Actually, I'm the Guardian Spirit His Dad Placed in Him

When Yuji Itadori opened his eyes again, he found himself in a room plastered with paper talismans.

"Good morning~"

Satoru Gojo sat across from him, draped over the back of his chair. "Which one are you right now?"

"...Hey..."

Fushiguro's voice drifted over from the side.

Itadori turned to look and saw that Fushiguro had been trussed up like a rice dumpling in a particularly cruel fashion.

"Huh?" The corner of his mouth twitched.

Fushiguro glared at Satoru Gojo, his face full of displeasure:

"You still haven't answered my question. Why did you tie me up too?"

"Well, Megumi, it's because you've got that guy inside you. Just a precaution."

"What did I ever do to you? I haven't done anything bad!"

Shiratori Gotsu's mouth suddenly appeared on Fushiguro's forehead.

"Eek!" The bizarre sight sent goosebumps all over Itadori's body.

"Oh, my, oh, my, could you be a little quieter? At least until I find the time to investigate you."

Satoru Gojo reached out and pinched Shiratori Gotsu's lips shut with two fingers, physically silencing him.

Only after the mouth gradually faded away did he turn back to Itadori.

"Now, back to what we were saying, Yuji Itadori. You've been secretly sentenced to death."

"Huh? Why?" Itadori frowned slightly, looking utterly baffled.

"Well, let me explain from the beginning."

With that, Satoru Gojo pulled a finger out of his pocket. "This is the same as the Cursed Object you ate. Sukuna's Fingers. There are twenty in all."

"That's right, twenty. Sukuna, the thing currently inhabiting your body, has four hands~"

As he spoke, he raised his hand and blasted Sukuna's Finger into the wall beside them.

A huge, smoking crater appeared in the wall, while the finger remained completely intact.

"As you can see, its curse is too powerful to be destroyed."

"The curse grows stronger day by day, but the seals used by today's Jujutsu Sorcerers can't keep up at all."

"That's why we need you!"

Satoru Gojo raised a hand and pointed at Itadori.

"Once you die, the curse inside you will die with you."

"The old men on our side are cowards. They've been clamoring to kill you immediately, but what a waste that would be~"

"We might never find another vessel like you, one capable of withstanding Sukuna's curse."

"So I proposed that we let you absorb all of Sukuna's Fingers before killing you.

"The higher-ups agreed, so now you have two choices."

Satoru Gojo held up two fingers.

"First, die now; second, find all the fingers, absorb them, and then die."

Itadori's expression grew complicated at those words.

He was silent for a long moment before saying, "There are still some things I want to do. Can you wait until I've done them for my answer?"

"Heh..." Satoru Gojo chuckled. "What position do you think you're in right now? A request like that is, of course..."

Itadori had braced himself for an outright rejection, but Satoru Gojo suddenly broke into a beaming smile. "Totally fine~!"

Itadori: "..."

"All right, now it's time to deal with another problem."

Satoru Gojo turned to Megumi Fushiguro and raised a hand in greeting.

"Moshi moshi~ Are you still in there?"

As his voice trailed off, that huge thunderous mouth appeared on Megumi Fushiguro's forehead again, sending another wave of goosebumps over Itadori.

"Where else would I have gone?" Inside the Innate Domain, Shiratori Gotsu picked his nose, then continued:

"Whatever it is, hurry up and ask."

"Not bad. You know what's good for you. Then I'll get straight to it."

Satoru Gojo brushed his hair back, then fiddled with his blindfold as he spoke. "Who are you? What do you want? When did you possess Megumi?"

"Since you've hit me with three deadly questions, I'll give you three deadly answers."

The big mouth vanished from Megumi Fushiguro's forehead, then grew out of his cheek.

He was about to start lying.

"My name is Shiratori Gotsu. I'm the guardian spirit Megumi Fushiguro's dad, Toji Fushiguro, placed in him when he was around two."

"You know Toji Fushiguro, right? After all, he's the one who sold you the kid."

"Since I'm a guardian spirit, my goal is naturally to protect him and help him grow up healthy and happy~"

"That's all my answers!"

Every word was a lie!

"...Really?" A hint of suspicion crept into Satoru Gojo's voice.

"Really?!" Megumi Fushiguro looked just as shocked.

Satoru Gojo rubbed his chin and thought carefully.

He wasn't quite sure about it either. He had thought it was a curse that had taken the opportunity to transfer itself into Fushiguro when Sukuna possessed Itadori.

But he actually knew about Toji Fushiguro, and even knew about the whole business of buying and selling a child...

I can't confirm where he came from yet, but he doesn't seem to mean any harm...

Still, it's probably best to wait and see for now.

After leaving the interrogation room, Itadori went with Satoru Gojo to deal with the aftermath.

Megumi Fushiguro walked alone across Jujutsu High's training ground, feeling unusually agitated.

"Oi, what's bothering you, Megumi?"

Shiratori Gotsu's mouth appeared on his palm.

"..."

Fushiguro raised his hand in front of his eyes and stared for a long while at the mouth, which was thirty percent disgusting and seventy percent creepy. Then he asked in a low voice:

"Shiratori... senpai? Was... everything you said true?"

"I mean, the things about my father..."

I'm teasing you~ Of course it's fake, as fake as it could possibly be~ Shiratori Gotsu thought gleefully.

But what he actually said was, "Absolutely true. I have no reason to lie to you, do I?"

"Then why did you only appear last night?" Fushiguro was still full of doubts and suspicion.

"Because of Sukuna."

Shiratori Gotsu continued making up his story with glee, unable to keep his tone from rising:

"Of course a guardian spirit only comes out when there's danger~"

"In that situation last night, your life was in danger, so I was awakened."

"...All right."

It sounded ridiculous at first, but on further thought, it did make some sense.

Fushiguro accepted the explanation for the time being, then immediately asked, "About my father..."

"Never mind, forget it! Anyway, he disappeared right after he placed me in you."

"As for where he went after that, I don't know either."

Another silence followed. Several minutes later, Fushiguro spoke again. "Then why are you still here when there's no danger now?"

Shiratori Gotsu asked in return, "What do you think this is, work or school? Clock in when you arrive and clock out when you leave?"

"Unless something unexpected happens, you'll be stuck with me for the rest of your life~"

Fushiguro: "..."

He was completely out of options and could only accept, for the time being, that he had a "guardian spirit" like this inside him.

Before he could say anything else, Shiratori Gotsu continued:

"Besides, you're really a little too weak right now! So I've decided to help you get stronger!"

The corner of Fushiguro's eye twitched. "What an awkward change of subject... How do you want to help?"

"First, find an open space. I'll explain it to you then."

"...O-kay."