"Are you sure we've arrived at the right place, Itou?" A sloppily dressed student spat on the ground, his eyes scanning their surroundings nervously.
"Relax! We're exactly where we need to be!" replied Itou, a student with bleached blonde hair. He took a final drag of his cigarette before tossing it carelessly onto the ground, flashing a crooked grin.
"I heard this place has a lot of death stories tied to it," another student chimed in, his voice shaky.
"Do you seriously believe those ridiculous rumors, Tanaka? Look at Junpei over there; he's not scared like you. Right, Junpei?"
Itou strolled toward the quiet figure lagging behind the group and slung an arm around his shoulder, laughing heartily.
"Huh? Why is he just standing there?"
"His face is even trembling a bit!"
"I bet this guy's already scared enough to wet his pants!"
"Junpei! Hey, Junpei! You hearing me, you punk?" Itou's playful tone quickly shifted to anger as Junpei failed to respond. In frustration, he delivered a sharp kick to Junpei's side.
The force of the kick sent Junpei sprawling onto the gravel path, his back slamming painfully against the ground. A sharp cry escaped his lips as the pain shot through his body.
Clutching his side, Junpei scrambled to his feet, his mind still reeling from the strange dream he'd just woken up from. He blinked, disoriented, his surroundings unfamiliar and surreal.
He tried to piece things together: the familiar route home from school, the sudden darkness that engulfed the sky, and the cacophony of sounds that followed. The last thing he remembered was the blaring horn of a truck and the crushing impact. Then, as he came to, he found himself here, wherever "here" was.
Breathing deeply to steady himself, Junpei's eyes darted around. Three unfamiliar boys stood before him, wearing the same school uniform as he was. They had to be from his school.
The area they were in resembled the outskirts of town, surrounded by towering trees, with an abandoned housing project looming ominously in the distance.
"I heard this housing complex was abandoned ten years ago after a gruesome murder case," Itou began, his voice dripping with theatrics as he led the group closer to the derelict structure. "The victim's body was hacked into pieces and buried right under the construction site. Workers uncovered parts of the corpse while digging—pretty creepy, huh? Scared yet?"
As they neared the abandoned building, Itou continued spinning his tale, much to his own amusement.
"But that's not all! I've also heard the night-shift workers who stayed behind just… disappeared without a trace."
Uninterested in the chatter ahead, Junpei trailed a few steps behind the group, his mind swirling with fragmented memories. Pressing his fingers to his temples, he tried to ease the splitting headache that had settled in.
When the pain finally subsided, Junpei whispered a name, barely audible: "Yoshino Junpei…"
"Huh? What'd you just say, Junpei?"
"Ah, nothing," Junpei replied, shaking his head quickly.
"Tch! Coward. Guys like you are just wasting air!" A loogie narrowly missed Junpei as one of the bullies spat in his direction.
Junpei said nothing, knowing full well there was no point in fighting back. Even if he managed to escape today, the bullying would only continue tomorrow, and the day after that.
The best course of action now was silence—he needed time to sort through the mess of memories in his head.
"I can't believe I ended up inside Jujutsu Kaisen," Junpei thought to himself, a mix of disbelief and resignation coursing through him. "It's like a dream…"
What's more, he had become Yoshino Junpei, a character whose life was nothing short of tragic.
Who was Yoshino Junpei?
Junpei was not only a victim of relentless bullying at school, but he also suffered the apathy of teachers who turned a blind eye to his plight. His life seemed to take a turn for the better when he discovered the world of sorcerers and met his first friend, Itadori Yuji.
Just when he thought he'd found hope and a new beginning, tragedy struck.
Junpei's only family, his mother, was murdered by a Curse. Her death extinguished the faint glimmer of hope that had just begun to bloom in Junpei's heart, pushing him toward darkness.
Ultimately, Junpei met a painful end—betrayed by the very person he trusted most, turned into a cursed spirit, and forced to fight the friend he held dear. His death was a harrowing one, filled with anguish and despair.
Now, standing in this abandoned complex, Junpei found himself being dragged into one of the bullies' antics.
One of them, Itou, had appeared in the original story, but the other two were unfamiliar to him. Their game of "courage testing" had brought them here, to a place infamous for urban legends and supposed paranormal activity.
The closer they got to the abandoned building, the louder Junpei's instincts screamed at him to leave.
Wacwac*
The group startled a flock of crows, sending them scattering into the twilight sky. Darkness was fast approaching, and the last rays of sunlight began to fade.
"I… I think we should turn back! It doesn't feel safe here!"
Thump!
"What did you just say, you little shit?" Itou turned and slammed a fist into Junpei's stomach.
"Ugh…!" Junpei gasped in pain.
"So, you're volunteering to lead the way, huh?" Itou sneered, grabbing Junpei by the collar and raining punches down on him.
Junpei felt like his ribs were being crushed, each blow landing like a sledgehammer.
"Beating trash like you is a waste of my time!" Itou spat, finally releasing Junpei, who collapsed to the ground, clutching his abdomen and struggling to breathe.
Before Junpei could fully recover, the bullies shoved him into the dark interior of the abandoned building and barricaded the entrance.
"Have fun in there, loser! Hahaha!"
"I bet he's crying already!"
"Those bastards…" Junpei clenched his fists in frustration, but he knew resistance was futile.
His mind raced. He needed to find another way out, and fast. The building wasn't fully constructed there had to be scaffolding or an exit somewhere.
Still trembling from the assault, Junpei forced himself to his feet. He just had to survive this. For now, that was all that mattered.
This was a public housing area still under construction, which meant there were multiple exits. Yoshino could only hope he wouldn't encounter a curse or vengeful spirit while trying to escape.
Given his current condition—barely able to walk—running into a vengeful spirit or cursed soul would spell certain doom.
The site itself had only the first floor completed, with the second floor merely a skeletal framework. Yoshino figured he could climb to the second floor and make his way down using the scaffolding.
But he needed to move quickly; the sky was dimming, and the fading sunlight was the only thing helping him navigate this desolate place.
After about five minutes of walking, Yoshino found the stairs leading to the second floor. He didn't hesitate and ascended immediately.
As expected, the area was just a frame of concrete and metal, with scaffolding scattered around. He chose one to descend but froze when he heard a voice.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Itou and his gang had somehow made their way up here, and it seemed they still weren't ready to let him leave.
"Man, look at his face! Hilarious!" one of them sneered.
Yoshino clenched his lips tightly, anger and frustration bubbling inside him. He wanted to fight back, but it was pointless. Worse, his psyche still bore the scars left by his original self, Yoshino Junpei.
These bullies weren't satisfied with merely scaring him; they wanted to see him crumble—to drag him deeper into this abandoned building and revel in his terror.
The final rays of sunlight had disappeared, plunging the site into darkness. The only illumination now came from their phone flashlights, casting feeble, narrow beams of light.
Yoshino was forced to walk ahead, leading the group through the frigid hallways and dodging piles of scattered construction materials.
As he moved deeper, his steps felt heavier, as if wading through water. Then, a faint noise reached his ears.
"Kkkeeett… Grrrr…"
The eerie sound of two hard objects scraping against each other echoed from a room up ahead. Yoshino froze.
"Why'd you stop walking?" one of the bullies growled from behind.
"D-Don't… don't go any further!" Yoshino stammered.
"You wanna die? You don't follow my orders?" Itou barked and ordered his lackeys to grab Yoshino. They restrained him and shoved him into the dark room ahead.
Yoshino struggled, but it was futile. He had no choice but to face whatever lay within.
Inside, he spotted it—a maggot-like creature, bloated and slimy, the size of a wild boar.
"See? Nothing's here! These ghost stories are total crap," Itou sneered as he stepped into the room. The others followed, looking around nonchalantly. It was clear none of them could see the cursed spirit.
Yoshino let out a quiet sigh of relief. Ordinary people couldn't perceive curses or spirits. Only those with innate talent for jujutsu could see them.
Yoshino, as it turned out, had the potential to become a jujutsu sorcerer. It wasn't something he'd planned on, but right now, his ability to sense and see curses was both a blessing and a curse.
The maggot-like curse wasn't a fully developed entity—it was more of a cursed womb, a curse still in its larval stage. As long as no one disturbed it, it posed little threat to humans.
"Let's get out of here. There's nothing worth seeing," Itou said after glancing around.
But Yoshino couldn't take his eyes off the writhing curse. It squirmed in place, vomiting stomach acid and thrashing weakly. It wasn't capable of attacking anyone—yet.
Yoshino was the last to leave the room, but as he stepped out, an icy chill ran down his spine. His body froze in place as a wave of oppressive negative energy swept over him.
"Sraopp… Crrraak…"
Yoshino turned his head cautiously, only to see something monstrous—a gigantic humanoid maggot. Its limbs jutted out grotesquely, and its many eyes locked onto him.
"Th-this can't be… it hatched already?" Yoshino muttered in horror.
Before he could flee, the curse's massive hand seized him. He struggled, gasping for breath, and shouted, "Help me!"
But the bullies, realizing something was wrong, turned and ran.
"Run! That freak Junpei's cursed!" one of them yelled, leaving him behind.
Yoshino's hopes for rescue were dashed. A curse like this wouldn't spare him in favor of ordinary humans. To it, someone like Yoshino—a budding sorcerer—was an irresistible delicacy.
When he first realized he'd been reincarnated into his favorite story, Yoshino had been ecstatic. The possibility of becoming a jujutsu sorcerer had thrilled him. Even though it was dangerous, the idea of wielding cursed energy had filled him with excitement.
But now?
Now, he wished he'd never had the talent for jujutsu. He would've given anything to escape this fate.
The curse opened its grotesque maw, jagged teeth glinting as it prepared to devour him. The stench of its breath and stomach acid overwhelmed Yoshino, making him gag. Was this the end?
Just as he was about to lose consciousness, a voice echoed in his mind:
[Passive Ability Activated]
[Current Passive Ability: Combat Potential of Kishibe – 1%]
A blinding light erupted from Yoshino's body, cutting through the darkness.
Energy surged through him, filling his body with newfound strength. He didn't know where this system had come from, but that didn't matter. He had to escape.
A dark blue aura tinged with black enveloped him—it was cursed energy!
Yoshino kicked off the curse's shoulder, using the momentum to wrench himself free from its maw. His body moved instinctively, flipping mid-air and delivering a kick to the curse's face, forcing it to stagger backward.
But the blow barely fazed the curse.
It lunged at him again, claws swiping. Yoshino dodged effortlessly, weaving around its attacks. He jumped and aimed another kick at its arm, but the curse didn't even flinch.
With a powerful swipe, the curse sent Yoshino flying through a window like a ragdoll.
Yet that was precisely what Yoshino had intended. Fighting this curse was impossible in his current state. His only option was to escape.
He landed on the ground outside, rolling to dissipate the impact, and immediately bolted from the building.
The curse leaped from the second floor to chase him, but something stopped it in its tracks. Bound by an unseen force, it howled and thrashed under the night sky, unable to pursue him further.
Curses typically couldn't stray far from their origin. Yoshino knew that if he could just get far enough away, he'd be safe.
But his body was at its limit. His vision blurred, and his legs gave out beneath him. Collapsing into a bush, he succumbed to exhaustion and slipped into unconsciousness.