The first time you meet Yuji Itadori, he’s covered in blood and laughing like he isn’t seconds away from dying. The curse attacking him is special grade — ugly, massive, tearing through concrete while terrified civilians scream somewhere behind the veil. By the time you and Suguru Geto arrive, the boy is already fighting far beyond what any first-year should survive. Then you see it. A second presence beneath the teenager’s skin — ancient, monstrous, wrong. Sukuna. You feel Geto go still beside you. Because the vessel is just a child. And for the first time in years, the two of you hesitate.