Work Text:
"I'm so excited to get back to Jujutsu High and relax," Satoru yawned. He leaned his head on the car window, gazing out of the thick glass. "Today's mission was so draining."
"Uhuh, draining for you!" Shoko said, elbowing Satoru's arm. "You went completely overboard when you used your cursed technique. Suguru and I didn't even have to do anything!"
"I think you blew up a third of that elementary school," Suguru muttered. "We're seriously gonna get in trouble."
"Come on," Satoru protested. "The Jujutsu Society has far more than enough money to cover the expenses required to repair that school. It's not our problem."
"You know Yaga-sensei is particular about those things." Suguru then sighed loudly, mumbling something about how reckless his friend was.
"I really don't care about getting in trouble unlike goody two-shoes over here, but Satoru, you actually need to get your cursed energy under control!" Shoko criticized. "One day you're gonna get into something that you won't be able to get yourself out of, and you don't even know how to use Reverse Cursed Technique!"
"I don't want to hear it from someone who didn't take out any curses today!" Satoru retorted.
"Yeah, 'cause you didn't let me! This is why you still don't understand Reverse Cursed Technique no matter how many times I explain it to you."
"You explain it badly! How do you expect me to understand a bunch of hand motions and sound effects?"
"No, you just can't understand."
They continued bickering for the rest of the drive, making Suguru suppress a grin. He couldn't be laughing when they were about to be in huge trouble. And like he predicted, Yaga wanted to speak to all three of them when they arrived back at Jujutsu High.
"How was the mission?" Their teacher asked cheerfully. "You guys didn't struggle too much, I would imagine. It was a grade two curse after all."
Satoru leaned to his left, whispering into Suguru's ear. "Why is he being nice? Something's definitely off.”
"Shut up," Suguru hissed, to which Satoru rolled his eyes in response. Then he answered, "It went smoothly. Why'd you call us here?" He knew exactly why they were called there.
"Well, I just wanted to ask who the hell destroyed a third of that school!" Yaga yelled. "I know I tell you guys to keep property damage to a minimum, and you never listen! I've been letting it slide, but this is the third time this month!"
Satoru confidently raised his hand, grinning. "It was me!"
"He used Reversal Red on the curse which instantly exorcized it, but the attack was way too strong," Suguru informed.
"I think there were a few other low-level curses scattered around that area, but this guy's attack just completely wiped them all out," Shoko added.
Yaga sighed, pinching his nose bridge. "Gojo Satoru, you actually need to get your cursed energy under control. One day you're gonna get into something that you won't be able to get yourself out of, and you don't even know how to use Reverse Cursed Technique."
"That's exactly what I said!" Shoko exclaimed.
"I told you he was gonna get upset," Suguru said, slightly amused.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Satoru mumbled. "I'll train tomorrow, on my day off."
"No you won't," Shoko said.
"No you won't," Suguru said.
Yaga sighed once again. "You're all dismissed.”
—
Satoru wandered around the campus of Jujutsu High the next day, tossing a soda can behind him. Someone else could throw it away if they wanted to. He saw Suguru in the distance on the field, sparring against the first-years. It was like watching mice attempting to fight a leopard.
He wondered where Shoko was. Off smoking somewhere, maybe, or hanging out with Utahime. Or both. Days off were boring, and there was a surplus of those during the summer.
Curses are bad, but why does everyone have to be so happy around this time of year? I know it's the holidays and all, but still.
Satoru's mind wandered off to the mission from the day prior. He had wrecked a large portion of that school to exorcize a curse, and everyone got mad at him. Was it really that big of a deal?
…maybe he really did have to keep his cursed energy under control. He raised his index finger, forming what looked like a red ball of light on his fingertip. The size fluctuated as he tried to keep it small enough. The air around it warped, and pebbles on the ground were being drawn towards it. He put his hand down, dispersing the ability.
“Maybe Reversal Red is too destructive for simple missions like that,” Satoru thought aloud. “Would Amplification Blue work?...Nah. That's also destructive…what could work? I could really go for some pretzels right now. Oh yeah! The new episode of that anime is out today. I gotta go watch it. Wait, I can't. I need to figure out my cursed technique!”
Then, Satoru realized what the root of the problem was. He just couldn't focus. Even during missions, concentrating was a struggle. Especially when he also had to monitor his cursed energy. It was easier to throw a regular attack (which was always way too strong, after all, he's Satoru Gojo) at the curse and get out of there as fast as possible.
An empty soda can hit Satoru on the back of his head, and he jumped in surprise, yelping. He turned around to see Shoko, with Utahime giggling behind her.
“Hey!” He exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head, to make the pain they caused him seem greater than it actually was. The can happened to be the one he threw on the ground earlier. “What was that for?!”
“She told me to do it!” Shoko said defensively, then added, “I kinda wanted to, anyways.”
“That was for all the times you disrespected your upperclassmen, Gojo!” Utahime shouted, pointing at him. “Also, don't litter!”
“Upperclassmen? You mean upperclass man ? It's just you, really.” Satoru picked up the can from the ground. He handed it back to Shoko. “Hold on. Throw this at me again.”
“Whatever, weirdo.” She took the can from him and stepped backwards, before chucking it right at his forehead. It hit him, causing him to jump in surprise again.
“Ow,” Satoru muttered. Why wasn't it working? He was even expecting the attack. In a real fight, he would be dead.
“What happened to the untouchable sorcerer?” Utahime asked, seeming genuinely curious. “Looks like you're off your game, Gojo.”
“Yeah, I dunno.” He scratched his head. “My Limitless is being weird today.”
Shoko gasped dramatically. “What?! How could this be! First you can't control your cursed energy, now your Limitless is malfunctioning? Are you falling off your throne? Are you leaving Suguru to be the strongest all by himself now?”
“Yeah, I get it, I get it! I don't know why this is happening. What do I do?” Satoru asked.
“You could train for once, y'know.” Suguru appeared, wiping sweat off his brow and holding a bottle of water. “You told Yaga-sensei that you were gonna train today.”
“I tell that old geezer whatever he wants to hear, I wasn't actually gonna do it!” Satoru protested. “Being responsible is lame.”
“He's not even that old!” Suguru said. Then he added, “Oh yeah! The first-years are really improving, especially Haibara. He's gonna be really strong when he grows up.”
“Don't care, didn't ask.” Satoru noticed that Shoko and Utahime subtly left the scene, whispering mischievously to each other the minute Suguru showed up. Weird.
Suguru rolled his eyes, then teased, “Yeah well, you can't relate. Your sorcerer rank is gonna go down at this rate.”
“No it's not! I'm really strong. I'm as strong as you. That's why we're the strongest!”
“Yup! Okay, seriously. What do you need help with?”
“Hmm…” Satoru thought for a moment. “Well, I feel like I can't focus during missions. I can't focus at all, actually. I'm constantly thinking about everything all the time except for the stuff I'm supposed to be thinking of. Like, for example, I could be in math class sitting there daydreaming about defeating a really strong curse, and then during missions I'm thinking about how boring calculus is and how sometimes I want to beat up Yaga-sensei for teaching us something like that. I mean, what even is the point? None of us are gonna grow up to be mathematicians or rocket scientists. We're literally sorcerers. In fact, we might not even grow up. It's like they're trying to make Jujutsu High a normal school for normal people while somehow completely ignoring the fact that–”
“You're gonna give me a migraine!” Suguru interrupted. “Not even that, like, a brain tumor. I feel like I'm getting a tumor listening to you.”
“Wow, thanks. Anyways, you see what my problem is! And I don't even know why my Limitless isn't working,” Satoru complained.
“The two issues probably aren't unrelated,” Suguru said. “Cursed energy goes from your gut to your brain, where it's processed into an ability. Your mind is all over the place, and you can't focus. You need to wake up, Satoru.” He snapped his fingers in front of Satoru's eyes.
“I'm fully conscious, and I had a good twelve hours last night,” Satoru said, pushing Suguru's hand out of his face. “So what do you mean I need to wake up?”
“Y-you got twelve hours?! Okay, that's besides the point. I'm not talking about consciousness, I'm talking about your brain. You need to wake up your brain. Try stimulating it, or something.”
“Stimulating…?” Satoru said thoughtfully. “How do I do that, though?”
Suguru shrugged. “Dunno. Do something scary, maybe. Or exhilarating. That's up to you, though. I'm gonna go to my room to shower. See you later.”
The two bid their goodbyes. Suguru went back to his dorm room and Satoru left school grounds, wondering what he could do to stimulate his brain. He was certain that was the solution to the problem. After all, Suguru said it, and Suguru is really smart.
Satoru took public transportation to the nearest amusement park. And there were no amusement parks nearby. It took over an hour of being on a train, but when he finally arrived, he was completely mentally prepared to fix his broken cursed techniques. Suguru did say to do something exhilarating, and what was more exhilarating than a ride on a thrilling roller coaster?
He immediately got in line for the scariest-looking ride. Although Satoru had to admit that he was using this opportunity to simply have fun, training didn't have to be arduous all the time. By the time he got to the end of the line, his stomach was doing flips.
I'm literally one of the strongest sorcerers alive. How am I about to be afraid of a roller coaster?
Satoru looked upwards, observing the tall drop at the end of the ride that seemed to come from above the clouds. He gulped cartoonishly. If the ride malfunctioned and the cart derailed, his Limitless wouldn't be there to save him.
As he climbed into one of the carts, he was sweating bullets. A random grade-schooler got into the empty seat next to him, buzzing with excitement.
“Mom! Get a picture of me before the ride takes off!” She waved at a woman holding a camera who was standing off to the side by the line.
Satoru couldn't believe this kid's enthusiasm. “Look, kid. There's no time to be all excited. We're gonna die! Do you see that drop?! You should be writing your will!”
The little girl stared at him. “Are you joking? Who even are you? My mom told me not to talk to strangers.”
“I'm literally–” Before Satoru could finish his sentence, the ride blasted off. He wasn't even able to scream. The skin on his face felt like it was made of rubber, and his entire body felt like it was evolving. Or perhaps achieving a state of enlightenment.
Is this what nirvana feels like? (like the band)
Before he knew it, the ride was already over. The exhilaration still buzzed under his skin as he walked out with wobbly legs. All that was on his mind was the electricity in his veins and getting his cursed technique to function.
“Okay, my Limitless has to work now,” Satoru said to himself, flexing his fingers. “How do I test it, though?” It's not like some person would appear and throw something at him–
“That's the creepy guy who was talking to me on the ride!” a little girl yelled, tugging on her mother's sleeve and pointing at Satoru. The mother looked at him apologetically, most likely being able to observe the fact that he was just some dumb high-schooler.
The girl was holding a stuffed tomato plushie (a tomato ), probably a prize she won from a mini game at the amusement park (which is really impressive actually; Satoru had come to the conclusion long ago that all of them are rigged), and promptly hurled it at the innocent teenager. Well, innocent to an extent. Although the throw didn't have much power behind it, after all she was a grade-schooler, she was standing close enough for the plushie to come in contact with Satoru. However that didn't happen, as it stopped about an inch from his body and fell to the ground.
“It worked!” Satoru giggled to himself. He picked up the tomato plushie with two hands and presented it to the girl's mother, bowing. “I owe you two my life.”
“..what exactly are you thanking us for? I should be apologizing for my daughter's rude behavior,” the mother said, clearly embarrassed, but Satoru was running off before getting to hear her apology.
He skipped whimsically in a direction with no destination, grinning to himself. He must've looked like a lunatic to passersby, but he didn't have a care in the world. The plushie had stopped an inch away and although that was very close, it was still better than nothing. He was on the right track.
Due to his pride in his small achievement, Satoru went on all the rides he laid his eyes on (even the carousel!), just to have fun. Then as the ultimate reward, he bought himself some blue cotton candy from a cotton candy stand. Yeah, he was the type of person to take a two hour break after writing the title of an essay, but who cares? He was here for a good time, not a long time. Does that expression even apply here?
Today's the best day ever. It's time to sit back and relax! I gotta go home and tell Suguru what happened.
Then, as if the universe just had to steal away any amount of joy he feels ever, he heard the screams of several civilians coming from nearby. And these weren't Aahhh I'm having so much fun! screams, they were more like Help me! I'm about to die! screams.
Satoru sprinted to where the commotion was, holding the cotton candy tightly in his hand, and ended up at a candy store. There was a mother protecting her son from a weak-looking curse in the corner of the small building. Everyone in the vicinity had fled the scene, except for a few people standing there looking confused, clearly unable to see the threat.
The curse was a deformed purple blob with a face. Were those the eyes? Or are those multiple mouths? It was spewing some garbled nonsense that was just clear enough to be understood as, “Mama…candy…”
Was a curse seriously formed from all the little kids who swore vendetta against their mother because she didn't buy them candy? Oh brother.
Satoru could tackle this in many different ways. He couldn't think of a single method, but he was sure many different ones existed. He just couldn't stop thinking about how that curse looked so much like a Pokémon. Actually, it looked exactly like Muk. Well, it was kinda big (nothing Satoru couldn't handle, though) so maybe Muk's evolution, Grimer? Wow, imagine if Pokémon was real. He could just pull out a Pokéball and capture this waste of his time in one go, and be deemed a hero. But noo, he lives in a boring, bland universe where jujutsu exists but they have to keep it hidden from the masses–
Focus, Satoru Gojo. You cannot possibly be thinking of Pokémon right now.
At this point, it doesn't even matter who sees him defeat the curse. The only potential witnesses (excluding the victims) are so oblivious to cursed energy that they'll probably perceive the jujutsu as him pulling out a dagger and swinging at the air. He might get in huge trouble for this if the Higher Ups find out, but who cares? They live in the 1700s.
“My name is Satoru Gojo, and I'm here to save you!”
…Okay, he said that in his head. But it's the thought that counts. Satoru lunged at the curse and clouded his fist in cursed energy. A black flash? Seriously? That has never worked for him in the history of sorcery. Like expected, he messed up the timing (badly.) and missed the punch completely. At this, the curse noticed him and started screaming. Or roaring. Calm down, man. The store is full of candy, why do you need to target the little kid holding one box of chocolates?
Satoru heard the woman and her child behind him begin to cry even louder. He'd cry too if the guy attempting to save his life messed up his first attack that badly.
He couldn't joke his way out of this one. The only thing he could think of was using Amplification Blue or Reversal Red but half the time it didn't even work when he tried, and when it did it was blown way out of proportion. He didn't want to hurt the people he was trying to save. In the split second Satoru was thinking all of this, he saw the curse begin to unleash a punch of his own, a punch that'll actually land.
Crap. I gotta protect the people behind me. Limitless, don't fail me now!
His Limitless, in fact, failed him. He got a solid punch right to the gut that knocked all the air out of him as he fell on the stone-cold floor. The cotton candy he had been protecting with his life touched the ground.
No.
NOO.
Being humiliated by a grade 4 looking curse was bad enough, but his precious candy being made dirty? Blemished? Impure? It was blasphemous. Satoru sat up and tasted warm, metallic blood. He didn't care. He had his priorities set. He reached for the cotton candy, and consumed all of the frosted sugar in one big gulp.
Whether it was adrenaline or sugar high, Satoru didn't know. The only thing in his mind was to make this curse wish he had never been born.
The curse swung at him again, but its body stopped a foot away from Satoru's face. An orb of blue light swirled at his fingertip, fluctuating. Beads of sweat formed on Satoru's face as he tried his hardest to make it stay small but not too small, big but not big to the point where it destroys the whole store. It got to the size of a marble and stayed perfectly still. Perfect.
Amplification Blue.
All of that had happened in around a second. Purple bits of ooze were flying everywhere and the echoes of “Nooo…candy…” were floating in the air.
Satoru turned around, heaving breaths. “Are you guys hurt?”
The woman simply stared at him, dumbfounded, as her son continued to cry in her arms. “...you're hurt. There's blood in your hair. Do you want me to call the cops to help you?”
The last thing Satoru needed was legal interference. “No! No. I'm fine. I can walk home.” He was beginning to feel very dizzy, actually, but he didn't want to worry this distressed woman even further.
“W-wait…I didn't thank you yet. We owe you our lives!”
But Satoru was out of there before he got to receive her gratitude. He ran as fast as he could to the nearest exit of the amusement park, holding a handkerchief to the back of his head.
I'm gonna pass out. What if I pass out? No. Nonono. I don't want any regular civilians to find me.
He could feel the blood seeping through the fabric. Did he get this injured? Did the curse land multiple punches, or just one? He thought it was just one. Some curses are particularly fast, though. He probably hit his head too hard on the floor. Did he get a concussion? Why didn't his Limitless work? The whole thing was a blur.
Satoru pulled out his cell phone to text Suguru. Or maybe it was Shoko. Or did he text them at all?
…
“He's awake. He's awake! Shoko, c'mere!”
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Did they seriously get his vitals hooked up? It was a grade 3 curse at most, jeez. Satoru blinked his eyes open for his fuzzy vision to focus on Suguru's concerned expression. Then another head appeared.
“Wakey wakey eggs and bakey,” Shoko said around the cigarette in her mouth.
“How long was I out for?” Satoru asked, his words slurred. The most cliché movie stereotypical thing to say, but it was a genuine question. He touched his hand to his forehead. His head was bandaged.
“That doesn't matter right now!” Suguru replied, exasperated, at the same time Shoko answered, “Like, two hours.”
“When I told you to go wake up your brain, I didn't mean for you to go fight a bunch of curses!” Suguru continued. “You could've gotten killed, especially with how your Limitless has been malfunctioning.”
“Huh? That curse was really weak,” Satoru mumbled.
“Then why did Yaga-sensei tell us that it was a grade one curse?! You suck at gauging strength,” Suguru insulted as Shoko laughed.
Satoru sat up, even though his head felt like there were termites eating at his nerve pathways.
A grade one.
A grade one at an amusement park.
“Did your Limitless work at all?” Shoko asked. “Or were you just thrown around like a ragdoll?”
“It worked towards the end…I don't really know why, though.”
“Did you do anything during the fight? Change your combat pattern?” Suguru questioned. “Maybe we can help you.”
“Well…I guess my mind was all over the place. I was thinking about other stuff, and I started attacking it with a black flash.” This provoked a snicker from both of his friends. “Obviously, it didn't land, and I kinda got thrown around. But because I got thrown around, the cotton candy I was holding touched the ground and I got real mad. So I ate the cotton candy and exorcized the curse.”
“Uhh…”
“Uhm…wow…”
The audience of his story was clearly at a loss for words, definitely not because of how confused they were.
“Maybe the sugar was able to stimulate your brain,” Suguru suggested uncertainly.
“Oooor he was just really mad at the curse for ruining his cotton candy,” Shoko countered.
“Well, we have to start somewhere. Maybe start eating chocolates before missions. I know we're suggested to not eat sweets before fighting since it can cause an upset stomach, but I dunno.” Suguru shrugged.
“I have no problem with that. I could eat sweets all day every day!” Satoru sighed wistfully.
“You're so fat…” Shoko muttered, crossing her arms.
Yaga burst through the door.
“Gojo! Why were you off of school property on your day off?”
“What?! We're allowed to leave the school on our days off!” Satoru protested.
Yaga sighed, and looked about fifty years older in that moment. “To be honest, the Higher Ups didn’t tell me about that grade one curse. If they did, I would’ve warned you guys to steer clear of the amusement park.”
“Are you serious…?” Satoru muttered. “I could’ve gotten killed back there. They gotta do a better job at keeping you up to date on these things.”
“I think they’re trying to get rid of you, Satoru.”
This provoked a Huuuh?! from all three students.
“Why would they wanna get rid of this idiot?” Suguru said. “Do they think he’s that much of a threat?”
“I have no idea,” Yaga admitted. “They always give me information, and conveniently, this is the one time they didn’t. Right when Satoru’s abilities weren’t working as they should’ve.”
“How did they know my abilities weren’t working?! I don’t get it.”
“The only thing I could think of are reports I gave them from your previous missions. Since you weren’t able to monitor your cursed energy, maybe they inferred that your Limitless wouldn’t work either,” Yaga theorized. “Thus, they predicted this whole series of events and you ended up right where they wanted you; the amusement park.”
The room was quiet in thought for a few moments.
“What were we talking about before?” Satoru interrupted the heavy silence. “Sorry. It was getting a little too quiet in here.”
“Oh yeah! Eating sweet stuff stimulates this guy’s brain!” Shoko told Yaga before Suguru could open his mouth to speak. “Isn’t that funny? The strongest sorcerer alive is a sugar addict!”
“I’m not a sugar addict !” Satoru protested.
“You will be soon!” Suguru teased. “You said you wouldn’t mind.”
Yaga laughed as he walked out the room. “Well, do whatever you can to get your cursed energy under control. We can’t have you dying on us, Satoru. Make sure this never happens again.” And he’s gone.
Well. Today was an eventful day.
“So…when can I go back to my room? Wait, why are there so many scratches on my arms?!” Satoru questioned, staring at the minor injuries on both his arms.
“We found you in a bush,” Suguru deadpanned.
“Yeah, what were you doing there?!” Shoko asked.
“Uhh…I think I jumped into a bush so no one else could find me,” Satoru scratched his bandaged head. He started grinning. “From now on, I’m gonna eat so much candy! Me and Suguru gonna be the strongest sorcerers in history ^_^”
Woohoo!!!! They all cheered and lived happily ever after. Nothing bad ever happens to them after this!