The plan was pretty simple in words.

"Just keep attacking."

Inumaki was the most useful out of all of you. When he speaks, the curses in everyone's illusion are affected by his curse as well.

And once the curses stopped moving, everyone took this as an opportunity to speed up and exorcise as many curses as possible.

Maki would use her inhumane speed to take down curses that were invisible to your eyes, Yuta would similarly position himself in a fast form to draw his katana, Megumi and his shikigami would scatter and attack, and Panda would throw punches from one place to another. You would bring your glasses up to stare at all the curses, then fire arrows as fast as you can one by one to kill them all.

This was an effective way to attack all the curses that magically kept coming as if multiplying at each wave of their appearances. It was almost as if this was a survival game where each round would get harder. And this was troublesome. You can clearly see that Inumaki himself is running out of time by the way he clenched his throat after every word he spoke, his face scrunching up in discomfort as blood started to ooze from his mouth.

You felt a little useless.

Your eyes could not curse something without you even seeing it, so the advantage you should be giving your friends became a disadvantage. When you caught them with your bare eyes during times you brought down your glasses, you would accidentally curse them, making their movements slow for a second before you turned your eyes away.

It was too dangerous to risk a second of movement, yet here you were, wasting the precious seconds of your friends during a fight. If only there was a way to choose who gets affected by your curse.

You saw Inumaki kneel down as he used a more powerful curse, splatting blood. "INUMAKI!" You shouted, using the free time that you had to quickly rush near him. Because of all the curses dying from his words, we were all given time to breathe.

You kneeled to him and placed a hand on his back. "You good?" You asked, rubbing circles behind his back while observing your surroundings. He gave no response and only continued to breathe heavily, his eyes looking wildly wide.

"Inumaki...? Can you hear me? Guys!" He continued to give no response for some reason, even after your continuous questions to him. He didn't even spare eye contact or any form of a sign that he knew you were there.

After turning to everyone else, they went near the two of you, all of them looking battered, tired, and bloody, their eyes pooling with concern.

"Inumaki..." You continued to shake him, trying to catch his attention. It didn't work. "Toge!" You shouted, still no response.

With another rumble of the ground, all of you turned to the three curses who were now dancing in a ritual-like manner at the far end of the domain. You can confirm that these three white curses were the only curses all of you commonly saw. They must be the users of whatever technique was used inside the domain.

"Toge! Answer me!" You shouted at him, your voice shaky as a lump of pained tears formed in your throat. You cupped his cheeks, the blood oozing from his mouth spread to your hands. You looked him directly in the eye, wiping his bloody mouth with the cuff of your sleeve.

His eyes were misted as if he was in some trance. He looked frightened and exasperated, dotting wildly all around him, his breath erratic and quick, almost as if he was terribly nervous.

"[y-y/n]..." He muttered under his breath.

"Yeah? I'm here! Toge? Toge!" Still, his eyes were somewhere else.

" He started to say, but coughed up and vomited blood from the stress it caused on his throat that gave up.

His blood splattered on your uniform, making the dark blue color acquire a darker shade, as the blood spread all over you.

"Toge snap out of it!" You bit your lip, holding back the tears forming in your eyes and the heat you felt on your throat.

"[y/n]." Maki finally said, looking down at you as you continued to wipe the blood from Inumaki's mouth.

"Let's leave Inumaki here first. We need to think of a plan." She explained, her expression and eyes painted with concern.

"O-Okay..." you replied, letting his face go.

"Illusion. He must be under some sort of illusion." Megumi hypothesized, earning a nod from everyone.

"Do you guys see them too?" Yuta asked, pointing at the three curses who continued dancing their ritual.

"Yeah," Panda responded, everyone else nodding.

"They took down Toge first since he was our MVP. These curses... They're smart." Panda continued.

"I'll fire arrows. Once we get their attention, we attack head-on. Panda and Megumi's shikigami should take the lead in case they can attack long range." You said, earning approval from the rest while wiping your face from the small tears that formed and fell.

"[y/n], save your crying for later." Maki said sternly, her hand making contact on your back harshly with a slap, making you stand straight.

"That's right. Inumaki's still alive. I'm sure Gojo-sensei can do something about this later." Yuta assured, Putting a hand on your shoulder.

"Let's focus and defeat them first, [y/n]." Panda gave you a thumbs up, his black eyes kind.

"We're still here, senpai. We can do this." Megumi stated confidently, his hand preparing to cast a shadow.

"Yeah...!" You gave them a determined nod, your eyes focusing on the curses as everyone prepared.

"On the count of three..." You got three arrows, placing all of them on your bow and pulling them back with the string.

"1...2...3." You fired the arrows after, catching the attention of the three curses who halted their dance as they saw your arrows whiz towards them.

Everyone ran towards the three white and long-haired curses, each preparing their own attack.

The arrows were easily blocked by the three curses using their cursed energy, breaking them before it hit their bodies.

The three of them scattered, distributing themselves among us five. But before they did, you brought up your glasses, making their movements slowed to give Maki and Yuta a chance to attack with their weapons.

Before the two of them entered your vision, you blinked so that they don't get slowed down by your curse. Wiping your eyes, you opened them again to see Yuta and Maki taking down two of the white and long-haired curses.

The last remaining curse shrieked, a horrendous shriek of pain, then before you knew it, you were in another place.

"Guys...?" You called out to them but got no response. Was this another illusion?

The place was like a labyrinth, a maze of pure earth. It looked like an underground tunnel of some sort.

Then your nose smelled it. The smell of humans. But these humans were not your friends, because if they were, you'd be too familiar with it. But this scent was unfamiliar, but definitely a human's.

You followed the scent, sniffing around like a dog. Your heart remained hopeful, that these were the missing children, all complete and kept safe from the curse.

But to your horror, as you followed the scent, the smell of death came with— wafting in the air and getting stronger as you go.

This was not your first time encountering dead bodies on a mission. In fact, most of your missions have deaths on the scene, some grotesque and terrifyingly inhumane. But if you were to be honest, you didn't care about it that much. Some people deserved to die in such a horrible way if you were to be frank, but you did pray for the peace of their souls in the afterlife.

Their disfigured bodies would sometimes haunt you randomly at night, during times when you feel a little down, and sleeping would be proven troublesome. But to you, it was nothing but a little nightmare that comes with being a sorcerer.

Yet today, was different. This mission was different.

You rushed to two small girls, probably both three years old, sitting down at the corner of the room, where the other two were already dead. But inspecting each one, the other two looked like they only acquired recent injuries, and looking closely they were still breathing.

But the two children dead reminded you of what you left before you entered Jujutsu High. It reminded you of your mother's kid— your step-sister— who was so innocent and carefree, not knowing what the world holds for her yet.

Although you weren't close with the two of them, you had one goal when you entered Jujutsu High. And that goal was to make sure the two of them get to live a normal life.

But the two children who remained brutally lifeless on the floor reminded you that there were constant threats that would disrupt that goal. There were so many things that you couldn't prevent, and one day, you may defeatedly look at their bodies like that of these two children.

Kneeling to the two injured children who were losing blood, you talked to the other two.

"Hey there. Aren't the two of you really brave?" You smiled kindly at the two little girls who were alive and well, although they seemed very confused and scared as to what was happening around them.

"I'm here to rescue you. Let's get out of here and go back to mommy and daddy ok?" You turned to them while tending to the injuries of the slightly older children with what you have right now. And all that you had were your arrows and your clothes.

So ripping parts of your skirt, you tied them tightly to compress the injuries and prevent them from losing any more blood. The other kid's arm looked broken too, so snapping the point of your arrow, you used its shaft to serve as a frame, and tied it to the child's broken arm.

You had no idea what to do after this.

Would you be able to go back here after leaving? Or rather, was there an exit in the first place?

You looked at the four children you had to guide out of here, and the other two dead.

Although you wanted to take the dead children with you, priority should be the four who are alive.

You stood up. Looking at yourself, you realized that you had a lot of slices here and there, together with bruises and grazes that made your skin look raw and bloody. You took the two injured children and carried one on each arm, immediately feeling the toll and heaviness. You struggled to balance yourself, but after you regained it, you turned to the two other children.

"Are you sisters?" They nodded.

"Okay. Hold on to my skirt very very tightly and hold each other's hand okay? Whatever you do, never let go." You told them seriously, making them nod in response. They held each other's hand and the other girl held onto your skirt— so tightly that you swear it might fall off somewhere in the middle of running.

Painfully looking back at the dead children on the floor, you gritted your teeth and turned away, running off to where you originally came from.

Once you were back where you started, you didn't know what to do.

You were transported here in the first place, so you had no idea where you came from.

You took in ragged and exhausted breaths, your body panting and shaking from tiredness. The two other girls looked tired too, seeing their paleness and uneven breathing.

Then, the ground rumbled. And in a blink of an eye, you were with your friends in a barely lit, vast, underground area.

"[y/n]! Where have you been?!" Panda exclaimed approaching you together with the others.

"Looks like all the illusions stop once they die. We finished them off when you were gone." Maki explained, wiping sweat from her forehead.

"The children. Where did you find them, [y-y/n]-senpai?!" Megumi was asking, but you fell on your knees in exhaustion.

Panda claimed the two children from your arms, freeing you from so much weight. The other two girls continued to hold onto you, terrified expression still plastered on their faces while trying to figure out what was happening.

"Hello! Are you okay? Where are the others?" Yuta approached the two girls with charm and kindness, making their uneasiness seemingly go away.

"W-Wait! W-where's To...ge...?" You looked around frantically, your head spinning as you turned it around quickly, eyes darting everywhere you can look.

"He's there. He still looks a little puzzled, but he's doing okay, I guess." Maki said, stepping aside to reveal Inumaki lying down on the floor far behind them.

Immediately, you stood up and ran clumsily towards him.

"T-Toge! Are you okay?" Your eyes were wide and filled with concern as you knelt beside him, holding his arm.

"[y/n]..."

"Y-Yeah?!"

He sighed in relief.

"Leaf mustard?"

"I'm fine of course! Care about yourself more often! I thought I lost you for a second!" You told him, a little angry with a shake in your voice.

"... Gomen."

You stared with wide eyes as you looked him in the eye, taking in a deep breath.

Today was the first time he said your name. Today was the first time he spoke to you without using his safe words.

"You're making me cry..." You mumbled, voice muffled as you lay against his shoulder in an attempt to hug him while he was still lying down.

He laughed a little. "Ikura."

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"The other two children didn't make it huh..." Yuta said while the three of you with Inumaki were walking to take all of the children to the exit of the mall, where Ichiji and an ambulance were waiting for you... Megumi, Panda, and Maki all went down again with Gojo in hopes to find the bodies of the other two children.

"Salmon..."

"Well... We're lucky to even find 4 alive to be honest..." You said, holding the hands of the two small girls. The two injured children were being carried by Inumaki and Yuta.

The three of you just silently walked, looking down with empty and sad expressions. What a mission this was indeed.

Once you caught sight of the ambulance and Ichiji talking to the medical staff outside, your steps got faster, not wasting a minute to hand the children to get first aid.

And once they were safely inside the ambulance, all four of them were brought to the hospital, leaving with urgency.

"We found them..." You heard Megumi say from behind, walking with Gojo, Maki, and Panda. They too had downcast expressions as they walked, carrying the bodies. Megumi and Panda were holding one each, while Maki brought what looked like the children's belongings from inside wherever they were just in.

"At least the families found justice, and they could be buried in peace," Gojo said, rubbing his nape. He never knew his students would be this downcast after doing this mission. But he understood. They were merely children after all. And he too valued the youth that each child should experience. But as we all know, the world isn't always fair.

__________________

After getting first aid, changing to the uniforms that Ichiji brought, bagging the bodies, and talking to the families of the affected people with the guidance of both Ichiji and Gojo, all of you finally traveled to the car to get back home.

"Wow, the ride is bigger this time," Maki commented once you halted in front of a black Fortuner, Ichiji quickly entering to unlock it and start the engine.

You, Inumaki, and Panda all took a seat at the back, while Yuta, Maki, and Megumi all took a seat in front, right behind the driver's seat.

"This was one hell of a mission, huh!" Gojo commented as he settled down in the passenger's seat beside Ichiji, buckling on his seatbelt.

"Sure was..." Megumi replied, looking out the window as the car started running.

"We experienced a lot today... But I guess I could say it was nice going on a mission with all of you." You remarked, earning hums of approval from everyone.

Though this mission was taxing, both physically and mentally, at the end of the day it was a nice experience to go on a mission together with the people you considered your friends.

__________________

"Wake up~ We're homeee~"

You all woke up, rubbing your eyes as you felt the car coming to halt as Gojo greeted you all, peeking from his seat to turn on the car lights.

It was dark already, a whole day has passed. Today would probably remain unforgettable and would sit at the back of your mind, visiting on occasion to remind you of how not everything goes your way.

As for Toge, he would remember this to be the day he thought he'd lost you and everyone else he'd loved, only to be brought back to reality after a haunting illusion.

He now swears to do everything in his power to make sure that you, the one he loves, never leaves his side .

__________________

《》

"By the way Inumaki, what happened to you during the mission?" Panda brought up, suddenly remembering the time when Inumaki seemed so distant from the world— in his own where he seemed to be experiencing pain and sadness.

"... okaka." he shook his head, then remained silent.

"I guess you don't have to tell us if you really don't want to. But... we're here for you. All the time." You looked at him sincerely, your eyes filled with compassion and care for his wellbeing.

"[y/n]'s right. We are comrades after all." Maki continued, confidently nodding before taking a spoonful of her food.

"We'll always be here for each other. Right?" Yuta said, asking for everyone's reassurance.

"Of course." You, Panda and Maki said together.

Megumi stared in awe as he watched the five of his senpais reassure each other in camaraderie.

"You guys are amazing..." he muttered under his breath before taking another mouthful of food.

You heard him, seeing you were seated beside each other.

"That's why when you get classmates, make sure you be like us, kohai!" You said with confidence, patting Maki's back to back you up, making her abruptly swallow her food.

"Yeah that's right, that's right! We're such good examples!" She said, and the two of you basked together in flattery and proudness, your egos as senpais boosting higher than they already are.

"Er... on second thought... You're kinda like Gojo-sensei now..." He muttered again, a sweatdrop forming on his head as he saw your reactions.

"WE'RE WHAT?"

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a/n: alert! megumi x reader alert ! i update it every monday but once i get less busy i might start posting every 5 days as well like sagashidasu and tada no tomodachi 😌