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“So what do we do? We already had a set plan, but we have another member now. Changing strategy now would be difficult.”
“Well,” Panda turns to him “That depends on Yuuji, and whether Izuku is going to end up showing up or not.”
Yuuji tilts his head, he doesn’t recognise the name, “Izuku? Is he another second-year?”
“Hah? You mean that blindfolded-dimbo hasn’t told you?” Maki-senpai scowls, “He’s the fourth first-year.”
Yuuji blue screens, he didn’t hear her wrong, right? Gojo-sensei had told him there was only 2 other first-years, and he hasn’t heard of a another student his whole time as a sorcerer. He looks to Fushiguro, he doesn’t look surprised at all, neither does Kugisaki. Was he the only one out of the loop?
“Fushiguro! Kugisaki! Don’t tell me you guys knew and didn’t tell me!” Yuuji exclaims.
Kugisaki points a finger at him accusingly, “Well if you weren’t playing dead you would have known!”
“I thought it was common knowledge.” Fushiguro says.
Yuuji gapes at them, “Gojo-sensei told me there were only three first-years! And I’ve never even seen another student our age around here!”
Maki-senpai wacks him on the back of his head, “Of course you haven’t! He’s on a long term assignment, he only stops by late at night on the weekends to report back.”
“Tuna tuna.”
Yuuji turns, along with the others in the room, to see Inumaki-senpai pointing to his phone screen. Panda squints his eyes, reading the texts on the screen.
“Izuku just texted saying he’s just arrived. He said he was able to get a few days off for the first event.”
Maki-senpai smirks, “That makes things better for us. If we have Izuku, it won’t even be a question on whether or not we win”
The others nod along, visibly more confident in their stances once the participation of the mysterious fourth student has been confirmed. Yuuji is feeling more left out by the second, the others have yet to explain anything further on ‘Izuku’.
He tentatively raises a hand, “Um, is he really strong.. or something? Is it his cursed technique?”
Fushiguro sends Maki-senpai a look, and shakes his head. She scoffs in return, rolling her eyes, “I’m not stupid, Fushiguro,” she mutters lowly, side-eying the marks on his face. “Izuku is like me in a way…I wear these glasses,” she gestures to the square glasses on her nose “because I have so little cursed energy, that I can’t even see curses. In return, my strength and reflexes are enhanced. Izuku, on the other hand, has no cursed energy at all- a heavenly restriction stronger than my own that grants him senses so enhanced that he can sense curses instead of needing to see them. He’s strong enough that once he graduates, he has the potential to defeat Gojo Satoru himself.”
“If we have you and him teamed up against Todo, instead of leaving ‘shiguro to deal with him, it’ll be an easy take out. The biggest threat of their team would be eliminated within a few minutes,” Maki-senpai finishes without the slightest hint of doubt in her voice. Panda butts in, “But Itadori, hasn’t told us what he can contribute.”
Yuuji stammers, after hearing about the proclaimed strength of his fellow student, he’s starting to doubt his abilities. He shakes the thought out of his head quickly though, doubting himself won’t get him anywhere.
“I- uh, I can punch things really hard!”
The second-years stare at him blankly. “We’ve got enough of idiots who can punch hard already…” Maki-senpai grits out.
Fushiguro speaks up to (hopefully) defend him, but before he can get a word out, the door slams open, banging against the wall and bouncing back, a firm hand stops it from closing again. A short, green-haired boy stands under the frame, he wears the standard blue school uniform pants with a tight black tank top that hugs his muscular frame, a navy jacket ties around his waist- his hips twists slightly, the glint of metal revealing itself underneath the fabric. He smiles charismatically, eyes crinkling into crescents, he rubs a hand on the back of his head- drawing his eyes to the numerous scars on his exposed arms, “Ah, c’mon guys! I’m sure Itadori’s strength will be plenty contribution!”
Fushiguro greets him, unfazed by his sudden entrance, a rare smile on his face, “Izuku, it’s nice to see you again.”
“‘Shiguro! It’s been a while! Sorry for not stopping by more, been busy with the mission, y’know?” Izuku greets back, his bright smile never faltering.
“That’s Izuku?!” Kugisaki complains “He’s a short-stack!”
“Oh! You must be Kugisaki! I’ve heard a lot about you, you’re technique is really interesting. I’ve always wondered if-“
“Izuku,” Fushiguro interrupts “save the questions for later, we have to plan for the event.”
“Sorry!” Kugisaki glares at him, unimpressed “But the plans simple isn’t it? Just leave me ‘n Itadori with Todo while you guys take care of the others.”
Maki-senpai nods, “That’s what we were planning, but,” she glances at him “I’m not sure if Itadori can keep up with you, he might be dead weight.”
“Itadori is strong, I can vouch for him. I’d say… if he fought all of us, with no cursed techniques, he’d win.”
“Well if ‘shiguro says so, then we should best believe in him!” Izuku exclaims.
“Fine, Itadori and Izuku can take on Todo, the rest of us can focus on scouting andexorcising curses.”
“Hey Itadori!” Izuku suddenly appears behind him, Yuuji’s eyes widen- he didn’t even see him move. Izuku stands on his tip-toes to lean over his shoulder, his face right next to his, “How much control do you have over Sukuna? Can he hear what you hear? Can you block out what information he receives from your memory?”
Yuuji stumbles away from the boy, moving back so he isn’t so close, “I can control him, he won’t come out unexpectedly,” he reassures “but he can hear and know whatever I do.”
Izuku pouts, “Hm, that’s unfortunate… Oh, well! We can’t do anything about it!”
Yuuji never really thought of Sukuna knowing what he knows as unfortunate, out of all his other problems (like the fact that having the curse inside him is a slow death sentence) he never prioritised that one. It’s annoying, for sure, but not the worst thing he’s dealt with.
“Unfortunate?” he questions “It’s not that bad, I mean he doesn’t bother anyone with the information I know so..”
Izuku smiles at him, though this time it’s a little dimmer, “I guess unfortunate was the wrong to use- inconvenient then! It’s inconvenient to us.”
Yuuji gives him a confused look, “What does-“
“Izuku!” Fushiguro sharply cuts “That’s enough.”
Izuku holds his hands out placatingly, “Sorry, sorry- I’ll stop running my mouth. We should probably head out now before we’re late anyway, the event starts soon doesn’t it?”
Maki-senpai smirks, “Right, we’ve got a match to win.”
————
Yuuji runs beside Izuku along with the others in the forest, Izuku balances a wakizashi on his shoulder as he runs, the multiple other blades and weapons strapped to his body unmoving- with the way the green-haired boys steps evenly and lightly, it doesn’t surprise Yuuji in the slightest. He can tell he’s holding back in his speed to run along with the others, it makes Yuuji all the more curious on his real combat ability. Turns out he’s not the only one curious about him.
“Oi brat.”
Yuuji cringes as Izuku turns slightly to face him, he sees the moment Izuku spots the mouth and eye on his face- the boy’s eyes widen slightly in surprise.
“What’s your last name?”
Out of everything, Yuuji hadn’t expected that to be the question Sukuna wanted an answer to. To be fair, Yuuji had also been wondering why Izuku hasn’t introduced himself along with a last name, but it wasn’t something that Yuuji wanted to pry into. He had only known the guy for a day after all, people had their own personal reasons to things like these. Yuuji moves a hand to slap a hand against his face-
“It’s okay Itadori,” Izuku looks back ahead “It’s an honour to have the King of Curses take interest in me. I don’t have a last name, Sukuna, it’s just Izuku.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Fushiguro glances worriedly at the boy, but he doesn’t say anything. Yuuji wonders if he knows something that he doesn’t know.
“Don’t lie to me, brat. Your kind-“
“Watch out!”
A crash, dirt kicks up in a plume before revealing the bulking figure of Todo.
“Great! You’re all here, come at me all together!”
Yuuji doesn’t hesitate, running forward to leap in the air, delivering a knee directly to Todo’s face.
“Scatter!” he hears someone shout. And they do, at once- everyone immediately moves to clear away from the two of them.
Where’s Izuku?
The boy was supposed to stay behind with him to help take out Todo, but he doesn’t see the bush of green hair anywhere near him. Todo quickly recovers from his attack, pulling Yuuji from his thoughts, he just has to hold him off long enough for Izuku to show up.
“Nice speed,” Todo compliments, completely unfazed from his attack.
“Seriously? I though I landed a good one.”
“Good try, first year, I’ll return the favour now.” Todo sprints forward, nearly too fast for him to track- he rears back a fist, but even if Yuuji knows it’s coming, he’s not fast enough to dodge. Instead he crosses his arms to block, at the same moment a spider-curse swings in front of him. Todo punches straight through the curse, and into his arms- the fist sends him flying into the air and directly into a tree. He coughs out his spit, the impact of the solid wood behind him forces the air out of his lungs. He’s lucky the cursed spirit had gotten in the way, otherwise his arm would’ve blown off.
He barely lifts his head before a foot stomps directly on his face, the menacing smile of Todo stares down at him. Again and again, he stomps on his face, the force caves in the bark of the tree he’s leaning on. The wetness of blood trickles down his face- Where is Izuku? he thinks hazily as he slumps against the trunk.
The stomping stops. “Done already?” he hears footsteps walking away from him- no, he needs to do his part- “Now who should I pursue?”
Yuuji forces himself to stand, “Hey you! You think you can just pound away at my head like that!?” he angrily shouts “What if you made me even dumber than I already am?”
“Don’t worry,” Todo tilts his head “Takada-chan said that ‘Men are perfect when they’re a little dumb’.”
“Who’s that? I don’t know any idols.”
“Then how did you know she’s an idol? What’s your name, first-year?”
Yuuji crouches down into a half-stance, “Itadori Yuuji.”
“I see. Itadori Yuuji,” Todo copies his stance, beckoning a hand “What kind of woman is your type?”
“Huh? What’s my type?” he asks incredulously “Why are you asking me that now?”
“Don’t worry about that.”
“Well if I had to choose, I’d have to say…a tall woman with a big ass, like Jennifer Lawrence.”
Todo leans his head back, and starts crying (?), “It seems…we’re best friends.”
What is wrong with this guy? “When you just learned my name?!”
BANG
Yuuji reflexively dodges the incoming bullet, not stopping his movements as more bullets follow right after. He runs across the small clearing to avoiding the attacks.
“New Shadow Style, Simple Domain: Quick draw!”
Yuuji flips over the sword, landing on his hands before springing to his feet. He whips his head back and forth- he’s surrounded on all sides.
Are these guys…trying to kill me?!
A barely audible rustle sounds behind him, he takes the risk of taking his eyes off the opponent and glances back- is that?
Green hair, and a bright smile greets him, this time the boy wields two swords, one in each hand.
“Sorry I’m late guys! I hope I didn’t miss out on too much!”
The Kyoto students startle at the sudden appearance of Izuku, none of them had sensed him coming. Judging from their reactions, they don’t recognise him at all- the knowledge of a fourth student hadn’t reached the other school.
“You… that boy has no cursed energy at all,” the student with a drawn bow says disbelieving.
“Hah? Just another Maki then? This’ll be easy,” Maki-senpai’s twin (he presumes) smirks.
“No. He has zero cursed energy at all.”
“So he’s like..”
The student nods.
“Shit- we need to retreat. There’s no point in wasting effort here.”
And to Izuku’s disappointment, and to Yuuji’s surprise, they do retreat- leaving Todo, Izuku and him in the clearing.
Izuku sighs, “Damn, I was hoping for some kind of fight.” The boy turns to Todo, who nods at him with acknowledgement, “Todo, I hope you’ll keep your promise.” Izuku glances at the blood in his forehead, “Though, try to keep the injuries to the minimum please.”
“No injuries, mean no improvement, Izuku.”
“I know, just keep it to a minimum.”
Yuuji exchanges looks between the both of them, not understanding a thing that’s going on. “What’s going on?”
Izuku plops himself on the floor, legs crossed, a hand supporting his cheek- both of his blades have been sheathed on his back in a fluid motion.
“I’m going to help you improve, Itadori Yuuji. Or rather, Todo is- and I’m going to sit here and watch.”
————
Yuuji was starting to dislike Izuku a bit- only a bit- because he couldn’t stay angry at that bright face for too long. But right now, as he’s getting beat up by Todo- Izuku just sitting and watching - he’s getting a bit mad at his fellow student.
But then, he did start improving, just like Izuku has said. Yuuji felt his own curse energy rise, it had felt so foreign that he hadn’t believed it was his own at first. He saw Izuku smiling in the corner, so this is what he wanted. He learns of ‘Black Flash’, something that seems impossible, but Yuuji was never one to give up.
Yuuji aims to throw a punch at Todo’s stomach when Izuku suddenly stands. He stops his attack immediately- it’s the first time seeing Izuku look so serious.
“Todo, do you sense that?” he asks evenly, not taking his eyes off the forest.
“A special-grade.”
Without warning, Izuku crouches down, one leg straightened behind him- tensed like a coil, then he pushes off the ground, leaving a plume of dust and runs into the forest. Yuuji doesn’t have time to admire his speed, Todo slaps him on the back and tilts his head towards Izuku’s direction. He gets the message; follow him.
————
Izuku was lucky that Aizawa-sensei had let him off for a day. He had told him that he had an ‘important family event’ to attend- which wasn’t a lie, he does consider some of the students at Jujutsu High as his family, and he is going to an event, just not the type his Sensei thinks. He had surprisingly agreed almost immediately, Izuku was expecting his Sensei to put up more of a fight, considering that the Summer Training Camp is coming up soon.
Izuku is grateful that Aizawa-sensei that he was allowed to attend, very much so- Izuku had been dying to meet the infamous Itadori Yuuji since the start of the year, but Gojo-sensei had told him ‘not yet’ with that stupid grin of his. You’d think that being around that man for so long would make you used to his childish attitude, but in reality- it just got more annoying as time goes on. Don’t get him wrong though- Izuku still respects Gojo-sensei a lot, especially all that he’s done for him, but he can’t deny that he gets on his nerves at times. Izuku is not only grateful that Aizawa-sensei for letting him attend the event so he could meet Itadori, but also because he gets to beat a Special-Grade curse’s ass.
When he had sensed a foreign abundance of cursed energy further down the forest, Izuku hadn’t hesitated to sprint towards the source, unsheathing his wakizashi’s as he travels. He arrives at the scene- Fushiguro hunched over with a sprout growing out his stomach, and Maki-senpai getting squeezed with overgrown vines.
“Maki-senpai!” Izuku cries, leaping over the curse’s head, flipping and driving both his blades into the vines holding his senpai. Maki falls, no longer held up by the branches, and joins ‘shiguro by his side. Izuku falls into a stance, his blades hovering by his sides, moving so he’s in between the curse and his classmates. The curse in front of him is strangely familiar. The flowers, antlers and grey tone of its skin isn’t a new sight,
“Izuku-kun!” Gojo-Sensei holds a sheet of paper to his face, two childish drawings shows- one of a volcano (?) and one of a grey face with a big cloth by its head “These are two unregistered Special-Grade curses, don’t be too surprised when you run into them, yeah?”
“‘shiguro! Is this the Special-Grade Gojo-sensei was talking about?”
The boy nods in his peripheral, clearly in pain, “The teachers might be here soon, don’t use-“
“Got it! Won’t use it unless I’m about to die! Itadori and Todo will be here soon, so leave the curse to me for now and get some medical attention.”
“Maki-senpai take care of him!”
“Wait, Izuku!”
He turns to Fushiguro, a bright smile on his face, he tries to reassure him with his unwavering grin; nobody will die today. Izuku can’t die, not with so many people waiting for him at U.A, and he’d damn himself before he lets someone die on his watch, “I’ll be fine, ‘shiguro, I’m strong, remember?”
The curse is starting to lose its patience, Maki-senpai must realise it to, because she throws Fushiguro’s arm over her shoulder and lugs him away, “Don’t die, Izuku!” she yells over her shoulder.
“Just go already, senpai!”
“8()al%- #(k’;lkim @15-*’..%”
“Enough talking already.”
Izuku tries not to cringe, the voice directly translating in his head is disorienting and unnatural. He crosses his blades, letting them clang together, “Put up a good fight, yeah?”
The curse doesn’t bother with a reply, instead it throws a hand in the air, a large intertwined trunk of wooden branches shooting out the ground with the movement- its fast, but not faster than Izuku. He leaps into the air to dodge, raising his swords above and letting them simultaneously swing down- his sword connects with flesh, cutting straight through the arm of the curse. Izuku dropkicks the chest of the curse to send it flying back and letting the momentum to give distance between the two. The curse clutches it’s arm as it kneels, it’s face twisted into a snarl, “Those blades…”
“Are Special-Grade, specifically made to dice up things like you.” he finishes with a smirk. He points both blades to the curse, cocking his head to the side, “You’re lucky I’m out of practice, it’s been awhile since I’ve exorcised a Special-Grade.”
“Don’t be so cocky, sorcerer,” the curse’s arm regenerates as he speaks, only entertaining Izuku with a conversation to stall for a little time.
“Ah, well- Gojo-sensei is a bad influence on me.”
This time, the curse doesn’t reply, ripping off the cloth on its side with its regenerated hand, revealing another arm- black in colour. It throws two hands out, sending a much stronger attack than earlier. It had realised the threat Izuku possesses. Foregoing taking to the air again, he runs across the wood aiming to rip him in half- trying to close the distance between them. The surface beneath him constantly shifts to throw him off, it makes it difficult to get close to the curse- his wakizashi’s won’t be useful in this situation. It’s a good thing he’s packed for the occasion, he thinks, as he sheathes his blades- moving his tied jacket to grab the weapon he needs by his waist. His fashion choices wasn’t only to look cool, he doesn’t have the means to store his weapons in shadows like Fushiguro, instead his keeps his arsenal hidden underneath the folds of his jacket.
Izuku’s high into the air now, sprinting across the wood the curse produces, his second favourite weapon in his hand. He points the gun to the curses head, aiming from the vantage point he has- the curse doesn’t have eyes, but he can imagine the surprise it would show if it did. He pulls the trigger twice, one for each eye branch- the bullets hit its target with ease, and the two twigs fly off in opposite directions. The curse rears back and releases the platform he’s on. Izuku doesn’t panic as he falls through the air, even as the curse sends thinner, sharper branches to pierce him- he holsters his gun and pulls out his blades again, cutting through the branches in a whirl storm. He dive-bombs towards the curse the moment the attack is countered, he positions his blades behind him so it can’t read his attack- it leaves his torso open, but injuries are inevitable, no matter how strong he is. A thin branch pierces him straight through his stomach, he feels it move in him as it twists and pierces him again in the back. The single branch draws him in so he can’t move to dodge unless he aggravates the branch, it doesn’t matter- Izuku wasn’t planning to retreat anyway.
At the last second, he swings his blades to cut the curse in half diagonally, he feels the metal of his sword connect with flesh, he grins- Izuku has won.
The ground suddenly rumbles, another attack? That can’t be it- the curse shouldn’t be able to send another attack so soon. The ground suddenly sprouts a field of flowers- Izuku drops his weapons, what was he doing? The flowers- the flowers smell nice… so pretty..
“IZUKU!”
He snaps out of it immediately, Itadori’s voice pulling him out of the spell, he’s distracted for a split second, but a split second was more than enough for the curse. The curse grabs him by the neck and throws him across the clearing, he doesn’t have his swords in his hand to defend himself. He lands harshly into a riverbank, the water soaks his clothes and the stones dig into his wounds. The sudden force of the throw had ripped the branch holding him in place away from the main branch. Izuku looks down to inspect his stomach, two ends of the branch sticks out in different places on his stomach- if he would put a hand to his back he would feel the U-shaped wood protruding out his body.
Izuku stands back up, pushing the pain of his injury to the back of his head. He takes out his duo pistols and runs back to the fight. It’s doesn’t take him long to get there, arriving in less than a minute. He doesn’t announce his presence, taking the advantage of having no cursed energy and keeping hidden from the curse for as long as he can. Itadori and Todo don’t notice him either, too busy fighting the curse- well Itadori is fighting, Todo is standing to the side, watching. He hangs back, watching Itadori stand before the the curse with such intense concentration that he starts to drool. The Special-Grade dashes foward, manifesting a multitude of roots from the ground, Itadori moves to meet it in the middle, a fist reared back,
“Black Flash!”
A bright light, black in colour blinds them all for a split second, the attack punches through the roots and hits the curse’s torso. It pushes it back and Izuku takes the opening, pointing his two pistols at the curse- pulling the triggers with a ‘Bang!’ and sending the bullets to the chest of the curse. He keeps firing until he hears an empty ‘click’, signalling the empty cartridge. Izuku’s surprise attack leaves the curse’s chest ridden with holes- it’s not enough to exorcise a Special-Grade, but it’ll definitely slow it down.
“Izuku! You’re here!” Itadori falters slightly at seeing his still-bleeding stomach, but shouts excitedly nonetheless.
“Of course I am! You really think a small injury like this can keep me down?”
“If we all work together we can definitely exorcise this curse!”
Izuku nods confidently, “No doubt in that, Itadori.”
Todo glances at his stomach, then to the stumbling curse, “Are you going to-“
“No. Not with him here,” he says, resisting the urge to glance at Itadori. “You guys can do close-range while I support from the back, I can’t get close without my wakizashi.”
“Don’t you have any other weapons?” Itadori asks.
“I do, just not special-grade ones.”
“Zen’in told me her staff was left in the river. I don’t know where your swords went, but if you go back there and get her weapon you can land the final blow on the curse.” Todo tells him.
It’s not a plan he likes, he would prefer to not leave his classmates behind, but he reminds himself that these two are sorcerers, not heroes-in-training, these two train to face the same things he does. He nods, ‘Playful Cloud’ is the easiest way to land a final blow on the curse, so he runs without another word, trusting his fellow sorcerers to stay alive for another few minutes.
The trek back to the river is slower than his trip from it earlier, the wound in his stomach is starting to effect him more and more with each movement- and it aggravates the branch inside him, with his enhanced senses he can feel the wood shifting the organs inside him, it’s unpleasant, painful, but it’s not the priority right now. He arrives at the river, scanning the bank for the signature bright red of the staff. Izuku finds it quickly, the cursed energy it exudes is easy to spot. He wades through the water, and picks up the three-sectioned staff in the middle of the river.
He folds it up to hold it one hand and sprints back to Itadori and Todo, sweat drips down his face, as he forces himself to run back at full speed. Ignore the pain, ignore it. He takes to the trees, arriving back at the fight from the air, he pushes off the tree branch,
“Move!”
Todo and Itadori back off, Izuku let’s the staff in his hand unfold mid-air and let’s the end of the staff smack into the face of the curse, putting in all his strength. Todo and Itadori had done a good job at wearing down the curse, it flies back from the simple hit, and lands into the forest Izuku had just emerged from. The curse growls at him with hatred, as he swings the staff around dramatically, “Miss me?” he taunts.
“You… you will be the first to die,” the curse slams a hand to the floor, sucking up the life around it. The grass withers and browns along with the trees around it. The curse’s arms twitches as he ‘powers up’, Itadori steps forward to intervene- Todo holds him back, “Don’t,” he warns “you’ll be caught in it.”
They’ve done their job, it’s time for his Sensei to do his.
The ground rumbles, Izuku braces himself for the incoming destruction. He can hear the phantom echo of ‘purple’ as a surge of power rips through the dirt and forest. The flash of light is tinted purple as it passes by him and through the curse, it leaves the man-made ravine in the ground smoking as it clears- he doesn’t see any remains in the hole. He hopes the curse is dead, it would be a pain if he had survived that level of destruction.
“Was that… Gojo-sensei?”
Izuku nods, clutching his throbbing stomach, the last of his adrenaline leaves him,“Mhm, th-that man doesn’t hold back does he...”
Itadori startles like he had forgotten Izuku was next to him, “Izuku, you need a-“
Izuku doesn’t hear the rest of his sentence, blacking out as soon as he deems it safe to do so.
————
Izuku wakes up in a infirmary. At first he thinks he’s at U.A, then he remembers the shit-show that was the school event. Man, Aizawa-sensei is going to be so pissed at him when he finds out he got injured at a ‘family event’.
He sits up slowly, blinking the blurriness out of his eyes. His vision clears, revealing the three frozen figures of his classmates eating pizza on Fushiguro’s bed. They seem to be in a middle of an argument, because Kugisaki is hovering a fist behind Itadori’s head, and the boy is ducked down, mouth half-open for a retort.
“Ah, am I interrupting something?”
Fushiguro sighs tiredly, sending a glare to the two of them before facing back to Izuku with a much nicer face, “They’re just being stupid, don’t mind them Izuku.”
“Hey why are you so much nicer to him!” Kugisaki demands angrily.
Izuku laughs, rubbing a hand to the back of his head, “That’s cause ‘shiguro ‘n I grew up together!”
Itadori gapes at him, “Wha! No way! Does that mean Gojo-sensei took you in too?”
He nods, ignoring the look Fushiguro sends him, “Yup! Gojo-sensei has a habit of picking up random children. He found me wondering around after my cl- my parents died, I don’t think it was a coincidence he found me though, everything that Sensei does is never really a coincidence.”
Of course, he knows it wasn’t a coincidence that Gojo-sensei had found him, he’s just saying whatever to throw Itadori, or specifically Sukuna, off. Itadori, in an attempt to sympathise with him, exclaims, “Oh me to! Well he didn’t find me coincidentally, he did take me in though.”
“Oi greenie!” Kugisaki shouts at him suddenly “What kind of mission are you on that that makes you disappear for the whole year?!”
“Oh, I’m surprised ‘shiguro or Maki-senpai hasn’t told you yet, not surprised you haven’t checked the TV though, I know sorcerers never really pay attention to Heroes.”
“Heroes?” Itadori wonders “Are you..”
“Yup!” Izuku exclaims excitedly “I’ve been ordered to infiltrate the top Hero school in Japan, U.A!”