Please, leave a stain on this vast emptiness

Chapter 12

As Megumi clarifies the origin of curses being linked to the mindset rather than the environment, Yūji is quick to reference back to the similar situation in his old high school. Tsumi begins to brood over his lack of exposition skills as Yūji comprehends more from Megumi's ten seconds lesson than his infodump.

"Hold up, he doesn't even know that?" Nobara, tirade coming to an end, joins the class discussion.

"To be honest..." Megumi recounts the incident.

When he finishes Nobara is beyond disturbed: "He just swallows a special grade cursed object like that?! Unbelievable! Gross! That's so unsanitary and disgusting! No way no way no way no way!"

The female bolts away and even scoots a few steps farther for safe measure, expressing her distaste continuously. Yūji looks exasperated: "What?!"

"I agree with her." Megumi turns slightly towards Yūji as he concurs.

"I never imagined that something can look so repulsive when it has the same appearance as a karintō candy." Tsumi murmurs as he recalls the image of the grotesque finger covered in adipocere, sailing through the air and landing inside Yūji's open mouth.

"I want to know what all of you are capable of." Gojō interrupts, returning the topic back to the mission at hand: "Just think of this as a field test. Nobara, Yūji, you two go exorcise the curses in this building."

The two selected students looks over to the block, Nobara grunting out an 'Ew' before doing so.

"Huh? But I thought only curses can exorcise curses? I can't use any jujutsu." Uncertain, Yūji checks with his mentor.

"You're basically half a curse already." Gojō looks back at his student as he answers, pointing at him: "Cursed energy flows throughout your body. Although you can't learn to control it within a day, so use this."

Gojō walks over to Yūji and pulls out a cursed tool, both Megumi and Tsumi's eyes widen as they realize exactly who Gojō borrowed, hopefully, the large dagger from. On the other hand, Yūji seems thrilled receiving the weapon, grinning as he holds the weapon up without its sheath.

"It's a cursed tool, Slaughter Demon." Gojō describes: "It's imbued with cursed energy, should be effective on the curses."

"Lame." Leaving a curt comment, Nobara walks toward the building's entrance while tying a belt bag around her waist. Yūji is ready to follow when Gojō pipes up again: "Oh, one more thing."

The boy turns his head as his teacher continues: "Don't let Sukuna out, he can get rid of all the curses around in a flash, but you'll drag everyone else into it."

Yūji gives a thumbs up: "Got it, I won't."

"Hurry it up!" Straightening up from her inspection of the graffitied shutters, Nobara impatiently calls back, Yūji mutters as he jogs toward her: "Yeah, yeah."

"Come back soon~" Gojō waves his two students off gaily.

"I think I should go too." Sitting between cones discarded in a corner of the premises, Megumi speaks up when his two classmates are inside.

"Don't push yourself, you are still recovering." Gojō replies from the floor: "Tsumi is still sore from stair climbing too."

"But Itadori needs to be monitored, right?"

"Well yes, but... This time the one we are testing is Nobara."

Both students turn to face Gojō waiting on his elaboration.

"About Yūji, he's a bit crazy, isn't he?" Gojō taps his temple: "He has not an ounce of hesitation when getting rid of the freakish things if they try to kill him, even if they take the form of living creatures. Unlike you both, he's not been familiar with curses for a long time either. This is a teenage boy who has lived a normal life up until now."

Leaning back against mossy corroded wall he continues: "Megumi, you've seen plenty of jujutsu sorcerers, even those with talent, give up in frustration because they couldn't conquer their fear and disgust, haven't you? So today I want to confirm how crazy she is, Kugisaki Nobara."

"But Kugisaki has experience, right? Why wouldn't she have that craziness by now?"

"Curses are born from human minds, they increase proportionally in number and size to the population. Do you think Nobara understand, countryside vs city, the curses are on a whole different level?"

Huddling under his mantelet during the whole exchange, Tsumi silently listens but grows increasingly restless at Gojō's word, uneasy about how the two new classmates are faring in his test.

"Sensei, Kugisaki..." He begins but Gojō decides to speak too: "When I say 'level', I don't just mean the amount of cursed energy they have, it's also the slyness. Beasts that have gained intelligence sometimes confronts you with cruel choices, one example would be the predicament of weighing one human life against another."

"Uh..." Tsumi's eyes flit back and forth between the building and Gojō, sighing he stands up and murmurs: "Someone should probably go check on them after all."

Before he could move a shadow suddenly looms over them. Looking back up, there is now a cursed spirit, awfully hairy and disproportioned with a missing limb, flying through the air, seemly escaping from whoever is behind the building's wall. Gojō hums in interest while Megumi stands, fingers lacing together ready for action: "I'll exorcise it."

"Wait." Gojō stops him.

Abruptly, the cursed spirit's gleeful grin falters, in split seconds metal spikes explode out from within its body one after another, purple fluid spills out from the ruptures along with the harrowing wails from the creature's maw as it begins to drop from the weight, only for its everything to disintegrate in midair. The cursed spirit perishes like a wisp of smoke.

"Nice, she's crazy alright." Gojō grins while the two students looks on.

After ensuring a child who is inadvertently mixed up in the mess is back to safety, Gojō promises dinner, to which both Yūji and Nobara both shouts out their ideal dish rather passionately.

"Soup." Tsumi murmurs snuggling deeper into his cotton blanket, the air is starting to cool as orange hue filters into light, basking everything in false warmth as sunset lingers on the horizon. While steak and sushi sounds delicious Tsumi doubts they are very warming, plus there will be hell to pay for him if dinner is too rich for his stomach.

"Real food! I don't want liquid for dinner!" Nobara protests.

"Stew?"

This time Nobara is only able to groan in frustration.

"Megumi?" Gojō points to Megumi who ignores him in favour of scrolling the phone screen.

"What's wrong, Fushiguro?" Yūji notices and questions to which Megumi replies: "Nothing."

"You're pouting cause you didn't get your turn?" Gojō smiles as he pokes fun and Nobara chuckles teasingly: "Puhu~ Such a kid."

The face Megumi makes sends Yūji into hearty laughter. Tsumi smiles lightly tilting his head back towards the sky.

The last sliver of sunlight slips under the horizon, sunset hue shifts its tone and is dyeing the serene world with a more calm, rosy purple. Today ends tranquilly too.

Log: July 2018 West Tokyo City Eishū Juvenile Detention Centre, above the yard
Apparition <Name Undecided>, potential high grade. Its cursed womb was witnessed by several windows. Due to the emergency nature, three Jujutsu Tech first-years were dispatched to the scene.
Within that group... one died.