That Time When I Fell Down the Stairs and Became a Jujutsu Sorcerer

Chapter 3 - Year One (Loop 1)

Celebrating Shoko's birthday in November, then Gojo's in December, and Geto's in February, we'd had a lot of wonderful times in our first year. Spring arrived again. The spring when everything was supposed to change. Then Nanami and Haibara joined as first years we had another good few weeks. I knew that joy would be unfortunately short-lived. After the rescue of Utahime and Mei-mei, I listened as Yaga gave them the mission that would change it all.

The star plasma vessel, a young girl, was to be taken to Tengen and then erased. Yaga specifically said 'erased' to tip off the boys that this wasn't something he agreed with. Though he wasn't straight forward or vocal with his dislike of the current structure of the Jujutsu World, he was always good about making sure we understood the system was broken. Even if he was quiet about it.

I said my goodbyes as the two left, then immediately put my plan into action. I had three days before they would be back with Riko. That was when Toji would strike. Heading to the torii gates that led to the tomb of the star, I looked carefully over the area where Gojo would have his first ever loss in his life and come so extremely close to dying that he would change forever.

The event would play out exactly like this: They walked up to the torii gates, and Geto announced that they were within the barrier. Gojo finally released his technique after keeping it going for the three days and finally relaxed. As soon as he let his guard down, Toji appeared from somewhere and stabbed Gojo through the chest. Geto, Riko, and Kuroi run away from the fight to the tomb of the Star but Toji easily overpowers Gojo and comes after the others quickly.

Measuring the area, I tried to figure out how to pull off what I wanted to do. The idea was to ambush Toji, but I wasn't foolish enough to think I could fight him. I wanted to try to catch him off guard enough that Gojo or Geto could kill him before Gojo shut off his infinity. I knew I wouldn't be able to sense him, there was no way. If Gojo's six-eyes couldn't do it then there was no way I could.

My best option was to set up traps that would make a lot of noise. I figured if I could make him mess up then the boys would see him. I knew it wouldn't be easy to trick Toji though. He wasn't a stupid man, and would definitely be aware of his surroundings enough to notice a few mundane traps. Heading back to the school, I pondered what would be my best options. I needed to catch a man who was a literal sorcerer assassin. He was definitely not going to fall for something as simple as a tripwire, but what if the tripwire was a front for the real trap or something?

Over the three days I had, I set up as many little things as I could. Threads with bells, tripwires, beads and boards with sharp nails. I climbed up on top of the torii gates and set up a layer of snap and pops under a long plank of wood painted to look the same color. Tirelessly I worked until I was sure the whole area was covered. There was no way he would make it through unscathed, right?

When the day arrived. I knew they'd make it back to the school barrier soon and I hurried up to the path. This was my first attempt and I was feeling pretty confident I'd made a real difference. Feeling sick with anticipation, I carefully crept through the woods, watching over the area where they would appear soon.

I smiled as I saw them walking up the path, just casually talking amongst themselves. Soon it would turn so fast and my heart thundered in my chest as I desperately pleaded with any god that could hear me to let this work. They stood at the gate and I heard Geto say that they were within the barrier. The bright glow in Gojo's eyes faded as he released his ability earlier than I expected.

As I crouched low behind the dense underbrush, my heart pounded in my chest. The forest was alive with the chirping of birds, and I had no clue where Toji would come from. My friends, oblivious to the danger lurking nearby, continued to talk about their successful mission. I kept a watchful eye on them, my fingers tightly gripping the hilt of the knife at my side.