Becoming Sukuna

Da, da, da...

The footsteps echoed through the silent corridor.

Once they entered the dormitory area, Yukinoshita Yukino's earlier ease disappeared, replaced by an air of caution.

The place felt alien compared to the main hall. The windows were boarded up with planks, and only weak beams of light filtered through the cracks. The corridor was submerged in shadows, and something in those shadows seemed to slither, giving off an unsettling, eerie vibe.

Yukinoshita Yukino and Hikigaya Hachiman had checked several rooms along the way. Everything was perfectly intact—no signs of disturbance. Furniture and personal items were neatly arranged, showing that the children who stayed here had a penchant for cleanliness.

"It's strange," Yukinoshita Yukino muttered, eyes narrowing as she opened another door. Inside, the room was exactly as expected—no cursed spirits. But unlike the others, it was a little more untidy. There were no other signs of unusual activity.

She shut the door and motioned for them to keep moving.

"Could it be that the cursed spirits are somewhere else?" Hikigaya Hachiman suggested.

"Even if that's the case, we still need to confirm every room. We can't leave any potential threats unchecked," Yukinoshita Yukino said, her frown deepening. A growing unease settled within her. "We need to hurry."

They continued checking room after room, but everything seemed normal—there weren't even any insects.

Back in the corridor, dust danced in the narrow beams of light. They walked through it and opened another door.

"This doesn't feel right," Yukinoshita Yukino muttered, her brow furrowing. "Have you noticed? The rooms are getting messier."

Tables were knocked over, things scattered across the floor. The bedding had been torn from the double bed and thrown on the ground. The yellowed pillow had mold spots, and there were faint dark red stains on the sheets.

Compared to the pristine rooms they'd seen earlier, this one felt like it had been ransacked.

"Now that you mention it, it's pretty odd," Hikigaya Hachiman commented, before pausing. "These rooms should be abandoned, yet they're still so clean. It doesn't add up."

Both of them sensed something was wrong. They left the room and stepped back into the corridor, still empty and unnervingly silent.

"Only three rooms left. We'll split up," Yukinoshita Yukino said, her fist clenched. She wiped a thin layer of sweat from her palm, her nerves starting to fray. "Let's move quickly."

But when she stopped at the third-to-last door, she froze.

The wooden door was marked with deep, jagged scratches—finger-width gouges that looked like they'd been made by bare hands. Faint bloodstains smeared the surface.

When they opened the door, they were met with chaos. Blood-streaked handprints smeared across the white walls, dragging into five long, streaky lines across the floor. Furniture was destroyed—chairs broken, the double bed overturned, bedding ripped into strips, and blood was splattered everywhere.

The room radiated a maddening, bloody chaos.

The last three rooms were no different.

"What happened here..." Yukinoshita Yukino's voice trembled with disbelief, her eyes wide with shock.

"These rooms really have 'levels,' don't they?" Hikigaya Hachiman muttered, his expression darkening. "Do you think the kids living further in were the ones with the lowest status in the orphanage?"

"...You mean, the ones at the bottom of the hierarchy were bullied by the others?" Yukinoshita Yukino quickly understood and pushed the thought further. "If that's true, that's... too much."

The bloodstains in the rooms were far beyond bullying—it was something far more sinister.

Considering the orphanage's resources, it should have been a well-run, charitable place for orphans, but this was something else entirely.

"This is still just our guess, though. It could be the work of cursed spirits," Hikigaya Hachiman said. He was about to say more when a faint sound caught his attention. "Did you hear that?"

"Sound?" Yukinoshita Yukino paused, listening. "I didn't hear anything... Wait, behind you!"

Her eyes widened as a new handprint appeared on the wall behind Hikigaya Hachiman, covered in blood. As the print emerged, she finally heard the sound he'd mentioned—like a hand gently tapping the wall.

Their senses went on high alert. The creature behind the wall seemed to realize it had been discovered. The blood handprint quickly spread, crawling down the wall and across the floor toward them.

"The room's too cramped. Get out!" Yukinoshita Yukino didn't hesitate, her decision sharp. After their previous battle with Sukuna, she'd become more decisive in situations like this.

They bolted from the room, and as they did, the previously silent corridor suddenly sprang to life. Doors creaked open one by one, like the fall of dominos, and the shadows began to stir, following the tremors of the building.

"Who... is there?"

"Who... is there?"

The voices came, cracked and tremulous, from every room. Disfigured cursed spirits poked their heads from behind the doors.

"So that's why we didn't find any cursed spirits earlier. They were hiding," Hikigaya Hachiman muttered, his teeth clenched. This had just gotten much worse.

They were at the end of the corridor, with no escape behind them. Surrounded by cursed spirits—it seemed inevitable.

Just as they were about to be overwhelmed, a hand covered in blood shot out from the floor and grabbed Yukinoshita Yukino's ankle.

"Yukinoshita, it's at your feet!"

Before Hikigaya Hachiman could react, Yukinoshita Yukino lifted her trapped right leg, dragging the cursed spirit from beneath the floor. With a swift stomp, she crushed its head and the floor beneath it.

"Huh?" Hikigaya Hachiman's dead-fish eyes widened in surprise. He'd seen something like this before.

But before he could process it, Yukinoshita Yukino was already looking toward the window, which had been boarded up. In one powerful sprint, she charged through it, breaking the boards and leaping outside.

"Come on!" she called.

Grumbling inwardly, Hikigaya followed suit, pushing through the window before the cursed spirits could catch up.

Moments later, the cursed spirits that had been blocked in the window broke free, causing the wall to crack and sending dust flying.

The cursed spirits, resembling frenzied zombies, surged out from the smoke, rushing toward them.

"Not bad, not bad. Things are getting lively~"

Leaning casually against the rooftop railing, Gojo Satoru observed the dust rising below and let out a playful whistle.

A figure sliced through the smoke, and the cursed spirit in the front was sealed into the mirror in the blink of an eye, only to be shattered by the cursed spirits pushing from behind.

The second cursed spirit, stepping over its fallen comrade's body, was met with a pale fist that crashed into its skull, caving its face in. Like a kite with its string cut, it was sent flying backward, crashing into the cursed spirits behind it.

The cursed spirits that were knocked down were trampled by those coming after them, but despite their bodies being riddled with holes, they managed to crawl back up, letting out hoarse, defiant roars as they charged toward the two ahead.

More cursed spirits were sealed into the mirror, shattered into pieces. Hikigaya Hachiman's exhausted voice echoed behind Yukinoshita Yukino. "Hey, Yukinoshita, I'm running low on cursed energy. Should we pull back?"

His cursed energy was nearly drained. What little he had left had been burned through when he was forced to use his cursed techniques against that white-haired man, Sukuna, depleting most of his reserves.

Now, during the fight, he hadn't even used many techniques before reaching his limit.

It was a real pain—of course, being surrounded by cursed spirits wasn't helping. This whole situation was just a mess, all because of Sukuna's manipulation.

"You go ahead!" Yukinoshita Yukino didn't spare him a glance. After tossing one cursed spirit to the ground with a Judo throw, she kicked its head off, sending it flying. "I can handle it on my own."

She's insane.

Hikigaya Hachiman swallowed hard before sealing a few more cursed spirits and, with his cursed energy fully spent, swiftly withdrew from the battlefield.

He knew that staying there without any energy left would just create more problems for Yukinoshita Yukino.

"Not bad, though weak. Good judgment." Gojo Satoru commented from the rooftop as he watched Hikigaya stumble off the battlefield. "Though it's probably better for Sukuna if he takes a step back. Now no one's competing for kills with Yukinoshita."

Sitting on the shrine pedestal, Gojo grinned as he saw his points climbing steadily.

Each cursed spirit gave a modest amount of points, but watching his tally increase felt satisfying.

The cursed spirits here were only level four, maybe level three at most. For Yukinoshita Yukino's current strength, she couldn't clear them all in one go, but her physical strength and reflexes were more than enough to take them down one by one.

Her hair fluttered as she moved, and after knocking another cursed spirit away with a punch, she nimbly stepped back, creating distance from the others.

She then took off the red ribbon around her wrist and tied it into a high ponytail.

The ribbon was something she had bought after seeing Sukuna use a hairband to tie his own ponytail last time. She'd kept it ever since.

Once her hair was secured, Yukinoshita Yukino exhaled, her cursed energy rising again as she surged forward like a predator on the hunt.

In this high-intensity battle, her physical abilities were only improving—her speed was picking up, and her strikes became sharper and stronger.

"Hm, solid hand-to-hand combat basics," Gojo remarked from above, watching her tear through cursed spirits like a war machine. "Her physical condition is impressive too. Must be the result of having Sukuna sealed inside her."

Her body had to be extraordinary, considering she was the vessel for Sukuna's two faces.

In reality, Gojo wasn't entirely right—Yukinoshita Yukino's strength wasn't purely because of Sukuna. The system itself had been subtly enhancing her physical abilities, bringing her body to a level where it could match Sukuna's spiritual power.

The system's influence was finally showing. Can't believe it's actually working, though.

The battle quickly came to a close.

Yukinoshita Yukino, catching her breath, surveyed the battlefield—cursed spirits lay scattered like fallen wheat in a storm. A sense of satisfaction rose within her, like stretching after sitting for too long.

Speaking of which, this must be over thirty cursed spirits down, right?

Did Gojo mess up the intel?

A slip-up like that could lead to a disaster. What if someone had gotten hurt?

She couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated by Gojo's carelessness. Fortunately, the cursed spirits were weak, and no one had gotten injured. Hikigaya had just drained his cursed energy.

Feeling a gaze from above, Yukinoshita Yukino looked up to see Gojo Satoru waving at her from the third-floor rooftop.

"Ah, looks like I've been caught." Gojo grinned, not an ounce of guilt in his expression. If anything, he seemed to find it amusing.

Even with the misstep in intel, Gojo wasn't rattled. The girl had some real potential—not only in combat but in her character too. It was a shame Sukuna had claimed her.

Such a waste.

After the fight ended, Hikigaya Hachiman, now fully drained of cursed energy, returned to Yukinoshita Yukino's side. He glanced at the cursed spirits strewn across the ground, once again marveling at her strength. He also made a mental note to never get on Yukinoshita's bad side—if there was anyone to avoid angering at school, it was her.

We all start at the same starting line, so why is she so far ahead already?

Is this all Sukuna's influence on her?

"Parasite-kun, how'd it go?" Yukinoshita Yukino glanced at Hikigaya Hachiman and then, mentally, contacted Sukuna.

"Good job, good job!" Sukuna praised loudly, reviewing the points he'd accumulated.

Total Points: 17,420

"What cursed spirits are left? Send them my way!"

Hearing Sukuna's praise, Yukinoshita Yukino couldn't help but smile slightly, her mood lifting.

But to Hikigaya, watching her, it only looked like a warning sign.

Looking down at the chaos she had caused, Yukinoshita Yukino's lips curled into a satisfied smirk.

Wait… does Yukinoshita have some violent tendencies?