Your Life As A Tokyo Jujutsu High Background Student

Chapter 31 - Operation: Screw Sukuna (Figuratively, of course)

With the Goodwill Event over, everyone got back to their regular training and mission grind. After appointing Megumi to loom over Yuji and Nobara like a constipated vulture to make sure those slackers actually finished their required reading this time, you headed off to check in on your side gig with Shoko.

Shoko's lab looked like a battlefield – papers were strewn everywhere, cages overturned, and suspicious stains you didn't want to identify decorated almost every surface. The poor woman had not one, but two, massive research dumpster fires raging simultaneously. On top of her time-suspension spell for preserving injuries, you'd roped her into your covert "Operation: Screw Sukuna" project.

When you arrived lugging two magnum cups of motor oil masquerading as coffee, Shoko herself looked just as frazzled as her work area. Her hair was pulled back in a frantic lopsided ponytail, grooves of frustration lined her forehead, and her lab coat looked like it had been attacked by a rabid wombat. She was hunched over a safety cage, squinting grimly as she tried to jab a massive syringe into a possessed squirrel.

The squirrel, aptly named "Beelzebub" if its demonic screeching was any indication, launched itself side-to-side like a hairy pinball, avoiding the needle jab with unnerving agility for such a small creature. Its tiny razor teeth gnashed furiously at the bars as it let out a stream of chattering hisses.

"Need some help, Ieiri-san?" you called out over the ruckus.

"Oh good, you're here. Give me a hand!" Shoko looked immensely relieved at your arrival as she wrestled with the irate, possessed squirrel.

You set the coffee cups down on the only available surface – a corner desk piled precariously with file folders. Dropping your bag on the floor, you grinned at the frazzled woman. "What would you do without me?"

Shoko didn't have a chance to respond before you strode over to the cage where Beelzebub the squirrel was still swiping and hissing. Taking a deep breath, you proceeded to unleash an earth-shattering screech at the rodent. Beelzebub was so startled that it flew back right onto Shoko's awaiting needle. She grimaced but managed to depress the plunger, emptying the entire dose into its furry butt in less than a second while your screaming assaulted both its tiny ears and hers.

"There must have been a better way that didn't involve your ungodly screeching," Shoko groaned, gingerly massaging her temples as the echoes faded.

You shrugged unapologetically. "But it was efficient."

And indeed, within a couple of minutes, Beelzebub seemed to relax. The malicious red glint faded from its beady eyes. It slumped down, looking significantly less demonic.

Observing Beelzebub now calmly scooping up nuts in the corner of its cage, you asked, "So, I take it you've figured out the right cocktail?"

Shoko walked over and took a deep gulp from one of the steaming coffee cups before answering. "You want the good news or bad news first?"

"Hit me with the good news," you said.

She nodded. "Yeah, the good news is I think I've landed on a combination of medications that seem to suppress the influence of curses over their hosts. I still need to fine-tune the dosage a bit more."

That did sound promising. You ventured tentatively, "That's great... what's the bad news then?"

"The bad news is I have no idea if it will actually work on Sukuna," Shoko admitted. "I mean, he's the King of Curses, and Yuji sure as hell isn't a squirrel. I based the formula on Yuji's blood test results, but it was a lot of guesswork."

You sighed, dejection seeping back in. "Yeah, we kinda figured that was a long shot."

"The other bad news," Shoko continued, taking another fortifying sip. "Is that even if this formula could work on Sukuna, it would have to be injected directly into his bloodstream to take effect. Dosing his food wouldn't work."