This chapter is mostly dialog and Sho and Megumi hanging back together. Enjoy.
"How are there only three first-years?" Itadori asked, eating a popsicle. "Isn't that too few?"
The two first-year boys and Shohei Gojo had all gone out into town to meet up with Satoru and collect the third and final first-year student from their train, but were meeting in the lively city of Harajuku.
Itadori's customized uniform had come in so they were all matching. All the boys were sitting on the sidewalk railings, not too far from the train station so they could easily be found by Satoru.
The street was calm and lively. There were small clumps and packs of people, but not any crowding amounts.
The street seemed to have more bakeries and food stands open than normal. People meandered along during their shopping and other activities peacefully.
Shohei was staring down the street at a couple who were sharing a crepe, wondering if he should stop them and ask where he could find one.
"Well, have you ever met anyone who can see curses before?" Megumi said, turning to Itadori to answer.
"Nope," Itadori said, halting a bite from his treat.
"That just proves how small a minority of jujutsu sorcerers are," Megumi said.
Shohei decided he wasn't in the mood for crepes that early into the day and chose to join the boy's conversation.
Shohei asked, "Didn't this first-year we're waiting for get scouted by the school. They aren't in any sorcerer families, are they?"
"Yea. They don't have other sorcerer's in their family I think," Megumi said.
"Kind of like me then. You said I was the third," Itadori said, still eating his popsicle. "So did you guys find them before me?"
"You were more sudden. Their entry was decided a while ago," Megumi said. "You know our school. Everyone has unique circumstances."
"If that isn't the truth," Shohei huffed, playing with his shirt collar.
"Sorry for the wait," Satoru called loudly, strolling up to the boys. "Your uniform made it in time, I see."
"Yea. It's a perfect fit." Itadori smiled, reaching around to grab his unique red hood. "Though it's slightly different from Fushiguro and Gojo-senpai's. It has a hood for one."
"That's because the uniforms can be customized upon request," Satoru said.
"Huh?" Itadori hummed. "But I didn't put in any requests."
"I was the one who put in the custom order," Satoru said, having done the boy a favor without asking.
"You just love doing things without asking others," Shohei chuckled.
"Whatever, I guess," Itadori muttered.
Itadori and Shohei were slowly falling out of interest with the conversation and were taking small glances at their surroundings again.
"Be careful," Megumi spoke up. "Gojo-sensei has a tendency to do things like that. More importantly, why are we meeting up in Harajuku specifically?"
"Because it's what she asked for," Satoru said plainly.
"Hey, popcorn!" Itadori bellowed excitedly. "I want some!"
Three of the sorcerers followed their noses for a while, visiting a small few bakeries, and doing some minor window shopping, but Megumi simply lingered outside the buildings they visited and bought nothing for himself.
"Hey Megumi," Shohei chimed excitedly, tapping the boy's shoulder. "That's the same restaurant that I got those ginger pastries from. They must have a chain."
"Really?" Megumi said, a minute light sparkling behind his eyes. "I'll go check it out on a different day?"
"Why not now man?" Shohei asked, disheartened that the boy wouldn't enjoy the day. "We've got time until we find the third first-year and the rest of us are making use of it."
"And it's unprofessional," Megumi scolded. "We should actually search for her instead of hoping to bump into her, wherever she is."
"What's the point of hunting her down?" Shohei mumbled back with a lazy smile. "Let her enjoy her time here too. She had to take a long ass train ride in from the country right? She wouldn't have asked to meet in Harajuku unless she planned to enjoy the city before she clocks in for work."
"Well if she's anything like you three I might just have to resign," Megumi muttered, trying to walk away from his upperclassman.
"Well you're gonna take a page out of my book, whether you like it or not, and spoil yourself some."
Shohei leaped onto the boy, wrapping his arms around his, pinning the dark haired boy's arms to his side. Shohei proceeded to drag him towards the bakery they noticed.
The owner of the store seemed very distressed at the sight of a large boy with peculiar hair dragging another struggling boy with also odd hair into his shop. The older man made his way over to the two who were disrupting the relatively quiet building, but couldn't raise his voice over the two.
"Let go man," Megumi grunted, squirming in the boy's hold. "I hate when you start acting more like Gojo."
"Well I don't mind when you act like your hair's lookalike, sea urchins. They just sit on the seabed and don't do anything, and that's cool, but you're human and need to participate in the fun in life."
Shohei let go of the boy, like a hunter dropping a wild beaver by a river, expecting it to immediately get to building a dam.
"You're not getting past me and through the door unless you shop for yourself first. I'll even pay you back," Shohei said as he crossed his arms and stood in front of the door.
"Fine," Megumi moaned.
He snatched something off a nearby shelf without looking at it and made his way towards the register.
"Not like that. You don't even like mochi flavored icing," Shohei denied the boy's efforts.
The black haired boy sighed and placed the package back on the shelf. He glided through the aisles and scanned the shelves quickly several times.
Shohei didn't quite accept the boy's quick movements, but would overlook them as long as his friend bought something for himself.
Megumi eventually stopped in front of the counter's display of baked goods and examined them. He mauled over the spread of goods for a longer time than he spent on anything else, but yielded no interest in any of it to Shohei's disappointment.
Megumi did another one over through the store, but rather slower than before, and with no protesting looks in his eyes.
Megumi came to a full stop in the spices and powders aisle and read the labels of several small jars. He opened several and smelled the contents before leaving the aisle with one in hand, and casually strolling up to the register a final time. An employee rang up the item and gave the spiky haired boy his receipt.
"So?" Shohei grinned. "What'd you get?"
"Just some ground ginger," Megumi said quietly, not hinting at any lasting irritation with the boy. "I hear it goes well with coffee and it's pretty nice to incorporate with baking."
"Nice. Let me know how it tastes with those when you try them," Shohei said, placing two thousand yen notes in the boy's hand to pay him back, and holding the door for him to walk through.
"Maybe. It was a whole lot of trouble just to buy this," Megumi muttered, walking out and scanning the street to see where their teacher and classmate were.
The four sorcerers reunited and were standing together on the sidewalk, several more street cuisines in their belly or a few new possessions in their pockets.
Itadori was especially loaded with his goodies. He had glasses that spelled out Rook, with an eye between each o, popcorn in one hand and a crepe in the other.
"Did everyone enjoy themselves?" Satoru asked, finishing off a kabob.
"With a little guidance," Shohei answered, elbowing Megumi lightly. Megumi gave no response, but just scanned the crowds more.
"I think I see our new girl," Megumi said, sounding surprised himself.
He pointed across the street as a girl walking up to a fatter man in a suit and ugly purple and turquoise polka dotted necktie who just had no luck at recruiting a woman for a modeling gig.
"Hey. You," the girl said, grabbing the man's shoulder firmly.
She had short ginger hair that came just to her jaw. She wore a Jujust High uniform, which was how Megumi noticed her in the crowd, but wore a skirt and pantyhoes instead of pants and her shirt cropped shorter over an undershirt. She had round brown eyes with a deathly serious look about the possible modeling opportunity.
"What about me?" she asked, jabbing her thumb at herself.
The man started sweating so severely when he looked back at the girl that the sorcerers across the street noticed the shimmering beads of sweat on his forehead.
The girl crossed her shopping bag lined arms and stood planted to the spot, waiting for the man to speak.
"For the modeling gig, duh," the girl explained to the man like he didn't understand his own question from just a few seconds prior. "I'm asking what you think about me."
The man finally spoke up and croaked anxiously, "Oh, um, I'm in a hurry at the moment..."
The girl didn't take that answer very well and as the man tried to walk past her, she lunged at him and pulled him back to her by his collar.
"What the hell?" she grunted. "Don't run from me! Come out and say it!" She said while lifting him off the ground a little.
He quivered as he tried to run away, but only swung his legs in the air in the same spot.
"We're about to go talk to her?" Itadori asked the group, watching the man start to beg to be let go of.
"I'm sorry! Please let me go!" The man squealed, running in place still.
"This is kinda embarrassing," Itadori said, noting the other people also staring at the situation.
"So are you," Megumi scoffed, glancing at Itadori's large glasses.
"Hey! Over here!" Satoru yelled, cupping a hand over his mouth to direct the girl's attention to them.
She looked over to see a waving Satoru. She dropped the man with a dirty look and walked across the street.
"Damn," she noted with a tone less intimidating than one she previously held in the conversation prior. "What's with the blind fold?" She took a second look at the boys next to the tall man too and asked, "And what's up with all the weird hair styles."
Sho quickly ran a hand over his black and white polka dotted hair. His hair had bangs that just covered his eyes and parted for his nose and went back up through the middle, parting his hair above. His hair on the sides and back reached down to below his ears and an inch or two down his neck. Sho thought it looked very stylish despite how dramatic it might look to strangers, but he didn't care what the girl thought either way.
On closer inspection, the girl was maybe 160 centimeters and relatively short compared to the other boys. Satoru was 190 centimeters, Shohei was 187, Megumi was 175, and Itadori was 173. Sho thought he shouldn't agitate the girl with an apparent temper as soon as he met her, but then again he wasn't particularly annoying and what could she do to him anyway.
The now complete group of sorcerer's made their way to a set of public lockers for rent by the new girl's request to store their shopping before going on a mission. Sho rented a locker next to the girl's as let the other boys put their extra possessions in with his own since there was no room in the new girl's locker with all her shopping bags.
"Okay," Satoru said, gesturing to the girl. "Once more."
She stood up straight and placed a hand on her hip boldy and said, "Kugisaki Nobara. Be happy, boys. I'm the only woman in your group."
Sho liked her confidence, but hoped he wasn't misjudging an actual arrogant side of hers. Sho stepped up to her and put out a fist to bump and said, "Too bad I'm not in your year. I like your attitude. I'm Shohei Gojo. You can call me Sho if you'd like."
The girl didn't bump the boys first or even look at him in his bangs, but flicked her eyes from the two other first-year students and to him while murmuring, "Stare..."
"I'm Yuji Itadori," Itadori stepped forward too, pointing to himself. "I'm from sendai."
Megumi looked at the girl for the first time since stopping at the lockers and simply said, "Megumi Fushiguro."
Kugisaki slumped over to one side and let out a huff of air, sighing. With a disappointed look on her face she said, "I always get stuck with unfortunate circumstances."
"She took one look and sighed," Itadori said unimpressed.
"As for your Mr.Weird Hair with bangs and middle part," Kugisaki said, weakly tapping Sho's still outstretched fist with the back of her hand, "I don't know if you really recognize my worth or are just overly friendly."
"I'd say I'm pretty average in my friendliness," Sho said, confused by Kugusaki's choice of words.
"Are we going somewhere from here?" Megumi asked, uninterested in the new girl or any of the conversation.
Satoru's shoulders bounced with a chuckle. "We do all three of you together. Not to mention the two of you are from the countryside," Satoru said. A devious grin spread over his half covered as he said, "So of course we're going on a tour of Tokyo!"
Kugisaki, Itadori, adn Satoru all jumped together and with childish glee cheered, "Tokyo! Tokyo! Tokyo!"
Shohei clapped along with their chanting much more reserved, but Megumi simply looked embarrassed to be with the group.
"We love Tokyo!" Kugisaki and Itadori said in unison to Satoru with sparkles in their eyes.
"TDL! I want to go to TDL," Kugisaki yelled, crowding the older man with frantic waving arms and a giddy pleading face with Itadori.
Itadori turned to her with a massive smile and said,"Idiot! TDL is in Chiba! Let's go to Chinatown sensei!"
"Chinatown is in Yokohama!" Kugiasaki yelled at the excited pink haired boy.
"Yokohama's part of Tokyo!" Itadori said, glazing back at the girl and yelling louder. "Don't you know that? Look at a map!"
"The hell?! Quit spouting nonsense," Kugisaki screamed in the boy's face.
Satoru said firmly and calmly over the two still yelling, "I will now announce our destination." That news got the bickering two to turn silent immediately and take a knee with bowed heads and shut eyes. "Roppongi!" Satoru said dramatically, with the words almost echoing through the air.
Kugiasaki and Itadori slammed into each other and held hands excitedly, repeating his words in high pitches. "Roppongi?!"
Megumi stood in the background with a mentally spent expression while Sho enjoyed the younger two country kid's antics, but found an especially dented locker as almost more attention holding.
The location Satoru was speaking of was much more lackluster and disappointing to Itadori and Kugisaki than anything they've possibly experienced. The five were standing in front of a vandalized, graffitied, and abandoned building that seemed to be emanating purplish black haze to anyone that could see cursed energy.
"There's a curse here," Satoru said, examining the building through his blindfold. Sho was squinting at the building too with a much more concentrated look on his face, like he was trying to see all that Satoru was seeing.
"You liar!" Itadori and Kugisaki revolted, slamming their feet, flailing their limbs, and running hands over their faces.
"This isn't even Roppongi!" Itadori groaned loudly, cradling his face.
"You were toying with us country folk!" Kugisaki yelled, pointing accusingly at the unfazed white haired sorcerer.
"There's a big cemetery nearby," Satoru said casually with a smile, breezing past the two's frustration. "The double whammy of that and an abandoned building brought out a curse."
"So they really do pop up more often around graves?" Itadori asked, standing straight and by the other guys, ready for the task.
Kugisaki was still livid and feral about Satoru's bluff. "Who does he think is responsible for the rice he gets to eat, huh?!" she yelled.
"The issue isn't the cemetery itself," Megumi said to Itadori. "It's the fact that people associate cemeteries with fear."
"Oh, it's the same for schools, too, isn't it?" Itadori asked, probably remembering some smaller curses he saw at his school even before Sukuna's finger was released.
"Hold up," Kugisaki interrupted, joining the group seriously. "He didn't even know that yet?"
"To be honest..." Megumi started plainly, almost sounding ashamed or embarrassed. He explained to Kugisaki the situation he and Itadori were in and how Itadori ate Sukuna's finger to get them out of the bind with the other curses.
"He swallowed a special-grade cursed object?!" Kugisaki asked in disbelief. She ran a few steps away from Itadori and held up an arm like he had the flu and she didn't want to be infected. "Gross! Unbelievable! That's so unsanitary and disgusting," Kugisaki said, dancing iplace like germs were trying to crawl on her feet. "No way, no way, no way, no way!"
"What?!" Itadori exclaimed like what he did was no different than quickly picking up a piece of dropped food to eat.
"I agree with her," Megumi said.
"I want to know what all of you are capable of," Satoru spoke up. "Think of this as a field test. Nobara, Yuji, you go exorcise the curse inside that building."
"Geh," Kugisaki grunted at actually being put to work.
"Huh?" Itadori said, sounding perplexed. "But I thought curses could only exorcise curses. I can't use any jujutsu yet."
"You're basically half a curse already," Satoru said, pointing at the boy's chest. "There's cursed energy flowing throughout your body. Though controlling that energy isn't something you can learn to use overnight, so use this," Satoru explained, holding out a blade he pulled from under his shirt.
Sho turned his attention from the building to the blade Satoru just handed to Itadori. Sho recognized the wide blade with a furry guard as one of Maki's cursed tool side arms.
"It's the cursed tool, Slaughter Demon," Satoru said while Itadori unsheathed the blade to examine it with a dropped jaw. Megumi even looked impressed at the wide, shy of a foot long blade with wrapping at the base of the blade, bordering it's fur covered hand guard. "It's a weapon imbued with cursed energy. It'll work on curses, too."
"Lame," Kugisaki scoffed at the boy, pulling on a pouch and belt and turning to enter the building. Itadori sheathed the blade and joined her.
"Oh, one more thing," Satoru said, getting Itadori to look back at him from across the street. "Don't let Sukuna out. If you use him, you'll get rid of all the curses nearby in a flash, but you'll also drag everyone else into it."
"Got it," Itadori nodded, giving a thumbs up. "I won't let Sukuna out."
"Hurry it up," Kugisaki called impatiently, waiting by the building.
"Yea, yea," Itadori mumbled, jogging over to join her.
"Go on, now!" Satoru cheered for them. Itadori lifted open a sliding garage door and entered into the dark building with Kugisaki, disparaging from the other's sight.
"How'd you get Maki's Slaughter Demon?" Shohei asked, looking at Satoru extremely puzzled.
"I just asked her if I could borrow it," Satoru answered the boy.
"How reluctantly did she give it up?" Shohei asked, wishing Itadori the best of luck in not losing or damaging the weapon.
"It was about six out of ten in reluctance. We'll start Yuji's cursed energy training when we've got some time so we can get it back to her," Satoru said, not worried about Maki's reaction if something were to happen to it.
"I'd be a little scared for myself if I didn't have it waiting for her when she gets back from her mission with Toge and Panda," Sho warned the older man.
"It'll be fine," the white haired sorcerer said, waving a hand dismissively.
The three sat down on the ground and on some construction equipment cases in a minor construction zone, across the street from the curse haunted building after they spent several minutes standing around and staring after the two who had been long gone.
"I think I'll go too," Megumi said in a low tone, getting ready to rise from his seat.
"Don't push yourself. You're still recovering," Satoru said to the youngest boy.
"But someone needs to keep an eye on Itadori, right?" Megumi asked.
"True," Satoru admitted to the boy. "But the one we're testing this time is Nobara."
"Do you know anything about her from the scouts? What kind of sorcerer is she?" Sho asked.
"She's got a pretty specific and unique innate technique dealing with nails, hammers, and straw dolls. She's a good midrange fighter, but that's not what I'm looking for," Satoru commented.
"That Yuji..." Satoru paused, tapping his head. "He's missing a few up here. He has no hesitation when it comes to killing these things that take the form of living creatures, albeit bizarre-looking ones, that try to kill him. And it's not like he's been familiar with curses for a long time, like you. You say he's got some really impressive physical ability, but as a regular person with only Sukuna in him, he doesn't inherently have the skill from any inherited or innate techniques like you too. This is a boy who used to live a normal high school life. You've both seen plenty of Jujutsu Sorcerers, even those with talent, give up in frustration because they couldn't conquer their fear or disgust, haven't you?"
Megumi sat, staring at the ground in contemplation. Shohei nodded along, trying to show he was following along with the conversation, but in reality was struggling to stay focused while they did nothing but sit around.
"So today I want to confirm how crazy she is," Satoru concluded.
"But Kugisaki has experience, right?" Megumi asked, looking up to the haunted building. "Little late for that now, isn't it?"
"Curses are born from human minds," Satoru refreshed the boys who had known that fact for a long time as sorcerers. "So their strength and numbers grow in proportion to the population."
Shohei had to occupy himself before he could keep listening to the conversation, so he decided to practice his cursed energy reading and sensing by seeing if the two had made any progress in exorcising the curses in the building.
Shohei calmed his already relaxed mind further and did his best to zone in on any particularly noticeable clumps of cursed energy that could be recognized as human or curse in the building, like he was trying to do earlier with Satoru.
The flowing energy that was in all living things, cursed energy, was extremely noticeable out there on the street because Satoru, Megumi, and himself all were clumped together and had rather strong and large reserves of it, but inside the building was much rather different. The masses of cursed energy that were the two curses still remaining were weak in comparison to all the sorcerer's out there on the street, but also more malicious and ill-willed, unlike theirs.
Every sorcerer's cursed energy felt and looked different when closely examined. Some felt coarse and rough like sandpaper and looked like the energy had small, sharp angles. Others felt smooth like rounded marble and had smooth and natural flowing edges that seemed to fold back into themselves. Some just emitted specific shapes and felt like an indescribable feeling, like trying to put into words what the color cyan felt like.
Kugisaki's cursed energy appeared to Shohei as a vibrant glowing mass of black and blue energy similar to rippling flames in the wind, shining through several walls of the decrepit building. She had the average amount of energy that newer and younger sorcerer's typically did, but her's seemed proud of its particular luster.
Shohei then moved his attention towards a possible stairwell, because Itadori was ascending the building vertically, after he seemingly dispelled a weaker curse by the dispersing cursed energy.
Itadori's cursed energy looked peculiarly odd shaped, like a teenager that had gone through a growth spurt and not filled into their new height, but still rippled like a strong fire. His seemed to have some degree of more volume and definition, like there were several layers or it was particularly dense.
Shohei stopped looking deeper into Itadori's energy, afraid he might get shocked by some of Sukuna's and get jump scared in front of Megumi and Satoru.
The most alarming part of Shohei's examination was that he thought he had spotted a civilian in the building.
The energy signature was weak like it never knew itself was there, like how most non-sorcerer human's energy looked. The energy was particularly small and underdeveloped and was likely a child, and even worse, was in the same room as a curse.
"There's a human in there," Shohei said, sitting up and forward in his seat. "A child. They're in the same room as a curse." Shohei didn't take his attention away from the room.
"I see what you're talking about," Satoru agreed, looking toward and seemingly through the building. "But look who's coming," Satoru said, casually pointing at Kugisaki's own cursed energy entering the room, unworried by the civilian and curse.
"From curses growing in strength with population do you think Nobara understands that curses in Tokyo are on a different level than those in the countryside?"
Shohei wondered if he should prepare to intervene if Kugisaki wasn't actually prepared to deal with the curses in Tokyo. Shohei didn't even get to stand up before Satoru put out an arm to stop anything he might've started doing.
"Be patient and let's just see how she handles it," Satoru hasted the boy.
Kugisaki's cursed energy flared, probably from her attacking with a cursed technique, and soon after that, the curse disappeared.
Kugisaki must've noticed the civilian in the room because her cursed energy moved closer to theirs.
Shohei stirred in his seat at the sight of another curse, quickly moving from several floors below to the same floor and room as Kugisaki and the civilian.
"What's the matter?" Megumi asked Shohei.
"A curse just entered the room with Kugisaki and the civilian," Shohei explained.
Megumi, along with the majority of sorcerers, didn't have the same degree of reading cursed energy that allowed for seeing such specific situations as Shohei did.
It was one of Shohei's standout skills that naturally came to him, but it was simply on a vastly larger scale and slightly better quality that other Sorcerers', expect for the Satoru because of his Six Eyes.
The Six Eyes were a Inherited Technique of the Gojo clan that provides Satoru extraordinary powers akin to X-ray vision and other varying types of perception. It gave the ability to utilize the Limitless to its fullest potential. The eyes granted the user to use the other Gojo clan technique Limitless when coupled together on an almost atomic level or immense scale. Only one pair of the Six Eyes could exist at a time and Satoru, who also possessed Limitless like Shohei, was the current owner of them for his era/generation.
"I see," Satoru said calmly, seeing more of the situation with his powerful Six Eyes than Shohei even could with his cursed energy sensory skills. "This is still a part of her test so we won't interfere yet. We'll only jump in if the civilian is in immediate danger."
"The way the curse stands seems like it's holding the civilian that's probably a kid. That seems like immediate danger. Kugisaki doesn't seem to be doing anything either," Shohei said, a note of anxiety in his voice.
The speeding cursed energy signature of Itadori caught his attention. Itadori was speeding up a stairway and through a floor, but rather so erratic that he might blow by the door connecting the area he and Kugisaki were in.
"When I say 'level,' I don't just mean the amount of cursed energy they have. It's their cunning," Satoru said. "Like that curse with Nobara is holding the civilian hostage. Monsters that have gained wisdom will often force cruel choices upon you with the weight of human lives in the balance."
Shohei sighed and dropped his head in slight disappointment at his cousin's extremely true words. Shohei looked back to the building to see Itadori and his cursed energy stopped moving by possibly a wall with the hostage situation taking place on the other side of it.
Whether it was a wall or not, Shohei couldn't discriminate inanimate objects with no cursed energy, Itadori went through it and soon all the cursed energy signatures were scuffling like an altercation broke out.
The cursed spirit was sent flying towards a window on the side of the building that Satoru, Megumi, and Shohei were by and seemingly fazed through a wall and lept out into the open air, several stories above the ground.
The three sorcerer's on the street looked up calmly at the hairball of a spirit. It had external eyes like a slug on each side of its head, but the majority of its body was covered in long brown fur and the bare arms and legs sticking out from the mass of fur were booger green. It had massive human teeth and three nostrils on a bald spot between its eyes, but was wounded and missing a hand.
"I'll exorcise it," Megumi said calmly.
"Hold on," Satoru said, stopping the boy from even shifting in his seat, seeing the two sorcerer's taking action inside the building with his powerful eyes. Megumi looked back to him in slight confusion.
Shohei had stopped following along with what Itadori and Kugisaki were doing inside the building to watch the curse fall through the air, but he looked back to the building and saw they were frantically moving.
A small signature of cursed energy, possibly the curse's severed arm, was passed to Kugisak by Itadori as her cursed energy pulsed and refined in a signature way that was unfamiliar to him. It was most likely a cursed technique of Kugisaki he figured.
A glimmering strand of cursed energy so thin that you would've never noticed it if you weren't looking up at the falling curse and actively following along with cursed energy, slithered straight out of the building and attached itself to the curse. The curse visibly stuttered the moment the cursed energy strand touched it and several spikes erupted from the curse, inside out before it dissipated mid air. The dark aura surrounding the building faded from the Sorcerer's sight as soon as the curse was exorcised.
Satoru gave an impressed hum of approval and said, "Nice. She's crazy, all right."
Megumi and Shohei stood up from their seats to prepare to leave when Itadori and Kugisaki left the building, but turned to the building again when they heard yelling inside from Kugisaki. They immediately recognized it as harmless and simply comedic when Itadori yelled back.
The boy and girl sorcerers left the building with a child that was probably eight or nine in between them, startled looking, but ultimately uningered. The three sorcerer's that didn't participate in the mission walked the boy back to his neighborhood that wasn't more than several blocks away from the building while those who did sat on some stairs to relax.
"I live over there!" The boy called to the group, running over and down a street, waving to the group.
"I figured he must've been playing or chose to explore the building and got too scared or lost to leave," Kugisaki informed Satoru as the entire group reconvened.
"Good. We made sure the kid got home," Sarotu called to the resting two. "Now shall we go grab some food?" he asked, holding up a finger and smiling.
"Steak!" Itadori cheered, banging together imaginary silverware over his head.
"Sushi!" Kugisaki grunted, basking in the idea of getting food.
"Leave it all to me!" Satoru cheered with them, throwing up two thumbs up. "And you, Megumi, Sho?"
Before Shohei offered up possible restaurants to eat at, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled out the phone and answered the call.
"Hello, Shohei Gojo here," Shohei greeted the caller.
"Hello Shohei," Mei Mei spoke smoothly into the phone. "This is Mei Mei. I'm calling to tell you I finished the final workings for your mission and we'll be able to head out to the factory in three days."
"Well that's good news," Shohei celebrated slightly, smiling into the phone.
"Yes it is," Mei Mei agreed. "We'll finally be able to get that pesky ranking mission out of the way. I'm sure you'll pass with flying colors and bursting pockets of cash. I'll send you the more minute details in a few moments, but just know you'll need to be packed the day before we leave and that you should prepare yourself to give it your all since this is what decides if you're a fit enough sorcerer for grade-one."
"Yes ma'am. I'll be ready," Shohei said with an undertone of excitement and confidence.
"Until then Shohei," Mei Mei said, hanging up the phone.
"Who was that," Satoru held back from skipping with Itadori and Kugisaki or trotting with Megumi to ask his cousin.
"Mei-sensei," Shohei said. "It was about my mission for deciding if I'm grade one material. All the steps are finally finished and I'm set to head out for it in three days."
"Well it took them long enough," Satoru said, slapping Shohei on the shoulder cheerfully. "That's good news. You've just gotta remember to not flatten the area in one go. That's the whole reason they didn't promote you to grade-one off the bat when you enrolled. You're cursed energy understanding and manipulation is down pat, your innate and inherited techniques are powerful as balls, and your hand to hand can only get better and has been. You're gonna crush it!"
"Thanks Satoru," Shohei muttered, a little red in his face from the praise his role model gave him.
"No problem! Now let's go get some grub."
I'm sorry if I bothered anyone with my interpreting of cursed energy. I never really looked up or understood how sorcerers sense or maybe see cursed energy, so how I wrote it in this chapter is how I'll have Shohei sense cursed energy from now on. I'm excited because next chapter will be a chapter almost purely with Sho in action on his own and the mission where he can get moved up to the next grade or not. I'll be expanding on Shohei's techniques, fighting style, and his mindset in the field.