BLUE HYDRANGEAS
It was incredibly difficult to breathe as the air became thin and cold like an icy blizzard. Juri clamped down on her jaw to stop her teeth from chattering together, now feeling as small as ever while standing before Ryomen Sukuna and the Yurei. Two rivaling Curses that could only be described as manmade and natural calamities, both possessing destructive power that could level cities or even cause old mountains to tremble with just the mention of their names.
Juri gasped sharply at the chilling air and naturally began to reach out for some sort of comfort, something to calm her mind and give her a sensation of ease. She grabbed the back of Yurei's stark white dress and held on tightly while shaking. The specter was as cold as ice under her hands. "Yurei?" she said with a shuttering exhale before burying her face into her back.
The coldness in Yurei's eyes quickly faded away to an unusual kindness. She turned her head away from Sukuna and looked over her shoulder to Juri, studying her with her scarlet gaze that was extra diligent in making sure she was uninjured. A soft looked washed across Yurei's delicate features while taking a deep breath. It all quickly went away though in a fraction of a second when she whipped her head back to Sukuna, the fierce blizzard returning to her eyes.
Sukuna scoffed but his sinister grin never faded. "I see, I see. You haven't changed one bit. You're still as cold as ice!" His red eyes gleamed darkly while speaking low enough to make the ground tremble. He pressed further against Yurei's dainty wrist and began to close the gap between them little by little until he was right up in her undisturbed face. "Tell me! I'm curious! What have you been doing all this time? You haven't been staying quiet, right?"
Frost spilled out from her lips as she opened her mouth to speak, filling the soundless world with her ghostly but beautiful voice that could even lull the most wretched creature to sleep. "A thousand years of silence…A thousand years of not having to fight every time we make eye contact…" Yurei's poise and calm voice morphed as her lips turned up into a malicious and twisted grin, much like the one Sukuna was wearing. "The years I had without you…were the best ones of this cursed life, you walking plague!"
Yurei tightened her grip on Sukuna's hand before leaning her head all the way back. She pulled hard on his arm and suddenly rammed her forehead straight into his, hitting him so hard that it drew blood from the both of them. Their heads flew backwards from the harsh blow as blood trickled down their faces, all the while wearing an absolutely crazed grin that was permanently worn to their faces at that point.
"You may be back…but don't even think that you can beat me when you're not even at full strength!" Yurei lifted her hands and clapped them together. "Technique Deployment…White Dome!" A pale and transparent white dome grew from the center of her hands and spread out in the open, covering the entirety of the rooftop.
Sukuna reacted instantly to the strange white film and took a step back, the look of delight melting away from his face and turning a lot more cautious. He looked at his surroundings, but nothing was happening, and the dome was just there. There was an uneasiness in Sukuna's eyes though as they narrowed into a dangerous glare.
Yurei's lips turned up into a cocky smirk. "What's wrong? You were enthusiastic only moments ago. Why stop now!" she taunted loudly and opened her arms up like she was inviting him to do something.
Sukuna scoffed but remained motionless, making like a statue and not moving from his spot. "You and your troublesome ability. I never liked it."
"Why? Afraid I'll do something?" Her smirk only widened as Sukuna sneered at her. "I might be only at half strength myself…but it won't take much to put you down."
Yurei flicked two of her fingers upwards and the space inside the dome gradually began to shift in temperature. The air became alarmingly cold as frost began to layer the ground around Sukuna. He perceived quickly what she was trying to do and knew that the best way to counter the effects of the White Dome was to get out of its range.
Sukuna began to move but couldn't. It was like his legs were encased in concrete. He looked down at himself and saw that he was covered in snowy frost and that his legs were trapped by the ice on the ground. As the air grew colder, the dense ice quickly moved up his body, freezing him stiff and unable to move. It was at his neck when Juri abruptly grabbed Yurei by her hand to try and stop her.
"Yurei, don't!" Juri shouted frantically. "Don't kill him! His vessel is only a kid!"
Yurei winced at Juri's desperate tone and the ice stopped instantly, inches away from Sukuna's face. If it grew anymore then it would've suffocated him. "Juri?" she spoke, peering down at Juri's pale and dainty frame.
"I don't want this," she begged in a small voice
Reluctantly, Yurei lowered her arm and obeyed her without questioning a single word. There were even raw emotions building up in her scarlet eyes that Sukuna hadn't seen in years. Emotions...that made her look human. He didn't even know she was still capable of looking that way until now.
"Oi. What the hell's going on?" Sukuna growled and flexed his muscles, breaking free from the ice prison. "I got some questions for you. When did you become such an obedient dog? And two: I don't recall your host bodies ever being alive up till this point!" he hissed.
Yurei scoffed and looked unfazed. "I don't see why I have to explain myself to you. Figure it out yourself, oh great King of Curses." she mocked while raising her hand like she was going to do something else.
"Cunning woman." Sukuna was about to prepare himself when his own hand suddenly shot up and roughly grabbed his face.
"What do you think you're doing with my body? Give it back." A voice spoke from the same body, but this one was different. It wasn't Sukuna speaking anymore.
"Itadori?" Juri realized and stepped out from behind Yurei.
Sukuna looked generally confused. "How are you able to move?"
"I mean, it's my body."
Yurei furrowed her brows and snapped her fingers, dissolving the dome that was encasing them. "Well…that's quite odd."
"Yurei? What's going on?" Juri whispered.
"Sukuna is…slowly being suppressed." She narrowed her eyes and watched keenly as the black ink covering Itadori's body fade away. "Better time than any. I was getting tired of hearing his voice," she snarled.
Juri grumbled at Yurei's overly blunt nature but shouldn't be surprised to hear it. "Yurei…" she muttered when she suddenly felt a heavy pressure against her right shoulder. Like someone was leaning on her. "Ah?"
"What's the situation?" spoke a rich voice from directly behind her.
Juri bent her head all the way back and stared up at a goliath of a man that made her own petite body shrink in the size comparison. "Gojo...san?" She blinked a couple of times as it took a bit longer to process his appearance. Tall frame, black clothes, stark white hair, and a blindfold covering his eyes. "That's right...you did say you were going to be in the area," she murmured nonchalantly.
Gojo nudged his hand against her scarred cheek and frowned. He was honestly a little disappointed since he was anticipating an enthusiastic reaction from her. Instead, he got a flat one. "What's with that reaction?" he pulled up a white bag and dangled it in front of Juri's face before dropping it into her hands. "Souvenir. Like I promised."
Juri looked down at the bag and her face instantly brightened into a joyous smile. "Oh, how nice!" she beamed, much to his satisfaction.
Gojo turned to Yurei and gave her a cocky smirk, knowing full well that it was going to set her off. "See? I can be nice."
Red veins began to appear around the whites of Yurei's wild eyes. Her hands trembled violently, and she ground her teeth together to create an awful sound. She looked like a feral animal that was seconds away from pouncing on its prey. Juri knew that look anywhere though and had seen it way too many times already. She didn't take that deranged look lightly and quickly raised her hand up in front of her, signaling to Yurei not to do anything, because she knew she would.
"Don't be rash," Juri warned.
"He's being too damn clingy," Yurei growled in response.
Gojo didn't look at all concerned and even dared to poke at her more. "Protective as always. It's not like Juri minds."
Yurei's face when from white to red in a matter of a second. Her eyes blazed with anger and her voice echoed in this deep dark tone that could even freeze hell over. "I will burn the flesh off your face."
"You can try if it makes you feel any better." Gojo leaned in closer to Juri and wrapped his arms tightly around her, mainly just to spite Yurei, but also because he wanted to. "But it's not like anything will happen."
Juri was quick to speak up after that to try and defuse the tension that was between them. "Can we not argue right now. Let's just focus on what's in front of us."
Yurei crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. "A white-haired idiot with absolutely no social skills."
"Sound an awful lot like someone I already know. You sure you're not talking about yourself?" Gojo shot right back.
Juri turned paler and paler as it looked like hell was about to break free between the two. It all came to a screeching halt though when Fushiguro climbed down onto the rooftop to see what was going on.
"Gojo-sensei?! Why are you here?" he said, finally noticing him.
Gojo looked up and waved. "Hey. I wasn't planning on coming out here. You guys look pretty shaken up. You're worse than Juri." he said, eyeing the state Fushiguro was in. "I should show the second-years." He pulled out his phone and began to rapidly snap pictures of him. Juri tried to cover the lens as best she could to try and save what was left of Fushiguro's dignity.
Yurei was already nearing the edge of her patience when she finally snapped. She had to deal with Sukuna already, so the last thing she wanted to see was Gojo. "Just spill it why you're here already!" she snarled after finally ripping Juri away. Gojo tried to reach back out but Yurei physically slapped his hand away like an angry cat.
"Impatient, impatient. You're worse than the higher-ups," he grumbled. "Those guys wouldn't shut up about a special-grade cursed object going missing. So I finished my sightseeing and came over. So, did you find it?"
Itadori sheepishly raised his hand once the realization of what he did finally passed. "Um…I, uh, sort of ate it."
Gojo fell silent, staring at Itadori with a frozen expression. "For real?"
"For real," everyone confirmed at once.
Gojo decided to approach the kid and got right in his face, inspecting him silently without explaining anything. After a while, he laughed. "Ha! You're not kidding. They're really combined. That's hilarious."
Yurei grumbled and held her arms tightly around Juri's shoulders. "Didn't seem that hilarious from where I was standing five minutes ago."
"Yeah, I was wondering why I was seeing your White Dome," he said and looked back to Itadori who just stared at him, no less confused than before. "How does your body feel?"
"Alright, I guess," he answered.
"Can you swap out with Sukuna?"
"Sukuna?"
"The cursed object you ate?"
"Oh, yeah. Probably."
"Then give me ten seconds." Gojo began to stretch his legs out like he was preparing for something. "Come back after ten seconds."
It took only a fraction of a second for Juri to realize what he was wanting Itadori to do. "Ah? wait, Gojo-san." She pulled free from Yurei's hold and hurried over to him, reaching out and grabbing his arm. "Is that a really good idea?"
Gojo could clearly see the beginnings of concern bubble up in her eyes. "Aw, you're worried?" he snickered and patted her head. "Don't worry. I'm the strongest."
"Eh?" Juri blinked, now looking confused more than anything. "Well…I didn't say it was you I was worried about," she said bluntly.
Gojo physically deflated after hearing that. "Oh...so that's what you meant." He felt a little upset to know that she wasn't worried about him. "You and Megumi step back beside Yurei for a moment, ok?"
Yurei reached out and pulled Juri back. "I'm not going to put up a dome for you. Take care of this yourself," she warned him, in which he waved off.
"Yes, ma'am."
Fushiguro stepped back beside Juri just as she began to rummage through the souvenir bag. "What is that?" he asked, turning his head down to see inside.
"Kikufuku. A Sendai specialty, apparently," Juri answered.
"Was he seriously buying souvenirs while people were dying here?"
Gojo looked back at them just in time to see Juri pull out the box. "Ah, Juri. Don't eat it yet," he called out and met her eyes. "We're both here, so let's eat it on the bullet train home."
"Quit focusing on the food and focus on the demon!" Yurei yelled just as Sukuna emerged and leaped at him to attack.
Sukuna's attacked landed way too swiftly against the ground before anyone could react. It became clear once the dust settled though that Sukuna…missed. Gojo had disappeared during that small window of opportunity, only to appear directly behind him instead, totally fine and clearly not concerned about himself at all.
"Both Juri and my student are watching," Gojo turned his head and smirked boldly, "so I'm going to show off a little."
Sukuna tried to take another swing at him, but Gojo was just too fast, unbelievably fast actually. He danced around the King of Curses like it was nothing and landed a heavy blow right into his face, pushing him back against the rooftop railing.
Neither Fushiguro nor Juri could see what was happening and Yurei seemed to be the only one who could somewhat follow Gojo's movements, but barely. It was unusual because she wasn't used to seeing Sukuna being tossed around as easily as he was, half strength or not. Gojo was just playing with him.
"For crying out loud… you jujutsu sorcerers are always trouble." Sukuna pulled himself off the railing and scanned the rooftop, immediately landing his eyes on Juri. He snickered evilly when he saw her stiffen with fear. He got up in a flash and ran straight for her at a breakneck speed, leaping up and ready to attack. "No matter the era!"
He struck hard and the mass amount of power hits the school behind them, causing walls to collapse and debris to go flying in all sorts of directions. He knew he made contact. He felt it.
"Though that doesn't mean much to me-" He stopped himself short once the dust settled and saw Gojo in front of him now, somehow managing to close the distance and get between them. Both Juri and Megumi had been pulled behind Yurei during the altercation, so neither of them was hurt, and it seemed that the trail of destruction had stopped short of Gojo. There were even scattered bits of rubble still floating in the air around him like there was an invisible wall in the way.
"Seven, eight, nine… Should be time," Gojo warned with a sly smirk.
Sukuna's heart throbbed as he slowly began to get surpassed by the kid. The ink faded away from his skin and the extra pair of eyes slowly closed. His head slumped down for a moment before rising back up a second later with Itadori back in the driver's seat of his own body.
"Oh…was everything okay?" he said, soon feeling a suffocating chill of ice run down his spine as Yurei glared at him, clinging tightly to Juri in a fiercely protective nature. Itadori instantly paled and began to sweat at the sight of her wild eyes. "Ah…sorry. I didn't think he would have aimed for Kocho-san." He apologized weakly as Juri smiled and waved at him, signaling that she was just fine.
Gojo lowered his hand and the floating debris fell to the floor. "I'm shocked. You really can control it."
Itadori knocked the side of his head. "He's kinda annoying though. I can still hear his voice."
Yurei clicked her tongue and gliding over to Itadori. "At least I'm not the only one who finds his existence troublesome." She raised her snow-white fingers up and tapped them against his forehead, instantly making him fall into slumber. Juri rushed over quickly just as he began to fall and caught him. She sat him down gently and laid his head on her lap.
"What did you do?" Fushiguro asked.
Yurei crossed her arms over her chest and hovered down close to the passed-out kid, making extra sure Sukuna wasn't going to emerge with Juri so close to him. Luckily, the demon remained quiet, and all was safe for the time being. "I knocked him out for now."
"If he ain't possessed by Sukuna when he wakes up, he might have potential as a vessel," Gojo said.
"That's what your play is?" Yurei's face immediately turned up into a hateful scowl. "I knew this day was going to be bothersome since Ryomen Sukuna was involved. I didn't think it would escalate this much though," she said roughly. "Enough. I'm going to sleep." She turned around and brushed past Juri, letting herself slowly fade out of existence.
"Juri, can I ask you and Megumi a question? What do I do with him?" Gojo suddenly asked while kneeling down next to her.
Juri flinched. "Well…" she said with a shaking voice, looking down and running her hand over Itadori's forehead. It didn't take much after that for Juri to start feeling sick with the thought of a child being executed. She wouldn't put it behind the higher-ups to do that though. She had seen them at their worse and had the misfortune of being on the opposite side of their cowardness.
Fushiguro spoke up first when he saw Juri hesitating. "Even if he is a potential vessel…he must be executed under the regulations of jujutsu, but…I still don't want him to die." He announced, much to the delight that was shown across Juri's wide gray eyes.
"Is that a personal opinion?" Gojo asked, snickering against the words.
"Yes, a personal opinion. Please do something about it," Fushiguro frowned.
It was surprising enough to hear Fushiguro speak up, but it didn't take much thought to already know Juri's answer. The way she was cradling the kid close to her heart spoke volumes of how she already felt about the matter.
"Knowing you…I'm pretty sure I know what you want already," Gojo said and saw Juri tense up little by little with eagerness and stress. "Just give me the word and it's done, ok?"
Juri wrapped her arms tighter around Itadori and took in a couple of deep breaths to gather her confidence. She gazed up at him with a newly assertive look in her eyes and spoke one word to him. The only one he needed to hear. "Please."
Gojo reached his hand up after hearing that and patted Juri's head. "Leave it to me."
Overly luxurious was the only way to describe the apartment building Juri lived in. She found it to be quite cold and empty at times with the modern atmosphere and huge rooms that had hardly anything in them. The apartment had all the required necessities, but she couldn't help but feel extra lonely while sitting in the spacious living room, surrounded by nothing but the white noise of pencils against loose paper and book pages being turned. It would've been a lot worse though if this overwhelming smell of peppermint tea didn't linger in the air, making the cold atmosphere a little warmer and a lot more inviting. It was always a constant fragrance too because Juri had a habit of drinking tea every day, making it so strong that the smell just wouldn't leave.
Juri sat quietly on the couch within the spacious living room, bundled up in a warm blanket with black-framed glasses sitting on the edge of her nose. Her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail with an open book in her hands, reading it closely and scanning over every word to not miss a thing. She was so focused on her studies that she didn't even hear the sound of the front door being unlocked.
Gojo stepped inside almost soundlessly and immediately turned his head down the hall that led into the living room. He spotted Juri sitting on the couch with her head down, so it was clear that she hadn't noticed him yet. He could tell by her complete unawareness that she was studying and didn't know he was home. It was an unfortunate habit of hers, to be so immersed in her work that the rest of the world drowned away to just white silence in the back of her mind.
He acted like he was going to call out to her but stopped midway when a lightbulb went off in his head. He stood there for a moment, pondering his decisions on what he would do before finally coming to a conclusion. His face turned up into a wicked grin as he hunched down low, walking as quietly as possible and making his way over to Juri with his arms raised, ready to pounce.
"Juuuuri~" he shouted loudly and abruptly wrapped his arms around her from behind. Juri let out a shrill, mouse-like scream while tossing her book high in the air from fright. Gojo caught it though before it could fall back down. "Haha, you're so easy to scare sometimes." He grinned sheepishly and nudged his head into her neck. He took in a deep breath of peppermint and felt her heart racing under her pale pink skin.
"My heart hurts…" Juri placed her head over her aching chest and grumbled under her breath. "I wish you would announce yourself using your words instead of your actions. " She looked over her shoulder at him and saw that he was still hiding his face from her. It tickled a bit because she could feel his hair brush against her exposed skin.
"Sorry, sorry," he said, obviously lying to her, but it wasn't like he was trying to hide it either. Gojo was probably going to do it again the next chance he got. "Whatcha reading?" He lifted her book and turned it over to read the title. He snickered when he saw it. "Thermobaric weaponry? You looking to set the air on fire or something?"
Juri frowned at the remark and felt a little offended. "You make it sound like I'm gonna do something awful." She reached up and snatched the book back before turning away.
"Ain't that the point of all this?" he remarked, gesturing to the mess she made on the coffee table. It was full of loose papers and an open notebook covered in her bad handwriting
Juri became quiet for a moment before huffing. She reached her hand around back to Gojo's face and began tracing his handsome features till she met his blindfold. She pulled it off so she could see his eyes and the mischievous blue glimmer that matched his smirk perfectly. Juri wasn't a fool. She knew exactly what was going on in that overly complicated mind of his. "I know what you're trying to do, Gojo-san," she said, her voice becoming a lot firmer.
Gojo's smirk deepened. "Pretty obvious?"
"You had a meeting with the higher-ups regarding Itadori Yuji's execution, right? You're trying to make me squirm with anticipation. Hurry up and tell me," she demanded.
Gojo's smirk lessened into a half-smile. He got up and walked around to the side of the couch before flopping back to lay on Juri's lap. Juri had already seen that coming and moved her hands out of the way. "Looks like I've done the impossible yet again. You gonna praise me?" he said pridefully
"I don't think you can consider it impossible if you've done it before." She dropped her hands back down and ran her fingers through his hair, enjoying the soft texture that it had. "But like the case with mine...it's probably only temporarily suspended, right?" she asked, already knowing the answer before Gojo could confirm.
Gojo sighed while reaching up and grasping a loose lock of Juri's gray hair, fiddling with it between his long fingers. "Yeah. I did what I could, but it looks like the two of you are in the same boat from now on." He watched Juri's face scrunch up into a frown that looked deeply troubled.
She pulled her hands over her eyes and slowly ran them down her face, breathing in shallow breaths to try and release the stress that's been building up since the incident with Sukuna and Yurei. She dropped her hands back down and glanced over to the hallway, where sitting at the end was a white and blue flower vase that had been empty for three days now.
"Gojo-san, did…did you forget to pick up the flowers?" It was very subtle, but her voice changed a little and sounded uneased.
"Huh?" Gojo sat up to her changing tone and looked over towards the empty flower vase. He snaps his fingers right after like he suddenly now remembered. "Ah, I thought I was forgetting something. I was dealing with those old geezers for half the day that it completely slipped my mind. Well, whatever. It's no big deal. One of us can easily pick it up sometime tomorrow," he said before dismissing the thought.
"Eh?" Juri flinched and started to look a bit disheartened and even somewhat upset. She pulled her face down and started to bunch up the loose fabric of her blanket. Her lips quivered but she soon accepted it with a weak headshake. "Uh, hm…sure, I guess."
Gojo watched her quietly and especially at her change in demeanor. When she's upset and uncomfortable, she has a habit of looking away from people and bunching up whatever fabric was around her, mainly her clothes or a blanket, and if she was doing that… it meant he messed up. "On second thought. Why don't we go out and eat. We'll pick up your flowers after we're done," he said and immediately saw Juri's face brighten up again.
"Huh? Really? You sure?" she said eagerly.
"Yeah. I said it wasn't a bit deal, right? Besides, I'm pretty hungry for yakiniku. That fine with you?"
"Yes. It is!"
Gojo patted her head but wasn't sure if she was excited about eating out or getting the chance to buy her flowers. He figured it didn't matter though if she was smiling again. "Then hurry up and get your shoes before I leave without you."
With all the eagerness of a child, Juri jumped up from the couch in an instant and ran towards the bedroom to start getting ready. "Don't forget your sunglasses!" she called back as Gojo followed in slowly behind her.
"Yeah, yeah. Where did I leave them again?"
"You left them on my bedside table."
"Oh yeah. By the way, what kind of flowers do you want?"
"The same as usual. Blue hydrangeas!"
Gojo scoffed but wasn't really surprised. Those had been her favorite flowers for as long as he knew her. She never wanted any other flower to fill that vase. "Again? I seriously don't see why you like that type so much."
It did end up taking longer for Juri to get ready, so Gojo had no choice but to stand by the door with his arms crossed impatiently. He complained the whole time about the wait but didn't step foot outside until she was beside him.
After they left, the apartment room fell silent once again without their pressence. The air steadily began to turn cold as Yurei manifested into the dark hallway, right in front of the empty vase. She reached down and picked up one of the many petals that were scatted around the base of the flower vase.
"Seriously? Mister Strong is still pretty dense when it comes to Juri. It's been two years and he still can't figure out why she likes blue hydrangeas." She brought the petal close to her eyes and stared at the fading blue hue that had once been so vibrant. "It's because they remind her of his eyes."
Author's Note:
I'm not really one for author notes, but I had a couple of things I wanted to say before leaving you all. First off, I wanna thank every one of you for supporting White Spell, despite a couple of you mistaking it for a self-insert story (Again, sorry about that). I had never been so happy to read the reviews too. Those had been the best part so please continue to give me your support. You have no idea how much it means to a writer to see a positive review! I had never been so eager to write a follow-up chapter after seeing how well the first two chapters did!
And one last thing. This chapter honestly worried me a little bit, because of the nature of Gojo and Juri's relationship. Which is a romantic one if you hadn't guessed already. It's not often that my character is already in a relationship by the time the series starts, but I knew it was the best idea in the long run with the way Jujutsu Kaisen is heading right now (cough, cough, Shibuya arc, cough, cough). I don't want you to worry though, because I plan on doing an original arc about how Juri and Gojo met, and how their relationship grew into what you see now. It should be out way before the Shibuya Incident even happens.
That's all I gotta say for now. Please do take care of yourselves...and I hope to see you in the next chapter!