Chapter 5
After training…
The sun was already higher. The sweat had dried.
And after a short break, Gojo sent them off to school with his trademark carefree smile:
—Nothing like learning math after smashing cursed dummies.
Kuro, Megumi, and Tsumiki walked through the streets of Tokyo, backpacks on their shoulders.
Kuro walked in front, an easy stride… and a strange smile.
—What are you thinking about? Tsumiki asked, glancing at him sideways.
—Nothing… he replied, clearly plotting something. Just thinking about a prank I could pull at school. Maybe… something with my shadow.
He looked around as they walked.
The city looked beautiful.
Tall buildings, lined trees, the hum of cars and bicycles…
And above it all, Japan's sky stretched over them like a promise.
> "I never imagined I'd get to live something like this again."
—Hey, Megumi, he said suddenly, turning his head with a teasing smile. How about a race to the entrance?
Megumi, with his classic deadpan face, stared at him for a few seconds.
—Fine. But you calm down in class afterwards.
—Deal, Kuro said, stifling a laugh.
—And me? Tsumiki asked, folding her arms.
Kuro snapped his fingers.
—I've got an idea. Get into my shadow so we don't leave you behind.
Tsumiki eyed him.
—Is that safe?
—Trust me.
Megumi snorted.
—We'll be careful around normal people, he said, as if he already knew the chaos that was coming.
While he spoke, Tsumiki stepped up to Kuro.
Kuro's shadow had already stretched about two meters ahead of him, flowing smoothly along the sidewalk like a dark carpet.
—Ready?
Tsumiki took a deep breath.
—Ready.
She set one foot on the shadow.
And as if it were water… she began to sink.
First her feet, then her legs.
The shadow absorbed her gently, without cold or resistance. Like entering a private, silent dimension.
—This feels so weird! she said, her voice now echoing from within the shadow.
—Hang in there, soldier! Kuro laughed.
A few seconds later… Tsumiki vanished completely.
Megumi gave Kuro a sidelong look.
—You're sure you know how to bring her back?
—More or less.
—Kuro!?
—Kidding, kidding! I can.
They took their positions.
—Ready?
—Ready.
—GO!
Kuro shot forward like a bolt, his shadow snaking after him.
Megumi followed—serious, but competitive.
Tsumiki's laughter rang from inside the shadow.
And for a moment…
they were just three siblings running through the streets of Tokyo.
With curses, special eyes, and future tragedies forgotten—if only for a little while.
---
Kuro skidded to a stop first. Megumi arrived seconds later, just a bit behind.
—You're getting fast, Megumi said, barely winded.
—Thanks. It was the power of Budokai, Kuro replied with a proud grin.
Then Kuro's shadow shivered.
—Uh… hello? Is someone going to pull me out of here? came Tsumiki's voice, muffled, as if from a deep basement.
—Ah, right! Kuro focused. His shadow shortened until it was right beneath his feet, then rose smoothly like a curtain.
Tsumiki emerged as if coming up from a black pool.
—That was amazing! she exclaimed, a little dizzy. But never do it right after breakfast.
They both laughed. Megumi just shook his head.
They entered the building, greeted a few classmates, and headed to their respective rooms.
Kuro and Megumi shared a classroom: 1-A.
The room was packed with normal kids.
Not one of them could see curses.
Not one of them knew that right beside them sat a boy with a cursed eye and a technique that could swallow the world.
Kuro took the seat by the window, like any good protagonist.
The teacher walked in.
—Good morning, class!
—Good morning! everyone replied… except Kuro, who was staring at his shadow on the floor.
> "What would happen if I made it move a little on its own?"
Just… a little.
The shadow slid lightly under his desk. It slipped toward the chair in front, where a classmate was focused on his book.
Kuro stretched the shadow and tickled the kid's ankles.
—AH! the boy yelped, jumping in fright.
Everyone looked over.
Kuro lifted his head with a face like, "What happened?"
Megumi raised half an eyebrow. He knew who it was.
From the hallway, Tsumiki peeked through the window and saw Kuro struggling not to laugh.
The teacher cleared his throat.
—Alright, if no one's going to confess, let's continue…
Kuro folded his arms.
> "Maybe I'm not the strongest yet… but I'm the most annoying."
But in the middle of the fun, he felt something strange.
His shadow, still under the desk, throbbed on its own.
Not at his command.
Not as a prank.
> "Something… touched it."
And for a second, his Cursed Eye flickered.
Very faintly.
Just a whisper of warning.
Kuro said nothing.
But he knew… something had approached.
And it wasn't on the school schedule.
---
Recess.
The sun lit up the school's back yard.
Kuro and Megumi walked the corridor together, backpacks on, slowly heading down the stairs toward the court.
Tsumiki had stayed in the library, studying.
Megumi, as always, quiet.
Kuro, as always, watching.
—Do you feel that? Kuro said suddenly, lowering his voice.
Megumi looked up.
—Yeah.
It was like a thick heat in the air. A smell of dust, rust… and something rotten.
Kuro turned toward the left corridor.
And there it was.
A hunched creature, long and thin, empty eyes, pale skin, razor fangs.
It looked like it had crawled out from between the walls.
A curse. Grade 3.
Right in the middle of the school.
—Get out of here, idiot! Kuro shouted to a student coming over with a ball.
The kid gave him a weird look… but left.
Megumi was already forming a hand sign.
—We take it out fast?
—Fast, and without anyone seeing.
Kuro stomped.
His shadow spread across the floor like a dark tongue.
Megumi released one of his Demon Dogs, small but quick.
The curse shrieked when it saw them.
It leapt to the wall and scuttled on all fours across the ceiling, leaving a black trail.
—It's going to escape toward the classrooms! Megumi warned.
—I'm not letting it!
Kuro closed his left eye.
His Cursed Eye flared red.
The shadow rose, like a spear, and blocked the creature's path just as it was about to slip through the door.
—Megumi, now!
The Demon Dog sprang and bit into the curse's arm, slamming it to the floor.
The creature rolled, screeching. It tried to get up…
But Kuro's shadow snared it by the ankle.
—Did I say you could move?
The thing turned its teeth toward him, ready to strike.
Kuro leapt and drove a kick straight into its face, imbued with cursed energy.
CRACK!
The curse smashed into the wall and went limp.
Megumi approached, checking its energy.
—It's not moving anymore.
Kuro took a deep breath.
His shadow slid back into place, as if nothing had happened.
—That was our oversight, Megumi said.
—Or something drew it in, Kuro replied, staring at his own shadow.
My shadow reacted… before I did.
Megumi didn't answer. But he'd noticed it too.
> "Even if I tremble, I won't leave her alone."
---
The Grade 3 curse's body lay inert against the hallway wall.
The air still stank of cursed smoke.
Kuro was breathing hard, recovering from the strike.
Megumi, meanwhile, stood still… eyes locked on his Demon Dog, which was growling low.
—What is it? Kuro asked.
The dog scraped the floor insistently, staring toward the far end of the building.
—More curses?
Megumi shook his head.
—No…
Something much worse.
His usually blank face had gone pale.
—It's in the library, he said, voice cracking.
Kuro felt something inside him break.
—The library… Tsumiki…
Then Megumi shouted:
—Kuro, we have to save her, now!
Kuro didn't hesitate for a second.
He sprinted after him, his steps pounding the floor hard enough to rattle the windows.
—What's happening, Megumi?
—There's an absurd amount of cursed energy in there.
A presence… dense, like the air itself wants to crush you.
You know what that means, right?
Kuro already knew.
His stomach clenched.
Fear hit him like a wall.
> "It can't be… a Sukuna finger…?"
He trembled. For a second, his legs wavered. His shadow faltered.
But only for a second.
—It doesn't matter… he muttered as he ran.
I'm not leaving her alone.
Ever.
The hallway seemed endless.
Students in the way, teachers shouting.
But Kuro didn't stop.
He vaulted over a table.
Shoved past a cluster of kids in his path.
He didn't care if they were adults, teachers, or classmates.
Tsumiki's life was in danger.
And that was all that mattered.
Megumi cut hard at the end of the corridor.
—The library door is open!
A current of dark air surged out like an invisible roar.
Kuro felt it. His shadow shuddered under his feet.
The Cursed Eye activated on instinct.
Red.
Bright.
Shaking.
And in the air… a dense cursed energy floated.
Pure.
Violent.
> A Sukuna finger.
And it was far too close to his sister.
---
End of Chapter 5