The Absolute Chaos We Could Have Had 😭

the absolute chaos we could have had 😭

wish we could've seen more of these three together ;_;

reblog if you ARE JEWISH, if you SUPPORT JEWISH PEOPLE, or if you WANT ALL NEONAZIS TO BE CARRIED OFF BY MOTHMAN

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water9826

1 year ago

Cursed Guardians (A JJK Fic)

AO3 Link

Start Here

Some say that leaving is harder than staying.

Getou Suguru thought that was a complete pile of shit.

Ever since he became a jujutsu sorcerer, Getou has been wanting to run away and never come back. However, he had stayed because he felt some sense of duty to protect innocents from horrific curses. In all honesty, Getou didn’t really care about saving people, but he had no other options besides joining Jujutsu High. To make things worse, his parents would not allow him to even consider a career that was not in sorcery. It was practically a universal rule that anyone with a cursed technique must become a jujutsu sorcerer. A job that only leads to early deaths. A job to protect weak monkeys that are not even grateful for being saved.

The hatred he held for non-sorcerers had always been there from the start. It simply hadn’t been as noticeable. When he was little, he had felt such envy for children that were only expected to run and play. For Getou, he had to learn how to consume curses without throwing up while other kids his age got to eat as many sweets as they wanted. He was forced to consume the most revolting thing on the planet because it was his duty . It was for the ‘greater good’ as he would be the one to save countless lives. Even as a child, Suguru felt no responsibility to save those weaker than him. He only agreed to do so because he thought there were no other things he was allowed to do. The disdain within his very soul grew vaster by the day as he observed how abominable the ‘innocent’ really were. One memory that stood out to Getou, even now, was when he had helped an old man cross the street. The man was cranky and rude, whacking his eleven-year-old self with his wooden cane repeatedly, and yelling at him to ‘hurry the fuck up’ since cars were beginning to honk at him. Although, it was the old geezer who walked like a broken wind-up toy, not Suguru. After what felt like years, he and the man finally made it to the other side of the street. The old trash bag wrenched his arm from Getou’s gentle hold and walked away, not a single ounce of gratitude given.

He remembered how angry he had felt with the old man’s ungratefulness. All that he could think of when he got back home was how he should have let the man get run over by speeding cars. In fact, he had pictured himself pushing the man into oncoming traffic, causing him to laugh so loudly that his father had yelled at him to be quiet.

After a few years of becoming a proper sorcerer, humanity had yet to impress him. When he left for Tokyo, Getou kept telling himself that he had to save the weak and that Jujutsu High would show him why non-sorcerers are worth saving.

Suguru never got that answer.

During his time as a jujutsu sorcerer, Getou was the one that was kind and patient to all. He had to remind his fellow first-years that they were here to save people. Shoko was uninterested in everything while Gojo saw himself as above everything. Now, as a third-year, Shoko had stopped being so uncaring, but Getou still had to lecture Gojo on the value of the lives of non-sorcerers. All of his lectures to the other teen were nothing but lies. Getou had simply spat out the constant nonsense his parents would teach him about helping the weak and being a ‘hero’. Useless drivel that Suguru never believed in. He could not figure out why he had been so insistent on reminding the infinity-user of why he had to put the lives of the weak before his own.

His short time with Riko and the traumatic encounter with Zenin Toji had been Getou’s breaking point. A young girl was killed because she had been randomly chosen as the new Star Plasma Vessel, a role Riko admitted she hated. She had cried about wanting to live a normal life again, but her life was snuffed out by Toji. The man that still haunted Getou’s dreams. He will never forget the sheer horror he felt when the man stabbed an already exhausted Gojo, who was vulnerable from not sleeping for days, the moment he released his Infinity. Before Getou could retaliate, Gojo insisted that he take Riko to Tengen’s abode and that he would be alright even as blood poured out of his wounds. Getou had listened to his stupid friend, only to have Toji shoot Riko and brag about killing Gojo. The rage that overcame him was indescribable, but it was no use against the sheer might of Toji. When Yaga found him and had Shoko heal his wounds, Getou could only think of Gojo, someone who Getou was dangerously attached to, and how he must have died scared and alone.

Only Gojo didn’t die. When Getou had seen his friend carrying the corpse of the young girl they had both grown fond of, something changed between the both of them. The concern Getou had towards Gojo’s poorly healed wounds was overshadowed by the unease he felt when he saw the void of emptiness that had appeared in Gojo’s eyes. While they were as stunning as always, they carried a hollowness to them. Gojo, who did not know what an inside voice is, softly murmured to Getou about how he could kill everyone in the room and not feel a single thing towards it. His voice was cold and lifeless. It disturbed Getou, but the second his words settled in Suguru’s mind was the moment his distaste for non-sorcerers grew into pure hatred.

There were people in the room, quite a lot, and Suguru had not noticed them. Each person was adorned with white attire and had a bright smile across all their faces. They even had the audacity to start fucking clapping at the death of an innocent girl. They cheered and praised them, their applause growing deafeningly loud. However, any words those monkeys had to say meant nothing to Getou nor Gojo. Internally, Suguru was screaming at himself to let Gojo kill these worthless lives. Instead, Getou told Gojo not to kill them because a jujutsu sorcerer needed a reason to end someone’s life. Bullshit.

He would regret that decision for the rest of his days…

Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring

Banana phone!

Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring

Banana phone!

I've got this feeling, so appealing-

An annoying song suddenly blasted through Suguru’s room. Instantly, the teen knew who was calling him. Gojo had stolen Getou’s phone one night and put embarrassing ringtones on each of his contacts. The one currently making Getou’s ears bleed was the song Gojo had given Nanami, which was a stark contrast to the younger’s quiet nature. However, his annoyance at Gojo and the noise vanished when the implications of Nanami calling hit him like a truck.

Nanami never called anyone unless it was for something important. Even those calls were few and far between. What disturbed Getou even more was the time Nanami had called. It was three in the morning. The underclassman refused to interact with anyone after a certain time, and three hours past midnight was definitely not in the blonde’s time slot for socialization. Once again, another realization came to Suguru, Nanami had been sent on a mission with Gojo to fight a possible special grade curse. The decision was idiotic, but Yaga had stated that the higher-ups demanded that all new sorcerers get as much field experience as possible. It was a horrendous decision and was out of Yaga’s hands, but the principal had made Gojo swear to protect Nanami at all costs and to retreat the second Nanami’s life was in danger. It was one of the rare moments Gojo was serious, firmly assuring their principal that he would make sure to look after the underclassman.

Had something gone wrong?

The possibility seemed so outlandish that Getou nearly laughed, but his unease only grew. With a heaving breath, he picked up his phone and answered. “Hel-”

“GETOU-SAN! WE NEED YOUR HELP! THE SPECIAL GRADE IS…THE SPECIAL GRADES ARE TOO POWERFUL FOR US TO HANDLE! GOJO-SAN IS REALLY HURT! GET AS MANY REINFORCEMENTS AS YOU CAN! PLEASE, GETOU-SAN! WE NEED-”

Before Nanami could finish, the call ended abruptly with an unholy screech in the background.

Fuck.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

“ FUCK !” Getou pulled on the long strands of his hair, tossing his phone to the ground. Why did the universe hate him so much?! He had been ready to defect from the jujutsu world forever and carry out the plans he had been creating for the past few months. What little belongings he had were packed up. Suguru had been in the middle of checking his more crucial supplies as he would likely be without housing for an indeterminate amount of time. While he did get lost in his thoughts as he packed, Suguru had made the decision to leave long ago.

He was supposed to leave in the next hour. If he ignored Nanami’s terrified pleas, Suguru would make it to his train on time. Getou would leave everyone and everything behind to finally have his plans to rid the world of non-sorcerers become a reality. His classmates would be fine. Nanami was probably exaggerating since it was his first encounter with a special grade. He did not know that Gojo would always come out on top.

But Nanami sounded so scared…

Getou shook his head harshly, trying to rid himself of those thoughts. Nothing would make him stay in this horrible school any longer. Nanami would be fine. Gojo was with him. He would be more than safe with the strongest sorcerer.

Nanami said Gojo was hurt-

“NO. STOP IT. SHUT UP!” Getou snarled to himself and banged his fists against his skull. There was no need to get involved. He was leaving. NOTHING would make him stay. Suguru had enough of being a jujutsu sorcerer. He’d never be one again!

Nanami said special grades. There was more than one.

“HE’LL BE FINE! SHUT UP!” Suguru closed his eyes as he reprimanded himself again. He was LEAVING for fuck’s sake! This is what he had been preparing for for months!

The screech that he heard before the call ended was utterly demonic.

“I. AM. LEAVING.” Getou was sure he woke someone else up with his yelling. In his current state, the teen could care less.

Nanami reached out to him first, not Yaga or the higher ups. Him.

“STOP IT!”

Nanami didn’t deserve to die.

“STOP!”

He picked up his phone, preparing himself to throw it against the wall or have one of his curses eat it. Before Getou could even move, his phone started blaring a familiar tune.

EL PANADERO CON EL PAN!

*HONK HONK*

EL PANADERO CON EL PAN!

*HONK HONK*

That was Gojo’s ringtone.

Getou’s eyes opened wide in shock. He still held his phone in a vice grip, ready to shatter it against the wall. His arm began to tremble violently, and he could feel his eyes burn. If he answered it, Suguru would miss his train out of Tokyo. If he answered it, Getou might not ever gather enough courage to leave again. All he had to do was click a fucking button, and he’d never have to think about Jujutsu High again. Never again.

The song continued. The song that he and Satoru sang whenever they finished a particularly exhausting mission. It was a random song they had found one day, and it was a song they would both sing to annoy Shoko or Utahime. Getou had never laughed so hard when Satoru started singing it when Yaga brought a sandwich to class one time.

EL PANADE-

Fuck it. With no further hesitation, Suguru clicked the answer button and pressed the phone against his ear tightly. “Satoru?”

“SUGURU! THANK GOD! WE NEED YOUR HELP!” Gojo’s panicked voice made a pit form inside Getou’s stomach. Throughout all their time together, Suguru never heard Gojo’s voice sound so terrified . He was the strongest. Nothing should be capable of scaring him.

Right?

“What? What happened?!” Dread made its way into Getou’s voice.

“The special grade w-we were sent to exorcize…It’s not normal, Suguru! There are several of them, and I can’t hold them back anymore! I don’t think my Infinity can hold out any longer! One of them is so close to getting through! I…I CAN’T BEAT THEM, SUGURU! I’M NOT STRONG ENOUGH!”

“Sato-”

“PLEASE. I KNOW Y-YOU’RE NOT FEELING GREAT, BUT I NEED YOU HERE! NANAMI IS GOING TO FUCKING DIE BECAUSE OF ME! LISTEN, W-WE’RE AT AN ABANDONED WAREHOUSE IN SENDAI! Y-YOU’LL KNOW IT WHEN YOU SEE IT! JUST HURRY–FUCK! ONE OF THEM IS GETTING THROUGH! PLEASE HURRY-”

That same demonic screech was heard before the call ended. Getou looked at his phone in horror. Gojo Satoru, the strongest sorcerer in the world, was terrified and begging for help with curses that should be a breeze for him to deal with

For the past several weeks, Gojo and Getou had been given their own special missions as Gojo had gotten so powerful that he could handle any grade curse on his own. They had been separated. It used to be that Gojo and Getou were the strongest when they were together. Not just Gojo.

And he was showing more fear than Suguru had ever seen in the normally unshakeable teen.

“Dammit, Satoru!” Getou breathed deeply to calm the whirlwind within his mind. His plans would have to wait. After this, he was leaving and never coming back. No more delays.

With a quick text to Shoko, telling her to alert everyone about the emergency occurring in Sendai and that Gojo and Nanami are in critical danger. He immediately got a response, but he didn’t bother to read it. He tied his hair back and began running through the halls. Once he felt the cold night air against his skin and the scent of dew-covered grass, Getou summoned a curse he had purposely absorbed due to its ability to go at supersonic speeds. It took days to catch, but he eventually succeeded. He had planned to use this curse to take him to the train station across town, but the world hated him. The large, spiked curse waited obediently for its order, sharp teeth drooling and blue fur raised in agitation. Suguru petted its snout and mounted onto the creature's back.

“Go. Go to Sendai.” Suguru commanded firmly. He did not need to speak verbally for the curse to know what he wanted, but he still tended to say his orders out loud.

Instantly, the curse shot off into the sky. It could levitate, which made Getou arrive at his destination even faster. His grasp on the curse’s coarse fur was so tight his knuckles turned white. The speed of the curse made harsh winds cut into Getou’s skin. He could barely breathe, but he refused to stop now that he had gone this far. The closer he got, the worse the unease in his gut became. When Gojo had said he would know it when he sees it, he had thought he would need to look for a while to find the vague location Gojo had given him. However, the Infinity user’s words held truth to them. Cursed energy that Getou had never sensed before washed over him, feeling like he had been doused in ice cold water.

Due to his cursed technique, Getou knew things about curses that would make the most seasoned of sorcerers break. When he absorbed a curse, knowledge of the curse’s previous atrocities and perverted thoughts flooded into Suguru’s mind. He would see the curse’s memories and feel its feelings as if it were his own. Over the years, Getou had figured out which curses would be the grossest to ingest and how to prepare his mind from the onslaught of evil the absorbed curse would wrought.

The cursed energy Getou sensed caused every alarm in his head to start blaring. A mantra of WRONG WRONG WRONG flooded his very being. To call it cursed energy would be a blatant lie. Getou knew the ins and outs of cursed energy more than anybody else. Whatever he was sensing wasn’t supposed to exist.

His curse stopped at the broken doors of the warehouse. Suguru dismissed it, only for his body to freeze at the entrance. The sounds of battle could be heard clearly, he even heard Satoru’s labored breathing and Nanami’s pained grunts. They needed help, and they had both called Suguru for his aid over anyone else. Despite knowing this, Getou’s body refused to move. Besides the sounds of his classmates’ exhaustion, what had caused the teen to become paralyzed was the screech he had heard at the end of both calls. Immediately, he knew that this creature was the cause of the feeling of wrongness.

It’s just a special grade. It’s probably making me hallucinate these strange energy signs. Suguru used rationale to calm his beating heart and frantic mind. Every instinct he had was warning him to not enter, but he was already used to ignoring them. As he reached for the handle of the broken door, an explosion brought the entire warehouse down. He used a curse with several shells on its back to shield himself from the flying debris.

When the smoke cleared, Getou was met face to face with what he could only describe as demonic.

“SUGURU! MOVE!” A bloodied Gojo pushed him out the way before the entity could blast him with a beam of purple energy. Familiar purple energy. Getou’s body had frozen again as the abomination started screeching again. Before it could lay a clawed hand on either of them, Gojo’s Infinity flickered to life. It was the weakest Getou had ever seen it. Gojo was trembling like a leaf in a storm to maintain his greatest defense. His friend’s enchanting eyes locked onto his, fear staining the mosaic of blue within. “My Infinity is gonna break any second, so I’m really fucking glad you’re here. Listen. Big birdie over there? Looks like he has my technique and his is stronger than mine ever was! And one of his friends snatched Nanamin! Which is really really bad!”

Before Getou could start asking an onslaught of questions, the entity broke through Gojo’s barrier like it was as easy as going through air . Gojo grabbed Getou’s hand, dragging them away from the rampaging beast. They , the supposed strongest , were hiding behind a thick tree that had not been damaged by the blast. Due to Gojo’s superhuman speed, they had put a sizable gap between themselves and the creatures. With the distance, Getou got a better look at the entity and the other entities behind it.

They truly were beings that had spawned right from Hell.

In the center of the ruins of the warehouse stood a group of six nightmarish abominations. Two of them were underneath a large tree, both surrounding an object of some sort protectively. The one that was curled around what looked like a bundle on closer inspection was using its body as a shield. It took on a feline-like appearance with dark purple fur and a dark rectangular stripe on its snout. Each paw was covered in a hard coating of crimson with each wicked claw being just as large and sharp as a sickle. Black spikes shot out of its back like a deadly mane, rattling in an intimidation display. However, what made the spikes truly forebody were the many spheres of condensed blood above them, ready to be shot out at a moment’s notice.

Such a creature to have the Kamo clan’s hereditary technique was mind boggling to Getou, but he could not afford to ponder on such things. His attention was on the bundle the feline was… protecting. Every curse he encountered had never missed the opportunity to attack. While special grades were more unpredictable and intelligent, they were still just as or even more aggressive as weaker curses. These things were in a formation . If the demonic cat wanted to kill them, it would have already shot out the beams from the heavily condensed blood. Instead, it did nothing, not even growling. In fact, the cat was emitting a rumbling purr that could be heard from all sides as it nuzzled the bundle it was wrapped around repeatedly, its attention completely on whatever was inside. An impossibly tiny hand reached from the bundle to touch the feline’s nose before said feline nudged the tiny appendage back into the bundle. When it was seemingly satisfied, the creature snapped its head towards Getou. The hatred and resentment in its dark eyes could not be mistaken for anything else. Somehow, this feline entity that he had never seen before was glaring at him as if he was the most detestable person in existence. It was not the stare of an aggressive entity, this hatred the cat-demon held for him seemed personal.

What the hell were these things?!

Seemingly done with his staring, the creature closest to the feline used its large body to shield the cat and bundle from Getou’s view. Now knowing that an infant was inside, the behavior of these entities made more sense, yet it confused the dark-haired teen at the same time. The aggression being caused by protective instincts was easy to acknowledge, but the thing causing said protective instincts to emerge was too strange to accept. Curses killed humans. Yet these creatures were doing anything but. The canine-like entity that was now preventing Getou from observing the baby and demonic cat any longer was glaring at him as well. To say it was large was an understatement, the beast rivaled a full grown bear in size. It had a heavy coat of light brown fur with black swirls throughout that resembled the stamens of a flower. Additionally, it had a necklace with a rectangular pendant and a white sash wrapped around its back. The accessories were strange, but Getou found himself paling when he saw the beast’s face. Its eyes were boring into his with a calculating look. As if sensing his unease, the monster bared each of its sharp fangs, releasing a rumble that could be felt within the very ground. A skull of an animal Getou did not recognize adorned the beast like a helmet. The skull covered the beast’s large snout up to the top of its head, and it had two massive tusks jutting from the upper jaw with the lower jaw being bisected. Giant fangs protruded from the demon’s real jaws. A red-tinted liquid drooled from the thing’s mouth, burning the ground once contact was made. It was clear that this muscled sharp-toothed beast was the bruiser of the group. One of the last lines of defense if anyone got too close to the bundle.

From what Getou could gather, the entities were in a formation that would prioritize the infant’s safety over anything else. The fact that no attacks came from the group of monsters, proved his theory. None of them wanted to stray far from the tiny being they were guarding. Gojo seemed to notice the pause in attacks as well, the white-haired boy using the time to try healing himself. However, the Infinity user was struggling to cease his shaking hands and heaving chest. His eyes were open wide, the terror inside them had yet to fade.

Getou placed a hand on the trembling teen’s shoulder. His soft touch made Gojo flinch violently, something that the affectionate teen never did. This encounter was making Getou see too many ‘firsts’ for Gojo. He did not like it in the slightest. “Satoru. It’s okay. I think I figured out a way for us to win.”

No response.

Truly disturbed now, Suguru hid Gojo and himself further behind the tree. Their bodies were now completely hidden from the front. With no reaction from the beasts, Getou quickly pushed Gojo into a sitting position and began to examine him. There must be something happening to make Gojo so exhausted and so shaken . Gojo had been working constantly on improving his technique and to have it just break was startling. The first thing he did was check Gojo’s cursed energy levels. If Gojo was truly exhausted and at his limit, his amount of cursed energy would be incredibly low. If his levels were the same, then something was affecting Gojo’s mind instead of his body.

Suguru placed a hand on Gojo’s chest, he closed his eyes and looked for the blinding sun that was Gojo Satoru’s cursed energy. What he found made him wrench his hand as if it was burned.

There was not a single change in Satoru’s energy levels.

While it was in Gojo’s nature to prank Getou, he knew that the wounds on Satoru and his fear induced state were not faked. Furthermore, Gojo would never endanger Nanami and scare the younger to this extent for a joke.

It seemed like one of the creatures had caused powerful hallucinations for Satoru, somehow getting through his Infinity technique. Getou had a feeling he already knew the source of Gojo and Nanami’s terror. The entity with the hellish screech had caused Getou to become paralyzed in fright. Looking back at Gojo, he remembered the teen’s earlier words.

Big birdie over there? Looks like he has my technique and his is stronger than mine ever was!

The special grade w-we were sent to exorcize…It’s not normal, Suguru!

I CAN’T BEAT THEM, SUGURU!

I’M NOT STRONG ENOUGH!

No other curse had been able to break Gojo in such a way. The expressive teen did not let anything or anyone get under his skin. Even the incident with Toji and Riko hadn’t broken his friend this much. He had used the trauma and grief from the aforementioned incident as motivation to grow stronger. Satoru was not the person to become catatonic in the face of danger. Gojo was the type of person to flirt with or make fun of the deadliest of special grades and laugh at their reactions once they realized they were no match for the strongest.

The closest Getou got to seeing Satoru shut down like this was when one of the elders from the Gojo clan came to visit Jujutsu High. It was for a ‘performance check’ on the young first-year sorcerer. Yaga had announced it during breakfast with a sympathetic glance towards Gojo before leaving as quickly as he came. Gojo nodded and had gone quiet for once and left the table, his food untouched. Shoko and Getou wasted no time in running after him, which was difficult considering Gojo was the fastest being on the planet. They had found him sparring with one of Yaga’s training dolls. The cursed corpses were reinforced with runes and enchanted metals, but they might have been made of paper to Gojo. A sizable army of cursed corpses littered the smoldering ground. In the middle was Gojo, who had not even broken a sweat. The teen had grabbed the next cursed corpse, a giant spiked monster that was several times larger than Gojo, and tackled it to the ground. Satoru started ripping at the fabric of the enchanted cursed corpse, tears of frustration pricking the edges of his eyes. Just as Getou was going to say something, Satoru screamed and tore the plush in half with his hands. He began punching at the cursed corpse, using his cursed energy to burn the doll into ashes. When Gojo had finally realized that he had an audience, he put on his classic annoying grin and made several jokes to make his friends irritated enough to forget what they had seen.

Later that day, Getou and Shoko would see Gojo be tested in various obstacle courses and battles that the Gojo clan elders hand selected for Satoru. The elder observing it all criticized every little thing Gojo did, shaking his head in disappointment each time. Even though Gojo had won in every tournament and completed each obstacle course in record time, it was somehow not good enough for the Gojo clan. At the end of the day, the elder scowled at a tired Gojo. He crowed about the importance of the image of the Gojo clan and how crucial it was for Gojo to be absolutely perfect so no one would ever consider that Gojo Satoru wasn’t the strongest. Satoru had spat on the floor next to the old geezer’s feet and told the elder to fuck himself with the clipboard he had been using to record his observations. The elder shook his head again. His next words made Shoko, Getou, and even Yaga want to kill the man as painfully as possible.

“I feel so sorry for your mother. She did not deserve to die to birth such a useless mongrel like you. Perhaps the regret of having such a disappointment was what truly killed your father and not his illness. This meeting has been quite eye opening. Thank you for reminding us to never expect anything worthwhile from you, boy.”

With that, the rotten old man left. Gojo had been frozen in place until Shoko had placed a hand on his shoulder with Getou holding Satoru’s hand. They led their fellow first-year student into Shoko’s room. As Shoko went to find her secret stash of candy and soda, Getou had placed Gojo onto her plush bed. Before Getou could let go of Gojo’s hand, the white-haired boy held Suguru’s hand with an ironclad grip. Gojo had muttered something that was too quiet for Getou to understand, but it sounded sad enough for him to lay on the bed with Gojo and hug him. Immediately, Gojo latched onto Getou like a koala and cried into his chest with his lip wobbling violently from the sobs Satoru was refusing to release. When Shoko came back with her goodies, she silently joined the two on the bed and rubbed Gojo’s back in soothing motions. When Gojo stopped crying, he went limp in Getou’s hold, but it was clear that the boy did not want to be let go any time soon. Shoko put on one of the trio’s favorite movies on her phone and passed snacks to each of them. Gojo had not eaten for the entire day, so he got the lionshare of the snacks, eating them quietly as the movie started. The trio would eventually fall asleep and would wake up with Yaga telling them to have a day off. While the three had only known each other for about six months, it was the best day of their entire lives.

It seemed like anything relating to Gojo’s family or his well hidden insecurities got to him the most. Getou let his thoughts mull over in his head before he risked a glance at the demonic entities.

All except one had moved. The cat-thing still had its Piercing Blood attack ready to fire at a moments notice, but it was currently occupied with soothing the now fussy infant. Getou still had no clue on why such creatures would show such care for a baby. Why were they so protective? Where did they come from? Where did the baby come from? Who are the baby’s parents? Was the baby stolen or is it actually an entity like them?

Too many questions and too little time. Getou glanced at two other entities that he hadn’t noticed yet. One seemed to be made entirely out of black sludge and was vaguely shaped like a human with spiky hair. It leaned down and summoned a pair of green dots as eyes. The baby let out a giggle as the shadow monster shaped its strange eyes into various animals. One moment there was a pair of wolves then another there was an elephant. As the baby shrieked with laughter, the cat was able to bundle the baby up again with its head sticking out this time. The eyes of the shadow blob returned and were squinted in the way a regular person’s eyes are when they’re smiling. A rose then dangled in front of the baby, swaying gently. The rose originated from the other creature next to the shadow entity. It resembled a marionette that had its strings snipped with how its head and arms hung limply. The metal creature was wearing a long, dark blue skirt with a long sleeve button up of the same color. A rose bush grew out of the left side of its featureless face. Where an eye should be, there was a blood red rose in full bloom. Each of the thorns along the bush and vines looked like nails. It was jarring to see the greenery of the plants be intertwined with metal nails. Several vines wrapped around the creature’s left arm, following the vines would lead to the rose it was hanging in front of the baby. The puppet-like creature had no real hands or feet. Each limb ended in a sharp point like, well, a nail. The only soft thing on the creature was its ginger hair which was hung to the side due to the limpness of its neck. A happy coo left the baby as the metal being continued to move the rose in soothing motions. In response, a soft trill left the entity even though it lacked a mouth.

Eventually, the baby fell asleep with its watchful guardians surrounding it…Or should it be they? Was the baby a human or something else? These creatures were unsettling, yet Getou found himself utterly fascinated by them. They had intelligence and emotions that he had yet to see in a curse.

Enough intelligence to figure out the only way to make the strongest sorcerer of the modern era turn into a shaking mess.

“Gojo?” Getou turned back to his friend, who had yet to say a word. He felt relieved once he noticed Satoru’s steady breathing and ceased shaking. Even so, Satoru had yet to acknowledge him. Suguru knelt in front of Gojo and was surprised to see that Gojo’s eyes were as wide as they were before. Has he not blinked? Pushing his shock aside, Getou held Gojo’s head in his hands, staring into his eyes for any answers to what was afflicting Gojo. Satoru’s eyes had always been Getou’s favorite thing to look at. They had a clarity one could only find in the purest of waters. Every shade of blue imaginable seemed to be present in Gojo’s eyes. It reminded Getou of the ocean that Riko and Gojo had been messing around in. The sapphires Mei Mei had shown them when she let them look at her collection of gemstones. The sky he, Gojo, and Shoko would spend hours staring at, trying to find the best shaped cloud. To put it simply, Gojo’s blue eyes were enchanting.

They weren’t blue anymore.

“Satoru? Can you hear me?” Getou tried his best to hide the trembling in his voice. The eyes he adored were clouded over, the brilliant blues dulled to a lifeless gray. If it wasn’t for Gojo’s calm breathing and heartbeat, Suguru would have thought his friend had died. He shook all thoughts of death aside to focus on figuring out what was happening to Gojo. As he looked closer, Getou noticed the rapid expanding and shrinking of his pupils. They were pinpricks at one point and completely blown out a second later. Additionally, his eyes were shifting around, likely in an attempt to look in a different direction. The movement was so subtle that Suguru would not have noticed it if he wasn’t so close. This was necessary, so Getou knew better than to start blushing at their proximity. The pink flush on his cheeks proved otherwise . He shook Gojo to try snapping him out of the strange trance he was in. “Gojo! You asked for my help, right? I know how to get us out of here alive. We’ll get Nanami-kun back too.”

“...Nanamin.” Gojo murmured. His pupil became pinpricks for the twentieth time, and the teen began to shake his head repeatedly. “No. Nononono. Stop showing me this…He’s alive…”

“What are you seeing, Satoru?” Getou asked gently. His friend seemed to be breaking out of whatever was plaguing his mind. If he kept prodding, he was sure Gojo would become aware enough to snap out of it.

“I…I don’t know.”

“Can you try describing it?”

“There’s fire…lots of fire…”

“Anything else, Satoru? You’re doing so good so far.”

“A box…A big box…It’s really dark in there…”

“A box? Are you alone in the box?”

“No…Lots of skeletons…”

“Wait-Skeletons?”

“Yeah…They’re all dead…’Cause of me…”

“...Who is dead, Satoru?”

“...Everyone…”

Any other questions Suguru had were ignored as Satoru returned to his catatonic state. He sighed as he let go of Gojo, helping the teen rest against the tree. The bird-like creature Gojo had mentioned was the most concerning of the entities. If the creature really had Gojo’s technique, then all of Japan would be in danger. It seemed impossible for something to have Infinity and Six-eyes without garnering the attention of a single jujutsu sorcerer. More so, Japan was still intact.

Nothing about this situation was right.

Getou stood, clenching his fists. He looked back at Satoru, trapped within his own mind by a monster neither of them knew how to beat. “I’ll be right back, Satoru. Just stay put, okay?” With that, Getou stepped out of the safety of the tree and placed himself in the direct line of vision of the demonic creatures.

Immediately, each being snapped their heads toward him and stiffened. The demonic cat used its long bushy tail to cover the bundle completely, wrapping around the infant. On each side was the shadow monster and the metallic entity, acting as a shield for the two behind them. In front of the pair was the canine-like beast he had seen earlier, snarling at Suguru viciously. Next to the beast was a new creature Suguru had not noticed. It resembled a mummy from the spotted fabric covering its body. The black spots on the fabric were shifting around as a sign of irritation. Its entire left side was made of a black metal of sorts, which had cracks throughout. Within the cracks, a fiery substance was contained. The spotted fabrics around its throat were different from the white of the other bandages. One wrapping was yellow with black spots while the other was blue without any designs. A pair of glasses with yellow lenses were set firmly on its face. A sharp cyan light emitted from the left lens. The light was aimed at Suguru and narrowed in a supposed glare.

“I’m unarmed. I don’t want to fight.” Getou raised his hands in a placating gesture. It was a partial lie, but he was at least telling the truth about not having any physical weapons on him. He concealed his cursed energy as best as he could in case the entities could detect it. Suguru adorned his gentlest smile and voice. “You have one of my friends in a powerful trance and have taken my other friend. I only want their freedom, nothing else. I will leave once I have my friends back. No harm will come to you or the infant you’re guarding.”

There was a chance that the entities could not understand what he was saying. Three of them didn’t have mouths and the other two were more animalistic in appearance. He kept his hands in the air and stayed still. Any sudden movement could make the creatures view him as a threat. Though, they already looked at Getou with such disdain that he was sure that none of them saw him as something remotely positive. He had yet to see the sixth member of their group, the one he needed to speak with the most. Suguru had remembered counting six shapes before Gojo had dragged him away. He did not get to have a good look at the entity responsible for breaking through Gojo’s Infinity, the familiar purple blast, Gojo’s powerful trance, and the bloodcurdling screeches. It was supposed to be bird-like, and the creatures before Getou did not resemble that description.

With each second passed, the tension grew more and more. Sweat formed above Getou’s brow. His other classmates were incapacitated, so he would have to face the monsters alone. He pushed down the overwhelming concern he felt for Nanami, who had yet to see. Gojo said one of them had taken him, but Suguru hadn’t heard any sounds of struggle. Nanami was young, but he was extremely durable and never went down without a fight. To hear nothing made a weight sink to the bottom of Getou’s stomach. If these were curses, Nanami would surely be dead. However, these entities were something else entirely, so there was a chance that Nanami was still alive. There was also a chance that something worse had happened to Nanami. The rising stakes worsened the tense atmosphere.

“ H̷̘̓͆ȩ̵̾͗h̴̻͕͘e̴̗͑̈h̵̨̛̿ͅė̵̮…̶͉͐H̶̗̱̾ǫ̷͠ẃ̶͕ ̸̣̕ȧ̵̖d̷̰̏o̷͉̍r̷̤̖͝à̸̱̙b̶͍͚̀͐l̴͙͒e̸͓̝̒̆ .”

Suguru felt every muscle in his body freeze.

The air suddenly became so cold that Getou could see each of his shaky exhales. A dark fog enveloped the entire area. He knew he needed to protect himself and summon one of his curses if he wanted to live, yet he stayed still. A terror that Getou had never felt before spread throughout each nerve, each cell, each atom of his body. It felt like the doom prey would feel when they accidentally entered the territory of the most powerful predator. They weren't supposed to be there, but they will never get the chance to leave.

He had never felt so powerless.

A clawed hand cupped Getou’s cheek, draining his face of all color at the icy touch. Getou’s knees trembled as he stared into the black abyss in front of him. The hand on his face was pure white like a twisted ivory sculpture.

“Ş̴̧̾̽ǫ̶̎ ̷̼͋͝s̴͉̑ç̷̘̽̍a̸̪͛̑r̴̛̻͑é̷̬̝d̵̟͕̃̕…̶͕̖͋T̶͖̜̽h̸̝͠a̴͍̫͋ť̸ͅ’̷̫̈s̸̺͒ ̵̪͓͋h̶͈͑͆ì̷͔ͅl̴̻̯͛a̷͓̳̓̂r̴͇͠i̵̞͘ö̵̭́̕ṵ̵́s̶͇̅̑!̴̱̪̾”

The voice was incredibly distorted, barely decipherable, and it made Getou forget how to breathe. Its teasing tone was familiar. So familiar. Getou refused to acknowledge the similarities due to the utter wrongness of the voice.

"Ì̵͔t̷̹̽’̴̬̩̇s̵͎͗͐ ̵̺̝̕r̵͎̞͝u̶̹̳̐d̴̫͚̏ȅ̴̫̝ ̶͔̼̓̈́t̶̨́ͅó̷̜͙ ̸̰͖̃͠ī̵̫g̵̦̅͆ͅn̴͇̂͛o̷͔̿r̶̜̃ḙ̸͋͝ ̶̢̹̂s̷̘̎̿ó̸͈m̷̨̀͘e̷̱̿o̴̜͌n̶͔̩͂̂e̶̝̎…̷̟̻̊̊O̸̖̽p̵̞̫̏͘ẻ̶̦̹n̷͔̈ ̷̦͕͌y̶͇͖͛ȯ̸̤͎͐u̷͕̽ȑ̵̡͎ ̸̱́e̴̞̥̒͠ȳ̶͕e̵̢͝ş̸̱̓̈ ̷͈̐͒f̸̟̟̉o̵͎͘ͅr̶̢̈́ ̸̺̓͘ṁ̴̻͝e̸͍̓,̵̹̈̈́ ̴̲̆̊ḧ̶̠̝ṁ̶͎̕?̷̣͆̃”

Despite not noticing when his eyes closed, Getou squeezed his eyes even tighter. The hand was now starting to comb through his hair, releasing the messy bun he had haphazardly made earlier. Its gentle motions only disturbed Suguru further. He wanted to run away. Fuck, he was supposed to be far away from Tokyo! If he hadn’t answered their calls, he would not be in this predicament! Any frustration Suguru could muster was squashed by the terror suffocating him. He now understood why Nanami and Gojo had been so horrified over the phone. The other entities looked like puppies compared to this monstrosity. Its long fingers moved from his hair to his eyelids. Somehow, even more fear pierced through Getou like a spear built from the darkest nightmares of mankind.

“ Y̶̮̑̕ȍ̵̱u̷͇̬̿͠ ̵̱͒̈s̶̰̻̾̇ā̸̮̙i̶̱͐̀ḓ̸̐ ̸͎͒y̴̢̱͠ô̵͕u̷̪̍͝ ̶͇̃̾w̶͔̥͐̇o̴̯̓n̴̹̹̍͝’̴̦̻͝͝t̴̯̭̽̉ ̸̺̓̾h̵̖̃a̷̢͑ṙ̵̲m̵̭̃͜ ̷̧̽̎u̸͚̽š̵̨,̷̩̳͆ ̶̡̟̀s̸̛̗̈́ọ̸́ ̵̙̚I̵͉̺̍̓ ̶̧͓̇w̶̮̮̐́ọ̶͙͐͝n̷̖̋̅’̴͔̱̑t̷̙̍͝ ̴͚̃̌ḧ̴̝́ȃ̶͚͙r̶͈͓̄͝m̴̻̲̋ ̵͈̱̕y̸̠̿o̴̠͊ų̴̾ ̶͕̐͘e̷̘͝ỉ̷̭t̶̘̠͑̄h̴͈͐͑e̸̙̅͛r̶̤͑.̵̨̦̓͋ ̴̘̽̾ͅI̸͚̓ ̸͈̖̀s̷̨̹̈́̐i̸͓͍̐́m̴̲͛p̵̺̈́̊ľ̷̡̐y̵̜̭̔ ̷̤̏w̷͚̯͆͝a̷̢͉̋n̶̠͉͠t̶͚̞͌ ̴͙̤͆t̸͉͔̀ö̸̱̞̌ ̸̞̄t̸̻͗͌a̵̡̓l̷͙̲̾k̴̢͙̅̋ ̶͖̜̈́t̷̯͈͂o̷̲̐͗͜ ̷̻̇ý̸̖ͅo̸̬̦̓̍u̷͓̹͊̚.̶͇̀ͅ ̷̧́́Y̵̪͆õ̸͎̺u̷̳̍ ̵̝͈̅w̵̫̌͝e̸̤̠̅r̸̞͎̓e̷͎̭̽ ̶̥̂ș̴̚o̵̬̬̎͂ ̶̠̻̏͝ě̷̡̄ȃ̶ͅg̷̰͋ͅĕ̶̛͔ṙ̴͉̣̃ ̴͓̈́ͅb̶̙̏͊ẹ̵̩́̇f̸̹̿̈́o̵̫̍͋r̸̗̜̈́ẽ̶̠͕̚,̶͚̍͠ ̸̺̝͒̏ǹ̵͓ọ̷̈́͊?̶͕̈"

If his body hadn’t locked up, Getou would have collapsed by now. The hand moved once more, placing a single claw on his forehead. It traced a line across his forehead, moving back and forth endlessly. While the touch was incredibly gentle, Suguru knew that it would not take much for the claw to draw blood. The claw could probably cut his entire skull in half!

“Ṣ̸̆h̷̒ͅh̸̡̎h̷͍̍.̶̘͗ ̴̼͑Ṇ̵͝ô̸̱ ̶̺̀n̵͒͜e̸͊͜ȩ̷̓d̸͇̎ ̶̧́ț̸̆o̸̫͑ ̷͚͑b̶̝͝ȅ̶͙ ̴̠̒s̷̳͗o̷̳͗ ̷͔͑s̴͈̀č̵̢a̸̠͒r̵̯̋ḙ̷̀d̵͍̋.̴̝́ ̶̜̀Y̵̟̐o̴̜͛u̸͔͆’̸̲́r̷̼̉e̶̙͌ ̵̨͠ȳ̸̭o̴͎͝u̴͎̐!̵̰͑ ̸̼̀Ǹ̷̩Ò̶͇Ṯ̷̓ ̷̨̣̟̟̖̮͕̘͖͑̅̾͐̄͊̈́̔̚ͅh̷̲̞̥̪̠̳͈͖̩̺̤̘̠̓́̈́̃͗̆̒̒͑̚͜ ̵̳̹͙̼̗̦͉̯͖̘͔͒̓̔͝ĩ̵̧̛͖̞͕̬͍̌͒́̋͒͘͝͝ ̶̛́̏͛̈́̽̅͋͛͛́͘̚ͅm̸̮͇̗͇̺͔̩͉̼̬̻̳̾̔̍͛ Ì̷̥ ̵͕̓d̴̥̓ǒ̷̼n̶̤̂’̷̱̀t̵̠̓ ̸̋͜w̴͚̃a̴̻̍n̵͔̍n̸̟̔ā̵͈ ̴̫̓k̴͚̆ī̶̦l̸͉͗l̸̗̅ ̸̜̌y̶̹͝o̸͔̓ù̵̻.̷̨̛ ̸̙̈́J̶̼͛u̵̘͠s̴͙͌t̷̙̿ ̴͖͗o̶̺̿p̷̤̌e̸͙͑ṋ̴̉ ̷̙̚t̵͉̄h̶̓͜o̷̤͘s̷̜̾ẽ̵̮ ̶̘͐e̴͚͆y̷͉͆e̴̗̔s̸̫̋,̴̩̔ ̶̲̍ö̸́ͅk̴̺͊a̸͈͝y̴̬͛?̵̗͒”̶̪͌

At face value, the request was harmless, but Suguru could detect the commanding tone hidden underneath the cheery voice.

With his body screaming at him to not listen to the demonic presence, Getou complied. His eyes hesitantly opened, blinking rapidly to clear the spots from them. He tried looking down, but a cold hand grabbed his chin and tilted it upwards.

“Ţ̴̝̐̀̓h̷͕͕̟͂ḛ̶͍̥̂̅͒r̸͍͈̟͝ę̸̯̓̒ ̷̭͍̱̎̂̆w̵̠͔̣̆e̶̻͇̹͛̕ ̶͈͚̪̽ǧ̴͎̈́̐o̵̖̮̮̿!̴͛̈́ͅ”̶̯̟̤͐"

Getou gasped and tried to step back, but the grip on his jaw was too tight to escape from. He had no choice but to look at the figure that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Eyes. So many eyes stared at him with differing emotions. Suguru could not keep track of the countless eyes boring into him. The hand that had been gripping his face retreating into the black void surrounding them. They looked exactly like Satoru’s. To see those eyes he adored become so twisted and wrong caused a hollowness in his chest. The largest pair of eyes was looking at him with joy and mischief. Said pair moved around unlike the others. It must be attached to the body of the creature hidden within the thick fog. He needed to do something. He had wanted to talk to the sixth entity. He could not stand there like an idiot! Move!

“Ḯ̴͖t̴͖̀’̵̻̓s̶͖̆ ̴̹̽ä̴̻́l̴̡͝r̵̳̓ḯ̶͖g̸͇̓ḩ̸͠t̶̙̒ ̵̲̀t̸̳͐h̵̙̀ä̵̠ẗ̸̗ ̶̱́y̷͙̍o̴͖͒ủ̷͔ ̵̯͒c̵̘̑a̴̠͛n̷̨̽’̴̺̌t̴̜͋ ̷̹͘m̷̗̀o̶̙͘v̷̛̺e̴͍͝.̸̜̊ ̶̳͝N̴͕̔o̷̻͗ ̶̧̒h̶̺͊ṷ̷̎m̷̲̉a̶̰̓n̸̜̽ ̶̟̇c̶̗͂å̴͙n̷̔ͅ,̸̮͒ ̶̘͛w̷̲̿ḧ̷̤́ì̴̠c̷̠̿h̶̥͊ ̷̹͝ĩ̶̼s̵̡̔ ̷̠́ŕ̴̙e̶͉̊a̵̮͒l̵̫͘l̵͚̾y̵̱̕ ̶̩̍b̶̼̓o̴͈͋r̵͚͑ī̷ͅn̶̮͛g̵̗̾!̵̘̔” The glowing blue eyes rolled with annoyance. Quickly, its childish demeanor became serious. Each eye adopted the same seriousness. “ Y̸̹͆o̷̱̿u̶̟̿ ̴̟͠ḓ̴̛o̵͂ͅn̶̗͒’̶̦̿ẗ̵̬ ̶̼̍ạ̸͝ç̷̾ț̶̾u̴͔͂a̴̛͎l̵̻̍l̸̩̂y̵̻͆ ̵̣̚n̶͚̿e̵̱̾e̵̯̾d̶̫͘ ̶͔̆t̴͖̃o̵͓̽ ̸̟͊t̶̼̍a̵͔̽ĺ̷̗k̷̥͗.̴̜͊ ̴̡̈A̷̠͝l̵̖̈́l̵͈͗ ̴̜̊I̷̙̅ ̷̳͗n̶̳͆e̴̮̎è̴̤ḑ̷̚ ̷̥̈y̵͕͆o̷͕̓ṷ̷͝ ̷̰̚t̷̼̄o̶̫̽ ̴͖̓d̴̨͗o̸͉̽ ̶̒͜i̸̍͜s̴̯͋ ̴̮͗l̶͕̄i̷̙͑s̵̨͑t̶̥̂e̶̬͝ǹ̶̲ ̶̲͠ẗ̵̡o̵͙͆ ̸̙̐m̵̡̽e̷̢̾ ̵̨͊a̵̝͋n̵̲͒ḏ̴͝ ̸̳̚k̷̭͠e̶͕͘ḛ̵̓p̷̬̃ ̷̟͐ẙ̷̫o̶̱̿u̷̱͆r̵̨͛ ̶̰͗ě̸̠y̶͈̅é̶͈s̶͇͒ ̷̙̐ö̴̜́p̵̺̈́e̴͕͂n̸̫̍.̷̨́ ”

“Why?” Getou spat out with more force than intended. His chest heaved as the word left his mouth. Horror overcame him as he realized he’d offended the eldritch horror.

Instead of becoming enraged, a giggle left the creature. “ I̵̪͂ ̸̭̓s̶̀͜h̷͎͝o̵̢͝u̵͇͘l̶̰͊d̶̩̈ ̵̹̅h̶̞̄a̵͇͒v̶͇͋è̴̲ ̵̠̋ḙ̵́x̸̲͂p̸̙͘ḛ̵̈c̵͑͜ṱ̷͗ĕ̷̮d̷͈͝ ̸̦́ý̵͚o̷͔̍u̵̧͠ ̶̧̎t̶͍̎ȍ̴͍ ̸͉͛a̴̳̎s̵̥̐k̸̙̄ ̸͙͐m̸͖͊e̶̛͚ ̸̙͌t̶͎̓h̶̟̏a̷̳̾t̴̩͒.̵̧̏ ̷͚̉S̶̖̈́o̶̘̓ ̵͓̈́c̷̳͂ű̶͜r̸̡̐ì̸̱o̸̼̾ư̶̞s̴̟̅ ̶̰͝l̸̰͝ì̶͙k̶̺̀è̵̺ ̶̙̾a̶͈̐l̷̨̂w̷̭͝a̴̗͌ẙ̴͍s̸̨̈!̵̻̕ ̷̣̾Y̷̧̚o̸͐͜u̶͉͝ ̴͈̀h̶͖͝a̸͎͌v̸̥̿e̶̠̚n̶͉͠’̵̱̋ţ̵̓ ̷͙̋c̷̪͠h̴̙͛a̷̜͠n̷̈́͜g̵̮̀ḛ̴̐d̷̟̂ ̶͎͘.̷̙̿”̴̨̀.

Suguru immediately noticed the odd wording. He continued to push his fear to the side with his need to learn more. “How do you know me? You’ve been talking to me like I’m a long-lost friend or something.”

“ Ṭ̷̦͈͇̹͕̯̜͛̉̍͛̾͝h̶̞̼̪̠̞͕͒a̸͈̮͓̝̾̈́ţ̵̀̈́͋̇’̸͈̔̈̓͛̉̊̀̊̃͊͝ş̷̝̥̤̖̲̮͖̞̠̔̓̏̈́̅̏͊͜͝͠͝ ̷̠̣̞͊̂̚b̸͓̝̻̫̯̼̬̙̳̫̒̒̈́̈́ẻ̸̡̡̗̙̼͍̀̉̈̔̚c̶̹͕̮̥̫͕̠̲̄̿̋́͊̓̍͝͠͠͝ą̴̛̘̝͙̜̯̜̱̰ṵ̷̼̏̋̌͒̾̍̃͆̕͘s̶̠͓̞͔͉̑̏̏̒͘͠e̴̱͈̺̮̜̠̟̞̲͒́̈́͋̉̎͠ ̴̢̱̯̹̩͕̀̂̀̅̓̋̋̀͆̌ͅy̵̭̻̩͆̔̿̒o̶̖̙̟̯͈̻͛̐̈́̉̇̓͘͠ụ̶͖͍͈͇̬̺̲̋́͆͂̅́̉̚ͅ ̷̺̋́̀̏͊́̃̕̚͠a̸̻̖͍̖̤͍͆̈́͑̿̈́͑̄͂͘͝͝ŗ̶̝̰͉͚̗͎̱̻̺̔́̈̈́̀͘ê̴̝̱͙̔̍̓̀͌̈́̿̏̉.̶͚̐̊̇̍̈̇͗͝͝͠”

All the eyes surrounding them disappeared, only the main pair remaining. Two white, spindly limbs stepped out of the shadows with the talons of a bird of prey at the ends. A sharp, hooked beak poked out at the same time, curled into a menacing smile. The beak was ghost white and serrated at the edges. As the creature moved further from the cover of fog, Getou felt his heart stutter as the monster fully revealed itself. White hair sat atop the entity’s head, followed by a black mask that covered its eyes. The mask wrapped around its long neck, ending in two tattered ends. The body of the creature reminded Getou of his rainbow dragon, who had been sliced in half by Toji’s blade. Unlike the curse, the entity’s body was split into five segments that were connected by an invisible force. The head and neck made up the first segment, the second segment was just the front legs, the creature’s lanky torso was the third segment, the back legs were the fourth, and the creature's long, smoky tail made up the last segment. The white hair on its head grew down its body like a fluffy mane, only stopping at the legs and tail. Feathers were mixed with the fur on its back. The feathers were easy to spot with their length and varied between three colors: blue, red, and purple.

The draconic creature was massive and towered over Suguru. Its size dwarfed his rainbow dragon, who was one of Suguru’s largest curses. At this point, Getou was surprised his heart was still beating considering the amount of horror gripping said organ. He should have died from a heart attack by now. His hands trembled violently as he tried to raise them. His death was imminent if he didn’t summon an army of curses. Maybe he could try Maximum Uzumaki-

“A̸̘̔h̷͎̄.̷̇͜ ̸͈͑A̵̦̋h̵̟̕.̴͚͌ ̸̮͊A̶͖̒h̷̡͆.̶̺͂ ̵̘͘Ṉ̵̈́ǒ̵̲n̸̜̔e̵͉̎ ̶̥͝ö̵̧f̸̮͋ ̷͖̇t̸͎̋h̸͕͛a̶̠̓t̷̝͐ ̷̥̉ņ̵͊o̴̧̽w̸̜͗.̷̳͐ ̴̩̓Y̸̥͐ò̵̜u̵͍͆ ̴̙͌s̴̫̓ḁ̷̅i̸̹͠ḍ̶͝ ̴̔ͅy̷̥̐ŏ̶̡u̶̝̅ ̴̝̔w̷̳̓e̸̼̐r̷͈̈́ḛ̶̍ ̸̮̍ù̴͈ǹ̶̟a̸̋͜ř̴̨m̸̧̂e̶̦̚d̶͈̕.̷̦̓ ̵͔̓O̸̬̔r̸̟̒ ̷̣͛w̸̳̏a̷͇͛s̷͇͊ ̷͖̓t̴͍̓h̸̢̕a̷̛̰t̷̬̕.̸̱́a L̷̛͙͍̭̦̝͚̬̪̳̉̑͛̌̓̋̈́͊̀͘ ̷̛̗̙̙̜̹̠̀̉̉̑̃̔̚͜͝ͅͅI̸̧̠̱̹̜̗͕̲̜̬̅̈̎͋̽̅̃͗̀͘͜͝͝ͅ ̵͖̠̻̝̯͙̥̜̈́̓̀̊͠Ḙ̵̡̧̤̗͉̬̻͈͆̂͗͜?̶̢̛̹̩͓̟̫̪͔͓̊̑́̊̈̏̕͜ͅ

Like a peacock displaying its vibrant feathers, the demon’s tail spread out to the fullest. Despite being made of black smoke, the entity could control it perfectly. All the eyes that had disappeared from the void he was in reappeared inside the creature’s tail. While a peacock’s feathers were meant to show off their beauty to impress a female, the unholy abomination’s tail was used to show off the indescribable power it had with each eye promising a painful death. It let out a shriek of laughter, which Getou immediately recognized. It was the same shriek over the phone.

Those shrieks were not made from an infuriated monster.

It was laughing .

Its laughter was familiar. Its white hair. Its cursed energy. Its color scheme. Its voice hidden within the distortion. Its eyes.

No other being was capable of having the same eyes as-

As if a flip was switched, everything now made sense to Getou. The identity of these beings. The reason why they had appeared out of nowhere. The answer to their protectiveness of the infant. It came from an old myth, but the details were too similar to ignore. These creatures were far from cursed spirits or demons.

Getou looked at the creature before him with an entirely new perspective. A smug grin split the sharp beak of the entity. When it spoke next, the distortion was completely gone from its voice. Its voice was clear and undeniably belonged to-

“Yo, Suguru!”

Where a beast had stood, there was now a lanky man with a black blindfold over his eyes. He was littered in deep cuts. There was blood pooling from a large slice in his stomach. His hand was raised in a friendly wave.

Getou couldn’t breathe.

The man smiled.

“Heh. I’ve always wanted to say that.”

Everything turned black.

Yaga knew his life would never be easy as a jujutsu sorcerer. In fact, he was the principal of a damn jujutsu highschool. If anything, he did this to himself. He expected his patience to be tested in every way, he expected to never be able to take a break, and he even expected to become a pseudo-parent to each of his traumatized students.

He did not, however, expect to be woken in the dead of night by Shoko throwing a water bottle at his face.

“WAKE THE FUCK UP!” Shoko then immediately realized her error. “Shit. I meant to pour water on your face.”

“THE BOTTLE IS NOT EVEN OPEN, SHOKO.” Yaga was wide awake now with a throbbing nose. He pinched his fingers over the bridge of his nose, already sensing an oncoming headache. While the man was angry, he knew that Shoko would not do such a stupid thing without reason. “Explain why you needed to wake me up at this hour. Now.”

“Well, I don’t want to be awake right now either, but Getou texted me saying that there is an emergency going on with Nanami and Gojo, so he went out to help. You know that shouldn’t happen unless something seriously went wrong with their mission in Sendai.” Shoko had her arms wrapped tightly around herself. Unlike Gojo, she knew Getou was not a moron who would do pranks in the middle of the night. Dread was already pooling in her gut.

At her words, Yaga instantly straightened and got up. He adorned a serious expression. If Gojo could not handle the special grade curse, then something truly had gone awry with the mission. What’s more, Nanami was there too. Yaga wanted to bash himself in the head for not fighting against the council more about their reckless decision. Nanami was still grieving heavily for Haibara, a boy who had died far too young. He should not be forced to fight in such a state. Additionally, Yaga knew how stretched thin and stressed Gojo was. After the incident with Toji, he had noticed the changes in Getou and Gojo’s behavior. Getou had become more withdrawn than ever, and Gojo had bags under his eyes that rivaled Shoko’s. Both teens were traumatized, but the council seemed to make it their personal mission to work Gojo to the bone with the nonstop missions.

His frustration at himself had to be put aside as there was something more dire at hand. “I’ll gather reinforcements at once. Shoko, please prepare the infirmary while I’m gone.” He left without waiting for the girl’s response. It was a good thing he had stayed up late since he was still in his uniform. Yaga took his phone out to send various texts and calls to his colleagues. With a pang of guilt, Yaga woke up Ijichi, his young assistant, which caused the teen to yelp in surprise. Ijichi was a timid person, but he still wanted to help the jujutsu world. He became part of the very small staff in Tokyo academy. His superior driving abilities were what Yaga needed right now.

With little words spoken, Ijichi gathered himself and led them to his assigned car. Yaga had taken a moment to gather his most powerful cursed corpses for a possible fight ahead. The car ride was a blur to Yaga. Before he knew it, they had arrived at the site Yaga had sent the young sorcerers to. Gakuganji and his students arrived soon after. The older man had a frown on his face at the abrupt awakening. Two of his students, Mei Mei and Utahime stood next to him. Utahime was trying to rub the sleep from her eyes while Mei had a tight grip on her axe with a tense expression. Being called for an emergency did not happen in jujutsu. What happened more often was the sorcerer being killed before help could be alerted in the first place.

This situation was ringing alarm bells and waving red flags in Yaga’s mind. He ignored them and began walking into the remains of the abandoned warehouse. The forest around the group was relatively unharmed. No fire was leftover from the explosion. What concerned Yaga the most was the lack of any sound. It was too quiet considering who the mission was assigned to.

“Mei Mei, can you use your crows to find the students?” Gakuganji asked. He kept his face neutral, but his tone portrayed his apprehension.

“Of course.” The young woman smiled. She made a small flock of her crows survey the area. Sharing their sight, she could see the debris and bloodstains on the grass. There was no evidence that a battle was occurring with the calmness of the forest. Eventually, one of her crows spotted a large tree with a wide trunk. She focused on it and made the bird look behind the tree. “There they are. Follow me.”

“What conditions are their body’s in?” The question left Yaga’s mouth quickly.

Mei Mei hummed. “The three seem unharmed, but their clothes are damaged and bloodied. Perhaps Gojo-kun used his reverse cursed technique to heal them?”

“If Gojo had been able to heal them, then there would not be a need for calling us here.” He wished that was what had happened, but Yaga knew better than to give himself false hope. Something malicious had hurt his students severely enough to have Gojo incapacitated.

When Mei Mei led them to the young sorcerers, Yaga almost lost his composure. Next to him, Gakuganji was tense at the sight with Utahime hiding behind the elder. Despite her frequent squabbles with Gojo, Utahime did not hate him. Sure, he was annoying but never meant any harm with his teasing of her. New sorcerers were hard to come by with the high fatality rate. Most teenage sorcerers just starting in sorcery often died before they got the chance to learn and grow stronger. Utahime knew that her fellow peers were her only friends that could die at any moment.

Gojo, Nanami, and Getou looked dead.

The trio had been propped up against the tree in a sitting position. Each of their heads hung low as if they had fallen asleep. When Yaga gently tilted Nanami’s head up, ice filled his veins. Nanami’s brown eyes were wide open in a frozen look of fear. As he examined the other teens, he found that they had the same ailment. They were all breathing, thankfully, but they were in a trance that they could not break out of.

Gakuganji and Yaga shared a glance. A curse powerful enough to bypass Gojo’s infinity and put the three sorcerers in this frozen state was still alive. If it had died, the teens would be aware and talking to them. Their cursed energy was at its fullest. ‘Tapped off’ so to speak. It served to greatly confuse the adults. The only sign that a battle had occurred was the tearing of Gojo and Nanami’s clothing and the bloodstains. Tension filled the air as the group observed the teens in varying states of concern. A fight to the death would be among them with the curse capable of harming two of his strongest students to this extent.

No one spoke as each readied their cursed technique or weapon. The curse was reported as a special grade, so they needed to be ready for anything.

The wail of a child shattered the silence.

“Was that a-” Before Yaga could finish, a powerful presence stopped any further words from forming. The energy was unlike anything Yaga had ever felt before. From the shocked look on Gakugaji’s face, the elder sorcerer had not either. Utahime felt Mei Mei’s warm hand squeeze her on her right shoulder. This caused Utahime to realize that she had begun trembling. Mei was the tensest she’s ever seen with her knuckles turning white from the grip on her axe.

In an instant, several entities appeared from the shadows of the trees. Mei Mei suppressed a shiver at the creatures managing to hide from her crows, which had never occurred before. The small group were all frozen once they got a better look at the creatures. They now could see why it was an emergency as these were not curses. The monsters had this sense of wrongness that disturbed the sorcerers to their core.

Six creatures stared at them for a moment before launching into action. A row of nails were shot at them with pinpoint accuracy. Without his battle hardened reflexes, Gakuganji would have died instantly from a nail to the head. He took out his electric guitar strapped to his back and readied his hand to strum the strings. A spotted bandage wrapped around his arm and yanked it so hard he felt his shoulder dislocate. He let out a cry of pain.

“SENSEI!” Utahime tried to go to her elder, but was stopped by a tongue wrapping around her legs. She looked behind her and saw a frog made of black goop restraining her. Her disgust was replaced with fear as the large amphibian began to retract its tongue, pulling her into its mouth. The girl dug her hands into the ground to resist the pull. “MEI MEI! I NEED HELP!”

Said girl snapped her head to the scared voice of her friend. She summoned a crow to pierce the frog’s tongue, cutting it off. As she did so, a nail flew past her face, cutting off a section of her braid. Mei Mei tried to find the creature who was shooting the nails but was interrupted by a wolf biting her in the leg. She shouted in pain as the sharp teeth of the shadow creature tore into her left calf. The girl made several of her crows kill themselves to deliver multiple Bird Strikes to the wolf.

Meanwhile, Yaga had released his cursed corpses to overwhelm the three beings attacking the others. The brief distraction allowed Yaga to see the source of the cry. It was a baby that had two snarling beasts guarding it. The canine-like creature barked, making one of his curses pop in front of him in the midst of charging. A powerful punch from the doll winded Yaga, but he quickly redirected it to the beast. The baby could become a casualty if Yaga didn’t do something. However, his small glance at the terrified infant made several beams of blood pierced through Yaga’s shoulders and thighs. He heard cries of pain. When he looked behind him, he saw the beams had not stopped once stabbing him. They had struck Utahime in the face and Mei Mei in the stomach who were the closest to the trajectory of the attack.

The demonic feline that had shot the condensed blood was growling and spitting at Yaga. It had a murderous rage in its eyes. The beastly canine returned and attempted to bite the man. He tried to dodge, but the prior attack had immobilized him. Once he felt the monstrous teeth make contact with his arm, he felt agony surge through him

Then the baby began to cry. All the creatures stopped their attacks immediately. Yaga fell when the blood piercing him was retracted viciously. Five of the creatures were curling around the infant who had begun wailing. The sixth creature seemed to be made of dark fog and covered its companions with six eyes glaring at the injured sorcerers. His heart sank as the wails of the baby grew louder. He was certain the monsters were about to eat the infant, but he was proven wrong. The cat began purring and the mummy-like entity placed the baby in its lap while using some of its bandages to stroke the baby’s irritated skin soothingly. The canine placed its large head next to the baby and rumbled deeply. The shadow entity and the being made of metal sat beside the distressed child while emitted soft chitters.

It was a display of the concern and love the entities had for the baby. It could not be mistaken for anything else.

As the crying continued, Yaga noticed black markings start to show up on the baby’s smooth skin. Very recognizable markings.

Could it be that-

“Shit! It was not supposed to happen today!”

A man with pink hair ran past the sorcerer, uncaring of their wounds. He was muscular and wore casual clothing. The bag the man had been holding was thrown to the side as he rushed to the infant. He scooped up the baby and cradled the crying baby close to his chest. His honey-colored eyes were wide with an unreadable emotion as he held the infant. When his gaze locked onto Yaga, who was the closest to the group of monstrosities, the honey of his eyes darkened into crimson. Black smoke enveloped the man quickly. Once it faded, a ten foot entity stood before them. A demon that was the source of nightmares for the eldest of sorcerers, who should have been forgotten. He was only dressed in loose black pants with his tattooed chest on display. His four arms were thick and covered in tattoos. The upper pair was holding the baby more gently than a monster of his might should be able too. A trident was held in the bottom pair of arms which were adorned with thick claws. He looked at the sorcerers with disgust, sneering at them. “How pathetic.”

His voice was a deep rumble that made Yaga and the others shiver in fear. His four crimson eyes continued to look down upon the group. “You pitiful maggots are quite lucky that I have much better things to do than waste my time confronting such weak beings. I will give you a chance to improve, so I can actually have a fight that won’t make me die of boredom. Find me if you wish. Until you do, get stronger so I won’t be this disappointed again. Fail to entertain me, and I will have this world shaped to my liking. You will not be in it. Take that as a warning. The only warning I’ll give.”

The creature that was made of black fog covered the other vile creatures and the curse holding an infant that looked too much like the fallen god. The fog resembled a tornado with its powerful winds. Branches and debris hit the sorcerers in their faces. Once the small twister dissipated, an empty patch of grass met the eyes of the shocked sorcerers.

Three voices came from the tree where the trio had been placed. Gojo, Getou, and Nanami rushed to assist their companions. Their help was almost useless with the trembling of their hands. With effort, the three got Gakuganji, Utahime, and Mei Mei into sitting positions. Yaga stumbled to his students with blood dripping from his wounds. He refused to sit even with how his students pleaded for him to do so. “That was Sukuna.”

Getou nodded his head numbly. He suddenly held Nanami and Gojo tightly in his arms as he whispered. “Those were cursed souls. They’re real. And he…I thought…” His face screwed up in pain before he could finish what he was going to say. Suguru buried his head into Gojo’s hair and shut his eyes tightly. Tears filled the eyes of Satoru at the contact. Satoru nuzzled his head into Suguru’s shoulder as soft cries left the Infinity user, his face hidden by Getou’s long hair. In Getou’s other arm, Nanami was being held by the older teen as if the blonde would disappear. The usually stoic teen leaned his head on Getou’s free shoulder as he gently took Gojo’s trembling hands into his own, holding in his tears with a quivering lip. Nanami closed his eyes once he noticed the stares of the others, a single tear running down his pale face.

Sukuna had been resurrected under the radar of all sorcerers. There had been no reports or sightings of the curse king. He had vanished again after promising death if they disappointed him in any way. The entities accompanying him were cursed souls, a creature only heard of in old myths or around a campfire to spook people. Today, myth became reality. A very very bad reality.

The King of Death was back

Fuck.

Cursed Guardians (A JJK Fic)

AO3 Link

Start Here

For something that was supposed to be prohibited or off limits, Suguru had always found entering the catacombs the easiest task in the world. Jujutsu sorcerers were so spread thin that the school could only spare a measly five guards to protect Master Tengen, the sole being responsible for the barriers protecting the human world from the jujutsu world. This left everything else unguarded, including the catacombs, which held some of the most infamous texts in jujutsu. Information that can easily be used against them.

To make up for the lack of guards, there were several illusionary buildings across the Tokyo and Kyoto campuses. In Tokyo, the number of fake buildings had drastically increased after the incident with Toji Fushiguro. Besides the misleading structures, talismans and other protective seals had been placed on the entrances to important areas. Most sorcerers could not break the seals, but Suguru was not like most sorcerers.

With a flick of his hand, the bindings covering the wide entrance of the catacombs were cut to ribbons by one of the many curses Suguru had under his control.

Unlike Satoru, Suguru knew how to remain undetected. The higher ups still had no leads as to who had been regularly breaking the seals to the catacombs for the past two years. It was a feat Suguru was quite proud of. He had used his plethora of curses to shred the seals, before promptly killing it. By doing this, Suguru made the elders think that a random curse had tried entering the catacombs, only for the curse to be exorcized by the powerful seals it had broken. The cursed energy signals were enough for the higher ups to not bat an eye at the recurring incidents. It was fitting. When given the choice, the elders would rather focus all their attention on whatever bothered them than anything that could pose an actual threat to the jujutsu world. The catacombs were not a priority for the elders whatsoever, but Suguru could not be upset by that. Afterall, the neglect of the catacombs were what allowed him to enter it many, many times.

This time was no different.

“I always forget how musty this place is.” Suguru clamped a hand over his nose as he descended the carved, stone staircase. While it wasn’t a disgusting smell by any means, it still made the teen shudder and feel nauseous. He had a feeling as to what the scent originated from.

Death.

Suguru was well acquainted with death, considering his line of work. Death did not smell revolting or vile. No. That was the smell of decomposition. Death itself smelled, with lack of a better term, heavy . It was a scent that had a presence to it. Similar to the cleansing, peaceful presence the air has after a storm. It was a scent that made Suguru’s chest tighten and throat close up. There was a barely detectable earthy note to death. It was subtle, but it was enough that Suguru had memorized the distinct smell. It smelt of ancient waters and aging moss. He imagined it smelt of the section of a forest that many find by accident. It’s untouched by man and animal. The clearing is small, only having a small pond and few trees. While the ground is covered by leaves, all the trees are left barren. There is the smallest flow to the pond, causing the leaves on the surface of the murky water to sway back and forth. It was the loneliest part of the woods.

The scent of death permeated every crevice of the catacombs. There was no doubt in Suguru’s mind that these underground tunnels were also used to bury the many corpses of his fellow sorcerers. Jujutsu sorcerers have existed for centuries, so it was highly likely that this labyrinth was also a makeshift gravesite at some point. Suguru did not let that knowledge bother him. He clenched his fists as he continued his journey downwards.

To light the way, Suguru had summoned several jellyfish-like curses that acted as tiny flashlights. No one was meant to be down here, so it didn’t surprise Suguru that not a single torch along the walls of the caverns had been lit.

Despite the many tunnels appearing as he got lower and lower, he paid them no mind. As he journeyed further, the stairs became more cracked and weathered. The first time Suguru had ventured here, he had nearly cracked his skull open due to a massive hole in the stairway. Now, Suguru simply summoned a curse with tree-like roots and walked across the pit without issue. Once Suguru spotted the last steps of the winding staircase, he breathed a sigh of relief. His forehead felt sweaty and his body felt quite sore. Considering he had been unconscious for several days, he knew that it was a foolish idea to strain his body in such a way. Suguru could not be bothered to care.

Finally, his feet met with the floor of the lowest level, the true catacombs. Suguru had to stick his nose into his elbow to breathe in the scent of his shirt. At such a deep level, it was hard to breathe on principle. The smell of dust only served to make things worse. The faint smell of detergent helped Suguru’s chest loosen. After a few moments of adjusting, Suguru raised his head and made his way to the many rotting bookshelves before him. In the years prior, Suguru had taken the time to make a small reading area for himself. In addition, the black-haired boy used his curses to help gather books Suguru found interesting. He had purposely kept his friends out of this hobby of his. While it would be exponentially easier to travel to the catacombs with the help of Satoru’s teleportation abilities, Suguru wanted to keep this place to himself. Shoko and Satoru had never been the studious types, so he knew they would get bored quickly in a pseudo-library like this.

He made a beeline to his personalized corner in the back of the area. The lowest level was full of dusty books and scrolls, nothing else. It was quite smaller than the upper levels Suguru had explored. Even so, it was still a sizable place. Suguru effortlessly made his way through the many winding paths and bookshelves. Once he spotted his corner, Suguru smiled.

It only had a large blanket, a futon, several candles, and one pillow. Next to the sitting area was a neatly stacked pile of books. Suguru plopped onto the futon, not bothering to dust it off with how exhausted his body was. He summoned a tiny flame with the help of a curse that resembled a hybrid of a rock and salamander. He lit the largest candle, sighing in contentment once the smell of vanilla and lavender reached his nose. Suguru made sure to place the lit candle in a place that would not pose a threat to the many flammable objects around him.

Suguru used the elastic band on his wrist to tie his long hair in a messy bun. It was the longest it's ever been, but Suguru enjoyed the look much more than his previous hair style. With his hair out of his face, Suguru sorted through the books until he found the one was looking for.

THE FORGOTTEN HUMANS: CURSED SOULS

By: Itadori Kaori

A sudden shiver overtook Suguru’s body. Now that he had faces to the creatures he thought were nothing but myth, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy. When he had read the book the first time, he thought it was an intriguing story, perhaps theory. He did not think much of it. He didn’t think much of the author either. Suguru had thought that the author was just an eccentric sorcerer with too much time on her hands. Considering the apparent truth to her words, Suguru knew he needed to do research on Itadori Kaori. He had never heard of her before, and he had found it strange for such a modern textbook to find its way in an abandoned labyrinth. At the time, he thought it had been placed by the higher ups due to its possibly ludicrous texts. The elders had always censored the textbooks Suguru and his other peers used heavily. It made sense that such a controversial book would be dumped here.

The more he thought about it, the more strange the book’s existence became. Suguru shook his head harshly. He had a purpose for being here. He can’t be sitting for hours trying to solve a mystery he had no knowledge on. Satoru needed him. If Kaori Itadori had anything that could be useful in helping Satoru, Suguru could care less who she was.

Maybe he could multitask.

Suguru summoned a ghostly owl that towered over him, awaiting orders. “Find any texts written by Itadori Kaori or anything relating to cursed souls. If there isn’t either, try to find anything that has pictures of these creatures.” The teen transferred the images of the six creatures to his owl helper. He had absorbed the curse during his first year. It was a curse that had been spotted in the remnants of a burnt library, already having killed seven people who ventured into the remains. It was a clever curse despite being a grade three. He knew that if there were any curses who were fit for the job, it was this owl cursed spirit. “Bring me whatever you find.” With that, he sent the curse on its way.

He sincerely hoped this strange woman had answers.

“Please have something.” Suguru whispered underneath his breath. He made his jellyfish curses gather close so he could see in the dark room. As he opened the textbook, he immediately went to the table of contents. Once he found the most useful pages, he flipped to them.

He was greeted by a crude drawing of the six entities he had encountered that fateful night.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Suguru began to read.

Throughout all of human history, there seems to be a common phenomenon shared by all eras and civilizations. A cave painting (pictured on the upper left) depicts the outlines of six unknown creatures. This painting has been dated to be more than 40,000 years old. These creatures share no resemblance to the animals observed in previously discovered cave paintings. What’s more, these six entities share no resemblance to any animal, extinct or not. This could be seen as a creative drawing of our ancestors and nothing more if it wasn’t for the fact that there are repeated instances of these creatures appearing in paintings across the world.

For instance, a painting from a temple belonging to a young pharaoh in ancient Egypt (pictured on the bottom right) was discovered. The name of the pharaoh has been lost to time, but the paintings along the walls of his tomb depict two of the creatures beside Anubis, the Egyptian god of the dead and afterlife. The appearance of the creatures from a cave painting to a painting in a pharaoh's tomb shows that there is significance to these strange beings. Moreover, one of the creatures, a canine with the skull of another creature atop its head, is drawn next to the pharaoh. The pharaoh is seen petting the head of the entity with a smile. The second creature, a dragon with the beak of a bird, is seen behind Anubis, towering over the god. For a revered god like Anubis being overshadowed by an unknown creature, there is a likelihood that these creatures could have been worshiped in a similar regard as to the more well-known Egyptian gods.

Suguru felt like throwing up. It should be impossible! That damn shrieking bird is NOT in that painting! Cursed souls cannot be that old! He began flipping through the chapter frantically.

Sculptures of a woman with roses and spikes have been found alongside the sculptures of the Greek goddess Athena-

Norse mythology depicts a creature made of shadows meant to punish those who it deems malevolent-

Carvings of a cat with spikes have been seen in a multitude of Aztec temples-

“What the fuck?!” Suguru yelled at the book. He had completely forgotten about the timeline that the author had written to show how the group of entities had been depicted over the past several centuries. When he had read it the first time, he had glossed over most of the details. He wants to slap his younger self for being so ignorant. Quickly, he went back to the table of contents and scanned through the many chapters until he found the section centered around the origins and myths of the creatures.

Suguru was quick to notice the change in the author’s tone. Instead of a neutral, analytical approach, Kaori Itadori wrote with an almost unhinged passion. It was clear that she was writing with her personal feelings instead of using a more educational approach. It became slightly unsettling for Suguru. It truly felt like this woman was speaking to Suguru like he was an old friend, rambling on about her theories as if she was next to him.

These beasts make the oldest of recorded curses seem like newborns in comparison. Their appearance and descriptions over the past several centuries match those of a curse much more than anything natural to this world. However, there is one notable fact that must not be forgotten. Curses have only been able to appear in Japan. There are no other records of curses appearing in other countries or continents. This is due to Master Tengen’s barrier technique. However, the existence of these six beings precedes the existence of Master Tengen. It should be impossible for such a thing to occur. And it is impossible! The six creatures are not curses, but something else entirely!

Curses are born from human emotions. In the stone ages, there were not enough people to create such negativity. Back then, early humans were solely focused on survival. There was not any room to stew in one’s regrets or sadness. Thus, curses did not exist in such times! But these creatures did! It’s marvelous! Delightfully interesting! I’ve taken it upon myself to study the existence of these beings! I’ve named them Cursed Souls!

Based on accounts from the jujutsu sorcerers of the past, these entities exhibited very notable abilities and behaviors. They are not supposed to be on this Earth, yet they are! In straight defiance to the natural order! It’s so exciting!

I believe that they are remnants of a world long forgotten. Souls of people that were not allowed to move on, cursed to roam the lands until they find what will bring them eternal peace. It’s well known that many curses are manifested from the result of a person or sorcerer dying with too many regrets. The connection between death and curses cannot be ignored! Cursed souls are the perfect amalgamation of cursed energy and death. A being of indescribable power being birthed from a death of indescribable agony! It’s inspirational! These beings, based on the many depictions of them throughout ancient times, were revered as gods. The soul has always been an anomaly for us sorcerers to understand. It is not out of the realm of possibilities to say that these souls are from a different time entirely. Perhaps the souls of today originated from the world the cursed souls are from. We are the finalized version of the rough draft the world had to go through to become what it is today.

The techniques each cursed soul has further proves this theory. Cursed techniques are often hereditary. The most powerful clans are quite protective of their techniques and refuse to have their clan members ‘mix’ with others. In spite of this, the revered power of the Six-Eyes and Limitless technique is held by one of these cursed souls based on reports. It’s a supposedly impossible feat. How can such a creature have such a sacred technique? The answer is simple! The creature's soul originates from the Gojo clan! An innate technique like Limitless cannot appear out of nowhere, it must be passed down through genetics. One way or another, whoever the soul belonged to was a member of the Gojo clan. Like a flower regrowing after a fire. Even if the flower was burnt to a crisp, the roots remained and were able to regrow from the destruction. Cursed souls are the flowers that were destroyed in a fire, only to emerge again, stronger, from, the ashes. Sorcerers today are the seeds that were dispersed before the fire began. Away from the destruction, but still originating from the flower that got burned.

Though, there is the possibility that there is an even bigger picture I am missing! The intrigue of cursed souls never ends!

Suguru sincerely wished it did. His head began to pound as Suguru tried to remember what the infuriating bird demon-cursed soul-thing showed him. It was like he wasn’t allowed to remember. Each time he tried to, a white fog would cloud his mind. The author’s ramblings were giving Suguru some much needed insight, but he needed more.

The cursed soul with that damned beak and tail did something to Satoru’s head.

As the teen went to rub his temples, he heard the clacking of talons against the rough floor. The owl curse had appeared with several scrolls in its beak. Suguru felt himself smile at the additional information. “Thank you.” Once he took the scrolls from the wispy owl, it ran off to further investigate the catacombs. Suguru was relieved that there was more information on cursed souls than he thought. After placing the old scrolls next to him, Suguru went back to the increasingly distressing book. He flipped a few pages until he found the mythological section. It seemed this part was entirely based on Japanese mythology of the Heian Era.

The Golden Age of Jujutsu was a time that is remembered by all, fondly or not. In such an era, it would seem obvious that there would be countless reports of these six beings. However, this is not the case. There are only three known reports of cursed souls, all of which occurred during the Heian Era. There have been no sightings or records of these creatures ever since.

Suguru glanced at the three largest scrolls of the bunch. Out of all the books and scrolls he had read in the catacombs, this was by far the oldest piece of literature Suguru had ever found. Carefully placing the more modern textbook on the blanket, Suguru picked up a random scroll of the three. He unraveled it slowly and used two of his jellyfish curses to hold down the edges. It revealed a stained paper with kanji Suguru could barely read. He had once studied ancient Japanese, but was by no means fluent in it.

Brownish-red stains littered the paper, and Suguru was trying his hardest not to think of the implications of having dried blood on a centuries old scroll.

From what he could read, it seemed to be a report from a healer in the Kamo Clan.

PATIENT: Kamo Inoko

Inoko’s brother, Kamo Butaro, described that an unregistered special grade attacked his sister during a mission. Both had been sent to exorcize a grade two curse that had been causing trouble for farmers with peach orchards. These are the details Butaro has shared about the mission. Apparently, farmers in the nearby area reported that many of their trees appeared to have been slashed by something with claws. They can no longer enter the orchard without being killed, and a portion of their peaches are being stolen each day. When one farmer tried to collect a basket of peaches, he was found later that night with several holes through his body and a mauled face. The curse was only targeting peach orchards. All other fruit or vegetable farms were left unharmed. One farmer reported that he had an apple and peach orchard, yet the apple orchard had remained intact.

After hearing the complaints of the farmers, the sorcerer took the case and assigned it to Butaro and Inoko. Upon entering the peach orchard that had been the first to be targeted, both sorcerers felt a presence of a curse much stronger than a grade two. After ten minutes of being inside the orchard, Inoko tried picking up a peach that had fallen onto the ground. The moment her hand made contact, a beam of blood was shot at her hand, slicing it off. It resembled the Piercing Blood manipulation technique of their clan, but it was clearly stronger than both Kamo sorcerer’s own techniques. Butaro stated that the beam of blood was sharp enough to cut not only his sister’s hand, but some of the trees behind them. Butaro stated how he could sense the immense anger the cursed spirit had and decided to apologize. He kept apologizing as he grabbed his sister and retreated. No other attacks followed. At some point, Butaro looked back and saw the cursed spirit’s form. He said that it resembled a large cat, but it had purple fur with a black stripe on its nose. The boy also mentioned that it had several elongated spikes on its back. Each spike had a condensed sphere of blood on top, a clear use of Convergence.

It has been two days since the attack on Inoko, and she has been put into a coma. After being pierced by the curse’s blood, Inoko soon exhibited signs of poisoning. No remedy has worked and neither has reverse cursed technique. Poisons have always been difficult to heal, so the only treatment option available is to treat Inoko’s symptoms and pray that her body can flush out the poison on its own.

When first grade sorcerer Hayashi Daichi and special grade sorcerer Gojo Suki arrived on the scene, the cursed spirit had vanished. The only residual that remained was the blood spattered on the peach Inoko had held.

Suguru had a feeling that the girl hadn’t recovered. Besides the draconic entity, the cat had boggled Suguru’s mind. With how viscously protective the cat was over the infant, he had no doubts that the cat would eliminate any threats to his ward without mercy. The only reason that Suguru could come up with as to why the cat had targeted peach orchards was the color. Even if it was brief, Suguru couldn’t forget the peachy pink of the baby’s hair. Suguru had seen curses obsess over certain things, often the last thing on their mind. It would become where the curse was most frequently spotted at. It could also become the garbled word the curse repeats endlessly. Curses have always been obsessive. A cursed soul was likely to be the same in some regard.

The other two scrolls were similar reports from healers. While the second described a list of casualties at the hands of the cursed soul with spotted wrappings and the cursed soul with roses and nails, the third was a report of the erratic symptoms of a sorcerer after being hit by an unknown curse. The symptoms were familiar to Suguru. And concerning.

Patient has become incredibly hostile and aggressive.

Patient exhibits signs of being in intense psychological distress.

Patient unable to answer basic questions like where they are and what their name is.

Patient has become increasingly delirious and refuses to eat or drink.

Patient speaks of being chased and in danger.

Patient must be restrained at all times.

Patient shows no signs of improving no matter what treatment.

He felt his breath get stuck in his throat as he scanned the very bottom of the parchment.

Elders sentenced patient to death after five months of no improvement.

“Those worthless pieces of shit.” He snarled. Suguru clenched the weathered paper in his hands, uncaring of the damage he was causing to the ancient scroll. Of course the elders back then would be just as cowardly as the elders they had now. The symptoms of aggression and psychological distress matched what Nanami described. Satoru had attacked Nanami and would have attacked Suguru if the blonde hadn’t intervened. He remembered how terrified Satoru had been when he was under that strange trance that fateful night. If Satoru gets worse, the elders would surely try to execute him after labeling Satoru a danger to jujutsu society.

Suguru felt like throwing up. How the hell was he supposed to heal Satoru if the healers of the past couldn’t do anything?!

The texts were not as useful as Suguru thought. They held no answers! He tugged harshly at his hair in pure frustration. Those were the only reports that existed of the damned things! Suguru bit his lip to keep himself from screaming. He felt his anger surge and did everything possible to get it under control. It doesn’t matter how skilled a sorcerer or healer is, cursed souls were simply on another level of strength apparently. They had no way to defeat them, the only reason the world is still standing is because these creatures were somewhat indifferent to humanity. There were no other reports of attacks, which was a relief, but it was a pain for Suguru. They only got aggressive when Suguru, Satoru, and Nanami seemingly threatened the child. It still made no sense as to why the monstrous entities would go so far just to protect a random baby-

Yuuji is special. Not just special to me. Special to the world. He is the very reason this world exists. Do anything to harm him, and your world will crumble. Though, he won’t be the one to destroy the world. He is the kindest soul in existence. I and the other guardians will be the source of your downfall. You don’t hurt him, and I don’t hurt you.

Itadori Yuuji must be protected at all costs. He is the core of this world’s continued existence. Never forget that.

The scroll dropped from Suguru’s hands with a loud clatter.

That was the voice of that horrid bird. He gripped at his head as it throbbed. Suguru now realized why he could not remember the conversation he had with the entity. He wasn’t allowed to remember until it was actually necessary. Like a locked gate only having a key on certain occasions, but the occasion was at random. Suguru had no idea what to cause a memory to come back, it just would.

Hm .

Itadori Yuuji .

Suguru went to grab the textbook by the author of the strange textbook. Having the same last name could be a coincidence, but something inside Suguru was urging him to not disregard the oddity. He flipped back to where he left off in the textbook. The knowledge of the author and the importance of the baby were a mystery Suguru itched to solve.

But he couldn’t solve it without Satoru.

He wanted to kick himself over the head at getting distracted so easily. Had he become so selfish that he would put aside his best friends suffering for his own curiosities? He had gotten too accustomed to being in his thoughts for days on end. Facing the result of his self imposed isolation made Suguru feel shame pool in his gut. He had pushed Satoru away and was now suffering for it by being useless in helping his closest friend.

Being strong was something Suguru was familiar with. Helping others was also something Suguru had mastered at a young age. He was always the one to lend a helping hand without thought. Yet when his friend needed him the most, Suguru couldn’t lift a finger. Just wallow in his regrets and self-pity. Satoru had always been there for him, in the limitless user’s own unique way. Whether it was making Suguru laugh until he cried or refusing to sleep for days just to protect an innocent girl, Satoru had a kindness that Suguru lacked. Satoru was genuine in his care for others.

Of course, Satoru could be the most annoying person on the planet, but that was not who he truly was. His cheery and often arrogant disposition was a facade that Suguru had seen through immediately. Yet, he had done nothing to rectify that. Satoru would allow Yaga, Shoko, or even Suguru himself to hit him. While the annoyed pushes or smacks to the head were definitely warranted, the fact that Satoru would consciously deactivate his Infinity for their hits to make contact stuck with Suguru. If Satoru was as cocky as he makes himself appear, then he would have never allowed them to touch him. But he did. Satoru would be the energetic one with a cheeky grin because no one else could keep a smile on their face. A smile that wasn’t fake like Suguru’s. On the roughest of days, Satoru would still be bright, something that used to annoy Suguru. When they had first gotten to know each other, Suguru had thought that Satoru’s blatant disregard for others was the boy’s true feelings. Satoru would complain about how the weak were so annoying, but would still go out of his way to make sure his missions had as little casualties as possible. He would get genuinely upset if one person got severely injured or died. It was a given that people would die in their line of work, but Satoru ignored that. Suguru had accepted it. He had thought Satoru’s want for there to be no casualties was irritating when they went on missions together. At first, Suguru had thought it was Satoru’s attempt to be better than everyone. It wasn’t. The few times that Suguru had seen Satoru’s front disappear were the times where Suguru realized how good Satoru really was. He wanted to be the strongest sorcerer and stop people from dying to curses, but was so terrified of failing that he pretended that he wasn’t human at all more often than not. Satoru felt like a weapon, not a god. He would say he had to be perfect, but Suguru had seen the tears in his crystal blue eyes whenever Satoru said it. Satoru would melt whenever Suguru touched him, as if it was the last piece of affection he would ever receive. Satoru let Suguru cry into his shoulder whenever he needed and would refuse to leave his room whenever Suguru had a nightmare. Suguru had tried to do the same, but it was never enough. Even though Satoru had never said anything about Suguru’s attempts at comfort, Suguru felt like Satoru deserved so much better.

Beneath the glasses and the many, many walls that made up Gojo Satoru, there was a boy that was desperate to be human. That was desperate to be loved and seen as a human. So desperate to be held and praised.

Satoru was the brightest star in Suguru’s galaxy.

There was not any other way to put it. Suguru held a darkness within him that could only be held off by Satoru’s light. Even though Suguru had to remind Satoru of being polite and kind, he knew deep down that Satoru already was. Satoru was respectful and compassionate to those he thought deserved it. Suguru was courteous to all because that was how he was raised. The mannerisms had been carved so deeply into Suguru’s psyche that the teen was not sure what he truly believed.

He was only who his parents and teachers sculpted him into. All of his decisions were based on the teaching drilled into him as a child. His personality often didn’t feel like his own.

The first time that Suguru knew what he truly felt was when he had seen Satoru holding Riko’s corpse while hundreds of people applauded. It was a burning hatred that seared into his soul. Suguru had left behind all of those teachings, becoming an empty husk with no sense of who he was and what to do. Eventually, the words he shared with Tsukumo Yuki ignited something within him. He had been determined to see his plans to the bitter end, but a damned phone call changed everything.

Suguru was doubting himself like never before. Were his only genuine feelings just hatred and anger for non-sorcerers? Was that all he was without the teachings of his elders to guide him?

Could he even help Satoru?

“I don’t know anything.” Suguru put the scrolls and books away to wrap his arms around his knees. For the first time since Riko’s death, Suguru felt well and truly lost. There were too many things happening at once, and Suguru felt paralyzed by it all. Cursed souls exist. He needed to investigate Itadori Kaori. Sukuna was reincarnated without anyone’s knowledge. Satoru was imprisoned while his own mind tortured him. Itadori Yuuji was apparently another vital piece of the puzzle, and Suguru had no idea who he was. The world could crumble at any moment if something happens to that boy.

A loud clatter broke Suguru out of his spiraling thoughts.

Before him was a large scroll wrapped with black twine. Suguru looked up and saw the owl curse staring back at him. There was a sense of finality to the scroll, meaning that the owl’s search had come to an end. In a hoarse whisper, Suguru smiled. “Thank you.” He dismissed the owl with a flick of his wrist.

It was the largest and longest scroll Suguru had ever seen. The thick spindles that held each end of the parchment were made of brass. With great care, Suguru unwrapped the twine and unrolled the ancient paper. The weight of the spindles prevented the parchment from curling in on itself. Once the scroll was fully rolled out, which had taken a while, Suguru stared at the contents it contained.

A grand painting that had become faded from age seemed to stand before the black-haired teen. It was in the style expected from ancient Japanese art. Six familiar figures and two additional ones had been depicted in the painting. It seemed to tell a story. At the beginning of the parchment was a man with pink hair that had been set aflame, holding a toddler that looked to be dead. The words above the painting roughly translated to ‘ The scorned had been punished.’ Suguru felt nauseous as he stared into the despair so clearly drawn into the man’s face. He could almost feel the agony the man was going through the longer he stared. Shaking his head, Suguru read to the next section of the scroll.

The next artwork was the same man kneeling down before a monster with four arms. In the man’s bloody arms was a round orb, which would have been pink if the parchment wasn’t so aged. The large monster had tattoos all over its body, tattoos that Suguru recognized as belonging to Sukuna, the King of Death. Sukuna had become something of legend for sorcerers, believed to be gone for good. Suguru wanted to yell at the skies for the world being so unforgiving. He ignored his frustration to look at the kanji next to the painting. ‘ A deal is made with the King of Death. A soul for a soul. The king wants the body, the soul, of the scorned for the rest of time in return for saving his son’s soul. The scorned makes the deal with the disgraced .’

There was other kanji, but it was too faded for Suguru to read. From the painting alone, Suguru knew that the man had made a binding vow with Sukuna. Deals that involved souls were always binding, considering how vital the material was to a sorcerer’s very being. The next part depicted the six cursed souls that were forever ingrained into Suguru’s mind. In the center of each entity was an orb identical to the one the man had been holding, seemingly being his son’s soul. The cursed souls themselves were grouped together in an almost diamond shape. At the top, the smiling visage of the birdlike entity stared back at him. On the left side were the feline and canine-like cursed souls. On the right were the faceless shadow entity and metallic-rose entity. At the bottom, the long, spotted wrappings of the mummy-like entity acted as a frame for all. The kanji next to the cursed souls was much harder to read, as if the artist was shaking while they wrote. From what he could decipher, it read as follows:

‘The king’s assistants took the son’s soul, splitting it amongst the six of them. Each would hide a piece of the boy’s soul wherever they saw fit. The ashes and bones of the boy were scattered throughout the world as well, acting as the material the demons would use to rebuild the boy when the time was right. The only being who knew the locations of all pieces was the king’s eldest assistant, the Seer of Infinity. A demon more powerful than the king .’

“More powerful than Sukuna?” Suguru whispered to himself. The legacy that Sukuna left behind was an unforgettable one. All tales tell of the immense power Sukuna held. The armies he decimated in one blow. The countless sorcerers who fell at his claws. However, Suguru couldn’t help but look back to the man Sukuna made a deal with. There were no other accounts of this man, and Suguru has no recollection of Yaga mentioning him during lessons. Though, that wasn’t Yaga’s fault. The elders had censored the records of the Heian Era heavily. Suguru had felt like he was trying to complete a puzzle with all the pieces missing. It made sense that people as cowardly as the higher-ups would restrict information, but the information itself seemed to be quite important. If there was an entity more powerful than Sukuna, then shouldn’t all sorcerers know about it? If there was a man who had made a binding vow with SUkuna, why hasn’t there been any mentions of him?

What were the elders trying to hide?

The rest of the scroll looked to be purposely scratched out. Suguru felt his jaw clench so hard his teeth nearly cracked. He couldn’t read any of the Kanji, and the paintings had been blotted out with ink.

“Tsk. Those bastards.” Suguru summoned a curse that took the appearance of a thin carpet with tentacles. At the center of the carpet was a glowing, white light. He made the curse slip underneath the scroll, specifically where the paintings had been blotted out. With a snap of his fingers, the curse lit up. The faint outline of the paintings appeared. The teen smiled in relief. “Thank you, Satoru.”

It was the white-haired teen who had taught Suguru this trick. One time, Shoko had accidentally spilled an experimental mixture on a manga Satoru had been reading. The trio had been in Shoko’s personal lab where she studied medicines and other chemicals. The mixture had stained the manga pages quite badly, but Satoru didn’t show a hint of anger. Suguru thought it was because Satoru was rich enough to buy an entire library’s worth of manga, which was accurate. However, Satoru giggled and raised one of the stained pages in the air, making sure the blinding lights of Shoko’s lab were aimed at the paper. Suguru and Shoko had asked what the other was doing, and Satoru motioned them to come closer. Positioning himself on the ground, Suguru saw that the page of Gojo’s manga had become legible from the fluorescent light. As long as the other boy kept the pages to the brightest angle of light, he could read them.

And so could Suguru. As he commanded the curse to move underneath the scroll, he slowly could see the full paintings. It was a slow process, having to make the curse direct its small light to reveal equally small pieces of the remaining paintings. There were three remaining paintings of the scroll. The first one was a painting of the draconic cursed soul surrounded by what looked like a galaxy of eyes. Around the painting was a cycle of sorts. The start of the cycle was a picture depicting a person making eye contact with the birdlike cursed soul. Next, the person would be marked with an eye on their forehead and collapse and hold their head in agony. Following, they would be shown graphic images to torment their minds. The two next parts of the cycle depicted the person’s hallucinations getting worse and worse. The hallucinations themselves contained a bird the most. On the second to last part of the cycle, the bird seen in the hallucinations appeared on the person’s head, pecking the eye on their forehead. The last part was the eye disappearing along with the images, the person now smiling while holding the bird close. The second painting showed a battle between an army and the man Sukuna had made a vow with. The battle was painted in six stages. First, the army arrived at the throne, which was made of bones, of the man and Sukuna. Second, the army battled the man while Sukuna watched in the shadows, smiling. Third, ten square symbols appear on the man’s hand and he is surrounded by four beams of fire, each appearing to have a different form of matter. Fourth, the charred remains of the army now burn at the man’s feet. Fifth, Sukuna appears next to the man with a hand on his shoulder. Finally, the man is sitting on the throne with the added bones of the army while Sukuna stands behind the man with his four arms ensnaring him. The third and final painting was the man and Sukuna kneeling in front of each other, with one small soul above their heads and another larger soul connecting the two. The six guardians are wrapped around them. Each one has their eyes closed in a deep slumber.

The scroll ended with a drawing of a little boy. It was so faded that Suguru had to practically shove his head against the scroll to see the tiny sketch. The boy was in the grass with his arms wrapped around his knees, looking onto the horizon. The child is leaning against a great peach tree with the outlines of six peaches, however the outlines were not colored in, making it look like the peaches were missing or even stolen. The boy was crying, yet he had a smile, just the slightest upturn of his lips.

There was a clear story being told, but Suguru knew it would take him hours to decipher it. From what he could gather, it was a story of pain, bloodshed, and rebirth. The last picture of the little boy by the barren peach tree made Suguru feel a deep pang of sadness. Could the boy whose soul was given to Sukuna be Itadori Yuuji? Was Yuuji the baby the cursed souls were so committed to protecting? Suguru had a strong inkling that that was the case with Yuuji. Killed too young, but unable to rest with his soul and body being split and hidden away. Forced to wait alone until he was reborn.

Suguru thought about Riko, the girl who was supposed to be lost forever in Tengen without a say in the matter.

With care, Suguru rerolled the scroll and tied the twine around it once more. He knelt by the scroll for a long, long time. He needed to investigate the scroll more, preferably with the help of Yaga and his friends. Additionally, the textbook written by Itadori Kaori still had much to explore. The only reports of the cursed souls needed to be taken as well. However, Suguru only had two arms. He needed something capable of carrying all of this without damaging the fragile scrolls. A personal inventory of sorts.

He knew exactly what curse to use.

He just didn’t want to use it.

“Dammit. The things I do for you, Satoru.” Suguru muttered to himself. He sighed shakily and summoned the curse Toji had once held. The long body of the worm made the black-haired boy shiver in disgust. The memories the worm brought flashed in his mind, and Suguru had to bite his lip to stop from hyperventilating. This was the only curse Suguru had that scared him. He had only absorbed it as an act of petty revenge against Toji, with no intents of ever using it. Suguru felt bile in the back of his throat as the worm wiggled and wrapped against him. With his eyes shut tight, he picked up the first writing he felt, shoving it in the worm's mouth. He did it against and again until the large scroll on the ground was left.

The worm looked at him with its horrid, purple face. Suguru felt its stare and shivered violently. “I hate you. I need you to know that I hate you.” He spat.

The curse didn’t respond.

He sat on the ground and gathered the heavy scroll into his arms. With his eyes still snapped shut, he commanded the worm to start swallowing the scroll. He truly hoped Toji was watching from hell as his supposed servant now worked for the sorcerers he had tried to kill.

Once the worm finished swallowing the scroll, Suguru dismissed it and immediately felt the tension within his body disappear.

He stood to his full height, stretching his arms above his head until he felt multiple things pop. His sore body ached fiercely, but Suguru couldn’t stop now. The last scroll had finally given Suguru what he needed to help Satoru. While the full story within the scroll was yet to be deciphered, a way to free his best friend’s mind had been revealed.

The cycle surrounding the bird-dragon entity. A bird had shown up the most in the person’s hallucinations. The bird then freed the person by breaking the eye attached to the victim’s forehead. Once the eye broke, the person was freed.

Suguru was likely the one showing up the most in Satoru’s hallucinations, accounting for the white-haired boy’s reported attempts at killing him. Perhaps seeing the one tormenting him the most suddenly helping him would break Satoru out of his trance more efficiently. Or perhaps make the hallucinations weaker if the subject of the hallucination is acting in contrast to the contents of said hallucination. Either way, it’d provide an opening of sorts to rid Satoru of his torment.

He would free Satoru. No matter what. Suguru will succeed. There was no need to think of another plan if he fails. Because he won’t fail.

He wouldn’t forgive himself if he failed.

At some point, Shoko had stopped being surprised by the many antics her insane friends got into. Sure, when they first met, Shoko was caught off guard many times by Satoru and Suguru’s high jinks. It didn’t take long for Shoko to become an accomplice herself in their mischief. Now, Satoru could come into her office covered in chicken feathers with Suguru holding a rabid curse like a puppy, and Shoko wouldn’t bat an eye. It sounded like she was exaggerating, but she had seen the chaotic pair do weirder. As innocent as Suguru looked, she knew that it took practically zero convincing from Satoru to make the black-haired boy join in whatever prank the other was conctoing or vice versa. As long as they didn’t target her, Shoko didn’t care. They had tried to prank her once, but then remembered that she is the one with the best snacks and unlimited library of illegally downloaded movies and television shows.

Their antics made her smile.

This, however, did not.

“Do you think Satoru would calm down if we unleashed him in a candy shop or some shit?” Shoko spoke around her unlit cigarette. She wasn’t allowed to smoke in Tengen’s corridors, and all her nerves were already fried. Next to her, Yaga sighed heavily, looking like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. In a way, it was.

“No. Despite Satoru’s sweet tooth, I doubt that would be enough to return him to his normal state.” Yaga grumbled, arms crossed. His sunglasses blocked all view of his eyes, but the girl could see how tense her teacher’s body was. “Any attempts at releasing him would be seen as treason to jujutsu society, ending in our executions.”

“Worth a shot.”

“Don’t even think about releasing him, Shoko.”

“What makes you think I’d do something that stupid? That’s Suguru’s job.”

“To be stupid or release Satoru?”

No response.

The girl looked at her teacher. Her teacher looked at her. Tension formed in the air as the elder awaited the younger’s response. Without further hesitation, Shoko met Yaga’s stare head on.

“Both.”

“Shoko.” An exhausted sigh escaped Yaga’s lips, he rubbed his temples to ward off the incoming headache. He took off his sunglasses to start rumbling the bridge of his nose as well. He was so damn tired. These kids. They’ve gotten quite attached to one another. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a group of students willing to go so far for each other. In any other world, this would be a good thing, but it is only seen as something to take advantage of in this cruel world. “Suguru will not be releasing Satoru, the decision is up to the elders.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it.” An unexpectedly sharp tone bled its way into Shoko’s normal monotone. Her passive features twisted in a deadly glare and scowl. The cigarette fell from her mouth as she roughly grabbed the collar of Yaga’s shirt. Despite her small stature, the strength of her iron grip could not be ignored. “Stop turning belly up every time the elders are involved in something! They don’t care about you or any of us! They certainly don’t care about Satoru! They’re going to try to execute him the second our backs are turned! Because they’re fucking COWARDS!”

“Enough, Shoko-”

A violent tremor shook the ground the two stood on. Instantly, Shoko let go of Yaga and snapped her gaze to the source of the tremor. Or, more accurately, the person.

The one causing the building to shake was the one and only Gojo Satoru, bound from head to toe in chains and protective talismans. However, the talismans were there to protect others from Satoru, not Satoru himself.

His arms were crossed behind his back and connected to a long chain on the ceiling, forcing the teen’s arms to be in an extremely uncomfortable position. Each leg had a metal bracelet with spikes on the inside, the chain of the bracelets being built into the floor. A heavy belt of chains wrapped around Satoru’s torso for the sole purpose of making it harder for the boy to move and breathe. His mouth was bound tightly with rope covered in more talismans. A much thicker rope was wrapped around his eyes with enchanted fabrics and talismans sewn into every fiber. The cracked floor next to Satoru’s left foot was the cause of the tremor. Satoru had stomped a hole into the floor due to the loud argument Shoko and Yaga were having. His mindless rage returned instantly, causing the boy to thrash in his bindings like a madman.

Drool pooled from the makeshift gag as Satoru writhed in frenzied outrage. He was trying to go towards where he heard Shoko’s voice, but the bindings were not long enough to allow him anything more than a step. Satoru’s muffled howls and screams made Shoko feel nauseous. One of her closest, goofiest friend’s had been reduced to a rabid animal. More cracks litter the floor as Satoru dug his feet into the stone floors, similar to a raging bull. Despite his attempts, the teen was no closer to being free. Satoru was in the middle of a wide room, so he had no walls to lean against or kick . A barrier was put up in addition to Satoru’s bindings. Neither Shoko nor Yaga could go through. It further made Shoko feel like she was looking at an animal at a zoo exhibit.

“Do you really trust the elders with Satoru?” Shoko whispered, not taking her eyes off of her maddened friend.

“No. I don’t.”

“Do you trust Suguru with Satoru?” She glanced at Yaga, who was stone faced while looking at his former student.

“Absolutely.” Yaga spared a quick glance at Shoko before glancing back at the imprisoned boy.

“Then let him help, sensei. Please.” It was the softest and most vulnerable Yaga had ever heard Shoko. She was normally such a level-headed girl, bordering on apathetic. He felt his doubts wash away at the sheer desperation in her voice. She didn’t show it, but Yaga knew how deeply the teen cared for her peers.

He placed a hand on her shoulder. Yaga nodded firmly. “Alright.”

For the first time in months, Shoko smiled. “Alright.”

The next couple hours were spent with Yaga and Shoko standing guard over Satoru. Neither of them were comfortable enough with leaving the boy in such a vulnerable state on his own. Each watched with increasing sadness as Satoru’s mind and body deteriorated. His feet were bloodied from his constant kicking and stomping. His ankles were ripped to shreds from the spikes of the metal cuffs. A small pool of blood had gathered beneath Satoru as a result. His wrists were rubbed raw from his thrashing, minutes away from becoming as bloody as his ankles. With his arms being forced to be crossed and raised in the air for so long, Satoru had begun trembling from the strain. His arms were covered in angry, red blotches from the uneven blood flow. To make things worse, the pain in his arms had grown so unbearable that the rope covering Satoru’s eyes became soaked in the boy’s tears. His chest heaved with every breath from the chains around his torso. Despite having reverse cursed technique, Satoru was in no state to use it nor remember that he even had it . Shoko felt useless. She was the healer, yet she was not allowed to go inside the barrier and heal Satoru’s wounds.

Sporadically, Satoru would have bursts of energy and start howling and thrashing. It was clear that he was trying to go towards where Shoko and Yaga stood, but couldn’t. Whether it was to attack them or not was unknown. There was one terrifying moment where Satoru tried activating his cursed technique. A blue light showed in his palms and the corridors trembled like a wobbly stack of blocks. Shoko would have yelled at Satoru if it wasn’t for Yaga reminding her that it would not snap Satoru out of his trance. Eventually, Satoru’s energy dropped and the glow went away. He twitched and muffled various things for almost an hour nonstop.

Currently, Satoru had quieted down. His loose white shirt, provided by the lost and found bin the school had, was stained with blood, sweat, and drool. His body was constantly trembling from the muscles being strained for far too long. It looked like his knees would buckle at any minute with how harsh the tremors were. The black pants he wore were too short on his lanky legs and revealed the deep bruising Satoru had given himself by repeatedly kicking at the stone floor. Wheezes escaped the boy’s bound lips. Shoko had no doubt in her mind that his ribs were bruised or even fractured from the tight bindings. Despite his weakened state, she also knew that Satoru was still the strongest in the room. Even with Tengen’s barrier, the miasma cursed energy always held had gotten so thick that Shoko found it hard to breath. It felt like breathing something as volatile as electricity. Her hair as well as Yaga’s had become frizzled from the sheer power within the air. Satoru was still producing cursed energy, likely from his hallucinations causing the boy to think he was in a battle of sorts. However, the cursed energy had nowhere to go due to the talismans and barrier. Moreover, the surplus of energy felt unstable. It reminded Shoko of how Satoru’s technique used to feel when he was a first-year still figuring his powers out. Erratic and ready to ignite at a moment’s notice.

Shoko had decided to sit down after the first half-hour of watching her friend. Fighting off the want to leave and go smoke had taken all of her focus. So much so that she barely registered her phone going off. Yaga had to shake her awake.

“Check your phone. And silence it when you're done.” Yaga mumbled. He patted her shoulder before promptly walking off the opposite side of the room. Neither of them noticed how Satoru’s head tilted towards the sound of Yaga’s shoes clacking against the floor.

Blinking away her weariness, Shoko pulled out her phone, which miraculously still worked underground. It was a text from Suguru.

She shot up like a rocket. Relief flooded her so fast that Shoko blurted out, “It’s Suguru!”

Immediately, a snarl interrupted her mini-celebration. At the name of his supposed best friend, Satoru’s writhing began anew. However, his thrashing was the most violent it's ever been. The air grew thick with power, giving off the scent of ozone. Yaga slapped a hand against his face and groaned. His students were amazing, but stupid.

“Shit.” Shoko lowered his voice and body. She went back to her phone and read the series of texts Suguru sent her.

curse_gobbler: @lesbianmalpractice i’ve figured out a way to save @xXxlimitlessfirby42069xXx (Today at 6:08 PM)

curse_gobbler: find a way to get him out of that barrier. i need more time to set up some things on my end. (Today at 6:09 PM)

curse_gobbler: try to send him to the arena we use during exchange events. idc how you do it just do it please. if you can’t do that just send him to the surface and i’ll figure it out. it’s best to have him in the forest (Today at 6:11 PM)

curse_gobbler: text me when you free him pls (Today at 6:12 PM.)

curse_gobbler: if you don’t free him, i will literally kill u and kms (Today at 6:12 PM)

lesbianmalpractice: got it. i think talking shit about u will work. satoru started fucking snarling the second he heard ur name. (Today at 6:13 PM)

curse_gobbler: damn. just get him to activate his limitless and i’m sure it’ll be stronger than tengen’s barrier. (Today at 6:14 PM)

lesbianmalpracitice: u think that satoru’s limitless is more powerful than tengen’s barrier? (Today at 6:14 PM)

curse_gobbler: it has to be. otherwise i can’t do shit. i’m not going to consider anything other than success. i refuse to. (Today at 6:14 PM)

lesbianmalpractice: you’ll succeed suguru. no one knows satoru like u. and when this is all over, we’ll have a movie marathon and sleep for a week. and change satoru’s stupid username (Today at 6:15 PM)

curse_gobbler: i’m looking forward to it (Today at 6:15 PM)

lesbianmalpractice: i am too (Today at 6:16 PM)

“It’ll work.” Shoko whispered to herself. She put her phone in the pocket of her jacket and went to the very edge of Tengen’s barrier. She was so close that she could feel the energy the barrier was emitting. Like clockwork, Satoru lunged towards her, not going very far. One of the spikes within his ankles bracelets had become wedged deep into the skin, but Satoru showed no signs of pain. With a deep breath, Shoko shouted as loudly as she could. “SUGURU IS STRONGER THAN YOU. I HOPE SUGURU BEATS YOU TO A PULP. SUGURU IS GOING TO STOP YOU. SUGURU IS BETTER! SUGURU! SUGURU! SUGURU IS GOING TO SAVE YOU, SATORU!”

“What are you doing, Shoko?! Do you want him to-”

A shockwave of pure cursed energy caused each sorcerer to crash to the ground. Cracks littered the ground, even outside of Tengen’s barrier. Satoru screamed against his binds, thrashing so hard that Shoko heard several bones crack. The scent of ozone intensified until Shoko felt her nostrils burn. She motioned Yaga to come to her and not the line of fire.

Satoru roared as he jerkled his arms down, causing a sickening snap to fill the air.

He had broken his arms and dislocated his shoulders to have his hands in front of him. Screaming, Satoru pulled his wrists apart until the skin tore. Eventually, the chain connecting the shackles together snapped. With his arms bleeding profusely, Satoru raised his hands to the rope around his mouth and tugged harshly, immediately breaking it in two. Satoru spat the rope out and gasped deep lungfuls of air.

With each breath, the wounds around Satoru began to close. His reversed technique had finally kicked in with the removal of some of the talismans. Satoru tore apart the chains around his torso like paper, screaming while he did so. He broke into a coughing fit with the sudden decrease in pressure on his lungs. In seconds, Satoru recovered and went to the shackles around his heavily damaged ankles. Eachspike was embedded deep into his ankles. With a frustrated snarl, Satoru raised a hand in the air and chopped off his right ankle. Shoko felt herself recoil at the sight, wanting to instinctively go to her friend and slap him beside the head for being so reckless. However, the ankle was fully restored in the blink of an eye. Satoru repeated the same motion with his other ankle. With everything except for his eyes being freed, Satoru took the time to reset his shoulders. He showed no hint of pain. Instead of agonizing screams or whimpers, Satoru’s lips were moving in an apparent conversation with himself. He stopped suddenly and froze, his lips still busy frantically muttering nonsense.

Shoko saw how hard Satoru shook. Healing broken bones and amputated limbs took an indescribable amount of cursed energy. Satoru may have a well of cursed energy deeper than comprehension, but he was still human. He hadn’t drank or eaten in days and had just used massive amounts of cursed energy.

He needed a boost.

“SUGURU IS AT THE SCHOOL, SATORU! HE’S WAITING FOR YOU!”

It was exactly what he needed.

As if a switch had been flicked, Satoru jolted from his prior catatonic state. He locked his covered eyes with Shoko. “ Where. Where is he? ”

His voice was nearly unrecognizable with how raspy it was. It sounded painful, like each syllable was an agony to suffer through. She shook her head to rid herself of her worried thoughts. “He’s in the forest where the exchange event usually takes place! Suguru is waiting for you there, Satoru.” It was clear that the hallucinations were making Satoru see Suguru as some monster to be stopped. Shoko saw how tense Satoru was getting, a viper ready to strike. She backed away and motioned Yaga to do the same. “Yeah. Suguru’s there, Satoru. Suguru is dangerous. He’s already killed people.”

Before she could breathe, Satoru ripped off the rope around his eyes and bore his maddened gaze into Shoko. He banged his fists on the barrier. “WHO?! WHO DID HE KILL?! TELL ME NOW!”

Make him use limitless. Make him stronger than Tengen, even if it’s just for a second. He has to be stronger. He’ll die if he isn’t. She swallowed. “Everyone.”

It was silent for a moment before all hell broke loose. The ground, walls, and ceilings trembled as Satoru began to howl a scream of pure loss and pain. A purple glow was starting to emit from Satoru’s palms. In addition, the barrier shook with effort to contain the boy. It got brighter and brighter as Satoru charged up enough energy to blow up the whole country.

“WE HAVE TO GO.” Yaga shouted, grasping onto Shoko’s arms and running towards a random corridor. She ran alongside him, heart beating rapidly in her chest. The howls of rage echoes in the chambers. Shoko felt her lip wobble as she ran and bit it harsh enough to draw blood.

Thankfully it seemed that Tengen wasn’t upset at them, allowing them to pass through the many doors and pathways. All the while, the entire place shuddered. Debris started falling and the air around her grew hot and thick.

Just as Shoko and Yaga exited the Tombs of the Star Corridor, a violent explosion followed. With his reactivation of Limitless, Gojo Satoru managed to escape Tengen’s barrier. It couldn’t contain Infinite afterall. Moreover, all it takes is a single drop too many to make a container overflow.

Suguru felt his stomach drop the second he heard the explosion in the distance. Both from relief and dread. Relief for Satoru being freed, but dread for what’s to come. When Suguru told Shoko he had a plan, it was a complete lie. At best, he had the torn scraps of a plan that should be over one hundred pages long. For once, he was grateful for his technique allowing him such a large variety of abilities. He would need his adaptability in battle more than anything else.

The air around him grew heavy with what felt like static. Suguru stood his ground as he saw the bushes shake and trees tremble. He made sure his senses were strained to the limit to detect any signs of Satoru. The snap of a twig, the crunch of a leaf, even the scent of ice Satoru’s skin tended to have. Several of his curses were released into the forest, and he waited until he felt one of them be exorcized.

First one down.

Second.

Third.

Fourth. Firth. Sixth. Ninth. Thirteenth. Wait-

“Oh fuck.” Suguru braced himself as all of his curses were exorcized in moments. He had thought that they would buy him some time, but he had forgotten how powerful Satoru truly was. Especially a Satoru with no restraint. “Please be-”

He didn’t even get to blink before he was tackled into the dirt, a bony knee stabbing into his back.

His curses were all semi-grade one and above. Satoru had defeated them all in less than a minute!

For the first time since meeting the white-haired boy, Suguru truly felt afraid of Gojo Satoru.

“I didn’t take you as the one to hide, Suguru. Sending weak curses after me instead of facing me head on. You’ve sure fallen from grace~” Satoru snarled into Suguru’s ear, his hot breath causing the other to shiver. An ice cold hand wrapped around Suguru’s hair and yanked. “Did you really think I’d let a bastard like you escape a second time? No. Unlike you, I learn from my mistakes.”

Suguru felt like he was about to be scalped with how hard Satoru held his hair. The knee on his back felt more like a knife digging into his spine. Having Satoru talk to him as if he was a monster made Suguru want to curl into a ball and disappear. All the thoughts he had about himself only being capable of hatred and anger reappeared. His eyes watered as Satoru yanked his hair again. He swore he felt something tear. He had been foolish. Suguru had thought that he would be able to handle Satoru, even if it was for a small amount of time. To even assume he was on the same level as Satoru was the most idiotic thing Suguru had ever done. There was no escaping Satoru’s grip.

“You’ve gotten away with far too much, Suguru. I can’t even look at you anymore without wanting to incinerate you into bits and pieces. Not that you deserve such a swift end. I’ll make it slow. Just like how you tortured me for years, I’ll do the same to you.”

The volatile tension in the air grew, and Suguru was suddenly filled with regrets. Even if Satoru was deep into his own tortured mind and hallucinations, Suguru still felt like there was a level of truth to his words. He had fallen from grace. Suguru had started as a reliable, respected sorcerer, the pride and joy of his family. He was molded to be the perfect little soldier, and he fulfilled that role for years. He always kept a polite smile on his face and made sure to be as selfless as possible. Anytime he tried to do something of his own fruition, Suguru would freeze like a glitching computer. He had no thoughts of his own, only the thoughts of what a ‘hero’ would do and how a ‘sorcerer’ should behave. He had eventually come to see the teachings of his elders as law. He believed in them like a dedicated sorcerer should. He helped non-sorcerer's without hesitation. That was what he was told was right. And wasn’t it the right thing to do? Helping someone couldn’t ever be seen as bad, right? His elders didn’t lie about that.

So why does Suguru feel like they did lie to him? They only wanted him to be the best sorcerer he could be, that wasn’t something to hate them for.

But Suguru still did.

He hated his teachers. He hated his parents even more. Suguru was the first sorcerer in his family line, so none of them knew what to do when their son started talking about seeing monsters in the walls. They quickly grew into seeing it as a blessing to be nurtured. His parents spent almost all their money on tutors, barely having enough for housing and food. Family members who he didn’t know existed flocked to Suguru and showered him in presents to further his career as a sorcerer. They sacrificed so much for him, so Suguru should be grateful. It was the fact that he wasn’t that bothered him greatly. His hatred towards his parents grew so intense that he dreamed of killing them multiple times. What kind of person thinks of killing their own parents? Suguru apparently. He was built wrong, malformed and useless. Saying that he’s a monster was not a stretch of the imagination by any means. His dark thoughts had grown this past year, only further proving Suguru’s point.

Maybe he should let Satoru kill him.

Afterall, he was the worst friend in the world. Satoru was friends with an empty shell, and empty shells can’t make a good friend. He just spat out rehearsed lines someone else had told him. Sure, he joked around with Satoru and they had become attached at the hip, but Satoru was friends with the perfect sorcerer Suguru was sculpted as. All of his thoughts and actions were based on those of another. The real Suguru didn’t know anything. What to think. How to feel. Why to continue on. His only true thought was his plan to rid the world of non-sorcerers. It had been the only thing that Suguru had believed in that wasn’t associated with his elder’s teachings in any way. That spoke bounds as to who Suguru truly was. A monster hellbent on killing innocents. That kind of person shouldn’t be Satoru’s friend. Not when Satoru was the most special thing in Suguru’s life. He couldn’t taint someone as pure as Satoru. It didn’t matter that they both had blood on their hands, Satoru’s soul was unstained. Suguru’s was stained by the putrid darkness within him. He had wanted to kill every non-sorcerer with a burning passion. A passion that was his own making. A passion that was just murder. Genocide. That was Suguru. A killing machine.

A monster who still wanted to kill non-sorcerers. The hatred hadn’t gone away, still raging inside him. He hated those monkeys. Even after everything, Suguru couldn’t let his hatred go. Any normal person would. Satoru would. Satoru was the person that took all the blows so no one else would. Satoru was loud, obnoxious, and infuriating. He enjoyed causing mischief and roped Suguru into his plans every time. Satoru reveled in the mayhem he caused, but there was so much more to him. For instance, Satoru would cause Suguru to laugh until his sides hurt and eyes watered without prompt. He would buy Suguru and Shoko the most lavish gifts just because he could, often showing up with decadent desserts and luxurious souvenirs for the two at any time. It didn't need to be their birthday, Satoru would just give Suguru the most expensive hoodie he had ever seen and try to justify his random gift by teasing Suguru about his style or some other weak excuse. Hell, Satoru had gifted Suguru a crystal statue of a dragon that was covered in diamonds and emeralds just because it reminded the boy of Suguru's Rainbow Dragon curse. No one had ever given Suguru gifts like that before. He was used to receiving textbooks and weapons on his birthday or during holidays. It was always about Suguru being a jujutsu sorcerer, not Suguru himself. Satoru, for some impossible reason, cared for Suguru. And Suguru was too selfish to tell Satoru to stop.

Satour was everything to him. Suguru couldn’t imagine his life without Satoru. He was beautiful and absolutely radiant . His one and only.

Yet Suguru was willing to leave him behind.

How many times did Satoru have nightmares of the Toji incident? Of Riko’s assassination and Satoru’s own assassination attempt? Suguru used to hold Satoru and cuddle him every time his closest friend had nightmares or was simply feeling down. He would hold onto Satoru tightly, and the other would hold him even tighter, whispering ‘thank yous’ nonstop. Satoru was someone who grew up without a shred of affection, so he clung to Suguru like a koala whenever he could. How hurt must have Satoru felt when Suguru never showed up to comfort him? Fuck . When was the last time he hugged Satoru? Truly embraced him, not the desperate hug he shared in a half-conscious state with Nanami and Satoru after the disastrous Sendai mission. An actual hug, the ones where no words are shared as Suguru wraps his arms around Satoru’s waist, and Satoru can feel Suguru’s warmth while Suguru can feel the pleasant coolness of Satoru’s ivory skin. The hugs where Satoru nuzzles into the crook of Suguru’s neck with a happy hum, fitting like perfect puzzle pieces against each other. The hugs that last so long that Suguru ends up flopping on his or Satoru’s bed, continuing to hold the other as sleep takes hold of Satoru first while Suguru cards his fingers through impossibly soft snow-white hair before falling asleep himself. The hugs that leave Suguru’s soul so light and whole that it’s physically painful to separate.

He couldn’t remember.

“I’m sorry.” Suguru blurted out, his voice shaky and watery. The second the words left him, it was like the floodgates of Suguru’s soul opened. Tears quickly formed in Suguru’s eyes, streaming down his face in seconds. HIs chest heaved as Suguru began to cry for the first time in over a year. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Satoru. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’msorryI’msorryI’msorry -”

He couldn’t stop apologizing to Satoru. There was so much he had done that needed to be rectified. The grip around his hair loosened as Suguru, normally known for being composed and level headed, grew hysterical. His sobbing made his apologies slur together until even he didn’t know what he was saying. He didn’t stop. Even as he felt the dirt beneath his face turn muddy from his tears and snot, he continued to bawl like a toddler. He felt horrible. He felt so lost. He felt guilty and shameful and just badbadbad.

“ ‘M sorry, Satoru.” Suguru sobbed out, his chest aching with how forcefully he said those words. His very soul was aching, and he didn’t know how to make it stop. He was remembering everything all over again. His parents. His teachers. Jujutsu Sorcery. Satoru. Shoko. Yaga Nanami. Riko. Haibara. Toji . Finally, Suguru reached his breaking point. All the trauma and pain he had experienced came down all at once. He began to blubber like a child. “It’s my fault! I shouldn’t have left you! It’s all my fault you got hurt! Riko died ‘cause of me. I couldn’t protect her. I couldn’t protect you! And then I left you all alone for months even though I knew how much you were hurting! I ignored you, and I shouldn’t have! I’m sorry, Satoru! I know I’m a monster! I know I’ve caused you so much pain! Fuck, you died for a moment and I wasn’t there! I don’t know how to be there for you anymore, Satoru! I don’t know how to do anything! I’m a fucking fraud! I’m not a hero! I’m not good like you! You have every right to kill me! I’ll hurt more people if I live, that’s all I’m good at! And I’ve hurt you more than anyone else and I can’t do that! I can’t do this anymore, Satoru, so just do it already! Please -”

“NO!”

The knee on his back and grip on his hair disappeared. It shocked Suguru out of his meltdown, allowing the boy to take a much needed breath. He felt frozen as he breathed in harshly, the air thick with tension. So quiet that Suguru could only hear his own heartbeat and breath.

“Shut up. Shut the hell up this instant!” Satoru shrieked. In said instant, Suguru felt his heart skip a beat at the unhinged tone. It sounded nothing like the Satoru he knew, his voice was completely unrecognizable. Identical to someone deemed deranged or a lunatic.

Silence overcame them once more. Neither moving an inch.

The trembling breaths of Satoru were the only clue as to where the teen was, which was directly behind Suguru. Somehow, Satoru felt far too close and incredibly far away at the same time.

“Be quiet, you bastard… Just shut up. Don’t cry like that…Please not like that! I can’t take it. I can’t either. It’s too much.” Satoru whispered in a terrified plea, a complete shift from his prior cold brutality. The weak murmurs of the white-haired teen paralyzed Suguru. “Don’t cry. Please don’t cry. I didn’t mean to…I didn’t… I’m sorry. Come back to me, please…Don’t go…”

Satoru then grew silent for several, tense minutes.

Then Satoru moved.

A few twigs snapped as Satoru walked around a still prone Suguru. He looked down at him, but Suguru noticed the violent shaking of his fists. Satoru, only clad in a dirty shirt and too short pants, had no sunglasses to hide his eyes. The clarity Suguru expected to see was nonexistent. They were foggy and unfocused. His eyelids twitched, and Suguru could see just how unstable Satoru was. His own mind was too exhausted to come up with a plan, energy drained from his outburst. Suguru rose from the floor to his knees, not feeling confident enough to stand.

Satoru inhaled sharply. He glared at Suguru and barked out, “Don’t say that! Don’t you dare say that, you fucking asshole! Quit throwing yourself a pity party!” The teen then gripped the collar of his shirt tightly and looked at the dirt. His form shook as Satoru’s head twitched. His hands then wrenched to his head and started clawing at his cheeks. Satoru heaved in violent breaths. “Quit acting like him! You’re not him! Right?! Are you him?! But your forehead…It’s not…Is it there?! I can’t remember! Shit, I can’t remember anything!”

He’s still hallucinating . Suguru remembered with a gasp. His breakdown had left him empty and exhausted. Yet, Suguru had no time to rest. He had to pull himself together and help Satoru. Even so, his mind wasn’t cooperating whatsoever. His body was sapped of all energy, his head pounded, his eyes burned, his stomach ached from both nausea and hunger, and Suguru wanted to curl up in a ball forever. Both his body and mind were useless. It was like trying to tie two broken strings together, only the strings have gotten so weathered and thin that it breaks each time a knot is attempted. Suguru made eye contact with Satoru, feeling like the scum of the earth. “Satoru-”

“Shut up!” Satoru wrenched his body from Suguru like it burned him. He took several steps back with shaking legs. “I’ve heard enough!”

“Satoru, please-”

“BE QUIET!”

In a flash, Satoru was gripping Suguru by the collar of his jacket, holding him high in the air effortlessly. The forest around them seemed to grow quiet as the two stared at each other.

Being so close, Suguru saw how terrible Satoru looked. He had forgotten that he had been comatose for several days while Satoru had been awake the entire time. Satoru had been hallucinating for days . Satoru’s body trembled nonstop, and Suguru noticed how translucent and sickly his skin looked. Blood was stained around his shirt and pants, sweat beaded from his forehead, and his eyes were bloodshot. The bags around his cloudy eyes and the slight hollowness of his cheeks meant that Satoru hadn’t slept or eaten since the Sendai mission.

His body is shutting down. He’s going to pass out some time soon. I just have to wait it out. Suguru raised his tired arms to grasp the hand holding his collar. It didn’t budge, but Suguru held onto it tightly. He remembered the cycle the painting showed.

The bird that plagued the victim’s mind the most pecked the victim's forehead, making the eye on their head disappear and freeing the victim.

Pecking.

An idea popped into Suguru's chaotic mind, the most idiotic idea he had ever had. But he had nothing else.

Suguru summoned a curse to drag him back to the ground. The moment its tentacle wrapped around Suguru’s leg and pulled, Satoru jolted in surprise. Once his feet were planted on the ground, Suguru took advantage of Satoru being distracted, wrapping his arms around Satoru’s shoulders. Satoru snapped his head towards Suguru, his cloudy eyes unable to focus. Not allowing Satoru the chance to center himself, he went through with his desperate idea.

He crashed his forehead down on Satoru’s in a brutal headbutt.

The painful snap of both their necks was disorienting, a welt already beginning to form, but Suguru seized the opportunity to free himself from Satoru’s grip. Blood streamed down each of their foreheads, but Satoru was the most affected. He went to grasp his head, dizziness causing Satoru to wobble and sway.

Suguru got into a defensive position, fists ready to retaliate. His eyes frantically searched for an eyeball on Satoru’s head, but he found none. The eyeball must have been symbolic then. That makes things so much harder! I can’t tell if I broke him out of the trance or not! He hissed as the pain in his head intensified. Battling would be impossible with Suguru in such a state.

“What the hell, Suguru?! Why did you do that?! That hurt!”

There it is. The bright voice Satoru was supposed to have. His impulsive idea had worked.

“Oh god, I’m so sorry, Satoru! Are you with me now? Can you see me?” Suguru, ignoring his mind’s warning, walked towards Satoru. He had his hands low in a placating gesture. He felt relief, but he still approached with trepidation. Satoru made no moves to attack. In fact, the boy was rubbing the bleeding welt on his forehead with a pout. “Satoru?”

“You’re lucky I can use the Reverse Cursed Technique, or else Shoko would have beat your ass. Damn, your head is like a rock, no wonder you’re so dense sometimes!” Satoru giggled. He looked like the Satoru who Suguru had come to know. With ease, Satoru healed himself and glanced at Suguru with a smirk. However, it faded as quickly as it appeared. Both of Satoru’s arms went limp at his sides. He froze like a statue, boring his eyes into Suguru’s. Disregarding the warning signs, Suguru stepped closer until he was inches apart from his friend. With the most gentleness Suguru could muster, he placed a hand on Satoru’s shoulder with his other hand cupping Satoru’s cheek. The white-haired boy’s head went limp in Suguru’s hold. His trembling grew even stronger, along with Satoru now gasping for breath.

“Satoru!” Suguru wrapped both arms tightly around Satoru’s chest, knowing what to do on instinct alone. One hand rubbed his back in soothing strokes while the other soothes fingers through Satoru’s hair. The movements were smooth and well-practiced. He felt Satoru put all of his weight on Suguru suddenly. Thinking that he had passed out, Suguru leaned back to gaze at Satoru. Only he was still awake. However, the cloudiness of Satoru’s eyes faded more and more. Satoru’s hyperventilating grew into slow, deep breaths.

He was back. Satoru was back.

Then he felt Satoru violenting wrench away.

Satoru stumbled to a random log with his hand covering his mouth. He used the log as support as Satoru began to gag and retch. Because there was no food to throw up, Satoru was left uncontrollably dry-heaving. On autopilot, Suguru went to Satoru and helped get his hair out of his face. It was second nature to be near Satoru, so Suguru ignored the ozone tint of the air to rub Satoru’s back. His mind was so discombobulated that Suguru forgot the delicate circumstance he was in.

The sun had begun to set when Satoru stopped retching nothing but stomach acid. Satoru spit on the ground and shakily got up. When Suguru tried to help Satoru stand more stably, he realized that there was more going on with Satoru than Suguru thought. He seemed to be in reality, but his behavior was off-kilter. Satoru pushed Suguru away, the evening sun casting a deep orange glow on the forest and teens. There were no signs of Satoru hallucinating, but Satoru was still acting strange with his wide eyes locking with Satoru’s.

“Are you-”

“You were going to defect and kill all non-sorcerers, right? Get rid of the ‘monkeys’. Killing hundreds of people and your own parents. You were gonna do that, right?”

All of Suguru’s veins turned to ice. “How-”

“Don’t give me any bullshit, Suguru. You had a plan to annihilate all non-sorcerers from Japan. I need an answer. No excuses. Did you plan to exterminate non-sorcerers and defect from Jututsu society? Yes or no?”

It felt like Satoru was towering over Suguru, a god looking down upon mere ants. Suguru clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white. Was Satoru paying attention when Suguru brokedown? Did he know beforehand? No matter how Satoru obtained the information, he was expecting Suguru to respond. With no doubt or hesitation, Suguru answered. “Yes.”

“Why.”

It took Suguru by surprise to hear Satoru not scream at him or kill him for his plans. He blinked, waiting for any further responses from Satoru, but the teen simply stood stiffly with a piercing gaze. Suguru looked down at the dirt. He scowled at the memories that flooded in. Riko. Toji. The applause. The deafening fucking applause. “They’re monkeys, Satoru. Their inability to control cursed energy has caused us jujutsu sorcerers to die fighting the curses they create! Jujutsu sorcerers die day in and day out because the monkeys continue to live! That’s all they are, Satoru! What have they ever done for us? Have they died for us?! Have they ever tried returning the favor?! The answer is they haven’t! We die for them . We fight murderous curses constantly for them . We have our comrades slaughtered for them . I have to consume and absorb curses over and over and over again FOR THEM ! AND THEY’RE NOT EVEN GRATEFUL! THEY’RE MONKEYS WHO KNOW NOTHING BUT TO APPLAUSE FOR THEIR OWN STUPIDITY! Listen, Satoru! Without the monkeys, we wouldn’t have to fight curses ever again! This country would be much better off with only jujutsu sorcerers! I hate those monkeys, all they have ever done is be cruel and ungrateful, and I’m not going to be convinced to believe otherwise.” The more Suguru spoke, the more emboldened he became. The hateful passion ignited once more, and Suguru told Satoru the plan he had been cultivating for a year.

It was disturbing to see Suguru go from staying calm to completely melting down to yelling out all of his digressions with humanity. He knew it was wrong of him, but the control of his emotions had vanished. He was a sea of anger, regret, and grief, the waves moving him in all directions with no chance of allowing Suguru to choose where he went. He was unstable. Satoru was unstable. Both boys were in horrible headspaces, only having each other to lean on, not knowing how the suffering within them grew worse and worse.

“You hate non-sorcerers.”

“I do…”

“Non-sorcerers are monkeys that contribute nothing to our world.”

“Yeah. They are monkeys. I can’t see them any other way.”

“...”

“Was Riko a dumb, drooling monkey that deserves to die?” Satoru asked with an eerily calm voice. His expression was hidden due to the lack of light from the setting sun. He cocked his head to the side and scoffed. “Would you have killed her yourself if she was still here?”

All of Suguru’s fire went out. He didn’t know the answer to that. Suguru was planning to kill his parents since there were no exceptions in his quest for eradicating monkeys. The thought of killing Riko made bile rise in his throat. Suguru scoffed. “She’s dead, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Quit deflecting Suguru. I need an answer.” Satoru replied coolly. The two best friends looked like they were about to face each other in a battle of the death. Dark orange shined on Suguru’s features while a reddish-orange encased Satoru. A foot apart. Face to face. The Strongest.

While Gojo Satoru had been broken out of his hellish reprieve, his brain was permanently altered. The trance causing him to hallucinate was broken when Getou Suguru made contact with his forehead. He had unknowingly fulfilled a binding vow. In exchange for making the psychic attack exponentially stronger, a way to break it was implemented: the main subject of the hallucinations must make skin to skin contact with the victim head. No one that had suffered under the psychic attack had ever managed to be freed. The first person to break out of the trance was Gojo Satoru. However, there was more to Gojo Satoru’s trance. Unbeknownst to Getou Suguru, Gojo Satoru had been given over two decades of information in the span of a couple days. His brain suffered permanent damage. In an act of pure impulsive and reckless thought, Gojo Satoru made a gamble he would have never made prior to the attack.

“If you tell me that Riko is a monkey who deserves to die, and you mean it whole-heartedly, then I will join you and help eradicate all non-sorcerers. I’ll even make a binding vow that will ensure my loyalty if you have doubts. Just tell me you hate Riko, and I’ll go with you to make your plans become a reality.”

Out of anything that Satoru could have uttered, this was the most unexpected outcome of all. In no world did Suguru imagine that Satoru would agree with him and join him. It should be impossible for someone like Satoru to be willing to do such a thing. A binding vow was a serious matter in all cases, and Satoru just opened himself up to one. Imagining Satoru by his side while they get rid of all monkeys was both a pipedream and Suguru’s worst nightmare. He couldn’t do that to Satoru. He was too good of a person.

Yet he was offering his aid and loyalty. All Satoru needed was Suguru to admit what he truly thinks about Riko, that she is a monkey like the rest of non-sorcerers.

If Suguru admitted such a thing and meant it, then the binding vow would be fulfilled immediately. Satoru would join his side and defect from Jujutsu Society. He could finally leave. His plans were no longer farfetched with someone like Satoru by his-

Someone like Satoru would hate every second.

He couldn’t do that to Satoru. Making Satoru suffer in such a way would be the cruelest thing Suguru had ever done. Satoru meant too much to Suguru. He couldn’t drag Satoru from his place in the stars to the dark hellscape Suguru belonged in.

And to top everything off…

Suguru couldn’t say Riko was a monkey and mean it. It would be a total lie.

Would he have to give up on his plans? He wanted to stay with his friends, but wanted to leave and get rid of the monkeys that caused them to get hurt. Haibara was killed by a curse. A curse spawned from non-sorcerers. His friends would never suffer again if he eradicated the source of all curses.

Riko was a non-sorcerer.

Were there curses that spawned from Riko’s negative emotions?

How many sorcerers were killed by those curses? Should she-

I want to be with everyone longer!

I want to go to all kinds of places with everyone!

I want to see all kinds of things and do more!

Riko loved life and wanted to see all parts of it. She loved life more than anyone he had ever met. She was like the little sister Suguru never had.

Let’s go home, Riko-chan.

Yeah!

But a bullet through her skull snuffed out her light.

What if he was the one holding the gun, seeing her as just another monkey to exterminate?

Non-sorcerers were monkeys. Riko was a non-sorcerer, but was she-

“She’s not.” Suguru gasped out. His eyes immediately began to water. “She didn’t deserve to be killed! All she wanted to do was stay with us and Misato-san! That’s all she wanted, Satoru! But that monkey Toji shot her before she had a chance to live that life! She and Misato-san were the only good non-sorcerers, but they’re dead! There aren’t any other non-sorcerers worth sparing left! Don’t you remember how those monkey’s applauded Riko-chan’s death?! None of them are worth sparing! None!”

“What makes you think a society of sorcerers would be better?!” Satoru snapped back. He grit his teeth in a snarl. “Sorcerers are worse than non-sorcerers! If non-sorcerers are monkeys, then I’m a fucking monster!”

What?

“Satoru, you are no-” Suguru instantly went to shut down such false claims.

“OF COURSE I AM!” It felt like Suguru had been slapped in the face. Satoru marched over towards Suguru and pushed him. Hard. There was so much force that Suguru was sent slamming into a tree, causing the bark to splinter and crack. Satoru wasn’t finished. His rage was palpable in the air. His eyes seemed to glow with how intensely they glared at the black-haired teen. “I BARELY EVEN TOUCHED YOU, AND YOU WERE SENT SEVERAL HUNDRED FEET! SORCERERS ARE MONSTERS COMPARED TO NON-SORCERERS! AND I’M THE WORST OF THEM ALL. YOU KEEP SAYING HOW NON-SORCERERS ARE MONKEYS, LIKE THEY AREN’T EVEN HUMAN ANYMORE! JUST PESTS TO BE REMOVED! WHAT DOES THAT MAKE ME THEN, HUH?! I’VE KILLED PEOPLE! I’VE HURT PEOPLE! I’M MORE OF A MONSTER THAN ANYONE ELSE! DO YOU KNOW HOW BADLY I WANT TO BE HUMAN?! I DON’T WANT TO BE SOME FUCKING WEAPON! I NEVER ASKED TO BE A SORCERER, AND NON-SORCERERS DON’T CHOOSE TO SPAWN CURSES! I’LL NEVER BE A HUMAN! NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRY!”

A blast of pure cursed energy shot from Satoru’s palms. The explosion that followed caused several trees to crash and even more ignite in flames. Tears of utter rage flowed down Satoru’s cheeks. He went to Suguru and yanked him into a standing position. With the sun almost set and the fire spreading, the forest looked to be bathed in crimson. Satoru gestured a sweeping hand towards the growing inferno. He let out a painful laugh.

“This is me, Suguru!” Satoru let Suguru go unceremoniously and spread his arms wide. “In a society where non-sorcerers with no abilities are deemed monkeys, then I can only be this! A monster of pure destruction!” Satoru said cheerily, sending another blast of cursed energy through the forest, causing a crater to be formed where the great trees once stood. “This is me holding back, Suguru! What would I be in your perfect society if I can do this, hm~”

Suguru looked at Satoru in horror. No. The only monster was Suguru. Satoru wasn’t. If he was a monster, then Suguru didn’t know what he would classify at. His body was covered in scrapes with bruises quickly forming. Something had definitely fractured and blood was pouring from the cuts on his skull. Even so, he stood tall. “You’re not a monster! You save people with those powers-”

“I don’t.” Satoru whispered. It was then like all the energy had been sapped out of Satoru. Finally, the dehydration, sleep deprivation, and lack of food caught up to the boy, even someone as powerful as Gojo Satoru. He collapsed into Suguru’s arms, who had instinctively gone to catch him. Satoru’s body couldn't take it anymore. While Satoru remained conscious, he felt the exhaustion within his very bones call for him. He refused to give in. “I don’t save people, Suguru. I never really have. I’m much better at the opposite. Shit, I had already killed two people before I even turned ten! How wild is that? You know, I killed the puppy I was given for my seventh birthday after one day of having her. I accidentally petted her too hard and snapped her neck. And that was me trying my best to be gentle! That’s me, Suguru. I’m a freak of nature. So…How can you hate non-sorcerers so much if I’m worse?”

The blistering heat of the fire was uncomfortable, but Suguru kept holding Satoru despite the rising temperatures. It was getting harder to breathe with the smoke from the forest fire that had gotten out of control. They needed to move, but Suguru stayed put. He couldn’t move if he tried. He was in a state of utter shock. Processing Satoru’s words was frying Suguru’s brain. He still couldn’t wrap his mind around Satoru seeing himself as anything but incredible. Suguru placed his cheek against Satoru’s soft hair. “I’m sorry, Satoru. You’re not a monster. You’re the complete opposite. You are the most beautiful person I have ever seen, and everything about you makes me feel like I’m in the presence of an angel more often than not.” Suguru let out a small smile when he felt Satoru snort at his words. He ignored the flames as a wave of serenity came over him. It felt like they were in their own bubble of sorts. “To be honest…I don’t know who I am or what I believe anymore. I hate non-sorcerers, but labeling Riko as a monkey would be tarnishing her name. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore, Satoru. That’s why I distanced myself for all this time. You were figuring things out while everything around me was unraveling. I didn’t want to drag you down with me. I thought I’d get my shit together, but I didn’t. I just got worse.” Suguru tightened his hold on Satoru at that. He had gotten to his lowest, darkest points this past year. No good came out of his self-isolation. “I still don’t know what to do now, but I do know that I’m not leaving you. I want to stay by your side if you’d let me. Maybe we can figure things out together. I found out so much about cursed souls, and we’ll need to be ready for Sukuna. We need to prepare for a lot of things. I’d be a dick and an idiot if I left now. I’m staying. I understand if you don’t want to be friends with me anymore after this, but I’ll still help you and the others in any way I can. I promise, Satoru. I’ll be with you in whatever way you’ll allow me.”

Satoru shifted in his hold, a sign to be let go. Feeling anxiety ice his nerves, Suguru loosened his embrace. He prepared himself for Satoru’s rejection and scorn. He deserved it after all he put Satoru through.

Instead, Satoru didn’t yell. He didn’t look upset whatsoever. He rolled his eyes with such fondness that Suguru felt his cheeks burn far hotter than the flames around them.

He cupped Suguru’s cheeks.

“This is for being an asshole and leaving me alone for a year.”

Satoru slapped him. A red handprint immediately started to form on Suguru’s face. “I deserve that.”

“You do.” Satoru then cupped his cheeks once more. His eyes shone in joy, but Suguru had no clue what was the cause of Satoru’s happiness. Is it because he’ll be free of Suguru? It made sense if so. Suguru was a blight on Satoru’s future. He was horrible and selfish. Bad all around. Someone like him didn’t deserve to be around someone as perfect as-

Satoru pressed his lips against his own.

Oh .

Before Satoru pulled away, Suguru melted into the kiss. Satoru let out a happy hum and wrapped his arms around Suguru’s neck. Neither of them cared about the sweat, blood, and dirt that covered the other. The kiss seemed to last for centuries despite being a few seconds.

“That’s for staying.” Satoru whispered against Suguru’s lips. Both took in some much needed air, faces centimeters apart. “I’m not letting you leave.”

“I’ll hold you to it, Satoru.” He smiled into their next kiss, both of them suddenly insatiable now that they finally had a taste of the other. The months of loneliness and longing were over. Suguru didn’t feel lost anymore. He had Satoru and the others to help guide him down a new path. It would be a slow process, but Suguru wouldn’t be alone for a second of it.

As their kisses got deeper, Suguru felt a hole within his soul, a hole he didn’t even realize he had, fill. He felt complete.

The taste of a curse was vile. Curses taste like a rag used to clean up shit and vomit. He was the only person who knew the taste, calling it disgusting would be a massive understatement. No other sorcerer had the misfortune of knowing what a curse tastes like. Suguru had to be trained from a young age to swallow the putrid monsters. Overtime, he’s gotten used to the taste, but it was still as unpleasant as ever.

The taste of Satoru couldn’t be more different.

Kissing Satoru was now Suguru’s favorite thing in the world. He tasted like mint, which made sense considering Satoru was always cold to the touch, and sugar, likely caused by Satoru’s infamous sweet tooth. Minty and sweet. It was Suguru’s new favorite flavor, and he was content if that’s the only thing he tastes for the rest of his life.

When they finally separated, Satoru placed his head in the crook of Suguru’s neck, the white-haired teen’s favorite spot. Suguru could feel Satoru smiling against his neck. “Heh. You like me~”

“Maybe a little.” Suguru smiled in turn.

“So are we boyfriends now? ‘Cause I will kick your ass if you friendzone me.”

A warmth Suguru had never felt before bloomed in his chest. “If that’s what you want, then I’d be happy to start courting you.”

“Pfft. Courting? What is this, the eighteen-hundreds?” Satoru teased. It felt so familiar that Suguru couldn’t help but hold Satoru even closer. The other wiggled until his lanky body was fully seated in Suguru’s lap. “I think we should call ourselves something.”

“Do you not like the term boyfriend? We can label ourselves as partners or something else you’re more comfortable with if that’s the case. I can’t think of the terms beside partner or lover, but I’m sure there are others we can look into.”

“Nah. All those sound fine actually. We can be all of the above, including being best friends because no one is allowed to take that spot. Though, you wanna know what I would love you to use to refer to our awesome new relationship?”

“What? Dumbass and Smartass?”

“The Strongest.”

Suguru felt the warmth in his chest bloom once more. Tears pricked at his eyes, but his smile was so wide his cheeks hurt. “You sure you want to share that title again?”

“Mhm~ It’s lonely at the top, ya’know? You’re the only other person who understands me and can actually stand besides me as an equal. You deserve the title. I won’t let anyone take it away from you.” Satoru felt his eyelids grow heavier and heavier. “I think I’m going to pass out at this point, so gimme a goodnight kiss.”

“We’ve been together officially for like ten minutes and you’re already that needy?”

“You love it though~”

“Yeah, I do.” Suguru kissed Satoru, fully intending on spoiling the other for the rest of time. A tiny hum came from Satoru as their lips met for the umpteenth time. Said happy hum that Satoru makes when kissed was now one of Suguru’s favorite sounds.

“OH MY GOD.”

Suguru jolted and parted from Satoru, adrenaline coursing through his veins. It seemed like Satoru’s warning of passing out wasn’t a joke, he was unconscious and didn’t react whatsoever to the loud noise. He looked towards the person who yelled and suddenly wanted to curl up and die.

It was Shoko and Yaga.

“When I told you to do magic, true love gay shit, I didn’t mean it literally!” Shoko crossed her arms with a huff. “So kissing sleeping beauty was what broke the spell, Mr. Loverboy?”

“Shoko, I am going to strangle you.”

“With what arms?”

“...”

The girl cackled at Suguru’s lack of response. She went towards him and knelt by his side. Her demeanor turned softer. “He’s okay, right?”

Suguru nodded. “Yeah. He hasn’t eaten or slept in days, so his body probably had enough and forced him to rest.”

“Good. He’ll need to take it easy for a while. His cursed energy is all over the place from the lack of food and sleep. Him hallucinating probably contributed to that too.” Shoko looked around the burning forest and whistled. Behind her, Yaga was commanding his army of cursed corpses to put out the fire, swearing like a sailor. “You two sure did a number on the forest. It’s going to take a while for it to grow back…And put it out. Got a firefighter curse?”

“...I actually do.” He ignored her laughs to summon a giant elephant curse. It had several trunks and stood on two dinosaur-like legs. Suguru had found it near an abandoned water canal, emptied out after several people drowned in one night. The curse had been apparently killing any person, mostly delinquents, who tried to explore the canal. He commanded the curse to spray geysers of water over the forest. Each trunk helped extinguish the flames even faster.

Once the fire was fully extinguished, Yaga made his way to Suguru. He crossed his arms and glowered at them through his sunglasses.

“You and Satoru will replant the forest as much as you can after you both are recuperated.”

“Anything else, sensei?”

“You and Satoru will have detention for a month.”

“WHAT?!

“HAH! HAVE FUN IN DETENTION, LOSER!”

“SHUT THE HELL UP, SHOKO!”

“You kids will be the death of me…”

TWO YEARS LATER

“Oi, Suguru!”

“Hm?”

“Have you seen Gumi? We’re playing hide and seek and I can’t find him for the life of me!”

“Nope!” The giggling head of spiky hair proved otherwise, but Suguru said nothing. Nanako and Mimiko, the girls Yaga found in a village two years ago, were brushing and braiding his hair as he lounged on a chair by the pool. His girls wouldn’t be here without Principal Yaga, who he now held a deep appreciation for. Back then, with Suguru, Nanami, and Satoru barred from doing missions until they recovered, Yaga had taken on the brunt of missions for them. When he came back one day with two, terrified girls, Suguru took it upon himself to take care of them, considering that Satoru had his hands full with Megumi and Tsumiki. It had taken a very long time for the girls to trust someone other than Suguru, but they had shown tremendous progress. While they were wary of all adults, the girls had warmed up to Satoru’s kids fairly quickly. The four of them bonded over having idiots adopt them, gossiping about how Suguru couldn’t cook to save his life or how Satoru couldn’t read them bedtime stories without laughing or pointing out the plot holes. According to Megumi, who was the youngest yet had the most… creative insults, Satoru and Suguru were ‘dumber than rocks because they can’t figure out how to make pancakes and I bet rocks can figure it out if they were alive and had hands, and rocks look cool while they look like old people’.

The kids were terrors, but Suguru and Satoru adored them nonetheless. Currently, they were at a beach house that Satoru had bought on a whim one day. It was grand and luxurious, but with too many hiding places for someone as adept at hiding as Megumi. He took hide-and-seek far too seriously, but it was worth it to see the smile on his normally grumpy face. Tsumiki was on his lap, painting Suguru’s nails a bright blue color, and he had no intentions of taking it off afterwards.

“You sound suspicious…” Satoru placed a hand on his hip.

“Whatever do you mean, Satoru? I’m just relaxing with the girls.” Suguru replied with a mischievous smirk. “How long have you been searching?”

“Two hours and thirty one minutes.”

Suguru barked out a laugh from Satoru’s dead-serious tone. He could see the beginnings of genuine anxiety form in Satoru, so he decided to give him a break. “That’s such a shame. I was planning on ordering from that place that sells ginger chicken meatball hotpot. I guess we’ll have to try cooking something her-”

“NO!” Megumi popped his head underneath Suguru’s lounge chair. “Get the ginger!”

Satoru never fully recovered from the cursed soul’s psychic attack. His nerves were always in a state of being shot and frazzled. While Satoru’s personality was still intact, he was much more prone to act irritable and impulsive. He was also forgetful over the simplest of things and would meltdown if someone didn’t help remind him. Suguru would need to talk with Megumi about perhaps easing up when it came to hide-and-seek, considering how disheveled Satoru looked. With a relieved sigh, Satoru walked over and plucked Megumi from his hiding spot. For once, Megumi didn’t try to kick Satoru, letting himself be held. Suguru guessed it was due to how perceptive the little boy was. He likely noticed how stressed out and panicked Satoru was. Visibly relaxing with Megumi in his arms, Satoru finally noticed the makeover the girls were giving Suguru.

“Lookin’ good, Suguru!”

“Of course I look good. I have the best stylists in Japan.” Suguru replied easily. He felt his heart warm when he saw the proud smiles on Nanako and Mimiko’s faces. Tsumiki also shone like the sun with her grin, but she refused to take her focus away from Suguru’s nails.

“Maybe I can get an appointment-”

Before Satoru could finish his sentence, he snapped his head to the sky and placed Megumi on the ground. “Get inside. Now. Stay in your rooms and don’t come out until one of us says so.” His tone left no room for arguments or questions. Tsumiki, the eldest of the group, took Megumi’s hand and nodded at Satoru. She helped the twins to the house, giving the two a thumbs-up of reassurance.

Suguru stood up from his chair, trying to see whatever Satoru was seeing. “What’s going on-”

Once again they were interrupted.

An arrow the size of a person appeared from the sky. Satoru had activated his Infinity, preventing the arrow from falling. With far better control of his technique. Satoru carefully lowered the arrow until it was floating in his palm. When his Six-Eyes detected no hidden threats, Satoru allowed the arrow to make contact with his hand.

“What the hell is that?” Suguru stared at the object in awe. It was made entirely out of metal, covered in intricate carvings that looked to be handmade.

There was a note attached.

Satoru and Suguru glanced at each other. The arrow wasn’t to harm anyone, but send a message. It was quite the unorthodox way to do so. Satoru placed the arrow on the chair Suguru had been relaxing in. The note attached looked to be taken from an ancient scroll. It wasn’t made of paper but papyrus, a material that hadn’t been used in centuries.

The message itself was the oddest of all.

GOJO SATORU AND GETOU SUGURU,

I AM SURE YOU REMEMBER OUR BRIEF MEETING IN SENDAI. OR HAVE AT LEAST HEARD OF MY REAPPEARANCE. REST ASSURED, I DO NOT ATTEND ON ATTACKING YOU SORCERERS, HOWEVER ANNOYING YOU CAN BE.

THIS LETTER IS A SUMMONS OF SORTS. REFUSE TO COME, AND I WILL TAKE THAT AS A BLATANT INSULT. I’M NOT ASKING, BUT COMMANDING IT. THERE IS DISCUSSION TO BE HELD ABOUT A THREAT THAT IS ON THE HORIZON. WE HAVE A MUTUAL INTEREST IN PROTECTING WHAT IS OURS, SO I HOPE YOU CAN SEE HOW SERIOUS THE SITUATION IS. THE THREAT GROWS BY THE DAY AND I MUST ADMIT THAT MY MIGHT ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH. I AM NOT INTERESTED IN BATTLING OR GOING TO WAR. MY RESURRECTION WAS HIDDEN BECAUSE I DESIRED IT TO BE SO. MY DESIRE TO FIGHT HAS EBBED. I AM WILLING TO FORM A TRUCE OF SORTS. HOWEVER, MY MERCY WILL ONLY GO SO FAR. DO NOT CROSS ME AND I WILL NOT CROSS YOU.

IN EIGHT YEARS TIME, A CURSE USER AND THEIR ENTOURAGE OF SPECIAL GRADE DISASTER CURSES WILL ARRIVE. THERE ARE DETAILS I WILL NOT DIVULGE IN. THERE IS RISK TO REVEALING SUCH INFORMATION, AND I WOULD BE A FOOL TO DESCRIBE EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE.

I WILL WAIT FOR ONE FORTNIGHT. COME WHEN THE SUN HAS FRESHLY RISEN. FAIL TO ARRIVE AFTER THIS TIME, AND I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN MYSELF. I ALSO EXPECT YOU NOT TO INFORM YOU PATHETIC ELDERS ABOUT THIS. THE ONLY OTHER PEOPLE I WILL ALLOW TO COME IS KENTO NANAMI AND IERI SHOKO. ANYONE ELSE WILL BE KILLED ON SIGHT. THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING.

BELOW ARE THE DIRECTIONS TO THE MEETING SITE.

DO NOT DISAPPOINT ME.

“Sukuna wrote us a letter.” Suguru whispered. The memories of his third-year of high school came flooding back in. “Do you truly believe it's just a summons and not a hidden murder attempt?”

“No. He’s telling the truth.” Satoru said with such certainty that it caught Suguru off guard. He gripped the note in his hand, scanning the directions Sukuna had left. They were vague, but Satoru was familiar with the shrine Sukuna had mentioned. “We’ll have to ask Nanami or something to babysit for a day. I’ll request a day off for the both of us-”

“You are seriously considering going?”

“Duh. What? Are you scared~”

“As if. Let’s meet the asshole.”

“There’s nothing to worry about! Sukuna sounds like he retired from being a genocidal maniac. And we’re the strongest so he doesn’t stand a chance against us.”

“Yeah. We are the strongest.”

“Always will be.”