บท 23: It Starts: Ryomen Sukuna
Megumi looms over the higher-ups of the Zen'in clan, his presence exerting pressure on the room, the whole place even appears to grow a bit darker.
"I will say it again, silence. Keep your mouth shut... Like this servant girl here, with her head bowed. Know your place, you are all no different from her." Megumi admonishes them like they are small children, signaling to the trembling servant girl.
Before they can give any bristled answer, Megumi turns to the clan head, ignoring the angry faces of the rest.
"So old man, care to explain to me why you guys are harassing my girls?... You practically threw them away and are now ready to cause some trouble? I like trouble, you know?"
"Hm? Harassing?" Naobito scratches his ching "We just want to confirm a certain rumor, and it was only their mothers that called one time, to check on them too." He gives a look at the rest of the clan members present
Megumi scoffs "Please... One year with no contact and suddenly you are all forceful. I know very well what you guys want, and it annoys me."
"..." Naobito continues to give a pointed glance to the rest of the clan members, especially to Ogi, Maki's Father.
"Oho~ It appears that there has been some sort of miscommunication..." Megumi realizes "You said to come in contact in a civilized manner, but your people can't let go of their egos, they will feel like they are acting like beggars when going to talk with my girls..." He guesses... correctly.
"..."
"If they say no, it is no. Do you all think that you are entitled to their time as they owe you something? You should've come with your tails between your legs and started with a dogeza." He mocks
Some move around their seat because of the disrespect, but don't act.
It appears that Megumi needs to be a little more forceful...
"You grown men don't even have the balls to face them head-on, sending messages through the school, summoning them like they are your servants, hiding behind their mother's skirt..."
"..."
"Like, c'mon~ I'm not saying that all of you are a bunch of second-generation trash that can't do anything on your own, but you all do nothing beyond throw your status around, wasting the Glory of your ancestors... If it acts like trash, smells like trash, and looks like trash... It must be trash. At least own your loss and humiliation, before acting like something more, trying to be a human being first. Bunch of waste of spaces..." He goes on a spree, talking like he trash-talking someone in an online game. "Just growing fat like pigs living off the glory of the past..."
Finally, Naoya was the first to snap. That's simply too much, he doesn't care if he loses again, he will release this rage somewhere.
"I will show you your place!!" Naoya stands up fast and attacks.
*Boom*
Suddenly the whole place is covered in dust, not because of Naoya, but because Megumi counter-attacked...
And he not only aimed at Naoya, as he obviously wanted to drag the maximum amount of people into this, so he attacked every higher-up with the exception of the Clan Head.
"..." Naobito stares flatly at the now non-existent wall and the fight that is about to happen. " *Haah* Bring me some good booze." He says to the servant girl, making no move to get involved.
He will only watch the show.
....
Naoya, Ogi, Chojuro, Ranta and Nobuaki were thrown away by the sudden attack, but no one sustained any injuries.
They all landed expertly and immediately got ready for the inevitable battle.
They are not dumb, Megumi is here to make a show of power. But they also don't plan to become his stepstones that easily.
"..." Megumi looks down on them from the roof of a Building "Now that the pretense is over, step forward so that I can kick your asses." He hooks a finger to them "!"
With his Observation Haki, Megumi feels the approach of the more hasty of the group...
He spins around and hits the incoming Naoya with the back of his hand, the older sorcerer is fast enough to block and then resume his attack.
Swift strikes fly at Megumi but he moves his body out of the way, sometimes slapping Naoya's forearm, when he aims for a big target like the center of his torso.
"Zeha~ You improved nothing, truly a waste of space!" Megumi mocks.
Compared with more than a year ago, Megumi shows no difficulty in keeping up with Naoya. His improved physical stats, Haki, and larger frame allow him to casually dismiss everything the Projection Sorcery user tries.
"Oh!" Megumi suddenly pauses in surprise... No, he is surprised because he paused. "Interesting Hax." He side-glances the youngest of his opponents.
Zen'in Ranta is staring at him with his outstretched hands, his Innate Technique paralyzed Megumi not akin to from a word "Stop" from Inumaki.
Naoya finally touches Megumi and turns him into an animated frame. Then he spins on himself and delivers a powerful kick that cracks the Picture and sends Megumi flying.
"..." If one looked closely one would see his flat expression... The attack dealt no significant damage.
Megumi hits a wall, breaking it, but not even 3 seconds later he emerges from it casually dusting himself.
"Put more strength in your attack at least. Are you eating well? Oh~" He was mocking Naoya before noticing that Ogi was by his side after the dust cleared.
In an Iai stance, a Simple Domain expands beneath Ogi's feet, advancing towards Megumi.
"..." He waits for it patiently. He could've jumped away before the simple domain touched his feet.
When the circle hits Megumi, Ogi's blade leaves its scabbard, moving at lightning speeds at his torso.
*Pah* And Megumi catches it between his thumb and four other fingers.
Exactly like he watched Kenjaku do in the anime.
A great insult that Ogi can't even understand all the layers... He is treating him like "Useless Miwa".
"Hello, Father-in-law~ Thank you for not letting many of your genes into my girls~" *Crack* Megumi breaks the blade and flicks at his Father-in-law.
But Ogi quickly hit the flying fragment with his broken katana, almost like his body reacted on its own.
Falling Blossom Emotion... In the instant the blade hit the shroud of Cursed Energy around Ogi, he reactively struck back the attack.
Megumi was ready to continue with his mocking before "Again?" He sighs as he is paralyzed again.
Taking Advantage of Megumi's "defenseless" state Ogi attacks again.
Not only him, but Zen'in Nobuaki also appears on Megumi's back, sword in hand.
It's a pincer attack.
As the two attack him, Megumi notices Ogi's blade enter into combustion, and a blade construct of fire is formed to complete his broken katana.
"..." He is not even a little surprised by it. "Hmpf"
With a snort, he finally makes the effort of breaking Ranta's Paralyzing Gaze. His stance shifts, and his right leg strikes beneath him while he leans forward a little.
"Gah!" His leg goes straight to Nobuaki's chest, breaking his sword that was on the way, and sending him flying.
As Ogi's flaming blade approaches him, Megumi rolls his wrists and a dark dagger appears in his hand, one that he easily uses to block Ogi's blade.
"!!" Ogi's eyes finally widen in shock.
"Is that your technique? Seriously? And you still have the gall to look down on Maki?" With another flick of his wrist, Megumi disengages from Ogi
This dagger is a Special Grade Tool, made by Mai and given to Megumi on his last birthday.
"Look, even I can do this..." Darkness is suddenly ejected from the dagger, forming a larger blade as a dark construct. Turning it into a sword.
This Special Grade Tool was made for Megumi, it has incredible compatibility with the darkness propriety of his Cursed Energy, so he can easily do something like that. He can do it on his own, but with a medium like that is as easy as breathing at this point.
He points the blade at Ogi, seemingly in challenge...
"!!" But suddenly Ogi feels surprised again.
The darkness blade extended enough to pierce his shoulder.
For some reason, he couldn't react with his anti-domain technique.
"You..."
"That's for Maki." Megumi says, and then the blade changes.
The tip that is going through Ogi's shoulder changes to a hook and Megumi pulls it at him.
When Ogi flies close...
*Boom*
Megumi punches him in the face, burying him in the ground.
"And this is for Mai." At this point, he takes the opportunity of stamping the old man.
Three seconds pass without a problem but after...
"...this is starting to get on my nerves." He dips on the ground, disappearing into a pool of darkness.
Reappearing behind Ranta many meters away.
"You're starting to bore me..." Megumi says behind the Young adult, scaring the crap out of him.
Ranta can only look forward, he fears that if he turns around he will trigger Megumi to attack him.
He feels a hand around his neck "And I even took care to not break your technique too roughly to not destroy your eyes..." Megumi says slowly.
Another one stamped.
"You look like such a nice guy, why don't you appreciate my kindness?' Megumi says, completely ignoring that he started all this.
In truth, he is only buying time for someone to come to save the guy, because he doesn't want to twist his neck.
And he is their only chance of "Victory".
Megumi was not angry that he was stopped, he was annoyed because it was useless. No one came to attack him. It was a wasted move. Ranta only used his technique to try to stop him from killing Ogi, but Megumi never planned to do that from the start.
'Oh finally~'
Naoya and Jinichi appear around Megumi ready to attack him, but he throws Ranta at Naoya and meets Jinichis fist head-on.
"Hello, uncle~ Damn, did the good genes all go to my father? That's why you are the one with a technique, not even the Heavens are that cruel." Jinichi is Toji's brother.
"..." The uncle doesn't rise to the provocation
Megumi changes his fist to a palm and grabs Jinichi's hand, pulling him closer, there's no one in the world physically stronger than him, and taking advantage to Stamp him too.
He is carrying the Stamp between his fingers and sneakily stamping his adversaries.
With a punch in the gut, he also sends Jinichi flying, and turns around just enough to intercept Naoya's sneak attack.
"C'mon guys, did you all notice that I didn't even use a shikigami?" He mocks again, before grabbing Naoya's wrists, something the older sorcerer was trying to do with him, and slamming him in the ground.
And stamping him too.
If Maki can kill all of them, Megumi who only loses to her in raw speed can do the same easily.
He then slams Naoya on the ground some more just for shit and giggles before throwing him away.
"If you guys aren't gonna show me anything more interesting, I will start going for real." He casually says, now he only needs to stamp Chojuro "I have enough chances... Oh..." He says 'Oh' again after being paralyzed once more.
This time he swore to himself if nothing fun happens, he will break Ranta's limbs. In his mind, the idiot shouldn't use his technique for nothing... It's something that needs to be timed perfectly to bring the best result.
And he doesn't even want to do this, he kinda "does not hate" his young enemy. He looks like the type that is not so bad but is influenced by the others around him and goes with the flow.
"..." Thankfully for Ranta, something indeed happens.
The ground opens and swallows Megumi in a swift motion. The Earth moves in waves like it wants to bury him deeper. Almost a minute passed before things finally became quiet.
The combatants of the Zen'in clan jump close to Chojuro, the decrepit old man is pressing his palms on the ground.
"Is he restrained?" Jinichi asks
The answer comes from a rumble, the ground shooks, and cracks start appearing and spreading in all directions. To make matters worse, darkness starts leaking from the cracks like black blood from hell.
"Zehahaha~" The ground shook with each laugh, like a heart beating
"Do you guys really have no killer move? I'm still full HP..."
"*Haah* My expectations were low from the beginning, but it seems that I still expected too much from all of you..."
With each word, the ground trembles slightly.
"Prancing around like peacocks, so proud of themselves because they are a little more talented and had formal training..."
"Let me show you what real talent looks like..." Now he is only quoting Sukuna to act cool...
"With This Treasure I summon..."
These words sent shivers down the spine of the ones present. Everyone in the Zen'in Clan knows them...
Suddenly the leaking darkness becomes a huge geyser that turns into a pillar that reaches far into the sky.
And from the pillar, with a roar, he appears...
"...Mahoraga"
Megumi walks beneath the huge frame of the Divine General "I will allow you guys to feel the glory of the Zen'in Clan... He alone is enough, but I want to test something. Let's summon Mommy to help Daddy..." He laughs before the air behind him breaks like glass.
A dark-purplish hand breaks it more, the long fingers grabbing the edges of the air and widening the crack.
Ankoku, fully manifested.
.....
Sounds of a fierce battle echo through the whole compound, but Megumi calmly walks back to where Naobito is sitting.
The Clan Head is also relaxed, drinking from a bottle of booze that looks old and expensive.
Megumi sits beside him and watches Mahoraga take Jinichi's technique head-on. The giant phantom punches appear and rain down on Mahoraga but he walks through it like a champ, Ogi appears at the side of the Shikigami only to be bitch slapped.
Naoya succeeds in making Mahoraga an animated frame, but similar to Megumi, he brushed it off and continued his onslaught.
On the side, Megumi saw Ranta trying to stop Ankoku together with Chojuro, only to start bleeding from his eyes.
"Idiot..." Megumi 'tsks'. Ankoku is not as nice as him.
"Don't be so mean, Ranta-kun is an honest fella." Naobito takes a gulp of his booze
"If you like him so much, why aren't you helping them?"
"Are you gonna kill them?" Naobito asks back
"...no."
"Then there is no problem, it will be a good lesson to these antsy bastards. They couldn't wait to see me dying and look at them now! Bwahahaah!"
They watch Chojuro change targets from Ankoku to Mahoraga, and Ogi takes his place in keeping the Dark Queen occupied.
Multiple tentacle-like arms extend from Ankoku's body, trying to grab Ogi, but it is necessary to give the guy some credit... He is experienced, he cut many of them with ease and dodged the rest.
But that's okay with Megumi... Ankoku is young, and Megumi just bought [Share Talent] to give her the Soul and Martial ones. He wants her to gain experience.
Who knows, maybe she will become a Tier 7 before he fights Sukuna?... It's a thing he is throwing and if it sticks, it will be nice. If not, he doesn't care.
"How did you tame Mahoraga? It was big news here, you know?" Naobito finally asks the important question.
The main, but not the only one, reason they started contacting Mai and Maki.
"I like your direct approach, Old Man." Megumi chuckles "But try not to die in the future, because I don't like you enough to save you."
This makes Naobito laugh "No need to save me, no true sorcerer expects to be saved..."
"..." They watch the battl-... beatdown a little more "Promise that the Zen'in clan will never bring trouble to Maki and Mai again and I will tell you."
Naobito gives him a look.
"This includes getting in the way of their promotions and all that." He continues
"Rar! Look at you, taking care of them... So responsible, I can't believe you're Toji-kun's son!" The Clan head chuckles a little before agreeing "Alright, as long I live the Zen'in clan will never bring harm to them in any way. Do you want to make a Binding Vow?"
"...you word is enough. If not, I will let Maki massacre you guys."
"Pfft Bwahaha!"
After a little more silence Megumi calculates the time to the battle will end, and he finally speaks.
"The Heavenly Restriction can help in the ritual..."
"..."
"This Perfect Heavenly Restriction that appears to be exclusive to the Zen'in clan is like the Six Eyes of the Gojo Clan. It's linked by fate to help the main Inherited Technique." He says while looking at Naobito's face.
"..." The old man doesn't disappoint, his mouth slowly falls enough to hit the floor.
"With zero cursed energy they can't be detected by the Ritual, so it does not count as interference. Originally my Father, but ended up being Maki... They are Fate's gift to me so that I can reach my full potential. You can write that in the archives to the next Ten Shadows User that will appear in a hundred years."
"..." Naobito's face continues paralyzed comically in shock.
The people that they always despised... are the key to their Crown Jewel.
That's why Megumi calls them pigs and trash... Pearls to the pigs...
"Hehehe... Pffft BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAHA!" It does not take long for Naobito to burst into the biggest uncontrollable laugh that he had all of his life.
Megumi can't resist and laughs too.
........
"It was a good haul..." Megumi walks back home unbothered, checking the credits in his Company Device.
That's the privilege of the strong, do whatever they want and have no consequences, he made trouble and he walked scot-free like he went to visit a distant family and have some tea.
He sends a picture to his Harem Group chat.
It's a selfie of him standing over the bodies of the Zen'in higher-ups, Naoya and Ogi's faces, especially in the frame. Mahoraga and Ankoku give a thumbs-up to the camera.
________________________
Mai: Add surprised emoji later
Maki: Why didn't you bring me?!
_________________________
Megumi sweatdrops seeing Maki's reaction.
"Calm down, Obito. I'm not Itachi."
He texts them back, asking if they are down to eat outside.
What kind of familiar reunion doesn't end with food?
.......
"Furudate? Ah yes, yes... I'm just calling you so that you can make some changes to my will..." Naobito says on his phone "No! I do not have cancer, you Old Mole! Don't curse me!" He shouts "Just write what I'm saying..."
"...Make Fushiguro Megumi next in line to be the Clan Head and full Inherit of everything clan related."
........
Megumi P.O.V.
"Ownt~ Look at you, all grown up~" I stay still, not reacting to Gojo's patronizing way of talking while squeezing my cheek "The uniform fits like a glove, as expected, I'm the one that chose it for you."
"..." Well, as annoying as it is to see her exaggeratedly treating me like a toddler who is going to kindergarten for the first time, I can't disagree that this uniform is good.
Dark, with hints of purple where the light hits, a collar covering up to my chin... It even has a hoodie! It's something that I can use for some stealth infiltration thanks to my powers.
And now that she commented about that, I really grew... You only notice when you compare it with something, in this case, Gojo herself.
When I arrived in this world two years ago, I was much shorter than her. I broke through the 1,80m threshold. I think Gojo is just a little shorter than her male canon counterpart, and the 15-year-old me is equally slightly shorter than her now.
Puberty finally hit, baby! I think I'm just a little skinnier than my Father was. [Body Tune-up] really putting up the work to bring these genes faster.
"Come, come~ Let's start your first day at school." She urges me to sit down in the empty classroom.
"Okaaaay, but... Why are you using a pencil skirt?" I ask in a deadpan while sitting on the only chair.
Gojo is going for the stereotype hot teacher look. Pencil skirt, white blouse with buttons, ponytail... Is this the start of a hentai? Should I cover my eyes with my bangs?
"You don't look professional by only changing your look, you know? *Tak* argh!" She threw a stick at me!
"Shut up! Now to start..." She pauses for some time "...what do you want to do as a sorcerer?" She squeezed that question like it was the only thing she could think of.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
This is starting to get painful.
"There's kinda nothing to teach me, right?" I out her
"Yes, jackass! Answer the question! Is it too much to ask you to talk a little with me?"
"Okay, okay... I really do not have a big objective... Ugh, do I really have to think about it? Just give me missions or something." I sigh
"Megumi, this is an important part of the program."
"..." I find it hard to believe.
"Just say it, sometimes is good to say it out loud so that you can visualize it better and have a clear vision of your path."
"..."
"What?"
"Nothing, it's just you looked like a teacher for a second there..." *Tak* This time it was chalk.
"I am a teacher!"
"Fine... I feel like we had this talk already..." I think he asked Yuji something similar in canon... No, it's the Principal who asked!
"Yes, when you were a kid. Now, let me see if things have changed after you saw the Jujutsu World more clearly." Ah yes, it's when she met me after killing my Father.
"Hm~~, truth to be told... being a sorcerer is more like a means to an end." I'm not ashamed to admit it, isn't everyone like that?
Mei Mei, Kusakabe, Shoko and even Gojo... I don't think anyone is on the job because they like exorcizing curses and saving people. All of this is a consequence, a result of the job.
Mei Mei is on it for the money, Kusakabe for the stability(he knows when to quit), and Gojo simply because she is good at it. There's that bigger objective too, of reforming Jujutsu Society.
The demand means that we receive a very good salary, and we can ask for a lot of things, even some barely legal things like fake identities, personal information of other people, etc.
Well, thinking about it more deeply, Nanami is the guy that came back to "help people in need because he is one of the few that can". I will make sure that he doesn't die. Nanamin deserves Malaysia.
I'm not like that, I will save someone in front of me(if it does not put me in danger), but just because it is an easy thing to do, and if I don't do it, it would destroy my zen.
That's something that I have in common with Canon Megumi, wait I think he is a little better person than me... Sucker.
"The pay is good, it's an easy job for me... I can enjoy the things I want with the freedom that the money gives." And is a stepping stone before I go to a new world, but I'm not gonna say that "It feels like it is my destiny... I was born for this and I have no problem following Fate's designation on that. I'm pretty good at it too." I end with a shrug
"...fate, huh?" She appears to be contemplating something "Did you ever desire to do anything else?"
"No." My answer is fast and without a hint of hesitation.
But it is kind of a lie, when I was making my build, I went through a lot of "other things I desired." I was almost a ninja, a Jedi, a wizard, and even a pirate.
But now in this world, there's nothing else I want to do.
"And if you didn't have cursed energy?" She insists
"..." Now this makes me pause, because I really have no dream in my previous life "The same thing. Just have the job that pays the most and use the money to do the things I want." When you have no interest in careers, that is the right answer "I'm fairly smart, maybe being a doctor or a lawyer. Something to accumulate a lot of money and retire early."
"Hm, you're kinda contradicting yourself, Megumi."
"?? How so?"
"Basically you're saying that you want to live a laidback life, but you're a maniac to get stronger. You make your life hectic. You made me take you to the Zen'in clan years ago, returned there to make trouble, researched Jujutsu on your own..."
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that we have had this talk before... And my answer didn't change. And I'm not contradictory." I try to explain "I'm not naive, you know? Freedom is a pipe dream if you are not powerful enough, economically or in any other way. I work hard now so that I can relax later so that when problems arise, I will be capable of solving them... That I will be capable of defending my lifestyle and the people I love."
"..."
"I'm very good at this, so it would be a shame if I waste my... potential." I can't help but chuckle "And you want to know something?"
"What?"
"Jujutsu... is fun." I admit. It's fun having powers. Many people don't like to study or train but put them in Hogwarts and I bet they would practice and study every day.
To my answer, Gojo slowly smiles broadly.
"It really is, right? Haha!"
"By the way, Am I the only student this year?" I ask while looking around
"What? Don't you want to spend some time alone with me?" She makes a show of acting hurt "For now, yes. You're the only one, it appears that it is not every year that we have a huge batch."
'For now', huh? Oh, so she already knows about Nobara... It appears that the butterfly wings don't reach that far, good.
.....
- Third Person P.O.V -
In a certain junior high school.
"So it was in Sendai in the Sugisawa Municipal High School #3..." Megumi walks in the baseball field under the night sky "I would never remember this shit... But whatever, it is not like I wanted to come here earlier."
He finally reaches a thermometer shed and with great fanfare opens!
"And to the surprise of no one..." He looks inside "It's empty! Tcharam~" He closes it without a care, differently from canon he doesn't call Gojo.
Because apparently, things are a little different and he will not waste a night here.
"So they opened that shit a day earlier? And what is with this huge amount of curses?" He calmly looks at the school, feeling the activity there "Oh... Kenjaku" He hits his palm with a closed fist in realization.
The he sinks to the ground, going to save the (ex)main character and his friends, he is not that heartless.
......
Earlier
"A mission?" Megumi turns to Gojo "Need to travel?"
"Yep, a formality to cement your position as a Special-grade." Gojo replies
"..." Megumi narrows his eyes "Really?"
Gojo throws her hands in the air in amusement "On paper, they don't want to give Special Grades so easily after Yuta lost it, even though he recovered it later, and also the Suguha terrorist attack... In reality, they just wanted to make you run errands while they can. It's a power play." She laughs
"Boring, but what is the mission?" Megumi is secretly interested
"Recover a Special Grade Cursed Object. It's about..." She starts explaining like a good teacher
But Megumi is not even listening anymore, he is holding back an evil smile.
.......
Inside Sugisawa High School, a teenager with pink hair is running through the dark halls of the school while carrying an unconscious girl. His speed is astonishing to the situation, he weaves through the corridors avoiding basket ball sized curses.
"It will be okay, senpai. *Hah* Hang in there!" The pink-haired teen keeps his steady fast pace, sliding through the corners without losing momentum...
"!!" ... till he suddenly meets a much bigger curse that blocked his path just when he turned a corner.
But his reaction, and athletic abilities, are good enough for him to raise a foot to step on the curse and propel himself backwards, just enough to not get caught.
He gulps down in trepidation after seeing the big Cursed Spirit, it looks similar to an anemone, advancing by using his tentacles that stick to the ceiling and the walls.
Without wasting more time he turns around to run, but once again he stops in his tracks because another big curse is blocking his path.
This only looks like a deformed horse, with too many extra legs, and a warped human face, also with extra bits.
"Shit..." He says between gritted teeth, looking away from an exit. His calm to not panic is also commendable.
He considers between jumping from the window or trying to fight one of those things, but his female senpai in his arms prevents him from doing such reckless things.
Things are getting bad for him... But luck smiles at him when the choice is taken from his hands.
After hearing a growl and some *swish* sounds, he turns to look again at the Anemone Curse, only to see it being torn to pieces, countless slashes appear over its body before it explodes in a cloud of gore, and the thing responsible emerging from behind it in a swift move.
A black and white gigantic werewolf beast passes by Itadori, leaving only a gust of wind behind. The Divine Werewolf stepped between the students and the Horse Curse even before all pieces of the anemone curse fell to the ground.
"What?" Itadori asks no one in particular, his eyes wide.
The Divine Werewolf rises to his full height and stares at the Horse Curse. When their eyes meet something happens...
...from the feet of the Werewolf, a circle expands at an incredibly fast speed, a Wolf howl appears to echo and Shikigami and Curse both appear to stop in time...
A Simple Domain!
In the past, Megumi was studying cursed Spirits and discovered that some Curses can deploy Innate Domains.
These Domains are more similar to the Domain of the ancient sorcerers, from before they polished the Domain Expansion technique to become a Sure-hit attack.
It can even be said that the sorcerers of old learned their domains from observing the Innate Domains of the Cursed Spirits.
Then Megumi remembered a certain participant of the Culling Game who used his shikigami to create a Domain. He doesn't remember the details, because the said participant was off-screened by Yuta, but apparently, the shikgami can deploy autonomous domains.
As anyone would do, his ponderation turned to introspection and he thought about his own shikigami.
Would it be possible for them to have their own Innate Domains?
It's a shot in the dark, and possibly a waste of time to even try.
But the fact that Domain Expansions have an origin in someone's Technique, and his Shikigami have techniques of their own pushed him forward to at least try as a little side Project.
And he succeeded!
Till now the Divine Dogs are the only ones that can do that, maybe because they are his oldest, and the one he is most familiar with, shikigami? The simpler of the Ten, the basic one.
But it is nonetheless a success!
The Divine Werewolf, the Totality of the Divine Dogs, expands his Innate Domain, trapping the Horse Curse on it.
The Hunt Climax
The rules as such:
When the Divine Werewolf uses his Domain, his opponent becomes his prey, it lasts only for a split of a second because this split of a second is all it needs.
The "Prey" has that moment to make a decision, or it would be better to say... To their body to react. To show their true nature.
Based on the 3 "F's" of the natural bodily reaction to a dangerous event: Fight, Freeze, and Flee.
In that split of a second, the Werewolf stops, waiting for the reaction of its prey, and each reaction will have an according reaction and a consequence.
In some way, it's giving the prey a chance.
on the other hand, it's putting the prey against the wall.
It's similar to how once a Special Grade Vengeful Spirit of Geto tried to trap Megumi's Father, Toji. The Kuchikase-Onna spirit expanded her domain and asked the question "Am I pretty?", forcing a state of none of the two could attack till an answer was given.
In the Werewolf Domain, the prey has 3 answers... The answer was their first movement, their first thought, their first intention. The answer was not given in a formal way.
If the prey decides to "Fight".
The two would attack with equalized speed, their attack would crash and the winner would be decided by who is stronger. This gives the prey a chance of Victory, and even if the prey loses the contest of strength, if it is not that much weaker, it would only get hurt a little.
The second option of "Freezing" is bad, if the prey doesn't react fast enough in that split of a second, if it does nothing, it will be stun locked in place for 1 second, varying a little more or less, depending on the strength of the prey.
Being at the mercy of the Hunter.
But if the prey "Flees"...
In that split of a second the Cursed Spirit hesitated. Even something with limited intelligence can understand the difference in power after seeing the Werewolf tear the Anemone curse to pieces.
The answer is not given consciously, it was born from fear. Its heart vacillates, and it already admitted defeat in its primal mind...
The body follows the unconscious command of its weak spirit... A minuscule and trembling step back.
A glint appears in the Werewolf's eyes, time appears to stop and resume in succession, and his huge mouth opens and closes at the same time that the Werewolf disappears and reappears.
*Rawr* *Guchi*
Blood spurts where the head of the Horse Curse is separated from its neck.
An indefensible attack...
Victory doesn't smile at those who run away...
When the prey flees, the next attack will be a guaranteed Sure-hit, similar to a modern-age sorcerer common Domain Expansion;
"..." Itadori stares at the scene in shock.
He even falls on his butt.
Less than 5 seconds had passed since Itadori was cornered and he was contemplating doing something reckless and crazy, but the situation resolved by itself.
For some reason, Itadori didn't make a run for it. Maybe he instinctively knows that he can't outrun the werewolf, maybe because the shikigami helped him, maybe because the said shikigami has a more friendly appearance... Anything that is not disgusting is more friendly than curses, even 3-meter-tall fur-covered killing machines.
"Leaving things to my shikigami is so convenient..." Suddenly a new male voice echoes through the place, and a young man clad in full black steps out of the black part of the werewolf like he is walking from a portal "... I will end up getting lazy."
He looks around for a bit before his eyes stop on Itadori Yuji.
"...are you okay?" He ends up asking while approaching
"You... What... How..?" The ex-MC stutters.
"Too long of an explanation... Short version: Secret-society-that-deal-with-evil-spirits-that-normal-people-can't-see." He speaks in rapid succession "And you forgot to ask the 'why'..."
Megumi crouches down and slowly, to not scare him, reaches his hand at the unconscious girl.
"But I will answer it anyway..." His hand moves around her pockets before he removes them but now he is holding something "This is the 'why'. This thing attracted these monsters to you guys. Playing at night with the occult?" He smirks while holding one of Sukuna's fingers, half wrapped in bandages with ancient symbols.
It's unknown if his smirk is to make fun of Itadori's group antics or if it's because he finally has it in his hands his primary objective in this world.
"Oh yeah, I should help her!" He suddenly realizes "I'm not that good at healing others, but I have the right guy for the job."
With a handsign he summons Round Deer, startling Itadori slightly.
The antlers of the deer shine warmly close to the duo of students, the light covers them, healing them in the process.
"Neat, huh?" Megumi says watching Itadoris amazed face "She is fine now, will probably be out of cold because of the shock."
"Ah! There's another!" Itadori finally remembers "Another one of these monsters captured a senpai of mine.
"...okay." With a mental command, Round Deer acts again.
This time his Antlers shine brightly like the sun. The school is illuminated like it's day and the curses start evaporating.
This time Megumi doesn't comment on Itadori's open mouth, preferring to check the finger.
'Even with this amount of positive energy, nothing changed... Truly worthy of the title King of Curses'
"Hm? Did you catch anything?" He notices his Werewolf sniffing the air.
He is too lazy to try to search for the other student on his own.
After some time they finally reach the other senpai, he was unconscious on the ground, but otherwise fine.
"You guys are okay, and I bet none of you want the hassle of trying to explain to the adults this situation. So why we don't skip the hospital visit and I make my guy take you guys home?" Megumi asks while mentally commanding the Werewolf to grab the male senpai.
If it was a guy, he would princess carry...
"That sounds good, this way no one will be worried for nothing." Itadori agrees
"..." Megumi gives him a sideglance "You have a lot of mental fortitude, most people would freak out in this situation."
"Is that so?" Itadori tilts his head and closes his eyes in contemplation "I don't know, it's already over and everyone is okay, so it doesn't matter anymore."
"..."
They calmly walk to the front of the school, crossing the field at a leisurely pace.
"By the way, does this happen a lot?" Itadori asks with a serious face
"...yes." Megumi is not surprised that he asked that "Now that you have the knowledge these things exist, maybe it will be hard on you... But simply try to live a normal life. We Jujutsu Sorcerers can take care of it."
"..."
They finally crossed the Curtain, arriving at Ijichi's car.
"Ijichi-san, take them home." Megumi says
"And what about you?"
"I will stay a little more, there's something I need to check..." He says vaguely "But the mission is complete."
After some staredown, Ijich finally nods.
Itadori helps put the unconscious students in the car, before turning to Megumi.
"What is your name?" He asks, one foot inside the car
"Fushiguro Megumi, but you can forget it." Megumi says blandly
"I will not. I'm Itadori Yuji, thank you for today Fushiguro." He bows
"...just doing my job. I receive money for it, you know?" A playful smirk covers Megumi's face
"Really?" Itadori makes a good impression of a surprised Pikachu face
"Yeah, and it's a lot." Megumi makes the money sign with his fingers "Now, goodbye forever Itadori. I hope to never hear from you again." Megumi says sincerely
"..." Itadori doesn't think much of it. Figuring out that Megumi wishes to never see him in trouble again.
The two stare at each other for a little more.
In another universe, they would be good friends...
But not on this one... In this one, they will never be friends. It was decided by fate, no... It was decided by the Contractor that selected the Sukuna Mission during Chargen.
He is not saddened by it, he will not regret his choice. Yuji is not that important, there's nothing he can do that Megumi can't. He can cover for his absence and leave the guy out of this hell world that is Jujutsu Society. The Hell that to him is very pleasant.
He watches the car take off and distance itself from him.
"I don't know if I'm happy or not that he is not a girl..." He deadpans "Till never, Yuji. Go be a firefighter or something." He waves goodbye
"And now it's time to take the place of the MC definitively" He raises Sukuna's finger to his eye level.
He slowly removes the sealing bandage.
'Kenjaku said that Yuji was basically the signal... As Sukuna's host, he started the increasing of curses and all that, awakening the rest of the fingers and blah-blah-blah. Anyone can take this place... When I become Sukuna's host, Itadori will have no use to Kenjaku.'
Now he will eat it in the open in case Kenkaku is watching, effectively removing Yuji from the nexus position of the storm that is secretly brewing in Japan.
He thinks there's a high chance Kenjaku, using Geto's Curse Manipulation, tried to speed up the process of Yuji eating the finger. So that now, the stronger than Canon Megumi, would arrive just in time to bring Yuji back to Jujutsu School.
Too bad for Kenjaku, Megumi knows the plot. The body stealer sorcerer almost timed it perfectly, proof of his planning skills, but he can't predict that someone who read the story is now living it.
But Kenjaku will not mind the failure, because Megumi eating it will bring the same result.
"..." He pauses, seeing the red and big finger "Is it gay to swallow a guy's finger?"
"..."
"..."
"What if I open my stomach and put the finger directly in there?" He is seriously considering performing a 'seppuku' to not have a guy's finger on his mouth.
He takes out a dagger and raises his uniform...
"Wait... Does it need the act of 'eating' to work?" He pauses again "Like is it part of the Ritual? Uggh" He needs to be sure.
He makes a complicated face before deciding to bite the bullet, his face gets calm after making the decision. He is not one to shy away from something like that, especially because he was the one who chose his path. He can do this for power.
Without hesitation he puts it in his mouth and pushes it down his throat, fast enough only to feel the strange taste of acrid soap.
*Ba-dum*
The change also comes fast, he can see something filling his body, like his body was at a low temperature and he drank a hot beverage. A strange warmth went through all of his body as it latched on his blood.
But he knows that is not a physical change.
It like latched onto his soul...
....
-???-
"Brat, why is your body like that?" A husky/raspy voice reaches Megumi's ears
"..." But he ignored it for now while looking around the familiar place, checking something important first.
It's dark, dark water, dark sky, and filled with bones of different sizes.
"Oy! I'm asking you a question!" The voice reaches his ears again, this time more irritated and louder.
Turning his head he finally sees the King of Curses himself.
"Oh, so you're a man... Good." He says in a slow voice, it appears that his initial choice of taking this mission cut Sukuna from the path of being a love interest and he didn't receive the [Universal Calibration] treatment. Probably because one of the requirements of the mission is that Sukuna is immune to Lures and Bindings.
"..."
"And hello there, handsome." Megumi smirks.
On a throne of skulls and bones, the King of Curses sits leisurely wearing Megumi's face.
The differences are the red eyes (with a smaller extra pair of them), the hair slick backward, the tattoos, the black nails, and the white yukata with long sleeves.
Sukuna frowns seeing the relaxed expression on Megumi's face, he is even a little happy.
He immediately concludes that the strangeness of the situation was planned by this teenager.
"What did you do?"
"Ah~ah~ah~" Megumi shakes his index finger, walking the steps of bones "I'm the one talking now... Don't worry, I will cover the important questions. First, a thousand years have passed..."
"..."
"You must have noticed that you can't take over my body... It's because I prepared beforehand." Megumi walks up the stairs
"..."
"I plan to collect all of your fingers, Sukuna. So sit still there where you can do nothing but behave... Sorry for messing with your plans~" His smirk grows.
"..."
"But don't worry, there's still hope... When I collect all 20 of your fingers, I will force you into a Ritual Battle. The winner takes all! What do you think of that?" Megumi finally arrives on Sukuna's level, but he is looking down on the sitting King of Curses
"..."
"This is a declaration of war, Sukuna!" Megumi lowers his torso enough for their faces to get closer "I will devour everything about you! Your technique, cursed energy, talent, everything! Obviously, it goes both ways, if you defeat me, my body and everything would become yours, it's the battle that will decide our fate, the fate of this world!!" The smirks get a little evil and crazy.
"..." The King of Curses maintains the unblinking stare contests before finally reacting
"Kukuku~ Hahahaha! Now this is interesting! Devour me? Me?? That's a first! What is your name?" He laughs, incredibly amused.
"Fushiguro Megumi." He says while straightening himself
"Fushiguro Megumi, huh? Fine, I will accompany you till the end. Don't disappoint me."
Megumi scoffs "Remember that I trapped you... I did not start this with losing in mind." He finishes and disappears, leaving Sukuna alone in this world that he can't even see outside. Megumi checked that before talking with him.
"..." Sukuna goes back to his resting position, but his shoulders start trembling slightly "KukuhahaHAHAHA! I just awakened but I already can tell this life will be fun! I never thought that someone would pull a fast one on me! How bold! He is good! Kuku~"
His laugh echoes through the silent space for a long time.
When he stops, he finally goes to check his new body.
"Unexpected that my soul took his form... I'm lacking my arms and mouth, and the center of gravity is a little off..." His hands go around his body, even feeling his crotch "Not bad..." He gives a nod
"So that's how it feels to be a man..." He... She goes back to her resting position, supporting a cheek with her fist "Whatever, when we fight I can go back to my true form.
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