A Dead Man's Return

V. Atonement

Nobody's POV:

Same day: Saturday

...

8:45 AM

"There is no time for morality arguments. The baseline is that we are Jujutsu Sorcerers and our job is to exorcise cursed spirits. Which means to permanently end their existence. Sorcerers don't abide by morals. We abide by the rules. In war, your job is to kill the opposing side. It's either kill or be killed, remember that, you two."

The first years winced as Nanami sliced the cursed spirit in half with a big, dull looking knife, causing red blood to spurt everywhere. They understood what he was saying, and they agreed with him to an extent. But still, there was just something about these select few curses that made their stomachs turn at the thought of killing them.

"I know it may feel wrong, and I know curses aren't supposed to show humanlike emotions such as sadness, but remember, we're doing this for the betterment of society," Nanami said quietly, turning towards the two younglings and offering them a tiny, but serene smile. "I'm glad you two aren't losing your morals, however. Doing this for a while dilutes them."

"There was just something off about these curses," Kugisaki whispered, Itadori's eyes still fixated on the dead cursed spirit.

"Aren't they supposed to disappear once they're exorcised?" Itadori asked in a soft voice. The blond haired sorcerer nodded his head, crouching down and grabbing the curse's skin.

"I'll bring it to Ieiri, along with the other two you defeated, Kugisaki. They're out cold, so it shouldn't be much of an issue, but for extra precaution, I'll call a couple other sorcerers to assist me in bringing them back. You two can return back to Jujutsu Tech, Ijichi is on his way," Kento stated, wrapping his weapon up and pulling it away whilst standing up. Yuji began walking towards the street corner where they were supposed to meet Ijichi, Nobara lagging behind with a skeptical gaze

"What about the security cameras?" the brunette questioned with a curious look, the adult in front of her shaking his head and closing his eyes.

"Nothing—no curse user. It would seem that a curse did it. All you could see were the victim's deaths, not who nor what caused them. This is all very odd, but I'm sure we'll get answers soon. Go be with Itadori and stay on guard," Nanami said through a sigh, pulling a folded tarp from his suit pocket and opening it up, soon throwing it over the deceased entity on the floor.

"Alright," the brunette whispered with notes of defeat.

Kugisaki jogged a few of meters through the parking lot, meeting up with her classmate who was practically slouched over with his hands in his pockets. Kugisaki, although still not on friendly terms with the latter, decided to put her stubbornness to the side for the time being in attempts to cheer the boy up.

"You should've seen me when I got angry—I almost unlocked a new technique, I can't lie. I was in the zone," the brunette chuckled, although the latter simply nodded with his eyes fixed forward. Nobara bumped him lightly, her eyes softening and her mouth curling at one end. "What happened to your happy-go-lucky attitude? You're seriously feeling this bad for a couple of curses?"

The pair made it to the end of the sidewalk as they stared at the barren intersection. Itadori's face was blank and his eyes were equally as hollow, almost like he was one with the bleak and lifeless atmosphere surrounding them. "I dunno."

"I'm not gonna try my best to make you feel better or anything—after all, I still hate you. But I will tell you as your partner in battle and a sorcerer going through the same things you are, Nanami is right. Would you rather save one crying curse that's killed many people and will kill many more people, or save those people by killing that one crying curse? It's all black and white, Itadori. We exorcise curses, we save humans. There's no ambiguity in that statement."