DEVOTED
Chapter two — "New classmate: Itadori Yuji"
WIDE EYES WATCHED the newly incarnated curse let out hysterical laughter as he basked in the moonlight, "Ah! I knew it! Light is best appreciated in the flesh!"
Scooting further from the curse, (Y/n) pressed her back to Megumi's chest, feeling his heart racing just like her own. Looking back at him, she sees the panic laced in his eyes, similar to her own. Looking back at the curse in front of her, she watches Sukuna rip off the yellow hoodie he wore, revealing the multiple black marks on his skin, "A cursed spirit's flesh is no fun! Where are the people?! The women?! What a wonderful age it has become! Women and children spawning like maggots," Sukuna stands on the edge of the roof, looking out into the city, "Marvelous! It'll be a massacre!"
(Y/n) stands up, allowing Megumi to follow suit as they watch Sukuna's hand slap his own throat, "Huh?!"
"Whaddaya think you're doing with my body?"
'Is that Yuji talking?'
"How're you able to move?"
"Um... It is my body, you know?"
Megumi and (Y/n) enter fighting stances, Megumi forming a shadowy substance that circles him as (Y/n) prepares to engage in close combat with an incarnated special grade cursed object, "Don't move! You're no longer human."
(Y/n) glared at the pink-haired figure, "Under jujutsu regulations, we will exorcise the curse known as Itadori Yuji!"
The pink-haired boy raises his hands as the black marks disappear from his skin, "Hold up, it's not a problem. More importantly, We're all pretty beat up. We need to get to a hospital." (Y/n) looked at the bleeding Megumi then to herself. The shattered glass jutted out of her arms and parts of her face while her back throbbed from her earlier landing. Looking back at Yuji, she fell silent, unsure of what to think.
"What's the situation?" a familiar voice said from behind (Y/n), causing her and Megumi to turn around.
"Gojo-sensei!" Despite saying the same words, the two had very different tones—Megumi was shocked, causing his voice to raise while the (h/c)-haired girl spoke in a monotonous voice.
"Yo!" the white haired teacher waved at his students, "I wasn't gonna come at first but the higher ups got involved after hearing that a special grade cursed object went missing. I agreed to come as long as they also gave me some time to see the sights." The tall, blindfold-wearing teacher whipped out his phone, snapping pictures of his annoyed and injured students, "So did you find it?"
(Y/n) let out a huff of air, glaring at the pink-haired idiot behind them who waved, "Um... Sorry. I ate it."
"For real?"
"For real," (Y/n) and Megumi said, both plopping down again as Gojo Satoru leaned over to observe Yuji. (Y/n) let out a breath as she allowed herself to relax.
"Hm? Haha! You're not kidding. They're combined. How does your body feel? Can you switch to Sukuna?" Gojo freaked the pink boy out as he observed him through his blindfold.
"Sukuna?"
"The cursed object you ate."
"Oh, yeah. Probably..."
"Ten seconds. Take control again after ten seconds," Gojo said as he started stretching.
"I dunno about this..."
"Don't worry. I'm the strongest jujutsu sorcerer! Megumi, hold onto this, will ya?" Gojo tossed the paper bag to the boy.
"What's this?" he said as he peered inside the bag.
"Kikufuku mochi," Gojo said, standing up from his stretching position.
'Seriously, dude?!' (Y/n) scoffed, crawling towards the boy and grabbing the bag, "Out of spite, I'm eating some of your souvenirs."
"They're not souvenirs! They're for me to eat on the bullet train home. Just don't finish them all, okay?"
"Behind you!" Megumi yells near (Y/n)'s ear, causing her to smack him on the head.
"He probably knows, stupid. So loud..." (Y/n) says with a mouthful of mochi. The dust and wind picks up around her, causing her to shut her eyes briefly. Opening her eyes, she stares into widened red ones. Letting out violent coughs as she leans away, looking up to see her teacher sitting on Sukuna who jumps up immediately.
"My students are watching, so..." Gojo says, dodging Sukuna's every hit, "I hope you don't mind if I show off a little." Grabbing Sukuna's arm, Gojo spins and pulls him from side to side, not letting him understand what's happening. Shoving him away with one hand, Gojo uses the other to smash his face, sending Sukuna flying into the air before smacking into a railing.
"It doesn't matter the era. You guys are always a pain! You stupid jujutsu sorcerers!" Sukuna sprints back to Gojo, jumping up before smashing down, destroying a good portion of the school, "But that doesn't matter to me." Sukuna's eyes widen, seeing the white-haired man still standing, unscathed.
"Damn... Feeling real bad for whoever has to rebuild this school..." (Y/n) says, swallowing her third Kikufuku mochi before leaning back and looking at the large hole separating her, Megumi, and Gojo from the special grade curse.
"Seven... Eight... Nine... Should be about time."
(Y/n) holds back a smile, not wanting to feed Gojo's ego, "Hmph... Say ah." The girl holds Megumi's face, shoving some mochi into his mouth to distract herself.
"Oh... Was everything okay?" Yuji asks when he switches back.
"Does it look okay around here?" (Y/n) muttered as Megumi tried to push her hands away.
"What a surprise! You really can control it!" Gojo says.
"Yeah, but he's kind of annoying. I can hear his voice," Yuji says, smacking his head in an attempt to get Sukuna to shut up.
"It's a miracle that's the only side effect," Gojo makes his way towards Yuji, poking his forehead with two fingers, causing his eyes to shut as he falls forward.
"What did you do?" Megumi asks, looking at the unconscious boy in Gojo's arms.
"I knocked him out. If he wakes up and isn't possessed, he might have potential as a vessel. Okay, question for ya... What do I do with him?"
"Even if he is a potential vessel... He must be executed under jujutsu regulations. But I don't want to let him die!" Megumi says.
"Is that a personal opinion?"
"Yes, a personal opinion. Please do something about it."
"(Y/n)? What do you say?"
(Y/n) frowns as she looks at the two guys, "I despise curses," her frown deepens as she looks at the pink-haired boy, "But he's still that idiotic pink head who rushed into a fight with something he knows nothing about just to save his friends... Do whatever you wish. My opinion will form eventually."
With a thumbs up, Gojo shines a smile towards the two, "A request from two precious students. Leave it to me!"
***
"(Y/n)! You only left three!" Gojo whined as he opened the paper bag. The (h/c)-haired girl across from him chuckled, sticking out her tongue as the train began moving.
"Megumi had one too so don't just look at me."
"Huh?! You forced that mochi down my throat!"
"Woah~ Pretty trees."
Cutting a yellow thread, (Y/n) puts away the needle before turning the small plush towards the man beside her, offering a cocky smile, "Whaddaya think? Adorable, right?"
Looking away from the small green and tan doll in his hand, Yaga Masamichi glances at the duck, biting back a smile as he stares at the small circles of pink underneath its eyes, "I don't want it."
"Huh?! What?! It's so cute, though! Fine, old man... I'll keep him. His name is..." (Y/n) goes silent, trying to think of a name as two figures enter the room.
"Satoru, you're late. You're late by eight minutes," Yaga says, continuing to poke the doll in his hand.
(Y/n) looks up, lifting her red-tinted glasses to take a good look at Yuji's expression as he looks at the man beside her, surrounded by cute dolls. She offers a short wave to the boy and her teacher.
"I thought I told you to stop being late but not late enough for me to get angry."
"If it's not enough to get mad about, then cut me some slack. I figured you'd be making dolls anyway, so eight minutes is no big deal, right?"
"So that's the kid?"
Yuji bows, "My name is Itadori Yuji! I'm into girls like Jennifer Lawrence! Nice to meet you!"
"Pfft~" (Y/n) quickly covers her mouth, stifling her laugh as she listens to his butchered introduction.
"Why are you here?" Yaga places the dolls beside him as he stretches his legs out from the crossed manner they were previously in.
"For an interview..."
'Boy, what the hell, boy...'
"I mean at Jujutsu High."
"Um... To learn jujutsu."
"Beyond that. What happens after you learn about curses and the way of exorcism?" Watching as Yaga stands up, (Y/n) smirks.
"Well... I'm going to collect the remaining pieces of Sukuna. It's dangerous to leave them as is."
"Why? People you don't even know are dying every day because of tragic incidents, accidents, diseases. Are you saying you can't accept their deaths if it's caused by a curse?"
"There he goes again," Gojo says and he stands beside (Y/n).
"That was a last request someone made to me. I'm not concerned with the details—I just wanna help people."
"Last request? So you're gonna fight curses because someone else asked you to? Disqualified," Yaga raises his arm, causing a green doll to stand up with a growl.
"That's not a doll?!"
"This is a cursed corpse. It's a doll infused with my curse. Her name is Cathy, by the way."
"Let's go, Cathy!" (Y/n) pumps a fist in the air as she releases her legs from it's crossed state, opting to sit on her knees as she watches the green doll jump at Yuji.
"Crap!" Quickly taking off his backpack and using it as a shield, Yuji stares at the doll in shock, feeling its heavy punch through the bag.
"People are more honest with their backs against the wall. Until I get a worthy answer, she'll keep on attacking."
"Look it's not just anyone's last request—it's my grandpa's!" Yuji says, being whacked again by the doll, eventually feeling his back hit the hard wall behind him.
"Even a family member is someone else, right? Jujutsu sorcerers are always close to death. They must sometimes tear apart the flesh of a curse with death being visible out of the corner of their eye," Yaga says as Cathy dances in front of Yuji.
"Yeah! Beat his ass!"
"It's an unpleasant job. You'd have to be motivated and also a bit crazy. And you want to do it because someone else asked you to? Don't make me laugh! It would've been better if you'd just told me you were doing it just to postpone your execution."
"Shut up! I—"
"Is that it?! Is it gonna be your grandfather's fault when you get killed by a curse?" (Y/n) smiles when Yuji's eyes widen at the man's words.
"You say some terrible things, you know that?"
"Education includes helping students make realizations," the doll jumps forward again, punching Yuji in the face, "It's difficult to say what your heart feels when you're about to die. But I can say one thing for sure."
"No jujutsu sorcerer dies without regret!" (Y/n) mouths the man's words, "With the way things are going, you might even curse your beloved grandfather. I'll ask you one last time... Why are you here?!"
A smile breaks onto (Y/n)'s face as Yuji opens his arms to catch the doll, "I've always been good at sports and fighting. But I've never once thought that I was the only one who could do something. Consuming Sukuna... I know that's something only I can do. Even if I could run away from my execution or from the mission, no matter what I do—eating, taking a bath or reading manga... It'll still be there! I'll get depressed knowing that people might be dying because of Sukuna," colliding with the wall, Yuji holds the doll tightly, "Even if none of this really involves me... There's no way I can convince myself that it's not my fault. No thanks. I can't say what I'll be thinking when I die, but I'm not gonna regret the way I live!"
"Satoru, show him to his dorm and explain the security and rules to him," (Y/n) clears her throat, wiping the smile off her face before standing up.
"Huh?"
"You pass! Welcome to Jujutsu High. Nice to mee—" the doll delivers an uppercut to the boy, knocking him backward, "Oops, sorry! I forgot to stop the incantation."
"Yaga, I'll go with them," (Y/n) says, lifting Yuji off the floor and walking him and Gojo out the door, the latter smiled to himself at the girl's earlier tsundere-esque actions, "Oh—! His name is Toby!" the girl says before disappearing out the door.
"Congratulations, Itadori. I never introduced myself, I'm (L/n) (Y/n)," (Y/n) says as she directs the two to the dorms.
"This is your room, you can do whatever you want with it," Gojo says as he opens the door.
"Woah! It's huge!" Yuji exclaims, running around the room and checking everything out.
"The second and third years are out right now. You'll meet them soon though. There's not many of them anyway," Gojo and (Y/n) watch as the pink-haired boy opens the glass door, screaming into the woods behind the school, "Yuji, you don't need to fight, you know. Fushiguro, (L/n), and I can go retrieve Sukuna's fingers. Why don't you just wait here?"
"Huh?! God, I wish I could absorb your stupid infinity..." (Y/n) mutters, frowning when her punch gets blocked by the barrier around Gojo.
"No! I said I'd do it, didn't I? But it would be hilarious to see a beaten-up (L/n) and Fushiguro bring the fingers to me while I relax..." Yuji says as he places a poster of a girl in a bikini on his wall.
The mentioned girl strides over to Yuji, whacking her fist on his head. Gojo smiles from behind them as the pink head rubs the bump forming on his skull, "Okay! To be honest there's no way you're not fighting!"
"Was that a test?! I got my a bump on my head over a test?!"
"If they were that easy to find, we would've already found them!"
"That's true. Some fingers have a large overwhelming presence and others keep quiet. Then of course, there's some that have been consumed by a cursed spirit. So with you around, you'll act as a radar," (Y/n) turned to Gojo, "I'm assuming the higher-ups have made a decision to let Itadori-san eat all the fingers... then exorcise him with Sukuna..."
"Smart girl," Gojo said with a bittersweet smile.
"I don't think the guy inside me's that considerate..."
"I think we'll be able to come to a win-win agreement," Gojo said before he and (Y/n) walked out the room.
"Huh? Is Itadori next door? They're a bunch of empty rooms, aren't there?" Megumi stood in the hall, looking at (Y/n) and Gojo.
"Fushiguro! You finally look better!" Yuji peeked his head out his room before walking into the hall, joining his classmates and teacher.
"I thought it'd be more lively and fun this way," Gojo said, begging Megumi to be more positive about the situation.
"Classes and missions are more than enough!" Megumi sweatdropped.
"Anyway, it's fine! More importantly, we're going out tomorrow! We're going to get the fourth first-year student," with that, Gojo walked away, leaving the three teens to stand in the hallway.
"We still have time to kill—Megumi, open your door," (Y/n) smirked.
"Why my room?!"
"What? You think imma let two boys into my room?"