As You Wish

All three first-years assembled and rode in Ijichi's car to their destination.

As he drove, Ijichi quickly explained the mission.

-Three hours ago, a special grade imaginary vengeful spirit cursed womb had been confirmed above the exercise grounds of Eishu Juvenile Detention Center in Nishitokyo. Five inmates were currently trapped with it in Dormitory Two for sentenced inmates. Their conditions were unknown.

"All residents within a five-hundred-meter radius have been evacuated. Your task is to find those five inmates and rescue any survivors."

Ijichi's voice sounded dry and strained, filled with tension and concern.

"Once the cursed womb undergoes 'complete metamorphosis,' it'll become a Special Grade. If you encounter it, run immediately. Do not fight it. Understood?"

"Understood!"

Itadori answered at once.

He wasn't worried himself. With Sukuna around, never mind a special grade cursed womb-he wasn't afraid of even a fully fledged Special Grade. But he was a little worried about Megumi Fushiguro and Kugisaki, and couldn't help mentioning it to Sukuna.

Hearing Yuji's concern, Sukuna immediately answered with an easy expression.

[Relax. With me here, how could anything happen to them? What kind of King of Curses would I be then?~]

...Seriously, could he be any more dependable?

Itadori relaxed. As long as Sukuna was there, he felt fearless!

The car stopped, and the three stood before the cold, forbidding building, with the "Curtain" Ijichi had erected behind them.

Megumi Fushiguro glanced at Itadori and Kugisaki and cautioned them, "Listen carefully. We leave as soon as we find them. Got it?"

Then, looking at Itadori, he paused. After some thought, he lowered his voice.

"If... we really encounter a Special Grade, you can switch with Sukuna."

Itadori's eyes instantly lit up.

He'd planned to do that even if Megumi Fushiguro hadn't said anything... but if Megumi Fushiguro could say it outright, didn't that mean he was becoming more accepting of Sukuna?

"No problem!~"

Itadori replied with a beaming smile, looking less like he was about to face a special grade cursed womb and more like he'd won the lottery.

Megumi Fushiguro: "..."

...Had this kid gotten some bizarre idea into his head? Was there something wrong with what he'd just said?

After pondering it briefly, Megumi Fushiguro gave up trying to understand how Itadori's mind worked and formed a hand sign.

"Divine Dogs!"

With a long wolf's howl, a white Divine Dog emerged from the shadows.

"Whoa!" Itadori's eyes lit up. With a cheer, he hugged the Divine Dog's head and began petting him enthusiastically. "Divine Dog, long time no see!~"

After a few strokes, he suddenly sensed something odd-

Inside his inner world, Sukuna seemed to have looked over. Then he glanced at the Divine Dog in Itadori's... arms. And glanced again...

"Sukuna? Do you like the Divine Dog too?"

Itadori asked as he kept petting him.

Then he quickly answered his own question.

"That makes sense. The Divine Dog's white too, and his fur is really silky. He feels so nice to pet."

Inside his inner world, Sukuna silently nodded.

True. He looked wonderfully pettable...

He gazed at the Divine Dog's snowy coat, without a single stray-colored hair, and liked him more with every look.

...What was he supposed to do about being a little jealous of Itadori? He really wanted to pet him too.

Sensing Sukuna's envious gaze, Itadori spoke to him very quietly.

"Sukuna, if you want to pet the Divine Dog, how about I find a chance to ask Megumi Fushiguro later?"

"If we talk to him, he'll probably let you pet him."

Megumi Fushiguro, who was standing right beside him: "..."

-I can hear you, you know!

And my Divine Dog isn't here for you two to pet!

He took a deep breath, feeling as though he was looking after two unreliable brats.

Yes, it felt exactly like having two extra Satoru Gojos.

"The Divine Dog will warn us if he detects danger. Let's go."

Itadori and Nobara answered, "Got it!"

The three stepped through the entrance.

In an instant, the scenery before them changed-the building had clearly been only two stories tall from outside, but once inside, they couldn't even see the top.

Itadori exclaimed in surprise, "Wh... what's going on? Didn't this place only have two floors?"

"It's a split-level building!" Country girl Nobara tried very hard to appear calm, applying the knowledge of city life she'd picked up.

Megumi Fushiguro held back, and held back, and held back some more...

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and snapped-

"This is an innate domain created with cursed energy-didn't I explain this just three days ago?!"

The two students who hadn't paid attention in class fell silent at the same time, feeling their teacher's anger.

Oh. O-okay...

But what was an "innate domain," anyway?

Itadori quietly sought a remedial lesson from Sukuna. "So, Sukuna, what was an innate domain again?"

Sukuna, who hadn't listened either: [...]

He gave it some serious thought.

He knew what a domain was, but a "raw" domain? Did that mean it wasn't cooked yet?... So it was an unfinished version of a domain?

Itadori: ?

-Were you still baking a cake? Did that mean there was half-baked cheesecake too?

Great. Sukuna didn't know either.

Itadori gave up on Sukuna and listened carefully to Megumi Fushiguro's explanation.

"Simply put, it's an incomplete domain."

"It only manifests the 'form' of the user's inner world, without applying a cursed technique. You can think of it as the other party reshaping this building into a familiar environment, but without any cursed technique effects... It might be something that cursed womb did subconsciously."

But even an unfinished domain was dangerous. Once it matured, no number of spare lives would save them.

He remembered that Sukuna couldn't use a domain yet either.

"Move quickly. Once we locate the targets, we leave immediately."

As Megumi Fushiguro spoke, they followed the Divine Dog swiftly onward.

After passing through a doorway, they entered a larger space that resembled a hall.

At a glance, Itadori spotted three horribly mangled bodies scattered in a corner of the hall.

His pupils abruptly contracted.

"Sukuna..."

The boy's voice trembled slightly.

It sounded like grief, yet also as though he were asking something.

Sukuna's voice was low.

[...Sorry. They're already dead...]

-His Reverse Cursed Technique could only restore, not resurrect.

He looked at Yuji with concern.

This was the boy's first time coming face-to-face with death in Jujutsu Society. Sukuna said nothing more, simply staying quietly by his side.

He would stay with him until he understood and accepted it.

Then they would move forward again.

Itadori slowly crouched before the bodies. There were name tags on their clothes, and the character "Tadashi" stung his eyes.

-It was the name a family member had called outside before they entered. That tearful voice echoed in his mind, over and over, and his fingers slowly clenched.

"Sukuna..."

The sorrow in the boy's eyes gradually turned to anger. He clenched his teeth, revealing a fury he had never felt before.

"If... if we run into that Special Grade..."

"-Beat the hell out of it for me!"

At those words, Sukuna raised his head, understanding in his dark crimson eyes.

He spoke, his low voice carrying a trace of the pride of the strong-

[As you wish.]