// SURVIVOR'S GUILT // : MAKI ZEN'IN

TURN BACK TIME //.

"You've got a mission, Yuuya-kun!"

"Mh? So soon?"

Sitting in one of many empty classrooms of the campus of Jujutsu High, atop the desk with his legs crossed and a bag of chips in his hand, Suoh Yuuya conversed with a Satoru Gojo standing at the black board with a stick of chalk in his hand.

"You shouldn't forget your Rank, Yuuya-kun, it displays a lack of respect for the responsibility that comes with it," The Special-Grade sorcerer scolded with a feigned pout on his lips.

"Uh huh, shure," Suoh muttered through chips in his teeth, "Sho, what'sh my mishon?"

"Hm!" Gojo smacked his chalk into the black board, and proceeded to scribble several tall rectangles of varying stature across the board, with a large Y scribbled across the top of one in the center.

"This right here," He said, pointing to the Y, "is the Y-ARENA gambling parlor. Mei-san heard through some connections that there is a Cursed Object in that area that is extremely volatile."

"Ah, another Finger?"

"Possibly— most likely, even."

Suoh hopped off from his seat on the desk, and crumpled up his now-empty chip bag, smacking his hands together to shake off the crumbs with a nod of his head.

"Got it, got it, sounds easy enough. Anything else?"

"Yes, actually."

Gojo slipped his hand into his pocket, and pulled out a note. Suoh swiped it from Gojo's hand, unfolded it, glossing it over quickly.

"Huh...I see," Suoh mumbled, before handing it back to Gojo, "So, you want Maki-chan and I to do the heavy lifting, is that it?"

"Exactly," The white-haired sorcerer replied, pointing the sorcerer's way, "Your job will be to go with Maki-san to retrieve the Finger; while you do so, Itadori will take a Cursed Tool with him to develop his skills with a capable sorcerer proficient in weaponry himself, at the same location, dispatching any Curses attracted to the Cursed Energy of the Object."

"Mh? So our main goal is to retrieve the Cursed Object, and theirs is, what?" Suoh questioned, raising an eyebrow, "Why the number of sorcerers for such an easy mission?"

Gojo held up two fingers, the smirk on his lips fading into a firm, tight-lipped expression; "Two reasons."

"One; Itadori needs to develop his proficiency and understanding of Cursed Energy further, and disposing of Curses on the level of measly Grade-4s and 3s will help in that regard, especially if they were to converge on one specific area, thanks to the potency of Cursed Energy emitted from one of Sukuna's Fingers."

"Two; This situation is far different from the Finger you recovered before. You are not travelling to an abandoned area with no one for miles around you, Yuuya-kun. This is central Tokyo, eyes and ears will surround you at all times."

"Yuuya," Gojo put his hand on the boy's shoulder, "Your bounty was taken down two nights ago, well after I had cut your tail."

As the Special-Grade spoke, Suoh visibly tensed at his words; his eyes shot open, before shrinking back as he clicked his tongue, lips curling into a displeased sneer. "Shit."

"Their suspicions were confirmed; they know you're here now," Gojo said, before stalking off down the hallway, out of the classroom, "You best take care of yourself."

"There's a reason that the higher-ups have kept Jodo's existence under wraps, why they haven't been messed with in decades. Hell, there's countless reasons why they haven't had me find them myself and snuff Jodo out. Stay sharp, the target on your back's only gotten brighter, from this point on."