Artist: あんこ/@onaka333 on Twitter
————————————————————
"Neither can I, master Geto."
Geto? Is that… the one I’ve been hearing about?
“Ah, well. We should let those two have fun.” He turned to you. “Now, what do we have here?”
You coughed.
“I apologize for kicking you earlier, but you were latching onto Suda’s foot so violently. You’re out on a mission, are you?”
“Master Geto, I don’t think he can talk.”
“Oh,” he laughed, scratching his head, “right. Are you even still conscious?”
“Hurts… Mechama… ru. Mission… Need to…”
Geto sat down and put his hand on his chin. “Take your time.”
Before you could continue, his eyes widened. “Wait. This cursed energy I sense from you… It feels familiar.”
“You felt it, too?” Suda spoke in.
“No way!” Geto smiled, “it’s just like mine! Haha! How unexpected. So you absorb cursed energy; that’s not so different from how my cursed technique works.”
He walked away. “But I guess you won’t be joining us with how I hurt your friend there. Do send principal Gakuganji my regards. And a warning.”
“Huh..?”
“December 24th. They’ll let you know when the time comes. Oh! There you are, Nanako, Mimiko.”
You got a look at the two girls that tackled him into a hug, one of them holding a cup of coffee like the lady said.
Before long, Geto bid you farewell and vanished with his allies… Friends? Family? You can’t tell; you felt like garbage, though.
The one with a bun took pictures of you still buried in solid concrete, “freaky!”
You don’t know if she was wondering how you’re still alive or how Geto drove you in there.
————————————————————
“That concludes my report—YEOWCH!” You flinched, “on this Geto…”
“Suguru Geto.”
“Stay still, will you?” Nishimiya Momo, a second year, wrapped some bandages on your back. “This is difficult enough to do with your hands.”
“You’re not even touching me, Nishimiya-senpai…” You winced in pain, “these things are just floating around me.”
“So it’s true what he said?” Another senior, Kamo Noritoshi, raised his hand, “What will happen on December 24th?”
“We don’t know enough yet.” Principal Gakuganji huffed.
“Mechamaru’s gone. I saw it with my own eyes. Geto crushed him.” You held your head down, “I failed this mission. I’m sorry.”
“Um, Yoshimori—”
“If I’d been more careful, this wouldn’t have happened, Iori-sensei. I’m sorry.”
Mai started chuckling, “who’s gonna tell him?”
“Yoshimori, Mechamaru is a… robot.” Miwa pat your back.
“What difference does that make? I was reckless, and now you’ve lost a classmate—”
“Yoshimori, listen.” Iori-sensei went up close to you, “Mechamaru is a puppet. The student controlling him is safe and sound.”
“Eh?”
“Yeah, he’ll be back in a couple days.” Mai looked at you smugly, “I’m sure he’d appreciate your condolences, though.”
“Oh.” You shrunk, “nevermind, then.”
While Nishimiya-senpai and Mai laughed at you, Miwa whispered, “don’t worry, I used to think the same.”
“Why didn’t anyone tell me about this? I’ve been here for over 6 months, but no one ever told me!”
"We need to inform the Tokyo branch about this." Principal Gakuganji continued.
"But we don't have much else to go off of, sir."
"Yoshimori," his tone was dead serious. Not unlike the time he almost killed you before your interview. "What else did he say about December 24th?"
"That was all I heard. That, and that his cursed energy was similar to mine. I think he mentioned recruiting me, too."
"Recruiting!?" Iori-sensei stood up. "Why would he come after you?"
You almost jerked to the side with how tight she was gripping your shoulder. "Do you think Yoshimori may be in danger, sir?"
"Perhaps. But "recruiting…" it can't be, can it?"
There was an eerie silence before he spoke again.
"Inform principal Yaga and Gojo Satoru of the threat. We need to minimize the students' involvement in all this. I'll leave the first years in your care, Iori."
"Yes, sir."
————————————————————
REPORT—7:06 AM, DECEMBER 10TH, 2017
The Jujutsu barrier around Kyoto Jujutsu High School was infiltrated from its entrance. A total of 7 Semi-grade 1 and above sorcerers were summoned at the scene.
————————————————————
Snowy white wings eclipsed the sky, landing on two legs and an enormous beak. From the bird's mouth jumped Japan’s worst curse user: Geto. Along with his allies, he bowed in front of principal Gakuganji.
"Well, if it isn't the esteemed Gakuganji Yoshinobu. Was everyone waiting for me?”
“Surely you’d expect resistance.” He dragged his guitar out, “Besides… you’re still up for execution!”
You and the others tried to walk outside and catch a peek of the commotion outside, but were stopped by Iori-sensei.
“Stay here! It’s not safe!”
You heard more from Geto. “Now, now, today is not the time. I’m only here to deliver a message to the school. And by extension, Jujutsu sorcerers as a whole.”
“What’s all this I hear about "recruiting” my students?”
“Believe me, they’d be better off not associating with monkeys who can’t use Jujutsu. Just look at what that did to your beloved Gojo Satoru.”
“Gojo may be an obnoxious brat, but I’ll have you know…” He started playing his guitar. “He’s not the only one on humanity’s side.”
"I thought I told you…"
A red-skinned, winged spirit appeared next to the building you were in and cracked the doors open. Mangled claws sprawled out of its hands, waiting to dig into flesh.
"Save your strength for the 24th. Or would you like to face this imaginary vengeful spirit right here, right now—"
"Mai! Aim for its eyes!"
A bullet flashed out of Mai's revolver, catching the Tengu off-guard and knocking it a few steps back.
"Miwa! Batto!"
"Huh—?!"
You nodded and signaled for her to trust you. "I'll be fine! Go for the talons!"
When she got into her stance, you jumped back to her side and held her sheath.
Batto sword drawing involves imbuing cursed energy to the blade and rotating it at high speeds. Under normal circumstances, Miwa doesn't have that much cursed energy to use.
But right now, you've put in so much of it that the entire blade was on the verge of shattering.
"New Shadow Style: Batto Sword Drawing!"
The katana flew out of its sheath, zipping so cleanly through the air that it seemed to break wind. It even seemed to cut past the Tengu's skin; you smiled confidently.
Until it stopped.
The cursed spirit's skin was far too hard for a regular katana.
As the two of you stood there in shock, it reached out for the weaker sorcerer.
"Dammit!" Fearing for her, you decided to just absorb the curse.
This was a bad idea. The stronger the curse, the closer you have to be to absorb it completely. And since this was a registered Special Grade…
It was suicide to try absorbing it in this state.
But what do you care!? Miwa's life is in danger!
Against your will, though, your fear forced you to hesitate. It was then that you heard a clap.
And the Tengu was gone, replaced by the towering figure of Todo-senpai.
"It just occurred to me that I haven't asked you since you got here, Yoshimori…"
"What kind of woman is your type?"
“Incredible!” Geto clapped slowly. “Such a wonderful taste of what’s to come. When the time arrives… let’s all curse one another to the grave!”
“Whatever. So, Yoshimori, what kind of woman is your type?” He patted your shoulder.
“Is now really the time, Todo-senpai?”
“Hurry up and answer! And you.” He pointed at Geto. “Bugger off. We’ll fight your war when we have the time.”
Geto stared at Todo-senpai, dumbfounded.
“Yoshimori, listen. You can tell a lot about a man by what he's into. See, when someone is boring, you wouldn't wanna be friends with them, right?"
"Right…"
"I can't stand boring people. So tell me, what kind of woman is your type?"
"Physically or personality-wise? If it’s physical, then I like fit girls with long hair.”
“Hm!” He smacked your back. “A solid answer. You’ve gained my respect.”
“Just like that..?”
“Takada-chan once said, “what the superior man seeks is in himself.””
“That was Confucius, though. And it wasn't the whole quote.”
“Whatever.”
“It seems that now we’ve all been properly acquainted. I’ll say this one last time: Here in Kyoto! 1000 demons on the 24th. I challenge you to put your lives on the line for your beloved monkeys.”
“And if we request for backup from Tokyo?”
“Oh, they’ll be busy, too. Don’t you worry. And Yoshimori…”
You shivered.
“I look forward to seeing how far you can go.”