Archive of Our Own ^beta

Utahime is rarely jealous of others. She is an individual with a self-satisfied personality, though being far from arrogant or even proud. She isn't particularly ambitious either, yes, in the spur of the moment she may get competitive sometimes, but she never takes loss to her heart (unless it's an attack on her literal heart). To sum it up, she is simply accepting of who she is and what she has, including the scar that she never resented.

Yet, it's hard to be a part of the Jujutsu community and not be jealous of him. 

Limitless, the power to bend the space itself to his will, coupled with the limitless amount of cursed energy he has, and finally the Six Eyes which coordinates all of it together.

As much of a braggart and egotist Gojo is, she can't even imagine a version of her own self being humble when possessing such power.

He could literally change the universe, he could rule this planet. However the knowledge that he can, is enough someone like him, luckily. Because such a power in wrong hands would be the end of humanity. She would never admit, but she understands the cons his self-centered and cynical personality has because a person who is too attentive to the world, affected by affairs of the world and seeks value in other's perception of themselves, would be more likely to take the path of evolution. Like Getou.

It's been 3 months since the culling game was successfully forced to a stop after ventures on the part of the students of both Tokyo and Kyoto tech. The final halt to the case was delivered when Gojo Satoru was successfully released, and scavanged the mess entirely, as was expected of him.

Now, things are normal at Tokyo Jujutsu Tech and rest of Japan.

Or so it feels. 

Kenjaku escaped leaving Getou's body behind and his current whereabouts are unknown. He managed to escape with several of Getou's cursed spirits including Mahito (probably binded by another special grade cursed object), hence the stitched-scar across forehead, the telltale sign of his possession, is something he has overcome with Soul Transfiguration.

And that's not all. Tengen-Sama is still evolving, and Yuki Tsumoko isn't done with him yet either. Wherever that'll go?

The higher ups, who turned on Gojo the second he got confined in the prison realm, were certainly hiding something and knew more about this calamity than they were letting on. After the mayhem was handled, though they never participated actively from either side, they refused to break their stance of giving no information. 

As much as Gojo would have liked to kill them this time especially because of their actions against the late Yaga, he was restricted from doing so by his new "superior", because whatever information they were hiding was important in the "bigger picture".

What was this "bigger picture" per say? According to the new "superior"-or let's shift to referring to them as the Principal for now- the danger to Japan is still not solved. With Kenjaku on the run, Tengen-Sama's evolution still ongoing, and higher ups being extra suspicious. Something unpleasant was yet to befall. 

Still, why would Gojo listen to the new Principal?  For one, despite the utter indignation he felt, he agreed to the logic. Secondly, if he did kill the higher ups this time, he would himslef have to take control of Jujutsu community, and that too with the whole of Japan still in chaos. For all his amour propre and belief in being a demi-god if not a living God, he didn't have dictatorship agendas.

That is why he was following the orders of the Principal and working behind the scenes. Yes, behind the scenes. He still taught his students and went on missions, but all his activities were clandestine as he was still a latent criminal, whom the higher ups believed to have been re-trapped into the Prison realm by Okkotsu Yuuta, following the orders of the new principal.

On a different note, the higher ups choice for the new principal was a surprise to Gojo. Not to say that she was undeserving, quite a diligent and resourceful individual, an one who actually truly cared about the Jujutsu sorcerers and definitely the best choice according to him from among the available options (few). 
However, he was surprised because though Utahime had been an obedient subordinate (unlike him), he didn't expect that her having been in cahoots with him before the Shibuya incident would be treated indifferently by the higher brass. Since he wasn't even allowed an audience  with them or the levity of investigation of his case before being subjugated officially.

Though it worked out well. Technically, she was now a higher up as well, and she was investigating the innner politics by being a memeber of the body, simultaneously she had managed to take virtual control of the executive activities of not only Tokyo but Kyoto as well, because however she did it Gakuganji had become her lapdog.

She was using all the means at her disposal to look for Kenjaku and even visiting Tengen-Sama's inventory every day to meet Yuki (who she happened to know well from before) and read through the texts and manuscripts present there. For Figuring out a way to deal with Kenjaku and Tengen-Sama's evolution.

What part was he playing? Well, if he sat to think about it, she was now basically his window to the Jujutsu world. He trusted her, that is why he had asked her to investigate the mole previously, so he was believing and following whatever she told him now as well. He was never stopped by her from teaching, not only his but also her students (former students) who were visiting Tokyo too often these days. Then, she often embezzled the mission documents to send him to unregistered missions, or fetching unaccounted cursed objects.

Today was one such mission, but the difference was that she was accompanying him. For some reason she had left all details unclear and all he knew was to follow her. That's why during a fairly long walk through the streets, he found himself wondering just how did he began trusting someone so much. He did trust her before too, but not as much as Yaga Sensei and  Shoko, however that was different. He dosen't remember trusting someone with himself. Usually, his trust in his students, Yaga Sensei, Shoko and comrades like Nanami was derived from him knowing the situation and believing their ability to handle it. The trust for someone to handle his self..? And that too some one whom he always considered weak, weak is not synonyms with incompetent even for Gojo, but still. For all he knew, she really might see him just as another means at her disposal. And...he would be fine with that, as long their goals match, atleast she wouldn't leave him for something else....like him.

January isn't the best time to visit Hokkaido. The snow-laden streets certainly don't facilitate a stroll. To add to all that, 6 in the morning is one of the worst hours, with chilly winds, and heavy snow fall just a few hours ago. 

They are walking on a narrow lane, picturesque with the bowing snow-covered pine trees from both sides. His eyes are trained on her back as she keeps walking forward at a slow pace. A rural area, that is why the snow hadn't been removed. She is struggling, because of 2 feet of snow beneath them. Though, still faring better than a regular human because she has her feet and ankles reinforced with a good amount of cursed energy.

Gojo tried to reinforce his feet with a similar amount of cursed energy as her, walking behind her. Mimicking fluctuations of cursed energy, walking with a little too small steps for his large legs, stopping when she stopped, looking at the movement of her eyes when she looked around, and simultaneously trying to earse his presence except for the cursed energy focused on his feet which he was trying to resonate with hers. 

"Why aren't you levitating? Even your infinity is off, making sounds and letting your expensive boots get cracked with the cold. Did the cold make you lose it all up there?" She finally asked after approximately 15 mintues of walking. Voice a little gruff, but velvety and vapor visible in air leftwards 

"I have to follow you, don't I?"

"Not to the extent of inconveniening yourself." She said, still not looking back.

"Why? Aren't you inconvenienced?"

"I am. If I could levitate, i would."

"If that's the case then why aren't you just asking me to lift you? I could levitate us both."

"I don't want to."

They walk in silence for some time.

"I always liked snow. Since I was a child. Winter is my favourite season. And I like Christmas. Part of the reason might be that my birthday is in December." 

"Oh. Okay. But that dosen't mean it dosen't bother you."

"You're right, despite my looks I am not princess Elsa." He chuckles after speaking.

"Right. You're stronger."

Gojo senses something in her cadence. Is it resentment? Why? He really didn't do anything this time.

"...also far more stupid." She says with a whine and looking upto the sky.

Gojo felt she was opening up a bit now after having walked like a ghost while ghosting him. So he runs and closes the distance between them.

She looks at him, he was wearing a white jacket, darker tham snow and paler than his hair. It was a bit odd to see him in a color other than black, even his pants were white. As if he picked it out just to contrast her all black attire, while their hair was a natural contrast. The boots and gloves were reversed, her's being white and his black.

Her hair was down and flowing to shield her ears from the wind and she had a red scarf around her neck. Yes, he had a blue one. She wondered if he indeed looked into her belongings, she had been suspecting that for some time now.

It didn't gross her out, or even scare her. He didn't even get on her nerves anymore. Earlier she thought it was because of the losses they had both suffered. Two of her students died, for his side Yaga and Nanami, and Nobara is still in a coma only alive because of a third party involvement. They were all a depressed bunch, Megumi, Yuuji, Kamo, Momo, Maki, Panda, Inumaki, Yuuta, Todo and even Miwa. 

Not just loss, but anxiety and fear being the most prominent aspects of their lives for the past few months. When did she last sleep soundlessly without any nightmares? When did she last wake up without a cold sweat? Eat the breakfast without feeling her throat hurt? When did she last have a job which didn't require her to extrapolate mind games she strategized the previous night? A job that was to teach people, not manipulate them. When did she last spend her evening in activities other than drinking?

To Jujutsu sorcerers, melancholy was a regular visitor. However it lasted for sometime and was effervescent in the rushing sledge of new missions and challenges. Now, it had been a bit too quite for some time. Time to dwell on erosion, time to smell the scent of the approaching precipitation, feeling the moisture and chill, yet hardly enough time to be prepared for the unavoidable. 

Gojo had had a life of more suffering than her. She knew that much. She knew he was better at handling it too. Born in a clan, raised to be an heir, raised to be the strongest, then he matured into someone who couldn't have a match. Fear, anger, pain, pride, jealousy, greed...all emotions were a bit too sublime for him. Whatever he was feeling now, he has already felt worse before. But after every single one of his losses, he went back to being an idiot, and he took the actions he needed to nonetheless.

So why the sudden change? Did the infinity finally break? 

It might be because of the circumstances. His life changed drastically. From the strongest living being on whom the whole society depended he went to being a criminal on the run on whom, immediately, only she depended. Though she gave him proper reasoning for everything she asked him to do and he questioned, gave suggestions and even declined at times. But overall she had been a bit too dependent on him, naturally because the Jujutsu society depended on him like always, she was just a window, a channel. Yet, why did it feel like she was controlling him? 

.....and that he wanted to be controlled? To depend?

If that's how it is then this should be easier, shouldn't it? Then why does she feel heavier as they approach their destination?

The broken shrine looks bizzare and freakish. It is a combination architecture of Japanese, Chinese,  English and Greek styles. 

It's outside looks like an everday Japanese Shrine, which is because of a cursed illusion barrier. It's situated in holy grounds of the Tokugawa empire so it is counted as a heritage site, hence keeping it from demolition. An agent of Jujutsu community, a part of the Historical department of the government keeps any restoration work from being undertaken.

Once they are beyond the Cursed illusion, Utahime sends a surge of of cursed energy through the walls, lighting up the the patterns on the wall. On close inspection, there are symbols of cursed inscription on them, perhaps helping in the chained golden ignition of light. Some background patterns moving across the wall.

It's quite a spectacle!

Inside, the area first starts with walls of Tokugawa shogunate paintings, very Japanese in style, slowly reaching a mixed stage of historical and mythical. Mix of chinese mythical creatures like Dragons and phoenix...then the Chinese dragon being replaced by the European dragons. One part consists of an Euro-Chinese mix dragon, very detailed and grand, bringing out his source of life in the form of an apple and giving it the Greek Goddess of wisdom Athena while she stood at the steps of Parthenon, surrounded by snow and cherry blossoms.

"What weird mix-up did the artist have?" Gojo asks eyeing the art.

"It was a traveling artist. A Jujutsu sorcerer who liked to travel and paint. From what i know, the cursed technique was no good for fights but because of mobile paintings, woodwork and engravements he was quite a celebrity." Utahime answers as she directs him towards a set of stairs.

"I know I would have paid a lot to him to make me a painting."

"Ofcourse you'd. Not just one but an entire colloseum depicting your daily life and chivalry. Right?"

"No. I just want one. By the way how many times have you been here?"

"Many. Back in my early twenties i had made this place into my personal workshop for working on my own inventions."

"Isn't this under Higer up jurisdiction? How did you get the permission?"

"Let's see...I didn't." She turns and winks at him.

"Oh...but how did you even find this place? And why is your cursed energy registered here?" Gojo asks a bit surprised.

"I found it because I read about it in our school's documentaries present in the library. As for my cursed energy authentication... that was kind of like hacking into a computer. Except for programming code i had to deal with inscriptions. Took a lot of time and study." She says as she climbs the stairs.

"Impressive!" He is surprised but not that surprised. Because lately this woman has been giving him a lot of things to question his knowledge of about her over. He dosen't even know about her cursed technique that well. On the other hand, she knew  him and his cursed technique a little too well, being famous suddenly felt like a disadvantage, especially because she knew even more than the others, 9t was obvious because she openly discussed his technique with him and sometimes said things even he hadn't noticed. He had felt this before against one opponent, but with her it just felt like...he was naked while she was fully clothed, the one in control. 

"So what is that one painting you'd have liked made?"

Gojo was looking around at the Greek style Columns which had small chigis scattered on them in a pattern that resembled Greek alphabets. He recognized theta and gamma, he was trying to look for alpha.

"You in an ancient greek garment, like the one Athena was wearing in that-"

He stops aa she turns to look at him from near the large dark black marble door she was about to push open. 

She has a crestfallen expression on. It sinks his heart. He doesn't even understand why. Though he is not lying, he thinks she would look exceptionally exquisite in an ancient greek dress and he would like a painting like that especially if it could move a bit, but he had said it as a joke to her. He could still do that, laugh it off , but her expression has made him feel off-balance all of a sudden.

She just pushes the door open and moves inside, while he stands still. It feels to him that ages have passed, as he hears the rustle of chilly wind outside and chirp of migratory birds. Some grey light seeping in the room through a very grand english style window made out of Japanese Cypress. As hard as he tries to hear, he dosen't hear any sound of her footsteps. He starta remembering that her tread had in fact been very light and sounndless always. Compared to him, who announces his arrival with heavy thuds giving an idea of his height and strength, her's is furitive...almost like an...assassin.

"Are you coming?" Her voice finally reaches him and he latches onto it to bring himself back from the depths of his thoughts to hurry to her.

Inside, the massive hall antagonizes the rest of the palatially intricate Shrine with it's absolute desolation. All four walls, floor and ceiling made of balck marble, it looked like a closed cube as the door of black marble was shut. A large cut on the front wall, facing north, being the only otlet. An old leafless cherry blossom tree covered in snow was visible outside it, he could see the boundary of cursed illusion veil when he removed his blindfold. However other than that, the place where he was standing was completely devoid of cursed energy, so devoid that the black marble material had to be a bad conductor and resistor of cursed energy.

No cursed energy yet this place rivaled the prison realm in snisterness.

"What are we here for... Utahime?"

"This actually used to be a white marble room with Chinese and Japanese folktakes written in Latin and Greek script. The window was like the one outside." She pauses for a while. "I worked hard to redesign it."

Gojo can't understand what is going on but his sixth sense has been alarming him for something ominous eversince he agreed to come on this trip. Only increasing as he got closer to...to this room..this cube. 

Yet he came, he even had his infinity down, even now. 

If it had been anyone else, they would jump to the obvious conclusion. That the woman in this room, with the face of Utahime Iori, is actully Kenjaku.

But Gojo had already met Kenjaku in Getou's body. He could tell the difference, and he could tell now that the woman standing before him, chanting a prayer song in very fast speed and making air gush from the hollow in the wall, was Utahime Iori, body and soul.

What was happening: Utahime held her hands in a joined state in front of herself, as very fast and sharp gushes of wind carrying her cursdd energy made their way inside the cubicle, cutting through the walls and floor and ceiling, making particles of the marble disperse in air, and forming a specific pattern in the whole room.

What's more is that the cursed energy that came with the wind wasn't something she was doing now but more like she saturated the wind with her cursed energy before coming here and was summoning it back.

Gojo has been trying to turn his infinity on since he stepped inside the room but not just his infinity, his whole limitless isn't working. Only once he started to feel that his visual perception was dampening did he accept that somoehow his techniques and Six eyes....even all of his cursed energy were all being....being encased in the walls of this cubicle, getting sealed by Utahime's cursed enery. His strong vibrant cursed energy getting sealed by her meek cursed energy?

Whatever questions that were flooding his mind were actually thoughts of secondary importance to him. He was mostly relieved, he was relieved that he could tell for certain that the person over here was Utahime, not Kenjaku. Had it been Kenjaku it would have mean that Utahime died...died and got her body possessed. 

Died...

UTAHIME...

...Was not dead.

That was enough knowledge for him to pass out without resistance on the marble floor as he felt even his life energy getting sucked away.

He wakes up in his hotel room in Hokkaido. He opens his eyes and finds himself crying, his eyes wet and cheeks painted with streaks of tears.

Had he been he dreaming? 

No...his six eyes are gone, all his cursed energy is gone as well. He raises himself up to look around.

"Good morning"

He hears the voice from the left side of the room and turns

"Utaa...himmeee"

Ay this point, Gojo is just utterly confused of his own emotions. He hadn't been the type to self-reflect before this, however all the time he got with himself in the prison realm had given him a new habit of overthinking his actions. Right now, instead of feeling anger, confusion or dilemma, he just got into a state of euphoria upon seeing her, safe and sound, and with him. 

She looked at his expression of elatedness and even gratitude, and sighed. She had been running several simulations of how to take the conversation but all that was for naught.

She puts a cute guilty smile on her face and says, "I had been working on it for a long time. That chamber was designed to extract cursed energy in a manner that it remains intact with the patterns of cursed technique. Technically speaking, what happened was embedding a program of your cursed technique and entrapping it into the walls."

"Oh" he says, a bit amused.

"And since you also have reversed cursed energy mastered so it was possible for me to reverse your cursed entrapment and fill it into myself. To be precise, not everyone can do it, only close relatives or people with gebetic match..." she looks at his dismyed expression and adds shaking her head, "No, no, we are not related. It's easy to do of genetically close people so to overcome that I added advanced level of scriptures. You know, I had been working with Yuuta a lot recently right, it was because i was also trying to get a breakthrough with his technique of copying other's abilities. I used that knowledge in this setup, to make my body capable of attaining your technique..."

"And why did I do it? Well, let's see, it was to get a way to extract cursed energy so that to proceed towards Yuki's plan to make all humans devoid of it....and why would I try toctake your technique then..." she stops and looks down at her feet.

"Well, it is that good a technique so I understand. But this is some achievement Utahime, you can already rival Kenjaku ans Tengen-Sama now. I am impressed....And i still don't understand your cursed technique."

"Umm...well one use of my cursed technique is to disperse my cursed energy and summon it back, or even set it with a time trigger. That's how I engraved the patterns after taking you there. It needed to be like that because the chamber first unhinges the usage of cursed technique and locks an individual's cursed energy within themselves, you must have felt it...so i had to summom mine from outside instead of releasing it inside...oh by the way I set that up the previous night when I told you I had to go see a friend...If i didn't have my technique then i don't know how I would have been able to pull this."

"Amazing, really amazing." He truly is amazed, and is he feeling proud of her? His expression does seem like that.

"Well thanks but..."

"Hummm.."

"But there would need to be a lot more research because what I did was after a lot of study of your specific technique and energy. Though it is a lot more comolex then almost all other techniques and cursed energies, but creating specific sets of extraction for every single beings' cursed energy on this planet isn't possible. I'll have to pulverize the algorithm to a more basic level..."

" You did this so fast i bet you'll be able to accomplish the goal soon enough. We have time. Don't worry."

She couldn't believe that he was encouraging her. After all the guilt she felt for the two days he was passed out. She knew he wouldn't be mad at her, why she knew that is something she can't answer, however not even disheveled over losing his technique was shocking.

"You're right, especially with six eyes understanding cursed energies has become easier, I have already got some ideas to try." She says focusing cursed energy in her eyes which turned it blue like his.

Gojo was really enjoying this.

Finally, it irked her. She hadn't felt annoyed by him in a long while but here it comes:

"Oi, shouldn't you be more distraught? Aren't you feeling betrayed? You should be mad at me. I took your powers away, you aren't the stongest anymore..." she shouted but squeaked the last part " ...I am."

"Oh yes you are. And unlike me you also have a bad temper. So I'll be a good boy and do as you say for dear life." He said in a dramatic voice

"Eh? Well that makes sense....Gojo but I'll return it to you. Like I said, I can reverse the whole process, I have the blueprints ready. Just for a little whil-"

"Hey, hey it's fine. I am already a latent criminal and was following your orders anyway. Maybe it's finally time I took a vacation to Ibiza." He says stretching his hands upwards.

" No way, you still have to teach the kids, and you have to teach me some drill to your techniques... and you'll be doing some of my office work-"

"Like your secretary!!" He is exited for some reason, "Alright, I'll do as my master says. Everything, everything I have left belongs to you...my brains, my brawns, my body and my soul.." he says blinking fast and speaking in a high pitched voice overdramaticlly while pulling the sheets upto his chest.

"You... never change." Utahime says with her eyebrows raised, and then chuckles.

What she dosen't tell him, is that she sees how he has changed. She dosen't tell him how long had she closely studied his cursed energy, even before joining hands with Yuuki....in order to do this one day and laugh to his face, call him weak...threaten to kill him...maybe actually.....

She also doesn't tell him that his fealty did make her glad. Even with the technique, the essence of having him support her with everything. This egotistical bastard whom she believed would rather die than part from his powers,  was almost worshipping her...makes her feel almighty for a moment. Powerful! the thought of possesing him...as he said, body, soul and cursed energy...all belonging to her.

What he dosen't tell her is that, he would have agreed to this had she just asked him. Because Gojo Satoru after all these years of living as the strongest, had found that he was never the storngest because he was Gojo Satoru, or Gojo Saroru because he was the strongest. He was just Gojo Satoru and the Strongest. Both of which he wouldn't mind giving up on to her. In fact, since it went to her, Utahime Lori, he is glad in some part of his brain, relieved from a burden. 

He wants to be her possession...like an object...

...a special grade object though, remember.

                  -I wanna be your slave by Måneskin