12 Chapter 12: Let's change things #5: How did we get to this?
"." Character dialogues. Example: "Hello"
'.' Thoughts of character. Example: 'Hello'
Omniscient narrator dialogue
3rd person dialogue
[Curse Techniques]
Sound
Author's Note: This story is based on the Jujutsu Kaisen manga, which has some variations from the anime. If you find any discrepancies in the dialogues or scenarios, I invite you to research how it was in the manga. It's a story of short chapters, as I find it unnecessary to be a detailed episode (I don't know how to write long chapters).
I apologize if there are grammatical errors, I write in Spanish and translate it into English.
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Time: September 23rd. 2 weeks after Itadori discovered his new power.
Location: Courtyard of the Tokyo Sorcery Academy, Tokyo, Japan.
A sweaty pink-haired individual could be seen sitting next to a panda, seemingly taking a break.
"How is it possible, Itadori, that you have progressed so quickly in handling fire?" Panda asked, his voice full of astonishment. "Are you some kind of gifted genius?" The panda couldn't hide his curiosity.
Itadori, who was in the middle of a break from his training, paused to take a sip of water. "Eh? No, I don't think so," he replied simply, dismissing the idea of being a genius with a shake of his head.
Panda insisted, "But, you know everyone is talking about it, right?"
"Yes, I know… But honestly, I don't think I'm a genius," Itadori responded humbly. Then, with a smile, he added: "I think my years of being an Otaku and a Geek are finally paying off."
"Otaku? Geek?" Panda asked, clearly confused by the terms that were not common in his vocabulary.
"I read a lot of manga," Itadori explained. Seeing the persistent confusion on Panda's face, he decided to be more specific: "They are books with drawings that represent characters with superpowers."
"Ah, I see…" Panda nodded slowly, beginning to understand. "So that gave you so many ideas on how to use your cursed technique?" he asked.
Itadori decided not to correct Panda this time, even though his ability was not a cursed technique. "Yes, I read Fire Force, Naruto, Bleach, and consulted Wiki Powers for more inspiration. I just had to improve my control over fire, the ideas were already in my head thanks to those mangas," he explained.
Panda was thoughtful, reflecting on Itadori's words. "I never thought that a sorcerer could strengthen himself in that way…" he murmured, questioning his own existence and the way he had learned to fight.
"You know what, Itadori? You may not see yourself as a genius, but the idea that a sorcerer can strengthen himself by drawing inspiration from works of fiction is something completely unheard of," Panda said, looking at Itadori in a new light. "You're a weirdo," he declared, causing Itadori to choke on the water he was drinking.
"But you're a panda!" exclaimed Itadori, visibly annoyed. Panda simply looked away, ignoring Itadori's defense. "Weirdo," he repeated, reaffirming his point of view.
Itadori looked at him incredulously, until he started to laugh, Panda joining in the fun moment.
"Excuse me, Mr. Itadori, I didn't mean to interrupt you…" A soft voice from Ichiji resonated behind Itadori.
"Eh? Ichiji-san?" Itadori turned towards the voice, getting up from the ground. "I've told you before, you don't have to call me 'Mr.' Nothing has changed, Ichiji," said Itadori, his face lit up with a warm and welcoming smile.
"Yes… I'm sorry, I'm still not used to your new status," Ichiji replied, his voice full of embarrassment and apprehension.
"It's not official yet," Itadori clarified, trying to ease the tension.
Ichiji nodded, but then added: "Don't be so modest, Itadori. You know that the higher-ups are delaying it, but with Gojo-san pressuring them, they will eventually have to accept it." His tone was serious, underlining the inevitability of the situation.
"But that's not why I came here," Ichiji said, changing the tone of the conversation. "You have a mission," he declared, causing Itadori to nod and pick up his shirt from the ground, burned up to the shoulders.
"I'm going to need a new uniform… again," Itadori murmured, with a tone of resignation.
"Don't worry, Itadori. A new uniform that suits your current situation is already being made, along with the knuckles you requested," Ichiji replied, trying to reassure Itadori.
Upon hearing this, Itadori's expression changed. Even though his new status was not yet official, it had its perks and he couldn't deny that he was enjoying them.
Panda, seeing Itadori's smile, pleaded: 'Don't become a Gojo Satoru'.
"Let's go, Ichiji," said Itadori, standing up and walking towards the academy, ready to face his new mission.
Time jump
"Why is he here? I thought the superstar didn't have time for low-level missions!" said Nobara, at first speaking softly and then practically shouting at Itadori.
"Why are you treating me like this? I didn't do anything to you!" Itadori responded, defending himself from Nobara's verbal attack.
Nobara, dramatically, brought her hand to her forehead, acting as if she were in a soap opera. "Because I'm supposed to be the country girl who comes to the capital looking for a new life, and despite the difficulties and discrimination from the capital people, triumphs and becomes rich," she replied, as roses flew around her and the background changed as she narrated her fantasy.
"Don't you mean strong?" Itadori questioned Nobara's wealth fantasy.
"Yes, yes, that," Nobara replied, with a hand gesture dismissing Itadori's correction.
Just as they were about to start another fight, Megumi, who was sitting between them, spoke. "Shut up, you're bothering Nitta," he said.
"No, not at all," replied the embarrassed assistant Nitta Akari when mentioned.
"Tell us about the mission, please," Megumi requested in a polite manner, trying to bring the conversation back to its original purpose.
Nitta began to clearly narrate the current mission, in summary, 3 men had been killed and they had to search for and exorcise the responsible curse.
It was assumed that the victims had been cursed previously when they went to the same high school, so they were going to talk to one of the possible future victims.
But to their displeasure, they were right, and that victim had already been killed under similar circumstances, so they changed their destination to Urami East High School.
Upon arriving at their destination, after talking to 2 teenagers who were smoking in the yard, to the surprise of 3 out of 4, they discovered that Megumi was a pseudo legend of that high school by beating up and putting all the delinquents in the area in their place.
They also spoke with a worker from the high school, who recognized Megumi and asked about his sister, exposing her existence to the 2 sorcerer companions and sorcerer assistant. This man also revealed that there was a place where the teenagers of this high school tested their courage, the Yasohachi Bridge.
So they headed there at night thinking that was the reason why people were being cursed, they did several tests, including throwing Itadori from the bridge, but nothing happened.
They left for a nearby convenience store in the early morning and are currently there.
"In the end we didn't find any presence or trace," Megumi said, eating an onigiri.
Nitta sighed "I see, it seems we will have to start from scratch" The assistant lamented.
"Well, we have to hurry up, don't we?" Itadori hinted.
"Why?" Nobara asked "Because it's a famous haunted site" Itadori replied.
"Maybe other people will also end up cursed" The pink-haired man supposed "And the mortality rate is 100%"
"That's true…" Nobara replied with regret
"Bingo! And if someone jumps?!" The assistant proposed, amid the excited murmurs of Yuuji and Nobara that someone said bingo, Megumi clarified "Itadori already did"
"I found them! Thank goodness!" One of the teenagers who was at the academy called out to them from a distance while riding a bicycle, a girl behind him.
The girl, named Fujinuma, proceeds to reveal a piece of information that could be of interest or help in the case. She ends up confessing that she went to Yasohachi Bridge one night and that she recently feels a strange presence in her house.
Nobara asks for extra information or if she visited the bridge accompanied by someone. The young girl worries believing that the bridge could be the reason for the recent deaths but Akari, lies, claiming that they are actually doing a report for the university.
She also reveals that Tsukimi, Megumi's sister, was with them on the bridge that day, Nobara and Itadori are shocked by the information, however, Megumi acts indifferent and tells the young girl that he will talk to his sister to get more information.
Itadori, noticing Megumi's mood, approaches and takes him by the shoulders worried "Fushiguro!, Fushiguro! React! We have to find out if she is safe!" He spoke in front of a catatonic Megumi.
Megumi blinked as his body trembled and a drop of sweat fell from his face. "I'm fine, I just need to relax" He said in a soft and calm voice as he walked away from the worried gaze of his companions, his appearance not matching his voice.
Megumi, moving a little away from the group, took out his phone and dialed Ichiji's number to discuss the current situation.
"The number of victims has exceeded our initial expectations. We will have to reevaluate the degree of the curse," Ichiji said over the phone, his voice full of concern. "To be frank, you should consider the possibility of withdrawing," he concluded.
"Even Itadori?", Megumi asked, his voice tense. "Well, I would prefer if he withdrew," Ichiji replied, avoiding giving a direct answer to the question.
"Ichiji…", Megumi said, looking for a more concrete answer.
"Itadori's rank would be suitable for this mission," Ichiji finally replied, giving Megumi the confirmation he needed.
While Megumi was lost in his thoughts, he did not notice the presence of Itadori and Nobara behind him.
"Why did you call Ichiji?" Nobara questioned, her tone full of curiosity. "Is Tsumiki okay?" Itadori asked, his concern evident in his voice.
"Perfectly," Megumi lied, his voice firm despite the lie.
"But the level of danger of the mission has increased," Megumi said, his tone serious. "Itadori, can I talk to you in private?" he asked, causing confusion in both Itadori and Nobara.
"Eh… sure," Itadori replied, visibly confused. He walked a little away with Megumi, leaving Nobara behind.
Once they were far enough away, Megumi stopped and looked at Itadori seriously, thought about his words and what he was going to reveal, but decided to do so out of respect for Itadori's current strength.
"My sister, Tsumiki, is in a coma," He started strong, surprising Itadori. "The curse only manifests itself to its victims… but she can't communicate, I don't know when the curse will kill her." He looked directly at Itadori, his gaze intense. "So I want to exorcise her as soon as possible."
"It's true that the level of danger has increased, but…" Itadori interrupted Megumi, patting his shoulder in a gesture of support.
"Don't worry, I'll help you," Itadori said with a smile.
"And do you think I'll let you go without me?" Nobara interrupted, appearing suddenly. "You were so focused on your romantic moment that you didn't even notice when I approached" she said, her tone mocking.
After a little organization, they decided to go tonight, the moon was the only illumination they had.
"Ready?" Itadori asked, cracking his fingers as he looked at the ravine where they had to go down.
Both Nobara and Megumi nodded to his question, proceeding to crawl down the hill.
"So, Itadori… How does it feel?" Nobara asked, as they walked and followed the pattern to possibly find the curse.
Megumi paid attention, quite curious about his companion's response.
"Eh? What do you mean? How does what feel?" Itadori responded, not understanding what Nobara was referring to.
"You know…" Nobara replied, making a gesture as if it was obvious what she was referring to, to Itadori's confusion.
With a sigh, Nobara spoke
"Mr. Yuuji Itadori; Special grade sorcerer." She revealed sarcastically.
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Finally! The big power up has arrived for my rooster!
If anyone thinks that it is a very high jump in his power due to his new fire power, think that Itadori even in the original manga, at this point in the story, faced 1v1 first-degree curses.
And now, in this story, being stronger and even having the reverse cursed technique, something that few have, added to his great physical strength, added to great control of cursed energy with the property of fire, being extremely destructive.
It would be an insult if he didn't reach the special grade when in previous episodes he had an advantage against Todou and defeated Hanami.
Itadori in the original story was an Otaku, it would make no sense if he didn't have the idea of copying what he read in mangas and animes.
