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In this world, there are dangerous monsters that attack humanity. It’s unknown if they kill for food or for fun. However, it is known that these monsters get classified into two species: Cursed Spirits and Devils. In essence, they’re kind of the same. But there are some big differences between the two. Cursed spirits are monsters made of cursed energy, cursed energy being created from humanity’s negative emotions. Devils are technically a sub species of curses, being created from the fears of humanity. Devils can be killed with normal weapons, while Cursed Spirits require cursed energy. Humans can make contracts with devils. Over the years, two factions have been formed: Jujutsu Sorcerers and Devil Hunters (Sorcerers and Hunters for short). Jujutsu Sorcerers have the ability to control cursed energy. Devil Hunters are regular humans who take care of devils, most making a contract with certain devils to be able to do their job more affectively. Of course, each has their own sub factions. For generations, the relationship between the two factions has been friendly, their only common goal being to get rid of the monster that plague their world. However, recently, the relationship between the two hasn’t been the greatest. It started to decline in the Heian era, due to the King of Curses making his name known throughout all of Japan. The Devil Hunters were outraged, “how could the sorcerers let something like this slide?” They gossiped. “Can’t they control one of their own?” The sorcerers didn’t take this lightly. Then, years later, the gun devil appeared. The sorcerers took this as their golden ace. “How useless are they? Can’t they take care of a devil like that? That doesn’t even compare to a grade 1 cursed spirit!” They scoffed among themselves. Eventually the Hunters heard. That ruined the relationship between the two even more. Today, they are not on speaking terms. While they cooperate, it’s definitely not friendly, just work. Of course, while the sorcerers are more subtle, the hunters do their work in broad daylight.
Denji found himself sitting tied to a chair in a room full of weird talismans.
“Good morning. ‘Bout time you woke up.” A tall stranger with white hair greeted him.
“Where… Where am I…?” Denji managed to choke out, wiggling his hands only to realise his hands are tied to the chair behind his back.
“Jujutsu Tech. Although, you probably never heard about it.” The stranger scoffed nonchalantly. Then, he suddenly got very up close to Denji, inspecting him like he was some sort of strange artefact.
“Hmmm… You’re a Devil Hunter, aren’t you?”
“Uh… yeah..? What about it?”
“Ah… I see. Welp, you almost killed my student back there. If I didn’t show up you would have shredded him to pieces! Say, what contract do you have? Never seen a devil contract that could do that. Didn’t look like a cursed technique either.” The stranger yapped, a slight amusement being hidden behind his nonchalance.
“Cursed technique..? Contract? I…” Denji said slightly confused. What is a cursed technique? Where is he? Who is this guy? So many questions, so little answers. Then, he remembered. “…Pochita!”
“You shouldn’t be worrying about others. You’re supposed to be executed… But you’re too valuable. You know what? We can just blame the damage on your superiors and maybe I can pull a couple of strings so I can take you under my wing! I mean, I managed to save both Yuta and Yuji, so a third highly dangerous student won’t be that much of a problem. I can keep you under control. I’m the strongest, after all.” The stranger said proudly.
“The strongest? Who even are you?” Denji asked still very confused.
“Gojo Satoru.” Gojo announced proudly. “It’s a shame you never heard about me.” He continued, dramatically sighing.
“Gojo? I think I heard that name… but I don’t remember from where..” Denji tried to recall, but his memory was blank.
“Great. Anyway, what’s the name of your higher-up? From what I know, Devil Hunters tend to operate on a system that is very similar to ours.”
“Well, top knot… and miss Makima.”
Gojo was frozen. He slowly removed his blindfold with one hand, his blue eyes pinning Denji in place. “…M-Makima?”
“Yeah. Something wrong?”
“Well shit. I’ve done messed up, didn’t I? This isn’t good… I’ve got one of Makima’s brats.” Gojo rambled, more to himself.
“You know miss Makima?” Denji asked, breaking Gojo out of his spiralling ramble.
“‘Course I know Makima. Listen kid, I know lots of weird and powerful people, but Makima… not even the king of curses himself scares me as much as that woman does..”
“King of curses? Isn’t that.. that one guy that everybody hates for some reason?” Denji asks, recalling Himeno mentioning him while talking with Aki.
“Oh? Makima told you about Sukuna? Interesting. Didn’t know she was the type to gossip about that old fart from thousands of years ago.”
“No, not miss Makima. Aki and the eyepatch lady were talking about him while we were stuck in an infinite hotel.”
“Oh. Well whatever. I’m still very much fu–“
Then, the door opened. And there she was. The deceivingly beautiful lady with red hair, perfectly tied into a braid at the back of her head. Makima.
“Speak of the devil…” Gojo muttered.
“Denji. Are you okay?” Makima asked, moving towards Denji while completely ignoring Gojo. Of course, Gojo’s dramatic ass didn’t take it lightly.
“Yare yare, you devil hunters are always such a pain in the ass.” He sighs, putting his blindfold back on.
Makima turns abruptly to Gojo, taking off her coat and passive-aggressively shoving it towards Gojo. “Gojo, if you want to be polite to your guest, you should start by taking my coat. You’re setting a bad example for my subordinate.”
“Listen, your subordinate almost killed my student. For the damages caused, by jujutsu regulation, this blondie should be executed. The old farts up top considered him too dangerous… Plus, we didn’t know he was a hunter. So it shouldn’t count as an offence towards the devil hunters.” Gojo ranted, matching Makima’s pasive-aggressive energy while taking her coat.
“But what if it was?” Makima’s voice dropped down to a low mutter, her eyes staring at Gojo’s blindfold like she could see right through it. Gojo stared right back. He knew Makima. Makima knew him. Gojo knew she had secrets. Makima knew he had secrets, and unlike Gojo, she knew what Gojo was hiding.
“Why don’t we take this outside?” Gojo broke the stare down, putting on his confident goofy persona like nothing happened. Over the years he mastered this skill. The skill of pretending. The skill of acting like everything is fine even thought you’re one step away from a mental breakdown.
“Sure. We do have some catching up to do… Isn’t that right, Gojo?” Makima smiled. A sinister fake smile, one that could strike fear into the soul of any person that dared to look for a second too long.
Gojo just ignored her. He knew he shouldn’t linger on her. That woman is a mystery, even to the higher-ups who have been in the game for far longer than he has. And some mysteries are better left alone.
“Well then. Me and miss Makima are going to talk. Just stay still, okay? Not like you can really move or anything.” Gojo waved at Denji before closing the door.
“This couldn’t get any worse… right?” Denji muttered.
Then, the light turned off.
“…BĂGAMIAȘ—“
——
Makima was quietly walking behind Gojo, looking at the well maintained gardens of Jujutsu High. “The cherry blossoms are quite beautiful this season. It’s a shame we mostly operate from an office building. I wouldn’t mind maintaining a garden like this.” She said smoothly.
“Mhm. Yeah. One of my students likes gardening. It’s nice that he has a passion for gardening even though he’s a sorcerer. I usually try to encourage my students to have a passion aside from fighting curses. Don’t get me wrong, having fighting as your main passion is a very respectable attribute, but sometimes it’s nice to have a simple hobby that doesn’t put your life in danger.” Gojo answered. “Although, I have to ask… What is so special about this one? You usually don’t put much effort or care into your subordinates, especially the rookies.”
“Denji is… an interesting case. Orphan, left alone to fend for himself from a young age… The poor boy doesn’t even know if he truly is 16 or not.” Makima said, recalling the few information Denji offered about it himself.
“Orphan, huh?” Gojo muttered. “Well, this is where we’ll have our talk. Private room, soundproof, no cameras, no microphones. Just a room where more… important matters are discussed.” He pushed the door open, presenting a room with two couches, a coffee table in the middle and some decorations. Gojo made a motion for her to enter. Makima quickly entered the room, sitting down on one of the couches.
“I’ll go get us some water. Nanami here will keep you company.” Gojo pointed at Nanami before closing the door.
Minutes passed… then an hour… and another hour…
“He’s just keeping me waiting, huh…?” Makima sighed. “Hey mister, can I at least go to the bathroom?”
Before Nanami could reply, Gojo opened the door. “Sorry guys! I couldn’t find the cups… and then Yaga roped me into a report discussion, yada yada yada... You know how it is.” He excused himself, placing two paper cups on the coffee table.
“I assume you want you speak privately.” Nanami spoke.
“Yes. Thanks Nanami~ I should buy you dinner for helping me out!” Gojo teased.
“No need…” Nanami sighed, leaving the room.
Once the door closed, Gojo and Makima fell into a quiet stare down once again.
“Why are you here?” Gojo finally broke the silence.
“To get my subordinate back.” Makima answered simply.
“I wasn’t born yesterday. I know that’s not just it.”
“To me… you were.” A small sinister smile spread across Makima’s lips.
Gojo stayed silent. He knew Makima was dangerous. He saw how she operates. And he hated it. He hated her when he was young, and he hates her now that he’s grown up. Although his hate was for different reasons back then. Back when he was living the best 3 years of his life. Back when Suguru…
“Anyway… I hope this won’t take long. I have much more important business to take care of. And devils don’t wait for people to finish their meetings.” Makima said smoothly, her gaze burning holes into Gojo.
“Yeah…” Gojo nodded. “We want to kill him. You want him back. What do you propose?”
Makima took one of the cups from the table, taking a sip as she thought. “I propose that I take my subordinate back, and we brush this under the rug like nothing happened.”
“We can’t do that. Who’s going to pay for the damages?” Gojo asked, leaning forward.
“Doesn’t the school have enough money to pay them off?”
“Doesn’t your company have enough money to pay off the damages your rookie caused?”
The uncomfortable silence stretched out for way too long.
“Gojo. I recommend you give Denji back without making a big deal. We both know you have… secrets. Secrets that could ruin your reputation.” Makima said coldly. “Secrets like… those secret meetings with the wanted Ge–“
“I know.” Gojo interrupted her. “Are you trying to blackmail me? Two can play this game. You’re not so clean either.”
“I know.” Answered Makima. “But unlike me, you don’t know what my secrets are. I’ve done my research, Gojo Satoru.”
Gojo was frozen. He hated her. He was the strongest, sure, but Makima… Makima was smart. Could Gojo defeat her in a 1v1. Yes, definitely. But she knew how to push his buttons just right. She knew what hit him hardest.
“Speaking of research…” Makima began. “I have some questions about a different topic. I thought that it would be the perfect time since I don’t get to visit your headquarters very often.”
Gojo’s eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he tried to think about what topic Makima could be talking about.
Makima pulled a piece of paper from her pocket, carefully unfolding it before turning it to face Gojo. “Yuji Itadori.” She said as she displayed the picture of the cheerful strawberry blonde.
“What about him? He was a good student… Unfortunately, he died during a mission due to an accident… I don’t have much information to share.” Gojo played it off.
“But what if he didn’t die?” Makima said, all emotion dropping from her face just like the photo dropping from her fingers.
Fuck. Gojo was in deep shit. He knew he couldn’t lie to her. “Okay, and? What do you want with him?”
“Nothing, really. I just wanted to know if the rumours about a vessel were true… I hope you know you’re playing with fire.”
“Says the one trying to bring back the gun devil…” Gojo muttered under his breath.
“Yes. I am in fact trying to bring the gun devil back. Because it’s our mission to destroy it and finally kill it. When it first appeared, we didn’t have the necessary equipment to get the job done… so we relied on other methods. Now, with way better equipment and better trained hunters, we have a greater chance at success.” Making explained her intention… although, let’s be fair here, she probably had other reasons and motivations.
Gojo clicked his tongue, making a small tsk sound. “Yeah, yeah, do whatever you want…. Just don’t come crying to us if shit hits the fan.”
And so, the two fell into an uncomfortable silence once again.
Makima burned holes into Gojo with her disturbingly sharp gaze.
Gojo’s mind did gold winning mental gymnastics while trying to keep himself calm and composed.
“You are not going to give me my subordinate back… are you?” Makima’s voice cut through the silence like a knife.
“No. Unless you do something about the damages.” Gojo replied, getting more and more irritated with Makima.
“What if…”
——
“Danji-kun! We’re backkk” announced Gojo as he opened the door to the secret execution chamber.
“My name is Denji…!” Denji muttered, blinking intensely as to readjust his eyes to the light of the room.
“Okay, so. Here’s the thing, Denis.” Gojo started as he began to untie Denji from the chair.
“Still not my name…! Uh… P-Paintbrush!”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Dentist.”
“Okay, now you’re doing it on purpose!”
Makima just watched the exchange quietly, silent and creepy as ever.
——
“So what are you gonna do with me? Do I get to go back with miss Makima?”
“Nope!” Gojo said with a big smile. “Since we can’t decide what to do with you… We’re gonna share custody!”
“What now??” Denji was, in fact, very confused… again.
“Gojo here will teach you some very valuable lessons that I personally can’t. He’s a good teacher as far as I’m aware, so there is no need to worry. You are still in my custody as a hunter and my subordinate, but you will be temporarily enrolled at Jujutsu tech—which means you’re Gojo’s new student. You will still be able to go on missions with the rest of special division 4, but you will train with the rest of the students.” Makima explained. “I’m sure Gojo will take good care of you… Isn’t that right, Gojo?”
“No need to worry. A third highly dangerous student won’t be a problem.” Gojo waved her off.
“Well, we should go now, Denji.” Makima grabbed Denji’s hand.
“Uh. Wait a minute. This isn’t what we discussed—“ Gojo tried to speak, only to be cut off my Makima.
“Gojo. I’m sure Denji would like to say goodbye to the rest of the special division 4. Plus, we have to let Aki know that Denji will be staying here from now on.”
“I think Aki will be more than happy. Power too. That ponytail girl with the knife will throw a party—I mean she tried to kill me!” Denji jumped in, getting completely ignored by Gojo and Makima.
“Don’t worry Gojo, I’ll bring him tomorrow. You should focus on arranging his accommodations. Come now, Denji. We have a long way home.” Makima said, slowly starting to walk away from Gojo.
Gojo just stared at the two as they got further and further away. He knew letting Makima go away like that would be probably a very stupid idea, but he couldn’t do anything.
——————
The next day, Gojo found himself waiting at the front gates of Jujutsu Tech. He was mindlessly scrolling on social media—using his stalking account… like how any other normal person does—when a white car pulled up. A guy in a business suit got out of the driver’s seat.
“Hello. I assume you’re Satoru Gojo?” He greeted.
“Yeah. You’re here on Makima’s behalf, right?” Gojo answered.
“Yes. I am Aki Hayakawa from the Tokyo special division 4. I brought Denji.” With that said, Aki knocked on the cars window, signalling Denji to get out.
“I’m surprised Makima actually agreed to this.” Gojo remarked.
“Yeah. It’s kind of strange.” Aki replied. “I assume there must be some sort of paperwork?”
“There is something, but nothing much.”
“Cool. Mind if I smoke?” Aki asked, pulling out his pack of cigarettes.
“Not at all. Unfortunately Shoko gave me immunity to cigarette smoke. You can smoke on the way to principal Yaga’s office, but inside is a big no-no… Shoko learned that the hard way.” Gojo said, pointing at the entrance.
“I see… Want one?” Aki offered him the pack.
“Nah, I don’t smoke. Welp, let’s get going then! Than paperwork won’t complete itself!”
The three make their way to Yaga’s office, stopping a bit for Aki to finish his cigarette before entering the building. Once inside, Aki completes the paperwork, finally leaving Denji in Jujutsu Tech’s custody.
“Now, Dante, please follow me to your new dorm.”
“My name isn’t Dante, paintbrush! It’s Denji!”
“Mhm, whatever you say Denmark.”
“Not my name!!!”