LIMITLESS

The moment Gojo stepped downstairs, he was immediately assaulted by a ghostly white hand reaching out from the darkness to grab him. He was shaken roughly with wide, burning red eyes glaring right through him like he was made of thin paper. Gojo knew he didn't do anything wrong to warrant the wrath of Yurei, but he still put his hands up in defense against himself.

"Where is she, Gojo?" Yurei said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, so you already know something is up." Gojo grabbed Yurei's hands and took them off so he could fully step into the room. He saw Itadori standing and alert, leaning against the back of the couch with a concerned face.

"Is something wrong with Kocho-sensei? Is she in trouble?" the young man asked. He didn't know the extent of what happened since Yurei hadn't really explained anything. Aside from something being amiss within the air.

"I wouldn't go so far as to say 'trouble', but her hands are tied right now with an unknown Cursed Spirit," Gojo said with an alarming lack of worry in his voice.

Upon hearing the news, Yurei's eyes became as wide as two crimson suns. "A Cursed Spirit? Did it ambush her?"

Gojo made a so-so motion. "It tried, but that's beside the point. Juri had already called me, so I'm on my way now."

Yurei gave him a perplexed look. "Then why are you here? This isn't a stroll in the park!" she exclaimed, nearly fed up with his laid-back demeanor. She thought Gojo would have some urgency with Juri, but that was far from it.

It wasn't that he didn't care. He was just confident enough in Juri's abilities to take care of herself for a time.

Gojo smirked while lazily shifting his weight. "It's because I got a good idea," he said while turning to Itadori. "Yuji, lets head out. We're going on a little field trip to where Kocho-sensei is right now. I'll gonna teach you about a technique called…Domain Expansion."

How absurd, Jogo thought as his vision swayed, blackening around the edges. He blinked wildly and stumbled on his own two feet to try and gain some distance between himself and Juri. But with every blundering step he took back, Juri took one confident step forward. Jogo's mind was racing, trying to make sense of the situation. He hated to think he was powerless in front of her, but Jogo couldn't get the upper hand no matter what he did.

This couldn't have been a blunder on his end. No. It had to have been Geto's fault. That strange man must've been holding back information. He said before that Yurei wasn't nearly as strong as she was in the past. Yet, that isn't the case, with her host being as strong as she was.

"You can try, Jogo. But don't underestimate this girl. She is, after all…the host of the Queen of Curses," were Geto's last words before Jogo left. He didn't think at the time how much that warning would haunt him like a broken record.

However, the battle wasn't over yet. Even if Juri's technique was overwhelming, it wouldn't matter if she was trapped inside his domain. She'd be burned alive instantly. It was only a matter of stopping her long enough to cast it. From what Jogo could gather, Juri was a very perceptive person and could read him like a book. The moment he thought of a plan, Juri could see it on his face and would prepare to counter him.

The only chance Jogo had was if he caught Juri off guard. It was the only way, and it would all be over once that happened.

Instead of backing up this time, Jogo stood tall and stared the woman down. Juri quickly became confused and squinted her eyes, like she was trying to read tiny words on a page. She stopped approaching him after he stood up, twitching her fingers as if preparing herself for whatever he was about to do.

Observant…

As Jogo already figured, catching Juri off guard would be challenging because she was already weary of him. Keeping her distance and not trying anything drastic. She tightened her jaw and looked puzzled for a moment, thinking hard about her next move and perhaps his own, too

Juri stepped to the side, and Jogo followed, circling each other slowly but not closing the distance even by an inch. He tried to, but Juri only took a calm step back to keep her distance.

It made him laugh, really. Only seconds ago, he was scrambling to get away, but it seemed Juri was in his shoes now.

"What happened to all that confidence moments ago, huh? Your arrogance melts fast," he spat out in a witchy kind of laugh.

Juri cocked a brow and crossed her arms over her chest, humming her words in a calm and collected tone. "Arrogance... I'm confident, yes. But I can't bring myself to be arrogant. I'll leave that to someone more suited for it. Like Gojo or even Yurei."

Juri already knew by his demeanor alone that Jogo was up to something. Like he had an ace up his sleeve, waiting to use it at the right moment. But when he'll use it, she didn't know. Juri was more than willing to snuff her confidence down and replace it with calm caution. That was what she needed to do right now. Play it slow and observe. It wasn't a battle to win, but one to draw out.

Juri's whole body twitched as she took in a deep breath, but before she could exhale, Jogo charged at her at an alarming rate. He reached his arm out like he was trying to grab her, but Juri managed to teleport away at the last second. Jogo wasn't done with his assault though, and relentlessly pursued her, giving no room for error or break.

Perhaps she will tire first. Be exhausted enough to slip up, which was all he needed to grab her and cast his domain.

Juri bounced from one spot to the next, barely having time to breathe before having to teleport away again. At this point, she knew her moves were starting to get predictable. Juri had no time to think before Jogo figured out where she had landed next and started to attack again.

As Jogo slowly started to close the distance, his arms extended out far, nearly in reach of her. Yet, before he could close the deal around his plan, a bright flare of red filled his vision, followed by a long whirling noise.

"Cursed Technique Reversal…RED."

Juri was then startled when Yurei suddenly manifested in front of her, making her involuntarily let out the breath that she had been holding in for at least a minute. "Yurei-" Before Juri could convey her shock, Yurei fled the scene as Gojo launched his assault.

As soon as Jogo felt the pressure against his body, he was launched back into the forest at supersonic speeds. The force of the impact was so powerful that it acted like a catapult, propelling Jogo forward at an alarming rate. He struck the ground a multitude of times and had enough force left to snap a couple of trees in half. In no time, he cleared the woods and splashed hard into a lake that wasn't far from the road.

As Jogo coughed dirty water from his lungs, his mind was filled with cloudy questions. Now that both Gojo and the Yurei were here, he was outgunned. Therefore, there was no reason to prolong the fight. He knew that he could no longer win and that he was at a severe disadvantage. Yet he felt that if he ran, it would greatly undermine his already wounded pride.

Still, his fight was far from over. He still had his Domain Expansion up his sleeve. If he caught even one of them, then he would be satisfied.

As Jogo pulled himself above the water, he looked around and realized he was now alone.

"Where…?" as he spoke, he saw Gojo slowly floating down just above the water's surface. Yurei had manifested beside him, with Juri now safely back in her cold arms.

"Thanks for taking care of Juri for me, but she's gonna have to take a rain check on your battle," Gojo said, lifting his arms to reveal Itadori.

"Wha-? Where are we?!" The young boy whipped his head around, stunned by where they were now. One moment, he was in the basement, talking to Gojo and Yurei. Next, he was outside by the highway. He didn't even notice Juri was now with them until he looked over and saw her in Yurei's arms. "Kocho-sensei?!"

Juri blinked a couple times as all her senses came back. "Gojo-san…Yurei?" she said slowly, cranking her head up to meet Yurei's worried gaze. "You look tried."

Yurei sighed and lowered her head. "Because of Gojo's lack of urgency…I feel like I lost a couple years of my life."

"Don't be such a drama queen. You don't even have lives to shave off. And I told you Juri would be alright, didn't I?" Gojo said before gesturing to Itadori. "Anyway…Yuji's gonna be sitting in on today's lesson."

Itadori finally took his eyes off his surroundings and looked to see what was in front of him. "Mt. Fuji! He has Mt. Fuji on his head!"