A/N at the end

CHAPTER 5

{POV: Suzue Kujou}

It had been over 10 days since Yuji had swallowed the third finger of Sukuna. The hectic life at Tokyo Jujutsu High had kept her mind occupied—paperwork, making copies, dealing with the chaotic students, and enduring Shoko's pranks—but the vision of Kaede lingered in the back of her mind like a dark cloud.

The students seemed to have accepted her well and saw her as a reference point, not at the level of their teacher but still someone they could rely on; and she couldn't deny that among the three first-year students, she felt particularly close to Yuji. She felt she had developed a sort of protective instinct towards him that could be defined as almost maternal; to the evident dismay of the binding vow, which weighed more and more heavily on her soul each day.

The relationship with Satoru remained complicated due to his intrusive nature and the way he enjoyed embarrassing her on a daily basis, but working with him had proven to be less stressful than she initially feared. She had learned to defend herself quite well against his teasing.

The matter of her not-so-secret mission had not been touched again, and the visions and losses of control seemed like a distant memory. Suzue had started to feel at home at the Jujutsu school in Tokyo and felt she had found a certain balance.

But that morning... she had woken up from a nightmare.

After all those days of tranquility, the woman she had almost forgotten, Kaede, had returned to torment her nights. This time, in the dream, Suzue was not Kaede but watched her from the outside. Nothing happened, they just... stared at each other in what seemed like an infinite black space suspended in time, in absolute silence.

Kaede was a beautiful woman, with long black hair and a noble appearance, adorned in lavish and ancient ceremonial clothes, but her gaze... Her red eyes were incredibly sad. Suzue, with a shiver down her spine, noticed that she resembled her terribly.

She definitely needed to find out more about that woman and understand why in the last few weeks she seemed to have become indissolubly tied to her. The connection felt more than just a coincidence; it was like a part of her past was calling out to her, demanding to be understood.

Suzue closed the door of her room behind her, with a clear objective in mind; she thought back to the historical archive she had noticed in the school's basement.

"Alright. Let's see how much history is in there."

She turned down a corridor, knowing exactly where to find the person she needed; his room was on the ground floor in the same wing of the building, directly below Suzue's.

Suzue stood outside Satoru's door, feeling her heart race in her chest. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous, but the combination of the lingering nightmare and the mission she had just set for herself weighed heavily on her mind. She had barely slept, her thoughts consumed by the vision of Kaede and the nagging sense that something crucial was slipping through her fingers.

When the door finally opened, Suzue was met with the sight of a rather disheveled Satoru Gojo. His usually impeccable white hair was tousled, and he wasn't wearing his usual blindfold or sunglasses. His bright blue eyes, though a bit sleepy, still held that familiar glint of curiosity and mischief. The surprise on his face was evident, but it quickly gave way to mild annoyance as he registered the early hour.

«Suzue» he began, his voice laced with a mix of confusion. «It's... 6 AM. You do know it's 6 AM, right?»

Suzue's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and she averted her gaze, suddenly feeling very small under his scrutiny. She hadn't meant to disturb him so early, but the urgency of her need for answers had driven her to his door before she could think better of it.

«I thought it wouldn't be a problem since you weren't sleeping.» she weakly tried to retort, but Satoru adopted a mock-offended air, crossing his arms over his chest with an exaggerated huff.

«What? Rest is fundamental for a sorcerer, it's literally the basis—»

«You're already dressed and ready for the day.» Suzue interrupted, her tone calm but with a hint of exasperation. «You've been awake since at least 5 or maybe even earlier. You were playing video games. Even three days ago you woke up at the same time, played video games, and arrived late to class saying you didn't hear the alarm.»

Satoru blinked at her, momentarily stunned by the calm precision of her words. His playful demeanor faltered, replaced by a look of mild surprise. Suzue's calm, matter-of-fact tone made it clear she was done tiptoeing around his antics. It was time for Satoru to realize that she, from her room upstairs, could hear everything. And his arriving late to class only put her in a difficult position, forcing her to entertain the three students who, unlike him, arrived on time.

Satoru's eyes narrowed, a pout forming on his lips as if he had just been scolded by a stern teacher. The playful glint in his eyes dimmed slightly, replaced by a look of mild chagrin. He suddenly found himself on the receiving end of a very unexpected dressing-down.

«You should sleep more.» Suzue finally concluded, her voice gentle but firm, almost like she was giving him advice for his own good.

Satoru's pout deepened, and he folded his arms, looking more like a child who'd been caught red-handed than the strongest sorcerer in the world. «You're really observant. You've been up since five too, I hear you pacing back and forth in your room, I feared you wanted to wear a groove into the floor.»

Suzue's face turned even redder, and she sighed, feeling her attempt at having the last word slipping away. He always had to have the last word, didn't he? Now, she realized she'd have to be more careful about what she did in her room, given that the person living downstairs was, apparently, a light sleeper.

Satoru, who was scratching his head a bit sulkily, continued to stare at her, waiting to understand what had driven her to his door at such an hour. Determined to get what she wanted, Suzue tried to put on the most innocent face possible and held his gaze.

«I'd like to see the historical archive. If possible.» The words came out almost as a plea, and she mentally kicked herself for sounding so desperate.

Satoru's expression shifted, his playful smirk fading into something more thoughtful. He seemed to scrutinize her more intensely, his curiosity piqued by the unusual request.

«The historical archive? That dusty room? Don't expect to find much there, the higher-ups wouldn't leave any state secrets in our hands... Why are you interested?» His tone was casual, but Suzue caught the subtle undercurrent of suspicion and curiosity in his voice.

Suzue knew she had to play her cards right. She decided to play the pity card, knowing that this approach would likely prevent him from asking too many questions. She put particular emphasis on the more dramatic parts, hoping to appeal to his softer side.

«When my clan was exterminated, the village was razed to the ground and all the memory of our history and traditions was lost.» She lowered her gaze, her voice tinged with sadness. «I'd like to gather some information, I'm the only survivor and I feel it's my duty—»

«Suzue, I get it, I'll take you there.» Satoru interrupted, his voice suddenly softer.

Suzue allowed herself a small, almost imperceptible smile. She had already noticed how sensitive he was to her tragic past, the few times she had mentioned it. Not that she liked resorting to this trick to get what she wanted, but as they say: necessity is the mother of invention.

Satoru, who had been ready to tease her more, found his resolve weakening at the sight of her genuine sorrow. He sighed and shook his head, trying to push away the unfamiliar pang of sympathy he felt for her. «Fine, fine, let's go,» he muttered, turning toward the hallway. «But don't say I didn't warn you—it's probably going to be as exciting as watching paint dry.»

The door of the archive was exactly as Suzue remembered it. Old and decrepit.

"Historical archive."

When Satoru pushed it open, she held her breath, anticipation mingling with anxiety. She hoped to find some answers about Kaede and the visions that had been tormenting her, but as she peered inside, a wave of disappointment washed over her.

The room was small—much smaller than she had imagined. Worse still, the shelves lining the walls were sparsely populated with books, maybe twenty in total. The air was thick with dust, and the dim light filtering through the single, grimy window only served to emphasize the room's neglected state.

Satoru entered first, moving with his usual confident stride, while Suzue hesitated on the threshold. The heavy scent of dust filled her nostrils, making her wrinkle her nose in discomfort.

On either side of the small room, two mostly empty shelves stood, their few occupants—old, bound volumes—covered in cobwebs. Judging by the thick layers of dust, some of these books hadn't been touched in years, maybe even decades.

In the center of the room, a small wooden table seemed to be standing by some miracle, its legs precariously wobbling under the weight of time and neglect.

«As I told you.» Satoru's voice was full of sarcasm. «There's not much here! The higher-ups keep anything that could be used against them in their maximum security vaults.»

He leaned against the wall, watching her with mild interest as she moved around the room, his eyes following her every movement. His disdain for the higher-ups of the sorcerer society was no secret, and it colored his tone whenever he spoke of them.

Suzue ventured further into the room, her eyes scanning the titles on the spines of the dusty books. She lingered over each one, hoping to find something that might be useful for her research. But most of the titles seemed mundane, even trivial: Basic History of the Sorcerer Society, Yearbooks of Past School Years, Jujutsu Applied to Gardening Techniques... there was even a book on general accounting.

"So much useless stuff." she thought, frustration bubbling up as her hopes began to dwindle.

Then, her gaze fell on a large, imposing volume that stood out from the rest. Unlike the others, it wasn't as dusty, and it had clearly been consulted more recently. The title, embossed in fading gold lettering, caught her eye immediately:

Genealogy of the Clans

Here was something that seemed to fit the bill. The title alone suggested it might hold valuable information about the Kujou clan and, possibly, about Kaede.

Her heart quickened with a mixture of hope and trepidation as she carefully extracted the book from the shelf. It was heavier than she expected, and she struggled slightly under its weight, finally placing it on the rickety wooden table with a thud that made the table creak ominously.

Satoru, who had been watching her from his position by the door, sauntered over, his curiosity piqued by her find. He looked at the book with mild interest, leaning over her shoulder to get a better view. Suzue could feel his presence uncomfortably close, but she was too focused on the book to react.

«Oh, that one.» Satoru remarked casually. «Yaga consults it from time to time to better study some new students. You know, to understand where their innate cursed technique comes from, and stuff like that. The last time I consulted it. I looked at the pages related to the Kujou clan.»

He smirked, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, clearly waiting for a reaction. Suzue could sense the playful challenge in his words, as if he wanted her to know that he had already delved into her own past.

Ignoring his teasing, Suzue opened the book and began to leaf through the yellowed pages. The genealogical trees of the main sorcerer clans, both major families and smaller clans, unfolded before her eyes. Each tree was meticulously detailed, tracing the lineage of sorcerers back through the centuries. Some clans, like the Zenin, took up multiple pages, their vast family trees reflecting their power and influence.

And some clan were almost extinct.

Like the Kujou clan.

Finally, she found the pages dedicated to the Kujou clan, sandwiched between the numerous pages devoted to the Zenin clan. The elaborate genealogical tree spanned several pages, tracing the clan's origins to the modern era. As she studied the tree, it became immediately apparent how the number of people in the clan had drastically diminished over the centuries. The branches thinned out, leading to the near-extinction of the clan in the present day.

Despite some missing branches and many names lost to time, the genealogical tree seemed fairly accurate in two specific parts: the start and the end. Suzue doubted the precision of everything that had happened in between, but it was at least something to work with.

Each sorcerer listed in the clan's genealogy was accompanied by a brief description: achievements, recognition, cursed technique... Suzue's eyes skimmed over the names, her heart pounding as she approached the final part of the genealogical tree.

And then she saw it. Her fingers trembled slightly as she traced the name written in elegant script. A name that had haunted her memories, a name she had longed to see again, even though it brought a bittersweet ache to her chest.

Her father.

Suzue felt a lump form in her throat as she stared at the name. Her mind flooded with memories she had tried to bury—memories of a time when her family was whole, when her father was alive. She remembered his kind eyes, the way he used to smile at her, the gentle way he would ruffle her hair when she was a child. And she remembered the day everything had been taken from her.

As she studied the genealogical tree, she noted that the book must have been updated at least forty or fifty years ago. Her mother's name was absent, and although her father was listed, there was no mention of his innate cursed technique, likely because, at the time of the book's update, he had still been an infant. This realization brought a sharp pang of loss, as if a piece of her family's story had been permanently erased, lost to the sands of time.

Determined to uncover more, Suzue began tracing the tree back, her eyes searching for the name that had been haunting her visions—Kaede. She moved through the centuries, going back in time, her frustration growing with each generation. But there was no trace of Kaede anywhere. The genealogical tree spanned centuries, reaching all the way back to the founder of the clan, yet Kaede's name was nowhere to be found.

Biting her lip, Suzue fought against the rising sense of frustration. "No way. She must be here somewhere."

As she searched, Satoru leaned in closer, his presence suddenly overwhelming. His face was practically level with her ear, and she could feel the warmth of his breath on her skin, which only heightened her agitation. His proximity made it difficult to concentrate, and she found herself blushing despite her best efforts to stay focused.

«Judging by your expression, I was right and you didn't find what you were looking for.» Satoru's voice was low and teasing, laced with that infuriating tone he used when he knew he was right.

Already irritated by her fruitless search, Suzue felt her face heat up even more. She tried to look away, but his presence was inescapable. His proximity, his voice, the way he seemed to revel in her discomfort—it all made her heart race, and not in a way she was entirely comfortable with.

But then, her eyes caught something at the top of the tree—the very first name, the founder of the clan, a man who had lived during the Heian period.

Toramasa Kujou

Innate Cursed Technique: none

Next to his name was that of his wife, but only her title was noted, not her name—likely lost to time and never recorded.

Her innate cursed technique was also listed as none.

Yet, this couple, both without cursed techniques, had produced five children, all of whom were blessed with the powerful innate cursed technique: Divine Flames. These children had gone on to establish a long-lasting clan of sorcerers, their power and influence lasting over the centuries.

For a couple of non-sorcerers to give birth not to just one but to five children endowed with such a potent cursed technique... it could be considered nothing short of a minor miracle. It couldn't be dismissed as mere luck. There had to be something more.

"A transcription error in the book...? Or maybe, the missing piece I was looking for."

Suzue's mind raced with possibilities. Satoru had mentioned that he had consulted these same pages before. Had he noticed this inconsistency too? She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, but his expression remained unreadable, his usual smirk firmly in place as he continued to observe her.

The frustration of not finding Kaede mingled with a glimmer of hope. Perhaps this was the clue she needed, the thread that would unravel the mystery. But she needed more information—something to connect the dots, something that would explain why Kaede's name had been omitted from the clan's official records.

With a heavy sigh, Suzue closed the book, the sense of disappointment mingling with a renewed determination. She hadn't found all the answers she was looking for, but she had a lead—one that she wasn't going to let slip through her fingers.

«Nothing interesting, unfortunately.» she said, trying to sound casual as she replaced the book on the shelf, moving away from Satoru to regain some semblance of composure. Her heart was still pounding in her chest, not just from the proximity of the man beside her, but from the frustration of her search and the tantalizing possibility that she was on the verge of discovering something significant.

Satoru straightened up and flashed her one of his trademark cocky grins. «I told you so! I guess it's time to go to the students. Today I want them to practice that exercise I talked to you about yesterday; Yuji in particular could benefit from it.»

Suzue cast one last, longing look at the book before turning to follow Satoru out of the room. His nonchalant attitude was back in full force, but she couldn't shake the feeling that he knew more than he let on. There was something about the way he had watched her, the way he had reacted to her disappointment—it was as if he was holding back, waiting for her to put the pieces together herself.

As they walked down the dimly lit corridor, Suzue's thoughts kept drifting back to the genealogy. The day before, Satoru had mentioned an exercise to improve control over cursed energy, and he had specifically wanted to propose it to the three students. Yuji, in particular, needed it to better manage the power of Sukuna. But as much as she tried to focus on the task at hand, her mind kept returning to Kaede, to the missing pieces of her family's history, and to the unsettling realization that the answers might be buried deeper than she had ever imagined.

The lesson was to be held outside for safety reasons; Nobara, Megumi, and Yuji were already on the field. It was amazing how those three always managed to look lazy and unmotivated.

Satoru was explaining the exercise to them with his direct and unprofessional manner, and meanwhile, Suzue was thinking.

Suzue found herself drifting into deep thought, the enigmatic puzzle of her clan's history consuming her. The founder of the Kujou clan and his wife... it seemed impossible that two people without cursed techniques could have founded such a powerful sorcerer clan. The more she mulled it over, the more she became convinced that there was something crucial missing from the genealogical tree—a hidden piece of the puzzle that might explain the visions of Kaede that had been plaguing her.

She recalled the last vision, where the man—presumably a member of the Kujou clan—had accused someone of exploiting Kaede to ensure that her powerful cursed technique would be passed on to his descendants. What if, indeed, Kaede had been the key to the Kujou clan's rise to power, and what if her presence had been deliberately erased from history to cover up that fact? The thought sent a shiver down Suzue's spine. The implications were heavy, and the realization that her family's history was far from what she had believed weighed on her mind.

"...What if?" Indeed, seen that way, it made sense.

Her train of thought was abruptly interrupted when Satoru came up beside her, yawning nonchalantly as he watched the students from a distance. Megumi was performing the exercise with his usual precision, and Nobara was doing well, but Yuji... Yuji was struggling. The boy was a bundle of raw energy, but he lacked the control needed to harness it effectively.

Satoru's look was unmistakable, a silent directive that Suzue understood immediately.

"Take care of him." it said.

Suzue, still lost in her thoughts, sighed and approached Yuji, who was visibly frustrated with himself. She could see the tension in his shoulders, the desperation in his eyes as he struggled to make sense of the exercise.

«It seemed much easier when Gojo-sensei explained it!» Yuji complained, a resigned smile on his face that couldn't quite mask his frustration.

Suzue's expression softened. Yuji, despite his overwhelming power and the heavy burden he bore as Sukuna's vessel, was still just a teenager—a young boy trying to navigate a world that had thrown him into the deep end.

«Yuji, you have to remember to stay focused. Cursed energy responds to your emotions. If you lose control, even for a moment, it can be dangerous.»

Her tone was gentle, filled with the patience that she had found herself reserving for Yuji. He listened attentively, nodding as she spoke, his determination to improve evident in the way he hung on to her every word.

«Right now it seems more like cursed energy is controlling you—»

Before Suzue could finish her sentence, she felt it—a surge of terrifying cursed energy that sent a chill down her spine. She recognized it immediately, the malevolent presence that had haunted her days earlier. The cursed energy of the King of Curses, Sukuna.

A small, twisted mouth suddenly appeared on Yuji's cheek, and from it came a voice dripping with contempt.

« I find it really amusing, Kaede, that you of all people are talking about self-control! »

The name "Kaede" rang in Suzue's ears like a death knell. Her mind froze, her thoughts racing as panic began to set in. Yuji, realizing what was happening, slapped his cheek hard, desperately trying to regain control and silence Sukuna. But the damage was done—the name had been spoken, and the words had struck Suzue to her core.

She blinked once...

Twice...

When she opened her eyes the third time, the world around her seemed to tilt. Disoriented and confused, she looked around, trying to make sense of the chaos that had unfolded in those brief, terrifying moments.

Panic gripped her as she realized what she was seeing. The ground around her was scorched, the once lush grass reduced to ashes. Flames, the remnants of her uncontrolled cursed energy, flickered and died in the air around her.

She looked up, her breath catching in her throat as she saw Satoru standing protectively in front of the three students. His presence was a beacon of calm in the midst of the chaos, but his eyes—those usually confident, carefree eyes—were filled with an emotion she had rarely seen in him: concern.

His expression was one of worry, but also of something more—a conflict, a struggle within him that she couldn't quite decipher. It was as if he had just witnessed something that confirmed his fears.

She could still see the faint remnants of flames extinguishing around her, and the reality of what had happened began to sink in. She had lost control. The intensity of Sukuna's cursed energy, combined with the name "Kaede," had triggered something deep within her—something that she hadn't even known was there. Her cursed energy had erupted with a force she couldn't comprehend, scorching the ground and leaving a circle of destruction around her.

The wave of nausea that hit her was almost too much to bear. Suzue's body trembled, her legs threatening to give way beneath her. She had never lost control like this before—never had her cursed energy acted so violently, so unpredictably. The thought that she could have harmed the students, that she could have hurt Yuji, filled her with a deep sense of dread.

And then there was Satoru, who had clearly stepped in at the last moment to protect the students. His presence had always been reassuring, but now it felt like a lifeline—something to cling to.

Suzue took a shaky breath, her eyes darting around the scorched earth before settling on Satoru once more.

«I... I'm sorry.»

A/N

Facts:

The name "Toramasa" can be interpreted as "Prosperous Tiger."

虎 (Tora): This character means "tiger."

昌 (Masa): This character means "prosperity," "splendor," or "well-being."

We already know that beneath Tokyo Jujutsu High, there's a massive space where Tengen resides, among other things, so why couldn't there be a labyrinth of rooms containing who knows what? Like a historical archive. With a big book on all the known sorcerer clans, both major and minor. It fits our needs, right?

The general idea was a big book that traces the history of the sorcerer society, analyzing the three great families and the various minor clans, their exploits, and so on and so forth.

Of course, something like that could never be fully accurate or constantly updated, which is why Suzue's family tree is stuck at the time when her father was still a child, and many branches have been lost over the centuries!

Satoru sleeps and lives at Jujutsu High, and to me, that's Canon.

Sukuna, as always, is a little troublemaker and knows more than he lets on, but that's nothing new.

I'll leave you with these little pieces of information! ❤️