Chapter Text
Yuji Itadori awakened in a dark room, only dimly lit up by candles. It looked a little like someone's basement.
“You awake yet?”
As he got his bearings, and his brain processed the voice he heard, he noticed that the entire wall was covered in paper talismans. A blindfolded man with white hair, wearing some type of school uniform, was sitting in front of him.
“Ah, Finally! I was getting bored y’know? Good morning!” Blindfold Man said in a voice that sounded like nothing but light-heartedness and sarcasm. It seemed very inappropriate for the situation.
“Uh… mornin’.” Yuji tried to recall how exactly he got here. The man in front of him didn’t seem hostile at least.
My head’s all fuzzy… Something about, curses? Maybe that was an activity with the occult club… Yuji thought as his sleepy mind cleared up.
Memories of what happened in the past few hours start to come back to him. The occult club? Sasaki and Iguchi… Wait, they were in danger or somethin’ weren’t they? That thing with the weird paper around it? I think that was like… a finger?
Right, something attacked them. It looked like… I don’t even know, it looked weird as hell.
Then, it all seemed to hit him at once. Ah, the guy with the wild black hair and pretty eyes! Fushi- something! He told me about the thing me and the others found, and then… We were about to die so… oh yeah… I ate that finger.
Fushi…guro, that was it.
“So, which one are you right now?” Blindfold Man reminded Yuji of his presence. “Actually… the lack of marks and second pair of eyes kinda tell me who’s in control.”
In control? Whatever, who is this guy? No, wait, blindfold, white hair…
…Didn’t this guy beat the shit out of me? No, wait… ‘who’s in control’ he said. That’s right, I got freakin’ possessed or something after swallowing the finger! I guess he technically didn’t beat me up then…
Blindfold Man looked like he was itching to tell him everything that happened, so Yuji stopped trying to overwork his already exhausted brain.
“You’re… you’re that strong guy right? What happened?” Yuji asked.
Blindfold answered with the same smirk that hasn’t left his face since Yuji first laid eyes on him. “I’m Satoru Gojo. I teach the first-years at Jujutsu High.”
“Jujutsu…?” That word sounds familiar… I think Fushiguro said something about that. Dammit, I can’t remember what happened after this guy started beating me- or whatever possessed me- up.
“H-Hey, where’s my friends? Where’s Fushiguro?!” Yuji’s mind finally woke up slightly. He tried to get closer to Gojo, but then he realised his hands and wrists were tied behind the chair this whole time.
It hits him then that he has found himself in a situation that is way more intense than he was ever prepared for.
“I’m not sure if you should be worrying about others right now… Yuji Itadori.” Gojo suddenly spoke up. “But eh, if you have to know, your little occult club friends are just fine, and so is Megumi- ah, did you catch his first name before? Whatever, Fushiguro is safe and sound as well!”
Relief filled Yuji’s body only for a moment. Whatever happened last night was a haze when he woke up, but it slowly but surely became a very clear picture in his mind.
~
“Did you just eat the Cursed Object you idiot?!” Fushiguro yelled out.
Yuji was having a terrible day. He once again got harassed by some sports teacher for ‘wasting his potential’, just because he won’t join a middle school sports club. His grandpa sadly passed away in a hospital bed, leaving Yuji with no family left.
Then he got interrogated about some ‘Special Grade Cursed Object’ by some edgelord named Fushiguro, while he was still in the hospital his grandpa died in. NOW there’s a weird giant creature trying to kill him, the edgelord, and his occult club friends.
A ‘Cursed Spirit’ is what Fushiguro called it, I think.
Yuji quickly explained why he just ate a rotten looking finger. “You said I needed Cursed Energy to beat a Cursed Spirit right?!”
“That object was Special Grade! It’ll kill you! Do you have a death wish?!” Fushiguro came with the late warning. None of this made sense to Yuji, he didn’t even know what ‘Special Grade’ meant, he was simply following his instincts.
“I don’t care, if doing this will give me Cursed Energy, then I can at least prote-“ Yuji abruptly stopped speaking, his body was feeling weird. He started convulsing.
Then, his body suddenly wasn’t his anymore.
-
“Oh shit…” Megumi muttered out. This was worst-case scenario.
The Curse charged at Itadori, but it wasn’t Itadori anymore. In an instant, the Curse got simply obliterated. Megumi could only watch in fear as he knew what has just happened.
No way… that was a one in a million chance. There’s just no way that’s- Megumi’s mind was full of despair all of the sudden.
Itadori stood there for a moment taking in the surroundings. He lifted his arm as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. His hands looked like a monster’s claws and Megumi could see tattoos on his face that definitely were not there before.
…Maybe if I don’t move, he won’t notice me. Megumi thought.
“Aha… Haha! AHAHAHAHAHAA!” Itadori started laughing maniacally. By that point, Megumi was 99% sure that Itadori was gone. The 1% of hope he still had, came from the fact that Itadori’s body was completely intact after eating a Special Grade Cursed Object. Maybe, just maybe, he was still alive in there.
Megumi didn’t have time to find out, he had to think of what he could possibly do to fix this, to stop the Special Grade Cursed Object that has now incarnated in Yuji Itadori.
Ryomen Sukuna…
“Aaah! I knew light was best appreciated in the flesh! It’s been so long since I felt the wind breeze on my face!” Sukuna has taken over Itadori’s body, and he revels in the moment. After being sealed away for god knows how long, he could finally feel and smell the fresh air around him once again.
He rips apart the hoodie Itadori was wearing to let himself breathe everything in easier. “Damn, what a boring first kill in such a long time however! A meek little Cursed Spirit’s no fun! Where are the people?! The women?!”
Sukuna takes in the sights for a moment and chuckles to himself. “Oh… what a wonderful age it has become… I can feel it! Women and children spawning like maggots! THIS’LL BE A MASSACRE!” He laughed like he was high.
Megumi was hoping beyond hope he somehow wouldn’t be spotted, and if he was, that he would be spared. Not that Sukuna is known for his mercy, the opposite actually.
Sukuna stopped laughing and immediately turned around like he felt Megumi’s presence. Dammit… I’m way too banged up from fighting that Curse. Not that I stand a chance against him either way.
Sukuna didn’t kill him right away, he just stared at him, probably sizing up his first human prey in centuries. “Hm, what do we have here? I can sense your Cursed Energy… you a Jujutsu sorcerer?”
Megumi went into a particular stance, the shadows from his Jujutsu Technique appearing around him. He had his hands out in front of him, clenching his fists and making a motion like he’s about to twist open a vault door.
“Well now… don’t tell me, that puddle around you, is that the Ten Shadows Technique…? Oh my! I haven’t seen that in a while… This new era is already amazing!” Sukuna looked extremely excited. “What’s your name, boy?”
“…Fushiguro.” Megumi never imagined himself having a conversation with the King of Curses, but life’s full of surprises apparently.
Maybe I could stall… maybe I can think of something…Please, anything.
…I may have no other choice but to use… THAT Shikigami.
“Uh huh... You look young! You even know how your technique works kid? Do you even know what you’re trying to do right now?” He asked, clearly amused.
“…Under Jujutsu regulations, I must exorcise the Curse known as Yuji Itadori.” Megumi mustered up all the courage he could, and got ready to use his ace in the hole.
“Who? Wait, you’re talking about me? Aha! You’re gonna exorcise me, are you? Bring it on, sorcerer!”
He wasn’t strong enough to take on the King of Curses, but the move he was about to pull might be enough to take him down.
Only 1 finger was consumed, surely Sukuna doesn’t have enough power to take on-
Megumi’s train of thought had to halt there, as Sukuna suddenly reached out with his claw. Megumi gathered all his remaining strength quickly and stepped back to perform the ritual.
I’m so sorry Tsumiki…
“With this treasure, I summon-!”
Out of nowhere, Sukuna hand started twitching, before shooting backwards and grabbing himself by the throat.
“Huh?” They both said in unison.
“What… the… hell?!” Sukuna exclaimed as it looked like he was trying to strangle himself. He turned away from Megumi. “Ha… how the hell… are you able to move?”
Megumi looked on in confusion. What in the world is he doing? Wait… is Yuji Itadori’s body fighting him? But that’s… impossible.
“Um… I’m able to move cause it’s my body?” There’s no way…
That didn’t sound like Sukuna, it sounded like Itadori. He’s somehow still alive, and apparently fighting against Sukuna trying to take over his body. For all Megumi knows, that should be impossible.
And yet, Itadori/Sukuna’s body freezes up for a moment, before relaxing again. When he turns around, the extra 2 eyes that Sukuna should have are gone, and the tattoos on his body begin to fade away.
How did he… No, it doesn’t matter sadly, who knows when he’ll lose control again. My apologies Itadori, but I must still exorcise you.
“Stand still Itadori, you’re cursed. I don’t know when he’ll be back, but I must exorcise you before that happens.” Megumi solemnly declared.
Yuji put his hands up in surrender. “Woah, hold up! It’s fine see? Cursed? I’m fine! More importantly, we’re both hurt, we should get to a hospital!”
Dammit, Sukuna’s marks are gone and he looks normal, but I can’t drop my guard! It could be a trick!
Ugh, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I wish Gojo was here.
“Yo! What seems to be the situation?” A voice came from behind Megumi.
Funny, I thought of him and it’s like I heard him say something like he was actually here.
…Wait.
Megumi quickly turned his delirious head back and saw Satoru Gojo staring back at him.
“Gojo-sensei?! What are you doing here?!”
Gojo didn’t seem to taking his concern seriously. “Welllll, I wasn’t gonna come at first, but then the higher-ups heard about the Special Grade Cursed Object and they started getting annoying about it as usual…”
Megumi just rolled his eyes. Part of him was relieved that Gojo was here to take care of Itadori, but a part of him is also getting second-hand embarrassment from Itadori having to witness Gojo being Gojo.
“Oh, and Suguru was getting so worried about you as well, he practically begged me to go help you out!” Geto was worried about me? Psht, right.
“I seriously doubt all of what you just said. Does Geto even know what we’re doing?” Megumi replied deadpan.
“Jeez, so cold, but you’re right, I was lying about the second part. Man, you’re really messed up by the way!” Gojo pulled out his phone and started taking pictures of Megumi’s face, which got messed up by the Curse that Sukuna easily tore apart earlier. “I’m showing this to Maki.”
“Don’t you dare.” Maki bullied him (light-heartedly) enough as it was.
“Right, anyways! Special Grade Cursed Object, the reason I came here, yup.” Gojo said, trying to get back on track. “So! Did’ya find it yet?”
“Uhm…” Yuji finally spoke up after watching the other two’s interaction. “Sorry, but, I ate that thing…”
“…Really?” Gojo asked after a few seconds of silence.
“Yup.” “He sure did.” Yuji and Fushiguro replied at the same time.
Gojo suddenly got real close to Yuji, inspecting his face with focus. He was suddenly acting a lot more serious than before. “Say, what’s your name?”
Megumi answered for him. “Yuji Itadori. First-year student at Sendai’s Sugisawa Municipal High School.”
Gojo noticed the 2 thin lines that appeared under Yuji’s eyes since he ate the Cursed Object, and came to a conclusion. “Heh, no kidding… They’re combined, they share the same body. That’s kinda funny.”
Gojo backed off and looked Itadori over. “How does your body feel? Do you think you can switch to Sukuna?”
“Sukuna?”
Megumi watched them closely. Right, he still has no clue what’s going on at all. How the hell did a regular human being supress Sukuna?
“The Cursed Object you ate! If you can switch with him, do it. Take control again after about 10 seconds, ‘kay?” Gojo started stretching as if he’s preparing to throw hands. Itadori muttered out a ‘I dunno about this…’ but he was promptly ignored.
“Don’t worry kid, I’m The Strongest!” Itadori had no clue what he meant by that, so that did not reassure him at all. “Megumi! Hold this!”
Gojo suddenly threw what looked like a regular shopping bag at Megumi. “…What’s in this?”
“Kikufuku Mochi.” Gojo casually answered.
“Mochi?! People are dying over here and you’re buying souvenirs?!” Megumi hissed at him.
“Those aren’t souvenirs! I’m eating those on the bullet train ride home. I’m saving one of the cream flavored ones for Suguru-“
Sukuna was suddenly active and jumping in the air right behind Gojo. Seems like Itadori went along with what was asked of him despite his doubts.
“Behind you!” Megumi shouted in warning. I don’t even know why he’s doing this whole song and dance! I get that he wants to test if Itadori really has control, but he’s acting like fighting Sukuna is no big deal! Can he take anything seriously?!
Sukuna swiped at Gojo, but it didn’t hit him at all, despite the fact that Gojo didn’t move a muscle.
“Hah?!” Sukuna yelled in both confusion and anger.
Gojo just grinned at him. “Say, a favorite student of mine is watching, so…” Gojo grabbed Sukuna’s right arm that he used to swipe at him with. “Do you mind if I show off a bit?” Sukuna looked downright shocked at his audacity.
Gojo pulled Sukuna in and elbowed him right in the face, before manhandling his arm to throw him over the shoulder, onto the ground.
Sukuna immediately got up and charged at Gojo again. He threw two quick punches which Gojo easily sidestepped, then went for an uppercut which Gojo narrowly avoided. Gojo seemed to stumble a bit, so Sukuna went for a front punch right to his face.
Gojo very quickly regained his footing however, and ducked under Sukuna’s fist, before driving his fist into Sukuna’s stomach. The force was enough to launch Sukuna to the edge of the balcony.
“Ha… you’re fast…” Sukuna complimented. “Haha! It doesn’t matter what era it is, you Jujutsu sorcerers are always such a pain in the ass!”
He got back on his feet and got ready for another attack. “No matter… I’ll crush you.”
Sukuna punched the ground in front of him with enough force to send debris flying towards Gojo, who didn’t even make an attempt to dodge. It looked like a solid hit.
When the dust cleared however, Gojo was completely untouched. The rubble was simply floating around his body.
“What in the…” Sukuna muttered in awe. He was so concentrated on the sight before him that he didn’t hear Gojo counting up.
“…9, 10! Come out Yuji!”
Sukuna started struggling to keep his second pair of eyes open, and the marks started to fade once again. “Hah… all that was 10 seconds…? Damn! It was just getting interesting too-”
Sukuna went quiet, and Itadori gained back control. Megumi, who has been spectating from the sidelines this whole time, can’t believe his eyes.
He can actually… control Sukuna? Who the hell is this guy?
“I’m bisexual!” Itadori suddenly yelled out.
…
“Huh?” Megumi was baffled by Itadori’s sudden confession.
“Uh, cool? So am I!” Gojo just rolled with it.
“You told me to come out?” Yuji explained with a dumb grin on his face. Megumi could not tell if he was being serious.
At least Gojo seemed amused by Itadori’s antics. “I feel like it was pretty obvious that’s not what I meant, but alright!”
“Haha! Yeah, I know! The joke popped into my head as soon as you said it, then I was debating if saying it would be funny or lame and then it just kinda slipped out!”
Oh god, don’t tell me he has Gojo’s sense of humor, I can’t handle two of them.
“But hey, you’re bi too? Cool! What about you Fushiguro?” Itadori suddenly turned his attention to Megumi.
“That’s none of your business.” Megumi said dryly.
“Awww… I promise I won’t judge you! Or, like, tell anyone else about it! Not that I know who you’re friends with but-“ As Yuji was rambling on, Gojo slowly walked up to him and put his pointing and middle finger to Yuji’s forehead.
After a second, Yuji got knocked out. Gojo caught him before he fell to the ground.
Megumi has no idea how Gojo did that, but there’s a lot of things Gojo can do where Megumi has no idea how he does them, so whatever.
“Well anyways, that settles it, he really can control Sukuna. Well done Gumi!” Gojo said, even though Megumi did nothing. “Now, if he wakes up not possessed, he might have potential to be a safe vessel for Sukuna.”
Gojo gently put Yuji on the ground and turned to face Megumi. “But, what do you think? What should we do with him?” The question should’ve been rhetorical, but it sounded like he was genuinely asking for Megumi’s input.
He’s asking if we should exorcise him… We technically have to, I was going to, but, there’s something about him…
Megumi looked at Itadori’s unmoving body, he looked so peaceful in his sleep. Honestly, this boy intrigued Megumi to no end. His stomach felt funny all of the sudden, he chose to ignore it.
He can control Sukuna for god sake! And… he saved me, as reckless as he was. He might be cursed, but he’s still a person.
I can’t let someone like him die.
“Jujutsu regulations say that we should… execute him.” Megumi paused for a second as Gojo raised his eyebrows, as if telling him ‘Go on’. “But… I don’t want him to die, Gojo-sensei.”
Gojo looked strangely proud of him. “Say no more! I can’t ignore a precious student’s request, leave it to me!”
~
“So, you’re gonna be executed.” Gojo said to Yuji with a deadpan look on his face, after having quickly explained the deal with the Special Grade Cursed Object and how the ‘higher-ups’ feel about it.
“…Huh? Executed?! Just like that?!” Yuji’s face screamed despair. Despite his reckless actions the previous day, he really didn’t want to die just yet.
“Hey man, I tried, the higher-ups wouldn’t budge. But worry not! I have a… temporary solution.” Gojo leaned forward in his chair, which he was sitting in backwards. “Basically, I managed to convince them to… suspend the sentence.”
“Suspend? So it’s on hold for now?” Yuji questioned with hope on his face.
“Exactly. Here, let me explain.” Gojo pulled out an object that looked identical to the finger that Yuji ate. “This here’s the same as the Cursed Object that you consumed. They’re Sukuna’s fingers. There’re 20 in total. We here at Jujutsu High are in possession of 6, including this one I’m holding.”
Yuji didn’t see the math there. “20 fingers? Don’t you mean 10 fingers and 10 toes?”
“Nope, Sukuna has 4 arms.” Makes about as much sense as everything else so far I guess.
“Oh, and also,” Gojo throws the finger up into the air and blasts it into the wall with some sort of magic force, from what Yuji could tell. “-these things are indestructible. That’s how powerful this Curse is.”
Yuji just stared blankly at the hole in the wall Gojo created. “Ah, woopsy daisy! I’ll get that fixed later. Anyways, we don’t have the proper means to seal Sukuna away forever, but you? You can be his vessel, for all 20 fingers.”
Yuji sat there quietly, so Gojo continued. “You see, if you die now, the little part of Sukuna you have within you dies too! The higher-ups wanted to kill you right away, so I told them: ‘Hold on, who knows when a new Sukuna vessel will show up? This could be an opportunity to be rid of Ryomen Sukuna forever! Let’s keep this kid alive, have him consume all 20 fingers, and THEN kill him!’”
Gojo finished his spiel, then gave Yuji a more serious look. “They agreed with me! So, now it’s up to you. Die now, or find and consume all of Sukuna, then die.”
“It sounds like both options end with me dying…” Yuji looked and sounded miserable.
Gojo just chuckled. “I’m sorry Yuji, truly, but this is the best I could do. The higher-ups are way too scared of Sukuna.”
“As they should be!”
A small mouth suddenly appeared on Yuji’s cheek. It was twisted into a sinister grin, and its teeth are razor sharp. The voice belonging to it sounded a lot like-
“Oh? That you Sukuna? I didn’t know you could do that.” Gojo looked on with amusement while Yuji was freaking out.
“What the hell?! Get off my face!”
Sukuna ignored him. “You Jujutsu sorcerers think you’re sooooo clever… You’re gonna ‘kill me’? You think you can take me when I’m at full power, you idiot?!” He started cackling.
Yuji slapped the mouth on his cheek closed. If you listened closely, you could hear mumbles of death threats through his hand. Eventually it was quiet again.
“For what it’s worth, I will try my absolute hardest to find a way to exorcise Sukuna completely while keeping you alive. I promised Megumi I would, it was his request!” Gojo comforted him.
“…Fushiguro asked you to do that?” Yuji was a little touched by that. Fushiguro barely knew him, and yet he specifically requested to keep Yuji alive, even though the thing inside him could apparently be really dangerous.
“Mhm, so, what’s it gonna be?” Gojo asked.
Are you really prepared to enter the mouth of hell kid? Sukuna taunted Yuji from within his head.
What the- Can you shut up?
Nah, I’m gonna be inside this empty little mind of yours for who knows how long. Do you realise how boring that’s gonna be? I’ll be saying a lot of things, none of them nice.
“I’ll do it, I’ll consume all of Sukuna’s fingers.” Yuji barely hesitated. His options weren’t exactly great.
Gojo got up from the chair and made his way over. “Great! I’ll let you go now then. I’m sure you’ve got things to take care of before you leave?”
“Uh… I should go visit Sasaki and Iguchi, you said they were at the hospital right?” Yuji was so focused on checking up on his friends that he almost didn’t register what Gojo said. “…Wait, what do you mean ‘leave’?”
“Oh uuuuhhhh, I’m getting ahead of myself. Tell you what, I’ll take you to the hospital myself and I can explain after you’ve seen your friends okay? We can both take a break from my boring explanations that way.” Yuji nodded as he decided to go along with what Gojo said, he was pretty tired of all this exposition.
As Gojo was untying Yuji’s restraints, someone else was suddenly the room. Yuji didn’t hear them come in at all.
“Satoru, are you done here?” The newcomer had long black hair, partly tied up. He was wearing the same type of uniform that Gojo was wearing.
“Woah! Who are you now?!”
Gojo looked up at the newcomer with a beaming smile. “Suguru! Where’d you come out of? Did I keep you waiting for our date?” Gojo jested.
“Uh… hi there.” Yuji said lamely. He couldn’t explain why, but ‘Suguru’ had the same aura to him as Gojo. Yuji could somehow tell they were both insanely powerful. Their personalities seemed wildly different though.
‘“Ah, you must be Yuji Itadori. Satoru… please tell me why I received a call from one of the higher-ups about the reincarnation of Ryomen Sukuna, and not a call from you?” ‘Suguru’ looked kinda tired. Being close enough with Gojo to casually call him by his first name will probably do that to you.
“…I forgot?” Gojo said sheepishly.
Suguru just stared at him for about 5 seconds, before turning his attention to Yuji.
“A pleasure to meet you. My name is Suguru Geto.”