Itadori Yuji is not having a great day.
First, he woke up because of Sukuna clamping down on his stomach. How? Somehow, he fell asleep with his palm lying flat on his exposed stomach like a dumb ass. Second, Nobara ate the rest of the pizza from last night. Pizza he was saving for breakfast because nothing - nothing -compares to cold pizza for breakfast. And third, as soon as he slipped on his clothes after showering so he could go out and find something to eat, Megumi barged into his room about an emergency.
Did he forget to mention it is his day off? Between exorcising curses and having to write essays, Yuji is beat. He suspects Kagome-san has been providing some input with the curriculum. Not that Gojo-san would ever tell him the truth if he asked.
"What's gotten into you?" Megumi asks with a permanent frown on his face, arms crossed over his chest in the signature blue jujutsu high uniform.
Yuji yawns.
"Hungry. Tired." His stomach growls loudly and ends on a pathetic wail. "Mainly hungry." He scratches at his belly and winces at the bite still marring his skin. Sukuna is a fucking dick. He can't wait until they collect the rest of Sukuna's fingers, so he can be done with him. "What?"
Megumi's frown deepens. "You just seem different."
"Yeah, like he actually wants to live," Nobara interjects. She tosses her hammer back and forth between her palms. One leg is outstretched, foot tapping, as they wait for Nitta to show up. "And here I thought he was the sacrificial type."
Yuji shrugs. If he must die for Sukuna to die, then so be it. He's accepted that fate. But Kagome-san gives him hope. That story about the priestess that lived with half a soul. Surely, if someone could live with half of their soul, there has to be a way for him to live and Sukuna to still die. Maybe he is losing his mind, but he actually wants to live his life if he can. Having a thousand-year-old vengeful spirit or whatever is not how he envisioned his life going.
Buyo Jr. leaps out from Megumi's shadow and onto Yuji's shoulder. Yuji flinches. Sukuna and Buyo Jr. do not get along. Okay, no one gets along with Sukuna, but Buyo Jr. intentionally jumps on him just so he can take a swipe at Sukuna.
Spoiler alert: Yuji is the only one getting hurt here.
Buyo Jr. lets out a wail, tails hitting Yuji in the face. Megumi looks behind him and then nods.
"Can you carry all of us?"
Yuji startles. "Can who carry us? Buyo? Shouldn't we wait for Nitta to show up?" His brows furrow. Not to mention, what if someone sees a giant ass cat flying through the sky? How would they explain that?
Nobara shrugs and puts her hammer away.
Got it. He is the only sane one here.
"I don't think that is wise... What if someone sees Buyo Jr? He's not exactly small, you know." Yuji places his hands on his hips. Buyo Jr. lets out another wail and smacks his face with his tails.
Oh, come on. Why is he the only one that gets hit around here?
Buyo Jr. leaps down and transforms into his larger form. The fires licking at his paws are bigger, darker red than before. Yuji bites back a sigh. Sukuna stirs from within him. Megumi hops on to Buyo Jr.'s back, followed by Nobara. They look at Yuji with expectancy. Yuji looks up at the sky, shakes his head, and then climbs on.
"For the record, I still think this is a bad idea."
"We don't have time to wait," Megumi says as Buyo Jr. takes flight.
"Demons?" Nobara asks, leaning forward. Yuji wrinkles his nose. Nobara's perfume is more noticeable now that he's right behind her, with the scent constantly hitting him in the face.
His temple throbs.
"Demons?" he repeats. What do demons have to do with their mission? Or wherever Buyo Jr. is taking them. Yuji still thinks they should have waited for Nitta. Or at the least, maybe they should send a text letting her know they took matters into their own hands.
"Yeah. Buyo wouldn't insist if there weren't demons nearby."
Dread pools in Yuji's gut. A bead of sweat trickles down his brow. Well... crap! Curses are one thing, but the demons always seem much harder to deal with. The few times he has gone against one, it has not been pleasant. He shudders. One even got Gojo-sensei back when Yuji was pretending to be dead still.
Should they be calling for Kagome-san?
No. She's pregnant. It wouldn't be right to ask her to bail them out. Yuji loses track of how long the flight takes, too busy warring with himself in his mind about how to play this situation. At the very least, he does not need to use cursed energy to fight the demons, but they are absolute tanks at taking punches, so it might be more efficient to use cursed energy to take them out.
Yuji sees the dark smoke and buildings on fire before he notices the demon. It swoops in right as Buyo Jr. takes a deep dive, nearly missing Yuji's head by centimeters. The hair on the back of his neck rise.
Fuck. How did he not sense that?
Megumi curses and summons his Nue.
One crisis avoided for now. Yuji bites down on his bottom lip, his body trembling with anger? Frustration? He needs to be on the ground where he can fight.
"How interesting," Sukuna says mockingly. Yuji ignores the jab. Sukuna is just trying to get a rise out of him. Trying to get him to lose focus.
"Shut up." He shuts his eyes and holds his breath as Buyo Jr. goes straight for the smoke. The third thing Yuji notices as he opens his eyes is the people on fire. The screams sear into his brain. It is a sound that is like no other. Worse than when he first encountered curses. The screams pierce through his earbuds. The smell of burned flesh is awful.
"Oh, there you are," a voice says, cutting through the screams. Megumi and Nobara stiffen. Buyo Jr. lets out a roar that shatters glass from the cars parked on the road. Yuji winces. His eardrums feel as though they are going to bleed out. The figure steps forward, not bothered by the sound.
A disaster curse.
If there is one, then there must be more of them. The damage, the demons - this has to be a full-scale attack going on. Later, Yuji thinks, he will thank Buyo Jr. for sensing trouble.
Yuji's eyes zero in on the volcano curse. His heart slows down, steady. His fingers twitch. The battle between Nue and the insect like demon clash above them. Buyo Jr. moves closer to Megumi, teeth bared at the curse.
"Come vessel, and I'll let these two go for now." The curse wriggles his fingers. His large eye creeps Yuji out just as much as it did the first time they met. "You won't come?" A smile touches its face as if this refusal delights it.
"Don't be rash," Megumi warns, his voice low, pinched. Nue crashes down in front of them, sending dust flying everywhere. People continue to run past them. Some have given up and lied down on the sidewalk or on the road as the fire consumes them.
The sight fuels Yuji on. He cannot just stand here and do nothing. Yuji dashes toward the volcano curse, his eyes zeroed in on his prey. If this curse is here, then the patched face one must be somewhere nearby.
This time, he will not let another disaster curse get away.
Volcano head smiles, unruffled even as the ground under their feet cracks.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
A spider rises from the ground, shaking off the concrete as its large red eyes zeros in on Yuji. One leg sends the volcano curse flying into a car with a loud CRACK. Buyo Jr.'s growls increase in volume. There are shouts. A swarm of insect demons surrounds them, buzzing obnoxiously.
No, Yuji realizes, he is surrounded.
"Yuji—Ah!" Nobara's screams sear into his mind. The swarm parts just enough for him to have a clear view of Nobara skewed on one long spider leg. Her blood shines on the hairy leg.
No, Yuji thinks, those are not hairs, but spikes growing out of its legs. From the corner of his eye, he spies the other spider moving toward him. That one also has spikes for hairs.
An explosion of fire erupts as the volcano curse stalks toward the spider demon behind Yuji. It swears as a ball of fire gathers in its palms. He makes a split decision and makes a break for Nobara and Megumi.
Gotta help them. Nobara is barely hanging on. Her skin is turning pale as blood flows freely from her stomach.
The buzzing intensifies, and the swarm attacks him.
Shit. Where is Gojo-sensei when you need him?
A/N: I hope the New Year is treating you well! Thanks everyone for your continued support. I promise to get to the messages this week (This study is on Ao3, FYI. I can reply to messages/reviews on there). Still haven't found that sweet spot with balancing the fanfic and writing original stuff. Anywho, stay hydrated and take care of yourselves!
