Yūji speeds around the small market in Harajuku with bright smiles and stars in her eyes. She suddenly appears next to her teacher and classmate with her arms filled with souvenirs and random things she bought.
"This is so cool! I've only been to Shibuya for business, but to think that these places exist! Has our new classmate come yet?" Yūji rambles in her excitement, gleaming with happiness. Satoru just laughs while pointing to the left. Yūji tilts her head before turning.
She finally notices a 15 year old female with bright ginger hair ending at her chin, fair skin, and warm brown eyes, holding up the collar of some creepy old man with a scowl on her face.
"Oh wow! She's so pretty..." Yūji thinks with flushed ears. Sukuna scoffs, but doesn't say anything as he goes back into his domain.
"Hey! Over here!" Satoru shouts with a smile. He waves as the ginger haired teenager turns her attention on him.
"Damn, what's up with that blindfold?" Yūji giggles at the statement before popping a few pieces of popcorn into her mouth.
She gives her own wave, stars still sparkling around her. "Hi!"
"Eh? What's up with the bright personality? I thought there was only one other first year." Yūji pretends not to hear the second statement. They quickly group up before heading towards the ¥400 Corner.
"Okay! Once again," Satoru says with a hand motion towards the ginger haired teenager.
"Kugisaki Nobara." The female places a hand on her hip. "Be happy, boys. I'm the one woman in your group."
Yūji smiles brightly and raises her hand. "Itadori Yūji! I'm from Sendai!"
"Fushiguro Megumi," Megumi states blandly. Nobara huffs in disappointment, breaking her hard stare.
"I always get stuck with unfortunate circumstances..." Nobara mutters to herself, making Yūji tilt her head. She narrows her eyes slightly and pops a few more pieces of popcorn into her mouth.
"She took one look and sighed... Did I disappoint her somehow?" Yūji thinks to herself, biting her inner cheek in worry. She hates disappointing people.
"Are we going somewhere from here?" Megumi ignores Nobara to ask the question. Yūji tilts her head slightly, also curious.
Satoru chuckles, a hand in his pocket. "We do have all three of you together. Not to mention, two of you are from the countryside..."
"I feel like you said that as an insult," Yūji raises a hand as she says this.
"So, of course we're going on a tour of Tokyo!" Satoru continues as if he didn't hear Yūji. Yūji claps her hands excitedly and jumps up in the air.
"Tokyo! Tokyo! Tokyo! We love Tokyo!" Yūji and Nobara chant at the same time.
"Are you going to continue to act like an idiot in public?" Sukuna sighs in annoyance. Yūji just giggles and doesn't say anything to the curse.
"Gojo-sensei, Gojo-sensei! Where are we going? Let's go to Chinatown!" The pink haired teenager exclaims with a bright smile.
Nobara punches her shoulder with a loud shout of protest. "Chinatown's in Yokohama, idiot! I want to go to TDL!"
"TDL's in Chiba! And Yokohama's a part of Tokyo, look at a map!" Yūji retorts loudly.
"The hell?! Quit spouting nonsense!"
"I will now announce our destination. Roppongi!" Satoru states dramatically. Yūji and Nobara hold hands while staring at each other with starry eyes.
"Roppongi?!" Oh, this is going to be so fun!
Yūji keeps a tight smile on her face as she stares up at the abandoned building practically suffocating the air around it with cursed energy. She should have expected this from her teacher...
"There's a curse here," Megumi states calmly as he stares up at the building indifferently. Yūji slouches slightly and groans, an air of despair surrounding her.
"I celebrated too soon." If Yukimura-sensei saw me like this, she'd laugh her ass off.
"This isn't even Roppongi! You were toying with us country folk!" Nobara exclaims angrily.
"There's a cemetery nearby. The double whammy of that and an abandoned building brought out a curse," Satoru explains, bringing Yūji out of her despair. They all partially ignore Nobara's angry ranting.
"They really do pop up around negative energy," Yūji says to herself, still pouting slightly.
"People associate cemeteries with fear. The cemetery isn't the real issue with this." Megumi turns towards the pink haired teenager. Yūji blinks before making a small noise of realization.
"Negative emotions... So curses are parasites!" Yūji exclaims with bright eyes.
"Who the fuck are you calling a parasite, you fucking slut?!" Yūji winces at the loud shout that echoes in her mind. She groans internally as she feels a headache start to form. At least it isn't a migraine... yet.
"Eh? How'd you come to that conclusion? Do you not know anything?" Nobara asks with furrowed eyebrows.
Megumi stares blankly in front of him. "To be honest... Itadori-kun ate one of Sukuna's fingers and survived only two days ago."
"He swallowed a special-grade cursed object?!" Nobara jumps back with a disgusted expression. "Gross! Unbelievable! That's so unsanitary and disgusting! No way, no way, no way, no way!"
"Eh?! It wasn't my fault someone didn't tell me the full consequences of having a cursed object!" Yūji defends herself, giving Megumi a small glare.
"But you ate it! Disgusting!"
"I agree with her," Megumi says, making Yūji protest loudly.
"I want to know what all of you are capable of. Just think of this as a field test." Satoru's statement brings back Yūji's focus.
"Nobara, Yūji, you two go exorcise the curse in that building," The white haired man continues. Yūji stares up at the building and makes a small noise from the back of her throat.
"Since I can't use my cursed energy yet, things imbued with cursed energy will work, right? Asai-san had given me new rings with cursed energy imbued in them," Yūji asks for clarification, placing a hand on her hip.
"Yes, that'll work. You're basically half a curse already, but you can't learn how to control it overnight," Satoru agrees as he turns around. He walks over and holds out a sheathed dagger.
"It's the cursed tool, Slaughter Demon. It's a weapon imbued with cursed energy." Yūji unsheathes the dagger with starry eyes. She gasps in awe and turns the sharp blade in her hands.
"Oh, she's a beauty!" The pink haired teenager exclaims, bringing the blade up to her eyes. She inspects the blade before grinning widely.
Yūji widens her stance and holds out Slaughter Demon in front of her stomach. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. Her foot slides back and she lunges forward at an invisible enemy. Yūji's feet touch the ground for less than a second before she jumps and flips in the air. She twirls around and swings the dagger down toward the ground as she falls. She lands in a crouch on her feet, the tip of the dagger barely a centimeter above the ground.
She nods her head and stands up, sheathing Slaughter Demon. "I'm not used to practicing with or using such a light weapon like this, but it shouldn't be a problem!"
"Oh~! How'd you learn how to use a blade?" Satoru asks with a wide grin. Yūji smiles back and attaches the sheath to her lower back.
"Ah, an old family... friend, Yukimura Aimi, is my teacher. She's out of the country at the moment, but she'd beat my ass if she found out I stopped training," Yūji explains with pink ears. Megumi and Nobara were staring at her in surprise–and well-hidden awe. Nobara harrumphs and turns around to face the abandoned building. She starts to pull on a brown tool belt as she walks forward.
Yūji hums and starts to follow the ginger haired teenager. "Ah, one more thing. Yūji."
"Yes, Gojo-sensei?" She turns around, stopping before the broken fence blocking the abandoned building in.
"Don't let Sukuna out. Not only will he make every curse nearby disappear in a flash, you'll drag everyone else around into it," Satoru says seriously with a smile. Yūji blinks before giggling and waves off his concern, turning back around.
"I know! Thank you for the warning though, Gojo-sensei. I'll be sure to be careful if anything happens!" Yūji says with a lazy wave.
"Hurry it up!" Nobara exclaims loudly from the closed garage door. Yūji rolls her eyes and starts jogging over.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming Kugisaki-san," She states with a smile. She stops next to her female classmate and easily lifts up the door. They walk inside.
Nobara was finally living the life she wanted to live. She wasn't going to die in that godforsaken town she grew up in and she was able to be her true self without any judgement from anyone.
So, meeting her new classmates and teacher, she was severely disappointed. Megumi was the overconfident loner type and Satoru was creepy as well as arrogant. Then came the sudden new first year, Itadori Yūji.
God, did it annoy her how cheerful he was. Him, being a sorcerer? It makes her laugh just thinking about it.
Yūji was too cheerful to be a sorcerer, evident of his introduction. He was too kind to be one, evident of how he quickly helped any stranger who asked for his help on what was supposed to be their trip to Roppongi. He was too much of an open book. Yūji was going to die early on and Nobara didn't feel any pity for him. She tried to, but it annoyed her to no end that some cheerful normie was suddenly accepted into Tokyo Jujutsu High School when it took her months to even gain an interview with the stick-up-his-ass principal.
Then, she was informed that Yūji ate one of the strongest special-grade cursed objects in the world and survived. It didn't make any fucking sense. Not only was it absolutely disgusting, but Yūji somehow was an unregistered vessel of the strongest cursed spirit that there ever was. It made her suspicious. How could someone so cheerful, so happy-go-lucky, be the vessel of Ryōmen Sukuna, the King of Curses? How?
Yūji easily handling Slaughter Demon despite it being the first time he ever knew it existed didn't help ease her suspicion. He looked vaguely familiar too, but Nobara couldn't place her finger on it.
He was pretty though, much to her envy. Yūji rocked the long hair with an undercut, and Nobara absolutely hated to admit it, but she could argue that the boy looked more feminine than she does. Which is why she recognized he was a girl pretending to be a boy at anytime of day, almost immediately.
Something was still off about Yūji, though. It didn't make her skin crawl like most people who felt off did, but the feeling was still there. It didn't help that Nobara could tell something wasn't right with Yūji's mind either.
"What a pain," Nobara mutters to herself as she starts walking up the old staircase. "Why do I have to deal with curses after coming all the way to Tokyo?"
"I'm sure Gojo-sensei will let us have a bit of fun exploring after this field test," Yūji comments brightly, making Nobara scoff.
"Let's save some time and split up. I'll start from the top and go floor by floor. You start from the bottom. Let's get this over quick and grab some sushi from Ginza," Nobara suggests while pointing upwards. Yūji frowns slightly and tilts her head.
"That is a good idea, but we don't know what level of curse this is–or if there are more than one... we should try to stick together, at least until we find one–"
"I don't trust you," Nobara interrupts rudely, a hand on her hip. She frowns inwardly at Yūji's rapid blinking. She didn't seem surprised, or even shocked by the statement.
"You're too cheerful, even for someone who was a normie until recently," She continues as she turns back around. "There's something off about you too. Something you try to hide, but it's still there. Most boys don't like girls who hide their personalities, you know. Other girls too."
She starts walking after finishing her piece. Nobara pauses when she hears a small laugh from below.
"I don't hide it. There's just not a need for it to be shown. At least right now, Kugisaki-san." Nobara looks over her shoulder as Yūji starts walking back down the stairs.
"Even if you don't trust me, I hope you can put your faith in me to have your back," The pink haired teenager continues as if Nobara never even insulted her. The ginger haired teenager doesn't say anything and starts walking again.
That girl really was crazy. Nobara didn't like it that she couldn't tell how crazy the normie is.
Yūji hums in thought and turns to watch Nobara's legs disappear to the next floor. She smiles slightly and stifles a laugh.
Yūji didn't expect Nobara to be that intuitive. Especially with someone she just met.
The smile disappears when a freezing cold washes over her. She does a front handspring and pushes into the air, dodging a surprise hit from a curse. Yūji unsheathes Slaughter Demon and easily slices through the other arm of the curse as it aims another punch at her.
She lands on the ground with a small slide before she charges forward. Yūji bends backwards and slides underneath the curse, easily slicing through its stomach.
It screeches loudly in pain and tries kicking out one of its legs. "Do... you want... a... receipt...?"
"No, thank you!" Yūji declines cheerfully before she charges forward again. She leaps into the air and flips over the curse. She slams the blade into the curse's head, making purple blood spurt everywhere.
She nods in satisfaction and stands on top of the curse as it slowly disappears. Using Slaughter Demon won't be a problem.
Yūji stretches her back and sheathes the dagger. Time to go up a floor.
She kept a small, somewhat stale routine as she slowly made her way up the building. It increasingly becoming boring once it became apparent that there was likely no other curse in the building. At least, no more than one.
Yūji snaps her head up when she hears a muffled cry. It sounded like a child.
Her eyes narrow and she races over to the concrete wall, pressing her ear against it. Protect, protect, protect, protect!
"Why is a child hanging around here?" Yūji thinks with a scowl as she takes a step back from the wall. She could feel the curse in front of her, past the wall.
"You won't make it in time," Sukuna states indifferently. Yūji makes a small noise and pulls back her fist.
"Who said I was going to find another way? There's one right in front of me." Yūji takes a deep breath and punches through the concrete. She blinks in surprise when her fist doesn't go through anything else.
"Kugisaki-san, did I miss the curse? Damn!" Yūji exclaims loudly before pulling out her arm. She throws an easy kick to the wall, bringing the whole thing down, and jumps through the dust.
The curse squeals in fright, a sharp fingernail pressed against the child's neck. Yūji quickly slices the arm off with Slaughter Demon, grabbing the child and protectively holding him against her chest. She roughly lands a kick against the curse, using the momentum to jump back.
"Are you okay?" Yūji asks with a soft smile. The boy nods with a terrified hum affirmation. Yūji smiles even brighter and runs a hand through his hair.
"It's getting away!" Yūji exclaims, focusing back on the curse when it starts to pass through another wall.
"I don't think so! Itadori! Give me that arm!" Nobara orders angrily. Yūji glances down at the curse's arm and quickly kicks it over. She watches in slight fascination as Nobara drops a straw doll on top of the arm.
"A straw doll?" The boy states in terror.
"It is a bit creepy, isn't it?" Yūji says with an awkward smile.
Nobara's eyes widen slightly as she holds out a nail. "Straw Doll Technique: Resonance!"
She slams her hammer against the nail, forcing it through the straw doll and the arm as a light blue aura surrounds it.
"Oh wow! It's dead now!" Yūji watches the arm turn to purple mush. She keeps the boy to her chest and smiles brightly.
"We won," Nobara mutters to herself while panting.
"Kugisaki-san, I'm glad you're alright, but you really should have listened to me!" Yūji states kindly and walks forward with the kid close to her.
"You never said we had to stick together!" Nobara walks forward with a scowl before pointing towards the hole in the concrete wall. "And what have you been eating that lets you punch through a wall with your bare hand?!"
"I'd like to know as well," Sukuna comments, making Yūji pout as she points at the hole.
"It wasn't maraging steel or tungsten alloyed with steel!" Yūji defends herself loudly.
"Even if it was, that'd still be impossible for most people!" Nobara retorts, making the argument even bigger. Yūji pouts and crosses her arms as the child laughs awkwardly between them.
"Onēchan... You're really strong," The boy compliments nervously. The pink haired teenager looks down at him and smiles brightly.
"Thank you! You're plenty strong yourself. Being held by that thing must've been really scary," She says, crouching down to be eye level with the boy.
"What's your name?"
"Azaki Takatsugu," The boy introduces himself shyly.
Yūji smiles and holds out her hand. "Itadori Yūji! It's nice to meet you, but you must be ready to get home."
Tears form in Takatsugu's eyes and he nods with a sniff. Yūji smiles softly and pats his head.
"It's okay to cry. It was really scary. I'd cry if that was me, right Kugisaki-san?" Yūji glances up at her classmate. She opens her mouth to protest, but glances down at Takatsugu. Nobara huffs and places a hand on her hip.
"Yeah. Me too," Nobara lies, making Takatsugu wipe his tears away before he buries his face in Yūji's chest. His shoulders shake as he starts to cry.
"Thank you," Yūji mouthes to the ginger haired teenager, running a hand through Takatsugu's hair. Nobara huffs again, her cheeks turning pink as she averts her gaze.
"You owe me one now." Nobara walks towards the exit and looks over her shoulder. "Thanks for saving me and the kid. Now, let's get to it. I'm hungry."
"Of course, Kugisaki-san! Kugisaki-san, what was that technique back there? It was so cool and creepy!" Yūji exclaims with stars in her eyes. She easily pulls Takatsugu onto her back and lifts him in a piggyback ride.
"Tch. Call me Nobara. You make it sound like I'm some old lady," Nobara states with an eye roll. Yūji grins brightly and quickly catches up with her classmate.
"Nobara-kun, really. What was that thing with the straw doll? Oh! And you can call me Yūji if you'd like!"
Hey! Hope you all like the new chapter!
Also, I think I had implied it in a previous chapter, but Yūji is stronger than in canon. I really just did it 'cause she has a crazy bitch as her old teacher (that teacher is Yukimura-sensei)
And yes. The parasite thing was a little something from Venom.
I hope you all are enjoying the story so far! Bye.
WhovianWhoudini