NANAMI

"Can you see them? The residuals of cursed energy?" Nanami Kento asked, adjusting his eyewear on the bridge of his straight nose.

Itadori and Juri stared ahead of the long hallway, squinting and straining their eyes to see what Nanami was trying to refer to. Yet, they could only see an empty space filled with nothing but their own noises.

"Nope. Don't see anything," the two said plainly.

Nanami sighed and slipped his hands into his pocket. He wasn't even surprised that Juri couldn't see it either. Even though she's a special-grade sorcerer, it was mainly because of Yurei. Before the two girls had met, Juri was just a simple woman who used to work in an accounting office. She lived a mundane and unremarkable life before getting involved with Yurei.

"That's because you're not trying to see it. We actually witness curses every day. If a cursed technique is activated, traces are left behind. We call them 'residuals'. However, residuals are weak compared to Cursed Spirits. Please concentrate and look harder."

Juri and Itadori squinted their eyes harder when they suddenly felt Yurei's cold hand gently placed on their heads. The ghostly woman hovered silently above them, and with her influence, the two slowly began seeing cursed activity residuals. Pockets of mist across the floor, leading further into the building.

"Whoah! I see it! I see it!" Itadori said eagerly.

"Of course. Even without The Yurei's influence, sensing before seeing is standard for one who is capable," Nanami said bluntly, leaving no room for praise.

Itadori grumbled. "How about being a little more encouraging...?"

"I won't praise or insult you. I am here to identify the truth and uphold the law. There was a time when I thought society had the same goals. But that's a story for another time. Let's follow the trace."

Juri hummed eagerly and gently nudged Nanami with her shoulder. "You're starting to sound like Sana. Feels like something she would say."

"My wife is a wise woman, and it only makes since that a married couple would have the same ideals," Nanami said without shame or hesitation. Sometimes, men would be slightly embarrassed to dote on their wives in public, but Nanami had no such thoughts. His intentions were as clear as water.

Juri smiled softly, a warm look etched into her eyes. "Such a family man"

A COUPLE HOURS AGO

Nanami and Gojo were two opposite personalities. While Gojo was energetic and arrogant, Nanami was grounded and down-to-earth. So seeing the two standing beside each other was a little jarring.

"Since I can't be with you and Kocho-Sensei for today's mission, I brought a reliable guy to take my place!" Gojo said eagerly and pulled an arm around Nanami's shoulder. "Office-worker dropout, Sorcerer Nanami!"

"Please don't call me that." Nanami said flatly with his arms crossed over his chest, seemingly unbothered by Gojo's presence.

Gojo smiled widely and walked behind Juri, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "Because of Juri's involvement with Yurei, I don't feel comfortable with just anyone working with her, but Nanami here's a former office worker too, so he's reliable and can relate to Juri. Not to mention, there's a lot of weirdos among Jujutsu Sorcerers."

"I wonder what the others would think hearing you say that?" Nanami sighed.

"And another thing, Juri's very good friends with his wife. Nanami Sana. She's a special-grade sorcerer away on overseas missions right now. So she can't be here," Gojo explained.

Itadori's curiosity tilted his head to the side. "You're married?" he asked because this might be the first time he met a married sorcerer.

"I am, but why don't we introduce ourselves first. Nice to meet you, Itadori," Nanami said politely.

Itadori quickly remembered his manners and bowed his head. "Nice to meet you. So…you were a former office worker?"

Nanami took on a more casual stance as he recalled his time as a younger sorcerer. "What I learned at Jujutsu Tech...is that Jujutsu sorcerers are shit!" he said without a shadow of a doubt in his mind.

Needless to say, Itadori was a little shocked.

Nanami continued without taking a breath. "And what I realize while at the office...is that work is shit. So I took the lesser of two evils. Nothing more, nothing less."

As Nanami rambled on, Juri walked up beside Itadori and showed him her phone. "Don't let him know that I said this, but... Nanami-san is actually a doting husband. He even keeps a picture of her in his wallet."

The picture on Juri's phone was that of a woman. She was quite pretty with a fair complexion. Nanami Sana looked to be a tall woman with long white hair with a pink hue. She had pale eyes with dark-tinted sunglasses with circular frames.

"She's kinda cool looking...more than Gojo-Sensei," Itadori said, a little excited about meeting her one day.

"We can agree on that, at least." Nanami suddenly spoke up, making Juri jump and quickly shut off her phone. "Itadori...even though Gojo-san and I think differently...I trust him and have faith in him. But I don't respect him." Nanami said, his words quick and painfully blunt. Gojo didn't even have time to enjoy the praise before quickly being insulted the next second.

"I respect Kocho-san much more than him, even though she lacks the experience and know-how of the cursed world. That's beside that point. I'm not a fan of how things are run, and sometimes, the rules are against my wife, but I still follow them. For that reason...I don't acknowledge you as a jujutsu sorcerer. Prove to me that you can be useful in spite of the demon Sukuna being inside of you. The same way Kocho-san had to prove herself in the past."

Itadori paused for a moment to think of his next words carefully. He did want to prove himself, and he knew this was the moment to do it. "I'm weak and useless... I've been hearing a lot of things these days. But I'll be strong. If I don't, then I won't even be able to choose the way I die." He offered a kind of coy smile. "I'll be sure to prove you wrong...just be a little patient, okay?"

Hearing this, Gojo smiled and leaned close to Juri's ear. "I'll be heading out now. Keep yourself safe out there for me, okay?" he said, quickly kissing her cheek.

"I will. Take care of yourself too," Juri smiled in response.

"There wasn't anything caught on video, right?" Itadori asked as he followed Nanami and Juri up the stairwell.

"Other than the victims, there was one witness—a boy," Nanami answered.

"Could it be a Cursed Spirit?"

"Most likely. Although it's possible that the boy could be responsible. The police are investigating where-" Nanami paused when Yurei suddenly manifested in front of them, arms up to stop them from moving further.

"Yurei? What is it?" Juri asked.

Yurei's face remained cold and unreadable. She proceeded ahead first and made it to the rooftop. Waiting for them was a gangly-looking creature, like a hybrid between a dog and a human.

"Bento…bento…box." The curse croaked out in a high-pitched, wheezy voice.

Juri shivered at the grotesque creature and felt Yurei move close, protectively to her side.

Nanami placed a hand on Juri's shoulder and boldly approached the curse. "I'll take care of this. Itadori, I'll leave that one to you."

Itadori looked confused for a moment before following Yurei's gaze. Behind a wall was a peaking figure, another curse that was looking out at them.

"Gooooood…detergent…" the other curse cackled with a throaty hiss.

"If you think you're in trouble, let me know," Nanami warned him.

Itadori grumbled. "Have some faith in me, will ya."

"It's not about faith. I'm an adult and you're a child. I have an obligation to look after you."

"A child? I rather be underestimated."

Nanami ran his hands down his suit and unbuttoned the front of the jacket. "You've survived multiple near-death experiences…but that does not make you an adult."

Yurei clicked her tongue as she drew Juri away from the danger. "Then what qualifies as an adult? Because Gojo hasn't acted like one even though he's older than all of you."

With a swift hand, he brought out what looked to be a blade wrapped up in spotted fabric. "Finding more and more stray hair on your pillow than before…your local store no longer carrying your favorite bread…experiencing those little losses…is what helps people grow into adults."

Yurei paused for a moment to think. "So basically, Gojo isn't an adult."