Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Gojo scowled as the black car pulled up, his ride to Jujutsu High. 

Really, the whole thing was an insult to the heir of the Gojo clan, expecting the God of the Jujutsu world to go to school? He scoffed at the idea. 

And yet here he was, entering the passengers side of the car. As he pulled on the door, it refused to open. 

“Hey!” He yelled. “Let me in!” 

The sleek black window he was facing slowly pulled downwards, revealing the face of his new teacher, Yaga-sensei, as he would soon learn to call him. 

“Front is for staff” He said simply. “Get in the back” 

Gojo's face reddened at the notion. “I'm not a child!” He said, exasperated.  

And yet, despite this, the strongest sorcerer in the world found himself sitting in the back seat of the car. 

With child lock on.  

Despite the dent to his ego, Satoru kept up his cocky demeanour. “So teach, who else are we picking up? I presume that you haven't built a whole course around little old me? Though, I wouldn't be surprised, after all, I am the gre-” 

“Yes, we have a few more students to pick up,” Yaga interrupted him, the first thing he had said since telling Gojo to get in the car. “I just hope that the others aren't as troublesome as you”

As Gojo gawked at the blatant insult, the car pulled up to a regular-looking high school, where students were leaving in droves. As the teenagers left the building, all girls, one stood out to Gojo. His six eyes allowed him to see it clearly. 

The aura of cursed energy emanated from the brown haired girl. She had a cheeky expression on her face as she waved goodbye to her friends, despite the bags under her eyes. 

She stopped in front of the car, getting in without even needing to be told so. 

“This is Shoko Ieiri. She'll be your first classmate. Miss Shoko, this is-” 

“Gojo, yeah, I know. Hard to find someone in this crazy world who hasn't heard of him” She responded quickly, not missing a beat, as she sat down beside gojo, in the middle seat. 

As the car took off, driving towards its next student, Shoko and Gojo had their own staring contest. Gojo had expected this commoner to back down, but she refused, and so the next half an hour was spent in total silence. 

That changed with their third member joining them, climbing in beside Shoko. Gojo glared at him, his six eyes screaming out that this guy was not human. 

“Mind explaining why a curse is sitting beside us?” He asked in a cocky tone, as if he saw himself as better than the sorcerer beside him. 

“Excuse me?” The newcomer asked incredulously. “I assure you, I am no curse!” He says, disgusted at the mere notion. 

“Hate to tell ya, bud, but my six eyes don't lie! You stink of the same stuff that all curses stink of” 

“Satoru, quieten down,” Yaga spoke up. 

“But you can't seriously consider letting a curse-” 

“-I'm not a curse” 

“-go to the same classes as us!” 

Yaga shook his head, annoyed. “The reason your six eyes think he's a curse is because of his innate cursed technique. Gojo Satoru, meet Geto Suguru. His cursed technique allows him to absorb and store cursed spirits” 

Satoru’s eyebrow quirked upwards, as he didn't bother apologising. “Seriously? You use curses? Man, that's pretty pathetic. You do realise that we exorcise curses, not keep ‘em as pets, right?”

“Are you always this pigheaded? No wonder none of the clans get along with the Gojo clan!” Geto retorted. 

Shoko just chuckled like a little devil, clearly enjoying the show, as the shouting match continued over her lap, the two boys arguing on either side of her. 

The drive to Jujutsu High continued, with the bickering in the car only growing louder, Satoru constantly riled up Sugaru, who very quickly figured out how to get on Gojo's own nerves, while Shoko simply laughed at the show, and Yaga felt a headache forming. 

Thankfully, it didn't take long to get to Jujutsu High. The base, despite being on the outskirts of Tokyo, was easily accessible to those who knew where it was.  

The car slowed to a crawl, and the trio of new students found themselves travelling up the many steps to the entrance of the campus. 

“So, sensei, is it really just going to be the three of us this year?” Geto asked. 

“Yeah,” Shoko responded. “Bit of a short turn out” 

“Please!” Gojo butted in, laughing. “It's gonna be the two of you once my clan figures out that having me here is a waste of time! It's just gonna be the two of you, the curse manipulator and the reverse curse manipulator! An opposites attract situations, how romantic!” He goaded, and Geto growled in response. “Shut up, Gojo!” 

“Oh yeah? Make me!” He shot back with his trademark sly grin. 

Yaga just pinched the bridge of his nose, as he sighed. However, their argument was quickly interrupted, as the gang finally made their way into the entrance, being interrupted with a cheery “Yo!” 

As the trios attention turned to the new source of sound, they were met with a wave from a sorcerer about their age. 

What stood out most wasn't his unusually pink hair, but of the two scars displayed along his face. 

One cut into his skin above his right eye, and the other marked his flesh on the left side of his mouth. 

His cheery greeting, however, was the most unusual thing about him. From Shoko and Suguru’s perspective, he was practically radiating light, with how friendly he was. But from Satoru's perspective, he was literally radiating energy. 

His cursed energy was loose and relaxed, as if it had once been stretched to such an insane degree, but whatever had left such a mark on his cursed energy was long gone. 

“And who the hell is this newbie?” Gojo questioned. 

“Your fourth and final classmate,” Yaga responded simply. 

“Hey!” The newcomer greeted them for a second time. “I'm Yuji Akutami! Nice to meet you!” 

The classroom was big enough to hold thirty or forty students, atleast, and yet only four would be using it for the next three years. 

“So, Akutami, what's your cursed technique?” Shoko asked. 

Yuji laughed as he scratched the back of his head. “Sorry, but I'm not really a fan of my cursed technique, so I'd rather not discuss it” 

Shoko nodded along to this. It was perfectly understandable. Since cursed techniques were built on negativity, there was a long history of cursed techniques popping up that were hated by everyone, even the user. Cursed techniques that caused harm or killed the user, or instilled fear in their loved ones. A sorcerer not wanting to discuss their cursed technique was nothing out of the ordinary. 

“That's so boring though!” Gojo called out, exasperated by the concept of someone being humble. 

“Not all of us get the benefit of having a cool cursed technique” Geto interrupted. “Some of us even get mistaken for curses because of ours” His voice was cold. 

“That was one time!” 

“It was an hour ago” 

“There's no reason to be so sensitive!” 

“Oh yeah? How would you like it if-” 

Shoko once again chose to tune out the bickering as she turned her attention back towards Yuji. 

“So, have you fought curses before?” 

“Uh, yeah, but shouldn't we talk about-” 

He pointed towards their two classmates. “-That?”

Shoko just waved Yuji off. “They've been bickering like this all day” 

“Isn't that a bit… immature?” Yuji questioned, causing Shoko to snort.

“The great Satoru Gojo being immature? Who could've seen that coming!”

Yuji just looked over at the two boys, concerned, and Shoko was very puzzled by this reaction. “Seriously? You didn't actually expect the most egotistical sorcerer in the world to be mature?” 

“He's the head of one of the big clans, right? With that much responsibility, I just presumed that he was a bit of a responsible person!” He said, defending himself. 

“Yeah, that should be the case, in a sane world. But we don't exactly live sane lives, do we?” Shoko asked. 

“No, I guess we don't,” Yuji responded. 

“So-” Yaga said as he sat down behind the teacher's desk, in front of them. “My first question for all of you is, why do you want to be sorcerers?” 

“Well, that's easy!” Gojo smirks. “I'm the stronges-” 

“That's not an answer, Satoru,” Yaga replied. 

“I want to help people!” Shoko tried, only to be shot down. 

“That's a weak motivation. When you're laying down in a ditch, mauled half to death, will you curse the very people you've pledged to save? Can you live with knowing that you won't ever be able to save everyone?” 

Geto spoke up next. “I don't know,” he said truthfully. “I only came here because I can't just ignore this side of me. I can't just live with non-sorcerers for the rest of my life, and ignore this part of me,” 

Yaga nodded. “Well, at least you're honest. This class, for all of you, isn't just about learning how to fight, but also why you fight.” 

He turned to Yuji, who took a deep breath. Had Yuji been a novice sorcerer, he might've said something like what Shoko said. Things about saving people, for no good reason other than the fact that he could. 

If he was just a traumatised teenager, he probably would've just tried to rid himself of his own autonomy, claiming that there were things only he could do to help people. 

But Yuji had grown past this long ago. 

“I want to help people,” He said. 

Normally, Yaga would've brushed him off like he did with Shoko, but Yuji had something in his eyes, a conviction that didn't just come from guilt, or blind naivety. 

“Why?” A one word question, but it was all that needed to be asked. 

“Because life is worth fighting for” 

Yuji looked out of the window. 

“Getting to play with friends, messing about in groups, enjoying time with family, eating, sleeping, learning. No matter how simple, all of these things matter, and people deserve to have them. So I'll fight, even if it's just to give someone I'll never know one more minute of happiness!” 

His proclamation was passionate, and filled with experience. Just like Yaga had thought, those scars weren't simple close calls with cursed spirits, they told a story, one that had allowed Yuji to grow a great deal in what Yaga suspected was a very short amount of time, due to how hidden his presence had been. 

Unlike the other three, who were well known, as all new sorcerer prospects were, Yuji seemingly popped up out of nowhere only a month ago. His, to put it simply, rampage, had not gone unnoticed, and he was very quickly recruited by Jujutsu tech. He was strong, but also dangerous. Not because of his strength, but because of how little anyone knew about him. 

Yuji was as much of an asset as the other three, even if, as of now, he was nowhere near as flashy. 

Yaga smiled. 

“Akutami, you've passed. You'll be allowed to go on missions, supervised of course. Geto, you came close to passing, thanks to your self awareness, so I'll be letting you go on some missions. Not as many as Yuji though, at least not until you fully pass”

Yuji grinned and pumped his fist up, cheering “Hell yeah, first try!”, and Geto simply responded with a smile. 

“As for Gojo and Shoko, you're both banned from missions until you can pass” 

“What?” Gojo asked, dumbfounded, while Shoko just shrugged. “Eh, more free time for me, then,” 

“Sensei, you can't be serious! I'm the strongest! The clans aren't going to be okay with you just sidelining m-” 

“Actually,” Yaga retorted. “All three clans, along with the higher ups agreed with this idea.” 

“Wha- How? Why?” Gojo just couldn't seem to process this, much to the amusement of the rest of the group. 

“You're not invincible, even though you might think you are. It favors absolutely no one in Jujutsu Society to lose someone who could possibly create a peaceful society for sorcerers before he has the chance to grow into his strength.” 

Gojo grumbled about it being bullshit, while Yaga continued his speech. 

“Now that that's settled, you'll find your dorms down the hall. Just turn right, and keep walking, and you'll get there eventually. Your dorm rooms have already been assigned, so you don't need to worry about arguing over spots.”

The group walked down the hallway, as a group. Well, as a trio, as Satoru had decided that he didn't want to be seen with them, so he had run off ahead. 

Yuji was deep in thought, which both Shoko and Geto noticed. 

By the time they got to the dorms, Gojo had already locked himself up in his room, and Geto was quick to do the same. Shoko just sighed. “Jeez, look at what we have to deal with!” 

Yuji just shrugged. “They don't seem that bad.” 

Shoko just stared at him blankly. “All Gojo did was brag about his strength and insult us!” 

Yuji rubbed the back of his head. “I guess, yeah that is pretty bad. But I'm sure there's a good person buried under all of… him” 

Shoko started squinting, causing Yuji to look around. “Is there a glare or something? 

“Nah, it's just, your optimism is blinding. Are you sure you're meant to be a sorcerer? 

“Yep, pretty sure I was made to be one” Yuji thought to himself, as he shrugged. 

They walked into the common room. “Well, at least we have some decent stuff to use!” Shoko said. 

The common room was split into two sections, a living area and a kitchen. Both were very high tech, for the mid 2000s at least. 

Shoko sat down greedily in front of the massive TV, while Yuji poked around the kitchen. 

Shoko looked over at him curiously. “Is the kitchen really that interesting?” She questioned. “Just making sure I know where everything is!” He responded quickly. 

“Do you cook?” She asked, getting a nod in response. 

“Yeah, I had to feed myself somehow, y’know?” 

“No family?” Shoko asked, and Yuji shook his head. 

“A grandfather, but he died from cancer” 

The way he mentioned his grandfather was distant, but fond, as if he had died years ago, and Yuji had already accepted it. 

“That sucks,” Is the only response that Shoko could muster. 

“Yeah” Yuji responded, as he opened a cupboard, pulling out some pasta. “Are you hungry?” 

Shoko grinned. “Only if you're any good at cooking!” 

Yuji smiled. “I'll let you be the judge of that,” He said, as he pulled out a pot, turned the stove on, and started boiling some water. 

It was funny, in a way. That such a strange set of circumstances could lead to something as mundane as cooking dinner. 

As the day drew to a close, and Shoko and Yuji retired to their rooms (unfortunately before Shoko actually managed to try Yuji's cooking, turns out the appliances turn off automatically after curfew), one thing was very clear to all four students. 

Today was the start of a completely different life, for each and every one of them. 

Especially for Yuji Akutami. 

Chapter Text

The train car rattled, as Yuji slurped up his smoothie, purchased before they had boarded. 

Once again, the Sorcerer's childishness confused Geto. 

The two of them were out on their first mission, guided by Atsuya Kusakabe, an up and coming sorcerer, recently promoted to first grade. The eldest of the three didn't seem bothered by Yujis, quite frankly annoying, slurping. 

Kusakabe handed them identical folders, both black in colour and housing many sheets of paper. 

“What's this?” Yuji asked, as Geto hummed. It was unusual to be so informed on a curse, and Kusakabe admitted as much. 

“Information on the curse spirit that we’ll be exorcising. Make sure to have the important information memorised by the time we get there” Kusakabe explained dryly. 

“Isn't this a bit much? I wasn't aware sorcerers had so much information on curses?” Geto asked. 

“We usually don't. However, this is a different case. This curse spirit has been alive for decades, and as such we have documented it quite a bit. Tell me, how much do you two know about mythical curses?” 

Both boys shook their heads, as if to say that they, in fact, knew absolutely nothing. 

Kusakabe sighed. “Alright, you two know about the curse grading system, right? Where a second grade sorcerer can take down a first grade spirit, and a first grade sorcerer can take down a low level special grade?”

 After seeing them nod, he continued. “Mythical curses are sort of a separate label. Being a mythical curse isn't about strength, but rather a few criteria” 

He put one finger up. “Firstly, rarity. A mythical curse has to be one of a kind. If it's common, then it isn't a mythical, simple as,” 

He paused for a moment, looking out the window into the countryside. “Secondly, it needs to be born of mixed emotions, not just negative ones” 

Geto's eyes widened, as Yuji stopped slurping from his smoothie and looked up. “Is that… possible? I thought cursed energy could only be negative?” Yuji asked. 

Kusakabe scratched his neck. “Reverse curse energy is typically born from negative emotions being reversed, however, in rare cases, it can generate from positive emotions. This, combined with negative emotions that create cursed energy, which stabilises the curse, creates a curse-” 

“-Made partially of reverse cursed energy!” Geto finished. 

Kusakabe nodded. “These curses are immune from being killed through rct output and tend to have unique cursed techniques. Most of the myths around yokai tend to actually come from these mythical cursed spirits. One side effect of being made partially from reverse curse energy is that they aren't entirely hostile” 

“Woah, not-evil curses!” Yuji gasped. “That's crazy!” 

“And that brings us to this specific curse. For decades, it not only left sorcerers in peace, but actively destroyed any curses in the vicinity, creating a safe area for sorcerers, that eventually became an entire settlement, kind of like the sorcerer schools”

Geto leaned forwards. “So why are we exorcising it now?” 

Kusakabe shrugged. “Something in it changed. All of a sudden, about a couple weeks back, it started rampaging, and killed everyone there, both curses and sorcerers alike. So, we need to take it out” 

He let out a sigh. “It's a shame. It really was something beautiful. But, I'm afraid that's the reality of Jujutsu. Nothing new is ever good, unless it's a sorcerer. And even then, that's only a 50/50 chance” 

Yuji and Geto looked at each other while muttering “50/50?” 

Kusakabe waved his hand. “Forget what I just said, we won't be on this train forever, so get reading” 

Geto and Yuji opened their folders, and on the front page, in bold print, “Recorded Mythic #17: The Rainbow-Scaled Dragon” 

“This is too boring” Gojo groaned, and Shoko growled. “Would you just shut up?” 

He turned to see her trying to pick the lock on Yuji's dorm room door. “What the hell are you doing?” 

She grunted. “Akutami made something that smelled really good for lunch before he and Geto left on that mission, and there weren't any leftovers in the fridge, even though he made tons, way too much for any one person to eat, so I'm checking if he left it in his personal fridge” 

Gojo rubbed the back of his head. “Geez, you really are desperate, huh?” 

“Hey, it's not my fault that I don't know how to cook!” 

“I don't know how it could be anyone else's fault. And besides, if he can cook, it can't be that hard!” 

Shoko stood up and put her hands on her cups. “And what's that supposed to mean?” 

Gojo laughed. “Oh please. Taking one look at the dude is enough to see that he's not exactly the brightest!” 

Shoko sneered. “I could say the same about you. At least Akutami is nice!”

“Nice enough for you to steal food from?” 

She waved Gojo off. “He said he'd make dinner for me last night, but he wasn't able to. As far as I see it, this is just taking what he rightfully owes me” 

“Seriously though, just cook it yourself. Like I said a moment ago, it can't be that hard, considering he was able to do it!” 

Shoko laughed. “Alright, since it's so easy, then you make some lunch for us!” 

Gojo shrugged and turned his head away. “I don't need to prove anything to you,” 

Shoko laughed. “Oh? Is the great Satoru Gojo not able to cook a simple lunch?” She jeered at him, and he grumbled. 

“Fine. This'll be a piece of cake!” He said, as he stormed towards the kitchen. 

The train slid to a stop at Tsubojiri Station, a secluded station in the middle of a thick forest, trees surrounding the track on both sides. 

The trio exited the train, looking around.

“Man, this is really the middle of nowhere!” Yuji whistled. “This is supposed to be a hub for sorcerers?” 

“Well, I doubt that a secret society is just going to have its base in the middle of plain sight for non-sorcerers,” Geto argued. 

“What about hiding in plain sight?” Yuji fired back. 

“That's dumb” 

“It's a quote!”

“Still dumb” 

Kusakabe just put his hand up, telling them to be quiet, and they began their trek up the mountainside. 

Soon enough, they found themselves in a clearing, and the destruction of the mythical curse spirit was made apparent. 

Houses had been reduced to rubble. Curses, completely mauled, most completely unrecognisable, had been left to rot where they had died, littered around the small settlement. The rotten stench of death, foul and unforgettable, lingered on the settlement. 

Bodies of the elderly, parents, and children were all mutilated to an equal degree. 

Kusakabe heard puking to his side. Unsurprisingly, Geto was hurling up. Seeing and dealing with curses for the first time was something, but seeing humans brutally murdered like this would get a reaction from any novice sorcerer. 

But not Kusakabe. Not anymore. 

And, seemingly enough, not Akutami either. Kusakabe recognised the look on Akutami's face. It was the face of someone who was used to death, used to the horrible parts of their world, but still refused to detach himself, to accept that people die. 

It was an idiotic world view, things like this were impossible to prevent. No one could have predicted that this would happen.

And yet, Yuji clung to this worldview, and refused to let go. 

Kusakabe sighed. “All right, let's find this curse,” 

As he said that, a deafening roar was heard, and out of the remains of the town hall, a massive dragon rose, flying into the sky, increasing its altitude rapidly. 

What Gego had to appreciate was how beautiful it was. It was elegant, its shape of a thin, long dragon, no wings, but four legs highlighting its body. But there was one thing that stood out. 

“That curse is not rainbow coloured!” Yuji yelled out. He wasn't wrong. It took on a muted, pure white gleam, as if all life had been taken from its skin, with the only colour being left a manic yellow from its eyes. 

“It must be a side effect of whatever caused it to change!” Kusakabe yelled over the wind. “Not like it matters, our first priority is to take it out. I'll play defense while you two show me what you're capable of!” 

The two new sorcerers nodded. As the dragon changed directions, and started charging downwards from above, Kusakabe activated his simple domain. “Stay close to me, and it won't be able to hurt you!” He yelled out. 

As the beast drew closer, charging in like a bullet train, Kusakabe readied himself for the collision, only for Yuji to intercept the dragon, delivering a fierce uppercut to its chin, causing it to veer off course, and keeping the dragon flying above the sorcerer. 

“So Akutami is a physical fighter!” Kusakabe thought. 

“Akutami! Chase after it. Geto, see what curses you can summon to help him from here!” Kusakabe ordered, and the two boys nodded in agreement. 

Gojo cursed, as fire nipped at his skin, forgetting to activate his infinity. Shoko burst out laughing. “To think that the invincible Gojo would be hurt by cooking!” 

“Shut up!” He stuttered, flustered. “So maybe trying to cook some sausages wasn't the best place to start-” 

Shoko cackled. “But you asked me what Yuji had for lunch! Are you really admitting that you can't even fry some sausages! That you're really worse than Yuji!” 

Gojo grumbled, and blew out the fire on the frying pan, dumped the remains of the sausages that he was trying to cook, and dumped more oil on the frying pan.  

Yuji yelled as he was flung by the dragon, further into the air. He decided at this moment that he was not a fan of heights. 

He landed back onto the dragons back, and as it flew back down onto the ground, he hung on tight. It crashed through the trees that surrounded the village, ripping them in two as it thrashed. It didn't even seem to have the intelligence that regular curses had, not even fighting for its own survival, just creating mindless destruction. 

Gego chased them on foot, and yelled at Yuji. “Slow the thing down!” 

Yuji nodded. “Got it!” He yelled back, before flinging himself onto the side of the beast, grabbing it with his hands as he dug his feet into the ground. 

This caused the dragon to slow down, and despite how much it roared, Yuji didn't budge. Eventually, it slowed to a stop, with Yuji stopping the curse from flying off. Geto and Kusakabe were both impressed by Yuji's strength. 

“Any time now!” Yuji yelled out, but despite the urgency in his voice, from Geto's perspective, it didn't look like he was struggling, at all. 

Geto nodded. “Right!” 

He rushed over to the head of the dragon, which was snapping and growling. His eyes widened, as he reached into its mouth. Yuji gasped. “Geto, are you insane?”

Geto grunted. Something was lodged in the roof of the beast's mouth, as if it had been stabbed by it. 

He grunted with all his might, and pulled it out. The dragon roared in pain, but made no effort to bite down on Geto's arm. 

Geto pulled out a hand covered in curse blood, holding… 

Kusakabe ran up to them. He narrowed his eyes. “Geto… is that?” 

Geto nodded. “Yeah” He said solemnly. 

As Geto handed the thing to Kusakabe, who pocketed it, saying he'd take it back to Tokyo, he missed the look on Yuji's face as he watched the thing closely. 

Geto turned around to look at the beast, who was now much calmer. “I guess we don't really need to exorcise it anymore… do we?” 

Kusakabe shook his head. “That was definitely the thing causing the curse to go on a rampage. If it goes back to its old behaviour, then it's worth letting it live. Yuji, you can let go now,” 

Yuji nodded, and let go of the beast, and it growled gratefully. 

The sorcerers started walking away, but the beast roared one more time. 

Geto turned around, to see the snout of the dragon inches away from his face. 

“Do you..?” He started speaking, as he put his hand up to pet the dragon. 

But, as he made contact with the dragon, it began to glow, and suddenly, it shot inside his arm, the force causing Gego to stumble backwards. Yuji caught him before he could fall over. 

“You alright, man?” 

Geto paid him no attention, as he regained his balance. 

“I… absorbed it? But how? Usually, I have to turn them into orbs, and eat them!” 

He was confused as to why it didn't feel awful, as well. Usually, consuming curse spirits felt like all the worst combinations of food put together. 

“Well, if I had to guess,” Kusakabe started, nonchalantly speaking. “Since it's a mixture of positivity held together by a few negative emotions, it had a more pleasant way of interacting with your technique than beings of pure negativity” 

Geto looked down on his hand, the one that had absorbed the dragon. “But… why? Why leave the place it's been for decades?”

Yuji shrugged. “I mean, there isn't much left here, is there? And besides!” He said, as he placed a hand on Geto's shoulder. “Everyone needs a friend!” 

“A friend..?” 

They got back to the dorms, only to be met with a giggling Shoko, and… 

“What happened to your eyebrows, Gojo?” Yuji asked. 

“Shut up, Akutami!” Gojo snarled, as he slammed his dorm room door closed, leaving Yuji wondering just what he had done. 

He found out, when Shoko gleefully explained Gojo's disastrous, attempts at outdoing Yuji in cooking to the sorcerer. 

It was nice to let out a solid laugh. 

It felt like he hadn't gotten a chance to really laugh in a long time. 

As Geto laid down in his bed, drifting off to sleep, he thought about what Yuji said. 

“Friends, huh?” 

Yuji couldn't get to sleep. Something didn't sit right with him. And surprisingly, it wasn't about Geto, or about how Gojo was acting. No, what really confused him was…

What the hell was one of Sukuna's fingers doing in that curse’s mouth?

Chapter Text

Satoru was snoring in the back of the class, much to Yaga's dismay, as he was teaching a lecture on basic mathematics. 

Geto was staring out of the window, Shoko was doing the bare minimum, and Yuji was actually paying attention! 

He did have the lowest academic scores of the four sorcerers, but at this rate, he would be the only one to pass any of the academic subjects by the end of the year. 

Yaga sighed, as the bell rang, waking Gojo up and causing him to fall off of his seat. He yelped as he collapsed to the ground, causing Shoko to burst out laughing. 

“I'm paying attention, I swear!” Gojo blurted out as he woke up, not fooling anyone. 

“Is that so, Satoru?” Yaga said. “Then maybe you can answer this question on the board?” He continued, as he tapped on the board with the chalk. 

Gojo didn't even bother looking, shaking his head. “The bell rang, we can't just take time out of the next class!” He argued. 

Yaga sighed. “Fine. Next class. Meet me in the training field” 

Gojo whooped. “Finally some action!” 

“Oh? Worried of getting rusty?” Geto asked. 

“I don't get rusty!” Gojo huffed. 

“Sure” Geto said sarcastically, as the four of them walked out of the room. 

Once they reached the field, Yaga explained what the subject of the class was. 

“Today is going to be basic hand to hand combat practice. It's very common for sorcerers to get fatigued or find themselves unable to use your technique. In that situation, there's only one thing you'll be able to rely on. Your fists” 

Gojo scoffed. “It's not like I can run out of cursed energy. 

“Maybe not, but what about abilities that can nullify your technique?” Yuji asked. 

Yaga nodded on to that. “Exactly. Domain techniques can bypass your infinity, Satoru. You need to learn that you are not invincible, and if you really want to be the strongest, you need to learn” Yaga explained. 

Gojo just narrowed his eyes at Yuji, not responding to his sensei, who just huffed in frustration. 

“Alright, all of you, no using cursed energy. No eye gouging, outside of that? Just try to get your opponent to surrender. Get in pairs. You'll be going for twenty minutes” 

They started with Yuji pairing up against Geto, and Gojo pairing up against Shoko. 

Shoko played surprisingly dirty, managing to claw her way out of Gojo's grasp several times. It turns out that, since Gojo was so used to outclassing people in strength, he wasn't very good at fighting. 

Yuji against Geto, on the other hand, went very different. 

To put it simply, the only reason Geto was still standing is that Yuji was trying to find a way to limit his normal strength. His abnormal strength was never something he had to hide before, but now? It would just cause too many questions. If they found out about Kenjaku now… it would cause too many questions. 

On the bright side, much to Geto's frustration, Yuji was managing to dodge each attack from Gego with ease. 

After testing the water for a minute, Yuji settled on a decent level of strength, and with lightning fast speed, hit Geto with a flawless roundhouse kick to the side of his head, sending him stumbling. 

Yuji rushed in quickly, slipping a leg behind both of Geto’s legs, pushing his hip into Geto's to cause him to go off balance, pushing forward, and kicking Geto’s legs out from under him. 

Yuji was prepared to go for a headlock, but Gego waved his arms around in a panic on the floor. “I surrender!” He exclaimed, as Yuji stepped back. 

Geto stood up, dusting himself off, while Gojo whistled. “Damn, you got your ass beat, Geto!” He laughed. 

Geto stared at him. “You're not exactly doing any better!” He shouted at the white haired boy, who was currently being subjected to a headlock by the surprisingly fierce Shoko. “Victory!” She shouted happily. 

Yuji smiled. Out of everyone in their year, he easily hung out with Shoko the most. Outside of their one mission, Geto just locked himself in his room all day, as did Gojo, who was, well… Gojo. 

It was weird seeing Shoko this happy. He flashed back suddenly to his past. 

The last time he saw Shoko, before all of this started. 

The sky was a feverish orange, as the silhouettes of large creatures that couldn't be made out roared in the distance. 

Yuji made his way through crumbled buildings, ruined beyond repair, as he descended to the lower levels. 

He was soaked in blood. his left socket was filled with blood, and his right arm was bloodied, with the bone being visible in several places. 

He made his way into an extended underground network, with nothing but a few candles in each hall lighting the complex. 

Yuji walked past the survivors, non sorcerers who couldn't comprehend what was happening. Many had gone insane. Some had tried to kill others. Still, they sheltered who they could. 

He slowly felt his body knit itself together wearily. 

As soon as he made it far enough into the complex, he could feel the air change. He let out a sigh of relief, as the other sorcerers noticed him.  

Shoko walked over to him. “Here, let me finish it up,” she said, referring to his healing himself, and he nodded. She was tired, it was obvious. But they were all tired. 

“Ino?” She asked. He just shook his head, and the surviving sorcerers just looked down, not bothering to cry. They were numb to everything.  

Eventually, the other sorcerers dispersed from the room they were in, leaving just Yuji and Shoko. 

“Shoko, this isn't a proper way to live” 

“I know, Itadori” 

Yuji clenched his trousers. “There has to be something we can do. Something other than run, hide, scavenge!” 

Shoko shook her head. “You saw with your own eyes what that beast was capable of. What it did to Okkotsu. We don't stand a chance. This is all we can manage,” 

“We're just standing around, waiting to die, aren't we?” 

Shoko doesn't look at Yuji. She can't bear to look at any of the younger sorcerers, everyone knows. She's too ashamed of how her generation failed theirs. 

She nodded.  

Yuji sighed. “I'm sorry. For everything”

As he walked out of the room, Shoko looked at him, eyes a bit brighter. “Yuji… just keep moving. It's all any of us can do” 

“Akutami? Yo Akutami!” Gojo called out, clicking a finger in front of Yuji, surprising him. Yuji blinked a few times. 

“Sorry, Gojo, what is it?” 

“You just blanked out for a few seconds,” Geto explained. Yuji just shrugged. “I'm fine, just tired” 

“We don't care!” Gojo said exasperatedly, as he walked off. Geto looked like he was going to say something to Yuji, but decided against it, sighing as he walked after Gojo. 

Shoko appeared behind Yuji. “Damn, he really is an asshole, huh Akutami?”

Yuji jumped and yelped in surprise. Shoko just stared at him as she scratched the back of her head. “Geez, what's up with you today?” 

He sighed. “Nothing, I've just been on edge” 

She looked at him inquisitively. “Is it because of what happened on your super secret mission with Suguru?” 

Yuji shook his head. “Nah, just nerves, y'know?” 

Shoko shrugged. “Whatever man” is all she saId as she walked off, leaving Yuji alone, wondering when class had ended. 

Upon reaching his dorm room, Yuji sat down in his bed, and deflated. Shoko was pretty perceptive, she had pretty much struck right on the money. Seeing one of Sukuna's fingers again brought up memories of the past. 

He looked down at his hands. When Kusakabe was handing the finger to Yaga, Yuji had done a bit of spying. Yaga had said that this was their seventh finger. In his original timeline, they only had six. 

This meant that something was different. But what? Did Kenjaku know that someone had traveled through time? Surely not, there's no way he could've known. 

No, this was targeted. The finger wasn't just absorbed by the curse spirit, probably because it was a mythical, and partially made of reverse cursed energy, meaning that it rejected the finger. 

Someone did this to cause the destruction of that settlement. The problem was that Yuji had no idea who it could be. He groaned, and heard a knock on his door. 

He opened it to see Shoko. “Uh… hey Shoko?” 

She pointed at him. “You still owe me food, y'know! I'm cashing in that favour today!” 

Yuji just blinked. “Sure, I can make dinner, I guess. Let me just ask Geto and Gojo if they want some” 

“Noooo” She said, drawing out the word as she tried to drag Yuji into the kitchen, only to fail miserably, and be dragged in the direction of Gojo’s dorm room. 

Yuji knocked on Gojo’s dorm, only to, predictably, get no answer. 

“We know you're in there, asshole!” Shoko shouted at the door. 

Yuji just shrugged and moved over to Geto’s door, knocking on it. Surprisingly, the introverted sorcerer actually opened the door. 

“Oh? What is it, Akutami?” He asked. 

“I'm making some dinner for us, do you want to join us, Geto?” Yuji asked. 

Geto stood there for a moment, like a deer caught in headlights, before sighing and smiling. “Alright, I'll join you,” 

And so, half an hour later, the three of them were sitting down in front of a delicious home cooked spaghetti bolognaise. 

Shoko slurped up her spaghetti, beaming, while Geto picked at his mince. 

“Oh man,” Shoko said, as she finished another mouthful. “You are a really good cook, Akutami!” 

Geto nodded. “I'll admit, this is quite nice,” 

Yuji just smiled, looking at the two of them. When was the last time before all of this started, that he had the chance to do something like this. Have a nice, home cooked meal with friends? 

“Thanks guys!” He said with a beaming smile. 

Yuji drifted off into thought as he picked at his dinner, not noticing Shoko trying to steal from Geto’s plate as he defended it with his life. 

Soon, it was past curfew, and lights were out. All three teens made their way to their dorm rooms, Shoko going into hers first, practically jumping onto her bed without bothering to close her door. Yuji pushed it close for her, and gained a muffled thanks through the door from Shoko. 

As he opened his door, and was ready to enter his room, he heard Geto speak up.

“Hey Akutami?” 

Yuji turned his head. “Yeah, Geto?” 

“Thanks, for tonight”

Yuji smiled softly. “No problem, Geto. Goodnight” He finished, as he closed the door to his room. 

Geto responded with a “Goodnight” of his own, before shutting his door, and letting sleep take him. 

Chapter Text

Yuji's eyes widened. 

In the aftermath of Gojo's hollow purple, he alone stood at the top. And Sukuna? Sukuna was gasping for air as he held onto a piece of debris, the only thing stopping him from collapsing onto the ground. 

The group of sorcerers cheered. “He actually did it!” Yuta said. “I can't believe it!” 

“Well, I guess we were wise to bet on Sensei!” Hakari said. 

Shoko did nothing but smile softly at the sight. 

Yuji was cheering with the rest of them, until he felt a pull at his very soul. 

He turned back at the screen, while everyone else was too busy cheering and celebrating. 

He could feel it. As his sensei stood there, his confident smirk on his face, Yuji seemed to be the only one who could see what was happening. Could feel the very flow of cursed energy in the entire world. The massive amount surging in Sukuna's hand. 

And with the point of a finger, Gojo Satoru was dead. 

Yuji gasped as he woke, heart pounding. He frantically looked around, his room being a mess. But not in the same way as it was back then. 

This room was filled with things. Even if they were just placeholder items, to make the room seem more lived in, like an alarm clock. 

He let out a gasp, and stared at the ceiling, before getting out of bed. 

Another day, another chance. 

“Hey, have you guys noticed anything off about Akutami?” Gojo said. 

Shoko eyed Gojo suspiciously. “What, that he's actually a nice person? Because I hate to break it to you, but most people aren't cocky assholes” 

Gojo fumed at the insult, but didn't go off on Shoko, deciding to stay on point. 

“Oh come on. He's a sorcerer that shows up out of nowhere, has a ton of scars, and he's constantly zoning out!” 

“Zoning out isn't really that strange,” Geto said. “After all, everyone who becomes a sorcerer has to be at least a little crazy.” 

Shoko nodded at this. “What's your problem with Akutami, anyways? Maybe, if you didn't just hole yourself up in your room all day, and stopped being such a pretentious asshole, you'd know that he's just a chill dude!” 

Gojo just shook his head, as he walked off, muttering about how he'd "get to the bottom of this!” 

Shoko scoffed. “Poor Akutami. Well, I'd rather have him on Gojo's hitlist than us, huh?” 

Geto shrugged, refusing to respond. 

“You're no fun, y'know!” Shoko exclaimed, dramatically pointing at him as he turned his head away. “I don't care” was his only response. 

Yuji was getting out of the shower, the heat set to max, steaming up the entire room and fogging up everything. 

He opened his locker door, grabbed some gear from it, and closed it, only to see Gojo leaning over at him, causing him to jump back in surprise. 

“Ah- ah Gojo! What are you doing here!” Yuji said, as he tried to grab his gear before it hit the ground. 

“Why are you here, Akutami?” 

"I'm... getting changed after having a shower?" He answered, confused. 

"No, why are you in this school. Why did you join?"

Yuji gulped, not quite able to look Gojo in the eye. “To help people, just like you! I mean, we have these powers for a reason, right?” 

Gojo narrowed his eyes. “Yeah right, that kind of conviction only appears in fairy tales. You have to have something driving you, so what is it?” 

YujI flashed back to his memories, the destruction of everything. 

He brushed Gojo off, and walked away, with Gojo calling after him. 

“I mean seriously, sorcerers don't just appear out of nowhere. You had to be hiding somewhere! Why?” 

Yuji scoffed. “I just didn't grow up knowing about sorcery. That's all” 

He tried to keep moving away, but Gojo grabbed his arm. “What's your deal, Akutami. Because if you plan on upsetting the Gojo clan's position, then I swear-” 

“Upsetting the Go- what are you talking about!” Yuji asked incredulously. 

“Oh come on! A boy that stinks of curses shows up out of nowhere to become part of the same class as the heir to the Gojo clan! It's pretty obvious that you're planning something! So what's your deal?” 

Yuji gritted his teeth. He knew things were going to be different here, and he was trying not to compare this… boy, to his sensei, but he couldn't help it. 

This Gojo was an insult to his sensei. Every bad thing others might say about him with none of the good. 

“I’m here to help people,” Yuji said softly. “Because I have seen people I know and love die! Believe it or not, people can have motivations and ideas that don't revolve around you” He said, his voice quiet but icy. As he walked off, Gojo just stood there, not knowing what to say. 

Shoko and Geto peered into the room, through a crack in the door. Shoko whistled. 

“Damn. Out of everything to come out of Akutami, I was not expecting that”  

Geto walked in, and approached Gojo. 

Gojo just looked at him. “What?” 

“Are you going to apologise? To Akutami?” Geto asked. 

“The hell do I have to apologise to him for?” Gojo snapped, surprising Shoko and Geto. “He didn't answer the question, he just got defensive!” 

“Of course he got defensive, you basically called him a traitor to Jujutsu Society!” Geto argued. “If you got your head out of your ass, you'd see how crazy that is!” 

Gojo just looked at him incredulously for a moment. “I still think he's suspicious. He didn't actually explain how he just popped up!” 

Geto sighed. “Does it really matter? He was vetted by Yaga-sensei. Isn't that enough for you?”

Gojo thought about it for a moment, before sighing. “Fine. I'll apologise. But I'm still suspicious of the dude” 

Geto accepted that, letting Gojo walk off to find Yuji. 

“Damn, out of anyone who could get through to him, I didn't expect it to be you,” Shoko said. 

Geto smiled. “He's an awful lot like another kid at my old school. He thinks he's the centre of the world. All he needs is someone to knock some sense into him” 

“Yeah” Shoko sighed. “Too bad he's too strong to be beaten by anyone who has the time to just come down to Jujutsu High for no good reason. So it looks like we'll be dealing with that cocky attitude for a while”

Geto nodded, before speaking about something else. “We should probably ask Akutami about what we heard, right?” 

Shoko shrugged. “Everyone's lost someone in this business, right? It's not exactly a surprise, especially with those scars he has"

Gojo knocked on Yujis's dorm, and the door opens, with Yuji standing behind it. “Oh, Gojo. What are you doing here?” He said. “Come to “investigate” my room?” 

“No! I just… I-” He paused. 

“I’m sorry for calling you a traitor” He managed to get out. 

Yuji's eyes widened. “Huh, Gojo is apologising. That's new” 

Yuji coughed into his closed fist. “Well, uh, thanks I guess?” 

Gojo just nodded, seemingly happy with how the conversation had ended, and left immediately, leaving Yuji wondering what had just happened. 

“Did… Gojo really just apologise to me?” 

Yuji and Shoko were called into Yaga's office the next day. 

“‘Sup, teach” Shoko said as she greeted the teacher, who sighed at the casual greeting. “Why are we here” 

“You two are here” Yaga started answering. “Because we have a mission for you two” 

Shoko blinked. “Huh? But I thought me and Gojo weren't allowed on missions?” 

Yaga shook his head. “Gojo still isn't, and normally you wouldn't be either. However, the second years returned from a big trip early, and I don't want you to miss out on a big learning experience. So, you two will join one of your upperclassmen, and learn all you can on this next mission, got it?” He asked. 

“So!” Yuji piped up. “What's the mission about?”  

Yaga threw them some folders “We don't have much information, like usual, but here's what we know. The curse is expected to be about second grade, and was spotted around this abandoned building” He said, as Yuji flicked through the folder until he landed on a page with pictures of the site. Calling it a “building” was being generous, it looked more like a construction job that had gone half completed. Support beams were left out in the open, the concrete of the floors and walls were unpainted, and the walls of the third floor hadn't only been partially constructed, leaving half of the outside without any 3rd floor walls. 

“Apparently, some young kids heard some wailing in the site a few years back, when they went exploring. They decided to spread the rumor around as a ghost, and the fear from that rumor created this curse. Since it's based on nothing but a playground rumor, it shouldn't be too strong, so you should be fine. 

Shoko nodded, pumping her fist in the air. “Finally, some action! So, who are we gonna be learning from during this?” 

Yaga stood up. “Utahime Iori. She's a decently strong sorcerer from a small, but well respected clan. She may not have the insane level of raw power as someone like Gojo, but her finesse and precision are things you could both learn a lot from” 

Yuji's eyes widened. “Utahime? I'm going to see her soon?” 

In truth, he didn't know her all too well, only seeing glimpses of her in the sister school training event, and when she helped Gojo prepare for the battle against Sukuna. 

He didn't really know Utahime, but that didn't stop the idea of seeing someone else from his old reality from making him any less excited, or any less nervous. 

“You have the rest of today to prepare for the mission, you'll meet up with Utahime and set out tomorrow” Yaga informs them, as the meeting draws to a close. 

As they walked out of the office, Yuji turned To Shoko. “So, are you looking forward to the mission?” He asked.

She nodded. “Yeah! It'll be nice to be able to fight, even if it's only for a while…”  

Yuji tilted his head, wanting to ask her what that meant, but she just shook her head. “Ah it's fine, I know, I'm the healer, so it's for the best that I stay on the sidelines!” She said quickly. 

Yuji grabs her arm, to try and stop her from walking away. “Seriously, Shoko, if you want to talk about i-” 

“I'm fine, Yuji,” She said, cutting him off. “Now, we should probably get back to our studies. We're both flunking academically, pretty hard, so we don't really have time to waste, do we?” She said, as she walked off, walking a bit quicker than usual. 

Yuji frowned, not knowing what to say. 

The rest of the day passed in almost complete silence, with Yuji not knowing how to approach what Shoko had said. She never had seemed too happy with being relegated to the sidelines in his original timeline, but Yuji had never given it much thought. 

He sighed as he prepared for sleep to take him, lying down in bed. All he could do was hope that nothing crazy happened with their next mission. 

Chapter Text

Yuji hummed as he waited for the train to make its way to the next stop. 

It turned out that young Utahime was a really impatient person. He could hear her tapping her feet constantly, as if she hated the idea of sitting still. It was weird seeing someone who was so serious in his old timeline be so impatient. It was like she had something to prove. 

She didn't have her scar yet. That had been the first thing he noted. So, sometime in the next few years, she'd be getting it. He wondered if it was going to be on this mission? Maybe he could stop it from happening? 

Unfortunately, he had no information on her, or her scar, so it was unlikely. 

He glanced at the window while Shoko, unusually energetic, bombarded Utahime with questions. He picked up every third or so answer. 

Suddenly, Shoko got up, rushing for the restroom, and it was just the two of them. 

Utahime raised an eyebrow. “Is your classmate usually such a handful?” She questioned. 

Yuji shook his head. “Nah, she's just excited to see you” He retorted, causing Utahime’s eyes to widen slightly. “Why?” She asked. 

Yuji shrugged. “I don't know. But if I had to guess, she seems like the type to want to fight on the frontlines. She's just crazy like that!” He chuckled. Utahime gestured at him, as if asking him to continue. “I guess, since she has a supporting technique, higher ups won't let her fight? And she looks up to you, because you have a supporting technique as well, but you try to fight anyway?” 

She nodded. “You know quite a bit about a classmate that you've only known for a few days,” She said. 

Yuji shook his head. “Nah, to be honest, most of that is one big guess” 

That was a lie. In truth, part of it came from the fact that he had been told in his old timeline that she had been forced into a nurse role. 

They heard the clattering of Shoko’s footsteps. She appeared in the carriage, and almost fell over as the train slowed to a stop before she could sit down, only to be cleanly grabbed by Utahime. 

“Let's get to work” is all Utahime said, as they got up from their seats. 

The construction site was a maze. Split into sections, with three main floors, the building was massive. 

“So we should probably split up and go into one floor each, right?” Yuji asked. Utahime shook her head. 

“There aren't any particular areas that a cursed spirit might associate with, no bathrooms or club rooms, so we only need to check the top floor and the bottom. Those are the floors where a curse usually spawns, since top floors are usually associated with suicides, and the kids that spread the rumor say they saw it on the bottom floor” 

“So what's the plan?” Shoko asked. 

“Akutami will go to the top floor alone. From what I've heard, you're quite sturdy, so you should be fine on your own” 

Yuji nodded, not objecting to the idea. 

“So Shoko and I will investigate this floor. 

“All right!” Shoko whooped, before noticing Utahime giving her a weird look. “I mean… let's take this seriously, senpai!” She said, her voice more stern. 

Utahime sighed. “Right, let's do this” 

“Give me the remote, Curse-lover” Gojo demanded. 

“Not if you ask like that,” Geto replied. 

Gojo leaped for the remote, but before he could grab it, Geto pulled it out of reach. 

“Fine, I'm sorry, could you please give me the remote?” He asked, even deciding to use pleasantries, which was quite rare for Gojo. 

“No,” Geto responded simply. 

“What the hell man, what's your problem?” 

“What's yours?” Geto fired back. 

“The fact that you probably chose the most boring show on TV right now!”

Gojo pointed at the TV dramatically, to prove his point. On it, a nature documentary was playing. 

Geto just shrugged. “Too bad, I guess you're gonna have to find something else to do” 

“That's the problem!” Gojo exclaimed in exasperation. “There isn't anything else to do! We can't go hunt curses, make fun of other sorcerers, go out to buy sweets, or go after some ladies!”

Geto quirked an eyebrow up at that last remark. “Are those things really all you did before coming here?” He asked. 

“Uh, yeah. What else is there in life?” 

Geto sighed. “You're hopeless” 

Yuji walked around on the roof, unsurprisingly not finding anything. This was all for more precaution than anything. The curse was more likely to be on the lower floor, given that that's where the superstition came from. 

He took one quick lap around the place, attempting to head back down the stairs, only to see a murky black floor where the stairs were, closing off the building from the second floor to the bottom floor. 

How the fuck did a second grade curse manifest their innate domain? 

Utahime wandered throughout the bottom floor, Shoko by her side. 

“So, what's your plan once we confront the curse?” She asked, leaving Shoko confused. 

“My… plan? I thought you were taking the lead. Y’know, you take out the curse, I heal you if you need it” 

Utahime shook her head. “Shoko, why do you think you two were placed in this mission?” Shoko just shrugged. “It wasn't because I needed help. I'm a grade 2 sorcerer, and I'll be going for another examination soon, once I get my recommendation. I don't need help with this curse at all. You two are here to learn, not to play support,” 

Shoko didn't seem to quite understand what she was saying. “But I’m a healer, not a fighter!” She argued. “I'm not strong, I can't beat curses!” 

“Sure you can,” Utahime said. “You do know what reverse cursed energy does to curses, right?” 

Shoko shrugged. “Yeah, but does it matter? I'm not tough enough, or fast enough, for it to matter!” 

“Bullshit. Stop lying to yourself” 

“H-Huh!?” Shoko yelped in surprise. 

“Shoko, why do you want to be a sorcerer?” Utahime asked. 

“I don't know!” Shoko shouted. “I really don't!” 

Utahime shook her head. “I think you do. But, until you're ready to admit it out loud, you won't be able to be as strong as Akutami, or that Gojo kid. Do you understand that? Don't let other people influence your conviction, Shoko, " she said. 

Shoko didn't know what to say, but thankfully, their conversation was interrupted. 

Black walls shot up around the floor they were in. 

“What the hell is goi-” Is all that Shoko was able to make out, as she was shoved to the side, by Utahime, who was hit by a fist twice her size. 

The appendage of the curse sent Utahije flying backwards, and smashed her into a wall, leaving an indent, as she slid to the ground, slumped over. 

Suddenly, the curse was in the middle of the room. It was massive, and had the proportions of a gorilla. Its green, bubbling flesh popped occasionally, like poison, and its gums were visible, misshapen teeth pressed together, grinding against each other. 

“Senpai!” Shoko shouted, as she saw the curse spirit lunge at her upperclassman.

The curse was about to slam into her for a second time, but when the fist slammed down onto the ground, Utahime was no longer there. 

She jumped onto the arm of the curse, running upwards, and hitting the curse with a palm strike straight to the face, knocking out a few teeth as it stumbled backwards. 

The curse roared, as it regained its balance, slamming the side of its arm into Utahike, who used both of her arms to block to her side. 

“This makes no sense!” Utahime got out as she struggled against the push of the arm. “Its weaker than me, but an innate domain has been formed! Only special grade curses should be capable of such a feat. 

She tried racking her brain. What was the sure hit? She hadn't been affected by anything yet, nor had Shoko. Her eyes widened. 

“Scratch that!” She shouted. “It's not an innate domain, it's a special type of veil, made to act as a barrier. Still though, how is a second grade curse using such high level Jujutsu like this?” 

Suddenly, the curse roared, again. Only this time, the roar shook the entire building. 

The blast of sound knocked Shoko off of her feet, and knocked Utahime back a few meters. 

Suddenly, before she could react, Utahime was grabbed by the curse. She was held up in the air by the curse, using its two arms. 

“Run!” She yelled out. “With your reverse cursed energy output, you should be able to break the barrier and escape! Go now, Shoko!” 

But Shoko didn't run. She was trembling, but that didn't stop her from running toward the curse. 

“Why do I want to be a sorcerer?” She thought to herself. 

It still wasn't a question she just had an answer to, but… 

If she was going to be a sorcerer, she wasn't going to be content with sitting on the sidelines and half-assing it! 

The curse started to crush Utahime with its grip, and as she screamed, Shoko managed to brush against the curse’s right arm, with a single finger. 

That arm popped like a balloon. 

The curse screamed out, a distorted cry, and it released Utahime, who landed, managing to stay on her feet. 

“Are you okay?” Shoko asked, worried. 

“Yes, there's no need to use your healing on me right now,” Utahime responded. 

Suddenly, the black walls surrounding the pair shattered, putting a smile on Utahime’s face. 

“That would be Akutami,” She said. 

Sure enough, Yuji crashed through the ceiling, breaking through pure concrete like it was nothing, right above the curse. He had a confident smile on his face, but that quickly fell as he saw the curse reach out towards Shoko and Utahime. 

Flashes of… that thing, shit through his mind, of coming back to their base late, and finding their corpses, among others, buried underneath the rubble. 

Yuji stifled a yell of rage, as he pointed towards the curse. In that moment, he forgot about Shoko’s ability to kill the thing if it so much as touched her. He forgot about Utahime’s own strength, or about how this was nothing more than a grade 2 curse that was stronger than normal. 

All he saw in that moment, was a curse that was going to grab his friends faster than gravity could take him. 

His fist uncurled into a finger gun, and aimed at the centre of the curse. 

“Dismantle” Was all he said, and in a split second, the curse was split in two. 

He crashed into the remains of the quickly evaporating curse, right in front of two very baffled sorcerers.  

As he came to his senses, he realised what he had just done. 

“Holy hell, Akutami,” Shoko whispered. 

He stood up, slowly, and walked over to them. 

“Are you guys okay?” He asked. 

“Are we- Akutami, what the hell was that? Was that your technique?” Shoko asked. 

Yuji scratched the back of his head nervously. “Part of it, yeah” he chuckled. 

“You just cut a curse in half!” 

“It was only a second grade!” Yuji defended himself. 

Utahime nodded. “While it is surprising to see your technique, Akutami, an offensive technique like that, making short work of a grade two isn't out of the ordinary. I could've taken that thing out pretty quickly if I had time to set up my technique. Compared to what Shoko did, your technique almost seems pale!” 

Yuji’s attention was now caught by Shoko, who sighed. “All I did was take out its arm. Nothing to write home about” 

“With a single finger,” Utahime said, adding context, causing Yuji to be even more impressed. 

As they walked out of the construction site, with Utahime going back to being more focused and less talkative, after praising the two sorcerers for a bit, Shoko turned to Yuji. 

“Akutami, how did you just know?” 

“Huh? Know about what?” Yuji asked. 

“When Yaga asked us about our motivations. How did you just know?” 

Yuji shrugged. “I just had a head start is all. I've been thinking about this stuff for a while, because of, well, circumstances” He says, refusing to elaborate. “So I guess it's just who I am after going through a lot of stuff”

“So it wasn't something you figured out instantly?” 

“Nope!” He laughed. “It took a long time for me to develop a sensible reason to be a sorcerer” 

Shoko responded with a smile. “Thanks, Akutami.” 

He gave her a thumbs up. “No problem”

She looked up at the sky, letting the whole world around her drift out of focus for a moment. “I'll have an answer for you soon, Yaga-sensei. And an answer for myself, too” 

Utahime was deep in thought herself. Her first question, how did Akutani know that her cursed technique was a supporting one? She wasn't exactly famous, and she had only told her cursed technique to very few people, and none of them would be the type to spill. 

Plus, something about that cursed technique seemed… familiar. Especially the wording of it. “Dismantle” 

She's sure that she's heard of it somewhere before. 

She shook her head, sighing. No point in getting suspicious of the newbies. Her underclassmen both seemed like fine people, so for now, she'd keep this all to herself. 

Still… Akutami Yuji was an anomaly. Something strange, that's for sure. 

(After another long train ride, they got back to the dorms to find the two boys wrestling over the TV remote, with Satoru somehow losing, despite having limitless) 

Chapter Text

Yuji sighed as he woke up, wincing at the sunlight seeping into his room. 

It had been four months since he had been flung back in time, and about three months since he joined the first years of Jujutsu High. 

He tried making a mental occupation of everything that had happened since then. 

First, Gojo was an asshole. Like, a massive asshole. 

Second, Kenjaku's meat puppet was actually a really cool dude, who reminded Yuji of Megumi. 

Third, young Shoko was a badass. 

And unfortunately, fourth, he had revealed his use of Shrine to Shoko and Utahime. He didn't think either knew that it was Sukuna's technique, but if they did, that'd be bad. He really didn't need any attention right now. But it was either use that, or use Blood Manipulation, and that would be immediately recognised, and cause the Kamo Clan to get involved. 

Yuji groaned. Why did everything have to be so damn complicated? It didn't help that, somehow, his control over cursed energy, and his body had both physically regressed. He was about a year and a half younger, about the age he had been when he first found out about Jujutsu, and his control over cursed energy had regressed. 

But at the same time, it hadn't completely regressed, he still had cursed energy, and was capable of more impressive stuff than what he could do in Shibuya, his scars were still there for some reason, and he still had both of his cursed techniques. 

It just didn't make sense to him, and he couldn't exactly tell anyone. He was pretty dumb, but even he knew about the Butterfly Effect. if he wanted a chance at stopping Shibuya, or Shinjuku, he needed to play it safe. 

Besides, it's not like anyone would believe him, anyways. 

He rolled out of his bed, put on a change of clothes, and got ready for another day in the past. 

Opening his door, and walking into the common room, he found a rare peace within. Namely, because only Geto was up. 

He was reading a book on the couch, humming away to himself, enjoying the peace.

He sat down beside the quiet boy, greeting him. Geto responded with a smile. 

“How are you doing, Akutami?” He asked. 

Yuji shrugged. “Oh, you know. Just another day in paradise!” He said cheerily, as a comedically timed shriek could be heard from down the hallway. 

“This is the last time I let you borrow anything, Gojo!” Shoko yelled as she chased Gojo, holding a crushed hairbrush in her hands. 

“Are you okay, Akutami? You look pretty tired,” Geto asked, as the shrieks of both Gojo and Shoko could be heard in the background. 

Yuji nodded. “Yeah, I've just been thinking about some stuff, I'll be fine” 

Geto just shrugged. “Whatever you say” 

Yaga called them into his office later that day. All four of them, which was a first. 

Apparently, they are going on a four way joint mission, which was the only reason that Shoko and Gojo were allowed to join Geto and Yuji. 

Gojo was, of course, ecstatic, even if he was still slightly salty over the fact that he needed babysitters, even if they were his own peers. His excitement quickly dwindled once he heard what their mission was. 

“Dead Man Syndrome? Really? You have the strongest sorcerer in the world, and you're making him do cleanup duty!” 

“Dead Man Syndrome?” Yuji asked, over Gojo's loud complaining. 

“Are you aware of what happens when a sorcerer dies in a manner unrelated to curse energy?” Yaga asks. 

Yuji shakes his head. “Not really? I mean, I heard that some stuff can happen to turn them into cursed spirits, but that's about it” 

Yaga nodded. “That's part of it. It goes three ways. Firstly, rarely, the sorcerer dies without regrets. Their cursed energy dissipates harmlessly. The second, is if the sorcerer is consumed by regret, and comes back, like you described, as a powerful curse” 

He cursed his lips, as Shoko, Geto and Yuji were all listening intently. 

“The third option is when a sorcerer dies with regrets, but doesn't let him or herself become consumed by them, allowing the sorcerer to pass on peacefully like in the first option. However, due to the left over negative emotions, the cursed energy can not dissipate. Can anyone tell me what might happen to that?” He asked. 

Yuji put his hand up, quickly, only for Shoko to whisper something into his ear. He hums, nods along to it with a serious expression on his face, and puts his hand down. 

“It turns into a cursed spirit?” Geto proposed. 

Yaga nodded. “Precisely. The curse energy within a Sorcerer's body, becomes a cursed spirit, born within the Sorcerer's body, and begins puppeting the dead body. Hence the name, Dead Man Syndrome.” Yaga finished. 

“So basically, we're here to clean up for the failures of other people!” Gojo complained. Geto narrowed his eyes. 

“Do you have an ounce of respect in you for the dead?” Geto snarled. 

Gojo just shrugged, ignoring the boy. 

“Regardless of your feelings on the matter, this mission needs to be done. Ten Sorcerers total died trying to engage a curse user about two weeks ago in a village in Mt. Yudono. 

Shoko groaned. “But that's so faaaar” 

Yuji glanced at her, a serious expression, as if he was pleading with her to take this seriously, so she shut herself up quickly. 

“When do we leave?” Geto asked. 

“Right now”

“‘Right now’ he says!” Gojo grumbled as they made their way up the mountain. “At least give me some time to get ready! What kind of man just gives a bunch of teens no warning before dumping a long hike on them!” 

“Maybe the kind that actually cares about the sorcerers that died,” Yuji said under his breath, getting increasingly annoyed over Gojo's callousness. 

Thankfully, he doesn't have to deal with it for too much longer, as they reach the village quickly. 

It didn't take them long to find the corpses, all of which were wandering around the village without much care, attacking randomly. 

The group analysed the situation. Gojo flexed his arms. “Welp, I'm flattered that you guys agreed to accompany me, but I should be able to take these guys out with a quick blue, and we'll be home soon enough!” He said, raising his arm to fire blue. 

“I think Geto should handle this,” Yuji said, attempting to pull Gojo’s arm down, only to be met with infinity. 

Gojo snorted. “Why? It'll just be more work” 

Yuji's eyes narrowed. “Gojo, I've heard of the state your technique leaves stuff in. We should-” 

He paused. “We should at least leave a body for the family” He finished quietly. 

Gojo just lets out a snicker. Shoko whipped her head around. “Gojo!” She said angrily. 

“What? Don't tell me you guys think you're not over death yet? Their bodies will be cremated anyways, so what's the deal?” 

Yuji’s face contorted in anger. “The deal is that they are people, who have families, who deserve closure!” 

Geto sighed. “Leave it to me” He said, as he jumped down from their ledge, with only Shoko hearing him, as the bickering from the other two boys grew louder. 

No. This wasn't like all the times her or Geto argued with Gojo. That was cheeky, it had a bit of playing to it, even if none of them were really friends with Gojo. This seemed different. 

Geto dashed through the corpses, summoning Rainbow Dragon with a smile as he did. God, he loved this curse. Everything about it just seemed right to use. None of that disgusting taste when absorbing or reabsorbing, and when he had it absorbed, it didn't rage against him like the other curses. 

It felt like they were at peace with each other. 

The beast brushed back most of the corpses with its tail, holding back enough to only push them away, not actually damaging them, as it seemed to automatically understand Geto’s intentions. 

He pressed his hands to one of the corpse’s temples, and pulled. He felt the curse slip out. It was a recently learned application of his technique, the ability to slightly manipulate curses without actually absorbing and taming them. Right now, he could only do simple things like pulling curses out of possessed hosts, but it was enough for now. Just another new way he had found to use his technique without it hurting him. 

He let his dragon eat the curse, not bothering to absorb it. 

In truth, right now, he'd never felt happier. Living with other sorcerers, having not-terrible ways to use his technique, even having two friends in Shoko and Akutami. 

Life was just great. 

He let out a sigh, as he wiped some sweat off his brow, recalling his Dragon, the tenth corpse going limp and crashing into the dirt. 

“That should be all of them!” He shouted to the group, but only Shoko seemed to notice. 

She had a worried look on her face, and as Geto approached the group, it was clear to see why. Gojo and Yuji had only gotten louder. It was strange to see Yuji so loud. Boisterous, sure, and his laugh felt like it would burst Geto's eardrums sometimes, but this was different. 

“Do you even care about people?!” Yuji exclaimed. “Or are you just a sorcerer for your own ego!”

Gojo laughed angrily. “They were corpses, not people, Akutami! This stuff happens all the time. So what, we waste our precious time handling them carefully, for what?” 

“So that their families get some peace, Dammit!” Yuji yelled. 

“At first, I thought you were a spy or something, because of how you just popped up. But it's obvious now. You're a naive moron!” Gojo laughed. “You wouldn't survive one day outside of our school!” 

“It's not naive to care about people!” Yuji yelled, frustrated “Maybe if you weren't too busy stroking your ego every day, you'd notice that other people exist in this world! But no! You don't care about other people, do you! You're just selfish, vain, and you live off of some magical genes you were born with because you haven't had to do anything else for all of your life!” 

Shoko whistled. “Damn!” 

Clearly, what Yuji said had struck a nerve, because Gojo got noticeably pissed off, and he leapt out in anger, breaking the cocky persona he had had up until then, and punching Yuji. “Oh yeah? And what? You think you're better than me?!” He yelled, as Yuji was sent flying backwards by the blow. 

Yuji got up from the rubble he landed jn, and narrowed his eyes.  

“Yuji!” Shoko called out in shock, as Geto turned to Gojo. “What the hell are you doing?” He asked, but Gojo ignored him. 

Gojo snarled. “You're just a naive idiot, who thinks he's some hot shit just because he can beat up some grade two curses! You wouldn't last a day in my world! So don't lecture me about your bullshit morals, when you can't even handle yourself for five minutes against me!” 

Yuji was sick of this. Of this younger Gojo, who was nothing like his teacher. So what he said next surprised even him. 

“Then prove it” He said simply. 

 Geto and Shoko were shocked, not used to seeing their classmate act out with such anger. 

“Fine,” Gojo spat. “We settle this like sorcerers!” He said, walking out towards Yuji. 

The two stood up, staring at each other. 

“Let's see how you handle the strongest sorcerer!”

Yuji thought back to his sensei. The kindness, his dream to build up the next generation, how he had died to give his students a chance. 

He lowered himself into a fighting stance. 

“You're not even close to being the strongest” He said, and the two eyed each other. He was going to humble Gojo, no matter what. 

Chapter Text

It started instantly. 

Gojo slammed his fist into Yuji's chest, snarking as he did so. The shockwave from the blow sent Yuji through a house, and into the forest behind it, smashing him through some trees. 

Yuji growled as he stood up, and the two boys rushed at each other. 

Gojo swung with a right hook, and Yuji ducked underneath it, sending a jab with his right arm, right at Gojo's cheek, only to hit air. 

Gojo let out a shrill laugh as he batted the arm away. “Are you an idiot? Did you seriously forget about my technique?” He questioned, as he kicked Yuji in the face, sending the teen flying backwards. 

Yuji slammed into the mountainside, leaving a crater, as he picked himself up. 

“I have some stuff that could get past infinity,” he thought to himself. “But if I use any of ‘em, it'll raise too many questions. That only leaves one option” 

He grimaced, as he rushed forward, and Gojo used the pull of a blue to bring them both together.

Yuji raised a cross guard as Gojo slammed him with another hook, and another, and another. A constant barrage rained down on him, but Yuji sidestepped one, slamming his fist into Gojo’s side. 

Only to be met with infinity. 

Gojo’s fist slammed into his face, and he spread his legs out into a deeper stance to avoid falling over from the blow. 

“I need to get the timing right, dammit!” 

He tried to get a feel as to the range of infinity. At what point did it activate? 

Gojo grabs him by his face, and slams him into the wall of rock behind them. 

Yuji ducked under another punch, side stepping and getting behind Gojo, who simply turned around, not a care in the world. 

Slowly, Gojo raised his arm. “Honestly, you're boring me! So I'm just going to end this, right now” He said, as he began creating blue. 

Yuji understood, he only had one chance at this. 

As he rushed in, twisting his hips, and aiming for the perfect gut punch, he remembered his sensei's words, explaining what it truly was. 

“A black flash is something that is so impossibly precise that it can only be done through sheer luck, even by me!” Gojo explained. 

“It happens when a sorcerer applies cursed energy to their blow within 0.000001 seconds of hitting another being of cursed energy” He continued. 

“When that happens, even space itself isn't able to handle the rapidly expanding curse energy, which grows to a power of 2.5. It rips space itself apart, to create one of the most devastating things in the Jujutsu World. 

And not a single sorcerer can use it at will”  

“BLACK FLASH!” Yuji yelled, as he activated his curse energy the moment he hit infinity’s range. Black lightning erupted from his fist, as space itself rippled around the teens, and Yuji's fist slammed into Gojo's gut. The teen, shocked, spat out blood and bile, as he was sent hurtling backwards. 

Geto and Shoko widened their eyes in shock. “Did Yuji just hit a black flash?!” Shoko exclaimed. 

Gojo stood up, dazed. For the first time in his life, the “strongest” felt pain. 

He wiped his mouth, and saw blood on his hand afterwards. Staring at it for a moment, he looked at Yuji, anger clear in his eyes. 

“You are going to pay for that” He saId coldly. 

He rushed in, going for a quick jab at Yuji's chin, to daze him. Yuji leaned to his right side, avoiding the jab, and landing one of his own, causing Gojo to stumble backward. 

“What the fuck!” Gojo yelled. “What the fuck did you do to my infinity!” He exclaimed. 

Yuji smiled. “I don't really understand the complicated stuff about your technique, but it's about using space, right? So if I'm guessing right, Black Flashes mess with that, since they distort space” He finished. 

Gojo snarled. “It's not going to save you”

He charged in again, and once again, they started exchanging blows. 

Gojo started with a left hook, but Yuji blocked with his right arm, and jumped over the leg sweep Gojo launched a second later. While he was in mid-air, however, Gojo grabbed Yuji's leg, slamming him back into the ground. 

Yuji kicked Gojo off him, and pulled himself off the ground, dodging a roundhouse kick from Gojo, and slamming his foot into the knee of Gojo’s leg that remained on the ground. 

Gojo fell over, pointing at Yuji. 

“Blue” He said simply, and a small blue orb appeared at his fingertips. He fired it past Yuji, and the orb pulled Yuji with it, getting him off Gojo. 

The orb exploded, and Yuji managed to block most of the damage with his arms, his sleeves getting ripped off. 

Gojo and Yuji both stood up, and Yuji rushed in again, but Gojo just smiled. 

Yuji went for a jab to Gojo's face, only to be met with infinity, again. He grimaced, and Gojo landed a furious gut punch, causing Yuji to spit up some bile, as winds bellowed behind him. 

“I'll admit, you have some skill, but you got lucky with that black flash” Gojo thought, while smirking, as Yuji swivelled on his foot, dodging another jab from Gojo by tilting his head to the side. 

“But you're done now. Luck can only get you so fa-” 

“BLACK FLASH!” Yuji yelled, as he tore through Satoru Gojo's infinity once more, landing his second black flash. 

Shoko and Geto gasped, as Gojo choked. 

“How the hell did you do that!” He exclaimed, as he lunged forward with an uppercut, but Yuji took a step back, causing the punch to whiff entirely. Yuji raised his right arm high, and sent it downwards, slamming into Gojo’s cheek with a third black flash. 

Gojo was sent flying backwards by the blow, creating a crater upon hitting the ground. Without even bothering to stand up, he pointed at Yuji, screaming. “MAX OUTPUT BLUE!” 

But Yuji just made a two finger finger gun, channeling cursed energy. “Dismantle” 

His dismantles tore through blue, destabilising it before it could reach Yuji, causing a massive explosion. 

Suddenly, before Gojo could get up from his prone position in the crater that he had created, Yuji was above him, his fist raised high, ready to strike Gojo. Gojo raised his arms to block, as Yuji threw the punch. 

“What the hell is going on here!” 

Yuji’s punch stopped in its tracks as both boys looked over to see their sensei standing behind Geto and Shoko, who were just as surprised as him. 

“W-when did you get here, teach?” Shoko asked, but Yaga ignored her. 

“Mind explaining why you two resorted to infighting the second that I sent you on a mission together?” 

Yuji grimaced, as Gojo shoved him off of him, standing up. “It was nothing,” Gojo said dismissively, but no one missed the blood trickling down from his forehead, nor the laboured breaths both he and Yuji were taking. 

Yaga just sighed. “You two are in big trouble, you hear me? So let's just get back to the school, without anyone dying” He finished, motioning to the kids to follow him. 

Gojo walked out of the crater, not looking at Yuji as he passed him, and Yuji also refused to acknowledge the other. 

“This isn't finished, Akutami” was all that Gojo said, before the two got out of the crater. 

The ride back to Jujutsu High was… awkward, to say the least, with no-one bothering to say anything, with how noticeably passed Yaga was, and with the tension between Gojo and Yuji being thick enough to cut with a chainsaw, never mind a knife. 

When they made it back to Jujustu High, Yaga had to go have a long talk with the Higher-Ups, and this knowledge caused Yuji to grimace. From his experience in his original timeline, the Higher-Ups were only good for one thing. 

Messing things up. 

Fortunately, after about an hour, their meeting concluded, and Yuji and Gojo found themselves in Yaga's office. 

“I don't even know where to start!” He exclaimed. “This was meant to be a simple teamwork examination, I expected some squabbles, disagreements on how to complete the mission, sure. But a full out brawl? Maximum output techniques?” Yaga scoffed. “And out of everyone for it to come from, I didn't expect you to be one of the two fighting, Akutami” 

Yaga sighed, as he stood up from his desk, the two boys in front of him being quiet, uncharacteristically quiet in Gojo’s case. 

“I don't know what caused this, but whatever it is, you'll have to get over it. Jujutsu sorcerers constantly have to work with other sorcerers, even ones they hate, if they want to survive. So, get it together, you two” 

Not too long after that, the two were dismissed, and Gojo immediately returned to his room, ignoring Shoko and Geto completely. Not that they cared. 

They greeted Yuji when he came into the common room. “Hey guys” He said quietly. 

“How are you doing?” Geto asked, and Yuji just shrugged. 

“You really gave us a scare, y'know?” Shoko said, and Gego agreed with her. “Indeed. Challenging Gojo Satoru to a fight is the most reckless thing you could've done” 

Shoko nodded. “I was worried you were going to go kaboom when Gojo used that strong blue! But then you were all “‘fyoom” and you completely busted it up! And you hit three black flashes! Tying the world record is pretty crazy!” 

Geto coughed, shutting Shoko up. “So anyways, what's your sentence?” 

Yuji sighed. “No more missions for two weeks. It sucks” 

Geto nodded. “Why did you even start fighting like that? It's not like you to get so heated, Akutami” 

Yuji shrugged. “I don't know, to be honest. It's just, with how he didn't care about the people who had died, it just seemed so... heartless. I guess, I just hated seeing someone who didn't want to really help people” 

Geto nodded. “Well, it's not surprising, growing up as the chosen one of Jujutsu Society would give anyone a God complex. Who knows? Maybe you knocked some sense into him!” 

Yuji and Shoko just laughed at that last little quip, as they settled into the couch. 

Gojo scowled as he looked down at his hands. Even after these few hours, they were still shaking from his fight with Akutami. Believe it or not, he's been punched before, without either party using cursed energy, can't just go and expose cursed energy to non-sorcerers in random street fights, after all! But holy hell, Akutami hit like a truck. 

He lay down onto his bed, staring at the ceiling. He wondered, would his infinity have kicked back in in time to block Akutami’s punch? Would he have lost there, if Yaga didn't show up? 

Was he… not the strongest? 

He snarled, hearing laughter pipe up from the common room. Here he was, rattled, from that fight, and Akutami was just right back to chatting with his little friends. 

The concept of losing the title of strongest… to that idiot made Gojo's blood boil. The mere concept of worrying like this was insulting. 

And why the hell did this fight even start? Because of Akutami's “holier than thou” philosophy. They were sorcerers, for God's sake! They didn't have time to worry about every person that might get their feelings hurt from their work. 

But at the same time, a small voice in his head reminds him that they did have time to worry about the feelings of the families of those sorcerers. Geto quickly dealing with the corpses without destroying them was proof of that. 

He wondered what they were feeling right now. Were they really that happy over getting to see their loved ones again, even if they were dead? 

Gojo turned over in his bed. Why was he even thinking about this? He did his best to forget about it, letting sleep take his mind and body. But that small voice in the back of his head refused to disappear, all night. 

A few days had passed since the incident, when Yuji got a little surprise. He was training Shoko in some basic martial arts, while Geto was reading a book in the background, when some new people showed up, accompanied by Utahime. 

Yuji and Shoko finished their spar, jogging over to Utahime, greeting her. “How are you doing, senpai?” Shoko asked, and Utahime gave a rare, nervous smile. 

“I'm doing just fine, just escorting some guests” She explained. 

“Guests?” Yuji asked. Shoko nodded. “In fact, they're here to see you, Akutami” 

Yuji just pointed to himself, dumbfounded. “Me?” 

She nodded, smiling in a less nervous way. “Of course you don't know, you aren't really in any Jujutsu clan circles are you? Giving the heir to the Gojo clan a beating like that has made you a bit of a celebrity!”

Yuji just blinked. “Seriously?” 

Shoko nodded. “The kids here are all here to see you” 

Yuji looked at their guests. They were all younger than him, with the exception of the three at the back looking close to him in age. Though, the others didn't seem too much younger than him, only about a year or two younger. 

One stepped forward, only about a year younger than him. , raining his hand diplomatically. Yuji shook it. 

“You're really cool, Akutami-kun!” He said earnestly. “Is it really true? Did you really beat Gojo-san?” 

Shoko elbowed him cheekily. “”Kun”? Looks like you have a fan!” She whispered in his ear, as he shook his head. 

“No, sorry to tell you, but the fight was called off too quickly to decide a winner” 

The kid frowned. “But were you winning?”

Yuji shrugged. “I guess? I made him bleed, and he didn't do much damage to me” 

The kid’s eyes widened. “Woah! How did you get so strong! You don't come from a clan or anything, do you?”

Yuji shook his head. “Nah, do you?” 

The kid nodded. “Yep, I'm from the Zenin clan!” 

Yuji did his best not to frown. He didn't know a lot about the Zenin clan, but from what Maki had told him, they weren't the best role models in the world. 

“The best advice I can give you, is to not trust your clan’s advice” 

The boy frowned at this. “Huh?” 

“Clans can be pretty outdated in their beliefs. Both in Jujutsu, and in… other things. Does yours even teach you about simple domains?” 

The boy shook his head. “N-no. Just Falling Blossom Emotion” 

Yuji sighed. “It's a good technique, but it's a lot less effective than Simple Domain. But your clan only teaches you that because it's the older technique, right? So my best advice is to take what your clan teaches you with a grain of salt” 

The boy nodded, deep in thought. 

Urahime called to him. “We gotta get going!” 

He nodded, following after her, the other people in the group clearly upset that they didn't get a chance to talk with the newest star of the Jujutsu World. 

“Wow, I'm surprised you dealt with that little firecracker so easily!” Shoko whistled to Yuji once the visitors were out of earshot. 

“Little? But he looks like he's only a year younger than us!” 

Shoko nodded. “Yeah, but he's really short, and from what I've heard of him, Naoya can be a real nasty piece of work!” 

Yuji spluttered. “D-did you just say Naoya?!” 

She shrugged. “Yeah, why?”

“No reason!” He said, a bit too quickly, but Shoko didn't really care. “Whatever, can we get back to our sparring already?” 

Yuji nodded, and he returned to the centre of the field, and they started their training once more. 

Geto frowned, as he closed his book. Shoko and Akurami had had their attention pulled by the younger ones in the front, they hadn't even noticed the Kyoto first years at the back of the group. What were they here for? Was it something to do with the Joint School Event? 

He sighed. He didn't really care, to be honest. As long as they weren't starting some massive Jujutsu school conspiracy, he didn't really see the need to investigate what they were doing.  

He looked over to Shoko and Yuji, fooling around in the field. Putting his book to rest on the ground, he ran over to them, asking if he could join in. 

Chapter Text

“Please!” Shoko begged, kneeling in front of Yaga. “Yaga-sensei! You have to let us, it's important!” 

“She's even using proper honorifics!” Yaga thought, surprised. “Do you really think this will benefit your growth as sorcerers?” 

Shoko nodded. 

“And you're sure about this?” He asked. 

She gave him a determined look, passion showing in her eyes. 

He nodded. “Fine, but just to be safe, make sure to bring one of the second years with you. I'm only letting you take this risk if one of your peers agrees” 

Shoko bowed. “Thank you! We won't let you down!” 

The four first years, plus their senpai, Ijichi, found themselves in a massive underground stadium, due to Shoko taking the lead. Waving around four tickets, she cackled maniacally. “Oh man, this is gonna be good, the reigning champ is coming back for the first time in half a decade!” 

Yuji turned to her. “Our new mission is… boxing?” 

“Not just any boxing!” Shoko explained. “This is cursed boxing. Its sort of like the big sport for sorcerers. Same rules as regular boxing, but you can use cursed energy! Techniques are allowed, as long as you still only hit your opponent with your fist” She said. “Oh, I can't wait! This match is gonna be awesome!” 

“I'm surprised Yaga let us go here,” Geto observed. “How did you convince him?” 

She smirked. “Obviously, using my masterful manipulation skills in the most elegant ways possible!” 

She turned to Ijichi. 

“Oh don't worry senpai, you don't have to come with us!” she said with a big smile on her face. “You can go do some shopping, or whatever!” 

“B-but Yaga-se-” He was about to say, but Shkko interrupted him. 

“Don't worry, ‘Teach said you had to come here with us, but he never said you had to stay here!” 

With a couple more sentences to convince him, somehow, Shoko managed to convince Ijichi to let the four of them watch the match alone. 

She turned around, holding a big bag of popcorn, gesturing towards the three boys. 

“Where did you even get that?” Geto questioned, as Gojo whistled. “I'm surprised you managed to get Ijichi to let us off. He's a big stickler for the rules” 

Shoko shrugged as she took a sip from a can of soda, leaving Geto once again confused, as she seemed to have pulled it from nowhere. “Eh, it wasn't that hard, I just told him that you would hit him with a Blue if he didn't leave us alone” 

Gojo looked at her, shocked for a moment. 

“Shoko, how many people have you been threatening by using me?” 

As their bickering continued in front, Geto and Yuji walked side by side behind the two. 

“So,” Yuji started. “Is Cursed Boxing really that big of a sport?” 

Geto just turned to him, surprised. “You mean you don't know?” 

Yuji shook his head, so Geto continued. 

“Cursed Boxing is probably the biggest part of Jujutsu Society's culture, although it's only technically been legal for a decade now. It's been around for a couple centuries though” 

Yuji was shocked. “Seriously? It's only been legal for ten years?!” 

Geto nodded. “It's due to the lethality of the sport. It's very easy to accidentally kill someone while using cursed energy” 

“So what changed?” Yuji asked, and Geto just shrugged. “Nothing. The higher ups just decided to make it legal. Not like it mattered, after all, whether it's legal or not, people are still going to show up” 

And show up they did. Hundreds of people filled the stadium's seats. Most were sorcerers, the rest were people with sorcerers in their family. 

The group of four sat down in their seats, with Geto and Shoko sitting between Yuji and Gojo, for obvious reasons. 

Thankfully, the deafening roaring of the crowd, and the general atmosphere, managed to get the teens fully invested in the match, forgetting about their prior beef. 

A man climbed into the centre ring, dressed in relatively normal clothing, the crowd roaring as the announcer began talking. 

“And in the red corner, we have today’s challenger. A member of the Kamo Clan, and a possessor of Blood Manipulation and a grade 1 sorcerer, it's Kaito Kamo!” 

Yuji frowned. He remembered Noritoshi being the clan head, namely due to possessing blood manipulation, so that meant that, in the future, this man would undoubtedly die. 

“And, ladies and gentlemen, we have, in the blue corner, the returning champ, who took the belt at the young age of 14, and kept it for five years before vanishing! It's our one and only special grade, YUKI TSUKUMO!”

The woman who climbed into the ring was undoubtedly Yuki, weirdly enough, wearing the exact same outfit as she had at the end of the Shibuya Incident. 

“So!” Shoko said with a grin, holding out a notepad. “Who are you guys placing bets on? Personally, I've heard that Yuki hasn't even done a mission in half a decade! She's a total wash up!” 

“Two thousand yen on the Kamo Clan member” Geto stated, surprising everyone as he slid over the money. 

“You're a gambler, Geto?” Yuji said, surprised. 

Shoko nodded. “Wise choice, going for the new blood. It's obvious, he'll be the one to win, I doubt the granny even remembers how to use her technique!”

“I'm gonna back up Tsukumo,” Yuji said. “Though I don't really have money on me to bet with” 

Gojo sighed. “He's right” 

“Huh?!” Shoko exclaimed in surprise. “You two are agreeing?!” 

“Tsukumo isn't a special grade for no reason,” Gojo said. “I can see it right now, her cursed energy flow is nearly immaculate”

Shoko let out a “hmph” and muttered something about six eyes being cheating. 

“Bets are off!” She said. Gojo just rolled his eyes. 

The bell rang, and the two fighters charged at each other. 

Kamo struck first, lashing out with a left jab, hitting Tsukumo in the face, as she had made no effort to dodge or block the punch. 

Her head didn't move at all from the punch, she just smirked as her opponent pulled back, and as he lashed out with a right hook, she batted it away with ease, stepping in with a hit to the liver, causing the sorcerer to cough up blood as he stumbled back. 

She finished the fight with a right hook straight to his face, hitting the man so hard that he did a backflip in mid air, slamming into the ground with a definite THUD. 

The deafening cheering began before the referee even began counting. It was clear to everyone that that man was not getting up. 

“Wow…” Shoko said breathlessly. “All it took was three punches…” 

“That's the power of a special grade,” Gojo observed. “If Grade 1s are the pinnacle of Jujutsu sorcery, then Special Grades are complete and utter anomalies” 

The group stared at her in awe as Kamo was pulled put in a stretcher, and Yuki waved at her fans, as she left the ring. She was going to continue down the path to the changing rooms, but something caught her eye. 

“Guys… why is Tsukumo coming over here?” Yuji asked nervously. 

“Alright, Gojo, what did you do to piss her off?” Shoko said accusingly, as Gojo put his hands up, ready to defend himself. 

“Nothing! Why do you just assume that I did something!” 

He pointed to Yuji. “Akutami is pretty good at pissing people off too, y’know” 

The group ignored the “Hey!” from Yuji, as Geto butted in. “No, he's just good at making you mad. There's a difference!” 

Yuji thanked Geto for backing him up, as Tsukumo walked up to them. 

“Wow, I didn't think I'd have such prestigious fans! Tell me, Gojo, what's your type of woman?” 

Gojo's face grew as red as beetroot as he stuttered, causing the blonde to laugh. 

“You're way too easy to tease, for a future Special Grade, Satoru-chan” 

Shoko gasped. “Chan?!” 

Yuki just smirked, while Gojo growled at the special grade. “What do you want, Tsukumo?” He asked, but was promptly ignored as Yuki was examining Yuji, lifting his arm up, squeezing his muscles, humming as she did so, while Yuji's face had changed to match the same red colour as Gojo's. 

“So you're the kid that beat Gojo, huh? You do seem pretty strong, but I don't know if I believe it” 

Yuji stuttered, just like Gojo, as Shoko and Geto chuckled to themselves in the background. 

Yuki thought to herself. “Listen, kid, I've been looking into some stuff, and your body intrigues me, so this is too good of an opportunity to give up. So fight me!” 

Yuji blinked. “Huh?” 

She shook her head. “Don't worry, it won't be anything serious, we'll go by Sorcerer Boxing rules, and I won't kill you or anything!” She said excitedly. 

Yuji gulped, nervous from the last thing she said. “I don't know…” 

After all, the last thing he needed was to get into another fight with a famous sorcerer. 

“Please!” Yuki begged. “You're the only other person in the world that I've seen with such strength, and the other guy already turned me down! If you beat me, I'll give you anything you want!” 

Yuji paused. “...Anything?” 

She huffed. “Not like a date or anything like that. You're not my type, sorry”:

She smirked. “But if you need me to cover for a mission, or something like that, then I'll do it!” 

Yuji thought about this. This was basically the perfect opportunity for something that's been bothering him for a while. 

“You should take it,” Geto whispered. “Having a special grade owe you a favour is too valuable to pass up” 

Well, if even the ever-rational Geto was encouraging Yuji, then who was he to say no? 

Yuji climbed down the steps with Yuki, and they both hopped into the ring. 

The crowd that was still clearing out clearly noticed this, with people everywhere whispering. 

“Is there going to be another match?”

“Hey, isn't that the kid who beat Gojo?” 

“Do we have to pay for another ticket to watch this one?” 

Slowly but surely, the crowd that had left their seats were pulled back into the stadium, as Yuki talked to the referee. 

He pulled out his microphone, and started talking. 

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen, we have one more fight tonight. Thus is unofficial, no title is riding on this, and it's only going for one, unending round. First to knock the other down, or out of the arena, wins! This one is a free watch, folks, so anyone who has a ticket is free to stay!” 

The crowd cheered as Yuki and Yuji settled in their respective corners. 

Yuji eyed the special grade, as he heard his friends’ cheers in the background. 

He couldn't afford to lose this. Not after what Yuki offered. 

The bell rang out, and Yuki darted forward, incredibly fast. Yuji barely had time to get out of his corner before Yuki was on him, lashing out with a barrage of jabs from her left arm. 

“Aaaand Yuki already has the challenger on the ropes! She unleashes blow after blow, and it doesn't look like the new challenger is taking it well!” The announcer commented, for the crowd to hear. 

Yuji gritted his teeth, as she pounded away at his guard, feeling every punch. She was incredibly strong, there was no doubt about that. 

But if there was anything Yuji was good at, it was martial arts. He was practically made for boxing. 

He ducked under one of her jabs, then sidestepped another, parrying a third, before rushing in, ducking underneath a fourth as he went for a gut punch. 

His fist slammed into the sorcerer, and she grinned as she took a step back, readying herself. 

“So powerful, and just like I thought, not an ounce of cursed energy! He's the perfect test subject!” She thought, as she rushed in, preparing to clash with Yuji up close. 

However, a soon as she was about to throw another punch, she felt another blow to her stomach, knocking her off balance, and Yuji used this opportunity to leap in, landing a right hook to her cheek, which caused Yuki to stumble backwards. 

“What the hell was that? A delayed impact?! But that means he can use cursed energy? Which means his strength isn't the result of a heavenly restriction!” 

She grinned ferally. “What are you, Yuji Akutami?” 

Yuji bobbed and weaved as he approached her, in perfect form, while having a peekaboo block, ready for any blow she could throw. 

“Fine,” She thought. “Let's take it up a notch!”

She flared up her cursed energy, and darted forward, even faster this time. 

The crowd gasped, which annoyed Gojo. He could hear whispers from the crowd around him. 

“She's going way harder on this dude than on the last challenger, even though it's a friendly match” 

“I'm not surprised, haven't you heard? That's the kid who beat Gojo!” 

Gojo gritted his teeth. “What do these sorcerers even know? Akutami got lucky, that's it! Let's see how you do against someone without luck being on your side, Akutami!”

Yuji whipped his head from side to side. Yuki was moving too fast, he couldn't keep up with the blows. 

Another hit to the face. He staggered, his knees bent, ready to touch the mat. 

Yuki hit him square in the nose, slamming him onto the ropes, and he pushed himself to the side to barely dodge another attack. 

He needed to be faster. Unfortunately, his cursed energy reinforcement simply wasn't up to par with her, not yet at least. But he had an idea. Pulling on his first cursed technique, blood manipulation, he sped up the circulation of his blood. 

Truthfully, he still didn't fully understand most of the things required for blood manipulation, so he couldn't exactly pull it off perfectly, but that wasn't an option anyways. After all, using perfected Flowing Red Scales had a visual indicator, but the imperfect version? Not so much. 

The crowds cheering grew slower. He could feel the sweat trickling down his forehead and biceps slow to a crawl. 

He could see it clearly, now. Her movements. 

Yuki’s eyes widened in recognition, before smiling. “Bring it on!” she roared, with Yuji being the only one fast enough to hear her declaration. 

Gojo didn't understand. How the hell did Akutami get so fast all of a sudden? Judging by the reactions of Geto and Shoko, they were just as surprised as him. Which meant that this wasn't something he had been doing in class training. 

How did this… this nobody get so strong? It didn't make sense to Satoru. He was always meant to be the strongest! He'd been raised that way, but ever since the start of the school year, it's like his entire life had been flipped upside down! 

He gripped his trousers. 

“Akutami… don't you dare lose” He thought to himself. “If beating me really wasn't a fluke… then you aren't allowed to lose to anyone else! I don't care how strong she is! You have to win!” 

Yuji was slammed against the ropes from a vicious gut punch. Breathing heavily, he dodged another straight jab from Yuki, and hit her in the jaw with a right hook. She staggered, dazed from the blow, and Yuji lept forward, twisting his hips, and throwing his left arm upwards in a vicious uppercut, hitting her directly in the jaw. 

She stumbled backwards, grunting. “I won't up my reinforcement any more, to play fair, but I'm still gonna use my techniques!” 

Yujis eyes lit up in recognition when he saw cursed energy overflowing around Yuki. He braced himself, but a punch skipped through his guard, hitting his side, and tearing right through him. 

“YUJI!” Shoko and Geto shouted in unison, as he looked down, and Yuki pulled back. Blood dripped out of the fist shaped hole in his side at a rapid pace, and he felt his legs shaking. 

Shoko got up out of her seat, going to rush over to Yuji, but Gojo grabbed her by the arm, stopping her. 

“What are you doing?!” She exclaimed. “If we don't interrupt, he'll die!”

"Look at his eyes,” Gojo said. She turned to look at Yuji. 

He was huffing, clutching at his side, face contorted in pain, but not distracted. She could see it in his eyes. 

“I can't give up now!” Yuji thought to himself. “If I get my favour from her, I have a way to get Choso and my brothers back! I can make up for everything I did wrong with them last time around! This match isn't over until I win!” 

“Now,” Gojo said, grabbing Shoko’s attention. “Even if you did get in that ring, do you honestly think Akutami would even hear you?” 

“You're all insane…” Shoko said breathlessly, looking at Yuji. “Truly insane…” 

Yuji shot forward. “I can't reveal my reverse cursed technique here. I already have so many eyes on me, I don't want even more attention. So I'll just keep turning cursed energy into blood, and replenish my blood faster than it leaves my body!”

He ducked under a jab from Yuki, who was shocked that he was still moving. “Blood replenishment?” She thought. “Is that a result of his body, or of a cursed technique?” 

She smiled. “Yuji Akutami… you truly are the perfect test subject!” 

She weaved to the side of another jab of his, darting forward, only to be hit with a short uppercut, pushing her back. “What… how did I not see him wind up? Don't tell me… he used a gazelle punch?!” 

He hit her with a straight right, pushing her back further, and his eyes lit up. “Now's my chance!” 

He charged forward, weaving his upper body to the left and the right in a figure eight motion. 

Geto stood out of his seat. “That can't be! And he's doing it with a hole in his side!”

Shoko turned to him. “What's so special about what he's doing?” 

Yuji slammed into Yuki with a right hook as he moved his body to the left, and then hit her with a left hook as he moved to the right, a lightning fast barrage that was tearing at her guard. 

“It's a Dempsey roll!” Geto exclaimed. “By using momentum and sacrificing all defense, the user can put their entire body into one hook, and immediately move into another hook from the opposite side! It's a traditionally American move in boxing that's rarely used due to how difficult it is to pull off!” 

Yuki grunted as each hook threatened to pull her guard down and smash in her face. 

“Akutami shouldn't be able to move like that! That injury should've rendered several muscles unusable. It's like his body is naturally putting the strain on other, uninjured muscle groups subconsciously! He has total control over his body!” 

Yuji tore down her guard with another hook, and hit her in the face. Once, twice, three times, he kept hitting her, again and again, her face was pushed side to side, with gasps from the crowd. 

Until suddenly, his fist smashed into her face, and did absolutely nothing. 

Her cursed energy flared up, as she maxed out her reinforcement, and pushed Yuji back, sending him flying to the other side of the ring. He tried to rush forwards, but she put her hand up, stopping her. 

“Chill out, you win,” She said casually, causing Yuji to blink in confusion. 

“What?” He got out, before stumbling. 

“Yeah, I got what I wanted out of you. So, you get your request” 

Roars from the crowd echoed out throughout the stadium, as Yuji's legs wobbled. 

He let out a dumb smile, as he fell to the ground, succumbing to the darkness. 

Yuki looked around the ring, seeing that blood was covering the entire floor, and that it had started pouring out of the ring. 

She let his friends move past her, not bothered by their intrusions on the ring. She whistled. 

“What are you made of, Akutami?” 

He woke up on a table, surrounded by his friends. And Gojo. 

He sat up, noticing the bandages on his chest. 

“Hey man! Don't scare us like that!” Shoko yelled, smacking Yuji on the top of his head. 

“What happened?” He asked, confused. 

“Well, after you beat Tsukumo, You had lost too much blood. So Shoko healed you up” Geto explained. 

“But, she's pretty crappy at it,” Gojo added, dodging a hit from Shoko. “So bandages were still needed”

Yuji groaned. “I can't remember the fight! It feels like I've got one big hole in my memory!” 

“That's a shame! I hope you haven't already forgotten me!” 

All heads turned as Yuki Tsukumo walked into the room. 

“Oh, hey!” Yuji greeted, and Yuki responded in kind.

“You're a pretty cool kid, y’know that! Fighting with a chunk of flesh ripped outta ya is pretty awesome!” 

“You're the one who ripped that flesh outta him, y'know…” Shoko complained, but Yuki ignored her. 

“So champ, what do ya want?” She asked. 

Yuji blinked, before remembering what the prize had been. “Oh! Actually, can I tell you in private?” 

Yuki nodded, and the two walked out of the room. Pain flared with every step Yuji took, but he ignored it. 

They continued with a decent pace until they were sure that they were far, far away from everyone else. 

“So kid, where'd you learn to fight like that?” Yuki asked. 

Yuji just shrugged. “I've known how to fight well for most of my life, but thanks to my brother, I've really improved in the last year” 

Yuki’s eyes perked up. “Brother? What's he like? A physical anomaly, like you?” 

Yuji shook his head. “Sort of, but not in the same way. And as for what he's like…” He put his hand to his chin, thinking. 

“If I had to describe him, I guess I'd say he's the hard working, muddy type, y’know?” 

Yuki's eyes lit up, though she hid it well. “Well, if we ever meet again, you should introduce us”

Yuji laughed. “Sure! And as for my favour…” 

She nodded. “Whatever you want” 

“The cursed womb death paintings. I want you to get them bodies to incarnate in, and get the higher ups to agree to it” 

She blinked. “Seriously?” 

Yuji nodded. “Yeah, that's what I want” 

She sighed. “Kid, this'll be pretty rough to do. You know how the higher ups are. It might take a couple of years to get done” 

Yuji shrugged. “As long as you get it done” 

He stuck out his hand. “Do we have a deal?” 

She grabbed it, shaking it. “Sure” 

Yhji and the other three walked out of the stadium in high spirits, at least until Shoko got a phone call, from a very angry Yaga. 

“He saw the whole thing” She communicates to the rest of the group. “Boy is he pissed”

Geto sighed. “We'll deal with it when we get there. 

Yuji branched off from the group. “I'm gonna grab some snacks, wait for me!” 

Gojo sighed as Yuji entered a nearby convenience store. “It's not like we're gonna forget one of our four classmates!” 

Yuji grabbed a couple bags of different things. Crisps, chocolate, cookies, and some vaguely nutritious stuff, and carried it through the shop, only to drop it as a toddler practically ran through him. 

He bent down, picking his stuff up, as he heard the clattering of heels. 

Someone stood in front of him. He stood up as the young woman started apologising. 

“I'm so sorry about what happened. Honestly, my son can be such a loose cannon at times” 

He waved her off. “No worries! It's fine, you should probably go find your son” 

She thanked him, hurrying down the aisle, calling for her son. 

“Where are you, Yuji!’ 

A chill ran down Yuji's spine, as he turned to see the woman just as she turned at the end of the aisle they shared, moving to another one. 

And he caught a glimpse of a neat row of scars. 

Surgical scars, right along her forehead. 

Chapter Text

“So what's the plan?” Yuji asked, as everyone stood around the table in the centre of the room. 

“We’ll need to wear down Kenjaku using someone else, the only one I can think of that'll get distracted by him is Takaba, his cursed technique is too interesting for Kenjaku to ignore” Yuta explained. “Then, I'll surprise him, deal with his cursed spirits, and rejoin everyone against Sukuna” 

Shoko nodded. “It's the best option we have right now. Kenjaku is the holder of the merger right now so he's our first priority. After we take him down, though, we have to bring everything out against Sukuna” 

Kusakabe called Yuji over. “Come on, we need to get started on the special training, we need to get your simple domain up to standard” 

He walked out of the planning room, and Yuji followed him, stealing a glance at the planning room, finding it hard to ignore Yuta's worried face.

Yuji was panicking. To be completely honest, he had absolutely no idea what to do. Kenjaku had seen him, and that couldn't be good news. He knew that he should leave at that moment, forget he had ever seen the sorcerer, and live to fight Kenjaku when he'd be stronger. 

But at the same time, Yuji couldn’t ignore the idea of seeing his gramps again. 

He sighed, paying for his snacks, and leaving the shop after thanking the cashier. 

He was about to leave, but she stopped him. 

“I’m so sorry about what happened, please, let me make it up to you!” She paused for a moment, looking up and down at him, causing Yuji to gulp nervously. 

“You actually look a lot like my husband, I wonder if you're related?” She said, surprising Yuji. “You should really come over and meet him!” 

Yuji had no idea what to do. Was this a trap? There's no way it could be, but Kenjaku was no doubt interested in why he looked so similar to his father. 

Yuji gripped his shopping tightly. If he declined, there was always the chance that Kenjaku would go all out at this very moment, and kill everyone in the shop, and then probably kill Yuji. 

He grimaced, for a second, before plastering on a fake smile. “Sure! I just need a second to say goodbye to my friends” He explained, before quickly rushing out of the shop. 

Just being around the ancient sorcerer felt suffocating, like a thousand curses based off of the worst things imaginable were clinging to Kenjaku. 

He rushed over to his friends, dumping his snacks in Geto’s arms. 

“Hey, guys, I won't be able to make it back,” He explained, capturing his friends’ attention. “Something that's related to my family has popped up” 

Gojo shook his head. “Nice try” he smirked. “But if you're getting out of Yaga's punishment, then so am I” He said.  

Geto sighed. “Alright Shoko, we better get heading back. This'll be fun to explain…”

Shoko shrugged. “Look on the bright side! They'll probably be in massive trouble when they get back!” 

Kenjaku greeted them at the door, beckoning them to come inside. Gojo did so without worry, and, with a gulp, Yuji followed him. 

They followed Kenjaku through the house, and they heard fighting as they approached the kitchen. 

“I'm telling you, Jin, that's not her! Why can't you see that?!” 

“Father, please don't shout while Yuji is here” 

“Goddammit! Listen to me Jin, I'm telling you, that woman-”

The muffled argument they were hearing through the walls was interrupted as Kenjaku opened the door. 

“We have visitors” is all she said, as she made her way to the kitchen sink. 

Jin held his arm out, and Gojo took it, shaking it. “My name is Jin Itadori, and this is my father, Wasuke” 

Yuji looked at the older man. He wasn't quite the elderly man that Yuji remembered, but he was still quite old. His hair was more colourful, having a slightly pink tinge to it, his face was missing a few wrinkles that he would no doubt grow into in the next few years. 

He bowed, as did Gojo. 

“I'm Akutami,” Yuji introduced himself, purposefully withholding his first name. “And this is Gojo”

Wasuke stared at Yuji for a moment, making Yuji sweat. 

Jin interrupted the tension filled moment with a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his head. 

“Why don't we all sit down? I'm sure that you two are staying for dinner? I'm sure Kaori offered you a warm meal?” 

So that was Yuji's mother’s name. His gramps had never told it to him, always talking about Jin, but speaking of his mother as “that woman”. Now, Yuji understood why that was. 

The two boys sat down, with Jin and Wasuke, as Kaori brought out food from the oven. 

Soon enough, five (and a half, for toddler Yuji) full meals were played on the table, with Kaori taking her place right next to Jin. 

They began chowing down on the food, but Yuji could feel Wasuke's eyes bearing down onto him. 

“You share an uncanny resemblance to my son, when he was younger,” Wasuke commented. 

Yuji shrugged. “Yeah, crazy world, huh?” He chuckled nervously. 

"Why didn't you have school today?” He asked, pressing Yuji. 

Yuji shrugged. “School was shut down today” 

Wasuke narrowed his eyes. “That's strange, they usually announce these things over the radio” 

“Oh, father-in-law, you probably just missed it” Kenjaku commented nonchalantly, as she picked away at her meal. 

Jin laughed. “Yeah, dad. There's no need to antagonise the guests!” 

Yuji was sweating profusely, as Gojo commented, with his mouth full of food. “Oh yeah, you do look a lot like ‘em, dontcha, Yuji?” 

Yuji internally cursed. 

“Your name is Yuji?” Wasuke questioned, raising an eyebrow. “What a coincidence” 

Jin laughed. “Yeah, that is pretty weird…” 

Wasuke stared at him, and Yuji pleaded internally for this interrogation to end. 

Whatever God he had pleaded to seemed to answer, as Wasuke sighed. 

“We're probably distantly related. After all I suggested that name because it's the name of one of our ancestors” 

“You named him?” Yuji asked. 

Jin nodded. “Dad suggested the name, and it just sounded right”

Yuji smiled. “I'm sure your grandson is very thankful to you for giving him his name” 

Wasuke seemed surprised by this for a moment, but he shrugged it off. 

Gojo scratched his head. “So, why'd you want to meet Akutami anyways? Is it really just because he looks like your husband?” He asked Kenjaku, who smirked. 

The smile sent shivers down Yuji's body, as if every part of his soul was screaming to get away from this being. 

“Does a mother need a reason to meet her son?” She said simply, sending shivers down Yuji's spine. 

Yujis eyes widened. 

“GOJO!” He screamed, reaching for Satoru, but before he could, Gojo was sent flying through the wall behind him by an invisible force. 

Jin tried to reach out to his wife. “Kaori, I don't know what's going on, but we ne-” He tried to make out, but just like Satoru, he was blown through the wall behind him. 

Yuji gritted his teeth as he tried to get out of his seat, but before he could, with an upwards wave of her hand, Kenjaku sent Yuji flying through the roof. 

She stared at Wasuke with an unnerving smile, and he stared back. 

“You don't seem afraid?” She said, “to be killed by your own daughter-in-law?” 

“You're not the woman my son married,” Wasuke fired back. 

Kenjaku smiled, eyes wide. “I wonder… just how much do you know?” 

She sighed. “Well, it doesn't matter. It changes nothing in the end” 

Kenjaku reached out to grab Wasuke, a sadistic expression plastered in her face. 

Suddenly, Yuji crashed through the wall of the house. “KENJAKU!” He screamed, as he charged at the body-snatcher, throwing a punch that smashed into Kenjaku's cheek, sending her flying. 

He rushed over to Wasuke. “Are you okay?” He asked, worried for his grandfather, but Wasuke brushed him off. 

“I've faced worse things than that demon, I'll be fine. Just do what you have to do”

Yuji acknowledged him with a nod, and rushed out of the house, chasing after Kenjaku. 

Yuji ran outside, only to be lifted onto the air along with several large chunks of earth, by Kenjaku's cursed technique. 

Yuji grabbed onto one of the dirt platforms, lifting himself onto it, standing up and facing Kenjaku, who had taken flight herself. 

“Boys shouldn't hit their mothers, you know!” She taunted him. 

Yuji clenched his fists. “That cursed technique you're using… which body did you get it from?” 

She let out a shrill laugh. “Why, from this very vessel! Truly a lucky find, I must admit!” 

Yuji screamed in rage, and launched himself at Kenjaku, only to feel the gravity around him increase, throwing him downwards. Kicking off of one of the floating platforms, he launched himself to another one, crashing into it with a THUD. 

“I really would like to get to know you better, my child, but I'm afraid that I have unfinished business” She said, floating away from Yuji, back towards the house. “I need to pick up my experiment” 

Suddenly, however, she was yanked away from the house, and went crashing into the ground tens of meters away from the door. 

In the blink of an eye, Gojo was beside Yuji. 

“What the hell is that woman?!” He exclaimed in frustration. 

“I don't know, but her technique is something to do with gravity, that's how it got through your infinity,” Yuji explained. He sighed. 

“If we want to beat her, we need to work together” He said, offering his hand for Gojo to shake it. 

Gojo just blinked. “You can't be serious? Work with you?!” 

Yuji growled. “If we fail here, a toddler and an old man are as good as dead, so can you please, for once, put someone else above your own ego!” 

Gojo stared at him, clearly pissed, but he sighed, relenting. 

He shook Yuji’s hand. “Fine, what's the plan?” 

“She's basically untouchable, because she's increased the gravity in a radius around her. Try and disrupt it with your blue, so I can get in close” 

Gojo nodded, preparing himself. 

Yuji thought to himself. “I'm taking a bet here. If she uses domain expansion, we're both dead. But you won't, will you, Kenjaku? Not when you're trying so hard to hide from Tengen!” 

“Let's go!” He yelled, as he rushed forward, jumping from platform to platform of floating dirt. 

Kenjaku rose in a pose, arms spread out wide, like an angel  

Yuji launched himself at the sorcerer, who activated her gravity field, only for a blue to appear right behind yuji. 

He dodged it, putting in extra power to escape the gravitational pull of the orb, which flew straight into Kenjaku's gravitational field. 

Gojo grunted, closing his fist, signalling at the blue orb to detonate. 

The explosion caught Kenjaku off guard. “He can detonate it remotely?!”

Suddenly, Yuji was above Kenjaku. She reached her arms out, motioning for the increased gravity to take effect, but nothing happened. 

Yuji's fists slammed into Kenjaku's head, spiking her into the ground far below, the landing causing a massive shockwave. 

“DON'T STOP!” Yuji yelled at Gojo, as they rushed in. Kenjaku dodged a right hook from Yuji, only to be hit in his side by a kick from Gojo, sending him into another hook from Yuji, slamming her in her face. 

Kenjaku was being assaulted at all sides, and that left only one option… 

She started putting her hands together, in a symbol that Yuji just knew would result in a domain expansion. 

He grabbed one of Kenjaha's hands, forcefully undoing the hand sign before it could take effect, and he held on. 

Kenjaku grunted, using her spare hand to reactivate her gravitational field, sending Gojo flying backwards. 

But Yuji held on. 

He grunted under the force of the gravity. 

“So this is what my mother's technique was like?” He grimaced. “I wish I could have met you. But at the very least, I had Gramps all that time! So, I'll kill Kenjaku, and let you rest in peace, mom!” 

Kenjaku's eyes widened as she increased the gravity even further. It made no sense, the boy was somehow still standing, despite not being nearly strong enough to do so. It was as if gravity itself could not hold this child. 

Yuji smashed his fist into Kenjaku’s chest, before feeling himself, and Kenjaku, being pulled towards something. 

He turned around to see that Gojo had unleashed another Blue. It pulled the two of them into the centre, where gravity seemed to be trying to tear the two of them apart. 

The two brawled within the sphere. Kenjaku utilised Domain Amplification, in order to minimise the damage from Blue. But Yuji? 

Yuji refused to falter. 

He hit Kenjaku in the nose with a palm strike, shattering it and drawing blood, which was instantly evaporated by the Blue sphere. 

“AKUTAMI! GET OUT OF THERE!” 

Yuji could barely hear Gojo's shouts as the pull seemed to warp even the sound around them, but he did so, jumping out mere milliseconds before Gojo detonated the Blue, with Kenjaku in it. 

Yuji gasped. Being in that Blue had done a number on him. His uniform shirt had been torn, blood seemed to be oozing from pretty much everywhere, and at the very least, his collarbone was crushed. He suppressed the itch to use reverse cursed technique. 

Yet, as the dust cleared and the smoke settled, Kenjaku stood there, unfazed by their barrage. 

“What the hell?” Gojo exclaimed. “What's this guy made of?” 

“Well, this has been fun!” Kenjaku chirped, as Yuji and Gojo hid their shock, lowering into another battle stance. “Unfortunately, it seems like I'll have to leave the main experiment here” She complained. “And I won't get to understand what you are” She continued, directing her complaints at Yuji. “But, the data I've gathered from this is wonderful. I give both of you my greatest thanks for this wonderful gift!” 

Yuji screamed. “Kenjaku! You don't just get to run away from this!” 

Kenjaku merely shrugged. “I'm afraid, my son, that I can. And, unfortunately, I must. Until next time!” She said, as she utilised gravity to lift herself off of the floor. And with one quick motion, she launched herself, at a blinding speed.

Yuji and Gojo just stood there, afraid to move for a moment, before Yuji doubled over, coughing. 

“Do you need a healer, Akutami?” Gojo asked, annoyance and a hint of worry in his voice. 

Yuji shook his head. “We need to find the three guys” 

Gojo nodded, helped Yuji up, and the two of them returned to the house. 

Yuji sighed sadly, when he found the toddler, picking up a miniature version of him, and carrying him gently. 

He handed the toddler to Wasuke, who they had found, still sitting at the dining table. 

He gladly took the child from Yuji. “Well?” He asked. “Did you find my son?” He demanded. 

Yuji motioned at Wasuke to follow them. They moved through the ruins of the house, to find Jin Itadori, or more specifically, his corpse. 

When Kenjaku had flung him, he had landed right on a piece of debris, impaling him in the chest. 

“I'm sorry, sir” Yuji attempted to console the man, who just shook his head. 

He looked down on Jin with a strange expression. “My son died a long time ago” he said, as baby Yuji slept peacefully in his arms. “This was just the anniversary” 

Yuji looked at the remains of his father. His first ever meeting with the man had been cut painfully short. Even when given a second chance, he'd still never get a chance to truly learn who Jin Itadori was.

After a long chat with Wasuke, which had ended with him demanding that Yuji would return some day, for them to have a proper talk, Yuji and Gojo departed, finding their way back to their school. 

And a very pissed off Yaga-sensei. 

After a brief explanation filled with “where have you been?!”, or “how do you get involved with boxing and run into a body-snatcher in the same night?!” Yuji and Gojo were dismissed. 

By the time they made it back to the dorms, Gstk and Shoko were already heading to the P.E. pitch for some combat training, and they, of course, offered for Yuji to join them, and, as usual, he accepted. 

“Is it alright if I tag along?” Gojo asked, much to the surprise of everyone else. 

“What spawned this change of heart?” Yuji asked, curious. 

Gojo thought back to the Kenjaku fight, where even with him and Yuji working together, they couldn't beat their attacker. He thought back to their fight, where Yuji had the definitive advantage. “Do I need a reason?” 

Geto just shrugged, waving his arm around, as if to encourage Gojo to follow him. 

Yuji sighed, as Gojo followed Geto and Shoko. He hung back for a moment, and looked down at his hands, which were still trembling. 

He didn't know why Gojo hadn't asked about Kenjaku calling herself his mother, but it was one silver lining that Yuji wanted to take for granted for now. Especially with Kenjaku fully on the loose now, and being fully aware of Yuji. This meant that things are only going to get more complicated.

Yuji let out another deep breath, as he followed the gang to the training grounds. At the very least, he had some friends.

He could live with that.  

Chapter Text

Shoko darted out of her room in a hurry, rushing into the kitchen, panicking over oversleeping. 

She managed to grab a plate and was about to start cooking her breakfast, only for Yuji to leave some pancakes on her plate. Visibly deflating, her adrenaline wearing off, she sat beside Gojo and Geto, thanking Yuji and groaning. 

“I can't believe I overslept, today of all days!” 

“I wish I could say it is a surprise” Geto replied with a bit of sass. “But you aren't exactly the model of responsibility” 

“Pleh” Shoko stuck her tongue out at Geto. “You and Akutami are boring enough for me and Gojo anyway” She responded, earning a high five from Gojo. 

Yuji gasped. “Well, if my pancakes are that boring, I could take those away” He said, reaching for her plate. Shoko slapped his hand away. “Okay” she amended. “I take that back, Geto is the only boring one here!” 

Geto huffed. “I'm not letting you fly Rainbow Dragon again, then” 

Shoku sunk into her chair. 

As she began digging into her pancakes, Yuji started speaking. “So, final exams? What do you guys think’ll be on it?” 

Gojo shrugged. “Probably some boring Grade 1 curse for each of us, something like that” 

Geto shook his head. “I don't know… you and Akutami might get something more challenging” 

Shoko sprang up from her plate. “Ooh, will we get to see Akutami's cursed technique again?!” 

Gojo's eyes widened. “You mean you weren't lying about having a technique at the start of the year?” 

Yuji just shrugged “Why would I? I just don't like using it is all” He answered, as he finally sat down with his plate of pancakes. 

Gojo looked flustered. “Then why didn't you use it against that… crazy lady?!” 

Yuji sighed. He couldn't tell Gojo that he didn't want Kenjaku to know he had shrine, and even if he did use it, he was no where near strong enough to kill her. Frankly, it was a miracle that the only one to die there was his father. If the fight had gone even slightly differently, either Yuji, Gojo, or Wasuke would've died. 

“Gravity messes with my technique” Yuji lied. “Her technique was stopping me from properly using it” 

Gojo grinned. “So that means my Blue would mess with it pretty badly, huh?”

Yuji gave him a sly smirk. “Don't get cocky” 

An hour later, the group of 4 stood in front of Yaga in the courtyard. He smiled at them. 

“You lot have certainly been a handful, and have done a lot of things you shouldn't, but I have to say, good job with your first year at Jujutsu High” He congratulated them. 

“Now” He started. “your finals here will decide what grades you're initially placed into. Normally, we'd start small with Grade 3 curses, but since you're all strong enough..” 

He trailed off, and Geto picked up. “You're skipping straight to Grade 1s”

Yaga nodded. “You're all going to start out as strong Grade 1s, of that I have no doubt. This is just a formality” The group smiled at his confidence in them. 

“However, it's important to note that this isn't just based around your combat ability. It's also based on how long it takes you to find, track and destroy the curse, and how much collateral damage you cause while doing it” 

Suddenly, a massive black dome was erected, covering the sky as far as Yuji could see. 

Yaga pointed upwards with his thumb. “The veil’s been activated. Your time to finish this starts now. There are four Grade 1 curses, once you've killed one, come back to me, don't help each other, or you'll automatically fail” 

The group nodded. 

“One more thing” He said, smiling at them again. 

“Good luck” 

Once Yaga had explained the scenario they had been placed into, the four students had taken off in opposite directions, North, South, East and West. 

Yuji jumped through the trees, bouncing off of their thick branches, the ones that would hold his weight. 

What had once been a lush green forest when he had arrived at the beginning of the year had been marked by the changing of seasons. Vibrant greens had been replaced by dull oranges, or for some patches of the forest, no leaves at all. There was a chill in the air, but it didn't bother Yuji, he had long since the death of his original mentor, Gojo Satoru, become accustomed to the cold. 

He could smell it now. The stench of a curse.  

He dropped from the trees, moving at a brisk jog, keeping himself as slow as possible. 

The cursed spirit in front of him looked fairly weak. It had become partially humanoid, with two legs and two arms, which was unusual for a curse. However, it was nowhere near proportionate enough, and proof of its lack of intelligence came from its senseless babbling, unable to form a coherent sentence. 

Yuji dashed behind the curse. Since there was noone watching, there was no reason to be careful about this. 

He used his right hand to point at the curse with a two-finger finger gun, and used the other arm to brace his right arm. 

He uttered a single word. “Dismantle” 

Nothing seemed to happen at first, the curse noticed him, turned around, and rushed forward. But the time traveler didn't need to move, as mid-sprint, the curse fell apart, each half falling to one side. 

Its legs were still doing running motions on the ground, as if it hadn't even realised that it had been cut in half. 

Yuji huffed, looking up to see the sun shining brightly in the sky. It took him a moment to realise what that meant. 

“Wow!” Yuji exclaimed. “The veil’s already been taken down! The others must have gotten way stronger to be done already!” 

“I'm afraid that that isn't the case” A feminine voice spoke, as Yuji saw a mass of darkness descending from the sky at the edge of his vision. Instantly, his body tensed up. 

The figure landed in front of him. A woman, standing at a towering height, somewhere about 7 ft, at least as far as Yuji could tell. 

She had raven black hair that descended past her lower back and ended at her hips. She wore a dark cloak that covered most of her body, covering her arms completely. A jet black crown adorned her head, completing her regal look. She opened her eyes, which were blood red, and stared Yuji down.

“Is your name Yuji Akutami?” She asked, leaving Yuji puzzled. “It is,” He said, confused. “Why are you asking who I am? Are you looking for someone?” 

“Yes,” She said simply. “You” 

And then blood exploded out from Yuji's chest. 

Shoko wiped some slime from her hand onto her uniform. “Yuck- curse slime” she complained. The exorcism had been simple enough, though getting up close had been a pain, and the few bruises she had gained from getting hit by the beast reminded her that, while her reverse cursed energy was strong, it didn't make up for her weak cursed energy reinforcement. 

She whistled. “Well, that's a job well done!” She said to herself, as she started walking back to the campus. 

In the clearing, she spotted Gojo and Geto, waiting for her. 

“‘Sup!” She said, waving as she approached, and the two boys greeted her. 

“I’m not last?” She questioned, surprised. Geto nodded. “Yeah, Akutami hasn't shown up yet” 

Gojo laughed. “He must be pretty bad at tracking curses, to take this long!” 

Shoko smirked, puffing her chest out proudly. “I guess that means that Akutami is the weakest one in the group, not me!” She boasted, causing the two boys to chuckle. 

Yuji gasped, as he felt his bones knit back together, flesh forming on his chest from nothingness. Higuruma was dead, the disappearance of the executioner's blade was proof of that. 

Yuji struggled to stand, propping himself up as he stared down the man responsible for everyone that he's lost. 

Sukuna stared back at the boy, with a look of quiet contemplation. Whatever he was thinking about, Yuji didn't care. 

He snarled as Sukuna laughed, ranting about his hatred for Yuji. 

And then, suddenly, both parties stopped, as they realised that they were not alone. Within the scarred landscape of Shinjuku, among the rubble of a fallen civilization, stood a third combatant. 

Yuji's eyes lit up, as he saw his senpai, Okkotsu, standing alone, ready to join him in the fight. 

And that's when he realised… that Okkotsu was standing alone. With Rika out of sight. 

And a thin line of scars stretching across his forehead. 

Yuji woke with a gasp, and quickly realised what was happening. He was being dragged through the forest. Dark black tendrils had impaled him, connecting him to his assailant. 

He knew she had heard him gasp, so he refused to give her time to react. He instantly shot out a dismantle at the lady, and she ducked to the side, and his Dismantle merely cut off some of her hair. 

“How?!” She seethed, as she steadied herself, facing off against Yuji. “My attack should have completely destroyed your chest, and yet it merely ruptured your heart. How do you lay claim over your blood?” 

Yuji stood up, brushing dirt off of his uniform. He stared at the woman, frowning. “That's a secret I'll take to the grave. Now, explain this to me…” He retorted, taking a deep breath. 

“Why did you try to kill me?” 

She kept a neutral expression plastered across her face. “It is nothing personal, I'm afraid. All I'm doing is fulfilling a blood oath” 

“Blood oath?” Yuji questioned. “Is she talking about binding vows?” He thought to himself. 

“Oh it was wonderful, child” She exclaimed, with a sense of nostalgia. “Thousands would flock to my domain to form blood oaths with me! Seeking fame, glory, or power, and I would give it to them. I was a god!” 

She snarled. “Until your little guardian decided to be selfish. The woman decided that only Japan deserved this glorious power, and hogged immortality for herself. I was powerless, and aging” 

Yujis eyes lit up. “You're from before Tengen created the barriers? Then that must mean…” 

She nodded. “Yes, child, I have been sent here to claim your body, for Kenjaku” 

His body tensed up. “How?! The Culling Games haven't started yet, how have you been unsealed?” 

Her eyes widened. “You know about that?” She shook her head. “It matters not. I had no interest in meaningless combat, I merely seeked to regain my former power. So, my deal with him is completely unrelated to that foolish endeavour of combat” 

Yuji narrowed his eyes. “So Kenjaku wants me? For what? Experimentation?” 

“There's no point in answering your questions” She said, as if it were a fact. “For you will be dead long before you could hope to understand the answers” 

Yuji scowled. “Whatever. Let's just finish this quickly” 

Geto had taken out three bento boxes, and Gojo, having already tore through his, was trying to reach Geto's bag to steal the one that had been prepared for Yuji. 

“C'mon, he's clearly not going to get here in time for lunch! I'm starving, just let me have it!” Gojo pleaded, as he tried reaching past Geto, only for Geto's rainbow dragon to curl around his bag. 

“There's no way you're not full after eating that entire box that quickly!” Geto exclaimed. “Amd unlike you, I have faith in our friend” 

“Bleh,” Gojo spat out. “You're putting a lot of emphasis on friend. We're acquaintances at best” 

“Oh come oooon” Shoko joined in on the conversation. “Admit it, he's grown on you!” She said smugly, leaning in on him. 

“Yeah right” Gojo said, as he pushed her head away from him. “All I remember him doing is getting into some fights, and failing pretty badly in them. Why would that “grow on me””

“Didn't Akutami beat you?” Geto said, as an explosion occurred in the distance, causing the trio to turn to it. 

Gojo conveniently used this as an opportunity to dodge Geto's accusation. “That doesn't look like the results of a fight with a grade 1…” He trailed off, and Geto and Shoko nodded. 

“Should we go to help him?” Geto asked, and Shoko shook her head. “Nah, Yuji's pretty strong, he can handle himself. I'd rather just stay and eat my lunch” 

Yuji launched himself to his right, dodging a steady stream of pitch black blood. He wanted to fire back some dismantles, but he could feel his blood tugging against his skin, screaming to break free. It was taking all of his focus with Blood Manipulation in order to keep his own blood in his body. 

He ducked under another stream of dark blood. It splashed against the trees behind him, sizzling against the bark before erupting in a furious explosion. 

He grimaced, hopping over a low swipe of blood, as he tried to rush in closer to the attacker. 

“You can't dodge while you're in the air, fool” She stated, shooting another tendril of blood out. 

Yuji whipped his head to the side, barely dodging the attack. 

He landed, gasping for breath, as he stepped to the side. 

“What's her name?” Yuji asked. 

The woman looked puzzled. “What?” 

“The name of the body you took over. The name of the person whose life you ruined. What is it?” Yuji repeated, his voice filled with anger.

She sighed. “It does not matter” 

Yuji gritted his teeth. “Yes, it does! How can all of you just go around without caring about what you do to other people!” 

She spread her arms out wide. “Do you know how many mortals I have come to watch die under my rule? How many ages I have watched come and go, empires created and crumbled, all witnessed by my own eyes? If I stopped to think about one random person, I would have run out of time a long time ago”

He growled, eyes narrowed. “I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you, and save the soul you've taken hostage, mark my words!” He yelled, deepening his stance. 

The woman responded with her own stance  

“You are welcome to try”

Chapter Text

Yuji rushed in, fast as lightning, as he kicked low, aiming at the woman's legs. She jumped, his kick hitting empty air, as she let a massive splotch of blood fly loose from her chest, blinding Yuji as it hit him in the face. 

Yuji kept moving forward, as he felt the blood burn away at his face, hitting the woman in the chest with a palm strike. She doubled over, letting him kick her in the liver with his left leg, and after that, with a right hook to her cheek, sending her stumbling to the side, leading into a kick to the gut, forcing her backwards. 

Snarling, She let loose a wave of blood from her ankles, submerging Yuji's feet and covering the forest floor.

Yuji tried moving his feet, but the blood hardened, holding him tight. 

The woman rubbed her cheek, where Yuji had hit her. A look of surprise showed in her face, before quickly shifting to one of anger. 

“You dare… lay your filthy fingers on my soul?!” She snarled, malice filling her voice. 

“Do you even know who I am, child? I am Maeve, Queen of All! I ruled outside of your filthy little homeland! I will not be brought down by a peasant like yourself!” 

Yuji slowly shifted his feet through the thick blood, resistance meeting him at every step, as he slowly inched closer. 

She looked at him with contempt, before throwing her head back, laughing madly. 

“I can't actually believe the likes of you are pushing me to such a length! But fine…” She said, as she put her hands together. 

Yujis eyes widened, as he tried to rush forwards, but the blood on the ground held him in place. 

In front of her stomach, one hand hovered over the other, both palms facing each other as they curled into an open claw position. 

“Domain Expansion” Maeve announced, as a black veil surrounded the two. 

“Crimson Tomb of Obedience!” She exclaimed, as the floor, and walls formed, made out of blood, as clouds overtook the new sky. Rain dropped from the sky. 

No, not rain. Blood. 

Splotches of the crimson rain landed on Yuji’s skin, sizzling as it landed on his skin. 

Yuji gulped. He had seen the barrier form for a brief moment before the domain materialized. The barrier was too small for his friends to notice, so he wasn't going to get help any time soon. 

Maeve stretched her hand out, reaching for Yuji. 

Yuji stifled a scream as his entire body screamed in pain. Blood started leaking from the pores in his skin. 

“This is the sure hit of my domain!” She boasted. “Your very blood obeys me. And frankly…” She narrowed her eyes. “I think you have too much” 

Yuji felt his blood being pulled from every pore in his body, but he bore the pain, putting his hands together, breathing heavily. 

Yuji desperately dodged another onslaught of slashes from Sukuna, roaring as KenJake, in Yuta's body, giggled while watching him. 

He fought desperately. Like a caged animal. 

Sukuna rushed forward, bridging the gap between him and Yuji before Yuji could even see him move. A cleave tore through Yuji's chest, piercing his heart, like it was the easiest thing in the world. 

Yuji collapsed, coughing painfully as he struggled on the ground, trying to get up. 

Sukuna sighed. “You truly are a bore, until the very end, aren't you, brat? Well, no point in prolonging it” He said, as he pointed at Yuji and started chanting. 

There was only one thing that Yuji could do. He had a cursed technique, blood manipulation, and he knew how to perform different barrier techniques, so… 

He put his hands together, mimicking Sukuna's own hand sign, for his own domain. 

“Domain Expansion!” He yelled desperately, and Sukuna paused for a moment out of interest, before laughing. 

Blood shot out of Yuji’s nose and eyes, as his head felt like it had been lit on fire. 

“I wonder, brat… what else will you try to do to kill me?” Sukuna questioned. “Show me!” 

Finally interested in his former cage, Sukuna allowed Yuji to stagger to his feet. 

Kenjaku leaned forwards, interested in what Yuji had just done. He had failed to create a domain, certainly. But there had been something there, but it wasn't blood manipulation, and it definitely wasn’t "that”. 

His lips curled. “Oh, Yuji Itadori, what a wonderful experiment you turned out to be” 

“Domain Expansion!” Yuji exclaimed, mimicking Sukuna’s hand signs once more, hoping that having access to Shrine would make the difference this time. 

It didn't. Yuji felt that same pain in his head. 

He knelt into a sword-drawing stance, activating his Simple Domain, feeling his blood rest easy for a moment. 

He concentrated, as he noticed Maeve watching him. He wouldn't be able to hold Simple Domain forever, and in the state he was in, moving while it was active wouldn't be an option. 

Meaning that, if he didn't think of something, his blood would be forcefully pulled from his body, until he was left exactly like his brother… 

Yuji's eyes lit up. He mentally thanked Choso as he remembered what his brother had told him upon consumption of the Death Womb Paintings. 

Just like when he fought against Yuki, he poured CE into his body, converting it directly into blood. All he had to do was replenish his blood faster than this domain could drain him of it. 

Maeve grunted in frustration. She was much more disheveled now, loose strands of hair falling over her face, her clothes torn from the battle. Before, she could have passed for a Shrine maiden. Now? She was nothing but a deranged lunatic. 

“You think you've seen the limits of my domain?!” She screamed, her once regal voice cracking from the strain. “You know nothing of my limits!” 

Slashes made of blood surrounded Yuji, similar to Sukuna’s own domain, colliding against his body, in a desperate effort to tear the boy apart. 

But Yuji kept walking. Hundreds of blades of crimson red tore through the inner world itself, but they didn't even give Yuji the slightest pause. 

“Die!” She screamed, hatred filling her distorted voice, as the strain she was putting herself under fractured even the connection between her and her host. 

“No one should be immortal” Yuji said calmly, as he pushed through the intense atmosphere undeterred. “You don't get to take someone else’s life to prolong yours!” 

“Damn you!” She said, as Yuji approached her, only inches away. The slashes were increasing in intensity, pushing Yuji's feet into the ground, making indentations in the ground where he stood. 

He placed a single hand on the sorceress's stomach. “Rest” He pleaded with the sorceress, the last word she'd ever hear, as he gently separated the bond between parasite and host, careful not to hurt either soul in the process.

The domain collapsed, as a different girl was hurled from the body of the sorceress, which was quickly collapsing into a pile of sludge. 

All that remained of Maeve was a small pile of flesh, with nothing but a single eye and a single mouth. 

“Please!” It pleaded. “Take me in! Consume me! Let me live!” 

Yuji thought about it for a moment. He could do it, keep her caged for the rest of his life. It wouldn't even be difficult. 

“No,” he said, denying her. “Everything has to end eventually. That's what makes life so special” he said thoughtfully, as the sorceress faded away, passing on. 

“Damn you!” Was the last thing she ever said. 

Yuji sat down, gasping, as he slowly knit his skin back together, no longer feeling the desperate pull at his blood. 

He looked over to the woman who had been saved. She looked nothing like Maeve, she had blonde hair, and she was a much more realistic height, looking to be around five foot. She was wearing casual clothes, something a jogger might wear, which made Yuji wonder how long Kenjaku had been preying on her. Had Kenjaku just plucked a random woman off of the street? 

Yuji gulped. This was going to be hard to explain. 

He gingerly picked up the comatose girl, in a bridal carry, and starter jogging to the clearing of Jujutsu High. 

Upon his arrival, Yuji's friends noticed him, waving until they noticed his new companion. 

Geto blinked. “Yuji, why are you carrying a girl?” 

Yuji chuckled nervously. “I sorta.. found her near the curse after I killed it” He replied. Technically, he wasn't lying, just… omitting certain details. 

Gojo poked her cheek. “Geez, she's out cold!” 

Shoko slapped Gojo's hand away. “Don't be rude! You can't just go touching girls like that!” She exclaimed, making Gojo flustered. 

“Don't say it like that!” He exclaimed. 

Shoko smirked. “What? It's not like anyone can think less of you anyways!” 

The two continued squabbling, while Yuji and Geto stood beside each other, confused. After a moment, Geto turned to Yuji. 

“So, are you going to take the girl to Yaga-sensei?” He asked. 

“Yeah,” Yuji responded. “I probably should. Do you have any idea where he's at?” 

Geto waved him off. “Should be at his office. Now, I'm gonna go over there and stop whatever it is that they're doing” 

Yuji nodded. “I'll see you guys in a while” 

He jogged towards the main building, carrying the girl like it was the most effortless thing in the world.  

Yoga pressed his hands to his forehead and let out a sigh. “Akurami, mind explaining to me how, even when you don't even leave the campus, you manage to get yourself involved in something?” 

Yuji scratched the back of his head, chuckling nervously. “Oh come on, sensei, it's not like I go out looking for trouble!” He defended himself. 

Yaga groaned. “I'm not sure which idea is worse, the idea of you looking for trouble, or of trouble being magically attracted to you” 

He flipped through pages in a document, taking out a sheet of paper, and handing it to Yuji. “Congratulations, Akutami. You are officially a Grade 1 sorcerer” 

Yuji blinked. “For real?” He asked, confused. “But I took so long” 

Yoga nodded. “For good reason, I presume. Besides, it's like I said this morning. This was all just a formality. You could've taken a whole week to get it done, and I'd still have given you first grade status” 

“Oh” was all Yuji managed. He bowed to his sensei. “Thank you so much!” 

Yaga let out a rare smile. “It was great having you here, Akutami. I hope you enjoy your summer break” 

Yuji blinked slowly. “Summer break?” He asked cautiously. 

Yaga nodded. “We ARE a school, after all. You'll still be staying here, I presume, unless you have family. Now that you're truly a part of the Jujutsu world, there's plenty of things to do, just make sure not to step on the toes of any of the big clans” 

Yuji nodded enthusiastically, his signature optimism lighting up the teacher's office. 

He left the room to see his three classmates crowding around the door, shamelessly eavesdropping. 

Shoko wrapped an arm around Yuji's neck, cheering. “Nice job, man!” 

Gojo just scoffed. “As if he was going to fail” 

Geto hummed. “It is worrying that our teacher admitted to being blatantly biased towards us” 

Shoko shook her head, disagreeing. “Nah, it makes sense that he'd want to give those grades to us, after everything we went through! Honestly, we deserve better than to be first grades!” 

Yuji laughed. “What, do you want the higher ups to make us Special Grades? That's a bit much” 

Shoko shrugged. “Maybe, but the pay rise would be nice” 

Geto interrupted the wishful conversation, humming. “So, what are you guys going to be doing over the summer break?” He asked. “I'm probably going to return to my family, so you guys won't see me for a while” 

Shoko nods. “I'm gonna go see my folks as well,” She groaned. “It's going to be so boring!” 

Gojo huffed. “My time will be filled with taking care of my clan's business. Thank God, I was getting sick of this place!” 

Shoko turned to Yuji. “What about you, Akutami?” 

Yuji looked down onto his right hand, pinky finger still there, despite his loss of it in the earlier timeline. “I don't know…” he trailed off for a moment, before scratching the back of his head and laughing. “I'll figure something out!” 

A few short days passed, before the four of them were leaving the gates of Jujutsu High. 

Yuji said his goodbyes as his friends left in cars, and he turned back, looking back at his school. 

It was crazy to think, but he'd already spent longer with these versions of Gojo, Shoko and Geto, than with his old friends. It made him a bit sad to think about everyone he left behind. Staring wistfully at the school, he thought about everything that had happened. 

“You don't have to leave, you know” Yaga spoke up from behind him. 

Yuji turned. “Oh, hi sensei!” He greeted the older man, who returned the greeting. 

“You're free to stay here, if you have no family to take you home” Yaga offered. 

Yuji shook his head, feeling the cold wind blow by. “Nah, thanks for the offer, but there's something i need to take care of” 

Yaga smiled. “Of course. Just know that the offer is always there” he said, as he walked back to the main building of Jujutsu High. 

“One year down” Yuji thought “From what Gojo-sensei told me before everything in Shinjuku, some crazy stuff is going to happen next year, so I need to get stronger” 

“I'll be back” Yuji said, to no one in particular. “I'll be back soon. I'll save everyone. I promise” 

And with that, Yuji took his first steps into the wide world of Jujutsu. 

At first, all it knew was dirt. Brown, coarse, and then grey and hard. Cement. How did it know the names for these things? 

Crumbling. Dust. Darkness. A basement? It felt a tug at its mind. At its soul. What was it?

Why was it in some worn down building that hadn't been touched in one hundred years? 

The patch of flesh, once nothing more than a ball, started to morph. Stretch. Reach for a better form. 

And yet it all fell right outside of its grasp. 

All it felt was hatred, rage and disgust. 

It wished to scream, but did not have a mouth. What was a mouth? It did not know, but it felt right. 

The blob of flesh expanded, trying to grasp at a form, anything that felt right. 

Limbs failed, tails failed, arms, legs, wings, claws all failed. 

However, the blob did manage to form a single thing.

One thin line of stitches going down its center.  

Chapter Text

Gojo standing in a room filled with older men and women, dealing with some boring clan politics. 

Shoko spending time with her non-sorcerer friends, chatting and shopping together. 

Geto spending time with his family. 

That's what Yuji imagined his friends were doing, as he felt the breeze of the wind move through his hair. 

“It's rare to see a teenager at peace” a voice called out behind him. 

Yuji turned to see Wasuke approaching him. He smiled at the older man’s greeting. 

Bowing to the older man, he thanked him for letting him stay with them over the summer. Wasuke just waved him off. 

“So, Akutami, what do you plan on doing until your school starts up again?” 

Yuji just shrugged. “I'm not sure. I'll probably just continue with my studies” 

Wasike eyed him with a weird look in his eye. “You don't plan to do any off-the-book exorcisms?” 

Yuji froze. 

“I... don't know what you're talking about” Yuji managed to get out, without choking. 

“I'm not an idiot,” Wasuke said. “Do you really think that I wouldn't know about the world of curses when I had one married to my son for years?” 

Yuji turned away. “I don't know what you're talking about. I have no idea what was going on with that crazy lady!” Yuji argued, but Wasuke silenced him by raising his hand.

“Akutami, that woman called you her son, despite being much too young to have had a son as old as you. On top of that, your end of year holidays are happening now, in the summer, like some sort of western school. The only place that I know that does that kind of thing is Jujutsu High” 

Yuji’s eyes widened. “You know about Jujutsu High?” 

Wasuke nodded in response, sighing. “I know my fair share about the Jujutsu world. I also know that, somehow, we have some sort of connection” 

Yujis eyes lit up, and Wasuke noticed that immediately. Yuji tried to speak, but Wasuke stopped him. “I don't know how you're connected to my family, nor do I care” He trailed off, watching younger Yuji playing in a sandbox in the distance. 

“All I care about right now is my grandson. So, all I ask of you is to ensure that none of your business ends up hurting him” 

Yuji nodded. “I promise, he won't get hurt because of me” 

Wasuke let out a small, rare smile, which was quickly replaced by his usual scowl. “Also, while you're living with us, be back home and asleep by nine. I don't want to deal with a rowdy teenager up at midnight in my house, do you understand me?” He asked, suddenly aggressive. Yuji quickly nodded. 

Yuji looked at his grandfather, who moved over to his younger self, and smiled. In this strange world, where everyone seemed like a completely different version of themselves, his grandfather was exactly like how he remembered him to be. 

Gojo scowled, as he sat down in the massive council room. The Jujutsu Society meetings were always the most boring meetings in the world. He was here, as head and representative of the Gojo clan, along with his clan supervisor. Among the other seats at the meeting sat the higher ups, the heads of the Kamo and Zen'in clans as well as the heads of some minor clans like the Inumaki clan. 

He was the youngest here easily, with not even Utahime being present with her clan, and yet his presence commanded respect, no one daring to call into question his presence.

Gojo did what he usually did in these meetings, zone out and ignore the meaningless drabble of politics. That was, until he heard a certain name come up. 

“And what of Yuji Akutami?” Naobito, head of the Zen'in clan asked, causing Gojo's ears to perk up. 

“What of him?” Gojo asked, causing eyes to turn to him. It was rare for the youthful head to speak his mind in these meetings, aside from whining out of boredom. 

“Is it not obvious that he dangerous?” Naobito asked. “Especially after his performance against you, Gojo-san! You should know more than anyone that he's a threat!” 

This declaration caused murmurs to sweep around the enclosed space, annoying Gojo. 

“He got lucky, that's all!” He defended himself. 

“Regardless” Naobito countered. “He's skilled, strong, and we know nothing about him. We are completely unaware of where his alliances fall, if he has allegiances to other clans, if he has any sort of ulterior motive!” 

The other clan heads shifted nervously, but were surprised as Gojo just laughed. “You're thinking too much into this! I've spent a couple of months with the dude, he's an idiot!” 

His supervisor tried to stop him from talking, begging him to communicate in a less vulgar way, but he ignored him, waving the supervisor off. 

Naobito shook his head. “You are letting him fool you. He already has plenty of influence, just one meeting with my son and he's acting completely differently!” 

Gojo stood up from his chair suddenly. “Listen, old man!” He snarled. “No one is fooling me. Not Akutami, and not you” 

“Watch your tone, boy” Naobito growled, angering Gojo. 

One if the higher ups sighed, interrupting the argument. “It's clear that this discussion is going nowhere. We'll keep an eye on the boy for now, but we won't behave aggressively unless he does something that's warranted. This is not up for discussion. Understood?” 

Gojo and Naobito both reluctantly nodded, and sat back down. 

That same higher up spoke up once more. “Moving on to the next topic, has anything strange happened in the Dead Zone as of late?” He asked, causing a man with brown hair and white accents, and a thin scar running diagonally across his nose to shake his head. 

“It's safe for now, we haven't had any attacks or infighting within the barrier” 

The higher up nodded. “Good. Now, before we end this meeting, I have been told that the Kamo clan has something they wish to say?” 

All eyes in the room turned towards the Kamo clan head, who stood up. 

“It has come to my attention” He began. “That a large pool of blood was found in the forest outside of Jujuysu High. Upon inspecting the pool of blood, we found that it had been infused with cursed energy, much like our own Blood Manipulation. Mark my words, if Jujutsu High is hiding a Blood Manipulation user from us, we will retaliate” 

The higher up sighed. “Unfortunately, the head of Jujutsu High couldn't make it to today's meeting. However, we will perform a proper investigation into this matter, and get back to you as soon as possible. Now, does anyone else have any requests?” He finished, and was met with silence.

With a nod, he smiled. “Then today's meeting is adjourned,” he said, ending the meeting. 

Shoko sat on a pile of delinquents, flexing her arm as they groaned. 

“Man, Akutami helped me out a lot with my reinforcement!” She said to herself while smiling. 

She hopped off of the pole of broken boys, as she heard a scream ring out from around the corner of the street she was on. 

“Seriously? How many friends do you guys have?” She asked the pile of bodies but she was not met with a response. 

She turned around the corner, calling out. “Hey, is anyone there? Are you alright?” She asked, but as she passed an alleyway, a fist burst forward, striking her and sending her flying out onto the street. 

She landed on the cold cement with a thud, groaning as she rushed to stand back up. 

A figure emerged from the alleyway. It was grey, and looked like a clump of boiled flesh with eyes stapled on the sides of its body. 

“A curse!” She exclaimed, grunting. “So much for a stress free holiday!” She complained, putting her hands up into a guard in front of her face, like Yuji had taught her. 

Suddenly, screams erupted around her. 

Civilians that she hadn't even realised we're there, had been staring at her as she was flung into the street and now… 

They were staring at the curse?! 

The crowd ran the moment the curse started moving forward, more yells echoing everywhere. People brushed past Shoko without so much as a second thought. 

She rushed in, ducking under a swipe From the curse, placing her hand on what looked like its head, and pumped it full of reverse cursed energy… 

The curse slammed it's fist into her chest, launching her backwards once more. 

She propped herself up, as she stated down this enigma. 

“It's immune to reverse cursed energy? And it can be seen by humans? Is it a mythical grade?” 

She pulled a scalpel out of her picket, infusing it with cursed energy as she struck out against the beast. To her surprise, the scalpel cut through it like butter, chopping through boiled flesh as the curse screamed in pain, shocking Shoko. 

She went to strike it in the head, but made the mistake of looking in it's eye. 

It spoke, barely more audible than a whisper. 

“P le as e. . . k il l  m e” It gargled, shocking Shoko and causing her to hesitate, which allowed the being to punch her in the face. 

Luckily, she had managed to concentrate most of her cursed energy into her head, and the… thing broke its own hand on her face, announced by a sickening crunch. 

Bile rose in Shoko's throat, but she forced it back down as she stared at the demonic amalgamation, as its screams for death deeply unnerved her. No curse she had ever fought had ever acted… like this. 

Before she could have a chance to hesitate, she swiftly Slit the throat of the curse with her scalpel, and it fell to the ground with a thud. 

It didn't dissipate. 

Shoko stared down at the corpse of the would-be curse, not wanting to think about what this could be. 

Despite her shaking hands, she managed to open her phone and dial up Jujutsu High. 

She put the phone up to her ear. 

“Sensei?” she asked tentatively. “There's something you need to he-” 

She was cut off, when a grey hand grabbed her face. 

With one swift motion, the person responsible had let go and dashed behind her. 

Shoko grabbed her face, covering the eye where the hand had touched her, turning to face the person. 

A man, grey, with scars all over his face, which was constantly shifting, like he couldn't decide on an appearance. Everything about him was unnatural, and Shoko could tell at a glance. 

This was a curse.  

The curse started laughing, maniacally. There was no rhyme or reason to its glee, it clearly didn't have a fully formed consciousness, but it was still a threat. 

Shoko turned to look at the curse, removing her hand to show… 

A shit eating grin. 

“What?” she exclaimed. “Why the hell are you laughing?!” 

The curse’s laughter died down, as it looked at her in confusion and annoyance. 

“Lemme guess!” she chuckled cockily. “You're responsible for that monstrosity over there! Planned on turning me into one of those things, weren't ya!” She accused the curse. “So I'm guessing you're wondering how I stopped it!” 

She tapped her head with her finger. “It's simple, really. I read about an old sorcerer who could envelope her body in her cursed technique. I figured, why not try that out? Except, cursed energy is too plain, y’know?” 

The curse growled as she continued her explanation. “So, I thought that I might as well lean into my specialty!” 

Her body started to glow, a bright green energy, as her laughter grew louder. “My entire body is enveloped in a layer of reverse curse energy! Your curse technique won't get through!” 

Strangely, the curse seemed to understand what she was saying, as it let out a deranged screech from its constantly warping mouth. 

It finished it's war cry, and quickly turned in the opposite direction and started running! 

“Hey!” Shoko called out. “Where the hell do you think you're going! 

She tried chasing after the curse, but as it made it to a crowd of people, it quickly created a couple of those curse beings from touching humans, shocking, and halting Shoko. 

“Shit” was all she managed to get out as she stared down the enemies. Picking her phone back up from where it had fallen on the ground, she resumed her call with Yaga. 

“Sensei, we have a problem. Yeah? Don't worry, I'll be fine” she said, the other side of the conversation only being audible to her. ”I can take these guys out, but the curse has got away” 

The curse stumbled and crawled as it rushed down alleys, through streets. 

It couldn't kill that woman with a touch. Why did that feeling remind it of something? It couldn't quite place it. 

It dashed through half completed construction sites, dull greys and dark blacks filling the environment as it fled to safety. 

It wanted to kill, to reach out and kill, so, so bad! Why couldn't it remember? Why couldn't it remember its face? Its name? 

The palm of the hand that had hit the woman was sizzling, burning away. 

It hurt. 

“But not as bad as back then” it thought. 

Though, it wasn't sure what had hurt it so bad “back then”

In that moment, the frustration, the desire to kill, the denial of the hunt, it sparked something in the curse. A limited memory was brought to the surface of its mind. 

It's voice filled with contempt, though it did not understand why, as it spoke the one thing it could remember. 

The one name it truly cursed. 

“Yuji Itadori” 

Chapter Text

Yuji jogged up to the gates of Jujutsu High, slightly out of breath. 

As he made his way through the dusty courtyard of the supernatural school, he noticed the distinct lack of people. 

Usually, there were some regular sorcerers taking refuge in the school, as it doubled as home base for most sorcerers. At all times of day, and at night, at least a dozen lower grade sorcerers could be seen outside, wandering around, training or just relaxing. 

But now… there wasn't a single soul in sight. 

Yuji didn't like this. It was too eery, too unnatural. 

He entered the building, wandering through the, once again, empty hallways. The school was still well kept, the floors shining as if they'd recently been washed, and dust had yet to creep into any corners or ledges in the hallway. So either, the school had been taken over by some sort of “cleaning” curse, or it hadn't been abandoned, and people should still be here. 

Yuji rushed to the first place he could think of, Yaga’s office. 

As he opened the door, he was greeted with his classmates standing around Yaga's desk. 

“Yo!” He greeted, waving his right arm, as everyone turned to see him. 

“Yuji!” Geto greeted him happily. “It's good to see you” 

Shoko nodded. “It's been way too long!” 

Yuji turned to look at his teacher. 

“Sensei.. why is the school so deserted?” He asked, and Yaga just nodded, as if he was expecting the question. 

“Now that you're all here, I suppose that I can explain everything to you” 

He gestured towards the four of them to sit in front of his desk, as he began speaking. 

“A couple of weeks ago, Shoko was attacked by a cursed spirit,” he explained, and Shoko nodded, as if to confirm the validity of his claim. “It appeared to have remarkable strength, having a full humanoid body and a powerful cursed technique, though the specifics of that technique is unknown. Shoko managed to fend it off, and it fled, but we've been doing our best to track it ever since”

Gojo shrugged. “So what? It's another strong cursed spirit, what's the big deal?” 

Yaga sighed. “Gojo, you need to understand. This cursed spirit isn't even fully formed yet, and it already has a humanoid body, an understanding of its technique and intelligent thought. If it fully forms, we may be looking at the strongest cursed spirit in years” He explained, shocking everyone. 

“What do we know about its cursed technique?” Geto asked, and Yaga nodded.

“Right, that's probably the most important thing to know. We don't know the full details, but we know two aspects of his cursed technique. Firstly, his touch seems dangerous, the first thing he did was try to touch Shoko, and when that failed, he fled. So it's fair to assume that that is his ace”

Yuji’s eyes widened. “It… couldn't be” He thought to himself. He shook his head. “There's no way, plenty of cursed techniques are activated by touch!”

“The second,” Yaga continued, as he held up two fingers. “Is that, by touching non sorcerers, he can turn them into minions” 

Yuji stood there, dumbfounded. The whole world seemed to be put on mute, as he processed what he just heard. 

Every interaction he had with that damn curse instantly came to the forefront of his mind.

He clenched his fists, something Shoko seemed to notice, but kept his cool as Yaga continued. 

“We've had a few sorcerers encounter him, and of those who survived, they revealed that it's now capable of some degree of speech. It's only been repeating one word though. Itadori” 

Yujis eyes widened further as his head snapped up, looking at Yaga. 

“Woah!” Gojo exclaimed. “Wasn't that the name of the family we visited, Akutami?” He asked. 

Yuji nodded. “Y-yeah,” he stammered. “Their family name was Itadori” 

Yaga nodded. “Well,” he said. “That's good. That lets us move onto our next course of action” 

Yaga turned to Yuji. “I have a new mission for you. Because this curse spirit clearly has something big planned, we don't want it anywhere near that family. And we can't exactly afford to have 24/7 surveillance on one family…” 

He trailed off, as everyone understood the shortage of Jujutsu sorcerers. 

“I want you to take the Itadori family to the Dead Zone. We'll have a place set up for them, so they should be safe there” 

Yuji tilted his head in confusion. “Dead Zone?” He asked, having never heard of this place before. 

Yaga's eyes perked up. “Oh right, I suppose you wouldn't know about it.” 

He shifted in his seat as he began to explain. “The Dead Zone was initially built to be a way to kill… a certain sorcerer who was otherwise impossible to kill. Legends say they were Tengen's only rival, sharing a similar cursed technique” Yaga explained. “Apparently, as long as cursed energy existed, this being could not die. So Tengen created a place without cursed energy” 

Yuji blinked. “Is that possible?” He asked. 

Yaga nodded. “Tengen created a barrier, and imposed a binding vow upon it. In exchange for anyone being able to enter and leave the barrier at will, no one inside the barrier can utilise their cursed energy. Over time however, it transformed from a resting place for Tengen's equal, into a safe ground for retired sorcerers to raise their children” 

Yuji nodded. “So, because there isn't any usable cursed energy there, curses can't function there? So I just take the family there, and they should be safe?” 

Yaga nodded, and Yuji hummed to himself. 

“I'm not sure why Mahito knows my name… is it because, since I moved back in time, my hatred for him was so crazy that it influenced his creation?”

Yuji suddenly regretted all the times that he swore to himself that he would kill Mahito again. 

He shook his head, before turning his attention to Yaga. 

“I'll do it” he said while nodding, pleasing the teacher, and he started to leave the room. 

“Woah, hold on!” Shoko stopped him “We've barely said hello to each other and now we have to go off on missions and stuff? Surely we can at least hang out for a bit!”

“No,” Yaga said, denying her request. “We don't know what this curse is planning, or how the Itadoris play into it. Their safety may very well be of the utmost importance to Jujutsu Society. It can't afford to wait. You four can catch up later” 

With that, he dismissed the four, leaving them to leave the room, Shoko grumbling along the way. 

A clandestine sorcerer, dressed head to toe in dark clothing, with nothing but his eyes visible, sat in the rafters of Jujutsu High, refusing to make even the slightest move. Moving even an inch could give away his position to those pesky six-eyes. 

Once the room was emptied, he brought up a phone to his ear. “Sir, we've confirmed it. Within a day, Akutami Yuji will be in the Dead Zone” 

Naobito Zen'in smiled, putting his phone down, ending the call. 

“I am NOT abandoning my life to move to some weird cult base for my “safety”!” Wasuke argued as he walked through his quaint house, into his kitchen, as Yuji frantically followed, minding his footsteps as he tried to avoid trampling over any of the toys that young Yuji had abandoned over the floor. 

“It's for your safety!” Yuji tried arguing. “There's a curse on the loose-” He tried to continue, but was cut off. 

“Like hell it is! I learned a long time ago not to trust anything that the higher ups want, and I'm sure as hell not going to stop now!” Wasuke exclaimed, as he began walking to the other side of the kitchen, cup in hand, as the whistling of the kettle could be heard in the background, but he was stopped as Yuji grabbed his hand. 

“This isn't coming from the higher ups. It's coming from me!” Yuji exclaimed. 

It was a half lie. True, it was something that the higher ups wanted, but beyond that, Yuji just wanted his grandfather, and by extension, his younger self, to be safe. 

His pleas caused the older man to halter for a moment, and Yuji noticed this, giving him the confidence to push further. 

“This isn't just about you, either. It's about Yuji as well. Think about that woman who took over your daughter-in-law's body, and killed your son! She won't be able to get to you or Yuji, if you go there with me!” He explained. 

Wasuke sighed. “You really aren't gonna let this go, are you?” He asked the supernatural student. And, of course, Yuji nodded. 

Wasuke grumbled. “I should have expected. You being one of those stubborn types isn't a surprise at all”

He poured some boiling water from the kettle into his cup, staring at the pouring water as he did so. “Fine,” he relented. “But the first thing we do when we get there is go to a decent bar. After everything, I need a drink…” He trailed off, clearly tired. 

Yuji smiled. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. 

“Yeah, yeah” Wasuke waved him off. “Now get going, I'll meet up with you tomorrow, 8AM sharp, so be there on time. I won't wait for you” 

Yuji smiled as he opened the front door. “Alright, I'll see you tomorrow. And… thanks, old man” 

With that, Yuji left the old man to take care of his grandson, alone. 

Wasuke sighed, as the cup touched his lips, hot tea making its way down his throat. He put the cup down. Yuji was sleeping, so the house was eerily quiet. The faint bristling of leaves, swaying in the wind was the only sound that made its way through the household. 

No son. No wife. 

All he had left was his grandson. 

Yuji walked up to the barrier, grandfather and younger version of him in tow, only a day later. 

They stopped in front of what looked like a large gate. Giant stone walls stretched across either side of the gate, as far as could be seen. 

A guard, dressed in unusually dark clothing approached them. 

“Identification?” He asked, and Yuji presented him with a card that Yaga had given him for the mission. The guard looked it over for a few moments, before nodding. 

“It all seems to check out” he confirmed, speaking into some sort of miniature radio attached to his neck. 

Suddenly, Yuji could hear the creaking and turning of gears, and slowly and loudly, the gate in front of them separated, revealing an inky black abyss between the gaps in the doorway. “Mind the vertigo” was the only warning the guard gave them as he gestured for them to pass through it. 

Wasuke held onto his grandson's hand tightly, as Yuji led them from the front. 

“It shouldn't be too bad!” Yuji told them. “Yuji won't even be affected, since he doesn't know how to use cursed energy anyways!” He reassured the young boy, who was looking visibly nervous. 

Wasuke grumbled. “This whole deal better be sorted out soon, I don't want to spend more time in there than I need to”

“You ready?” Yuji asked his younger self, as he looked down on the child. 

The child nodded, and Yuji smiled. “Alright, let's do this!” He said excitedly, and the trio inched closer to the dark, murky barrier. 

Yuji tentatively reached out with a hand, pressing it against the barrier. Unlike the barriers he was used to, ones that would shatter under his might, this barrier seemed to bend and mold itself around the time traveler's hand, as if it was made of water. 

“Here goes nothing!” He said, leaping into the murky abyss, with the Itadoris following him shortly. 

Yuji felt his stomach do somersaults, as his gut screamed out for him to step backwards, to run away. But he did no such thing. 

Soon, the darkness was replaced by light, the silence by the noise of a bustling street, as he realised he was standing in the middle of a large plaza. People walked around in droves here, children running about without a care in the world, giggling happily. Carefree. 

Yuji smiled in relief as Wasuke and younger Yuji popped up next to him, just as confused at first. 

Wasuke turned his head from side to side, observing the bustling street they found themselves in. 

“Huh. Curse energy can do some crazy things” Wasuke observed. “I doubt hiding an entire town is an easy accomplishment”

Yuji nodded. “It's… amazing!” He exclaimed, before shaking his head, focusing himself. “We have the apartment number, we should get you guys set up in there as quickly as possible” 

Wasuke nodded, agreeing with the young boy, atleast, he did until his stomach rumbled, creating a grumbling noise. 

Yuji looked over to Wasuke after his own stomach flared up, as if it was begging for anything to eat. 

The two looked at each other. “We should probably get food first, though” Yuji argued, and Wasuke nodded along in agreement, with young Yuji waving his arms in the air in excitement at the idea of eating again. 

The trio eventually settled down in a half-decent restaurant, the bustling oboise of the streets being numbed by the walls of the establishment. 

While they looked over the menu, wondering what to get, Wasuke elbowed Yuji. 

“Hey kid, grab me a beer from the bar” He asked, but Yuji protested. 

“I'm too young!” he argued, but Wasuke just rolled his eyes. 

“You're a sorcerer, they aren't gonna care about your age, y’know” he argued, and Yuji was left with no choice but to agree. 

So, he made his way to the bar, sitting down in the only free stool available, on the side of a very tall man. 

Yuji noticed the man’s athletic build, but couldn't quite get a glance at his face. 

While waiting for Wasuke’s beer, Yuji hummed to himself, as the man turned his head, and started to stare at the young sorcerer  

“You're a famous sorcerer right? The one who fought the guy in running for the title of “strongest,”? The man asked, seemingly out of nowhere. 

Yuji just shrugged. “What about it?” he asked, and the man showed a big toothy grin that revealed a thin scar crossing over his lips. His black hair, however, was long enough to obscure most of the rest of the case.

“Not many strong sorcerers come here, y'know. You've got balls” he said, complimenting Yuji, but Yuji wasn't really paying attention. 

“Do I know you from somewhere?” Yuji asked, puzzled. The man looked very familiar to Yuji, but he couldn't quite place why. 

The man smirked. “Nah, probably not. My work ain't the kind that's publicly available” 

The man grunted as he stood, dusting himself off and dropping some coins onto the bar. 

“One piece of advice” he spoke suddenly. “This place has no jurisdiction, other than the big man. This is the one place where the higher ups and major clans don't hold power, so don't think you'll be safe because of them” 

Yuji raised an eyebrow. “Is that a threat?” He asked.  

Toji shook his head. “Nah. But you've made more than a couple of guys really mad” 

Yuji shrugged, not fully convinced. “Why warn me?” 

The man smiled again. “I said you have balls, didn't I? I respect a guy with a bit of courage” he finished, as he placed his drink on the bar counter after one last swig, and left the bar. 

The bartender finally came over with Wasuke’s drink, only for Yuji to be nowhere near them. 

Yuji was rushing the two Itadoris to get up from their seats. 

“What's up with you?!” Wasuke demanded, shocked by the change in Yuji's attitude. 

Yuji scowled. “I expected this to be a safe place. Now though…” he trailed off, looking out the window into the open expanse of the Dead Zone. 

“Now I'm not so sure” 

Chapter Text

Yuji rushed out of the bar, Wasuke and little Yuji following him. 

He scanned his surroundings. Unfortunately he couldn't rely on sensing cursed energy to detect people, so he had no way of knowing if any assassins really were near him.

The trio crossed road after road, winding through different alleyways, through massive crowds of people as the bustling nightlife of the Dead Zone came to life. The one place where sorcerers were truly safe had turned into the most dangerous place possible for Yuji. 

Yuji scowled. That man's warning had put him on edge. Why the hell would anyone want to kill Wasuke and little Yuji? It didn't make sense to him. 

Finally, after ten straight minutes of rushing through the massive city, the trio arrived at their destination. 

The building they stood in front of looked desolate. The front of the apartment complex was dirty and grey, with chips of paint flaking off of the wall. The metal door knob had lost any shine it once had, and several tiles from the roof layed on the ground near the door, pulled off by some sort of storm. 

Yuji sighed, as he shut the door behind Wasuke, once the three of them were in the building. “Finally safe. And no sorcerers in sight” he breathed a sigh of relief, as he flicked on the light switch. 

The bulb flickered on, to reveal several men dressed in tactical gear, all holding assault rifles, pointed straight at Yuji. Noticing this, he put his hands up with a yelp, and Wasuke did the same, holding his younger grandson close to him as he did so. 

One of the soldiers slowly approached the trio, coming right up to Yuji's face. After patting him down for a minute, he grabbed the identification Yuji used to get into the Dead Zone out of Yuji’s pocket, reading it for a moment. 

Once he finished, he handed it to Yuji. 

“It's them, all right,” he said to his men. “Put your guns down” 

The soldiers obliged, allowing Yuji to relax, for a moment, until Wasuke started to berate him. 

“What the hell is this?!” he asked, demanding an answer. “I was told I'd be getting a new apartment for a while, not that I'd be under the watch of some bullshit conspiracy squad” he spat. 

The captain of the group stepped forward, shaking Wasuke’s hand. “Sorry about that” he apologised. “But once you become important enough to Jujutsu society, youre guaranteed to get some unwanted attention. We’re just here for protection, while you two live with us” he explained. 

Wasuke looked around. “And this dump is where we’ll be living?” he asked, and the captain only laughed in response. 

One of the men pried open one of the floorboards, revealing a staircase that descended underground. “That's all just for appearances. Your real accomodation is waiting down there. And I assure you, it'll be up to your standards” The captain promised, leading the two Itadoris down the staircase. 

Yuji went to follow them, but a soldier stopped him, holding his arm out. “Itadoris only,” he explained. 

Yuji sighed. “Fine,” he said, turning to leave, but Wasuke called out to him. 

“Be careful, kid” Wasuke warned him, and Yuji gave him a slight smile.

“Thanks, but I'll be fine” 

And with that, Yuji parted ways with Wasuke and his younger self, setting off to leave the Dead Zone, and finally start searching for Mahito's new self. 

Geto and Gojo walked side by side through the crowded streets of Shibuya. It was the middle of the night, but the streets were alive as ever. 

Geto caught a small, flying cursed spirit in his hand, and grabbed its head. 

Peering into it's mind for a moment, he shook his head as Gojo looked at him. 

“None of my cursed spirits are picking anything up” he sighed, and Gojo just laughed, stepping past him with a collection of different sweets poking out of the pockets in his uniform that they'd been stuffed into. 

“This is why you don't get a curse to do a sorcerer's job” Gojo goaded, as Geto grumbled. 

“Just watch me!” he boasted. “My six eyes will find this curse of ours in no time flat!” 

Suddenly, load cries rang out, out of sight of the two sorcerers, but judging by the noise, it couldn't be far from where they were. 

Geto looked over at Gojo. “Looks like we won't need your size eyes after all” he said smugly, before taking off in the direction of the screams, with Gojo grumbling before following him.  

Yuji wandered around the Dead Zone's main street for a while. It was a unique sight for him, sorcerers being allowed to just exist without worry. He could tell, just from looking in the eyes of anyone he passed by, the people here were truly happy. 

He smiled. It was nice, almost as if the universe was reminding him of what he was fighting for. To protect things like this. 

He whistled as he waited for the traffic light to turn green, so that he could cross the road. 

The light turned red in a split second, and the road was clear, so Yuji slowly began strolling across the road. 

Suddenly, a car turned the corner. Unusually, at the sight of a red light, the car not only didn't seem to slow down, but the driver seemed to press on the accelerator. 

Yuji turned his head to see the hood of the car, inches away from his chest. 

There's a reason that strong sorcerers avoid the Dead Zone like a plague. While it is a safe haven from curses for weaker sorcerers, it's exactly the opposite for strong sorcerers. With no cursed energy, it's a breeding ground for assassinations on those with the eyes of high level Jujutsu sorcerers on them. 

However…

Yuji slammed his outstretched arms into the hood of the car, pushing back against the automobile with all of his might. His muscles bulged as his body strained under the pressure of the car, but it grounded to a halt almost instantly. 

Thanks to the numerous experiments that Kenjaku put Yuji under when he was but an infant, he possessed a body capable of great strength, without a single ounce of cursed energy. 

Yuji stared into the car's windscreen, spotting the driver's surprised glare, as the man desperately, repeatedly slammed onto the accelerator. He glared straight at the man, his eyes seeming to glow red. 

Yuji's eyes widened. “So that's why moving the two of them was so easy…” He said out loud. “I'm the one people are trying to assassinate!”

He slammed his fist into the car, piercing it's hood and crushing the engine inside. The driver was terrified, paralysed with fear as the piercing stare of a hunter focused on him. 

Yuii reached his hand out, attempting to smash through the window to grab the driver, but almost instantly he felt a sharp pain spread through his hand. 

A split second later, a loud bang could be heard, with screams of panic erupting from the inhabitants of the Dead Zone, as blood leaked from a brand new hole in Yuji's hand. 

He grunted from the pain, as he threw himself to the floor. Another bang rang out, another bullet tearing it's way through the wall behind Yuji, as he moved behind the totalled car. 

He opened the door, trying to grab the driver, only to see the driver slumped over in his seat, blood pouring out from a hole in the center of his forehead. 

The first bullet wasn't meant for Yuji, it was meant for the driver. 

The other bullets, however… 

Yuji sprinted out from behind the car, ducking every time he heard gunshots. 

Crossing into an alleyway, he grunted as he leaned against the wall, resting for a moment. 

He thought to himself as he looked at the hole in his hand. Judging from the size and shape of the hole, he could figure out where the sniper was. 

He peered carefully around the corner. He had the location of the sniper narrowed down to two buildings. 

His eyes widened as he cured back into his corner, the whistled of another bullet tearing bricks off of the wall right next to him. 

He scowled, looking around, until something on the floor caught his eye, a smile curling its way across his lips. 

Gojo and Geto pushed their way through the crowd, once panicked and loud, now suspiciously still and silent. 

Gojo was getting noticeably annoyed by the still civilians,shoving over any that refused to get out of his way. 

Once they had made it to the centre of the crowd, Geto peered around the crowd, sighing. 

“I don't see any curse here, Gojo” he said, turning to Gojo, but stopping in shock. 

Gojo looked absolutely horrified, as he turned side to side, seemingly staring through the men and women. 

His eyes widened even further, as a young girl, no older than 8, stepped forward, a blank look in her eyes. She seemed to reach forward, as if reaching out for the sorcerer. 

Gojo ripped off her head before another moment could pass. 

Geto turned to Gojo, shock and anger filling his mind, as he screamed at the sorcerer. “What the fuck is wrong with you!” He screamed, grabbing Gojo by his collar, infinity noticeably absent, as the civilians around them slowly closed in. 

“Geto-san” Gojo said, uncharacteristically soft-spoken, surprising Geto. “These people aren't human. Not anymore” he said, and for a moment, Geto could hear sadness in his voice. 

Suddenly, the civilians seemed to burst open, each one around them mutating into horrific amalgamations, arms bursting out of chests, mouths opening to reveal eyes. 

Geto snarled, letting loose a swarm of low level cursed spirits to push the crowd away, and summoning Rainbow Dragon. 

Climbing on, he quickly rose into the sky, spotting a figure retreating out of the corner of his eye. 

“Gojo!” He called out. “I think I see the curse. I'm going to go after him, take care of things here and then come follow me!” 

With that, he pushed Rainbow Dragon forward, dancing through the air majestically, as he followed the curse from the sky, until it ran into a building.

Cursing, Geto got off of Rainbow Dragon, and it purred as it retreated into his body, its presence comforting him after what he had just seen. 

He carefully walked into the building, summoning a small curse that glowed, illuminating the inside. 

The atmosphere was tense, and Geto took every step forward carefully. 

As he stepped through a doorway, the curse, which had hidden to the side of the doorway, lunged forward, attempting to grab his face, only for Sugaru to duck, delivering a blow to its stomach. 

It stumbled backwards, but didn't seem hurt by the blow. However, since it's attack had been dodged, it attempted to flee, just like when it fought Shoko. 

Geto sighed, snapping his fingers, as a large curse, resembling a grotesque monkey with boiled skin, materialised, destroying the only other exit in the room. The only way out was through Geto. 

The curse immediately switched tactics, rushing forward aggressively, swinging for the sorcerer. 

Geto ducked under the first swipe, and struck the curse's arm with a strike from his palm to deflect the second swipe. 

He took a step backwards to dodge the third swipe, holding his finger outwards. Charging five low level spirits into his finger, he spoke. 

“Maximum Technique: Mini-Uzumaki”

The energy concentrated in his finger sprang forwards, hitting the curse straight in its chest, launching it backwards. 

“You've gotten stronger over the summer, Geto,” Gojo observed, walking through the doorway behind Geto. 

The curse stood up, its face a shifting mass of curse flesh. 

Gojo and Geto nodded to each other, rushing forward, either side of the curse. 

Gojo led with a right hook into the curse’s cheek, and it stumbled towards Geto, who delivered a blow to its liver. The two continued to beat into the curse at either side, their blows forcing the curse towards each other. 

It felt a strange sense of... nostalgia. 

For a moment, the curse seemed to lose all sense of self, shifting itself into nothing but a puddle, dodging the blows from the sorcerers, before reemerging behind Geto. 

Geto tried to turn around to dodge the blow, but it was too late. 

Instead of its usual open palms or clumsy strikes, the curse lashed out with a gut punch, with perfect form. 

The fist hit Geto’s flesh, as the whole world seemed to slow down around the curse, black lightning ravaging everything near the fist, as Geto coughed up blood, and was sent flying backwards, stopping himself from flying into the concrete by summoning Rainbow Dragon, which cushioned his fall. 

“SUGURU!” Gojo yelled, his eyes trained on the sorcerer, who gave him a weak thumbs up, his arm shaking. 

Gojo turned back to the curse, eyes wide. 

Stitches now covered the curse completely, having spread out to its entire body. Its hair was now a pale blue, separating it from the pure grey body, and most of all, the curse had formed a face, grinning madly as it licked its lips. 

Mahito had awakened. 

Chapter Text

Mahito rushed towards Geto, who was sitting on the ground, his back to a wall of one of the many skyscrapers surrounding them as blood dripped from his mouth. 

Suddenly, Mahito felt a pull, and was launched into the sky, being attracted towards a massive blue orb that sat in mid air. 

“Oh, I get it now!” He laughed. “You're Gojo!” was the last thing he said, as he was swallowed, and crushed by the blue orb. 

Gojo rushed over to Geto, checking him over. 

“We need to get you to Shoko,” he said. “Can you stand?” 

Geto nodded, and Gojo helped him up, wrapping Geto’s arm around him as he helped him to stay standing. 

“So, shouting my name like that?” Geto chuckled between coughs. “So you can care about someone else” he teased. 

“Just shut up!” Gojo explained, annoyed. “I was just caught off guard is all!” 

Geto rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sur-” he started, but suddenly, a grey hand appeared inches away from his face. 

He ducked under the outstretched hand of Mahito, and summoned Rainbow Dragon, it bursting from his chest, slamming into the curse and pushing it back. 

“What the hell?” Gojo exclaimed, looking back at the curse. “I swallowed that thing up with blue, but it doesn't look hurt at all!” 

Mahito slammed his hands onto the Rainbow Dragon, only to be confused when nothing happened. 

He punched the Dragon in the face, sending it flying away. 

“Why doesn't my cursed technique work on you?” he murmured to himself. 

“Because, that curse is partially made of reverse cursed technique” Geto boasted, hearing the curse. “Techniques that work on touch are interfered with before they can work on her!” 

Mahito shrugged. “Whatever, it won't make a difference” he said, nonchalantly. “Oh man, I just can't wait to kill you both! I wonder…” he said, pausing for a moment. 

“How will Yuji react when I bring him your deformed bodies?” he laughed maniacally. 

Gojo frowned. “How the hell do you know Akutami?” he asked, demanding an answer. 

This surprised the curse, causing him to pause for a moment, before he started laughing again. 

“Oh! OH! I get it now!” he laughed. “So that's how it is!” 

“Gojo…” Geto called out to him. “We need to be careful. This guy's no joke” 

“It's just another curse” Gojo responded, nonchalantly. “I'll kill it before anything bad happens”

“It's already killed countless civilians, Gojo” Geto said sternly. “We're already past that”. 

Mahito just smiled. “Your infinity is pretty scary, Gojo-san…” 

Gojo’s eyes twitched at the honorifics. 

“But I know a way paaaast them” Mahito sang cheerily. 

Gojo's eyes widened, as he dashed forwards, trying to attack Mahito. 

But it was already too late. 

Mahito opened his mouth, a set of hands appeared from within, and Gojo was cut off from the rest of the world, and from Geto, a pitch black veil enveloping the sorcerer and the curse. 

Yuji walked through the sewer, trying to ignore the terrible smell. Spotting that manhole cover had been a stroke of luck, moving underground would be a lot easier. 

He dashed down the tunnels, his eyes watering from the horrid smell. 

The pale bricks of the sewer walls started to blur as he forced himself to speed up, paying no mind to the wound in his hand, when he heard a distinctive “Yo!” ring out, an echo bouncing around the walls of the sewer. 

Yuji grinded to a halt almost instantly, turning back to look at the source of the noise. 

The stranger from the bar was leaning against a wall, the scar on his mouth as distinctive as ever, as he stared at Yuji. 

Yuji instantly got ready for a fight, lowering himself into a fighting stance as he put his hands up in front of him. 

Toji put his hands up, as if to surrender. “Relax” he said quickly. 

“I ain't here to kill you” he said, attempting to reassure the young sorcerer, who sighed in response. 

“Why are you following me around?” Yuji asked desperately. “If you're not here for whatever bounty the higher ups have placed on me-”

“Higher ups?” Toji laughed. “Why the hell do you think the higher ups want you dead?” 

Yuji blinked. “They… don't? Then who's been trying to kill me?” 

Toji let out a snort. “Kid, the higher ups have been protecting you. The Dead Zone is the one place where they don't have jurisdiction, so it's the one place the clans are able to do whatever the hell they want” 

Yuji blinked. “So that means that one of the clans is after me?” 

Toji nodded. “Why do you think I'm so interested in you, kid? You got the Zen’in’s attention” 

“Do you have a vendetta against them, or something?” Yuji asked inquisitively, but Toji just chuckled in response. 

Something like that. The name is Fushiguro, by the way” he said. 

Yuji’s eyes seemed to light up in recognition of the name, but if Toji noticed then he didn't day anything. 

“Akutami” Yuji said his own name, and Toji nodded in response. “So, why do you hate the Zen’ins so mu-” Yuji started, but he was interrupted, as the ceiling of the sewer began to shake and rumble. 

“Whatever you were about to say will have to wait,” Toji said. “Looks like we have some company” He continued, a smile spreading across his face. 

The ceiling of the sewer cracked and broke apart, right above the pair, who side stepped some falling debris, as a cloud of smoke was whipped up. 

Once the smoke had cleared, they looked around, only to realise that they were surrounded. 

The stood back to back, five assassins in front of Yuji, and five in front of Toji, who was clearly pleased to see the Zen’in assassins. 

Yuji and Toji dashed in opposite directions, Yuji losing track of the lightning-fast assassin as he ducked under sword strikes, kicking at one assassin, while grabbing the forearm of another, stopping the swing of his sword. 

Yuji grabbed the assassin by his wrist, and his elbow, held the arm straight, and pushed, hearing a crack, as the man began screaming. 

Yuji dropped him to the floor, as he sidestepped a sword strike from another assassin, smashing him in the nose, breaking it and sending the attacker flying backwards.

He jumped forward, knocking another backwards. The man attempted to put up a guard, but Yuji leaned forward, putting all of his weight on his front leg, as he sprung upwards with a devastating uppercut, knocking the man to the floor.  

He spotted another assassin further down the tunnel, peering down a scope. Quickly, Yuji leapt to the side, narrowly dodging the shit that would've pierced his brain had he not reacted to it. 

The sniper blinked, and at that time Yuji seemed to have teleported, having instantly traveled the distance. He grabbed the sniper, forcing the barrel into a 90⁰ angle effortlessly, as he kicked the sniper into the wall, knocking them unconscious. 

Yuji's eyes widened as pain shot through his abdomen. Looking down, he saw a knife had pierced his chest, an assassin had snuck behind him. 

The holder of the blade narrowed her eyes, pulling out as Yuji grunted in pain, swinging at his head with the bloody knife. But Yuji was not the type to get staggered by pain. 

He ducked under the swing, as it grazed his hair, cutting a few strands off, and he kicked backwards, planting his foot firmly into the assassin's ribcage. The assassin coughed up blood with a groan as she was knocked backwards, the momentum slamming her into a wall, cracking it. 

Yuji winced. He hadn't meant to hurt her that badly. He didn't want to actually kill anyone. 

Toji finished with his half of the assassins, cleaning the blood off of his blade with a sigh, as he approached Yuji, who was pale from blood loss. 

“Hey, are you good?” He asked, slight concern creeping into his voice. 

Yuji shook his head. “I got stabbed pretty badly, I need a doctor, or something” he groaned. 

Toji inspected the wound, poking it, making Yuji yelp in a mix of surprise, shock and pain. 

“Nah, that won't help. By any chance, do you know reverse cursed technique?” he asked, and Yuji sighed. 

“Yeah” he admitted. He had wanted to keep more about his abilities secret, but he still had plenty of abilities hidden to everyone else, so if this helped him survive, he didn't mind revealing something. 

“Then follow me” Toji said. “There's one part of the Dead Zone with cursed energy. If we can get there, you should be able to heal yourself” 

Shoko sighed, frustrated. The three boys got to go on some super cool missions, and she was still stuck at Jujutsu High, listening to Yaga-sensei drone on about some boring theory that no one cared about.  

In truth, while she still did want to be a healer, ever since her martial arts training with Yuji, and that mission she went on with Utahime a year ago, she had been hungering to learn more about how to fight. 

Normally, Yuji would be here for her to gossip with in the middle of the class, and after class, they'd head down and he'd give her some lessons in martial arts, with Geto giving some input occasionally. 

But now, she was all alone. 

Yaga grabbed her attention by sighing. “It's clear you aren't in the right headspace to learn anything right now, Shoko, so we'll just end this class early and pick this topic back up tomorrow” 

Shoko nodded, yawning. 

As Yaga packed up, she looked out of the window, wondering what the trio were doing, when something caught her attention. 

“Uh, Yaga-sensei?” She called her teacher. “We have visitors” 

Yaga hummed as he turned back to face her. “That's strange” He said, clearly being taken aback by this. “As far as I know, we aren't expecting any visitors” 

He opened the door to the hallway, before turning back to his student. 

“Make sure to get the homework I've assigned so far done, all right?” He asked, and Shoko begrudgingly nodded, knowing that she had just lost a couple of hours of perfectly good sleep. 

As she listened to Yaga's footsteps get more and more quiet, as he approached the entrance to Jujutsu High, her curiosity got the better of her. 

Sticking her head out of the window, she tried to get a good look at the new visitors. 

Two masked individuals flanked a woman in monks clothing, her black hair being long enough to cover her forehead and her eyes on the front, with the back tied up in a bun. 

Chapter Text

Gojo glanced around the barrier. “No way…” he muttered in shock. 

Suddenly, hands burst out all around him, the size of buildings, continuously springing forth out of the palms of other hands. 

The curse in front of him laughed maniacally. “I'm sure you already know this, Gojo-San!” The curse goaded the sorcerer. “But here's a reminder! Your infinity can't stop a domain’s sure hit, can it?” 

Gojo snarled, as Mahito mocked him. “I hope you're ready to have your soul warped into something completely unrecognisable!” 

And at that moment, Mahito activated his sure hit, and played his hands on Gojo’s very soul. 

All of a sudden, the massive hands within the black void were replaced, the environment changing to look like that of space. 

Mahito glanced around. 

“I was pulled into his inner domain?” He questioned, this reminding him all too much of Sukuna, but he shrugged his initial fear off. After all, being in someone's inner domain meant being inches away from their soul. 

“Wow, I have to admit, I didn't think you'd show up here” a voice suddenly rang out within the space, behind Mahito. 

Mahito turned around, and his eyes widened. 

“No… it can't be!” he snarled, fear filling his voice. 

The man pulled down his blindfold, piercing blue eyes revealing themselves. “What did you expect?” He said, with a cocky tone of voice. “You're touching my soul, after all” 

In front of Mahito, stood the original Gojo Satoru. 

Mahito tried to back away from the godly sorcerer, but it was pointless. After all, he was in Gojo Satoru's inner domain. He was already surrounded. 

“Now, if you don't mind, I want to teach my younger self some stuff about domains” Gojo smirked. Putting up his hand, one finger wrapping around another, he confidently exclaimed “Domain Expansion!” 

Within Mahito's domain, the younger Gojo had an epiphany. It felt like he had hit a hundred black flashes. Without wasting a beat, he put up his right hand, forming his own hand sign. 

“Domain Expansion!” he yelled, and in an instant, Mahito's Domain was overtaken. 

Space itself surrounded the curse and the sorcerer, a black void, filled with more information than Mahito's mind could ever handle. 

The inner, adult Gojo, looked up from his inner domain, smirking sadly. 

“To be honest, I don't really get what's going on” he said, talking to no one in particular. “I've only seen glimpses of this life… but even so, hopefully this can give the younger me a bit of a boost” 

Then, for this older Gojo, the world went black once again. 

The younger Gojo laughed confidently, at the sight of the curse terrorising the Jujustu World, having been reduced to an immobilised fool. 

Suddenly, however, his domain crumbled, as blood burst from his nose. 

As the barrier shattered, Mahito growled, having recovered from the domain almost instantly. 

He looked back at the slumped over figure of Geto Suguru, mentally weighing his options. He could risk killing Suguru here, but that would risk him having to fight Gojo, and if the… other Gojo came out for a second time, Mahito doubted  he would be able to survive. 

He started sprinting away, as quickly as possible. 

Gojo was too injured to notice, but Geto noticed immediately, pulling himself onto Rainbow Dragon, desperately trying to ignore the pain from his injury. However, after climbing on, Rainbow Dragon didn't chase after the curse. 

“Come on!” Geto complained. “We have to go after him!” He pleaded with the mythical curse. 

The Dragon let out a soft whine, refusing to move. 

Gojo walked over to him. “It's right, Geto. Neither of us are in any shape to continue right now” 

Geto looked over at him. “How the hell did you survive that?” He asked, wiping some blood off of his lips. 

Gojo looked puzzled, to say the least. “To be perfectly honest, I don't know” 

He clenched his fist, looking down at it. “It's like, one moment, Domain Expansions were as natural for me as breathing, and the next… it just left me” 

Geto blinked. “You spontaneously developed the ability to use a domain Expansion, only to also instantly lose it? That makes no sense” 

Gojo shrugged. “None of this makes sense. We have a curse never documented before, stronger than anything we’ve ever seen, with a vendetta against Akutami for some reason…” 

He groaned. None of this made any sense to him! 

“C'mon” Geto said, interrupting Gojo's thoughts. “We need to get back to Jujutsu High” 

Gojo nodded, climbing on to Rainbow Dragon, surprising Geto. “You're not flying on your own today?” He asked Gojo. 

Gojo shrugged his head. “Technique is on burnout” he explained, and Geto nodded his head, that being a satisfactory explanation. 

As Rainbow Dragon took off, soaring through the skies, Gojo called out to Geto again, having to shout to be heard over the thunderous winds. 

“Geto, once this is all sorted out, me, you and Shoko need to have a talk!” 

Geto raised an eyebrow as he looked back at the blue eyed sorcerer. “About what?” Geto asked.

“Akutami” Gojo said simply, and Geto sighed, nodding along as he steered Rainbow Dragon. 

Shoko started getting worried when Yaga didn't return 10 minutes after he had left. 

The visitors had vanished from the courtyard, and Shoko didn't like not knowing where they were. 

It made her feel uneasy. 

Finally being fed up with waiting, Shoko stepped out of the classroom, and started making her way to the entrance, in hope of finding her sensei. 

However, what she wasn't expecting was for the hall to be filled with cursed corpses, ranging in sizes and shapes, a couple even resembling animals, unusually. She followed them slowly, as they all rushed past her, making her way to the corner at the end of the hall. 

Suddenly, Yaga burst past the corner, grabbing Shoko by the wrist, and pulling her down into the wave of cursed corpses, as a blade smashed through the wall, cutting the air right where her head was. 

He pulled her up, and they stood on a platform of cursed corpses that started running in the opposite direction of every other corpse. 

“What the hell is going on, sense!?” She asked, slightly panicking. 

Yaga grunted, clearly short on breath. “There isn't any time to explain” He said, as the sounds of screams filled the halls, cursed corpses getting ripped apart right around the corner. 

Shoko swallowed a lump in her throat as the attacker turned the corner. 

He was dressed in a light blue gi, with swirling blue spirals wrapping around the gi in an elegant pattern. His hair was bright red, and a massive pot had been sealed and strapped to his back. 

Suddenly, he stretched out his hand, and the cursed corpses they were riding seemed to slow down. 

Yaga grabbed Shoko, pulling her off of the cursed corpses with him, as the cursed corpses were pulled backwards, before getting sliced into bits by invisible blades. 

“What the hell was that?!” Shoko yelled, as Yaga glanced around erratically. 

“Damnit!” he yelled, surprising his student with his outburst. “I lost track of the other one!” 

“Other on-” Shoko tried to ask, but Yaga’s ears perked up, noticing the rumbling sounds. He pushed Shoko away from him, and the ceiling above him collapsed, another man jumping down and stabbing him in the chest, causing him to collapse on the ground. 

“SENSEI!!” Shoko screamed, as the dust cleared, and the second man was revealed. 

He was dressed in a pure white, torn and tattered shirt, with brown pants and a blue undershirt. His hair was black and unkempt, as if he had never tried to style it before, preferring to let it run wild. 

The first man walked up to the new attacker, placing his hand on the man's shoulder. 

“Aw bro, you seriously have the coolest of entrances!” The seemingly younger man complimented his older brother. 

“Shut it” was all the older brother said. “Master wants that one, right?” He asked, pointing towards Shoko. 

The younger brother nodded. “Yeah, something about studying her reverse cursed energy, right? I wasn't really paying attention to her speech” he said, groaning. “Seriously, that chick can drone on for hours” he complained, and the older brother rolled his eyes. 

The younger brother stepped forward, pointing towards Shoko. “Listen up, girl” he said, a cocky grin spreading across his face. “You should be excited! You have the honor of being taken by the two gods of the old world!” 

Shoko, who had been stunned out of fear up until that point, burst out with a snort, enraging the younger brother. 

“Gods of the old world?” She said, mocking him. “Who even says that!” 

“S-shut up!” The younger brother stuttered, not expecting that response. His older brother, however, silenced him. 

“We have no need to justify ourselves to such a foolish commoner, brother” 

His younger brother bowed to him. “I'm sorry, brother. That woman got onto my nerves, it won't happen again” 

“These guys are really egotistical, huh?” She thought to herself, staring down at the two men. 

Her eyes widened, and she whipped her head to the side, a small cut forming on the side of her neck, as some cursed corpses that were still in the room, that were positioned behind her, were completely cut in half. 

“Brother” the older brother scorned the younger one. “Remember, don't go for the head or the neck. We're here to take her, not kill her” 

The younger brother nodded, as Shoko laughed. “I hate to tell ya, but I'm not something you can just take!” 

The younger brother smiled. Faster than Shoko could see, he had instantly closed the distance between the two of them, slamming his fist into her face, sending her flying into the back wall of the room they were in. At that moment, one fact became clear to Shoko. 

She was completely outmatched. 

Shoko coughed, as she struggled to stand, failing to do so. What the hell could she even do? 

“There's one thing I could try, but…” 

She shook her head. It was just too crazy of an idea. 

Suddenly, memories of everything her classmates had done popped into her head, along with her own words from the start of last year. 

“Yeah, that should be the case, in a sane world. But we don't exactly live sane lives, do we?”

Shoko stood, blood dripping from her forehead, shadows cast over her eyes from her fringe. 

She clasped her hands together, causing the younger brother to laugh. 

“You don't have a technique! Why the hell are you trying that?”

It was true. Shoko's ability to output reverse cursed energy was not tied to any cursed technique, meaning she could not perform a domain expansion, like the brothers thought. 

But that wasn't what she was trying to do. 

“I'm just trying to find… my own level of insanity!” She laughed, as she pushed as much cursed energy out of her body as possible. 

“I'm ending this” the younger brother said, clearly fed up, as he held his arm out, ready to unleash more blades of wind.

But nothing happened. 

“What?” He said, confused, as he looked down at his own arm. He looked around, noticing that the few cursed corpses left had completely collapsed as well.

“What the hell did you do?!” He screamed, enraged, as Shoko's laughter grew louder. 

“Do you know what the problem is with releasing cursed energy in a large area? It tends to disperse immediately, carried away by non sorcerers and becoming curses, or carried away by the wind” 

She tapped on the wall next to her. 

“But this entire room was made from the wood of a special tree. The Shinboku. A tree spirit that reincarnates once in a lifetime, at most” 

The younger brother gritted his teeth, as the elder brother sighed. “And why are you giving us this history lesson?” He asked clearly bored, and not at all as bothered by being unable to use his cursed technique as his younger brother. 

Her smile grew wider. “Simple. These things are perfect insulators for cursed energy” 

She took a confident step forward. “Right now, my reverse cursed energy is filling this entire room. You can't use cursed energy” she taunted the brothers, who snarled. 

“Well, there's something you've forgotten about,” the younger brother said cockily, and Shoko raised an eyebrow in response. 

“Oh? And what's that?” 

The younger brother bared his teeth, a wide, demonic smile spreading across his worn out cheeks. “There's two of us, and one of you. You're outnumbered, and I doubt you can use cursed energy right now, either” 

Shoko didn't let this threat get to her, and as the two brothers dashed towards her, she stood steadily, refusing to budge an inch. 

She ducked under a swipe from the older brother, kicking him backwards as the younger brother rushed in. She pushed his hands to the side as he tried to punch her, swiping at the younger brother’s neck. 

He jerked his head back, and smirked. “Not even cl-” he said, but stopped talking quickly, as he clutched his throat. He pulled his hand away, his palm covered in crimson blood, dripping down his hand. He looked up to see Shoko, twirling a scalpel in her hand, a cheeky smirk plastered on her face. 

The eldest turned to his brother. “Are you okay?!” He asked, concern filling his voice. 

The younger brother narrowed his eyes as he clutched his neck, trying to keep the blood in. 

“I'm fine. Once we take care of this chick, we can get Kenjaku to heal us” 

Shoko's ears perked up. “Who the hell is Kenjaku? Is that the chick you arrived with?”  

The younger brother smirked as the elder explained. 

“Yeah. I don't know why he chose that woman as a body, or why he was hiding his scars, it's obvious that no one here is strong enough to stop him, even if they did know who he was, but it's clear that none of it matters in the end. He probably already has what he wanted, you're just a bonus to him” 

Shoko leaned forwards, chuckling. “I'm glad to see that people place such high value in me. I don't know who this Kenjaku chick is, but I can promise you one thing” she said, holding up one finger. “You aren't gonna live to see her” She said cockily, dashing forward, and both brothers followed, meeting her in the middle of the room. 

She ducked under a right hook from the younger brother, and when the older brother went in for a roundhouse kick, she drove her elbow into his keg, forcing him back. 

Whipping around her right hand, she ducked to the side of a straight punch by the younger brother, stabbing his arm with her scalpel, as she simultaneously used her left arm to parry a backhand from the older brother. 

The younger brother pulled back in pain, with a yelp, allowing Shoko to focus her attack on the elder brother. Mentally thanking her lessons with Akutami and Geto, she slowed her breathing, and focused on staying relaxed. 

Enraged, the older brother came forward, starting with a kick to her chest. She stepped to the side, slicing her scalpel through his leg, creating a shallow cut, as she wrapped her other arm underneath his leg. Stepping inwards, She placed a foot behind his other leg, and pulled back, sweeping both legs into the air. 

He hit the ground with a thud, and she poised her scalpel, aiming to stab him in the chest, when the younger brother leaped at her from behind, tackling her to the ground. 

He kneeled on top of her, bent over with both hands placed firmly on her throat, choking her out. She kicked and struggled, but he did not move, all while blood dripped from his throat. 

She felt her vision begin to fade, so she tightened her grip around her scalpel, and jammed it into the first spot she could think of. 

The younger brother screamed in agony, as he fell backwards, writhing on the ground, the scalpel jammed straight into his right eye. 

“BROTHER!” the older brother screamed, as he rushed over to them. 

Shoot tried to get up, still recovering from the last attack, but she wasn't given the chance. The older brother slammed his foot into her chest, and she felt a crack. 

At the same time, she felt herself run out of energy. The biggest weakness of her new technique was the high cursed energy cost. 

And she had just run out. 

He grabbed her by the neck, slamming her into the ground. “Heal him!” He exclaimed, enraged and clearly desperate. 

Shoot let out a delirious laugh. “Akutami wouldn't have even flinched from losing an eye” she goaded. “Your brother is a wimp” she laughed between coughs, and the expression on his face twisted from desperation to rage. 

He conjured a spear, from nowhere, and jammed it into her leg, causing Shoko to scream out in pain. 

“HEAL HIM!” He shouted this time. 

“Go to hell!” Shoko spat out, as she spat blood onto the cheek of her assailant. 

He twisted the spear before pulling it out, pain shooting through Shoko's entire body. 

He raised it above his head, aiming to pierce her skull with it. 

Shoko closed her eyes, in that moment understanding that she was as good as dead. 

But the spear never came. 

She opened her eyes, to see her attacker gasping, as a fist, covered in blood, had gone through his chest. 

His hand went slack, dropping the spear, as the hand retreated from his chest, and he fell to the ground. 

Above Shoko stood Yuki Tsukumo, who was whipping her blood-covered arm around in the air, hoping to get some of the blood off. She had a disgusted look on her face. 

“God, I always hate how that feels,” she complained, as Shoko, beaten half to death, was prone on the floor in front of her. 

“Now” Yuki said, looking down at the younger sorcerer. “Where the hell is Akutami? I've got a package for him” 

Chapter Text

Yuji winced as he and Toji made their way further down into the underground of the Dead Zone. 

Soon enough, surrounded by ancient walls that looked like they were centuries old, they stood in front of a massive door. 

Yuji peered closely at the door. There were a few carvings, one looked like Tengen, one looked like Sukuna, with four arms and his tattoo, and one looked like… actually, Yuji wasn't sure who it was. They had no real noticeable characteristics, outside of the fact that they were at odds with Sukuna. 

Toji let go of Yuji, who struggled to stay standing, and he pried the door open, it creaking as dust and sand poured out of the widening gap between the door and the wall. 

Toji walked back over to Yuji, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Well, I think I've helped you enough for now. Get going, kid” 

Yuji bowed, ignoring the pain. “Thank you, so much. I still don't get why you're helping me, though” 

Toji shrugged. “I got to kill Zen'in soldiers, that's reason enough for me. Now, get in there before you bleed out”

“I'll see you around, Fushiguro” Yuji said, acknowledging the assassin, who just waved back at him as he walked away. 

“Yeah, whatever. Enjoy your life, kid” 

Yuji pushed himself, walking through the doorway, and into the sprawling hall in front of him. Its roof was high, at least a dozen meters tall, and there were more cravings embedded in the walls surrounding him. The place had a creepy vibe that made Yuji anxious. 

He continued down the hall, ignoring the occasional sounds brought out by the unusual environment.

After finally getting through the hall, he entered the main chamber, in the deepest part of the Dead Zone's underground.

It was a wide, circular room, with a crystal-like pillar in the center. The only source of light came from the glow of this pillar, the dull purple light barely illuminating the room. 

Yuji sat down, his back against the pillar, as he gasped, feeling the flow of cursed energy flow back into him after what had felt like months without it. It was faint, but he slowly pulled at his own cursed energy, knitting together his skin, focusing on his biggest wound first. 

He wiped his bloody hand on his shirt, when he heard it. 

Thump. 

He pressed his hand against his chest. 

Thump. 

Standing up with a huff, he took a couple of steps away from the pillar  

Thump. 

A heartbeat. And it wasn't his. 

Whoever Tengen had trapped, they had trapped them in that pillar. 

And that person… was still alive! 

Yuji gulped, focusing on speeding up his recovery so that he could get out of here as possible. 

“You've caused me a great deal of trouble, Akutami” a voice rang out, and Yujis eyes widened. Struggling to his feet, he looked around to see where the voice was coming from. 

Naobito Zen'in stepped out from behind a pillar. 

“Naobito!” Yuji said, shocked at the clan head's appearance. 

He grimaced. “What do you want?!” 

Naobito sneered. “I thought my assassin's had delivered that message quite well” 

Yuji shook his head, as he felt his bones crackle as they mended. 

“No, I mean, why? Why me? What did I do to you?” 

Naobito shrugged. “You didn't do much to me specifically” he said, taking a step forwards. “It's about what you represent. The Jujutsu world's balance is flimsy at best, anything could be used to tip the balance between any of the four major powers” 

“Four?” Yuji questioned. 

“The three big clans and Jujutsu High” Naobito explained. “And then you showed up, out of nowhere” he continued, his face contorted, showing his clear disgust for the teenager. “A new power for Jujutsu High, one who could destabilise the entire balance of the world, and unlike Gojo, you're not part of any clan. You have no reason to maintain the world order” 

Yuji’s gaze sharpened. “So what? I haven't actually done anything!” he argued, and Naobito laughed at that. 

“Haven't you? One meeting with you, and my son starts spouting these ridiculous ideas of not following the clan, of looking into things on his own. Not to mention…” he looked down on Yuji, snarling. 

“You are currently the main, and only, suspect in the murder of a Kamo clan member” 

Yuji was shocked by this, having no idea what the clan leader was talking about. “What are you-” 

“Don't try to deny it,” Naobito interjected. “Blood infused with cursed energy was found in the location where you had your exam, and your teacher reported that you took an unusual amount of time to complete the exam” 

“That doesn't prove anything!” Yuji tried to argue, but Naobito just hummed. “Sure, it doesn't. Hell, right now, the morons that call themselves the great Kamo clan believe that there's a secret blood manipulation user running around that Jujutsu High has hidden from them” 

Yuji froze, clearly nervous, though Naobito didn't notice his reaction. 

“But it's obvious that that's not the case. How would an unrecorded Kamo even exist? No, plenty of Kamos have gone missing in the past year, due to an uptick in curses, so I bet you thought you could hide it as just another murder from a curse” 

“You have no idea what you're talking about” Yuji snarled, though he was relieved that Naobito didn't believe there was a secret blood manipulation user. 

“Maybe I dont” Naobito smirked. “But one life is a small price to pay for guaranteeing the stability of my clan in the Jujutsu world” 

Yuji finally felt his biggest wound fully close up. Letting out a small smirk of relief, knowing that he could now fight, he stared the veteran sorcerer dead in the eyes, refusing to flinch. 

“Then I guess that there's no point in talking any more, huh?” 

Naobito nodded. “For once, I agree with you” 

Right as Jujutsu High came into sight, Geto's arms slacked, and the Rainbow Dragon moaned. It seemed to be forcefully pulled back into Geto's body, out of reflex, leaving him and Gojo hurtling through the air in free fall. 

“Shit!” Gojo cried out, looking over to see Geto, who had passed out. 

Gojo grabbed onto Geto, grimacing. He hadn't quite got the hang of flying, so he hoped this didn't go too badly. 

The two boys crashed through the wall, into the room where Shoko was treating Yaga, bouncing a few times, before hitting another wall, stopping their momentum with a thud. 

Gojo got up, unbothered, and lifted Geto up, rushing him to Shoko, whose eyes were filled with worry at their entrance. 

“Lay him down here” she ordered him, patting ama hospital bed, and Gojo wad quick to do so. 

“Gently!” She corrected him quickly, as he was going to dump his friend on the bed. Slowing down, he laid his friend down with more care. Looking over to Shoko, he was clearly irritated. 

“Well? Aren't you going to heal him?!” He asked, demanding an answer, only to then notice, for the first time, Shoko's limp, and the way she was dragging her feet, like she was practically forcing herself to stay up. She was practically half dead herself. 

He sighed, turning away from her as she shot a glare at him. “I'm sorry” he apologised quickly, and she acknowledged it with a nod. 

“Yeah, whatever. Now step back and let me work” 

As Gojo gave her space, she cleansed Geto's wounds, wrapping him in bandages, and taking a few steps back. 

With a sigh, she turned to Gojo. “They should be fine. Give em a couple of hours, and their bodies should start using cursed energy automatically to give their immune systems a bit of a boost."

Gojo nodded, though Shoko noted that something about him was… off. 

“What're you thinking about?” She asked him, and Gojo sighed. 

“It's about Akutami” he said, and she just shrugged.

“We should probably wait for him to get back from his mission, then” she said, sighing. “When he comes back and sees all of this, he's gonna get into one of his weird moods” she complained, but Gojo stopped her. 

“No, Shoko, it's about Akutami” he emphasised. 

“Eh?” Shoko asked, clearly not getting it, and Gojo sighed. 

“Listen, I wanted to talk about this with you and Geto at the same time, but we have no idea when Akutami's coming back, so I can't risk it” 

“Risk it?” Shoko asked. “Gojo, I swear to God, if this is one of your conspiracy theories-” 

“Please!” Gojo said, surprising the sorceress as he interrupted her. “Just-” he sighed. “You have to admit that there's something up with Akutami. He shows up out of no where, crazy strong, he's-” he waved his arms alive his head to emphasise his point.

“-super mysterious about his past, a weird curse user says she's his mom, despite definitely not being old enough-” he continued, and that last fact caused Shoko to pause, surprising her.

“What?” She interjected, but Gojo shook his head, continuing. “And now a curse stronger than anything we've ever seen before is coming after him for some reason!” 

Shoko seemed about ready to snap. “Gojo, just stop” she said, but Gojo pleaded with her. 

“Come on, Shoko. You have to admit that there's something going on with him” 

Shoko turned away from him, but Gojo tried to walk up to her. “Shoko, just listen-” he tried, but Shoko interrupted him.

“No, you listen!” She exclaimed, turning around, and prodding a finger into his chest. 

“In first year, when Geto was sulking around like an emo, and you were busy being even more of an asshole than you are now, do you know who was there? Yuji was” 

She was noticeably pissed now, and wasn't giving Gojo a chance to talk, taking a step forwards and continuing to prod a finger into his chest as he took a step backwards. 

“He was the one to reach out to me first. He's the one who chooses to teach me martial arts every week, for no reason other than the fact that I asked!” She took another few steps forwards while saying this, Gojo taking steps back until his back was to the door. 

“Now, I don't know if you're saying he's a curse user, a spy, or something else, but I'm not gonna sit here and let you badmouth him” 

She snarled. “I've got two injured patients that need my attention. Get out” 

What she said wasn't a request, but Gojo put his arms in the air as he tried to defend himself. 

Yuki hummed from outside of the makeshift hospital room, tapping her foot on the floor as she did so. She heard someone shout a muffled “GET OUT!” through the wall. 

Seeing the door fly open, as Gojo was pushed through the gap, falling on his ass as when he landed, with the door slamming shut, she whistled. “Even without cursed energy, that girl is crazy strong!” 

Gojo groaned, seeing his fellow special grade. “Great, Tsukumo” He said, almost spitting as he said her name. “What do you want” 

She shrugged. “Just delivering something to Akutami” 

This caught his attention. “What?” He asked, and she put her finger to her chin, making a thinking pose.

“Sorry, but it's a bit of a private matter, so I don't think it's fair to tell on him” 

She started walking away, ignoring Gojo's calls to wait. 

“Tsukumo! Dammit!” Gojo called out, clearly frustrated, especially after his conversation with Shoko. “I swear!” He called out to her. 

“I will find out what Akutami is hiding!” 

Yuji ducked under another jab, delivering a gut punch right where Naobito's chest used to he, but the sorcerer had already maneuvered around his punch, behind him, kicking him in the back.

Yuji turned around as he was pushed back, but Naobito was already behind him again.

Luckily, he managed to jump under a roundhouse kick from the sorcerer, but he was caught by a follow up right hook, knocking his head to the side, as Yuji steadied himself. 

Naobito was dashing all around him, and Yuji's eyes couldn't track him, so he made a quick decision to run straight for the exit. 

He had an abnormal level of strength, even without cursed energy, so if he could just get out-

By the time he turned to face the direction that the exit was in, Naobito was already in front of him. 

“Tell me, how much do you know about animation?” He asked, causing Yuji, who was not expecting such a question, to pause. 

“Huh?” Was all Yuji said, and Naobito smirked in response. 

“It's truly the most elegant form of entertainment. 24 frames a second, expertly optimised to create some of the most beautiful visuals that our world has ever conceived!” 

Yuji was confused, unsure as to why Naobito was saying this, until a lightbulb lit up in his brain. 

“I remember Maki-san saying something about 24 frames before! He's probably revealing part of his technique to boost his output!” 

He tried racking his brain, as he toned out Naobito's ramblings. “Think, Yuji, think!” 

His eyes widened as Naobito dashed forwards, his fist inches away from Yuji’s face. “Right!” He thought. “He's not actually fast, he's just got a set of 24 movements that he can make in a second. The trick is-” 

He dashed towards Naobito's fist, and the man dodged out of the way, swinging at air as he did so. 

“-The Movements are predetermined! I just have to do something to shock him off of his path, to freeze him for that second!” 

The question then became, what could shock a veteran? 

Yuji blocked another punch from Naobito only to be hit by a kick to his liver. 

“I don't know how you managed to dodge that attack, but I'm guessing it was a fluke!” Naobito taunted him, as he grabbed Yuji's collar and threw him across the room. 

What could he do to shock Naobito? 

All of a sudden, Naobito’s own words came back to Yuji. “How would an unrecorded Kamo even exist?” 

As Naobito shot forward again, Yuji stood his ground, preparing to counter. 

“1, 2, 3, 4” he did his best to count Naobito's movements, but he could tell he wasn't fast enough. Right when he counted to 12, Naobito hit him in the gut, and blood spurted from Yuji's mouth. 

For every frame that Yuji could count, Naobito could actually move twice! 

Once again, Naobito was in front of him, taunting him. But this time, when he dashed forwards, Yuji was ready. 

Taking into account how Naobito was twice as fast as what Yuji could see, he clapped his hands together.

“Piercing blood!” He exclaimed, and Naobito dodged the blood, moving out of his set path out of instinct, and out of shock of Yuji using blood manipulation. 

Completely frozen, he could only watch in horror as Yuji leaned in, inches away from him. 

“I doubt that your projection sorcery just put you in a straight line” Yuji thought to himself “So using dismantle wouldn't have worked. But using blood manipulation surprised you and made you hesitate! You lost your nerve, and moved the wrong way!” 

Yuji hit Naobito with a devastating uppercut to the chin, causing the clan head to fall backwards, before steadying himself. 

“How?!” Naobito thought, but he wasn't given a chance to think, as Yuji clapped his hands together, launching a piercing blood at Naobito, piercing him in the arm. 

Naobito stifled a groan of pain as he took a step back, ready to continue fighting, before pain tore through his entire arm. 

“What the-” he managed to force out through the pain as he clutched his arm. 

Yuji stared down at him, like a fox staring at a rabbit. 

“My blood is poisonous. It's not gonna kill you, but it's gonna hurt. A lot” 

Yuji staggered over to the exit, as he healed the last of his injuries before opening the door. 

“This isn't over, brat!” Naobito spat, but Yuji looked back at him. 

“Please. Just leave me alone” is all he said, as he opened the exit, stepping out into the ce-less world once more. 

He saw countless Zen'in grunts crowded around the door, waiting for their clan head to return. 

As Yuji walked past them, they parted for him. Out of fear, or respect, he didn't care. 

He just wanted to go home. 

And as he walked through the streets of the Dead Zone, people turning to stare at the bloodied teen, and made his way to the exit, his special ID somehow still intact after everything, making his way out into the rest of Japan, he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, and feeling that familiar hum of cursed energy within his body. 

Yuji Itadori had escaped the Dead Zone. 

Kenjaku hummed as she tossed around some packages in her hands. It was a shame, that his incarnated sorcerers had lost, and she wished that she had a chance to study someone like Ieri Shoko, but she had obtained what she wanted from that trip anyways. 

Placing the packages she had obtained next to ten others, she hummed.

"That's almost all of them now"

Nearly every single finger of Sukuna was in her grasp. 

Chapter Text

Yuji walked for miles, before finally making it into the busy streets of Tokyo. He staggered through the crowds of people. Reverse cursed technique helped with his injuries, but it couldn't cure his exhaustion. 

The crowd parted for him, no one daring to come near the man whose hands were drenched in blood. 

He was walking mindlessly, dazed, as the events of the Dead Zone tugged at the back of his mind. 

He was shocked out of his daze when he heard an all too familiar voice call out. “Yuji Itadori!” 

Only one person could possibly know his name. 

The crowd seemed to split in two, the chilled breeze in the air eerily slowing to a halt. Among the parting crowd, one head didn't move. Light blue hair covered the top of the head, which had a pale complexion covered in stitches. A sinister grin, one that seemed to revel in the pain of others, stretches from cheek to cheek. 

“Mahito!” Yuji shouted in rage, forgetting about his fatigue as he dashed forwards, but Mahito waved his finger at Yuji. 

“Ah ah ah, I wouldn't come any closer!” He taunted the teen, as he dragged someone out from behind the crowd by the throat, causing Yuji to come to a halt immediately. 

He was holding Wasuke Itadori by the throat. 

Yuji snarled. “Let him go!” 

Mahito Let out a blood curdling laugh, but didn't budge. 

“Think, Yuji, think! How did Mahito get to him? Did he get younger me as well?” 

It didn't make sense! There was no way Mahito was able to get to them when they were in the Dead Zone! Was there an inside man? 

He heard Wasuke cry out. “Save me, please, Yuji!” 

Yuji suddenly steeled himself, taking a deep breath as he calmed down. Mahito noticed this, tilting his head as he frowned. 

He sighed, touching Wasuke's forehead. 

“You're seriously a terrible actor, businessman!” He laughed, as the fake “Wasuke” pleaded for mercy, before exploding into bloody shrapnel. 

Yuji took a step forward. “What the hell is wrong with you, Mahito?!” He demanded an answer, but Mahito just stuck his tongue out at him.

"I just thought I'd give you a taste of what is to come, Yuji!” The curse jeered, ecstasy filling his voice. “But don't worry! I won't fight you, yet” he continued, as several warped humans appeared from behind the crowd, stirring up a frenzy. They stood between Yuji and Mahito, as Mahito began to walk away. 

“Mahito!” Yuji screamed, dashing forward, but a warped human slammed its fist into his face, sending him flying into a wall. 

“I said not yet, Itadori!” He goaded. “Let's wait!” He continued, as Yuji ducked under another swipe. He tried to get away from the group of warped humans, but every time he tried, one would stray close to a civilian, forcing him to stop them from killing anyone. 

“Let's wait until I've killed all of your friends!” Was the last thing Yuji heard from that accursed curse spirit before he disappeared out of view. 

Yuji's blood began to boil, as he grit his teeth, the screams of the crowd no longer registering to him. He clenched his fists, his eyes glowing a demonic red, as he punched a hole straight through the warped human that was directly in front of him. 

He didn't utter a word. 

Geto woke with a gasp, springing from his bed. Patting at his chest, he took his hand away, not a single speck of blood remaining on its palm. 

Just to make sure, he lifted up his t-shirt, and looked at his abs. Not a single mark left by that devastating black flash. 

He breathed a sigh of relief, lying back down with a thud, as he heard the creak of a door opening. 

Shoko came into view, clearly tired. There were bags under her eyes, and her hair made it look like she had just got out of bed. 

But what concerned Geto the most was the cuts and bruises on her face, and from the limp she walked with, he suspected were littered across her body as well. 

“Shoko!” He exclaimed, as he tried to sir back up quickly, only to start coughing vigorously, as pain shot through his abdomen. 

“Be careful!” Shoko chided him as she rushed to his side, placing her palms on his stomach. 

After what seemed to be a great deal of effort, with a minor nosebleed involved, the pain in Geto's stomach seemed to vanish. He stood up, hopping off of the bed, looking at Shoko. 

“What happened to you?” He asked, his voice full of concern. 

She sighed. “We were attacked. The intruders were dealt with, but… they got all of Sukuna's fingers that we had” 

Geto’s eyes widened. “Is Yaga..?” he tried to ask, but couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence. 

Shoko shrugged, turning away from Geto. “He was hurt. Bad. But he should be fine” 

Geto let out a small smile, a rare sight to see from the stone faced sorcerer. “That's good to hear. And how is Gojo doing?” he asked, but Shoko didn't answer. Sensing the awkwardness, he tried to change the subject, sighing internally.

“How did you fuck up this time, Gojo?” 

“Any news from Akutami?” he asked, and Shoko shook her head. 

“I still haven't heard anything from hi-” she started, but they were interrupted by a door slamming.

Shoko and Geto peeked out into the hall, and spotted Yuji, storming inside. His fists were drenched in blood. Human blood. There was a look in his eyes, that made him seem so distant. 

Shoko stepped into the hallway, trying to greet him. “Hey, Aku-” she tried to say, but he just walked past her, as it she wasn't there. 

She and Geto just turned to look at each other, visibly worried. 

Yuji burst into Yaga’s office, finding the senior sorcerer sitting at his desk. He was a bit scraped up, with some bandages stretching over his body, but his injuries didn't seem too bad. 

Yaga perked up when he noticed Yuji entering the room. “Good to see you, Akutami” he greeted, and Yuji gave a small nod in response. 

“Run into any trouble on your mission?” He asked, clearly worried by the blood that covered the teens body. Yuji nodded. 

“The Zen'in” he answered. Yaga sighed. 

“I didn't expect them to act so quickly” Yaga said. 

“The Kamo's are after me as well, aren't they?” Yuji asked, and Yaga nodded. Yuji closed his eyes, accepting this. 

“Send me after the curse spirit” Yuji said suddenly, surprising Yaga. 

“What? Not a chance, not when you have two clans that are out for you” Yaga said, denying the request, but that only caused Yuji to push further. 

“I'll be fine!” he argued. “The Kamos won't come after me until their investigation is done, and the Zen’in wont come after me again” 

But Yaga shook his head. “No way. Besides, even if it wasn't a reckless move on your part we have new first year's coming in, and an important mission coming up. I need you here for a while, Akutami” 

“But-” Yuji started, but Yaga shut him down. 

“I said no, Akutami. We need you here”  

“Every second that that curse is out there, more people are gonna die!” Yuji exclaimed. 

“Akutami, do you have a history with this curse?” Yaga asked, and Yuji’s eyes widened. He had a guilty look on his face, that told Yaga all he needed to know. 

“We have sorcerers looking for this curse. They know not to let the curse get near, and to prioritise saving people. So you don't need to worry, Yuji” 

Yaga sighed. “Listen, I can see it in your eyes. You're exhausted, and stressed. You're not thinking straight. Get some rest, you'll feel better tomorrow” 

Yuji let out a “tch” as he stormed out of the room, and Yaga winced as the door slammed behind him. He had enjoyed having at least one emotionally stable student. 

Yuji slammed the door to his dorm room closed, not bothering to greet anyone. He flopped onto his bed, feeling the exhaustion from the day's events. Mahito's freakish laugh echoed in his mind, even now. 

Shibuya. Nanami and Nobara, both met their ends to the monster. 

He didn't want to lose anyone else. 

He wouldn't lose anyone else. 

Suddenly, he heard a rhythmic set of thuds, a fist banging against his door. 

He turned to look at it, as he sat at the edge of his bed, but he didn't bother moving. 

He could hear arguing outside of his room, but he didn't pay it any mind… until Utahime kicked his door down, and stormed in. 

“Utahime-senpai?!” He exclaimed, clearly shocked by the intrusion, but he was interrupted by her, as she immediately slapped him across the face. 

“Ouch!” He exclaimed in surprise, looking at her. “What was that for!?” 

She was clearly fuming. “I come back from my mission, and not only do I find out that Shoko almost died, but on top of that, you come back and completely brush her off? What the hell is wrong with you?!” She asked, as if she was demanding an answer. 

Yuji just turned his head away from her, not able to say a single thing. 

Utahime sighed, sitting down beside him. “Listen, I don't know what happened with you on that mission, and I get that something is clearly wrong with you, but that's no excuse to brush off your friends!” 

She groaned. ‘We're jujutsu sorcerers for god's sake! We have to enjoy every second we have with each other, not ignore each other, and getting all mopey over a mission could just end up causing more regrets!” 

Yuji clenched his fists, digging into his knees. “Y'know the big curse that's terrorising Japan right now?” 

She nodded, after all, it was impossible to not have heard of it. Plenty of sorcerers had already encountered it, if only briefly. Tens of grade two and three sorcerers had already died, though most grade ones had survived their encounters, thanks to the knowledge Shoko had provided them in her encounter. 

“It killed…” he paused, not sure what to say. 

“It killed my mentor, and my best friend. And an innocent kid who just wanted to live his life, without being bullied”

Utahime’s gaze softened. To be honest, she wasn't sure what to say, so she just kept listening. 

Yuji wasn't sure why he was telling anyone anything, but he just needed to say something. 

“This is why I have to go after it. It's out to get me. If I don't take care of it myself…” 

He trailed off. 

Utahime slapped him again. 

“Ow!” He complained. “Can you stop hitting me?!” 

She snorted. “You're acting like such a dumbass. You wanna know what the first thing Shoko told me was, after we started hanging out?” 

Yuji stared at her. “When did you two start hanging out?” 

She shrugged. “Some time last year. Anyways, the first thing she told me about you, was about what you did last year” 

Yuji racked his brain. He couldn't think of anything he said or did of note last year.

She noticed him struggling to find an answer, and she pinched her brow in frustration. 

“You're really making me work here, Akutami…” She complained. 

“She gushed about how you talked to Yaga about life, when he had his little interrogation. She was really inspired by that speech of yours, y’know? About how life itself is worth protecting, and living life is the most important thing” 

She turned to him. “So live your life! Practice what you preach!” She pulled him to his feet. “You don't need to do everything alone! So go over there and talk with your friend!” 

Yuji blinked. This whole thing certainly surprised him, but this whole thing reminded him of what Todo told him in Shibuya, and of how he fought with him all of those times. 

He scratched at his skin. It's not like he knew where Mahito was, anyways. So… he could hang around with his friends for a while, right?

Yuji sighed. “Fine, I'll go” he said, and he and Utahime left his room. 

“Thanks for the talk, Utahime-senpai”

She smiled. “Don't go all lone wolf on us, okay? Shoko would be too torn up about it all” 

He nodded. “I won't” 

She slapped him on the back, and he complained about getting hit again. 

“Then go talk to your friends already!” 

He nodded, dashing off towards where he had passed Shoko. 

Utahime sighed, exhausted. She was made for missions, not for pep talks. 

Yuji came across Shoko soon after, and Geto was with her. 

They were talking with each other, and Yuji approached shyly. 

“Hey guys” he said, giving a slight wave. 

Geto greeted him, but Shoko gave a shirt “hmph!” and turned away from him. Geto just shrugged as he looked around yuji. 

“Sorry for ignoring you, Shoko” Yuji apologised, and she sighed, the animosity in her draining almost immediately. 

“It's fine. Just don't go rushing off like that again! Poor Geto over here almost died and you said nothing!” She exclaimed, and Geto took a step away from her. 

“Don't use me to justify your anger” he said tiredly. 

The three of them started talking again, back to their usual friendly tempo, when someone's voice rang out. 

“Excuse me? Are you the second years?” He asked, and Yuji, Shoko and Geto turned to see a younger kid, dressed in Jujutsu High's uniform, in front of them. 

He scratched the back of his neck nervously. “Yaga-sensei told me to find you guys. My name is Yu Haibara, I'm a new first year student!” 

Chapter Text

The three second years turned to each other, a bit surprised by this development. 

Yu Haibara held out his hand, grinning cheerily. His demeanour reminded Yuji of his first few months as a sorcerer. 

Yuji grabbed Haibara's hand, shaking it gently. 

“It's nice to meet you, Haibara-kun” 

Yuji frowned as he looked at the boy. He remembered Shoko saying something about Nanami having a classmate, but he never knew him. Apparently, something had gone wrong on a mission, and he had died in his first year. 

“Uh, is something wrong, Akutami-senpai?” Haibara asked, noticing Yuji's twisted expression. 

Yuji turned his frown into a smile a he shook his head. “Don't worry about it. So, have you got any classmates?” 

Haibara nodded. “Two! But Yaga-sensei is still doing his interviews on them” 

Yuji nodded along to this, before pausing for a second. “Wait, two? But Shoko only ever mentioned Nanami and Haibara?” 

He shook off this thought, as he heard the tapping of footsteps approaching them. 

He caught a glimpse of familiar blonde hair, and swallowed some bile that had made its way up his throat. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself. 

He turned to look at Nanami. He was younger, and much leaner, and was missing his signature glasses. 

But it was still Nanami. 

Nanami bowed to the trio, standing beside Haibara. 

“Hello, senpai. My name is Kento Nanami” 

“It's nice to meet you as well, Nanami-kun” Geto greeted him. 

Nanami stood straight up, he was as stiff as a board. “Yaga-sensei asked me to give you three this” he said, as he handed them a piece of paper. 

Yuji took the paper from his hand, and read it. 

“It doesn't say much, just mission briefings-” he said, before squinting. “-Sort of. Geto, you're off duty until you heal fully” 

Geto scowled. “Seriously? I'm fine!” He exclaimed, but Shoko poked him in the stomach, causing him to gron and double over. 

“Yeah, how about you don't embarrass us in front of the newbies?” Shoko asked, and Geto just grunted in response.

Yuji continued. “It looks like I'll be going on a grade one mission with Haibara and Nanami, while you'll be taking the last student, Shoko” 

Shoko blinked. “Does it say who I'm taking?” She asked, and Yuji shook his head. “That's all the info we've got” 

Geto looked over at Shoko. “Do you even have enough cursed energy to go back out on a mission?” He asked, and she just shrugged

“I'll just take the kid I get on some fodder grade two mission”

“Grade two?” Haibara and Nanami asked in unison, and Yuji looked over at them.

“Oh, that's right. You guys haven't done much curse work yet, have you? Well, I'll give you a basic rundown while we're travelling” 

“Wait, we're gonna be travelling?” Nanami asked, and Yuji nodded.

“Curses tend to hover around in specific places with dark pasts or rumors about them, so we have to go to those places to get a handle on them” 

He gave his friends a short wave. “Well, there's no time like the present. I'll see you guys later” He said, as he started walking off, his friends waving back to him as Haibara and Nanami followed right behind him. 

Soon enough, the three boys were on a train, headed for the city. They sat down, Yuji sat across the two boys, and Nanami looked at Yuji. 

“Akutami-senpai, do you mind explaining what you were talking about in relation to grades earlier?” He asked, and Yuji nodded. 

“Right. So every sorcerer is determined by their grades, just like cursed. A sorcerer that's grade two should be able to take care of a grade one curse on their own, for example, though it'll be hard. Third grade sorcerers can usually survive a shot from a handgun without issue. A second grade can deal with a shotgun, and a grade one can take a military grade tank” 

“Huh?!” Haibara exclaimed, leaning forwards. “But Shoko-senpai said that grade two curses are no joke!” 

Yuji nodded. “Yeah. She's pretty strong, and her abilities make her perfect for dealing with curses” 

He looked up as the train came to a halt. “Well, looks like our stop is here. Come on, guys” he gestured for them to follow him as he stood up, letting the doors to the station split apart. 

Geto tentatively wobbled down the hall, his stomach still sensitive, when a younger boy bumped into him.

“Hey watch i-” the boy seemed to start speaking, before noticing who he was about to curse out. Quickly catching himself, he bowed to Geto. 

“My apologies, Geto-senpai” 

Geto looked down to see Naoya Zen'in, dressed not in traditional Zen'in garments, but rather in the Jujutsu High uniform. 

“You're the new student?” Geto asked, and Naoya nodded. 

“I'm starting fresh here, so I'm counting on you, senpai!” He said, unnaturally cheery, to the point where Geto could easily tell that he was faking this attitude. But Geto didn't really care, so he didn't say anything. 

“So, I'm supposed to go with one of you three on a mission, right? Is Akutami-senpai available?” 

“Four of us” Geto corrected his underclassmen. “And no, he's already taken your classmates on a mission, you were too late. 

Naoya frowned, clearly disappointed. “Oh well. So does that mean I'm going with Gojo-senpai?” he asked, and Geto shook his head. 

“Gojo has ran off to God knows where, and I'm not in fighting shape right now, which means that-”

“-I'll be taking you!” Shoko said cheerily, popping up out of nowhere. 

“Oh great” Naoya groaned. “I have to deal with you” 

Shoko smirked, though it didn't hide the clear aggression that was written across her face. She was well aware of Naoya's sexist upbringing, so she wasn't shocked. She just wanted to hear him say something outright sexist, to justify what would undoubtedly come in the future. 

“And what's that supposed to mean?” She asked, clearly goading him on. 

“Oh, I'm just disappointed,” Naoya explained, matter-of-factly. “Four second years and I had to get the one girl” 

Yuji and the two first years approached the location of the curse spirit. It was a small tunnel, in the middle of the countryside. Unlit, in the evening, as it was now, the sun was at the perfect angle to shine through the tunnel, giving some much needed natural lighting. 

“Well, that's pretty neat timing for us, huh?” Haibara observed, but Nanami shook his head. 

“After everything we've heard, I highly doubt that this timing is just for convenience. Is it, sir?” 

Yuji felt a tingle run down his spine. “Please… don't call me sir. Beside that, yeah, you're right” 

He walked into the tunnel as he explained, with the two first years following him. 

“The night and darkness are typically associated with danger or nightmares, so curses tend to grow stronger over night. So, it's best to tackle em when it's bright. Normally, we'd tackle it in the middle of the day, but since it's a tunnel, lighting only really comes into it at around this time” 

Haibara nodded vigorously, scribbling everything Yuji said down on a notebook that Yuji didn't notice him take out. 

“Uh, Haibara, where did you pull that out from?” Yuji asked, pointing towards the notebook that Nanami was only now just noticing  

“Oh.. yeah that's the funny thing. I was thinking of how great it'd be to have something that I could use to keep notes on what you said, Akutami-senpai, without even realising that I had one in my hands!” 

Yuji’s eyes widened. 

“Give me that!” Yuji shouted, startling Haibara and Nanami, as he ripped the notebook from Haibara's hands, throwing it to the floor , a couple of meters away from them. 

Haibara was about to complain, in his own, naively positive way, when the notebook erupted into a cloud of explosive flames. 

“Gah!” Haibara yelled in surprise as he jumped backwards. Nanami was also startled, taking a step back, but Yuji seemed unfazed, at least by that. 

He turned around, trying to find the entrance to the tunnel, but it was gone, replaced by an endless, dark tunnel. 

Haibara and Nanami turned around, both spotting the lack of an exit. 

“What the hell is going on?” Nanami asked. He tried to hide it, but his voice was tinged with panic. 

Haibara looked to his senpai, being filled with worry himself, but he felt a strange sort of reassurance. 

That's when he noticed.. that Akutami was smiling. 

“Consider yourselves lucky!” Yuji exclaimed to his underclassmen. “This is a rare opportunity, and a perfect learning experience!” 

Naoya screamed as he was flung around in the grasp of a gigantic curse. It had dark purple flesh with green pores covering its body, oozing a pus-like substance that stank terribly. It's one human-esque arm had latched onto Naoya, and was now waving him around in the air like a flag. 

“Get this thing to let go of me!!!” He yelled in a panic, as Shoko just stood a few feet away, watching him. 

“Oh come on now!” She goaded. “This is only a grade two! What happened to all that big talk about being better than me?” She smirked. 

“I'm sorry, okay! Just get this thing off of me!!!”

She hummed thoughtfully, flicking through the document regarding the mission she had taken, before freezing. 

“Oh noooo” she said half-heartedly, sucking air through her teeth.  

“Yeah, I may have misread the document” she called out to Naoya, as he was flung into a wall. 

“Turns out this is a semi special grade, not a grade two” she observed. “My bad!” 

He coughed blood as he struggled to get up, falling on his ass as he started at the curse, which had started to move, rushing at him. 

He closed his eyes. “Please, god, this isn't how I want to die! Save me, I'll do anything, I swear!” He mentally pleaded, opening his eyes, to see Shoko standing over him, her arm outstretched, a single finger pointing out her thumb stretched up to the sky, in a finger gun pose. The tip of her finger dug into the forehead of the curse, that had frozen… seemingly in fear. 

“Reverse cursed energy output…” 

Her eyes were cold, as she flicked her arm upwards. 

“Bang” 

The curse screeched in agony, and Naoya looked up in a combination of horror and begrudging admiration, as a single, clean hole, hand formed from where her finger had touched. It was such a clean blast that he could see the wall behind the curse through it, and it was wide enough to fit a fist inside. 

“Alright guys, so tell me what you know so far!” Yuji declared, looking at the boys. 

Haibara hummed. “So we're in some sort of domain?” He asked, and Yuji nodded. 

“And a domain is, um…” he tried to remember what Yuji said earlier, but before he could finish, Nanami spoke up. 

“A domain expansion is a manifestation of the inner domain, with a cursed technique imbued in it, all contained by a barrier” he said, explaining in perfect detail, the dictionary definition of a domain expansion. 

Yuji nodded. “Now, can you guys guess what the sure hit of this domain is?” he asked them, testing the two students. 

Haibara hummed, while Nanami shrugged.

“It's simple,” Nanami started. “The sure hit throws ordinary objects at us, without cursed energy in it so we don't recognise the objects as a threat. Then it injects cursed energy into the object, detonating it” he seemed confident in his explanation. 

“Wrong” Yuji said, crushing the sorcerer's confidence immediately. 

“Oh, I know!” Haibara piped up. “It's not a sure hit at all!” 

Nanami scoffed. “Come on Haibara, this isn't elementary school, we aren't going to get thrown a trick question like that” he said, as stiff as ever. 

“No, he's right,” Yuji chuckled. 

Nanami's spirit was crushed for the second time this day. 

“Number one rule of a sure hit is that it's guaranteed to hit, no matter what,” Yuji explained. “Since this didn't then that means..” He said, waiting for one of the two boys to pick up where he was leaving off. 

“Is it a side effect of the domain?” Haibara asked, and Yuji nodded. 

“Just like how a domain is formed from three parts, it has three effects. The sure hit is one, and sorcerers get a stat boost when inside their own domain, for the second one. But the third can be anything from a boost to your cursed technique, to an entirely new ability” he explained. 

“Just from what I've seen so far, if I had to guess, this curse manifests your desires and uses them against you. A powerful ability, but you can tell that both this domain, and it's side effect, belong to a grade one spirit” he said, slightly cockily. 

Haibara tilted his head, as Namai leaned forward, asking “Why is that?” 

Yuji smirked. “Because these things aren't intelligent. Meaning, you can turn their abilities against them pretty easily” he said, and all of a sudden, a massive tumor of red and black charred flesh appeared in front of them covered in gross, fleshy bulbs of pus. 

“Let's take a few steps back,” he said cautiously, pushing the first years backwards. 

All of a sudden, the curse erupted into a fluke of flames, scattering the curse’s blood everywhere around it. 

Haibara blinked. “How did you do that?” he asked, and Yuji turned to them. 

“Its ability was manifesting desire and imploding the result to catch you off guard. I just made my desire to find the curse be known to the domain, and it did the rest itself” 

“Wait…” Nanami said, speaking up. “so, with knowledge, the lowest grade of sorcerer could've beaten this thing?” he said, tapping one of the flesh bulbs that had been scattered by the explosion with his foot. 

Yuji nodded. “Here's the most important lesson you guys are gonna learn today. There's always gonna be someone stronger than you. But that doesn't mean you can't win” he said, as the domain began to collapse.

“When it comes to a fight against a curse, information is more valuable than most cursed techniques”. 

The three boys winced as sunlight once again spread throughout the tunnel. 

“Well, that's that,” Yuji said, as he began walking towards the exit to the tunnel. 

“Now, let's get back to the dorms” 

Naoya staggered into the dorm common room, right behind Shoko. Unlike Shoko, who was in perfect condition, he was not. Despite her applying her reverse cursed technique directly to him, he still felt an ache throughout his skeleton, and he was covered in curse blood. 

Haibara and Nanami were relaxing on the chairs in the room, when they noticed him arrive.

”Yo! How ya doing, teammate?” Haibara asked, but Naoya just grumbled as he made his way to his bathroom, for a shower. 

“If I may ask, Shoko-senpai… how did Naoya’s mission go?” Nanami spoke up, drawing Shoko’s attention. 

She just smirked, clearly satisfied by the events of the day. 

“Sorry, but it's a secret. Let's just say that Naoya got more than he bargained for.”

Chapter Text

The next few days passed by relatively uneventfully, with the second years training their juniors, while Yaga taught the two years the theory of Jujutsu. 

Yuji made sure to get his own training in, devoting a much time as he could to developing his blood manipulation, a cursed technique that he had heavily neglected beforehand, as its use was limited due to him needing to hide it from the big clans. But with Naobito knowing about his technique, he knew that it was only a matter of time until it came out. 

Unfortunately, he rarely had time to himself. Each of the first years had taken a shine to him in their own ways. Naoya, of course, idolised the man who forced Gojo Satoru into the ground, but after a few missions with his senior, Nanami had come to learn of, and respect, Yuji’s strong sense of responsibility, although Yuji seemed to act jumpy around the young sorcerer, something that confused Nanami. 

And of course, Haibara was getting along greatly with pretty much everyone. 

Gojo had also returned from being absent from Jujutsu High for a few days, and was once again giving Yuji the cold shoulder, though Yuji was indifferent to this development. He had long since accepted that the Satoru he had to deal with was a far cry from his former sense. 

Yuji sat in his dorm room, his door bolted shut, as he spun around an object in his hand. He had met with Yuki after he returned from his mission with Nanami and Haibara, and she had delivered what she had promised, much to Yuji's joy and relief. 

He placed the object carefully down on his bedside desk, staring at it for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck carefully. 

“So… uh, I don't really know where to start,” he said, talking to the object. “I guess the best place to start is, uh, I'm your brother!” He said nervously. “Yeah, we share the same parent, though he's your dad and my mom. But I'm sure you already know about that” 

Yuji sighed, sitting back on his bed. “I have a friend looking for bodies for you and the rest of our brothers. So, we'll get to meet each other, eventually. Though, I don't know how long it'll take” 

He scratched at the back of his neck, sitting in silence with his brother for a few minutes, not sure what to say, until he heard his name get called. 

“Oh, sorry, looks like I have to go. But I'll be back soon, I promise!” He swore to his brother, as he stood up, leaving his room. 

He closed the door delicately, and turned around, to see Geto behind him. 

“Yaga-sensei wants us. All four of us” Geto grunted, and Yuji nodded, following him to Yaga's office. 

On the way there, Geto seemed to keep his attention on Yuji, something that Yuji noticed. 

“Are you okay, Akutami?” He asked, which took Yuji off guard. 

“I'm.. fine?” He said, surprised by the sudden question. “Why do you ask?” 

Geto frowned. “I'm asking because I'm your friend, Akutami” he said, worry clearly in his voice. 

“I'm not an idiot,” Geto continued. “I can see the bags under your eyes. You haven't been sleeping since the Dead Zone mission, have you?” 

Yuji turned away from Geto, not wanting to look his friend in the eye. 

Geto sighed, clearly expecting this. 

“Just.. please. Don't run off on your own. We can solve whatever comes our way, together. Okay?” He pleaded. 

“Okay” Yuji breathed, hesitantly agreeing, and Geto let out a small smile. 

The two boys entered Yaga's office, and Yuji spotted Shoko and Gojo already in the room, still not talking to each other. Gojo gave Yuji a weird look before turning away from him, as Yaga looked up from his desk. 

“Ah, Akutami, Geto, good. We have another mission for you coming up” 

Geto looked around the room. “Wait… all four of us?” He asked, and Yaga nodded, and Yuji steeled himself. 

“Here it is,” he thought to himself. “The apocalypse that I came from, my future, it all began here” 

He focused on Yaga, who began to explain the mission terms. 

“The mission… to escort the Star Plasma Vessel!” 

Yuji walked into the apartment, not bothering to knock. The vessel knew they were coming anyway, plus he didn't want to attract any attention from possible spies, so he didn't want to take things slowly. 

Riko was the name of the vessel, and so he called out to her, slowly walking through the living room of the apartment, into the kitchen. 

Suddenly, he felt an impact on the back of his head, as a loud clanging sound rang out behind him. 

He turned around, curious as to what caused that noise, only to see Riko, holding a frying pan that was now bent into the shape of the back of Yuji's head. 

She frantically turned her head, turning from the frying pan, to look at him, clearly terrified. 

“What the hell are you!” She managed to get out as she took a step back. 

She plucked a knife from the kitchen, and pointed it at him. “Don't come any closer, freak!” She said, and Yuji sighed, putting his hands up. 

“You can relax” he said, clearly not threatened by the knife. “Look at my uniform, I'm here with Jujutsu High. We're gonna escort you to Master Tengen” he explained. 

She hesitantly lowered the knife, but she didn't drop it, still clearly suspicious. 

Suddenly, an explosion rang out from the hallway, and a fiery ball of pure destruction was channeled through the hallway. Yuji and Riko both turned towards it, but Yujia acted first. 

Grabbing Riko, he jumped out of the nearby window, paying no care to the fact that they were several stories up. 

Riko screamed as flames consumed her apartment. Was this how she was going to die? Splattering onto the concrete like a pancake because a madman decided that jumping out of a window was a good idea? 

She closed her eyes, wincing and bracing for the moment when her life would be cut short… 

But it didn't come. 

She opened her eyes hesitantly, only to notice Yuji holding her, bridal-style, as they stood on a massive dragon. 

“Thanks for the save, Geto!” Yuji called out, while Riko flailed about in his arms, panicking. Geto gave him a thumbs up, while calling out to him. 

“Shoko and Gojo are dealing with the attackers, so let's just focus on getting the Vessel to her caretaker, and getting them both to safety!” 

Yuji nodded. “Alright, let's get this done!” He shouted, while tossing Riko over to Geto. Riko was, of course, panicking as she flew through the air, but Geto caught her without worry. 

Without another word, Yuji hopped off of the floating curse, descending several stories, and landing on the ground with a massive bang, creating a massive crater where he landed, upturning trees and destroying the foliage nearby. 

He rushed through the terrain, until he managed to sense Gojo's cursed energy. Arriving beside him in moments, Yuji looked at the attacking sorcerer, slumped over against a tree. 

Gojo looked over to Yuji and held out his phone. 

“Shoko's dealt with the other sorcerer” he said matter-of-factly, as he showed a picture of Shoko posing over an old man, her signature cheeky smile adorning her face. 

Geto touched down with his curse next to them, with not only Riko, but also her caretaker, Kuroi, lying on it, unconscious. 

The three teens stood over the Vessel and her Caretaker. 

“Well, guess we better get heading to a safe hold put spot” Yuji said. 

“Yeah” Gojo agreed, shortly. 

Geto frowned. It was uncomfortable, being stuck between the two of them. The tension between them was palpable. 

Even knowing that Akutami wasn't really too keen on Gojo, for some unknown reason, he'd rarely let out his true intentions if they were at all negative, unless they were directed towards a curse. 

But today was different, for some reason. Was it the lack of sleep on Akutami’s part? Or was this something that was just bound to happen eventually? 

About an hour later, Riko began to stir. Waking up, she jumped up with a yelp, her head on a swivel as she looked around the apartment that she had found herself in. 

“Great, I go to sleep for five minutes, and get kidnapped!” She complained, more frustrated than fearful. 

Yuji and Geto ended up walking into the room moments later, Gojo trailing behind them. 

“Hey you!” Riko shouted, pointing towards them. “I don't know what circus you're running, but you better let me go right now, or you're gonna get it when the sorcerers from Jujutsu High get here!” 

Yuji sighed, as Gojo started to crack up, laughing. 

“We are the sorcerers from Jujutsu High,” Geto explained. “And shut up with your snickering, Gojo!” he exclaimed, throwing a box of cereal at the sorcerer, which frustratingly just stopped in mid air, infinity protecting Gojo once again. 

Gojo started flipping through his phone nonchalantly. “Honestly, I think we should ignore what Yaga-sensei said, and take her straight to Tengen. No risks that way” 

He judged Akutami, waiting for a reaction. If Akutami tried to prolong the mission, and keep Riko away… 

“I agree,” Yuji said suddenly, catching Gojo off guard. 

Yuji bit the inside of his cheek. 

As he watched this girl banter with Geto and her caretaker, he couldn't help but feel guilty. 

Here was a girl so happy, so carefree. She said she knew what it was going to be like, playing host to Tengen. “Tengen is me, and I am Tengen” is what she had said. 

But she didn't. She didn't realise what it meant. No more friends. No more family. No more agency. 

Jujutsu Society had decided not to explain it properly to her. They couldn't afford to take the risk of a rare vessel not joining with Tengen. 

Yuji could explain it further. He could crush those false expectations and give her a good idea of what will happen, give her an opportunity to make a real, informed decision. 

He knew it was the right thing to do. But… 

“We should focus on getting her to Tengen right away,” Yuji continued. “We don't know how many assassin's will be waiting for us, so it's the safer option” 

He felt the inside of his cheek burn, and tasted a slow trickle of blood linger on his tongue. 

“I’m sorry, Riko”

“No” Geto spoke up simply, listening to his two friends’ conversation. 

“Yaga-sensei said that we should listen to Master Tengen's orders. Master Tengen told us to let her live out her last few days, and for them to be as fun as possible. She'll never get to see her friends or family again after this. We owe her this much, at least” 

Yuji gripped his trousers. 

He let out a breath, as he looked away. 

Despite knowing the future at risk… he couldn't disagree. 

He owed her at least a few days. 

Yuji sighed, letting out a smile he so rarely showed these days. 

“Fine. Let's have some fun!” 

Chapter Text

Yuji sighed, staring down at his hand, as he waited for the plane to arrive. 

They had decided, after Riko was attacked by curse users at her school, that it would be best to leave the country while her bounty was still up. 

Yuji had been against the idea. He wanted to get her to Tengen as soon as possible. He knew that Geto wanted to give her some fun experiences before the merger, and Gojo and Shoko had agreed as an excuse to go to the beach, but he just felt like it wasn't the right move. 

He could hear them now, playing in the sun, laughing, bantering…

It reminded him of himself, Nobara and Megumi. 

He took a deep breath in.

Before this mission, he hadn't interacted with Riko, and them deciding to do this was based off of a request from Tengen, who he also hadn't interacted with, meaning this mission, which had gone terribly wrong last time, was going the exact same way. 

Yuji flashed back to his fight with the paper bag man, with the cloning technique. 

It had been a hard battle, harder than it should. He couldn't use his techniques, he didn't want to kill the man with shrine, and he couldn't use blood manipulation in front of everyone, but even so, someone of his strength shouldn't have taken so long to beat the curse user. 

He panted heavily as Geto walked over to him.

“You're not performing as well as usual” Geto had said flatly. “You should've beaten him in no time at all” 

“You think I don't know that?!” Yuji snapped, surprising Geto. He sighed. 

“Sorry, I didn't mean to get so aggressive” 

Geto sighed. He could see the bags under Yuji’s eyes, it was pretty clear that this mission, and whatever had happened in his last mission, had been having a pretty bad effect on him. 

“It's your emotions,” Geto explained. “They're running out of control. Your control over your cursed energy is weakening. You need to get yourself under control” 

Yuji just brushed Geto off with a “yeah” as he walked away, frowning to himself.  

Since that day, Yuji still couldn't figure out how to get his curse energy under control. It annoyed him, but he figured that, if they could just get this mission done, he'd be able to get a handle on it again. This was why he was so annoyed by this detour. 

He heard the plane touchdown, and turned away from it to see his friends, still dressed in borderline swimwear, approaching him. 

They touched back down in Japan, a few miles out from Jujutsu High, so very close to the barrier. 

To say that Yuji was on edge was an understatement. His eyes, as worn out as they were, constantly scanned the area, as they walked to their destination. Had one of the past curse users really been the one to kill Riko? 

Yuji thinks about it. Maybe the bag man? He wasn't particularly strong… but could he have snuck past Gojo with one of his clones? 

It just… didn't sit right with Yuji. 

Once they finally stepped into the barriers protecting the sanctum for sorcerers, Yuji felt himself visibly slump over, the stress of the situation visibly draining from his body. 

He felt Shoko's eyes being drawn to him as he did so. 

“Ah, what a relief!” Gojo remarked. “No more babysitting!” 

Riko let out a small “hey!” as Shoko snickered, and Yuji rolled his eyes at the remark. 

“Yeah, well cool it” Geto spoke up, snacking Gojo on the top of the head, the victim of this assault launching back an angry growl. 

“We still have a while longer, until we get to Master Tengen” he continued. 

“Yeah, I know,” Gojo responded, groaning. “This is all just such a pain in the a-” 

Everyone's eyes were drawn to Gojo as a gasp from him interrupted his complaints. 

A sword pierced his chest. 

Yuji’s eyes widened. 

“This can't be happening” was all he could think, as he saw blood rush from his future mentor's mouth. “How did the barriers not protect us” 

Somehow, Yuji's eyes widened further, as he saw the towering figure of the one responsible for Gojo's injury. 

Fushiguro Toji dragged the blade from Gojo Satoru's body, and the teen sorcerer staggered away from Fushiguro, placing himself between Toji and the sorcerers. 

Toji stared down the sorcerers, giving a cheeky smile. “Sorry Akutami, but that girl has one hell of a payday on her head”

“You don't want to do this, Fushiguro,” Yuji said, staring back at his acquaintance. 

Toji chuckled. “Get out of the way now, and I'll be happy to let you live. I don't want to go killing any friends right now” 

Yuji shook his head, stepping forward, but Gojo stretched a hand out. 

“You guys get out of here! I'll take this guy down!” He said. After seeing their unconvinced looks, he spoke up again. 

“Don't worry, I reinforced my body when the blade pierced me. It honestly didn't do too much damage!” 

Shoko sighed, stepping forward. “And besides, I'll be here making sure he doesn't keel over” 

Gojo turned to her. “I'll be fine, Shoko, real-” he tried saying but she smacked him on the side of the head. 

“You'd have to be insane to think I'd let you fight a guy with a hole in your chest!” 

She turned to the two boys with Riko and her caretaker. “Get going, now” she commanded, and Yuji and Geto nodded, before retreating. 

Toji chuckled once more. “Finally ready to get started?” 

“You don't seem to be in that much of a rush” Gojo observed, glaring at the assassin. 

“Of course,” Fushiguro said simply. 

Shoko took her hands off of Gojo’s back, as the wound piercing his chest vanished. “You're good to go,” she said, and he nodded. 

They turned to see a load of fly heads swarming around them. 

Gojo scowled, flicking his finger, unleashing a blue orb of ferocious, swirling gravity, pulling each and every fly head into one spot, as they were all crushed under the immense force of the most famous cursed technique in Jujutsu Society. 

But now, their assassin had once again disappeared from view. 

Shoko turned her head, and could only stare in horror, as Toji almost seemed to blink into existence beside her. 

Right behind Gojo. 

She tried to reach out, to push him out of the way. But she was too slow. 

The strongest sorcerer of the world had his brain pierced by the blade of an assassin. 

As Gojo fell to the floor, blood staining his bright pale hair, Shoko felt completely, and utterly, helpless. 

Toji turned to her, but she refused to flinch. She raised her arms, filling her legs with cursed energy, as she launched herself forward. 

Toji's eyes briefly lit up, as he dodged out of the way of a right hook. 

He lunged back at her, holding his sword, the Soul Split Katana, tightly, as he swung at her head. 

It glanced off of her cheek, much to his surprise. 

He took a step back, turning his head to look at his blade, inspecting it, as if something were wrong. 

“This blade has never failed to cut anything” he hummed, staring at her with renewed interest. 

“Just what makes you so special?” He exclaimed, as Shoko wiped a small bit of blood from her cheek. 

Yuji and Geto rushed down the corridors of Jujutsu High, sweat building up among the two of them, as Kuroi, who was carrying Riko, much to her annoyance, followed closely behind. 

“Do you think Gojo will be alright?” Geto asked, and Yuji just shrugged.

“How would I know?” He asked, confused as to why Geto would ask him. 

Geto just sighed. ‘“Sometimes, you just seem to know a lot more than you let on, Akutami”.

Geto didn't miss how Yuji tensed up when he said that. 

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Yuji said sharply, and Geto sighed. 

“Let's just focus on getting Riko here and th-” Yuji spoke up, as he turned back to look at them, his eyes widening as a hand, one Yuji knew very well, shot out to grab Riko. 

Yuji dashed backwards, slamming into the stretched arm, as Riko and Kuroi gasped. 

“Keep running, Geto!” Yuji shot out, and his friend nodded, pulling along Kuroi and Riko, the wall beside Yuji erupted. 

Yuji turned as the smoke cleared. In the clearing stood a face Yuji absolutely despised. 

“Yuji Itadori!” Mahito screamed out, his putrid face making itself known to the time traveler. “How nice to see you again” 

He took a step out of the hole in the wall. He looked identical to when they had last met, his patchwork face filling Yuji with rage.  

“Mahito” Yuji growled, Stepping forward, until the two of them were a few meters away from each other. 

“What the hell are you doing here?!” He exclaimed, demanding an answer. 

“How could I miss the event of the century?” Mahito asked snarkily, his toke dripping with venom. 

Yuji stared at him, grinding his teeth, as everything that damned curse had done flashed through his mind. 

Chapter Text

Yuji lept straight at the curse, throwing a punch, though Mahito blocked the blow with a single arm. The force of the blow still threw the curse backwards though, smashing through several walls as he was thrown out of Jujutsu High, with Yuji chasing after him on foot. 

Yuji didn't hesitate, activating Shrine with a finger gun hand sign, to send a dismantle at Mahito, who split himself in two, pushing off of his clone to dodge the blow in mid air. 

Reaching into his throat, Mahito pulled out one of his victims, transforming it into a deformed cursed worm, about the size of a train, and launched it at Yuji, holding on to the top of it as he did. 

Yuji loaded up a punch, twisting his hip as he slammed his fist into the worm, reversing it's velocity and killing the poor soul instantly. 

Mahito jumped off the worm, warling his arm into a blade as he struck down at the earth where Yuji had once stood, but the sorcerer was already above Mahito, hitting the curse with a fierce drop kick, launching the curse into a wall, embedding Mahito into the thick concrete. 

Yuji didn't give his foe a chance to recover, and immediately went on the offensive, dashing over to Mahito's resting place, but Mahito ejected several spikes from his chest. 

Yuji grabbed one in mid air, pushing off of it to dodge the others, and landed on another one of his razor sharp spikes, running along it to close in on Mahito. 

Right when he was about to reach Mahito, the spike he was using as a pathway retracted in an instant, and as Yuji was falling, Mahito pulled his arm back, rushed forward, and laughed maniacally, as he slammed his fist into Yuji's chest, sparks of black lightning lit up the surrounding area. 

“What a rush!” Mahito yelled as Yuji was sent flying, crashing into the ground below them, creating a crater where he landed. 

Yuji pushed a massive block of debris off of him as he tried to stand, stumbling as he did so. He held his hand to his mouth as he coughed, retracting it to see it covered in blood. 

Why was he so god damn weak? 

“Is this the limit of your training, Itadori?!” Mahito jeered from his elevated position. 

“Because I expected better! I bet it'd only take one touch to transfiguration you now!” 

Yuji screamed in rage, as he dashed forward, running up the wall of the crater and charging at Mahito. 

“Why?!” He yelled, as all the pain and anger that he had bottled up came spilling out. “Why couldn't anyone else come back?! Why did it have to be you?” 

“Oh Yuji!” Mahito yelled in response as he dodged another right hook from the sorcerer. 

“You should know by now that fate is nothing but a curse!” He continued, landing another blow in Yuji's gut. 

Yuji’s eyes whitened as he stumbled back, spewing blood. Mahito’s perpetual grin grew wider. 

“Now’s my chance” he thought, placing a hand on Yuji's chest. “You'll make a wonderful throne” 

And he heard a guttural roar. Something demonic, inhuman, and powerful. 

A different power entirely compared to when he had faced Sukuna. 

Instinctively pulling away, sweat forming on his inhuman face for the first time in his life, he shook himself out of his trance. 

“I guess I'll have to kill you the normal way instead!” He yelled, forming his arm into a blade, and swinging at Yuji's unconscious body. 

But it was no longer there. 

Confused, Mahito's gaze wandered around the battlefield that had been scarred by him and Yuji. Yuji was nowhere to be seen. 

“Where did you go..?” He asked, talking to himself. 

“You don't have to worry about Akutami anymore” a voice rang out, and Mahito turned to see Geto walking toward him, his Rainbow Dragon trailing behind him. 

Mahito cackled. “Another lamb for the slaughter… how fun!” 

Geto narrowed his eyes. “You'd be wise not to underestimate me” he said, though he was secretly nervous. 

“If only the curse and the assassin hadn't attacked at the same day, Shoko would be way better at dealing with this monster” 

His grip tightened onto a scale of his Rainbow Dragon. 

“Right now, I can only use Rainbow Dragon. His cursed technique will warp any other curse I'm using, but Rainbow Dragons reverse cursed energy makes it immune. But, if I'm touched once, I'm dead” 

Geto smirked. “Good thing I brought something to make sure I'm not touched” He said, as he brought out a cursed tool from the Rainbow Dragon's mouth. A white pole arm, fashioned from the Rainbow Dragon's scales. 

Yuji woke with a gasp, struggling to get up from the pristine floor that his blood was pooling on. Black marks that were dancing around his skin began to fade. 

He felt weak, and his arms gave out as he attempted to prop himself up. 

Finally managing to stand, albeit on shaking legs, he looked around the void-like space. He managed to spot two people. Riko, and the master of this domain. 

“Hello, Akutami” Tengen greeted him. 

Yuji looked around the void. “Where's Geto?” He asked, his voice raspy. 

“Who do you think is fighting that curse?” Tengen stated simply, and Yuji's eyes widened in response.

“No, you can't let him fight Mahito! He'll die for sure!” 

“So will you’ Tengen responded, and Yuji stifled a retort, knowing the immortal was correct. 

Yuji turned his eyes to Riko. 

“So you haven't started the merger yet” Yuji observed, not sure what to say next. 

“We are about to proceed,” Tengen admitted. “Ideally, the chamber would be isolated, but we need you as a last line of defence”

Yuji sighed. So he'd need to… watch it happen. 

“What do I need to do?” Riko asked, and Tengen held her hand out. 

“Simply take my hand” 

As Riko began walking over to Tengen, Yuji couldn't stop the rush of memories from his last life. 

One step. 

The memory of eating that first finger. 

But he needed to stop that future. 

Another step, Riko was getting closer. 

Memories of meeting his senseis. Memories of his possession. Memories of shibuya. 

But he refused to let another massacre happen.

Their hands were inches away. 

Memories of what Yuta had told him about what Gojo had said once. 

“It's unforgivable to steal away a kid's youth, y’know” 

This is the only way to avoid that future. Yuji knows this, and he refuses to let that future come to pass. 

.

..

...

Tengen stared at Yuji. “Just what are you doing?” She asked. 

Yuji was grabbing onto Riko's arm, stopping her from touching Tengen. 

“Riko” he said, not acknowledging Tengen, grabbing the vessel’s attention. “You don't understand what it means to be a vessel. 

“Akutami, dont-” Tengen tried to protect, but Yuji simply glanced back at her, his eyes glowing a bloody red. 

Turning his attention back at Riko, she was mumbling, not used to the bloody aura he was emitting. 

“W-what do you mean? I'll be Master Tengen, and Master Tengen will be me. We’ll be one, in mind and body!” 

Yuji shook his head. “Sorry, but coming from one vessel to another, that's not how it works”. 

Riko’s eyes widened in shock, and in fear. 

Shoko grabbed onto the katana, stopping it in its tracks, despite the massive strength of the man swinging it. 

He was like a blur to her, she had to focus intently just to keep track of the assassin. But he was clearly disgruntled. The frustration of his usual weapons being rendered ineffective was clearly showing, and his flyheads had been immediately destroyed, as the girl had released a massive wave of reverse cursed energy. 

She managed to dodge another swing, it barely grazing her cheek. A single drop of sweat rolled down her forehead, as her eyes constantly darted around, working overdrive to keep track of the assassin. 

Toji wasn't the only one who was frustrated. Despite his inability to truly wound the sorceress, she also lacked offensive options. It was like two blunted daggers, desperately swinging at each other, only to knick themselves in the process. 

She stomped on his foot, to keep the assassin still, and threw a right hook, landing it square on Toji's jaw. 

It did nothing. 

She growled. Her method of weakening her opponents, through negating their cursed energy, was completely ineffective against someone who had none. 

She tried to pull back, but he had already grabbed onto her arm. 

“I'm done with you”, he said, boredom clear in his voice. 

But something stopped Fushiguro from throwing her aside. She looked at his face, as he held her arm, and he had completely zoned out of their fight, staring at… something behind her. 

He threw her to the side, and she hit the wall with a thud, grunting as she did. 

Wincing, she opened her eyes, to see who Toji was facing off with. 

In front of him, bloodied face and all, stood a laughing, demented Satoru Gojo. 

Riko stepped back, her cheeks green as what it truly meant to play host to Tengen. 

“T-that's what I-I’m supposed to do?” she asked, her voice shook. 

“Akutami’ Tengen announced, her voice clearly strained. “Give me the girl”. 

Yuji looked at Riko. She turned away from him, eyes full of despair. 

“I have to go… don't I?” she asked him, and he looked at her. 

But what his face showed was not sadness, nor guilt. It was determination. 

“Do you want to?” he asked, confusing the vessel. 

“Huh?” she said. “I have to. For the sake of Jujutsu Society, I-” 

“That's not what I asked,” Yuji said, interrupting her. “Do you want to do this?” 

She stared at him, tears welling up in her eyes. He didn't doubt that she was thinking about her family, her friends, or her caretaker. 

“No!” She cried out. “No I don't!” 

And for once in a long, long time, Yuji let out a genuine, guilt free smile. “Then that's that” he said, walking past her. 

“Huh?” was all she could let out in her relief, as Tengen grew more agitated, watching her last chance at gaining a vessel get shot into the ground. 

“Itadori”

Her voice rang out, her choice of name causing Yuji to stop immediately. 

“If you do this, then that future will come to pass”

Yuji looked back at her, smiling once again, his heartbeat thrumming, more powerful than ever, as every doubt in his body was set free. 

“I won't build a new future on the backs of kids!” He announced. 

“You're naive!” Tengen shouted back, raising her voice for the first time. 

“Maybe I am” Yuji said, determination in his eyes. “But I didn't come back to accept compromises” he said, as the light from the exit of the chamber washed over his body. 

“I'm not gonna accept a single death” 

And with his cursed energy reforged, flowing fiercely through his body, Yuji stepped through the exit, ready to face the future, and all of its challenges. 

One step at a time. 

Chapter Text

Yuji rushed through the shattered halls of the school he had spent the last year at. He was surprisingly nostalgic for the place. 

Roars of battle echoed around Yuji, as Toji Fushiguro was sent flying through a wall beside him, smashing into a pile of desks. 

Yuji turned to see Gojo throygh the hole in the wall. 

“Gojo” he breathed, noticing the lack of cuts on his face. 

“Did Shoko heal him?” He thought, before shaking his head. No way Toji would’ve given her the chance. 

Then… had this been how he had awakened the first time around? 

A glowing purple orb appeared in front of Gojo's finger. 

He was charging up purple. 

Yuji's eyes widened as he shouted out to Gojo. “Wait!” 

Gojo had a sort of glazed look on his face as he stared at the teen he had been suspicious of for so long. With his refreshed brain, he could process information from his six eyes clearer than ever before. 

He could see Yuji's cursed energy. It had been in turmoil before, fighting itself, but now… It was like it had conquered the poisonous part of itself. 

He could also see it now. Yuji's cursed technique. Or, techniques, would be more accurate. 

He tried to care, but right now, he didn't care about any of it. 

The suspicions, the revenge. 

None of it mattered. 

“Don't kill him, Gojo!” Yuji shouted out, puzzling Gojo. 

He kept charging purple, undeterred by Yuji's request. 

Yuji grinded his teeth. He had said that he wasn't going to accept any more deaths, and he was going to stick to it. 

“If you let him live..” he paused for a moment, hesitating, before continuing. 

“I'll tell you everything. All of my secrets. Anything you want to know”

Gojo's eyes widened. He sounded like he was going to accept, but he paused for a moment. 

“Tell Geto and Shoko, too” He added, and Yuji smiled. 

“Look at you, thinking about someone else for a change” 

He sighed, and nodded "Sure thing. Just make sure to leave him in tact, alright?” Yuji asked, and Gojo nodded, as Yuji walked past him. 

“Where are you going?” Gojo asked, and Yuji looked back at him. 

“An old enemy is waiting for me” Yuji said. “I'm not gonna disappoint him” 

Toji stood up, recovered from the blow that that red orb had inflicted on him. 

He looked at the retreating figure of Akutami, raising an eyebrow at the exchange. What was he playing at? 

He grinned. No matter. Their egos will be the thing that lets him win. 

He started swinging around the chain that the Isolated Spear of Heaven was attached to. He could deal with the blue orb and red orb attacks with ease, the spear would nullify both of them. All he had to do was get close to the sorcerer, and stab him again. After all, even the mighty Gojo Satoru needs a brain to live. 

He dashed forward, swinging at Gojo, but right when he was about to connect, Gojo disappeared right in front of his eyes. 

Toji turned around quickly, to see Gojo, floating upside down, right in front of him, hand outstretched. 

A small red orb slammed right into Toji’s face before he could react, sending him flying backwards. 

Smashing through wall after wall, the truth began to dawn on Toji. 

He climbed up from his resting place, smiling. 

“Damn monster…” he muttered under his breath. 

The strongest had finally been born. 

Geto ducked under a swipe from Mahito, jabbing him with his staff. Mahito stumbled backwards from the blow, losing his balance fir long enough for the Rainbow Dragon to crash into him, pushing Mahito into another wall. 

Out of the wall emerged a massive transfigured worm, pushing the struggling Rainbow Dragon back. 

Geto summoned another curse, which morphed into a blade, one that rested comfortably in his hand. 

He dashed forward, cutting deep into the worm’s stomach in one swift cut, giving his Rainbow Dragon an edge in the clash, pushing the worm back into the wall, destroying it completely. 

Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him. Pivoting on his foot, he dodged an outstretched hand from Mahito. He dropped his sword, pulling out his staff again. 

As the sword dropped, he kicked the hilt with his foot, sending it flying towards Mahito, who was busy blocking strikes from Geto. 

The sword embedded itself into Mahito's face, distracting him for a moment, and Geto struck him three times in the face with quick jabs, pushing the curse back. 

Mahito sneered, dodging the next few jabs, as he placed a hand on the curse-turned-sword, and it shot out, splitting up into little shrapnel like a blast from a shotgun. 

Several pieces of the curse shrapnel struck Geto as he tried and failed to block, tearing holes into his arms and torso. 

Taken aback by the strike, Geto stumbled back from the pain. 

Mahito laughed, hitting Geto in the gut, landing his second black flash of the day. 

Geto was sent flying back, tumbling on the ground for several meters, before coming to a stop. 

Mahito was right above him, reaching down. Geto couldn't avoid this. 

Then something in him clicked. 

All of a sudden, he found himself standing in a completely new place. It was a dark void, bit there was a pillar in the distance, one that looked like it was made of screaming, half human faces. 

He turned around to see another person. They stood right in front of him, but he somehow couldn't make them out. They were blurry, but he could make out a few details. They had long hair, the same colour as his, and they were wearing monk robes. 

They stretched out a hand, and placed a black orb in his hand. He could barely make out their mouth, but it was moving. They were trying to tell him something, but he was struggling to make out what the person was saying. 

“Don't… ..ake… sa… mis..ake..” 

“What are you trying to say?!” He exclaimed, as the stranger got blurrier, but the stranger turned away from him, and the strange world faded away. 

Mahito let out a scream, as a blinding, destructive force enveloped him, the undetected power of the Maximum Uzamaki tearing through him. 

Geto woke up to see Mahito’s lowere half standing in front of him, the upper half of his body erased. 

Geto stood up, putting some distance between him and the curse, still cautious. 

It began to twitch. 

In a sudden and terrifying display of perseverance, Mahito's upper body regrew in an instant, pain and anger clear in his eyes. 

Geto stood there, shocked. 

“How?” He asked. “How are you alive?” 

“You can't kill me without attacking my soul!” Mahito exclaimed, his voice strained as he held back from screaming. “I'm done letting this drag on” 

Opening his mouth to reveal a handsign within it, he summoned a black barrier that enveloped the two foes. 

“Domain Expansion” 

Geto’s eyes widened, as he watched the domain develop around him. 

He felt something hit his right hand, no doubt the sure hit, bit almost as instantly as the domain had been created, the barrier fell, destroyed by the Rainbow Dragon, which let out an enraged roar. Geto stumbled back, catching his breath, happy to be alive. 

Until he turned around, to see his own dragon charging at him. 

Almost instantly, his entire arm was in the mouth of the beast he had called an ally, and he felt it bite down. He screamed in pain, tugging and pushing against the dragon.

“Let me go!” he roared in pain, as it pulled, flinging the severed arm out of its mouth, Geto yelling in pain. 

He saw he arm explode in mid air, and instantly realised what that domain had done to him. 

The Rainbow Dragon curled around him, purring, as if to apologise, as he felt it pump reverse cursed energy into him, stopping the bleeding of the stumo that was once his arm. 

He felt the ebbing pain fade away, and smiled, letting the beast. “It's alright” he comforted his dragon. “It wasn't your fault” 

“You sure have one loyal pet” Mahito called out, smirking, and Geto stared back at the demonic curse. 

“You're sick” he said simply, and Mahito just shrugged, sticking his tongue out at the sorcerer. 

“Of course I am! I'm a curse after all”

Geto sighed, motioning for the Rainbow Dragon to stop healing him. He wasn't close to being fully healed, but if it used up too much energy healing him, it wouldn't be able to fight. And then? He'd be dead for sure.

He clutched his stump, grunting. He had held out on using his other curses because he was afraid of losing them, but now it was clear to him.  

He needed to give it everything to survive.  

Toji snarled, as he was pulled backwards by another blue orb. He swung with his chain, cutting the blue orb in half with his spear, destroying it before it could do any damage. 

Dashing forward, he struck out with the spear once again, disabling infinity completely. 

Grinning like a madman, he dropped the spear, grabbing Gojo by his arm, and pulling the Sout Split Katana out of the mouth if the cursed spirit that was draped across his shoulders. 

“Let's see if you can regrowing entire body!” He exclaimed, as he swung the katana at Gojo's neck. 

But suddenly Shoko was between them, the katana that could normally cut through anything glancing off of her skin. 

Toji's eyes widened as Shoko ducked, revealing a red orb right behind her, on the tips of Gojo's finger. 

Flicking his finger, the red landed squarely into Toji's chest, sending him flying backwards, crashing through wall after wall, until he finally came to a stop. 

He coughed, looking at his hands. Both of his cursed tools were out of his hands, scattered across the battlefield. He could tell that a few of his ribs were broken. 

He chose to lay there, in the rubble, not bothered to fight anymore. 

The last thing he saw, before darkness enveloped his vision, was Gojo, floating above him, pure ecstasy etched onto his face. 

Mahito was inches away from Geto's face, his arm outstretched, but Geto let loose a wave of minor curses, a swarm that pushed him off of his feet, forcing him to fall forward, directly into an uppercut from Geto's remaining arm. 

Mahito regained his footing, trying to retaliate, but the Rajnbow Dragon was right behind him, sinking it's teeth into him, doing its best to rip a massive chunk out of his torso. 

He turned a transfigured human into a spike in the Dragon's mouth, and it shot outbstraight through the snout of the dragon, causing it to pull back in pain as it screeched. 

But Geto was already behind him. The curse pivoted on his feet to grab Geto, only to be pulled down onto the ground, by tentacles emerging from a hole underneath him. 

Geto was above him and attempted to impale him with the pole arm, but Mahito split into two, both clones pushing off of each other to get out of the bind the tentacles had put him under. 

Mahito merged back into one being, pulling two transfigured humans out of his mouth, turning them into human sized, monstrous soldiers. 

The two soldiers attacked Geto as Mahito turned his attention toward the Dragok, who was coming back to charge at him once more. 

But Geto refused to be ignored. Summoning a horde of low level grade 2 curses, that resembled large ants, he let them swarm the soldiers as he dashed past them, charging at Mahito from one side as his dragon attacked from the other. 

Mahito jumped out of the way, but Geto summoned another curse, and a pillar of light erupted underneath Mahito, incinerating his lower half. 

Unfortunately, the curse was undeterred. Reshaping his soul once again, his legs reformed out of thin air, turning into jagged spikes that shot towards Geto. 

He summoned a large wall-like curse in front of him, shielding himself from the barrage, as the Rainbow Dragon slammed into Mahito once more, knocking him to the ground, where the swarm if ant curses, having eaten the soldiers, swarmed him, chewing on his skin. 

Mahito laughed, as the ants failed to pierce his skin. 

Geto created another pillar of light, hitting Mahito directly in the face. 

But it did nothing. 

“What?” Geto exclaimed, confused as to why his attacks had suddenly been rendered ineffective. 

Suddenly, Geto felt a piercing pain in his gut, as a spike made if a transfigured human impaled him. 

Among the eruption of blood, Geto managed to make out Mahito’s sly grin.

“I told you, didn't I? If you can't hurt my soul, you didn't stand a chance. I was letting you hurt me!” 

Geto spat out blood as he attempted to stifle a groan from the pain. 

The spike retracted as his dragon shrieked, worried for its master. 

As Geto was about to fall into Mahito’s grasp, his dragon grabbed him before Mahito could. 

Mahito's grin dropped instantly. “You are one annoying dog, you know that?” He said to the dragon. 

Geto grunted as his dragon curled around him, pushing as much reverse cursed energy into him as it could.

He felt his wounds close to a survivable level, but he also saw the glow of the Rainbow Dragon's scales fade, and he knew all too well what that meant. 

The Rainbow Dragon was unwillingly sucked back into his body, it's energy for the day spent, and now Geto was alone, struggling to stand, right in front of an enemy that wouldn't hesitate to turn him to dust. 

He raised his remaining arm, ready to summon more curses, despite his failing body, but he felt a hand grasp it, gently pushing it down. 

But it wasn't Mahito's. 

“...Yuji?” Geto asked, barely able to make out his saviour through bloodied, blurry vision. 

“Hey, I think that's the first time you've called me by my first name!” Yuji said gently, surprised, but smiling.

“I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner” he said, while he looked at what remained of Geto's right arm. 

“Don't apologise-” Geto said as he tried to stand, but Yuji pushed him down onto the ground.

“Don't push yourself, Suguru” he said. “Don't worry, it'll be fine”. 

Geto shook his head. “Yuji, please, don't do this alone. It'll kill you” 

Yuji just smirked, as he turned back to Geto, he just gave him a thumbs up. 

“Nah, I'll win” 

Mahito smiled wildly as he saw Yuji approach him for the second time today. 

“Itadori!” Mahito called out.

”Mahito” Yuji responded calmly, though his voice wavered a bit. 

The battlefield experienced a lull, and for a moment, it was calm. 

Both fighters pushed off of the ground, dashing forward. 

Mahito laughed. Yuji was wide open! So he struck Yuji with a right hook, right in the cheek. 

Only he didn't strike Yuji. He struck air. 

The sorcerer seemed to disappear in front of his very eyes.

Instantly his head snapped back, as he was struck with a flurry of punches to the face before he could react. 

As he fell back, Mahito tilted his head to the side, seeing Yuji deep in stance beside him.

“He's faster than before!” Mahito thought as he fell back. 

He managed to catch himself, planting his feet into the ground, laughing as he took a few steps back. “So this is how much you have really grown?” He asked, impressed by Yuji's true strength. 

Placing his hands in his face, Mahito yelled out “Then I'll go all out too!”, and flesh seemed to bubble up around him, writhing tentacles and popping bubbles, grotesque and destructive. 

Yuji took a step back to avoid being engulfed in it, but it disappeared almost instantly, Mahito standing in its place, his patchwork skin replaced with a grey, almost scaley exterior. His face replaced by an eyeless, noseless mask, and sporting blades on uis arms, and a tail, he wasted no time, taking more transfigured humans out of his mouth, turning them into soldiers, five forming around him. 

He spread his arms out, taunting Yuji.

“Can you really handle this, Itadori!?” He screamed, as Yuji stared back at him, the sun on this day finally setting, the darkness emphasised Yuji’s eyes, their blood red glow accentuated by the night.

Yuji clasped his hands together, and a stream of blood shot forth, piercing two of the soldiers in the skull, before swinging the bloodstream around. Mahito managed to dodge the attack by jumping over it, as did one of the soldiers, but the other two were sliced in half. 

Mahito and his soldier began running, but Yuji placed his hand on the ground, miniscule cuts spreading across it before it collapsed completely. 

Mahito grew wings and began flying, undeterred by the collapsing ground, but the last soldier tripped, and fell straight into Yuji’s fist. 

One punch completely destroyed its head. 

Mahito dropped the wings as he fell with an axe kick, but Yuji raised an arm, blocking the blow, but Mahito’s leg distorted itself, wrapping itself around Yuji’s arm, and flinging Yuji into the air. 

“In the sky, I have the advantage!” Mahito yelled out, as he grew another set of wings, flying into the air, straight at Yuji, aiming for a free hit. 

But Yuji wasn't about to comply. Black marks flickering on his skin as he focused, he used shrine on himself, making countless small fractures of his skin all around his body. 

As Mahito got close, Yuji yelled “Supernova!” And blood shot out of those wounds like bullets, tearing through Mahito's body, as he failed to dodge the assault. 

Mahito healed himself as he fell back to the ground alongside Yuji. “He must be low on blood now!” He thought, only to realise how wrong he was. 

A massive wave of blood, a sea of crimson liquid, fell over him. 

Yuji kept regenerating as much blood as he could, until it covered a one hundred meter squared area around Mahito, and then he clenched his fist, detonating all of his blood. 

Landing on his feet, Yuji rushed into the epicenter of the epicenter of the explosion, fierce fire and explosive force still raging. 

Mahito stood up, and the two charged at each other, engaging in a brawl encased in flames. 

Yuji smashed Mahito's jaw, a tiny bit of Mahito's armor breaking off under Yuji's sheer force, but Mahito responded in kind, slamming a fist into Yuji's gut. 

The two kept exchanging blows, long after the fire from the explosion died down. 

Yuji sidestepped a liver punch from mahito, throwing a jab that, unusually, did no damage to the curse, before grabbing his arm and swinging Mahito around, throwing him into a wall. 

Not even a second later Mahito came out, shooting towards him like a bullet, and the two grabbed each other's hands as they both pushed, engaged in a deadlock, until Mahito wrapped his tail around Yuji's throat. 

No longer able to breath, Yuji didn't panick, unleashing cleaves onto Mahito's hands, causing the curse to pull back, and with a grunt he slammed his open palms into Mahito's chest, pushing the curse back further. 

Mahito wasn't smiling anymore. He had expected his natural enemy to grow, sure, but to such a degree? It just didn't make sense. 

He growled. “You're not the only one who's learned new tricks, Itadori!” 

Placing a hand on the ground, Mahito sprouted hands on his back, and they formed a hand sign. 

“Maximum Technique: Soul Devouring!” 

He cackled once more, as Yuji hopped around the transforming landscape. Spikes sprouted underneath the sorcerer, limbs sprouting from the ground in an attempt to grab him, the dirt shifting around underneath him to deny him solid footing. 

Through use of his Maximum Technique, Mahito had managed to grasp the souls of the inanimate, including the very dirt beneath his feet. 

Yuji ran along the ground, lifting his feet before the hands sprouting up behind him could grab him. 

Leaping at Mahito, he slammed into a tree-like structure of hands that had sprouted up to defend him, though the curse himself did not move. 

“That must be the catch” Yuji thought as he pulled his arm out from the weird flesh tree, unnerved by an almost distorted scream that came from the ground beneath him. “He needs to keep contact to the ground” 

Another spike sprouted up from the ground, and Yuji narrowly dodged it, the tip slicing his cheek. 

He spun around the rising flesh, and went to punch Mahito's crouched body. 

But Mahito was desperate and prepared. In that moment, pure instinct took over, and he was prepared to give everything to kill Yuji Itadori. 

The curse followed that instinct, pulling every remaining transfigured human stored in his body, one hundred to be exact, and condensing them into one small, flat disc. 

Mahito had realised a second Maximum Technique. 

“Maximum Technique: Sacrificial Slaughter!” 

The thin disc expanded, and in a moment, shot out. 

Slicing Yuji Itadori's body in half. 

Still in mid air, a phenomenon occurred to Yuji, something he was all too used to. 

He flashed back to his old life. 

“Gojo-sensei, what's that red thing that you do? How does that work?” 

Gojo winked at him. “It's simple, really. I just use reverse cursed energy instead of cursed energy when making blue, and then it turns red!” 

Yuji tilted his head. “Is it that easy? So Megumi could create a red as well?” 

Gojo hummed for a moment.

“Well, it wouldn't be a red, they're called reversals. Basically, it's the opposite of your regular cursed techniques's application. If your technique has more than one application as well, you could probably have more than one reversal. And as for if he could do it…” 

Yuji watched as Gojo paced around the room. “He has the potential, if he learns reverse cursed technique. The problem is, there's three main requirements for reversals” 

Yuji stared at his elder intensely. “What are they?” He asked, despite knowing that, due to his lack of a cursed technique, he'd never be able to experience a reversal. 

“Well, the first is obvious” Gojo started, holding up one finger. “You need to be able to use reverse cursed technique”. 

Holding up a second finger, he continued. “Not every technique is compatible with a reversal, only a select few. But the third is probably the most tricky” 

Holding up a third finger, he started to explain the final condition.

“Really, each condition is just about a certain aspect of you being compatible with it. Rct us your body being compatible with it. Your cursed technique also needs to be compatible with it. But the final step is you, as a person, need to be compatible with the idea of your reversal” 

Yuji was visibly confused, staring at his sensei, who noticed the confusion. “Ah, I guess the best way to explain it would be like a vegan, whose reversal would theoretically be about killing animals. It's just not something they could do, and as such, it won't ever become an option to them” 

He prodded Yuji’s chest with a finger. “Do you ever think of what kind of a thing you'd be compatible with, Yuji?” he asked, and Yuji brought a finger to his chin, making a thinking pose. 

“Probably something really badass, like a kamehameha, or a rasengan!” 

Gojo chuckled. “Still holding onto that dream, huh? But no, if you ask me” he said, looking out the window, to see Nobara and Megumi arguing over something stupid. 

“You're the type of person to put stuff back together” 

“Huh?” Yuji hummed. “What, you mean like a Lego builder?” 

Gojo smiled. “You're the type of person to fix people, and situations, Yuji. You're a fixer”

“Shrine Reversal: Binding” 

Yuji placed a hand on himself, as his body separated, his body stitching itself back together, two pieces becoming one. 

Mahito staggered backwards, as he just watched the effort of a hundred souls go to waste, all out of transfigured humans.

He tried activating Soul Devouring once more, but Yuji was right up in his face before he had the chance to do anything. 

Mahito tried to step away, but he felt his knee shake. 

“Not again! Not again! Not again!” He chanted in his thoughts, as Yuji started bobbing and weaving his head in a figure of eight motion.

However, this gave Mahito new found confidence. 

“I recognise those movements! You humans call that the Dempsey roll, right? But one well timed punch is all I need to completely shut it down!” 

Perceiving this as Yujis's fatal error in this fight, Mahito regained his confidence, watching and understanding Yuji's movement patterns. And as Yuji charged in for the first blow, Mahito stepped in, about to collide with his face… 

BAM! 

Mahito was knocked off balance before he could do anything 

“A time lag?! When? How did he time this!” He thought, panic setting in, as Yuji Itadori unleashed everything. 

Memories of Megumi flashed through his mind. 

“Never again” He thought, as he landed a right hook, black sparks shattering the space around them. 

Loading the left hook, and swinging forcefully at Mahito's face once more, memories of Nobara surged forth as more black flashes appeared. 

“Never again-” 

Another right hook. Another black flash. Mahito's armor cracked. Yuji was getting faster. 

“-will I ever-” 

Another left hook. Another black flash. Mahito’s armor was torn apart, not a single fragment left on his face. 

More memories, this time of Nanami. 

“-let anyone else-” 

Once more, a right hook, this time meeting Mahito’s unarmoured face. The night once again illuminated by the sparks of black. 

He remembered Yuta. 

“-ever-” 

Yet another slam into his face, more shattered space, as he remembered Todo. 

“-DIE!” 

Shifting his weight, he pivoted on his heel, using all of his strength, screaming out as he punched with all his might slamming his fist into Mahito’s nose, hearing a crunch, as his fist embedded itself further into the curse’s face, and he dragged the curse into the ground, black sparks erupting for the final time, as Mahito collided with the floor, shockwaves roared, bellowing outwards, a large crater forming in the ground. 

The winds roared, shaking nearby trees, ripping foliage from the ground, pushing back boulders created by the fight, and destroying the twisted creations of Mahito’s Soul Devour. 

Geto, Gojo, and Shoko all noticed the destructive force of the blow, feeling the wind and seeing the destruction rain from the battlefield, even as far away as they were from Mahito and Yuji’s battle. 

Geto managed to get up despite the pain, staggering over to the edge of the crater, looking down at the end of the fight. 

Yuji stood over the curse that lay defeated on the ground. Not dead. 

Not yet. 

Mahito couldn't even stand. He didn't have the strength. So he just laid on the ground, eyes full of fear, as he stared at the one he had vowed to kill, silently pleading for mercy. 

Yuji raised a fist, and caved in Mahito’s head. 

The curse dissipated, and just like that, after two timelines and countless deaths… 

Mahito was dead. 

Chapter Text

Geto, still stumbling from his injuries, managed to make his way into the crater that Yuji had created with his fight with Mahito. 

Yuji turned to look at him, his hands covered in purple curse blood. Spotting Geto, he let out a bright smile, and despite his injuries, Geto could only smile back at him. 

Yuji walked behind Geto, who entered Tengen's chambers to meet with the others. 

As Yuji followed Geto, he paused for a moment, Toji’s body was slumped beside the door. 

The assassin turned to Yuji, his long hair drifting over his eyes, shielding half of his face from the sorcerer that stood in front of him. 

“Brat” he called out, bringing Yuji to a stop. 

“Why the hell did you spare me?” 

Yuji chuckled softly, wheezing as he did, his bruised body dealing with pangs of pain. “Pretty sure it was Gojo who fought you, not me”. 

Toji shook his head. “Nah, he was gonna kill me, without a doubt. But you told him not to. Why?” 

Yujj just shrugged. “There wasn't any reason for you to die. Isn't that enough of a reason to spare you?” He said, confident in his logic. 

Toji chuckled. “Not worried about me going after your little vessel?” 

Yuji smiled. “Nah. The merging isn't going ahead anyways. Don't you have kids to go home to?” 

Toji looked surprised for a moment, before laughing wildly. “Man! Kid you have got to give me a way to contact your informant. Whoever they are seems like the real deal!” 

Yuji entered Tengen’s chamber, closing the door behind him. While it was opened by just a creak, he turned his head back to the crack, leaving Toji with one last message. 

“Keep living” 

Finally entering the chamber, Yuji spotted his friends, crowded around the center of the room, Tengen standing to the side. Shoko and Gojo were fussing over Geto's missing arm, as he tried to reassure them. 

“Yo!” Yuji walked up to them, greeting them. Shoko lit up, and Geto let out a soft smile. Gojo just stared at him. 

Yuji rubbed the back of his head as he chuckled nervously. “I suppose I have a lot of explaining to do, don't I?” 

Gojo folded his arms. “Yeah, you do” 

Yuji chuckled. “Not so high anymore, huh Gojo?” 

Gojo shrieked. “What's that supposed to mean!” but he turned his head in betrayal at the sound of Geto and Shoko laughing. “Hey!” He complained. 

He turned his head furiously to Yuji, who felt sweat dripping down his forehead. 

“Start. Now” he demanded. 

Yuji nodded. “I guess I better start at the beginning”. 

Yuji sat down at one of the last, whole beaches in Japan. He felt the course sand underneath his feet. His shoes had been destroyed long ago, nothing but tattered rags. 

The sun was halfway to being covered by the horizon, its halved shine casting a soft orange glow across the sky. 

The perfect view for the end of the world. 

He heard the shifting of sand, as footsteps approached the teen, now seventeen, though he didn't know it, having lost any way to measure time months ago. 

“So, this is where you've been hiding, brat” Sukuna said, goading the one he hated the most. Tilting his head, he started talking again. 

“All alone? Where are your little friends? Did they abandon you, too?” 

Yuji shrugged, though he didn't turn to Sukuna as he spoke, not wanting to take his eyes off the horizon. 

“Well, anyone who stayed in the shelter got crushed by… that thing. And anyone who left got cut up by you. There's three things left in Japan. You, me and that monster” 

Sukuna raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What, are you going to cry?” 

The wind shifted directions as Yuji's hair, which had grown longer, hitting his shoulders, drifted in the breeze. 

“There's too many things to cry over. If I start, I'll never stop” 

Sukuna grunted. “I'll never understand weaklings like you. Placing all of your energy into making bonds, finding love. It's all so pointless” 

Yuji let out a small smile. “Nah, it's not. I didn't waste a single moment” 

For the first time in a long time, he turned to look straight at Sukuna. 

“Can you honestly say the same?” 

Sukuna grunted. “When did you become a philosopher, brat?” 

“Same time you became a merciful man. Now, can we get this over with?” 

Sukuna held his hand out, beginning a chant. “Fine. I'll be glad to finally be rid of you”. 

He was stopped, mid chant, by a loud bang that rang out across the country. Turning, the two sorcerers saw a wave of pure, white, cascading energy rushing toward them. 

Sukuna smiled. “So that's how it is, huh? Tengen, you really are a sorcerer to the very end” 

And then, the two of them were engulfed in pure white, energy. 

What happened next was a blur. It was like Yuji was watching his life in reverse. Meeting Kugisaki and Megumi, becoming a sorcerer, his gramps’ death, his own birth. Was this what death was supposed to be? 

But he kept going. Past his birth, past his life. 

And then he woke up. 

Coughing, he sat up from where he had been lying, on the side of the road. 

He looked around his landing spot. The streets of whatever city he was in were bustling. Some of the crowd walking by looked down at him, but most ignored him. 

Getting up and dusting himself off, he wandered around for a few hours. 

After ages of roaming the street, he came up to a street vendor, who was selling newspapers. Thinking he could get an idea of where he was from it, he picked one up, looking at it. 

It said that this was Shibuya. His eyes widened. How was that possible? Yuji had seen Shibuya destroyed, first by his own hand, then by the beast that Kenjaku had created!

And then he saw the date in the corner. His eyes widened.

“Huuuuh? What the hell are you saying, Akutami?!” Shoko yelled, startling the two boys who were standing beside her. 

“I think…” Geto said, pausing for a moment. “That Akutami is telling us he is a time traveller, from the past” 

Yuji stared at him blankly, while Geto explained it to an awestruck Shoko, and a very confused Gojo. 

“I mean, he's talking about the king of curses! He was only alive over a thousand years ago!” 

“Uhh, about that…” Yuji spoke up, interrupting them. “It's more like… he'll be back? In roughly a decade…” 

The three sorcerers stared right at Yuji synonymously, struggling to process what they had just heard. 

“WHAT!?” Shoko yelled. 

“So, you're from the future, not the past?” Gojo asked, a bit of doubt creeping into his voice. Yuji nodded. 

Shoko was the next to speak up. “So, is it true? What happens to Japan? It all goes to shit?” 

Yuji, once again, nodded. 

“How many die?” Gojo asked, speaking up for the first time since Yuji's confession. 

Yuji looked at Gojo, staring into his eyes, showing a weariness that had been building up in him for a long, long time. 

“Everyone” 

“Holy shit” Shoko breathed. “Everyone? Seriously?” She was trembling, and taking deep breaths. 

“You alright, Shoko?” Geto asked, and she nodded, composing herself. 

“It's just… it's a lot, you know? All of us die in ten years? To the return of a sorcerer that lived a thousand years ago?” 

“Well..” Yuji started. “Actually, out of you three, only Gojo died to Sukuna” 

This caught his friends’ attention. 

“There's.. something else in the future. Another sorcerer named Kenjaku had a plan to create the greatest curse ever, out of nothing but morbid curiosity. That's what kills you, Shoko” 

Shoko nodded. “Well, at least I know what I'll die to”

“No, you don't” Gojo said. “That's the entire reason Akutami's here, right?” 

Yuji nodded. “Yeah. I promise that I'm going to change everything. You guys want to help me?” He said sheepishly, nervously scratching the back of his head. 

The trio gave him thumbs up, with Shoko wrapping an arm around him. “Of course. That's what friends do, after all!” 

Yuji smiled softly. “Thanks guys, I really appreciate it” 

Geto nodded along with the other two. He debated asking Yuji how he'd die, but he decided against it. There would always be other opportunities, and he trusted his friend. 

“Hold on!” Gojo suddenly announced, interrupting the grace period. “You still haven't explained how that crazy woman knows you!” 

Yuji sighed. “Alright, you guys might want to sit down. This might take a while…” 

Half an hour, and one extremely confusing family tree diagram later, Yuji managed to fill his friends in on the insanity that was his mother, the body swapping monstrosity who had created the ultimate curse. 

“Woah” was all Shoko, the normally loudmouthed member of the group, could say. 

“Ah, so that's why you smell like a curse, you are part curse!” 

Geto gave Gojo a side eye. “Why do you sound so excited over this?” 

Gojo smiled. “Well, I was right all along, wasn't I? Yuji was hiding something, he was part curse, and he was plotting something to do with the Gojo family” he argued, only to be smacked on the head by Shoko. 

“This isn't about you, ya idiot” she said, as he grumbled over the bump forming where she had hit him. 

“What I still don't understand is how she knew it was me,” Yuji said. “even if I do look like my younger self, I think most people would just write it off or think I'm my fathers long lost brother or something” 

“Perhaps I can help you with that” 

The foursome turned to see Tengen approach them. 

Yuji narrowed his eyes. “Right. You have some explaining to do as well” 

Tengen waved him off. “Come now, surely you've figured it out by now” 

It was like she was taunting him. 

Yujis eyes twitched. “Figured out what?” 

“You're not the only one to traverse through time”. 

Yuji was visibly taken back by this revelation. 

“Wait… you're not seriously saying… you're really..?” 

Tengen nodded. “I am, in fact, the Tengen from your time, Yuji Itadori. In fact, I am the very reason you stand here today” 

Yuji leaned forward. “...what? You… me? Why choose me? Out of everyone?” 

Tengen stopped him from rattling on any further. “It was not a choice. My intention was for me to be the only one to travel through time, but it seemed that you somehow hitched a ride, so to speak” 

This confused Yuji, but before he could question it, Shoko spoke up. 

“Wait, but then why not just send everyone on your side back? Why just you?” 

“Finally, you've asked the correct question” Tengen replied, and a smug smile made its way to Shoko's face. 

“You're aware of the karmic nature of cursed energy, no? That as one side of the curse and human war gets stronger, so will the other? Well, this faces a similar problem. As I am sent back in time, so will someone who opposes me. That's how Kenjaku recognised you. They were my opposition” 

“Hold on” Yuji said. “Then does that mean that Mahito was my “opposition”?” 

Tengen shook her head. “No. That curse came back through a unique case. The technique works by overwriting your past selves souls with your future soul, so to speak. It's why there's only one Tengen, and only one Kenjaku. That curse came through due to their unique soul based abilities. So, Itadori, I have no idea who, or what, came back with you, nor do I know where they are”

“But if you take over your past bodies, shouldn't Yuji be a toddler right about now?” Gojo asked. “What's all that about?” 

Tengen sighed. “That, I do not understand. I had explored the possibility of bringing back my entire body before, but transferring an entire body into the past simply took an impossible amount of cursed energy, it would even drain the six eyes completely if they tried. So honestly, I really don't understand how you came back as yourself” 

“Wow” was all Yuji could say. “So… we have the regular events of shibuya to deal with, as well as what the new Kenjaku is planning, and some extra secret enemy running around?” 

Tengen nodded. “Yes. As for how you plan to deal with it, that is for you to decide. But Kenjaku is not one to rush things. I implore you to, for now, take this knowledge, and spend the next few years growing stronger. You have a limited amount of time, I implore you to make use of it” 

Geto nodded. “She's right. We should enjoy peace while we have it” 

“Are you all done with your little meeting?” Toji's voice rang out. 

Yuji nodded, and Gojo and Shoko scowled at the sight of the assassin, while Geto took a step back, letting his Rainbow Dragon out of his body. It circled around the group, before Yuji gently pressed against its head, telling his friends to relax. 

“What did you hear?” Yuji asked. 

“Just some junk about you being some sort of time traveler” answered the heavenly restricted warrior. “To be honest, I don't really care about all of that though. But I do have a question for you"

“You have some nerve asking Yuji for favours, you-” Geto spoke up, but Yuji put his hand up to silence his friend, but Toji just smiled. 

“Relax, I have a feeling you guys will want to hear this one out. Especially you, Akutami, given how obsessed you are with saving people” 

Kenjaku, still within the stolen husk of Kaori Itadori, stuck in such a lacking vessel for so very long, stroked a large wooden casket longingly. “Not for another while, I'm afraid”  

Abandoning her great new experiment, Kenjaku moved on to a table placed beside it. She frowned as she heard the screaming of captured test subjects, people desperate to escape the attempts at creating the perfect host. She had done too good of a job with Yuji, after all. What is the point of a host that can fight back against its subject? 

Unwrapping a large cloth, she stared down at the product of all of her hard work within this new time. 

Thirty seven fingers of Sukuna laid on that cloth. 

Chapter Text

The west wing of the Zen’in estate was quiet, as it usually was at night. Ogi Zen’in was simply doing his usual rounds, unbuttered by the silence. He felt at peace here. As much as the politics surrounding the great three clans gave him great power in Jujutsu Society, it was undoubtedly draining, and every night he took solace in the fact that he could sit down, alone, unbuttered by his wife, by his brother, or by his brat of a nephew, and just stew in the quiet. 

But this night was different. His ears, sharp as ever, picked up the pattering of footsteps. From the sounds of it, three sets. 

He walked confidently, toward the sounds that intruded upon his isolation. 

“Ah, Master Naoya. I thought you were no longer residing within this estate?” 

It killed Ogi, having to talk to someone so young and spoiled with such a high level of respect. Just another aspect of Jujutsu politics that weighed down upon him. 

“I'm not, uncle” the teen heir responded. “I'm just… visiting. Thought I'd say hello to my father, after being apart for so long” 

Ogi raised an eyebrow at that. Naoya wasn't known as the nostalgic type, he had no doubt that Naoya would sacrifice them all in a heartbeat for more power. 

But, Ogi had thought the same thing when Naoya decided to affiliate himself with Jujutsu High. Despite this, none of the clan's secrets seemed to have been leaked. Perhaps even the spoiled brat had some semblance of loyalty? 

“I heard multiple sets of footsteps,” Ogi said, observing the young master's reaction, though Naoya didn't miss a beat. 

“My technique," he said without a moments notice. “That's probably what you heard. I'm just in a bit of a rush is all”

Ogi sighed. “Fine, then I'll let you be on your way. 

Naoya bowed. “Thank you, uncle” 

Ogi huffed. “Perhaps some time with that school really did do you some good” 

He walked partway down the hall, before looking at his own hands. 

They were trembling. Why? He wasn't getting that old. It was like his body was trying to tell him something. 

He sighed, turning back and following the young heir. Catching up to him quickly, he announced his presence to Naoya once more. “I suppose I should escort you to your father. After all, you've been gone for so long, it's possible your memory of the estate's layout has faded completely” 

He noticed a flicker in Naoya's eyes, as if they were filled with some unknown emotion, one that Ogi had never seen within the heir before. 

“Sorry, uncle. But I can't let that happen” 

Ogi's body screamed at him, as if to move. 

But it was already too late. 

As Ogi felt a pair of hands grab both sides of his head, he didn't bother screaming. It wouldn't help. 

Because the last time his body had responded this way was when he was face to face with the demon of the Zen'in clan. 

Toji Fushiguro snapped Ogi's neck with one quick motion. 

All of a sudden, Ogi was somewhere else entirely. A white, sanitised, room. Ogi recognised it. His childhood bedroom. 

He smiled. “So this is how it ends?” 

He looked around. There were two exits. One could let him go back. He didn't doubt it. Vengeance would taste so sweet, if he could achieve it. 

He started walking in the opposite direction. 

Naoya, Toji and Yuji stood over the dead man, Toji prodding his head with a finger. 

“So, you think he's gonna turn into a vengeful spirit?” He asked. “Gotta say, think it's a bit of a risky plan” 

Yuji shook his head. “If anyone but Naoya uses cursed energy, someone in the estate will sense it, without a doubt. We had to take this risk” 

“It wasn't a risk,” Naoya interjected. “He won't come back. That's not the type of man that Uncle was. 

Toji raised an eyebrow. “You seriously pay that much attention to your family? I thought you were too much of a glory hound to pay attention to anyone else. 

Naoya sighed. “Yeah, I deserve that. And honestly, I didn't really pay attention to anyone else, like the rest of my clan. But with Uncle… It was hard to miss. He was tired, tired of all of it. The politics, the fighting, he hated all of it” 

Yuji rested a hand on Naoya's shoulder. 

“I'm sorry, Naoya” but Naoya shook his head. 

“Don't be. He may have been family, but he was still a Zen'in” 

Toji nodded. “You're right about that. Now come on, let's go. We have work to get done” 

Naoya nodded. 

Mai let out a yelp as Maki pulled her along, her enhanced body being troublesome for Mai to keep up with. 

“Come on, sis!” Maki yelled, causing Mai to flinch. 

“I'm sorry!” She responded, as they both ducked behind a pillar, flinching as they heard a roar. 

Well, as Mai heard a roar. After all, the thing that was chasing them… Well, Maki couldn't see or hear it. 

But that didn't make it any less real. 

Something, invisible to Maki, tore a hole in the pillar they hid behind, causing both girls to yelp, and leap out from their hiding spot. The darkness of the night made it hard for them to see anything, and so it was hard to find another hiding spot. 

The two girls were trapped in something that their clan called “The Pit”. A place where curses were kept to train their sorcerers. Or, if you were unlucky, to punish you. 

That was the fate that Maki and Mai had suffered, at just four years old. 

Mai looked horrified, she was trembling badly. If Maki had to guess, that horrifying monster was probably right in front of them. 

She was right of course. Only Mai could see it, and it was the most horrifyingly disgusting thing she had seen in her life. Putrid purple, bulbous skin that gave off a horrifying stench. No eyes, but teeth popped out everywhere, and its skin had a tongue-like texture to it, as if the entire creature was one deformed mouth that had been turned inside out. 

It had thousands of tiny nubs lining its bottom, which moved almost independently, shoving it along the floor, and leaving a disgusting green mucus as it pushed forward, like a demonic slug. 

It was inches away from Mai's face, the stench was unbearable. But the idea that she'd die was worse. The idea that her sister would die, though… 

That was the worst thing of all. 

She tried to back up further, with her sister, but their backs were to the wall, and the curse approached even closer. Tears welled up in her eyes. She hugged her sister, afraid that this would be the night that they died. 

Suddenly, a loud BANG rang out, attracting the attention of the girls, and the curse. 

A wall in the pit had been broken through. And though the darkness meant little could be seen, the siblings could make two red dots out. 

No, not dots. Eyes. 

Faster than they could see, the figure engulfed in the night dashed up to the curse, punching it so hard that his fist went through the monstrosity, destroying it instantly. 

Curse blood shot out, covering the twins completely, though Maki didn't notice. 

The figure bent down, crouching over the two, who were still embracing each other, but their eyes were on him now. 

“It's okay” he said, wiping the curse blood from Mai’s face. “We're here to get you out of here” 

“Who are you?” Mai whispered. He smiled. 

“I'm Yuji” he said, holding out his hands to the two girls. “I'm here to help you two. To get you out of here. Do you want to be with the Zen'ins any more?” 

“No” Mai whispered. “They always hurt sis when they get mad. They throw us down here. They say mean things. I don't… want to be here anymore” 

Maki shyly nodded. “I don't want sis to be hurt anymore” 

They took his hands, and he grasped them tightly. 

They walked through the hole in the pit with him, and met up with two more men. 

One which they recognised. 

The two immediately diverted their eyes upon seeing Naoya, and he sighed. He looked over to Yuji and Toji. 

“Now that we're here, I'm gonna stop off at one more spot. You guys should get out of here, though. No point endangering the girls” 

Yuji narrowed his eyes. “Naoya, are you planning what I think you're planning?” 

Naoya nodded. 

“You know, we've avoided cameras so far, but that place definitely has them. You go there, and you'll be marked as a traitor to the Zen’in clan for life” Toji warned him. 

Naoya nodded. “I know. But, I don't think I want to be part of the Zen’in clan anymore” 

Yuji chuckled. “Shoko really did a number on you, didn't she?” 

Naoya nodded. “The last few months have really been... eye opening” 

Toji pulled something out of his mouth, tossing it to Naoya. As he did, it expanded in size, hitting Naoya and wrapping all around the sorcerer.  

“Whats-” 

“It's my inventory curse. It'll let you carry more stuff. Just don't break it, got it?” Toji warned him, and Naoya nodded seriously. 

“Good luck” Yuji said, wishing Naoya fair well, and Naoya let out a soft smile, nodding as he dashed off. 

Toji and Yuji watched Naoya leave. 

“So, was this part of your time travel plan?” He asked, and Yuji smiled, shaking his head. 

“Though you might find it hard to believe, thus wasn't even something I thought about. All of this? Naoya did it, not me” 

Toji nodded. “He's a good kid. Though I'd hate to imagine how he turned out in your timeline”  

“Yeah, you wouldn't. So it's a good thing that we have this Naoya” 

Naoya expertly navigated his former home. His father had likely drunk himself into a coma again, so there was no need to worry about his intervention. It was the other members that Naoya needed to worry about. 

Creeping his way into what might be the most valuable room in the Zen'in estate, Naoya let a grin spread from cheek to cheek. 

The armory. And not just the low level one for the grunts of the Zen'in. No, this was the armory dedicated to the collection of cursed tools that the Zen'in had accumulated through years of exploring, inventing, and purchasing. 

One hundred and twenty grade two cursed tools. 

Fifty seven grade one cursed tools. 

And… twenty three special grade cursed tools. 

It was a goldmine! And just what Jujutsu High needed. What Geto-senpai, Shoko-senpai, or even Akutami-senpai could do with one of these would be… 

Well, it wouldn't be a treat for the eyes, that's for sure. 

Grabbing all of the special grade tools first, he was surprised to find that the curse wrapped around him seemed to be able to carry an infinite amount of tools! Grinning, he tossed in all of the grade one cursed tools as well. 

He wondered if there was some sort of a limit to the curse’s inventory, and he decided that now was the time to test it. 

He managed to grab about thirty grade two cursed tools before the curse belched. 

Taking that as a sign that it was reaching its limit, he opened the door to the armory, and walked out. 

Knowing the cameras had already caught him, and he had to leave soon, he decided to make his way back to the group. 

But there was one more place he had to stop before he left.

Stepping into the bedroom of the one person he felt ought to know what was happening that night. 

He saw the back of a woman who was slowly carving ink into a page in her diary as she Sat at her desk, she turned to the source of the sound, and her eyes widened in fear and anger. 

“Why are you here!” She demanded, and Naoya held his hands up, as a peace offering. 

“I know you don't want to see me, but I think there's something you should know” 

She held her pen up, pointing it at him, as if it would do anything, as if it would help her. 

“I just thought you should know… we're getting Maki and Mai out of here"

She dropped the pen. “What?” was all she could mutter. 

“I know you don't trust me. But your daughters deserve a better life. I'm sorry for everything I've done, but I'm doing what I can now to make up for it. We're taking them to Jujutsu High. They'll be safe there. Treated fairly there” 

Tears welled up in the woman’s eyes. “Oh, my daughters… my children…”

Naoya extended a hand. “You can come as well, if you want”

She shook her head. “This clan… It needs someone to punish. I can at least stay here. They can punish me, and they won't come looking for my daughters” 

Naoya nodded. “I understand” 

As he turned to leave, she called out to him. 

“This may be the last time I ever see you, so I want you to understand this” 

He turned back to her. 

“I am grateful for what you're doing for my children, and will always be grateful. But I will never stop hating you, Naoya Zen'in. For everything you've done. Never forget that” 

Naoya hung his head. “I know. It's what I deserve” he whispered, as he left the bedroom, leaving the mother alone. 

Naoya met up with the group, and they managed to leave the Zen'in compound without much difficulty. Thankfully, it hadn't been too exciting of an adventure. 

It only took a couple of hours to get back to Jujutsu High, and thankfully it was still dark. 

Resting finally, in the court of Jujutsu High, all five members of their little breakout group seemed to stall for a moment. 

Toji snapped his fingers, and the Inventory Curse started to spit out the collected cursed tools that Naoya had stolen. Yuji and Toji raised their eyebrows as the curse just. kept. releasing. tools.  

Toji whistled. “Damn, you're good, kid. Did you even leave anything?” 

Naoya smiled at the praise from one of his two idols. 

Once the curse had finished spitting the one hundred and ten cursed tools onto the floor of the courtyard, Toji grabbed it, wrapping it around him. 

“Well, it's time for me to get going,” he said, stretching his arms. “Thanks for the help. Toji Fushiguro officially owes both of you a favor” 

“Hang on!” Yuji exclaimed. “You're forgetting something!” 

Toji scratched his head, racking his brain. “Oh, really? I don't think I did…” 

“The kids, dude!” 

Toji blinked, pointing at Yuji. “I thought you were gonna take care of em?” 

Yuji's eyes widened. “What? I'm still in school! I live in a dorm! I can't take care of them!” 

Toji just shrugged it off. “Sorry, but I already have my hands full with two little ones at home. I'm fully booked out” 

Yuji pinched his brow in frustration. 

“That's no- hey!” He yelled, suddenly noticing that Toji was halfway out of the gate to Jujutsu High. 

“Thanks, Akutami! I really appreciate this!” He yelled as he left. 

“Get back here!” Yuji screamed back. 

All of a sudden, it was Yuji, Naoya, and two very clingy girls, who were hanging on to Yuji's trousers. 

Naoya looked to Yuji. “So.. what now?” 

Yuji sighed. “I'll try hiding the girls in my dorm, and I'll sleep on the couch or something. I think everyone else is away on missions right now anyways. You make sure these get somewhere secure before going to bed, and then we hope that the Zen'in clan isn't stupid enough to start a war with Jujutsu High” 

He walked the girls over to the doors to the main building, before waving back at Naoya. 

“Make sure to get some rest once you're done, Naoya!” 

Naoya nodded. “Will do!” 

And as he watched Yuji disappear into the building, and he grabbed a bundle of cursed tools, he thought to himself, about what he had just done.be

Betraying his entire clan. He'd never have the same political power as he had had as the future heir. 

But that wasn't what he wanted. Not anymore. 

He thought of Yuji, and of Toji. Two people who did what they thought was right, who used their power to stand above whatever political bullshit the Zen'ins tried to pull. 

“One day” he thought. “I'll be good enough to stand alongside both of you”

Chapter Text

Yuji sat meekly in a chair in Yaga's office as his sensei paced furiously around the room. He had been caught trying to smuggle the girls some food, by Yaga, and he was now getting more than an earful from his sensei.

“So, let me get this straight,” Yaga started, frustration evident from his tone of voice. “First, you attack the leader of the Zen'in in the Dead Zone-” 

“-He attacked me!” Yuji protested, but his interruption was instantly shut down by an angry look from Yaga. 

“Then, you radicalise the current heir to turn against the Zen'in! And after all that, you tell me that you kidnapped two of their members!” 

Yuji put his hands up, as if he was surrendering. “We may have… also… stolen some of their cursed tools…” 

Yaga just stared blankly at him for a moment, processing what he had just said. 

“And besides!” Yuji continued. “Half of that wasn't even my fault! Naobito attacked me first, I barely said anything to Naoya, and you weren't there, but those two girls were getting abused in that family!” 

Yaga waved him off, sighing as he pinched his brow. “I know, I'm not saying you're at fault, I'm just trying to give you an idea of how the Zen'in are going to frame it” 

Yuji chuckled nervously. “Yeah, politics… I guess I didn't think about all of that. Is everything… going to be okay?” 

Yaga sighed before nodding. 

“I'll have a meeting with the Gojo clan, to sort things out, but with Gojo here, we should have their support. As long as the Zen'in doesn't get any support from the Kamo clan, it'll be two major Jujutsu bodies against one, and they won't want to take that fight. If they try to take anything to Jujutsu headquarters, we can leverage your attempted assassination in the Dead Zone, to make them back off” 

Yuji let out a sigh of relief. “That's good. I was worried that we might have a Jujutsu war on our hands!” He joked, but when he looked at Yaga, his teacher's face was still stern. 

“We might still have one. The Kamo clan, for some reason, think we may have kidnapped one of their members, or atleast one was harmed while on our premises. I don't know why, but that's the case. If they think it's beneficial for them to team up with the Zen'in, then we could have a full blown war on our hands” 

Yuji gulped, but Yaga placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. 

“But that's an issue for another day, so don't worry about it. Right now, we need to figure out how to care for our new guests” Yaga said, gesturing to the window between his office and the room outside, where Shoko and Geto watched Gojo get a bit too close to Maki, only to get slapped in the face by her, causing the two onlookers to chuckle. Mai turned to the window and spotted Yuji, and gave him a shy wave. Yuji smiled and waved back. 

“So, what do you have in mind?” He asked. 

“Well, we’ll need to find a place for the three of you close by the school, and a proper babysitter, and-” Yaga started before Yuji waved in his face, cutting him off. 

“What do you mean, “for the three of you”?!” 

Yaga blinked. “You took them here, that means you're responsible for them” 

“I'm seventeen!” Yuji responded incredulously. “I can barely take care of myself, never mind a couple of four year olds!” 

Yaga shrugged. “You should've thought about that before infiltrating the Zen'in clan and stealing two of their members. Besides, they aren't exactly warming up to anyone else. And you won't be handling this alone. We'll get babysitters, and put you through some classes to help you figure out how to take care of them” 

Yuji just stared at his teacher in shock. A sly smile formed on Yaga's face as he gestured for Yuji to leave. “Now get going. You have a mission scheduled with Haibara, I don't want you to be late” 

As Yuji got up, and opened the door to leave, Yaga called on him one more time. 

“Oh, and Yuji? Has something changed? You seek a lot more… relaxed, recently” 

Yuji smiled. “Yeah… I just got something off my chest” 

Hainara beamed as Akutami walked beside him through the bustling streets of Shibuya. It was his first mission solo with his senpai, and he was thrilled to learn from his senior. 

“So,” Yuji spoke up as they walked past crowds of people, towards an abandoned grey apartment building, the one part of the street that lacked colour. “You've been practicing with your technique, like I told you?” 

Haibara nodded. “Every day, senpai! You've really made me thing about my cursed technique in a whole new light!” 

Yuji smiled, patting him on the back as they reached the building. “Well, if you're so confident, you should be able to handle this by yourself, right?” He said, practically shoving Haibara through the door. 

Haibara stuttered out some objections, but Yuji ignored them, urging his junior on. 

“You'll be fine, go kick its ass!” Yuji cheered, as he shut the door in front of Haibara.

He sighed, giving a faint smile as he flipped through the folder he had been given.

[August 21st, 2007] 

The day Haibara had died in his original timeline. 

Time to see how much his underclassman had grown. If Haibara failed, then Yuji could step in and save him. And if he beat the curse alone? 

That meant that Yuji’s plan was working.

Haibara creeped through the first floor of the apartment building. His best bet was to catch the curse off guard, and take it out before it did anything. 

Darkness slowly consumed the crumbling inner walls of the stone tomb, fading concrete walls that looked like they'd never been inhabited scattered around, their identical designs making it impossible to discern left from right. 

But Haibara paid it no mind. Staying low, he peered around each corner, carefully creating a map in his mind of the premises. He ignored the rattling and screaming that echoed around the building. No point following the noise when it could be a trap. 

So over the course of an hour, he slowly made his way up more grey, diluted floors that looked like they hadn't been lived in… ever.

“Wait… didn't Akutami-senpai say this place used to be lived in? So why does it look like the walls aren't even painted? And why does it feel like I've been climbing up floors for way too long?” 

Haibara's eyes widened as he turned to the concrete wall beside him, one of the outer walls, as far as he could tell. 

As his fist was coated in a blue glow, he slammed his fist into the wall three times, before pulling back for a moment. 

Not even a scratch. 

Suddenly, the blue light turned into red, he pulled his arm back one more time, and slammed through the wall, creating a small opening, exposing the world outside of the apartment building. 

It wasn't the world Haibara knew. 

Buildings, identical to the one Haibara was standing on, floated around the dark purple void he found himself in. 

“An inner domain” he whispered, remembering Yuji's teachings. 

The air here was thick, and oppressive. It was like it was laced with cursed energy. Dark thoughts formed in Haibara's mind, thoughts he knew weren't his. 

He shook his head, doing his best to ignore them, as he climbed onto the roof of his building. 

Glancing around, he noticed the buildings seemed to be orbiting around a certain spot within the inner domain. The center, if Haibara had to guess. 

He made a couple of jumping motions as blue light encased his feet, but they didn't leave the ground. Suddenly, his feet flickered red, and he launched off the apartment building, destroying the roof as he did so  

He flew through the cursed energy infested air, aiming for another building, only to see a large grey blur rapidly approach him, ramming into him, and changing his trajectory, slamming him into another grey, apartment complex. 

Crashing through wall after wall, he slammed his hand into the floor of the building he was flying through, stopping him from crashing out to the other side. 

Standing up for a moment, he ducked as another shikigami flew overhead, a massive BANG ringing in his ears. 

Those things were faster than the speed of sound! 

From what he could tell from the glance he got of it, it was mostly white, with bulging grey veins. Shaped like a bullet, at its front were five eyes, placed in a pentagonal pattern. 

He watched as it took a wide turn, before the five beady eyes turned to him. He quickly turned around to put some distance between him and the living bullet, only to collide with another shikigami, smashing him through the floating apartment he was in, and sending him tumbling through the cursed ether, gravity refusing to take hold of him. 

“There's more than one! That means that's not the curse we're targeting? A shikigami?!” He thought to himself, as three more shikigami emerged, all five swarming around him as they adjusted their flight paths, locking onto him as he flew through the abyss. 

“I need to change my momentum!” He thought to himself, mentally thanking Akutami for the advice. 

Touching his palm to his chest as the shikigami launched forward, he instantly stopped moving, all of his momentum drained in an instant, as the shikigami crashed into each other, just inches in front of him. 

Screeching in pain, all five seemed to collapse under the force of the collision. 

Haibara slowly floated over to the nearest platform, his feet touching the ground slowly, much to his relief, as gravity finally reclaimed him. 

He caught his breath, huffing for a moment. 

“Alright, now I just need to find the curse, and finish this quickly” 

He looked up only to see shikigami everywhere. 

Every direction he could look was filled with copies of those same bullet shikigami. 

He lost count after thirty. 

Sighing, he smiled. “Akutami-senpai, you're really testing me, huh?” 

He clenched his fist, staring down the army of shikigami that surrounded him. 

“I won't let you down!”

Yuji paced around. He knew he shouldn't be worried, he had read the reports, but Haibara was taking awfully long. 

Out of the blue, his phone started to ring. Picking it up as he frowned, he saw that Yaga was ringing it. 

“Yo sensei, what's up? Mai and Maki aren't already too much for ya to handle, are they?” He asked, before his eyes widened as he heard breathless chatter from the other side of the line. 

“What!? What do you mean it's not the same curse? That curse has been in that building for years. Why would another curse take over now?!” 

More indecipherable chatter from the other side of the line, and Yuji grew more visibly worried. 

“What do you mean it's not another curse. It's how old?!”

Yuji panicked, fumbling with his phone as he hovered over the disconnect button. “I'll call you back, later. We have to get Haibara out of there! No, I'm not waiting for backup!” 

Hanging up, he slammed through the door, and was greeted with an empty hallway. 

“A curse that strong should have an innate domain… So why isn't there one here!? Don't tell me it's already moved?!” 

Suddenly, a roar rang out as a massive curse smashed through the ceiling, landing behind Yuji. It roared, charging at him, as he turned his right side poised towards the curse as he aimed a finger gun at him. 

His eyes narrowed. The first grade that Haibara was supposed to fight was here… 

“Dismantle” 

The curse was quickly slashed in half… along with the entire building. 

Whoops. 

Yuji shook his head, before rushing up the stairs. 

Stairs after stairs, he climbed and climbed. 

Nothing. 

“Shit!” 

Haibara ducked under another shikigami, feeling it brush through his hair. Dodging left and right, he slid under another, brushing his hand along it, it's body was filled with a blue glow, and all of its velocity waa instantly removed, and it stuck into place. 

Haibara yelped in pain as the friction burned his finger tips, but he forcefully grabbed onto the curse, dug his feet into the ground, and swung it around, smashing it into another oncoming shikigami. 

Side-stepping another flying bullet, he ducked into another building, getting out of their point of view. 

He spotted another shikigami, identical to the other ones, at the end of the hallway he had found himself in. 

It charged in place, and he braced himself. 

No dodging this one. He had to take it head on. 

He knelt into a battle stance, bending his knees, and holding his hands to the side, both palms open, like he was mimicking a kamehameha. 

It shot forward, a sonic boom indicating its vicious speed, and moments before it's collision, Haibara struck, perfectly timing a double palm strike, one palm glowing blue, the other, red. 

His red palm smashed through the armor-like skin of the shikigami, and with a disgusting squelch, brain matter splattered all over his arm. 

He pulled back his arm, shaking it to get the splattered cursed brain matter off of his hand, with a disgusted expression on his face, as he peered out of a hole in the wall next to him. 

Even more of these shikigami were swarming the building. It was like they were multiplying… 

“Alright, Hai, we got this,” Haibara said to himself. “Just need to find a way to deal with a constant self replicating army of bullets that are set on killing me” 

His eyes narrowed as he managed to spot something strange. The building he was in wasn't the only spot being swarmed by these shikigami. 

Was another person trapped here with him? If there was a bystander there, he had to save them! 

He sat down, crossing his legs. He needed to figure out how to get over there… 

Geto was in the school library, reading a book on Taido martial arts, particularly engrossed on the history of the art's origin and inspiration, when he felt a tug on his new robes, which he had purchased to hide the loss of one of his arms. 

He looked down to see one of their new inhabitants, Mai, who had been drawn to tears. 

He instantly put the book down, off put by the shy girl's willingness to come to him without prompt. 

“What's wrong?” he asked her, and she sniffled. 

“Please, save me from the bad man!” 

He instantly shot up, alert. Someone had invaded Jujutsu High? How? Was it a Zen'in clan member? 

Panicking, he grabbed her arm and turned to leave the library, only to see Gojo standing there, carrying an angry, writhing, Maki in his right arm. 

The two teens stared at each other for a moment, before Mai interrupted their staring match, pointing at Gojo. 

“The bad man kidnapped sis!” she cried, and Geto’s expression turned from worry to annoyance. 

“I can explain-” Gojo started, but his face whitened as he saw Geto immediately summon a curse. 

Instantly dropping the demon child, who had progressed to screeching, he ducked out of the hallway, and Geto gave Mai an apologetic look, patting her on the head, as he rushed out after him. 

The two slightly frightened and extremely confused sisters were left in silence, aside from the occasional yell from one of the two sorcerers that rang throughout the halls. 

Haibara stood up, finally figuring out a plan. 

The biggest issue with getting over to that person was the swarm of bullet like shikigami, and from what he had experienced, he had a basic idea on how they functioned. 

They tracked their targets by their eyes, meaning if you got out of their line of sight, they wouldn't chase you, and they had a short charge up before reaching the speed of sound. 

Their fronts were the most durable parts of their bodies, designed to take the brunt of their mach one rams, so they were easy to take out from the sides or back. And they had trouble turning. He could use that. 

“Are you almost done?” Shoko asked, as Nanami dodged the swings of another minor curse. 

He nodded, parrying another swipe. The curse was a low levelled one, grade two at best, but it was good practice for Nanami when it came to hitting Ratio. 

He slammed into it with the side of his blunt shortsword, accidentally losing control of his cursed energy manipulation and smashed the skull of the curse into bloody pieces. 

He grunted in annoyance, failing once more to land Ratio. 

“You should calm down,” Shoko commented over the corpse. “Even emotions like frustration can lead to an imbalance in your cursed energy flow” 

He nodded. “My apologies, senpai. Though, I must say, I didn't expect you, out of the four of you, to be the expert in cursed energy theory”

She smirked, playfully punching his shoulder. 

“What's that supposed to mean? Besides, who else would there be? Gojo does everything without thinking, Geto is too focused on the martial arts side to care about cursed energy manipulation, and Yuji is too emotional to properly gain full control.” 

Nanami raised an eyebrow. “‘Yuji’?” 

Shoko blushed, waving him off. “Anyways, back onto topic. Just remember. Stay focused. Use your emotions, but don't give into them. With strong cursed energy control comes strong cursed technique control.” 

He nodded once more, as another curse crashed into the building they were clearing out for practice. 

She patted him on the shoulder before stepping away. “You got this” 

The curse roared and he readied himself. Gripping his trusty weapon tightly, he swung, focusing on the advice that Shoko had given him. 

Control. 

Concentrating on every drop of cursed energy that flowed through his body, he lashed out, smashing into the side of the curse. 

Black sparks burst out, as a loud CRACK rang out through the room, and the curse was incinerated. 

Nanami's eyes widened as everything seemed to become… so much more. Everything moved in slow motion, he could hear colours, feel sounds, the cursed energy was actually visible to him! Was this how Gojo saw the world, all of the time?

He turned to Shoko, who was staring at him in shock. 

Her stunned expression quickly turned into a grin. 

“Well, that's new” 

As he flew through the air, he passed by the person he had seen earlier. 

It was a girl, small. Long hair that reached to the floor and then some. He couldn't see her face, or much of her at all. 

He placed a hand onto himself, and suddenly his trajectory changed, launching himself towards the girl. 

The shikigami swarming around the girl turned to him, and he gritted his teeth. She turned to him, her left eye covered by her hair, her right showing a sad expression. 

Despite the chance of him dying right at his moment, only one thought ran through Haibara Yu's mind. 

“She looks like she's going to cry” 

Landing in front of her with a roll, he grabbed her by the arm, shocking her, and ran around a corner, shikigami destroying the ground where he had once stood. 

He ran through hallway after hallway, making random turns until he thought they couldn't see him anymore. 

He knelt down, looking at the girl. She couldn't be older than eight or nine. 

“Are you oka-” 

“You need to leave,” she said, interrupting him. 

Haibara blinked, concern showing across his face. “What?” 

“Leave now” she repeated, as if she was pleading with him. “You can’t stay here”

He tried to give her his most reassuring smile. 

“It's okay,” he said. “You're safe. Or, well, you will be. We’re gonna get out of here”

“They won't let that happen” 

This confused Haibara. “Who?” he asked. “Those monsters? It's fine, they don't know where we are, so let's get moving,” he said, holding out his hand. 

But she didn't take it.

“They always know where I am.” she whispered, and Haibara’s eyes widened. 

The wall behind her crumbled, as a curse tore through it, its mouth, agape, was the size of the room, and it peered, through thin eyes, at the sorcerer, as its small limbs dragged its jaw across the floor. 

He tried to grab her, but another bullet shikigami came flying in out of nowhere, crashing into his side, and sending him flying out of the way of the massive curse. 

As he was knocked out of the building, he saw it get completely demolished by the curse, only for that curse to be instantly destroyed by the swirling vortex of bullet shikigami, only for it to reform almost instantly, swiping at the shikigami. 

Did this inner domain belong to the curse? Why was it at war with itself? 

Haibara, without hesitation, jumped straight back into the half-destroyed building. 

It was like a battlefield. Shikigami tore through walls, taking chunks out of the massive curse, only for it to heal any lost flesh in an instant. 

A single wave of its bulging, fleshy arm took down a handful of shikigami with a single swipe. 

Haibara slid under some falling debris, and dodged to the side as another shikigami roared by, flying towards the curse, ignoring him. 

He surprised the girl, scooped her up in his arms again, and started running away from the curse, who turned its attention towards them, as the girl started squirming, as if she was trying to get out of his arms. 

“Why did you -urgh- come back!” She managed to get out in-between her escape attempts. 

“I'm not just gonna leave a kid behind! That's not what anyone should do!” Haibara exclaimed confidently, unwavering optimism evident as he spoke. 

She seemed to almost calm down, but she flinched when the massive curse roared behind them. The curse was closing in on them, and the sight of it caused the girl's irisses to shrink as she seemed to shrink in on herself. A spear shot off the curse, tearing into Haibara’s side. He smashed it into bits before it could slow him down, but blood was already pouring out of the wound. 

Haibara ran, the girl in his arms once more, as the massive curse chased after them. 

Jumping from building to building, he cursed as more bullet shikigami swarmed around them. 

“YOU CAN'T ESCAPE ME!” The curse roared around him, while countless shikigami screeched around him, making his ears bleed.

It was right. It was slowly closing in on him, and now he had to worry about a curse strong enough to communicate as well. 

“THAT GIRL IS MINE!” It roared, and Haibara snarled. 

“There's something you should know, curse,” he started speaking as he continued to flee, dodging the occasional shikigami that swiped at him. 

“My cursed technique is pretty simple. It allows me to absorb and store up any kinetic or potential energy that I come into contact with, and use it later.” 

He felt power well up in him. A binding vow that revealed one's own hand in order to increase their power. Something Geto-senpai had taught him. 

Red energy welled up within his legs, and he said one last thing. 

“You aren't even close to catching us” 

And just like that, he rocketed off the building he had stood on. 

Unleashing potential energy in careful bursts to change their trajectory and dodge shikigami, he flew through the air, carrying the child in his arms. 

“It's gonna be alri-” 

The girl screamed. “LEAVE ME!”

Her voice shook the innate domain to its very core. 

The massive wave of energy emanating off of her threw them off course, crashing them into another nearby building. 

The building started shaking out of nowhere, but Yuji stood firm. He noticed a tear in reality open up, and managed to spot Haibara, who was worse for wear, and clutching at his side, his side drenched in blood. 

He shouted out to him. “HAIBARA!” 

Haibara turned, hearing his mentor. 

“YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF THERE NOW, HAIBARA!” Yuji yelled. 

“THAT VENGEFUL SPIRIT IS TOO STRONG, YOU NEED TO GET OUT.”

Haibara’s eyes widened. 

A… vengeful spirit?

He turned to the girl, who was looking at him sadly. 

“Like I told you, you need to leave.” she said calmly. 

Haibara looked at the tear, almost deciding to step through. 

But he caught the girl's sorrowful expression. 

He took a step closer to her. 

She backed away. “Why aren't you leaving?! You need to go.” 

He smiled softly. “You keep saying that, but you haven't managed to hurt me yet.”  

She pointed at his wounded side, but he shook his head. “Those shikigami did that, not you.” 

“Who do you think controls them?” She snarled, but he took another step closer. 

“For a vengeful spirit, you don't seem all that vengeful.”

It looked like she was close to tears. “Of course. After a hundred years, it gets hard to remember why you're angry” 

“But you do remember, don't you?” Haibara said. 

“That's why you're so scared of hurting anyone else” 

He took another step forward. She didn't step back. 

“I don't want to be like him…” 

“Like who?” 

She turned to stare at the giant curse that was being swarmed by her shikigami.

“My father.” 

His eyes widened, and he knelt down in front of her. 

“What did he do to you?” He asked. 

“My mommy made him angry. He was drunk. He got the gun from the family safe”

She pushed her hair out of her face and Haibara’s face paled. 

A single bullet hole went straight through her eye. 

“He found us. He always does. Mommy shot him in the end though” 

Haibara's eyes were cast down. 

“You cursed him. Your father” 

She nodded, as the curse continued to swat at the bullet like shikigami. 

“I said I'd be the last person he would ever hurt. 

So he's here. 

Hurting me. 

Forever.” 

The curse destroyed a massive fleet of shikigami, and had grown to the size of a large building. It turned its attention towards the duo, and rushed forward. Tears streamed from the child's face. 

“Please! Go now! I don't want anyone to get hurt!” 

Something Haibara was never good at was abandoning someone in need. 

It was why he had chosen to be a Jujutsu sorcerer. 

He pulled the child into a hug, as the curse closed in on him. 

Haibara held out a single hand, shaking with the most amount of anger he had ever felt in his life, and he instantly stopped the roaring demon, absorbing all the kinetic energy from the blow into his body. 

Curling his hand back into a fist and holding it in front of the curse, while still embracing the child with his other hand, Haibara channeled every last ounce of kinetic energy into the smallest part of his finger, flicking it, and tearing a hole straight through the curse. 

His finger shattered, blood pouring out from pores in his bruised skin. 

But he didn't care. 

“He won't hurt you anymore, either,” he whispered softly, and she gasped, expression widening in shock, before she clutched tightly to his clothes, crying. 

“Why..?” She managed to get through tears, and he gave her a bright smile. 

“You looked lonely” 

In that moment, the tumultuous atmosphere within the innate domain vanished instantly. 

The shikigami, who were poised to attack, calmed instantly, and the air, once thick with depressive cursed energy, became clear. 

The once graveyard for countless destroyed homes was replaced with a clear field, filled with flowers and a bright sky. 

They were no longer in the girl's innate domain. 

“You have… such a kind soul” she whispered, as she looked around. 

“So do you,” he said “You can let go now. None of this was your fault” 

Tears streamed down her face. 

“Thank you…” 

Yuji sighed with relief as Haibara, after having disappeared from his point of view, came out of the tear in reality. 

“You know, you really had me worried there!” he said, as Haibara finally caught his breath. 

Yuji spotted a bracelet on Haibara's right arm. 

“What's with the new jewelry?” 

Haibara smiled as he looked at it. 

“It was… a gift.” 

Yuji just blinked, before shrugging. 

“Sure, whatever, be vague. We all deserve our secrets, I guess. 

So, how did you even beat that Vengeful Spirit? It was rated as a special grade curse, you know. I seriously thought you were gonna die!’ 

Haibara chuckled. “Would you believe me if I told you it was through the power of friendship?” 

Yuji laughed, patting his kohai on the back. 

“Alright, well, we're done here. Wanna grab some food before we get back?”

Chapter Text

Yuji shuffled around the kitchen, laying out plates onto a large table, as the scent of rashers hung in the air, the sound of sizzling emanating from the frying pans on the stove. 

He smiled, as he managed the cooking utensils he was operating. Cooking was an old hobby of his, but with the amount of special grade missions he was being sent on ramping up, something as time consuming as cooking gradually began to slip away from his schedule. 

He grabbed one of the frying pans that was sitting upon the lit stove, extracting a fried egg from it and setting it onto a plate. He repeated this twice more, before setting the plates down onto the table. 

The twins in the next room must have smelled the meal, as they came rushing in as soon as breakfast was ready. The two were still shy, but the quickest way to anyone was through their stomachs. 

Maki managed to get onto her chair without much difficulty, and pulled Maki up to sit beside her, their heads barely peeking over the counter top. 

Yuji adjusted the plates on the table, moving two of them closer to the twins, giving them a cheeky smile. 

Mai tilted her head at the plate, as Maki prodded at the strange, milky white concoction that took up a quarter of the plate with her fork. 

“What's that?” Mai asked innocently, as Yuji stepped forward, looking at her plate, confused as to what could make her so curious?

She was pointing at the fried egg. 

“Have… have you two never had an egg before?”

Both of them shook their heads, and Yuji felt his heart crack. 

He smiled, and knelt beside the two, helping Mai with her fork. 

“It's made of two parts. The white bit and the yellow bit. Cut into whatever you want and just start eating!”

The twins looked at each other for a moment, before cutting into their eggs. Maki dug in almost immediately, while Mai gasped, hitting the yolk and breaking it. “It's all gooey!” 

In a matter of seconds, both of them had devoured their eggs faster than anyone Yuji had ever seen. 

Yuji laughed at their enthusiasm, as he tried to stand up, stopping when Maki tugged on his jacket. “What's that?” She said, pointing at the sausages. 

At that moment, Yuji wished he had killed Naobito when he had the chance. 

Yuji slipped the plates into the dishwasher, as Mai's rhythmic snoring drowned out any other bit of ambient noise. Turns out she was quite the loud snorer, and got tired very easily. 

Maki, on the other hand, despite her blank face, was very energetic, though she used most of that energy to trail Yuji from a distance, or to watch over her sister. 

Speaking of the energetic one, she was holding an empty glass, the same one she had used for breakfast, up to Yuji, as if asking for more water. 

He took it from her, filled it back up, and placed it back into her hands. 

Grabbing it, she held it too tightly, shattering the glass into pieces. Her eyes gained a panicked look to them, as she got on her knees, hastily grabbing the glass shards, repeating something under her breath. 

Yuji grabbed her before she could hurt herself grabbing the shards. 

“I'm sorry…” she repeated quietly, the first, non-aggressive word she had muttered to anyone. 

Yuji tried to reassure her. “It's fine. It's just a glass, Maki,” he said, setting her down, away from the glass. She clearly still had trouble regulating her strength, so that was something to work on in the future. 

She seemed to shy away from him even more, as he cleaned up the shards of glass, using his bare hands, not having to worry about any cuts, due to his own, ridiculous strength. 

“Having trouble with your own strength?” He asked, and she took a step back nervously, but Yuji tried to calm her. 

“I'm not giving out to you, honest!”

He took one of the glass shards, placed it in his palm, and closed his hand into a fist. When he opened it up, specks of glass replaced the bigger shard. 

“See? I'm like you” he said. “I know what it's like.” 

Maki took a few, tentative steps closer. Looking at his palm, as if she was trying to figure out what just happened. 

“Really?” she asked, and he nodded. 

“I'm not the only one, either. I have a friend, he's kind of old, but he's strong, without cursed energy, like us” 

Her eyes widened, and he continued. 

“So don't worry about messing up, okay? It's not a big deal” 

He managed to get a faint smile out of her, the first one he'd ever seen on her. 

As he finished up with the washing, with Maki focusing all of her attention on how he carefully handled such delicate material, they heard a knock on the door. 

Yuji turned off the tap, walking up to and opening the door, being greeted by Geto. 

Geto grunted. “I have to say, I'm annoyed by having to walk so far to get to you now. We all miss you at the dorms” 

“Yeah, yeah” Yuji responded. “I sorta had to, though. The dorms weren't exactly suited for two four year olds”

Geto nodded in understanding, and Yuji continued. “So, you're here to watch them?” 

“Yeah. Yaga does need you for… that” 

Yuji nodded, and Geto looked around the room. Mai was sleeping, still, and Maki had left the room, ever the antisocial butterfly. 

With this knowledge in mind, Geto turned all of his focus onto Yuji. 

“Is it weird?” He asked. 

“Huh?” 

“You're taking care of people who are as old, if not older than you used to be!” Geto exclaimed, waving his singular arm frantically. 

“How does that not weird you out?” 

Yuji hummed. “Well, it sort of weirded me out, at first, y'know? When I met you guys, especially Gojo.” 

“So what changed” 

Yuji smiled, but Geto could see the sadness in his eyes. 

“As much as I didn't want to accept it but… you guys aren't the same people. The people I loved and knew are dead, and you guys are nothing like them. You've gone through different things, you act differently, you look different. The Maki and Mai I'm taking care of are completely different people to the ones I met in my old timeline” 

“I don't think I understand” 

Yuji nodded. “You haven't gone through it” he responded. “It's hard to understand, but think about it like this. If one day, Shoko turned back up, but she looked different, acted differently, and she didn't remember you, would you see her as the same friend you remembered?” 

Geto shook his head. “I… suppose not.” 

Nodding, Yuji grasped the handle of his door. 

“Thanks for watching the twins for a while.” 

“One more thing,” Geto said, stopping him. 

“How well did you… know all of us? You didn't tell us… much about the future.” 

“Well..” Yuji placed his finger on his chin, thinking for a moment. “I never met you. Shoko healed me up a few times, but we didn't talk at all before the whole apocalypse happened, and Gojo…” 

He stalled for a moment. “He saved me. Stopped me from being exorcised by the higher ups of Jujutsu High, and he taught me” 

Geto raised his eyes, not believing it. “Gojo, a teacher?” 

Yuji laughed. “Hey, I didn't say he did it well. But he taught me some of the basics… and got me off of an execution…” 

Geto's eyes widened. “Wha-, actually, I don't want to know. Just… get out of here. They're waiting for you”

Yuji nodded, thanking Geto one last time, before rushing out the door. 

Geto hummed as he sat down beside the sleeping child. He'd be twiddling his thumbs right now… if he had both of them. 

He sighed, looking at the stump that was his shoulder. He heard an apologetic whine in his head, the Rainbow Dragon once again apologising for tearing apart his arm. 

He mentally reassured his favourite curse, she had done it to save his life after all, but it still frustrated him some times. Getting used to the change in balance was one thing, but martial arts were his favourite thing to practice before losing his arm. With his arm gone, so was that hobby, and he just didn't know what to do with his free time anymore. 

Naoya, Nanami and Haibara stood in front of Yaga, out in an empty field at the edge of Jujutsu High's campus. 

Naoya scratched his head. “So, Teach, what do you have us out here for?” 

Yaga sighed. “I see that your sessions with Shoko haven't quite dealt with that attitude. Maybe I should call her back from her overseas exorcism with Gojo? Have her properly sort you out, once and for all” 

Naoya gulped. “No! It's fine, Yaga-sensei”

Yaga showed a rare smile for a fraction of a second.

“Anyways, I suppose I should answer your question. You're out here, because you have all been recommended for second grade, which is quite the accomplishment for this early in your careers. The youngest member of the Orihime clan was recommended at around this time as well” 

The three were taken aback by this. 

“Seriously?” Nanami asked. 

Haibara spoke up. “Wait, who recommended us?” 

“That would be me,” Yuji said, walking down to them. 

“Akutami-senpai!” Haibara and Naoya cheered in unison, as Nanami bowed to his upperclassman. 

“‘Sup, guys!” he said cheerily. 

“Why did you recommend us?” Nanami asked, getting straight to the point, and Yuji sighed. 

“Haibara took out a special grade vengeful curse and Naoya was able to sneak in and get out of the Zen’in compound. That seems like plenty of evidence for you guys being more than strong enough for second grades, easily.” 

Frowning, Nanami spoke up again. “And me? I haven't accomplished anything particularly fruitful as of yet” 

Yuji nodded, listening to him. “Yes, but I know what you're capable of, Nanami, and what you will be capable of.” 

Nanami tilted his head. “How?” 

“Call it a hunch,” he said, not really giving Nanami all of his attention. “So, Yaga-sensei, are they ready?” 

Yaga nodded. “Ready as they'll ever be. There isn't any point dragging it out.” 

Yuji nodded, agreeing, before Haibara stepped forward. 

“Uhh… ready for what, senpai?” he asked nervously, and Yuji grinned. 

Suddenly, Haibara felt something grip his back. 

Yuji, in no more than half a second, had moved behind Haibara, in-between the other two second years, and had his hand on Haibara’s back. 

“Isn't it obvious?” Yuji said, cheekily. “For your examination!” 

And then he threw Haibara. Hard. 

Nanami and Naoya gasped, turning to where Haibara had been thrown, but he'd already flown farther than the eye could see. But Yuji didn't miss the opportunity that them looking away gave him. 

“You should never turn your back on an opponent, no matter how badly your allies are hurt.” Yuji said, matter-of-factly. 

Nanami tried to turn around, but it was too late. Yuji grabbed the back of his head, and slammed it into the ground, cracking the earth around them. 

Naoya tried to take advantage of this short second, and rushed forward. If he could just touch Yuji once, he could freeze him with his cursed technique. 

But Yuji leapt up, over Naoya’s outstretched hand, before he even got close. 

Floating over Naoya, he chastised the younger sorcerer. 

“You should've activated your technique as soon as you had the chance!” he said, before smashing his fist into Naoya’s face, the force of the blow sending the sorcerer flying. 

Nanami stood up, finally recovering from the blow, and swung his cleaver wildly, trying to hit Yuji as he was still in mid air, but Yuji’s eyes shifted, spotting him. 

“Cursed Technique Reversal, Binding!” Yuji exclaimed, managing to plant an arm on the ground. A pillar of soil rose from the earth, connecting to Yuji’s airborne foot, interrupting Nanami’s swing. 

The pillar collapsed as Yuji landed on the ground, dodging another desperate swing. 

“You’re panicking, Nanami.” He observed, his voice robotic. 

He grabbed Nanami by the throat, lifting him up, before dropping him, and kicking him in the chest in midair. 

Nanami barely managed to put his cleaver in between his body and the kick, but the energy from the blow reverberated through his very core. 

“Such intense force!” Was the only thing he could think of, as Nanami was launched backwards. 

Yaga scoffed. “I'd like to remind you that the idea is to keep them within school grounds, Akutami.” 

Yuji scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Right! Sorry, sensei, I forgot…” 

Yaga sighed. “Well, they're almost back, so tone it down a bit. Maybe hold back a bit more?” 

Yuji shrugged. “I don't know… with everything that's going to happen in a couple of years, they're gonna need to be tough.” 

Yaga sighed, pinching his brow. 

“We can talk about your time travel issues later. Right now, they aren't professional sorcerers, they're students. They have plenty of time to grow stronger, so tone it down” 

Yuji sighed, nodding, before stepping away from his teacher. 

“Well, Naoya got back here fast. Guess I'll get back to it” 

Naoya smirked as he skidded to a halt, noticing that he was the first one back from being launched away. “Hah! Even though I froze myself a couple of times while trying to get back here, I'm still the fastest!” 

Yuji put on a stony visage, as he started walking towards the speedster. “It doesn't matter how fast you are if you don't have the strength to back it up.” 

Naoya nervously backed up a few steps. 

“Now, hang on senpai, we can talk abou-” He tried to calm his upperclassman down, but Yuji leapt forward, faster than Naoya could perceive. 

One moment he was a few meters away, and the next he was right in front of him. 

Naoya panicked, and dodged to the side, barely avoiding Yuji's punch. 

Naoya gritted his teeth. “The way Projection Sorcery works is simple. I speed up something I touch by making it move 24 times in one second. If it fails to follow a projected path, it's frozen in time. But that also applies to me.” 

He started running away, to build up speed. 

“I can stack up speed slowly. I still move 24 times in one second, but the distance between each projection is increased. I can still only attack 24 times in one second, but the distance I travel increases. The only problem is I don't have the hang of it just yet. If I get the timing wrong, I'll freeze myself.” 

He snarled, as he built up to his maximum speed. 

“I can't afford to not take risks. Not when we're going up against Akutami-senpai! Right now, at my max, I can manage to almost reach the speed of sound! But to pass, I'll push myself! I'll push myself to mach 1!” 

He could feel himself reaching the sound barrier. 

He turned on a dime, a full one hundred meters between him and Yuji, and he dashed straight towards him.

It took him less than a tenth of a second to cross that distance, and plant his fist straight into Yuji's gut, catching the teen by surprise, and launching him backwards. 

Pain shot through Naoya's fist, and as he looked at it, he saw it drenched in his own blood. His skin was torn apart by the punch, and it hurt. But he clenched his teeth, and backed up. At the very least, it would knock Akutami on his ass for a few moments, and give Naoya a chance to grab his breath… 

Is what the young sorcerer was hoping for, only to immediately have that dream crushed as Yuji stood up, brushing dirt off of his uniform. 

He didn't even look hurt. 

“Not bad, Naoya-kun. You've gotten faster. But you're gonna need more than that to take me out!” 

“How about this!” Haibara shouted out, from behind Yuji, and swung. Yuji sidestepped the blow, hooked his foot behind Haibara's foot, and pulled, causing the youngest sorcerer to fall flat on his face. 

“Never announce your position when going for a sneak attack, Haibara!” Yuji sighed. “Maybe I should send you to Fushiguro for some lessons…” 

“I'm sorry, senpai.” Haibara said, his voice muffled by the dirt. 

Yuji smirked, as he sensed a spark in cursed energy flare up right behind him. 

“Nice try, Nanami,” he said, ducking as Nanami's iconic cleaver flew right over his head. He turned to Nanami, who was already backing off. 

“You should listen to your own advice, senpai, and never turn your back on an opponent!” 

Yuji turned around, seeing Naoya a moment away from him, palm open, about to freeze him in place. 

Yuji grinned, impressed by Naoya’s grit. “Nice job!” He complimented the boy, before Naoya slapped him on the arm. 

“Now, Haibara!” 

Yuji's eyes darted to his side, where Naoya was gearing up for a corkscrew punch, aimed directly at his side. 

“You're pretty impressive, senpai! One punch from you maxed out my kinetic energy storage! This is the strongest attack I can do right now!” 

He smashed right into Yuji. 

Or, at least, where Yuji had been standing. 

All three sorcerers couldn't believe their eyes, as Yuji dodged to the side of Haibara's blow. 

“Don't tell me…” Naoya thought. “He's capable of reacting to, and fulfilling the movements of Projection Sorcery!?”

“Let's see how well you can take a punch without your absorption, Haibara!” Yuji exclaimed, slamming his fist into Haibara's gut a second time. 

“Crap! My punch before didn't hit anything, so I couldn't expel all of that kinetic force! My storage is still full, so I can't absorb this punch!” 

He coughed up blood, as he was sent flying, but not as far as he was the first time. Yuji must be pulling his punches even more than before. 

Nanami dashed forward, and saw Haibara fly right past him. Shaking his head, he rushed in again, swinging wide once more, but Yuji grasped the arm that was holding Nanami’s cleaver. 

Nanami quickly tried to knee Yuji in the chest, but Yuji slammed his free hand into the leg, forcing it back down, dodging a strike to the head at the same time.

“You're a melee fighter, so you're rushing to get into your preferred range. But you're not stopping to think, Nanami. You're closing the distance without care for what your opponent could be planning,” Yuji said, scolding Nanami, while grabbing his other arm, forcing him into submission. 

“If I was a curse, you'd be dead right now. You need to think more creatively, Nanami.” 

He dropped Nanami, and pushed him away, turning to Naoya, who was visibly shaken. 

“What the hell am I supposed to do?” Naoya thought to himself. 

“He's fast enough to not be frozen, and tough enough to take any attack I try to dish out! Should I rush in? No, he just scolded Nanami for doing that! But I can't just do nothing!” 

Naoya snarled, getting into a runner's starting position. He took a deep breath, staring directly into Yuji's eyes. 

He wouldn't be able to speed up fully at this distance, but he should at least be able to catch Yuji off guard if he pushed his acceleration to its max! 

He pushed off of his legs as hard as he could,dashing straight for his senpai. He'd go for the head this time, catch his upperclassman off guard! 

“Shrine Extension: Spiderweb” Yuji uttered, and Naoya felt his feet slip out from under him. 

The entire field all around them had been cut into several chunks of loose rocks, disrupting Naoya's footing. 

Naoya froze in mid air, missing his planned route, causing the biggest flaw of Projection Sorcery to turn back onto him. 

Yuji stepped forward, and just flicked Naoya in the forehead. “You need to pay more attention to your opponents, Naoya. You get too caught up in your own head.” 

Haibara, having finally returned for a second time, caught his breath, gasping as the three students stood around Yuji. 

Yuji smiled, looking at his three underclassmen. They weren't doing too badly. But they were far from the sorcerers they had been in his timeline, and even further from the sorcerers he knew they could be. 

“One more chance.” He announced. “You guys get one more chance to get a good hit in. Then, Yaga-sensei will decide on whether or not you guys pass. So do your best!” 

The three guys looked at each other, before looking back to Yuji. They shifted their footing, and Yuji responded, getting ready to jump into the fray at a moment's notice. 

But Haibara sprung up, stretching his hand out. “Hold it! We need a time out!”

Yuji blinked, shocked at the brazen display. 

“You can't just ask for a time out in the middle of a-” 

But they had already huddled up, and were muttering amongst themselves. Even the typically cold Nanami had joined in.  

Yuji sighed. “Fine. Ready whenever you are.” 

Naoya, Nanami and Haibara all faced Yuji, clearly having hatched some sort of scheme. 

“Alright, we’re ready! Prepare to eat dirt, senpai!” Haibara exclaimed. 

“You're getting a bit too excited, Haibara.” Yuji thought. “But I'm excited to see what you guys manage to throw at me!” 

Naoya quickly dashed by him, just out of reach. 

Yuji tried to grab him, but he was just out of his grasp. 

He turned back to where Nanami and Haibara had been, and Haibara was right up close to him. Yuji threw out a punch, and Haibara responded, filling up his punch with energy that he had absorbed from Yuji. The clash caused a shock wave of wind to emanate from their fists. 

Yuji responded with another punch, landing right on Haibara’s face, but the boy only stumbled, absorbing the kinetic energy from the blow. 

He took a few steps backwards, and Yuji attempted to follow him, only to feel a slap on his back. 

“Naoya got me again? But he knows that I can react to Projection Sorcery? Why would he-?” 

He was overthinking this. He dashed straight for Haibara, doing his best to adapt to Projection Sorcery. 

Nanami slammed his cleaver straight into the ground. 

“Ratio Extension: Collapse” 

By targeting the weak points spread along the ground, he could mimic his senpai’s Spiderweb extension, destroying the ground. 

Yuji’s eyes widened, as he figured out what they had done. They had taken one of his own strategies and were using it against him!

Yuji grinned as the ground collapsed underneath him, removing anything for him to step on. 

Well, almost anything. He had spent some time training with Toji, and had picked up a neat trick. 

By releasing a short burst of cursed energy from his feet as air currents picked up right underneath him, he propelled himself upwards, without the need for any footing. A technique called “air stepping”, something Sukuna himself had used against them in Yuji’s original timeline. 

And the three boys were just as surprised as Yuji was when he had first seen the technique. 

“Shi-” was all that Haibara could manage to get out before getting clocked in the face by Yuji. He was knocked unconscious instantly. 

Naoya tried to get out of the danger zone by running away, but before he could activate his cursed technique, Yuji grabbed him by the back of his head, and slammed his face into the ground. 

Nanami lunged forward, jumping up high, attempting to strike Yuji as he returned to the ground, but Yuji stepped closer, grabbing Nanami’s airborne legend, and used them to slam him into the ground. 

All three examinees were down and out. Yuji brushed some dirt off of his uniform again, and stood around the two craters that had formed in his wake. 

He looked to Yaga, who was still spectating. 

“So?” he asked, and Yaga gave him a thumbs up. 

Smiling, he tapped on Nanami’ prone back with his finger. 

“Congrats, guys! You passed!” 

All he got in response was muffled groaning. 

Yuji shrugged. “Well, that settles that, I think. Is there anything else you need from me, Yaga-sensei?” 

Yaga shook his head. “That's about it, I think. Thanks for your help, Akutami.” 

Yuji nodded. “Honestly though, I kinda wish you had something else for me to do. Things have been pretty boring as of late.” 

Yaga chuckled. “Really? Even with those two around?” he asked, pointing behind Yuji. 

Yuji turned to follow Yaga’s finger and saw Geto standing with the twins, Mai waving energetically. 

He jogged over to them, greeting them as cheerily as he usually did. 

“So, what brings you three here?” 

Geto shrugged. “These two didn't seem to want to be away from you, and to be honest, I wanted to see how much the second years have grown.” 

Yuji blinked. “Really?” he asked, vending down to get down to the twins’ level. 

“Yeah!” Mai said, as Maki nodded slowly. 

“How did you do that?” Mai asked, and Yuji laughed.

“You're gonna have to be more specific.” 

“You made dirt fly!” 

“Oh that? It's pretty simple, actually. If I touch one thing, and then another, I can connect them, so I just did that with my leg and the ground.” he explained, and Mai nodded, to show she understood. 

“Well, since we’re done here, we should probably head back to the dorms.” Yuji said, and Geto nodded. They started to walk back, but Yuji felt a tug on his uniform. As Mai and Geto continued forward, Yuji looked down to see Maki. 

“You're… really strong.” 

Yuji paused for a moment. “...yeah…?” 

“Can I be that strong?” 

Yuji knelt down in front of her. “If you train, yeah. Of course you can. Now, we should probably get going, okay?” 

She nodded, and he smiled. 

“All right. How about I make some meatballs for dinner?” He asked, as they walked back to the dorms. 

Maki's small smile after hearing that made his day.