"Today," Gojo's voice boomed across the field, "we'll be training. This will mainly benefit our two jujutsu newbies, but practice is always good for you other two."
Gojo split the squad into pairs, putting Y/N with Kugisaki who would be able to mentor her in ranged projectiles. The four first years worked hard. Constant grunts and yells could be heard from the boys sparring on the other side of the field.
"Okay, see that tree?" Kugisaki had set up targets for Y/N on trees around the field.
"The closer one?"
"Yeah. Throw until you get a bullseye."
"WHAT?" Y/N stared at her classmate.
"You heard me."
Annoyed, Y/N decided to trust her methods and began.
It was a tragic showing, with half the deck barely making it to the third ring. Y/N was beyond frustrated and it was starting to show. Nobara watched, gaging how Y/N's cursed energy flowed.
"Now this is just sad."
"Shut up!" Y/N snapped at her. "You are no help."
"That's it! See how you just snapped? That's what you need to do with your cursed energy. Feel it flow through your hands and the card, and force it out in a quick burst."
With a grumpy look, Y/N took her advice.
The first few times were no different, but then it happened. A flash of blue energy enveloped the card, sending it flying faster and more accurately than any of her others.
"BULLSEYE!"
"That's how you do it! Yes!"
Y/N hugged Kugisaki without warning, thanking her.
"Now," Nobara pushed her back, "Do it on the farther target."
She laughed out loud at the look of disappointment on Y/N's face.
After many more successes, the skill became somewhat natural to Y/N. She didn't have to focus as much to hit her targets and the flow of her cursed energy was becoming stronger with her control.
As the sun began to set, Gojo called them all in for a special treat.
"I brought you guys takeout! Dinner is on me!"
They all cheered and thanked him.
"Don't thank me yet..."
The kids all gave him quizzical expressions.
"You've got a serious mission tomorrow, which is sooner than I wanted to send you out alone. I thought we would have more time to train, but I'm not in control of this assignment."
"More action? No need to be sorry, Gojo!" Itadori spoke through a mouthful of Thai food.
For the first time, Y/N saw Gojo without his typical happy personality. Something about this mission was clearly bothering him.
Maybe it's just because he can't be there with us.
Dismissing the bad vibes, Y/N enjoyed her meal and left with the rest of the first years to get ready for bed.
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Her heart was pounding.
That cruel voice echoed in the back of her head.
"Ungrateful"
"Monster"
"You lying little bitch"
"Why did I have you?"
A tear leaked out as memories flashed behind Y/N's eyes. She tried to lay back down but the images kept flooding back anytime she closed her eyes. After tossing and turning relentlessly, Y/N admitted defeat and stood up. She hoped a quick walk could settle her overactive mind.
Jujutsu High had a beautiful campus, even under the moonlight. She ran her hands over the bushes as she ventured through the garden. The koi in the lake shimmered as they passed by.
Y/N found it easy to get lost in the jujutsu world and forget about her previous life, but it still haunted her at the worst times. She knew this midnight walk wouldn't benefit her on their mission tomorrow, but at least a walk would tire her out so she could get a tiny bit more sleep than if she kept rolling around in bed. Without consciously navigating, Y/N ended up back in the dorm hallway. A sharp bump brought her back from her thoughts.
Who else is up now?
"Sorry Fushiguro," she apologized with a sleepy voice, rubbing her eyes.
"Y/N? What are you doing walking around this late?"
His question sounded like an interrogation, but his tone was soft. The night must have stolen his guarded demeanor away. His concern was evident in his eyes, not that Y/N could look at them without feeling embarrassed or worried he'd see something was bothering her.
"Just couldn't sleep, that's all."
"Are you sure that's all?
Hearing his voice with such a soft tone was unsettling. It felt like he was a completely different man than the one who barely laughed or offered more than a curt smile during school.
"I'm sure," she assured him.
Liar.
Her throat tightened at that thought. Well, she was lying for a good reason. She was not about to look stupid and weak in front of her classmate.
"Okay then, get some rest."
He saw right through her lie, sensing something else was going on. He didn't press the matter any further though.
"You too."
With that, Y/N kept walking away until she was safely under her blanket.
How stupid am I. I didn't even ask why he was awake. Ughhhhhh he must think I'm such a rude person.
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The sun rose far sooner than Y/N wanted it to. She had gotten nowhere near enough sleep and was so not ready for this mission.
She met up with the rest of the group and Ijichi drove them to the Detention Center where their assignment was.
"There's a cursed womb growing here, and if our calculations are correct, should it manifest, it will become a special grade."
A wave of uneasiness swept through the group of young sorcerers.
"This seems like a job for Gojo..." Itadori trailed off, understanding why their teacher had seemed so unhappy last night.
"Should you encounter a special grade, don't fight," Ijichi continued, "your job is to identify and verify if there are any survivors."
They all nodded.
"Remember," he looked them each in the eye, "You run... or you die."
Silence took hold of the group.
A woman's voice broke the tension.
"Excuse me sir, where is my son?" She must be a mother of an inmate. It was heartbreaking to see another person so distraught, but the seriousness of the mission they were about to enter clouded Y/N's mind. She paid little attention to the outburst and studied the building they were about to enter.
With one last look at her classmates, Y/N started walking towards the building. The other three followed as Ijichi began lowering a veil.
"Demon Dogs," Fushiguro muttered behind her.
She turned around and was about to ask what he meant when two adorable (and very menacing) dogs appeared among the group. Itadori immediately began petting one of them and Y/N was tempted to join.
"Idatori." Fushiguro's tone was stern.
"Let's get this over with." Kugisaki marched through the door and Y/N followed her with the boys in tow.
Fushiguro took the lead once they were inside, and no one disputed given his experience with Tokyo curses.
"Hold up." He threw his arm out as they entered a large open space, much larger than the detention center had been from the outside.
Kugisaki and Y/N gasped.
"What the hell is this?" they both asked in unison.
Kugisaki and Itadori started to speculate what was going on when Fushiguro interrupted.
"It's the deployment of an innate domain. It's because of the cursed energy," he grimaced, "The door!"
The door had sealed behind the group and seemingly vanished with no trace.
What the hell did I get myself into...
Y/N was starting to question her choice of joining the jujutsu world. She wouldn't actually leave her new life, but this... this was terrifying.
"It's alright, the dog remembers the way back to the entrance."
"Awwwww aren't you such a good puppy." Y/N couldn't resist from praising the dog this time. She gave him pats while Yuji hugged him.
Yuji complimented Fushiguro, making a passing comment about how awesome he was and that "Thanks to you, we can save people and save ourselves!"
Fushiguro's frustrated face softened at the unexpected praise.
"Let's keep moving," he said.
And so they did. They trekked through the ominous hallways under the eerie orange glow. It gave Y/N the chills she caught some of the others looking uneasy as well.
They walked into a large room where three different bodies, albeit incomplete ones, were strewn in a corner. Itadori ran to them, checking the name tag on the discernable torso of the group.
"This is her son. That woman from outside. We should take the body back."
Megumi yanked the hood of Yuji's uniform, pulling him back.
"We still have to find two more. Carrying a body with us that far is unreasonable and would put us in danger."
Yuji frowned.
"Plus," Fushiguro continued, "I'm not risking my life for someone who I didn't know and didn't care to save in the first place."
"What?!"
"It's a juvie detention center, Itadori. These people weren't good people. Tadashi here, the guy whose body you wanna save, killed a little girl driving. He wasn't even legally allowed to drive."
Fushiguro kept monologuing and the argument began to heat up. Y/N began to space out, only vaguely hearing Kugisaki begin to scold them when the floor suddenly gave out beneath their classmate. Fushiguro stared in shock and made eye contact with Y/N just in time for her to be dragged down through the floor too.
Fear flooded Megumi's face as he watched her fall.
Before she could even process what happened Y/N was laying on the floor next to Kugisaki. They stared up at the mass of laughing faces above their heads.
"What... the fuck," Y/N uttered.
The girls shared a look and stood up, reading to fight for their lives.
They sent nails and cards through dozens of masks. When Kugisaki ran out of nails, they both channeled their cursed energy into Y/N's cards until there was only one stupid face left in the black sky.
"Give it some extra energy, just in case."
Kugisaki took a deep breath and Y/N hurled the metal card through the final mask. As it shattered, they found themselves falling again.
This time the void was gone. Instead, a horde of mushroom demons with disgusting teeth were staring down at them. Y/N reached for her cards but was instantly snatched off her feet by one of them.
The mushrooms took turns throwing the girls around. They appeared to be arguing with each other over the girls.
Just as Kugisaki was about to become a curse's dinner, Fushiguro burst into the room. The curse that had been shaking Y/N up and down dropped her, startled by the intruder.
The sound of her hitting the floor rang out and her classmates cringed at the sight of the shoulder she fell on.
Megumi's frog shikigami had Nobara safe in its grasp and he sent it leaping down the hallway.
"I really hate frogs, you know!" she yelled as it took her away.
Y/N ran over to where Fushiguro was waiting for her as she clutched her injured arm.
"Are you going to be okay?" He looked over her for any other injuries as they ran after the frog.
"I'll be fine," Y/N replied through gritted teeth.
They burst outside of the building to Ijichi's surprise.
"It's not a womb anymore," was all Kugisaki got out before throwing up and passing out.
Y/N leaned on Megumi, tired from all the cursed energy she had used and starting to lose consciousness from the pain. The adrenaline was fading and the pain was overwhelming her.
"Where is Itadori?" Ijichi questioned.
"Fighting the special grade. I told him it was a bad idea, but he wouldn't take no for an answer."
"He's what?!" Y/N wanted to hear more but the world was slowly fading in and out.
"I was hoping he would be with you all," the man started talking again, "but at least I know he's not alone."
"Hm?" Fushiguro shifted Y/N's weight and lowered her to sit next to him as he kept talking to Ijichi.
"I had a feeling something was wrong and made a few calls. Nanami arrived only a few minutes after you all, but you must have split up before then."
On queue, the blond-haired man walked out with an exhausted Itadori in tow. Seeing that everyone she cared for was safe, Y/N gave in to the sleep and passed out on Fushiguro's shoulder.
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"I can't believe this. My students left to defend themselves against a special grade in their first month of training. Un-fucking-believable!"
Y/N moved to rub her eyes at the bright infirmary lights but winced at the pain in her left shoulder when she moved it. She looked around groggily as her eyes adjusted to her surroundings.
Gojo was pacing on the far side of the room, raging about the mission. He'd returned the second he heard of what happened and had thanked Nanami profusely.
Y/N slowly sat up and looked around. Itadori had bandages all across his body and Kugisaki was still having her cuts patched up by Shoko. Fushiguro was half asleep in a chair up against the wall, listening to Gojo's furious ramblings.
"Fushiguro." Y/N's voice was strained and scratchy.
"L/N!" His head snapped up. "You're alright."
"For the most part." She flexed her left shoulder, testing out it's stiffness.
"Hey L/N, be careful with that," Shoko spoke to her from the table next to Itadori, who was still resting. "You were lucky it was only dislocated. Fushiguro over there said you took quite a fall."
"Yea... Thanks for fixing it."
"Ha, that's my job, but no problem. Get some rest."
With that, Shoko shooed the pair out of the room so she could finish tending to Kugisaki's physical wounds and let Gojo get out the rest of his anger.
They walked in silence to the dorms.
What do I say? Hey, thanks for not letting me die earlier?
"That was a shit show." Fushiguro spoke out of nowhere.
Y/N burst into laughter.
"Thanks for being so direct about it," she laughed.
This really wasn't a laughing matter, but the teenagers found themselves chuckling about it all. They had no clue how else to react to such a surreal situation.
What mattered was that everyone survived.
Y/N stopped at the door to her room. Her bed was calling her name and nothing sounded better than sleep right now, but she didn't want to say goodbye to Fushiguro.
He paused at her door with her.
"Goodnight, Fushiguro."
"Goodnight, L/N. Get some rest."
"You as well. We both need it."
She gave him a smile and closed her door behind her, leaving Megumi standing in the hallway alone. To his own shock, he felt a tug at his heart. He didn't want to leave her alone after everything that happened earlier.
Feeling her pass out on his shoulder scared him. He would never admit it, but seeing half of his classmates unconscious and the other one on his way to join them was terrifying.
Why am I feeling this way?
Fushiguro shook his head and retired to his room, blaming his feelings on all the tension from the mission.
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Longggggg chapter this time!
2525 words (haha)
see you next time