I just want to go home.

You feel like absolute shit 'as one tends to feel when they 're being controlled by some freakish, unseen force. Even now, you swear you can still hear Sukuna 's voice echoing inside your mind, and although you struggle to fight against it, to turn on your heels and run, resisting proves to be immensely painful. It appears as though your only choice is to press forward, much to your horror.

Man. You 're not sure what the hell is happening, but this is some isekai bullshit.

Your very existence in this world is already strange enough, and right now, you simply don 't have the luxury to stand around and contemplate what 's happening. Something 'or rather,

someone

'has taken hold of you, and the darkness beckons you closer, in the direction of what you can only assume is Sukuna 's finger.

'Shit, ' you gasp, pressing a palm to your chest and feeling how tumultuous your heartbeat is. 'I feel ' like I 'm gonna pass out. This place is making me sick. This energy ' it all just feels

wrong

. '

The only silver lining is that Itadori is by your side. He lifts his brows and looks over at you in concern. You know that he 's strong, and in the worst case, he 'll probably be able to protect you if shit hits the fan. At this point, your fear is honestly secondary, because you

need

to make sure he meets up with Fushiguro in time to eat the finger. If one of those cursed spirits manages to consume it instead, you already know what will happen, and suffice to say, it's not going to be pretty.

'[Name], are you good? ' Itadori asks. He wraps an arm around your waist and steadies your body against his. 'I agree that something about this place feels really off. I can tell that guy wasn 't kidding when he said it 's dangerous. I think maybe you should turn back. There 's no need to push yourself if you 're too scared. I promise to save Sasaki and Iguchi. No matter what happens, I swear it. '

If only. You 've been

trying

to turn back from the very beginning, but the second you resist and head in the opposite direction, a wave of pain envelops your body, paired with a thick, nauseating haze. It 's as if your entire nervous system is screaming out and refusing to comply.

Sukuna is calling to you. That much is abundantly clear. You 're not sure why exactly, or even

how

, but you surmise it must have something to do with that encounter that took place inside his Innate Domain. Which means that it wasn 't a hallucination at all. It

really

happened.

'I can 't turn back, ' you grit out, squeezing Itadori 's arm in a desperate attempt to tether yourself to reality. 'Let 's ' let 's just keep going. We need to find those two. '

And you need to eat Sukuna 's finger before it 's too late.

Fortunately, you 've been able to avoid curses until now. Most likely because they 're all being drawn in by the massive amount of energy being emitted by Sukuna 's remains. And since you can feel yourself being pulled right towards that crusty old finger, it might actually be smooth sailing from here on out. Itadori will find Fushiguro and eat the finger, Sukuna will be incarnated through him, and shortly thereafter, Gojo will show up to save the day.

Well, assuming everything goes to plan. Which, so far, it

hasn 't

.

This is further reinforced by you and Itadori turning the corner, only to come face to face with a medium-sized curse, which rotates its grotesque, bulging head in your direction, eyes swirling around all googly and freakish.

Maybe if you hold your breath and stand perfectly still it won 't notice you?

'

Ahhh! '

'yeah, that plan was clearly destined to fail.

The curse lets out a shrill, ear-piercing scream, and you brace yourself, shaking all over, prepared for it to attack.

But for some reason, that doesn 't happen. Not right away, at least.

Much like the smaller curse you saw on your very first day in this world 'the Fly Head 'the curse 's immediate instinct isn 't to barrel towards you. In fact, it does just the opposite. For a moment, it briefly falters and even steps

back

. Unless you 're imagining things, it actually looks a bit scared.

'...intruder, ' it garbles in a distorted, unpleasant voice. 'In ' Intruder. Intruder.

Intruder

! '

The more it repeats the word, the angrier it becomes, and this time, it overcomes whatever was holding it back at first and charges straight ahead, clearly out for blood.

You 're not a fighter. You don 't know any martial arts, or self-defense techniques, and you can 't say that you 're especially athletic either. So, when faced with something so deeply unnatural and horrifying, your immediate instinct is to freeze up, too frightened to react in time.

But luckily, the same can 't be said for Itadori.

He jumps in front of you and forcefully kicks the curse, hard enough that it gets knocked onto its back and lets out yet another scream. But you already know that it won 't stay down. Itadori doesn 't know how to channel cursed energy yet. And without any cursed energy, the curses can 't be defeated.

Which is why the only option is to

run

.

'This way! ' you cry out, having snapped out of your fear-induced stupor. You grab Itadori by the hand and pull him towards the stairs, running as fast as your legs can carry you. There 's no point in trying to sneak around and play it safe anymore. The best thing you can do is reach Sukuna 's finger as fast as possible, and for better or worse, you can tell

exactly

where it 's located.

Itadori grips your hand tight as you run through the building, and he doesn 't even question where you 're leading him to. It 's clear that he trusts you completely. He 's more than willing to follow you further and further into this hellscape.

But perhaps he shouldn 't.

'Come to me, girl. Come set me free. '

You wince. Sukuna 's voice is stronger now, and the feeling is more intense, too. You can tell that the finger is close. Uncomfortably so.

And perhaps you 're actually luckier than you realize, because you arrive right in the nick of time 'just as Sasaki and Iguchi are about to be swallowed up by a curse, along with Sukuna 's finger.

'Let

go

of them! ' Itadori yells. Much like earlier, he attacks the curse with a flying kick, and in one fell swoop, he pulls Sasaki and Iguchi to safety, skidding backwards and catching both of them in his arms.

Their deaths have been avoided, just like in the canon timeline. And even though Itadori wasn 't able to exorcize this curse either, his interference gives Fushiguro just enough time to get a proper attack in.

The curse now lies on the ground, defeated, and Fushiguro 's Divine Dogs 'that cute black and white wolf pair 'begin eating the curse 's remains.

Fushiguro lets out a heavy, somewhat exasperated sigh. 'What the hell are

both

of you doing here? I specifically told you guys not to come in. Normally I 'd be pretty pissed ' but good job. I was worried I 'd gotten here too late. '

'So, that 's what curses look like, ' Itadori frowns. 'It 's weird that I 've never seen them before. [Name], you were saying you 're actually familiar with these things? As in, today 's not the first time you 've run into them? '

You don 't respond. More accurately, you

can 't

respond. You can feel the blood pounding in your ears, and your breaths are becoming more labored by the second. Your chest hurts. Your

heart

hurts. It 's as if your body is throbbing all over, overcome by some dark, foreign desire.

Sukuna 's finger falls out of Sasaki 's pocket, and Itadori quickly picks it up.

'Is this the cursed object thingy you kept going on about? ' Itadori asks.

'Yeah, ' Fushiguro nods. 'Special-grade cursed object,

Ryomen Sukuna.

Well, one part of it, at least. In any case, it 's dangerous, so hurry up and hand it over. As for why you 've never seen curses before, it 's because normal people usually can 't. The only exceptions are when you 're exposed to these kinds of life-or-death situations, which grants you the ability to see what 's actually in front of you. In [Name] 's case ' she already has an abundance of cursed energy. More than enough to be considered a sorcerer. Which is why it 's strange that she 's never been trained to fight curses, but 'wait. What are you doing? '

Fushiguro isn 't talking to Itadori anymore. This time, his words are addressed to

you

.

Because you 're in the process of wrangling Sukuna 's finger out of Itadori 's grasp.

'Oh, ' Itadori blinks. 'Did you want to take a look at it too? Sure, I 'll pass it over ' '

Another curse descends from the ceiling, breaking through the upper floor of the building. You already knew this was going to happen, of course, and if you hadn 't been locked in a trance, you probably could have warned them in time. Fushiguro gets caught and injured by the curse, which is the natural sequence of events, and he 's violently thrown against the wall, only for it to crack and split open from the impact.

Itadori cries out to him in a panic, but you can 't bring yourself to do the same. Instead, you stare down at the palms of your hands in abject horror, trembling from head to toe.

Just now ' you actually tried to

eat

that thing.

'Fuck my life, ' you sob, but since Sukuna 's finger is still at large, he beckons you forth yet again, and you chase after Itadori and Fushiguro, out onto the school rooftop.

There, you find both of the boys locked in a fight with the curse, and having already taken considerable damage. You 're not even sure what grade this freakish monster is supposed to be, but it 's certainly not weak, and killing you would probably be child 's play.

You 're well aware of all this. You realize just how dangerous it is to get anywhere

near

that ugly-ass thing.

And yet, you drag your feet along, like some kind of zombie, enslaved by someone else 's will.

'Come to me. '

Itadori is lying on the ground right now. He 's wincing from the pain, and he 's sure to get up again in no time flat, but at this very moment, he 's defenseless. And you can see Sukuna 's finger sticking out from his pocket.

You reach towards it just as Itadori presses up on his elbows, and he stares at you between furrowed brows, blood dripping down his forehead.

'[Name]? ' he blinks groggily. 'It 's ' it 's not safe here. Run away while you 're still ' '

' 'eat it. '

Unsurprisingly, he blinks at you. Even with the threat of the curse looming nearby, his confusion briefly renders him motionless, and he tilts his head to the side and gives you an adorable, disoriented puppy-faced look.

All the while, your hand keeps reaching closer, mere inches away from the cursed object.

Itadori wipes a sleeve across his brow. 'What are you talking about? I 've got practically no appetite right now. It 's not really a good time to bring up food ' '

'Eat the finger! ' you scream. 'Just do it!

Please

! '

It only takes a single moment for everything to go wrong. In just a single moment, your fate could end be sealed, and Itadori doesn 't seem to know what else to do but stare at you in bewilderment. He can 't seem to understand why you 're reaching for the finger yourself, while begging him to dispose of it.

But it turns out that your friendship is even stronger than you first thought. You should have realized as much when he followed you through the building without protest. When he blindly trusted in you and came all the way down from the hospital in the first place.

Itadori cares for you, and he will continue to do so, forevermore.

'

No

! ' Fushiguro desperately cries out 'but it 's too late, because Itadori has already swallowed the finger whole.

Your body instantly deflates, and you crumple to the ground, like a worn-out ragdoll. That sickening sensation is finally gone. Sukuna doesn 't have a hold on you anymore. You successfully avoided the worst-case scenario.

Unfortunately, you 're not prepared for what will come next.

'What did you do?! ' Fushiguro exclaims, furiously shaking you by the shoulders. 'Do you have any idea what this means? A special-grade cursed object may as well be poison! He 's going to

die

! '

You stare at him, eyes glazing over from exhaustion, and then you tell him, very plainly:

'No. He won 't. '

The curse tries to strike again, but you don 't even need to look back to find out what happens. There 's a harsh, bloodcurdling wail, and the next thing you know, the curse falls flat onto the ground, lifeless. Its corpse is already disappearing, but you 're more concerned with what is soon to follow. An evil the likes of which you

never

thought you 'd be faced with.

The curse is dead. Itadori killed it.

Or rather,

Sukuna

killed it.

'Ah! I knew it! ' a distinctly deep and familiar voice cries out. 'Light really

does

feel best in the flesh! ' Manic, deranged laughter fills the air, and you watch as Sukuna rips Itadori 's hoodie off, revealing a collection of black, patterned tattoos.

Fushiguro 's grip on your shoulders goes slack, and all the color proceeds to drain from his face. At first, he 's clearly in denial, but gradually, his expression gives way to pained acceptance, and he 's forced to confront the horrific scenario he 's just been presented with.

'Killing a cursed spirit is no fun! ' Sukuna cackles. 'Where are all the people? The women? ' He stops all of a sudden, pausing to take in the scenery. From his vantage point up on the roof, he can clearly see the city that sprawls out beneath him, bright lights sparkling like stars in the dark canopy of the night. 'What a wonderful era to be in, ' he remarks in delight, and he stretches his arms out wide, each laugh more unhinged than the last. 'I can tell that women and children are crawling everywhere, like maggots. How marvelous! I couldn 't have asked for anything better! It 'll be a

massacre

! '

Sukuna 's laughter steadily builds, and the most you can do is cower behind Fushiguro, waiting for Gojo to hurry up and make his appearance already 'because holy shit, you 're

so

scared.

Thankfully, all of this is predetermined. From here, you have full faith in what 's about to happen. That creepy, ominous sensation from before has completely disappeared. Itadori has become Sukuna 's vessel, which means that you 're safe, and soon '

'...wait. '

All of a sudden, Sukuna turns around, and for some reason, his blood-red eyes are clearly affixed to

you

.

'That familiar cursed energy, ' Sukuna says, almost in some sort of breathless awe. 'You ' you 're that same girl. I 've seen you before. '

You don 't know what to say. It 's one thing to see this guy as a fictional character. Even then, his cruelty and malice was so potent it made you want to repeatedly stomp on his balls, but he was simply a character, and thus, you found entertainment in his actions, depraved as they were.

However, it 's a different thing entirely to meet him in the flesh, and not only that 'but to realize that you 've so clearly caught his eye.

Sukuna knits his brows together. 'Yes ' I remember now. Part of me was calling out to you without me even realizing it. But it seems I 've taken this boy 's body instead. What a shame. '

'What ' in the world is he saying? ' Fushiguro blinks, rightfully taken aback. 'You already

know

him? '

You 're so scared that you

still

can 't form a proper response, and even if you could, you 're not sure what you could possibly say to defend yourself. The King of Curses himself is claiming that he knows you. How in the world do you refute that?

Hurry the fuck up already, Gojo! You 're late!

'I just can 't seem to understand, ' Sukuna says, voice dropping eerily low. 'Girl. I demand that you tell me right now. What

are

you? '

Without warning, he lunges towards you. He 's so fast that even Fushiguro can 't react in time, and you watch as Sukuna 's hand menacingly reaches out to you. You swear he 's about to tear out your heart and crush it between his fingers.

Without a doubt, death has you in its grasp.

'...hey! Cut it out! What are you trying to do to [Name]?! '

Sukuna stops just short of making contact with you, and you scramble backwards in a hurry, with Fushiguro quickly following suit.

Holy shit. That was so,

so

close. If not for Itadori regaining control right in the nick of time, you would 've been completely and irrevocably

fucked

. You 're shaking all over from how utterly terrifying that was. It 's honestly a miracle you didn 't wet yourself just then.

'How are you able to move? ' Sukuna mutters in disbelief.

'What do you mean? ' Itadori blinks. 'You realize this is

my

body, right? And why 'd you randomly get so close to [Name] all of a sudden? That 's creepy! Look how scared she is right now! '

'It 's true, ' you sniffle pathetically. 'I hate it here. I just want to go home. '

Sukuna keeps fighting it, but as expected, Itadori is able to suppress him with relative ease. The tattoos are gradually fading from his skin, proof that

he 's

the one in control right now, not Sukuna.

And then, it happens. The long-awaited moment has finally arrived. Right as Fushiguro declares that he has no choice but to exorcize Itadori as a curse, a certain white-haired man appears, seemingly out of nowhere.

That man, of course, is none other than Gojo Satoru 'the strongest jujutsu sorcerer in the whole world.

'Yo, Megumi, ' Gojo casually greets. 'What 's the situation? '

'Wha '? Why are you here?! '

'Well, I honestly wasn 't gonna come at first, but the higher-ups wouldn 't shut up with a special-grade cursed object gone missing, so I decided to stop by while I was sightseeing. But man, you 're pretty roughed up, huh? I 'm definitely gonna show this to all the second-years. '

He laughs obnoxiously while snapping pictures of Megumi 's bloody, injured state, and normally, this is the time when he would inquire about the location and state of the cursed object, but mirroring what Sukuna did earlier, he instead turns to you.

'Also ' what 's the deal with this girl? ' Gojo asks, his cheerful, laid-back demeanor shifting for a moment. 'Something about her cursed energy feels unnatural. It 's kind of giving me the heebie-jeebies, to be honest. Hey, you can hear me, right? You haven 't gone into shock or anything, have you? '

He starts aggressively poking the top of your head, and even though you feel like you should be fangirling right about now 'you 're being touched by

the

Gojo Satoru, after all 'regretfully, that 's not how you react.

Perhaps it 's the wave of sheer relief you 've been hit with, now that you know you 're finally safe, or maybe it 's because of the absolute mindfuck that you 've been put through today. Not

just

today, really, but ever since you somehow found yourself in this world. Whatever the case, it doesn 't matter.

Exhausted beyond belief, you sway unsteadily, fainting right on the spot.

'Whoa, ' Gojo chuckles. He reaches out just in time to catch you in his arms. Your eyelids are completely shut, and you 've got a peaceful expression on your face, because finally, you can afford to rest.

Gojo stares down at you. With these special eyes of his, he can see the flow of cursed energy in haunting detail. Naturally, that means that from the moment he caught so much as a glimpse of you, he knew something was off. He knew you weren 't normal.

The special-grade cursed object, Ryomen Sukuna.

That 's

why he came all this way. To retrieve something incredibly powerful, something too dangerous to risk falling into the wrong hands. He figured he already had his work cut out for him, but now, it looks like the situation 's gotten even more complicated.

Just like him, you too are an anomaly, and the realization makes a grin spread across Gojo 's lips.

'Well, then. This should be interesting. '