori’s commented brought Fushiguro back to the situation at hand. Without a warning, he snapped his finger and directed his dog to guide the way. The rest of the group followed suit.
They made their way down a cramped corridor. The air felt muggy but L/N’s skin was covered in goose bumps. There was something horrible waiting for them up again. Once they turned the corner and entered a giant room, her suspicion was confirmed.
Almost everyone gasped at the sight. There were three managed bodies, two worse than the third. The inmates were crudely made into a ball while the third one had his arms and lower half torn off. Itadori ran towards the corpse for closer inspection.
“This is atrocious,” said a shocked Kugisaki. L/N could only nod in agreement.
“That’s three people, right?” asked Fushiguro.
L/N could see Itadori’s anger brew when he inspected the third inmate’s uniform.
“I’m taking the body with us,” Itadori declared.
“Huh? Why?” questioned Kugisaki.
“It’s that woman’s son.”
“But…”
“His face isn’t injured. We should take him back to her, so that she can grieve properly and accept his death.”
L/N wanted to say something but Fushiguro immediately yanked him by the collar. The sudden jolt from his position caused Itadori to yelp in surprise. The two went at it, reprimanding one another for their actions.
“I know you’re stuck on saving lots of people and guiding them to proper deaths but what are you going to do when someone you save goes out and kills someone else in the future!?”
“Then why? Why did you save me!?”
Kugisaki stepped forward towards the two. She made an attempt to calm the situation. L/N made an attempt to move forward too but her muscles tensed. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on its ends. This is, she thought. Her blood ran cold. She remembered this feeling.
“Guys, it’s here!”
The other three stopped what they were doing but none of them could respond in time to what happened next. Kugisaki was swallowed up by the floor causing them to panic. Fushiguro brows furrowed when he saw that his dog was killed while they were all distracted. He turned to Itadori who was closes to him.
“We’re running! We’ll look for Kugi-”
He couldn’t finish his sentence as a hideous face appeared in between them, mere inches away from where they stood. It was the curse spirit. They stood there in utter shock, unable to move. Fortunately for them, L/N willed her body to act. She removed the chains around her waist and embedded it with her cursed energy. With all her strength, she hurled the chain forwards and wrapped it around the spirit in an instant.
“Fuckin’ move out of there!” L/N screeched, the spirit now flexing out of its chains.
Her shout broke Itadori from his trance. Fushiguro stayed in his position, which only distressed L/N even more. However, Itadori was able to push him out of the way when the curse spirit broke free from her chains. In a blink of an eye, Itadori’s left hand was severed from his arm. L/N’s eyes widen as she watched his blood gush out of him.
The two boys took several steps away from the cursed spirit. It began to flex his arms and grin like a maniac. L/N moved towards the boys after summoning her chains back to her side. Itadori used his weapon’s holster to stop the bleeding from his missing hand.
“Hey Sukuna!” he called, making the girl feel uneasy. “If I die, you die so why not help me out here!”
“HA! Nope!” the eye and mouth on his left cheek declared. “Only a small part of me is in you, there’s still 18 other fragments of mt soul scattered about. However-” Sukuna stopped and looked over at L/N, making the girl shudder. “If you want to switch with me, go ahead and do it! But once you do, I’ll make sure to kill your friends first. I’ll especially have fun with your newest friend here.”
L/N wanted to throw up but now wasn’t the time to let herself be goaded by his statement. She gave the singular eye a restful glare. He saw her weak once, never again.
“Fuck you,” she seethed. “I’ll like to see you fuckin’ try!”
Itadori and Fushiguro stared wide-eyed at the girl while Sukuna laughed in amusement. This was the first time they’d seen her so riled up.
“I’m not going to let you do that!” Itadori snapped, smacking his left cheek.
“Boo, you’re no fun,” Sukuna grinned. “Guess I’ll just watch you all die then!”
Suddenly, the cursed spirit aimed an attack in between the three of them. The explosion from its energy shook the entire room. The impact of it left of floor decimated. L/N gulped at the raw power. There was no way they could fight this thing. Their best bet was to run.
“Itadori and Fushiguro, let’s get out of here and find Kugisaki.”
“It’ll just come after us…”
“You two need to leave and find Kugisaki! I’ll keep this thing buys until you’re all out. Once you exit, give me a sign and I’ll switch over to Sukuna!”
“You’re crazy!”
“Not with only one against a special grade!”
“But it’s having fun. It’s toying with us. It won’t kill me right away, so please.”
Fushiguro gritted his teeth in frustration. L/N couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Itadori was crazy for even suggesting such an idea! She made an attempt to reach out and grab ahold of him but was stopped by Fushiguro.
“Let’s go,” he stated, leaving no room for discussion. However, that didn’t stop the girl from trying.
“You’re both insane!” she shrieked. “I won’t leave you behind, Itadori!”
Itadori turned to finally face her and she was greeted by his tranquil face. She felt her breath hitch in her throat. He made up his mind, there was nothing she could say that could change it.
“You better make it out alive,” she whispered before running off with Fushiguro.
The two of them made a hasty retreat. Fushiguro assisted her with his Nue as his other demon dog searched for Kugisaki. Neither of them spoke, the tension between them was thick. Luckily, they found Kugisaki in a room close to the entrance. She was about to be swallowed up by some ugly looking spirit before Fushiguro used his Toad to retrieve her. L/N embedded enough cursed energy on her chain to pick up and smack the cursed mushrooms, destroying them as Fushiguro’s great serpent killed the last remaining cursed spirit.
They cleared the room and made their way outside. Kugisaki ended up passing out by the time they made it to the exit. L/N grabbed ahold of the girl from the toad’s mouth before it disappeared. Fushiguro took the chance to signal to Itadori that they were outside of the juvenile detention center.
Ijichi ran over to them, disturbed by the sight in front of him.
“What happened? Where is-” he began but L/N placed Kugisaki in his arms.
“You need to take her to the hospital,” she simply said, not answering any of his questions.
Ijichi’s expression turned stern. He didn’t question what was asked of him. The four of them walked to the main gate, where a vehicle was parked. After placing the injured girl in the back seat, Ijichi went into the passenger seat.
“Will you two be okay?”
“We will. We’re waiting for Itadori to return.”
“I see. I’ll return as quickly as I can after I leave Kugisaki-san at the hospital.”
“Thank you but that won’t be necessary. Please ask them to send over a sorcerer grade one or higher.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Goodbye.”
The car sped off. L/N hadn’t bothered to look anywhere else but the direction of where they came from. Fushiguro situated himself next to her. He glances over to her before looking over to the direction she was looking at.
“I didn’t want to leave him,” he said.
“I know,” she responded. “But that doesn’t take away the dread I feel in my chest.”
Fushiguro did not dare look at her. It didn’t take a genius to realize that she was crying.
“It’s the same feeling I felt the night that my family was killed.”
More time passed without any indication of Itadori’s return. The two first-years began to feel even more weary but neither dared voice their concerns. As the falling rain did little to comfort the two, there was a disturbance in the area.
“The domain?”
“It closed off.”
“Does that mean Itadori is-?”
Suddenly, L/N felt a presence behind them. The anonymous presence quickly revealed itself to be Sukuna.
“I’m sorry sweetheart,” he cooed, his breath tickling the back of her ear. “But he’s not coming back.”
Fushiguro tensed up and L/N felt anger stir inside her.
“Don’t be frightened, I’m actually in a good mood so let’s chat-”
With all her might, L/N surrounded herself in cursed energy and made an attempt to elbow Sukuna. He dodge it with ease all while keeping his hands in his pocket. He maneuvered expertly around her and placed himself in front of the two. He let out a low whistle.
“Be patient, L/N,” Sukuna grinned wildly. “We’ll have fun soon enough.”
“Screw you!” she retorted. “Switch back with Itadori right now!”
Fushiguro placed his hand on L/N’s shoulder. She was shaking in anger. Her adverse reaction to this entire situation shocked him. It even surprised her. The girl didn’t know why, but part of her couldn’t keep her temper in check because its Itadori. The one who went out of his way to make her feel comfortable and wanted at the college. Despite her indifferent demeanor, he did everything he could to befriend her. Even when she actively avoided him over the very monster in front of her.
“You’re very feisty, I like that,” Sukuna said.
“Why are you doing this?” Fushiguro finally said.
“Pay back,” Sukuna simply stated. “This is what he gets for trying to use me without any kind of pact. He’s having trouble switching back, but it’s only a matter of time.”
He then tore off his jacket and shirt, discarding it. Sukuna ready his arm, flexing his fingers into a point. Fushiguro and L/N realized what he was about to do. Before he could stab himself in the chest, L/N made a feeble attempt to use her chain to stop his arm.
The chain was caught by Sukuna’s other hand. A sinister grin formed on his marked face. Before she could let go, he pulled her in. The close proximity caused the girl’s heart rate increase in anxiety. Sukuna took this opportunity to lick her face, making her squirm under his firm hold.
“Let me get rid of him first,” Sukuna whispered. “Then you can have me all to yourself.”
The suggestive tone in his voice made her sick. Before she could retort, Sukuna tossed her aside with great force. L/N had no chance in defending herself before making contact with a nearby tree. The harsh blow to her head caused her vision to blur. The last thing she saw was Fushiguro’s cry and Sukuna taking out Itadori’s still beating heart.
When L/N finally came to, the surrounding area was a mess. Trees were destroyed, the floor cracked wide open in several locations, and blood littered the ground. She knew it wasn’t just Sukuna’s blood too.
She mustered up enough strength to get up from the base of the tree. She closed her eyes in an attempt to locate any noise or sense any cursed energy. Her immediate area was quiet, allowing her ears to tingle as she forced herself to focus. It took several moments to locate the two.
Running with everything she got, L/N used whatever cursed energy she had left into her legs. She broke out in a sweat as she ran towards the half-destroyed building nearby. L/N left her weapon behind so she knew she was at a disadvantage. Perhaps she could convince the monster to let Fushiguro go and he could have her. That’s what Itadori did.
When she arrived at the scene, L/N resisted every urge in her body not to scream. Laying in front of Fushiguro was Itadori’s lifeless body. Fushiguro looked up and saw her, an inconsolable sadness etched upon his pretty face. She began to hyperventilate. No, she thought. It can’t be.
“ITADORI!”