Common ground

Satoru Gojo brought Yuji Itadori to a secret basement.

It lay beneath an inconspicuous old building somewhere in Tokyo, its entrance concealed between the floor layers of an abandoned warehouse, where it normally would not be discovered.

The basement was small, about thirty square meters, with thick concrete walls and a dim yellow energy-saving bulb hanging from the ceiling.

The air carried a faint smell of mold and dust. Clearly, no one had been there in a long time.

But for Itadori, it was safe here-at least he did not have to worry about being discovered.

"You'll train here for now." Satoru Gojo brushed some dust off the wall and walked around the room.

"The conditions are basic, but it has everything you need. A toilet, a shower, a simple kitchen, and..."

He walked to a corner of the room and pulled away a dust sheet, revealing the equipment underneath-a television, a VCR, and a long table covered in videotapes.

Itadori leaned closer curiously. The labels on the tapes bore all kinds of movie titles.

The genres were all over the place, from horror to romance to war movies. There were even a few B movies with blurry covers that looked downright suspicious.

"These are...?"

"Training equipment~" Satoru Gojo said with a grin. Then he turned to Itadori, his expression growing a little more serious. "Now, Itadori, you still can't use cursed energy, right?"

Itadori thought for a moment and scratched his head. "Actually... I think I've gotten the hang of it a little. Back when I faced that cursed spirit in the prison, even if it was only for an instant."

"Oh?" Satoru Gojo raised an eyebrow. "Then let's give it a try. Hit me here. Use that same feeling."

He opened his palm, signaling for Itadori to attack.

Itadori hesitated a little. "Don't blame me if you get hurt."

"No problem~" Satoru Gojo's smile was full of confidence.

Itadori took a deep breath, recalling that feeling-the dark prison corridor, the malice rushing straight at him.

Emotions surged in his chest. With a low shout, he drove a full-force punch into Satoru Gojo's palm!

Thud.

His fist landed squarely.

But it was just an ordinary punch, without any fluctuation of cursed energy. Even the rush of air from it was weak.

Itadori froze, looking at his fist, then at Satoru Gojo's completely unmoving palm.

"Huh?"

Satoru Gojo lowered his hand and explained, "Before, you unconsciously triggered your cursed energy under extremely negative emotions. Like a drowning person thrashing desperately-that's instinct, not technique.

"But trained jujutsu sorcerers can trigger cursed energy through slight emotional fluctuations, and they also have to learn control-not too little, or they can't use their cursed techniques; not too much, or they'll waste it or even suffer a backlash."

Itadori nodded, only half understanding. "So... I need to learn to control my emotions?"

"Not exactly." Satoru Gojo walked over to the VCR and picked up a tape with "An absolute masterpiece of crap! If you don't curse after watching this, I lose!" written on it in marker.

"Emotion is the trigger, and cursed energy is the fuel. What you need to do is precisely control your cursed energy output while keeping your emotions steady."

He bent down, dragged a cardboard box out from under the table, and took something out-a little brown teddy bear wearing boxing gloves. It looked endearingly goofy.

"Here, take this."

Itadori took the doll and gave it a squeeze. It was fluffy and felt nice to the touch.

"Um, Gojo-sensei... what's this?"

"It's a cursed corpse specially made by the principal," Satoru Gojo said. "Principal Yaga's handiwork. Quality guaranteed~"

Itadori examined the bear. "I thought so. It really has his style. So, what do I need it for?"

"You'll find out in a moment."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the formerly limp bear suddenly moved.

It raised a boxing-gloved hand and punched Itadori in the face without warning.

"Whoa!" The sudden blow sent Itadori stumbling back two steps. He clutched his face, looking utterly bewildered.

The bear jumped out of his hands. Though round and pudgy, it had plenty of fighting spirit.

Satoru Gojo continued explaining, "This cursed corpse's mechanism is simple-you have to keep feeding it a certain amount of cursed energy, no more and no less. Otherwise, it'll wake up and attack you."

Itadori understood.

He grabbed the bear again and tried to draw out that power inside him-cursed energy-and channel it into the doll.

It was a very subtle sensation.

The cursed energy was like a warm little stream, flowing from his heart along some invisible path to his palms, then into the doll.

He had to control the flow carefully, neither letting it stop nor letting it overflow.

A few seconds later, the bear quieted down and became an ordinary doll again.

"Very good~" Satoru Gojo clapped. "Then the training is simple: feed cursed energy into the cursed corpse while watching movies. You can't let it wake up for the entire duration of a movie."

He pointed to the pile of videotapes.

"I carefully selected all these movies. Some will make you cry, some will make you laugh, and some will make you so angry you'll want to smash the TV. Your emotions will fluctuate, making your cursed energy output unstable-and what you need to do is keep the supply of cursed energy steady even through those emotional fluctuations."

Itadori looked at the tapes, then at the bear in his hands, with a somewhat strange expression.

"This training method... really is unusual."

"As long as it works~" Satoru Gojo picked up the "masterpiece of crap" tape and slipped it into the VCR.

"I especially recommend this one. The heroine and the hero are clearly in love, but thirty minutes in, she suddenly cheats on him with the middle-aged guy next door because he has 'the charm of a mature man.'

"The plot is garbage, the acting is overblown, and the soundtrack is a disaster-but it'll definitely give you some strong emotional fluctuations."

The corner of Itadori's mouth twitched. "Ah... you spoiled the whole thing."

"Anyway, get to work for now." Satoru Gojo pressed play. The television screen lit up, and the opening began.

"I'll come check your results after a while. By the way, the amount of cursed energy the cursed corpse needs will gradually increase over time, so don't let your guard down~"

He turned toward the door, but Itadori called him back.

"Um, Gojo-sensei!"

"Hmm?" Satoru Gojo looked back.

Holding the bear, Itadori looked hesitant, but he asked anyway. "Over at Jujutsu High... is it true that someone wants to kill me?"

Satoru Gojo fell silent for a few seconds.

He had originally planned to keep it from Itadori for the time being and tell him when the time was right.

But Madara had already let it out. Hiding it now would only make Itadori uneasy.

"Yes." He nodded, his tone calm.

"Some of the higher-ups in Jujutsu Society think you're an uncontrollable bomb. Sukuna could take you over completely at any moment and cause a large-scale disaster.

"So they want to remove the fuse before you 'explode'-in other words, kill you."

Itadori lowered his head and looked at the bear in his arms.

"I see..."

"But don't worry." Satoru Gojo walked over and patted his shoulder.

"I'll keep you safe. Besides, as long as you get stronger, demonstrate enough strength and results, and prove you can control Sukuna, the higher-ups won't be able to touch you anymore. In Jujutsu Society, strength is what counts."

Itadori raised his head, a complicated light flickering in his eyes.

"Then... why do you and Madara-senpai protect me? I'm just an ordinary person who swallowed a cursed object. I might even end up getting lots of people killed..."

Satoru Gojo smiled. He reached out and gently patted Itadori on the head.

"Hahaha~ What are you talking about?"

His smile was warm, a smile that truly belonged to a teacher.

"Because I'm a teacher. A teacher's duty is to protect students, guide them, and help them toward a better future. That's only natural."

He paused, then continued.

"As for Madara... it's probably because he found something in common with you."

"Something in common?"

"Like you, Madara no longer has any family around him." Satoru Gojo spoke softly, but his voice was especially clear in the quiet basement.

"Both his parents are dead, he has no relatives, and he lives alone. That's why he values his companions far more than most people do. In his eyes, everyone at Jujutsu High isn't just a classmate. They're comrades-in-arms, and more than that... family."

He looked at Itadori, his gaze behind his sunglasses gentle and earnest.

"He may already think of you as a companion, perhaps even something like a little brother. That's why he risked saving you, why he was willing to help fake your death, why he... wanted so earnestly to protect you."

Itadori froze.

Warmth welled up from the depths of his heart and spread through his limbs.

So that's how it was...

"I understand." Itadori tightened his grip on the bear, determination returning to his eyes. "I'll work hard. I'll get stronger, control my cursed energy, master my power-and then protect more people, together with everyone."

Satoru Gojo smiled, a smile of gratification.

"Then I'll be waiting for good news~"

He waved, turned, and left the basement. The heavy iron door slowly closed behind him.

Itadori stood under the dim yellow light, holding the bear in his arms as he watched the "crap" movie already playing on the television.

The heroine was gazing deeply into the hero's eyes, and the background music was so sentimental it gave him goose bumps.

Itadori took a deep breath, focused, and steadily fed cursed energy into the doll.

The movie's plot was terrible, but he had to keep watching.

The training was tedious, but he had to persevere.

Because someone was waiting for him to return.

Because his companions were waiting for him to grow stronger.

"All right," Itadori said quietly, as if making a vow to himself. "Let's begin."

The television's light flickered across his face.

The basement fell quiet again, with only the movie's awful dialogue and soundtrack echoing through the air.