Before it Starts: Fushiguro Megumi

After hours of meditation, I exhale a long breath of hot air and finally open my eyes to look at my work.

It took longer than expected, many sessions of "repainting" to finally modify Dark Rika's appearance into something different.

Something that is mine.

This Rika is thinned and darker, almost totally black, only some hints of purple keep her from being the color of the night sky.

Abnormally long arms with claws, with prominent ribs. Its legs are also thin when it's showing it, not unlike a Genie, or Rika herself.

The inspiration came from one of my favorite games and an underrated manga. An Enderman from Minecraft and an Ajin. I think the humanoid eldritch look works well with me.

"Now a name... Hmmm... Black... Kuro? Yikes." I think a little before deciding.

Rika is basically cursed energy given form, a mass of cursed energy that can reshape itself into whatever she wants. When Yuta uses it, she reshapes herself to help him with his copied techniques.

In my case, I don't have copy powers, but I have my darkness manipulation.

This Dark Rika can reshape her body much more freely than that of original Rika, extending her arms, or even sprouting many more tentacles. Really Slenderman-like... It's really a thing of nightmares.

"In Ajin there's IBM(Invisible Black Matter)... Dark Matter... Ankoku." It's decided "Your new name will be Ankoku."

It accepted the new mane and circled me before hiding in whatever Dark Dimension it stays in before being called.

It is gender-neutral. I know, I know... I'm a contractor. I should've made her a tall dark lady full of curves and with large boobs.

But meh!

No need to use a spirit as masturbation when I will have a lot of ladies in the future.

Like, really a lot...

After all, I decided to aim for the maximum possible completion in my playthrough!

"Zeha~ Humans are really greedy, or maybe it's just me..."

When I came to this world, I planned just to go for my favorite waifus: Maki and Yuki. When did things get so out of control?

I think it started with Gojo being female... Like, she is too good to pass. Can't blame me for that!

Tsumiki too, you can't pass family. Toretto is right.

Then Mai that came in the combo, you also can't blame me on that.

The mission of Sukuna gives me rewards if I capture Uraume and Yorozu, so I'm practically obligated to do that.

And now that I have reached this point... Why not go for all the girls, right?

Right?

Right?!?

Talking about that Sukuna mission and greed... I also recently made a decision.

I'm gonna challenge Sukuna at full power and claim the highest reward!

And no, this is not a hasty decision... Even if I started enjoying the thrill of conflicts recently, I'm not suicidal.

Well, I can't deny that a small, and maybe irrational, part of me wants to have a fully honest to god duel where we can give our 100%. It will be glorious~

But I wouldn't do it if I had no chance of winning. In truth, my victory is so realistic that I can feel it between my fingers.

I'm strong, and I had a nice surprise capturing Rika, now Ankoku, and another surprise that Mahoraga is considered a familiar by the Catalog and the truth about his Adaptation. I can give him Perks and Defenses, and I can prepare beforehand making him adapt to Slashes, Fire, and Impact(Just to make sure).

The fact that Mahoraga has 2 slots to save adaptation appeared as a nerf initially but now is playing in my favor.

My chances are high. The truth is Sukuna's power is much simpler than Gojo's, he is just that good and above everyone else in all other aspects, hence he is easy to deal with on the same level.

Obviously, I could not be taking any risk and simply defeating him when I consumed 10 fingers Worth of power, I think I can do it now, but I feel like it would be a huge waste.

Let me see the mission again.

[Insert Mission Here]

Ignoring the things that there's to do after I become the new Sukuna, like capturing Yorozu and Uraume, and eating curses, the threshold of defeating a 15 fingers Sukuna is useless to me because I already have the Ten Shadows Technique.

Now the rewards of defeating a 20-finger Sukuna are good, very good.

Doubling my reserves of Cursed Energy? Man, that's nuts. Didn't Sukuna have more than double than Yuta? It's (Mine+Sukuna)*2.

And more importantly... A Chainsaw Devil Template. Like Denji, I want to be Chainsaw Man.

It's decided... Say no more... It's sold!

Who doesn't want to have that cool as fuck transformation?!

I will be the King of Curses plus the Hero of Hell!

I'm definitely doing that, templates are becoming expensive...

By the way, what's the relation between Sukuna and Chainsaw Man again?

The mangas are kinda of similar, and the two have four arms, eat things, and are the biggest menaces of the respective series... Oh okay, I got the similarities.

Now, am I being too greedy? Maybe... I can concede to the "greedy" part but not to the "too" one.

I believe Greed is when you take unnecessary risks for things that you maybe don't need.

It's not unnecessary and it's not like I don't need it. And it's a calculated risk.

I don't know which world will be next, so I need to take everything I can now to grow strong. Imagine falling short in the future because I chickened out now?

Nah, I can do it.

It's not blind and stupid greed... It's ambition!

Outsiders couldn't understand, I also didn't understand either... Before coming here.

The Me of the past would be surprised by the things that I plan to do, but the Me of the past only has a plan for this world and the powers that he would acquire.

I'm living it, and living and planning are vastly different things.

It doesn't matter how much you plan or visualize how your life would be in a situation similar to mine, the real thing would be different. You would be different!

Humans are adaptable creatures, and a detriment of that is we are rarely fully satisfied with what we have... You Always want to upgrade your life a little more, have a little more. You achieve something that you dreamed of for so long, and sometime later you start dreaming about something more, even though you Always thought "If I only had that one thing, I would be happy".

It's human nature, and I will not deny mine, or hide behind some false virtue.

This world is cruel and rewards selfish people, and I saw how acting good forcefully turned out for Geto...

Now I want something more than simply coming here and surviving... I have an ambition.

I will want more and I CAN HAVE more. I have the qualifications for it. I will not hold back...

Putting a hand on my face I can feel the big smile that formed without me even noticing.

"Ze-ha-ha~" I laugh slowly

It's like a weight was lifted from my shoulders and my vision was cleared.

That's who I am, and I'm completely fine with it.

Thank you for showing me that Company.

.....

After my little epiphany/enlightenment and training, I stand up from my sitting meditation pose and get ready to get out of this isolated place.

With a yank of my index finger, I pull my hood to me.

"Now I can control it a little better..." I comment when passing my hood over my head.

This Devil Force thingie, a name that I gave in the beginning, has ended up proven to be really similar to the Force in Star Wars.

It's a small telekinetic ability from the Darkness Devil, mostly used to blast people, but he also used it to control his sword.

I think it must be something that all devils beyond a certain level can do because Makima used it with her "Bang." *Sniff* Power...

If it is not like that, the only connection that I can think off, is that I'm controlling gravity in some way. You know, darkness and gravity have that link because of Black Holes...

"Since the Template also leveled up to the Tier 6, I can use it better beyond blasting things..." I comment while walking back home "But I still can't summon The Sword." The Darkness Devil Template upgraded after my breakthrough in "blessing" curses and turning them into my familiars.

If I succeed in summoning the Darkness Sword, I will probably be in the Tier 7 of the Template by then. I will decide later if I will focus on that, or prepare for my eventual fight with Sukuna.

January is already ending and the Shibuya Incident happens on Halloween.

Perfecting my anti-domain techniques is more important now, because of Sukuna's bullshit open Domain.

"Oh, now I remember..." I change to the Catalog.

I have 86 points because I gained 60 by capturing Geto and Rika plus 20 of the discounts that having them on my retinue brings.

That's another reason to have a lot of people on my retinue, not like I'm a pervert or anything...

"..." Okay, I am, but I can find good excuses for my degenerate behavior. So I'm forgiven;

Anyway, it's time to buy the [Talent Sharing], not for the girls because I can't explain it yet, but for Mahoraga and Ankoku.

Another advantage of having them being considered part of my retinue. Mahoraga with cheats, helping me fight Sukuna... And preparing beforehand the adaptations...

How can I not be confident that I'm gonna beat the guy?!

Now, I hope that Sukuna remains a man. It would be such a waste to kill a Dommy Mommy Sukuna, but I'm not that desperate enough to let it pass.

Even if Sukuna is a woman, I'm going to kill her. 

With a heavy heart, but no hesitation on my part, some things are decided in the beginning and I will not look back with regret.

Fuck it, in the future, I'm going to buy a female Sukuna, just because I want a 7ft tall mommy and because I can!

And I want a moresome filled with all the Special Grades...

"Now... Share Soul and Martial Talent are a must, but should I give one of them a Template now? Or maybe [Added Potential]?" I start spending some credits

....

"I'm home..." I announce as I take off my shoes

I stopped to give some taps on my brother who was recoiling in his cat tree that I brought for him.

"Welcome home, Megumi!" I hear Mai instinctively answer from a distance, I can feel her approaching too "How was your training?"

"Good, finally finished my modification of Dark Rika."

"Oh, show us later. But I don't know why you don't do it at home and insist and walk in this cold." She finally reaches me and I hug her waist

"The cold doesn't bother me, and as a homeschool student I had the habit of getting out of the house with any excuse." I give her a peck on the lips "And manifesting Dark Rika, now Ankoku by the way, can attract attention, I prefer to not do it at my home."

"Oh, Ankoku? I thought you would stick with Dark Rika..."

"Too weird, and where is Maki?"

"In the bath, but..."

"Say no more." I start walking to the bathroom.

What perfect timing, I also need to take a bath~

"Wait, wait, wait!" Mai blocks my path and opens her arms

"?"

"You can't go there now! You're gonna spoil the surprise!"

"...surprise? So that's why you two are secretive this morning? Did you guys buy some interesting cosplay? Or do you two have a secret triplet but with a nerdy and introverted personality?"

"...really?" She crossed her arms and asked in disbelief "Aren't we enough for you?" The tip of her foot tapping the ground in displeasure

I smirk roguishly at her "It's exactly because I love you two so much, that I would love another one of you two. Even a hundred, I would never get bored~" I pull her in a hug again, our faces close.

"~~~~" Look at her looking around and blushing with a trembling mouth~ I love my life

"Now let me see what this surprise is about." I laugh after using my arm hugging her to spin her out of the way and advance.

Like something can get in my way of clapping Maki's wet and soapy cheeks.

When I finally reach the bathroom, the door slowly opens... Noooo~, I lost my chance, how could I recover from this loss-!!!!

"Ah! You're back..." Maki sees me and talks a little bashfully

"..." Time stopped for me.

"What? Is it weird?" She asks while drying her hair with a towel...

"..." Her hair... Her short hair...

"I mean, you commented about that... And it grows anyway, right? So I thought of giving it a try..." She continues acting a little timid

"..."

[Image Here]

"Say something goddammit-?! Wait, why are you taking off your clothes?"

"Go on, you're talking?" I say while taking off my pants

....

Now in my room

"Mpf~ An~ Your pervert, what's the deal with short hair?" Maki asks between moans while I kiss and lick her midsection after I threw her in the bed

"Tomboy." Do I need to elaborate more?

"So you basically like men but with breasts..."

"...Correct, ma'am. And without a penis, don't forget that important detail." I say after a pause "But on a little more serious note, you rock the short hair look because it brings attention to your best feature... This hot as fuck body." I say while passing my hand through her curves and shredded, but still feminine, muscles

"..." Oh, look at her blushing and looking away too~ They are really twins in this aspect. Let me attack more~

"By the way, if it is not clear by now... I loved the new look, you're beautiful." I smile, watching her blush intensify

"Shut up and let's fuck!" She pulls me by the neck and ends the discussion.

.....

At some point, while was I pounding Maki to Oblivion, Mai opened the door to interrupt us.

"Guys... You two need to eat too- Kyaah!" I grab her fast and pull her to the bed.

Bad move, girl. Now you're trapped here with me~

Did you learn nothing from the times I "asked you for a towel"?

....

"Are you gonna let your hair grow now?" After a good lovemaking session with my dears, I go back to bed carrying the food. And I'm asking Mai, not Maki.

"Hm~ Maybe a little, just to see how it looks and to differentiate from Maki." Mai rolls the tips of her, now shoulder-length hair, with the tip of her fingers.

"If it's just to differentiate, you can keep it short, you two have completely different faces." I say

"..." The two look at each other before reaching for some food. "No we do not." They say in unison

"... completely different." I doubled after taking another look. No one would confuse them... "And Maki's hair is straighter too."

"Hmpf, you don't need to remind me of this unruly hair." Mai huffs while blowing the curly tips of her bangs.

"Don't say it like that, your hair has volume. It's good too." I assure her

We made small talk, and they commented about the fact I would be starting Jujutsu High School now. Yuta's loss and recovery of his Special Grade. The fact some people are still creating problems with Maki's rise in the ranks, even though she contributed a lot to the Night Parade.

"Did you practice with the three-section staff?" I ask while we sit around the food.

I gave it to her after some time, allowing her to have an excuse to "reward me".

"A little, it was the most annoying weapon that I ever used, but nothing that I can't dominate." She says between bites "I'm also getting used to the... worm. He really understands the weapons that I want."

"Hey, don't look disgusted at my brother. He is a baby..." I defend him.

There's a theory that the Inventory Curse is the fetus of a stillborn baby or an aborted one. I have no way of confirming that, but knowing Gege and remembering Rika's background, I will not dismiss it later.

I continue "I heard my Father didn't ask for the weapons by talking, maybe he was trained to give certain weapons based on how you hold your hand to him. Try it later." It's the only explanation I can get. My Father tamed it without any Cursed Technique.

"Hmm, that makes sense." She considers "But I still think would be simpler if I had Dark Ri- Ankoku."

"It's a thing of compatibility, compatibility I tell you." I explain "Beyond Mai having the extra storage of Cursed Energy og Ankoku, one of your great strengths Maki is the fact that you're an 'undetectable woman' to sorcerers. If you go around with that huge mass of cursed energy that Ankoku is, you will be losing that Advantage. Everyone would notice you."

"..."

"It's that why you stopped me from making some pieces of armor?" Mai asks from the side

"Yep, if Maki uses armor, she will be noticed, her body is tough enough. Well, it can be a different thing if you're going for a head-on fight." I shrug.

I debated to myself if I should give Maki Haki with [Added Potential], but I'm holding it for now because it would make me have to explain everything.

What a bother~ And she is comfortably strong already.

"Hmpf, okay. I can understand where you're coming from, but I'm not swallowing that worm."

"Pfft, relax. After I 'tamed' him, he evolved a little, so he can shrink even more now. I think it will work if you simply hold him in a closed fist.

And maybe I can train him to be stealthy, I don't know how far his "Evolution" can take him now.

After talking a little more, when I gathered the trays to take them back to the kitchen, Maki commented.

"Oh, by the way, what you predicted came true..."

"?" I pause

"That thing about attracting the attention of the Zen'in clan. They contacted Mai." She says with a huff

"..." After another pause, I smile at her calmly "If you're feeling guilty, stop. Between you showing your battle prowess and me revealing Mahoraga, I have more blame for attracting their attention. What did they say?"

"Nothing, our mother called sometimes, wanting to talk with Mai."

"...I see." I shrugged unconcerned. "If they come, I bet it will feel good to throw in their faces that they're idiots" I said making her laugh.

I turn around to walk back to the kitchen...

...and to her to not see my face.

.....

Zen'in Clan

The next day, Third Person P.O.V.

The Zen'in clan compound was peaceful as it normally is, a servant is walking carrying some cleaning products when she notices something weird on the wall beside her.

"...?" Her shadow... is acting weird.

It's growing taller for no reason, getting darker too, it reaches the points that are moving slightly differently from her. Suddenly it reached the breaking point where the shadow became three-dimensional and a human form walked out of it.

"---!" The servant gives a silent scream, maybe because of her training to not raise a fuss and perturb her masters, or maybe because the scene shocked her.

Megumi emerges from the shadow and doesn't even look in her direction, his face is emotionless and his half-lidded eyes are focused on somewhere else.

He doesn't even acknowledge the servant's existence before he continues walking with his hands in his pockets, not making a scene, but not hiding his presence either.

At some point, because he really turned on his "fuck it" button, he was bound to be noticed.

"Hey, you!" Some people wearing clothes reminiscent of ninjas shout at him.

They are members of the Kukuru Unit, a unit comprised of male clan members without cursed techniques. They are basically foot soldiers.

Maki and Toji were part of this unit before they left the clan.

"..." Megumi doesn't stop, like he doesn't even hear the guard.

"Hey! Didn't you hear m-!! Guh..." The Kukuru member who reached to grab his shoulder suddenly stopped and fell unconscious with foam coming out of his mouth.

The others follow shortly afterward.

"..." His face remains impassive, but internally Megumi thinks 'I can't use a full blast yet, but concentrated like that is possible... Weird'

It appears the Tier 6 of his Blackbeard Template allows him only to grasp the tip of the control over Conqueror's Haki.

He continues to walk forward, anyone who sees the commotion and tries to intervene, meets the same fate of kissing the ground with white eyes rolling to the back of their skulls.

Some lucky, or smart, ones that kept a reasonable distance are only forced to their knees, panting in exertion, Shock gripping their heart by the fact that they can't even muster the courage and strength to look directly at him.

His aloofness doesn't allow him to even acknowledge the existence of these background characters. Even with his great memory, his mind is not even registering their faces to begin.

In some way, his personality is eerily similar to Sukuna's. Everyone is equally unimportant to them, some people have some value, but their value can disappear at any time.

Megumi at least is not that bad, because he was once a powerless human, so he has a small group of individuals that he cares deeply about and even loves them.

But everyone else? They can all disappear, and he would only care if it affect his life. His precious "wish-fulfillment fun" life.

In some way, everyone is like that, but now, after his enlightenment, he is conscious and does not care enough to act hypocritically.

He can equally do some charity one day, while in the next bully someone that annoys him... All that matters is how he feels about it and what he has to gain.

He discovered the essence of the world, the Truth, and he barely noticed that.

Right now he is doing exactly that and is following his selfish desires... He is here to have fun with some people and gain something from it. Not caring how this will impact them or other people without names or faces.

The only small line that separates him from someone like Sukuna is that the King of Curses would do it for shit and giggles, without reason. Megumi still has a small hint of humanity(Tsumiki) and decency, so he waits for the causa belli before actively destroying someone.

And the Zen'in clan gave him one.

'There...' Megumi continues his walk, without saying a word to anyone.

Initially, he thought that he would need to ask for some directions, or maybe explode something to draw his targets out. But arriving at the compound, even with his only intermediate-level Observation Haki and senses, he can easily locate where the top members of the clan are.

And his luck is good, because they are all together, probably in some reunion.

...

"Bwaha! So no one wants to greet the boy?!" Naobito, the leader of the clan laughs, while taking a sly glance at the clan members reunited.

It's impossible for them to not notice Megumi. With his [Covert Talent] he can suppress his cursed energy and be sneaky, but he does not care about it right now.

After his Darkness Devil Template reached Tier 6, his cursed energy amount finally equaled that of Yuta. He is basically a walking disaster approaching them, like a sandstorm, how can they not notice him?

"The show of disrespect is blatant." Zen'in Ogi spats

"He is acting like Gojo Satooru." Zen'in Chojuro says with a creepy smile

"..." The others remain silent. Naoya, Jinichi, and the others act like they are not interested, but only they know what they are feeling right now.

"But why is he coming here so aggressively?" Ranta asks

"Well, well... We are about to discover..." Naobito smiles while staring at the door of the room. The servants and foot soldiers around them were nervous.

They can feel the huge mass of cursed energy stopping just in front of the door.

"..."

But he doesn't open, the tension is almost suffocating. They are waiting, and prepared, for him to simply explode that door enter. Ready to a fight.

"Why is he not entering?" Jinichi asks annoyed

"Does he need an invitation now? After treating this place like his backyard?" Ogi scoffs

"No need, I am already here..." They hear an eerie voice behind them

"!!!"

They turned fast to see Megumi standing behind Naobito, shadows sliding off him after he emerged.

While the question "How?" resonates in their minds, they can feel the huge mass of cursed energy in front of the door disappear slowly, like it was an afterimage left by him.

The message of him appearing so close to them while they are completely unaware is clear... He can do the same again, at any time.

"Old man, you need to up your security" Megumi drawls "It's completely lax, wouldn't it be a huge loss if someone sneaks on the dark night and kills you all in your sleep?" A huge provocative smirk spreads across his face

To rub salt in the wound, he makes the threat even more obvious.

"And why did you barge in again?" Naoya suddenly asks, ready for a fight. The guy has a lot of defects, and one of them is holding a grudge.

"..." Megumi gives him a look and then pauses.

He narrows his eyes, rubs his chin, tilts his head... Before finally asking.

"Sorry, I forgot your name..." He says with a wry smile, but there's not even a hint of apology in his eyes that are blatantly mocking the older sorcerer.

"! You!" Naoya stands up, ready for round 2. He dreamed about beating Megumi since he woke up looking at the ceiling of the Healing Hall.

"You know what? It doesn't matter... Shut up that I'm talking to the clan head here. A minor character has no place in this conversation... Interrupt and you will receive my attention, not the good kind." Megumi says before eyeing everyone around the room.

Megumi is not the kind of guy who would react only after something happens to his girl. He knows these people's personalities, so he knows that the situation will become increasingly problematic if left unchecked.

And he doesn't want to let Mai suffer unnecessarily.

And he also doesn't want Maki to kill them.

Not entirely from the goodness of his heart, no. Even though a part of him doesn't want that burden on her. It would also be a problem if they provoked Maki enough and she came here to massacre them before the Shibuya Incident, messing with Canon and the timeline. He needs to correct and balance the deviations that his actions caused.

But the main reason is...

He looks around, not even paying attention to their faces, the only thing he sees is... credits!

These guys can comfortably give him some good credits, and they just gave him a reason to come here and Stamp all of them! 

True to his personality, he came here looking for trouble! He will make them his bitch after beating them, and when the Stamp takes effect, they will justify the sudden submissiveness of his display of power.

It's perfect!

He will also finally see how the Stamp works in changing the mind of people who have no relation with him or even hates him, like Naoya. Would they still follow his orders? How would they rationalize it? Or will they notice that they are being controlled?

To a guy who was okay with not receiving credits till the start of Canon, he came here to collect some interests... His ambition is blooming splendidly.

Not caring about mind-controlling people to do that.

"I'm gonna ask you, Old Man. If your answer does not satisfy me..." Nonetheless, he will decide to not be satisfied anyway "...we are gonna have a little problem." He gives them a bone-chilling full toothy grin.

He was about to do some Reverse Jumping.