What? Is this a joke?

"Rae, you aren't funny." You desperately hope this is an elaborate prank from one of your friends.

"This is a matter of life and death. You need to get out of your house now." They sound more frantic.

"Something is coming for you. If you want those around you to stay alive, you'll get somewhere away from them. Immediately."

There is a click, then the call ends.

.

There is a pounding in your ears as your body overflows with dread.

"What shall we do?" Ryomen asks you, his mouth appearing on your hand that's still clutching your phone. He sounds more amused than concerned. It probably took alot more than a threatening call to rattle the King of Curses. No, not a threat, a warning, you reminded yourself. Looking out your window, you can't see anything out of the ordinary. Still, you peek back at your sleeping partner and have second guesses.

"Maybe we should take a walk..." you offer, already slipping on your shoes.

"Nervous? I told you, I would protect you from anything. When are you going to believe me?"

"I just...don't want any trouble here, okay? And if you're so strong, it doesnt matter where I am, right? Plus I need my safety deposit back on this place. If you plan on getting involved, we should be outside."

There's definitely a storm blowing in. You hear the neighbors' windchimes clanging loudly as you fling open your front door and slam it behind you. Trying to look casual, you speed-walk. Normally you love this type of weather, but it just makes that call seem more ominous. There's a park on the other side of the road that's usually teeming with noisy kids, but this weather must have discouraged them.

You pick a swing and take a seat, kicking up wood chips nervously with your feet. Heaving a little nostalgic sigh, you kick up your legs, pumping them to start swinging.

"What is this contraption for?" Sukuna wonders out loud from your cheek.

"It's a swing. I think it technically counts as exercise equipment for children," you explain, pumping your feet to go even higher.

"You like these," he states.
"You have alot memories of them.."

"Quit pawing through my memories for a while, will you? Alot of that stuff is shitty to think about..."

"I know..." His response is cryptic.
"I stay up while you sleep. Not much else to do except delve into your mind."

Gee, how nice, you think bitterly. A demon replaying all of your most humiliating moments in life like bad home movies. It made you want to sink into the ground out of sight, but there was no escaping Ryomen.

"And?" You ask expectantly. No doubt he should have something snide to say after seeing your life. Like how you've always been a weak little crybaby.

"You're depressed," Sukuna says finally.

This catches you off guard. You didn't want his pity.

"Stuff it," you snap.
"Don't you dare feel bad for me. I'm fine."

"Oh, I didn't mean I felt bad for you. I was just stating it as a fact. It is 11:37 am. This weather is shitty. And you are depressed."

"Is it really 11:37? Can you keep time?"

"Don't deflect me... You're not just depressed either, are you?"

You say nothing.
You don't need to.

"You never asked me how you got into my domain."

"What do you mean? I got in through that puzzle box."

"Heh. The box is no more magical than any other box you've seen. You found your way into my domain because you were close to death."

His words make your eyes sting. You hadn't thought that you'd really been THAT depressed lately...but then again, your birthday was hard for you. For alot of reasons. Mainly because your family didn't try to contact you. It wasn't the first year either. You weren't even sure you wanted them to anymore. You had been nothing but a disappointment to them. The only one who had shown they were thinking of you slightly on your birthday was your partner ... when they gave you a piece of Ryomen.

"Whether or not you want to face this now is up to you, but my spiritual domain doesn't open for those who are happy and well off. Usually my visitors are already dead or nearly there."

"...So why pick me as your host? Sounds like you've had alot of options to escape."

"You are very different. I told you most of those fools were the high and mighty type, seeking my power and offering me nothing particularly interesting in return. Why would I merge with any of them?"

"But didn't you want to come back to this world? You made it sound like your domain is your purgatory."

"They were too weak. My cursed energy probably would have destroyed them instantly."

"I'm not exactly a powerhouse," you argue. You can't help but feel like he is being secretive again.

"There are different types of strength...There is far more potential in you than any of them had to offer me."

You grit your teeth in silence. It's impossible to argue with someone living in your head. He could say as much or as little as he wanted, and you had to take his word, but he could spot your lies and read your thoughts endlessly. You swing higher.

"What's that fucking smell?" Ryomen demands.

"I don't smell anything," you state, wanting any excuse to argue with him right now.

"You're not even trying. Sniff harder," he pressed. It sounds ridiculous, but you try, inhaling as hard as you can through your nose.

"Ohh...That's putrid!" Now you smell it. Sickly sweet rot is practically climbing up your nostrils.

You nearly bring your swinging to a halt, positioning to dig in your heels, but notice that the ground beneath you is now thick with mud. Thinking better of that, instead you leap from the swing on your next forward motion, propelling yourself away. In this moment, the earth where you had just been sitting over exploded in a shower of wood chips and mud. Something was sprouting up straight from the ground. No! It was alive! Monstrous scrabbling centipede legs lined the sides of its fat, tree trunk body. It had a grotesquely human head sitting in between it's two mouth pincers. The head was swollen and blue, with eyes bulging and rolling in its sockets, pinpointing on you.

You have always had a dislike for large bugs, like most people. Especially when they surprise you out of nowhere. Now here, in the middle of a usually quiet field was a centipede the size of a redwood tree towering high above you, gnashing its giant pincers and flailing its spindly legs in a horrific seizure. Your shoes suddenly feel like lead weights. Fear paralyzes you and you want scream, but there is no air in your lungs.

"OHO! That's a big one!" Sukuna shouts in what almost sounds like amusement.

"What IS that?!" You demand, cowering in a corner of your own mind.

"That? It's a curse. Just a nasty little curse that's all. Think of it like a supernatural pest."

"MAKE IT GO AWAY!"

"Haha! And how shall I do that? Do tell me? What would please you?"

"I don't know! Fucking kill it or something?!"

"Aww, don't you remember?" He tsks you.

The centipede is repositioning to strike again, turning that disgusting human head facing you. Its fat purple tongue lolls out of its mouth,

"MOoooow..." it groans in a low, guttural voice. God it was hideous!

"REMEMBER WHAT?!" You demand. He was severely pissing you off now.

"Have you already forgotten your very first rule that you made me agree to? No killing." Sukuna crosses your arms over your chest, standing calmly as the beast lurches forward again.

"...ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! THAT DOES NOT APPLY HERE!" Surely he wasn't serious. He had promised to protect you!

"Sure it does. And I certainly don't want to break the rule that you seemed to care the most about."

This time when the centipede slams its head down to devour you, Sukuna jumps easily onto its back. Now you seriously want to vomit. It seems confused now, looking for you in wide sweeps of its neck.

"So you're not killing it?! What are you gonna do? Let it eat me to teach me the lesson that I should let you murder people?!"

Your outburst shouldn't have been outloud. Shit! The curse knows you're on its back now. It bucks to shake you off, but Sukuna is already jumping you safely out of its way. His carelessness combined with his agility made this seem like a boring game to him. Again, pissing you all the way off. You know he could easily get rid of this thing any time he decided to.

"Relax, I'm only joking, my dear. You have no sense of humor, you know that? Besides, I don't even have to kill it. You don't exactly kill curses, you exorcise them." Then after a moment, he adds, "Duh."

"DON'T YOU DARE ADOPT MY 90'S RHETORIC WHILE I'M ABOUT TO DIE OF A PANIC ATTACK!" You shriek at him.

There is a familiar sensation of warmth spreading through your body, along with your best friends: adrenaline and anger. Good ole' anger.

"Forgive the alterations I need to make. This will take more than brute strength." You're not sure what Ryomen means by that, but you are beyond caring at this point.

"Where does your type of ugliness come from?" Sukuna calls out to the curse with your mouth, you doubt he expects an actual answer. It snakes its body around you in a wide circle, cutting off all escape routes.

"This is a lucky day for you, my friend. To be destroyed by your king is an honor!" Ryomen extends your hands, fingertips spread. You see sparks fly, then your hands are engulfed in iridescent blue flames.

"Crematorium," he speaks, and the earth beneath the curse's long body cracks open. Flames lick up around the beast and you hear its human head scream in agony.

"MOOOOOWWww!" The blue flames consume it entirely, you watch its shape disappear within the sudden flash of light. When the fire recedes back into the earth, the cracks seal shut like a healing wound. As the smoke clears, you swear you hear the sound of someone clapping.

"Marvelous! Truly wonderful work!" Someone calls from the treeline of the woods framing the border of the field.

When they finally step into view, you find that you recognize his white hair and blindfold.

Satoru Gojo.

He is still clapping and smiling as he approaches the still sizzling scorches of the field.

"Maybe a touch overkill for that level of curse, but it must be hard for you to hold back your true strength, Ryomen Sukuna." Gojo takes a long stride to step over the burned grass.

"Huh, do I know you?" Ryomen asks in your voice. You get the feeling he is already leafing through your recent memories, replaying the earlier events of this week.

"Well, parts of you definitely know me. But I do understand how complicated it must be having 20 different facets of yourself to keep up with. How is your vessel?"

"They're fine. What exactly do you want with us?"

"Hmmmm 'us' you say...That's very interesting. May I have a word with your host, if you please? Just a nice little chat."

"What do you think?" Ryomen asks you internally.

"He's definitely odd. But I have a feeling he isn't going to leave me alone until we hear him out. Just be prepared if he does anything weird, okay?" You step back into your body, taking control of yourself once more.

"Okay. What do you want to talk about?"

"Hmm, let's talk about the demon that's possessing you." His words don't surprise you. You have a feeling he's going to be the start of alot more trouble for you.

"Shall we go somewhere else? All this commotion may have attracted some unwanted attention." He gestures to the ring of charred smoking earth around the two of you.

"I know! There's a terrific cafe not too far from here. It's tucked away so not too many people know about it. They have some great signature items you can't find anywhere else. My treat, what do you say?"

You blink in surprise. Did he just ask you...on a date?

.

.

"So, how did this happen?" Gojo props his chin on his hand casually.

He had an iced coffee and a slice of creme bruleé cheesecake in front of him. You had selected black coffee. Nothing else. You didn't exactly feel like eating after seeing a bug the size of Godzilla's dick. Not for a while.

Unsure of what else to do, you mirror his actions, propping up your chin too.

"I invited him in," you answer truthfully. "Though it wasn't much of a choice given...He kept calling me to his domain."

"So you actually did keep the box I asked about. Why did you lie about that?" He still didn't sound mad, just curious.

"I dunno. Finders keepers? Why did you lose it if it was so important?" you counter.

"Hey, no worries. I'm not here to ask for it back...Did you eat it?" he asks.

"The ... box?"

"Ryomen Sukuna's finger. Inside the box. Did you eat it?" he clarifies

"Gross! Why would anyone eat something like that?" Your nose wrinkles with disgust. He wasn't making any sense. Ryomen interrupts your thoughts. "Hey now, you've eaten other parts of me. Heheheh" You sincerely hope Gojo can't see your embarassment.

"I see...At any rate, I'm afraid the finger that was inside is nearly useless at this point. It appears that Sukuna has abandoned the cursed object and fused himself with you instead. I wonder why he'd do that?" He takes a drink of his coffee. You do the same, not wanting to expose your relationship with Ryomen.

"You do have some innate abilities as a psychic though. You were able to see that curse easily enough." He speculates outloud.

"Yeah, thanks for the warning about that by the way." You say genuinely.

"Hm? Warning? What do you mean?" He sounds confused.

"The phone call. Wasn't that you who called me and told me that that thing was coming?" You didn't have any other fathomable guesses.

"I'm afraid not. But I do have my suspicions. I have to confess, I've been having you tailed ever since we last spoke. A few of our students have been taking precautions to make sure you are safe from harm."

"Students? You're a teacher?" What sort of teacher wears a blindfold, you wonder.

"Correct! At Jujutsu Tech. We're a specialty school for psychics and sorcerers. We teach students to hone their natural abilities to fight dark spirits that cause humanity so much trouble." Your head is reeling from his words. So spirits were real too? Along with demons...And there were people who exorcised them, too. It was so much to take in.

"So you're like Ghostbust-"

"Shh! No we're not." He raises a finger, cutting you off.

"We're, like, a million times cooler than them. Bill Murray has absolutely no cursed energy. Way too successful. He'd be a pathetic Jujutsu Sorcerer."

"A what?"

He takes a bite of his cheesecake.
"Sato! This is truly stupendous!" He calls to the man behind the counter. Sato waves back, "Thank you! So glad you like it. Next week we're featuring layered entrements. Be sure you come back to try them."

"Of course I will!"

You repeat your question.
"What's a Jujutsu sorcerer?"

"Hm? Oh, that's what we call our graduates. Anyone with the ability to disperse a cursed spirit. They may use their own cursed energy, or use a weapon with cursed energy infused into it. They may even use cursed objects that increase their own abilities, like that finger you have."

"Okay...and what is cursed energy?"

Gojo smiles, taking another bite of cake. After he swallows, he reaches into his back pocket and slides a pamphlet across the table to you.

"All of this and more can be taught to you...if you would like to enroll." He says mysteriously.

You take the pamphlet. There's a photo of a looming building with an enormous fountain at the base of its front steps. Towering gates surrounded the front perimeter. JUJUTSU TECHNICAL SCHOOL is written in delicate white script that certainly doesn't seem fitting for a building so ominous.

"We have our own dorms and kitchens on campus. You can move right in immediately." He chirps, sipping his iced coffee.

"What happens if I say no?" you ask cautiously.

He removes his straw with a small pout.
"Well, I sure would be disappointed if you say no. You've got alot of potential."

You inhale sharply. Ryomen had said that to you too.

"And I absolutely have no intention of forcing you to enroll..." his silence feels loaded.

"But?" you press.

"Well, you should know that curses like the one you saw today are going to keep showing up. You are now infused with the cursed energy of Ryomen Sukuna, one of the most sought after sources for increasing one's own power in the known universe. Any curses who are strong enough not to be destroyed by the energy you are now emitting are going to come after you."

"Why?" the familiar feeling of dread was settling in heavily.

Gojo holds the last piece of his cake on his fork pointedly, then pops it into his mouth.

"Because if they devour you, they will gain Ryomen Sukuna's strength."

There it is.

"Oh..."

"Your body is going to start changing, you probably already feel his affects: the energy and strength that come with his cursed energy. His markings already appear on your skin when he accesses his cursed energy through you. Alot of things are going to be hungry for that. They can sniff it out like dogs. They certainly won't be granting you much peace in your life."

It now occurs to you that Gojo, like Sukuna did, is cornering you into making the choice he wants.

"And if I go to this school...those cursed spirits won't bother me there?" you ask cautiously.

"We wouldn't let anything happen to you. We take measures in protecting all of our students with extreme serios-ity. You aren't the only vessel of Sukuna. We have a newer student who is one as well. You'd probably get along well with him, ehat with having so much in common. He's safe with us just as you would be. And besides," he leans across the table as he speaks.

"No one is stronger than I am."

The way he says it, you wonder how true that statement is. Ryomen was definitely strong. And this cake-munching himbo was boasting to be stronger?

You direct your thoughts internally to Sukuna, "What should we do? I can't handle more of those monsters popping up to eat me. That's not the kind of life I want..."

His voice sounds neutral when he responds, "Then it sounds like it may be time to relocate. It doesn't matter to me where we go."

"Um...I'll think about it. Okay? I need to...talk to a few people first if I might be doing this. Like-"

A horrific realization hits you like a train.

"SHIT! MY JOB!"

You had completely forgotten you have a closing shift.

"I'm sorry, I have to go!" Nearly upsetting the remainder of your coffee, you shove back from the table, turning at the last minute to grab the brochure and thank Gojo before bolting out the door.

He shouts after you,
"Think about it! We'll call you!"

.

.

Your boss is at the front door when you finally arrive, more than 45 minutes late.

"So good of you to show up!" He scolds you, holding your apron out for you to put on.

"I'm sorry! I, umm, exercised alot this morning! And then I lost track of time, and had to go shower!"

He makes a face at you,
"Maybe you should have walked here so you didn't need to shower again."

You bite the inside of your cheek to keep from punching him. You need your job...if you don't go to that school. Hmm.

"S-sorry! I'll wash up in the back before anyone sees me.." you bustle past him through the swinging doors of the kitchen. The knob sticks slightly as you turn the water on at the employee sink. You check your reflection. Oh, right.

Sukuna's ever-present eyes meet yours in your reflection.
"What a miserable chode of a man," he remarks, speaking from the side of your face.

You snort and giggle, fixing your hair and giving yourself a half smile to practice for the customer service version of you.
Ick. So phony.

"If you're miserable, why are you here?" Ryomen asks you.

"I need this job to pay rent," you whisper since no one else is around.

"And rent is...?"

"Um, where I live? I have to pay to live there with my partner."

"Who?" He sounds puzzled.

"The person living with me," you remind him impatiently.

"Ohh, right. The porn star. Haha!" He laughs at his joke.

"How do you know what porn is?" You demand.

"Heheh I have your memories, don't I?"

"And yet you didn't know what rent was." you grumble. Obviously he had found certain memories and focused mainly on those. Wonderful. He knows your browser history.

Your shift goes by slowly, despite starting nearly an hour late. There weren't many people at the bar either, which meant low tips for you. And your boredom was intensified by Sukuna's constant complaints.

"How much longer are we going to be here?!" He groans.

"Uhh, around five and a half more hours," you respond, checking your phone. It wasnt even 7:30 yet, and there was no sign of a dinner rush tonight to speed things up.

"HELL SWALLOW ME!" he wails dramatically.
"This is so much worse than my domain. These humans are disgusting and ugly! And the swill they're eating, what even is this?" He directs your eyes to a plate in the pickup window.

"Those would be potato skins." You explain silently to him.

"That's garbage."

"No, they're good. I like them." You smile a bit.
"After my shift is done, I'll get some to take home."

"Please fucking don't." He begs.

A customer takes a seat at the bar finally. He's wearing a high collared shirt that obscures his mouth. He meets your gaze and points wordlessly to the menu at an item. Sukiyaki, chicken skewers with rice.

"Are you placing an order for here?" You ask. He nods, so you scribble it onto a ticket.

"Anything to drink?"

He says nothing.

"Um, I can bring you water?" This time he nods.

His silence was unsettling, but you complete the order and slide it back to the kitchen. When you bring his water, you catch his eyes staring at your cheek...directly at Ryomen.

Oh, crap. "Can he see you?" you ask.

"I believe so. We may have a Jujutsu sorcerer here," he sounds more interested than concerned.

"Hey, uh...Did Gojo send you here to keep an eye on me or something?" You ask. Again, he nods quietly.

"Because of..." you point a finger at Sukuna's mouth, now grimacing in a snarl at the customer. Another nod.

"Well, you can rest easy because he's promised not to kill anyone."

The customer glances around nervously, no doubt worried about being overheard. When he meets your gaze again, he looks perturbed.
"Okaka..." he finally says.

There's a ding behind you. You bring him the chicken skewers, and after a trip to the back, a side serving of bonito flakes. Strange request, you think to yourself. You busy yourself to avoid staring, but seeing him unzip the front of his collar to eat, you can't help but notice there are odd markings at the corners of his mouth.

"He's a cursed speech psychic," Ryomen states with clarity.
"He won't speak to you. His voice is his weapon."

"Well that's a relief. Customers who talk too much are the worst. I could use alot more silent ones." It also means he couldn't have been the one to call me, you think to yourself. That mystery was still puzzling you.

You bring his check when you notice he's nearly finished. Refilling his water, you look down and notice he's scribbled something on his napkin and is passing it to you.

Frogs boil best in cold water.

You look up in confusion, but he's already gone. At least he left you a decent tip.

.

.