Buildings laid battered and broken, concrete shattered to unprecedented degrees. In the middle, there was nothing but a gigantic hole which left nothing—not even a hint of life within. It spanned a length surpassing hundreds of meters. It was like a nightmare a person would find themselves in, walking through the scenery like it was the end of the world. What had been reaped in these lands sowed destruction in its purest form, where the concept laughed its jubilant certainty of eternity in its all-encompassing might.
For all Jujutsu Sorcerers that stood as the last line of man-kind, an unspoken title that would never reflect or reverberate across what would be across the whispers of scrolls or hardcover books, they had withstood all the decadence the world had to offer in one single adversary that had once wreaked havoc in times long since passed. For this singular moment of their life, for what seemed to have stretched on for as long as the mind could witness, that was all they could remember from this memory.
...Indeed, a vacant memory soon to be made with a single declaration emblazoned by the thunderous sparks of scarlet and ebony, all coalescing into a spiral that rippled across space itself.
"BLACK FLASH!"
The words lay dominant amongst all other sounds of unnatural ruin, tearing across the battered remains of Shinjuku. The showdown that had sprung forth from the Clash of the Strongest had left near irreparable damage; but the consummation of everything that came after proved that the capability of calamity was never ending, set to be a boundless figure that would stand to remain as long as a human walked and breathed amongst the lands. All but one mighty being bore the wreath like a prize, but despite all the clamors of uncontested strength, even they must also bear the punishment for their transgression against the world.
Ryomen Sukuna, venerated as the King of Curses, and the Disgraced One, had wreaked havoc amongst the squadrons sent to subjugate him, leaving all to think twice before stepping within the domain of his presence. Such a being had been uncontested upon the ivory throne of skulls and blood which stretched up to the skies of the empyreal heaven itself, an icon of despair and fear befitting of the destruction his hands would cause with a mere sway. Yet at this very moment, all preconceived notions of such a god had been vanquished.
The one to foil his reign of tyranny was somebody the King of Curses despised the most. Time and time again he wished to see the light in the boy's eyes fade, for the despair and weight of a Jujutsu Sorcerer to settle in, for the world of nothing but apathy where only the most depraved survived; would come to consume him in all its brilliant wake.
Yet none of it proved effective, only serving to grow the budding sprout into an eternal tree that reached far above the clouds. Such an age-old structure proved to be the bastion needed for all others to stand behind, or beside, in order to bring about what had been impossible since a millennium ago, of days of yore once past. The boy was none other than Itadori Yuji, the Prince of Black Sparks, dressed in plasters of vermillion and crimson, aligning every single pore of his body. He was the grueling soldier who kept marching on in the eternal winter, to bring about his compassion and empathy in such a profaned world, and yet... such a world had never broken him. Cracks may appear across his body, fissures may line his body, but time and time again, they would mend each other, formulating into a far superior ceramic each iteration.
The results have shown itself clearly for all sights to behold, a fist of the aforementioned Prince piercing into the abnormal and deformed body of Sukuna, roaring sparks of black coursing out like electricity. It spread across the scene, enveloping the air in a palpable reverberation which caused all light to fade into a monotonous irreality where reality could do nothing but quake at its presence.—before it had returned to its normal spectrum.
Sukuna's body was keeled forward from the force, his mouth agape in surprise and pain. His dreaded four eyes which instilled a primal and decadent into the most foolhardy of warriors were pitched white, rolling back to gaze at his own brain.
His soul ruptured, cracking like glass under the stress of a dropped car. Flames that made it up and burnt his spirit into a magnificent yet malignant splendor became disrupted, spiraling all across. It was like a spill, something leaking through the dam that was Ryomen Sukuna's body.
Yuji looked upwards, the clouded and grizzly look in his eyes taking sight of everything in front of him. At that moment everything seemed to settle within his body, the temporal clock of time having slowed down in its steps to relinquish this moment.
The restoration of balance, the cycle of destruction and curses had been destroyed at this very moment. Like a cog bursting out of a machine, so did all the regrets piled within the pink haired man's body and soul come to liberate, heralding their plane of existence back to its normal flow.
A message rang clear the moment his fist had fully passed through Ryomen Sukuna, echoing forth and flowing into the annals of a forgotten history.
The King of Curses had completely, and utterly lost.
At that moment, something akin to apparition had shot out from the back, one that could be considered a bizarre occurrence had occurred. From the abomination's steaming back, a figure of a black-haired man started to peel out, leaving out what seemed to be the very essence of the monster's soul. His body was carried by the previous exerted force of a million tons.
The wind caressed his body in all of its uncaring apathy as he continued to fall back. His body would soon thump against the floor as garbage would against the street of a poverty-filled land, left there to face the facts of what had become of him. He—the Jujutsu Sorcerer—soon saw nothing but the endless chasm of the abyss staring back at him, as no matter how hard he strained his face, his eyes would never open. Naught his own body existed anymore, and he was sure his mind was soon to come. Not a single hint of light poured its way out of his closed lids, releasing its life and vitality that he had possessed once upon a time.
Fushiguro Megumi, the prized jewel of the Zen'in Clan, inheritor of the Ten Shadows technique, and venerated Clown of Fate, was most likely to die. In fact, he was sure he had been left dead the moment the impact of his soul clamoring in his body had been felt. All to waste and fester under an experience of torment that would leave his mind once more scarred and tormented.
His senses were becoming dull, the nerves that were held at the tips of his fingers could no longer register anything. There was not even a bite of pain that should have come to his body, and his taste buds could not even taste the arid surroundings around himself, or the metallic taste of ichor which should have been present on his lips. All Megumi could hear were the faint sounds of talking, one that told him of a tender moment that... no... he couldn't tell.
His life was going to come to an end like this, the final chapter in the book that had brought him nothing but a basket of horrendous experiences. After his body had been taken over, wrestled from his control, all he had become was a burden to everybody else. Such contemptful burdens were waiting to be executed along with this body that had caused so much pain, and it had. Under the guillotine that was a blunt fist full of compassion, he had died.
Yet... he was satisfied with this. The deaths of all those people were for him to bear alone, his fault to gaze upon for eternity in this blank and black abyss of nothingness.. His sister, his mentor, all of them died because he wasn't strong enough, unable to do anything to fight back against Sukuna. Because of his weak and frail body that could never reach whatever blue heights were expected of him, and because he had been far too incompetent to bring back control to what had rightfully belonged to himself—this was his punishment that he deserved.
A great enough potential to reach and surpass Gojo Satoru? What a joke it was, and he was the butt of it. It was wholly a dry one that Megumi would never be able to laugh with, seeing the results that had come from its disgustingly cruel punchline. The absolute severance of his mortal coil which had once clung to the world and kept him tethered to the existence that he once knew.
There was a sense of reprieve. A sense of relief that shouldn't come with such an unruly and dog-like death of his. Happiness? No, it was merely satisfaction. His life was nothing but an attempt to make it through and survive. Whether it be when he and his sister were abandoned by their parents, or whenever it was fighting tooth and nail against Cursed Spirits to breathe another day, when all the burdens of them had been liberated; the sense of respite was... amazing.
The Sorcerer wouldn't mind if this void where his senses have been completely lost would be the end all be all of his life. A selfish thought, one that completely ran away from all his problems, but that was just how it was. His life had already ended, and there was no need to beat himself black and blue over such useless things.
... So, what else was there for him to do other than to grovel in his own self-pity, or to reminisce of a time that was once so glorious? The nostalgic feelings... it left a pang that continued to bounce off the enclosed solitude of his mind. Perhaps reincarnation existed? Buddhism wasn't something the black haired man was too well-versed in, or one that he truly believed in, but there could have been anything that could come after the torch that was one's own life had been completely snuffed out.
...It was honestly strange, how could he even ponder at this very moment? There should have been nothing that he could be feeling or anything that he could ruminate about, and yet here he was, thinking about a hundred different things that could fill a book. His mind was still active, running like a motor engine that was ready to burn itself dry and melt the very shape which made itself up.
...
The more he thought about it, the more it became an alien feeling to him. Was he still alive? Why could he still think? Those questions were at the forefront of his mind, echoing all across his head and... body? Had his body been left to turn into nothing but dust? Or was this his consciousness coming back to him?
Maybe... just maybe. If that were the case, how dramatic was he to think about such useless thoughts before? Still, the feeling of disappointment continued to develop once more in the heart of his chest, realizing that he could no longer bear the rest which he had desired so much. But his friends—everybody—were most likely waiting for him. He would stomach whatever uncanny and unpleasant feelings that came from this, and see it all to the end. No matter how much he desired not to face the world.
...That was what should happen, right? Everything would return back to normal the moment he found himself once more in the waking world. The materialized land which he knew so much, like the back of his hand.
In fact, he could feel something, something that his hands were touching. If that were the case, then that must have meant that his body functions were still active and running, just as his mind had been for the past length of his thoughts. What his fingers rapped and grappled against felt like concrete. No, it was concrete, the hefty block of structural miracles that held up entire cities and streets for all sorts of life to walk amongst and traverse. Each monomer of that material could gather together to form the boundless towering structures which pierced the clouds, showing off the magnificence of human innovation to any thoughtful eye.
That was enough evidence for him to know that he was alive. The air of the world once more was felt all across his bodies, the nerve which lay underneath all his skin had fired off their action potential. There was also the familiar sensation of his chest breathing in the lifeforce of the world itself, and exhaling it to the outside once more. Perhaps it would flow off to somewhere else, to breed new life that could flourish in the embrace of nature.
His fingers twitched by the joints. First, his index finger, his middle, and then all the ones that came next in line. One by one, his entire hand was regaining their senses once more; an unnatural feeling that came after having been held in the depths of his unconsciousness for the better length of an entire month.
Soon enough, his entire left hand had shifted into an erratic jolt. Electricity travelled through it and had it spazzing when he had decided to turn it upwards and reach for what he assumed to be the starry expanse of space, where the milky blackness of its waters was dotted by colors all across its own spectrum—all in the form of stars. Whether or not it proved fruitless in its endeavors, Fushiguro Megumi did not care. He needed to do it, and that was the only piece of sanity that he could latch onto in his shattered state.
He shakily raised his arms, which had started to become numb. The cold flow of blood inside of his veins were felt, making the entire limb feel as if it had experienced a sharp bite of the winter frost, and all of the mercilessness that came with it. The limb continued to shake as it started to sway with uncertainty, only a vague image of its movement forming in the unclear and enclosed images of his mind.
It was then the biting of the passing gale across wherever he was clawed into his body, and sinking deep into his flesh. However, it was not enough to cause him to shiver, as his broken self had experienced far worse. In fact, he could even grant his gratitude toward it, as it recovered some of the lost feelings that had corrupted his entire body for the time being. For once, he could safely say that his body was reawakening once more. The liveliness of his body continued to spark across every part, before it had reached his eyes.
The eyelids that had been kept shut fluttered. Two orbs made themselves known, but all they could see was a distorted blur of what should have been a visible sight. They needed time to adjust, and Megumi was willing to oblige to their request as he closed his eyes once more to settle and have it become used to its new environment. It opened once more, piercing through and analyzing the environment that they found themselves in, this time in much clearer detail than last time.
He didn't make any sound. The entire situation was something that was far beyond even his wildest imaginations. His body was still attempting to register whatever unknown place he had found himself in, as he couldn't feel anything that would feel like a medical bed meant for injured patients to rest upon. Instead of sorrow, anger, or even excitement; all that remained was a hollow emptiness stabbing through his heart.
Admittedly, there was once an expectation for something that could have him jubilant with joy. However, they were nothing but hapless dreams filled with what-ifs and half-baked scenarios that could never hold itself in reality. If anything, they were fragile and brittle glass that would shatter with just a graze of somebody's fingers.
...But really? What was this? Where had he found himself in? It was just... so dark, like the gaping maw of the void had decided to show itself to him once more. His body and eyes told completely stories that clashed against each other, threatening to start a war that would vanquish whatever remained of his sanity. That wasn't what he needed right now, so he took in a deep breath and closed his eyes again, and exhaled roughly with a shaky breath in order to get his bearings back in place. A building with loose screws was bound to collapse in itself, after all.
While everything was in check and in place once more, he opened his eyes again, letting it drink in the still dark sights that were present in front of him. Putting some effort into body and letting it strain, his back started to bend upwards while his arms pressed against the ground with equal force in an attempt to make his way up. They served as good support for his entire body, as they continued to work in tandem to bring him up to the status that he once held as a human being—nay—as a Jujutsu Sorcerer. The once admirable feats of his body leaping across skyscrapers and traversal of speeds that once nearly broke the sound barrier had been reduced to a... thing that could do nothing but shake.
"Ugh.."
A hoarse croak left his mouth as he struggled to regain balance. There came the question of just how frail his body was at its current state, but this was what he should have expected. By taking the brunt of Unlimited Void and soul rupturing Black Flashes, there was no doubt that his body would be left in such a state. They were never to be taken lightly in the first place.
It was also at that moment Megumi remembered a comment made by Nobara, about how he was a Disney Princess with the way his Ten Shadows summons came to his rescue at every sparring session. Those damned words made Yuji laugh way too hard that all Megumi could do was clench his teeth silently against each other and look away, as if he had not a care for what they had just said. Oh, but he certainly did, and it was a small grudge that he held against them, and had been planning in ordinance to strike back at them. But alas, an opportunity never came.
Ah... how petty and annoying it was, even if the black haired man would never admit to such a thing out loud. Yet also, despite what he may have felt against those words at the time that dug into him like a knife, he still yearned to experience them once more. For the whispers of those memories to come to life and bring into fruition what he wanted to dream for the rest of his life. However, with the current location he was at...
...In fact, where even was he—
'W-what is this... Why can't I sense...?'
Despite the lackadaisical and fried nerves of his body, Megumi shot upwards, fully ignoring all of the complications that came with only adrenaline flooding his body in order to allow for such a hasty movement. An instinctual rise of Cursed Energy also came alongside the adrenaline, bringing about the practiced feeling of applying Cursed Energy Reinforcement.
It emanated across his body and filled it with a newly wed sensation that he hadn't felt for so long. Everything had been enhanced by it, whether it be touch, strength, defense, or instinct; they were once more working at superhuman levels. An energy that held infinite potential, one that he could feel its presence like it were a beacon shining high in the night sky. But... the feeling completely contrasted with the new place he had found himself in, and what he felt from it in comparison to his own body.
'Wh-where is... this should be impossible, where is all the Cursed Energy?'
There was nothing he could sense in the ambient air, his groggy eyes now fully alert scanning every section of the... Alleyway? He was in. There was trash littered everywhere with a putrid stink, not even a dumpster to hold them in sight. The baggage of waste was wrapped in crudely packaged black plastic wrapped against each other, and even some contents were starting to spill from cuts or openings.
'...I really fit in here, huh?'
He mirthlessly chuckled to himself as he leaned against the wall, the atrocious smell of the area making itself more prominent as the gray stained walls revealed itself to be gray concrete.
'Come on, there's no use for this. No matter how many problems you have caused, there's still answers you need to find...!'
Glancing around once more, a single thought came to him. 'I need to figure out where I am...' Multiple theories and conjectures ran through his brain, all of them bringing a cloud of anxiety to form in his brain. 'Where is the rest of Jujutsu College? They defeated Sukuna, right? If that's the case, couldn't I have just...' have just passed away freely?
...Yet at the same time, the thoughts of those people and concepts had vanished. There was only one indicator that he had felt not too long ago that told the situation of Fushiguro Megumi. One that sent a chill down his spine, causing the pupils of his nearly dead eyes to contract. Something in his head clamored a mocking laughter that continued to storm across the neurons of his grey matter, causing the flow of energy to continue to cycle uncontrollably and off the whims of how he wished for it to act.
There was no cursed energy in the territory of what he stood, not even a speck of it in the dust that billowed in the wind and across the aching trash. No matter how much he attempted to justify it, and no matter how much Fushiguro Megumi scanned the in an attempt to spread his senses across the lonely landscape of plastic that he had found himself in... there was a primordial message that struck a chord of fear inside of his body. He shivered, not from the cold zephyr that had found its way toward where he stood, but from the frosted realization of what this singular feeling had been alluding to.
'There's supposed to be cursed energy everywhere, so what gives—?!' He cut himself off, eyes widening as a sudden realization struck him, 'a different world? No, that's foolish, this isn't some fantasy where—' Megumi clenched his head as it all connected, 'Calm down. Calm down... Stay calm, I'll figure this out some way...' It was uncharacteristic for his usually cool head to melt in such a way, but the heat of uncertainty continued to pester his consciousness. 'Clear your mind as you usually have been... you remember his words, live, live on, and find out what has happened...'
Having such useless bouts of anger were not going to help his situation. Despite how absurd this situation was, the black haired man continued to reason with his mind, neurons firing about to make all activities speed up.
Taking a step forward, Megumi immediately found his knees buckling on him. To make sure he didn't fall over like a fish, he grabbed the wall and stamped his feet once more to shakily regain his balance. He had resorted to enhancing himself with cursed energy to even become mobile. 'Y-Yuji... Your punches were amazing... But isn't this too much?' A wretched feeling came across his body, as if all blood vessels had imploded to form a sanguine mark across the undertones of his skin. However, they were merely an illusion that his mind had conjured up in its detestable state, and a small glance toward his arms rang clear that all was right with the world of his body... for the moment.
Megumi limped, feeling the aching and burning his muscle fibers as he attempted the most simple movement he could, walking. It was then he remembered what he had seen when analyzing his body as a clinical doctor would. When the full sensation of realization had found home in his mind, the black-haired man frantically turned downward with eyes turning into saucers. The sight became clear to him when his head had fully arched toward where he wished to see. It was his article of clothing, the mere sight of it painting an image in his head that caused all sorts of splendorous panic to rear their ugly heads for him to experience.
The black haori that looked like it had been hand-woven by the delicate hands of a skilled artisan of a cultural time that had been reduced by the ancient passage of time. Despite the empty canvas that was over the white martial arts gi, anybody with an observant eye could see the value that it gave off. Underneath the both of them was also a tight black spandex shirt that could barely be visible under all of them.
'How can this be..? Weren't these clothes destroyed?' Megumi straightened his head as he tried his best not to think too much about it. He thanked whatever gods existed that Sukuna didn't remain in his body, he might as well have killed himself if that were the case. 'Tch, move on, focus on the present...' there was something that made him gnash his white molars against each other, and the reason was already obvious enough.
His worries persisted as he stepped outside the alleyway, grasping at the corner of its exit as he looked around. There were multiple rundown buildings aligning the street, bits of trashed paper and dirtied food wrappings billowing across the street's floor. It was urban in all senses of the word, yet so terribly maintained that Megumi wondered if he was stuck in some sort of third world country.
He could feel his heart sinking to the bottom of his chest, a dreadful feeling came to him when the wind continued to blow on his body. 'Ah, I really am in a different world,' he couldn't help but slowly laugh to himself as his back scraped against the wall, falling downwards as he despondently turned to the ground.
Even if he wasn't in another world, just ending up on what looked to be another side of the world was dreadful enough. To be torn away from everything that he knew and was familiar with, to be rendered as nothing but a nameless soul wandering the lands like a homeless person fraught with poverty... how terrifying it was, and it continued to develop furthermore in his body. At this very moment, his body continued to uncontrollably shake.
He sat with his arms limp by his side, the black haori he was wearing flattened against the ground. His right knee was propped up as he slouched with his left leg lying down. Even if he attempted to enter whatever comfortable position that he could find, the chilling sensation of fear and despair continued to eat away at his body, until not even his bones remained.
'Is this some sick joke? Why couldn't I have just passed on peacefully, why?' He hoped some answer was given to him, like some higher power appearing out in a flash of light to inform him of what had happened, to enlighten him of the situation he had found himself so cruelly pushed into...
...Or maybe there was a purpose for his entrance into this world, some mission granted to him by a higher power which wished to see the wrongs of existence to be righted once more? Perhaps, he would be granted a gift by something for all the trials and tribulations his life had to undergo, like those forms of "media" that his best friend had introduced to him before. Maybe, just maybe, anything like that could have happened. So then he prayed for anything to find its way toward him, to be the guiding light that would illuminate this darkened world...
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...Nothing came.
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.
'Really, hah~ isn't that how it's supposed to go, Yuji...? I miss you, already...' Megumi glanced upwards with a dead look, the blackened sky as being blotted out by the city lights, covering any stars that could appear from space. Such positive and hopeful thoughts were a mockery to himself, attempting to make light of—
—Oh who was he attempting to fool? His life was in the complete gutter, back then, and even now. The Sorcerer's eyes slightly widened when he fully finally looked upwards, a completely confounding sight that signified all he needed to truly know. It was to the point where he wondered if he were trapped in some sort of Domain Expansion, or if there was a Cursed Technique tampering with whatever he knew of the world.
'...How are there two moons?' His gaze continued to linger towards the sky, 'As if I needed any more confirmation,' Megumi pressed his palm against his forehead. The pale light emitting from the white objects floating up in the transcendent plane of a higher existence were beautiful to look at, but the black haired man couldn't even admire it.
It was alien, completely separating him from the confines and ruling of Earth. The familiarity that came with the planet had completely been slaughtered at this point, as if a knife had been dug deep into all the memories Megumi held of it. Now all that remained was a carcass in front of him, splayed for his eyes to take in the sight of such a repulsing scene.
Only distracting thoughts at this point could keep him from completely breaking down, and curling back into the fetal position that he had been stuck in for such a long time. He couldn't fall back and devolve into such a pathetic state, not now, especially when...
"Ha...haha~..." A self-deprecating chuckle came out, 'would Yuji love being reincarnated? How about sensei? What would Nobara think of this?' His lifeless eyes continued to stare at nothing but the sky, having lost all focus on anything that could even remotely intrigue him.
Friends like those who he had mentioned... Who he truly cared for... The Sorcerer would never see them again, and that haunting feeling continued to spread across his body. It was sickening, a feeling that made him want to claw at his skin and tear it apart, to put a complete end to it.
Disgusting, absolutely and utterly disgusting. 'Ah, such useless thoughts. Is this what I should be doing? Get up... Get up!' Megumi gritted his teeth, feeling the veins of his forehead pulsate. Right after, he forced himself to stand up, feeling some more strength returning to him as he now straightened up his posture—
"H-heaay! Whatcha' doing heeere pretty boy~?!"
The sound of a shoe scraping across the ground was heard, along with a hazy voice.
Megumi blinked once, being brought into a stupor at what he had just heard. Turning his head as he came to the sight of a drunk man limping around, a bottle in his hand as he attempted to regain his balance. "What..?" If they were some low-life, then he wasn't in the mood.
In fact, he wasn't even in the mood for anything to bother him, that much was already given to his clouded mind.
"You-u look, pretty rich with thozeee~ fancy clothes of yaas," the drunken man approached him with his body swaying with each step. It was as if their limbs were made of jello, uncontrollable to even their own body.
Megumi blinked owlishly when taking full sight of them, noting his features. What was the strangest part was how he had...
'Are those bear ears? What the hell?' The black haired man's eyes widened as he registered what he was seeing in front of him. 'Is it a prop? A fake? Is this drunk man just an... eccentric person?' Megumi glanced at the foul smelling alcohol with disdain, covering his nose as he did so. 'Should I even be surprised? I'm... already in a whole different world, that much is already enough confirmation.' He doubted if he could ever get over such a ridiculous scenario.
"Hey, hey, hey~ Don't gotta be so meaaaan to me," the drunken man waved his arms, a lucid look upon their face, one that drowned all worries of their existence, "my f-friend, we could enjoy-"
Megumi didn't let him finish, moving past him with a disdainful look present. He walked down the street, cursing his luck at encountering such an unsavory person for his first encounter. 'Don't even bother, don't even respond to them. This is exactly something I should not even get involved with...'
What was he even expecting from a place like this?
The distant sounds of the drunken fool became distant as Megumi walked down the street, robes billowing in the wind as he gave one last glance—making sure to erase their dirtied face from his mind. Turning back to what was in front of him, the black haired man's face finally softened, but not one that was tender enough to be called stable.
Far from it, actually.
Placing his hand over his eyes, Megumi squinted as the incandescent city lights bore down from the distance, overshadowing what he assumed to be a slum that he was in right now. 'What a pain...' The air in his chest left him, a sense of weakness continuing to develop.
Did he even possess an identity in this world? How would he even be able to get one legally? Would he have to resort to illegal means? 'Too many questions to think about,' Megumi gritted his teeth, wondering why his life had to take such a terrible turn.
He continued to explore, the same sight appearing itself over and over again, 'I have to admit it over and over again. I'll never see Yuji or Nobara again, isn't that right?' His lips slightly quivered as the thought came to him, wondering if it would even be worth it to attempt to live another life.
The street he walked down was lined with buildings, a typical asset all urban areas usually had, showing that this wouldn't be much different from the cities that he knew. What was the most jarring was the fact he was in a more poor area of residence, something that he only went to during missions and scouting out for Curses.
'The only thing I have right now is my Cursed Technique... What could I even do with it to earn money?' Megumi tried to come up with any ideas, perhaps he could go into contract killing- no, that was ridiculous; how could he even find one that sold such services anyways? Besides, it was a scummy way to make money, killing what were most likely innocent people in its work avenue. 'I can't even apply for a job because I lack an ID... tch, this is looking more grim.'
He didn't have anybody he recognized or knew, and not even the city looked familiar to anything. The fact that he was stuck in another world—as stupid as it continued to sound—proved many difficulties and problems that sprang forward the moment he thought of them.
A stray thought came to him, 'should I just give up?' Megumi stopped in front of an abandoned building. That single phrase continued to echo into his mind, his blank and despondent face continuing to blur. A chilling feeling came across his body, making it twitch and turn every time.
Slowly, the black haired man turned to his left, attempting to find anything that would catch his interest and distract him. There was a window, leading his sights to the inside of the abandoned building, but the dirtiness and fogged panes made it hard to see what was inside.
One thing appeared clear before his eyes, though, even if the night sky made it extremely hard to see. It was his own face, reflected within the dirtied glass that acted as a pseudo mirror. What he saw... what he saw was...
Black markings.
Slicked back hair.
Megumi jolted in shock, his face stretching along with his eyes. Taking a step back while cold sweat continued to pour down his neck and onto his back, the Sorcerer raised his hands up defensively. Yet it was also the moment the sight turned back to normal.
His normal and untainted flabbergasted face made itself known back at him, the markings and differing hairstyle the black haired man saw before having vanished. As if it had never existed in the first place, something that Megumi wished for. 'I...forget it, please...' Despite those repeating thoughts, he was sure he'd never forget.
Shaking his head slowly, Megumi's body slumped as he turned away. There was nothing to do other than continue his trek across these barren and blackened streets. With these walks though, the flow of blood in his body improved, making him feel slightly more rejuvenated... even if his soul and mental state weren't.
...Recovering from Shinjuku was going to take some time, wasn't it?
***
Megumi's steps were aimless as he continued to think about what to do in his situation, he couldn't just scrounge around the trash for food, it was far too tasteless for him to do such a thing.
If he could beat up some thug and loot their pockets for anything that he could use better than whatever their grubby hands had found, then that would be perfect, actually. For a moment back in his long lost memories buried deep underneath, he was brought back to his middle school years. They were small events that had left a deep impression on himself when things were much simpler, such as dealing with thugs who bothered him and putting them in their place—
—It was actually quite an embarrassing memory to come back to, one that he felt the need to hide when Yuji and Nobara had gained a clue of it. 'Ah, I'm reminiscing about them again...'
Megumi halted his steps as he stared at a certain alleyway... This one contrasted with all the others, as lights from a burning flame seemed to emit from it. 'This might be it...'
The black haired man shifted, stepping forward as he approached the dimly lit alley... After five more steps and a turn to the right, he saw...
A bunch of people that looked like thugs, goofing off as they looked like they were holding weapons in their hands.
Their clothes were in various states of disrepair and dirtiness, each of them drinking from a bottle, wasting away their lives in an intoxication that would only last momentarily...
A man glanced at him, not registering his presence until, "Hey, who the hell are ya'?!" His gaze shifted back to Megumi, the latter staring at the group blankly.
"Hey brother! What do we have here?" Another man, a very muscular one Megumi, noted... Had a feather peering out through the back of his ear? In fact, the other one had cat ears on the top of their head...
"Ey, he looks weird, ya' think he's hiding his features? Think he an Aegir or sumthin?" A man spoke out in his drunken stupor.
"Fuck, an Aegir?! They probably out there sucking up the ocean water!" Another voice jeered out as the group laughed along with him. "You think they flop on land too?! Wouldn't that be a sight to see, haha!"
Megumi didn't find it particularly amusing, wondering if they were going to give him a good reason to attack them... He was waiting.
"Hey kid, you look pretty rich with that outfit of yours..." The bird man, that was what Megumi had decided to call out to him. "Got any money to, ya' know, kindly hand over to us?" The man smiled as he lifted his weapon, a machete over his shoulder.
Megumi clasped his hand together, forming the hand sign for a dog. Speak of the Devil, he just found the perfect reason.
" ... Divine Dogs."
A shadow puddle erupted, much to the surprise of the five groups of men who were residing next to the barrel campfire, as two wolves jumped straight out of it, toppling over the makeshift fire they had created. They carried a presence around them, as if the Shikigami should have never existed in the realms of where they stood. But as dictated by their materialized form, they had been granted passage once more for an audience with the corporeal reality itself.
"Hey-!"
"What the-!"
"Fuc-!"
"Help-!"
A body was slammed into another person as the White Dog charged forwards, pushing all of them back and impacting the wall.
The Black Dog swung its claws, baring its fangs as it did so. The swipe caused the two weapons to go flying into the air, a machete and pipe. It continued its assault as three more swipes occurred, non lethally injuring a person and disarming- almost literally- the rest of the group members.
In less than a second, all of the thugs who had accosted Megumi fell to the ground in pain, leaving the black haired College student to stare at them with a blank look on his face. The two Divine Dogs now went back to their master, circling around him as they growled at the people laying on the ground.
"Knock them out," Megumi off-handedly remarked, as more screams erupted in the back alley way, crescendoing into an opera of pure agony. Every single chord struck against one another to form a sound that moved upward to the sky, for everybody—and nobody at the same time—to hear in all of its resplendent glory. It was a cacophony of chaos coming together to form a memorable night.
***
'What is this currency? Lungmen Dollars?' Fushiguro Megumi had never heard of such a currency ever being used in his life, he was sure China didn't use such currencies. Another thing that threw him into a loop was when he perfectly understood what the people had said.
'It seems I can understand Chinese now? Or should it be called... er, Lungmenese?' The black haired man decided to not dwell too much on it, assuming it to be some higher power screwing with him. '750 LMD, then... I wonder if it's just like the Chinese Yuan...' His thoughts trailed back to home again. Bad idea, and he gritted his teeth with a shake of his head in order to push down the butterflies stuck in his stomach
He didn't like stealing money, but if it were from scum, then Megumi wasn't below robbing them of their belongings. They didn't possess any cursed energy from what he could tell, maybe Gojo could find a scrap or drop with his Six Eyes, but Megumi didn't possess such blessed eyes to be able to do such a thing.
So he had spent 2 minutes scanning their bodies, trying to sense any nook and cranny that could signify cursed energy.
There was nothing he could find, so he just settled with the money they had on them, the information that kept coming to him further implied a completely new world; something he had already begun to accept, but don't get it twisted, it was a situation he was loathing right now.
Megumi couldn't find any phones on them either, but they wouldn't do him any good if he couldn't access them; almost every single phone on Earth had a password attached to them.
Unless, well, this strange new world he found himself in with animal people didn't do things like that due to a cultural norm or something. It was a reach.
It was a good find, perhaps he could buy food with this much, something he didn't completely need right now, but certainly would like some soon.
'Ugh,' a groan came out as something battered itself in the confines of his mind, the Sorcerer placing a palm against his forehead, my life from now on is going to be pretty shitty, isn't it?' Megumi rubbed his temple with his left hand as he tilted his head, still traveling to find a way to leave the slums.
At the very least, he wasn't aimless, losing any purpose right now could be the end of his life for all he knew. His thoughts were the only distraction from the hellish situation Megumi had found himself in.
'An orphanage?' Megumi stared up at a lit up building, much to the contrast of the dark gloom from the empty and abandoned buildings from before.
He looked around, noting how the brightly lit up skyscrapers in the distance were much closer to him now, as this building seemed to be at the edge of the slums. 'Should I go in?'
For some reason, his body wanted him to, so he reached the door and opened it... It seemed to be what a standard orphanage would hold, playhouses and plushies littered the ground.
It looked... Alright? It reminded him of the orphanages he saw in his previous world, even if extremely rarely.
A lot of orphanages back on Earth had a lot of cursed energy and negative emotions, due to well... It was self explanatory.
But those were usually places where kids with nothing in their lives were sent to, usually abandoned by their parents or being unfortunate enough to experience the death of the family members that took care of them.
Megumi was getting off topic, but it looked like any standard orphanage, even if it seemed... sort of lacking?
He stepped forward, causing a thumping sound as heads started to turn to him. The children who were playing around in the playhouses or other sections of the rooms which possessed toys all turned and stared at him.
Now Megumi was left to ponder what in god's name he was doing, as there was nothing useful he could find in this area. Perhaps stealing candy from a baby? What was he even thinking, anyways? Such a distorted and profane analogy was unfitting for any righteous cause, or in fact, for any sane mind.
Feeling the intense gaze of the children, Megumi felt the urge of embarrassment and uncertainty embellishing his stomach, but pushed the feeling deep down further, in order to relinquish any obstacles that may come from it. If anything, this was the only place that had caught his eye, wherein the dim inflorescence of light spoke a tale about life walking as it should be. It was the complete antithesis to all other buildings filled with moldy rot and roads plastered with mankind's tendency of irresistible sloth.
With that, he turned around and gave the best and most polite response he could muster, "sorry, it seems like I got the wrong place—"
"Big sis Ch'en! There's a stranger here!" One of the small girls, who had fox ears (Megumi once more feeling a sense of surprise yet acceptance toward the features) yelled out as he reached his hand to the door.
He could sense some sort of strange energy from them? It wasn't cursed energy, but it was potent enough for his sense to pick up... 'strange... No, just focus on getting out of here. There's no need for me to be in such a place.'
The other children, ranging from bear ears to mouse ears of all things, kept their sights onto his back, as if he were a curious object to be looked at.
He didn't know who this Ch'en woman was, but the last thing he wanted was for her to look at him as if he were a weirdo, or worse, a pedophile. He was accustomed enough to foolish misunderstandings back in his previous life, but stretching them so far to such a length as being viewed as the aforementioned word was too much even for himself.
However, the fast and powerful footsteps that reverberated across the building with a profound authority caused him to freeze mid-motion while attempting to reach the knob of the door in front of him.
"Who is it Yin—?" A voice spoke out, echoing across the room as the footsteps of the person stopped. "A stranger?" It turned stern and serious, as if not a hint of nonsense would ever be found underneath it.
Megumi turned his gaze to meet her, while his hand was still hovering over the knob to exit the door. The very first thing he had been granted the sight of her was.. Dragon horns? And the rather loosely revealing outfit that she wore—but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary for modern time fashion.
'Is her hair dyed? No, focus, I need to get out of this awkward situation...' Megumi took in a low breath as he lowered his head, he needed to be as presentable as possible: "My apologies, I seem to have entered—"
"You, what are you doing here?" An accusatory voice left the blue haired dragon woman, a gleam present in her eyes that spoke clearly of wariness. Her posture shifted, hands slightly twitching while her knees imperceptibly into a lower and ready-to-strike posture.
Megumi to curse in his mind. He had also registered the two sheathed blades by her waist, wondering if she was some mercenary.
She had a serious tone to her, an air of authority that spoke of some high position Megumi couldn't really point out as what. Though, he had said that her clothes were completely unprofessional. "Listen, I got lost—" He raised his hands and attempted to explain his case, coming out as a half-lie.
But it was something the other party saw through.
"Save it, do you know how many times I've heard that cliche phrase?" The woman rolled her eyes and stepped closer with wary steps. Once she reached up front and closer to Megumi, her eyes narrowed. "Explain, nobody would be bothered to find this place unless they have some business to attend here." Her last words were vague.
The kids from the room were now looking at each other in curiosity, wondering what was happening.
'What is she even talking about? This is an orphanage in the middle of nowhere, why do you think I have suspicious business here?!' A thought that she might think he was a creep developed in his mind, the worst case scenario might have already happened.
Megumi truly felt like summoning Mahoraga, as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Seriously..."
It was going to be a long day for him, something he found utterly unamusing.
***
A/N: General gist of what I want to do. Also yes, Megumi is wearing Sukuna's martial arts outfit and black haori, it's way too drippy imo, on par with Gojo's robes.