"Teacher, if I eat all of Sukuna's fingers, will there be fewer people afflicted by Curses?"
Itadori's voice was low. He was standing in the room where his grandfather was cremated, collecting his remains.
Gojo stood nearby, watching the boy who had accidentally been drawn into the cruel world of Jujutsu Sorcerers. He knew the youth before him had already made his decision; even if it meant a miserable death in the future, he was determined to step into this world to save others.
"Of course," he said with a gentle, calm smile.
Itadori placed the last fragment of ash into the box, set down the long chopsticks, and gently closed the urn with both hands.
"Are there any more fingers?" he asked, turning around.
"Mm." Gojo took out a finger and handed it to him.
Itadori took it, looking conflicted at the ugly, grotesque finger that was identical to the one he had swallowed last night.
He really ate something like this before... "Now that I look at it, it really is... quite peculiar..."
He didn't have the heart to say the word "disgusting," afraid of hurting Sukuna's fragile ego again.
Since morning, Sukuna had been so quiet it was as if he had vanished. If Itadori couldn't still feel the presence of that soul, he would have thought Sukuna was truly gone.
However, Sukuna should be able to hear him speaking, so he needed to watch his words.
He hadn't expected Sukuna to be so upset after finding out he was a Curse; he shouldn't have told him the truth.
He looked at the finger in his hand, his expression serious.
He knew clearly that once he ate all of Sukuna's fingers, both he and Sukuna would eventually be executed.
But if he didn't eat them, the scattered fingers outside would attract Curses, and there might be more victims like his upperclassmen.
This was why he decided to choose this path.
Sukuna was fundamentally a Curse, and he himself had also stepped into this world.
They could worry about their future later, but for now, he wanted to save the ordinary people who shouldn't have been dragged into this mistaken world.
**[Help others.]** This was the Curse his grandfather had imprinted upon him.
The finger was brought to his mouth.
Gojo slowly stepped back two paces, his body blocking the doorway.
The cursed object melted inside him, and black Cursed Marks reappeared on the boy's face. A massive power erupted, carrying an evil, terrifying aura.
Gojo spread one hand, his fingers tense, ready to unleash powerful Cursed Energy at any moment.
However.
Itadori opened his eyes, the Cursed Marks faded, and his expression was completely relaxed and normal.
"Done!~... It really was hard to eat, though."
The latter half of the sentence was whispered, as if he was terrified of being overheard by a certain someone.
Gojo watched Itadori, who had instantly returned to normal, and raised an eyebrow. He had expected Sukuna to seize the opportunity to take control of Itadori's body, but it was surprisingly peaceful.
"...Where is he?"
"What?"
"Sukuna." Isn't he a little too quiet?
"Oh, him..." Itadori scratched his head awkwardly. "He seems to have shut down."
"..."
???
After listening to Itadori's lengthy explanation, Gojo couldn't help but raise a hand to cover the corner of his slightly upturned mouth.
This Sukuna... is truly fascinating!
Although he didn't know if Sukuna would recover his memories later, or after how many fingers he would recover them, he truly hoped that Sukuna would stay like this for a little longer.
"Alright, next you need to get ready to pack your bags."
Gojo happily opened the door.
Seeing the person outside the door, Itadori excitedly shouted, "Fushiguro!"
He hadn't seen Fushiguro since last night and had been worried about his injuries, so seeing him now suddenly felt incredibly heartwarming.
"You look like you're in good spirits!~"
He gave a thumbs-up, smiling brightly.
**Fushiguro:** ...Can't you see the bandage on my head?!
He sighed.
He's so energetic even after eating two fingers... Forget it, as long as he's okay.
He spoke flatly, a hint of relief and relaxation hidden in his voice.
"Next, you'll transfer to a school in Tokyo that specializes in training Jujutsu Sorcerers. You'll be in the same class as me."
"Remember to pack everything you need and don't forget anything."
Gojo also leaned in from the side, happily holding up the number three to Itadori.
"By the way, counting you, there are three students in your class~"
One class... three students?
Itadori was shocked: "That's way too few!"
"If you count Sukuna, that makes four~"
"Eh, is that allowed?"
Itadori's eyes immediately lit up.
Gojo chuckled, "Of course... not!"
Itadori: "..."
Fine, why did he trust his teacher?
He always felt like his teacher was a little strange and unreliable.
...Itadori returned to the room to pack his bags.
It was too quiet, so he couldn't help but quietly start chatting with Sukuna.
"Sukuna, we're going to a new school to learn Jujutsu next. Is there anything you want to bring?"
"By the way, I still don't know what you look like when you possess me. I heard Fushiguro say that black Cursed Marks appear not just on my hands, but also on my face."
"The Cursed Marks on my face aren't just a bunch of circles, are they? Wouldn't that look weird?"
Itadori muttered to himself. He hadn't expected Sukuna to suddenly break free from his shutdown state and start answering his questions.
But whenever he passed the mirror on the wall, he couldn't help but glance at it, imagining what Sukuna looked like when possessing him... circles?
After being silent for an entire afternoon, Sukuna instantly couldn't sit still anymore.
Circles all over his face—how ugly would that be?
He struggled to get up, looking at Itadori's face reflected in the mirror, and couldn't help but want to see what he actually looked like.
Although he didn't hold out much hope, it seemed unacceptable that he didn't even know what he looked like.
Of course, it would be great if he looked a little handsome.
He still preferred good-looking beings.
For example, that Fushiguro guy last night had a very beautiful face.
And that Gojo guy, although his eyes were covered, just looking at the lower half of his face, he seemed quite handsome.
As for Itadori, although he looked ordinary at first glance, his smile was incredibly bright and sunny, the kind that could win people over.
He suddenly felt a little concerned about his appearance.
**[...Should I possess him and take a look?]** he said in his mind.
"Ah, Sukuna, you're awake!"
Itadori was pleasantly surprised.
"Sure, go ahead and try, but be careful to control your Cursed Energy so Gojo-sensei and the others don't notice."
He lowered his voice and closed his eyes.
Black Cursed Marks slowly appeared.
Sukuna controlled his power, making sure it didn't leak outside.
When he opened his eyes and his gaze fell upon his face reflected in the mirror, he suddenly froze.
Although it was Itadori's face, the feeling was completely different.
The black Cursed Marks made the originally slightly youthful face look more mature.
His features became sharper and more defined, and the red pupils revealed a restrained, sinister dark glow, even carrying a hint of seduction.
He looked at this face, and his heart suddenly thumped rapidly.
The fog in his mind, which contained his memories, churned and rolled as if stimulated.
What's going on... Is he about to remember something just because he saw his own appearance?
He stared at his reflection in the mirror, strange feelings constantly bubbling up. He stood rooted to the spot in a daze.
**[Sukuna... you look pretty handsome!]**
Itadori's voice sounded in his mind, interrupting his thoughts.
He paused, hummed in response, and couldn't resist taking two more looks.
Indeed, he really liked this face; it gave him an indescribably strange feeling.
Compared to Itadori, well... sure enough, he was the cooler one!
The corner of his mouth couldn't help but curl into a slight smile.
**[Sukuna...]**
"Hm?"
**[I think you might be a little narcissistic...]**
"..."
...The Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical School was located deep in the mountains outside Kyoto.
Itadori followed Gojo-sensei into the school.
"In short, Yuji, you need to go to the Principal for an interview first," Gojo said casually.
"You might be rejected from enrolling, so watch yourself."
Itadori's eyes widened: "Eh?! Doesn't that mean I'll be executed immediately!!"
...Hey...!
Then won't I also be executed immediately!!
Sukuna was shocked.
He had been awake for less than 48 hours in total. Are these humans really this brutal?
That teacher of yours is really unreliable!
Well, he probably wasn't in a position to say that, since Itadori was dragged into this because of him.
So... "What kind of interview is it? It can't be that they want you to fight the examiner they send out... you haven't learned anything yet, right?"
He couldn't help but complain to Itadori.
"Or maybe they want me to come out and fight them?"
The problem is, I don't seem to know anything either... Sukuna, complaining internally, suddenly realized his surroundings had become very quiet.
What's going on?
Sukuna switched to the external view and saw that both people were staring in shock at... Itadori's face.
—A mouth with sharp fangs had distinctly appeared on it!
...What the hell!
Sukuna's breathing stopped short, and he immediately shut his mouth.
Then he realized that mouth also tightly pursed its lips... No way?
A bad premonition surfaced again.
He tried to open his mouth to say something, and that mouth slowly opened too.
Sukuna instantly felt utterly flustered.
This is his mouth.
Not only was he a Curse, but was he starting to transform into an alien now?
Damn it! What is going on?!
"Hmm, it looks like after eating the second finger, Sukuna, you developed a new skill. What an interesting effect~"
Gojo stared at the mouth that looked like it was shutting down, saying with great interest.
"Now the three of us can chat together~ What do you say, want to join us?~"
No need! Thank you!
Sukuna controlled himself to sink down. He definitely didn't want to turn into a mouth on Itadori's face; that was too horrifying.
Fortunately, as his mind moved, the mouth on Itadori's face instantly vanished.
He sighed in relief. He hadn't realized that now, if he wasn't careful, his internal complaints could be broadcast externally... He needed to be careful in the future and couldn't just speak carelessly.
If he wasn't careful, his cool factor would drop... Itadori raised a hand and touched his face.
The feeling just now was truly bizarre. Although it didn't hurt or itch, it felt strange.
Imagining chatting with someone and suddenly having a mouth pop out on his face—that would scare people half to death.
He shivered and cautiously discussed it with Sukuna.
"Um, in the future... could you please not suddenly pop out on my face?"
Sukuna: **[...]**
You talk as if I want to pop out.
Wait... it seems popping out isn't controlled by Itadori?
Sukuna raised an eyebrow.
Looks like he might be able to win this round?
**[Depends on your performance.]**
He replied reservedly inside Itadori's head, the corner of his mouth unconsciously curling up.
This was indeed a problem, though.
He thought about it. The face was unsuitable, and other places were mostly covered by clothes. So if he needed to talk... **[How about coming out on the back of your hand from now on?]**
**[I feel like that's less scary?]**
"Hmm, that might work..." Itadori's hesitant voice came through.
Sukuna immediately focused on figuring out how to move the position.
He had to set this emergence spot as a fixed location to prevent him from popping out somewhere else every time he accidentally complained.
Fortunately, this newly manifested ability seemed to follow his will; the setting was complete with just a slight thought.
Thus, in the next second, Itadori saw a mouth exactly like the previous one appear on the back of his left hand.
How amazing... Itadori couldn't help but raise his right hand and poke the mouth with his index finger.
Sukuna immediately noticed the small movement from the other party, and so, purely subconsciously, he opened the mouth and bit the approaching finger.
Then his tongue naturally gave it a lick.
*Swoosh—*
The two of them suddenly felt as if they had both been struck by lightning.
Itadori quickly retracted his hand and nervously hid it behind his back.
Sukuna immediately went offline, clamping his lips shut and becoming quiet as a mouse... Help, what did he just do?!
Gojo, who had witnessed the entire scene, quietly took a step back, covered his face, and turned around, shaking with laughter.
"I, I'm sorry."
Itadori spoke stiffly.
After all, he was the one who reached out first; he couldn't blame Sukuna.
**[N-no... Ahem, it's fine.]**
**[...Maybe I'm hungry. How about we go eat after the interview?]**
"Okay..."
The conversation ended.
Both fell silent simultaneously.
So... here's the problem.
That interview... could they really pass it?
...Would they even live long enough to eat?
...As it turned out, they could pass the interview.
Although Itadori was thoroughly beaten, the answer he ultimately gave convinced Principal Yaga to allow his enrollment.
Having successfully avoided execution, both of them felt much better.
The previous awkward atmosphere instantly vanished.
"Sukuna, what do you want to eat?"
After leaving the Principal's office, Itadori happily followed Gojo-sensei toward the dorms.
Then he suddenly said nervously, "Wait a minute, Curses don't eat people, do they?"
He subconsciously glanced at the fingertip that had been licked, feeling a chill run down his spine.
"Eating people is unacceptable!"
"Who said I eat people!—"
Sukuna was so angry that his mouth popped out again.
"I heard human flesh is sour; it doesn't taste good at all," he muttered softly.
He couldn't remember what he used to eat, but he figured he should be able to eat human food.
"Sukuna doesn't actually need to eat. In his current state, absorbing the Cursed Energy floating in the air, like the negative emotions produced by humans, is enough. Even if he eats something, it's just for the taste and won't give him energy."
Gojo interjected from the side.
"I see." Itadori sighed in relief.
So he could only taste it... Sukuna felt a little disappointed, but quickly put the worry out of his mind.
"I haven't decided what I want to eat either, so just get me whatever you're having first."
"Hey, then I'll take you for ramen! But how will you eat it? Will you feed it to the mouth on the back of your hand?"
Both of them simultaneously imagined the scene of pulling noodles out of the soup bowl and drawing them into the mouth on the back of the hand, shuddered, and immediately abandoned the idea.
"Sure enough, we need food that can be scooped with a spoon. Fried rice? Curry? Ice cream? Pudding?" Itadori suggested.
"Fine, let's try one of each first."
Sukuna nodded. These things sounded delicious just hearing them.
Gojo stroked his chin, watching the two happily chatting ahead.
Isn't your acceptance level a little too high?
Do you two even remember that one of you is a Curse and the other is a Jujutsu Sorcerer?
...The cheerful mood continued until they entered the dorms to tidy up the room.
They also ran into Fushiguro Megumi, whose injuries had finally healed.
"Fushiguro!"
Itadori happily looked at Fushiguro and enthusiastically invited him—
"I'm going to eat with Sukuna in a bit, want to come along?"
**Fushiguro:** With... who?
...Who did you just say you were going to eat with?
He stiffly turned his head to look at Gojo-sensei beside him.
Are those two already on such good terms?
Gojo nodded and gave a thumbs-up gesture.
"You can all come together~! Oh right, speaking of which, we're heading out tomorrow to pick up the third student. Don't be late."
Itadori: "Okay—!"
**Fushiguro:** "..."
Who wants to come along!
Also, the person who needs to worry about being late is you!