July 2018
West Tokyo City
Eishuu Juvenile Detention Center
In the sky, above the exercise yard, a cursed womb formed.
It had been marked as a potential special-grade.
Several non sorcerers saw the womb.
Due to the urgency of the incident, three Jujutsu High first years were dispatched to the scene, and one of them died.
— — —
"Hey, hey, what the hell is this!?" Nobara shouted
Two concrete apartment buildings flanked the sides of the group, their surroundings emitting a cold red glow, the only source of lighting seeing as the sky above was blotted out with pipes.
Yuji spoke with exasperation; "What's going on here? I thought this was supposed to be a two-story dorm building, right?"
Megumi froze, his heart pounding as thoughts raced through his mind.
'Shit! A deployment of an innate domain due to cursed energy! I've never seen one this big before… but luckily, its not a fully-realized domain expansion. The cursed womb we've been called to investigate probably still hasn't been born yet…'
'But that won't remain true for much longer! A premature domain of this size, why the hell would the reports only call it a potential special-grade? Even a blind man could see this is way out of our league!'
'We need to… retreat!'
The wielder of the Ten Shadows turned around, eager to run away, but froze for a second time.
"The door!"
A tangled mess of cold metal pipes stood where the door was supposed to be.
"Huh?" Yuji gasped, "Oh hey, it's gone!"
"Impossible!"
"No way… we just came through that door a second ago." Nobara chipped in, stating the obvious.
Yuji nodded as she spoke.
"You two, stop worrying. Divine dogs already memorized the scent of the entrance, it'll lead us out of here."
Yuji and Nobara immediately brightened at Megumi's words.
"Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?"
Both Yuji and Nobara showered the white divine dog in pats and affection, the dog having a goofy expression with its tongue stuck out as it panted in happiness.
"Stop messing around. We need to get out of here."
"Right, Fushiguro!"
- - -
"Is that… a body?"
The group of first years ended up in a large, open chamber, with the corpse of a man opposite them. Yuji's face scrunched in emotion, and he rushed over.
Placing his hand on the man's shoulder, Yuji read the name on his jumpsuit.
Okazaki Tadashi
His eyes widened, remembering a grieving mother he saw outside the detention center, trying to force her way through the barriers set by police..
"Where's Tadashi!? I need to know if my dear son Tadashi is alright, please!"
"Let's take this body back with us."
"Huh?" Nobara asked
"This is that woman's son…"
"But-"
"His face isn't too mangled, she'll be able to accept his death if she sees the face of her son for the last-"
Yuji stopped speaking as he felt himself being dragged by his hoodie.
"We don't have time for that, and that corpse will just weigh us down." Megumi stated.
Yuji grit his teeth. "The way we came in is gone, if we leave the body behind, we won't be able to come back for it later!"
"Who said anything about coming back? There's a special grade curse here. At a time like this, we shouldn't be thinking about moral niceties but about running away as soon as we can!"
"I have no intention of risking my life here!" Megumi yelled.
A few seconds after saying that, Megumi heard a buzzing sound behind him, and immediately turned around and threw his hands into position.
"Furube… oh it was just a fly."
"No intention to risk your life?" Yuji questioned, "Isn't that necessary for being a sorcerer? I've been one for less than a month and already know that! What excuse do you have?"
"If you have these powers as a Jujutsu Sorcerer, you have a responsibility to use it for the sake of others!"
Megumi's face hardened. "I don't know if you've forgotten, but we're in a detention center! The guy you're so strung up about hit and killed a little girl while drunk driving!"
Yuji's mouth opened in astonishment.
"Itadori, I know you want to save others, but what if the person you save goes on to harm others? What if they're a terrible individual? Will you still save them then? Will your convictions remain the same?"
Yuji shook his head.
"That isn't for me to decide, Fushiguro."
Nobara stepped between them.
"Stop arguing, you two! We need to-"
The two boys froze as they saw Nobara fall through the floor, the hole she fell through closing right after.
"KUGISAKI!" Yuji shouted, immediately getting onto his knees and trying to punch the floor "Give her back, you stupid curse!"
Megumi felt his heart pounding faster and faster.
'Divine dogs should have sensed it, so why…!'
His eyes widened as he saw the head of white divine dog buried in the wall, blood oozing from the base of its neck.
"Itadori! We need to run!" He yelled, frantic. "The special grade has already been born! I dont know if i even need to tell you this, but under absolutely no circumstances are we to fight-"
Megumi abruptly cut himself off, going as stiff as a board as he felt a presence behind him.
'This is bad this is bad thisisbad!'
'I'm too scared to even move! No way I'm gonna fight that thing! I should summon Mahoraga… no, Itadori's here, he'd be caught in the crossfire… Wait, that's right! I'm not alone, Itadori can still save me, right!?'
In contrast to the wave of paralysing fear coursing through Megumi, Yuji felt only a slight uneasiness.
'So smart, Fushiguro! If we don't move, it can't see us!'
'Wait, am I thinking of curses or dinosaurs..?'
He shook his head, a confident smile appearing on his face.
'It doesn't matter what I think, if Fushiguro's doing it, I'll do it too! We may both be first years, but he has way more experience than me, so I'll follow his lead and stay as still as possible. I have faith in you, Fushiguro!'
Megumi too felt relieved.
'That confident smirk, I was right to trust Itadori, he definitely has something up his sleeve! He'll definitely… save me!'