'Hehe. '

You stare down at your brand-new selfie 'taken with none other than

Gojo Satoru

. He 's smiling and posing while making peace signs with his fingers, and on your end, you 've got a stupidly wide grin on your face, looking like you 've just won the lottery. Which, in all fairness, you kind of

did

.

'There you go, ' Gojo hums, then he stops to cross his arms for a moment. 'But why the selfie request all of a sudden? I 'll admit, I 'm pretty popular in the world of jujutsu sorcerers, but you shouldn 't know about any of that. '

'I don 't, ' you nod. 'I just think you 're really hot 'I mean, really cool. Y-Yeah. You just seem really cool. '

Out of the corner of your eye, you notice Fushiguro staring at you in disgust.

Goddammit. That dude must have an absolutely

terrible

impression of you so far.

'Very true, ' Gojo grins, swiping his hair back like some kind of L 'Or 'al shampoo model. 'I

am

pretty cool, if I do say so myself. '

Fushiguro looks even more disgusted now.

Gojo claps his hands together. 'Anyways! Time to head out. Take one last moment to make sure you 're not forgetting anything, because once we 're there, well ' I can 't guarantee when you 'll be able to come back. '

It 's a good thing your parents aren 't actual parents, because it 's safe to say that there 's no longer anything tying you to this place. Of course, you 're terrified of what the future may hold, but you made the decision to be brave, and to try to help people in the process. If you play your cards right, maybe lives can be spared. Maybe not everyone has to die.

So, yeah. You 're ready to leave. You 're ready to start this new chapter.

And you also now have a selfie with Gojo Satoru. So far, life is pretty good.

The trip to Tokyo takes a couple hours by train, but fortunately, you 've got Itadori to keep you company the whole time. You try to engage Fushiguro in conversation as well, but he mostly keeps to himself and just stares out the window without saying anything. It doesn 't help that he 's clearly suspicious of you, but whatever. Not much you can do about it right now.

Some time passes, and eventually, you reach your destination. Fushiguro separates from the group and goes off on his own to receive treatment for his injuries, so you 're left behind with Gojo and Itadori as you venture further into the mountains.

'I can 't believe this is really Tokyo, ' Itadori marvels.

'Even Tokyo 's like this on the outskirts, ' Gojo brushes off. 'More importantly, Yuji, you 've got an interview with the principal right away. If you mess up, you might get rejected, so do your best, okay? No pressure. '

'Huh? Does that mean I 'll get executed right away?! '

'What a disappointment. So, you 're not even the leader? '

A familiar voice. You freeze up at the sound of it, unsurprised to find Sukuna 's mouth on the side of Itadori 's cheek. A partial manifestation, or whatever the hell you might call that. Either way, it gives you the creeps.

'A hierarchy not based purely on strength is boring, if you ask me, ' Sukuna chuckles.

Itadori slaps his palm over his cheek in a hurry to shut Sukuna up. 'Sorry about that. He pops out sometimes. I can 't always help it. '

Unfortunately, Sukuna refuses to disappear, and this time, he manifests on the back of Itadori 's hand instead.

'You really did a number on me earlier. I 'm letting you know right now. Once I make this boy 's body completely mine, you 'll be the

first

one I kill! '

That stinky old bastard is just running his mouth (quite literally), so you 're not really fazed.

At least, not until he turns his attention to you.

'And

you

, ' Sukuna mutters. 'The strange girl. You never answered my question before. What are you? What in the world is going on with your cursed energy? It 's bothersome. Hurry up and give me a straight answer, or you 'll regret it. '

'Ugh,

again

? ' Itadori fumes, stomping his foot in frustration. 'Go away, already! You 're so annoying! And leave [Name] alone! '

Fortunately, Itadori manages to fully suppress him this time, putting an end to Sukuna 's incessant yapping. Dude is seriously in love with the sound of his own voice.

Unfortunately, Gojo already heard everything he said loud and clear.

'Sukuna appears to have a fixation on you, ' Gojo remarks, pressing his hand to his chin. 'Well, I guess it 's not really that surprising, considering the ridiculous amount of cursed energy you 're constantly emitting. It 's obvious that you 're not a sorcerer because you don 't seem to know how to control it, but in terms of sheer capacity, it far surpasses that of an ordinary human. '

'N-Neat, ' you reply stupidly.

Gojo stares at you for a few moments, then throws his head back and starts laughing.

'Haha! Sure, I guess you could call it that. Being strong is pretty neat, without a doubt. I was going to say how honored I am to be the target of Ryomen Sukuna, but it looks like he 's even more interested in you, so you 've got me beat in that regard. '

'I 'm not honored at all. I want nothing to do with that nasty guy. '

Gojo laughs again. 'Yeah, I bet. I can only imagine how confused you must be right now. Not to mention freaked out. '

'So, is Sukuna really that famous? ' Itadori asks.

'Yes, ' Gojo nods. 'Ryomen Sukuna. He 's a demon of lore with four arms and two faces. But the truth is that he was actually a human who existed, although it was well over a thousand years ago. In the golden age of jujutsu, sorcerers gathered up all their might to challenge him, but ultimately, they failed to defeat him entirely. Crowned with the title of Sukuna, we couldn 't even destroy his grave wax, and he thus traversed the ages after his death as a cursed object. Without a doubt, he is the King of Curses. '

'So, who 's stronger, you or him? '

'Hm. Well, if Sukuna were to regain all his power, then it 'd probably be pretty draining. '

'Would you lose? '

Gojo slows his steps for a moment, then tilts his head towards both of you, a cocky grin plastered across his lips.

'Nah, ' he chuckles. 'I 'd win. '

Oh my god. I really got to see him deliver that iconic line. And he looked hot as hell while doing it.

You stare at him with hearts in your eyes, already in full fangirl mode (which is pretty much your default mode, to be fair), but Gojo beckons the two of you onwards before you can get lost in your thoughts.

He leads you inside one of the buildings, where you 're greeted by a familiar face.

'You 're late, Satoru.

Eight

minutes late. Not quite enough to chastise you for, but I thought I told you to fix that bad habit of yours. '

It 's the principal, of course 'Yaga Masamichi. He 's currently in the middle of crafting a new puppet, and he 's also got more than a handful of them already surrounding him. At first glance, they 're adorable, but you know that their appearance is awfully deceptive, and they 're a lot stronger than they look.

Poor Itadori 's about to get bitch-slapped by one of those puppets soon.

'That old dude 's randomly making really cute stuff, ' Itadori whispers in your ear.

'If it 's not enough for you to get mad about, then cut me some slack, will ya? ' Gojo sighs. 'I figured you 'd just be making your dolls anyway. Eight minutes is no big deal. '

Principal Yaga gestures towards Itadori. 'That 's him, right? Sukuna 's vessel. And the girl beside him ' must be the other student you mentioned. The one with the abnormal amount of cursed energy. '

'My name is Itadori Yuji! ' your friend introduces, bowing his head in a hurry. 'I like girls like Jennifer Lawrence! It 's nice to meet you! '

Shit. Is it my turn now?

'I-I 'm [Last Name] [Name], ' you say, bowing as well. 'And I like, um ' I guess I like cool guys. Like Gojo. And funny guys, like Ryan Reynolds. I also think Timoth 'e Chalamet is pretty cute ' '

'Stop, stop. ' Principal Yaga presses a palm to his forehead and exhales loudly. 'I never asked either of you to start listing your personal preferences. Cut it out, already. And why was Satoru 's name randomly thrown in there? '

'I can 't help that I 'm extremely cool, ' Gojo shrugs.

'Satoru, that 's enough out of you. More importantly,

why

did you come here? ' Principal Yaga asks, now addressing Itadori.

Itadori looks confused, of course. 'Uh ' I came here for an interview. I 'm pretty sure. '

'But why Jujutsu High? '

'To learn ' jujutsu? And stuff? '

'I mean beyond that. What do you hope to find once you 've studied curses and learned how to exorcize them? '

This time, Itadori glances towards you, almost as if he 's seeking some kind of guidance. 'Beyond that '? Well, I mean, I 'm gonna collect all of Sukuna 's remaining fingers. It 's dangerous to just leave them as is. '

'But

why

? ' Principal Yaga presses.

Gojo chuckles and taps you on the shoulder. 'This is probably going to go on for a little while. Come. Let 's go wait over there. The principal likes to ramble every now and then. '

You offer Itadori an encouraging smile. You obviously know what comes next, but that also means that you have full confidence in him. You know that he 'll pass Principal Yaga 's test and get accepted into Jujutsu High. It doesn 't seem you 'll be put through any interviews yourself ' probably because you 're not Sukuna 's vessel, but you expect that most people are probably going to be pretty wary of you anyway. Since you 're an anomaly and all that. And since Sukuna couldn 't keep his stupid mouth shut.

So, you watch. You watch as Itadori gets smacked around by one of Principal Yaga 's puppets, all the while having to answer the questions he keeps throwing at him nonstop. It 's definitely not fun to have to see your friend get beat up, but again, thanks to the knowledge you have of this world, you 're not worried. And it 's certainly not like anyone 's life is at risk right now.

That won 't always be the case, though.

'You pass, ' Principal Yaga eventually states, and he cracks a small smile, even offering Itadori his hand so that he can stand up.

Itadori smiles back at him. 'Thank you. It 's nice to properly meet ' '

He promptly gets pummeled by the puppet again.

'Oops, ' Principal Yaga mumbles. 'Sorry. I forgot to stop the incantation. '

'Looks like everything went well, ' Gojo muses. He peers down at you curiously. 'But I have to admit, I 'm a bit surprised. You didn 't look concerned at all. Weren 't you worried that he 'd fail? In which case that would mean that his execution date would be pushed up. '

You shake your head. 'I believe in Itadori. I knew he 'd be able to pull it off. And ' I believe in you too, sensei. You said you 're the one that convinced the higher-ups in the first place, right? I can tell that you 'll protect Itadori. You wouldn 't let him be executed. I trust you completely. '

You grin ear-to-ear, and even though you can 't see it, Gojo 's eyes briefly widen, underneath his black blindfold. Of course, it 's not the first time people have relied on him. Being the strongest jujutsu sorcerer there is, it comes with the territory. But it 's strange that you 're already willing to put your full faith in him, despite not knowing anything of this new realm you 've just ventured into.

Admittedly, it 's rather endearing.

'You 're exactly right, ' Gojo chuckles, reaching out to gently pat your head. 'Leave it all to me. I don 't intend to let any of my students get hurt on my watch. It 'll probably all seem overwhelming at first, but you won 't be alone. I promise. '

Gojo Satoru is patting my head! %$%^*@^$!*!

Your brain short-circuits for a few moments, and you briefly think that, honestly, you could probably die happy right now.

Itadori approaches you while you 're still stuck in fangirl mode, and fortunately, you snap out of it in time to congratulate him for passing the principal 's test. Meanwhile, Gojo and Principal Yaga step off to the side.

'The boy is one thing, but the girl, [Name], ' Principal Yaga frowns. 'I 've never come across cursed energy like hers before. And you say that Sukuna himself expressed interest in her? '

Gojo nods. 'It 's even weirder than no one 's noticed her before. With that kind of energy, you would think she 'd have stood out a long time ago. But she clearly hasn 't been trained in the ways of jujutsu. It 's almost like she sprung up one day, completely out of nowhere. But surely that kind of cursed energy can 't just randomly

appear

on the spot. It would make sense if she 'd been born with this kind of power and had cultivated it over the years. Do you think it 's possible one of the great clans have been hiding her all this time? '

'I suppose we can 't rule it out, but it wouldn 't make any sense. If that were the case, she would surely have been trained from a young age. '

'Well, we 'll just have to look into it, I guess. It 's fine. Better to have her nearby so we can keep an eye on her. I knew from the moment I saw her that I couldn 't just let her go. '

Gojo stares at you from afar, watching as you and Itadori happily converse. The two of you are so carefree and innocent. You have yet to be exposed to the horrors that the world of jujutsu has to offer. He knows he won 't be able to spare either of you from the bitter reality of things, but all the same, he 's going to fight for your futures.

After a brief pause, Gojo smiles, then claps his hand together.

'Alright! With that out of the way, let me show you guys to your dorms. '

'Perfect! ' Itadori grins, stepping back to admire his handiwork. Namely, the giant poster of Jennifer Lawrence he just put up on the wall. 'Man, these dorms are huge, huh? I wasn 't expecting us to have so much space! '

'They 're nice, ' you agree. 'My new dorm is even bigger than my bedroom. '

Both in this world, and back in the real world.

'I 'm just relieved I was able to make it through the principal 's interview. I wasn 't expecting those dolls of his to come to life! That was pretty crazy, huh? '

'Y-Yeah. Who could 've seen that one coming '? '

'Anyways, Gojo was saying they 're gonna need me to help locate the rest of Sukuna 's fingers, ' Itadori continues, adjusting the poster slightly. ' 'Cause I 'm not just a vessel, but some kind of radar, too. Honestly, I don 't get what 's happening with my body, but I guess there 's not much I can do about it at this point. I really don 't think Sukuna 's gonna cooperate, though. I doubt we 'll be able to come to an agreement that easily. '

'I 'm sure he wants to find the rest of his fingers, because he 's trying to regain his full strength. There 's no way he 'd miss out on an opportunity to become more powerful. But ' yeah. Be careful, ' you nod gravely. 'He definitely can 't be trusted. '

'Why 's he so obsessed with you, anyway? Everyone keeps going on about how you have a whole bunch of cursed energy. Have you always been able to see curses and stuff? '

'Uh ' '

You 're not sure how to respond. Technically,

yes

, as in, you 've been able to see them from the moment you materialized in this world, but you 've only been here for a solid few weeks. Perhaps you 're better off being honest this time.

'Only recently, ' you admit. 'I think I started being able to see them roughly a few weeks ago. I noticed them right about when I transferred into our old high school. There were a couple of small curses hanging around and clinging to people from time to time. But I thought I was going crazy, so I didn 't mention it to anyone. '

'Damn. That must have been scary. Oh, ' he realizes. 'Is that why you said you weren 't interested in joining the Occult Club? Because of all the weird stuff you kept seeing? '

'Um, pretty much. I wasn 't sure whether or not it was all in my head, but I kind of wanted to keep my distance, just to be on the safe side. Sorry. I would 've been upfront from the start, but ' obviously, it 's a bit hard to believe. Especially since you weren 't able to see the curses with your own eyes. '

Itadori smiles. 'You don 't have to apologize. I get that you must have had a lot on your mind, and you 're right that it 'd be a pretty difficult topic to bring up. Anyways, don 't worry! I 'll keep Sukuna away from you. It sounds like things are gonna get pretty complicated, but I 'm gonna collect all those fingers so that no one else has to get hurt. Including you. '

'Are you saying you 'll protect me? ' you chuckle.

'Of course! If you ever get scared, don 't hesitate to use me as a shield! '

Itadori proudly flexes his bicep, and you giggle in response. You have no doubts that he 'll be looking after you along the way, because that 's just the kind of guy he is, but hopefully ' you 'll be able to protect him too. You 'd like to make his painful life at least a little bit easier.

'By the way, you asked Gojo for a selfie earlier. I didn 't realize you liked him that much. I guess he

is

pretty cool, objectively speaking. ' Itadori scrunches up his brows. 'Is he the kind of guy girls are usually into? '

'I think it depends. Girls like all kinds of guys. Especially strong, caring guys like you, ' you grin.

You were just being honest and trying to hype him up a bit. Itadori 's a friendly, extroverted guy, after all. You don 't even remember him ever looking embarrassed when you first watched the anime.

Which is why you 're surprised to see him blushing.

'R-Really? ' he chuckles awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. 'I feel like you 're just saying that. But thanks! I appreciate it. While we 're on the topic, I bet most guys would have a crush on

you

, [Name]! Because you 're so pretty and nice! '

If there was water in your mouth, you would have probably spat it out right about now.

You start melting into a little puddle of embarrassment, but thankfully, Fushiguro steps into the room and saves you from some of the humiliation.

'You guys are so loud, ' he grumbles. 'And seriously, why 'd they put you next door to me? There are a bunch of empty rooms to choose from. '

'Oh, hey, Fushiguro! ' Itadori waves. 'Glad to see you look better now. Also, Gojo was saying it 'd be more lively and fun if all our dorms were close by. '

'Classes and missions are more than enough, ' Fushiguro mutters, rolling his eyes in annoyance. He stops just in front of you, and of course, that crease in between his brows deepens.

You strain a smile. 'Um ' yes? Is there something you wanted to say to me? '

'Not really. You 're just kind of confusing, if I 'm being honest. And you 're weirdly obsessed with Gojo. '

'Only because he 's hot, ' you protest. 'I mean 'dammit! Because he 's

cool

! I like him because he 's cool, okay?! '

Fushiguro makes no effort to hide his disapproval, and you let out a heavy sigh, eventually hanging your head in defeat. It 's no surprise he doesn 't trust you yet. Your circumstances are far from ordinary, and you even told Itadori outright to eat Sukuna 's finger. If you were in his position, you 'd probably have your doubts too.

Itadori taps both you and Fushiguro on the shoulders. 'Hey, guys. [Name] 's selfie with Gojo earlier got me thinking. Now that we 're all gonna be classmates and dorm buddies, we should commemorate this with a photo or something. Right? '

'I like that idea, ' you smile.

'I

don 't

, ' Fushiguro grimaces.

'Okay, let 's all take a selfie together! ' Itadori exclaims, and he proceeds to pull you and Fushiguro close 'despite the latter 's protests 'then he uses your phone to snap a picture of all three of you.

Just like that, you have a new picture saved. Fushiguro is scowling irritably, of course, and your smile looks a little dorky because it all happened so spur-of-the-moment, but you decide that it 's good as it is. It makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

'I like this picture even more than the one I took with Gojo, ' you beam. 'I 'm gonna make it my lock screen right now. '

Fushiguro blinks. He wasn 't expecting such a bright, infectious smile. It 's just a selfie. Is it really worth making such a big deal over? He 's not sure why, but something about your expression makes it difficult for him to maintain his grumpy demeanor.

Even though he doesn 't really want to admit it ' you 're kind of cute.