Chapter Text
Yuji Itadori always knew something was off about him. He definitely wasn't normal by human standards.
He probably wasn't normal by those weird “creatures” standards either.
But you'd probably like to know what “creatures” he's talking about. So let him explain.
Ever since he could remember, Yuji could see different “monsters” and “demons”, as he'd called them.
Aside from that, he could sense people's (and those monsters) “energies” or “aura”, since he doesn't have a better word for it.
He found both the “demons” and the “energies” fascinating, so he tried to experiment.
What he currently knows isn't really a lot, but it's enough for him.
He knows everyone has some level of this strange energy, and not many can control it. He tried to do so, but his control is sloppy at best. He did sometimes see some people that could control it though.
Yuji has something unique about himself though. His “aura” is more like that of a “creature”. That isn't the only thing unique about him, but it's what he mostly thinks is the weirdest.
The actual weirdest thing is that he feels he knows exactly what every single one of those things is called, but every time the name is at the tip of his tongue, it just slips his mind like it wasn't even there.
Back on track though.
The “monsters” can only be harmed by this strange energy, and they “spawn” most likely in places with a mass amount of negativity assossiated with them.
So he travels to those kind of places to research.
He only managed to find out that objects can be infused with this “energy” and that some are unique for unknown reasons, but they either drive off or pull in the “creatures”.
All of this, is what led him to be deeply interested in the paranormal.
It's the same interest that led him to join an Occult Club in his school.
—————————————————————————————
“Spirit gods, spirit gods! Which animal is the class president weaker than?” Yuji and his two friends, Sasaki and Iguchi, chant around the table.
The pointer moves, slowly revealing the answer.
“A fish?!” The room lights up as the three burst into tears of laughter. While they laugh, the man himself enters the room, screaming about how their Club is invalid since Yuji isn't signed up to the Occult, but the Sports Club.
Iguchi and Sasaki turn to Yuji, threateningly glaring at him, to which Yuji defends himself, insisting that he signed up for the Occult Club. He checked!
They keep on arguing, until the Sports Club coach enters, boasting that it was, in fact, him who changed Yuji's application.
‘Can teachers even do that?’ Yuji raised an eyebrow. Just then, the coach comes up with a fantastic idea. Being sarcastic if you couldn't tell.
“Itadori! We will compete in a sports of my choosing! If you win then I shall allow you to remain in the Occult Research Club! However! If I win then you will join the Sports Club!”
“Alright then, bring it on!” Yuji grins wildly, stepping on the chair he was previously sitting in.
He will absolutely destroy the coach, no matter what!
—————————————————————————————
Now, on the outside sports field, a quite large audience has gathered to watch the coach and Yuji participate in a shot-putting contest.
It's quite warm outside, if not a little windy.
The coach throws his shot, which lands at about 14 meters.
Yuji gets his own shot, weighting it in his hand by throwing it up and down. After a while he asks.
“Hey, can I throw it however I want?”
“Sure!” The coach answers. He's talking about something still, but Yuji doesn't care about that so he cocks his arm back and throws.
The heavy shot lands right in a goal post, bending it.
“Uh, about 30 meters!.” Someone shouts in the background, shock clear in their voice.
Yuji only smirks and goes to his friends to talk, leaving the stunned coach behind.
“Ha, I guess you really earned that Tiger of West Junior High title, huh?” says Iguchi.
“Seriously Itadori, you would probably thrive in the sports club.” Sasaki, the club leader, starts up.
“Nah, It’s really fine guys. Your club gives me the most leeway, and I get to spend my time with you. Plus, you're literally too scared to go anywhere without me!”
“Awwh, you shouldn’t!” The other two swoon and blush.
“Oh, fuck! I gotta run now, bye guys!” Yuji startles when he looks at the clock.
He swiftly picks up his backpack and runs off.
As Yuji runs past a dark-haired boy, he senses that this one has good control over his “energy”, which usually means something “demon” related is happening nearby.
‘He’s probably from that group of “Wizards”. Or would “Sorcerers” be a better name? Hm, probably.’
That's suspicious, especially considering he never saw that guy in his school, but he's in a hurry right now, so it doesn't matter currently.
———————————————————
“I’m here grandpa!”
“Yuji, you damn brat, what are you doing here!? You should be at school with your club!”
“Calm down grandpa! Club activities ended long ago and I had free time anyway!” Yuji is quick to defend himself. His grandpa, Wasuke, is always a little… prissy.
“Tch. At least you’re not wasting it completely.” His grandpa scowls.
Yuji walks over to the windowsill to put the flowers he got in a vase. As he’s doing that his grandpa starts talking suddenly “Yuji, I have some final words for you. It's about your parents.”
“I don't care about that.”
“It's about your parents!” Wasuke says it in a tone that indicates he needs to say this.
Yuji sighs and runs his hand over his face.
“…Okay, fine.” He decided that he doesn't know how much time his grandpa has to live, so he'll hear him out. Yuji brings a chair over and sits on it, crossing his arms over the backrest.
Wasuke sighs in relief.
“First, you need to know something. Your mother… She got into a car accident one day and died. And before you say anything, it was before you were even born.” “Huh?!” “Yes, I know. You're wondering how you're born then.”
Yuji nods. I mean, if his mom supposedly died before he was born, than how is he standing here?
“That's because she came back somehow. I don't know how or why, but it didn't matter then. Your father was a fool, believing she survived miraculusly. I saw something different however. Ever since she came back, something was… off. And I don't mean just her personality and the scar on her forehead.”
Yuji's eyes widen. A scar on the forehead. He swears he sometimes saw a weird man with a scar like that. But it's a man.
“She started doing and saying strange things,” Wasuke continued. “like talking about some vessel, starting to experiment and research different… things.. and meeting with strange people. And not people.”
Yuji's grandpa pauses and glances in Yuji's direction, seemingly contemplating something. The air grows colder. It’s really late.
“Yuji, I need to ask you about something important.” Yuji perks up, letting his arms down. “Do you perhaps.. see some creatures or people with strange energy?”
Yuji slowly nods as the room grows darker. It's really late now and he can hear crickets from the outside.
“Then I'll tell you this. I always knew that when you told me about your strange abilities you were telling the truth. And it's because I could see them too.” “What?!” “Be a little quieter!” Wasuke yells at Yuji.
“Anyway, after I die, I need you to find ‘Jujutsu High’. This is an organization I was working with as a… Informant, if you could even call me that. It's also specifically for people like us, who can see things like this.”
Yuji makes note of this “Jujutsu High”. It definitely has something to do with the “monsters”, and it could give him some answers he's been searching for..
“Your abilities have much to do with what they take care of, so you'll need to find them if you want to continue with your own research.” Yuji is yet again surprised at how much his grandpa knows. In hindsight, it's probably why he got sent for Martial Arts training.
A couple of minutes pass in complete silence, save for the usual noise of a hospital and breathing.
Then, Wasuke speaks again, breaking the silence.
“Yuji, when I die, I need you to remember this: you're a strong kid, so use your strength to protect the ones who need it. If you fail, it's okay, happens to the best of us. But no matter what, save the ones closest to you, so when you die you'll be surrounded by them.” Wasuke turns to his side, facing away from Yuji and the last remaining beams of light coming from the only window of this room.
The room falls into darkness and it gets even colder.
“.. Grandpa?”
———————————————————
“...and that will be all. Are you better now?”
“Yes, thank you.” Lies.
“Are you sure?”
“Well.. If my grandpa saw me mope around he's just yell at me to get over it, so I guess
I’ll just have to move on.” It doesn't stop him from grieving his last remaining family.
Yuji was signing the last of needed documents, when someone came out of the shadows. He was wearing some sort of a long sleeve, black traditional shirt and plain black pants. And his hair really looked like a sea urchin. The color was right too! He was giving off a real gloomy vibe though.
“Itadori Yuji? I’m Fushiguro Megumi from Jujutsu High. We need to talk.”
“Can it wait? I’m kinda in mourning here.” Yuji is a little standoff-ish, but it’s understandable. ‘But he's from Jujutsu High. It might be important.’ He bites his bottom lip.
“It's urgent.” The guy, Fushiguro, says. He really does look like it's urgent. His eyes are all over the place, not to even mention the constant fidgeting. His “Energy” is all over the place too.
“... Fine.” Itadori agreed, albeit reluctantly and turned towards Fushiguro to talk.
“So? What did you need to talk about?” Yuji crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow as he leaned on one of the couches in the lobby. Now that he can properly see (not really since it's dark) Fushiguro is the boy he notices earlier in the day.
“You're currently in possession of a dangerous cursed object. I need you to hand it over now.” Fushiguro puts his hand out.
“Cursed… object?” Yuji thinks deeply. It sounds familiar, but he doesn't know what it could be.
“This.”
Fushiguro shows Yuji a picture of an object wrapped in seals to the point it looked like a cocoon.
“Oh that? Yeah sure, here you go. What’s a cursed object anyway?” Itadori asked as he handed over the box. ‘Maybe it's one of those things that I sometimes find on my “expeditions”? The ones filled with “Energy”?’
In Japan, the number of unexplained deaths and disappearances each year is about 10 000. They are the result of spiritual beings known as ‘Curses’. Curses are a somewhat physical manifestation of negative emotions directed towards a place, event, object or person. Since those feelings are usually directed towards places like schools, hospitals and graveyards, a Cursed Object is placed there, in order to protect said places.
“Curses?” Okay, that about lines up with his research. By “that”, he means just about everything.
“I don't care whether you believe it or not, those are the facts.”
“No, that actually lines up pretty well with what I found out by myself.” Curses, huh? “Wait, if cursed objects are placed to protect then how are they dangerous?” Maybe his theory is right, but it's better to confirm with an expert.
“It’s basically a case of fighting off poison with poison.”
“Ohh I see.”
Fushiguro looks at the box containing the cursed object and opens it, only to be met with emptiness. The cursed object is gone.
“Itadori, why is the box empty?”
“Huh?! Last I checked it was inside!” Both boys stand there shocked, when a look of realization falls on Yuji's face “Wait wait wait, my senpai mentioned something about breaking into the school.. at night, for… something… Uh oh.”
“Itadori?” Fushiguro turns to look at the teenager as he drifts off.
Just as he says that, Yuji looks like someone flipped a switch.
“Damn it! I sensed something was wrong with this thing, but- fuck! I told them to wait for me to open it up! Shiiitt!” Yuji is frantically walking back and forth, muttering about something and grabbing his hair in his hands.
Then, he takes a deep breath in, and out.
“Say, what would happen if someone were to hypothetically get rid of those.. seals?” He turns to Fushiguro.
That’s the exact moment where it clicked. Yuji's friends took the cursed object. Fushiguro's face hardens.
“Most likely? The place becomes infested with curses, especially with an object like that. The ‘someone’ in question though, would die.”
“Shit!”
—————————————————————————————
“Is it really that easy to make a seal come off?”
“Not under usual circumstances! But this time, the cursed object is just too strong!” Yuji is carrying Fushiguro in a princess carry, because despite Fushiguro's protests Yuji insisted on this way being faster and he's actually right about that.
“…What did you mean when you said that you found out about this yourself?” Fushiguro takes the chance to ask Yuji a question.
“Hm? Oh, well, I could always see those ‘Curses’ you spoke of, I just didn't know what they truly are. And, uh.. I did a little bit of research on things related to them.”
When Fushiguro still has a questioning look on his face, Yuji just sighs.
“I'll tell you after we deal with this, okay?”
“…Fine.”
It takes only a few more minutes before they're at the gates of Yuji's school.
“Whoa..” Yuji himself marvels at how much is happening here.
“Itadori. Can you control your Cursed Energy?” Fushiguro stands before the gates, back turned to him.
It's so dark and empty right now.
“Um, only long enough for a punch to kill one of those things. And it's still a little sloppy.” Yuji averts his eyes to the side and rubs his neck, embarrassed.
“Alright then. You'll stay here and exorcise any Curses that come nearby and be on the lookout for a guy with white hair that kind of looks like a paintbrush. He has bandages on his face.” Fushiguro orders him and describes someone that would look ridiculous in Yuji's mind.
But he agrees and stays.
—————————————————————————————
Yuji stands before the school and wonders, while also defending the school from any more Curses.
He can somehow feel death coming from the building.
It's unsettling, especially considering that he can feel his friends… Cursed Energy? He thinks that's what it was called.
‘Seriously, what's with Jujutsu Sorcerers and having everything be named with “Cursed”?’ That thought makes him pause. Is that what they're called? How did he know?
Then, he feels his friend's Cursed Energy dwindle a little, and right next to a big Curse no less.
That's when Yuji made his decision.
You're a strong kid, so protect the ones who need it.
—————————————————————————————
‘He was short-tempered and stubborn. No one visited him, except for me. “Unlike you”, huh?’
Yuji crashes through a window and punches the curse, making it release his friend and exorcising it.
“Itadori?!”
‘I think you died peacefully grandpa.’
Yuji grabs Sasaki and jumps back.
“I should scold you for that stunt, but you did a good job.” Fushiguro comes out from around the corner. But Yuji is more focused on something else.
“Oh, what are those dogs?”
“They're my shikigami.”
“What exactly is a shikigami?” Yuji's curiosity knows no bounds.
“It's basically a friendly Curse created by a Sorcerer to help them. My Technique is based around that.” What the fuck is a “technique”? Yuji will have to ask later.
“You're not scared?” Fushiguro asks after a while.
“I used to be when I first saw them. Now I'm not.” Yuji stares into nothingness. He remembers the nightmares he used to have because of this.
“…I see.”
Something falls out of Sasaki's pocket.
It’s an old, ancient, crusty, moldy and most definitely a decaying finger. As stated by Fushiguro it's a ‘Special Grade Cursed Object: Ryoumen Sukuna’s finger’.
Just when Yuji was about to hand it over, the other boy noticed something on the ceiling and pushed him away, screaming at him to run. Which he doesn't do, and as the dust clears, it reveals a hole on both the ceiling and the wall.
The Curse and Fushiguro are now outside.
And so, the obvious choice to Yuji is jumping down like two stories and attempting to fight the curse. Which, of course, doesn’t work out very well, since it turns out to actually exorcise a curse, you need Cursed Energy, which Yuji obviously sucks at using.
Not to mention he ran out of it when trying to defend himself from this Curse.
“Hey, it's after the finger, right?! Why does it want it?” Yuji dodges the Curses strikes, but soon gets caught.
“To- gain more cursed- energy..” Fushiguro heaves out behind him.
“And if I were to eat it, I’d gain more too, right?!” He needs it, quick, or else both of them will die.
“Yeah? Where- are you going- with thi- Wait, no, don't do that!-”
Fushiguro can only watch as Yuji devours the finger like he was starving for years and then passes out.
‘Shit! Cursed Objects are like lethal poisons to humans! He’ll die! But… there's the worst case scenario that the Cursed Object incarnates… it's only a one in a million chance… that- oh no.’ He doesn't know if he should consider this luck or not.
Likely not.
The Curse is ripped to shreds as Ryoumen Sukuna incarnates in Itadori Yuji's body, and black tattoos appear all over him.
The worst case scenario is now a reality.
“Ha ha.. ha. HA! FINALLY! AFTER A THOUSAND YEARS! I KNEW IT! LIGHT IS BEST APPRECIATED IN THE FLESH!
MARVELLOUS! WOMEN AND CHILDREN SPAWNING LIKE MAGGOTS! IT’LL BE A MASSACRE!” Sukuna tweaks out, laughing and yelling. And also ripping the hoodie he was wearing to shreds.
He jumps on a railing, spreading his arms out to bask in the moonlight, until-
“!?” A hand grabs his face. His hand.
“Hey! What do you think you're doing with my body!?” Yuji puts more force in the word “my”.
“Huh? How are you doing that?” Sukuna seems surprised at the notion of Yuji being able to take some sort of control over his body.
“Well it's my body. Now give it back!” Yuji sways a little as the other presence in him is violently ripped from control.
It's cold outside and Yuji shivers. Why exactly did this ‘Sukuna’ rip his hoodie?!
Turns out that Yuji is strong enough to suppress Ryoumen Sukuna and live.
But nevertheless he now is Sukuna's Vessel, and as a Jujutsu Sorcerer, Fushiguro needs to do something about it.
“Don’t move! You’re no longer human, so under Jujutsu Regulations I will exorcise you, Itadori Yuji, as a Curse!” Fushiguro screams out holding his fists in front of himself, shadows swirling around him.
“Huh? Fushiguro, what are you talking about? We need to get you to a hospital!” Yuji puts his hands up to show he means no harm.
While Fushiguro stresses about whether it’s Yuji or Sukuna talking, Yuji just stands there with his arms raised, confused, until a tall man with white hair suddenly appears. He’s dressed in somewhat more traditional clothing, with baggy white pants, a high collared shirt with a singular button and some sort of white coat? (His whole outfit is basically really similar to the one in Shinjuku). Plus, he has bandages over his eyes.
“Oh, it's this guy!” Yuji remembers Fushiguro's description, and the man doesn't look as ridiculous as he thought he would, but it also seems like Fushiguro clearly knows the man, since he calls out to him.
“Gojo-sensei! What are you doing here?” His crisis is resolved.
“Welll, I wasn’t gonna come at first… But then the Higher Ups got a liiiittle pissy after a Special Grade Cursed Object went missing, sooo.. Here I am!”
A pause.
“So, did you find it?” Gojo asked.
“Uhm, sorry but-” Yuji interjects. “-I ate that thing.”
“...” Collective silence.
“Really?”
“Really.” Both teenagers answer.
“Hmm..” Gojo gets up into Yuji's face, seemingly staring straight at his soul, even through the bandages. ‘Doesn’t that guy know about personal space?!’ Clearly not, since he gets even closer, only to back off and let out a chuckle.
“Ha ha! You weren’t kidding! They really did combine.” ‘Their Cursed Energies are eerily similar too..’ “How does your body feel?”
“It feels just fine.” There's a weird tingly feeling, but maybe it's just goosebumps from, you know, staying out in the cold without a shirt on.
“I see, I see. Can you switch with Sukuna for abooooout.. ten seconds?”
“Sukuna? The same guy whose finger I just ate?” So it really is Sukuna.
“The very same! How do you know that though?” Gojo-sensei apparently, tilts his head.
“Uh, Fushiguro mentioned it once.” He recalls it really well. It was just before that giant Curse slammed Fushiguro through a wall.
“Alrighty then! So, can you switch?”
“Oh yeah! I can. But-”
“Don’t worry about me! I’m the strongest after all.” The man walks over to Fushiguro and gives him a bag. “Hold on to this for me, will you?”
“What's that?”
“Oh, those are just Kikufuku Mochi…” Gojo continues to yap about something.
‘This guy..’ As Yuji thinks that, his vision goes black and he wakes up in a lake of blood.
He can vaguely hear something's happening, but he can't make anything out, maybe except for Sukuna's different growls.
“Ha! It doesn't matter what era it is, you stupid Jujutsu Sorcerers are always a pain!” Sukuna's voice comes through, though it sounds as if it's underwater. Or underblood? Whatever.
“Though, that doesn't matter to me.” Sukuna does something and Yuji feels a surge of power.
Ten seconds have almost passed, so Yuji pushes through, closing his eyes and imagining opening them, which actually works.
“-ne.. aaaand ten.”
Sukuna's consciousness is immediately pushed to the back of Yuji's mind.
“Haha! What a surprise! You really can control him.” Gojo seems actually shocked, somehow.
“Obviously. It's my body, why wouldn’t I be able to?” Yuji is somewhat offended.
And then, before anything else happens, Gojo knocks him out.
———————————————————
“...aaand that is how we are here, with your maayybee suspended secret execution.”
Yuji just sits there, stunned. Not only by the words of Gojo, but also because the room that he’s in is unusual and it makes him feel nauseous. It’s completely covered in talismans and so are the ropes that bind him. It’s only lit up by a couple of lanterns hanging from the ceiling that don’t really give much in terms of light.
The whole situation irritates Yuji. He's mostly angry at himself for letting the situation go this far. If only he was stronger. Or if he knew more. Maybe he should feel angry at Gojo and Fushiguro too. If Fushiguro was stronger, Yuji wouldn’t need to interfere. If Gojo didn't waste time, he wouldn't need to eat that finger.
…But if not for them, he’d be lonely and bored, probably for the rest of his life.
Who's he kidding, he'd definitely be like that.
Not to mention, they're the exact people his grandpa told him to find.
Jujutsu Sorcerers.
“Umm, hello?”
“Huh?” Yuji is snapped out of his thoughts by a voice.
“I just asked you a question.”
“Well what was it? The question, I mean.”
Gojo sighs and repeats himself.
“Since you are now Sukunas vessel, if you die, he dies with you. The Higher Ups, the cowards that they are, wanted to execute you immediately. Buuut I, both on Fushiguro-kun's request and my own interest, proposed an alternative. You see, Sukuna has twenty fingers, (Before you ask, it's because he has four arms.) and a Vessel such as yourself only appears, like, once in a thousand years or so. It's also worth mentioning that even I can’t destroy them.”
He decides to demonstrate that by blasting a finger into a wall, leaving a small crater in it.
Yuji just stares at it, a little pale now. How did this not kill him?
“With that in mind it's more profitable for us to leave you alive for now, to consume all of Sukuna's fingers, and then get executed. Buuut the choice belongs to you. So. Do you wanna get killed now, or later?”
Okay, now he feels angry. Cause what kinda choice is that?! Curse those “Higher Ups” honestly, but at least they allowed a choice.
As if it isn't an obvious one.
“I think I’ll eat all of Sukuna's fingers and only then die. Thank you very much.” Yuji quite literally growls out.
“Very well then! I’ll let you free now to pack up, because you’re officially getting transferred to Tokyo Jujutsu High!” Gojo cheerfully claps his hands.
—————————————————————————————
‘Heh. Seems like this brat may be a little interesting after all.’
—————————————————————————————
Gojo and Yuji sit on a bench outside the morgue. Gojo asks who died, and Yuji responds that it was his grandpa. Gojo seems to be considering something.
“Soo… I just wanna ask. Are you completely sure of your decision?”
“I- Ugh. I just have a couple of questions, if you don’t mind Gojo-san.”
“Eugh, just call me Gojo-sensei. I’m not that old. Also sure, ask anything you want.”
“Well, firstly, do you consider a death by curse a ‘right’ death? ‘Cause from what I got, curses are a result of humans, so they're kinda like natural phenomena. Can’t exactly get rid of ‘em, but we can prepare. Although it still strikes me as… wrong.”
“Jumping right into philosophy huh? Well for me it's really simple. Death is death. Death just means that your life is coming to an end. Can’t really do anything about it.”
“..okay. Anyway, my second question is, was I supposed to always be a Vessel? If not, then a Sorcerer? Cause whenever I fought a Curse it just felt so.. right. I liked it. I liked the thrill, I liked the feeling of practically crushing something beneath my fist.”
“Well, you were born a vessel, so it's safe to say that you would at least have an encounter with sorcery anyway, so yeah.” ‘As if they aren't so similar already.. they're practically twins!’
“Cool! And for my final question. What effects would Sukuna's death have?”
“Definitely less deaths among regular people. And Cursed Spirits would be weaker. Probably less paranoia from the Higher Ups, though they're paranoid about anything and everything.”
“Hm. So, not much would change?”
“Not really.”
“Okay. Well, my decision doesn’t change.”
If he thinks about it, his death will be kinda meaningless. But isn't it the same for most people? Most deaths don’t have any meaning. His grandfather's wish echoes in his mind.
You're a strong kid, so help those who need it.
For now it looks like he won’t be able to help many people, so he’ll make friends and protect them, while helping whoever he can. He can start by consuming Sukuna's fingers.
“...Do you still have the finger from yesterday?”
“Yup! Here ya go!”
“Eugh. Now that I look at it in daylight it looks disgusting.” Yuji's face scrunches up in disgust.
He then proceeds to swallow it whole anyway.
There's a strange feeling like a hole being filled as Gojo observes him closely.
‘Aand there goes the second one. One tenth of a whole. Let’s see what will happen now.’
“Hah.. Haha! It tastes so bad it makes me laugh!” Itadori laughs under his nose a little.
On the outside it looked like he was about to commit murder.
‘Incredible! He really can control himself! Without a single hitch too..’ Gojo thinks to himself. He then proceeds to ask Yuji with a smile; “Heh, I take it you're prepared for what comes next?”
“Nah, not at all. But then again, not like I have much of a choice. Though, I’m somewhat excited to be honest. ‘Sides I already know how I wanna go out.”
“Hah! Good stuff! You're already growing on me kid! Looks like hell is going to be fun for ya.” He gets up from the bench. “Also you should pack your things by the end of this day.” He points out.
“Huh? Why? Are we goin’ somewhere?” Yuji tilts his head as an imaginary question mark pops up above it.
“Tokyo. You're going to be enrolled in the same school I go to.” Megumi suddenly appears from behind Yuji.
“Fushiguro! You're looking good!” Yuji brightly grins, flashing a thumbs up.
“Really? I’m wrapped in bandages.” Megumi points at his head, deadpanning.
“By the way, including you, there's gonna be only three first-years.” Gojo speaks right into Yuji's ear.
“Only three?!” He immediately whips his head around.
—————————————————————————————
“And here we are! Feel free to sit on the couch or anywhere else if you want to.” Yuji led them to his house. He did promise Megumi that he'd explain everything later.
“So, Yuji-kun, what's this I hear about you researching Cursed Energy related things?” Gojo sits on the couch and leans forward.
And Yuji explains. How he could always see Cursed Spirits. How he figured out Cursed Energy. How he figured out to control it, even if a little badly. About the Cursed Objects he found. And how he had to figure out how to make seals and talismans to protect his home.
Gojo is deep in thought by the end of it, his hand on his jaw.
After a while he just laughs and slumps on the couch.
“Seems we got a genius in our hands!”
Yuji and Megumi just stare at him.
“Oh, wait, I'm supposed to pack my things!” All of a sudden Yuji shoots up and runs to his room.
A few minutes pass, and he's already out of the room with a backpack and a separate bag that's omitting some Cursed Energy.
“What's in the bag?” Megumi asks, curious.
“Oh, it's the things I found on my explorations along with all my research.” Yuji lifts the bag up and points at it.
‘How intriguing. Yuji-kun might get along with Shoko!’
—————————————————————————————
“Woah! Is this really Tokyo?” Yuji exclaims.
“Yyuup! Sure is!” Gojo popped the ‘p’. “Tokyo suburbs usually look like this actually.”
“Oh! But where’s Fushiguro? He’s not with us.” Yuji frantically looks around, hoping to see the familiar sea urchin hair.
“Fast asleep after receiving Jujutsu treatment.”
“Okay! But what exactly is Jujutsu High? I've been wondering for a while.”
Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School. It, along with its sister school in Kyoto, operate under the facade of a private religious school. Even after graduation, many Jujutsu Sorcerers use the facility as a base of operations. It serves as a place of education, mediation for missions and is a general supporting pillar of the Jujutsu Community.
“With all that said, you're gonna have an interview with the principal, so stay sharp Yuji-kun!”
“Huh?! And what if I fail?! Will I be executed on the spot?!”
“Pfeh! What a disappointment! I thought you were the leader.. Any hierarchy not based on strength is worthless!” A mouth forms on Yuji's cheek.
Slap!
Yuji's hand lands on it, to stop Sukuna from talking.
“Sorry! He keeps doing that.” He apologizesz even though he kinda agrees with Sukuna. He also thought in the beginning that Gojo was the leader here.
“What an interesting body you have now!” The two stop for a second, Gojo leaning towards Yuji.
“When I make this brats body mine-” a mouth appears on Yujis hand “Not again!” “-you will be the first one I kill!”
“Oh-ho! Being the target of the King of Curses? I’m honoured!”
“Is this (very annoying) guy really that famous?” Yuji and Gojo continue walking.
Ryoumen Sukuna is considered a deity, with his four arms and two faces being the perfect body for jujutsu. The truth is, he was an actual human a thousand years ago, during The Golden Age of Jujutsu: the Heian era. In his time, both sorcerers and curses attempted to kill him in all sorts of different manners. They all failed. They couldn’t even destroy his gravewax! Without a doubt, his ‘King of Curses’ title was earned.”
“I see… Is he stronger than you then, sensei?”
“If Sukuna regained all his power, it might be tough…”
“But would you lose?” That is the thing Yuji wants to know.
“Nah, I’d win.”
They walk through traditional hallways for a while more, until they finally reach the principal’s office.
“Satoru! You're late!”
The principal, Masamichi Yaga, scolds Gojo for being late as always. While the grownups argue, Yuji is weirded out by the fact that some old guy was making cute dolls. The principal himself was dressed in a very dark blue yukata, with a black haori over it. He was also wearing glasses. Weird combination, but the people here seem to like to combine traditional clothing with modern clothes anyway, so it's whatever.
“So, this is the kid?” Yaga leans forward and it looks like he’s squinting at Yuji.
“My name is Yuji Itadori!” Yuji bows
“Why are you here?” The principal crosses his arms.
“..? As iiiin what my goals are?” Yuji hesitantly questions.
Yaga nods.
“Well, I made a promise to myself to make friends and protect them at any cost, plus my grandpa told me that this was the perfect place for someone like me. Also postponing my execution so I can die surrounded by the people I love, I guess.”
“So you came here on your grandfather's request?” Yaga starts interrogating Yuji.
“No, not really. I was gonna have to find this place somehow eventually anyway. He just… confirmed a couple things to me and gave me honest advice.”
“Hm. And what if you were to die before completing one of your goals? What if you fail to save one of your loved ones? What if you die before your execution?” Yaga inquires further.
“...Then I will have no one to blame, but myself, for being weak and failing.” Yuji's resolve hardens and he decides that no matter what happens or who stands in his way he will prevail.
“I see.” Yaga grabs a couple of papers from his desk and writes something on them. Then he gets up. “Satoru, show him to his room.”
“Huh? I passed?” Yuji's genuinely baffled. He thought he'd need to like, showcase his abilities or something.
Through his bafflement he barely registers Yaga handing him some documents.
“Sure seems like it, Yuji-kun!” Gojo grabs him by the arm and drags him away.
—————————————————————————————
Satoru leads Yuji to the dorms. He decided that it would be a great idea to put Yuji right next to Megumi.
Yuji wonders at how big the room is. First things first, he places the documents from Yaga on a desk for later inspection and only then, he starts to unpack, starting with his clothes. While he does that, Satoru starts to talk to him.
“You don’t need to fight. You know that, right?”
“I know, but I want to. Though it would be funny to see a beaten up Fushiguro just deliver a finger to me while I relax, I think I’ve been bored for waaayy too long. I really, really want to experience some danger or thrill in my life now.”
“Haha! That's good, because there's no way you aren't fighting!” “Hey!” “If finding the fingers was that easy, we would've found them centuries ago! (Probably) Anyway, you kiinda act like a radar or maybe a magnet for them, since you're his vessel. So, we are gonna need you on the field.”
“Uh, I don’t think that guy’s considerate enough for that.” And by “that guy” Yuji obviously means Sukuna.
“It’d be a win-win situation tho, since he'd be regaining his power, so I think we’ll come to an agreement.” Gojo smiles.
They both walk out of the room and stop in the hallway upon seeing Megumi.
“Fushiguro! You're okay!” Yuji jumps up in relief and runs over to Megumi, checking out if everything's fine with him.
“Did we seriously have to be next to each other?” Megumi just ignores Yuji, which makes him pout a little.
“I thought it'd be more lively that way.” Satoru smiles softly for a second and then grins. “Besides, you need some friends!”
“Seriously Gojo-sensei?” Megumi is really annoyed today.
“Yup! Anyway, we're going out in two days for our final classmate! In the meantime, we’ll compare our notes about Jujutsu with Yuji-kun here, along with maybe some training!” By that Gojo means he'll see what Yuji knows and then either correct him or add some knowledge. Then he speaks to Yuji. “Also, you have a medical check-up in half an hour, so don’t miss it!”
At the thought of learning, Yuji groans. Although he doesn’t mind it, it's usually really tedious. It's completely different from research!
It’s going to be a long day.
And so is going to be tomorrow.
So much for a weekend.