hiiiii & welcome back!!! i'm going to try and update as much as i can. i really love this story & i miss writing! but i do have a baby now, so we'll see how it goes:')

i haven't written in forever, so hopefully it's still okay. i'm picking up right where the story left off.

•••••••••••

I walked through the empty halls of the school, desperate to take my mind off of Sukuna's potential demise.

Well, more like slumped. I could barely even hold myself up straight as I moved. The whole process of taking his cursed energy had worn me out, mentally and physically.

My body couldn't handle the overpowering strength of his cursed energy. There was a good chance we'd both end up dead by the end of this.

Mentally, I couldn't stomach the events either. To be his biggest weakness, it was a weight I was no where near prepared to carry.

As I trailed the hallway, I heard a trembling coming from inside one of the rooms. The sound of someone shivering was almost so intense it seemed like they'd been caught outside in a blizzard without so much as a jacket.

I hadn't explored much so far so I wasn't sure who I'd find on the other side.

Still, even with my own problems, I couldn't let a call like that go unanswered.

"Hello?" I called out weakly as I tapped on the door.

The response was hardly audible, a plea barely above a whisper, "P-please.... h-help."

Yuuji.

I burst through the door, shocked by the scene before me. Yuuji was laying on his bed, pale as a ghost. His sheets were soaked through with sweat.

He laid curled up in a tight ball, shaking and shivering. Small groans of pain escaping his lips.

"Yuuji!?" I called out , doing my best to rush over. "What's wrong? What happened!?"

I knelt by the bed, placing my hand on his forehead and instantly feeling the fever that was surely wreaking havoc on his body.

"When did this start?" I asked.

Yuuji's eyes were still shut as he spoke, "S-shorty after your technique."

Was my technique draining Yuuji's energy too? Was Sakuna's cursed energy that closely intertwined with his own?

Perhaps they aren't as separate of beings as everyone had assumed. Are they at the point where one can't exist without the other?

My mind raced with every possibility, every fear, every anxious worry.

Could I not save them both?

Could I not save either?

I shook the thought away, unable to bear knowing the answer, "I'm going to find help. Where can I find a healer?"

A slew of groans and incoherent words left Yuuji's moth.

"Yuuji!" I called our frantically. "Please. I need you to focus. Does Jujutsu High have a healer? A doctor? Something!?"

"G-Gojo," he barely mumbled.

Fuck. The last person I want anything to do with.

But it didn't matter now. I took off down the hall, sprinting as fast as my body would let me.

Every bone ached, every muscle felt engulfed with flames. I was used to pushing through pain though. And now, I had a reason to do it beyond just my own survival.

The relationships I was building with Yuuji and Sukuna fueled me unlike anything I had experienced before.

"Y/n!?" Megumi and Nobara called as I ran past them.

"Where's Gojo?!"

They scrambled to get their thoughts together, and Nobara awkwardly called out, "Uh... T-the fields."

"What's wrong?!" Megumi yelled, but I didn't have time to chat.

I crossed the campus and training grounds until I found Gojo, Nanami, and Geto on the fields with three people I'd never seen before.

Well, 2 people, 1 panda... And had I been in any other scenario, I would've had so many questions.

But my curiosity would have to wait.

"Gojo!" I screamed.

Everyone whipped their heads towards me, jaws dropping at the sight of this lunatic girl screaming and flailing herself forward into a weak excuse for a run.

"Y/n?" Gojo started confused.

Tears were streaming down my face as the exhaustion and worry consumed, "I-it's Yuuji. He needs help. A doctor."

Nanami's eyes went wide with concern.

"Shoko," Geto spoke to Gojo who nodded in response.

Gojo approached me, laying his hand on my shoulder, "Let's go. You two, meet us there."

Next thing I knew we had transported into a large, all-white room. Sterile beds lined one side of the wall, while the other held various equipment, desks, and cabinets.

I didn't know if we were still on Jujutsu High grounds or had left the area completely.

A woman about Gojo's age was sitting in one of the office chairs, smoking a cigarette while she typed on her computer.

She pulled the cigarette out of her mouth, exhaling a cloud of smoke and not even bothering to glance in our direction, "New student?"

"Not exactly," Gojo walked over to her. "That's not why I'm here though. I need you."

She smirked, "I'm busy."

Gojo sighed loudly, "Shoko, it's Yuuji."

She smashed the cigarette directly into the desk, putting out its spark as she stood, "You should've started with that."

"What happened?" she followed up.

"Y/n," Gojo ushered.

I was a bit caught off guard and absolutely exhausted from having rushed to find Gojo, "U-uh, I'm not sure exactly...."

I trailed off, pausing to get my thoughts together to explain the state I saw him in, "I found him in his room. Shaking, pale, fever."

Gojo furrowed his eyebrows, "You don't think..."

I already knew what he wanted to ask, if it was from my technique or not.

I nodded, not even being able to get the words out.

"Fuck," he mumbled to himself. "We have to hurry."

Shoko reached out and grabbed his arm without needing any other explanation. Their relationship felt a bit strained, but she clearly trusted him.

We were finally in Yuuji's room, and Shoko got to work. I wanted to comfort him, hold a washcloth to his forehead, lightly push my hand through his hair, something, anything... but Shoko demanded space.

Gojo paced, looking more unnerved than I had ever seen him.

"What is it?" I asked.

Of course I was worried sick about Yuuji too, but this felt like something more than that.

"Finally," he grumbled as Nanami and Geto entered the small dorm room. We were definitely at max capacity in here.

"What's going on?" Nanami tried to rush over to Yuuji's bedside, but Gojo caught his arm, pulling him back.

"Let her work," Gojo demanded. "We have our own issues to discuss."

Nanami's jaw tightened, frustrated with not having any answers and not being able to comfort Yuuji.

I understood completely.

Geto spoke up, "Our own issues?"

Gojo turned to me, "We have a meeting with the Higher Ups."

I stared at his blindfold, my face blank as I tried to appear composed and fearless. The truth was, I felt seconds away from passing out.

My cursed technique, it worked so easily I could have never expected the backlash it would have. The toll it took on me was unlike anything I'd ever experienced.

Sukuna's cursed energy was really living up to all the stories.

"Regarding?" Nanami ushered, sounding more impatient than normal.

"To report on how the technique worked against Sukuna," Gojo answered.

Now I was really confused, "And what're we supposed to tell them? It might've worked, but it also might be killing Yuuji?"

I still couldn't let them know it had a similar effect on Sukuna. My pulse quickened at how out of control everything felt.

Geto shook his head, "They'll just insist we proceed as normal. Feed Yuuji the rest of Sukuna's fingers, and then kill him."

"That can't happen," Nanami was beginning to sound completely defeated.

Gojo took a few steps towards me, towering over me, clearly back to his intimidation tactics, "You're going to lie."

"Lie?" I questioned. "That only opens Yuuji up to more of... this!" I yelled in a gesture to Yuuji's half-alive body.

Gojo held firm, "No, Y/n. You are going to lie. Sukuna's energy was drained. You can handle a bit at a time. Yuuji is fine. You are fine. The plan works."

"They'll expect me to use my technique regularly Gojo. Maybe even ask to observe it," I tried calming myself. Maybe reason would break through his pride. "Then what?"

"I think she's right," Geto agreed sheepishly, rubbing his neck as he looked at the ground.

I hated how everyone coward to Gojo. He might be the most powerful, but was he really a threat even to his friends? Was he that brutal?

"She's wrong!" Gojo snapped. "Listen! All of you! No one outside this room ever finds out about this. Understand?! Not even Megumi and Nobara!"

"To keep Yuuji safe, we lie. We buy ourselves some time, and we find another way," he ended on a stern but steady note.

His two companions nodded in agreement, falling in line with his plan.

No, not plan... His orders. Because this wasn't a plan, this was a desperate plea with no actual direction.

And I learned a long time ago that things don't work out just because you really really hope they will. Being unprepared is a state of vulnerability, and I refused to be a part of it.

"How many fingers are left?" I asked.

"Does it matter?" Gojo answered.

I signed, "Can you just let me help? How many?"

"6" Nanami revealed.

"After this meeting, we devote all our energy to the last 6 fingers," I started.

"Won't that make Yuuji more sick?" Geto interrupted.

"I wasn't finished," I replied annoyed. "We find the 6, and we keep them hidden."

Gojo shook his head, "They'll find them if they're hidden on campus ground."

"No, we keep them hidden," I corrected. "We each keep at least one. The strongest will both take a second, or Gojo maybe even takes 3."

"Level 1 and Special Grade curses will be all over us," Nanami spoke. "I don't understand."

"Everyone in this room is strong enough to win in a fight against curses," I reassured. "But if we have them, no one else can find them, and no one else can give them to Yuuji."

"If he consumes any more, things will only get worse from here," I explained. "We have to stay a step ahead. Control the game and the narrative."

"By the time we have all 6, we'll have an actual plan in place. Until then, we hunt and we experiment with new solutions."

Gojo chuckled, "You think I'm going to let you hang onto a cursed object? Sukuna's fingers? When you clearly have some strange alliance with the King of Curses?"

"I don't see what other choice you have," I responded, ignoring his baseless, but true accusations. "I can hold onto at least 2. If you hold onto anymore than that, you'll only draw attention to us."

Nanami nodded, "They'll notice the uptake in powerful cursed spirited. People are sure to ask questions."

"But not if I'm here," I corrected.

"Oh?" Gojo raised a brow. "How so?"

"We lie some more," I shrugged. "We say my technique attracts curses that can feel the release of Sukuna's energy."

"Will higher ups be okay with that?" Geto asked Gojo.

He nodded, "I can spin it. If Y/n attracts spirits I have to stay close to her, and she has to stay close to Yuuji."

"So they'll be able to keep a closer eye on you if they know where you're at," Nanami huffed.

"Exactly," Gojo smiled. "Alright devil, we'll go along with your plan for now."

My jaw clenched with his nickname. He's such an asshole.

"When's the meeting?" I changed the subject, deciding to take the high road, hoping I'd get to rest soon if this conversation ended.

Gojo pulled out his phone to check the time, "Technically, it started 10 minutes ago."

I rubbed my eyes, realizing there wasn't going to be a break in my near future.

"Straighten up, Y/n," Gojo smirked. "It's showtime."

I took one last look at Yuuji, who although looked much better, still laid in his bed curled up into a tight ball.

This is all for him, I reminded myself as I forced my body upright, "Yea, let's get this over with."

Nanami slightly bowed his head, "Thank you, Y/n. We may actually be able to save his life."

I nodded back before Gojo teleported us away.

If we didn't save him, I don't know if I'd be able to live with myself.