Chapter Two: Hidden Strength

As quickly as the three of you were able to, Fushiguro, Yuuji and you set off towards your school with haste in every single one of your movements as you three disappeared into the night.

"Do talismans come off that easily?" Yuuji asked as he ran alongside you and Fushiguro.

"No, it's impossible for people who lack cursed energy," Fushiguro explained as he gave you a side eye while running, "Normally, that is."

Glancing at the route you guys were taking, Yuuji suggested a shortcut, "Go right! It's a shortcut!"

You turned right before Yuuji even finished his sentence as you felt worry brew inside of you.

"This time the object is too strong. The seal is ancient. It might as well be plain paper," Fushiguro continued.

"I still don't get all this stuff about curses. Y/N do you?"

Yuuji's call out to you snapped you out of your daydream as you turned your head back a little and replied to him, "Um, yeah, more or less. I've been seeing them my whole life so it's making a lot of sense to me right now," you explained.

"Oh wow, really? That's kinda cool."

The lack of seriousness in Yuuji's tone made Fushiguro grow more impatient, "Where are they?" he snapped.

"Fourth floor!"

When you arrived at the entrance of the school, you were hit with a strong pressure as you saw streams of purple flowing out of the campus. You began to grow worried. In your whole life, you've never come across such a strong energy from the curses you saw.

"What is this pressure?!" Yuuji asked.

Fushiguro stepped forward and pushed Yuuji back, "You stay here," he ordered, "And you, do you know how to exorcise curses?" he switched his sharp gaze towards you.

"I've only made them disappear once, but I promise you, I'm strong," you said with determination filling your voice and confidence shining in your eyes.

The dark haired boy only stared at you dully, "Then you're staying here too," he said nonchalantly and in an almost condescending tone.

You clicked your tongue as you watched Fushiguro climb over the school gate.

"Let us come too! It's dangerous right?" Yuuji called out towards the dark haired male, "We've only known them for a few months but they're our friends, I can't just stand by!"

"Just stay here," Fushiguro ordered as he leaped off into the school.

You clenched your fist as you watched the scene play out, what qualities don't I have that I'm not allowed to go save them?

Being left behind by Fushiguro, you could only stare at the building intensely and wonder what you were lacking. You thought you were strong. You achieved many things and you were definitely much stronger than a normal human being so it was strange to you that you weren't allowed into the school building where danger lurked.

This was frustrating for you because you were a confident person and seeing someone seemingly look down on you pressed a few buttons within you.

"Are we just gonna wait here like he told us to?"

"Am I just gonna wait here like he told us to?"

Both you and Yuuji voiced out at the same time. Unknown to you, several thoughts flowed into his head; from the silent fear of death to the last words of his very own grandfather. Yuuji was determined to get in there to do something in order to save his friends.

And you... You were just as determined as he was. You didn't like seeing good people suffer and you definitely wanted to show that Fushiguro a piece of you.

Yuuji walked forward and grabbed onto the school gate with determination in his eyes as he looked straight into the dark school campus where he could feel all the eeriness radiating from. You stood behind your best friend as you smirked at the realisation that he was about to do what you were planning to do all along.

The two of you were going to disobey the words of Fushiguro.

There was no way the two of you were going to just wait around like idiots. You two were such honourable, kind and confident human beings. There was just no way that you two would just sit around when action was just a leap away. No way at all...

Yuuji hopped up over the school gate and made the run for it, leaping into the air and smashing through the glass window of the fourth floor with you following right after. The two of you each landed a strong blow onto the Curse as Yuuji hurriedly pulled his friends out. You, on the other hand, sent another punch towards the Curse, anger filling your every cell as you looked at the disgusting being that had held your friends captive.

The same spark of red-black illuminated your fists as you sent it straight to the Curse and exorcised it. Your actions shocked both Fushiguro and Yuuji as they watched you exorcise it even though you claimed to not have much experience with Jujutsu.

You pulled your fist back as you stared at the disappearing Curse, your anger slowly slipping away. A black and a white dog then ran past you and started nibbling on the bits of the Curse. Despite their fearsome outlook, you thought those dogs were cute and you reached your hand out to pet them but Fushiguro's voice stopped you from doing so.

"I would ask what the both of you are doing here but good job," he complimented, even though it did not sound like it, "And Shimori, I guess you are able to exorcise curses, I'm sorry I looked down on you."

With his words gracing your ears, you grinned, "It's okay! It's all good now!" you said as you stuck a thumb up next to your head and smiled a closed eyed smile.

Fushiguro deadpanned at your change in expressions, 'I don't know what it is but something about her annoys me...' he thought to himself as he walked towards Yuuji.

"By the way, what's that munching on the curse?" Yuuji asked as he looked at the dogs that you were playing with as they ate.

Fushiguro turned back a little to look at his Gyokuken only to see you patting them as they ate the Curse away. He scrunched up his face a little as he narrowed his eyes at the scene that laid before him. Shaking his head, he decided to ignore it, "They're my Shikigami, you can see them? Normally a curse can't be seen unless you're her," he nudged his head towards you, "Or you're on the verge of death or in special places like this."

"Ohhh that makes sense... I've never seen a ghost or anything before tonight, but how come Y/N can see them?" Yuuji asked.

Fushiguro glanced at you from his peripheral vision, "I'm not sure about the specifics but she's not your average human, she has more cursed energy than a normal person would have which is why she can see curses," he said, calmly.

"Besides, are you not scared?"

"Well, I was scared for a bit. But did you know? People really can die."

"Huh?"

Yuuji looked at Sasaki-senpai's unconscious body as if in deep thought as he elaborated on what he felt, "So I at least want the people I know to have proper deaths. Not that I really get it myself. Whoa!" he gasped as he caught onto the cursed object that fell out of Sasaki-senpai's pocket.

"This it?" he asked as he held it out towards Fushiguro.

With his hands in his pocket, Fushiguro replied, "Yeah, that's the special-grade cursed object, Ryomen Sukuna's finger. It's a miracle it didn't get swallowed."

"Why would anything eat it? Does it taste good?"

"Don't be stupid. You'd do it to gain stronger cursed energy, it's dangerous so hand it over already," Fushiguro said.

"Sure sure..."

Just when Yuuji was holding the finger out towards Fushiguro, you shot up, feeling the presence of another Curse and you were right. There was another curse!

It morphed out of the ceiling as Fushiguro pushed Yuuji out of danger's reach while you rushed towards it along with the Gyokuken.

"Run!" Fushiguro yelled right before the Curse came crashing onto him and sending you rolling into Yuuji from the impact.

The dust cleared as you muttered a soft apology to Yuuji but then the both of you came to notice that Fushiguro was being held onto by the curse, "Fushiguro!" the both of you called out.

Fushiguro glared at the Cursed Spirit as he clapped his hands together to form some sort of sign, "Nue!" he yelled out but the Cursed Spirit only swung him into a wall, causing blood to spill out of his mouth.

The Gyokuken then began to fade away and you watched with wide eyes as the scene unfolded. You weren't sure what to do at that moment. Even though you were confident in your strength, you didn't know if you would get in Fushiguro's way. But enough thinking, you decided to rush straight towards the Cursed Spirit and throw your fist at it like you did with the other one.

This time, however, there was no flash of red-black coming out of your fist which meant there was no cursed energy in your attack. Although there was no cursed energy in your fists you still sent the Cursed Spirit flying across the room. You were next to Fushiguro as the Cursed Spirit came charging towards the both of you.

Too distracted while asking him if he was okay, the two of you broke through the walls and flew out of the school due to the Cursed Spirit.

"Damn it, I can't think straight!" Fushiguro grunted as he attempted to call out another one of his Shikigami.

However, Yuuji came to the rescue by jumping onto the Cursed Spirit and landing several strong hits on the creature.

"Itadori! Why can't you understand  to take those two and run?!" Fushiguro scolded, trying to get up but you pressed him down, urging him to stay down. "Take a break, I'll go give Yuuji some help," you said calmly.

You dashed towards the Cursed Spirit and punched it straight in it's head as it swung Yuuji into the air but Yuuji only landed back onto the Curse sending it another strong blow.

"You two can't beat it! Only curses can exorcise other curses! And you, Shimori, you don't even know how to control your cursed energy yet! You two won't be able to beat it!" Fushiguro yelled.

"Is this really the time to be saying that?! You're going to die at this rate!" Yuuji scolded, "If I went home now, I'd be having nightmares! Besides, I have my own troublesome curse already!"

You laughed at Yuuji's explanation as you continued to attempt to use your cursed energy while trying to reduce it's attacks on Yuuji but the Cursed Spirit seemed hellbent on retrieving what was in Yuuji's hand.

However, the Curse managed to land a strong hit on Yuuji causing him to cough out blood as it picked him up, planning to eat him up along with the finger.

"Idiot! Hand it over to me or you'll be eaten, too!"

"You piece of shit! Don't you dare hurt Yuuji!" you yelled as you charged towards it at full speed.

As you were on your way to Yuuji, he fought hard in order not to get eaten but it wasn't enough so he resorted to consuming the cursed finger.

"There is a way to save everyone! I just need some cursed energy, right, Fushiguro?!" Yuuji called out.

You skidded to a stop as soon as you heard Yuuji's words and glanced up with wide eyes to look at your friend. What the heck is he thinking?!

"Don't!" Fushiguro yelled.

But it was too late, the finger had already gone down Yuuji's throat as he elicited a gulp.

"Yuuji!!!" you yelled as you watched the whole bizarre scene play out.

The Cursed Spirit was pulling him closer and closer to its mouth. However, it's hands were ripped apart in a split second by Yuuji as he skillfully hopped into the air. He landed nicely on the ground and sent an upwards swipe to the approaching curse. The Cursed Spirit was simply obliterated in that split second.

Your jaw dropped as your eyes widened in shock. What the fuck just happened?

The Cursed Spirit slowly faded into dust and into the air. You reached your hand out towards your best friend, "Yuuji?" you called out softly.

There was no reply, Yuuji only began to laugh maniacally as you noticed the new tattoos that were printed all over his body.

"Ah, I knew it! The light feels better in the flesh!" he laughed, ripping off his hoodie while he was at it, "A Cursed Spirit's flesh is so boring! Where are the people? The women?!"

Yuuji then flicked his head around, scanning for any women in sight. His demonic eyes then landed on you as you returned his stare with a hard glare. "What a treat! There's already such a woman right before my eyes!" he continued to laugh as he approached you.

"What a great era this is. Women and children are crawling everywhere like maggots, and it seems the quality of women has improved! How marvelous! It'll be a massacre!"

You approached him carefully as your eyes darkened and the aura that filled the air turned eerie, "Yuuji..." you said in a low tone.

Your friend then straightened himself and raised a brow at you, finding your actions rather peculiar.

Sukuna did not understand why you would approach him with no fear in your eyes, to top it off, you were a woman. He then smirked when you stared directly into your eyes when you stopped right in front of him.

However, something unexpected occurred. You sent your fist right into his face as he flew backwards and away from you, "Snap out of it, Yuuji!" you scolded, "You're being hella creepy right now and I don't like it!"

"Did this bitch really just punch me? It seems the women of this era possess more strength than before, how annoying," he spat but as he did that his hands subconsciously moved to his face and grabbed onto it while he walked back to where you and Fushiguro were.

He then stared in confusion at his own hand that held onto his face, "Huh?"

"What do you think you're doing with my body? Give it back," Yuuji asked himself as he stopped moving.

Another voice, deeper than Yuuji's original voice, then spoke but the words came out from his own mouth, "You... How are you able to move?"

"I mean, it's my body."

You watched this scene play out as you stared in confusion, it was strange to see your friend talk to himself but it was also strange to hear a voice that wasn't his coming from him.

"Don't move! You're no longer human!" Fushiguro said, snapping you out of your trance.

"Huh?! What are you saying?!" you yelled at Fushiguro but he only pushed you away and got into a position to summon his Shikigami.

He brought his hands into a summoning position, "Under Jujutsu regulations, Itadori Yuuji, I will exorcise you as a curse!" he announced.

Your brows furrowed at his words as you felt anger brew in you. As far as you could tell, that was still Yuuji, you were not going to allow Fushiguro to kill him. That was your best friend and you were protective over him. He was the only close friend you had, of course, you'd want to keep him out of danger at all cost.

"Stop spouting bullshit, Fushiguro! That's Yuuji! I won't let you kill him!" you stood in front of him as your back faced Yuuji, holding a protective stance over him. You knew that Fushiguro was not the type to hurt a civilian so you exploited that and blocked him from getting to Yuuji.

"Wait, I'm fine, really!" Yuuji exclaimed, "More importantly, you and I are pretty beat up, let's get to a hospital already."

The tattoo marks on his body then slowly faded away as you scanned him from your peripheral vision.

"Oh wait, Y/N you're not hurt at all? That's great!"

"See! It is Yuuji!" you exclaimed as you looked at Fushiguro.

The dark haired male only gritted his teeth and kept his fighting position as he contemplated on what to do. You stared at the male intensely, trying to figure out if he was going to kill Yuuji or not. You were definitely not going to allow it to happen so you kept your guard up and observed every detail about Fushiguro.

Oh hey, he has pretty nice eyelashes. Y'know what, he's actually not half bad looking, in fact, I think he's actually pretty good looking. But please don't kill Yuuji, please don't kill Yuuji, please don't kill Yuuji...

As the two of you exchanged stares, a voice then popped up behind Fushiguro, "What's the situation?" the voice asked.

Fushiguro's Cursed Technique disappeared and your protective stance over Yuuji softened as you switched your gaze towards the mysterious man who just showed up.

"Gojo-sensei?! Why are you here?" Fushiguro asked in shock.

The mysterious man only replied with a simple, "Yo!" as he raised his hand up.

Said man had a very familiar shade of white hair and he sported a blindfold over his eyes. He had a rather weird outfit but that was the least of your concerns as of that moment. This man was strong, you didn't know how to explain it but you knew that this man was dangerous and extremely powerful. He was the first person you've ever met that made you doubt your abilities and made your confidence waver at first glance.

"I wasn't planning on coming, but man, you're roughed up! I should show the second years!" he laughed as he pulled out his hand phone and started taking pictures of the beat up Fushiguro, "Face this way!"

Fushiguro clicked his tongue, showing his distaste for the man as he covered himself with his arm from the camera lights of the man's phone.

"The higher ups wouldn't shut up with a special grade Cursed Object gone missing. So I stopped by while doing some sightseeing. So, did you find it?" he asked casually.

You and Fushiguro only lowered your head in disappointment because you two knew that a certain friend of yours ate it. This almost sounded like the 'my dog ate my homework excuse' except the dog in this case would be Yuuji and he did, indeed, eat the homework which was the Cursed Finger Fushiguro was tasked on retrieving.

"Um... Sorry, but I ate it..." Yuuji said, raising his hand to speak like he was in a classroom.

There was a beat of silence between the four of you who were at the rooftop as the blind folded man stared at Yuuji.

Would stare even be the right word? I mean he's literally wearing a blind fold... You watched as the man faced Yuuji.

"For real?" he asked.

"For real..." you responded with Fushiguro immediately.

The mysterious man then walked towards you and Yuuji, staring at the two of you back and forth, "Which one of you ate it again?" he asked again.

You stuck your thumb up towards Yuuji and he raised his hand up, indicating that it was him, indeed.

The white haired man looked  at you briefly before focusing his gaze directly on Yuuji, shoving his face right in front of him.

In your opinion, it was a little close for a normal person but you just figured that this man probably did not have any respect for personal space.

"Damn, it really did combine with you. That's hilarious. Anything off with your body?" he asked.

Yuuji lifted his arm up and looked around his body, "Not particularly," he replied.

"Can you swap with Sukuna?"

"Sukuna?"

"That's the curse you ate," the man explained.

The pink haired boy then placed his hand on his hips and replied, "Oh... Yeah, I think I can do that."

Taking a few steps away from Yuuji, the white haired man then got into a stretching position, "Then give us 10 seconds. Once 10 seconds are up, come back to us," he said.

"But--"

You observed the man intensely, what was he planning to do with Yuuji? If whatever he was planning threatened your friend's safety you wouldn't hesitate to step in even though you knew this man was strong.

"Don't worry, I'm the strongest," he said