"HWOOOOL"
Megumi felt numb as his Divine Dog raised its head into the air and let out a piercing howl, one that could be heard for several miles in every direction and would no doubt reach Yuji's ears.
"Okay, what the fuck was that?!" Nobara spun and stared at Megumi with wide, shell-shocked eyes, "I thought nearly dying would be the most traumatic thing that happened to me today, but I guess I was wrong about that!"
Megumi was silent for a second as he stared at the detention center before turning to face Nobara with a conflicted look on his face, "I think that was one of our seniors."
Nobara blinked in disbelief, "You're telling me that guy was a student?!"
Megumi dipped his head once, "A second year if he is who I think he is."
"Well, are you gonna tell me or just dance around it?!" Nobara scoffed as she put a hand on her hip.
Megumi stared at her blankly for a heartbeat before sighing, "His name is Kiniro, a Special Grade sorcerer and a second year at our school."
"He's a special grade only as a second year?" Nobara exclaimed.
"He actually earned the rank of Special Grade as a first-year due to how powerful his technique is," Megumi continued in a flat monotone, "Surprisingly, he's not the only one in the year above us to become a Special Grade. There's another by the name of Yuta Okkotsu, but last I heard, he was studying abroad after the Night Parade of 100 Demons."
"I thought special grades were supposed to be rare?" Nobara asked sarcastically.
"They are," Megumi stated with absolute confidence, "Last year had the most special grade sorcerers ever registered at once, and there were only six of them."
"Well, how many are there now?"
"Five," Megumi answered bluntly with a far-away look in his eyes, "One of the six was a cursed user responsible for the Parade, Suguru Geto…he was killed by Kiniro and Yuta during his attack on the school."
"Huh, is that why you looked like you shit a brick when you realized who he was?" Nobara teased, though, instead of getting her usual reaction from Megumi, as his eyes filled with an intensity, "No, it's what he did shortly afterward that makes him a walking calamity."
Nobara rolled her eyes, "God, just spit it out already, or I'm walking away."
"He fought Gojo to a standstill." Megumi answered gravely, "Before their fight, Satoru Gojo, for all intents and purposes, was invincible, the undisputed strongest. But Kiniro subverted that truth."
"S-so he's really strong, what's the big deal?" Nobara muttered.
"You don't understand," Megumi interrupted as his gaze intensified, "That kind of strength extends beyond a fight. Within Jujutsu Society, that level of personal power equals political influence. The clans that exist now have managed to maintain control thanks to the power of their inherited techniques, and of those techniques, the Gojo clan was believed to be the most powerful."
"Until he came along," Nobara inferred as she remembered how the cursed spirits had recoiled at the mere sight of him, "So when he said he could contain Sukuna…he was telling the truth?"
Megumi nodded, "If everything I've heard about him is true…Then I don't see any other outcome."
---
"Alright, whelp, take your body back, my work is done here…"
Sukuna closed his eyes, waiting to be shunted back into his innate domain, only for nothing to change.
"Hmm, looks like I was right on all accounts."
Sukuna opened his eyes and glanced over as Kiniro walked into the room, his pupils glowing with intrigue, "Ryomen Sukuna, it's an honor to meet you."
"You know who I am," Sukuna replied as he turned to face Kiniro with an uninterested look, "And yet you dare approach me…it bothers me to no end that you're the second within this Era to regard me with such levity."
"I assume that the first one to treat you that way was my previous mentor." Kiniro replied with a small smile, "The current user of the Six Eyes and Infinity, Satoru Gojo."
Sukuna grinned, "So I wasn't imagining that he hardly seemed to lose any cursed energy during our encounter. How exciting. I always regretted that I never had the opportunity to test my strength against heavens chosen. I look forward to killing him once I fully incarnate and squash this weakling."
Sukuna's eyes then narrowed as he regarded Kiniro with an analytical gaze, "Though it seems that the current scion of the Gojo clan isn't the only sorcerer of note in this Era."
Kiniro smiled as he stopped holding back his cursed energy and his battlelust, letting it fill the air, "I shouldn't be surprised that you were able to see through my disguise, even with only a fraction of your soul."
"Eh," Sukuna clicked his tongue in disgust as he stared at Kiniro with hooded eyes, "You modern sorcerers are filled with such undeserved arrogance. You dare look down on my soul?"
Sukuna swiped his hand through the air, sending an invisible slash flying at Kiniro, who didn't make any moves even as a deep diagonal gash appeared across the front of his body.
However, despite his technique landing such a grievous injury, Sukuna frowned as not only did Kiniro refuse to bleed, but he felt something target his soul.
Looking down at his hand, Sukuna stared at the mark that had appeared the moment he had activated his technique, 'Fascinating.'
Without warning, Sukuna's hand shot out and pierced through his chest, emerging a second later holding his still beating heart, "My initial assessment of you was wrong…you are capable of interesting me; you may even prove to be a worthwhile opponent."
Unphased by Sukuna's brutality, Kiniro's smile didn't waver in the slightest, "Thanks, but I would prefer to fight you when you're more put together, no offense."
"You're bold and arrogant, the makings of a true sorcerer," Sukuna praised as his eyes widened and a dangerous air rose from him, "It always pleases me to cut that arrogance out of my enemies and watch their pride go up in flames."
"I know the feeling," Kiniro agreed, "But like I said, there won't be any fighting today. All I wanted was to confirm my suspicions about your reincarnation and the vessel you now inhabit."
"You mean the brat?" Sukuna muttered with a tangible disdain, "He's nothing special, in fact, I'd go so far as to say that, as far as sorcerers come, he's the bottom of the barrel."
Kiniro grinned, "I could see why you would think so and why you're incapable of acknowledging just how strong this brat really is."
Sukuna frowned and glared at Kiniro, "I'm not incapable of anything; there is nothing remarkable about this boy. He can't even control his cursed energy properly."
"Yet despite all of that, he's still able to act as your vessel," Kiniro countered with a glowing fervor in his eyes, "When I first heard it myself, I didn't believe it. To contain a soul like yours within a living vessel, the number of conditions that would have to be fulfilled would be impossible to come across naturally."
Sukuna's eyes narrowed, "What are you saying?"
"I'm sure you've already sensed it, or at least have some idea what's going on," Kiniro answered vaguely as his smile turned into a grin, "His body, his soul…they're far too similar to yours to be a mere coincidence, don't you think?"
Kiniro's words were met with silence as the air around Sukuna seemed to ignite and an aura deserving of the one called the King of Curses filled the room, seeming to manifest a vague shape larger than life with four arms.
"I am going to enjoy feasting on your carcass after I cut you into ribbons," Sukuna threatened as his hands started to move together; however, Kiniro was faster.
"Hey, Yuji, feel free to take back control now."
"If you think he can save you you're-"
Sukuna's threat was cut short, and the aura vanished as his head suddenly fell only to snap back up again, free of the marking that highlighted his features.
Staring down at the hole in his chest, Yuji had a grim expression on his face, 'Sorry Gramps looks like I'm going to be joining you after-'
"Mammon"
Yuji's final thoughts were cut off as a flash of heat filled his chest, and he watched his mortal injury heal over as if it had never existed.
"Damn, what a rush," Kiniro muttered as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, "Alright come on snap out of it, this isn't your first near-death experience; besides, your friends are waiting outside, probably think I killed you or something."