Coco: Hello, hello~ To usual readers, it's good to see you all again. As you can see, I'm here with a new story...despite the fact that I already have too many stories to work on that I've definitely been neglecting. But I guess you're used to this by now...still, sorry about this.

A long while back a reader recommended that I try out the Jujutsu Kaisen series and well, I binged the entire first season and have begun the manga recently. And now here we are. New story, new character, new adventures to be had.

To anyone new to my work, I welcome you. I hope we can all get along! I warn you now that I don't have any posting schedule whatsoever. I kind of just write for whatever I'm in the mood for (terrible, I know). But I still hope you can enjoy my stories.

Anyway, not much else to say, so let's get started, shall we?

"So, is it true? Was Akashi-san's family really murdered?"

"Yes, and brutally from what I was told. Her little sister was in pieces when the police finally found her."

"That's horrible."

"Yeah, but the worst of it all…Akashi just smiled through it all from what people say. I mean, look at her. She's smiling even now. What kind of freak smiles when their family is butchered?"

The whispers and cruel words continued to reach Akashi Eiji as she stood next alone by her family's coffins. Her hands curled into fists, but the smile on her face widened as her eyes remained dry.

"What a twisted expression," Someone else murmured.

"Is she some kind of demon or what?" Another said.

Eiji did not react to their words as she kept her back straight and continued facing forward.

'None of them understand,' She thought. 'None of them will ever understand…it hurts…it hurts so much, but I can't let it out!'

Her thoughts turned even darker, but she came out of her thoughts when a hand was placed on her shoulder. She looked up to see a man with white hair and sunglasses over his eyes.

"Hello, Eiji," He greeted her casually as if the two knew each other.

However, Eiji had no memory of this man. Though she sensed that he was like their family.

"My name is Gojo Satoru." He told her. "I'm sorry for your loss, and I know this is terrible timing, but I was instructed to bring you with me."

Eiji tilted her head curiously with her lips turning up even more in silent inquiry. Satoru knelt down to her level as he pushed his sunglasses down to show a pair of beautiful blue orbs. Eiji couldn't help but stare.

"A young sorcerer with your inherited cursed abilities shouldn't be left unprotected." Satoru said. "Or at least that's what I'm told. Besides, do you really want to stay here with these people?"

He glanced towards the crowd of onlookers who were still whispering away and casting judging glances at girl. She looked back to Satoru as he stood up and held his hand out to her. She hesitated for a split second before reaching out to put her small hand into his much larger one.

"Where are we going?" Eiji asked Satoru as he led her away.

"A place better than this." Satoru told her.

Fushiguro frowned as he spotted the Stevenson screen in which held the object they were after.

"They're keeping a cursed object in a place like this." Megumi asked. "Could they be any dumber?"

"Ah, come on, Megumi," A cheerful voice popped up behind him. "Maybe they didn't have anywhere better to put it."

Megumi sighed before turning to face his partner for this retrieval mission. Eiji met his gaze with her always present smile on her face.

"Your sarcasm isn't appreciated, Akashi." Megumi said.

Eiji just smiled as she walked over to where the object of their desire was being contained.

"There's no reason to be so serious, Megumi," she said with a laugh. "Now let's get the cursed object and return home to Satoru. He's probably all lonely without us."

Megumi frowned though he knew Gojo probably was off running around and goofing around. Not missing them at all. He then stepped forward and reached towards the door. Though he paused for a moment to see there was no lock on the latch, which was slightly ajar. His frown deepened before he finally opened the doors. His eyes widened when seeing nothing inside. He practically threw himself as far as he could inside the Stevenson screen as if he'd find the cursed object if he just looked closer.

"Megumi, just what are you doing?" Eiji asked as he frantically looked outside around the Stevenson screen.

Megumi, who shut and opened the doors again, heaved an annoyed huff as he turned away and pulled out his phone.

"It's not there." He said then dialed Satoru and put the phone on speaker, so Eiji could listen in.

Eiji peeked inside the Stevenson screen as well while seeing that Megumi was right. The cursed object was nowhere to be seen. Eiji chuckled.

"This isn't good," she said with her smile widening.

She then turned to Megumi who was speaking with Satoru and not looking pleased as he did so.

"There's nothing here," Megumi said.

"Huh?" Satoru replied on the other end.

"The Stevenson screen's empty." Megumi explained.

"Really?" Satoru asked. "That's hilarious. Maybe it took a nighttime stroll."

Megumi didn't seem as amused as Satoru was by this situation. Though Eiji couldn't help but snort at their sensei's joke. Megumi gave her a look as she tried to contain her laughter.

"I'll punch you." Megumi warned.

Though whether he was talking to Satoru or Eiji or both of them, it was unclear.

"Well, no going home until it's recovered, okay?" Satoru told them.

He then hung up before Megumi could say anything in reply. Said boy gripped his phone tightly for a second before shoving it back in his pocket.

"I'm seriously going to punch him next time." Megumi grumbled.

His eyes fell on Eiji as she reached his side and looped her arm with his to tug him along.

"As always, Satoru is too lax about this kind of stuff, huh?" She asked with a laugh. "But look on the bright side, Megumi. We get to spend more time together."

"We spend too much time together as is." Megumi retorted bluntly.

Eiji just let out a laugh as she tightened her arm around Megumi's and rested her head on his shoulder.

"You keep saying things like that, and I might just cry, ya know?" She warned him. "Now, can we stop and get a bite to eat before we continue looking for the cursed object? I'm starving."

She kept chatting away as they walked as Megumi wondered just where that cursed object could have gone and who could have possibly picked it up.

'This is going to be a long assignment,' He thought as he allowed Eiji to drag him along.

Eiji looked around the field they were in as their search for the special grade object was hitting a slight obstacle. They were close. She knew that for certain due to the cursed spirit that made its home in the school's rugby field. It was stronger than it should be, which was most likely the cause of the special grade cursed object. However, with this cursed spirit's presence was making it hard to sense the presence of the cursed object.

"Megumi," Eiji said as she turned towards the boy. "Are we going to leave this curse here for now?"

Megumi, who took his eyes off of said curse, nodded as he walked towards Eiji who was near the stairs.

"Our top priority is that cursed object." Megumi said as he pulled out his phone. "It's hard to pinpoint its location. It feels like it's close, but it could be very far away."

Eiji hummed thoughtfully as the two of them started going up the stairs that led out of the rugby field. Once at the top, Megumi stepped over the cones and tape that was meant rope off the area for students. He reached his hand back to help Eiji step over, and she smiled at him in thanks as she took his hand. Once she hopped over, he released her hand as they continued to look around.

"Hey, check this out." Some student was shouting as he and others ran by. "Coach Takagi is taking on Itadori from West Middle!"

"Wow, what are they competing for?" Another asked.

Out of curiosity the two sorcerers stopped at the edge of the crowd to see what was going on. The older man among the teens—who must have been Coach Takagi—just finished throwing a shot-put ball. It was called to be 14 meters, which had many clapping and cheering for the coach's throw. Eiji had to admit it was an impressive throw for a non-sorcerer. She wouldn't have been able to throw it that far without the aid of cursed energy.

"Itadori, Itadori." The students started chanting as a pink-and-brown-haired boy stepped up to throw.

The coach dropped the ball into the boy's hand, and it nearly had him falling over. Had Eiji wondering how far he'd manage to actually throw it. Soon her wonderings were answered when the boy, who threw the ball like a pitcher, managed to send it flying over 30 meters. Double what the coach had managed. Eiji let out an impressed whistle.

"That was some throw, wasn't it?" She commented as she looked up at Megumi.

"Yeah," He agreed as he began to walk on. "That guy is incredible. He pulled off that shot without using any cursed energy. I wonder if she's like Zen'in."

"Hmm, maybe." Eiji said.

The two went to put the boy behind them though as they still had a job to do. However, they were brought to a halt as said boy was rushing by them. The two stepped back to let him through, and as he passed a chill went down their spines as they sensed a large amount of cursed energy.

'The special cursed object.' Eiji realized as Megumi hurried after the boy.

Though he proved too fast as he quickly ran out of reach. Eiji jogged to Megumi's side while placing her hands against his shoulders as she stood a few steps above him and leaned forward to watch Itadori disappear out of sight.

"Wow~" she said. "This guy really is inhuman, huh?"

"I heard he could run the 50 meters in three seconds," A student was saying as he and his friend walked by.

"Faster than my car," His friend said as Megumi looked at them in pure disbelief.

Megumi then frowned feeling his annoyance return as he couldn't believe their luck. Now they had to track down that Itadori guy to find their missing cursed object.

"Shall we go ask around about him to see if we can find some information?" Eiji asked as she leaned around to look at Megumi's face. "It'll probably be faster than just trying to track him down ourselves."

"You got a point." Megumi said. "But something isn't sitting right with me. Think you could stay behind and keep looking around the place? If tracking this guy down turns out to be a bust, one of us should be here in case the object is still around, or that cursed spirit decides to do anything."

Eiji stared at Megumi for a moment before giving a smile and a nod as she let go of him.

"I trust your instincts," Eiji said as she gave a wink. "Leave this area to me. If anything happens. I'll take care of it for sure."

Megumi's lips turned up as he gave his own nod while he stepped away from the girl.

"I'll call you if I get the cursed object from him." Megumi said. "Just stay sharp."

"Of course." Eiji said. "Good luck."

Eiji looked up at the elementary school as Satoru stood behind her. Though her expression was a happy one, Eiji felt nervous about attending her first day at a new school.

"There's nothing to be worried about," Satoru assured her as he placed a hand on top of her head. "No one will hurt you here."

Eiji wasn't so sure about that. Sure, her fellow kids shouldn't be capable of inflicting too much physical pain on her if any, but that didn't mean she'd be free from being bullied.

"Just take things slow." Satoru told her. "And if anything goes wrong, you have my number, right?"

Eiji nodded her head as she looked up at Satoru who gave her a reassuring grin.

"…They're not going to like me…" Eiji said as her smile grew. "They'll think I'm a freak."

Just like her former classmates and neighbors did. Ever since the night that her family was killed, Eiji lost her ability to display negative emotions. She could still feel them just like any other person, but she couldn't express them. Even though she could say the words like 'I hate this' or 'I'm scared' the smile on her face and the upbeat tone she uses contradict her words.

It usually put off those, who didn't understand Eiji's condition, and caused them to shrink away from her. Or say mean things about her. And though it hurt her to hear those things, all she could express now were positive or neutral emotions like happiness or surprise or tiredness.

"They'll probably hate me like everyone else." Eiji added.

Satoru knelt down to the young girl's level with his expression turning serious.

"It doesn't matter what people like them think." Satoru said. "Don't worry yourself over how others feel towards you, Eiji. Just do your best."

He then gently pushed her towards the school as she inwardly wished his words had made her feel better. However, they didn't. And she wanted nothing more than to turn around and go back home.

"This place certainly is creepy after dark, huh?~" Eiji said in a singsong voice as she walked through the high school. "I really don't miss regular schools like this."

The cursed energy she could still sense lingering around didn't help the dreary atmosphere either. And it was only growing now that night has fallen.

'I'm starting to think that the cursed object is still on school grounds,' Eiji thought to herself. 'Because that second-grade curse can't be the only thing causing this influx of cursed energy.'

She was thinking that it might be time to go and deal with said cursed spirit as letting it grow any more wasn't exactly a good idea. It'd be more than just the rugby team, whose misfortune she had heard about by asking around, suffering if it continued to become stronger. Though before she could head towards the stairs that would take her back down, there was a monstrous surge of cursed energy that caused the building to shake.

'It is here,' Eiji realized. 'The special grade cursed object. Did someone open it?'

She was already running before her thoughts could finish as she sensed the source of the cursed energy coming from above her. As she hurried to the steps, she unsheathed her cursed tool, which was a wakizashi that she kept sheathed behind her back. She hit the fourth floor and immediately had to cut down two lower grade curses.

"The special grade is pulling smaller curses towards it and amplifying their power," Eiji said as she hurried down the hall. "I need to hurry before one of them actually get a hold of it. Megumi won't let me hear the end of it if I lose it."

She let out a laugh as she said this as she rounded the corner. She came to a skidding halt when she heard a shrill scream. She looked up seeing a female student, who shouldn't have even been here, running down the hall to try and escape a curse.

"Hey, curse," Eiji called out getting its and the girl's attention. "Why don't you have a taste of the fear you're causing that poor girl, hmm?~"

She raised her hand causing an inky black substance to seep from the frightened girl who stood there frozen. The substance kept seeping out until it formed a large black sphere between the girl and the curse that was following her.

"Emotion Manifestation: Fear Bomb." Eiji said as she snapped her fingers.

The black sphere exploded shooting many small, sharp projectiles at the curse, which screeched in pain as it was ripped to pieces. The girl sat there in disbelief at what just happened as Eiji appeared beside her in a crouched position. The girl flinched looking at Eiji with wide eyes.

"Wow, I drained quite a bit of that fear out of you and you're still jumpy." Eiji said with a chuckle. "But I guess it's to be expected. You are a non-sorcerer after all. Anyway~ I need you to hand over the cursed object you're carrying around with you."

Eiji held out her hand to the girl as the young sorcerer could hear and sense more cursed spirits heading in their direction. It'd be hard enough getting out of here on her own with the cursed object in her possession. Let alone trying to protect someone else. There was no guarantee that the cursed spirits would leave the student alone, but if things go hairy and it was between getting the cursed object to safety and saving the girl, well, Eiji would have to choose leaving the girl behind.

"Y-you mean the finger?" The girl asked.

She held up her hand shakily to show a red, severed finger. Eiji would have frowned if she could at the sight of the digit.

"So, the cursed object really was Sukuna's finger." Eiji said as she took the finger from the girl. "I was kind of hoping for anything but that. But no wonder so many curses are gravitating towards this thing."

Eiji then raised her hand with palm facing forward to blast away a few smaller curses with her pent-up frustrations. The girl squeaked in fear and ducked at the attack as Eiji stood.

"Listen," Eiji began though was distracted when a howl cut through the air.

Her smile widened when she realized that Megumi was somewhere in the building. This was good. She could definitely use the help.

"We need to get out of here," Eiji told the girl. "Unless you want to like hang around and die. I personally wouldn't choose that, but it's your life."

"I…I can't leave just yet." The girl said. "My friend is still here. He's hurt…something was attached to his head. L—like it was trying to consume him."

Eiji scratched the back of her head because that did complicate things if another student was in danger. As she thought about what to do, she pocketed Sukuna's finger.

"Let me worry about your friend," Eiji told the girl. "I'll do everything I can to save him, and you just worry about not dying, kay? That means you need to stick close. Because as of right now, we're surrounded."

The girl flinched as she looked around and saw that Eiji was right. They were completely surrounded by those monsters. The girl's expression showed fear and regret, which left Eiji to guess that she was the one who undid the seal.

"I'd get behind me if I were you." Eiji said as she began to stretch out her limbs. "They hopefully won't pay much attention to you since I have the object they desire, but better safe than sorry."

The girl didn't have to be told twice as she scampered behind Eiji for protection.

"Now," Eiji said as her lips turned up into a smirk and she rested her sword along her shoulder. "Bring it on, you vile curses."

She gestured them forward and some screeched as they charged. She ran forward to meet them as well and flung herself over them into a forward flip. She twisted in the air and reenforced her wakizashi with her cursed energy as she sliced the curses in half. They fell to the ground in heaps of flesh, but more soon replaced them.

"This isn't going to be easy." She said as she laughed.

She made short work of a few more small curses while making sure the girl followed her as Eiji planned to work a path down to the bottom floor to get the girl to safety. Though before they could reach the steps, Eiji came to a stop when seeing a boy who was being gnawed on by a few curses. Eiji quickly got rid of them and was surprised to see the boy was still breathing even if only barely.

"That your friend?" Eiji asked the girl cowering behind her.

"Iguchi!" The girl exclaimed at the sight of her friend.

She crouched down beside the boy to check on him. Eiji was going to tell the girl there wasn't time and they just needed to grab him and go. However, the words never left her mouth as a tail-like appendage appeared in the wall behind the girl. Eiji acted instinctively and shoved the girl and her unconscious friend out of harm's way. The shove might have been a bit too hard since the girl hit her head as she fell, which knocked her out.

But Eiji got them out of harm's way, which meant she couldn't get herself out of the way in time to avoid being caught by the cursed spirit who came out of the wall. It started to suck Eiji into its fleshy form, which wasn't good. She'd rather not become part of this thing or allow it to have Sukuna's finger.

"Akashi!" Megumi's familiar voice called out, which had Eiji and the spirit both turning towards the boy.

"Megumi!" Eiji called back as she pulled Sukuna's finger from her pocket. "Here!"

She tossed the finger through the air and Megumi barely managed to catch it. The cursed spirit let out an angered shriek as it tried to consume Eiji even faster, so it could go after what it really wanted. Megumi's teeth grit in frustration as he knew he wouldn't reach Eiji in time to help her. The girl didn't seem worried, however—not that she ever does—as she was prepared to try and free herself without help. However, before she could the window beside her was shattered as that pink-haired boy from earlier came flying through them.

Eiji had to admit she was quite surprised when the boy didn't falter as he attacked the cursed spirit. As the curse cried out in pain, the boy ripped Eiji out of its hold and got them both a safe distance away from it. Eiji stared up at the boy who had her held in his arms as he stared at the curse; not looking scared at all.

"So, this is a curse," The boy said. "Not what I was expecting."

Said curse was blown away by Megumi who came around the corner rolling his shoulder. His demon dogs ran up as well and happily began devouring the remains of the cursed spirit. Eiji was embarrassed she let such a weak spirit jump her like that.

"I should be asking what you're doing here." Megumi said to the boy. "But good job."

"You're pretty smug, aren't ya?" The boy asked. "So, just curious, but what are those things munching on the curse?"

"My shikigami." Megumi replied. "Wait, you can see them? Normally a curse can't be seen. Not unless you're on the verge of death or special places like this."

He then held out his hand to Eiji, who took it, so he could help her out of the pink-haired boy's hold.

"Or like one of us sorcerers." Eiji added. "Anyway, the name is Akashi Eiji. Thanks for the save back there, superhuman mystery boy."

"My name is Itadori." The boy replied. "Itadori Yuji. And yeah, that makes sense. I've never seen ghosts or weird stuff like this before."

Eiji hummed as she crouched back down to get a better look at Yuji who stared back at her.

"I don't sense fear coming off of you." Eiji said. "Most people get scared when seeing a cursed spirit. Especially their first one."

"I was at first." Yuji said. "But then I thought…everybody's going to die."

Megumi and Eiji exchanged a glance at the boy's last statement as that should have been obvious.

"So, I want to make sure the people I know all have the chance at a proper death." Yuji continued. "Not that I understand it."

The two sorcerers made no comment as Megumi held out Sukuna's finger back to Eiji.

"You carry it for now." Megumi said. "Out of the two of us, you're the faster runner and the most agile. I'll fight the curses head on as you worry about protecting the cursed object."

Eiji nodded in understanding as Yuji looked at the object curiously.

"So, what is that thing, anyway?" Yuji asked.

"It's Ryomen Sukuna's finger." Megumi replied. "It's a miracle that thing didn't swallow it."

"Yeah, I messed up even letting it get that close." Eiji said as she scratched the back of her head and chuckled. "The curses around here are just dying to eat that finger."

Yuji looked even more confused now as he didn't understand why something would want to eat a human finger.

"Why would anything eat that?" Yuji asked. "Is it good?"

Eiji snorted in amusement at Yuji's question as Megumi gave Yuji a look that questioned his IQ.

"Don't be dense." Megumi said. "You'd eat it to gain stronger cursed energy. Now, we need to get out of here before more curses show up. I doubt we've seen the last of them."

Eiji, who was about to reach for Sukuna's finger, thought that too, which meant getting out of here as soon as possible was top priority. Though before they could move a curse came towards them from above. Megumi acted quickly as he shoved Yuji, who he threw the finger at, out of the way as his demon dogs grabbed Eiji to pull her to safety.

"Megumi!" Eiji called out as she sat up.

She was quick to her feet as she saw the dark-haired boy being held painfully tight in the hand of that cursed spirit from the rugby field. She really should have exorcised that thing earlier.

"Akashi!" Megumi called back. "Take Itadori and ru—!"

He never finished his sentence before he was slung down the hall and into the wall, which cracked at impact. He coughed up blood and the damage he took forced him to release his hold on his demon dogs. Eiji felt her anger bubble up as she picked up her sword that had fell to the ground during the attack from the other spirit. She held it in front of her horizontally as her left hand brushed across the blade.

"You just made a big mistake," Eiji said as she gave a wide, open-mouthed smile. "Emotion Manifestation: Spiraling Rage."

Coco: And that is the end of the first chapter. I do hope you enjoyed it and I hope you liked Eiji. I liked playing around with her character and developing her curse technique, which will be explained better in later chapters.

Now, as always, until next time, everyone~ Remember to stay safe out there and keep being your beautiful selves!