The problem isn't that the three of them aren't strong enough to handle this assignment. The curses they've been tasked with exorcising are otherwise unremarkable, their only advantage seeming to lie in their overwhelming numbers. Still, the fact that Gojo is with them means they won't need to worry, not even if a special grade happens to appear.
No, the problem is that in addition to growing in number, curses as a whole are getting smarter, their attacks more coordinated, even strategic.
It's why they know it's obviously a trap when the four of them have to split up.
It's also why they don't have any other option.
"Meet back here in twenty minutes," Gojo tells his students. His tone is light, his demeanor completely unchanged by this less than favorable change of events. "If you're late, I'll come looking for you."
Megumi, Nobara, and Yuuji race off in separate directions without hesitation. They haven't trained under Gojo for very long, but the improvements each of them has made are noticeable. Nobara's become more calculating, Megumi more confident, and Yuuji's gone from not knowing how to manipulate cursed energy to being able to hold his own in a fight. Gojo's pushed the three of them to become strong enough to handle this.
Yuuji is the first to make it back. His knuckles are bloody, and his jacket is shredded; it'll be the fourth one he's had to replace since starting at Tokyo Tech. He's barely managed to catch his breath when Megumi returns as well, looking exhausted but relatively unscathed. Neither of them thinks any of it that Nobara and Gojo are still gone. Not yet, anyway.
Nobara ultimately returns on her own a few minutes late. She's covered in blood, though at least it doesn't seem to be her own. She takes one look at her classmates and announces, "You look rough."
"Yeah, well, you don't look so great yourself," Yuuji replies.
Nobara takes a moment to glare at him before scanning the area. "Did Gojo go somewhere?" she asks.
"You were late coming back. I assumed he was with you," Megumi says.
The three take a moment to stare at each other, making the same realization in tandem, though it's Megumi who speaks first. "Dammit. Where's Gojo?" He barely has the energy to spare, but he manages to make a quick hand sign to summon his demon dog. "Find him," he says.
None of them need to say it. They all know they won't be a match for a curse that's strong enough to challenge Gojo Satoru. Not even if they weren't exhausted from hours of fighting curses.
Megumi's shikigami doesn't have to travel far. It leads them through the deserted streets (a small blessing; the curses chose to attack a relatively unpopulated area) and pads down a poorly lit alleyway without hesitation. There don't seem to be any curses lingering, but then again, there doesn't seem to be much of anything. Nobara and Yuuji look to Megumi for reassurance before following his shikigami any further.
"My demon dog could find any of us just by scent," Megumi says bluntly. "But if you want to stay behind, feel free."
"It's not that," Nobara shoots back. "Something about this doesn't feel right."
Yuuji hesitates. Nothing about the night has felt right, not since they were informed that a swarm of curses was making a coordinated attack on nothing more than a warehouse district. "You're right," he concedes to Nobara before adding, "But we need to find Gojo."
Their footsteps feel unnaturally loud as they follow the demon dog away from the light of the street, its black fur becoming hard to distinguish from the shadows. Yuuji's hands are balled into tight fists, while Nobara keeps a hand wrapped around the handle of her hammer. Megumi does his best to look unfazed, though he's no match at imitating Gojo's air of confident indifference.
Near the end of the alleyway, there's a perilously stacked mountain of crates at least ten feet high. With ethereal agility, Megumi's demon dog bounds in. The three of them exchange shared looks of concern as they debate whether to follow.
Concern gives way to confusion when they hear a child yelp in surprise. A moment later a young boy with messy white hair stumbles out of his hiding place, glaring at the demon dog that's practically bigger than he is.
He should be completely unfamiliar, yet those kaleidoscopic blue eyes belong to only one person.
Yuuji is the first to find his voice. "Gojo?"
The boy frowns, directing his glare up at Yuuji. "My name is Satoru."
Megumi groans. "What the fuck? What the fuck?" he chants under his breath. Nobara elbows him. Hard.
Gojo takes a few steps back. While Yuuji's confident that he can outrun a child, he's less confident that he can outrun Gojo Satoru should he try to make a break for it, even when he's in this state.
"What happened?" Nobara asks.
Gojo stares up at her without answering. It becomes apparent that he likely doesn't know either. Or maybe he's smart enough to be wary of the three strangers covered in blood.
Yuuji crouches down. They're close enough that he probably could grab Gojo should he try to run. Unless Gojo already knew how to use his limitless technique as a little kid.
Yuuji fights through overwhelming fatigue and confusion to plaster on a forced smile. "Gojo."
"Satoru."
"Uh, right. Satoru." It's so weird to call his teacher that. So, so weird. But all things considered, not in the running for the weirdest experience of the night. "Do you...know how you got here? Like...what's the last thing you remember?"
Gojo hesitates to answer. His bottom lip starts to quiver.
"Gojo, we don't have time for this," Megumi says.
Nobara glares at him.
"The strongest sorcerer in the world is currently nothing more than a little kid, and neither of you seem to be concerned," Megumi insists.
"I'm five."
"Exactly."
In the ensuing glaredown, Megumi is the first to look away. "We need to get going. Come on."
Megumi's shikigami growls, and the four of them look back to the alley's entrance. Five more curses. They look like overgrown bears, though each has at least a half dozen arms and even more eyes staring out through coarse fur.
"Stay with Gojo," Megumi orders Nobara. She nods, drawing her hammer and nails.
Yuuji and Megumi charge forward, Megumi quickly making the hand signs to bring forth his owl shikigami. With his demon dog fighting alongside them, they're almost equally matched in numbers. But Yuuji and Megumi have already fought against dozens of curses. Even though neither of them is gravely injured, their movements are weighted down by fatigue.
One of the curses manages to slip through the two of them, making a beeline straight for Nobara and Gojo. It's unnaturally fast as it barrels towards them, but Nobara can see it coming. She tenses, hammer and nails at the ready, and-
A blast of red light effectively neutralizes the curse and blows a giant hole through the neighboring building. Yuuji and Megumi finish off the other curses in time to whip around and see an equally wide eyed Nobara and Gojo, the young boy's small hand still crackling with cursed energy.
"Holy shit," Nobara says under her breath.
Gojo stares forward, his expression still one of shock. "I killed it," he states.
"Exorcised," Megumi corrects, quickly scanning the area. There don't seem to be any other curses lurking. His demon dog will be able to give them at least a moment of warning again if that changes, but that's all they can count on. "Look, we need to get out of here."
"I don't wanna go anywhere with you," Gojo says. He takes another small step back, though there's not much more space he can put between himself and the three of them before coming up against a wall.
"Gojo, come on. Do you want to wait around for another curse to show up?" Megumi reaches down to grab him, figuring that if he has to carry a five-year-old back home, that's what he'll do. Only his touch never reaches Gojo. It's like hitting a solid barrier just a few inches from his small form.
Gojo stares up at him with an icy gaze that could intimidate even a special grade. "I don't like you. If you were a curse I would exorcise you too," he says bluntly.
Megumi pulls his hand back in frustration. He looks to Nobara, who gives a small shrug of her shoulders. If Megumi assumes being the girl of their team bestows her with some maternal instinct that can help them climb out of this mess of a situation, he's clearly not learned anything about her in their time spent together.
Rather, it's Yuuji who once again crouches down to Gojo's level. "Satoru," he tries. "You're probably pretty scared, right?"
Gojo hesitates, then shakes his head. "I'm not."
Yuuji plasters on another smile. If his teammates didn't know how exhausted he is, it would seem genuine. "Ah, okay. Well I'm pretty scared, to tell you the truth. I don't think I can handle fighting any more curses tonight. So I need to go home and rest up. Do you wanna come with me?"
Gojo shakes his head again. His voice is small when he says, "I don't know who you are."
"We're jujutsu sorcerers. You can trust us," Megumi says.
Yuuji nods. "I'm Yuuji. And these are my friends Nobara and Megumi."
Gojo wrinkles his nose. "Megumi's a girl's name," he points out.
"We don't have time for this," Megumi insists.
"Just ignore him. It's what we do," Nobara says.
Gojo studies the three of them in turn. It's unnerving, feeling the weight of his uncovered stare that seems to see so much more than what's outwardly presented to him. "I'm supposed to tell you," he begins, then pauses. His next words come out in a rush. "I'm supposed to tell you that if you're getting paid, my mom and dad will give you more money if you just take me home. And you won't get in trouble." He hesitates again, and for the first time that night the three of them realize that Gojo Satoru is well and truly afraid. "So please just take me home."
"No one's paying us," Nobara promises. "We're here to protect you."
"So you'll take me home?"
"We'll figure this out in the morning," Yuuji promises. He holds out a hand. "So will you come with me?"
Gojo studies Yuuji with his crystalline blue eyes for a long stretch in which time seems to slow down, captured by nothing more than the sound of Yuuji's pulse hammering in his ears as it gradually returns to a normal rhythm.
Finally, Gojo nods and takes Yuuji's outstretched hand. "Okay."