CastAway

Chapter 19

After spending gods knew how long getting ready, Gojo rushed Yuuji and I to get dressed. Yuuji chose a pair of gym shorts with a T-shirt while I put on spandex shorts, a sports bra, and a tank top. Once dressed, we ate breakfast with Gojo yammering away as normal.

Rather than taking turns washing our dishes, all three of us crammed into the small kitchen. Several 'accidental' touches and bumps into each other ensued, but Gojo didn't let it go any further.

He quickly ushered us into the backyard, eager to see what I had in mind. Yuuji and I took our normal sparring positions with me closer to the house, but Gojo placed his hands on my shoulders before Yuuji let Sukuna out.

"Why Sukuna?" Gojo asked.

"I have an idea and I want to know if it works on curses." I responded vaguely.

The more I practiced using cursed energy, the more I wondered what would happen if I used the lighter half of my power. What would I call it? If the negative half is cursed, then would the lighter half be pure?

"If that's all I'm getting out of you, I guess we should start." Gojo piped up, giving my shoulders an encouraging pat before stepping back and leaning on the back door.

While Yuuji closed his eyes and black lines appeared on his skin, Gojo shouted. "Wait!"

Sukuna glared at Sukuna before Yuuji took control of his body. "What?" Yuuji asked, mildly annoyed.

"We should probably do this somewhere else." Gojo ginned at us like he'd had a world-changing revelation while Yuuji and I stared daggers at him.

"Really? You waited until now to think of that and say something?" I snapped at him, glancing over at Yuuji for reassurance but he just shrugged. Damn boy gets over things too quickly. Or maybe I'm too hot headed and quick to hold a grudge.

Gojo clapped his hands to get our attention back on him and led us out of the house. We walked through the city to the forest where we fought the unregistered special grade. Gojo assured us we wouldn't be seen. There weren't any reports of curses in the area, plus it was the weekend, so we shouldn't run into anyone who would recognize us. It sounded like he was trying to convince himself, not us.

Either way, we made it to our destination with no incidents.

Once deep in the forest, Gojo stayed several feet away while Yuuji and I took our positions. He was close enough to watch us and intervene if needed, but stayed out of our way.

I waited while Yuuji gave control to Sukuna, watching as the black marks appeared on his skin. When the King of Curses opened his red eyes, he smirked at me and put his hands in his pockets, shifting his weight to his heels. First move was mine then.

Reaching for my power, I ignored the pit of despair and grasped its other half, warmth and light. It filled me with hope and joy as it filled me and settled in my hands.

Hands encased in balls of light, I lunged for Sukuna. He easily dodged my first attack, effortlessly leaning to the side as my fist swung past his head. He stepped to the side and batted my hand away with a laugh as I swung again.

"Easy, kitten. Are you that eager to hit me?" He taunted, not once retaliating as I went in for a third punch.

"You agreed to this, dipshit." I barked back, frustrated as none of my attacks landed.

He laughed boisterously at my outburst, dodging me again and again with light footed jumps. When I went in for what felt like my hundredth failed attempt, Sukuna grabbed my wrist and pulled me into him. Surprised by his first reaction, my own momentum combined with his pull caused me to stumble into him.