SOMETHING AND OR NOTHING
Her kimono was a gorgeous shade of vibrant red, billowing against the sharp winds as she stood at the peak of a tall building that overlooked the city. As the wind rustled against her long black hair, it also pushed aside her black veil that briefly revealed her liquid-black eyes underneath. The dainty-looking Cursed Spirit made a disgruntled sound before covering her face back up and securing it tightly against her curled horns.
She cast her attention to the streets below before slowly lifting her arm and snapping her fingers. A red spark flared out from her hand as she made a circular motion against the air, creating a deep red portal that looked like it was made of fire. She glided through, and it opened up in the middle of a pedestrian crossing. The Cursed Spirit stood out in the open, but the people around her paid no mind and acted like she didn't even exist.
"Nanika! Over here!" a voice hollered through the thick crowd of people.
The Cursed Spirit immediately turned her head up and looked around. She spotted a man standing on the other side, waving to get her attention. He wasn't dressed like everyone else. He wore traditional monk-style clothes, had long black hair, and had a long scar running horizontally across his forehead. His smile looked kind, but it also felt somewhat forced and strained at a second glance.
As Geto waved his hand, he turned his palm outwards to display a dark symbol inked onto his skin. It flashed brightly for only a fraction of a second, but Nanika reacted immediately and swiftly glided over. She floated right up to him and placed her cold hands against the sides of his face. Gently, adoringly, and longingly. Geto smirked and did the same, caressing his fingers against her gray skin.
"I'm assuming your reconnaissance was a success, right? You didn't get spotted by the Yurei?" Geto asked, and Nanika quickly shook her head. She held onto his shoulders and glided around to his back, holding on as they walked down the street.
A short, volcano-looking Cursed Spirit followed close behind. Along with two other spirits. "Huh? Is that what she's been doing the whole time?" Jogo asked. "Getting information on the Yurei and her host?"
Geto nodded while playing with a lock of Nanika's wavy black hair. "Yes. It's because we know so little about her current situation, I thought it would be best to keep an eye on her for the time being."
Jogo couldn't help himself and huff. "You've been taking a lot of risks lately. If anything happens to Nanika, we lose our advantage against the Yurei. And another thing, was it really necessary to use a precious finger...just to get that information about Sukuna's power? We can't take half measures like this?"
"I'm not worried about Nanika. If she wished to go undetected…then not even the Yurei will sense her," Geto said with a dark smile. He looked back at Nanika, who absently tilted her head to the side. "And we got what we wanted in the end. We got some valuable information."
"I hope that's not an excuse," Jogo said with narrowing eyes.
They walked to the other side of the street and headed into a restaurant.
"Welcome! Party of one?" the hostess asked as Geto and the rest walked inside.
Geto smiled back at her and held up one finger. "Yes, only one."
They were all brought to a table in the corner, away from everyone else. Geto sat down at the booth with Nanika floating beside him.
"Really though. even if we all work together, we still wouldn't be able to kill him? Gojo Satoru," Jogo asked, wondering why Geto was making it out to be such an impossible task.
"You might be able to run away. Worst case, he'd exorcise you all," Geto explained despite Jogo's nasty scowl directed towards him. "Instead of trying to kill him, focus on sealing him."
"Sealing? How?"
"By using a special-grade cursed object…like the Prison Realm."
The volcano on Jogo's head suddenly started to rumble as smoke billowed off the top. "Prison Realm? You have it? That taboo object?" he nearly shouted with heated anticipation.
"Calm down, Jogo. It's getting hot." Geto warned him just as a waiter walked up to their table, ready to take his order.
"Sir, are you ready to or…der?" His words faded off as his body suddenly ignited with raging flames. The fire was so intense and hot that it burned him to nothing but ash and fragments of bone on the floor. The moment his body crumbled, the restaurant erupted into hellish screams of horror.
Geto narrowed his eyes and sighed. "I'd rather you not cause commotion."
"How about this?" Jogo lifted his hand and snapped his fingers, causing everyone in the restaurant to burst into flames and die on the spot. The commotions faded in a second, but the smell was still horrendous.
Geto coughed as Nanika tried to fan the smoke away from him. "Good thing I didn't choose an expensive restaurant."
"Geto. How strong am I in term of Sukuna's fingers?" Jogo asked feverishly.
"Being generous…I'd say about eight or nine," Geto answered.
"That's more than enough. Nanika had confirmed it, right? The easiest one to get rid of right now is the Yurei. All we have to do is…kill her host when she's alone." Jogo smiled madly as pitch-black smoke filled the air, reeking of irony blood and burnt flesh.
"Do you think this is overkill?" Juri asked while making her way through the school, convenient store bags in her arms.
"Hm? Well…regarding the situation, I have to agree with Gojo on this one. Since the kid is labeled as 'Dead', it's best to keep him hidden. It's not going to be for long though," Yurei responded, humming inside her head.
"Because of the Goodwill Event? It's practically right around the corner. But this time, those second-years are not gonna have Yuta with them." As the name left her lips, Juri smile turned into a saddened frown. "It was a sure-win last year."
Despite her love for all the Tokyo and Kyoto school students, Juri had a special place in her heart for Okkotsu Yuta. The day he first came to school was also the day she first started working there. Because of his shy and withdrawn nature, he felt the most comfortable around her since they were in the same boat. Yuta was also the first person to call her 'sensei', so hearing that melted Juri's heart and made her absolutely adore the child.
Yurei hummed, but there was a hint of edge to her voice. "Yeah, because they hadn't dispelled Rika yet. And if I recall… I had to be the one to take care of her after Yuta released her!" she reminded
Juri laughed awkwardly, remembering the day and how irritated Yurei was because she had to take care of Rika's outrage. "Once again…thank you for the help. But it's probably gonna be just like last year. Megumi, Nobara, and Yuji are probably gonna have to join this year to even the numbers."
"They are. I heard Maki had already asked Megumi and Nobara."
"Goodness gracious. I don't think it will be as lively as last year, but having those first years out on the field…along with Aoi, will be quite the show."
"Sounds exhausting," Yurei grumbled.
Juri smiled weakly before stepping inside a dark room with stairs leading into a hidden basement. She descended down the dark steps as the narrow passageway opened up to a mid-sized room with Gojo and Itadori inside waiting.
"Gojo-san, we're back," Juri announced as Yurei manifested behind her. "I'm not late, am I?"
Gojo turned around and saw the bags in her arms, full of things like sodas and chips. He smiled and gave her a thumbs up. "Nah. You're right on time."
Itadori studied the bags closely before giving Juri a perplexed look. "Hm. Kocho-sensei, what's all this for?"
"It's for your stay down here," Juri said eagerly and held the bags up so he could get a look inside. "Gojo-san has a lot of plans for you in the meantime."
Gojo shook his head. "I do. Yuji, you're better than most when it comes to combat, but right now, you've got to learn how to control cursed energy. And you need to learn how to control jujutsu," he said, noticing Itadori's face slowly turning joyous. "What's up?"
"It's just that if I'm gonna learn…I'm glad it's from you, Gojo-sensei. I'm weak and couldn't help anyone. I even almost got Fushiguro killed. I can't see them yet, not the way I am now. I want to become strong. Please teach me how to become the strongest," Itadori said with much determination.
Gojo's lips curled into a smirk while crossing his arms over his chest. "You've got a good eye."
"You're the one who dubbed yourself as the strongest, you idiot," Yurei spoke up dryly.
Gojo paid no mind to Yurei and directed Itadori's attention to the table beside them. "Anyway…Please pay attention to the cans over there, thank you," he said and waited for Juri to place the two soda cans down.
One of the cans was suddenly hit by an invisible force, while the other was twisted until all the soda spilled out the top.
"The one on the right was cursed energy. And the one on the left was cursed technique," Gojo explained.
Itadori leaned in close and studied the cans, looking deeply in thought. He nodded his head and said with great conviction, "I see. I don't get it."
Yurei huffed and floated up beside Gojo, nudging his shoulder. "Dumb it down a couple of grades," she whispered.
"Okay, let's see…" Gojo thought about it for a second before continuing. "Think cursed energy as electricity…and cursed techniques as electronics. It's difficult to use electricity by itself, right? So you use electricity to power electronics. This way, you can gain a variety of uses. I hit the can on the right with just cursed energy. As for the left, I used a technique. Makes sense?"
Immediately, Itadori's mind began to race with the things he was expecting to learn in due time. "That means I'm gonna learn a badass technique?"
"Nah. It doesn't work that way," Yurei said, her bluntness like a knife that made Itadori physically deflate onto the floor. "Jujutsu techniques are inherited. They can't be learned by an outsider."
Juri swiftly walked up to her friend and pulled her down to whisper, "Yurei, ease up on the bluntness." She looked over to Itadori and stared down at him. "Are you alright?"
"Ah…I just thought I could use thunder, or fire, or maybe a powerbomb," Itadori said weakly, flinging his arms around like he was imitating the cool power he could never have.
"You can still use a power bomb. Don't worry, Yuji. I don't have any cursed techniques either," Juri said, trying to find the words to cheer him up. "The only kind of power I have was granted to me by Yurei. Without her, I'm completely ordinary."
Gojo came up behind her and patted her shoulder. "Forget about that for now, let's focus on improving your strength. We'll apply cursed energy to your physical attacks. Rather than a cursed technique, this is probably more suited for you."
Suddenly having life sprung back into him, Itadori sat up fast. "Hold on! I already know how to do that!"
Juri perked up eagerly. "Oh? When did that happen?"
"Back at that place. I kinda got it."
"Then see if you can do it again," Gojo said and held up his hand, pointing to the center of his palm. "Right there."
Itadori grinned and began to wind himself up for a good punch. "Don't blame me if you get hurt."
"Yeah, yeah. Just hurry up," Gojo insisted as Juri and Yurei took a step back.
Itadori took a wide stance and reeled his body back. He thrust his fist into the air and collided it against Gojo's palm. Aside from making contact, nothing else had happened. There was no burst of cursed energy, no noise, nothing. Gojo didn't even flinch, and his hand hardly even moved. As far as everyone knew, it was just a regular punch.
"I didn't feel any cursed energy," Gojo informed him.
"Why?" Itadori questioned with bewildered eyes, not understanding why it didn't work now.
"The basis of cursed energy is negative emotions. The first time you did it, you were overwhelmed with fear and anger, right?" Gojo asked, watching the kid slowly recall what it was he felt back at the domain.
"Oh! When using cursed energy, I've always gonna be mad!" Itadori said with a dawning expression. "Is that why Fushiguro alway looks mad?"
"Nope. Every jujutsu sorcerer is trained to control their emotions when channeling cursed energy. So when you're overwhelmed with emotions…they try not to waste cursed energy. There are many ways to train for this. I'm gonna have you do a particular tough one."
"Like what?" the kid asked as he began to look nervous.
Gojo walked over to Juri and reached into the plastic bags. He fiddled through them for a bit before whipping out a couple of movie cases. "You're gonna watch movies."
Itadori blinked. "Wait. I'm gonna be watching movies?"
"Yup. I had Kocho-sensei get quite a spread. From classics all the way to niche horror films. Every waking moment, you're gonna be watching movies. And you won't be watching them alone, too. You'll be watching them with Yurei…and this guy." Gojo held up what looked like a stuffed bear with boxing gloves on, and at a second glance, it looked like it was sleeping, too.
Itadori took the doll and studied it. "What's with this cute-ugly doll?"
"Cute? It's one of the principal's cursed corpses."
"Ah! I thought it looked familiar. It's the same style." He studied the doll much closer when its big black eyes suddenly opened and slugged Itadori right in the jaw. Juri reached out to catch the stuffed bear as the kid wailed in pain, hunching over to nurse his aching jaw.
"It's a cursed corpse that will wake up if it doesn't receive a consistent flow of cursed energy," Gojo said.
Juri held the doll tightly as it waved its arms around, searching for someone else to hit. "So try and be careful," she said as the doll slowly fell back asleep in her arms.
"Couldn't I have gotten that warning first?!" Itadori cried out with a bruised lip and throbbing jawline.
Gojo continued. "Like I said before, there's a variety of movies here. Comedy, suspense, action. They'll make you feel a whole lot of things. This training will teach you how to control the flow of your cursed energy under any condition. You don't want to give it too much or too little."
With that, Itadori cautiously took the doll back and held it tightly between his hands. It flailed around for a bit, but with a little concentration, it quickly fell back asleep. "I get that…but why does Yurei have to be here with me?" he asked and looked up to Juri.
"This is a precaution on my part," Juri said while patting Yurei's shoulders. "To make sure Sukuna doesn't do anything, I'm going leave Yurei here for a couple hours. She does eventually have to return to me though, but do try and get along in the meantime. You understand me, Yurei?"
Yurei hung her head and gave Juri a bothered look. "Do I have to?" she said with a groan.
Juri smiled and lightly shoved her friend in Itadori's direction. "Yes. Now have fun, you two. I'm gonna step out for a bit to pick up more supplies. I'll be back shortly."
Things couldn't have been more awkward, even if he tried. Itadori didn't know what to do with himself. Whether it was lying down on the couch or sitting straight on it, Yurei still wouldn't say a word and floated soundlessly behind him, arms and legs crossed. Juri said to have fun, but did that also mean to say absolutely nothing to each other? Yurei's presence was cold and like a heavy blanket that, in a way, was suffocating. Only the two of them were in the room, but he had never felt more alone than if he was by himself.
"So…you like movies?" Itadori said, deciding to break the ice in the already cold room.
"I don't care for them. I just watch whatever Juri watches," Yurei answered him, but she just sounded bored and uninterested.
"Oh…I see." Itadori hunched over and sipped awkwardly on his soda. He thought maybe movies just weren't her thing. Perhaps she would open up if he asked a more interesting question. "So...how long have you and Kocho-sensei known each other?" he said hopefully.
Yurei's brows narrowed. "Shouldn't you be focusing on the movie?" she said with a cold blistery voice.
Itadori immediately shied away from her ruby eyes and hung his head. "Oh, ah…sorry," he said solemnly.
Yurei frowned and thought back to what Juri said before she left, repeating in her head like the words were haunting her. Yurei closed her eyes tightly and sighed. "Three years. I've known Juri…for three years," she answered, finally giving in to the wishes of her best friend.
Itadori perked up, already eager to ask more questions. He held the doll tightly and twisted his whole body around to show her his full attention. "Oh? Have you two always been together?"
Yurei nodded. "Yes, well…I don't really have a choice in the matter. Our souls are bound together. So I can't leave her." Yurei uncrossed her legs and glided closer, sitting down next to him. "But...I don't dislike it. She's a kind-hearted person and probably doesn't have a mean bone in her body. We're both cursed because of our bond…but I still want what's best for her," she said wistfully. "You have a curse of your own, right? One from Your grandfather?"
Itadori blinked. "Ah? Oh, yeah. It seemed like an innocent request, but…turned out to be bigger than I expected," he said awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head.
Yurei scoffed. "It wouldn't have been if you didn't eat the damn finger."
Itadori instantly deflated like a balloon. "Sorry…I was just wanting to help."
"Yeah, well…Juri would've still been fine even if you didn't do anything. There was no way she would've gotten hurt since I was there. Sorry to say this…but your sacrifice was meaningless." After letting those words play in her head, Yurei realized she might've been too harsh. Even if she thought his sacrifice was meaningless, Itadori was still a kid who wanted to ensure Juri was alright. She couldn't fault him for that. "But if anyone were to eat Sukuna's fingers and become his host…I'm grateful it was someone like you. You and Juri are quite similar, you know. You both have a charismatic kindness that seem to attract others," she said genuinely.
Itadori smiled when he realized she was trying to cheer him up. "Thank you. You know…I think this is actually the first time we talked one on one like this, Just the two of us. You can actually be a pretty kind person. If not a little awkward," he said with a light laugh and watched Yurei sink further into the couch, almost like she was pouting.
Itadori noticed something about her at that moment. Despite her scowl and cold eyes, she was relatively young-looking and had a small stature. Smaller than someone like Kugisaki. He never noticed because she always floated a couple feet above the ground and wore a long dress that obscured her legs. If he had to put an age to her face, he would guess that she would be at least in her late teens. Younger than Juri, but older than him.
Yurei slowly cocked a brow and gave him a confused look. "For a Cursed Spirit, don't forget. Creatures like me are still vastly different from people like you."
"I know, but you still seem...pretty human," Itadori hesitated to say while taking a sip of his soda.
"That so," Yurei said absently. "I can see that. I don't think I've changed very much. Back when I was just like you. Still…human."
In an instant, Itadori spat out the drink nearly down his throat. Soda dribbled down his chin as he snapped his head over to Yurei. "Wait! Human?" he choked up as the carbonation of the soda burned his throat and made his eyes water.
Yurei gave him a bewildered look. "Why are you so surprised? You had to have known, right? I mean, Sukuna was human too. We had lived in the same era."
Itadori couldn't take his eyes off her as his whole face began to blush a bright crimson. "Well, to be honest…the thought of you being something other than a Cursed Spirit never crossed my mind until now," he said, embarrassed that he hadn't put the pieces together.
Throwing her bafflement aside for now, Yurei continued. "Well, I've been a Cursed Spirit longer than I was human. But…All my memories are still very vivid and real to me. As if it was only just yesterday."
"What was it like when you were human?" Itadori asked without even thinking. "If you don't mind me asking," he added after.
Yurei's red eyes cast down to the floor. She grabbed a lock of her starlight-colored hair and played with it. There looked to be reluctance in her eyes, but the shadows of her bangs quickly covered it up. "Well…it was just my mother and I, poor as dirt and not having a single dollar to our name for the longest time. We did what we could to get by, but I went to sleep hungry most days, as did my mother. Life was a lot different than it is now. Food seemed scarce and people weren't so keen to give work to a single mother," she said, fighting against a strain in her voice.
"So they'd just let you and your mom starve?"
Yurei snickered a little at the innocent question. She didn't blame him for not understanding. Things were different back then, and people minded their own business. "For good reasons, actually. You see…my mother was a very troubled-minded person. I felt very estranged from her, and as I got older…I realized that I had already been cursed."
Itadori looked both perplexed as well as intrigued. "What do you mean?"
Yurei held her words back and looked ahead with a thousand-yard stare. It took her a moment to speak, but when she did, her voice had a hint of sadness and disgust. "The truth…is that I was born a very beautiful child, but with a mother like I had…and our social class. I realized a bit too late that it was a disaster waiting to happen," she said and hung her head solemnly.
At this point, Itadori felt overwhelmed with shock. He listened quietly to what she had to say but felt a bit scared to ask any more questions. It was hard to look at her now, sharing private moments of her previous life and displaying emotions on her face that he never knew she could make. They made her look regretful and…human.
Yurei continued. "I remember every little detail about the day it happened. I remember how cold the air was. What clothes I was wearing. Everything. My mother and I were walking through town when we were approached by an old man. His skin was bleach by the sun and his teeth were yellow." She sucked in a deep breath as she ran her fingers through her hair, staring off into space like she was reliving the day in her head. "I remember he was talking to my mother when he…gently caressed my face and touched my hair. He looked down at me, smiled with the yellow teeth, and said only six words that would change everything."
"What did he say?" Itadori dared himself to ask, but his words came out nearly breathlessly.
Yurei swallowed hard and closed her eyes tightly. Her tone changed and became deeper. As if she was imitating a man's voice. "'You are a very beautiful child.'"
Those words were simple. Complimentary even, but there was something about them that he didn't like. He could easily imagine what the man looked like, thanks to Yurei's description, but when he placed a voice to the face and repeated those words…it just made him feel sick.
"I was young back then, but I knew what this man was thinking was wrong and grotesque. I was uncomfortable and sick. I just wanted to leave. I grabbed my mom's arm and looked to her for help when I saw something…odd. There was an idea…inside her twisted head. We did end up leaving but that idea never escaped her. It was only a week later she…sold her 9 year old daughter to a brothel in exchange for money," Yurei finished, but not without having a pained expression surface to her face. She closed her eyes tightly and just shook her head in disappointment.
Itadori wanted to ask her so many more questions. What was life after you were sold? How did you meet Sukuna? How did you die? He wanted to ask them so badly that it stung his heart to even think about it, but instead of asking them. He kept his mouth closed and just watched her.
"Thanks for your hard work!" Juri smiled at the clerk as she walked out of the convenience store.
"Good night!" The clerk called out as the doors closed with a soft chime of the bell.
Juri smiled eagerly and pulled out a lemon-flavored Strong Zero (An alcoholic canned drink) from her bag. After buying things for Itadori earlier today, she thought to return to the store later tonight to buy things for herself. Since Yurei was busy and Gojo was leaving for a meeting with Principal Yaga, she thought she would take advantage of her new time alone.
As the day ticked away, Juri took her time and enjoyed her lemony drink as people rushed by. There were businessmen and women on their way home after a long day, as well as teenagers who looked to not be leaving any time soon.
As peaceful as everything seemed, it didn't last long when she felt a prickling sensation on the back of her neck. There was heat radiating against her bare skin, as well as tension on her throat. Juri raised a brow but forced herself to continue walking, not needing to look back to see what was happening.
A Cursed Spirit was following her...
Juri took another long swallow of her drink before lowering her head and abruptly headed into a random building to her right. Jogo followed close behind the young woman and watched with confusion as she headed up the stairwell, practically isolating and trapping herself with nowhere to go. Still, he followed her up slowly until he had reached the rooftop. He opened the door with a loud creak and found Juri waiting patiently for him, sitting on the edge with her back to the city.
"Evening," Juri smiled at him, lifting her drink in a welcoming manner.
Jogo stood in the doorway and stared at her, blinking and wildly confused. "You knew...I was following you?" he dared ask.
"Hm-mm," Juri nodded and took a sip of her drink. "I'm not oblivious, you know, despite popular beliefs."
Jogo held back on his words and looked around the area, inspecting it closely. "The Yurei...she's not here."
"If she was, then she would've come out by now," she answered calmly and tapped her fingers against the nearly empty can. "And the fact that you know of her...tells me you were waiting for an opportunity to strike, yes? To get rid of me."
Jogo stepped fully onto the rooftop and let the door close behind him. He found it bizarre, though. Juri was alone and knew her life was in danger, but instead of being afraid and trying to escape, she stayed calm and waited for him.
"What game are you playing? You don't have Gojo Satoru nor the Yurei. What is it..that you're planning?" Jogo demanded with a molten glare.
Juri finished the rest of her drink and sat it down gently on the floor. "Absolutely nothing, to be honest. I wasn't expecting my night to turn into a hunting match. I came out for a drink, and the next thing I knew, I was being followed by a special-grade Cursed Spirit," she said.
"But you're not afraid..."
Juri smiled a little. "Was I supposed to be?" She pulled her knees up and stood on the wall, arms wide open like she was about to take off against the rushing wind. She then brought her hands together in a thunderous clap as a white dome bloomed out and surrounded them, going on for miles and miles. "I know it's hard to believe, but…I'm a special-grade, too. And it's not for show."
Jogo instantly became alarmed as he took a stance. He heard from Geto that the white dome was Yurei's power, but he didn't know what it meant when she cast it. Anything could happen, which meant he had to be careful and watch her carefully.
"If you want to fight, then that's fine. But you're gonna have to catch me first." Juri smiled and waved at him one last time before vanishing in a blink of an eye.