Izuku was back with reuniting with Junpei and told him what occurred when he was absent, the boy was happy that Izuku got to spend time with his little sister and meet her friends but both boys knew that some things tend to end quickly and because of that it was time to get down to business, Junpei felt a bit devastated even though his mother was ok...it didn't cool down the rage that well up inside of him when finding out that the friend, who once helped him...was the one who betrayed him and killed his mother, and then used him as a puppet in a scheme that was meant to end in his death was another thing entirely.
However, Izuku was never going to let him go through that alone. Since he was there, with him, all the way through. After a week of returning back, Izuku saw that Junpei was ready to embark on the path of vengeance not just against Mahito but against all curse spirits and all evil curse users in the world. A good friend perhaps would have tried to warn him about the dangers of the path of vengeance, but how could Izuku even think that, when he too was on that same path. How could he not encourage him when he too wanted revenge.
Still though, Izuku told him about the kind of death he wanted, and he thought that it helped a lot. As he thought that saying it out loud made them both realize that seeking revenge does not mean missing out on the other good things that life has to offer, such as good friends and family. It just means they have to work extra hard to ensure that they have the power to protect those things.
In any case, this marked the beginning of their training regimen. Mahito seemed to have intentionally trained Junpei to overly rely on his Shikigami.
And that had to be changed, Izuku had to make sure that he knew how to fight hand to hand and with weapons. Who better to teach him than the one who used a katana with precision.
Gojo told the two of them that they only had about 2 months before the Tokyo and Kyoto interschool's tournament, which was when he wanted to present them. He said he had pulled some strings to make sure the timeline was extended so that we can prepare Junpei. Given the amount of time, it made sense for Izuku to lend Ryõba to Junpei....even though the katana itself was being difficult...the reason for that would happen about a few days ago.
A few days ago:
While Izuku was glad to be back, he was also tired as he wanted to rest a bit, but before he could even do that...their was something he had to do first.
The object that was in his hand, that was still beating, was Sukuna's heart, Izuku looked at the object as he knew what he had to do.
"Just suck it up and swallow it whole"
"Do you even think my mouth is that big enough to even swallow it to begin with?" Izuku asked the King of Curses.
"Well you got a better way? Besides we get to reunite with someone who will be here permanently"
Sukuna said back with Izuku sighing as he look back at the heart.
"...damn it, it's just like back then...fuck it, let's gets this over with"
As soon as he said, he opened his mouth wide enough and stuffed the heart inside of his mouth, he felt the flesh and blood leaking out of the heart which almost caused him to puke until he swallowed the heart as it entered his body...5 seconds was all it took for his body to scream in pain from the intense heat as the markings that belonged to Hitachi was seen as his body was drenched in sweat.
His mind was hazy as he grabbed his throat, he couldn't hear anything nor was his vision helping him see anything, not even Himiko and Ryõba that both glowed as human like figures were seen coming towards the boy.
Inside his mind scape, an aura surrounded him in warmth as what he as seeing was white sandy beach and a clear sea before him with the sky having no clouds with the sun hitting the waters.
Izuku was confused at this until, he turned around had his widened in suprised.
The reason for that was what he was seeing, both Sukuna and Hitachi lounging on beach chairs as they were in swimming trunks and wearing shades with a shot glass in their hands.
"Hey brat"
"Nice to meet you again, Izuku"
Izuku just chuckled as he walked towards the two curse spirits.
After that with Izuku telling Hitachi about the battle he had with a villian to attain the heart back, the curse himself simply laughed wishing he could have seen the look on the villian face.
Izuku finally regained consciousness...while laying on the bed without his shirt on which made him confused but that confusion disappeared when he felt movement underneath the sheets.
His eyes widened when he saw Himiko revealing herself with her hair down and looking at the boy with smirk on her face...but that wasn't the only thing that caused him to turn red as another form of movement decided to reveal themselves, a girl similar in height of Himiko with an hour glass like shape and raven colored hair that reached her lower back, lips that were kissable, eyes that had a hint of hazel in them and looked at the boy with a desire to only listen to him.
"Good morning, Master"
When Izuku heard that....his mind was in another place...along with the commentary of both Curse Spirits.
'Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH S-TIER!! THE BASTARD HAS S-TIER!!'
'...I'm actually surprised you're like this,Ryomen'
Izuku could only groan as he tried to get up but both Himiko and the now human female Ryõba wasn't allowing him to get up.
Back to the present, so yeah, because of Ryõba only listening to her one true master, it was a bit difficult but Izuku made the katana a promise...which he might regret later since Sukuna would always laugh about it while Hitachi would reassure Izuku.
As of now, Junpei needed to increase his curse energy reserves fast, and he needed to learn how to fight hand to hand and with weapons in short space of time. To do the former, it was essential tha Izuku would share his energy with him using Ryõba every time he ran out of his own, and to achieve the former, it was necessary to use Ryõba to heal his injuries and replenish him when he was fatigued so that he can train for a much longer time than he normally would.
The plan worked perfectly needless to say. In just two months Junpei's hand to hand and weapons combat abilities improved significantly, unfathomably actually. That's not the only thing that improved though as they discovered that, after improving his curse energy quantity and quality, Junpei could summon a much, much larger version of his shikigami, Moon Dregs.
They discovered that, the true form of his Shikagami was exponential larger than a skyscraper, and that it could split itself into many smaller versions. Which means that, depending on the amount of curse energy he used, Junpei could summon different size and strength variations of it. He could also summon them in numbers, basically, it could split itself into numerous clones depending on the number he wanted to summon and the size of the clones he wanted.
He also has immunity to all forms of poison, like Izuku, meaning that, like Sukuna, he was a master of all forms of poison. With all of this in mind, Izuku decided to get him his very own curse tool weapon, so with the help of Gojo and finding what weapon that suited Junpei, the sword itself was a size that best can describe as....a gigantic bitchass sword with a name that was known as Burēdoshifutā.
The head cleaver was a nigh indestructible, special grade cursed tool, and was sharp enough to cut through anything and everything. However, in the event that it does, unlikely as it was, run into something that manages to somehow break it, it can regenerate simply by applying curse energy into it. In other words, it was a curse tool with a self imbued reverse curse technique and that was because of Izuku imbuing a bit of not only his cursed technique but Sukuna's along with Hitachi's as well.
The tool also has another ability, it serves as a curse energy conductor. That means that it was not only possible to further increase its durability and sharpness with curse energy, but it was also possible to release a compressed, destructive, or penetrative force of cursed energy for mid and long range attacks along with having the sword itself to shift into a different weapon to give it's user a better range of attacks with Junpei using only two forms with the default form which was the broadsword and the other form which was a simple slim like katana that was double edged with the handle being purple and the sheath having three stripes with the color being black, purple and white.
Finally, because Junpei can make his own curse energy poisonous, it means that he can poison his opponent with a long range attack if he channels his curse energy through the sword.
Needless to say, he was more than ready but Experience was the only thing that was missing now, although it's not like he has zero experience, it's just that they've been on two missions since their training began.
Naturally, Izuku was also been training himself to the ground. Learning to fight with two swords and imbuing them with his cursed energy to sent out multiple arcs of long range attacks while also getting to know both of his cursed weapons which were in fact girls...needless to say, he had to deal with the constant bickering and also having them being clingy when they're not in their weapon forms but that didn't stop him to continue his training....while also having to train inside his mindscape via Hitachi's domain which was the beach, enough open spaces to get some results with something he had in mind for a while.
Izuku was able to use one of Sukuna's technique which was Cleave but that wasn't enough and Sukuna knew that since the boy wanted to get use to using the King of Curses D.E with Hitachi helping out Izuku a bit to increase his senses.
Meanwhile both Izuku and Junpei were having a sparring session with Himiko, Ryõba, Gojo and Nanami watching.
Junpei using the slender form of Burēdoshifutā while Izuku was covering his cursed energy around his fist.
"Ready?" Izuku said with Junpei nodding his head as he took a stance.
They both until they heard the sound a timer that caused to blitzed towards each other with smiles on their faces.
The following day.
Kugisaki dropped her magazine in shock, her eyes wide. "Why... why is everyone all empty-handed?" she exclaimed, lugging her suitcase and small backpack.
Maki, Fushiguro, Inumaki, and Panda glanced at her with puzzled expressions. "Ha?" they all uttered in unison.
Panda was the first to speak up, "That's our question. What's with all the luggage?"
Kugisaki hesitated for a moment before responding, "Well, we're going to Kyoto, right? The Sister-School Goodwill Event in Kyoto."
Panda quickly corrected her, "Actually, it's a Sister-School Goodwill Event with the Kyoto School... held in Tokyo."
Kugisaki clutched at her hair and shouted in frustration, "No way! What did I make all those preparations for then?!"
Maki spoke, her hand resting on her hip. "No wonder our conversations have been a bit off lately."
Fushiguro chimed in, "Yeah."
"Salmon."
Kugisaki continued to shout in the background, "This is too much! It's a fraud!"
Panda explained, "It's held at the school that won last year."
Kugisaki grabbed onto Panda's neck just like she would on a collar and shouted angrily, "Don't go winning, idiot!"
Panda responded, "We didn't compete last year! Yuta was the only one who joined last year to make up for the numbers."
Maki recounted, "That was before Rika was freed. I heard that he dominated the competition."
Kugisaki rolled her magazine and shouted into the air, "I won't forgive you, Okkotsu Yuta! Although I've never met you before!"
Panda commented, "That's unjustified resentment."
"Salmon."
"Oi. They're here," Maki stated, her eyes turning serious.
Mai took the lead as her group approached them, taunting with a hint of arrogance, "Oh, my. Everyone from the Tokyo school is here."
The atmosphere instantly shifted, with everyone adopting a more serious demeanor and a palpable tension filling the air.
Mai nonchalantly tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and, in a cloying voice, said, "Are you here to greet us? It's really disgusting."
[MAI ZENIN, SECOND-YEAR STUDENT]
Todo rubbed his head as he said, "Okkotsu is not here."
[AOI TODO, THIRD-YEAR STUDENT]
"Shut up and give me those boxes of cakes. Yatsuhashi, kuzukiri, and buckwheat cookies, too!" She gestured menacingly with her index finger like she was in a shakedown.
"Salmon."
The short girl with blonde hair tied up in a witch-like fashion hunched her shoulders, holding her broom a little closer as she shuddered at the sight of Kugisaki's intimidating behavior.
"What's wrong with that first-year student? It's terrifying," she muttered.
[MOMO NISHIMIYA, THIRD-YEAR STUDENT]
A mechanical-sounding voice interjected, "It's good that Okkotsu is not here, but two first-years is too much of a handicap." The source of the voice was a robot-like figure.
[ULTIMATE MECHAMARU, SECOND-YEAR STUDENT]
"A robot! It's a robot!" Kugisaki exclaimed.
Another teen with dark hair calmly asserted, "A Jujutsu Sorcerer's strength has nothing to do with age, especially Fushiguro. He's from the bloodline of the Zenin family and is much better than the main family bloodline."
[NORITOSHI KAMO, THIRD-YEAR STUDENT]
Mai clicked her tongue in disapproval, earning a puzzled look from Kamo, who asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Mai stated icily, giving him a stink eye.
A blue-haired girl stepped forward to defuse the tension, saying, "Hey there, you guys. You two should calm down."
[KASUMI MIWA, SECOND-YEAR STUDENT]
As another person approached, ascending the stairs, she clapped her hands to get their attention. "Come on. Let's not quarrel amongst ourselves. You kids..." she trailed off, looking them over.
[UTAHIME IORI, SEMI-GRADE 1 JUJUTSU SORCERER]
It was a woman clad in a traditional miko outfit, but the most striking feature on her face was the scar that ran down the right side, crossing over her nose. "So where's that idiot?" she asked with furrowed brows.
"Satoru is late," Panda replied.
Maki chimed in, "There's no way that idiot is going to be on time."
Fushiguro remarked snidely, "Nobody said that idiot was Gojo-sensei."
Suddenly, they all heard the sound of a pull cart as Gojo came running towards them. With a boyish grin, he exclaimed, "Sorry to keep you waiting!"
'Tsk, Gojo Satoru.' Utahime clicked her tongue in disapproval, her disgust evident on her face.
Conversely, Miwa, who was standing beside Utahime, couldn't help but beam with excitement at the sight of Gojo. Inwardly, she exclaimed, 'Gojo Satoru!'
Gojo came to a sudden stop, exclaiming with excitement, "Hey, everyone's here! I just returned from a business trip abroad, and I brought souvenirs for everyone!"
Panda spoke blandly, "That's sudden."
Nobara made a snide remark, "Isn't it because of his jet lag?"
Gojo cheerfully handed out pink voodoo dolls to each of the students one by one, saying, "Here's for everyone from Kyoto. A little amulet from a certain tribe!"
As he reached Utahime, he smirked deviously as he told her, "None for Utahime~"
Utahime hissed like a cat, retorting, "I don't even want it!"
"What the hell kind of teacher are you! How can you bring souvenirs for the opposing team and not get us, your own students, any gifts at all? Are you intentionally trying to demotivate us? Asshole!" Maki exclaimed angrily, unable to believe the nerve of the insufferable idiot known as Satoru Gojo. Of course, she didn't actually want any souvenirs from him of all people, but if he was going to hand them out anyway, then he should have been handing them out to them, and not the Kyoto team damn it!
"Huhuhuhuhu! Oh but my beloved students, I got you an even better and more useful gift, four gifts in fact."
As Gojo said that, the sound of footsteps were heard that caused everyone to turn their attention towards who was walking towards them.
They then saw three teenagers, two girls and one boy that wore the traditional jujutsu school uniform with a few changes that came from the girls that wore pants instead of the skirt.
The Tokyo and Kyoto students were confused until they saw the becomers plus Gojo looking up, so everyone, including the Kyoto students and the principals of both schools, looking up and truly seeing the surprise of their lives, at least, those who knew who Izuku Midoriya was, the Kyoto students, of course, having no idea who the hell he was, in fact so did the second year students of the Tokyo team.
Izuku was seen floating a bit above them with a grin on his face as he felt gravity pulling him down to the ground, he landed with grace when he saw the look of shock from his friends.
"Hey Megumi, Nobara....I'm back" he said with a wider grin that dawned his face.
Izuku watched the way both Megumi and Nobara looked at him.
"Y-You...Yoooooooouuu" Nobara said as she ran towards the boy, who widened his eyes as Nobara went to punch the boy only for her fist to be caught with her being turned around and getting hugged by the boy.
"What the hell you bastard!?" She yelled out until she saw the look he was giving her.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Nobara"
Nobara couldn't say anything as a blush formed on her face.
"...It's not like I missed you or anything" she said while turning her head away with Izuku chuckling as he let her go while he turned his attention towards Megumi, "Hey Megumi, so check this out, I'd like to introduce you all to three reliable and powerful friends of mine, they're our newest first years. Everyone, meet Junpei Yoshino, Himiko Toga and finally Ryõba Samāsukai." Izuku said casually.
Megumi simply walked over to him and then punched him in the gut but Izuku caught it while smiling.
"It's still upsetting that we haven't heard from you for four months when you were alive this whole time" Megumi said.
Izuku just scratched the back of his head, "Well I did had a lot of stuff to deal with, trust me I would've come to you guys as soon as I was alive but I...like I said I've been through a lot, but not only me." Izuku said as he not only looked at his friend and brother in everything but blood, he also looked over to Himiko and Ryõba with the two boys sharing a look of understanding before Izuku looked back at his old friends.
"Anyway, I'm sincerely sorry for not telling you I was alive. It's not that I didn't want to, I just wasn't allowed to, for my sake, and for your sakes. I'm sure you know there are those who do not approve of my existence, and that is precisely the reason we ended up in that situation where I died. It was a set up, and you were supposed to be the collateral." Izuku explained much to the surprise of, well every student there, including the second years, and of course the Kyoto team.
"If you think about it, not revealing my alive status was a stroke of genius. I wasn't allowed to get back to you until I became strong enough to protect myself and others from any unexpected situation. That served as motivation for me to get stronger. For you, losing a friend made you all the more determined to train harder and get stronger so that you never have to go through that again, and of course, so that you yourselves don't meet a similar fate to mine. That was the idea, at least as far as I could deduce." Izuku explained patiently, but also sympathetically as he understood that his friends would likely be pissed off irrespective of the reasons.
"So then, you're okay now? You're strong enough to protect yourself, from any threat, internal or outside?" Megumi Fushiguro asked with concern, and also as a way to measure how much Izuku had grown.
"I can answer that with a resounding yes! You kids should know, Izuku and I sparred 20 times, and I only defeated him 17 times…..AND…..that was two months ago! He's been training with young Junpei for the last two months, but who knows how much he has grown since then? He also defeated two Special Grade Curses in a two on one battle also around two months ago! Finally, his Jujutsu Sorcerer card has been upgraded. Izuku is now…..a Special Grade Sorcerer just like me, and it has nothing to do with being Sukuna's vessel! He earned that rank with his own merits! He hasn't received anymore of Sukuna's gifts than he had when he died! How amazing is that? Huh!" Gojo exclaimed childishly, however, his attention actually on Principal Gakuganji as he said those words, wanting to make sure that he rubbed that information fully in.
'That idiot! Did he have to tell everyone that! Now all the people that want to kill me will put even more of an effort into killing me!' Izuku thought in dismay.
'Oh well our condolences to your youth' Sukuna said while laughing while Hitachi along with Himiko and Ryõba could only hold in their laughs.
'But then again, the information could cause them to back off a bit. Given how scared everyone is of Gojo, if that info would give me even a quarter the respect and fear that he garners from everyone, then things should settle down a bit.' Izuku thought.
'A Special Grade Sorcerer? Izuku is that strong now? Strong enough that Gojo didn't win every single spar with him? That's impossible! Isn't it?' Megumi thought incredulously, every other student thinking along the same lines.
'But then again, he is Sukuna's vessel. We have a guy like that too in our grade, Yuta Ikkotsu.' Panda thought analytically.
"Oh and let's not forget about Izuku's brother from another mother Junpei Yoshino, also a first year….and…..a grade 1 sorcerer!" Gojo said elatedly.
"Alright, that's enough, Gojo-sensei. You've scared everyone enough." Izuku said since he didn't want his sensei to give anymore information that included the two girls since he wanted to explain it himself with his friends and fellow upperclassmen.
"It's nice to meet you everyone. I've heard only good things about Megumi and Nobara from Izuku, I'm sure the rest of you are just as wonderful. I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you." Junpei said politely, nobody answering him though as everyone seemed to be still trying to process everything that they heard about Izuku.
'This isn't going quite like I imagined. Izuku said these were nice and kind people and that they would be overjoyed to have a new comrade, but there is so much tension and hostility that I can't even imagine such a scenario anymore. Well….anyway, it doesn't matter. As long as I have Izuku along with his companions, I don't need anyone else.' Junpei thought.
"I know you all have your questions and maybe even suspicions, but Junpei is someone that has earned both my unconditional love and trust, he is my brother in everything but blood. However, I understand that Tokyo was not built in one day, so of course you won't trust him off the bat even if I vouch for him, but you can trust one thing, no one hates cursed spirits more than Junpei. If you do not believe in his love, at least believe in his hate. It's the real deal." Izuku said gravely, trying to lighten the tension but only serving to increase it even further.
"And as for you, Principal Gakuganji…." Izuku trailed off as he walked away from his peers until he was standing a meter and a half from the Kyoto School principal.
"I don't know for sure if you were directly or indirectly involved in what happened to me and my friends, but I know in my gut you were not completely uninvolved. With that said, I have this to say to you, I don't mind if you attempt to kill me, in fact, I understand exactly where you are coming from, so I have no problem with it." Izuku said much to the surprise of, well, literally everyone, even Junpei, and especially Principal Gakuganji.
"What? Izuku! Did you fall on your head or something? What the hell are you saying?" Megumi asked incredulously.
"Megumi, I understand your reasons for protecting me too, and I'm so grateful to have met a person like you. However, both you and Gojo-sensei saved me not just because you're good people, which you definitely are, but also because you both were banking on Gojo-sensei's strength. If something goes wrong and Sukuna takes control of me and manages to regain his full power, you're both banking on Gojo-sensei being able to defeat and stop Sukuna. However, not everyone is as strong as Gojo-sensei, so they don't have the luxury to take the risky decisions that Gojo-sensei can take. It's easy for Gojo-sensei to look down on them and judge them from up there on his perch of greatness, and Megumi, it's easier for you, who is Gojo-sensei's student, to have that kind of unbreakable faith in Gojo-sensei." Izuku said, taking a momentary pause before carrying on from where he left off.
"However, Principal Gakuganji, the council, and the major clans do not have that luxury. They don't have Gojo-sensei's Godly power, and they don't have the kind of bond you have with him so they don't have the kind of faith you have in him. I'm strong, at least I think I am, but I've also been weak too. So I am in the fortunate position to understand both the weak and the strong, unlike Gojo-sensei, who doesn't know what it means to be weak. That is why, I understand perfectly the reasons why the council and the major clans acted the way they did. However….." Izuku trailed off with a grave undertone.
"I don't approve with you involving my friends and innocent people in your assassination schemes! I don't approve of you using my friends as collateral! No amount of fear or weakness can justify the evil deeds that you committed on that day! Assassinating me, the vessel of Sukuna, is one thing, but treating the lives of the innocent and the lives of my friends as pawns to be sacrificed is another entirely! Principal Gakukanji, this is not a threat, I want you to understand that. It's a promise! If you intentionally put the lives of the innocent or the lives of my friends in danger again…. I will murder you, the entire council, and all the heads of the major clans!" As Izuku said that from the deepest depths of his heart and soul, frightening everyone with the magnitude of his raw and primal murderous intent, even Principal Gakuganji shaking in his boots, though he did incredibly well not to show it.
"…."
'Did he just declare war with the entire council and the three major clans? Hehe! And he calls me brash and over confident!' Gojo thought elatedly.
'I haven't seen him train, spar, or fight in the last two months, he stopped training with me and decided to focus on Junpei's development, but I have no doubt that he has been training himself to the ground in those two months even when he decided to temporarily transfer to UA only to look out for his sister...I wonder how much stronger he has gotten. Based on how quickly his strength and skills developed over the first two months, I would say probably a heck of a lot. I won't be able to hold back at all the next time we spar probably, not if I want to survive, and definitely not if I want to win. The very thought itself gives me goosebumps just thinking about it!' Gojo thought excitedly.
"Well, anyway, now that Izuku has made his intentions clear, can we go back to the inter school event? When is everyone gonna fight? Huh?" Gojo said with childish exuberance, successfully lightening the mood and simultaneously getting things back on track.
"Ahem! The exchange event will take place this afternoon at mid day, meaning that you have just over an hour and half to prepare. Good luck!" Principal Yaga instructed.