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Becoming a sorcerer meant that Itadori Yuuji had to get used to a lot of weird things very quickly. Cursed spirits, for one, are the stuff of nightmares—like, spitting-acid-alien-levels of horror that would make any lesser person burst into tears. Then there's the ancient sorcerer taking residence in his head that never shuts up, who sees it fit to mock him in every available instance. Eventually, Yuuji got pretty good at tuning him out, so he started to tone it down a bit.
Another thing of relevance: his execution sentence. After that night on the rooftop, he woke up in Jujutsu Tech's basement, with Gojo laying out the terms of his execution. That is, unless he agreed to become a sorcerer and die after eating the rest of Sukuna's fingers. Which… wasn't great, but it was better than dying right then and there.
So, for the past two weeks, he's essentially had to:
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Learn how to fight using this weird thing called cursed energy
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Process his impending execution
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Cope with an old guy in his head at any given time
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Try not to get killed by monsters called curses or cursed spirits
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Learn the entire workings of Jujutsu society, including levels of cursed spirits, sorcerer rankings, and more
It's… a lot, but it's a much better alternative to death. Yuuji still has things to do and a life to live, and now, he has friends who can help him out. Kugisaki and Fushiguro are great to be around, even if they haven't known each other for long. With the three of them working together, they should be able to get through missions without much struggle. And on that note…
Just now, however, they've been summoned for a mission in West Tokyo City, at the Eishu Juvenile Detention Center, to locate and evacuate any survivors. A man named Ichiji explains that there were sightings of something called a cursed womb, expected to produce a Special Grade curse. The gist of it ends up being that a Special Grade is an incredibly powerful cursed spirit, so do not engage. When Fushiguro mentions that sorcerers are usually assigned a mission that corresponds to their level, Yuuji raises a hand. "If that's the case, wouldn't Gojo-sensei be called in for this? Where is he?"
Fushiguro lets out a huff. "He's on a business trip. Honestly, he's the type of person who shouldn't be wasting time at Jujutsu Tech because of his strength. But you're right, this isn't a mission first years would usually get." He raises a brow at Ichiji. "It's really an emergency, isn't it?"
"…Yes, it is," Ichiji relents. "I must repeat, do not engage—when you're facing a Special Grade, your options are either to run or die."
Yuuji's heart nearly skips a beat. Sorry, what? Are they that powerful? Then again, it makes sense—if Gojo-sensei is so effortlessly strong, then there have to be cursed spirits with strength to rival him, right?
"There's no need for that, Ichiji."
An unfamiliar voice calls out to them, drawing their gazes. A man walks toward them, a hand raised in greeting with an easy smile on his face. He's got long black hair and gauges, wearing casual clothing rather than a typical uniform from Jujutsu Tech. Who's he?
Yuuji spares a glance toward Fushiguro, whose eyes have gone wide. "S—Geto-san?" he manages, genuinely surprised. And now Yuuji's really curious, because if this man's appearance is that shocking to someone like Fushiguro, he's got to be important, right?
"Hello, Megumi," he says warmly, stopping just a few feet away. "I'm glad to see you're doing well. I apologize for the short notice, Ichiji. I was sent to accompany the first-years on this mission."
Ichiji looks stunned. "I… thought you stopped taking missions from Jujutsu Tech?"
Geto's smile turns a bit strained. "Yes, I did, and that hasn't changed. Satoru was the one who sent me in his stead. You know how he is; better safe than sorry, right?"
"Who's he?" Kugisaki mutters half under her breath, directed toward Fushiguro. Clearly, though, Geto hears her, as he clears his throat before speaking once more.
"My name is Suguru Geto, and I'm a Special Grade sorcerer. It's nice to meet you, Itadori-kun and Kugisaki-kun—I've heard a lot about you from Satoru."
"Special Grade?" Kugisaki sputters. "I thought there were only three!"
"…There are other Special Grades?" Yuuji echoes.
Geto sighs and shakes his head. "I figured they wouldn't mention me. There are four of us in total—Satoru Gojo, Yuuta Okkotsu, Yuki Tsukumo, and me."
"I still don't believe it. What's your technique?" Kugisaki barks out, pointing an accusatory finger at Geto. He raises his hands in surrender, but there's an amused glint in his eyes.
"My technique is Curse Manipulation. I can absorb and control cursed spirits and their techniques."
"Seriously? That's so cool!" Yuuji exclaims. "How many do you have?"
A flicker of surprise in his gaze, Geto turns his attention over to him as he considers the question. "Last I checked, I had 9,387 cursed spirits in my possession."
"Jesus Christ," Kugisaki chokes out, her agitation ebbing away. "Yeah, I see how you're a Special Grade. How long did that even take you?"
"I've been consuming them since I first manifested my technique, so it's taken most of my life."
"So, wait, do—"
"Geto-san," Fushiguro interrupts, shooting a pointed look at Kugisaki, "What's the plan for the mission?"
"From what I recall from the report, your main goal is to locate and evacuate survivors." He straightens his posture, his expression morphing into something more serious. "I, however, will exorcise the curse."
Exorcise? Yuuji tries not to show his surprise too outwardly on his face. Like, kill the same thing that Ichiji said we couldn't fight, that we had to either run from or die? Seriously?
At first glance, taking in his clothing and relaxed stance, you'd never be able to guess that Suguru Geto is a Special Grade. But if you pay closer attention, there's this certain air to him, one of authority and subconscious strength. Gojo's similar in that you can tell that he's someone to watch out for, someone who holds unspeakable amounts of power. Looking at him now, Yuuji does not doubt that Geto could exorcise the curse without a scratch on him. And that sort of power, it's—intimidating. Enough to put someone on edge.
…Wait a minute. That's not because of Geto. Yuuji pauses, realizing what's been nagging at him. Ever since Geto appeared, Sukuna has been awfully quiet. Like, weirdly so. Mentally, he prods him out of sheer curiosity. Does he scare you? That's really pathetic, man.
"Nothing scares me, brat," Sukuna hisses in his mind. "Banish that line of thinking immediately."
Yeah, but if that's the case, what's with the silence? It's almost like I don't have this ancient old dude knocking around in my head at all hours of the day. It was so peaceful for a good few minutes.
"It isn't my fault your idiocy drove you to consume one of my fingers, brat."
You still didn't answer my question.
"Why would I tell you anything?" Sukuna snarks.
Fine, whatever. Yuuji pushes his presence to the corner of his mind, refocusing his attention. Kugisaki decides to cut into the conversation, leveling her incredulous stare at Geto. "So, just in and out, look for survivors? Seriously, is that all?"
"I don't know about you, Kugisaki, but I think I'm fine with that if the only alternative is running from this ultra-powerful cursed spirit," Yuuji comments. "Besides, there's probably still going to be a bunch of them swarming around the place, like usual."
"Hey, excuse me!"
Another unfamiliar voice interrupts them, and they all turn to see an older woman hurrying toward them, followed closely by one of the Windows set to guard the perimeter. "Is Tadashi—is my son okay?"
"She came to visit her son," Ichiji murmurs under his breath to Yuuji, and then steps forward. "There's a chance that poison was spread in the facility. I'm afraid we can't disclose anything else."
A look of abject horror crosses the woman's expression, with her eyes becoming glassy with tears. She mumbles something that sounds like it can't be, before the Window is guiding her away, and she's using a cloth to wipe her face. A rush of sympathy tugs at his heartstrings, and he exchanges a determined look with Kugisaki and Fushiguro. "We've got to save him."
"Of course," Kugisaki responds solemnly, and Fushiguro nods his agreement. Geto eyes the three of them curiously, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Once the Window and the woman are out of sight, Ichiji raises his hand. "I'm going to lower the veil. Be careful, and good luck."
After a quick chant, inky blackness materializes in the sky, surrounding the area in a dome shape. Yuuji gawks at it, entirely in awe. "It's turning into night?"
"That's due to the veil," Geto supplies as he leads them to the detention center. "Since there's a residential area nearby, it acts as a type of barrier to hide us from the outside. It stops non-sorcerers from seeing sorcerers fight curses. Even if they can't see cursed energy, they can see the destruction that comes from it." He chuckles softly. "Satoru tended to forget to raise them, so Yaga-sensei chewed him out a lot."
"…You know, I just noticed—you call Gojo-sensei by his given name. How do you know him?" Yuuji inquires. Geto glances back at him, pondering the question. Then, with fondness clear in his gaze, he replies, "We were in the same year as students at Jujutsu Tech. And Satoru, he's… well, I've known him for over a decade."
"Really?" Kugisaki looks at Geto consideringly. "Was he this weird when you met him?"
He snorts. "Weird is certainly one way to describe him."
Right before they enter, Fushiguro moves his hands into a sign bearing resemblance to a dog, and one of his Divine Dogs manifests from his shadow. Yuuji grins and ruffles its fur as Fushiguro says, "If the curse gets close, this will let us know."
Geto, too, makes a hand sign, and suddenly, a few small cursed spirits materialize from nothing. Divine Dog growls but then pauses, sniffing the air and tilting its head to the side in confusion. "For scouting," Geto explains. "They'll notify me if they see any survivors or detect the curse."
"Whoa," Yuuji mutters in fascination, seeing how utterly tame the cursed spirits were, even in their presence. "They listen to you so easily? That's cool as hell."
"These are just the lower-grade ones," Geto adds, with an amused smile. He seems like he wants to say something else, but cuts himself off abruptly as they look forward and see a mess of buildings and bridges in place of what should be a regular two-story dorm building. What?
Fushiguro's face twists in shock as he whirls around, and when Yuuji follows his gaze, he freezes. "The door—the door is gone? We just came from there!"
"Calm down," Geto says, expression hardening into something much more serious, a far cry from his earlier demeanor. "This is a curse's domain. Only higher-grade ones can achieve this kind of detailed maze." Hence, Special Grade.
"Besides, we can track the scent of the exit," Fushiguro adds, gesturing to his Divine Dog. "We'll be fine."
As they make their way further through the warped detention center, they come across a large open room containing three corpses and a few lower-grade curses devouring one of them. Yuuji goes still, his stomach rolling as he fights the urge to reel back at the revolting view. The cursed spirits Geto summoned move quickly to exorcise the curses in the room, but when Yuuji crouches down to look at the name tag of the closest corpse, his heart drops. Tadashi Okazaki… that's her son. A cold chill runs down his spine, causing him to shudder. And he's dead.
"We're bringing this body back. It's that lady's son," Yuuji emphasizes, meeting both Kugisaki and Fushiguro's gazes. Across the room, Geto checks the other two corpses, leaving just the three of them next to Tadashi's dead body. "His face isn't that messed up. That woman can't just be told her son's dead when we can bring him back."
Genuine guilt flashes across Kugisaki's face. "But, Itadori…"
He jolts when Fushiguro grabs him by the sleeve. "We have to find the other survivors. Leave him."
Yuuji gives him a strange look. "But if the path changes every time we move forward, how are we going to get back here?"
"I never said we'll come back," Fushiguro bites out. "I said, leave him. If he's not worth saving when he's alive, then why would I save his dead body?"
Yuuji lunges forward to grab him by the shirt collar, clutching the fabric so tightly his hand shakes. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Did you not hear Ichiji-san when he gave us the mission? This is a juvenile detention center, Itadori—we always get all kinds of information about a place before we're sent out." With his free hand, he gestures to the corpse. "This guy? He was driving without a license for the second time and hit a girl who was walking home from school." His grip tightens on Yuuji's sleeve. "You always want to save as many people as possible, but who's to say someone you save won't kill someone in the future?"
"Then why did you save me?" he yells.
Fushiguro doesn't flinch away, but his face twists into an expression tinged with something akin to surprise. Yes, why did you save me, Fushiguro? I'm the vessel of a dangerous, ancient sorcerer, with an execution sentence hanging over my head. What was in it for you? Why did you insist on saving me when it would've been easier for me to be executed in that basement? Why did you give me that choice?
He doesn't get the chance to respond as Kugisaki storms towards them, looking supremely irritated. "Knock it off, idiots! What made you start a crappy argument in this—"
She abruptly cuts herself off when something reaches from the shadows below and grabs her by the ankle. Yuuji's eyes widen as she starts to sink, and he calls out, "Geto-san!"
Across the room, Geto frees Fushiguro's Divine Dog from a hulking figure that disappears as quickly as a flash. A blurred shape suddenly barrels across the room, grabbing Kugisaki by the arm and dragging her out. It's a smaller curse, definitely one of Geto's, and Kugisaki stumbles when finding herself on stable ground. The shadow-curse that tried taking her disappears, and when Yuuji rushes over to steady her, there's a long, drawn-out pause. Suddenly:
Only inches away stands a vaguely humanoid figure, with long claws and multiple eyes, that can't be anything less than ten feet tall. …That's the Special Grade.
"Run or die," Ichiji's voice echoes in his head, and his heart feels like it's racing a million miles a minute, but he can't move. Neither Fushiguro nor Kugisaki attempts an attack, remaining rooted in their places with similar expressions of panic. Move. Move. Move. His grandfather's face flashes in his mind, final words slipping from his lips. Yuuji slowly reaches for the cursed tool in its sheath slung behind him, clutching it tightly. Help people.
Before he can act, there's a large crash that almost knocks him off his feet, with the floor quaking. Yuuji throws a wild look to his left, and he sees the Special Grade being slammed against a wall by a—what the hell, is that a dragon? It flies back and circles around Geto, and Yuuji can see that it's covered with large, iridescent scales that gleam unnaturally even in the low lighting. The dragon lets out a threatening growl, and given that it dwarfs Geto only by the size of its head, Yuuji can't help but stare.
"You thought it was smart to go for the students?" Geto shakes his head in disapproval, cracking his knuckles in one casual motion. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but your fight is with me."
The Special Grade stumbles to its feet, throwing out its arm to generate a blast of pure cursed energy. Geto brings his palms together, facing each other a few inches apart, with his fingertips and thumbs lightly touching. Then, he utters, "Domain Expansion."
Fushiguro's eyes go wide as he hears the words. Yuuji's not really sure what's going on until he feels the rush of cursed energy, and he, too, gawks unabashedly. Their surroundings warp and darken, and the blast of cursed energy sent out by the Special Grade fizzles out. "You're not the only one with a domain, you know."
Surrounding them is a sprawling set of ruins, the remains of a shrine being its most noteworthy structure, with a cracked sculpture as the next. Further back, what Yuuji had only comprehended as a blur of movement looked to be an incomprehensible amount of cursed spirits circling them, letting out various chitters and growls. The dragon itself is among them, and Geto, with an eerie calmness, flicks his fingers up.
The cursed spirits swarm together and gather behind him, swirling and morphing into one. Once they combine, they fly toward the Special Grade, a blinding white light erupting from the contact as the force nearly blows Yuuji off his feet. He throws his arms up, shielding his face, bracing for an impact that never comes.
Instead, when he cracks open his eyes, all he can see is the interior of the expected two-story dorm building. The bodies are nowhere to be found, including Tadashi's, which makes his heart sink. Geto dusts off his clothes and wrinkles his nose at a lone black orb that sits in the place of the Special Grade, alongside… is that a finger?
When Yuuji walks closer, sure enough, one of Sukuna's fingers is on the ground. He looks down at it, eyebrows raised. "…Is that why the curse was so strong?"
"Yes, it is," Geto confirms, moving to stand beside him. "Any curse that consumes a high-grade cursed object gains significantly more power. On its own, this type of curse is easily exorcised."
"Oh, really? Cool. I guess we should take this finger back to Jujutsu Tech," Yuuji muses, crouching down to pick it up. When he extends his palm, it isn't until the finger is gone that Yuuji realizes what happened. Turning his hand around only to see a mouth disappear, he blurts out, "What the hell?"
Sukuna ate it. Somehow, he manifested a mouth on Yuuji's hand and swallowed the finger.
Given that nothing really happens, all he can do is push himself up and offer a sheepish shrug. "That's… usually not how I eat one of the fingers."
"I assumed so, yes," Geto manages.
It's quiet for a few moments. Eventually, he claps a hand on Yuuji's shoulder, offering a smile before pulling it away. "Don't worry about the higher-ups. Satoru and I will deal with them when he returns."
He moves toward the exit, but Yuuji stops him with a grateful bow. "Thank you for protecting us, Geto-san!"
A flash of surprise in his gaze then softens his expression into something gentler. "It's no problem, Itadori-kun."
When Kugisaki catches up with him, she shoots him a mocking look. "Who knew you had manners?"
"Oh, shut up," Yuuji mutters.
Suguru went into the mission expecting the worst, so he made sure to be prepared. For him, that included utilizing his domain, a sure-hit similar to his Maximum: Uzumaki technique that allowed him to retain his curses in the process. It wasn't something he deployed often, but it served him well in exorcising the Special Grade.
Now, when Satoru returns to Jujutsu Tech a few hours later, Suguru is leaning against a wall in the otherwise empty infirmary, talking with Shoko as she smokes a cigarette. Satoru spots the two of them and smiles hopefully. "So—?"
"They're okay, but you were right to send me," he replies, grimacing. "That curse was way too much for them to handle."
Shoko puts out her cigarette using the ashtray sitting on a nearby table, shaking her head. "I'd think that after all this time, the higher-ups would learn that they can't get away with this bullshit."
"Right?" Satoru scoffs. "You know, I actually asked for a Grade One sorcerer at the minimum to accompany the first-years, but the higher-ups basically gave me the finger. So, who else better than Suguru to go?"
"Well, I think you've gotten your point across," Shoko comments. She takes out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket, passing them to Suguru. He takes one out and returns the pack, using a small flicker of cursed energy to light the end as she continues speaking. "Getting Geto to go on the mission in your place is a big fuck-you as well."
Suguru inhales deeply, relishing the feel of the smoke in his lungs, then exhales. Lowering the cigarette from his mouth, he can see Satoru frown. "I seriously don't get why you guys like smoking. It smells and tastes like shit."
"First of all, I rarely do. Shoko's the chimney, not me," Suguru points out, chuckling when she rolls her eyes. "Besides, after this shitshow, I think I deserve one."
"Oh, really?" Satoru prompts, leaning forward. "What happened on the mission?"
"What happened? Jesus Christ, Satoru, being around Itadori-kun and Megumi is like looking into a mirror."
"I know, right?" Satoru mimes a gag. "We were really that bad?"
"Yes," Shoko blurts immediately, shuddering. "Being around you two before you got your shit together was nauseating."
While Satoru lets out a cackling laugh, Suguru takes another drag of the cigarette, collecting his thoughts until he breathes out the smoke. "As for the rest of the mission… I don't even know where to begin. Two minutes in, Itadori-kun and Megumi started arguing and were so distracted they didn't even notice his Divine Dog almost getting killed, and Kugisaki-kun about to be taken by a curse." He snorts. "Then the Special Grade appeared. I had to take out Rainbow Dragon to knock it away before it could lay a hand on them. The Special Grade got so close—I felt like ten years were shaved off my life."
Satoru winces. Suguru pinches the bridge of his nose, sighing. "Not to mention, Itadori-kun was about to attack it with a cursed tool, which I'm ninety-five percent sure was Maki's. Did you really steal one of her cursed tools to give to him?"
"He hasn't learned how to control his cursed energy enough to channel it whenever attacking," Satoru counters. "I couldn't just send him off with hopes and dreams."
"Whatever, we'll get back to that later—I used my domain, because clearly this Special Grade wasn't waiting around to be exorcised, and that finally managed to finish it off, but then one of Sukuna's fingers dropped out of its dissolving body, and when Itadori-kun went to pick it up, a mouth manifested on his hand and ate it. What the fuck?"
Shoko's brows shoot up. "A mouth?"
Satoru looks almost offended, dramatically placing a hand on his chest. "You used your domain without me to see it? You're so cruel, Suguru!"
"Don't even start; you've seen it already—but Satoru, a mouth. On his hand. It makes no sense!"
"Sukuna's the King of Curses; I doubt normal human anatomy matters to him. The history books said he was this huge four-armed, four-eyed beast, right? Wanna bet he even had two mouths?"
"How would that even work?" Suguru manages, morbidly amused.
"Again, normal human anatomy does not matter to the King of Curses!"
"I know that curses defy reality," Shoko begins, "but I'm still not over the hand-mouth, because that is some weird shit. I can't even picture how that'd ever work, anatomically speaking."
"Shoko, you cheated through medical school. Are you really one to make a judgment on what's medically plausible?"
"Oh, really? Where's your degree?" Shoko makes a show of looking around exaggeratedly, then crosses her arms over her chest. "That's right—I have one, and you don't. Know what that means? You don't get to make a judgment, either."
Suguru nearly chokes on a laugh but reins in his composure enough to shoot Satoru a shit-eating grin. "You heard her; the doctor knows best."
"Yeah, well, the doctor smokes enough cigarettes to kill a horse, so I'm not sure she does."
"Okay, but… but how many cigarettes does it take to kill a horse?"
"Both of you are idiots."