Subaru in JJK

Itadori Yuji's mouth closed on Sukuna's finger.

Time seemed to slow as Subaru watched from the shadows, his breath held. This was the moment everything hinged on—the pivot point of countless failed timelines.

A surge of malevolent energy erupted from Itadori's body, causing the air around him to distort and darkening the room beyond what was natural. His skin began to ripple, and veins bulged.

"Now we wait," Subaru whispered.

When Itadori looked up again, his face was transformed. Strange tattoo-like markings covered his face, and his eyes had changed, now bearing the unmistakable four eyes of Sukuna, the King of Curses.

"Finally," Sukuna's voice emerged from Itadori's mouth, deeper and dripping with malice. "After a thousand years..."

The cursed spirit that had been focused on Megumi suddenly seemed to sense the overwhelming presence. It turned away from the pinned sorcerer, focusing instead on the new threat.

Sukuna's smile widened. "Oh? You want to fight me?" He flexed Itadori's fingers. "This body is weaker than I'd like, but it will do."

The cursed spirit lunged without warning. Sukuna didn't even bother to dodge; he simply raised his arm up in a swift motion and shattered the creature with a single motion, its essence dispersing into black mist.

"Pathetic," he scoffed, then turned his attention to Megumi. "You're a sorcerer, aren't you? You might provide more entertainment."

Behind a fallen section of the ceiling, Megumi struggled to free himself, expression tense as he assessed the situation.

From their hiding place, Subaru whispered, "Get ready," to Beatrice. "If Megumi dies here, everything will fall apart."

Beatrice nodded, her small hands glowing faintly with cursed energy. "Just say when, I suppose."

But before either of them could make a move, Sukuna suddenly stiffened. His posture faltered, and his hand grabbed his jaw.

"What are you doing with my body?" the unmistakable voice of Itadoeis asked. "Give it back."

"How are you able to move?" Sukuna asked, visibly surprised.

After their conversation. The tattoos receded, and Itadori's normal features returned..

Subaru relaxed slightly. "He managed to suppress Sukuna," he said. "Just as he was meant to."

"That shouldn't be possible, I suppose," Beatrice said, narrowing her eyes.

"And yet it is," Subaru replied. "In this timeline and the original. It's what makes Itadori special."

"Should we intervene, then?" Beatrice asked, watching as Mrgumi prepared to exercise Itadori.

Subaru shook his head slightly. "Not yet. Let it play out."

Before Megumi could do anything, Gojo appeared with snacks in his hands

"What's the situation?" he asked

"Gojo-sensei?! What are you doing here?" he asked, whipping his head to him

"Yo!" Gojo said, raising his hand. "I wasn't supposed to come, but the higher-ups were throwing a fit, so here I am."

"But man, are you messed up?" he asked, pulling out his phone and taking pictures from different angles. "So did you get it?"

"Um," itadoir said, drawing his attention. "Sorry, but I ate it."

"For real?" he said, tilting his head

After assessing the situation, Gojo decides to test Itadori's control over Sukuna by allowing the curse to take over for ten seconds, easily subduing him and demonstrating his superior strength in front of his student.

After 10 seconds, Itadori regained control. "Oh, is everything okay?" he asked, wiping a little blood from his lip.

"I'm shocked. You really can control it," Gojo said, dropping the rubble floating around him.

"It's kind of annoying, though," Yuji said, hitting the side of his head. "I can hear his voice sometimes."

"It's a miracle; that's all he's doing," he said, walking up to him and touching the center of his forehead, knocking him out.

Subaru and Beatrice exchanged glances.

"Phase one is complete," Subaru murmured. "They will be taking him to Jujutsu Tech now, where Gojo will interrogate him if he wakes up normally."

"And then?" Beatrice questioned.

"Then we follow." Subaru's eyes remained fixed on Itadori. "Everything rests on what happens next."

"Gojo will take them to Jujutsu Tech now," Subaru said. "The higher-ups will sentence Itadori to death, and Gojo will propose his alternative, that Itadori consume all twenty of Sukuna's fingers before execution."

"A cruel fate, I suppose," Beatrice commented. "Delaying death only to ensure it comes later."

"Unless the timeline changes," Subaru replied. "That's what we're here for."

They watched as Gojo led both students to his car.

"We need to get to Jujutsu Tech before they do," Subaru said, turning away. "I need to make sure Principal Yaga makes the right decision."

"Another shortcut through the cursed realm, I suppose?" Beatrice asked, her tone indicating she wasn't looking forward to it.

"It's the only way to beat them there." Subaru led her into an alleyway, away from prying eyes.

Once they were alone, Beatrice extended her small hand. "Very well. Hold tight, I suppose."

Subaru held her hand, and immediately, the world around them distorted. Reality peeled away like old wallpaper, revealing a twisted dimension beneath—the realm where cursed spirits dwelled when not manifesting in the human world.

The cursed realm was a nightmarish mirror of reality—buildings warped into impossible geometries, colors bleeding into each other, and gravity working sideways or not at all. Whispers echoed from everywhere and nowhere, the voices of countless curses sensing their presence.

"They know you're human," Beatrice warned as they moved quickly through this distorted landscape. "Stay close."

Subaru nodded, keeping his eyes fixed ahead. This wasn't his first time navigating the cursed realm; each loop had required similar shortcuts, but the experience never got less unsettling.

Shadowy forms darted at the edges of his vision, curse spirits too weak to challenge Beatrice directly but hungry enough to try if given an opening. She kept them at bay with pulses of her own cursed energy, creating a bubble of protection around them both.

"You know," she said as they hurried along, "most cursed spirits would devour a human on sight, I suppose. Yet here I am, protecting one. Contract or not, it's quite irregular."

"You're not like most curse spirits," Subaru replied. "You were born from knowledge and isolation, not from human hatred or fear. That's why you can think beyond base instincts."

"Hmph. Flattery won't distract me from noticing how you're avoiding my real question, I suppose." Her drills bobbed as she floated alongside him. "What makes this mission worth dying for eighty-six times?"

Subaru's expression grew serious. "You know I can't share everything with you. Not yet."

"Can't or won't, I suppose?"

"Both." He touched the center of his chest where the curse mark pulsed beneath his shirt. "Every reset demands a cost: eighty-six tallies, eighty-six pieces of myself that I will never reclaim."

"Yet you keep going," she noted.

"I don't have a choice." His voice was flat. "Not if I want to prevent what's coming."

They reached a place where the warped reflection of Jujutsu Tech loomed before them—a twisted mirror of the school, its architecture bent and folded like origami.

"Here we are," Beatrice said, raising her hand toward what appeared to be a tear in reality. "Ready?"

Subaru nodded, and together they stepped through.

The grounds of Jujutsu Tech were quiet under the moonlight. Subaru and Beatrice emerged from a shadowy corner, their sudden appearance undetected by the school's barrier techniques—a benefit of Beatrice's unique composition as a curse spirit.

"How long until they arrive?" she asked.

Subaru checked his watch. "Twenty minutes, give or take. Gojo likes to take the scenic route when he's showing off to new students."

"And what exactly are we doing here, I suppose?"

"Ensuring the timeline progresses correctly." Subaru led her toward the main building, moving silently through the shadows. "In loop seventeen, they executed Itadori immediately. In loop twenty-three, they assigned him to Kyoto instead of Tokyo. Both led to disaster."

"And how do you plan to influence their decision? I doubt you can simply ask, I suppose."

A humorless smile crossed Subaru's face. "Sometimes the subtlest nudge is all it takes." He paused, listening to voices coming from an open window above. "The meeting is already starting. The jujutsu higher-ups move quickly when it comes to potential threats."

Inside the room, several figures were gathered around a table. Principal Yaga, Gojo's direct supervisor, Ijichi, and representatives from the Jujutsu Council. They were discussing the incident at Satozakura High School, unaware that their decision would alter the course of events to come.

"The boy consumed a finger of Sukuna," one council member was saying, his voice tight with concern. "By all rights, he should be executed immediately."

"That would be wasteful," Principal Yaga countered. "If he can control Sukuna's power, he could be an invaluable asset."

Subaru's eyes narrowed as he listened carefully. This was the critical moment. In previous loops, the council had at times been too persuasive and overly focused on immediate execution.

"We need to tip the scales," Subaru whispered. He closed his eyes, concentrating as he extended his Invisible Providence upward, through the open window, and into the meeting room.

With delicate precision, he used his unseen hands to nudge a file on the table—one containing reports on Itadori's physical capabilities. The file slid closer to Principal Yaga, opening just enough to reveal a page showing Itadori's exceptional physical test results.

Inside, Yaga paused mid-sentence as his eyes caught the data. "These numbers... they're extraordinary even without Sukuna's influence." He looked up at the council. "I propose we keep him here in Tokyo under Gojo's direct supervision. At least until we understand the full extent of his abilities."

The council members exchanged glances, but before they could object, the door swung open.

"Speaking of Gojo," Ijichi sighed, "he's here."

Gojo Satoru strolled in with his typical casual swagger, followed by a stoic Megumi.

"Sorry we're late," Gojo announced, not sounding sorry at all.

Outside, Subaru withdrew his Invisible Providence and stepped back, satisfied. "That should do it," he murmured.

Beatrice gave him a curious look. "All that for a simple file movement?"

"Small changes, big consequences," Subaru replied. "In the loops where Yaga didn't see those test results right away, doubt clouded his judgment."

A sudden surge of pain made him wince, his hand going to his chest where the curse mark burned.

"Subaru?" Beatrice's voice held rare concern.

"I'm fine," he said through gritted teeth. "Using my techniques just... aggravates it sometimes."

The curse mark was more than just a tally of his deaths, it was a growing corruption, spreading a little more with each use of his abilities. A reminder that his cursed techniques weren't meant to be used in tandem, that there was always a price to be paid.

From inside the room, they could hear raised voices as Gojo proposed his radical solution—allowing Itadori to live and consume all twenty of Sukuna's fingers before execution.

"He's always so dramatic, I suppose," Beatrice commented. "Does it work?"

"It will," Subaru confirmed. "Gojo's authority is too great for them to deny outright, and his logic is sound from their perspective. Control the vessel, gather the fingers, then dispose of the problem all at once."

The meeting continued, with Gojo dominating the conversation through sheer force of personality. Subaru nodded approvingly.

"We should go," he said. "There's nothing more we can do here tonight."

As they moved away from the building, Beatrice asked quietly, "Where do we go next, I suppose?"

"Junpei Yoshino," he replied. "We need to find him before Mahito does."

The name meant nothing to Beatrice, but she noticed something in Subaru's voice. Whoever Junpei was, he seemed crucial to the timeline—important enough for Subaru to risk another death if things went wrong.

"Very well," she agreed, extending her hand once more. "Lead the way, I suppose."

Subaru took her hand, and together they disappeared into the shadows of Jujutsu Tech, leaving behind no trace of their presence except for a slightly misplaced file.

Meanwhile, in the meeting room above, Itadori Yuji's fate was being decided exactly as Subaru had intended, marking the successful placement of the first piece on the board.

As they moved away from the building, Beatrice asked quietly, "Where to next, I suppose?"

"Junpei Yoshino," he said. "We need to find him before Mahito does."

The name meant nothing to Beatrice, but she realized something in Subaru's voice. Whoever this Junpei was, he was important to the timeline, important enough for Subaru to risk another death if things went wrong.

"Very well," she agreed, extending her hand once more. "Lead the way, I suppose."

Subaru took her hand, and together they disappeared into the shadows of Jujutsu Tech, leaving behind no trace of their presence except for a slightly misplaced file.

In the meeting room above, Itadori Yuji's fate was being decided exactly as Subaru had intended, the first piece successfully placed on the board.