DOMAIN EXPANSION

"What…What are you doing right now?" Juri asked curiously as Gojo pinched her cheeks and stretched them out. It wasn't like it hurt. He just started to do it out of nowhere, all with a smile, like he was thoroughly enjoying himself. "Why are you looking at me like this?"

"You're making a very funny face right now, you know that?" Gojo said as a matter of fact. His pulling didn't cease either, and he even began to snicker as Juri started to look increasingly confused.

"I…I was just wondering how you managed to get here so fast. I didn't even see you coming," Juri said quietly, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

"Oh, don't be silly. We just jumped. That's all." He answered, still playing with her face.

"That doesn't answer my question in the slightest."

"Never mind that for now," Gojo said, pulling his hands away from her face. He turned her around and held her up close to him. "But can you do me a favor and stay right here?" he leaned down and whispered.

Juri looked confused for a moment but didn't question him. She nodded her head before turning her attention back to Jogo.

Jogo sneered at the pair of them. "Why are you holding her like that? You gonna use her as a shield?"

Holding one firm hand on Juri's shoulder, Gojo lifted the other and waved Jogo's taunt off. "No, no. Nothing like that. Just trying to be a good boyfriend right now. No, but this is a little lesson. I'm in the process of teaching this kid a lot of things. So don't worry. Do your thing."

"Those two are gonna be nothing but a liability for you. You fool."

"Looks like you were a liability to yourself way before Yurei and I got here," Gojo quickly said, watching the veins pop into Jogo's head. "We should be good…since you're so weak."

That was the end. If Jogo had any remaining sanity left, it was burned up in a blink of an eye. The volcano on his head erupted, and his voice bellowed across the lake they were floating upon.

"Don't underestimate me, you brat! I'll wreck you and that smug face of yours!" Jogo, quite literally, screamed at the top of his lungs.

Slivers of ice ran under Itadori's skin as he stood there, feeling a wave of pressure holding him down, shaking him until he grew pale and sickly. He felt like he just might faint right there if a dainty hand didn't reach out and grab his.

"It's alright, Yuji. Just stay close beside us and you'll be fine," Juri whispered with a gentle smile, instantly zapping all the fear and doubt Itadori felt within himself.

Jogo held his fingers together and growled out his words. "Domain Expansion…Coffin of the Iron Mountain!"

Darkness and silence swallowed them all as the scenery changed shape and erupted. They no longer stood on a lake but were now within a heated stone fortress covered in lava and molten rocks. Even the ground below them was cracked, with an intense heat seeping through.

Itadori shuttered and stepped close beside the other three, all of which looked less than surprised. Not even Juri looked alarmed by what they were standing around.

"What is this?!" Itadori shouted.

"This is Domain Expansion," Gojo began to explain calmly. "An environment constructed with cursed energy and manifested through a cursed technique. The domain you guys experienced at the facility was an unfinished one that wasn't manifested using a cursed technique. You guys would have been dead if it was a proper domain."

"You think Megumi knew that?" Juri asked, cranking her neck up to stare at him.

Gojo wrapped his arm around Juri's shoulder, holding on tightly. "I'm thinking he did. Constructing a domain uses a ton of cursed energy…but it can be worth it. First off, you get an upgrade in stats due to the environment. Kinda like a video game buff. Also…"

As his words trailed off, his attention was soon pulled away by a giant chunk of stone flying right at them. Juri only had time to gasp sharply before the stone suddenly shattered like glass upon colliding with Gojo's outstretched hand.

"Cursed techniques deployed in a domain…will always hit," he finished. "But no worries. There are counters. Hit it with jujutsu like I did. And, I don't recommend this one, but you can run away outside the domain."

"It's fairly hard to do that though," Yurei spoke up, arms crossed over her chest. She hovered beside them but didn't look like she was going to lift a hand to help. "But being in here…your infinity will no longer be in effect, correct?" she leaned close to ask.

"Yup," Gojo answered, casually lowering his chin to the top of Juri's head. As easygoing as he was, his tone soon drastically changed within moments. He lifted his hand and reached slowly for his blindfold. "The most effective counter to Domain Expansion…is to expand your own. When multiple domains are expanded at the same time, the more polished one will reign supreme," he said coolly, hooking his finger around his blindfold to start pulling it off.

"I won't even leave a single ash behind…Gojo Satoru!" Jogo screeched menacingly as he directed all his attack power to them.

Gojo pulled his blindfold down and spoke in a crisp voice. "Domain Expansion…Unlimited Void!" Gojo crossed two of his fingers, and the fiery domain was immediately pushed away, completely overwhelmed by a different kind of space.

They stood within something vastly different. A vast open space, aligned with stairs and married with dark blue colors. It hardly resembled the depths of space, though. It had a calm eeriness that was utterly silent. No matter where they looked, they couldn't help but stare into a large eyeball that looked like a swirling cosmos, burning them up with a sense of unease and tranquility all at the same time.

The moment Jogo was trapped within the domain, he stopped moving and remained stuck in the last pose he was in before. Not talking, much less blinking. He didn't even react when Gojo dropped a hand over his volcano-like head.

"You're inside the limitless. Perception, communication. The actions you take in life are forced upon you infinitely," Gojo spoke softly, but his voice echoed across the infinity space, making him sound louder than he was. "Ironic, isn't it? Given everything, but unable to do anything. Dying Slowly. I think I'll stop here…since there are things I want to ask you."

Gojo's grip on Jogo's head slowly tightened, and without warning...he released Cursed Spirit.

Yurei sneered. "Don't expect a thank you…" she growled, swiping her hand lazily and severing Jogo's head from his body. She did it so swiftly and soundlessly that it took a moment for Jogo's head to roll off his shoulder and plummet to the floor.

At last, Gojo's domain retracted, and they were returned to the lake. Nothing had changed in the time they were gone, and in reality, the battle of the domains had only lasted less than five minutes. Once everything had been settled, Gojo released Juri and suddenly stepped hard on Jogo's head.

"So…who sent you?" Gojo said, sliding his blindfold back over his cerulean eyes.

Even though the threat was nullified, Itadori couldn't help but continue to shake. He was overwhelmed and completely beside himself with awe and disbelief. He remembered Gojo proclaiming himself as the strongest, but now he saw it in action. He witnessed what his teacher could do, and well…he was speechless.

"Are you ok?" a soft voice came to him.

Itadori let out a shuddering breath and looked over at Juri standing beside him, Yurei not far. "Kocho…sensei?" he said, his voice trembling.

Juri immediately picked up on what he was feeling and moved quickly. She held his hand tightly, hoping that her warm hands would soothe his wired and jittery nerves. "You're going to be ok. This is just something that…all people have to get used to when dealing with Gojo-san."

"Did you get used to it?" Itadori asked, surprised by how calm he now sounded. He looked down at Juri's hands, squeezing them back in return.

Juri smiled. "Well…I was kinda already desensitized to it because of Yurei," she answered sheepishly.

Not far from the lake but remaining largely unnoticed, Geto, Nanika, and Hanami's dark figures stared down at them from a cliff that backed up against the forest.

"So how does it look, Nanika. Do you think he'll notice?" Geto asked gently, grasping a lock of Nanika's jet-black hair.

Nanika didn't answer but instead just shook her head.

"I see. Good girl." Geto smiled before turning away. "What do you think? Should we save him? I can't afford to be seen by anyone from that school…so I'll be going now. If you want to help, then go ahead. I don't know if you Cursed Spirits feel affection for each other, though." As Geto got to his feet to leave, he heard Hanami speak to him in an unknown language. After that, the tall Cursed Spirit disappeared from off the cliffside. "Talking big. You really don't know your place, Cursed Spirit," Geto said darkly.

As Geto prepared to leave, he stopped suddenly and looked back at Nanika, who hadn't moved or said anything the whole time.

Geto gave a playful smirk, a shimmer of dark curiosity flickering across his eyes. "What's this? Nanika, are you perhaps…wanting to go down and help him, too?" he asked, lips twisting to a mocking grin.

Nanika acted like a statue for a moment longer before turning away and gliding back to Geto. As the wind brushed up her veil, he could see no emotion in her eyes, not a hint of any kind of light or longing.

Geto snickered as he felt Nanika wrap her cold arms over his shoulders, hugging him from behind like a ghost clinging to something reminiscent of the past. "That's right. You already know your place, don't you," he said, running his finger over the dark mark on his hand. "To always remain by my side…." Geto finished, and without saying more, he and Nanika melted into the forest's darkness.

Gojo grounded the sole of his foot against Jogo's face. "Not the type to take orders, huh? Is there something nice waiting for you if you kill Juri? Who are we looking for," he asked but got no answers from the severed head. "Come on, time is precious, and hydrangeas are dying at home right now. I'm gonna exorcise you if you don't start talking. Well, I'm going to exorcise you regardless."

Gojo's whole body tensed up, and he suddenly jumped away as a sharp, rooted spike slammed down right between Jogo's head and himself. Instantly, flowers erupted from the point of impact and covered the floors in dazzling fauna. For only a moment, their guards dropped from a strange aroma that was perfumed from the flowers. Gojo faltered for only a moment before snapping out of the jujutsu's trance.

Two things happened at once. Jogo's head was swiftly picked up in Hanami's hand as the Cursed Spirit dashed away. Next, an enchanted root ruptured up from the ground and tangled around Juri's leg. She was ripped from Itadori's hold and hoisted far into the air.

"Ah! Kocho-sensei!" Itadori shouted and attempted to reach out for her.

Juri gasped, but only when she saw the root get severed by a sharp gust of wind generated by a wave of Yurei's hand. Her body began to fall but didn't go far to go, landing safely in Gojo's waiting and prepared arms. Once she was safe, Gojo snapped his head towards the Cursed Spirits but saw that they were already gone. More than that, he couldn't sense their presence at all anymore.

"Yurei?" Gojo called out while setting Juri down.

Yurei didn't need to hear another word and extended her white dome far over the mountain landscape, covering miles of dense woodland. Yet, she couldn't sense them at all within her range. Even though it had only been seconds, the two Cursed Spirts were already gone.

Yurei sneered and retracted her dome to the palm of her hand, closing her fingers around it. "They're gone. Even if they were cloaked, I would've still been able to sense them. I don't know what they used to get out of the area…but the hunt is lost," she finished.

Juri frowned deeply and looked around. "Two high-level Cursed Spirts working together. You can't be serious," she groaned with mild worry all over her face. Any kind of doubt she had was quickly diminished by the weight of Gojo's hand on her shoulder. She could hear him snickering behind her.

"This is getting fun. Yuji…It's not just you. I want all you kids to get strong enough to beat something like that." Gojo suddenly declared, much to Itadori's shock.

"Win against something like that?" Itadori exclaimed.

Luckily, Juri spoke up. "Naturally, it's going to be a while until you're at that things level, but it is good to have a solid goal in mind, don't you think? Work hard with all your might, and you'll be surprised with your results," she said with a cheerful smile, no sign of doubt in her words. Itadori wasn't sure if Juri even knew the meaning of doubt.

Gojo continued. "We're gonna speed up the schedule a bit. For the month, you're gonna be watching movies and fighting me."

"Fighting you?!" Itadori said with wide eyes. After what he had seen Gojo do, the thought of lifting a fist at that man seemed silly.

"After that, field work. I'll have you take tough missions. You'll learn the basics of jujutsu and how to use it. We'll show off your results at the Goodwill Events!" Gojo carried on.

Itadori hand shot up. "Sensei! I have a question!"

"Yes, Yuji!"

"What's the Goodwill Event?" Itadori said bluntly, causing an air of uncomfortable silence between them.

Yurei slowly floated over to Juri's side. Her brows crinkled together as she did her best to think. At some point, they did talk about the Goodwill Event. She knew they did because she could hear Juri's voice in her head talking about it, and Yurei herself complaining about it, too. But she never recalled Itadori being in their presence when the conversation happened.

Juri was the only one who dared to speak the truth. "Ah, I see…we forgot."