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A story focused on a young Yuji already harboring Sukuna as a vessel and it's up to teenage sorcerers of Tokyo Jujutsu High School to go and help him! Involves a parental Kento Nanami and Gojo with his usual antics.

This chapter focuses more on Nanami's perspective

AO3 Link CH1 CH2

Chapter 3: Mission Start

Summary:

The students at Tokyo Jujutsu High School are given a mission involving saving a child who happens to be the Vessel of the "King of Curses", Ryomen Sukuna. The three students are shocked at this sudden mission, but one is forced to go on a head start. Kento Nanami really had no interest of being a Jujutsu Sorcerer anymore, especially after the death of his friend a year prior - yet here he was forced on a mission to save a demon child.

Notes:

Here we go! Nanami is on the mission to save our ray of sunshine!

“It seems we have an interesting mission we have to do.”

Masamichi Yaga stood in front of a blackboard in a classroom that was located at Tokyo Jujutsu High School. He faced his small band of students that took few out of the many seats available in the classroom, and none of them were enthusiastic to say the least.

Satoru Gojo sat in the back, his stark white hair standing out as it usually did. He was a third year, and he was showing no interest in what was going on, his black sunglasses shielding his bright blue eyes from all around him. Since his mission with the Star Plasma Vessel the year previously and his friend Suguru Geto turned into a Curse User, he had not been the same. His laid-back personality and joking demeanor still shined through every once in a while, but for the most part he rather stay silent and take the most dangerous missions that were offered.

Sitting next to Gojo was a petite young woman with short brown hair and a beauty mole under her right eye - Shoko Ieiri. She had an unlit cigarette in her mouth as she usually did, waiting for class to be dismissed so she could go smoke it. She didn’t take many missions often, she rather go and study medicine and learn under other sorcerers that use their techniques to heal. Shoko knew her talents were for support and to help people stay alive during these dangerous missions. Like Gojo, she was a third year, and she was bored as well.

The single second year sat by the window, staring out and not having any interest in what Yaga had to say as well - Kento Nanami. His blonde hair nearly glowed from the sunlight from sitting by the window, the right side being longer due to the style. His eyes were always small and narrow looking, the stoney gray blue looking as though he would rather be anywhere but there. He wasn’t supposed to be only second year. There was another student in his class… but he died horribly during a mission shortly after the Star Plasma Vessel incident and it was right before Geto became a Curse User.

Yaga clicked his tongue. “I know you rather be out doing missions like Mei-Mei and Utahime, so how about you three pay attention!” he ordered as he slammed his fist behind him against the blackboard.

All three students then snapped their attention to the front.

“And what mission is it, Yaga?” Gojo asked in a bored tone while stretching his body onto his desk. “Because if it doesn’t involve me kicking someone’s ass, I really rather not deal with it…”

Yaga then lifted a cell phone and flipped it open. “One of our Assistant Managers got a distress call from Kyoto,” he began. He pressed a button, and it played.

“Hello…?” the Tokyo Assistant Manager’s voice, who they recognized as the newly graduated Kei Hino, asked through the phone.

“Hey, it’s one of those managers!” an unknown voice shouted from a distance.

“Just shoot her…” another unknown man sighed in annoyance. “It’s not like they can really fight anyways.”

“Hey, Yuko, what’s going on!?” Kei shouted.

“Right, boss!” the one first unknown man said.

“After all, we’re just here for Sukuna’s Vessel…” the head man sighed again.

BANG!

“Y-Yuko…!? YUKO!”

The message ended.

Shoko’s mouth opened in disbelief and her cigarette fell onto her desk. “I-I’m sorry, did they say what I think they just said…!?” she nearly shouted.

“Sukuna’s Vessel…?” Nanami then questioned his attention fully on the message. “As in… ‘The King of Curses’ Sukuna?”

“The one that ate people in the Heian Era and was a super powerful Jujutsu sorcerer that when he died, he was a Curse and when the Curse died, he put his Cursed Energy into twenty fingers!?” Gojo then added with added hysterics for show.

“That Sukuna!?” the three students said in unison.

“No, the ‘Mary Poppins’ Sukuna,” Yaga deadpanned. “YES, THAT SUKUNA!” he then shouted with a combination of fury and annoyance.

“Why isn’t Kyoto dealing with it…?” Nanami then asked, him barely showing any emotion.

“They had a bout of Curses around them that they are dealing with at the moment, so we were asked to help,” Yaga explained. “Kei went and investigated after the phone call and took these pictures.” He passed the photos around.

Shoko gasped in horror when she saw the woman in the variant Miko uniform. “Wait… this sorcerer… This is Minori Hitoe…!”

“You’re familiar with her, Shoko?” Gojo asked curiously as he snatched the photo from her.

“I was supposed to go study beneath her the other day, but she said we had to reschedule…” Shoko explained. “She has an amazing Cursed Technique that involves looking into the soul, but she also does Reversed Cursed Technique as well…”

“It was probably a good thing she rescheduled,” Nanami told her. “Or we would be looking at a picture of your corpse right now.”

“HEY!” Shoko shouted angrily, almost biting her cigarette in half that was in her mouth.

The other photo was an elderly gentleman that they didn’t recognize. He had gray hair and sun marks all over his wrinkled face and a bullet hole in his chest. Against the wall was red from his blood.

“So, who is this…?” Gojo asked when he looked at the photo.

“His I.D. identified his as Wasuke Itadori,” Yaga replied. “The knife that was by him had residuals of Cursed Energy, and we can tell it was his.”

“He was a Jujutsu Sorcerer…!?” Shoko gasped in shock.

“Probably at one time,” Yaga guessed. “Itadori isn’t a familiar name though… ‘Wasuke’ however was a name of a student from Kyoto a few decades ago.”

Nanami crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, ignoring the blonde fringe that was going into his face. “So… why was he with Hitoe then…?” he prodded.

Yaga then pulled out a box and set it on his desk. “We think it has something to do with the vessel,” he revealed. “In Yuko’s car there was a child’s seat… we think Itadori went to the sister school with a young child, and we can confirm with this toy as it was in Minori’s arms.” He then pulled out a stuffed toy of a tiger… drenched in blood.

“Oh… my god…” Shoko nearly gagged. “Is it… the kid’s blood or…?”

“It’s Minori’s,” Yaga confirmed sadly but also with relief that it wasn’t a child’s life’s blood. “It seemed she died trying to protect the kid.”

“And why was she trying to protect him…?” Nanami snorted apathetically. “If we do simple math - the old man is dead, Hitoe is dead… the kid is missing. Safe to say the kid is the vessel they were looking for, right?”

Yaga frowned. “We can guess correctly that the child in question may be Sukuna’s vessel,” he said slowly. He then pulled out a wallet from the box, most likely belonging to the old man. Yaga pulled out a picture and showed it to his students. “From intel that we gathered, the boy’s name is Yuji Itadori - he’s five-years-old, currently in preschool.”

“Aw, he’s a cutie!” Shoko cooed loudly. “Big brown eyes and pink hair…! And that big smile is making me feel like I should quit smoking!”

Gojo snorted a laugh as he slammed a hand to his desk.

“Shoko, you’re eighteen and a young beauty… you shouldn’t be smoking anyways…” Yaga deadpanned.

Nanami just glared at the photo. “You don’t see the resemblance…?” he deadpanned. “From all the textbooks we’ve seen and read… you don’t see it…?”

“See what, Kento…?” Gojo groaned, his laughter now gone. “He’s a preschooler, not Satan!”

Nanami just glared at his senpai. “The kid looks like a younger version of Sukuna when he was still a human,” he pointed out. “You could draw the markings on him, and they could be twins.”

“You’re just salty cause you’re not as cute,” Shoko teased. She then stuck her tongue out at him.

Nanami felt the urge to slam his head to his desk. He wished Mei-Mei or Utahime were around as he felt they were the only two that could keep Gojo and Shoko from getting on his nerves.

“Anyways, you three are gonna help locate the boy and bring him here,” Yaga then ordered.

“Huh…!?” the three students shouted in unison.

“Uh, no, count me out, Yaga!” Gojo nearly growled as he stood from his desk, the chair screeching across the floor. “I’m not doing babysitting duty again! Because we know how well the last time I dealt with a vessel mission was!” He spat those words full of venom, his glasses had shifted down, revealing his bright blue eyes burning like a blue flame.

“Satoru…” Yaga tried to sympathize with his student, but the white-haired teen just left the room, slamming the door behind him. Before Yaga could address the other two, Shoko had got up from her desk and ran after her friend.

All who was left was Kento Nanami, who was staring daggers at Yaga.

“You can’t be serious,” Nanami huffed as he crossed his arms.

“Kento, just begin the mission and I’ll send Shoko and Satoru your way as soon as possible,” Yaga almost begged. “You’re a very strong and capable sor-”

“If I am, then why did Yu still get killed!?” Nanami snapped furiously. “If I was as strong as Gojo-Senpai or Geto-Senpai then Yu would still be here, damn it!”

Yaga could only shake his head solemnly. “Kento, you cannot compare yourself to them,” he pointed out. “Your strengths are different than theirs. Last year you were still learning your technique and how it works, and so was Yu… you can’t blame yourself for his death. And I know he doesn’t blame you either.”

“And how the hell would you know that he doesn’t blame me!?” Nanami bitterly shouted.

Yaga gave a small smile. “Because I know Yu… and he knew you, Kento.” He then walked up to the young man and handed the photo of Yuji to him. “And right now, this kid needs our help, so go start the mission.”

Nanami took the photo and stared at it for a moment. Shoko was correct that the boy had large, brown eyes and pink hair. However, the smile was the complete opposite of what he expected; he thought the smile would be sadistic like Sukuna’s, like all the illustrations show, but no, this smile was large and genuine as if he was told that he was allowed to have all the candy in the store for dinner.

It… reminds me of Yu’s…

***

Nanami had gone back to his dorm and packed an overnight bag with an extra school uniform, socks, underwear, his hairbrush, toothbrush, and book to read on the train ride to Kyoto.

He honestly didn’t want to do the mission at all. Ever since Yu was killed his interest in being a Jujutsu Sorcerer had dwindled completely. Why were children being sent out on the battlefield just to be slaughtered? At that point, he honestly couldn’t blame Geto-Senpai for doing what he had done.

Nanami made sure his Cursed Tool was with him, a weapon of choice he preferred that was a machete wrapped in a white cloth with black spots. Gojo-Senpai kept teasing him saying it was a “Cow Butcher Knife”, but he just ignored him. To Nanami, it was the perfect tool when he executed his Cursed Technique, so he stuck with it; he made sure it was strapped against his back in its special holster he had designed.

And good thing the metal is made of a special grade where it cannot be detected by metal detectors… and the Cursed Energy helps with that too.

Nanami sighed as he left his dorm room and began his trot toward the entrance of the school. In the distance he could hear Yaga and Gojo-Senpai arguing with each other, Shoko getting in the middle of things as she normally did. He just groaned as he knew this would just delay things on the mission and he would just have to suck it up.

No one was around to see him off, not that he was really expecting it. There was only Kei waiting for him with the car so he could be dropped off at the station so he could take the train to Kyoto. The car ride was silent, just what Nanami liked, and it was a good amount of silence for him to start his book he had brought.

At the station he was able to get his ticket and board the train with no issues, his machete perfectly disguised and manipulated to look like a small instrument on his back instead of a weapon. The train ride was uneventful, there were some mothers with young children taking them shopping, a couple of children around the same age as the boy he was on the mission for.

The night before Nanami looked more into Yuji Itadori and his grandfather. Apparently, Yuji was orphaned at nearly a year old, his home attacked by something, and his father was killed, and his mother’s body was found at a separate location, her head split open. With the boy without anyone else, his grandfather, Wasuke Itadori, took him in. In one of the police photos Nanami had found, he saw a grainy picture of Yaga, which surprised him.

Why wouldn’t Yaga-Sensei mention that he was familiar with the Itadori family…?

Nanami exited off the train when he arrived in Kyoto and began to head toward where the school was located. He didn’t have the assistance of an Assistant Manager since quite a few were killed in that raid that took the kid. He didn’t have a license, so he couldn’t rent a car, and he didn’t have enough money anyways as he didn’t take on missions like he used to and got paid for completion.

Walking wasn’t too bad, the sun was out and wasn’t too warm, but it wasn’t too cold either. A perfect Spring Day anyone would say. He could see children and parents walking around along with animals running along their sides.

And a few Grade 4 Curses too… completely harmless… Maybe Grade 3 the highest if I’m generous enough.

They were just simple Curses… some looked like demonized squirrels, most likely someone got spooked by a few squirrels, so a Curse was made to look like one. Some were insect based due to all the bugs found outside. They weren’t causing any harm or damage - so there wasn’t a need to exorcise them.

Nanami could remember the first time he started seeing Curses. He was around the same age as the Vessel was, five. It was a normal day at the park that his mother brought him, and he saw so many odd creatures, like what he was seeing here. One had tried to grab at him, but he kept shouting at it to leave him alone - his mother was concerned about what he was screaming at, and he was confused about why she couldn’t see it.

His mother took him to a psychiatrist where they played it off as an overactive imagination. Nanami let it slide and he kept what he saw to himself. It wasn’t until he began high school that a larger Curse was found prowling around during an event that caused great stress, some of the other students were finally able to see what he had been seeing for years. Until they were slaughtered before him. Nanami felt like he had no choice since he was always able to see them, but he never did anything about them; he had grabbed the nearest object he could find, a kendo sword from a fallen club member, and it suddenly glowed blue like his hands did.

He didn’t know what was going on, but it felt like it was something he could only do in that situation. It was then something appeared in front of him, a ratio line against the monster and there was a pinpoint on where to strike. Nanami had never seen that before… but he had to take that opportunity… so, he struck there, and the monster was gone instantly.

That was the day he discovered his 7:3 Ratio Technique, and it was the day that Tokyo Jujutsu High School had officially scouted him to join them. He had never heard of the school, or Jujutsu Sorcery. However, he figured it wouldn’t be so bad compared to feeling like he was crazy all the time.

Nanami scowled at the memory of being scouted by the school. Maybe things would’ve been better if he hadn’t been scouted. Why couldn’t he just ignore the Curse like he had done his entire life? Live in bliss?

Would Yu still be alive if I never went to Jujutsu High…?

The squealing of laughter from the young children playing snapped him out of his thoughts. A ball rolled by his foot as he slowed his pace to a stop. A couple of kids hesitated to approach, seeing his scowl. Slowly, he gave a soft grin before he kicked the ball to them, causing the kids to squeal with delight before waving their thanks and continuing their games.

Please stay as kids… please don’t see Curses…

It was dusk by the time Nanami had reached the sister school. One of the teachers was there, returning from his mission early due to the situation. Nanami approached the teacher and gave a bow.

“Hello,” Nanami greeted stiffly. “I’m Kento Nanami from Tokyo Jujutsu High.”

The teacher spun around from his speaking with one of the surviving Assistant Managers, his black hair spiked up erratically. He wore a long black coat and had a cigarette in his mouth, his amber eyes narrowed and sharp looking.

“Yaga only sent one…?” he scoffed. “If he was going to send one, why wouldn’t he send Gojo?”

“You tell me,” Nanami agreed with a bored tone.

The teacher just sighed. “Ugh, great… and a sarcastic one at that…” he mumbled.

Nanami raised a brow, confused.

If anything… I was completed on board with you, sir…

“I’m Kuroneko Urabe,” the teacher then greeted. “I’m one of the faculty here.”

“Urabe-Sensei, what have you discovered so far with the incident?” Nanami pressed getting straight to the point. He had always been punctual.

The man gritted his teeth. “Well, for one thing, we had no idea that Hitoe was bringing the Itadori family here,” he informed. “After going through Yuko’s car, we found Hitoe’s phone, and she had a few phone conversations with Mr. Itadori.”

Nanami raised a brow. “Were there any messages recorded?”

“No, there wasn’t,” Urabe growled. “However, there was an email sent to her phone… and it was information regarding the incident that happened in Sendai about four years ago.”

“The Itadori house, right?” Nanami guessed.

Urabe snapped his fingers. “Bingo,” he confirmed. “Yaga was actually the head sorcerer for that case,” he revealed.

Figures… but again, why wouldn’t Yaga-Sensei mention that?

“It was suspected that a Curse was attracted to the high amount of Cursed Energy at the home, but an object was never found,” Urabe explained.

“But… the kid is the Cursed Energy, yes?” Nanami pointed out.

“Bingo, right again!” Urabe snapped his fingers. “As the Vessel of Sukuna, he has a high amount of Cursed Energy, and apparently even as an infant he attracted Curses.”

Subconsciously attracting Curses…? Causing the death of his parents…? That’s terrible…

Nanami pinched the corners of his eyes. “So, how did his grandfather survive all this time? With the Curses?” he questioned.

“Wasuke Itadori was a student here at Kyoto, he just had a different last name,” Urabe explained. “He was Wasuke Hagane,” he revealed. He rummaged out a few yellowed papers to show and old school photo of the young man, who if you accelerated the age of the boy, you could see the resemblance.

Although in Nanami’s opinion, the Itadori boy still looked more like a mini-version of Sukuna than anything.

“Hagane… Hagane…” Nanami murmured to himself. “Weren’t they a small clan of Jujutsu Sorcerers that specialized in blades infused with Cursed Energy…? Knives, swords…? Whatever was on hand?”

“BINGO!” Urabe snapped his fingers again.

Nanami frowned. “Is that like… your catchphrase or something…?” he grumbled in irritation. He didn’t know who was worse… this guy or Gojo-Senpai.

“Depends on who you ask,” the teacher shrugged.

Nanami just sighed. “Okay… so, is there any information on who came and took the kid?” he then asked.

Urabe lifted a card. “They left this,” he said as he handed it to Nanami.

The card was black with a symbol in the center in a crimson red. The symbol Nanami recognized right away as he had seen it in so many textbooks - the sigil of Sukuna.

“We believe that a cult that worships Sukuna may have taken the kid,” Urabe explained. “Maybe they plan on nurturing the kid to grow up to be evil or something…? I have no clue.”

One of the Assistant Managers came running towards them. “Mr. Urabe! Mr. Urabe!” the young man shouted, clearly distressed.

“Ugh… What is it?”

“The three fingers we had acquired… they’re gone…!”

Nanami felt his blood run cold. “Wait… the three fingers…” he whispered. “Are you talking about Sukuna’s Finger’s?”

“Um… yeah…” the Assistant Manager nervously replied.

“Damn it…” Nanami grumbled. “So, what would happen if those bastards gave a five-year-old those three fingers?”

Urabe scratched his chin. “Shit… best case scenario it would kill the kid, worst would be Sukuna is officially reincarnated,” he said.

“Kill”…? Did he just outwardly said he wishes the consumption would kill the kid?

Nanami honestly didn’t know how he originally felt when first given the mission. At first, he thought it was absurd as he was asked to go rescue the Vessel harboring Sukuna. But at the same time, if this cult managed to resurrect the King of Curses… it wouldn’t be good.

It was obvious that Wasuke Itadori had brought the boy here to be helped. Minori Hitoe had a Cursed Technique that dealt with the soul… She was most likely going to help the kid suppress Sukuna so he could live as normally as possible.

Shit… He’s a little kid… being thrown into something he most likely never asked for…

With a newfound determination, he walked across the bridge that led him towards the school. He already was able to see residuals of Cursed Energy from the attack, but in order to enhance his sight he put on a pair of silver rimmed glasses with green lenses.

He could see the residuals of Cursed Energy from the bodies of Hitoe and Itadori, but most of it was on the table, most likely where the boy was sitting on. It was highly concentrated, a mixture of his own awakened Cursed Energy and Sukuna’s. Nanami focused on it and began to follow it through the halls, and it led him back outside.

Again, the concentrated Cursed Energy lingered in a specific spot, most likely where the cult had their vehicle. The residuals continued on before it got too faint for Nanami to see anymore. He wondered if she could still follow the trail.

Urabe clapped Nanami’s shoulder. “If you need transportation, you’re shit outta luck, kid, I don’t have a spare driver for you,” he said with a frown.

“Do you have… I don’t know… a bike…?” Nanami offered a suggestion.

“Eh…? What are you? In Middle School?” Urabe teased with a smile.

“No, but I rather not walk for miles on end again…” Nanami deadpanned.

The older man sighed. “Okay… fine… I’ll lend ya a damn bike…” he grumbled.

“And camping gear,” Nanami added cheekily.

“Oh, damn it, really…!?” the man complained.

“Well, it is getting dark soon, and I need to find the Vessel as soon as possi-”

“FINE!”

Normally, Nanami wouldn’t be this cheeky, but he was desperate for these items. He figured that once he arrived at the Kyoto school, he would be given an Assistant Manager to drive him around. Apparently, that was not the case.

While he waited for his requested items, he checked his phone. So far, he has not received any messages from Yaga, Gojo-Senpai or Shoko about the third years joining the mission. A groan escaped him.

The Assistant Manager from earlier that revealed that the fingers were missing came with the bike that was requested. He had packed camping gear in a small bike trailer attached to the back of the bike. Nanami raised a brow at the trailer.

“Oh, it has a seat for the Vessel,” the Assistant Manager explained when he saw Nanami’s expression. “Once you get him, he’ll be able to sit in the back comfortably.”

Nanami hummed in appreciation and nodded. He put his overnight bag in the trailer as well before he then hopped on the bike and began to pedal off. With a wave of his hand, he began to follow the light residuals of the Cursed Energy into the woods as the sun dipped completely down and the trail ran cold.

Notes:

- Since we never really knew about Nanami's background except that he his maternal grandfather is Danish and that he is the only sorcerer in his family, that was why I decided to flesh it out a bit. * I honestly liked the idea of kids who are born into non-sorcerer families when they begin to see Curses they try to ask for help but their families just brush them off as "over imaginative" due to their ages since they awaken their abilities around 5-6 years old. Nanami just kept his mouth shut because he knew his family would see him as crazy. * I honestly liked writing him a little cheeky and bored lol - Gojo is very bitter about Riko still, but I can assure you he does go and spy on Megumi to make sure he was alright since Toji is dead. - Kei's first name is unisex and can mean "intelligence" and "blessings". his last name Hino is "sun field" because um... no significant meaning. * Ironically, this is the "male" version of Megumi's name. Toji literally could've named his son Kei for the "blessings" meaning but he decided to be a jerk and give his boy a girl name like dude... (Megumi is traditionally a female name, BUT sometimes is used for males, it's just a ... why? thing.) - The teacher, Kuroneko Urabe, his name is related to a Curse Technique that will be shown a bit later. Kuroneko means "black cat" and Urabe manes "divination; fortune telling". You might be able to tell what his CT is based on his name alone. Even him saying "Bingo!" is related to the CT. - Minori's last name, Hitoe, means "caring for someone" or "compassion". It shows that she was very compassionate regarding Wasuke and Yuji. - I decided to give Wasuke a different kind of backstory then was presented to us in the manga and anime - after all, he had wanted to tell Yuji about his parents and Yuji was like, "Nah, I'm good fam." I thought it would make sense that Wasuke would have some sort of attachment to the Jujutsu World, but like Nanami had left after he graduated, but unlike him he had never returned, and he had changed his last name back to his mother's maiden name. Hagane, the "original" last name means "Blade, edge" and can also mean "cut, kill". * This shows that Wasuke was proficient with his knife skills - he also knew how to use a sword such as a katana but never had one around due to Yuji being a tyke. * It is also a reference with Sukuna with cleave and dismantle since they are cutting related Curse Techniques.

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