Jujutsu Kaisen doesn't belong to me. Here is the fourth chapter! I hope you enjoy it!
Now, answering the reviews I have received:
Natsu98: Yeah, Sukuna has a few right points, even if his intentions are shady.
Toruushin: Of course I know what is currently happening in the manga. And I can tell you Sukuna's intentions aren't good at all. Poor Yuuji.
Thank you both for your kind reviews, it means a lot to me!
Yuuji was heading, barely containing his enthusiasm, to what would be his first class. He had slept better than expected last night and felt that nothing could ruin his good mood. He approached the classroom and smiled a bit as he sensed the navy blue aura that belonged to Fushiguro. He opened the door and looked in his friend's direction.
"Good morning!"
Fushiguro grunted a bit and looked up from his phone. "Good morning, Itadori," he replied and returned his attention to his phone.
"How are you?" Yuuji asked as he sat at the desk to the right of the dark-haired boy. Megumi sighed and turned off his phone. He put it in his left pocket and looked at Itadori.
"Fine, and you?" he asked disinterestedly.
"Fine too," Yuuji replied, undeterred by Megumi's attitude. "And Kugisaki? Hasn't she arrived yet?"
"What do you think?"
Yuuji looked towards the door as he felt Kugisaki's aura approaching. Her aura was pink, and like Fushiguro's, it radiated a warmth that made Yuuji feel quite comfortable being near it.
He shook his head slightly as the words of Sukuna involuntarily came to his mind. He didn't believe a word of what the King of Curses had told him.
"I don't understand," he thought as he glanced at Nobara, who had just entered, and Megumi. "What sense does it make for Sukuna to tell me all of that?" He still couldn't grasp their intentions and wasn't sure if he wanted to know.
"Because you don't seem to have a shred of survival instinct," Sukuna replied mockingly right away.
"Leave me alone!" Yuuji gritted his teeth, irritated, and made an effort to pay attention to his classmates. Nobara was saying that she wanted to go shopping for some clothes, and Yuuji tried to focus on her words.
Sukuna began to laugh at that moment, clearly finding the reaction he had elicited very amusing. "Have you forgotten that you have no choice but to listen to me?"
"Because you say so," Yuuji retorted, in a bad mood. He knew they weren't lying; he would have noticed immediately. When something like that happened, the person's aura darkened slightly for a few seconds.
"I should buy some clothes too," the pink-haired boy said, trying to ignore Sukuna and focus on what was happening in the classroom. "Would you mind if I went with you, Kugisaki?"
"Sure, anyway, I'll need someone to carry my bags," Nobara commented. She turned and looked at Fushiguro. "And you? Are you coming too?"
Megumi nodded. "I have to go to the mall anyway. I can accompany you."
"Great!" Yuuji exclaimed, trying to sound enthusiastic. "It'll be more fun if we all go."
"What will be more fun?" Gojo asked with interest. The teacher was smiling as usual and seemed to be in a good mood.
"We're going to one of the Shibuya shopping malls after class," Nobara said, flashing a wide smile.
Yuuji raised his gaze when he felt a change in his teacher's grayish aura. He furrowed his brow a bit, unable to understand the reason for this slight alteration. But before he could even think about it, it had returned to normal.
"What are we going to do today?" Megumi asked, eyeing the teacher suspiciously. Gojo, far from being offended, chuckled a bit.
"We're going to work on your physical abilities a bit," the teacher said. "So, follow me outside," he requested.
Sukuna observed through Yuuji's eyes what was happening. The King of Curses suppressed a yawn and settled into his throne. He rolled his eyes a bit when Yuuji was able to defeat Megumi again in an individual combat.
"Your companions are quite weak, kid," he commented mentally and couldn't help but smile when he saw that his words momentarily distracted Yuuji, allowing Megumi to kick him in the left side.
"Don't insult them!" Yuuji shouted, clumsily defending himself against his friend's next attack.
"Although at least they can use cursed energy properly," Sukuna continued to taunt, amused.
"Maybe I won't be able to have a cursed technique, but I'll still be able to handle cursed energy," Yuuji muttered under his breath.
"We'll see about that, kid. They might have lied to you, you know?"
"Stop saying those things!" Yuuji erupted, frowning and hitting Megumi harder than he intended. The boy barely managed to block his right fist. And when he recovered, he gave Yuuji an annoyed look.
"I'm just saying that it's possible they don't want you to get too strong. Don't tell me you haven't thought about it, kid."
Yuuji didn't respond to that. He tried to pay attention to the class, but Sukuna wasn't willing to give up.
"You can't help but rely on cursed energy weapons. You're really pathetic, brat."
"Shut up!" Without realizing it, Yuuji had shouted that out loud, startling Megumi and Nobara in the process. Gojo furrowed his brow a bit and approached Yuuji.
"Is there something wrong, Yuuji?" the teacher asked.
The pink-haired boy, who had realized what had happened, blushed a little, nervously. "I'm sorry, I..."
"It's none of your business, sorcerer," Sukuna retorted to Gojo. The special grade curse manifested a mouth on Yuuji's right cheek to communicate. The boy immediately covered it with his right hand and offered an apologetic glance to his teacher.
"It's so creepy!" Nobara exclaimed, stepping back a bit, away from Yuuji. The boy tried to hide the hurt that comment caused him, but unfortunately for him, Sukuna noticed it right away.
Yuuji did his best to ignore Sukuna's laughter and focused on answering the teacher's question. "No, nothing's wrong," he lied smoothly.
"Are you sure?" Gojo asked, not entirely convinced. Yuuji nodded briefly, and the teacher added, "You know that as your teacher, I have to know if anything's wrong so I can help you."
"It's nothing, really," Yuuji insisted. "It's just Sukuna saying nonsense."
Gojo nodded. "I trust your judgment, don't worry. But if you feel like you can't control it, let me know. I can help," the adult said. Yuuji nodded but didn't say anything else. At that moment, Gojo clapped his hands, getting the attention of the three students. "Let's end the class here for today, okay?"
The three kids nodded, visibly relieved, and relaxed a bit. Yuuji, still concerned about Nobara's words, approached her. "Shall we go to the shopping mall you mentioned?"
"Of course!" Nobara exclaimed, smiling a bit. "Or are you chickening out, Itadori?"
"But you said..." Yuuji didn't finish his sentence as Nobara cut him off.
"About the creepy thing?" the girl asked, somewhat annoyed. "I wasn't talking about you, idiot!"
Yuuji smiled more genuinely upon hearing that; it was as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
Nobara watched Yuuji critically. They had entered a men's clothing store, and despite the boy's protests, she had forced him to try on different clothes from what he usually wore.
Yuuji scratched his neck uncomfortably. "Isn't this too formal?" he asked, looking at her. Although he had to admit that the black shirt didn't look bad on him, it wasn't his style.
"Stop talking nonsense!" Nobara retorted, glancing at Megumi. She glared at him, challenging him to disagree.
"I think Itadori prefers hoodies," Fushiguro commented, receiving a grateful look from Yuuji and an irritated one from Nobara, who grumbled a bit.
"Boys lack fashion sense... I don't know why I bother," the girl said, throwing in the towel. Not wanting to push his luck, Yuuji entered the dressing room, changed his clothes, and came out with a wide smile.
"Shall we grab something to eat?" he asked happily. "I'm hungry, aren't you guys?"
"We haven't finished yet," Nobara protested immediately, looking at Megumi, who couldn't help but shudder when he realized her intentions.
"We've been here for over two hours already," Yuuji protested. "Aren't you tired yet?"
Nobara frowned and looked at him, annoyed. "For your information, I need new clothes! I can't go around Tokyo looking like anything!"
Taking advantage of the argument between the two, Megumi quietly left the store. Yuuji was the first to notice, and he willingly followed, forcing Nobara to follow them.
"Where do you guys want to eat?" the pink-haired boy asked, looking at his companions. "I want someplace with meat."
"Sushi."
"Pizza," Megumi said at the same time as Nobara.
The three exchanged a glance, and in this situation, Yuuji couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Shall we decide with rock, paper, scissors?" he suggested.
"I'm going to win," Nobara declared, preparing herself immediately. Megumi sighed resignedly and shook his head.
"I'll pass, you guys decide," he said, putting his hands in his pockets and looking somewhat indifferent to his companions.
"Alright then, Itadori," Nobara focused all her attention on the pink-haired boy, who hid his left hand behind his back. "Rock, paper, scissors! On the count of one, two, three!" When Nobara finished speaking, both revealed what they had chosen. Yuuji had gone for scissors, while Nobara had chosen rock. "I won!" Nobara exclaimed excitedly.
"Can we go now?" Megumi asked, lowering his head a bit, painfully aware that people around them were staring.
"Yeah, come on, I'm hungry," Yuuji said, walking ahead of his two companions. He was in a good mood at the moment. Not only did he have the chance to spend time with them, but Sukuna had been quiet since the morning classes, something he greatly appreciated.
"Wait for us!" Nobara shouted, walking as fast as she could.
Yuuji silently followed Nobara and Megumi. They had been eating when suddenly they received a call from Ijichi, one of the Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical High School assistants responsible for assigning missions.
"What grade is the curse, Fushiguro?" Nobara asked, looking serious.
"Grade one," Megumi replied.
"Are they strong?" Yuuji inquired, interested, receiving irritated glances from his two companions in the process.
"Among the strongest," Fushiguro explained. "Only curses of special grade are stronger," he clarified.
"Oh... I see," the pink-haired boy murmured.
"Yuuji, can I ask you something?" Fushiguro said, adopting a serious expression. "It's better if you don't fight this time."
"But..." As the dark-haired boy expected, Yuuji disagreed.
"You didn't bring a cursed weapon," Fushiguro reminded him, more sharply than he intended. "And even though you could solve that by releasing Sukuna, it's too dangerous. So please, this time, stay on the sidelines and let Kugisaki and me handle it."
"I'm not going to stand by and do nothing!" Yuuji exclaimed, frowning.
"Why!?" Megumi shouted, clenching his fists. "Let us take care of it! Right now, all you can do is get in the way!"
Yuuji fell silent upon hearing that and tried to think of a way to counter Megumi's words, but before he could do so, Sukuna intervened. "What are you going to do, kid? They're sidelining you, you know, right?"
The pink-haired boy clenched his fists upon hearing that. He completely ignored Megumi's warnings and stood at the same level as his two friends, who had already started to walk away. "I'm going with you," he said, seriously.
Megumi was about to continue the argument, but Nobara intervened first. "Stop arguing already! It's not the time!" she scolded, annoyed. Then, seriously, she looked at Yuuji. "Just try not to get in our way. As long as you don't, I don't have a problem with you coming with us."
"Kugisaki!" Megumi was not at all pleased with that.
"Fushiguro, I guess you've already noticed, but no matter what you tell him, he's planning to come with us," the girl pointed out, seriously.
Megumi let out a sigh of resignation and looked ahead. "Let's go. The sooner we finish this, the better."
They found themselves in a worse scenario than Fushiguro had anticipated. The grade one curse, in an attempt to increase its chances of victory, had taken several children hostage.
Completely convinced of its victory, the creature laughed, showing two rows of irregular yellowish teeth.
"What do we do?" Itadori asked, clenching his fists and assuming an offensive stance.
"As long as it has the children, we can't do much," Nobara interjected, frowning.
"If you cover me, I can try to rescue them," Yuuji suggested, glancing sideways at Fushiguro.
"It's too risky," Fushiguro was not at all convinced about that, which was starting to irritate Yuuji greatly.
"I can do it, really," he said, flashing a defiant smile. "You'll see." Yuuji rushed towards the curse without even giving Fushiguro a chance to summon his divine dogs.
"Itadori, wait!" Megumi yelled, but it was too late. The curse opened its mouth and released a powerful wave of energy, hitting Itadori directly. It threw the boy backward, causing him to be thrown against the wall and fall to the ground, barely conscious.
Megumi gritted his teeth and summoned his two divine dogs. "Any ideas, Kugisaki!?"
She took out two of her nails and her hammer. "If we don't do something, we'll end up dead," she said, serious.
The curse launched its attack at them, but Megumi and Nobara quickly dodged it. Nobara threw her nails at the curse from the right side, taking advantage of the creature's blind spot. They pierced the curse's skull, and in retaliation, it dug its nails into the neck of one of its hostages, killing him instantly.
Nobara frowned and decided to take advantage of her nails still being in the curse's head to activate another of her techniques. She snapped her fingers, and a large amount of cursed energy was released from the nails, tearing apart the curse from the inside.
Megumi ran to Yuuji and checked if the boy was okay. He frowned with concern when he saw that Yuuji was unconscious and bleeding from the head. He turned to look at Nobara.
"Call Ijichi and tell him that Itadori is injured. He needs medical treatment."
"No need to tell me," Nobara protested, already holding the phone in her hand and dialing the number.
Yuuji opened his eyes with effort. He sat up and rubbed his head, feeling a severe headache. He looked around, bewildered, recognizing where he was. It appeared to be some kind of infirmary.
A tall woman with dark brown hair stood with her back to him, retrieving something from a shelf.
"Um..." Yuuji said aloud, feeling somewhat disoriented. The woman turned and approached when she noticed he was awake.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, crossing her arms.
"Fine... I think," Yuuji murmured. "I have a bit of a headache."
She nodded as if she had been expecting that. "You took quite a hit to the head. You're lucky that's all that happened."
"We were fighting a curse," Yuuji remembered. "Are my friends okay?" he asked, unable to stop himself from looking around. He felt profoundly relieved to see that the other beds were empty.
"Yes, only you were injured," the woman replied. She approached one of the gray shelves and rummaged through a drawer until she found some pills. "Here, take these for the headache, Itadori."
"Thanks. Can I leave now?" Yuuji asked, sitting on the bed with his feet on the floor.
"I'd like you to stay for a couple more hours," she said. "Just to make sure everything's in order," she added, seeing the annoyed look on her patient's face.
"...Alright," Yuuji muttered with evident reluctance. The woman nodded in agreement and stepped aside when she saw the boy lying back down.
Yuuji hardly paid attention when the woman left and he was alone again. However, the silence didn't last long. "You really outdid yourself, kid," Sukuna taunted, not willing to give him any respite.
"Shut up and leave me alone."
"I've never seen anyone lose so pathetically in the thousand years I've been alive," Sukuna continued to ignore his words and kept rubbing salt in the wound. Yuuji closed his eyes and tried to relax, but Sukuna's next words sent a chill down his spine. "I've told you before, but those sorcerers aren't being honest with you. You can develop a cursed technique, you know?"
"Why should I believe you?" Yuuji retorted, taking the bait against his will. Sukuna smiled triumphantly.
"What reason would I have to deceive you?"
"Why would you tell me the truth?" Yuuji asked, distrustful.
"For starters, it's embarrassing to see my vessel making a fool of himself and losing to such a weak enemy. And second, I need you to recover all my fingers to have all my power."
"And what cursed technique can I supposedly learn?" Yuuji asked, curious.
"Mine. As my vessel, you have that possibility, you know?" Sukuna said. "Something those sorcerers you defend so much haven't told you."
"And how can I learn it?" Yuuji asked, furrowing his brow. He had a feeling he wouldn't like the answer.
"As I see you're too slow to figure it out, I'll have to tell you. Only I can teach it to you, isn't it obvious?"
"I refuse," the boy said, firmly. Sukuna, contrary to what he expected, didn't seem surprised at all by his response.
"We'll see if, in time, you keep saying the same thing," Sukuna laughed.
"My answer won't change," Yuuji assured him.
"We'll see."
Yuuji was discharged a couple of hours later and went straight to his room. Although he didn't like to admit it, he was still thinking about the conversation he had with Sukuna.
"What is he trying to achieve with all of this?" he wondered, nervously biting his lower lip. Sukuna didn't respond to that, which Yuuji greatly appreciated. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the building where the students' dormitories were located.
He quickened his pace, eager to get to his room as soon as possible and lie down on the bed to rest. He saw Gojo leaning against the door of his dorm room and couldn't help but furrowed his brow in concern.
"Professor Gojo," he greeted when he reached him. The man stepped away from the door and smiled a bit when he saw him.
"Yuuji, I'm glad to see you're in one piece," the sorcerer said, glancing at the bandage covering his student's forehead.
"Yeah, more or less," he admitted, smiling awkwardly. "I just have a bit of a headache, nothing serious."
"I see."
"Professor, is there a way for me to get stronger and use cursed energy on my own?" the boy asked, noticing that Sukuna was also paying attention to his response.
"Yes, but first you'll need to learn how to channel it properly, and it's not easy," Gojo warned. "Although I'm confident that you can do it."
"And what about cursed techniques? Can I learn those too?" the boy asked, realizing that Sukuna was also eager to hear the answer.
"I'm afraid not," the teacher replied. "That's something that is inherited among descendants of sorcerer families," he explained. "But don't dwell on it too much; everyone has their own way of fighting. And your strength lies in close combat."
Yuuji was about to tell him about the conversation he had with Sukuna, but for some reason he couldn't understand, so he gave up on it almost immediately. Instead, he forced an insincere smile and nodded. "I understand. Thank you, Professor Gojo," he said as he headed for the door. "How are Fushiguro and Kugisaki?"
"They're fine, resting already," the teacher replied. "You should do the same."
"I will, don't worry, Professor." Yuuji opened the door and gave one last look back. "Good night."
"Good night, Itadori."
Yuuji nodded and, once he entered his room, closed the door. He let out a sigh and allowed his body to relax. He walked towards the bed and collapsed onto it without bothering to change out of his street clothes and into his pajamas. Sleeping in his hoodie wasn't uncomfortable, and it wasn't the first time he had done so. He closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep. Now that he was lying down, he realized how tired he was.
"I've got everything under control," he told himself as sleep began to overtake him. "There's no point in worrying them about anything."
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