Sora returned to his dorm room with the doll tucked under his arm.
The hallways were quiet.
Most of the students were busy elsewhere, leaving the dorm building feeling strangely hollow.
Once inside his room, Sora locked the door and placed the doll on the desk.
For a few seconds, he simply stared at it.
The doll looked crude.
It looked like something a child would make if that child had a deep hatred for sleep.
Sora sat down.
Then he carefully turned the doll over in his hands.
He examined the stitching first.
The seams around the neck.
The joints around the arms and legs.
The density of the stuffing.
Then he focused on the cursed energy inside.
That part was harder.
The cursed energy flowing through the doll was not random.
It moved through specific paths.
Thin streams that branched through the body like veins.
The core rested in the center of the chest.
Like a tiny furnace hidden beneath layers of cloth.
Sora focused his attention.
His own liquid metal slowly spread over his fingertips and touched the surface of the doll.
Carefully.
Slowly.
He traced the flow of cursed energy.
The paths.
The connections.
The way the doll balanced itself.
Hours passed.
Sometimes Sora would stop to sketch rough diagrams in a notebook.
Sometimes he would create tiny metal figures and experiment with different internal structures.
Bigger chest.
Additional joints.
Protective layers around where the core would sit.
At one point, he accidentally made a metal spider with six legs.
That thing looked like a curse waiting to happen.
The next few days passed in much the same way.
Classes.
Training.
Missions.
Experiments.
Sora spent more and more time working on cursed corpses in secret.
Small ones at first.
Birds.
Dogs.
Tiny humanoid dolls.
Nothing with a living core yet.
Empty shells with no practicality.
By the end of the first week, he could already create bodies that mimicked the structure of Masamichi's dolls.
By the second week, he had started to understand how cursed energy needed to move through them.
Not a linear path.
In loops like a circuit.
The core was not enough on its own.
The entire body had to be built around it like a cage built around a flame.
---Two weeks later---
The sun was beginning to set over Tokyo.
Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, and Nobara Kugisaki were at the gate of a Detention Centre.
Gojo was not there.
Instead, standing at the front was Kiyotaka Ijichi.
The assistant manager adjusted his glasses nervously.
"There has been an emergency situation at the Eishu Juvenile Detention Center."
Yuji tilted his head.
"Emergency?"
Ijichi nodded stiffly.
"A special grade cursed object was discovered there."
The atmosphere in the room changed instantly.
Megumi's expression hardened.
Nobara crossed her arms.
Yuji blinked.
"Special grade?"
"Yes."
"What's that?
Ijichi swallowed slightly.
"A curse powerful enough to survive even a carpet bombing head on."
Ijichi explained.
"The curse within the building is still growing and can become a supreme curse."
"Eh? Then why are we fighting the curse then?"
Yuji voiced his confusion.
"Gojo sensei went on a business trip. If he were present, then he would have done the mission. Not us."
Megumi explained from the side.
"Unfortunately the jujutsu world is always understaffed."
Ijichi shook his head.
"This mission is, however, an emergency case. It must be given priority over others."
Ijichi adjusted his glasses.
The wind carried the distant sound of traffic from beyond the walls of the detention center.
It felt strange.
The sky above was painted orange and red by the setting sun, but the building in front of them looked like it belonged to another world entirely.
Yellow tape had been placed around the entrance.
Police officers and emergency workers stood nearby, but none of them moved closer than necessary.
Even from outside, the cursed energy leaking from the building felt oppressive.
Like the air itself had become damp and rotten.
Ijichi adjusted his glasses.
"You are not expected to exorcise the curse."
Yuji looked at him.
"Then what are we supposed to do?"
"Your priority is to scout the area, determine the whereabouts of the curse, and if possible, rescue any survivors still inside."
Megumi frowned.
Ijichi remained silent for a moment.
Then he spoke quietly.
"If you determine that rescuing someone would place all of you at risk... then your lives take priority."
"In front of special grades, only retreat and death are the two options for weaker sorcerers."
Yuji's expression changed.
The playful confusion from before disappeared.
"What about the people inside?"
Ijichi looked away.
"The jujutsu world does not have enough sorcerers to save everyone."
For a few seconds, nobody said anything.
The detention center loomed over them like a giant black cage.
Then a shout suddenly broke through the silence.
"My son is still in there!"
Everyone turned.
A woman was being held back near the off-limits entrance by two police officers.
She looked exhausted.
Her hair was messy.
Her eyes were red from crying.
"Ma'am, you can't go in there," one of the officers said desperately.
"You don't understand!" the woman cried. "My son Tadashi is still inside!"
She tried to pull away from the officers again.
Yuji stared at her.
The grip around his cleaver tightened slightly.
The atmosphere changed.
Before, this had still felt distant.
Like a mission.
Like another strange part of the jujutsu world.
Now it felt real.
Someone's child was trapped inside that building.
Megumi lowered his eyes.
Nobara looked away with a click of her tongue.
Nobody had anything to say.
Then Nobara blinked.
"Wait."
She looked around.
"Where's Sora?"
Ijichi straightened awkwardly.
"Ah... well..."
His voice grew smaller.
"He recently went to Kyoto for... personal matters related to research."
Megumi looked at him.
"Research?"
Ijichi nodded nervously.
"So he could not be brought back in time. He was informed through phone instead."
Nobara immediately frowned.
"That goddamn iron pole."
She crossed her arms.
"How dare he make me wait."
She huffed and got ready to throw more insults.
But-
"I'm sorry."
The voice came from directly behind them.
Every single one of them jumped.
Yuji spun instantly, cleaver already in his hand.
Megumi's fingers moved into position for his hand signs.
Nobara nearly pulled out a nail on instinct.
Even Ijichi was surprised.
Standing a few feet away was Sora.
Nobody had sensed him.
Not even a little.
He stood there quietly with his hands in his pockets.
The setting sun cast long shadows across his face.
There was a faint tiredness beneath his eyes.
He looked like he had come straight from the station.
His bag hung loosely over one shoulder.
Sora tilted his head slightly.
"I wouldn't make you wait on purpose."
Yuji let out a breath.
"Dude!"
Megumi slowly lowered his hands.
"You completely erased your presence. Even your cursed energy is not visible."
Nobara stared at him for another second.
Then she pointed a finger at him.
"Don't do that!"
Sora looked mildly confused.
"You said I was late."
"That is not the point!"
Yuji rubbed the back of his neck.
"For a second I thought you were the special grade."
Sora glanced toward the detention center.
The joking atmosphere disappeared.
The cursed energy spilling from the building pressed against his skin like invisible mud.
Sora looked up at the towering structure.
The windows reflected the last light of the sunset.
Then he spoke quietly.
"This thing feels disgusting."
No one disagreed.
Far in the distance, the woman was still crying for her son.
And the detention center remained silent.