"[y/n] wake up..." You heard a knock on the door, followed by Maki's voice.

"Ikura." Inumaki followed, knocking on the door as well.

Finally, you decided to rise, rubbing your sore eyes open wide. You were greeted with the cold air coming from the air conditioner, instantly making you want to crawl back into your warm and comfortable bed, there with your stuffed toys.

"so... early... 7 am..." you said as you opened the door to Maki and Inumaki.

"It's 8. Mission at 9," Maki said, looking at you from head to toe. She realized that literally, you just woke up, seeing you with your blanket draped on your shoulders that reached the floor.

"early... come back later ... i sleep first..." your eyes were still closed with a frown on your face.

"Okaka... Tuna tuna." Inumaki said, poking your cheeks a few times, making you groan.

"Fine... I'll come out in a while." You said and closed the door after.

They remained standing outside your door.

"If she comes out, I swear to God you probably used a curse," Maki commented.

"Leaf mustard."

A thud was heard from your room. Maki looked at her watch; 5 minutes have passed.

"Ok, I'm ready." You said, opening the door to see them in the same position from minutes ago.

"Like I said Toge, you probably used a curse."

"Okaka."

"Hm?"

"Nothing. Let's eat breakfast, [y/n]."

_____________________

"Ohayo." Yuta greeted as the three of you entered the dining room.

"Ohayo." The three of you greeted back.

"Ah [y/n]. You're up. Mission at 9."

"I was informed. Why last-minute though?" you asked, taking a seat beside Yuta.

"Well... It technically isn't our mission..." Yuta said.

"Ah. Ah yes, Gojo-sensei's tough love for students. Ah yes." You commented, earning a click of the tongue from Maki and sighs from the rest.

The tatami door slid open. "Ohayo, senpais..." Megumi greeted.

"You're joining, Megumi?" You looked with wide eyes.

"Well, it's not like Gojo-sensei gave me a choice..." He said.

"Looking forward to working with you, Fushiguro-kun." Yuta said at the boy, earning a determined nod from Megumi.

"Please don't burden us." Maki commented, making all of us look at her with squinted eyes, except Megumi who was almost unfazed.

"Maki, you're being too mean," Panda whispered.

"I'm just being frank. We're not about to go on a mission with a newbie only for us to babysit him." Sometimes (well, maybe most of the time), Maki can be brutally honest and judgmental.

"I promise Maki-senpai, that I won't burden all of you. I came to Jujutsu High to prove myself after all." Fushiguro said, taking a seat beside Panda.

This made Maki smile a little, letting out a hum of approval. "I have a feeling that we'll get along."

____________________

"Ohayo! How are my precious students doing?" Gojo greeted us as we walked towards him who was at the exit of the school.

"Ah~ look at all of you going together on a mission. I've raised you well this past year~" he said, nodding to himself and boosting his own ego. "Mhm, mhm, maybe I really am very good at teaching."

"I don't think a good teacher would dump their work on their students though..." Panda muttered, making all of us nod in agreement.

"I told you this is for your own good! Isn't it exciting to go on a mission all together? You've only been paired with 2 at maximum. This time, you're a group!" he said excitedly.

"I suppose this is pretty exciting." You held your chin. You've only ever been on a mission with Yuta or Inumaki. You were often paired with Yuta because the two of you surprisingly worked well as a pair, and when he gets heated up and emits too much cursed energy, you act as his 'supervisor' to slow and calm him down. You and Inumaki were assigned together sometimes as well, especially when the mission indicates fighting a bunch of curses. The two of you are optimal at fighting a lot of average to low-grade curses and are weaker when it comes to fighting one strong one.

"So, what's the mission? Is it seriously worth sending a grade 4, grade 3, grade 2, two semi grade ones, and a special class?" Maki questioned, raising a brow at Gojo.

"Oh, you bet! There is the reason the mission was assigned to me in the first place," he replied with a thumbs up, making all of us suddenly anxious.

We'd be proven rightfully worried and concerned later, once we finally start the mission.

____________________

All of us stared with mild alarm as Gojo finished explaining the mission.

"Are you sure this shouldn't be done by you?" I asked with a frown.

"Don't worry. As Maki said, there are 6 of you students who would go together. Although that won't match my strength, all of you are pretty adequate if you work as a team. And if worse comes to worst, I'll be outside in the car!" He said.

This mission was really for Gojo. It was actually already started and investigated. The only part left was the action that was supposed to be done by Gojo.

To explain, in a mall in Tokyo, there were alarmingly several reports of children aged 3 to 6 missing. No bodies or traces were ever found about the now 6 missing children.

All of them gone through similar incidents before their disappearance— First, they would suddenly wander away from their parents in a way that looked as if they were being lured by something in the direction they were going to. Second, they would be found alone in either an uninhabited staircase or elevator. They would all travel down through the stairs or elevator until the security cameras would lose trace of their presence and location.

Hearing the story gave you chills. Through the investigation of Ichiji and Satoru, they found out that the children would be led to descend to the bottom-most part of the mall, where the curses would take the children, in a place most likely only seen by shamans. It was still unknown what grade the curse or curses were. The reason why the higher-ups sent Satoru for this mission was because he himself acknowledges that whatever curse or curses were in there were powerful.

But knowing Satoru, he probably knew there were special grades in there. If he would choose to dump a mission on his students, it would definitely be a very grueling one.

"Aren't people suspecting the mall? Or at least boycotting their lack of action? 6 missing children are a lot. Really, it's already a lot." Megumi asked.

"Well, you're right. It's also weird that no one is exactly minding the case of missing children. Only the parents were the complainants yet investigations suddenly stop shortly after the parents' report, then would act like it was almost nothing. If it was a big deal for the mall and the people themselves, this would be on national TV. But the thing is Megumi, that's what makes the curses residing in the mall powerful."

We all stared in shock and horror as Gojo muttered those last words in one of the grimmest manner you've heard.

"As of now, we've associated the lack of reaction with a possible curse technique. Could be mind manipulation, confusion, illusion, or something like that. That could be the curse technique. Isn't this such an exciting mission?" He then brightened up, contradicting his previous words and explanations.

We all just thoughtlessly stared.

"Mind manipulation... won't that mean the mission is super dangerous?" You asked. But Gojo's mind was already set.

"I won't let my students die because of my irresponsibility. I could at the very least guarantee all of you that." He said seriously.

All of you looked up at him, a sudden relief blowing into you. For some reason, this time, his words seemed genuine.

"If it's to save people—children, I'm willing to go," Yuta said.

All of us nodded. But something troubled you in the back of your head.

"But what if... What if we're too late... What if they're... dead..?" You said, speaking out the inner thoughts of everyone else.

"Then it would at least be your job to give them justice and save future victims," Gojo answered.

"Are you ready to go now?" He asked.

All of you nodded, following him to the car.

____________________

This is finally where the mission starts.

As soon as the car came to a halt and Ichiji announced your arrival at the mall, all the car's doors immediately opened.

All of you stretched your limbs, making small groans and sighs as you freed all of them. The feeling of electricity rushing through your right leg made your face look in utter distaste. You decided to step your foot down and deal with it, a small frown plastered on your face.

"Leaf mustard?" Inumaki asked, just as he asked before all your missions together start. It has become an unspoken routine of care and concern throughout the time, and you're not complaining. You knew all of them were there for you, but to be reassured by word greatly rivals that of unspoken promises. It was like a vow to be signed by one another— promises like 'I am here for you.' and 'I will be here for you too .' brought to meaningful life.

You were someone he knew to be visibly nervous before a mission, or at least for him, it was visible. And that routine helped you get over the unnecessary nervousness and anxiety that might affect your decisions and work ethics.

"Yeah, I'm not nervous this time! And again, I don't think we'll die!" You faced him confidently, his eyes becoming a little wider before he smiled with a feeling of pride. "Salmon!"

"Let's get going!" Gojo finally announces, walking ahead to lead you into the vicinity of the mall.

___________________

You were a little shaken to see that the mall was as busy as ever.

A dangerous mission was about to be conducted under the bottom-most part of the mall, and though most people probably won't reach down that area, It's still unsettling to see so many lives on the line if ever the curses go berserk and the mission goes out of hand.

Gojo should hopefully be truly reliable and responsible this time around.

Your thoughts were similar to all of your friends', making Gojo smile and say, "Don't worry, we at least have a permit to do this."

We used the elevator until it reached the maximum level of decent, then trekked the stairs down when there was no other option.

You passed through abandoned levels of the mall where the stalls are covered with cloth, and the shops were draped in tarpaulin. You never knew that not only lonely hospital hallways could carry the same eerie aura until you were walking through this empty part of the mall.

The last level of the mall was just an empty basement, tubes, ventilation, and wires decorated it, making the room hot. You shivered and had chills, making all of them look at you with questioning eyes.

"It reeks of cursed spirits. It's almost as strong as Yuta's scent." You said with a scrunched up nose. Though they could indeed feel the presence of a curse, they didn't infer as much as you did just from scent and aura, especially since Yuta was starting to emit his share of cursed energy as well. But you could feel it, smell it, sense it; this was going to be a difficult mission.

And the smiling Gojo in front of the six of you made it so obvious that yes, he knew what to expect about what you will be going through.

"Right you are [y/n]! Now, let's get into it shall we?" Gojo said, bending down and placing his hands on the floor. After a few seconds, the floor was punctured and a hole big enough for a person to jump right in was made.

You took a peek. "A curtain?"

"Looks like it! Or, it could be a domain. You'll find out soon!" He punched another hole through the black screen.

"Hurry and enter!" He rushed, gesturing his hand.

"Ladies first?" Panda asked, glancing at you and Maki with expectant eyes.

We both sighed in disappointment.

"You first, [y/n]." Maki gestured, positioning her blade comfortably first before nearing the hole. You too fixed the strap of your arrow holder and held your bow tightly on its handle.

"I guess I can't reject an offer from Maki, can I? See you in a second!" You gave a small smile and thumbs up to everyone before jumping bravely down the hole.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—" A thud was herd after a set of frightened shrieks.

"IS SHE OK?" All of them turned to Gojo with horrified expressions but defeatedly saw their teacher wearing the same horrified ones.

"OI [Y/N]?" Maki shouted at the lightless hole, seemingly a void at first sight.

Inumaki bent down beside Maki and peeked into the hole with a very concerned expression, "LEAF MUSTARD?!" he said with one of the loudest voice he's ever used.

A few moments of silence passed by.

"I THINK I'M OK!" You were heard shouting in reassurance, although in reality, you couldn't see anything. It was as if you were in a night of dreamless sleep, nothing but just endless darkness. Surprisingly when you checked your belongings including your arrows, bow, and glasses, they were all still intact as if they were glued onto you the moment you fell.

"ITS REALLY REALLY REALLY DARK IN HERE! DO YOU THINK THERE'S A SWITCH OR SOMETHING I CAN OPEN BEFORE YOU ALL FOLLOW ME AND JUMP DOWN?"

All of them sighed in relief as they heard your voice shouting from below.

You brought your hand down to touch the ground you were standing on. It felt like rough concrete, with pimple-like bumps all over it. For a moment, you thought it felt like some sort of skin. The next moment, you were given an assurance that it was some sort of skin.

The 'ground' moved a little. No, not the ground. After channeling some cursed energy to your hand for a source of light, you realized that this curse was a giant lizard, maybe crocodile was a more appropriate way to describe the creature, and surrounding you was a jungle-like scenario, except all the plants were strangely a vibrantly poisonous color.

You hopped down the curse and got an arrow. Filling the arrow with cursed energy as you prompted it on your bow, you shot it towards the head of the lizard-like curse, making it disintegrate shortly after. For some reason unknown, the curse didn't act hostile, in fact, it barely moved at all.

The effect of using cursed energy inside this curtain— no, domain seemed more likely now— made the place more lit, so after looking at the surroundings once more, you signaled them to go down.

"It seems like a domain! The area is lit after using cursed energy, and the terrain is like a jungle! You can come down now!" You reported, looking up and shouting at the hole that you entered through.

"Alright! We're coming down now!" Maki announced, and after a few seconds, you saw her descend below, gracefully landing on her feet with the help of her naginata.

Followed by her was Inumaki and Yuta who landed on their feet as well, then by Megumi who used one of his shikigami— nue, if you remembered correctly— then Panda, who just landed and the ground with a thud, although he didn't seem affected.

"It's not a jungle though." All of them said after looking around. "Salmon..."

"Huh? It's a jungle! Do you call it a garden then? It resembles more like a jungle though... What do you see, then?" You said, also observing your surroundings.

"It's just a cave," Maki answered.

"It's an ocean without water," Panda said.

"A room full of stairs," Fushiguro replied.

"An old library..." Yuta responded.

We all looked at each other in surprise.

"What do you see, Inumaki?" You turned to him with a look of concern. He brought out his phone from his zipped pockets, then typed something.

"It looks like an abandoned village." was what the text said.

All of you turned to the sound of the ground cracking, three curses erupted from the center of the domain. The three of them were identical: they had long, white hair that flowed until the floor like a bride's veil. Their faces were similar to a cockatiel's with the beaks and prominently scarlet red blushes on their cheeks. But their bodies were very much different. It was scaled like an Arowana until the torso, and it had no arms. Finally, its three legs were like that of a dragon's.

You felt pushed suddenly by Inumaki for no reason, making you tumble down forward, away from them.

"Get blasted."

You watched as Inumaki cursed something, but there weren't even curses so far.

"Maki-senpai! In front of you!" You heard Megumi shout, but with a clueless reaction from Maki, he went and attacked whatever he saw in front of her.

"Panda!" You shouted, quickly grabbing an arrow and aiming at the curse behind him.

"Fushiguro! Beside you!" Panda said, rushing to his aid and attacking a curse you could not see, and it was evident from Megumi's reaction that he couldn't see it too.

"Inumaki!" Yuta shouted, running at full speed to swing his katana right above Inumaki's head.

You saw Maki clicking her tongue and attack the air with her naginata. "I get it now!" Maki shouted.

You too started to understand the situation.

Everyone saw different environments— different illusions.

You were all together, but you would be left to fight alone in the own illusion you were in.

You were all together, supposedly a team, but you were now each other's weakness.

You were all together, to fight as a team, but you couldn't even see the curses that the others saw.

You realized that from the very beginning, you were already trapped inside an illusion that would prove difficult to escape— an illusion that was easy to mix with reality.

_____________________

《》

{the car ride earlier, before the mission}

"Out of all the cars available... why did you pick such a small car..." You said. The car was clearly meant for 5 people. Two at the front, three at the back. But there were 8 of you.

Seats were decided through rounds of janken.

The first three losers would sit on top of the other three winner's laps.

"JAN-KEN-PON!"

Megumi lost first. He sighed in frustration and let out an annoyed sigh while scratching his face.

"JAN-KEN-PON!"

Yuta lost second. He let out a shaky and forced laugh.

"JAN-KEN-PON!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" You lost.

Seating arrangements are as follows: Panda sat in the middle, Inumaki squishing himself in the left side against the door. Maki was on the right, equally squished against the door. Yuta sat on Maki's lap, You on Inumaki's, and since Megumi lost first, he sat on Panda's lap.