Chapter Text
Itadori had killed people today. It showed in the way he carried himself—the invisible weight that now accompanied him made his shoulders droop just a little lower than usual, his smile come a little slower. Gojou knew it for sure when he made eye contact with Yuuji and wasn’t met with the seemingly permanent gleam of innocence. His eyes had grown a bit duller, marred by a newfound hatred.
The day passed impossibly slowly after that and Gojou had too little to do and too many thoughts to occupy his time. After all, he was the one who was responsible for Yuuji. He had entrusted him to Nanami, believing that the stoic jujutsu sorcerer would be able to prevent Yuuji from ending up in any nasty situations.
This definitely counts as a nasty situation, Gojou thought as he breathed out slowly. He hated making wrong decisions. The damage caused by this particular misstep would be long-lasting, for certain. Unless the boy bounced back through some sort of miracle, the encounter with the cursed spirit would continue to play on his mind until it was exorcised.
Even then- He knew it wouldn’t flip a switch in Yuuji’s head and right all that was wrong, but it was a start.
He knew Itadori was wrapped up in complex existential issues, the likes of which Gojou didn’t even want to grasp. As much as he would like to help his student, the meaning of death wasn’t something Gojou had spent any extended period of time contemplating.
He stood up and slowly stretched, beginning to realise that there was something he could help the boy with, something that could be solved with strength and action instead of words and theories. The burning anger that was all too evident in Itadori’s eyes was imprinted in his memory. Hatred was something he could deal with.
Yes, there is a simple way to help.
His mind made up, he got up to leave—there wasn’t much time before the object of Itadori’s hatred became impossible to find. While it was still injured from the fight with Itadori and Nanami, the cursed spirit couldn’t have gotten far, especially with a team of jujutsu sorcerers scouring the sewers to find him.
Gojou’s nose wrinkled slightly. Being the strongest came with some great advantages, he found that avoiding unpleasant jobs was among his favourites.
.
In his search for his target, Gojou found himself at the wrecked school building that had been a battleground only a few hours ago. As he drew closer, he slowed his sprint, taking a better look at his surroundings.
Surveying the wreckage, Gojou frowned at the sheer amount of cursed energy residuals.
It’s no wonder the team from Jujutsu Tech is having trouble.
It had been a while since he’d done this kind of work, but Gojou’s eyes still knew what to pick up, what to follow, what to ignore. Locating the cursed spirit’s escape route was easy, but from there things got a bit tricky.
Nanami had explained his knowledge of the extensive abilities of this particular curse, and Gojou saw evidence of those abilities as he tracked the residuals above ground, winding through the city.
He told himself that he’d enter the sewers only if it became necessary. He very much hoped it wouldn’t.
It became clear that the main body could split it’s mass up into separate parts which still retained motor functions, and as he weaved through the streets, he noticed that they all carried their own cursed energy. Instead of tracking one curse, he found himself tracking eight.
The paths began to separate, diverging widely from the original trail and fanning out in all directions. When the distance between the eight grew too vast, Gojou finally gave up on holding back and removed his blindfold. Only then could he see the slight difference in the cursed residuals.
It seemed that the curse was still inexperienced in using this particular technique. If he were any other sorcerer, it may have worked, but the craft was sloppy and unrefined before his gaze. Nanami must’ve been correct in assuming that the curse was still experimenting—this may have been the first time it had attempted splitting itself so into so many parts.
He scoured the winding paths, picking apart each infinitesimal layer. Then one particular trail called to him and he knew he was correct in pursuing it. He grinned and broke into a sprint, keen to finish off the curse and end this mediocre chase.
In such a state, it would not have the capacity to create such a subtle false lead, one that would only be visible to someone with eyes like Gojou’s.
Assuming, he lightly considered, that there’s anyone else with eyes like mine.
The seven other paths had diverged so greatly that they were only visible as thin, glowing strings in the distance. To his right, Gojou felt the group of jujutsu sorcerers get further away, still attempting to find the curse. Glancing ahead, he saw a manhole cover slightly off-kilter and slowed down to a stroll.
Only a few metres away, in a seedy alleyway between two towering apartment blocks, Gojou found his prey.
The cursed spirit was dragging itself forward on shaky legs as it clung to the wall, it’s frame thin and weakened. As Gojou entered the alleyway, blocking out the only source of light, the curse froze in it’s tracks. Gojou couldn’t prevent the smile that stretched across his face as Mahito turned around and locked eyes with him.