Chapter 2 - Jujutsu High

Shinso gazed at the status page for a moment, contemplating. "Is this all there is to my Cursed Technique?"

Cursed Techniques were known to be deceptive, often concealing hidden depths within them, much like Geto's ability to tame cursed spirits, which included moves like Uzumaki. Megumi's Ten Shadows, for instance, not only allowed him to summon ten shikigami but also to fuse them together, even retaining a destroyed shikigami's essence and imbuing it into others.

Shinso's Cursed Technique seemed to measure his potential in some way.

How could a Cursed Technique even do something like that? Is it peering into the future or simply assessing his current body composition? Could it enhance his rate of growth?

There were many factors to consider, and Shinso was planning to explore all of them!

"Come on, baby. I need a shonen-style power-up in a world like this," Shinso said, taking a deep breath as he focused on his Cursed Technique.

There had to be more to it. He tried to sense if anything had changed within it, but the only other test he could think of was to confront something with cursed energy, either a human or a curse. This would reveal whether his Cursed Technique could collect experience points or enhance his stats through combat.

But he wasn't yet daring enough to take that step.

..

Hours passed, and Shinso examined his status page from various angles. However, regardless of how he approached it, there was nothing additional to be found.

"Perhaps I'm approaching this from the wrong angle?" he pondered.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Damn, it's already nine o'clock!"

Shinso peered through the peephole. A man in a dark suit, blue tie, and glasses stood outside – he seemed rather unassuming and unimposing, the kind of person anyone could push around.

This was the "suit guy" from the anime. Shinso couldn't recall his name, but the suit guy was usually the one to cast curtain barriers when important characters were battling curses.

Opening the door, Shinso greeted the man with a polite smile. "Hello, sir. Are you from…"

"Jujitsu High," the man finished for him. "My name is Kiyotaka Ijich, an auxiliary manager of Jujutsu High."

"Sorry, I didn't mention the name right away, just to be cautious. I wanted to make sure you weren't just some random guy," Shinso explained.

"No problem," the man replied, waving it off. "Today, we're meeting with the principal before the new school year begins."

Shinso was already dressed in casual clothes as they headed out. "Is Jujutsu High a dorm school? Do I need to bring any luggage?"

"No need," he said, "After the interview with the principal, I will bring you back here. If it goes well, you can gather your things and live on the Jujutsu High grounds for the rest of the year, or even longer," he explained as they walked down the stairs of the apartment building.

Rent was incredibly affordable in this place, but it didn't have an elevator, and he lived on the fifth floor.

They climbed into his sleek car, and Shinso settled in the leather seats.

Holy shit, nice car.

"Oh, by the way, here's your Jujutsu High identification card," Ijichi handed Shinso something that resembled an ID card.

Name: Shinso Masou
Age: 15
Grade 4 Sorcerer

He was classified as Grade 4, meaning that on average he couldn't even take on a Grade 3 Curse. Which was fair, since he had never even fought a cursed spirit.

The only other person Shinso knew of at this rank was Maki, and that wasn't even due to her lack of abilities but because her Zenin Clan was preventing her from advancing.

Before Ijichi started driving, he gave Shinso a blank piece of paper.

"By the way, we haven't gotten a name for your cursed technique," Ijichi said. "You can write any name you want. It will be put on your file."

Ijichi drove while Shinso looked at the form, thinking about what he should name his cursed technique.

Cursed Game, the name aptly describing his Cursed Technique, but at the same time revealing next to nothing about what it truly entailed. Game could be interpreted in many ways as a jujutsu sorcerer, "I will call it, Cursed Game."

"That's nice, quite intimidating too," Ijichi remarked. "Just put the clipboard on the back seat. I will deliver it to the higher-ups later."

Shinso nodded, leaning back in his seat, and sending a glance towards Ijichi.

What should he ask him? There were many things Shinso wanted to know, but it might not be the right time to inquire about them. "From what I've been told so far, Jujutsu High is a school. Will I have any classmates?"

Though he had knowledge of the main story's events, he didn't remember many exact details, except for the Shibuya Incident, scheduled for Halloween. So Shinso was attempting to gather information on where he stood in the timeline.

"Yes," Ijichi smiled slightly as they drove toward the outskirts of Tokyo. "But technically, Jujutsu High isn't just a school. It's also a place where jujutsu sorcerers can recuperate, restock, or accept missions. The cover that we use for everyday people is that Jujutsu High is a religious school deep in the mountains."

As they left the city's hustle and bustle behind, they were left with nothing but a simple road and green vegetation around them as Ijichi drove up a winding road around a mountain.

When they finally arrived at the school, the scenery was quite beautiful, with an old-fashioned charm. The school featured numerous stairs that led everywhere.

Approaching one of the traditional Japanese-styled houses on campus, Ijichi said, "From now on, you're on your own. Like every student, you'll have to meet with the school's principal alone. Be careful, as he's known to expel students he doesn't like."

Was he telling the truth, or was it just something they told everyone to unnerve them?

"Thanks for your guidance, Sir Ijichi," Shinso nodded and made sure to act polite.

Despite everything, a sense of nervousness crept up his chest. There was no turning back now.

He opened the sliding door, revealing a spacious room that resembled a dojo.

At the end of the room was a man with a goatee and wearing sunglasses. He was busy with what appeared to be cute stuffed toys.

Cursed Corpses, looking at them sent a chill down Shinso's spine. 'They're creepy as fuck.'

Although the principal's death in the original story was rather unremarkable, it would be a mistake to underestimate him. He had the potential to create an army of self-sufficient Cursed Corpses and could even be considered Special Grade solely for that.

"Exactly on time, unlike a certain someone," the principal muttered under his breath.

The principal ceased working on his cursed corpses and locked eyes with Shinso. Before Shinso had a chance to exchange greetings, the principal asked, "Tell me kid, why do you want to become a jujutsu sorcerer?"

Many thoughts raced through Shinso's mind.

What did he wish to achieve in this new life? Survive? Protect? Live aimlessly with no defined purpose and nothing to strive for?

What was his current abilities? He couldn't even stroll down the street without the risk of death if he wasn't cautious, and any moderately powerful curse could easily slaughter him.

Now, envision Special Grade curses like Jogo, Mahito, Dagon, and others. He couldn't even ensure he'd react in time if one of them attacked him.

So, why did he want to become a Jujutsu Sorcerer? The answer he arrived at took even Shinso by surprise.

"I want to gain power," Shinso declared.

His response seemed to leave even the principal deep in thought, although his expression remained unreadable.

Compared to possessing power, he couldn't envision anything else. He wasn't a hero; he was just an ordinary guy who somehow found himself in a chaotic and cruel world. Without power, he'd meet yet another cruel death.

It might be incineration by Jogo, mutilation by Sukuna, or becoming one of Mahito's grotesque flesh puppets.

Just thinking about Mahito's flesh puppets sent shivers down Shinso's spine, making him feel nauseous.

Fuck, he would rather die than become something like that!

Yeah, he was living in that kind of a crazy world, so he had to fight fire with fire. "I will become so strong that no one would even think of picking a fight with me. The kind of overwhelming power that will make even Special Grades tremble."

The principal had stopped working on his puppets and was now staring straight at me. "You are incredibly selfish, probably crazy too."

Ah, shit. Was he going to give him some talk-no-jutsu bullshit?

"Which is good," surprisingly, the principal's lip tilted up into something resembling a smile. "At least you were honest and didn't give some silly reason like trying to rescue everyone. Because if you died, would it be the fault of the people you were saving?"

That was a heavy conversation to have with a teenager, but Shinso nodded. "Glad I gave a satisfactory answer, sir."

"No, your answer was terrible. Any answer anyone else could have given would have been lousy too. Yours was only slightly less so," he grunted. "When a jujutsu sorcerer dies, they rarely die without regrets. What about you, kid? What kind of sorcerer do you think you will become?"

"That's something only the future can tell. But I will give it my all to at least become a powerful one," Shinso said. "That's why, sir, I will make sure to be strong enough that I won't die with regrets."

When Shinso said that, there was a strange feeling blossoming in his chest. A sense of motivation he had never felt before.

It was like that random urge people got in the middle of the night to get their life together.

In his previous life, Shinso was just an ordinary guy. But here... he could be anything he wanted. He could do whatever he wanted, as long as he had the power to back it up, of course.

He could be the hero, the villain, or both at the same time!

"You're dismissed. You should go and meet up with your teacher and the rest of your classmates," he waved me off and got back to working on his dolls. But a small smile graced his lips, and he added, "I think you will like your teacher."

For some reason, all the anxiety Shinso had been feeling was gone. He now had a goal to work toward, and that was to grow more powerful.

For so long, he had been overthinking things too much. The future didn't matter as long as he didn't even have the power to change any of it.

Once Shinso was outside, Ijichi was there waiting for him. "How did the meeting go?"

"Surprisingly well," Shinso answered. "I learned to stop focusing on the useless things I have no influence over."

"Okay?" Ijichi looked a bit confused but didn't ask any further. "Want me to drive you back?"

"Thanks, but the principal told me that I could meet my new classmates," Shinso said.

Ijichi nodded, unperturbed, "Then I will show you to the first-year classroom."

The classroom was a short walk nearby, and Ijichi left him just outside the classroom door.

Shinso expected there to be noise from the other side of the door, but there was none. If there were any people inside, they weren't talking. Did he get the wrong room? Maybe his classmates were out sparring or something.

He opened the door and was greeted by three students. Each sat in their respective seats, not bothering to talk to each other. As soon as he entered the classroom, three pairs of eyes turned toward him.

One was a young man with white hair and a strange tattoo around his mouth, another was a green-haired girl with glasses, and the last was a... panda.

They were Toge Inumaki, Panda, and Maki Zenin.

Now there was no doubt where he stood within the timeline of events. He wasn't during Yuji's year, but not that far off, and there would be a cursed spirit apocalypse soon.

"Kelp!" Inumaki waved at him.

"A new classmate?" Panda tilted his head.

Maki narrowed her eyes, "Another one?"

"Hi, I'm Shinso Masou. Nice to meet you all," Shinso greeted them with a smile.

These were going to be his future comrades, the people who would have his back until he grew powerful.

"Hi!" Panda was the friendliest amongst them and waved at Shinso. "I'm Panda, this white-haired guy is Toge Inumaki. He can't speak normally due to his cursed technique, so he just talks by wording onigiri ingredients. This cold-faced girl is Maki Zenin."

"Who're you calling cold-faced, you stupid panda?!" Maki used the butt of a spear-like weapon to poke Panda on his side. She turned toward Shinso and grumbled, "Don't call me by my last name."

"Okay," Shinso agreed, found another desk, and sat down. It was between Panda and Maki.

"So, did you learn about jujutsu recently, like me? Or did you know about it before?" Shinso tried to break the ice and made some small talk. It wasn't hard since most of his classmates were friendly, even Inumaki. Even Maki, though she had a cold demeanor, only listened and didn't speak much.

After a while, Maki grumbled, "It's already ten minutes past the time our teacher was supposed to be here."

"Ah, my father said that our teacher was always the kind of guy who came in late, though not late enough to cause a problem, but just enough to annoy him," Panda informed them.

Just as Shinso was about to ask Panda something, the door swung open.

"Greatest Teacher Gojo is here!" announced the silver-haired man.

That was Gojo Satoru, the strongest jujutsu sorcerer of modern times.