Chapter Text
The sky over Tokyo was the kind God remade every time Adevel Silva looked up. A bright, nostalgic mosaic that shifted each time he saw it. It was the only thing that could quiet his heart without asking anything in return.
Walking the streets without fear and without a destination was a luxury he abused. Solitude was his best friend. History was his second. But only the history he judged worth carrying.
His phone buzzed in his pocket.
He stopped at the corner of the hospital block. One message. No emojis. No rambling. Just Yuji.
"Hey, Silva. Can you meet me at the hospital? The one where my grandfather is."
Adevel read it twice...
'Something bad happened.'
"Right away." He typed, and was already changing direction before the phone went back into his pocket.
He'd come to Japan at sixteen, telling himself it was for "more advanced studies." That was the version he told the immigration officer.
The truth was heavier.
He stopped trying to pick the right lie.
His family had let him go with little resistance.
By the time he reached the hospital, the sky had gone orange.
He sat on a lonely bench and pulled out his phone to tell Yuji he'd arrived. Didn't need to. Yuji was already walking toward him.
Their friendship was simple. Yuji scared off anyone who bothered the foreigner. Adevel did Yuji's homework. Yuji taught him Taido and kickboxing with his fists. Adevel tried to teach him Wing Chun from the internet and movies. It didn't stick.
"Oi! Silva!"
Yuji raised a hand in greeting. His tone was friendly. Adevel heard the crack under it.
"Oi there, Yuji."
Adevel stood up. "Anything happened?"
"No, nothing, it's just..."
Yuji looked away, searching for words that wouldn't come.
"People don't go to hospitals for nothing."
Adevel said. His voice was serious, not harsh. His hands stayed in his pockets like two hidden blades.
Yuji blinked at that. Then he breathed out.
"Alright, you got me. My grandfather. He... He died, earlier today."
Adevel's gaze softened. His shoulders dropped.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't worry."
Yuji's eyes were on the ground. He was holding tears back with his teeth.
"It's just that... I needed someone to... Help me out."
He said it like it hurt to speak.
"It's all right now." Adevel put a firm hand on Yuji's left shoulder.
"His legacy will live on. I'm sure of that."
He gave the shoulder a small shake, trying to make Yuji look up.
"Yeah..."
Yuji muttered, pulling himself back together.
His grandfather's last words sat in the air between them.
'You're strong. Help people. Die surrounded by people you love. Don't end up like I did.'
"Thank you, Adevel. You... You're a good friend."
Adevel's smile was barely there. Then he ruined it on purpose.
"You're welcome, Mr. Mirkinikov."
Yuji snorted. He hated that title. "Asshole..."
He pushed Adevel's hand off his shoulder like it was a bug.
Adevel laughed, victorious.
Before either could speak again, a boy rushed toward them.
Same age.
Spiky black hair.
Black jacket uniform. He moved like a soldier with life-or-death orders.
"Excuse me, Yuji Itadori. I have something to tell you. You have something very dangerous with you. Could you hand it to me?"
Yuji and Adevel looked at each other. The silent conversation was clear: 'Who the hell is this guy?'
"Uhh, what do you mean? I'm kind of in a bad mood right now—" Yuji started.
"That doesn't matter." The boy cut him off. No-nonsense. Finger pointing at Yuji's chest.
"You have a cursed object classified as 'special grade'. Please, give it to me."
Special grade.
The words meant nothing to Adevel. But the way the boy said them did... Like a prayer. Like a warning.
Adevel's eyes sharpened. Yuji frowned, remembering, and pulled a small box from his right pocket.
"Here. Is this what you're talking about?"
"Yes." The boy took the box, examined it fast, and exhaled like he'd been holding his breath.
"This is Sukuna's finger. It should never be within reach of teenagers. It's good that you didn't open it."
"Oh, right." Yuji nodded. "But this is just the box. The 'finger thing' is with my friends at school right now."
"What?!"
The boy nearly shouted. His face went pale for half a second before he locked it down. He stepped closer.
"Where are they? We need to get to them, now!"
"Hey, calm down, man."
Adevel moved to Yuji's side. Yuji looked between surprised and concerned. "What do you mean—"
"They're in danger!" The boy snapped. "That object... It's dangerous! Take me there, now!"
A tense second passed. Adevel and Yuji shared the same thought: 'This guy's NOT joking.'
"Alright, let's go. I know a shortcut." Yuji turned and ran.
The three of them tore through the empty streets, moonlight laying over everything, all the way to the school.
Yuji was fast.
Inhumanly fast.
The boy kept up, panting but silent.
Adevel wasn't.
He kept up on stubbornness and the cardio he’d been smart enough not to skip.
"Yo, who are you anyway?" Adevel asked as they ran.
"Fushiguro Megumi."
They reached the school gate.
"So..." Megumi caught his breath. "Where are they?"
"Second floor." Adevel said, sharp.
"Last room, near the library." Yuji added.
Megumi nodded.
"Stay here. It's too dangerous."
Yuji and Adevel looked at each other.
"Hell nah!" Yuji jumped the gate.
"Tsk! What a hastle...!" Adevel muttered, climbing after him.
The school was empty. Liminal. Wrong in a way Adevel couldn't name. That didn't surprise him.
What did was everything else.
'What is this 'cursed object'? A bomb? A disease? Like that kodoku curse Takeshi mentioned? If it's that bad, why is this Megumi guy going in alone?!'
Megumi stopped mid-step. The air felt like it remembered old sins.
Adevel stopped too, eyes flicking between Megumi and what he was staring at.
"Tsk! Told them to stay outside...!"
At the end of the hall were two things. Flesh. Worm-like. The size of dogs. Unnatural.
"What the..." Adevel breathed.
Megumi's shadow rippled and rose. It became two dogs. One black, one white. Red markings on their heads. German shepherd sized. They moved like blurs.
"Why did you follow me?!" Megumi growled at Adevel.
"To help you out!" Adevel shot back.
"Did you see those things?!"
Adevel thought for half a second.
"Yeah. Worms. What does the finger have to do with them?"
Megumi's eyes widened. Not at the words. At something behind Adevel.
He ran to the corner. Adevel followed.
Sasaki from the occult club was unconscious. Her glasses had fallen.
She was held in the lap of a shapeless thing with too many eyes, too many hands, too many mouths. Not something God had planned.
Megumi didn't flinch. He prepared to fight. A cold feeling ran down Adevel's spine.
"What is that thing?" Adevel whispered.
Fear. Unease. Then rage. He forced his brain to work.
'Hands. Legs. Megumi has power. Sasaki is light. I can carry her out. Now!'
Before he could finish the thought, Yuji dropped through the window on the right, broke the glass with his fist, and knocked the creature back.
He grabbed Sasaki and jumped to them.
No one spoke. Megumi and Adevel just nodded. Yuji was superhuman — but Adevel already knew that.
"I'll take her away!" Yuji said, running.
"Roger that." Adevel moved left.
Takeshi was there. Worse than Sasaki. A mouthy creature was trying to eat his head from the top down.
Adevel didn't think. He lunged.
"Help me..."
Takeshi fell into his arms.
Adevel tried to tear the thing off. Nothing.
He punched it. Elbowed it. Bit with all his might!...
The creature just seemed annoyed.
Then something fell from Takeshi's pocket.
A finger. Big. Ugly. Clearly evil. It fit the box.
Adevel didn't need to think again. He grabbed it, lifted it, and drove it into the creature's eyes.
It shrieked. Dark blood sprayed. It dissolved.
"C'mon now..." Adevel tried to carry Takeshi. He felt heavier unconscious.
Megumi was finishing off smaller curses when a 6-armed monstrosity, bigger than a person, charged him.
Too late to dodge.
It threw him through a wall.
The creature roared. Searching...
Yuji was back at Adevel's side, carrying Takeshi.
"Shit——! What the fuck are these things?!"
He looks at Megumi.
"Agh! That guy isn't in a good shape either..."
"I'll help him. You get them out of here." Adevel's grip on the Finger tightened.
"No!" Yuji protested. "You can't take that thing!"
Adevel ignored him and ran. "Oi! You want this, you unholy beast?! Come and get it!"
The creature roared again and charged.
Adevel dashed right — every muscle burning, sweat and adrenaline dictating his every action.
He jumped onto an arm and ran for its back.
"No, you moron!"
Megumi yelled, forcing himself up with his dogs.
"Get away! Don't let it eat that finger, or it gets stronger!"
The next few seconds blurred.
Adevel jumped off as it turned.
He tried to make it chase him off the building.
It was faster.
It caught his legs. Crushed.
Adevel grunted, stabbing with the Finger. Another arm lifted him.
The mouth opened.
"No..." Megumi whispered.
His dogs couldn't draw its attention.
Adevel looked at the Finger. Then at his mouth.
'Death gives flashbacks, huh... But I don't deserve this luxury.'
He swallowed it in one hard movement.
"No... This can't be..." Megumi whispered. Yuji came back just to get a front roll seat for what comes next.
Adevel's body flared with cursed energy too big to be his.
The creature's arms shattered. Adevel's wounds closed.
“I knew it!”
The voice roared from Adevel's throat. Ancient. Deep. Maniacal. A second pair of eyes opened under his own.
“Yes, yes... YES! The taste of moonlight... It is far better in human flesh!” The King opened Adevel's arms to the moon.
“What a wonderful era to be reborn in! So many women and children... Crawling around like maggots... It'll be a massacre!”
Megumi lay bleeding — paralyzed by terror.
Yuji was stuck. Something inside his soul said...
'This shouldn't be happening.'
"This... This can't be... He should've... He should've died..." Megumi stuttered.
"The cursed energy inside the finger is poisonous... The chance of surviving is one in a million..."
"What... What the fuck..." Yuji's fists clenched.
Sukuna turned to them.
Silence stretched.
He smiled.
“Ahhh~”
Adevel's hand moved to his own throat. His voice tore out.
"That body is not your temple to possess, you unholy creature!"
“What the fuck?! This isn't right...”
"You heard me!"
Megumi's hands lifted. Shadows swirled.
"Adevel Silva! I'm sorry, but you're too dangerous to live! In the name of the School of Jujutsu, I will exorcise you!"
A whistle. A hand on Megumi's shoulder.
"Jeez, you did a mess around here, huh?"
Satoru Gojo. Bag of sweets to Megumi.
"Don't eat them, ok~?"
The tattoos faded. Adevel was in control again. Gojo stretched.
"Hey, you there. Let the other guy out. I'm gonna deal with him."
Adevel blinked, dazed, and obeyed. Sukuna pulsed. Gojo was behind him.
"Y'know, I'm going to show off a little since my student is watching..."
Sukuna roared and destroyed everything where Gojo had been. Nothing touched him.
“Huh?!”
Gojo grinned, grabbed Sukuna's hand, and punched him straight in the jaw. Out.
Gojo slung Adevel over his shoulder.
"That guy must have some very bad karma, huh."
Megumi was shell-shocked. Yuji looked like a fish out of water.
"So... What should we do with him?"
Gojo's voice isn't playful anymore.
Megumi stops. He comes to his conclusion:
"We should keep him alive. Give him the choice."
Gojo's phone flashed on Megumi's face about twelve times.
"Man, you look like shit! I'm sending this to all the second years~~~!"