[5] Curse Control

I spun around, spotting two figures on the other side of the roof. One was a dark-haired guy with an intense expression, the other a pink-haired guy who looked utterly confused.

The dark-haired one continued, "Under jujutsu regulations, Yuji Itadori, by law, I will now exorcise you, as a curse!"

The pink-haired guy - Yuji, I assumed - raised his hands placatingly. "No, really Megumi, I'm fine," he said, sounding bewildered. "Plus, both of us are banged up. Shouldn't we see a doctor or something?"

I watched the scene unfold before me, struggling to make sense of the bizarre situation. Gojo finally stepped in.

"What's the situation?" he asked, as if he'd stumbled upon nothing more than a minor disagreement.

The dark-haired guy - Megumi - whirled around, his eyes widening. "Satoru Gojo? What are you doing here?" His gaze shifted to me, confusion etching deeper lines on his face. "And who is this? His cursed energy is-"

Before Megumi could finish, Gojo cut him off with a chuckle, pulling out his phone. "Hey, I wasn't planning on showing up, but you got kinda roughed up, huh kid?" He started snapping pictures of Megumi from different angles, that infuriating grin plastered on his face. "I can't wait to show this to the second years. Say cheese!"

Feeling awkward just standing there, I let off a short wave. "Yo, I'm Akuma Kantaro," I said.

Gojo continued as if this were all perfectly normal. "I got an earful from the higher-ups that the special grade cursed object is still missing, so I thought I'd do a little sightseeing and stop by. So, did you find it?"

Megumi turned to the pink-haired guy - Yuji - his expression a mix of exasperation and disbelief. "He ate it."

I couldn't help myself. "Excuse me?" I blurted out, my eyes darting between the three of them. What the hell had I gotten myself into?

Gojo turned to Itadori, his head cocked to the side. "Anything weird about your body?"

Itadori shook his head, "Nah, it seems okay."

"Can you swap with Sukuna at will?"

Itadori's brow furrowed. "Sukuna?"

Gojo elaborated, "The curse you ate."

Realization dawned on Itadori's face. "Hm? Oh, yeah, I think I can do that."

Gojo nodded, stretching his arms above his head. "Alright, give us 10 seconds, then change back to yourself.

Gojo turned to me. "Pay attention, Akuma. This is a rare opportunity to witness something truly extraordinary."

I nodded dumbly, my eyes fixed on Itadori. The pink-haired guy looked just as confused as I felt, but there was a determination in his eyes that I couldn't help but admire.

"Alright," Gojo said, clapping his hands together. "Let's do this. Itadori, we're going to give you 10 seconds, then I want you to change back to yourself. Got it?"

Itadori nodded, taking a deep breath. "Got it."

Gojo raised his hand, counting down with his fingers. "Three... two... one... go!"

In an instant, the air around us seemed to thicken. A wave of malevolent energy washed over me, so potent it made my skin crawl. I instinctively took a step back, my body tensing for a fight.

Itadori's body convulsed, his face contorting in pain. And then... he changed. It was subtle at first - a shift in his posture, a darkening of his eyes. But as the seconds ticked by, the transformation became more pronounced.

Markings appeared on his face, intricate patterns that seemed to pulse with dark energy. His eyes glowed with an otherworldly light, and when he smiled, his teeth were sharp and predatory.

"Well, well," a voice that was definitely not Itadori's purred. "What do we have here?"

I felt a chill run down my spine. This... this was Sukuna? The cursed spirit Gojo had mentioned?

Gojo, however, seemed completely unfazed.

Sukuna's eyes locked onto Gojo, a predatory grin spreading across his face. In a blur, he lunged forward, fist aimed straight for Gojo's head.

But Gojo was gone, reappearing a few feet away with that infuriating smirk still plastered on his face.

"Missed me," he taunted.

Sukuna snarled, unleashing a flurry of punches that would've turned a normal person to pulp. But Gojo moved like water, effortlessly flowing around each strike.

Sukuna's attacks grew wilder, more desperate. The rooftop cracked under the force of his blows, but Gojo remained untouched.

"Is that all you've got?" Gojo asked, sounding almost bored. "I expected more from the King of Curses."

Roaring, Sukuna charged. But Gojo was ready. In a move too fast for me to follow, he ducked under Sukuna's guard and delivered a devastating uppercut.

Sukuna went flying, crashing into the roof's edge hard enough to leave cracks in the concrete. He staggered to his feet, blood dripping from his mouth.

"I'll tear you apart," he growled.

Gojo's smile never wavered. "Time's up."

Sukuna's eyes widened then closed. When they opened again, it was Itadori staring back at us, looking dazed and confused.

"How did it go?"

Gojo smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. "How about that? So you really can control that guy."

Itadori tapped his head, his brow furrowed. "He's kind of annoying, to tell you the truth. And I keep hearing his voice."

Gojo walked up to Itadori, his expression turning serious. "It's a miracle that's all he's doing to you." 

Quickly, Gojo tapped two fingers against Itadori's forehead. Itadori's eyes rolled back, his body going limp. Gojo caught him effortlessly, lowering him gently to the ground.

Holy shit. 

"Well, that was fun," Gojo said, that stupid grin still plastered on his face. He whipped out his phone. "I'll call Ijichi to come get us. Can't leave sleeping beauty here snoozing on the roof."

He dialed and started talking. "Yo, Ijichi. We need a ride. I'll ping you the location. Yeah, it's Sendai."

Gojo's voice changed, getting all serious. "Don't. Make. Me. Punch. You, Ijichi."

I tried to listen in on the other end, but I could only hear Gojo. "Yeah, 15 minutes. Later."

"Who's Ijichi?"

Gojo smirked. "Our driver. Guy's a little jumpy, but he gets the job done. You'll see."

I noticed Megumi over to the side, his thumbs flying over his phone. "What're you doing?"

He didn't even look up. "Incident report."

"How long you been a Sorcerer?" I asked, trying to get some sort of conversation going. 

Megumi glanced at me. "Few months, officially. So what's your deal? How come you've got so much cursed energy?"

I shrugged. "Guess I'm just different."

Megumi's phone buzzed. He checked it and muttered something about "sending it now" before putting it away. Then he looked at me.

"What were you doing with Gojo?"

I shrugged, shoving my hands into my pockets. "Gojo offered me a deal. Help with something important if I join your little club."

Megumi's eyes narrowed even further, like he was trying to bore a hole right through my skull. "And you just agreed? Without knowing anything about jujutsu or curses?"

"Not like I'm new to this," I said flatly. "Besides, when a guy who can teleport you to the top of a skyscraper offers you a way out, you don't exactly ask for his resume."

Megumi stared at me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Finally, he gave a small nod. "Fair enough."

He glanced over at Itadori, who was still out cold on the ground. "But don't think this is gonna be easy. Being a sorcerer... it changes you. In ways you can't imagine."

I followed his gaze, my own eyes landing on Itadori's face. It was muted now, but I could still feel the echo of that dark power.

"Yeah, well," I said, tearing my eyes away, "I'm not exactly a stranger to change."

Megumi opened his mouth, looking like he wanted to say more, but a shout from behind cut him off.

"Yoohoo! Megumi, Akuma, time to go!"

I turned to see Gojo waving at us from the edge of the roof, Itadori slung over his shoulder like a sack of rice.

"Our ride's here," Gojo said, jerking his thumb towards the street below.

Gojo hopped down from the roof, landing lightly on his feet. I hesitated for a second, then followed. Megumi unfortunately had to take the stairs. Poor guy. 

I slid into the backseat, the leather cool against my skin. Gojo rode shotgun, immediately fiddling with the radio despite Ijichi's protests. 

As we pulled away from the curb, I leaned my head back against the headrest. I cracked one eye open, watching the city lights blur past the window. Beside me, Megumi sat ramrod straight, his face illuminated by the glow of his phone as he typed away.

In the front seat, Gojo had finally settled on a station, some peppy pop song blasting through the speakers. He drummed his fingers against the dash, bopping his head to the beat.

"Yo, turn that down," I said, leaning forward in my seat. "Trying to get some rest back here."

Gojo glanced back at me, eyebrow raised above his blindfold. "What, you don't like Namie Amuro? Kids these days, no taste."

He turned the music down a couple notches anyway. I settled back into my seat, closing my eyes again. 

"So what's your real story, kid?" Gojo asked after a minute. "How'd you get so good with cursed energy?"

I kept my eyes closed. "Told you already. I'm just talented."

Gojo chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. But talent like that doesn't just appear out of nowhere. Spill it, come on. I showed you mine earlier, so to speak."

I cracked an eye back open to glare at him. But he just grinned, clearly enjoying needling me. Guy had a serious persistent streak. 

"It's complicated," I muttered.

"Ooh, mysterious," Gojo said, waggling his fingers. "Well you can brood all you want, but no secrets between us sorcerers. We're a team now."

"We just met," I said flatly.

Gojo waved a hand. "Details. We sealed the deal when I offered you that scholarship."

I huffed out a breath, slumping down in my seat. Arguing with him was pointless. 

"Fine," I bit out. "I'll tell you the story after you hold up your end of the bargain. And get me strong. Strong enough to take you down someday so I don't have to do this shit."

Gojo barked out a laugh. "That's the spirit! Don't go setting limits on yourself now. The sky's the limit with me as your teacher."

He reached forward and cranked the music back up, filling the car with bubbly pop again. 

"Just try and get some rest," he called back to me over the noise. "You've got a long road ahead, kid."

I sighed and closed my eyes once more, letting the music wash over me. As much as I hated to admit it, the guy had a point. 

The car pulled up to my apartment building, its engine rumbling to a stop. Gojo twisted in his seat, flashing that infuriating grin.

"Home sweet home, kid. Get some shut-eye. I'll swing by tomorrow to start your crash course in sorcery."

I grunted, reaching for the door handle. "Whatever. Just don't be late."

Gojo's eyebrows shot up. "Me? Late? Never."

I rolled my eyes and climbed out of the car. The cool night air hit my face, a welcome relief after the stuffy interior.

"Oh, and Akuma?" Gojo called out the window. "Maybe leave the attitude at home tomorrow. We've got work to do."

I flipped him off without looking back. His laughter followed me as I trudged up the steps to my building.

Inside my tiny apartment, I tossed my keys on the counter and collapsed onto the worn couch. My mind raced, replaying the events of the day. Demon fingers and a guy who could bend reality itself.

And now I was supposed to be one of them.