Chapter Text
Gojo led me to my dorm room through the wide halls of the high school, chattering about nonsense no less. My eyelids feel heavy, my head is pounding and I feel I could just lie down on this dirty, old floor and fall asleep with a care in the world. Ren-Chan! I’m tired, once this idiot finishes his useless tangent about… whatever he’s talking about I say you scope out our dorm room so I can lie down and hang up my Sabrina Carpenter posters…! Five steps ahead of you Ayane-Chan! Please don’t push yourself too hard. I can take over if you want- No. I’m fine…! Now, you got directions? Let’s go! I quickly dash off, ignoring the spike of pain erupting from my knees and ankles. Kamada-San…! Slow down! You’re gonna tear apart our legs you block head! Shut it! They’re my legs, you’re just renting them! “Oi! Ayane-Chan, no running in the hallways! Damages to the building comes out of my paycheck! And your injuries are my liability, I’ll get an earful from Yaga!” I heard Gojo yell after me. “Like you need more money you privileged piece of pale white crap” I mutter under my breath. Ayane-Chan! Again, niceness! We’re not here to butt heads with another powerful guy! Yeah, but who is this ‘powerful guy’ you’re on about? I don’t see any… Ayane-!
“Woah…!?”
I slam into what looks like thin air(?) and bounce off, landing right on the ground. Oof, that’s gonna hurt later… What the hell did I hit? Am I that sleep deprived?! No… Ayane-Chan, that was Gojo’s infinity… He used his technique to appear right in front of us… What?! My head snaps up to see the Albino Peacock in the flesh, standing up proudly, smugness radiating off his posture. Amazing. Ayane, look at your hand… I glance and look back down at my hand. What’s the worse that could happen? I probably got a small scratch at best- Oh shi- Green energy enveloped my trembling hand, slowly, as I calmed down, the green crawled back within me, like an ugly festering wound that never healed properly. Crap. I tried to take Gojo’s energy. I tried to take Gojo’s energy. I tried to take Gojo’s cursed energy for myself. I’m done for. Even if I wasn’t aware of it, even if he was protected by infinity, I still couldn’t control it. I’m never gonna get out of this place…
“Oi! Ayane-Chan! Are you just going to lie down on the ground forever? That isn’t very impressive~”
I stood up and bowed slightly, my back cracking, I looked up at him, wide-eyed and apologetic and muttered “I’m sorry Gojo-sensei, I really am. I completely understand if you want to reprimand me…”. At that moment, I was ready for shouting, yelling, or at least a disappointed sigh. Instead, all I got was a laugh, not even a chuckle, a wholehearted laugh. It was kinda awkward and embarrassing at the same time, what kind of crazy dude would laugh at a sorry girl like me when I just tried to take his own cursed energy?! Eventually the guy calmed down and even had the audacity to wipe literal tears out of his eyes from laughing so hard. “Ayane-Chan, I don’t mind you accidentally losing control of your power on me, in fact I encourage you to let lose on someone who can actually handle it, you’ll learn by experience, not fear. I’m the strongest for a reason. I’m not reprimanding you because of a silly little slip up. No one got hurt. So please, stand up straight and let me guide you to your dorm madam!” Gojo held out his forearm for me to take and smiled happily at me when I did. Damn… This guy is… Real weird. Kamada Ayane! Don’t talk about him like that! He could’ve had our butts handed back to the Elders with a bow on top because of that mistake! Thank him for our father’s sake. Ugh… Fine, get off my ass dude. I glanced up at the happy peacock and rubbed my eyes, his whole face looked blurry for a second. Huh, I guess fatigue really is a thing.
“Gojo-sensei-”
“Ah, now you address me by something other that ‘Albino Peacock’ or idiot? I’m hurt, most girls would love to be in your position! Anyways, what’s on your mind my wayward student?”
I felt my left eye twitch in pure indignation. Oh this guy… I don’t give two flying ducks that he saved both our asses from execution!
“Peacock, I think you’re a weirdo. You probably need a psychological evaluation for your sanity.”
“Nani?! Now look, you little brat-”
I see him physically stiffen, he looks like I just stabbed him in the chest and killed his best friend. Heh, totally worth it. I hear him complain and tune out, my arm still buzzes with my remaining energy. But right now, I feel a lot lighter, yeah sure, my arm still feels numb and my feet hurt more than ever but, at least I’m not totally alone.
“Sensei!”
I looked up quickly as the blurry lines of a figure clear out and show another guy, about my age. He has pinkish hair but not like mine and… slits(?) on the side of his face. He’s wearing a school uniform with a red scarf and he has one of his hands in his pockets while the other one is waving at us. Against the bright sun, he looks like a happy toddler waving to his family. The guy rushes over and abruptly stops in front of me. Damn, he’s taller than me… Everyone is taller than you Ayane-Chan, I can tell you that much! Shut up Ren, no one cares that you’re 6’5 at 23. Your still living in this 5’1 body! The other student pipes up as he looks down at me, and then glances back up to Gojo who stood right next to me.
“Uh, hi! Gojo-sensei, who’s this?”
Gojo chuckles and says “This is the fourth 1st year I was telling you about! She’s the last addition. I just had to pick her up first~ Itadori Yuji, this is Kamada Ayane-Chan!”
This guy… This guy… THIS GUY THEN PRECEDED TO HOLD ME UP LION KING AH STYLE AND “PRESENT” ME TO ITADORI. My hands twitched in absolute hatred and my teeth gritted together. Kamada-San don’t- I whipped around lightning speed and slapped him hard across the face. SLAP! The sound echoed across the compound. Good. It was supposed to hurt. The silence that fell after was louder than any scream I’ve ever heard. Gojo dropped me and then held his injured cheek, red spreading across it like wildfire. Then I heard a scoff which then turned into a whole laugh from Itadori, he pointed at Gojo and brought his hand to his mouth trying to muffle his chuckles. To which I joined him in ridiculing our teacher’s bruised cheek and ego.
“You two are very cruel… Ayane-Chan! You are one of the first girls to ever reject me! The horror… Itadori-kun, my heart is shattering with this act of betrayal!”
Gojo pouted, he looked like a child who just lost a game of tag. Itadori then turned to me, ignoring Gojo’s whines and smiled happily.
“I’m Itadori Yuji! But you can just call me Itadori! I like tall women with a big ass! Like Jennifer Lawrence!”
I chuckle, this guy is… pretty forward. But, I like that in a friend. A bit too forward I would say. He has an interesting taste… Oh come on Ren, I saw you blabbering about a Black Pink Member once, they’re K-Pop idols for Mom’s sake! What?! I-
“Nice to meet you Itadori! I’m Kamada Ayane, but you can just call me Ayane. Kamada’s a bit too formal if you ask me. My type of guy is tall and athletic! Like Timothee Chalamet!”
I winked at him.
“Alright! Nice to meet you too, Ayane!”
He winked back and chuckled.
“Come on! I’ll introduce you to the other two! Megumi and Noabara! They’re both amazing! I’m sure they’ll love you! Especially Nobara, she calls us barbarians… But I feel like Megumi might also like you! He’s a bit standoffish at times but he really does care for us!”
He prattles on as he talks about his other two friends. This guy’s a lot better than Gojo that’s for sure. He reminds me of a Golden Retriever, always gives love and loves receiving it back. So this is what being ‘normal’ feels like? Timothee Chalamet huh? Really, Ayane? Him? Shut up, Ren. I’m trying to enjoy this! And before you say anything, no he is not chopped. It’s just my standard not my ‘crush’! This experience is making me forget about my ankle pain okay? Itadori holds out his hand and grins, “I’ll lead you to the dorms with Gojo-sensei! Come on!” I smile back and reach out- Ayane, NO- Too late, our fingers already brushed together…
Darkness
Ow! I fell flat on my ass, that hurt. I hold my head, it feels… wet?! My hands are covered with red, bones are scattered all around me, bones of what, I have not absolute idea. That’s what scares me.
“Look what we have here… A small fry thinking she can steal my energy with a touch of her hand? You’re a fool of yourself think that… Brat.” The voice echoes throughout the area, it makes me shake to my core…
This energy is different.
It’s sharper, heavier… More filling. Who the hell is this guy? Because this isn’t Gojo… This energy seems so tempting I could just take a bite out of the air here and feel fuller than I have in a long time. I could just- AYANE-CHAN, WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T CONSUME ANY ENERGY!
The voice speaks again “Interesting… A starved brat given the opportunity to feast but doesn’t give into the demand? You’ve made me curious, Kamada Ayane, I won’t kill you just yet. Even if it’ll be most entertaining to see that other brat toil over the guilt of killing the new girl. Be aware Kamada, your days are numbered. I’m nothing like that Gojo, I’m stronger.”
With that the mystery voice laughs manically, vibrations bouncing off the walls as the whole area starts to crumble… Before I fall through the ground, I look up and see a fuzzy figure of a person, lounging comfortably in a skull-made throne… it looks almost like… Yuji?
“Ayane-Chan! Can you hear me?!”
“Itadori?”
I opened my eyes to see Itadori looming over me, a deep frown etched onto his face and his brows furrowed. He exhales heavily and sits back, taking himself away from my view. I see the sky now, it’s bright and sunny. How long have I been out?
“2 minutes Ayane-Chan”
Gojo. I sit up, I was lying on the ground, did I faint?
“You fainted the moment you made contact with Itadori, Ren tried to warn you.”
Gojo walked over to me and held out a hand, I took it and he helped me stand up.
“Oh my god, Ayane- I’m so sorry- I- I have no idea what just happened, you fainted I panicked-” Itadori was a waterfall of apologies, which made me feel slightly guilty. I smiled as wide as I could and crossed my arms, “I’m totally fine Itadori! You don’t have to apologize for anything”. Itadori looked unconvinced but relieved, he stood up and motioned for me to follow him, “Well, if you say so… We should probably be careful about physical contact if you react like that. Come on, I’ll guide you to the dorms!”. I followed in pursuit, the vivid daydream looming over my conscious. I push the memories away and focus, this is the present, that might’ve just been a weird dream, right? Ayane, that was no dream, that was something else entirely… You just witnessed and spoke with the most powerful but evil being who ever plagued this Earth. The King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna… Who the hell is that? Is he really that powerful? He sounds like he died a thousand years ago, can’t be a threat if you’re dead, right…? Wrong, Ayane, Ryomen… Once he ‘died’ in a sense, no one could properly ‘kill’ his soul and cursed energy, that made him a cursed object, and not just one, his soul was so powerful, they split into 20 of his cursed fingers… He surpassed death itself from power alone. Oh shit… So he’s like mega powerful and he got interested in me?! How is he even able to access me? More like you accessed him Ayane, you touched his power, he responded by dragging your soul into his domain. Not to kill you but to play with you. Seeing if his power could break you. I believe that Itadori has something that we don’t know about. Something that’s deep inside. Be wary Ayane. But Ren- Ayane, this isn’t just your body or life, mother and father are at home praying that you aren’t dead or dying. And I’m also in here, I don’t want to see my sister die while I can’t do anything but die with her. You got that? Sigh… Yup. Great.
“Alright! Here’s the dorms!” Itadori announces it while spinning around the corridor. A long set of doors is on the walls, each one opening to a dorm room. I wonder which one’s mine… Hopefully they’ll be bigger on the inside! “Come on Ayane, yours is the one right next to Noabara’s! She’s a lovely dorm mate!” Gojo hands me a key, my own dorm! We arrive at the west wing of the dorms, and I open up my door. The room isn’t too small, its decently sized but a bit dusty. I’ll clean later… The two bid farewell and I look around. Only then do I realize my legs and arms are aching again. After that mystery visit with Sukuna my legs felt like they were on cloud 9. But I guess it doesn’t work for that long. I quickly arrange my bed sheets and hang up my posters, there’s one of Sabrina Carpenter, one with my favorite Greek Goddess: Aphrodite, and one Gilmore Girl styled. I unpack my belongings, clothes, books, pens, pencils, and… Yarn? An electric blue yarn ball comes out of my bag with a crochet hook in it. There’s a note on it, - To Ayane, From you’re favorite Peacock! There’s a little drawing of Gojo and a peacock on it. I chuckle and blush a bit from the gift and stuff the note into my pocket. With my room all setup I stand up and lie down onto my now made bed… I could just fall asleep right now… With the yarn in my hands I silently dozed off to sleep… Goodnight Ren-Chan, I think I can manage sleeping for a few hours…