AN:
I'll be taking a majority of this week off and most likely won't be back until Sunday. I have family coming into town, and I want to spend as much time with them as possible. That being said, thank you for all the recent support, and I'll see you guys soon!
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'Something's not right,' Kiyotaka thought as he stood outside the curtain that surrounded the juvenile detention center, unable to suppress the emotions that welled up inside him.
The mission had felt off since the very beginning, 'Even if the cursed womb is only suspected to give birth to a special grade, reason would demand at least a first-grade sorcerer, a semi-first-grade at the very least…but sending in three first years…that doesn't make any sense.'
The mission assignment reeked of politics and secret plots, but in spite of that, Kiyotaka had still sent them, and that fact weighed on his spirit like an anvil, 'I told them to be wary…to run if they encountered the Cursed Womb…but if it truly is a special grade, will they even get the chance to run?'
Kiyotaka's hand twitched as he started to reach for the phone in his pocket, ready to request for reinforcements when the sound of footsteps interrupted him.
Glancing over his shoulder, Kiyotaka gritted his teeth as he stared at the hooded figure slowly walking towards him, a cherry-red ember glowing from within their hoodie.
Kiyotaka frowned and turned to face the interlopper, 'Why do I even bother setting up physical barriers…I don't have time for this.'
"Stop right there!" Kiyotaka demanded as he held out his hands, "This is a restricted area! Turn back now or be detai-"
Kiyotaka's words died on his tongue as the figure reached up and pulled down their hood, revealing a broad grin that sent a tremor down Kiyotaka's spine, "Hmmm, and here I thought you would be unshakable, Kiyotaka…though it looks like today has been rather stressful even for someone as stoic as you are."
"What are you doing here?" Kiyotaka asked as he fought the urge to take a step back, unnerved by the fact that the person in front of him seemed to have no cursed energy despite that being far from the truth.
"Satoru asked me to keep an eye out for any Higher Up shenanigans while he was away, and it seems like things here have gotten out of hand, judging by what I can feel that's happening inside."
Kiyotaka flinched as his brow furrowed with suspicion, "And why would Gojo ever entrust you to watch over his students after what happened between the two of you?"
"Are people still hung up on that…it's really not that big of a deal."
"You nearly killed him!" Kiyotaka shouted, his anger flaring.
"And he nearly killed me…and I was a lot closer to dying than he was, even with all of my tricks. Being able to control space and the concept of infinity is such a broken ability."
"And that's supposed to make me trust that you're here on good faith?" Kiyotaka asked, clearly not believing the story for a second.
"Of course not, do you think that Satoru would ask me to watch over some random first years out of the kindness of my heart…no, he knew the moment he asked that I couldn't turn down the chance to meet the kid that's sent the entirety of Jujutsu society into a frenzy."
Kiyotaka frowned, "You're talking about Itadori. What do you want with him?"
"To see if the rumors are true, I want to lay eyes on the vessel of Ryomen Sukuna."
"If that was all you would have revealed yourself prior to now," Kiyotaka retorted, "Why are you so interested in Itadori, Kiniro?"
"Because I'm the only one who understands just how absurd his existence is," Kiniro replied with an unreadable expression, "I just need to confirm that I'm not being paranoid for no reason. It was nice catching up, though, Kiyotaka."
Before Kiyotaka could reply, Kiniro vanished into thin air with a sudden burst of speed, leaving the manager unsure whether or not his wards were saved or in even more danger than they were originally.
---
'Damnit!'
Nobara swore as she reached down for another nail, only to come up empty-handed. It was a death sentence, seeing as she was surrounded by curses in every direction.
'Just my fucking luck, I'm going to die in some hell hole on my second mission! And even worse, it's because of those two idiots who couldn't focus on the objective and had to have a psychological debate in the middle of a curse-ridden prison!'
Cursed energy surged into Nobara's hammer as she hefted it, prepared to go down swinging, when suddenly all the curses froze and began to tremble. It wasn't like anything Nobara had seen before, and for a moment she didn't know what to do, 'Since when have curses been afraid of anything?'
Nobara's question was answered a second later as suddenly the sound of chains rattling filled the air and before she could blink, every single curse in front of her exploded like water balloons, sending their blood flying through the air.
However, before gravity could take effect, the blood was pulled through the air, forming countless streams of the cursed liquid. Following them with her eyes, Nobara was eventually forced to turn around, only to freeze when she found someone standing a few feet behind her, his hand held up in the air with a roughly hewn ring on his finger, drinking up all the blood.
Looking down from his hand, Nobara's gaze landed on the stranger's face, and her brain glitched for a second as it identified several things at once, 'Piercings…alternative style…looks like he could be an idol.'
"Hey, first year, you alright?"
Nobara blinked as the stranger suddenly addressed her, lowering his hand as his ring ran out of blood to drink.
Nobara opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, another familiar voice called out, "Kugisaki!"
In a dead sprint, Megumi burst into the room, only to freeze when he found that his classmate was perfectly fine after being dragged through the floor by a swarm of curses.
After confirming Nobara was fine, Megumi focused on the next most pressing issue.
'Who the hell is this guy? He doesn't have any cursed energy, maybe one of the juvenile prisoners we were sent to rescue…no, he's far too calm for that.'
Unable to confirm the stranger's identity, Meguimi's suspicions only grew, and in response, his Black Divide dog let out a threatening growl as it lowered itself to the ground, preparing to pounce.
Glancing at the Shikigami, Kiniro was ready to dismiss it when he noticed the three white dots on the wolf's forehead, and his eyebrows rose, "A Divine Dog…so you're this era's inheritor of the Ten Shadows Technique…it looks like I picked a good time to show my face again."
Megumi forced himself not to react as Kiniro identified his technique with a single glance, confirming that he was a sorcerer and putting Megumi at an immediate disadvantage, 'I can't even Reveal my Hand to boost my Jujutsu.'
Sensing Megumi's paranoia, Kiniro grinned and held up his hands, "Hey, no need to look at me like that. I didn't go through all the effort of saving your friend just to fight you."
"That still doesn't change the fact that we have no idea who you are, or why you're here," Megumi replied, not dropping his guard for an instant.
Kiniro grinned, "Satoru asked me to keep an eye on you three while he was away…turns out he was right to be concerned you lot are way over your heads."
Megumi's brow furrowed, "We would have managed without your help."
"Getting entrapped within an innate domain and being split up is your definition of managing?" Kiniro asked doubtfully as he lowered his hands, "Your friend here was about to be torn apart by cursed spirits, and Sukuna's vessel is currently fighting against a newly born special grade. A weak one, but considering the fact that it doesn't even seem like he can control his cursed energy, he won't last much longer."
"Then we need to get out of here!" Megumi insisted, "I told Itadori that once everyone was clear, I would give him the signal to let Sukuna take over his body and exorcise the cursed womb. So we need to get moving!"
"Huh, talk about a death wish," Kiniro muttered as he looked off in the distance, "Using the King of Curses like a gun you can just point at all of your problems."
"Itadori is a perfect vessel; he can take back his body from Sukuna's control at any time," Megumi insisted, making Kiniro raise an eyebrow, "Quick lesson, there's no such thing as a perfect vessel unless a pact is involved, and I doubt that the King of Curses would ever lower himself to bargain with someone as weak as your friend."
Megumi's gut clenched as the stranger's words gave birth to a crippling doubt, 'If there's even a chance that Sukuna can gain control of Itadori's body…'
"Just wait a minute!" Nobara suddenly spoke up as she pointed at Kiniro, "Are you saying there's a chance that Sukuna might be able to hijack Itadori and go on a rampage?"
"Yeah, but don't worry, I should be able to keep him in check, so if you could go ahead and give that signal, it would be greatly appreciated."
Megumi immediately shook his head despite the conflicted look on his face, "I can't. If Sukuna is let loose, then everyone in the surroundings is as good as dead."
"So you're just going to let Itadori die?!" Nobara exclaimed, turning on Megumi, who flinched but didn't back down as he met her gaze, "I can't condemn the lives of hundreds for one person, Itadori knew the risks; this is our duty as jujutsu sco-"
Before Megumi could complete his speech, all the air was sucked out of his lungs as a terrifying pressure filled the room.
As one, Nobara and Megumi turned and stared at the stranger in their midst, the source of the morbid presence.
"Hey, I didn't want to do it this way, but I hate repeating myself, so I'm only going to ask you one more time. Send out the signal to summon Sukuna, before I track down your friend and do it myself."