Jujutsu Executor

by CrafterofTales

News of an awakened, ancient living curse catches the attention of the Holy Church. Sent as an agent of the Burial Agency, Ciel must determine if the host: Yuuji Itadori is a threat, and exercise her duty as Executor within Jujutsu Sorcerer's territory.

3. Curry and Tea, Curses and Corpses

Warning: Exposition Chapter and Pervy Teacher Noel but she gets put in her place.

Don't lay a finger on Sukuna's eye.

---

"Sensei, I'm not so sure about this…"

Yuuji followed Gojo along the sidewalk as the sky was slowly turning yellow from the setting sun. Students walked past them on their way home. Yuuji recognized some of the female students' uniform with the green bow on their front, the very same one he remembered a certain blue haired girl wore when he first met her.

"Don't worry," Gojo reassured in a light tone, "Ciel may act a bit stand-offish, but she's a softie at heart. I'm sure a little convincing will get her to talk, even for a little while."

"Okay…" Yuuji said, picking up the plastic bag he was carrying, "But is this really going to convince her?"

He took out the paper-wrapped baked treat they bought from a store before heading this way. A simple curry bread fresh out of the kitchen. With its warm scent of curry, Yuuji was a little tempted to eat it himself, especially since they bought more than just one.

"Oh, it'll be enough alright," Gojo smiled, as if recalling a funny memory. "You'll see."

"Did you have to send her so many hearts though?" Yuuji made a face at his teacher. "It's kind of embarrassing."

After that day at the abandoned building, surviving through both cunning curses and persisting undead, and the reveal of Ciel's true identity, Gojo's class went out to celebrate this technical passing of their entrance exam – as none of them died as opposed to the threats themselves. Yuuji had this chance to bond with his classmates a little more, and was surprised to hear Nobara giving her thanks to him for having her back while all that chaos was happening. Despite her rough personality, she was actually a nice person. Yuuji might just like her a bit after all.

While they sat in a nearby restaurant at Gojo's treat, Yuuji kept looking at his phone more than a few times, glancing at Ciel's contact number in debate. He had briefly read through their chat history, an exchange of texts that occurred the day before he met her again at that cursed building:

Yuuji: Hey! Hope Im not interrupting you in class. Did you make it on time?

Ciel: Yes! I just made it this morning.

Ciel: We're on break at the moment. Thanks for checking up on me!

Yuuji: No problem! Classes havent started yet on my end. I think we re gonna take a practice test somewhere? We re also waiting on another new student to show up.

Ciel: Do your best! Look after each other and be careful of any trick questions.

Ciel: They might just sneak up on you when you least expect them.

Their chat history consisted of them discussing their first day at their respective new schools, with Ciel proudly proclaiming the new friends she's already made, just as Itadori knew she would. She sounded so cheerful through their messages. Even how she texts was really cute. Yuuji wasn't used to texting so he had trouble finding the little faces Ciel sends until she helped him through it with the patience of a saint.

It was jarring to him how different Ciel's personality was between their meeting at the train and their second meeting at the cursed building. Not only that, she turned out to be someone whose objective was to execute him when the time comes. He honestly wasn't really sure how to feel about that, although, she did save him and Nobara from that horde of dead and dealt with the remaining curses. He just found her occupation a bit surprising. He kind of wanted to ask her more about it but didn't know how.

It was at that moment that Gojo noticed Yuuji's distraction, and after getting their meals, his teacher swiped Yuuji's phone while the teen was busy enjoying his hamburger steak and sent a new text to Ciel.

Having realized too late what Gojo had done, Yuuji was upset to say the least, especially after reading just what his teacher had sent to Ciel:

Yuuji: Hey! Thnx for the help today! About ur club, where can I find it? I want to see you again!

God, the shade of red that came to Yuuji's face when he saw that text. Surprisingly, Ciel responded after they already left the restaurant, though the message had a cordialness to it. Even so, she gave the directions to where her club is located, and thus, here they are now – Yuuji and Gojo on their way to Ciel's school.

"Oh? And here I thought you were looking forward to this?" Gojo asked with a sly grin.

Yuuji mildly glowered at his teacher. He scratched his head of pink hair. "It's just a little awkward. She's going to execute me, right? I get that it's her job, which I'm still pretty curious about. I'm just not sure how I should act. Also, that message totally gives off the wrong impression, and she doesn't even realize that you're coming along."

"Well if I told her upfront that I'd be going with you, she would have rejected us!" Gojo said, pointing to Yuuji with a slight smirk, "If you ask me, it says a lot if she's willing to see you, Itadori-kun. All you kids need is a little push. Who knows? Something good might come out of it."

The layer of tease in his teacher's voice just made Yuuji scowl at him all the more. The teen takes an early bite of the curry bread in his hand. Warm and spicy, as well as crunchy. Pretty good, to be sure.

"It's not like I wasn't hoping for that," Yuuji said in between bites, "I would like a girlfriend, at least once, before I die. I just don't know about dating someone whose gonna kill me in the future."

It was a shame too. She had a really nice ass.

"I mean, if she ended up liking me back, wouldn't that make it harder for her?" Yuuji added, taking another bite of the curry bread. "I don't want to put her in that position."

Gojo laughed lightly at Yuuji's consideration, looking back at the teen. "There is that to think about. She's usually a professional, though. In any case, her being your executioner is only a possibility. While her organization might have put her up to the task, that doesn't necessarily mean the people at Jujutsu Tech High will be okay with it."

"How come? They want me dead too, don't they?" Yuuji asked. It was a pretty blunt statement, but one that had no chance of deniability.

"True, but… well, let's just say that our school and the Church don't have a good history with one another," Gojo stated in a neutral tone, facing towards the sidewalk again. "Tell me, what are your immediate thoughts when you think of sorcerers and religious institutions?"

Yuuji hummed with thought, clasping his chin, "…Sorcerers use powers like magic, so it kind of goes against the church's religion? At least, Catholic Churches and others like that. Or like the Witch Trials. I've learned about that at my last school. Pretty messed up stuff."

"Pretty much. Sorcery is a practice ostracized by members of the Holy Church. Out of the public eye, the Holy Church hunts down those they see as heretics, meaning monsters, curses, and sorcerers like me."

Yuuji looked in alarmed at his teacher, surprised to hear that such a witch hunt was still being committed to this day.

Gojo inserted his hands into his pockets as he trekked, "They're a bit more thorough than the people who ran the Witch Trials though. You've seen that for yourself when Ciel found you. They don't hunt all sorcerers indiscriminately – even if they want to, but a lot of the higher ups at our school won't take too kindly of the Church butting into our affairs, even if we all supposedly share the same goal."

He then added chipperly, "Basically, we're disgruntled neighbors at best, and enemies at the brink of war at worst."

"Ah…" Yuuji only said, looking down at the filling of his curry bread. "You seemed okay with Ciel though."

Although she did appear to act coldly towards his teacher, it's pretty clear that the two of them knew each other for some time.

"Oh believe me, she finds me completely frustrating if I try hard enough," Gojo beamingly said as if it was something to be proud of. "And I've been wanting to get her to join our school since there's a lot more she's got going on for her. It won't be easy, but I'm pretty determined to give it a shot anyway."

"Hmm," Yuuji said, nearly done eating his curry bread. "How did you meet Ciel?"

"We met in Japan after I've met Megumi. I was skeptical of her at first. I've dealt with members of the Church before, and they were a pain to deal with."

"They were that strong?" Yuuji asked curiously, almost finding it difficult to believe anyone giving his carefree teacher a hard time, with what he's seen Gojo be able to do so far.

"Not so much," Gojo answered frankly, "Just all the political stuff I had to tiptoe my way around, and the times that I did have to fight was just to get them off my back. Any direct killing would just instigate the Church to hunt us down."

A sigh escaped Gojo as if the talk about the Holy Church exasperated him. "Luckily, it was only a few times against a small number of them. Their members don't often cross seas this far out anyhow, especially since Japan's technically an atheist country. Their influence here isn't that strong as anywhere else. Not like us Jujutsu Sorcerers, even if we aren't as spread out as they are."

"Huh," Yuuji said, finishing his curry bread and tossing the crumpled wrapping paper into a nearby trash. "So what made Ciel different?"

"Well, I told you before, and you even said it yourself," Gojo said, smiling over his shoulder at Yuuji, "Cold and serious as she is, she's really a nice girl. Even little distrustful Megumi took to her when they first met."

Well, Yuuji's glad to hear that part of Ciel wasn't an act. That made him feel a bit more eager to see her now. "Wait. 'Little' Megumi? How old were you guys?"

"Uh. Let's see…" Gojo looked to the sky in thought, "I was in my late teens at the time, I think? So Megumi might have been in elementary school. Or was it a daycare?"

"No way. You've known Fushiguro and Ciel when they were kids?" Yuuji asked, seeing his teacher in a new light as a familiar, almost family figure for Megumi.

"Megumi, yes. Ciel on the other hand, she was pretty much the same back then as she is today."

"Eh?" Yuuji stopped in his tracks, looking point-blank at Gojo's back. "Hold on. The same as she is… today?"

"Yeah. I don't know how, but she's not aged a bit since I've met her almost a decade ago," Gojo admitted quite plainly, pressing his fingers against his blindfold as if deciphering a puzzle in his mind he's yet to complete.

"HUH?!" Yuuji was flabbergasted, causing his teacher to stop in his tracks and turn to the shouted teen. "Wait! So, how old is she?! Cause that's, like, super important to know."

"She's sixteen. Definitely," Gojo said confidently, though it did little to settle Yuuji's confusion. Gojo raised his head to the sky, "If I have to take a guess, I'd say it's like using Reverse Cursed Technique to keep herself from aging. Her body's frozen in time – like Captain America! Biologically speaking and physically, she's still a teenager. So no worries, you can still date her without it being weird in the slightest."

Well, that's good to know, but at the same time, there were so many questions Yuuji had. To start with, what's a Reverse Cursed Technique?

Gojo resumed his casual walk down the path, as if nothing mind-blowing had just been revealed by him, "On the other hand, you're carrying an over a thousand-year-old soul inside you, so at the very least, that's something in common the two of you can talk about."

Huh. Now that he brought it up, there was that too. Yuuji had a lot to think about as they drew closer to their destination. The sun setting behind them in the orange sky.

---

The gate of Tokyo Metropolitan Souya High School was still open, with the red brick path leading within the premise towards the main building. The white, large structure looked like a fairly average public school, similar to Yuuji's previous school, and reminding him that he'd been missing his classes there for some time now. It made him wonder about his old classmates, and a sense of worry settled that a staff member might somehow recognize him here, even worse if it's that eccentric coach. He knew this feeling was just that though. He wasn't in his hometown anymore, after all.

Heading straight for the building, they walked through the entrance without trouble.

"What should we do if we're stopped by a staff member, sensei?" Yuuji asked.

"Let me do the talking. I know my way around people," Gojo proclaimed, walking into the building's entryway. "Now then, where is that Tea Ceremony Room?"

After changing their shoes in the entry locker room, they proceeded into the hallway. The glowing sunbeams pour through the glass windows, making the clean halls look golden. Yuuji spotted the courtyard where a couple of students carrying sports gear walked towards the track field for extracurricular activities.

"Should we ask around? Maybe someone here might know where Ciel's club is," Yuuji asked as they wandered a bit.

"We could, but it shouldn't be that difficult to find her," Gojo tugged at his blindfold, "For example, I can just locate her by-"

Suddenly, a door beside them opened. A young woman walked out of what appeared to be the school clinic. She looked foreign, with auburn brown hair tied to the side by a pink and black frilly scrunchy. The abrupt appearance of her took Gojo and Yuuji by surprise, just as it was for the young woman who noticed their presence right away.

"Oh! Good evening," the young woman happily said before taking another look at them. "Huh? Hold on. I don't recognize those uniforms. Who are you two?"

Uh oh. Yuuji thought as he looked to Gojo. His teacher only smiled at the young woman, giving off that subtle charm as he responded.

"Good evening! Are you a staff member? We're looking for the Tea Ceremony Room. A good friend of this guy is expecting us there."

"The Tea Ceremony… Ah! Don't tell me." The young woman looked at Yuuji with widened eyes, "Are you here to see Ciel-san? I did hear that she's been expecting someone to stop by. Then, you must be Yuuji Itadori."

"Ah, yeah, that's me," Yuuji said, perked at the sound of his name.

"Yup! That's right," Gojo said with a glee in his voice, raising his hand, "We heard from Ciel-san that she-"

Before Gojo could say anymore, the young woman walked up to Yuuji. "I see! So you're a friend of hers."

"Ah-" Being completely disregarded, Gojo looked momentarily nonplussed. Yuuji was just as surprised as he watched the young woman leaned forward a bit, meeting Yuuji's gaze much closer. The woman's eyes shone the same color as her hair, holding a bright, slightly mischievous glint to them.

"Ciel mentioned a bit about you," the woman said.

"She did?"

"Of course! It really got me curious. I just had to know what sort of person you were."

Meanwhile, another voice attempted to cut in, but was ignored by the woman as she resumed her talk with Yuuji.

"Um. Excuse me. Hello? Hello hello?" Gojo spoke repeatedly like he was talking on a phone with a shoddy signal, or a needy child looking for attention, but it all fell on deaf ears with the woman. Not even as he poked her shoulder constantly did he get so much as a glance.

She's completely ignoring him… Yuuji felt bad for his teacher. The teen wasn't even sure what he did to get this much attention by the staff woman.

"I was hoping I'd come across you," the young woman stated as she beamed at Yuuji, "You've left an interesting impression on Ciel. Now I can see why. You're quite the cute young man, aren't you?"

"Eh?" Yuuji's brain momentarily ceased all functions as he slowly comprehended the young woman's words. Even Gojo stopped trying to annoy the woman, both men completely taken aback.

"Ah… really?" Yuuji lamely responded.

"That's right! I don't say that often, you know?" The young woman promised before giving a little smile, "Well, I might say it just to see a few boys happy, but I'm being honest about you. You said that you were looking for the Tea Ceremony Room, right? I can take you there."

"Oh. Thanks," the teen sorcerer could only say, though genuinely grateful for the guidance.

With a glimmering smile, the young woman started her walk down the hall. The befuddled men, after a brief glance at each other, followed her from behind.

"I'm Noel, by the way. I work as a teacher," the young woman introduced herself, "Usually, we don't allow just anyone to come into our school, especially if they aren't students here. But since you know Ciel, I'm sure we can make an exception. She's well-respected among the staff, so they pretty much allow her a lot of leniencies."

"Huh," Yuuji was amazed by that. Ciel only just arrived at this school recently, and she's already gained this much influence and approval by the teachers? That's seriously impressive.

"Are all the teachers familiar with Ciel?" Gojo spoke up beside Yuuji, having returned to his casual stride.

"Not just the teachers. She's very well-liked by the students as well," Noel said, turning her head to look at them over her shoulder, "She's not the only one. I've just started working here and I'm already getting plenty of admirers. It's really adorable. These kids can be so impressed these days."

"Having someone not from Japan as their teacher is enough to pique their interest," Gojo commented, tilting his head aside in pondering, "Where are you from?"

"France. From a small town I'm sure you'd never hear of," the woman said in a pleasant tone, as if it was something too boring to talk about. "It's nothing like Paris. But I got to say, Tokyo is really something else! I think if I have to pick, I'd much rather live here."

Oh wow. A French woman, Yuuji thought, quite marveled by this fact. He can barely hear a hint of accent in the woman's voice. Her Japanese is really good.

"Well, that's sweet of you to say. I hope that means the people here have been treating you well," Gojo said. Something finally clicked for him as he grinned.

"Oh, they have," Noel assured, "I'm still getting used to everything, but everyone's been really welcoming so far. It's no wonder Japan's best known for its hospitality."

They continued to chat as they walked down the hallway. Noel seemed like a friendly young woman, full of pep and plenty of things to talk about. It was interesting for Yuuji to hear more about the woman who came from overseas, though if he remembered correctly, Ciel was also from overseas, according to Gojo. With how familiar Noel talked about Ciel, Yuuji wondered if both got along because of that.

In almost no time at all, they arrived outside the Tea Ceremony Room.

"Here it is!" Noel announced, "Go ahead and give it a knock. Ciel should be inside."

She paused, and then looked at the two visitors rather suspiciously. A devious smirk in her fairly pretty face, "Although, it's a bit strange for two men to be visiting a girl by herself this late. Don't you think?"

"Hm? Why?" Yuuji asked. He remembered sometimes staying late after school with his old clubmates, with one being the only girl in their group. Was there a curfew in this place?

"Yeah. Why?" Gojo joined Yuuji's confusion with a tilt of his head, although he was a bit more aware of the reason, but nonetheless plays along the oblivious card.

Noel stared at the two men for a moment, then chuckled at their faces, "You two really are a strange pair. Well, I'll try not to tell anyone anyway. Just don't get too crazy in there."

…Oh. Yuuji just got it. OH! She meant-!

"Ah. Wait-! Hold on-!" Yuuji's shoulder was grasped by Gojo's hand and the teen saw his teacher's shake of the head. As if to say there was no point. But Yuuji feels that he should at least be clear with their intention. Sure, Yuuji liked Ciel, but he's not gonna cross those boundaries. Especially not with his teacher involved. Geez, that's such a weird thought he instantly wants out of his head.

"Don't worry," the female teacher said with a sly smile, "I trust you both mean well. Maybe next time I can join you fellas?"

As if the woman couldn't be any more audacious, Noel winked at Yuuji, "Until then, look me up next time you visit, okay? Au revoir, Yuuji-kun."

With that, the lively yet peculiar woman left. Her figure growing distant until she left the hallway completely. Yuuji and Gojo slowly turned to one another. A long look of comprehension between them.

They clasped each other's hands and shoulders. A triumphant "HMPH!" as they raised their fists between their foreheads.

"I am so proud of you, you absolute magnet! Yuuji!"

"Right?! Right?!"

"You're just attracting all kinds of mature women these days. You could give even me a run for my money!"

"I can't wait to rub it in Kugisaki's face! And she said that girls don't like me!"

They released each other. Gojo giving the biggest grin to Yuuji as he patted the teen's shoulder. "You tell her! Honestly, I got to know, just what is your secret?"

Yuuji wished he could say he knew. He checked his uniform, "Maybe it's this new cologne I bought? It was really affordable too. Oh, crap! I threw away the box this morning! What was the name of the brand again?!"

He grasped his head as he desperately tried to remember. Just then, the door to the Tea Ceremony Room opened from within.

"Yuuji-kun?"

"Ah-!" Yuuji looked back at the door. There stood Ciel at the doorway, wearing her black-rimmed glasses and green-bow school uniform again. "Ciel… Senpai."

He nearly forgot to add in 'Senpai' at the end, since 'technically' she's a year above him. He still can't wrap his head around what Gojo revealed about her. She looked just as young as Yuuji. Was she really unageing? Doesn't that make her immortal or something?

As he briefly pondered over this, Ciel spoke, "I thought I heard voices outside. I'm surprised you really came all this way. It was only yesterday that I sent you that text."

"Ah. That's true…" Yuuji scratched the back of his head. Truth be told, Gojo was the one to incite this hasty visit, since his teacher informed that he'll be going overseas soon. Which meant that Yuuji will be handling missions alongside Megumi and Nobara on their own soon.

"It was kind of sudden. It's nice to see you again, though," he followed up. Although she hid her identity and is likely to be the one to kill him, she did help him and Nobara out against those zombies and has been a really nice person to talk to.

"Eh-?" The genuineness of Yuuji's words made Ciel jolt a bit. She adjusted her glasses to collect herself as she answered.

"I-Is that so? Well… It's nice to see you too. Actually, I had hoped that you would visit. There's something that I've been wanting to get off my chest for a while."

"Oh? Yeah?" Yuuji said curiously, and then a certain someone decided to ruin the moment.

"In that case, why don't we all come inside and eat while we talk!" Gojo poked his head in front of the doorway, stating with such affirmation he could run for public office.

"Gah-!" Ciel's shoulders pulled back, staring at Gojo for a moment. Her eyes drifted from the man to Yuuji to the man again.

She scowled, frowning at the two men as if they were traitors she cannot forgive.

Sensei… Yuuji thought as he felt the hammering shame under Ciel's glare. You're really tactless. No wonder you're still single.

"I don't believe I recall inviting you, Satoru Gojo," Ciel bluntly said, closing her eyes as if to banish the man from her sight and thoughts.

"Oh come on! Don't be like that. Look! We even brought a peace offering!" Gojo ushered at Yuuji. The teen stepped closer with the plastic bag in hand and opened it.

The instant familiar smell that rose from the bag had Ciel stiffened.

"It's your favorite batch of curry bread," Gojo stretched the name of the food, as if doing so will pull her in. "Fresh out of the fryer – well they might be a bit cold since we took a long walk to get here. But if you don't feel up to it, I guess we could just throw them away."

"You…" Ciel vehemently glared at the man, enough to frighten Yuuji.

Sensei. You're seriously playing a dangerous game here, Yuuji wanted to say but avoided to so not to have Ciel's piercing attention on himself.

Gojo and Ciel stood their grounds, unflinchingly staring at one another to see which of them will break first. Yuuji almost considered pulling out his phone to record this clearly epic battle of wills that was happening right before his eyes. He honestly didn't know who to root for.

Gojo then suddenly makes a move towards the plastic bag Yuuji held. Taking it, he carried the bag in his hands, "Standing out here isn't going to make these breads any warmer."

He takes out one wrapped curry bread. The sight of it causing Ciel's blue eyes to sparkle with sudden hunger. A slight gap in her mouth that threatened a drool to escape. It was a surprising sight for Yuuji. This girl must really love curry.

"Guess I better just toss them in the fridge, and probably forget about them," Gojo carefreely said as he opened the wrapper to bite into the bread, "Or I could just throw them in the ocean and see if there's any fishes that might- whoops!"

With an intentional slip of his hand, the wrapped curry bread fell to the floor. Yuuji quickly moved to catch it, but Ciel was faster. As if expecting Gojo to do this, she ducked under the food and caught it with her hands just in time before it would even touch the ground.

"Don't be so cruel!" Ciel scolded. Straightening her back, she realized her words and cleared her throat, "I mean, don't be so wasteful! There are people out there who has never known the delicious experience curry brings!"

With an angry huff, Ciel swiped the bag of curry goods from Gojo's hands. She held the bag and bread closely, as if they were her own children. Gojo grinned at her in absolute amusement and clear victory.

"It looks like I have no choice," she said, turning back towards the room, "Come in. We'll have to eat these baked goods ourselves, properly and with respect. No need to toss them away."

Ciel welcomed the men in reluctantly. Gojo gave an OK sign to Yuuji before entering the room after her. "Sure, sure! That sounds like a good idea. It's been a while since we've last seen each other. There's a lot to catch up on."

Yuuji followed in after his teacher, closing the sliding door behind him. He was surprised to see what the room inside held. The Tea Ceremony Room was a complete subversion to the other classrooms he caught a glimpse of through the windows. Rather than it being a simple room with a table and chairs, surrounded by bookshelves or cabinets for storage, it was an authentic Japanese-style room warmed by the glow of the sun through the screen windows. A pale green carpet and yellow walls, with more paper screens and some wooden structure beams. A kanji art hanged near one corner of the room, above a small potted plant that had a few flowers in it. In the middle of the room was a Japanese tea set surrounded by mats to sit upon.

Wow. Yuuji visibly expressed. It was a humble and simple room, yet the warm aesthetics of it was enough to make it feel inviting and even home-like. I never knew schools could have rooms like this.

"I should have figured you were the one to send that text, Gojo," Ciel said as she settled in the middle of the room, sitting on her knees upon a mat in front of the tea set. She set the bag of curry goods and bread aside. "I honestly thought Yuuji-kun was just being overtly friendly with how many hearts there were."

Yuuji gave another embarrassed look at his teacher, still visibly upset about that. Gojo merely took it in stride as he responded, "Ah, but he really was looking forward to meeting you again. Also, Yuuji-kun, is it? I see! So you guys are already at that level?"

"S-Stop that, Sensei!" Yuuji tried to hush his teacher at the clear as day implications Gojo was making. He didn't want to make Ciel feel uncomfortable.

Ciel didn't appear too bothered, however, answering rather quaintly, "It's only fair since I've asked him to call me by my first name. It shows how quickly we've already become acquainted, Gojo-san."

"Ouch! How could you say that? We worked together a few times. You know?"

Gojo takes a casual seat upon the mat across from Ciel, one knee propped up, he held himself up by the press of his hand against the floor. It was polar opposite to the serious posture that Ciel sat with, her back straightened and her bare knees resting against the cushion. Yuuji sat down next to his teacher, though as he sees the two different sitting positions between his sensei and his senpai, he wondered just how his should be.

"Please sit as you like," Ciel ushered Yuuji in a gentler voice, noticing his hesitation and uncertain glances. "I don't know much about proper tea etiquette, only how to pour them. Don't worry about how you should act, as long as you're comfortable."

Don't worry how you should act. It was almost as if she was answering to his earlier inquiry he made to Gojo. Seeing how his teacher's smile grew a bit, Gojo noticed as well. Just as Yuuji gave his thanks to Ciel, he noticed something in the corner of his eye and turned to look.

"Huh?! Hold on! Is that a kitchen?!" Yuuji blurted out when he saw that the room they were in extended into another, seeing the refrigerator. "No way! That's seriously cool!"

This seemed more like a teacher's break room than anything else. He would have loved to come here just to hang out.

Ciel's spoiled mood at Gojo's presence subsided at hearing Yuuji's reaction. She nodded. "From what I heard, this room was supposed to be used for club activities, but I guess it was the principal's hobby. No one was using this room when I joined, though."

"Really? That's hard to believe," Yuuji said, joining Gojo as they sat at their respective mats in front of Ciel. They smell the warm tea from the brewing pottery. It added a relaxing air within the club room and he really did start to feel comfortable here. "It's a good thing you got this room then."

"I agree," Ciel responded positively as she began to prepare tea for all of them. The tools and utensils already available within her reach. "It's honestly a shame how much this room has been neglected. The amount of dusts and cobwebs I had to clear out."

She shakes her head in disappointment as if finding an abandoned puppy on a rainy day. "So far, I'm the only member, but I was able to convince the teachers to let me use this room for a while until I can recruit all five members."

"Oh. Then maybe I should join," Yuuji offered as soon as he heard this. "I can even ask Fushiguro-san and Kugisaki-san if they liked to come. This place is really calming. It'd be a bummer if it doesn't get used."

Ciel was once more caught off guard by Yuuji. She bears a moment to consider his words before giving a polite smile, "That's very generous of you, but are you sure? It might be too much trouble, having to commute all the way here just to visit for a few hours."

"I don't mind," Yuuji said, "It's not that far anyway. I don't know about the others, but I can definitely come after classes. I did say I would, and I'm really glad I did now."

"Ah. Really?" Looking as if she was not expecting this conversation at all, Ciel grasped her arm and looked aside. "In that case... I'm usually here after school hours, so you're welcome to stop by during that time."

She looked back at him with a genuine smile, "I'm sure I can persuade the teachers to let you in, so don't hesitate to come through the school entrance when classes are over."

"Sure thing. I'm kind of curious though," Yuuji then said as Ciel finished brewing the tea. She started pouring the kettle into a cup as he resumed with his question, "What made you want to open up a club like this? It's pretty interesting, but how did you come up with it?"

"Well..." Ciel started, her brows furrowed as if trying to figure out how to explain something really complex. She poured the tea into the next cup, "I guess you could say that I really like the Japanese aesthetic. I love Western snacks, but there's something special and meticulous about how Japanese sweets and teas are made. I started this club as a way to show appreciation to the craftsmanship and taste in Japanese food. It's actually upsetting to see such delicacy be so unprompted in schools like this."

"You must really like sweets then," Yuuji noted. He held out his hands and accepted the tea Ciel granted him, "Gojo-sensei mentioned that you're from overseas. Where did you live?"

"Um... France," Ciel said after a brief pause. Seeing Yuuji's surprised face, she elaborated further as she gave Gojo his cup of tea, "My father was French, and my mother was Asian. I believe my mother might have been from Japan, but she never said. She was the type of woman who never looked back at her old life."

"Whoa. That's pretty cool," Yuuji said, sipping his tea thoughtfully. Another French woman. Neat. "We've met a teacher who said she was from France too just now."

"Ah. Ms. Noel, you mean?" Ciel asked. After gaining a nod, she smiled, "Yes. We came to this school around the same time. Although she teaches lowerclassmen students, we occasionally run into each other from time to time."

Handing over a small basket of tea cakes, Yuuji happily took some as Ciel then turned the conversation towards him. "And what about your parents? I've only heard of your grandfather, but what can you tell me about your mother and father?"

"Mm. Not much, really," Yuuji said as he enjoyed his bite of the teacakes. Cinnamon and vanilla flavor. It was worth the walk all the way over here. "I don't know who my parents are, and I'm not really interested to know either. To me, my family has always been my grandpa."

Ciel looked rather taken aback at Yuuji's blunt statement. It did not sound unkind, nor a hint of resentment. Yet Ciel was curious all the same, even felt a bit concerned. "You never knew them? Was there... some sort of family dispute with your grandfather?"

"Against my parents? I don't think so," Yuuji said as he looked up at the ceiling in thought, picking up the half-bitten tea cake to his mouth, "He tried telling me about them before he passed away, but I didn't want him to make a big deal out of it. I wished I could have told him before he died, but he's always been a dad to me, not just my grandpa. I wouldn't want to know about my parents if it meant losing him as my father."

Ciel was stunned. Holding the teacup in her hands as she rested them against her thighs, she stared at Yuuji as he reached for a curry bread from the bag next to the tea set. "I... see."

From aside, Gojo was watching quietly. He internally complained a bit at how separated he was to the conversation, almost as if these kids were completely ignoring his existence entirely like Noel did. However, he found his silence to be beneficial, not only allowing this chance for Yuuji and Ciel to get to know each other a little more. He paid most attention to Ciel, sensing an unquestionable feeling of compassion from the girl - which he can very well understand after hearing Yuuji.

Stare...

He simply observed the girl through his blindfold. It certainly didn't take long before the stoic Executor in the room began to break out of her ice thanks to Yuuji. The boy really has that interesting effect on people. Though, Gojo wondered just how right on the money he was.

He hated to interrupt this, especially since he was drinking really good tea and eating curry bread, something that Ciel rarely offers to him at all. But he needed to clear the air. It was quite an accomplishment though for an undercover conversationalist such as Ciel to be at a loss for words, though before Gojo would take this opportunity to speak, Yuuji beats him to it again.

"Oh. That's right, you said you wanted to tell me something?" Yuuji asked.

At his prompting, Ciel recovered from her stunned reaction and answered, "Ah. Yes. You see, I wanted to apologize for the other day."

"Apologize?" Yuuji repeated. He can't think of anything she did wrong. What was there to apologize for? "You mean about what happened at that cursed building? I don't think that's something you need to apologize for."

It was a surprise, sure, but she was pretty cool exorcising all those zombies and curses.

"Ah. Well, it's true that I didn't mean to intervene your sorcery training," Ciel said, shifting in her seat slightly, "But I was referring to that day we met on the train. When you told me about your grandfather's passing, I felt that my reaction was a bit lacking."

Yuuji blinked at her, confused. "What do you mean? "

Ciel revealed her hands as if to say she has been caught. "I'm sure Satoru (Gojo: "Oh! She said my name there.") has already told you who I really am. Am I right?"

Yuuji nodded. "He said that you're an Executor."

"Right. In my line of work, I often get in contact with people during undercover assignments, this includes the need to hide my identity. Having said that, it wasn't my intention to deceive you while you were in mourning. I honestly did not know, and I felt that diverting the subject rather than asking how you were was insensitive of me."

She bowed her head sincerely, "I'm sorry for that. You have my deepest sympathies, and I am truly sorry for your loss."

"Oh. That's what you were worried about?" Yuuji looked bemused. "You weren't insensitive or anything like that. You were trying to cheer me up, weren't you?"

"Um. Well, even so..." Ciel hesitated, which was an answer to Yuuji's question.

"To be honest, I did feel sad thinking about it," Yuuji admitted, "But I felt better after talking to you. You don't have to be sorry at all."

"Are you sure?"

Yuuji affirmed with a raise of his hand, "Yeah. It's alright. I'm actually pretty grateful you did that. I was a little worried that I made you uncomfortable."

"Absolutely not!" Ciel frowned as if affronted by the assumption. "I was only thinking how I should respond. We were just strangers who met that day, after all, so I didn't want to offend you."

"It's fine though. I mean, we're basically already friends," Yuuji stated as a matter of fact, finishing his cup of tea. "That's why you don't have to worry so much about it. I know you meant well."

"Ah, friends, you say..." Once more, Ciel did not know how to follow up with that, as if surprised to hear Yuuji considered her that despite knowing her true occupation. She stared down at her cup sheepishly as Yuuji casually ate what remained of his curry bread.

Gojo smiled at Yuuji, resting his chin against his hand. Having finished his curry bread and tea, Gojo sets his empty cup down on the green-carpeted floor.

"Speaking of your line of work," the blindfolded sorcerer began, "I'm still trying to figure out what you're doing here in Japan."

Ciel's gentle expression turned hardened as she looked to Gojo.

"The only other time you were here was to see Megumi because of his father, since the Church always loved hiring that guy. Even then, the Holy Church usually keeps their distance from this land, with maybe a few representatives here and there. To come to a big city like Tokyo of all places..."

He harmlessly smiled at the stoic Executor in the room, "I can't help but wonder if there's someone here that's caught your eye? I could have hooked you guys up if you just called, you know?"

Yuuji slightly choked from his eating of tea cakes, clearing his throat and pounding his chest. Ciel offered more tea to Yuuji's cup, answering to Gojo with an impassive voice, "As I had said before, I'm not obligated to reveal any information."

"I haven't told anyone about you yet," Gojo added, not missing a beat, "Aside from myself and Itadori here, no one knows about this little meeting of ours. I want to hear your reason first before deciding to. Otherwise, I'll just have to keep investigating, and you know how persistent I can be. Figured I'd also return the favor for back then."

"Hm?" Yuuji sounded his curiosity as he soothed his throat with another drink of warm tea. Did Ciel helped Sensei with something?

Ciel stared at Gojo in silence for a moment. Seeing that confident smirk on the man's face, she gave a reluctant sigh. "I would rather you keep yourself out of official Church business, but there isn't much that can stop you if you're really determined to try. I'd also want us to avoid any unnecessary conflict between our organizations. It'll be too much paperwork to go through otherwise."

After sipping her cup of tea, she looked at both men in compliance, "Very well, I'll tell you. It may be for the better this way. This matter is something that's outside a Jujutsu Sorcerer's expertise."

Gojo grabbed a piece of tea cake, awaiting on a story to be told like he was sitting in a movie theater. Yuuji also pays close attention as Ciel gazed at the men with a severe look. "We've received intel that a vampire has appeared within the city of Tokyo."

The tea cake was harshly swallowed by Yuuji, nearly choking for a second time as he looked at Ciel in shock. "Vampire? You mean a real-life vampire?"

He motioned his arms in a way that depicts himself wearing a long cloak of some kind, "Like Dracula?"

Ciel nodded. "You've just arrived in this city, Yuuji, so you probably haven't heard of the recent killings that's been going on here. Victims being discovered with their blood drained. The public is announcing this as the beginning work of a serial killer. However, I'm positive that this isn't done by a human, but a vampire. There has also been a steady rise of people going missing. It could mean many things, but since they're happening now within such a small timeframe, I have a strong suspicion that they are related to the murders."

Yuuji immediately looked to Gojo, "Shouldn't Jujutsu Tech High look into this? These murders would draw out curses, wouldn't they?"

He also wanted to know if there was something they could do, that he could do, especially if people really were getting murdered by these monsters.

Gojo pressed his thumb underneath his chin. For once, a thoughtful look about him as he took Ciel's words with significance. "In hindsight, we definitely should, but we're already stretched as it is with both work and the limited number of sorcerers we have available. There may not be enough manpower to look into this completely, and that's if this has anything to do with curses at all."

"Are sorcerers only allowed to fight curses?" Yuuji asked.

"We're capable of fighting all sorts of monsters, if it comes down to it," Gojo informed with a raise of his finger, "It's just that our specialty lies in exorcising curses. So our school mainly focuses on cases that has to do with that, and there's already a lot to find throughout this city alone. However..."

He held up the half-bitten tea cake that had his teeth marks in it. "If this really is the work of a vampire, that's another matter entirely. Sorcerers aren't trained to deal with threats like that. I've met a few in my travels overseas, and those were purely by chance. I was able to handle them pretty well but I'm sure any other sorcerer would have trouble. I'm surprised that they're even out here this far in the East. Japan's a place mainly thrived by curses."

Gojo takes a moment to ponder over this. Could it have something to do with Sukuna's revival? It shouldn't be the case since curses and vampires are almost entirely separate groups, with reasonable vehemence towards each other, and thus want nothing to do with the other. Then again, he isn't an expert on vampires as Ciel is. If it does have something to do with Sukuna, though, what would vampires that come so far as to cross seas want with the King of Curses?

"There are a few reasons why vampires would come here," Ciel said, as if reading Gojo's mind, "A common idea would be that they ran out of "food" in their homeland, and so they seek to hunt for more elsewhere. It could be that Japan was the closest destination they could reach."

"Food..." Yuuji said slowly, gripping his teacup and feeling the curry in his gut beginning to churn, "You mean people."

"Yes," Ciel said in a serious tone, carefully observing Yuuji's expression, "To vampires, humans are nothing more than food. They see us as no different than cattle, animals to be killed and eaten."

Yuuji instantly found that repulsive, although, he could imagine the need to eat for survival. Even though he felt it was too late to sympathize once the killings have started, he was about to ask if they could willingly give some blood to this vampire if it meant that they wouldn't hurt anyone. However, Ciel continued, "Vampires require the nutrients in the human blood to survive. However, in many cases, it's not merely about survival. For some vampires, due to their immortality, they are often bored with their lives, and so would seek out humans for sport, hunting and torturing them purely for their own entertainment."

It was a sickening statement that angered Yuuji. There's no way murdering innocent people should be that enjoyable to anyone. Then again, the first time he felt Sukuna emerge, the curse's immediate words were the thrill of massacring women and children it was going to bring. He'll never understand those types of horrendous people. Might not even be considered "people" at all.

"Hence, the organization I work for have set out to hunt down these monsters and prevent them from doing any more harm to humanity," Ciel concluded with the close of her eyes, "As well in the name of our Lord and God."

She's a real vampire hunter then. Yuuji realized, impressed by Ciel once more. "Are these vampires anything like on TV?"

"More or less," Ciel answered, pushing the bridge of her glasses in preparation of what appeared to be a long-winded explanation. "To start with the basics, their weakness is sunlight just like in the stories, and they have the ability to turn others into vampires by sucking their blood."

The boy shivered at this disturbing relay. Finding these creatures creepier than curses themselves.

"However," Ciel said, "There is much more to these vampires than what you may have heard in media. We of the Holy Church refer to those feeding on the blood of primates and homo sapiens as "vampires". But they aren't simply called that. There are multiple categories that are all defined under the nature of a vampire. The creature that I am searching for in Tokyo is something we call a Castle Lord Vampire, or in another term, a Dead Apostle."

Yuuji's head strained a bit as he took in Ciel's introductory explanation, though he nonetheless paid very close attention. Gojo welcomed himself with another pouring of tea in his cup as he too listened to Ciel, taking this opportunity to learn more about the foreign enemy that has suddenly made a visit to their country.

"They are the perpetrator for the killings and related disappearances, both directly and indirectly," Ciel began to tell, "A Dead Apostle's first stage upon finding their new hunting ground is to make more vampires that would serve under the Dead Apostle. These vampire servants would then gather the blood of victims, or even the victims themselves, and bring them to the Dead Apostle while he rests within his base, procuring energy as he feeds."

Ciel takes the curry bread she had saved from earlier, a momentary look of what appear to be pure bliss at the smell of it - despite the morbid discussion at hand - before she takes a bite of her food. She savored the bread as Yuuji asked his next question, though momentarily notes how even the way Ciel eats is really cute.

"So the murders were done by these vampire servants?"

Ciel hummed as she held a chunk of chewed curry inside her cheek. "Not necessarily," she said after swallowing, "I'm almost positive that the victims were the Dead Apostle's attempt in making new servants. However, not everyone has what it takes into becoming a vampire. For instance, it would be preferable to turn an athletic person into a servant, someone with superior abilities that would easily serve as not only a resource gatherer, but also the Dead Apostle's foot soldier, even personal bodyguards - or what we typically call as retainers."

She licked her thumb for the breadcrumbs, "But finding such a suitable host would be like finding a penny on the ground. Although there are plenty of people living in this city, for the Dead Apostle to focus their attention on searching only for their preferred host, it would take too much time, and the Dead Apostle would start to lose their energy and means to feed themselves."

Ciel looked at Yuuji, a warning held in her blue gaze, though buried under a small layer of tease, "You especially, Yuuji, would make a pretty good target for a vampire with your strength and build alone. This is also true for when they hunt victims to feed on. A virgin woman is a famous example of a vampire's favorite victim. The purity in a virgin's blood makes for excellent replenishing, making them far more nutritious than anyone else."

She pleasantly expressed this as she visibly enjoys her curry bread as if to demonstrate. The way she told this made her almost sound like Gojo.

"Crap. For real? I better avoid going out so late at night then," Yuuji determined.

Two criteria to be the perfect vampire target and he's already met both - as much as he doesn't like to admit the second part.

"Don't worry," Gojo said next to him, drawing a necklace around his collar bone, "We'll get you to wear some garlic, and maybe get you a wooden stake instead of that Slaughter Demon sword."

Yuuji honestly believed him as he enthusiastically bobbed his head at his teacher. Gojo gave him a reassuring thumbs up.

"Having said that," Ciel said, calling back their attention as her serious expression returned, actively avoiding Gojo's bait, "It means that the Dead Apostle and the servants can't afford to be picky, and so they opted to find anyone to turn or consume at their best convenience, while attempting to remain as obscure as possible. This means constant trials and errors, with some success, and others lives wasted to simply feed the vampires."

The repugnance of the Dead Apostle's actions had Yuuji frown deeply. The fact that Jujutsu Tech High wouldn't be willing to involve themselves in the matter made him dislike it all the more. Even if it has nothing to do with curses, he can't help but want to do something about this. Drinking someone's blood while they were still alive, and then left abandoned to rot in the cold. The families that had to be notified and identify the victims in those conditions. The manner of those deaths just sounded too awful.

"So then, the zombies we've met at that cursed building. They were vampire servants?" Yuuji honestly thought he got it right this time, but once more, Ciel confirmed otherwise, though a bit more delayed.

"Not... exactly," Ciel hesitated with her answer, earning Yuuji and Gojo's curious looks. "They were more so 'living corpses' than foot soldiers. After investigating the cemetery close to that cursed building, I was able to confirm the nature of their existence upon discovering the dug out burials of several gravesites."

"Hold on." For once, Gojo looked surprised, "Are you saying…"

Ciel nodded, "This was not a normal method of vampirism at work. The means to accumulate that many corpses was none other than magecraft."

"Magecraft. You mean like Sorcery?" Yuuji asked.

"No," Gojo answered, the whimsical attitude gone from his face and tone. "Magecraft is its own category. Sometimes cursed energy is involved, but all and all, Magecraft is different from the Sorcery we use."

It was a whiplash to see it. Yuuji even wondered if this was the same teacher he's met before. It's the first he's seen Gojo seem so serious.

"In other words," the strongest sorcerer said as he faced Ciel, "the method that was used to create those walking dead… it was necromancy, wasn't it?"

Ciel nodded as she looked to Yuuji's questioning face, "Essentially, the act of raising the dead. A mage, and from what I've heard, a sorcerer as well, is capable of achieving this. Though to be able to summon that many, it could only be the work of a Dead Apostle. I have reasons to believe that they were meant to hide within that building until night came, where they would then prowl the streets searching for victims."

Gojo whistled slowly, leaning back with his hands pressed against the floor behind him. "No wonder you've incinerated everything inside. If word or evidence gets out, I can tell you that a lot of people would be very interested. Especially those who would want to cause trouble if they so much as capture one of those zombies."

He recalled hearing something about an elderly sorcerer woman who had the ability to summon the body and soul of the deceased, or at least, their "record" of it - resuscitating the personality and muscle memory of a dead individual so to speak. This old sorcerer was a considerably troublesome criminal up until Gojo Satoru was born, then it was dead silent from her and her group's activities. If it was anything to that level, then they seriously have a problem on their hands. Though by Yuuji and Nobara's description of the dead they fought against, these particular living corpses weren't all too intelligent. So it may not be a super serious case as of now, though he still would want to check it out.

What bad timing that I'm called out of Japan, Gojo mindfully stated.

"That was one of the reasons, yes," Ciel confirmed, "I can't say for sure what purpose would the Dead Apostle have for raising the dead from their tombs, rather than creating some through the living, as it would be far more difficult to have them blend into society. A proper vampire servant would be able to lure in unsuspecting victims, or take them by surprise upon seeing a moment of vulnerability. Then once this is done, they can slip back into the crowd unnoticed. In short, they look no different from you and me, which makes them perfect workers unless you can notice the small details."

"Like what?" Yuuji asked as he felt a hint of goosebumps at the thought that he could have been passing by a vampire without him ever noticing.

"For starters, a vampire would be destroyed under daytime, so the servant would do whatever they can to avoid direct sunlight. They would seal off windows and every corner of light to protect themselves until the sun goes down. They may also look and act a bit "off," despite appearing human enough."

"That sounds a bit too broad, don't you think?" Gojo said, "You basically described every shut-in neets in the entire world. It's hard to imagine you barging into every house at the slightest suspicion of a vampire. You must have seen a lot, especially if there's a tissue involved."

"Perhaps," Ciel relented to Gojo's point with an arm-raised shrug, "To do something like that would be far too costly. Which is why we don't immediately act even if the person meets all the criteria of a vampire. The best way to confirm their nature is to see them in action while we remain undetected-"

"Or unsuspected, by putting yourself into the firing range," Gojo said with a slight smile, "Less of a hassle that way that doesn't involve civilians, right?"

"I suppose so," Ciel merely responded plainly, "There is one distinguishing trait you can tell apart from a vampire and a human being though."

Her blue eyes trailed over to the red hoodie around Yuuji's neck, causing the boy to look over his shoulder curiously. "Their eyes. Regardless of what their natural eye color had been as humans, upon becoming vampires, their eyes are almost always red. Some vampires are able to hide this, but should their "bloodlust" be emitted, you may be guaranteed to see their true colors, not that you should ever wish to."

Yuuji made a mental note of that as he drank more tea. It kind of feels like I'm sitting through an exposition episode in an anime.

A good thing that the free food was helping him keep his focus.

"This is all very informative," Gojo stated truthfully, bringing his arms back over to his knees, "But this doesn't explain why you went to meet with Yuuji in person. A new sorcerer like him has nothing to do with the vampire hunt that you're here for."

An innocent grin was worn as Gojo pegged at Ciel, "Unless a little birdie told you something interesting about our new boy here. Something that, even if the Holy Church has no strong presence in this country - aside from having their churches here and there, they might just see an opportunity to gain some. Even if that meant disregarding the sorcerers in power and their rules here."

Another silent stand-off between Ciel and Gojo as they sat across from each other. Ciel caught Yuuji's wondering look in the corner of her eye, though she kept her steady gaze at the awaiting, powerful sorcerer.

"...My, you truly are a troublesome man," Ciel said finally after a small huff, "You certainly have a way of seeing the worst in people, ability aside."

"I just know a potential power grab when I see one," Gojo said cheerfully, "The Holy Church sure hasn't changed one bit. I'm guessing its members are still trying to convince the Pope that there's no need for us curse-users, right?"

"I won't try to argue with you. We're both fully aware of Jujutsu Society's and the Mage Association's tense relationship with the Holy Church." She switched her focus from Gojo to Yuuji, who straightened his back upon seeing her serious gaze.

"I know that you are a vessel for an ancient and powerful curse," Ciel revealed, "That curse being the King of Curses, Sukuna, am I correct?"

As Yuuji expressed his surprise at her knowing, Ciel continued, "Upon hearing the revival of Sukuna, the Holy Church has assigned me to monitor the host out of concern, following our holy duty to see the public's safety regardless of it being outside our jurisdiction."

Gojo quietly called 'bullshit' on that and knew that Ciel thought so too.

"Although I was aware that you would be taken in under Jujutsu High's custody," Ciel said to Yuuji, "which is a surprise on its own, given how usually cutthroat their sorcerers are. I was unaware that your teacher was going to be Gojo Satoru himself, else I would have been more discreet with my identity."

"Well with how he was gushing about you; I would have figured it out either way."

Yuuji spat his tea back into his cup as Gojo revealed this so carefreely. "S-Sensei!"

Ciel blinked at the cheerful Gojo and the flustered Yuuji. She sighed at their reaction, putting her hands on her hips, "There's really no need to embarrass your student like this, Satoru. Usually, I'm the one who does the teasing around here."

Oh thank God, she thought it was a joke. Although, Yuuji was excited at the thought that he had been asked out by a girl, and now confirming it with Ciel's own words that it had not been the case, he suddenly felt disappointed.

"Sorry, sorry! Didn't mean to steal your thing," Gojo smiled as if hiding a laugh in his apology, waving his hands. "Still, it's a bit strange that the Church would send an Executor to do the job. You have exorcists in your organization, right? Why not send one of them?"

"It's true that an exorcist would be better suited for the task, especially when dealing with curses," Ciel agreed with Gojo, "However, due to an overload of work for all our members on the field, there wasn't any exorcist available to oversee Yuuji. Since I was already within the area, the Church thought it would be best to give me the job in monitoring him, for as long as I remain in Tokyo to help quell all the vampires."

She takes a small sip of her tea, "I don't intend to interfere with your duties as shamans. Whatever you may have planned for the vessel (Yuuji: "Ouch. How cold."), I won't act upon it. Doing so would invoke a bloody confrontation between our groups out of territorial dispute. As I've said before, my presence here is merely an observation from the Church."

"Never doubted you for a second," Gojo said before his smile dwindled, "Although, even if that's the case..."

"Yes," Ciel immediately said, knowing where the sorcerer's mind was going, "Despite whatever agreement we make, to stay our hands away from each other's businesses - yours as a sorcerer, and mine as an executor, the same cannot be said for the curses and the dead who have been found roaming together in one place."

"Is that bad?" Yuuji asked after recovering from his short-term embarrassment, wiping his mouth of the splattered tea with the back of his hand.

"It's a very rare occurrence," Ciel answered, almost sounding appalled by such a happening. "If there ever came a scenario where both enemies are involved, it's one after the other. Never the same time. In a case concerning the dead, after they are exterminated, curses would then roam in their place due to the negative emotions left behind by the deceased who retains some form of personality and consciousness. The dead were once human after all."

Yuuji felt discomfort and sorrow at such an undeserving fate, his anger tipping over by such a desecration of life. It's one thing to know about zombies in movies, but in real life, it really is horrible to think that those monsters were once people. People who were intentionally turned by the real monsters of their world. I can't just ignore this, can I?

Gojo even agreed that they should look into this. Then again, with how much Yuuji and Nobara freaked out at their first meeting with the dead, maybe it wasn't as simple as it looked.

"And if it's ever the other way around, that's even rarer," Ciel stated, "If the dead wander into cursed areas, the curses that reside there would try to attack."

"Curses and vampires don't have a good track-record with each other," Gojo joins in, looking towards Yuuji, "I've heard of vampires suffering from curses themselves, the kind that can't be exorcised easily, which pretty much explains the hostility. But aside from that, there's just too much competition between the dead and curses, mainly because of who their main targets are."

"Humans," Ciel and Yuuji answered at the same time. They both looked taken aback by their in-synch answer, and Ciel nodded to Yuuji.

"It would be like a wolf and a hyena fighting over a rabbit," Ciel exemplified. "Yet, what we witnessed within that building yesterday, they weren't fighting each other, but rather, they seemed to have been co-existing. The curses were tolerating the dead, and even joining them on their chase after you and Nobara."

If the dead was being tolerated by curses despite their natural aversion with each other, then Gojo wondered if the Dead Apostle in this city really was here because of Sukuna. However, as he thought more about this, he soon discarded the possibility. For starters, he's been hearing about the blood-drained murders a few days prior of Yuuji swallowing Sukuna's finger, and consequently awakening the dreaded King of Curses. If those murders really were caused by a vampire, then the vampire had to have been here before Sukuna was revived. In other words, it seemed unlikely that the Dead Apostle came to this city for Sukuna, which makes the matter of these vampire attacks completely separate.

It seemed too much of a coincidence though for this Dead Apostle to arrive within the same week of Sukuna waking up, not to mention the discovery of the King of Curses' vessel - a one in a million find. Gojo also has a feeling that Ciel wasn't telling him everything she knows, with how secretive she is and confidential her people are.

"I don't know if this will be the only time we'll see such a gathering between curses and the dead," Ciel said, "Should it happen again, then regardless of it being either sorcerer or executor jurisdiction, I must involve myself to deal with any matter related to vampires."

She finished her tea and sets down her cup. "I'm still curious about something, though."

Gojo faced Ciel once more, though her attention turned to Yuuji as he was close to finishing his tea. "How did you become Sukuna's vessel? I had only a day to research whatever I could about you. You've lived a fairly normal life. At first, I thought you were something the Jujutsu Sorcerers were hiding so to prepare a proper exorcism of Sukuna - a risky one at that. But judging by what I've gathered from you, and from what Gojo himself said about you being a new sorcerer..."

She looked at Yuuji with confuzzled eyes. "It seemed so strange that a vessel of Sukuna would be so new to the world of sorcery. Even how you reacted when I brought up vampires and magecraft. This is something that people who are raised in sorcery should be aware of in the modern day, even if it's not their main focus as shamans."

"Oh. I wasn't raised as a sorcerer," Yuuji explained, "This has all been really new to me since like, almost three days ago? Kind of makes me think I'm a shounen protagonist in a manga series."

"Then, how did you end up becoming a vessel?" Ciel asked, looking all the more confused and wondering by the second.

"Well, it all started when I found one of Sukuna's fingers..."

From there, Yuuji began to tell his story. About having found the cursed finger for the Occult Club. The passing of his grandfather along with his final words. When he met Megumi afterwards. The reveal that the cursed finger was in fact a real cursed object and a very dangerous one at that. How his friends and Megumi were nearly killed by curses, and thus, Yuuji made the choice to eat Sukuna's finger to save everyone. Then ultimately becoming a new sorcerer himself despite not having any curse-energy, although he's certainly built like a brick and hits like a truck.

"I know that I'm going to be executed," Yuuji stated as a matter-of-factly, a casual acceptance of what would happen in his distant or close future. "Consuming Sukuna's fingers is something that only I can do. I want to give everyone a chance to live good lives and have a proper death. Not distorted by curses. If by the end of it all that I can be surrounded by the people I get along with, having helped them just as I wanted to, then maybe if I see my grandpa again, I can tell him that I've lived a good life too."

Silence filled the room after Yuuji spoke his heart out, finishing his tea with one final sip.

"Yuuji-kun."

The teen looked up to Ciel, and found her disapproving eyes stare back at him.

"I'm sorry, but what you've just told me was completely naive."

He made a hard swallow of the last bit of tea as he bemusedly gawked at Ciel. Yuuji frowned at her, "Why?"

She began to lay her argument with a frankness that rivaled Gojo's, "I respect your efforts to fulfill your grandfather's last wish. To help as many people as possible, and to die surrounded by loved ones. However, I highly doubt that this is what your grandfather meant when he told you to help people. Exorcising curses is nothing to take light of."

"I mean, I already had this talk with Principal Yaga," Yuuji argued, "I know I can't just lay everything on my grandpa's wish."

"It's not a matter of fulfilling your promise to your grandfather," Ciel said, her voice like a sharp knife that cuts through Yuuji's response. "I'm saying that your goal is impossible to achieve. So long as you remain a Jujutsu Sorcerer, you will always be met with unnatural deaths and disasters. That is the nature of curses."

"Well, yeah, and Sukuna's one of them! That's why I can't just pretend it has nothing to do with me, and when I get all the cursed fingers-"

"Then you'll be able to save the people who would otherwise be harmed or killed by Sukuna," Ciel finished for him, "But simply exorcising one curse, however powerful, does not guarantee anything. There will always be curses aside from Sukuna. Do you intend to hunt down every curse before your time of execution arrives? Do you honestly believe the cursed soul inside you would wait patiently for his own death as you hope to achieve your endless goal, a goal he would no doubt spit at your face for?"

"I can keep him contained. I've done it before," Yuuji defended himself.

"And what are you going to do if you one day lose control once you acquire all of Sukuna's fingers?" Ciel challenged, "No human is capable of sustaining that many cursed objects inside themselves. By then, you wouldn't be human anymore. Not a half-curse at that, and who's to say that you would even stay sane after all that? Or not be a pile of mush? Or brain dead? For someone who wants everyone to live a peaceful life and die a peaceful death, you certainly have some skewed logic to exclude yourself."

"But it's fine with me!" Yuuji raised his voice as he made his retort. Honestly, it didn't sound very pleasant with what she described. But... as long as it's only him who-

"Answer me this then," Ciel demanded with a stern voice, "If you were to suddenly lose control of Sukuna, and if your goal is to prevent innocent people from being killed by curses, then what would you do if you're the reason for their unnatural deaths? Would you still raise your head and call yourself a sorcerer then?"

It was a cold-cut question that put Yuuji to a full stop. He tried to come up with something. A response or even a denial, but... that question.

It's not as if Sukuna hadn't been taunting him of all the calamities he's going to cause. To take over Yuuji's body and force upon the senseless violence of everyone within range. Yuuji, of course, ignored him. Those spouts of curses and what he could only hear as deranged animosity. However, now forced to answer this question presented by Ciel, he didn't know what to say. He didn't have a clue what he would do if that happened. How could he? He would never want that to happen. And if he didn't want that to happen, or refuse it to happen, then what answer could he give?

In the end, he couldn't come up with anything in response.

"Nothing in life goes the way we want or planned," Ciel delivers at Yuuji's stunned silence. "The sooner you see that, the less suffering it will bring. But then again, sorcerers are powered by their negative emotions, but I don't believe that's what you intended when you've set foot on this path. If you can't understand that, then you shouldn't have to try so hard to kill yourself for others sake, for something so unachievable to start with. You're better off letting your teacher and classmates do the work."

With her teacup set down, Ciel stood up, her cold stare remaining. "Give up on being a sorcerer. You don't have the capacity for it."

She briskly walked past the frozen Yuuji and opened the sliding the door of the clubroom, "It's getting late now. I'll have to answer to my duties as executor soon, so it would be best that the two of you should head home while the sun is still up."

She gestured the two men to leave, her hand held out to the open door for them. Gojo faced at her direction for a long moment before glancing at Yuuji. He swiftly gave the boy a pat behind the shoulder, bringing him out of his daze.

"I guess it is getting pretty late. We better get going before those bloodsuckers come out," Gojo said as he stood up.

"Ah, yeah…" Yuuji said in a quiet voice. Both men rose to their feet and went for the door. Yuuji stared at the ground as Ciel watched him walk by. Gojo was second to follow him, though before he steps out into the hallway, his head picked up.

"Oh! That's right. I almost forgot to mention. Mind staying out here for a moment, Yuuji?"

"Eh?" Yuuji turned around and sees Gojo reaching for the sliding door.

"It shouldn't take too long. Just hang around the school and I'll come find you. Later."

With that, Gojo closed the door between him and Yuuji, leaving the lost teen by himself in the hallway.

"O…Kay…" Yuuji could only say, once more reminded how flippant his teacher is. He looked out through the windows before looking down the hall and started to walk through it. There was a lot more he had to think about now, though it didn't help when he could practically hear the other guy inside him laughing at Yuuji.

---

"There isn't any more for us to discuss, Gojo," Ciel coldly declared.

"Take it easy, I'm not going to grind you for more answers," Gojo said as he takes his place against the wall, his hands in his pockets. "I doubt you would tell me everything anyhow. You're unbelievably stubborn as I am."

"Then are you going to try to recruit me again?" Ciel asked, crossing her arms. "I've already told you. My answer is no."

"Yeah. I figured as much. Especially when you're in a bad mood right now," Gojo adjusts his blindfold, his thumb underneath the edge of the black fabric against his cheek, "I really can't figure out why you hate using your powers so much. You could be a lot stronger than the other executors you're ranked below, even stronger than some of the sorcerers I know."

"I only use it when the situation proves to be extremely dire and under special circumstances," Ciel said, deflecting the answer as she returns to the tea set. She starts to gather and collect all the dirty dishes and wrappers. First and foremost, checking to see if there were any curry breads left, "There is just no need for it, and I'm more than capable enough to complete my assignments without it."

"I know that's not the whole story, but I also know that no matter how hard I press, you won't give me a real reason." Gojo gives something of a gentle expression even with his eyes concealed, "I really want to help you through that, but that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

He lifted his blindfold, unveiling one glimmering blue eye. His snow-white lashes shimmered around his crystallizing gaze. In Gojo Satoru's sight, the flow of magical energy surrounding the blue-haired girl was expansive. Completely filling the entire room, and knowing it extended to the outside as well. Her aura holding vast arrays of colors swarming within a dark blue ocean, like a rainbow in the night. A moonbow.

Gojo had previously seen the full size of Ciel's energy, so if he had to make a scale, it was large enough to encompass the entire school ground here.

One way or another though, he thinks to himself, a slight smile escaping him, I'm definitely making you a sorcerer.

"I'll be leaving Japan to deal with some official business overseas," Gojo said, observing Ciel as she meets him in the eye undeterred. "While I'll give word about these vampire attacks, since curses will be flocking together the more these murders keep happening, and I'll definitely tell Yaga about you, I need someone to keep watch over my students while I'm gone."

Ciel frowned at Gojo questionably. "Are there no available sorcerers among you to take your place?"

"There's a few people I have in mind, but they're all pretty busy, and others won't have as much authority when I'm not here." Gojo pulls back down his blindfold, sealing his sights though not his senses, "I figured you'd be the best pick for the job."

"You say that as if I'm not already occupied with work," Ciel retorted with a light scoff at the nerve of the man in front of her.

"Considering that the Church has put you up to monitoring Yuuji out of "divine duty," I figured that you were going to do this regardless."

"That may be so, but that doesn't mean I'll be observing him from afar twenty-four hours a day," Ciel said, "Although it would be possible for me, I have other responsibilities I must adhere to. Upholding my cover here in this school being one of them, and another being to hunt down the vampires that has invaded this city."

"Yeah, that's another thing I've been wondering about," Gojo said with a tilt of his head, "Why did you went out of your way to make yourself a student here? You'd get more free time to investigate the vampires if you were just an ordinary citizen of Japan. It's even stranger that you're doing this with another Executor here with you."

Although the woman Noel didn't make much of an impression on him, apart from her interest in "younger men," once she revealed she was from France, Gojo put two and two together and made a pinpoint accurate guess that she was another Executor working with Ciel. Although he was a bit surprise by how unassumingly "weak" that woman appeared to be, and he's pretty sure that wasn't intentional, even though Executors themselves are supposed to be no joke.

"Knowing how talented you are, I take it that she's your disciple, right?"

Acknowledging who he was referring to, Ciel sighed, shaking her head, "Nothing gets past you. Although no doubt Noel must have let it slip somehow. I'll have to properly reprimand her, especially when it concerns other sorcerers who wouldn't be as easily fooled as ordinary citizens."

"Scary..." Gojo expressed, and noticing the swift avoidance in answering his question about her going as a student here. He decides to let it go for now, but will be coming back to it as soon as he gets back from overseas.

"I'm a little surprised that you would personally ask me to look after your students, though," Ciel said, eyeing the man with curiosity and suspicion, "Although it was something I was tasked with on the side, why would you...?"

Gojo hummed, raising his chin as if staring at the ceiling, "Let's just say I have a feeling some of the higher ups aren't too keen in having Yuuji around. I managed to convince them, but I can't be sure it'll stick with everyone."

"They don't approve of him being a student at your school?" Ciel said, formality broken as she conveyed her surprise. A much more prominent sigh escaped her, "Don't tell me you've just decided to take him in on a mere whim! Without even going through the proper procedures first?!"

"It's a one in a million find! You can't expect me not to take him in," Gojo defended himself with a raise of both hands, "Especially since this will help us get rid of Sukuna once and for all. Plus, he's a good kid. I kind of like him and the potential he has to be a sorcerer."

"And yet doing so only puts that boy's life in danger, outside from whatever mission he'll be given," Ciel admonished Gojo. "If you feel that the higher ups don't approve of his presence, then you should know more than anyone what they're willing to do to get rid of him, even I'm aware of how merciless they can be."

"That's why there aren't a lot of options I have to keep an eye on Yuuji while I'm gone," Gojo said, lowering his head to Ciel, "I can't just say no either since it's a pretty important trip I have to make, and without any clear reason, it's just gonna cause more problems down the line. Which is why I want to entrust my students in your care. Even if you have to watch them from a distance, just having someone like you around would put me a little more at ease."

"You shouldn't place your trust in me so much," Ciel warned, "I've told you. I have no intention of interfering with sorcerer business. Doing so will incite conflict between our groups."

"Then it's a good thing you're great at lying your way through everything. Besides, you pretty much crossed that line the moment you met Yuuji, not to mention saving him and his classmate from those zombies and curses."

While Ciel could argue that the dead was involved, she couldn't come to a rebuttal concerning Gojo's first point. Indeed, the boundary between sorcerer and executor had already been trespassed. Now is only a matter of time before the homeowners are made aware of an infiltrator in their midst. Once that happens, heads will bud until both sides bleed.

"Yuuji's fate is already set in stone," Gojo declared, "but if it turns out that the elders, or anyone else, are too eager to wait for his proper execution, I can't say it'll be any better than the one I or Yuuji have in mind."

A small grimace in Ciel, the barest reaction as her jaw slightly tightened at this statement. Despite Gojo wearing his blindfold, he could sense this change in Ciel.

"It wouldn't have mattered if I tried to hide him," Gojo continued, "The moment Sukuna was reborn, all of us felt it. There was no hiding that. Him becoming a sorcerer was the only decent option he has even if it meant he was going to be killed in the end. Yet knowing that, he still came to our school. He's got some screws loose in his head, I'll give you that, but it's something we all look for in a sorcerer. I think you were a little too harsh on him. He still has plenty of room to grow even without cursed energy at the moment."

"I've only told him the truth. If he intends to become a sorcerer, then he should know the reality of hunting monsters," an understanding soon came to Ciel and she looked to Gojo in questioning, "Are you hoping that he would come to adopt Sukuna's abilities, being a half-curse? Even with Sukuna weak at the moment, there's no guarantee a curse like him would ever let Yuuji learn his techniques. And if you honestly believe that someone like Yuuji would even want Sukuna's abilities - especially if he hasn't even the slightest idea what Sukuna has done, then once again, you have acted before thinking anything through."

"It'll probably happen whether we want it to or not," Gojo said, a small smirk at the girl, "Like you said, nothing ever goes as planned. In any case, whether you tell him to quit or that he doesn't have what it takes, that boy has already made up his mind. He's pretty stubborn like you and me."

Gojo suddenly paused and lowered his head further, "And that makes me wonder just how willing is he to put his own life on the line for others? Apparently, from what Megumi told me, he didn't even hesitate to swallow Sukuna's finger the moment he realized his friends and a stranger's lives were in danger."

Ciel said nothing, though her lips did part at the implication of Gojo's words. She strained her mouth to a close. Wanting to say something, but hesitating. That something being: There's no way he values his own life that little? Does he?

Gojo removes himself from the wall then. "I just need you to make sure Yuuji doesn't get ahead of himself by the time I come back. You don't have to step in when it's something to do with curses, and only curses. As long as it's nothing too serious, those kids should be able to look after each other. And in case we get any more visitors from the Church, I want you to stall any efforts of them interacting with Yuuji. If the Church wants to be the one to execute him, I want to at least let them wait until we gather all twenty of Sukuna's fingers before we exorcise him."

"You really believe I have that sort of ability," Ciel asked though it wasn't much of a question, hearing Gojo's tone well enough.

"Of course! After all, you never told your superiors that you founded Toji's son," Gojo said with a wide smile. "A kid like that would have made a decent assassin for your organization."

"Technically, with his ability, he'd be better fit as an exorcist," Ciel countered before stating rather coyly, crossing her arms, "And I don't think I ever alluded anything to my superiors. All I did was met a child by the name of Fushiguro, not Zenin. There was no reason for me to mention something so insignificant, so I didn't even bother to write it in my report."

"Sure, sure..." Gojo chuckled. "You know, he probably would have liked it if you stuck around with us yesterday."

"I'll admit, I'm curious to see how far he's grown, both as a sorcerer and as a person," Ciel said before gently shaking her head, having collected all the used utensils and trash, and was starting to place the used cups onto the tea seat, "But as we are now, we aren't supposed to be interacting as much. More than ever."

"That can change," Gojo said with a wave of his finger, earning a scowl from Ciel, "Just one phone call is all I need. I'll change your mind yet."

"If I'm ever interested in becoming a sorcerer," Ciel started, giving a hopeful Gojo a deadpanned stare, "I certainly wouldn't want you as my teacher."

"Ouch! How cold..." Gojo feigned hurt as he grabbed his chest, then straightened his back. "Seeing as how you still care about Megumi though..."

"Yes, yes..." Ciel said with a long breath, "If you're going to keep on insisting, then I'll say it upfront. I'll keep watch of that class of yours. I'll have to anyway."

Satisfied, Gojo then starts for the door. Reaching for the handle before holding it in his grip.

"One more thing," he said, turning his head to Ciel, "I told Yuuji that you might be the one to kill him. Even after saying that, he still came all this way to see you. Give him a chance. I'm sure you guys would get along really well."

"...I may have burned that bridge when I decided to admonish him for his goal," Ciel said.

"True, but Yaga also gave him a talking to when he heard the kid's reason. He'll know you mean well," Gojo's grin then turned a little slyer, "It's pretty obvious that you're starting to care about Yuuji already."

Ciel's fingers twitched against the teacup that had been on Yuuji's side, and the most powerful sorcerer takes his leave as if in victory, closing the door behind him.

"...Honestly, that man has the strangest ideas," Ciel whispered in a hint of bitterness, looking down at Yuuji's teacup with a thoughtful gaze.

---

Yuuji roamed the empty hallway. It drew his curiosity to see how different or similar this school is from his old one. There were bulletin boards on the wall, with lists of clubs and sign-up sheets, though strangely enough he couldn't find Ciel's club here.

He mulled over her words as he walked through the halls. Despite him not having any clear answers to give to her, Yuuji didn't want to quit being a sorcerer. He didn't want to sit on the sidelines while everyone else was working hard. He'll feel too guilty over that. Whether anyone would have told him to stay out of it or not, he would have jumped into this one way or another.

She didn't have to be so harsh though... Yuuji complained with a sigh, staring out the window. The sun was close to the horizon behind the trees. A hint of purple in the orange sky. I kind of liked her better when she was a little bubbly.

"Oh? Is that you, Itadori-kun?"

Yuuji turned from the window and faced the approaching, familiar woman. "Ah. Noel-sensei."

"You're here all by yourself?" Noel asked curiously. "I just finished up some work. Did you and your friend get to meet with Ciel?"

Yuuji nodded, "Yeah. My teacher had something else he wanted to talk to her about, so I'm just waiting out here for him."

"I see, let me keep you company then." A charming smile on Noel as she stepped closer to him. "Oh my. You look like you have some troubling thoughts stirring. I can see it in your face. Is everything alright?"

"Ah, well..." Yuuji rubbed the back of his neck as he averted his gaze. He isn't sure how he can explain it, although it probably would be good to talk about it.

"Let me guess..." The woman said thoughtfully, "Is it about a girl?"

Surprised by the on-point accuracy of her assumption, Yuuji looked back at the teacher. "Uh. Yeah. I guess."

There was a devious glare in Noel as she continued to smile at him. "I see. By the looks of it, this girl really let you down, huh? I wouldn't give it too much thought. Some people just live in a whole different world from others."

She then outstretched her arms. "Here, let Noel-sensei help you forget all your woes."

"Whoa!"

As the woman swiftly raised her arms to wrap him in her embrace, Yuuji was even quicker. He jumped back by a single meter, distancing himself from the woman.

"Uh. Sorry, but..." Itadori picked both of his hands up and sets up an invisible barrier between himself and the pushy teacher. A judgmental stare from him. "This seems kind of inappropriate for a teacher to behave, don't you think?"

It was an ego-boost when Noel paid more attention to Yuuji earlier, but now the woman was going too far. He had already been manhandled enough by his old coach, so he would rather not let another teacher do the same, woman or not.

Noel looked surprised by Yuuji's reaction, giving a somewhat pouty look before suddenly returning to her cheerful self.

"Just kidding!" She playfully stated. "It's just a little joke to help break you out of your funk. It worked, didn't it? Just a bit of socializing between us."

"Uh... huh," Yuuji skeptically stared at Noel before lowering his hands. The woman placed both her hands behind her back and walked at a steady pace.

"No hard feelings, yeah? I really want us to get along," stopping right beside Yuuji but no longer seeming intent to... whatever she was doing before, Noel gave him a glimmering smile as she raised a single finger. "If you're going to be stopping by here more often, I'd sure love it if we could be friends. That sounds like it'd be fun, right?"

She lightly tapped against the slit under his left eye in a single stroke. And Sukuna's eye opened.

Pure disgust at the degeneracy of the woman in sight. An absolute apathy that would scorch the earth without blinking, like she was no more than a mere insect that should be crushed just for existing.

In an instant, Noel's mask completely shattered, and she launched herself back. Yuuji blinked, completely confused at the abrupt change in Noel's mood, and not to mention surprised by how far she jumped away. Like several meters away, at the very end of the hall in fact.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?" Yuuji asked her, his voice carrying across the hallway. Although Noel was acting weird around him, there was a concern in the teen as he saw the sheer terror in the woman's face.

"Ah….! Ahh…!" She uttered like she was about to scream. Her face paled and her throat dried. "I-I just realized! There was something else I had to do! I-I better go and get it done! You get home safely now!"

With that, the woman urgently left the hallway, full-on running as she practically sprinted up the stairs to the second floor.

She's pretty fast, Yuuji thought impressed, rubbing the side of his face. Maybe there was a smudge or dirt he hadn't notice on him. This cologne is really effective.

"Heyo! Waited long, Yuuji?"

Once more, Yuuji was called to but this time by his actual teacher. From behind, the blindfolded man walked up to him as he gave a wave.

"Ah. No, not really. All done, sensei?" Yuuji asked.

"Pretty much. Got everything I needed cleared up," Gojo said before ushering Yuuji over to him. "Let's get going then. We might buy some garlic along the way."

They left the school back through from where they entered. Yuuji glanced back at the building one last time before staring down on the ground once more as they walked.

Hearing only silence from the usually talkative teen, Gojo reached over and patted the boy's head, getting his attention. "Don't let what Ciel said get to you too much. Even though she could have put it more gently, she's really just concerned for you."

"Mm." Yuuji only said, looking straight ahead. "To be honest, it did make me wonder. I never really thought it that much if something like that happened. I don't ever want to kill anything that isn't a curse. If I did... I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I think I'd lose meaning in what I'm fighting for. But..."

No Jujutsu Sorcerer dies without regret, the words of Yaga echoed in his mind, like a foreboding greeting.

He gives a determined look, "I don't want to quit being a sorcerer. I won't sit on the side while everyone else is risking their lives."

Gojo smiled approvingly, giving also a glance at the school behind them. He sensed their onlooker on the third floor of the school and gave her a wave. The woman figure of Noel flinched at his action and she retreated away from the windows.

"It's not going to be an easy path," Gojo stated, though still smiled nonetheless, "But I look forward to seeing your resolve bear fruit. Once I'm back from my trip, we can get started on your training. Just keep on killing curses and saving lives."

Yuuji nodded eagerly as he pulled his hand to his back, feeling the sheathed Slaughter Demon hidden underneath his shirt.

What would you do if you're the reason for their unnatural deaths?

Though somewhat invigorated to continue on this path, this question still lingers in the back of Yuuji's mind as he and his teacher make their way back to Jujutsu Tech High.

---

Author's Note: I'll be letting these chapters sit for a while before I'll work on the next one. Into the void (hiatus?) I go! Thank you for reading!

Update! Thanks to Kabuto S. Inferno for your review! I made some adjustments and yeah, I should reread JJK, it's just so heartbreaking to do so after what's been going on. ;_;