Chapter Text
“Itadori Yuuji” Gojo’s voice rang in Yuuji’s ears, who just regained consciousness. “Your execution has been determined.”
His eyes opened suddenly when he just heard the word “execution”; a pricking of pain shot through his skull due to the movement and his eyes got clouded for a second. Yuuji blinked and, once his sight got used to the light, he stared at the scene in front of him: Gojo Satoru, sitting on the chair back, and, which turned out to be the most horrific part of this situation, a really serious countenance on his face which all the time was with a childish expression.
“Tell me, Yuuji-kun” Gojo got back on track, analyzing the circumstances. “Why did you eat Sukuna’s finger?”
Oh, yeah; all of this started due to that. Then, what happened exactly?
—
When he was five, Yuuji met who, from now on, is going to call his “Older Brother”: Choso. He remembers due to difficulties (His memory is blurred when trying to remember about), he fooled death and, when he woke up in the hospital, his grandpa told now they’ll live in the so called Kamo Clan, thanks to Choso’s request, who is his half-brother, who allegedly was the next heir and a grade one sorcerer. Since that moment, his life turned completely different from how it was before. They moved to Kyoto, he found out about jujutsu’s world —and, in turn, also about his inability to see curses without special glasses—.
Now, that wasn’t the important part to explain the turning point of the story! When Yuuji met Fushiguro Megumi, Gojo Satoru’s adopted son, even though Megumi tries to deny it vehemently. At the end of the day, Choso Nii-chan and Gojo were friends since the first exchange event Kyoto-Tokyo when they first met. And swiftly, he became best buds with that introverted not-so-talkative boy! So, when Megumi started going to Jujutsu High (while he was in high school in Kyoto, boring) he started barging in on his missions every time he visited him behind Choso’s back.
That time, he took advantage of his brother’s absence due to a mission in another city, and he travelled with Megumi to a school located in Miyagi.
“Why did you join me?” While he always replied the same, Megumi asked the same every time as well. Nevertheless, he didn’t consider the possibility of this time being quite different from others.
“My grandpa passed away this morning.” Yuuji said quietly. Silence happened, interrupted by the sound of the moving train which was on the road to Miyagi, Sendai. “And Choso nii-chan isn’t here, I didn’t want to stay alone; I know my presence isn’t that well-received in the clan. So, I thought it’d be good to be helpful, or just be with you.”
Yuuji got his head up, but when that included his eyesight, he found Megumi, already staring at him with a conflictive expression. His dark eyes looked down to his feet, without being able to keep eye contact. He didn’t say anything which could be helpful; but he accepted his closure without any problem, though.
At the school, Megumi phoned Gojo to communicate about the cursed object.
“A shed?” Megumi asked through the speaker. Yuuji didn’t need it to suppose what the other person in the line was saying, though. “Are you telling me someone is keeping a special grade cursed object in a place like… this?”
While Megumi and Gojo were chatting behind his back, Yuuji opened the shed. It was empty.
“Eh, Megumi?” A sound of recognition showed he was actually paying attention. “Is this place like, empty, or I just lost my ability to see cursed objects?”
Megumi let a pant of genuine disbelief out, he peeped at the shed and frowned. He squeezed his phone, as if he wanted to strangle his teacher-pops-benefactor.
“Here’s nothing” his rage was just going up, and that little intrusive thought of “Megumi looks really attractive when he feels all over the floor” was clouding Yuuji’s mind. “I swear, I’m gonna knock you out.”
In the end, it was really useless trying to infiltrate; the cursed energy was near, even though it seemed to be far at the same time. The fact that the cursed object was emitting a lot of cursed energy just got things more difficult; everywhere was wrapped around it. Yuuji spotted some students and teachers there in the outdoor gym: Some sports or athletics club; so he thought it was a good idea to interrogate them. Ah, also, it was a grade 2 curse in the yard, yet, that would be Megumi’s job!
“You gotta beat me in a shot put contest!” Pressed the coach, who didn’t even questionate why there was a random dude in the field.
Yuuji accepted; people always flattered his superhuman physical abilities! Which was unusual; he didn’t have a heavenly restriction.
“How did he just…?” The coach stammered, he didn’t just beat HIM, but also the world record.
“So…!” Yuuji, oblivious to the shock of his coach, smiled and patted his shoulder, catching his interest. “Are you gonna answer my questions?”
He told him about a superstitious object, with occultist myths for a so-called “project”. Also, he followed Megumi’s advice! He didn’t try to lie, but hide information. He should thank him as soon as possible! Allegedly, there was an occultism club and, according to the old man’s words: -”If you tryna inquire about witchcraft, ask ‘em, they’re a group which really think all those things are actually real".
“I think some member of that crew should’ve taken it.” Megumi said. “A normal person’d ignore in their place, probably thinking it’s some kind of bad prank.” Yuuji opened his mouth to ask, but Megumi instantly interrupted him. “No, they didn’t take it home. It should be inside the school, in some classroom.”
Yuuji stammered and attempted to connect his neurons, trying to reach any hypothesis. Then, his brain clicked.
“Oh!” Megumi frightened due to Yuuji’s loud voice, Yuuji apologized smilingly and lowered his voice. “If they’re an occultism club, wouldn’t they meet up at night to watch the object all together or something like that? Like in horror movies!”
That reminds him of all those times he watched movies and CDs, all of them gifted by Gojo, in which the main group always put through the wringer objects or rituals when the sky turned dark, for immersion effects. Megumi was about to carp just for carp; but he just got speechless, with his mouth open, closed his mouth, and opened it again trying to contradict.
“Actually, maybe you got a clever idea for once,” Why did his voice sound so surprised!?
“Hey, even a broken clock is right once every two days!” He tried to defend himself.
-“Actually, that’s: “Even a broken clock is right twice a day", dumbass” Megumi sighed, exhausted from Yuuji's foolishness. Why did he accept his friendship?
From there, it’d be correct to say that things went downhill. They both infiltrated inside the school, Megumi summoned Kuro and Shiro —Such some cutie-cutie doggies!—. Suddenly, the cursed energy spilled out like a waterfall. This just means one thing: They’re trying to remove the seal!
“Itadori, get outta here!” Megumi rushed to get in the classroom. “This is not a mission for you!”
If he wasn’t with max adrenaline due to the danger approaching, he’d yell to Megumi: He's not weak, he knows how to defend himself and also has a cursed weapon just in case!
“I’m sorry Megumi!” He wasn’t. “I can’t leave you alone here!”
“You’re an id…!” He cut off what he was about to say. They got into the classroom with the feeling of the cursed energy, which was more than menacing.
Yuuji kicked the door without waiting. Three students there cried out and shuddered.
“Who the…!?” The girl was the first voice heard.
“That doesn’t matter!” Megumi interrupted. “Don’t take the…” Both of the guys there froze in their position.
In the girl’s hands, there was an old, wizened finger, with a blackish, horrible and long nail showing. They were too late.
Above their heads, curses began to emerge from the roof. Megumi and Yuuji reacted immediately, Yuuji took the three teenagers and got them out of the classroom.
"Megumi, I’ve got them! Focus on the curses!" Without waiting for a reply, he dashed off, aiming to lead them toward the exit.
“Wait!” One of the guys, who was the most confused face right there, broke the silence. “What’s happening?”
Yuuji stole a glance: “I don’t have any time to explain, but you’re all in danger.”
“Do ya’ really think we’re gonna believe a random guy!?” The most corpulent teen wasn’t so pleased without an explanation. “How we gonna know if..!?”
A curse jumped off the wall to attack them, the distorted and monstrous cry echoed across the desolate hall. Yuuji’s body reacted before his mind: He set aside the students with his arm, he jumped off right to the curse and kicked its shapeless face. The curse cried and fell to the ground, with a slam that could be heard from several metres away.
“What’s that?” The girl’s voice trembled, trying to contain her sobs.
Yuuji observed the teenagers: They all covered their mouths without believing what they were seeing, their legs shivered and they all got a rapid heartbeat.
“It’s a curse, attracted by the cursed object y’all found.” Megumi could excuse the fact that Yuuji just shared information about jujutsu’s world; these buds needed to know what they were getting into.
Looks like curses are making their way here, how’s Megumi doing right now…?
The curse got up with a cry, forcing Yuuji to get out of his thoughts. Of course, his hit was actually useless; it wasn’t charged with any cursed energy (At this point, he hated not having a cursed technique and being unable to access his cursed energy). He took a jackknife out of his hoodie: A cursed tool Choso gave him for protection; because at the end of the day, he wasn’t a sorcerer, he mustn’t carry any weapons as a civilian, so that was the right size to hide. He ran towards the curse, with a kick in its face, he pinned it to the ground and, before it got time to get up, he inserted the blade right into its skull. He used his feet’s weight to keep it on the floor and stabbed it until he exorcised the curse.
”This is a grade 2 curse, and all the building… is full of these?”
The closer the noise got, the closer the curses were.
He got in front of the students and shouted: “Run right to the exit, don’t just stay still like that!”
If there were just one, even two people, I’d carry them, get them outta here jumping off the window and they’d be safe, but it’s impossible to organize three people at the same time he evades them to get hurt by the glass or letting any of them to their fate. Yuuji tried to calm himself down; he’s already seen and dealt with a lot of curses —without any life threatened, though—. When they just passed through a corner, one of the guys stopped.
“Takahashi?” The girl asked doubtfully. “Why are you stopping? We gotta run away…”
“I don’t feel so good” Takahashi felt his own back, turned around and a pant in unison could be heard.
In his back, a curse full of eyes, hands and feet was stuck, trying to suck his body.
“What time is it?” The curse repeated like a chant when it got noticed.
With impetuous speed, it increased in size, surpassing the teenagers in proportions, and took Takahashi as a hostage, who was plunged into a deep slumber.
“Ototo” The sweet voice of his older brother comforted him, helped get himself up off the ground and ruffled his hair. “You must never doubt in a fight, that single second in which you just stay still could decide who wins. You must practice until your own reflexes and instincts react as well” Choso smiled tenderly to his brother.
From far away, Shiro and Kuro’s barking announced Megumi’s near position. Yuuji trusted he was gonna get there in time. Without even thinking about it, he set aside the two teens left and brought his left fist to the curse’s head, while his right fist plunged the jackknife in one of the eyes. The creature staggered, the grip on Yuuji reduced, he grabbed it off the shoulder and parried it with a push. Once he made sure he was not going to hurt the boy, he proceeded attacking and hitting the curse.
“Itadori!”
He jumped off the curse when he heard Megumi’s voice. The divine dogs didn’t last so much before devouring the creature.
Yuuji approached the teenagers, the girl seemed to have passed out due to the low blood pressure and rhythm resulting from panic. The other man was shocked, possibly dissociating what he had just witnessed. He carried the two bodies and helped the boy sit down. The girl was holding the finger, Yuuji took it from her loose grip and that’s when he focused on Megumi.
“I already have Sukuna’s finger” he held it above his head, smiling at Megumi.
“Gimme that, it's dangerous” he claimed and stretched out his arm with his palm open.
Yuuji didn’t have any intention of ignoring him; Megumi could be really intimidating if he decides to be like that. He stepped forward, but Megumi’s eyes opened wide, he pushed Yuuji and shouted: “Run!”. In that moment, the floor collapsed and Yuuji fell on his back. At his side, the dogs dragged the other two students along with them. Adrenaline entered his blood stream when he worried about Megumi; a cloud of dust obstructed what could be seen on the other side, Anyway, which showed when dissipated was a thousand times worse. A curse was holding Yuuji with one of its many limbs. Megumi tried to summon Nue, but the beast threw him against the wall and sent him away from the school. Yuuji didn’t hesitate when he jumped off the fissure and used the momentum to connect a punch from above. He jumped off the curse and landed next to Megumi.
Damn it, his jackknife remained inside the building; it fell off when Megumi pushed him.
“Itadori” although Yuuji’s wishes suggested he should turn his face towards him, make sure he’s okay and then proceed to hug him due to the fright he felt, he mustn’t take his eyes off the enemy. “Get out, you just got involved in this because of me.”
He wanted to reply in that exact moment; Yuuji just got involved because of his own choices, Megumi didn’t cause anything.
“I’m not gonna let you down!” What kind of nonsense was his friend saying? He just has to find out how to use his cursed energy to be useful. He noticed the weight of the cursed finger between his palm and an idea flew across his mind, an idea which could be a matter of life and death.
“Itadori, no matter what has happened to you, please, don’t” Oh, Megumi knew him so well.
But it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission.
He put the finger in his mouth, ignoring Megumi’s complaints and swallowed it instantly. His friend shouted his last name, yet they just echoed his head for a couple of seconds. Yuuji felt another being inside of him, like if he shared a body with someone. Suddenly, some marks emerged below his eyes and some tattoos across the body, which started moving by its own.
“Ah, I knew it!” His mouth moved and the voice that came out felt incorrect; Yuuji’s pitch was sweet and kind, not egocentric or mischievous “"I knew it! The real flesh is way better!" ” Yuu—Sukuna ripped off the hoodie Yuuji’s body wore and with just a single movement of one of his limbs, he exorcised the curse. “A cursed spirit's flesh is so boring. Where are the people?, the women?” He stopped for a second and a sly smile appeared. “What a wonderful age it has become, it will be a massacre!”
Fushiguro was panting, his thoughts even could be read: This is the worst result, what was I supposed to do? Sukuna’s right hand went to his own throat.
“Eh?” Confusion was shown in his face, this time, sounding more like Yuuji. “What do you think you’re doing with MY body? Gimme that back!” Sukuna spoke again: “How can you even move?” A pause. “This is my body.”
“Don’t move!” Yuuji turned into Megumi’s position. His expression was conflictive, with a rigid pose, like if he was deciding if he’s going to attack or not and his panic was visible. “Itadori Yuuji, I will have to exorcise you” His name came out the same as a repressed sob.
“Wait, Megumi!” The just mentioned shivered, shocked by the situation. Yuuji raised his arms showing a peace sign. “I can contain it! It’s me, Itadori Yuuji, I’m not Ryomen Sukuna!”
Megumi remained in a combat position, without knowing who was the guy in front of him. Or that was what he wanted to say to himself; Yuuji saw familiarity in his eyes. Megumi knew who Yuuji was right now; nevertheless, it was hard to believe this was happening here and now.
“What’s the situation?” Both pairs of eyes turned to the newcomer: Gojo Satoru, standing in a careless position, holding a shopping bag. Both of them shouted his name with different emotions. “I wasn’t going here, but the higher-ups wouldn't stop nagging about the loss of a Special Grade Curse.” Said while taking selfies with Megumi’s roughed up condition, murmuring about showing that to the second year students. “I agreed to come here if they lemme sightsee. So, did y’all find it?”
Fear invaded Yuuji’s body, how should he explain the situation to THE Gojo Satoru? God, he just dug his own grave without saying goodbye to his brother…
“I’m sorry,” he cleared his throat. “I ate it.”
Gojo looked for Megumi seeking confirmation, and, when he just replied ”it’s true”, he approached Yuuji. He ignored the fright in him, instead, leaned towards him and Yuuji was feeling awkward with a six-eyes user analyzing him (Who knows what he can see with them!).
“You’re not lyin’! Sweetie-pie Yuuji-kun is really combined with the monster, Sukuna” Gojo chuckled. “How does your body feel?”
Gojo asked him a lot of questions; after all, this was a chance in a million, it was a miracle or fate the fact that this happened.
“Try switching with Sukuna and take control of the body again in about ten seconds.”
Yuuji doubted; nevertheless, Gojo was the strongest sorcerer. One finger Sukuna was no match for him, so he accepted. Gojo handed Megumi his bag full of candies, chatted a little with him and that’s when Yuuji let Sukuna control his body.
Megumi screamed, yet Gojo didn’t seem worried. Sukuna lunged behind him, attacking with a movement of his right arm. Gojo teleported next to him, chattered about showing off in front of the teenagers, grabbed Sukuna’s wrist and gave him a direct hit in the chin. Sukuna fell to the pavement without any chance to defend himself. Nonetheless, he got up instantly and a manic countenance adorned his face: Open-eyed in exaltation and a sharp smile.
“No matter which era, Jujutsu sorcerers are a pain in the ass!” With a gesture, he shattered the ground at Gojo’s feet, and pieces of it rose into the air due to the impact. “But that doesn’t mean much to me”
The dust dissipated, so Gojo, completely flawless, could be seen, with debris floating and counting backwards.
“It should be now” Gojo smiled and Sukuna noticed the lack of control over his vessel’s body, all Itadori’s work.
“Oh” Yuuji came back, the feeling of sharing the body was really curious. “Was everything okay?”
“Such a surprise!” Gojo’s smile became bigger. “You really can control it.”
Yuuji murmured about how annoying was sharing bodies and felt Gojo’s index and ring fingers hitting his forehead. After that, his world went black.
—
“It was the most workable option I thought in that moment to save Megumi” Yuuji replied to Gojo’s question. He ignored the muscle soreness in his wrists, thinking the fact it’s a miracle he’s still alive. “So, what will happen with me?”
Even though sometimes, when sadness was flooding him, death was coming across his mind, there were people in his life who would suffer a lot if they experience his absence. Choso would overcome with grief; he knew Megumi was strong enough to overcome it, but he was his best friend, and Gojo grew fond of him—although he was trying to be professional at that moment— and he has not yet fulfilled his grandpa's wishes. He has reasons to stay.
“Yuuji-kun” Gojo called his name, trying to calm him down. “The sentence is suspended. If you die, the curse inside you will die as well. As always, the higher-ups are such a group of wusses. There is no guarantee about another vessel for Sukuna which is able to control him and, with my intervention, the higher-ups gave me the option of execution after you eat all the fingers.”
Basically, he was destined to die. What a pity.
“I’d like to continue being of help” it was the best, wasn’t it? And maybe, when time passes by, they’d find a way to resolve this. His head got up suddenly after remembering a little detail. “Wait! Nii-chan! He was on a mission, does he already know all of this?” If not, I wouldn’t know how to tell this to him.
“Choso-kun already knows” Gojo tried to smile in a way that could comfort him. “Actually, he even got to argue with the higher-ups. It’s not guaranteed that they’ll listen to him, though, he’s not The Strongest Sorcerer —capitalized—, but he has great connections with them and takes advantage of his “future heir”.” Yeah, that sounded like something Choso nii-chan would do. “Although, I also offered an option in which he could be closer to you.”
Choso almost never accepted Gojo’s ideas. So, he couldn’t help but wonder why he accepted.
“You two are welcome to Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School!”
…
What?