Title: The Vow

Rating: T

DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Jujutsu Kaisen belongs to Gege Akutami. Two highly respected mangaka! I do not own the characters in any way or the story plot. Only the idea of this fanfiction!

MizukixTsukiyomi's Notes: I really didn't think this story would get a lot of love. I understand many of you were waiting but in the times I have written fanfiction to now a lot has changed. I'm hitting 29 soon and life definitely does change you. I still love writing and absolutely miss it! I'm still not great but I enjoy bringing you stories that you would like to read, especially still giving Kagome the love she deserves. This continues the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie/manga. Depending how this does, I might start planning how I will have Yuji and the others coming in.

I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 03: Beautiful Sorrow


Eyes glued ahead, the priestess observed the first years as they practiced their fighting moves against each other. It was a quiet morning, yet she felt like something was brewing. Something just didn't sit well in her stomach. Her eyes followed Panda's movements as he dodged one of Yuta's punches.

Three months had passed since Yuta's orientation training. 'If you even want to call it that,' she sighed to herself. After the events occurred, they waited for them to recover and continue training. And she and Gojo thought they were going to get out of this without any consequences, but just one week ago they had received word that the higher-ups wanted to see them.

Her head hung down as she rested on the cement stairs. Her head rested on her knees as she brought them closer. The amount of reports she had to write was insane and she thought about going into her office to write but…what fun was that? She rather spend time with the first years. At least she could feel she was helping out somehow!

Feeling an intense glare beside her, the priestess looked over to see Maki standing and holding her spear in between her elbow. Her annoyance was clearly painted across her face as she watched Panda and Yuta train.

"Why the grumpy face?" Kagome questioned.

"Ha?! I'm not grumpy, Higurashi-sensei!" Maki huffed, eyes tightening.

"Yeah, you are." Kagome poked.

Maki's vein twitched out, "I…am…not."

"Right…," Kagome's brow rose. Clearly, she was. Kids these days.

"Pickled plum."

"Toge I am not jealous!"

Watching her turn towards the curse speech sorcerer on her other side and readying a fist, Kagome sighed.

"Okay…okay…," Kagome chuckled softly. "Calm down before you start something." Waiting for her student to exhale, she then raised a brow. "So? What are you jealous about?"

Maki blew the loose strands that hung in front of her face.

Kagome tilted her head to the side, "Yuta-kun?"

A grumble made its way out of Maki's throat. Holding her spear in her hand now, Maki didn't dare to look at Kagome's interrogating stare. "I'm not jealous…just confused."

Ah, she had gone through these emotions before. Kagome smiled to herself before turning her head to the field. When she was their age, she also felt this bundle of emotions that made no sense…until she began to grow up. "I get it," she replied, "jealousy is a nasty feeling, but I promise you, Yuta-kun has nothing but the highest respect for you all. He probably views you as strong and brave. Don't be so hard on yourself, Maki-chan." Her expression softened before her focus shifted to her again. "I've told you this…you're strong, too."

At this, Maki's grip on her spear tightened as the wrinkles between her eyes popped out. Why did Kagome always say the right things? She hated how she was able to snake her way into their hearts. She tilted her head back to push back those tears that threatened to come out.

"Tuna mayo," Toge spoke.

"I'm not crying, Toge!" Maki shouted towards him.

Kagome chuckled to herself as she watched Maki and Toge. Her eyes caught sight of the rookie sorcerer walking towards her as Panda followed suit. She noticed he was looking around the area with confusion.

"Where's Gojo-sensei?" Yuta asked.

Sighing, Kagome slowly stood up from her spot on the stairs. "In a meeting."

He blinked, "meeting? Sorcerers have meetings?"

Rolling her eyes, Kagome looked up towards the many traditional Japanese structures. "More than you can imagine. They are stupid, to be honest."

Yuta blinked, a bit taken aback by her harshness with the work.

"I'll go check on him," she continued, eyes narrowing to the tallest of buildings, "knowing him, he is spouting some nonsense that can get me in trouble, too." Her attention was refocused on the group. "Continue with your practice! I'll come back as soon as I can!"

Watching her leave, Yuta was left with even more questions. He had noted Kagome and Gojo were his teachers, but for them to disappear from time to time, he wondered exactly how their titles worked. "I've been meaning to ask," Yuta spoke, turning to his classmates, "but are Gojo-sensei and Higurashi-sensei very important?"

All three of them shared a glance.

Twirling her spear in her hand, Maki exhaled. "Very."

Yuta blinked, actually not speaking that answer. He was ready for them to just say they were just regular jujutsu teachers. "H-How so?"

"Gojo Satoru is part of the Gojo clan."

Yuta's focus shifted to Panda.

"He's basically the pride of the clan and he's one of the most powerful sorcerers ever." Panda smiled wide, "he holds ancient techniques! Anyone trying to cross paths with him would be an idiot not knowing what Gojo-sensei is capable of."

He kind of understood. Yuta nodded as his eyes drifted to the floor. "And Higurashi-sensei? Is she part of the clan?"

"She's a miko," Maki added as she stared at the sharp blade of her weapon. "The Shikon Miko."

Yuta blinked in confusion. Was he supposed to know about that? Was that a big deal here? Was that celebrity status? His eyes shifted between the three first years before tilting his head.

Maki groaned, "Well, I'm not surprised you don't know. But if they plan to have you around it's important that you do. Do you know why sorcerers exist?"

"Well," Yuta scratched his cheek, thinking out loud, "it's what Gojo-sense I had explained right? To erase curses?"

"Do you know how sorcerers came to be?" She added another.

He shook his head.

Panda came forth, catching Yuta's attention. "Sorcerer history tells a tale of a time when demons and humans existed together. Not in a cooperative way, but shared the same land. Lots of trouble arose here and there and eventually, some demons became too corrupted and humans couldn't just use physical strength to win. Demon strength was beyond that of a human's - speed, power, intelligence. At that point in time, purifying was the only answer but there was only one group of people who could."

"Jujutsu sorcerers?" Yuta tried to answer. It only made sense right?

"Bonito flakes."

Yuta blinked after hearing Toge's reply. "Eh? Not jujutsu sorcerers? Then who?"

"Priestesses were the only ones who could," Panda answered with a smile.

Yuta was left to think about Kagome placing the veil over the school on his first training day. She was a priestess so her kind were the origins of jujutsu sorcery? "So, Higurashi-sensei learned from priestesses?"

"She is the Shikon Miko." Maki's eyes landed on Yuta over her glasses.

Now he was confused. There was a missing piece to this conversation that wasn't clicking. Everyone kept saying this Shikon thing, but was that a special rank he was not aware of? Clearing his throat, Yuta raised a brow. "What is this Shikon-?"

"Higurashi-sensei is a priestess who traveled to the past, over five hundred years, to end Naraku's reign of terror on Japan. He was a demon who was feared by many."

Yuta blinked at Maki.

Shifting his blinks over to Panda and Toge he waited for them to cut in and say 'Just kidding!'. He received nothing. Was Maki being for real? Five hundred years?!

"I know you're thinking I'm crazy," Maki raised a brow, "but we have all heard this story. It's a tale passed down to each sorcerer, especially within the three major families. Higurashi-sensei was the one that purified Naraku's soul and she was able to retrieve the Shikon no Tama, a jewel possessing a priestess's soul and demons. Higurashi-sensei is the only one who can handle such pressure of power."

"Higurashi-sensei came back to this time, over ten years ago to be exact, and there is a whole past we don't know much about there." Panda cut in, shrugging as he explained.

Yuta's shoulders relaxed. Ten years ago? Was that a time she and Gojo knew each other?

"All we know is the jujutsu world values her as she is needed when it comes to Special Grade curses and missions. She can also help humans who have been affected in some ways by these curses," Panda explained.

In his thoughts, Yuta couldn't help but wonder about so many pieces of this story. He had thought Gojo was the biggest mystery, but it was Kagome. Five hundred years into the past and her return was just recent - just a decade ago. Something happened in that decade. The way Gojo was always around her and his way of talking to her was different compared to others.

Almost as if he had the utmost respect for her.

He blinked out of his thoughts and turned to his friends. "And…what of this jewel?"

"Salmon," Toge replied.

"The Shikon no Tama?" Maki replied, crooking her brow. "She has it inside of her body - or so the story is told. That's how she can protect it."

'So she is a vessel for the jewel…?' Hooking his fingers under his chin in thought, Yuta spoke. "Would curses be after her then? This jewel is powerful, right?"

"I guess we need to go back a little…," Panda sighed. Taking a seat on the concrete stairs, Panda exhaled with a smile. "Now this is all from the stories we have heard, so take it with a grain of salt. When Higurashi-sensei defeated Naraku and the jewel was back in her hands, it brought her back to her original time. It left feudal Japan and other periods defenseless without her knowledge let alone her power. So priests and other priestesses who knew some basics of purification and chants developed jujutsu sorcery to increase their numbers."

Yuta tilted his head to the side, "was there a reason to still be purifying even after Naraku was defeated?"

Panda nodded, "although Higurashi-sensei had defeated Naraku, many demons developed hatred and fear, and after their deaths, left curses. Those curses spread and without her, sorcerers had to try to exorcize them. Priestesses could only seal, not fully purify."

Yuta's eyes slowly nodded before turning his head to the place Kagome had left. "So…".

"So to put it simply, sorcerers have been waiting for her return for years." Maki stared at her reflection on the blade of her weapon. "Three clans rose to the ranks of high power and were able to become powerful and reputable in their way. The three clans vowed to establish security while waiting for Higurashi-sensei's return - no matter how long."

"Salmon, salmon."

Maki's eyes narrowed as she heard Toge's voice. "Well, the security was mostly set up after a certain curse began to chaotically grow."

"Which curse?" Yuta questioned.

Maki shared a glance with the other two before turning her back to Yuta." That story is for another day."

Panda held up a digit from his paw. "Oh! But if you're wondering about the clans," he hoped he could divert Yuta's curiosity on the curse onto something else, "the Gojo clan is one of those clans sworn to protect Higurashi-sensei."

Silent for a few seconds, Yuta began to piece everything together.

Panda smiled, "Gojo-sensei protects Higurashi-sensei; it's his duty."

"As is ours…even if Higurashi-sensei continues to deny it"

Yuta's attention switched back over to Maki who now stood in the middle of the field preparing her stance. "Eh? Ours?"

"Jujutsu sorcerers have two jobs," Maki pointed the edge of the blade towards Yuta, "eliminate curses and protect the Shikon no Miko to your very last breath."

"Does…Higurashi-sensei not want to be protected?" Yuta asked.

"She rather us live," Panda shrugged. "That's the kind of person she is. She looks after us - she always doesl. But she has protected us each time from everything."

"Tuna mayo!" Toge nodded.

Maki's eyes narrowed, "but if there comes a time when we have to protect her…we will."

"Is that by force or by choice?" Yuta questioned.

Maki's lips curved upwards. "You decide that. We've made our decision."


A white brow rose as his icy orbs watched the shadows behind the shoji screens exchange whispers. No doubt these old geezer were in a panic since Yuta's "training" and letting Rika out. Not to mention he and Kagome had done nothing to stop it. What was there to stop?

"The special-grade cursed apparition, Orimoto Rika, was fully manifested for 422 seconds!"

Gojo's brow twitched hearing the irritation in their voices. He didn't care, but he knew a speech was about to follow.

"We entrusted you with Okkotsu precisely to prevent this sort of thing!" One of the older men shouted. "There's no room for excuses, Gojo Satoru!"

"Well," scratching the back of his head, Gojo sighed, "I never planned on making any excuses."

"How can you joke about this!? If Orimoto Rika had remained out of control, she could have wiped out an entire town!" Another male yelled, watching Gojo's laid back movements. They knew arguing with him would be arguing with a wall as this man never gave them any respect. But they had to be wary - very.

A heavy stomp was heard from behind. Gojo's head looked over his shoulder to see one of the old geezers standing behind the shoji screen. "You took the Shikon Miko with you! You know how much of a risk that was?! You would have made us lose a big asset to our side! She could have been exposed to-!"

"She has it under control." Gojo's eyes narrowed behind his black sunglasses. "And if you have any sense of respect towards her, refer Kagome by her name. She isn't an object for you old men to use." He sighed again as he rested his hands inside of his black jacket. "She isn't a fragile flower like you all think. She can fight her fights."

"No!" The higher ups shouted. "She is to remain in the barriers of Jujutsu High!"

"That was not part of the agreement." Gojo added, voice beginning to dip into poison. "The agreement was as long as she has me or another jujutsu sorcerer I approve of."

"Rika could have wiped out an entire town-!"

"If it weren't for Kagome being there." Gojo cut in. Which was true. Kagome and he were keeping a close eye on the fight even though they were outside of the veil. If things had gotten out of hand, both would have taken action. "Believe it or not, Kagome is needed even in these missions - especially if we are to keep an eye on a special grade curse."

One of the old men growled under their breath. "And what if our miko had been hurt-".

"If anything happened to Kagome, I would have risked my life anyways." Gojo tilted his head upwards, showing his smirk. "Listen, the talk here is about Rika. There's only one thing we can say about that curse: 'I don't understand'. Both Kagome and I don't understand what happened or why a little girl who wasn't from any line of jujutsu sorcerers became such an immense curse. We can't control something we don't understand. So," he smiled, "it'll take trial and error. Just leave it alone for a while."

Gojo turned around and began to walk towards the exit only to stop the moment he heard a deeper voice.

"Do not forget that Okkotsu's secret execution was only suspended."

Chuckling under his breath, Gojo continued his way out. "And don't you forget that if it comes to that, not only would the Six Eyes user be against you, but also the Shikon Miko. A terrifying duo, wouldn't you say?"


Coming out of the doors and back into the sun, Gojo sighed as he looked up to see the tall green trees giving him some shade. The shadows shook as a gentle breeze danced by. He looked down and noticed the quiet scenery of Jujutsu High. Multiple buildings and traditional Japanese architecture surrounded them. The barriers kept all of this hidden thanks to Master Tengen.

"Christ," he scoffed, "damn rude geezers." Taking off his glasses, he headed down the cement stairs and ruffled his white hair. "I don't ever want to become like them." He pushed back the white bangs upwards before wrapping a white bandage around his eyes. "I'll have to be careful."

"Then you better be careful."

Stopping mid step, Gojo cocked his head to the side seeing the black-haired miko giving him a smile. His own lips curved upwards having been greeted with that warmth.

"I was going to come up and save you from them, but I see you're done."

Gojo continued his way down as he finished wrapping his bandages around his eyes. "They really are forcing these kids to grow up fast. You wouldn't have liked hearing what they were saying."

Tilting her own head, she raised a questionable brow. "How so?"

Matching their walk together, Gojo rested his hands inside his jackets' pockets as he noticed Kagome continuing to look at him from the corner of her eyes. "I've always been a firm believer that no one's allowed to take youth away from young people." Stopping in his steps, he came to see the large green field where Yuta and the others continued their training.

A gentle smile decorated the priestess's lips. "Well, that's why they need us adults to shield them from people like that." Sighing under her breath, "something we wish we had in the past."

Feeling a warm and larger hand grab hers, she blinked in Gojo's direction. A faint tint of pink spread on her cheeks as she saw him raising her knuckles to his lips.

"I'm your shield for as long as you need me."

She couldn't help but smile and chuckle at the same time. "Be careful, the higher-ups don't like us being all lovey like this."

Gojo chuckled back with a smirk. "That's because they are afraid that if you and I were to officially tie this bond, their hierarchy is basically over."

Kagome softly exhaled having heard his teasing tone behind his words. "Don't let them hear you say that out loud, Satoru. They're gonna think you're trying to overthrow them."

"What do you think I'm doing?" He scoffed.

Gently slapping his cheek with her hand, Kagome rolled her eyes at his comment. "Yeah, yeah, maybe one day, Gojou-sama."

At the sound of his name being stretched out with her teasing tone, he smirked. "I like the sound of that."

Kagome could only reply with light laughter and roll her eyes. Leave it to him to find humor in everything. Kagome's laugh slowly died off as her eyes softened. "Satoru."

He stopped in his tracks.

"I know you know…that Yuta-kun placed the curse on Rika."

"I had a hunch."

She smiled. A hunch he says. Both he and she had their concerns the second they witnessed Rika's form and felt her power. It wasn't fully her. It was because of him. Kagome looked over her shoulder. "I don't want to…but if it comes to it, I will have to purify Yuta-kun along with Rika if anything happens. Knowing those old men up there they will order for him to be researched."

Gojo sighed heavily knowing what she meant. The higher-ups would want to know more about the Queen of Curses and Yuta. If they wanted to, they would even go as far as dissecting him.

Kagome attention landed ahead watching over the mass land of Jujutsu High. "I rather put his soul to rest-".

"Don't worry."

Kagome looked over her shoulder once again, seeing Gojo's expression soften even with the bandages over his eyes.

"I will take care of things if it comes to that. You have my word, Kagome."

The priestess's shoulders dropped as she relaxed herself. Had she been that stiff with their talk concerning Yuta? Nodding in response, she smiled and turned back around.

He watched her walk ahead and down the stairs, Gojo rested his hands inside his pants' pockets. The jujutsu world was becoming messy, but as long as he was around the balance wouldn't tip. He had to remain on this Earth for as long as he could to protect his world. The world he vowed to cherish for the last 10 years.


Two days later.


Yuta blinked, watching as dust blew out of the storage room Gojo opened before him. He had pulled him out of his combat practice with Maki and everyone else saying he wanted to show him something. To his surprise, the moment the wooden door slid open by Gojo, he didn't expect to be facing so many different weapons both hanging on the walls and on shelves. His eyes roamed the entire room and noticed there were spears, guns, and even nunchucks on tables. There were large and medium-sized wooden crates on the floors and some stacked on top of each other. Was this for jujutsu sorcerers?

His brow twitched. Was it even legal to have this many weapons in Japan? How did they sneak this in?

"It's nearly impossible to exorcise a curse as big as Orimoto Rika." Gojo stepped in, walking over to the wall across, knowing Yuta was listening intently. "However, breaking it is a different story. You have to read the thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of knots of cursed energy, and unravel them one by one." His fingers reached for a particular sword hanging on the wall with tan-colored string wrapped around near the hilt. "It's a method that can only be pursued by you, the one she's cursed."

Yuta tilted his head to the side, "What exactly do I do?"

"Well, let's start by using this." Gojo smiled back as he grabbed the sword by the sheath.

Yuta gasped under his breath as he saw Gojo throw him a sword. Catching with both hands, Yuta stared at the weapon he carried. The hilt was made out of gold and the hilt was covered by a thick red cloth. "A sword?"

"Curses are most stable when they're possessing an object. Back then, you used that ring to connect to Orimoto Rika, right?" Gojo asked. "The pipeline's already there. So now you need to borrow part of Rika's curse, imbue it into the katana, and control it. Increase the amount as you repeat it, and eventually, you'll have all of it under your control."

Unsheathing the sword just slightly, Yuta couldn't help but feel a swirl of confusion and questions in his head. "Imbue the curse into the sword…easier said than done."

"Kagome wanted you to focus on curses, but I told her it would be best to first have you practice combat as well. So here we are." Gojo chuckled under his breath before walking over to poke

Yuta blinked as soon as Gojo came to stand before him and press the sheath of his sword towards him. "But you need to learn how to wield a blade! No exceptions! You're super weak, after all. First, we'll have you trained thoroughly by one of our best!"

Yuta gulped. Who was the best at weapons?


Sitting straight on the steps of the concrete stairs, Kagome's eyes washed over with concern. She could sense the other two, Panda and Toge, were just as worried. All three of them kept their eyes locked on Yuta standing before Maki as both held swords made out of bamboo. After Gojo had given him a sword, they were surprised to see Yuta dressed in a simple blue t-shirt and black joggers. Without an explanation - as usual - Gojo had thrown a bamboo spear over to Maki and said he had found her an opponent to train however she liked.

Kagome's brow rose as she stared at Gojo who stood beside her. "Satoru…are you sure about this?" His smirk was telling too much about his plan.

Before Kagome could get an answer, Maki and Yuta immediately collided with weapons and each went face-to-face in their combat. She and the others watched silently as Maki expertly blocked each of Yuta's futile attacks. It wasn't until Maki twirled her bamboo spear behind her and went for an open attack of her own and Yuta blocked it that it shocked everyone, including her.

Yuta struggled though, surprising himself to be going against Maki's raw physical strength with just practice weapons. Maki pulled back and continued to block all of Yuta's attacks. Both of them went on and on, keeping the others engaged in the practice.

"She's had more experience, Satoru. She's going to kick-"

"Seaweed."

Kagome turned her head to the side in shock towards Toge, "Toge-kun! Language!"

Gojo cupped his hand beside his lips, "You okay, Yuta-kun!?"

Looking over his shoulder, Yuta smiles only to be smacked by Maki's spear.

"Don't lose focus, idiot," Maki whispered.

The corner of Kagome's and Panda's lips twitched as they watched Yuta roll over on the ground and grunt in pain. Kagome directed her glare towards Gojo. "See what you did."

"Take your stance, kid!" Maki shouted as she walked over to the opposite end of his field.

Rubbing his sore cheek, Yuta sighed. 'She's ruthless!'

"You're going to land a blow on me, aren't you?" Maki spoke out, resting her spear over her shoulders.

Yuta quickly recollected himself and his focus before pointing his bamboo spear towards Maki. "Yes!"

The others watched as Yuta held his ground well enough to keep track of Maki's movements. It wasn't until Maki jumped in the air they noticed Yuta's eyes glow with a chance. Kagome sighed under her breath knowing his chance would crumble.

"You're open!" shouted Yuta, swinging his sword towards Maki as she floated down from her backflip. His eyes widened the second she did a split on the ground and tripped him with her spear grazing below his feet. Her legs quickly wrapped around his body, locking him in place before poking his forehead with the end of her spear.

"There," she raised a brow, "you're dead." A smirk graced her lips. "I win again."

Yuta's eyes deadpanned, "was that last part necessary?"

"Don't be soft!" Maki scoffed as she stood up from the ground. "You should always treat it like it's a real battle. Pain or the lack thereof makes a huge difference in how fast you grow."

Absorbing her words, Yuta gritted his teeth. She was right. He had to take the pain and grow. He had to endure every practice, lesson, and obstacle to become strong. He wouldn't wait for a miracle. Standing up, Yuta held his stance again and tightened his grip on the hilt of his bamboo sword. "One more, please!" He gave Maki a nod. 'I'm going to break Rika-chan's curse!'

Watching another roundof practice, Panda nodded to himself. "It's been three months since Yuta came to Jujutsu High. His movements have gotten a lot better."

"Salmon." Toge agreed.

Both Gojo and Kagome nodded to Panda's words.

"I would say his personality is more positive now, too." Gojo hooked his fingers under his chin.

Panda smiled, "Maki looks like she's having fun, too. Before now, she didn't get to spar much with a fellow weapon-". His ears stopped wiggling as shock rained over him. "REVELATION!"

"Huh?" Kagome blinked, looking over at Panda. "What are you going on about-?" The priestess backed away as soon as Panda stood from his spot on the stairs and started to wave towards the combat.

"Yuta!" Panda shouted. "Hey, come here! Quickly!"

Halting the practice, Yuta blinked and walked over. "What's up, Panda-kun?"

Panda quickly hooked his arm around Yuta's shoulders and brought him close to his face. "A super important discussion! Listen closely!" Hiding his mouth from the others, Panda whispered his next question. "Do you prefer big boobs or small boobs?"

A burst of red exploded on Yuta's face. 'R-Right now?!' A shyness clouded Yuta's thoughts as the sexy talk sank. "I've never really given it much thought…but I suppose I prefer them somewhat big?"

Kagome raised a brow again, "what on earth are they talking about?"

Toge shrugged, "Tuna mayo."

Gojo chuckled under his breath, "I have an idea."

Looking over at the slender male from the corner of her eyes, Kagome pouted. "Care to share?"

"Nope!" He smirked back.

"Oh-ho!" Panda smiled brightly before turning towards Maki. "Maki!"

"Ha?" She looked over disinterested. A nerve slowly twitched on her forehead as she saw Panda twirling on the grass.

"You've got a chance!" He gave her a thumbs up.

The nerve burst as she chased Panda with her spear. "What crazy ideas are you getting?! I'll kill you!"

Yuta laughed at their interaction only to notice one of the jujutsu assistants dressed in business casual came running down the stairs to whisper something in Kagome's ear. He blinked waiting for the next move. His eyes followed Kagome's facial expression drown with anxiety. Did something happen? He watched Gojo helping her up from her position by offering his hand.

"I'm afraid I have to take my leave!" Kagome smiled at them - both Panda and Maki stopping their run. "Don't let Satoru abuse you all too much!"

"Oh, stop!" Gojo chuckled. "You know I do it out of love for my students!"

"Uh-huh." Both Panda and Maki replied.

"Kelp." Toge's brow rose.

Kagome shook her head playfully before turning around. She stopped mid-step the second she felt Gojo's much bigger hand on hers. Looking over her shoulder, he noticed his soft smile.

"Please take it easy and be careful."

She smiled in return, "I will be fine."

Yuta's eyes followed the priestess's movements as she followed the assistant into the main corridors of the school. "She really is busy…," he whispered.

A clap of Gojo's hands caught their attention. "We all are!" He smiled, "Okay, you two continue to train!" He pointed at Panda and Maki, earning him a look of confusion. "Toge," Gojo continued, "your skills have been asked for."

"Requested?" Yuta asked.

Through the struggle of Maki's hold, Panda slowly raised his neck to look at Yuta. "Toge's the only grade 2 sorcerer among us first-years. He's allowed to take missions on his own."

"Wow! That's impressive!" Yuta commented.

"You can go with him, Yuta." Gojo smiled. "You'll be Toge's support."

"Huh? Support?" Yuta wondered how he could be of support if he could barely manage to hold himself in practice, let alone on an actual battlefield.

"Well, more like an observer, really." Gojo added. "There's a wide variety of jujutsu, so you can assume there are as many ways to exorcize a curse as there are sorcerers. Toge's cursed speech is one good example. Make sure to learn from him."

Yuta tilted his head to the side, "cursed speech?"

"As the term suggests," Gojo replied, "it's imbuing speech with curses. Well, it'll make sense once you see it. To break a curse, you must first understand curses."


Eyebrows furrowed in as she stared at the two wooden boxes before her. There sat the boxes she dreaded right on the coffee table. She just had to open it and confirm it, right? The bandaged seals wrapped around the boxes were there for extra security during their transfer to her. A security measure to make sure the evil within wouldn't come out or at least start havoc.

Sighing, Yaga watched as the priestess stared at the boxes with hesitance. Of course, she would be. The council and everyone were waiting for the first two fingers to make their appearance to her. This was her true mission now. Her true powers would be put to the test. What he didn't agree with was the sealing. He had been part of the meeting with other higher jujutsu sorcerers and he had thought the better idea of just eliminating the fingers altogether, but of course, higher-ups love power.

Now they - with Nanami and Mei Mei present - sat inside Kagome's main office. An office was given to her in the old traditional Japanese style with a zen garden leading outside from the shoji screen doors. Her walls were white with dark wood edges. A lighter wooden table rested in the middle of the room and six forest green pillows were used as the seats of her Japanese tea room. Her cerulean eyes shimmered holding back the fear trying to ooze it's way out. No doubt in her head, the three of them sitting around the table could see her fear.

Forget seeing it…they could feel it.

Yaga raised a brow as he rested his fingers under his chin and turned his focus on the other two sorcerers. "Are we sure they are sealed well before Kagome does her ritual?"

Pushing in his glasses, Nanami's confidence straightened his posture. "We made sure no one knew about these. The information was classified down to the minute they were discovered. Traveling them around Japan was a bit of a pain, but I can confirm curses and other sorcerers will be after them."

At this, Kagome's eyebrows tightened and her forehead wrinkled in worry.

Mei Mei smiled behind her long silver braid as it rested in the middle of her face. "It would be best to start making a plan for a worst-case scenario."

The priestess raised her attention over to the two sitting to her left closest to the shoji doors open to the garden. She trusted these two undoubtedly so she was glad it had been them to bring her the items in question. But something about the future was becoming unsettling.

"What is the worst-case scenario?" Kagome asked.

Grabbing the white mug sitting on top of a saucer, Nanami slowly brought the cup of coffee to his lips before his eyes slowly drifted to the corner to see the priestess's anxiety. "If someone or something gets their hands on one of the twenty fingers, they could harness Sukuna's curse."

"Is it possible for Sukuna to come back, Kagome-chan?" Yaga asked. If anyone would know if a "dead" curse item could return to the modern era it would be Tengen and Kagome. But it seemed Tengen wanted Kagome to be the one to seal the fingers in their school. For what reason?

It annoyed him not knowing. It annoyed him that deep down he felt this was going to be troublesome not only for him, his students, and sorcerers, but the peace Kagome had managed to cultivate the best she could.

Kagome let out a soft breath as her attention was placed on the wooden boxes in front of her. "I'm going to be honest: Sukuna absorbed the hatred curse Naraku left. Rumors are that Naraku left a 'miasma' in the air and it looked for a potential successor."

Yaga tilted his head back, listening to the back story. It was connecting. That's why Tengen wanted her to deal with this.

He knew Kagome had previously dealt with Naraku in the past. Way in the past.

"Sukuna was brewing for a time to come out and kill all sorcerers." Kagome's shoulders slowly rose before another tired breath was released. "When I left the feudal era I had no idea who Sukuna was. Ten years ago, when I was captured by Fushiguro Toji and Satoru saved me, in my unconscious state, I spoke with Midoriko-sama and Kikyo-sama, the creator of the Shikon no Tama and my predecessor, respectfully." Her eyes met theirs, "they were the two who warned me about a King of Curses potentially emerging from the shadows."

Mei Mei's index finger pointed at Kagome, "he was after you."

Kagome's eyes met hers.

"Even if he did kill all sorcerers," Mei Mei continued, "as long as the Shikon Miko is present at any time, even a successor, he is a weak one."

Yaga rubbed his chin, "So that means, if he does come back, even within a vessel, he will be after Kagome. Is that a possibility, Kagome-chan?"

"That's my and Nanami-kun's theory," Mei Mei shrugged as she dropped her pointing finger and gracefully picked up her cup of coffee.

All three of them were slightly taken back the second Kagome's palms hovered over the wooden boxes. Both boxes were quickly enveloped in a pink barrier. A barrier they never got tired of seeing, but knew there were many things she could conjure with it.

Her focus funneled to the pink barriers to keep the size stable. "Seal the Impure".

Eyes watched, silently awed, as different mantra symbols floated within the pink barrier before quickly lining up in different areas and gluing themselves onto the boxes. The barriers slowly diminished and the glow subsided before Kagome retreated her hands.

"There," she sighed heavily, "it's enclosed with a new seal."

"And how does the seal work?" Yaga questioned.

"Only I can undo it as long as I have the Shikon no Tama."

Nodding to her response, Yaga called forth two sorcerer assistants to slid the doors open to Kagome's office. One man with black slicked hair and a thin build wearing round glasses and a woman of slender build with short brown hair to her neck came in dressed in black suits. Both gave a bow as they stood outside the office entrance. Kagome watched as the two assistants remained in their bow and waited for Yaga's orders.

"Take these to the basement level. The priests there will know what to do next once you hand them the boxes."

"Yes, sir!" Both straightened out and each grabbed a box.

"Ah," Yaga interrupted their movement, "and make sure no one sees you, is that clear?"

The two silently nodded before taking their leave.

Following with her eyes, Kagome remained silent. As stoic as her expression remained, her stomach was beginning to churn. She feared this day. The day Sukuna's fingers would be brought to her. Ever since Midoriko and Kikyo came forth and told her about Sukuna having Naraku's vengeful curse energy, there was no doubt in her head his hatred on her would be there. But something had her itching with uncertainty.

She couldn't tell what it was.

"Does Gojo know about this?" Nanami spoke first.

"About?" Kagome asked, shaking her inner thoughts.

Mei Mei lifted a brow, "Sukuna."

Pouting tiredly, she shrugged, "he's the one who asked me first if I knew anything about Sukuna. So if anything, I was going to take it to my grave if no one mentioned it."

The three blinked.

Yaga exhaled - heavily. "That's not how this works, Kagome-chan."

Feeling his annoyance twitch over his brow, Nanami lifted his head to give Kagome a mild glare. "You were just going to keep it a secret?"

She shrugged again.

Nanami's nerve snapped.

Chuckling under her breath, Mei Mei brought the mug to her lips, "Well, I'm sure you were planning that so no one worried, right?"

Perhaps, she always thought. Maybe she just wanted to deal with the chaos herself so no one got hurt. After all, this was Naraku they were talking about. Naraku's record of his treachery and destruction was only written in old scrolls Tengen had kept locked. Only those at Grade 1 or above could have access to the detailed knowledge.

Parting her lips to speak, Kagome jumped slightly the second the sliding doors opened - impatiently - to reveal Gojo with one hand in his pants pockets and the other floating in the air having been the one to open the door.

All inside the room blinked at his presence.

A mild smile decorated Kagome's lips. "Ah, Satoru, hi! We were just-!"

Gojo interrupted, "Kagome. I need you."

She blinked, "huh…? What for?" A deadpan look loomed over her face, "please don't tell me the higher-ups called for another interrogation-?"

"It's about Yuta-kun's recent mission."

Nanami raised a brow again, "where did you send him?"

Despite the bandage kept over his eyes, Kagome could tell this wasn't the jokester Gojo they all knew. Something was stewing.

"He's active once again."

Kagome's eyes slowly widened.


Listening to the report from the short-haired blonde assistant, his covered eyes remained on the checkered tile of the abandoned market hall. The same spot where Toge and Yuta had been sent for their mission. What had been initially a Grade 2 mission, was soon out of his students' control. His eyes scrunched behind his bandages as he noticed the caution tape surrounding the spots of evidence from the battle.

"I scoured every inch of the shopping district," she continued as she read from her tablet, "and I found three different types of residuals. Even Ijichi-san said we weren't likely to find any more than that."

Gojo's eyes landed on the priestess standing before the long metal bar above the hall. Her back turned to everyone as she stood in silence. "Okay," he smiled at Akari, "got it, thanks."

She quickly smiled back and raised her palm to salute him as he walked away. "Anytime!"

Gojo waved her off as he saw a police officer raise the caution tape over his head for him to cross. His nose caught a faint smell - a familiar scent. Walking over to the priestess, Gojo rested his hands inside his pants' pockets. His eyes noticed hers hadn't been unglued for one second on the metal beam above them.

Kagome's silence was loud enough and loud for him.

Akari quickly ran to them as she held her table to her chest, "ah! I forgot to ask, Gojo-sensei and Higurashi-sama, should we push the investigation for possible suspects? We are ready to expand the area-".

"No need." Gojo interrupted.

Kagome's fingers slowly curled into her palm - painfully.

Sighing under his breath, Gojo looked over at Kagome's tensed shoulders. "Get us Ijichi. We will talk to him at the school."


Blue eyes remained on her reflection in the window yet seeing past her pupils she could see the vast blue sky as clouds slowly traveled through. Her fingers rose to meet hers on the window as she heard Gojo come over and lean against the same long window of the hall outside her office. The two had been immediately escorted out of the area where Inumaki and Yuta had their incident. With Gojo calling Ijichi over to meet them in the hall, Kagome could not help but feel her entire mind become cloudy with no straight thought on what to do.

She had asked another assistant to check on Inumaki and Yuta and her heart felt just a tad lighter when she got a response they were now resting. But everything she had felt at that alley and market area had her whole soul crawling and wanting to yell for an answer.

Her fingernails curled over the window glass. She wanted answers.

"I sincerely apologize!" Ijichi bowed quickly as soon as he saw Gojo crossing his arms and the priestess's back turned to him. "Our inspection showed that someone lowered a second veil on top of my own." His brows quivered as he lowered his eyes in shame. He couldn't have felt worse after hearing the terrible outcome Inumaki's and Yuta's mission had led to. And once he heard Gojo and Kagome had called for him, he knew this was a problem far bigger than just a curse appearing.

Ijichi gulped, "In addition, a semi-first grade curse unexpectedly appeared. It's my fault for not being more thorough." He took his bow a bit lower. "I'll accept any punishment."

"No, you're fine." Gojo raised his palm, stopping him from continuing his apologies. "You were just outclassed."

"Eh…?" Ijichi blinked, looking at the white-haired male, "Meaning? Do you have any idea who did it?"

A heavy silence rained on them before Gojo slowly turned his head over to the quiet woman beside him.

Gojo sighed under his breath, "Geto Suguru."

Kagome's shoulders twitch at the name.

"One of the four special-grade jujutsu sorcerers, who was banished from Jujutsu High after cursing over a hundred normal people to death." Gojo scoffs, "he's the worst curse user."

"The students come first…".

At her voice, both males look over to see Kagome's eyes still outside the window.

"...not our feelings, Satoru," she finished, as she turned to face them.

"My thoughts exactly." He agreed.

Turning her full attention onto Ijichi, she presented him with a small smile. "Thank you for everything Ijichi-san. I know you feel terrible, but please know this is no one's fault but those behind the attack. Please let Yaga-sensei know we will need sorcerers to be ready for any orders that will be coming in last minute." She caught a glimpse of Gojo's mouth tensing up. "I am afraid I have a bad feeling about what is to come."

Confused yet understanding the heavy tension, Ijichi quickly nodded and gave one final bow out of respect before excusing himself to follow her orders.

Gojo waited as Ijichi's presence was fully away from their area before his covered eyes landed on Kagome's person. Once again she was looking out the window but the true worry was sinking in her expression. An expression she rarely showed to others unless she felt comfortable. During their teen years, she easily showed that emotion but as time went on and she became a teacher herself to young sorcerers, she kept telling herself she couldn't afford to show her own fear or it would mess up the morale.

Resting his hands inside his pockets, Gojo took a deep breath. "Kagome-".

"Why…," she interrupted, "why all of a sudden?"

He remained silent, watching as her brows scrunched.

"Why was he there of all places? What is his plan?!"

"I have a feeling what he could be after." He replied.

Kagome scoffed his return as an angry smirk made its way to her lips. "Oh I know…he wants Yuta-kun. He will not let go of his ideals - not now, not ever."

Gojo rested the back of his head on the window as he leaned it back. He felt Kagome's head coming to rest on his arm. There it was. Her stress was starting to ware her out. "Let's get some sleep first, Kagome. I can't have you falling ill over this."

He'd find a way to deal with this. A way where Kagome didn't need to see him ever again if need be.


"Geto-sama, the leaders have all gathered."

Blinking out his disgust, the said man looked over his shoulder and smiled at his strawberry-haired assistant standing with a clipboard. Smirking and staring at the two women who had come in to help "banish" the curse around the younger woman, Geto held a solid orb in his hand and brought it to his eyes. Inside the orb, a black and amber smog swirled around. "Ah, Suda-chan! So nice to see you! Can you believe those two women called me godly? They're pretty smart. Filthy monkeys who can't even use jujutsu."

Clearing her throat, his assistant beside him fished him out of his monologue. "Your true feelings are showing, Geto-sama." Her eyes went back on the clipboard in hand. "I'm reminding you, the leaders have all gathered in the meeting room." She watched as Geto placed the orb inside his long sleeve before taking out what looked to be a disinfecting spray and started to spray his robe. "What are you doing?"

"Well, I don't want everyone to catch the monkey smell." He replied as he put it back in his other sleeve. Walking into the building and heading into the longer hallways of his home, Geto chuckled under his breath as his eyes remained glued on the purple rug leading him to the main room. Sun rays came through the windows on both sides of the hallway making Geto sigh and relax under the warmth of winter.

"I'm so happy," he said out loud as Suda followed beside him. "How long has it been since we all gathered? Remind me to take a photo together! We need to remember this gathering! Did you happen to see where I placed my single-lens?"

Suda brought it up from her pocket and showed it to him. "Right here."

Geto chuckled again before grabbing the camera and pointing the front lens to him and his assistant. Both posed for a couple of selfies before a male voice was screaming his name.

"Geto! Bring me Geto!"

Both of them looked over to the end of the hall where they had come from only to see a round and short looking man dressed in a beige suit running towards them. Geto's eyebrow rose as he saw the anger painted on the man's face and sweat drops clinging on his bald head.

"Geto! Damn you!"

"Hm?" Geto lowered his camera and handed it over to his assistant. "Well, well, if it isn't Kanemori-san. What brings you here in such a panic? Is everything alright?" With a closer look, Geto noticed the purple eyebags and the drool coming from the corner of his mouth.

"Don't play dumb!" Kanemori pointed at him. "Hurry up and exorcise my curse! Don't you know how much I've paid you!?"

"Hm?" Geto looked over at Suda. "How much?"

Looking at her clipboard, she flipped through her pages. "Roughly one hundred and five million yen. Unfortunately for us, there have been no donations for the past six months."

Kanemori choked as he heard the missed donations. His shoulders visibly shaking as he saw Geto's pout.

"Ah, ah, I guess that's it for you." Geto sighed heavily.

Before Kanemori could let out another word, he fell to his knees and began to cough. He felt his whole body become heavier as if something was pushing him down. He grunted from the pain of the weight and he could help but heave.

"All monkeys have their own role." Geto spoke. "There are money-collecting monkeys and curse-collecting monkeys. You're the former. If you're out of money, I have no further use for you." He brought out the orb from earlier and swallowed it with ease. Soon after, Geto snapped his fingers and watched as Kanemori began to curse him out loud.

Kanemori felt the corners of his lips being stretched out to the sides along with other parts of his face and head. The stretching didn't stop and he could only moan in pain as it continued.

Through Geto's eyes and his assistant's, they could see the yellow looking curses with angel wings using their puckered lips to suck the skin from Kanemori's face. They continued until his head burst open and his body fell limp on the purple rug.

Suda winced with disgust seeing the pool of blood spreading on the floor. She shuffled her feet away from the red liquid as it got closer. "How disgusting. Are they really the same species?"

Turning his back to her, Geto smiled. "That's why I'm always saying they're monkeys."

Geto began to walk away and headed towards the tall wooden doors and opened both of them wide. A big smile spread across his lips as he saw his leaders present in the room, all sitting or standing in different areas. "The time is right, my family!" He walked into the room with Suda following behind and watched as his family turned to him. "Let's lower the curtain on the age of monkeys and build a paradise for jujutsu sorcerers! It's time to put sorcerers of the world on a pedestal and get the respect we deserve!"

His eyes scanned the people in the room. Two young teen girls stood by each other wearing different school uniforms. The one holding a red plush with a noose around it's neck had short brown hair and her expression seemed more tame compared to the other dirty blonder who was busy texting on her phone. Despite both being twins, they were very much different in looks. "It's so good to see you two, Mimiko! Nanako!"

Geto smiled as he saw the other three males across. One of them had brown spiky hair and wore a bandana over his forehead. "How are you, Toshihisa?" He chuckled as he saw a shirtless man with heart stickers on his nipples smiling bright back at him. "I see you were able to make it, Larue!"

"Of course! I wouldn't miss this for the world!" He smiled.

"Miguel!" Geto stretched his arms out. "Were you able to find this place without a problem?"

"Of course!" Miguel nodded, his accent hinting clearly he wasn't from Japan like Larue.

"Then let us begin the meeting." Geto cleared his throat. "First, we must tip the cornerstone of the jujutsu world, Jujutsu High."

Nanako broke her attention from her phone as she sent Geto a wide smile. "Can we finally meet our Sorcerer Queen!?"

"Nee-san, it's Miko-sama." Mimiko tugs at her sleeve.

Geto chuckled as he saw the glee in their eyes.

"Eh?" Miguel rubbed his chin hearing the girls. "How is having this Miko-sama going to help us achieve our goal?"

Geto made his way to the main wall of the room. Before him, a painted portrait of Kagome hung on the wall. Her black obsidian hair waving around her body covering her skin and only showing a glimpse of her ivory skin. Her slender fingers in front of her chest with a pink sphere floating in between and glowing brightly. His palm rested on the foot of the frame. "Having her here would mean we are leading sorcerers to their origins. We will make this world a better place for all sorcerers with her by our side."

"But you mentioned in your letter that we need that kid's curse?" Miguel questioned.

"Rika?" Geto looked over his shoulder. "Because with the Queen of Curses with me, I will be unstoppable. That's a war they can't win." He turned his body towards his audience. "So? Are we all ready to go and make an appearance?"


Pouting at the sight of the wooden boxes before her, Kagome felt her skin crawl with fright. How did it come to her being the priestess to defeat one of the strongest demons in the feudal era to now fearing what was being locked in the boxes. Ever since Midoriko and Kikyou warned her about Sukuna, she couldn't help but have that in the back of her mind. What if Sukuna was let out? Would chaos immediately ensue? She had to start thinking of a plan - any plan.

Kagome sighed. But the whole Geto and Yuta thing was a priority now.

"What are you doing down here?"

The voice didn't startle her. She felt his presence as it was descending down the stairs. Looking over her shoulder, she sent the blonde man a soft smile. "Good morning, Kento-kun."

Nanami rested the side of his body against the wooden door frame leading to the candle lit room. The said room was covered in talismans to ward off the evil from coming in but mostly from coming out. In the middle of the room a large wooden box stood with two smaller wooden doors at the front decorated with red string and gold spheres at the end to pull it open. The box was large enough to fit a few things inside.

But they all knew the box had been especially created for one thing - twenty of them to be specific.

The room was dark, but the candles did a sufficient job to light enough. He wondered if it had been Kagome who wrote each of the hundreds if not thousands of talismans that were pasted on the walls and the rest that were hanging from the ceiling.

"Your guard should always be up, Kagome-san." Nanami continued to observe the priestess. "I taught you that."

She gave him a playful glare, "don't lecture me like a child."

Composing herself, her eyes returned to the closed box in front of her. "I'm here to keep an eye on them. I have an eerie feeling about these fingers. I'd be lying if I said this wasn't stressing me out…," she chuckled under breath, "they aren't even the biggest problem right now."

Nanami's eyes caught her shoulders dropping down with her sigh along with her eyes narrowing with the said concern she held.

"How are the first years doing?"

She caught his question. "Oh…I mean, they are learning that's for sure."

"And that Okkotsu Yuta kid? How's he fairing?"

Her eyes narrowed on the closed box keeping the fingers locked away. "If he keeps growing the way he is training and absorbing information, he may surpass Satoru one day, but who knows."

Nanami scoffed, "that idiot?"

"Shh, don't tell him I told you that." Kagome giggled as she turned her whole body to face the man. "But it's just a thought. Yuta-kun's aura is really strong and becoming stable. I fear the one who crosses paths with him a year from now."

Shaking his head, Nanami could only imagine the curses that would be in danger to cross paths with Yuta. It was true what she was saying. His powers were increasing by the day. Even he could feel it.

"Kento-kun…," Kagome's voice became low, "you really should think about becoming a teacher. You taught me so much when I was a teen. These kiddos could really gain something from your knowledge."

"Absolutely not." He immediately replied. "I will not take any students."

Kagome's shoulders slumped as her eyes shifted with tiredness. That was always his reply and she always hoped maybe one time she asked he would say yes. But he was definitely a stubborn adult although he would never admit that.

"I already do overtime," he added. "I don't want to overwork myself."

"Yeah, yeah," she nodded a couple of times, hearing his slight complaint in his tone. "Well I still think there is someone out there waiting for you to teach them. I'm sure you'll accept them wholeheartedly when that day comes."

He let out a heavy sigh before turning around and exiting the basement stairs. He stopped where he could still be visible before leaving Kagome with a message. "If that day comes…it will be only if you and Satoru truly believe I am the one who can teach them. Then maybe."

A gentle smile adorned the priestess's lips. Perhaps one day.


Yaga's eyes followed the movements of the first years as they walked down the path towards the training grounds. He sighed heavily from the window seeing Yuta and the others being so young to deal with the things they were dealing with. Beside him, Gojo also kept his bandages eyes on the four students.

"We still aren't picking up on any actions from Geto." Yaga spoke first. "Are you sure you're not worried over nothing, Satoru? Are you sure you sensed him?"

Gojo placed his hands inside his pockets, "principal, I'm sad to say that's not possible. There is no mistake. I confirmed it myself on the scene. There's no way I would mistake the residuals of Suguru's cursed energy."

Sighing under his breath, Yaga nodded. "How is Kagome taking it?"

A silence was his reply.

Rubbing his chin, Yaga knew that was the bigger worry for Gojo. The history they were trying to bury was slowly ascending to their present. "Just be careful. We know his ultimate goal, but there are still hidden plans he may have. No doubt Kagome could be one of those." Looking over at Gojo, his shoulders relaxed. It hurt him too. Geto was his past student as well. The history they all had was intertwined with emotions they didn't want to face. But their priority was Jujutsu High, Tengen, and keeping Kagome safe. No matter what. "Satoru-".

"I will kill him if he lays a hand on her. You have my word."

Yaga blinked behind his sunglasses, taken back by Gojo's declaration. A concrete promise. Falling back into the silence, his eyes focused back on the students.

A minute passed before Gojo's head snapped up along with Yaga's as they felt a wave of energy looming over the school.

"God damn it!" Yaga shouted. Running towards the exit of the hall, Yaga continued to yell. "Speak of the devil! Gather all sorcerers on campus, semi-first grade and above in the circle out front!"

"Ijichi!" Gojo called out.

Quickly, the assistant director came out from the corner and bowed. "Yes, Gojo-san."

"Where is Kagome?"

Ijichi blinked, raising his head to the white haired male. "I believe some assistants said they saw her in the basement floors."

"Good." Gojo walked past him. "Let them know to keep her there. She is not to come out."

"Eh…? You mean…?" Ijichi was left standing alone as Gojo immediately made his disappearance in the other direction.


Quietly walking behind his group, Yuta watched as Panda and the others silently also made their way to their training grounds. He blinked as he felt the air around him get heavy. Looking up at the winter sky, Yuta stopped and continued to stare at the vast blue sky.

"What's wrong, Yuta?" Panda asked, stopping as well and catching the others to see the black-haired male lost in his thoughts.

"Uh, well…," he gripped the strap attached to his covered sword, "I just had a bad premonition."

Maki sighed as she continued to lead the group, "you're just imagining things."

Panda followed behind, "yep, imagining things."

"Bonito flakes."

Yuta blinked, watching his friends begin to walk away from him. "E-Eh? G-Guys, wait for me!"

"Yuta, your ability to sense cursed energy sucks, you know." Panda added with a gentle laugh.

"Figures it would be dulled, with something like Rika constantly with you." Maki smirked.

"Tuna."

"W-What?!" Yuta was dumbfounded at the insults being shot at him.

Maki blinked, her own eyes catching a glimpse of the sky. Taking off the strap from her own weapon box, she held it beside her. "That's unusual."

Yuta ran towards the trio only to see the three of them had taken a defensive stance.

"Looks like Yuta's intuition was correct." Panda sighed, placing his fists on his hip.

Yuta traced their line of sight and noticed a four-winged bird about 12 foot tall flying down and landing before them. His own body tensed at the sight of the large and swollen beak of what looked to be a pelican. He blinked the moment a male jumped down beside it wearing monk clothing.

"Hm?" Maki raised a brow. "I don't believe you're staff."

"I definitely haven't seen that curse before." Panda readied his knuckles with his own blue knuckle protectors.


Unclasping her fingers, Kagome's eyes slowly opened mid prayer as she felt a familiar tingle in the air hit her aura. Her head slowly came up to stare at the talismans waving gracefully in the silence's echo. She felt it again, but this time, her body tensed. Turning around to face the stairs leading up, she quickened her pace only to see Ijichi and two other assistants standing before her with their head in a bow.

The priestess blinked, taken back by their block. "What's going on?"

Taking a deeper bow, Ijichi answered. "I'm truly sorry, Higurashi-sama, but we cannot let you go."

Her lips parted only to be silenced by the familiar aura coursing through her veins. She felt her entire body go cold as the muscle and emotional memories paralyzed her. Her lips quivered. From anger? Fear? Anguish? She didn't care as she expanded her own energy to see where the others were.

Fingers curled into her palm having caught Yuta and the others nearby. No. She wouldn't let it happen. Not now.

"Ijichi-san, please move." She ordered.

His brows furrowed nervously. "I cannot."

"Excuse me?"

"Orders from Gojo-san."

Her glare tightened realizing Gojo was planning to have her not see him. Keeping her stance strong, she took a step forward. "My orders over see his."

That was true. Ijichi knew that if Kagome ordered him with a specific order, she could get what she wanted. But he also knew the history. He knew what it would mean for the priestess to meet her past again. He wasn't following an order. He was also trying to protect their priestess.

God, she hated she had to do it. Straightening her stance, her eyes glowed pink. "I order you all to move aside…"

Ijichi and the other two tensed as they sensed a heavy holy aura pushed them down.

"On the Shikon Order and Blessing, I ordered you all to let me through."


Toge lowered his scarf to rest below his chin. "Salmon roe."

"That's…a big bird." Yuta commented. Something seemed way off. Yuta's eyes trailed the monk's build and watched as bored expression painted over his expression.

A heavy sigh fell from his lips as people started leaving the bird's beak, "man…this place hasn't changed one bit."

Coming out from the bird's beak after her twin sister, Nanako groans as she sees the school. "Ew! Geto-sama is this really Tokyo? This is nothing like I saw online! It feels like the sticks!"

Mimiko looked over at her sister, "Nanako, that's rude."

"Eh? But you think so, too, Mimiko, right!"

Larue groaned as he continued to hear her complaining. "Get out already!"

"Whoa!" Nanako immediately pointed at the Panda across. "It's a panda! How cute!"

Panda's ears twitched as he heard her phone camera clicking a few too many times. Angered by her blabbering, Panda took a step forward. "Who are all of you!? Intruders aren't allowed in, by Yuta-san here."

"Kelp!"

Yuta blinked, "Huh?"

Taking out her spear and resting it on her shoulder, Maki tilted her chin back. "Go home before you get beaten, Yuta-san says!"

Yuta felt his nerves spike as they were each turning the blame on him. Before he could defend himself, he felt both of his hands being clasped by the monk. His entire body froze on the spot seeing the eerie smile on the man's lips as he inched closer.

"Nice to meet you, Okkotsu-kun. I'm Geto Suguru."

Maki and the others felt cold sweat run on their backs and their skin crawl with a warning the second they saw the mysterious male in front of Yuta.

"Uh…oh," Yuta swallowed, "nice to meet you…".

Geto tilted his head to the side while keeping his smile glued on his expression. "You possess a truly wonderful power! You see, I believe great power ought to be used towards great ends. Have you ever questioned the current state of the world? This world where jujutsu sorcerers act in secret in order to protect the order of commonplace society." Sighing, Geto released his hold on Yuta as he walked around his person. "You see, there's this established paradox saying the strong must accommodate the weak."

Yuta blinked, hearing his words. What on earth was he talking about…?

Geto hooked his arm around Yuta's shoulders. "It's so deplorable! So shameful! The apex of all creation has halted its own path of evolution! It's nonsense! It's high time mankind reconsidered its strategy for survival! Which brings me to you! I'd like you to help us."

"Help with what exactly?" Yuta asked nervously.

Geto's smile stretched, "we're going to kill all non-sorcerers and create a world with only jujutsu sorcerers."

All four of the first-years stood with shock at his words. Was he being serious? What idea was that? Did he really think there were sorcerers who were going to follow this plan?

"Could you stop preaching your stupid and crazy beliefs to my students?"

Looking over his shoulders, Geto's eyes watched as Gojo came towards them along with other sorcerers standing behind him with weapons. He noticed Mei Mei, Nanami, Ino and other familiar faces ready to attack if need be. His eyes closed to match his smile. "Satoru! Long time no see!"

"First of all, get away from those kids, Suguru." Gojo ordered.

Geto raised a brow, "I had heard this year's first-years were all outstanding students. Now I understand. It was because of you two, huh? You got a special-grade cursed human, a cursed corpse mutation, a descendant of the cursed speech users, and…," a devil grin was sent over to Maki, "the Zenin clan's failure."

Maki felt her anger snap and pointed the tip of her spear towards Geto, "you piece of-!"

"Watch what you say." Geto interrupted. "Because I don't need any monkeys in the future I'm about to make." Feeling his arm being slapped away from Yuta's shoulders, he looked over to see it had been the young boy himself.

"I'm sorry." Yuta whispered. "I don't really understand what you're talking about, but…I will never help anyone who insults my friends!"

Geto chuckled and noticed the anger fuming in the boy's eyes. "My apologies. It wasn't my intention to upset you."

Coming in between the two, Gojo faced his past friend, making sure Yuta was behind him. "Then tell us exactly why you are here?"

His eyes remained glued on Gojo for a minute before letting out a smug look. "To declare war."

Everyone tensed but didn't move a muscle.

Facing his crowd, Geto stretched his arms to his sides. "Everyone gathered here, open your ears and listen closely! On the coming December 24th when the sun sets, we shall conduct the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons. It will take place in the crucible of curses, Shinjuku, Tokyo and…the holy land of jujutsu, Kyoto! We will unleash a thousand curses upon each place and of course, their command will be "massacre". If you wish to avoid a scene straight out of hell, come and stop it with all your might! Let us freely curse each other."

"Ah!"

Everyone's attention was fished out the tension and towards Nanako who was staring past the group of sorcerers. Her eyes shined with curiosity as she pointed ahead. "Is that the Shikon Miko?!"

Both Gojo and Geto tensed before looking over at the said woman who was making her way down. Yuta's eyes went back and forth from the two males to the priestess, seeing their silence was more than just her appearance.

"Wah! She is so pretty, Geto-sama!" Nanako waved at Kagome. "I want to take a picture with her!"

Geto chuckled, "Hahaha! Didn't I tell you she is a beauty?"

Watching her walk past him, Nanami's shoulders tensed, "Higurashi-san-".

She continued to walk. Her eyes glued on Geto's smile. A smile she didn't recognize yet she missed. Her lips quivered unsure on what to say. This wasn't a reunion she wanted but she yearned for. Stopping a few feet away from Geto and past Yuta, Kagome's eyes watered. "Suguru…what are you doing?"

He sighed as he took a step forward only to see Gojo taking a step in front of the priestess. Of course. Nodding, he looked at her. "As you heard - war."

"War?" she repeated. "Are you insane…?"

"You sensed me here, didn't you?" Geto questioned. "I'm happy to know you haven't forgotten me-".

"You know what I sensed," she cut in.

His smile faded for a second before his lips lifted up again. Despite the grin, his eyes showed the hurt behind her words.

"Oh?" Larue spoke, "is that the priestess we need on our side?"

Kagome's eyes widened as she felt her guard come up. All the other sorcerers behind her got into their own stance. Seeing Gojo completely block her view from Geto, Gojo fingers flexed at his sides.

"Indeed she is." Geto replied. "The beautiful Shikon Miko is before us!"

Kagome watched from the side as Geto and his followers gave a deep bow. She took a step back. What stories was he telling them? Before any of them could make a move, once again, Nanako's shout caught their attention.

"Geto-sama!" She called out, staring at her phone. "The store's gonna close!"

"Oh?" Geto looked over at her. "It's already that late?" He sighed, turning his attention to Gojo and Kagome. "I'm sorry, Kagome-chan and Satoru. These girls just insist on getting crepes from Takeshita Street. So," he turned around and began to walk away, "I'll be taking my leave."

"Did you think we'd just let you leave?" Gojo questioned.

Sensing Gojo's curse energy slowly go up, Geto stopped. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Immediately from a black hole behind Geto's feet, a buddha dressed cyclone emerged and growled. "You're precious students are within my range. Well, everyone, see you on the battlefield!"

Kagome turned her head to see smaller curses of all kinds surrounding the first-years as Geto started walking to stand on the foot of the bird-curse. Anger began to boil within; her finger tips clasped before her pink aura expanded in a blink of an eye and dispelled all the curses around them.

Yuta and the others fell silent at the quick and strong energy that overpowered the curses within a second. Even Geto's family were shocked by the immense power Kagome had displayed. No one had gone against Geto's curses with ease.

Raising a brow at the priestess, Geto snapped his fingers as more curses emerged from the ground, blocking their path. "As expected from the great priestess. I have more in my disposal, so please, save your energy for the war."

Kagome took a step around Gojo's person and watched as the bird's wings began to flapped. The wind from the wingspan made her block her view with her forearm, stopping her from getting any closer.

"Don't do this, Suguru!" Kagome shouted.

Geto smiled, "it was a nice reunion. I look forward to our curses."

Watching the bird fly away, Kagome kept her eyes on the sky. "Suguru!"

Yuta watched as the other sorcerers fought off the curses with ease before noticing the priestess falling to her knees. "Higurashi-sensei!" He paused in his move to help as he saw her tears staining the concrete. He had never seen her so distressed. What history did she have with this Geto?

"Call in all sorcerers from around the nation!" Yaga ordered. "I am calling an emergency meeting tomorrow morning! Everyone, start preparations!"

As everyone began to move and scatter about, Nanami and Mei Mei took a step forward seeing Gojo standing behind the fallen priestess. Ino slowly removed his black mask before turning his attention to Nanami. "Will she be okay?"

Nanami glared at Gojo's back and took another step. "What is your next step, Gojo-san?"

Coming around and squatting before Kagome, Gojo was silent for a few seconds as he wiped away her tears. He was angry. He was saddened to see his best friend and the woman he loved only in further pain. His index finger brushed another tear from her cheek. "I'll pick up the pieces from here. All of you can go and prepare as Yaga-san instructed."

Yuta gulped, "Gojo-sensei…is Higurashi-sensei okay…?"

Gojo gave Yuta a soft smile. "I'll take care of it. All of it. Don't worry."

Yuta fell silent even as others began to walk away. Why did his words carry a heavier burden?


MizukixTsukiyomi's Notes: Please leave a review! It helps with the motivation.

Also some of the things mentioned in this chapter will be later explained as the story progresses. Not everything is answered is right away like Kagome's power over the Jujutsu community.

Ja~ne!