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Curses are much more fickle than humans, or maybe it’s just that humans are fickle in their own lovable human way, while curses have so much less depth to them, so much less reason, desire, want.
Or so he thought.
A curse born from humans, of humans, is such a fascinating thing, isn’t it? Wasn’t he fascinating? Isn’t that why he managed to ensnare people within his web of charming whispers of exactly what they wanted? Or was that due to his captivating container, the mismatched eyes and tousled hair were a nice touch, weren’t they?
Mahito would have never believed there was anything more to the matter if it had not been for her, curious as she was about him. She was the first to truly reflect his love for humans back at him with curses. Such a strange little thing, wandering in with Getou one day and immediately arranging herself as if she’d always belonged.
“What a fun bunch you have here, Suguru-san. Looking forward to working with you all!”
He’d been curious himself of course. What was a cute little human like her doing with such big bad curses like them? Getou explained that he owed her family a debt, that she would be incredibly useful when the time came, so he figured why not play around with her a bit?
What an interesting turn of events it was.
She was unlike any human he had ever met. So unafraid, so ridiculously unafraid. She liked to watch him experiment underground, and would run right behind him when they needed to escape a dysfunctional experiment. He spent some time purposely working with the most gruesome souls he could find just to see if she’d flinch, but she continued to watch and even comment with unrealistic ease.
“Mahito-kun, did you know the people you transfigured?”
“Not all of them.”
“Would you have liked to?”
“Who knows? I’d only bother getting to know them if they were interesting.”
“I think you’d be able to create better curses if you got to know more interesting people.”
“Maybe I would. I’ll see what I can find.”
She’d been excited to learn about the pathetic little boy he’d picked up, remarking that Junpei could turn into a lovely tool if he nurtured him correctly. He found her indirect comparison of people to plants somewhat charming, if not for the hideous implications of the statement.
The death of the boy had been unfortunate, but it wasn’t as if he’d amounted to much anyway. He’d enjoyed going up against that 7 to 3 sorcerer and Sukuna’s vessel, but he’d very much prefer never fighting either again. She, on the other hand, was even more invested in learning about Sukuna than he’d originally expected. At the same time, it made perfect sense to him that she’d get like that, given her unabashed interest in curses. However, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of something unpleasant after seeing her expression talking so animatedly about Sukuna.
“Sukuna must be incredibly powerful to be hailed as the King of Curses. Tell me more about what it felt like to be in Itadori’s soul, Mahito!”
“Man, wouldn’t it be cool to be a curse 2,000 years ago? The jujutsu world must’ve been so much more interesting back then!”
When they regrouped after the events at Jujutsu Tech, he steadying a wobbly Hanami, he was actually surprised to see the expression on her face. Wonder, like the kind he’d seen on little children. It was not the first of moments where he questioned what on earth she was doing there.
Mahito was finding himself incredibly taken with her, though whether it was fueled by his genuine curiosity for humans or something else, was another matter in itself. He found himself coming to her for feedback on techniques he attempted or, surprisingly, just to chat. It evaded him as to why he suddenly had so much interest in someone that wasn’t a toy, and yet he kept finding himself near her.
He hadn’t gone so far as to research whether curses truly had emotions. They felt fear, of course, and excitement or joy in some cases, but what of the foolish emotions that humans harbored? Love, regret, sadness. As far as he knew, such emotions were impossible for curses. In their truest human state that is. Curses could experience only a warped side of such emotions, nothing like what humans experience.
“Say, Mahito, have you ever fallen in love?”
“Hmm. I wonder.”
“Well, have you or have you not?”
“What’s it to you? Have you fallen for a curse?”
“...I think it’d be cool to try.”
“Really now?”
Perhaps it was what the time off was doing to him, so instead he set about making preparations for October 31st. It was going to be a life-changing day, both for them and for everyone in Japan. Soon, everyone in the world.
They’d split up to head to their assigned locations and to complete their assigned tasks. He went ahead and transfigured humans to send to Shibuya, while she was tasked with watching over Mimiko and Nanako.
He’d playfully wished her good luck with the two, to which she’d responded happily, telling him to be careful and to successfully carry out the plan. Of course he would. If everything went as Getou said it would, they’d be at the top of the jujutsu world before long.
Truly things had started out in their favor, and they’d managed to seal Gojo while also attempting to incapacitate the other sorcerers who came to his aid. Mahito had gone off to fight Itadori, which had gone as he would have liked. He’d evolved, growing into a horrid mix of monster and curse, only to be reduced to a weak and quivering mess in front of Sukuna’s vessel.
Getou had shown up then, and for a moment he felt saved. Getou would protect him, do something to get rid of Itadori and those shitty jujutsu sorcerers. Getou would be not only his savior but the savior of the cursed world. Mahito had no reason to doubt him, not when Getou had done so much for him.
He’d brought him that curious girl, after all.
But Getou was no longer playing nice. The change in his tone as he spoke to Mahito sent chills down his spine. Some unknown feeling bubbled up in his chest, lodging itself in his throat and making him shiver stiffy. The next minute was one of losing feeling. He felt himself lose bodily form, and a vacuum-like force pulled him towards the spiral at Getou’s back.
He no longer felt. There was no “he” left to feel. All that remained was the pathetic regret that he hadn’t been able to show her more curses, show her more of the cursed world that he wanted to be a part of.
She would not be able to experience that world at Mahito’s hand any longer.