Her existence was considered a sin the moment she was born.
Hands bloodied by a conflict more than a hundred years before her time, she was shunned by her clansmen.
Her mother refused to look at her. In her father's eyes she found only disgust.
She knew what they thought. How could such a nauseating creature share their blood?
The sum of their hatred bore fruit when she was five years old. She was brought to a small room, talismans and other protective charms covering its walls. She felt her strength immediately being sapped as she stepped inside.
They shut the door, and her punishment began.
From then on she was not allowed outside. The room had an adjacent bathroom, and food was brought to her once a day, so there was no need. Her spirit was too broken to consider escaping.
What could she hope to find outside?
More rejection of her very being?
It was better this way. Locked away in the shadows where she was not a burden to her parents, nor a source of shame for her clan.
But then, a year later, an unknown man opened the door to her room.
It was the first time she had met someone with hair as fair as hers. Behind pitch black glasses, shockingly blue eyes surveyed the room, then focused on her.
She saw rage.
She flinched and folded into herself, bringing her knees to her chest. The man's eyes softened at her gesture. He stepped forward and crouched down to her height, offering his hand.
"Hi! I'm Satoru. Want to be my friend?"
"So, how's your Domain Expansion coming along?"
Gojo tapped his finger against the steering wheel as he waited at a red stoplight, tilting his head in the direction of the passenger's seat. Its occupant - a teenager of quite unusual appearance - fiddled with their seatbelt and sighed, turning to him with a grimace.
"Not great." They admitted. "I can't always materialize it, and when I do it holds for only a second or two."
"I see." Gojo acknowledged, stepping on the gas as the light turned green. "Even so, you've improved! And a second can make all the difference in a battle, especially considering the nature of your Innate Domain." He reached over and ruffled the top of their head, and the teenager swatted half-heartedly at his hand.
"Stop it, Satoru. You'll ruin my hairstyle." they grumbled, nonetheless pleased at receiving praise from their mentor.
"Now, now, don't be so dour!" Gojo suddenly gasped in mock-horror and turned to stare at them with a dismayed expression "Is Megumi rubbing off on you? Please don't turn out like him!" He sighed theatrically. "I still remember when you were little– you'd run up to hug me all happy when I came back from a mission and call me-"
"Eyes on the road!" their hand shot up to hold the steering wheel, barely avoiding a collision with a car on the opposite lane. The driver rolled down his window to yell profanities at Gojo, who remained unperturbed by the whole situation.
"Nice reflexes! You reallyaremy student." Gojo commented with pride.
With burning cheeks and an embarrassed huff, the teenager refused to meet Gojo's eyes and turned to stare out of their window. "Shut up and drive."
Gojo chuckled as he resumed their trip "As my cute student commands!"
They drove for a while in silence, eventually parking in what they were pretty sure was a non-parking area near a mountainous path.
"We'll have to go by foot from here." Gojo supplied as he held the car door open for his student.
The teenager stepped outside, taking in the fresh mountain air in a deep breath. Even so, thet could not help the dread slowly pooling in the pit of their stomach, knowing very well what awaited them at the end of the path.
Gojo gave them a knowing look. "Are you sure you'll be alright? This might drudge up some…unpleasantmemories." There was restrained rage hidden beneath his words, and they smiled despite themselves. Even after ten years, Gojo was still angry on their behalf. He wasn't the only one – not anymore – but he was the first. The first one to treat them as a human being.
And for that he'd always have a special place in their heart.
"I'll be okay." They answered, and with him by their side they were sure it was the truth. "It'll be painful, but I'll be okay."
Gojo nodded. "If at any time you want to stop, call me and I'll take over."
"Understood."
"Alright then!" Gojo's features softened and he smiled widely. "I'm leaving Okkotsu in your care-"
"-Good luck, Mutsumi."
Dizziness consumed Mutsumi's senses the moment they stepped inside the mountain cave.
The talismans were partly to blame of course – after all, they had to be strong enough to contain (or at least slow down) a Special Grade Cursed Spirit in case it tried to break free.
Even so, Mutsumi knew that their Cursed Technique could easily tamper with them, weakening them just enough that spots no longer danced in the corners of their eyes and they could breathe again-
No. That was a surefire way to get in trouble with the Elders, and they already disliked them enough as it was. They'd have to roll with what they got.
Mutsumi inhaled as much air as their weakened lungs could hold, and slowly exhaled as they resumed walking, focusing their gaze on the figure in the center of the room.
There he was. Sitting on a chair, completely folded into himself and resting his head on his knees, was Yuta Okkotsu. Deep blue eyes framed by dark circles met them when he raised his head at the sound of footsteps, empty gaze barely registering their presence.
Mutsumi smiled disarmingly. "Good afternoon, Okkotsu-kun. My name is Mutsumi Ubayashiki. It's nice to meet you." They bowed slightly and waited for his reaction.
Yuta stared at them in surprised confusion. Mutsumi knew they looked…unique, so to speak, but if they were to hazard a guess, Yuta's reaction was probably more due to not expecting to be treated kindly.
Mutsumi resisted the urge to search for the sorcerers that apprehended Yuta and clobber them over the head with their own fists. Special Grade Cursed Human or not, Yuta deserved decency at the very least, especially when he'd been so cooperative considering he was dealing with something as barbaric as his own execution.
(And if Mutsumi and Gojo were successful, he might not have to go through with that at all.)
After a few seconds Yuta spoke. "…Nice to meet you too, Ubayashiki-san." He whispered out, bowing his head at them.
Mutsumi beamed at being acknowledged and straightened themselves. "Alright! Now that introductions are out of the way-"
"-Okkotsu-kun, do you consider yourself cursed?"
A jolt ran through Yuta's body at the question, the sound of his feet hitting the floor as he suddenly unfolded himself and sat ramrod straight in his chair echoing through the rock-carved room.
"I… that's what they said I was." Yuta meekly supplied after a few moments, nervously licking his lips.
Mutsumi nodded. "I am aware of that. But what doyouthink, Okkotsu-kun?"
Yuta's head dropped. His whole body sagged, as if it had been previously holding up an unfathomable weight that had finally broken him. When Yuta raised his head again, the profound hollowness in his stare made Mutsumi's heart lurch in their chest.
(They knew that stare all too well.)
"How could Inotbe?" Yuta responded after what seemed like an eternity.
"You don't want to come with me?" The man – Satoru, he'd called himself – cocked his head and stared at her, perplexed by her response.
Mutsumi hugged her knees again and nodded.
Satoru sighed, pointing at the Ubayashiki clan elders standing at the entrance of her makeshift prison. "Is it because of what those old geezers told you?"
Pure panic seized Mutsumi at the carelessness of Satoru's words. Did he not realize who he was talking about? The punishments they could inflict on him?
Would they punish her too for talking to him?
As if on cue, one of the elders stepped forward (she couldn't tell who, they all blended together in misshapen blobs due to the unshed tears in her eyes), yelling outrages at Satoru. But he didn't move, just continued to regard her with the same intense gaze, his blue eyes shining brightly even through her tears.
"You'll be lonely here, you know." He raised his hand-
(Punch, kick, knee, elbow,
bruises for days, covering her body,
painful, painful,painful)
- and patted Mutsumi's head. A kind gesture. A sweet gesture.An affectionate gesture.
And Mutsumi's whole world changed.
Her tears flowed freely now. She raised her small hands and fisted them in Satoru's jacket.
"Mister- Satoru, please…. I wanna go."
Satoru smiled. "As my cute ward commands."
"Ubayashiki-san?"
Mutsumi blinked. Yuta looked at them with concern, hand semi-outstretched in their direction. A sweet smile bloomed on Mutsumi's face, and they carefully reached out for Yuta's hand, guiding him to hold his palm against theirs. Yuta blushed at the gesture, and Mutsumi realized he looked quite cute like this.
"Then you're like me." Mutsumi said, relief flooding through them at the truth of that statement.
Yuta opened his mouth, but the sound of three knocks at the door interrupted him.
Mutsumi let go of Yuta's hand and sighed. "I guess my time is up."
"I- I see…" Yuta stared at his hand, eyebrows furrowed and mouth downturned in a pensive expression.
Mutsumi clasped their hands together. "So, Okkotsu-kun, come find me at Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School, okay? We'll talk more there."
Yuta's head snapped back up "Huh? What about-"
Mutsumi waved their hand dismissively. "My teacher can easily take care of that. Promise me you'll think about it?"
"I…" Yuta swallowed, and when he met their gaze again they could see a spark in the ocean void. "I will."
Special Grade Cursed HumanSpecial Grade Sorcerer Yuta Okkotsu has joined Second Grade Sorcerer Mutsumi Ubayashiki as a ward of Special Grade Sorcerer Satoru Gojo. Execution is to be reinstated for Okkotsu should the Special Grade Cursed Spirit Rika Orimoto fully manifest. Should Ubayashiki break the conditions of her parole, her designation is to be changed to Special Grade Cursed Spirit and her sentence of life imprisonment to be reinstated. If imprisonment proves to be impossible, proceed with Ubayashiki's immediate execution. The search for the next vessel will be determined at a later date.