Dionysus || Jujutsu Kaisen

XXI. Cotton

A skeleton grinned at him with a lipless smile.

The images shattered and boundless amounts of anxiety rose in him; he jolted with wide eyes, no longer in the world of endless sewers.

Gojou's aesthetic domain greeted his eyes and so did a terrified curse, its human-like expression full of a begrudging fear. Hanzō's heart didn't soften, neither did Gojou's, and Yuuji had a drop of sweat caressing his cheek.

"It's ironic isn't it? When you're bestowed with everything, you slowly die, unable to do a thing." Gojou mocked the curse who preached strength and pride, but was like sand underneath him. "But because I have something I want to ask you, I'll spare you."

Hanzō watched with no feelings, other than some awe, as Gojou effortlessly ripped Fuji-san's head off its neck.

Fuji-san's head rolled on the grassy ground when Gojou released his domain and the miniature lake and forest were clear again.

"Now then," Gojou's voice was different from his usual cheerful tirelessness. "By whom were you told to come here?"

His dark tone was just another reminder that this man is not only their supposed teacher and man-child, but also the strongest shaman.

Gojou stepped on Fuji-san, pressing down hard enough to hurt.

♡

"What should we do? Should we save him?" Getou smiled towards Hanami, languidly watching the show. "I can't have my face seen by people related to Jujutsu college. So I'm going to go home now."

Getou side eyed the curse beside him. "If you want to save him, you should go ahead. Although I don't know if you cursed spirits have that kind of compassion."

Hanami walked past Getou. ".lla retfa, snamuh uert eht er'eW. od eW"

"How dare you say that," Getou smiled irritatedly. "When you're nothing more than a cursed spirit."

Hanami didn't respond, they jumped over the cliff edge.

♡

"I wonder if you'll gain something from killing me?" Gojou's blindfold was now only half on as he lifted an edge of it up. Hanzō peered up at the kaleidoscope jeweled blue and felt it familiar. Almost the same as the images from before in the way that it nagged at him softly, like a pesky mosquito. "Either way, who's your partner?"

Gojou pressed more on Fuji-san's head, producing a creaking sound of bones being squeezed. "Tell me already! I'll exorcise you, you know?! Hey, hey! I'll do it for real, you know? Though I'd still exorcise you if you told me."

Hanzō watched from the sidelines as Gojou whined childishly and noticed that his cigarette was no longer in his mouth. He tried to think of all the places that it could have gone and groaned, he would have to spend ages just trying to look for it. He didn't want to litter, after all. He just hoped that it fell out somewhere in the lake so that it wouldn't start a fire or anything.

"So curses can have conversations, huh." Yuuji pondered out loud, apparently not at all bothered by their teacher's actions which could be classified as a police forcing a confession out of someone. Although it didn't bother Hanzō either, it didn't matter that the curse wasn't human or anything, it was just that he didn't care. "It felt so normal, I let it pass."