Nana's POV
Later that night, after his fight with Sukuna, Gojo sensei dropped me and Megumi at the Sugisawa General Hospital to get our wounds treated. After that, he met up with Itadori at the crematorium where the funeral of the teen boy's grandfather took place.
At first, I didn't know what sensei told Itadori to convince him enough to travel with us to Tokyo and join the Tokyo Jujutsu High, but from Megumi, I later learned that our sensei explained the whole situation to Itadori; like how the jujutsu elders decided to have Itadori executed but Gojo sensei was able to plead Itadori's case and had his 'sentence' suspended.
Sensei told Itadori that he had potential as a vessel for Sukuna, so therefore he could be used to consume the curse and should eat all twenty of Sukuna's fingers. Doing so would be of value to Jujutsu Tech, so Gojo sensei convinced the higher-ups not to execute Itadori until he had devoured all the fingers.
Now, we were all back in Tokyo and Gojo sensei took Itadori to meet up with Principal Masamichi Yaga. Before Itadori could be accepted into the school, he had to face an interview with the Principal, and what I knew was our hard-ass Principal would probably test him; to test him to see if he was worthy or not to be a part of Tokyo Jujutsu High.
I let out a sigh and quietly walked through the hallway of our dorm. I reached Megumi's room and slightly opened the door before peeking in. Just as I thought; he was sound asleep. I smiled a bit to myself and walked into the room. I quietly closed the door behind me and slowly made my way toward Megumi.
Megumi was laying down on his right side while covering his body with a large warm blanket with his eyes closed and fast asleep. He looked so peaceful at that moment. I carefully reached out and brushed off the bangs from his forehead to take a better look at his face. I swear to god, Megumi just had the finest eyelashes I had ever seen. His eyelashes were even bigger and more beautiful than mine.
My gaze then traveled from his flawless face to the bandages that were wrapped around his arms. These bandages reminded me of the night we fought those curses. I let out a breath and quickly moved my hand away from Megumi's hair. I clenched my fists as feelings of disappointment and anger started to flow into me; first Megumi got injured and now Itadori had to become a vessel for Sukuna. If I was strong enough, probably I could've protected both of them.
But, what's done is done and nothing could be changed even if I wanted to.
I then quietly walked out of Megumi's room and closed the door behind me. At that moment, I noticed that someone had already settled down in the empty room right beside Megumi's and it was the pink-haired teen, Yuji Itadori.
I walked up to his room and saw the door was slightly open.
"Hey, Yuji." I called out with a smile as I knocked on the door, alerting him of my presence.
Itadori, who was hanging up a poster of Jennifer Lawrence on his wall, quickly turned around to look at me.
"Oh, it's you, Nana. Hi!" he greeted back with a wide grin on his face.
I smiled and walked into the room.
"So, you're settling down. Did you like your room?" I asked.
"Yeah! This place is huge!" he gushed, looking around the room in awe.
"How did the interview go?" I asked.
"Perfect!" Itadori replied and gave me a thumb's up before a worried expression clouded on his face. "But the Principal was kinda scary though. He was making cute stuffed animals, you know!"
"And I guess you had to fight with one of those toys?" I asked with a teasing smirk.
"Don't make me recall it again." He sighed, placing a hand on his face.
And at that moment, a familiar someone walked into the room. It was Gojo sensei.
"Ah, Nana-chan! You're already here! I've been looking for you." Sensei grinned as he walked over and stood beside me.
"Did you need me for something?" I asked, looking up at him.
"Nope. Just wanted to see your cute face." He replied with an innocent smile on his face.
My heart suddenly skipped a beat while my face started to heat up at his stupid smile and sweet words.
"Idiot." I grumbled and quickly looked away from him.
Gojo simply smiled at me before looking over at Itadori.
"Looks like you've already settled down, huh, Yuji? Anyway, all the second and third years are out at the moment. But you'll meet them soon enough. There aren't many of them. But, there's really no reason for you to fight too, is there? Megumi, Nana, and I could retrieve Sukuna's fingers. You could just wait here." Gojo sensei stated.
"It's fine! I said I'd do it, and I'm doing it! Though laying around...while Fushiguro and Nana came in all beaten up to bring me a finger would be a funny sight." Itadori snickered.
"That's mean, Yuji." I frowned and pouted in response, making the boys chuckle at my expression.
"Well, I know there's no way in hell you're not gonna fight." Gojo sensei added.
"Hey! Were you testing me?!" Itadori asked, frowning at Sensei.
"If they were that easy to find, we would've found them all already. Some have a presence that's overwhelming. Some keep very quiet. Some have already been absorbed by a cursed spirit. There's nothing more troublesome when it comes to searching for them. But now we have you." Gojo sensei stated.
"Huh?" Itadori asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The Sukuna within you will tell us where the fingers are to try to regain his power. You're both vessel and locator, our very own radar. So, we won't get anywhere without you in the field." I chimed in.
"You think he's going to be that nice?" Itadori asked.
Gojo sensei smiled at him as he turned around and started to walk out of the room. Itadori and I quickly followed him from behind and exited the room as well.
"I think we can come to a win-win agreement there." Sensei replied.
At that moment, Megumi came out of his room.
"You're next door?" Megumi frowned at Itadori.
"Oh, Fushiguro! You look like you're doing well now!" Itadori said excitedly with a wide grin.
"There were plenty of empty rooms, weren't there?" Megumi asked Sensei with an agitated look.
"But, isn't livelier better?" Gojo asked as we approached the black-haired boy. "I thought it'd be good for you-"
"Classes and missions are enough. Nana as my dorm neighbor is okay cause she's my childhood friend but having Itadori as a dorm neighbor is just an unwelcome favor." Megumi stated bitterly with crossed arms.
"How is your injury now, Megumi?" I asked.
"Still recovering, but now I'm feeling better than before." Megumi replied.
Taking the chance, Itadori peeked inside Megumi's room since the door was still open.
"Wow, it's so organized!" Itadori commented in awe.
"I just said you're unwelcome!" Megumi snapped as he harshly slammed the door closed, using it to purposefully hit Itadori on the head.
The pink-haired boy yelped with pain and retreated away from the doorframe. Gojo sensei then let out a wide grin and clapped his hands together.
"Well, it's all good! More importantly, we're heading out tomorrow! We're gonna go pick up the fourth first year." Sensei announced excitedly.
"The fourth member, huh?" I mumbled to myself.
Next day in the morning
Megumi, Yuji, and I were now at the train station, waiting for Gojo sensei to arrive so we could go and meet up with the fourth and last first-year that was accepted to Jujutsu High.
"How are there only three first years? Isn't that too few?" Yuji asked, leaning against the metallic railing on the sidewalk while eating a popsicle.
"Well, have you ever met anyone who can see curses before?" Megumi asked back.
"Nope." Yuji replied after thinking for a moment.
"That just proves how small a minority jujutsu sorcerers are." Megumi stated.
"Also, didn't you say I was the fourth?" Yuji asked.
"Their entry was decided a while ago. You know what our school's like. Everyone has their own circumstance." I responded with a smile.
At that moment, I noticed Gojo sensei exiting a building and walking up to us with his usual smile on his face.
"Sorry for the wait." Sensei greeted us before his gaze fell on Yuji. "Oh? Your uniform made it in time, I see."
"Yeah, it's a perfect fit." Yuji replied with a smile while looking down at the red hoodie he wore underneath his jacket. "Though, it's slightly different from Fushiguro's. It has a hood, for one."
"That's because the uniforms can be customized upon request." Gojo replied.
"Huh? But I never put in any requests." Yuji said in confusion.
"I was the one who put in the custom order." Gojo smirked.
"Be careful, Yuji. Gojo sensei is an idiot and has a tendency to do things like that." I warned him.
"Aw, Nana-chan, you're so mean!~" Sensei whined and pouted but I completely ignored him.
"More importantly, why are we meeting up in Harajuku?" Megumi chimed in.
Gojo sensei immediately recovered from his pouting state and looked over at Megumi with a smile.
"Because it's what she asked for." Gojo replied.
With that the four of us started to wander around the narrow streets of the urban area, encountering a series of mini-stores and food stands. Yuji couldn't help but grab a few.
"Hey, popcorn! I want some!" Yuji grinned and went to the food stand selling popcorn.
As Megumi and I quietly walked forward side by side, the raven-haired boy spoke up.
"You're awfully quiet today. Something's the matter?" Megumi asked.
"Huh? No. I'm okay." I replied with an assuring smile.
"Nana, you know you can tell me anything. You can share it with me if something's bothering you." Megumi sighed.
To be honest, there were a few things bothering me for the last two days and that was from the night we fought those curses. Ever since that night, I had this one thing always on my mind; Megumi got injured and Yuji was now a vessel for Sukuna. But my concern didn't just stop there. The fact that Yuji would be executed once he ate all of Sukuna's fingers churned my heart.
I looked down at the ground with furrowed eyebrows and clenched my fists.
"I... I just need to get stronger..." I muttered.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Megumi asked, looking at me all confused.
"I need to get stronger in order to protect others. You got hurt that night and I couldn't do anything." I added.
Megumi's eyes widened a bit at my words as he stared at me for a moment. He then let out a sigh and slightly shook his head.
"I should be the one to protect you, not the other way around, baka." Megumi responded.
He lifted a fist and gently hit my head with it.
"Besides, I'm okay now, so smile." Megumi added, smiling a bit.
Megumi usually never smiled, but when he did, it always felt like something miraculous or magically had happened. His smile was contagious that's for sure which made me smile back at him.
"I'm glad you're okay now." I let out a light giggle.
"Are you two flirting?" Gojo sensei asked as he popped out of nowhere from behind us.
Both Megumi and I jumped a bit in the air and looked at our sensei with a scowl.
"What the hell, sensei?!" I shrieked out in panic. "Don't scare us like that!"
For some weird reason, Gojo sensei had this strange habit of suddenly appearing wherever I was, especially when Megumi and I were alone together.
"You know, Nana-chan, you should flirt with me sometimes as well. It'll make me happy." Gojo sensei stated, pouting.
"Like hell, I'm gonna do that! Besides, we weren't flirting, you moron!" I grumbled.
"You're an adult, sensei. Restrain yourself from saying things like these." Megumi added while rolling his eyes.
"Hey guys, look!" Yuji suddenly spoke up.
The three of us looked over at him as he pointed at a girl wearing a school uniform no different from us. Her hair was light brown, and was short, matching the color of her eyes. She had approached a man dressed in a business suit, neglecting the fact that she was carrying bags of clothes and accessories.
"I'm asking what you think about me." She stated.
"Oh, um, I'm in a hurry at the moment..." the man replied timidly.
He tried to walk past her but she quickly grabbed him by the back of his collar.
"What the hell?" The girl frowned and scolded the man while holding back him with her own strength. "Don't run from me! Come out and say it!"
"We're about to go talk to her? This is kinda embarrassing." Yuji commented while wearing a pair of goofy-looking glasses, holding a bag of popcorn in one hand and a crepe in the other.
"Well, so are you." Megumi stated as he frowned at Yuji.
"Hey! Over here!" Gojo sensei called out to the girl and gave her a wave.
After that, we and the new girl went to the side where she put her belongings away in the nearest locker built in the corner of the plaza. She then turned around to look over at us, putting her right hand on her hip.
"Nobara Kugisaki." She introduced herself. "Be happy, boys. I'm the one woman-"
She quickly cut herself off when she noticed me standing between Gojo sensei and Megumi.
"Looks like you already have another woman in the group." She stated, narrowing her eyes at me.
"Looks like it." I smiled and chuckled. "I'm Nana Osaki. It's a pleasure to meet you, Kugisaki."
Nobara stared at me for a moment before her gaze trailed over to Yuji and Megumi. It looked like she was speculating on each one of us, attempting to read off our persona just by our looks.
"I'm Yuji Itadori. I'm from Sendai." Yuji introduced himself with a friendly smile.
"Megumi Fushiguro." Megumi said in his usual monotone voice.
Nobara's eyes narrowed the more she looked at us, not impressed by either one of us. After examining us, she sighed out of disapproval.
"I always get stuck with unfortunate circumstances." She muttered.
"She took one look and sighed." Yuji mumbled.
"That's not nice." I added.
Megumi however ignored this and looked over at Gojo sensei.
"Are we going somewhere from here?" Megumi asked.
"We do have all four of you together. Not to mention, two of you are from the countryside. So, of course, we're going on a tour of Tokyo!" Gojo announced with a small chuckle.
"Tokyo! Tokyo! Tokyo! We love Tokyo!" Yuji and Nobara suddenly began to chant together, beyond happy to even imagine the possibilities of the activities one could do in the city.
"Huh?" Megumi mumbled in confusion.
"Sensei's faking it, isn't he?" I asked in a whispered tone as I watched Yuji hugging Gojo sensei with pure happiness, nuzzling his face onto his own.
"Of course he is. He's Satoru Gojo." Megumi whispered back and sighed in annoyance.
"TDL! I want to go to TDL!" Nobara pleaded to sensei.
"Idiot! TDL's in Chiba! Let's go to Chinatown, Sensei!" Yuji corrected her.
"Chinatown's in Yokohama!" Nobara snapped at him.
"Yokohama's part of Tokyo! Don't you know that? Look at the map!" Yuji shot back.
"The hell?! Quit spouting nonsense!" Nobara yelled at the boy.
This made Gojo sensei's smile grow wider even more.
"I will now announce our destination." Gojo sensei went on which made Yuji and Nobara go down on one knee. "Roppongi!"
"Roppongi?!" Yuji and Nobara repeated back as they looked back at each other once again with pure bliss.
On the other hand, Megumi and I remained completely quiet with deadpan looks on our faces, knowing all too well that Gojo sensei was misleading the other two.
"On the basis of how they're acting, to me, Yuji and Kugisaki share the same brain cell. They'll get along pretty well." I commented.
"I feel the same as well." Megumi replied back.
But later, instead of Roppongi, Gojo sensei led us to an abandoned building, where we stood at the front of the abandoned building and spotted a dark aura whelming around it. It was safe to assume that the building was haunted by curses.
"There's a curse here." Megumi remarked.
"I knew it..." I sighed.
"You liar!" Nobara started to throw a fit at the back.
"This isn't even Roppongi!" Yuji yelled in frustration.
"You were toying with us country folk!" Nobara yelled at Gojo sensei.
"There's a big cemetery nearby. The double whammy of that and an abandoned building brought out a curse." Gojo stated, ignoring all the yelling and shouting.
"So they really do pop up more often around graves?" Yuji asked.
"The issue isn't the cemetery itself. It's the fact that people associate cemeteries with fear." I replied.
"Oh, it was the same for schools, too, wasn't it?" Yuji asked again.
"Hold up. He didn't even know that yet?" Nobara chimed in with a scowl on her face.
"To be honest..."Megumi trailed off as he started to explain Yuji's whole situation to her.
"He swallowed a special-grade cursed object?!" Nobara exclaimed in shock, putting some distance between her and Yuji. "Gross! Unbelievable! That's so unsanitary and disgusting! No way, no way, no way!"
"What?!" Yuji snapped, feeling offended by her comments.
"I agree with her." Megumi sighed.
"Sensei, what are we here for anyway?" I asked Gojo sensei, not giving much attention to my peers.
"I'm glad you asked, Nana-chan. You see, I want to know what all of you are capable of. Just think of this as a field test. Nobara, Yuji, you two go exorcise the curse inside that building." Gojo sensei stated with a smile.
"Huh? But I thought only curses could exorcise curses, right? I can't use any jujutsu yet." Yuji informed our sensei.
"You're basically half a curse already. There's cursed energy flowing throughout your body." I responded.
"Though controlling that energy isn't something you can learn overnight, so use this." Gojo sensei added as he handed Yuji a leather scabbard that held an average-sized dagger.
I immediately recognized the cursed tool; it belonged to Maki Zenin Senpai.
"It's a cursed tool, Slaughter Demon." Gojo stated as Yuji pulled out the dagger from the scabbard and took a closer look at the thick blade. "It's a weapon imbued with cursed energy. It'll work on curses too."
Yuji stared at the dagger in awe, looking all amazed and everything, however, Nobara wasn't impressed at all.
"Lame." Nobara commented.
She then started to walk ahead of Yuji as she fastened her tool pouch around her waist while Yuji followed her to the steel shutter gate blocking the main entrance of the abandoned building.
"Oh, one more thing." Gojo sensei called out, earning Yuji's attention. "Don't let Sukuna out. If you use him, you'll get rid of all the curses nearby in a flash, but you'll also drag everyone around into it."
"Got it. I won't let Sukuna out." Yuji responded.
"Hurry it up." Nobara demanded.
"Yeah, yeah." Yuji replied.
Yuji quickly jogged towards Nobara to the steel shutter gate, leaving behind me, Gojo sensei, and Megumi on the sidewalk built a yard away from the abandoned building.
"Go on, now!" Gojo sensei said.
And with that, Yuji and Nobara opened the shutter gate and walked inside the building while sensei, Megumi, and I took a seat on the sidewalk we were standing on.
"I think I'll go too." Megumi spoke up, looking up at the abandoned building.
"Don't push yourself. You are still recovering." Gojo sensei replied.
"But someone needs to keep an eye on Itadori, right?" Megumi asked.
"True. But the one we're testing this time is Kugisaki, right sensei?" I asked, turning my head around to look at our sensei.
"Nana-chan gets it!" Gojo sensei grinned and gave me a thumb's up.
I smiled back at our sensei before my gaze trailed over to the building again.
"I think they'll be just fine. Even without Sukuna's powers, Yuji is quite physically strong and fast. I don't know anything about Kugisaki, but the way she carries herself around, I feel like she got some crazy skills underneath her sleeves." I muttered.
"You're quite confident about them." Megumi noted out.
Megumi's comment made me let out a small chuckle.
"I like to put my faith in my team and their capabilities." I responded with a smile.
At that moment, we could hear some crashing sounds coming from the building.
"Looks like they're facing some curses already..." I noted out.
"Looks like it." Megumi agreed, looking at Gojo sensei. "But Kugisaki has some experiences, right? Little late for that now, isn't it?"
"Curses are born from human minds. So, their strength and numbers grow in proportion to the population. Do you think Nobara understands that curses in Tokyo are on a different level than those in the countryside?" Gojo sensei asked, keeping his gaze fixated on the abandoned building.
"I don't think Kugisaki knows that yet. When you said 'level', you didn't just mean the amount of cursed energy they have. It's their cunning. Monsters that have gained wisdom will often force cruel choices upon you... with the weight of human lives in the balance." I replied.
"That's right." Gojo sensei responded with a small chuckle.
At that moment, another crashing sound went off from inside the building. The three of us looked up at the top floor and noticed that a huge curse just jumped from the window.
"I'll exorcise it." I said, immediately pulling my rifle gun out of my rifle scabbard.
"Hold on, Nana-chan." Gojo sensei mumbled with a smile.
I didn't know what Nobara did, but whatever technique she used made the heart of the curse blow up as sharp thorns came out of its body. The curse decayed into nothing, seconds away from landing.
"Nice. She's crazy all right." Gojo sensei chuckled with a small smirk on his face.
"Like I expected." I muttered, chuckling as well.
Later Nobara and Yuji walked out of that abandoned building with a little boy by their side. Gojo sensei and I went over to check and see if the little boy got injured or not. Realizing the boy was perfectly fine, Megumi and I then escorted him to his neighborhood and said our farewell to him.
When Megumi and I went back to our team, I noticed Yuji and Nobara sitting on a staircase as the girl was already getting impatient, anxiously tapping her foot.
"Did you know I get into a foul mood when I'm hungry?" Nobara informed us.
I let out a small chuckle and walked over to her. I pulled out two mini chocolate bars from my pocket and gestured one to her.
"Will this help to lessen your appetite?" I asked with a smile.
Nobara only stared me down with an agitated expression that didn't waver me as I kept my usual warm smile on my face. My smile made Nobara soften her expression a bit before she grabbed one of the chocolate bars out of my hand. I watched her rip off the wrapper covering the chocolate and ate the snack in one bite, chewing on it aggressively.
"Thanks..." Nobara mumbled quietly.
"Don't mention it." I chuckled in response.
I then looked over at Yuji and gently tossed the other chocolate bar to him. He grabbed the snack with ease and looked at me with confusion.
"This one's for you, Yuji. Good job today. You guys did well." I added and smiled at him.
A small blush formed on Yuji's cheeks before he flashed out a sheepish smile.
"T-Thanks, Nana." He grinned at me.
Gojo sensei then clapped his hands together and flashed out a big toothy grin.
"Now that the mission is over for today, shall we go grab some food?" sensei asked.
"Steak!" Yuji demanded.
"Sushi!" Nobara added.
"Leave it all to me!" Gojo gave them a thumb's up before looking over at me. "And you, Nana-chan?"
"I'm okay with whatever, as long as it's actually good food." I replied with a shrug.
"Got it!" Gojo smiled and looked over at Megumi. "And you, Megumi?"
But Megumi didn't respond back as he was searching through his phone, trying to determine what he wanted to eat. Gojo sensei didn't give him enough time to decide and went on ahead with the rest of us.
"Okay, let's go." Gojo sensei said, pushing us forward to walk.
"Megumi, hurry up or else you'll be left behind." I called out as Megumi quickly put his phone away and jogged up to us. "And sensei, Megumi's still deciding, you know."
"It's fine, Nana-chan... I'm sure he's okay with anything." Gojo sensei smiled.
"No, he's not. If he doesn't like the food, he'll either pout or will get really mad..." I stated.
"Hey!" Megumi snapped, pouting at me.
I simply smirked at him in response.
"You sure do know a lot about him." Nobara noted out, gesturing at Megumi.
"Megumi is my childhood best friend. I've known him and Gojo sensei for almost ten years now." I replied.
"Is that so, huh?" Nobara muttered.
"So, what's Gojo sensei like, Nana? If you have to describe him in one word..." Yuji asked.
"Gojo sensei, huh..." I mumbled to myself, looking down at the ground.
"Yes... What do you think of me, Nana-chan?~" Gojo sensei cooed, leaning towards me while waiting for my answer with anticipation.
Now that I think about it, Gojo sensei was quite a weird and unknowably complex man. He was strength personified or at least he appeared that way; the absolute strongest shaman with no contest, the head of an entire generation, a man who was literally untouchable, who floated above others. Sensei seemed to exist in an envious position. He was strong enough to believe that he could accomplish everything he desired.
Gojo sensei was a unique individual because his absolute confidence in himself to the point of arrogance is not presented as a character flaw to me. Rather, to me, he was allowed to believe in himself and was allowed to be selfish without him feeling needed to humble himself and knock himself down a peg. His strength was just another complex facet of his personality and his confidence in his own strength was simultaneously his best quality and his worst flaw.
What I hated about Sensei the most was that he was a narcissist who had a God complex. But then again, those qualities of his made him very attractive and intriguing all at the same time. Gojo sensei was so complex that if I started to analyze him, it would literally take me a whole fucking day.
"He's an idiot." I replied to Yuji's question, short and simple while crushing my sensei's fragile heart into millions of pieces with my cruel answer.
"Huh?! Idiot?!" Gojo sensei exclaimed in shock as anime tears rolled down his cheeks. "Nana-chan, how could you say that?! Couldn't you come up with a better answer?!"
"I'm just stating the fact, that's all." I responded nonchalantly with a shrug.
Megumi and Yuji let out a chuckle while Gojo sensei kept on whining and pouting like a little child, complaining about how I was always so mean to him.
"I kinda like you, Osaki. I think we'll get along pretty well." Nobara smirked at me.
"Glad to know, Kugisaki." I smirked back.