Chapter 6

Meanwhile in the Nakagusuku Hotel ruins

A hotel long since abandoned by the humans who sought to make their fortune, only to suffer misery, mishaps and death while trying to be construct the hotel. The owner himself tried to disprove that the land was haunted, staying inside the construction site a single night… only to be driven mad the next morning.

No one has since dared entered the place, except for some teenagers looking to gain a quick scare or to prove their worth to their peers. One such night befell upon the hotel ruins.

Four teenage boys were about to prove their bravery to each other, the first one snickered as he was armed with a can of spray paint and was prepared to go into the ruins to make a tag. Yet as he turned to make certain his friends were watching, he froze.

They vanished!

"Guys?" he called aloud. There was no answer. "This isn't funny anymore! Come on!" he called out.

He tried to see if they were hiding in the bushes or someplace stupid to try and get a scare out of him. But it appears something had happened to them, since he found their shoes still on the ground.

Then a creepy sensation came over his back. A chill like no other traced down his spine as he slowly turned. He wasn't even given time to scream as he was snatched off the ground and pulled up into the trees, his throat bit into, his body went into a numb state, as his flesh began to melt…

#

"She's at it again…"

The disgruntled voice came from inside the hotel ruins, he sneered at the sight of it all, but there was no choice in the matter. Despite not asking for her help, she came anyways and has since kept the humans at bay. After all, Chukan had far more important matters to attend to.

"A thousand years you said, Sukuna, a thousand years and we could be as great as you… no… we will become better than you!" he said to himself. Chukan, one of the original sorcerers who sought out the King of Curses, to learn from him and become his devoted apprentice. The day that happened keeps getting replayed in his mind.

He was a young, strapping sorcerer. The world was going to be his and he knew it. Yet, when word spread of one Ryumon Sukuna he didn't think much of it… until he heard about his power. Armies were defeated with ease by a single sorcerer!

The power he desired must be learned from a master. And that master is Sukuna!

He sought him out alone, but he wasn't the only one. They came by the hundreds, all seeking to learn from the King of Curses himself as devoted minions. In hopes of one day becoming as great as he.

Yet in the hundreds that came, only five managed to reach him. Chukan recalled he was barely alive when he reached the master's domain. Sukuna sat there with discontent as he stared down the five who managed to reach him. "So, you were that determined were you?" he asked the five who were barely alive.

"Please, great and powerful…"

"Silence!" he snapped back.

They fell silent to his command as he merely repositioned himself, he never bothered to stand before them but still he glared down at them with discontent. "Why take such a risk? When I can easily kill you all here and now?" he asked.

They had to answer him, Chukan said the only thing that came to his mind. "If we are to die by your hands so be it, it would be an honor to do so!" he shouted. His head remained lowered, he couldn't see the reaction of the King of Curses.

But he heard his laugh.

The laughter haunted his ears as he dared to peer up. Sukuna was amused by his words. "Then you should have died before reaching me!" he cackled. But then he stopped laughing, he calmed himself but the smile grew even viler. "Such devotion… to think you honestly believed you were worthy to learn from me?" he asked in a cruel tone.

"We will do anything…"

"I said silence!" he snapped.

But the one who spoke out wasn't killed. This startled them, as Sukuna appeared to think something over. A devious grin appeared. "Perhaps, if you trained for another thousand years, I would consider taking you on as my disciples," he said offhandedly. "For only then would you even be worth while to teach, for you may reach my level by then…"

They kept silent, not knowing how to respond to him. "Raise your heads," he ordered.

They did as he said. He tossed them each an item, a cuff of all things. "Keep these on you at all times, try and reach my level, and from there… I will decide if you are worthy. These cuffs are to remind me… as to who you are."

Chukan snapped out of his memory as he stared at the cuff on his left wrist. In a thousand years he managed to cultivate himself to a demon sorcerer. He stopped aging when he turned 45. He even managed to grow four arms and create his own curse marks that appear like severed limbs across his body, but he knows he is not as powerful as Sukuna himself. "I will show him, I won't be defeated by a mere child!" he decreed.

"On and on you go about that… will you give it a rest already?"

He sneered to her tone. "You feel the same as I do Oyayubi!" he snapped back. "He mocked us, but, at least we weren't defeated by a child!" he paused and sighed. "I scolded Paum for his blasphemy of Sukuna, only now do I understand and see that he is right, he was right all along…"

She walked in so casually, picking the flesh out of her pointed teeth she merely smirked. "Indeed, no one has ever seen a demon vessel that strong before, in fact, I heard that the boy was even able to suppress him quite well."

Chukan's rival… Oyayubi. She is one of the five members of the Yubi-Kotsu, but her cultivation was even beyond his. She became more spider like than human. Her back arched and grew out as she transfigured her backside to create a spider's abdomen and spinners. She has grown an additional set of legs to carry her altered form and also managing to forge a second set of arms, granted far smaller than his own, but the fact she was able to double her own size and strength within a thousand years. All over her body she is covered in spider web curse markings, even her exposed breasts. But she could care less about how she looked, all she cared about was power.

"Are you nearly done?" she asked in a board tone. "I have work to do myself, and I don't wish to keep eating teenagers, they are so… stringy to me!" she said.

He had come to the abandoned hotel to harvest curses with her assistance. She can create webbing that will trap any and all who enter it. Of course, it was part of the favor he needed to ask of her. "I nearly have enough for my army. I have over 500,000 finger bearers ready to strike! As well, I have recruited some special grade curses, who are gathering more legions for the sake of war! There are even sorcerers among us…"

"Blah, blah, blah! I don't care!" she protested. "It's bad enough you have been taking from my forest, but we have a deal, right?" she demanded.

He smirked. "Of course, I will not interfere with your territory within suicide forest from here on after your assistance today." He vowed.

"And?!" she demanded of him.

He sighed aloud. "You really want those?" he asked of her. "What's the point of obtaining those?"

She giggled. "They are my favorite part!" she whispered and licked her lips with greed. "But a deal is a deal right? The moment you have them, they are delivered to me. The eyes of Satoru Gojo!" she said and caressed her stomach. "Mmm, I know those are going to taste divine!" she cooed.

He sneered at the notion. "Yes," he muttered. "And as for MY end of this arrangement. I want the demon vessel!" he protested.

There came this look over her, she knew something he didn't. "Why are you glaring at me like that?"

"Didn't you hear? It's what all the curses are talking about right now…" She ventured to the corner of the room where she kept a stack of magazines to pass the time, often obtained by the teens she feeds from. But she revealed the cover to Chukan. He paused as he stared upon it, but then froze.

"Wait, is this?!" he demanded.

She nodded her head. "This isn't the demon vessel to say the least, but this one is defiantly Sukuna… the resemblance is… uncanny." She said, her hand traced along his defined muscle tone as she continued to lick her lips with greed. "It's amazing that a part of him survived, but if that's the case, why is he doing this?" she asked.

It was a good question. This one is a dead ringer for Sukuna, and yet… he is in all these modeling books! "Perhaps master has returned but has no memory of his past…" he paused but then smiled. "We just need to awaken that within him. He will be grateful that we did and he would have to take us on as disciples!" he decreed. But then he remembered what he spoke of with Paum… why awaken the memory? Perhaps it would be better to dispose of him before he recalls his powers.

Oyayubi grinned as well. "Perhaps… I can become MORE than just his disciple…" she said with a greedy grin. "But first things first. We need to erase those sorcerers who stood against him. We got a good indication of them, however, this demon vessel… something does not sit well with me on that."

He was curious to her opinion. "Oh?" he asked curiously. "If I recall before asking for the demon vessel myself, you wanted to eat him!"

She sneered at the notion. "The vessel will be hard to consume, as well, rumor has it, this one possesses divine energy within himself as well as curse. If I devoured him, I would just end up killing myself!" she protested. "But still, something about this vessel and this… Sukuna… isn't sitting well with me."

"It matters not, in a few months, we will have the army we need to take down those sorcerers! I will return to my work and ensuring we have enough to command, then, Paum will be ready with a special curse for one Satoru Gojo!" he said with a grin on his lips. "Tell Paum that we will need his guidance soon."

She sighed aloud, turning to her spider abdomen, from there curse threads began to come out as she was quick to make a message and sent the silk floating into the wind outside. "He will get the message sooner than later. I am going back to my forest. You're on your own from here on… but remember…"

"Yes, yes, I will obtain the eyes of Satoru Gojo for your payment!" he insisted.

She vanished shortly after. Chukan then turned to re-enter the abandoned hotel and into the subbasement.

Although he was harvesting curses here, he also used this place to store his legions.

There they were lingering in a suspended state, the finger bearers he has made throughout the years. But he still needs a few more. After all, some had escaped and gone missing. They are easy to be replaced, but he hopes none of the jujutsu sorcerers have found them yet!

#

"Achoo!"

"You okay Satoru?"

He cleared his nose as he wondered where that sneeze came from. But he shrugged his shoulders to it all. "Fine, fine… so you boys appear to have had a nice little shopping spree!"

Yuuji and Suiryu just returned, but Gojo snickered the moment he saw Yuuji's arms full of clothing. "Those were gifts," Suiryu muttered. "Help yourself, I ain't wearing that shit again."

"My aren't you just a ray of sunshine! By the way, why do you call me by my first name? I am a teacher here too you know."

Without missing a beat, Suiryu snapped back. "As am I, and I am not a student,"

"You could be a little more respectful, he treated me well when no one else did," Yuuji whispered.

"Oh it's fine, really Itadori, I don't mind. I am just having a little fun," Gojo insisted as he waved off the comment. "Besides, I do believe we have something to talk about…"

The mood changed instantly as the two appeared stern and nodded in agreement. Yuuji was quick to rush the clothing to his room before turning and making a personal domain up.

When the three were alone, Gojo sat down with them. "Suiryu has been correct on many things, the fifth hand, the elder being one of them as well as the growing legions that one of them has decided to make. We have found more fingers about Aokigahara Forest, but we are also finding a lot more curses, stronger ones for that matter. Some reaching special grade before even consuming the finger,"

Yuuji froze. "Damn," he whispered.

"What we don't know is where their base is, their legions or who is behind it all. I doubt the elder who is sitting among you is behind this. Keeping face is just as important as maintain power." Suiryu stated. He paused to think about it, trying to recall anyone that came to mind from Sukuna's past. He shook his head to the notion of it all. "He barely remembered these five, to him they were piss ons." He said. "But already I am starting to get a sense of their power, it has been growing steadily in the past while. That, or they are planning a strike sooner than later."

"We're not ready…" Yuuji whispered. "Despite how strong I am, I don't have full control over this!"

Gojo nodded. "We also have reports of rouge sorcerers moving about oddly."

"Shit, refined battle skills are tough to deal with than a wild curse. None of your friends are ready, they are just reaching the first safe point of the mountain test I have given them. Which means they will be able to withstand at least two special grades… they don't realize that the journey up, what energy they are expelling is how much is needed to take a special grade curse down. They can do so with ease now for the most part. The safe point, when they face me. That would be if they have to face a second one."

"You really are a diabolical teacher…" Gojo said and yet laughed aloud. "I'm thrilled! The kids think you're being unfair when in reality, you're just being a hardass!"

Suiryu appeared rather proud of himself as his chest puffed up. "Despite everything, I am doing it for their sake."

"I know, they wanted to quit having you as a teacher until Inumaki spoke some sense into them! Since when could he speak telepathically?"

"Wait, you can do that?!" Yuuji demanded.

'Yeah, see, like this.' Suiryu said in everyone's head.

"So… can ANYONE learn this?" Gojo asked curiously.

"Anyone with curse energy," he said in an unimpressed tone. "But the more important aspect here is that we need allies, we don't have enough. As well, I am considering taking the students from Kyoto under wing as well. We need all the help we can get."

Gojo nodded in agreement. "Whether or not they will is the problem, since they are not our students to say the least."

Suiryu however appeared to ho hum the notion. "I think I can convince them," he said and then that evil smile crept over his lips. "I KNOW I can,"

"That's creepy…" Gojo muttered, but he sighed aloud in agreement. "We need to consider all options here…"

"Yuuji needs to consume the cursed womb death paintings" Suiryu said suddenly.

Gojo froze.

Yuuji did too as a wave of disgust came over him. "What?!" he demanded. "Those are fetuses! I am NOT eating those!" he protested.

"Ryujin has a plan for them, but they only way to reach him…"

"NO!" Yuuji snapped back. "I won't do it!"

"I have to agree with Yuuji on this, it's crossing the line here. Why would Ryujin need them for?"

Suiryu shook his head to it all. "I don't know, but he has expressed interest in them…"

"I am going to sort it out with him later…" Yuuji muttered, but then paused. "Wait, why did he tell you and not me? He's living in ME!" he protested.

"Besides that, let's start out with getting the students stronger, as well as getting the ones in Kyoto to cooperate." Gojo announced.

"As I said, leave that to me," Suiryu stated as the smile returned. "I'll convince them on Monday,"

"Why not tomorrow?"

"Photo shoot," muttered Yuuji. "He dragged me into it since it is a 'Halloween' edition… damn you,"

Gojo snickered. "This I can't wait to see… that and Nobara's reaction!"