Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Reincarnation is a strange thing. In Western nations, contemplating your own reincarnation is considered a foolish, childish thing to do. Yet, in many Eastern nations, reincarnation is not considered a silly fiction, but a simple fact of life.

Grass is green, the sky is blue, and the Wheel of Samsara spins eternal, granting our souls eternal life so long as we remain ignorant.

So, ultimately, I didn't find myself overly shocked when I was reborn after death. Truthfully, I can accept reincarnation as a fact of life easily enough.

The part that has me confused however, is why I remember. Reincarnation being a fact isn't incredibly shocking. But if Reincarnation is what is true, then why do I alone remember my past life?

It's something that I used to worry about in the quiet nights. Mostly, I'd fret that my reincarnation was a mistake, and that I would get corrected.

I don't want that. I don't want to die.

But over time, nothing happened and my fear faded. In it's place, I found wonder.

I can't claim to understand how reincarnation works. I am not a God. But somehow, I found myself in the past.

I don't know when exactly, but I am at least centuries in the past, perhaps up to millennia.

And it is beautiful.

Not everything is an improvement of course. All the creature comforts I was used to are gone. The beds are less comfortable, the toiletries leave much to be desired and the endless entertainment of the internet is gone.

Yet, after the first couple of years passed, I found myself not at all missing the internet.

My first memory in this world is looking up at an enormous Torii gate as a babe, abandoned in a basket before a small shrine.

Since then, I was taken in by the caretaker of this shrine, an elderly man I only know as Kinoshita-kamunushi, Kinoshita being his name and Kamunushi being his title.

When I was four I asked him why he wanted to go by -kamunushi rather than -san, -sama or -dono or something like that, and he told me that his late wife was the Miko of this shrine, and that it is all he has left of her.

So he insists on the honorific that explicitly decrees him as the man who tends to the shrine.

It felt bittersweet to me, hearing Kinoshita talk about his late wife. On one hand, she must have been a wonderful woman for their love to have been so deep, but on the other, she is gone.

I never put much stock in pretending to be the child I am not, so I didn't worry about seeing too mature when I remarked that is is better to build fond memories you will later mourn than to live a life without any joy to lose.

He let me start helping around the shrine after that, saying that he can trust me to treat it with the proper respect. 

Which I do. I make sure to follow his lessons, to go through the motions he taught me and to treat the kami with the respect they deserve, even if I can't find it in myself to truly worship them as he does.

Part of it is simply because I don't know how real they are. Since I have reincarnated, I obviously believe there is some truth to spiritualism. But it's not like I've ever seen a kami or a youkai or anything like that.

Then there's the other reason. Pride. Pointless, undeserved pride. I don't even know why I am prideful when I have nothing to be proud of, but I am. I can bow out of respect, but the thought of bowing in supplication makes something in my gut twist. I just can't do it. I can't except that anything could exist above me. 

It's stupid. But it is who I am. The best I can do, is ensure that my pride never degrades into arrogance.

Either way, this has been my life for the past six years.

Once I could walk by myself and take care of my own needs, I have been living by a simple routine.

I wake up, bathe, eat and then I wander.

The shrine is built in the middle of a small forest filled mostly with deer, with a small village at it's westernmost edge. And I have spent most of my days simply wandering the forest, enjoying the company of nature.

It took some time, but by now, the forest feels like home. The deer and the rabbits and all the other creatures of the forest no longer shy away from my presence. Often times, the deer will join me as I will spend my day lying in a small clearing next to a small, incredibly clear pond, simply enjoying the shaded sun and the feel of nature around me.

Then I return to the shrine when I get hungry, and for the past two years I have then spent some time helping the old man prepare our food and clean the shrine.

Occasionally, someone will visit the shrine. Usually one of the villagers, but there was a traveller once, when I was three, who came to beg for food and shelter that was freely given. 

He told me stories of the greater world. Of great samurai slaying evil Oni. He told me of gardens of sakura trees that would bloom all at once and provide the most beautiful sight in the world.

I always knew I would want to explore eventually, but his stories only made that desire burn even brighter, to see more of this beautiful world. But I am young and have my whole life ahead of me. I will have plenty of time to explore as an adult. No need to rush.

Then in the evening, I join the old man for prayers, and then either go to bed, or return to my clearing in the woods and sleep with the deer in a small huddle.

It's beautiful in ways I couldn't have possible imagined in my previous life. I feel no need for constant entertainment, no need to constantly be doing something, and I don't live under pressure from any expectations.

Truly, this life of mine is beautiful, and I will never let it go.

But, shortly after my sixth birthday, my routine was disturbed.

I was just returning to the shrine for the evening, a basket of medicinal and ritualistic herbs held in one hand when I felt a sudden chill send shivers down my spine and goosebumps across my skin.

The forest around me fell into an unnatural silence and my breath came out foggy, as if the temperature had dropped a dozen degrees in an instant.

Something was wrong. That much was obvious. The drumming beat of my heart was the only sound filling my ears as I glanced around, not finding any sign of the usually abundant life around me.

A branch snapped behind me and I spun around and immediately froze, my mind not comprehending, not believing what I was seeing.

A few dozen paces away from me, a grotesque monster loosely shaped like a deer but with the face of a human woman stared at me from around a tree.

Whatever it is, a Monster, a Cursed Spirit, a Mononoke, I didn't know. But when it's disgusting lips stretched into a too wide grin, I knew I was in danger.

I didn't really believe in kami, or youkai, or monsters or gods. But I also didn't believe in reincarnation before I reincarnated. For that reason alone, I didn't freeze for long.

I simply accepted that monsters existed, and I turned and I ran.

My bag of herbs was discarded without a thought, thrown behind me in some vague, instinctual hope that it will do something to preserve my life.

A basket of herbs obviously wouldn't do anything to deter a monster, but I wasn't thinking. I didn't think of anything at all. I just ran as fast as my small but thankfully well maintained body could handle.

I didn't think about where I was running too, I just kept moving. One foot in front of the other.

The sounds of movement behind me kept getting louder, a clear sign the monster was catching up with me, and could I have expected anything different? How could a child possibly escape a monster?

It was a pointless effort. I could feel my will being sapped away even as I ran. Every step I took felt heavier, more pointless. Every inch of distance gained and safety seemed even further away.

I wanted to give up. My chest was burning with exertion, my throat stung with every burning breath, and it's not like I could escape anyway. I might as well just give up. It's inevitable. I'm just a human. An animal. Prey to be hunted.

I should just give up.

My next step was slower than the last, and I felt an imaginary breath on the back of my neck when I realised what I was doing.

Why was I giving up? For what reason? Because it's pointless to run? Because a child cannot escape a monster?

So fucking what!? 

Just because I'm going to die anyway, I should just give up and accept that fate!? Fuck that! I love my life! I love my forest! I love this world!

I don't care if it's inevitable! I'm not going to just give my life away! I haven't even seen the world! I haven't seen the mountains that pierce the sky! I haven't seen the fields of flowers! The rows of cherry blossoms! The grand festivals in the big cities!

I refuse to accept my death so easily!

My resolve burned in my gut and I abandoned any thoughts of giving up. My feet only moved faster, even as my muscles burned in protest, I ignored them, I ignored everything else and I ran with everything I had.

It must have only been minutes, I wasn't far in the first place, but it felt like hours before I saw the great Torii gate at the entrance of the shrine and the shimenawa wrapped shinboku behind it.

Without hesitation, I ran through the gate and dove for the sacred tree, grabbing hold of the sacred ropes that surround it and using them to haul myself up into the branches above.

Only then, did I dare turn around to face what has been chasing me.

Just as I do so, I watch as it charges the same path I took. Yet, instead of passing through the Torii gate as I did, there is a dull thud and a faint flash of some kind of translucent barrier that briefly ripples from the impact before fading away.

A part of me expected that to happen. That the shrine would protect me from what is probably some kind of evil spirit, but I am still surprised when it does.

It's completely nonsensical that this monster would be stopped by some spiritualistic sacred site, but that is the sight that I was beholden to.

I couldn't help the half hysterical laugh that left me when the monster started clawing at the invisible barrier, it's too large maw of too sharp teeth bared in a hateful snarl directed right at me.

But I couldn't feel any fear anymore. All I felt was joy. A euphoric bliss that I was alive, and, more than that, that the world was even more interesting than I ever could have imagined.

After all, if evil spirits and invisible barriers are real, then what else exists in this world? What interesting sights could I find? What interesting people could I meet? What beauty could I behold?

I didn't know, but I wanted to find out. I wanted to find out so badly that it burned.

In that moment, I felt a resolve settle in my heart more intense than anything I ever thought myself capable of.

And I knew, right then and there, that I would not stop, I would not die, until I had seen every beauty imaginable. From the tallest peaks to the lowest valleys. From fields of flowers to endlessly deep oceans. From the most evil spirits to the greatest Kami. 

I would bear witness to it all, and the entire world would live in my memory.

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

So this is my new fic. I'm just gonna post the first chap for now so you have an idea of what it is. The next four chaps I'll post in bulk and we'll see from there.

Edit: I'm only just posting this chap on this site, so I've actually finished chapter ten now and am gonna be bulk posting the first five today :)

Chapter Text

It was to the scene of me catching my breath in the branches of the shinboku, unable to tear my eyes away from the monster pacing in front of me, that Kinoshita made his appearance.

I only noted his arrival by the distinctive click-clack of his geta sandals, but I couldn't bring myself to turn to greet him. I just couldn't take my eyes off of the monster in front of me.

It is an ugly thing. Grotesque flesh stretched and torn in shapes only vaguely resembling a deer with a face that tries to be human and make some instinctual part of my brain want nothing more than to flee.

It's beautiful.

Like nothing I have ever seen before. Nothing even compares to it. But I have a feeling that it's not even special. That if I were to explore the outside world, sights like this thing would become commonplace.

I want that so badly it hurts.

I want to see new things. Things I had never even considered before. Whether they're beautiful or ugly like this thing, I don't care. So long as it's new. Unique. 

"Narauko," the old man's voice snaps me out of my thoughts as he calls my name and, reluctantly, I tear my gaze away to face him. I'm not sure exactly what expression I'm making except that my cheeks are starting to hurt, but when we lock eyes, he sighs, a small, sardonic twitch of his lip being the extend of his displayed emotion.

Kinoshita is not a particularly stand out man. I don't know how old he is, but I'd guess somewhere around his late sixties. He is a thin man of average height with short grey hair and sharp, but worn features. Naturally, he is dressed in his pure white jōe, the ceremonial robes of a kamunushi, as usual, his tate-eboshi, a tall cap, sits primly on his head.

"What is the commotion?" He asks, and so much joy fills me that I almost fail to answer entirely.

For a moment, all I'm able to do is gesture wildly in the direction of the monster before I can find my voice, and even then, all I can say is, "Monster! Monster's are real!" As if that's a proper explanation.

I don't know if he understood or not. I don't know if he could. The weight behind those words, what they meant to me. Or maybe he did, considering his response.

"Indeed," he said, before he simply turned to the Torii and took three steps closer to the monster.

I didn't know what he was planning to do, but I knew I didn't want to miss it. I'm not sure I even blinked once as I watched him reach into his wide sleeve and pull out a paper talisman with some kind of script inked onto it between two fingers.

If my grin could have grown further, it would have as he held the talisman between his fore and middle fingers and folded the rest of his hand into a fist, making a single handed gesture of prayer pointed at the sky.

He muttered some words I couldn't hear properly, and then in a move that is surely too fast for a man of his age, he whipped his hand out and through the talisman forward.

The piece of paper flew like a knife right at the monster, but once it was halfway there, the talisman morphed and transformed into some kind of bird that tucked itself in tight and flew straight into, and then through the monster, it's beak acting like the tip of a spear.

A hole the size of my head was left in the bird's wake through the monster's torso and it let out a vile screech, like scratching glass that hurt my ears to listen to before the wound rapidly expanded and within seconds the entire monster simply disappeared into nothing.

I'm vibrating in excitement when the old man turns back to me, as if what he just did is something completely normal and not worth remarking.

"What was that?!" I squeal, completely unashamed of my own excitement. "What did you just do?!"

Kinoshita sighs again. "Get down from there first, and I will explain."

I almost eat dirt as I throw myself off the shinboku in a rush and it's only the respect he has taught me that keeps me silent as he walks into our home at an annoyingly casual speed.

Before I move to join him, I quickly turn back to the shinboku and bow twice, clap twice, and bow once more, as is proper for a prayer. "Thank you, Kami-sama, for granting me your protection."

With proper thanks given, I turn back to the house and quickly jog to catch up with the old man. In my haste, I never noticed the unnatural movement of the shinboku's branches.

Eventually, we find ourselves in the sitting room, with the old man preparing some tea for us both while I sit on my knees in front of our low table, unable to keep still.

"I had hoped," Kinoshita begins as he joins me, setting both cups of tea down and softly blowing on his own, "That I could have kept that side of the world hidden from you for longer."

"What?" I ask, my mind screeching to a halt. "You were hiding magic from me? On purpose?"

I wouldn't go so far as to say the revelation hurt me. Despite being in a child's body, I do actually have the maturity of an adult after all, but it's still disappointing to hear.

"Do you know why I named you Narauko?" He asks instead, the non sequitur earning a raised brow from me.

"It's the first word that came to mind?"

The old man's lip twitches upwards briefly before he shakes his head.

"Have you been slacking in your written language lessons?" He asks again and I pout.

"Kanji is so confusing! It's too many lines for each character! I might as well just draw pictures!" I complain, repeating a long standing argument between us.

I can barely read Kanji sometimes, that's my level of proficiency. In my last life, I remember that Japan had three written languages, Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana, and I'm pretty sure the latter two, or at least one of them, was less complicated.

But apparently neither of them exist yet. There's just Kanji. If I knew when the other two were invented, then I might be able to start guessing what year it is, but unfortunately I don't.

"If you had studied my lessons properly, you might know that the Kanji for Narau means to learn, or to practice. When combined with Ko your name can carry the meaning of 'Child who Learns'."

"Huh. That's nice to know, I suppose," I say, mild confusion tempering my excitement, "But what does any of that have to do with magic? And why you apparently wanted to hide it from me?"

"Because when I found you that day, and every day since, I have known that you are cursed."

"Cursed?" That doesn't sound good, am I going to die young? I don't think I could accept that. I apologise Izanami-Ōkami-sama, but if I die without seeing the beauty of the world, then I'm going to throw a fit down in Yomi.

"Calm yourself child, I do not mean curse in the typical sense of the word. Your affliction is much less physical."

"Come on Old Man, don't leave me in suspense here. What is my curse?" I ask, getting a little bit annoyed by the evasiveness.

His answer is simple.

"Curiosity."

"Curiosity?" I echo.

"Indeed. I have noticed it your entire life. Ever since I could hold you in one hand, ever since you could see, your eyes have been alight with naught but an endless curiosity. I had hoped to hide the supernatural side of the world from you, because I knew that once you caught a glimpse of it, you would pursue it endlessly. Curiosity is a dangerous thing, and yours will undoubtably bring you great trouble in the future."

A sigh leaves my mouth at his answer. On one hand, I want to get mad, but on the other, I can understand. Curiosity killed the cat is, or will be at least, a popular saying for a reason. Then again, satisfaction did bring it back.

Doesn't mean I'm particularly happy that he was going to hide something so beautiful from me, but I'm not mad either.

"If being true to myself means that I will encounter dangers, then that isn't for you to control. I can accept the consequences of my actions by myself, and if I do die while pursuing my passions, then that would be a good death."

"You are too young to be speaking of death, boy." Kinoshita scolds, before sighing once more. "Alas, you are not incorrect. For the past six years, I have raised you. I have fed you, cared for you, taught you. I allowed my fear of losing you to blind me from your own heart. For that, I apologise. As the one who has raised you, I should have known that you are mature enough to make your own decisions, despite your age."

With that, Kinoshita bows deeply from where he sits opposite me, and for a moment I am unable to respond, feeling small tears attempting to well in the corner of my eyes that I supress.

It's strange, but even after all of this time, I don't think I ever truly considered our relationship from the old man's perspective. I only really thought about myself, about this new world I found myself in and how I could enjoy it's wonders.

I only really thought of the old man caring for me as something convenient, like having roommates when you can't afford rent. He took care of me while I was a baby and in return he will have me to help him take care of the shrine until I became an adult.

That is as far as I thought about our relationship. I never even considered that he might think more of me. Which was stupid of me. This man has raised me. He taught me to speak, to prepare food, to live off the land and pay nature it's proper respect.

He's... He's my father.

Rubbing my eyes with one hand, I reach forward to raise his shoulder with my other. "Please don't bow to me. You were under no obligation to teach me everything you have so far, I have no right to demand anything of you, even if it is something I really really really want."

"If half the men in the Capital were half as mature as you are at six, then the world would be a much better place."

The conversation lulls as we both sip on our tea, comfortable in the silence until eventually my thoughts turn back to earlier and my excitement returns and I can no longer hold myself back.

"So," I say, letting the word hang in the air for a moment as I lean over the table with a grin on my face. "Magic?"

His lip quirks up on one side, which is about as close as I have ever been to seeing him smile. "Firstly, it is not magic. What you saw is called Jujutsu, or Onmyōdō. It is the art of utilizing Cursed Energy to produce phenomena, and the purpose of Jujutsu Sorcerers and Onmyōji is to eradicate Curses."

I immediately have so many questions that I don't even know where to start, something the old man seems to notice, but to avoid too much side-tracking, I decide to stick to asking about stuff as he explains it instead of jumping the gun.

"What's the difference between Jujutsu and Onmyōdō?" I ask, and Kinoshita nods his head.

"Good question. The answer is very simple however. Onmyōji work for the state, directly serving The Emperor, while Jujutsu Sorcerers are loyal to their clans, the Fujiwara being the most prominent of them in the current era. There are also Curse Users, who do not serve anyone and tend to be amongst the most vile people you will ever meet."

Nodding my head at the answer, I utterly fail to keep my questions simple and blurt out what I want to know the most. "How does it work?" I ask, almost breathless as I whisper my desperate request. "Teach me."

Holding my intense stare for a moment, Kinoshita nods and clears his throat, adopting a lecturing pose. "Jujutsu is the art of manipulating Cursed Energy to various purposes, from creating barriers, to activating talismans, to fuelling unique Cursed Techniques. Cursed Energy, is a spiritual manifestation of negative emotions, it is what births Cursed Spirits, when too many negative emotions conglomerate on an idea or a location. As practitioners of Jujutsu, we harness the very thing that creates our great enemy and use it to destroy them, as we have for thousands of years."

"All humans possess Cursed Energy, but the vast majority only possesses so much. A small amount that is not even significant enough for them to be able to see Cursed Spirits. However, every human leaks Cursed Energy, and that can add up into some powerful Cursed Spirits, such as the Smallpox Deity. Anyone who can see Cursed Spirits, such as you demonstrated earlier, is considered a Jujutsu Sorcerer. As Jujutsu Sorcerers possess far greater amounts of Cursed Energy than a human does, it is important that we learn to control the flow of our energy so that it does not leak and create Cursed Spirits. It was likely your own leaking Cursed Energy that created that Curse earlier, as it took the form of those deer you so love to spend time with. Which is why first lesson is to control your Cursed Energy."

I feel like a sponge as I absorb information like a starving man that finally found water. My unblinking eyes starting to sting by the time I hear the words 'first lesson' and I very nearly jump up and dance.

"How?" I ask, too excited to get more than one word out.

"First, you must understand it's feel," he says before holding out a hand, palm up, and then his hand starts to glow, a faint, blueish colour forming around the limb. "Can you see it?" He asks and I nod, not trusting my voice. "Good. Now, feel it." He says before reaching the hand over and pressing it against my chest.

It feels... Cold.

Not cold like snow, it's not the temperature that's cold. It's... I don't know how to describe it. It feels like emotional pain. Like that feeling you get in your chest when someone says something that just, genuinely hurts. Like when someone you care about brushes off your passion, whatever it is, and tells you they don't care.

It feels like that. That tightness, the weight. Bitter.

I can't stop smiling. The feeling almost makes me want to cry and that makes me want to laugh.

"Use my Cursed Energy as a reference and search within yourself for your own."

Following the old man's instructions, I close my eyes and focus inwards. It takes a moment, but I feel it. And then, I can't stop feeling it. It's like now that I know it's there, it's stopped hiding, I couldn't ignore its presence if I tried.

It almost makes me wonder how I could have ever missed it, how I could have lived without noticing it at all. And once I feel it in me, I feel it everywhere. 

My eyes open filled with such wonder that I miss the brief expression of surprise on Kinoshita's face as I was too busy looking around the world with new eyes.

Everything... Everything just got more beautiful. All the while, my desire to learn, to know and to see everything I can only grows.

"Good," Kinoshita states, bringing my attention back to him. "I see you have awakened to your Cursed Energy properly now. Now, try to bring it forth, as I did." He says, and I do.

I hold out my hand, just as he did, and I push the Cursed Energy in my hand past my skin and into the air. A gasp of childlike glee leaves me when my hand lights up in a similar blue hue, though my Cursed Energy looks darker than his, like a pot of ink has been spilled in it.

"Impressive." He notes, "Most Sorcerers make the mistake of believing that Cursed Energy is borne in the gut to flow around the body and end up limiting themselves." 

Shrugging to myself, I just respond honestly. "I figure, when you curse someone, you don't curse any specific organs, you just curse the entire person, so I assumed Cursed Energy would just be a part of us, like our soul or something. Overlapping."

Kinoshita nods his head but moves on. "Now, for the rest of today, I want you to gain control over your Cursed Energy. Make it flow in constant motion, throughout your entire body. Feel it. Command it. But above all, do not lose control of it. Learning to control your emotions is an incredibly important aspect of Jujutsu. Were you any other child, I would not trust you to be capable of keeping your negative emotions under control. We can continue lessons in the morning, once your excitement has calmed down somewhat."

Grinning, I hold my hand out in front of my face and stare at my Cursed Energy, enraptured. "Yeah. I'm starting to understand what you meant about my curiosity being my Curse. I don't think I could ever be satisfied knowing that there are depths to Cursed Energy I have not explored."

Nodding at my words, Kinoshita makes to stand, but before he rises, he turns to my glowing hand and reaches over. Assuming he wants to check if I'm doing it right, I offer my hand for him to touch, as he did for me earlier.

Our hands touch and Kinoshita blinks. "Warm," he mutters, too quietly to hear.

"What?" I ask.

"Nothing, nothing," he answers, rising to his feet before gesturing to the forest out back. "Now go play, I know you want to."

Grinning, I don't hesitate to jump to my feet and sprint away. But I pause before reaching the door and quickly turn around, run up to the old man and jump into him, wrapping his torso in a hug.

"Thank you, Kinoshita-kamunushi," I say, meaning every word from the depths of my heart.

He ruffles my head and gestures me back to the door. "It is no concern, Narauko. Go play."

Nodding, I spin and sprint through the hall and back into the forest, a peel of laughter leaving me as I hop between thick roots and through the forest I call home.

It doesn't take me long to reach my usual spot, and I find near a dozen deer sitting around it. They all perk up at the sound of my approach but calm once they take sight of me.

Once I step into the clearing, the deer all get up as one and crowd me, pushing against me and it takes a moment where I think I have some berries stuck to my clothes before I realise why.

"Aww, were you worried?" I ask, doing my best to pet them all as I walk to my usual spot and plop onto my butt, the deer joining me in a huddle. "Well, don't you worry. I'm basically immortal after all. I won't die until my curiosity is satisfied, which means I can never die. Simple, right?"

A deer nips at my ear and I laugh.

But as much as I love my deer friends, my curiosity drags my mind right back to my Cursed Energy.

It takes only a moment to feel it out and bring it forth once more, and since I don't have any instruction yet, I do exactly what the old man knew I wanted to do, and I just play with it.

Moving it around, compressing and stretching it, anything I can think of I try. For hours and hours, I keep playing with my Cursed Energy without break, too entranced by it to even notice the way my eyelids grow heavy until eventually, without even realising it, I fall asleep in a pile of deer.

That night, I dreamt of two wolves, one a magnificent silver, the other an inky black and both with a strange triangle marked on their foreheads, one pointing up, the other down.

Chapter Text

The morning found me walking through my forest, taking in the beautiful sights for what might be the last time, at least for a while anyway.

Three days ago, I became fifteen years old, which apparently in this era means that I am an adult now. But more importantly, it is the age that Jujutsu Sorcerers start attending one of the two schools that teach the subject.

I have learnt a lot in these past nine years. About the world and Cursed Energy both. The old man couldn't teach me much about barriers beyond the simple Curtain Technique, but he did teach me about Shikigami, even if it's completely useless to me.

He didn't even want to waste time teaching it to me when we discovered my Innate Technique, but I argued that even if a technique is useless for me to use, knowing how it works could save my life should I ever fight anyone who uses it.

Plus I was just curious. I don't care if I never use my Sorcery in a fight again, I don't really care too much about using it. I just want to know. To learn.

Still, that was fun. He also taught me how to reinforce my body with Cursed Energy, and how to fight. That was also fun, except for the part where I kept getting my ass kicked by an old man. That part was less fun.

You'd think he would be at least a little bit geriatric in his old age, but the man is as spry as ever. Probably that reinforcement to thank for that.

So, in the end, he didn't truly teach me much, just helped me master what I already have. Though, he did say that there isn't truly much that can be taught to a Jujutsu Sorcerer. Apparently the schools are less about imparting knowledge and more about just supporting new Sorcerers as they discover their own abilities by themselves.

Basically, throw the kids in the deep and and see who swims. Pretty cold hearted, but what do I know?

The old man said it would have been better if I just never went to a school in the first place, because the school in the capital is full of politics as the place that exclusively trains Onmyōji and the other one is ran by the clans who aren't much better.

Just a different type of poison really. So it would have been better to just avoid it all altogether. Unfortunately, if I simply go out into the world practicing Jujutsu without being registered in either school, then I'd be treated as a Curse User and hunted down.

The old man left the decision up to me in the end. He seemed to believe that there are so many Curse Users in this era that it wouldn't matter either way.

Apparently he views me quite highly if he thinks I can survive as a fugitive.

But in the end, the decision was an easy one for me. I want to meet interesting people and see interesting places, so what better could I have asked for than a school full of Sorcerers?

Besides, it's only three years. It's not like that's all that long.

We ended up choosing the Jujutsu school over the Onmyōji one simply because the capital is too much too fast. I don't think my heart could take seeing so many new and exciting things all at once, so I'm going to work my way up to it.

I mean, other than the occasional visitor, I haven't spoken to anyone who isn't the old man or an animal in my entire life in this world.

Chuckling to myself, I pet the head of a deer as it joins me in walking and smile as it accepts my touch. It took me a while to be able to use Cursed Energy Reinforcement without making any of my friends uncomfortable with my touch, but I did manage to get it to be.. Quiet? I guess is the best word to describe it?

I managed to get my Reinforcement to be quiet enough that it doesn't bother them. The old man said it was an impressive display of control, and that it would make it incredibly difficult for other Sorcerers to predict my movements or even sense me in general.

So I guess I'm a sneaky guy now. I'm fine with that. I might be able to sneak into beautiful private gardens thanks to this after all.

"What do you think, Deer-kun? Do you think anyone out there has a beautiful garden that they hide away, denying it the chance to be admired, as all things deserve to be? I hope not, that would just be tragic. Beautiful things should be admired."

Obviously the deer doesn't answer, but I feed it a berry anyway.

We reach my clearing soon enough, and a warm smile graces my lips as I take in the sight.

None of the deer that were here when I was a child are still alive, they're lifespan isn't all that long, but there are even more here now than ever before.

All of these deer, are those who were born during my lifetime. I took care of them when they were fawn, fed them. I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but this little clearing became the home to all the deer in this little forest in the middle of nowhere.

It makes me proud. Happy, too.

"Hello, my friends," I greet, and quickly become the centre of attention as I hand out berries and head pats. "Today might be the last time we see each other I'm afraid, so I brought extra."

They are deer. They obviously don't understand my words, but I like to think that they understood my meaning.

"Let's have a peaceful goodbye, shall we? I don't like the idea of goodbyes being sad moments full of tears. I feel like it poisons all the positive memories that come before it."

As I speak, I move to a certain tree and sit at the same spot I have sat for over a decade now.

I am quickly engulfed by a swarm of deer. Pressing against my sides, over my legs, under my arms. Their companionship makes me smile as I lean my back against the tree and look up at the beautiful blue sky.

Home. It's so peaceful.

Kinoshita

Sweeping the courtyard, Kinoshita could not help but feel bitterly melancholic, but at the same time, incredibly proud.

He always knew Narauko would leave eventually. He knew since the boy was a child that he would not stay. Could not stay.

This little shrine in the middle of a little forest in the middle of nowhere. A person like him could never call such a simple place his home. He knew this.

Which is why he tried not to get attached. He failed, that much is obvious to him. But he tried.

He let the boy explore the forest without care for the danger that would put a normal child in. He let the boy's Cursed Energy continue to leak, even when he knew it would put him in danger. He locked his feelings away behind a mask and didn't show the boy any warmth.

It's only in hindsight that he realises he was trying to make the boy hate him. Because if their bond was one of hatred, there would be no pain when it was severed.

But the boy didn't resent him. He didn't complain when he was told to do chores. He didn't complain when he was told to sit through lessons he didn't care for on a language few could even read.

That abnormal boy didn't find any resentment to throw at this old man. 

And then, one day that boy came running back to the shrine, pursued by a Cursed Spirit of his own making.

He thought he would be unmoved. He was supposed to be unmoved. He let the boy roam in a forest alone since he could walk, no one who cared for a child's health would do such a thing.

So why wasn't he unmoved?

Why was it, that when he felt the boy's Cursed Energy rushing towards him, a Curse on his tale, that he felt his heart pounding in his chest?

Why was it, that his entire body tensed. Why did his heart beat like he was exhausted. Why did he find himself rushing to his Shikigami talismans. 

Why did he feel so much relief when he found the boy unharmed in the branches of the shinboku?

Why?

Why did he feel such hatred at the filthy Curse that sought to bring the boy harm?

He knows the answer.

He failed to keep his heart frozen. He failed to be selfish. 

Jujutsu Sorcery is an inherently selfish path. To be a truly exceptional Sorcerer, one must focus solely on themselves, to the exception of everything else.

For the second time in his life, Kinoshita failed to be a truly exceptional Sorcerer.

"He's so much like you, Murasaki. You would have loved him, with his curiosity even greater than your own. I'm sure he too, would have loved to hear your poetry."

Kinoshita stops sweeping as he becomes lost in memories of his late wife. He was never supposed to fall in love. It was not expected of him. His purpose was just to become a powerful Sorcerer to support his elder brother.

It was something he believed in. Accepted. Even if he lacked the true potential to surpass Grade One, he kept pushing himself.

And then he met her, and she just. Wouldn't. Shut. Up.

She knew he could not harm her thanks to her birthname, and she abused that fact for all that it was worth to follow him around and pester him with a thousand questions about every subject, both personal and not.

It was infuriating. He hated her. Despised her. Cursed her.

How could she not see? That he was not a man who was supposed to live? He was a tool for his family, not a person.

He should not have been wasting his time talking with some irritating woman. He should not have been answering question after question just to satiate some woman's curiosity, no matter her standing.

...He should not have been allowed to feel any joy. It was not his place to feel such things.

Yet...

Yet he did.

With every conversation they had, his answers came easier. Eventually, he started asking his own questions, and with every answer, his smiles only grew and grew.

He was a tool. He was not a man to be loved, nor was he a man who should feel love.

He was a tool. A powerful Jujutsu Sorcerer, no, not a Sorcerer. He was a powerful Onmyōji. All for the sake of the family. He needed to be a powerful Onmyōji.

How could he possibly be a good tool, if he can not even be selfish enough to pursue his only purpose?

Those were the thoughts in his mind as he felt himself faltering in his duty, his very power stagnating as his conflict grew.

And then she told him what he needed to hear. Or perhaps, what she selfishly wanted him to hear.

Why do you look so lost, Onmyōji-san?, she had asked him, Life isn't really that complicated you know? There are things want to do and there are things you do not want to do. Life is just figuring out which is which, and pursuing what you want until you die. Sure, it may bring you to an earlier grave, but dying while pursuing your own desires? I think that's a death I could accept.

When he heard Narauko unknowingly mirror those words that had such an impact on his life, he realised his mistake. 

Narauko is his son. Even if the boy never sees him as his father, he is his son.

As if summoned by his thoughts, Kinoshita hears the distinctive clack of Narauko's geta, different from his own in that the boy wanted a pair that only had a single tooth to stand on, instead of the two that is typical.

Apparently it is a good way to practice his balance, so that he can keep training just by walking. Truly that boy is obsessive.

Turning around, Kinoshita beholds his boy.

Narauko stands rather tall for his age, and will likely tower over most people by adulthood.

His clothes are simple, since they do not have much. Just a simple dark green kimono, with a layer of white underneath and a tight undershirt he made himself that he called a 'T-shirt'. His hakama pants are a dark green that matches the kimono, and the socks are white.

Narauko himself has grown well, with a strong physique that he will undoubtably need. His hair is straight and black like ink, kept cut short and left to fall down with a fringe that nearly covers his eyes that themselves are like a pair of coals.

His features are sharp, angular. He could probably be pretty intimidating if not the constant, slight upwards tilt to his mouth, befitting of a man so enraptured with life. He doesn't think Narauko would even know how to glare if he tried.

"Yo, Old Man," Narauko greets with a raised hand. Somewhere along the line, the boy stopped speaking respectfully. Kinoshita doesn't mind as much as he pretends to though. "Food's ready."

Nodding, he sets aside his broom and follows to the sitting room.

They both eat their meals in silence. It is nothing new, as there is not much to talk about, and the silence is comfortable. But this time, Kinoshita regrets the silence. He feels that there is something he should say, but he doesn't even know where he stands with Narauko, and doesn't want to make a fool of himself, so he stays silent.

Eventually, the meal is over, and while Narauko cleans their bowls and utensils, Kinoshita collects the boy's travel back and finishes packing some last minute supplies.

They meet again at the front of the shrine, under the Torii gate where they met.

Kinoshita hands Narauko his travel bag, which is accepted and swung over a shoulder.

"Thanks," Narauko says, and before he can say anything else, he is cut off when Kinoshita offers another, much smaller bag that clinks as he passes it over.

"Coins?" Narauko asks after looking inside the bag.

"Indeed. They will not be much worth anywhere in the country, as The Emperor's currency experiment was mostly a failure, but in the capital or in Edo they could prove of some worth. Nobody uses them except for the nobles anyway, so they are useless to me."

"Ah, gotcha. Thank you then, maybe my future classmates won't think I'm such a country bumpkin if I come in flashing some shiny shiny currency eh?"

Kinoshita just nods, still not entirely sure how he's supposed to respond to sentences like that.

"Well," Narauko says after a short moment of silence. "Guess I better be off then."

"Indeed."

Saying so, Narauko turns away and clasps his hands into the shape of a wolf.

"Divine Dogs," he intones before his shadow rapidly spreads and a pair of wolves emerge from the inky darkness, one a pure white the other an opposing black.

There it is, Narauko's Innate Technique: The Ten Shadows. It is one of the reasons that Kinoshita is even willing to let Narauko go away. Because he knows his son will be safe.

Narauko doesn't even seem to realise how talented he is. He grasped his Cursed Energy and learnt to control it faster than anyone Kinoshita has ever heard of. His mastery of it's manipulation is already reaching even with his own.

Combined with his Innate Technique, which Kinoshita cannot even see where its potential ends, and he knows that his son has all the potential that he lacks. Then there's also the texture of his Cursed Energy. It felt warm. He doesn't truly know what that means for Narauko, but he knows the boy will go far regardless.

He just hopes his own curiosity does not kill him.

"Hey, Old Man." Kinoshita raises a brow as Narauko stands in front of him, his bag sitting on the floor.

"What is it?" He asks, his expression not faltering under Narauko's sunny smile.

Then, something he didn't expect to happen did. For the first time since he first told Narauko of Cursed Energy, the boy steps forward and wraps him in a tight hug.

"Thank you," Narauko whispers, "Thank you for everything, Otou-sama. I'm proud to call you my father. Thank you for bringing me into your home. Thank you for giving me my home. I love you."

Almost hesitantly, Kinoshita brings his arms up until they are wrapped around his son's back, grabbing fistfuls of his kimono, and for the second time in his life, he gives up being an Onmyōji, and allows himself to feel love.

"I love you, my son," he whispers, feeling tears in his eyes even as he truly smiles for the first time in decades. "You will always be welcome home, no matter what happens."

"Thank you."

With those final parting words, they eventually split from their embrace, and Narauko turns to the shinboku behind him and bows twice, claps twice and bows once more.

"Goodbye to you as well, Kami-sama," he says before turning back to Kinoshita and bowing one last time. "I will see you again, Otou-sama."

Kinoshita returns the bow with a smile he can't be bothered to hide. "I will be waiting for you, my son."

Narauko's smile is blinding, and he watches with building melancholy as his only son mounts one of his Shikigami, and with one final look back, sets off at a steady trot.

Kinoshita watches until his son is out of sight, and he keeps watching for some time longer, rooted to the spot.

Eventually however, the sun begins to set, and with one final look at the darkening sky, he turns around and heads back into the shine, feeling already that it is empty.

"I wish you could have seen our son, Murasaki," he mutters to himself as he heads inside. "Even if he is not our blood, I know you would have been even more proud than I."

Chapter Text

I'm such a different person now, than in my previous life. Enough that I've started to struggle to even empathise with who I used to be.

It shouldn't really be unexpected. It has been fifteen years after all, that's enough time to change anyone.

But even then, the difference is just too large. I used to be rather brash. I'd be very emotive with my body, gesturing my hands this way and that while I talked. I used be far more casual, or, well. Now that I am older, even if I'm technically actually younger, and hopefully wiser, I can admit that it wasn't that I was casual, I was just disrespectful.

I think I remember saying that respect has to be earned, not given, as an excuse for being rude to people. It was a convenient lie because it was true. Perhaps I even convinced myself with it.

Respect does have to be earned. But respect isn't a yes or no option, it's a scale, and everyone and everything deserves at least a modicum of respect.

What you earn is simply even greater respect.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised I learnt respect and temperance living in a shrine, but the difference between who I was and who I am is still just so jarring that it's hard to ignore.

But it's not like that's the only thing. It's not even the most important change.

The one thing that truly makes me unable to empathise with my past self, the one thing that makes me look down on who I was?

In this life, I'm strong.

I used to be so weak. My body was weak. My mind was weak. My personality was weak.

I'd give up easily. I'd never commit. I'd wallow under the slightest pressure.

I was so human in only the worst ways. All the bad and very little of the beauty.

So pathetic.

Sighing to myself, I notice that I've reached the end of my forest.

For a moment, I just stop at the precipice. This final step, it feels so much more significant than all the others. Like there is no coming back once I make my decision.

Smiling, I will the black dog I'm riding forward, and take that final step.

"Ah, the movies lied to me. Where's the slow motion and nostalgic music?"

Chuckling to myself, I keep moving forward. 

The school I'm headed to is in Edo, to the north, and it's not likely to be a very short trip. It's not like I can just book a plane.

That's fine though, since my destination is the journey itself. Also, while I wasn't exactly a history nerd in my last life, there are bits and pieces that I remember, such as the fact that Edo is the city of Tokyo. I'm pretty sure it only got named Tokyo in the Tokugawa period. Or was it the Meiji?

I remember hearing that it was 'a few centuries ago' back around the year two thousand, so I guess somewhere around the eighteenth or seventeenth century? 

The point is, I'm going to visit Tokyo! Even if it's not Tokyo yet, it's still pretty exciting. If only cameras existed so I could take a bunch of pictures like a proper tourist.

I'd invent them myself, but I'm kind of an idiot, so I don't know much about anything. For all my curiosity, I was too weak in my last life to ever pursue anything.

But not this time!

It helps that I don't have anything tying me down. In my last life, I felt like I couldn't do anything because I was tied to my family. But whoever sired me in this life spared me from such concerns by abandoning me at birth.

That thought spurs another; I wonder who my parents are?

I haven't really thought about it much, because I doubt I'll ever find out. Most likely, they were just some minor nobility who for whatever reason couldn't care for me.

Hell, I'm probably the birth of some extra marital affair. It's basic logical deduction. 

No commoner would discard an extra set of working hands, and no higher nobility would discard their children. Not out of love though, just because their children could be useful political tools.

Thus, it's most likely that my parents, or at least one of them, were minor nobility, and that they were for whatever reason not allowed to have a child, but did so anyway and had to abandon me, either to save their own skin or mine.

That's what seems most likely, but it's not like I have all the information. For all I know, my parents might just not like black hair and abandoned me because of that, who knows?

A glare of sunlight makes me squint and drags me out of my thoughts and back into the world around me. And what a beautiful world it is. Lush green fields glistening with morning dew and reflecting the light of the sun that shines in a clear blue sky.

A world without any light pollution, or really pollution of any kind really is beautiful. It's a subtle difference, but I can tell.

Compared to the bright day sky of my last life, it's like the contrast is just ever so slightly higher. Such a small change, but it has such a profound impact.

If I live long enough, I'm going to have to intervene with the industrial revolution and such to keep the world from deteriorating once more. I think I would cry if the entire world's beauty would be marred by smog.

Further ahead, just appearing on the horizon, I spot a few hamlets roughly clustered together. It's only then that I remember that normal people can't see Shikigami, so moving through the quaint village while riding on thin air would probably give the people a scare.

So, with only some reluctance, I hop off of my Shikigami's back and start walking, folding my hands in front of me, hidden by my sleeves.

"Make a perimeter," I command my Divine Dogs. "Let me know if you find any Curses or Sorcerers."

The wolf lets out a huff and pushes it's fluffy head against my chest before bounding off into the distance to my right, knowing that its twin is already on my left.

In the nine years since I encountered my first ever Cursed Spirit, I've only actually seen two more, not counting the tiny ones that are all over the place.

Neither were particularly strong. The first looked kind of like an owl and was torn apart by my Divine Dogs immediately, while the second was more like a fat goblin or something.

That one was actually strong enough that my Shikigami couldn't really do much to it, but one good punch was enough to take it out.

The old man told me about the grading system used by Jujutsu Sorcerers. It goes from four to one, with four being people who can barely use Cursed Energy and one being the highest anyone can expect to achieve.

Apparently Grade Three is about average and Grade two is for those with skill. 

For some reason, he never told me where I would stand in that system, but if I had to guess, then I'm probably Grade Three. I'm not really all that special after all. Even reincarnating doesn't make me special, the only thing truly special about me is that I remember my last life.

I mean, there's my Innate Technique as well, but lots of Sorcerers have their own Innate Techniques, so it's not that special, and it's not like I'm some kind of super genius.

So, my Divine Dogs are probably Grade Four, the weakest kind, since they couldn't even kill that goblin Curse, who was pretty weak.

I'm looking forward to meeting other Sorcerers, because if my Divine Dogs are only Grade Four, then imagine what a Grade One Sorcerer would be capable of?

Kami I can't wait to find out~!

"Narauko-Hakase!" A boisterous voice calls out and I turn my gaze to an approaching man wearing simply farmer's clothes not unlike my own, just more sturdy and worn and much less clean.

"Taro-san," I return the greeting with a smile. "I have told you before, you do not need refer to me with -Hakase."

"Nonsense!" The stocky man rebuffs as he reaches me and pats me on the shoulder with way too much force. Lucky I'm strong or he'd send me to the ground with these sandals on. "If not for you, my precious Mira-chan would not have survived winter!"

"That was seven years ago, Taro-san."

"Seven years my daughter would not have had without you!"

"She only had a broken arm. All I did was set it and let it heal."

"Bah! Enough with your excuses! I'm going to keep calling you Narauko-Hakase no matter what you say!"

Chuckling, I shake my head at his antics as we enter the small settlement.

"So, what brings the Forest Child out into the world?" Taro asks as we walk, occasionally stopping to return greetings with various villagers. "Isn't this the first time you've actually left that forest?"

"Indeed it is, Taro-san. I'm going on a journey to see the world."

Taro gasps and stops walking to grab me by the shoulders. "You're leaving!?" He yells right into my face, a bit of spittle landing on my incredibly flat expression.

Putting a hand against his chest, I gently separate us and wipe my cheek before returning my hands to my sleeves. "Yes, Taro-san, I'm leaving," I say, much to Taro's apparent grief.

"And you didn't tell us! You don't even have any travel supplies!?"

Ah.

I do, actually. I figured out how to store stuff in my shadow. It's really convenient, for more than just storage reasons. See, it's not an infinite pocket space, well, it might be, but I can't use it infinitely.

Everything that I store in my shadow, I still have to carry its 'weight'. It doesn't really slow me down, so it's more of a metaphysical weight, but still.

I'm proud to say that as soon as I discovered that, I abused the hell out of it for the sake of training. Who needs gravity chambers when your own shadow can do it instead?

"I am capable of living off the land, Taro-san," I explain instead of giving the actual reason.

I don't know how he would react to Jujutsu, but probably not very well, but I also don't like to lie, so making a true, if misleading statement is best in this kind of situation.

"Unacceptable!" He yells to the sky, getting some exasperated looks from the few people around us. "Come! I will provide you with proper travelling supplies!"

"Wait, Taro-san, it's-"

Without listening to my complaints, he grabs one of my hands and starts marching us both down to his home.

I could obviously break his grip easily enough, but I might hurt him doing so, and I don't want to insult him by spitting on his kindness. He wouldn't offer me anything he isn't ready to give, and I do believe that helping others is a balm on one's soul, so I'm actually okay with accepting his help, even if it is unnecessary.

Soon enough, we reach his home, basically just a large wooden hall with a thatch roof. Out in the front of the house, a middle aged woman sits taking a needle to some fabric.

She looks up at our approach and her eyes light up once they take sight of us.

"Narauko-kun! It's so good to see you again!" She greets me warmly, ignoring Taro completely.

"Hey! Why are you greeting him but not your husband!" He yells indignantly, earning a scornful look of distain from his wife.

"Stop being so noisy," she responds, her tone completely different from how she greeted me. "My daughter's saviour is here and you're making a fool of my family."

"What's with this difference in greeting! It's my family too! Our family! If anything you should be thanking me! After all, if not for me, Narauko-Hakase was just going to leave without a word!"

His wife Miwa gasps and turns her attention back to me, her expression softening up once again into one of kind grace. "You were going to leave without saying goodbye?" She asks, and unlike with Taro, I actually feel kind of bad with the expression she's making. "And without any supplies too?"

Feeling kind of awkward, I bring one of my hands up to scratch a finger against my cheek as I avoid meeting her eyes. "Ah. I can live off the land just fine, Miwa-san. However I must have gotten too excited about my coming journey that I forgot to say goodbye properly, I apologise."

Saying so, I bow slightly.

"There's no need for you to apologise, Narauko-kun!" Miwa immediately frets, getting up and rushing over to pull me into a hug. "I just think little Mira would have been heartbroken if you left without a word!"

"Hey," Taro's deadpan voice comes from the side where his wife pushed him away to get to me. "I'm still here y'know."

"And why is that?" Miwa quickly responds, turning to glare at him without letting me go. "You should be gathering some supplies for Narauko-kun so that he does not starve on the road. Do you have no shame? Standing around like a monkey with no thoughts in your head."

Taro huffs and turns to stomp away into the house.

They have a strange relationship.

"Now, come come, Narauko-kun! It's almost meal time anyway, so come and have an early meal before you go. The rest of my children won't be back soon, but Mira-chan is still inside practicing her needlework."

Going with the flow, I let Miwa pull me into the house, only briefly pausing to take our shoes off at the entrance before continuing in our socks.

We only make it about half a dozen steps into the building before a miniature missile streaks through one of the side doors and rushes straight at us and into me.

"Oof," I softly grunt as I catch the brown-haired girl who just ran head first into my stomach, forcing me to step back slightly so she doesn't crack her skull open against my body.

"Narau!" She exclaims, looking up at me with wide brown eyes and a matching smile as she hugs me tightly.

"Mira-chan," I greet in turn, patting her head. "You've gotten bigger, how old are you now?"

She giggles for a moment before answering. "Twelve!"

"Oooh," I respond, acting impressed which makes her giggle again. "I'm only fifteen, do you know what that means?"

"Nuh uh!" She shakes her head.

"It means that you're going to be even older than me soon enough!" I say with a grin, and she bursts out into a fit of giggles.

"That's not how it works silly!"

"Eeeeh? Says who?" I joke, a whine in my voice that keeps Mira giggling.

"I'm glad to see you two getting along," Miwa says, getting her daughter's attention, "But unfortunately, Narauko-kun isn't staying for long, so go and set the table Mira-chan."

Mira pouts slightly, but complies and releases me. "Okay, Kaa-san," she says before running off deeper into the house.

Sighing fondly, I give Miwa a smile. "She sure has a lot of energy, doesn't she?"

"Indeed she does. It reminds me of yourself when you were younger, you always had many questions to ask."

"What can I say? Learning is my passion," I answer with a shrug as we both keep walking until we enter their eating room, spotting Mira rushing about preparing things.

"You know," Miwa says after a brief silence, getting me to turn a raised brow to her at her tone that has a certain ring to it I can't quite identify. "Mira is getting to that age where she should start thinking about marriage..."

Immediately, I freeze as she lets her sentence hang in the air, looking at me expectantly.

Crap. 

Did I unintentionally put myself in a dangerous position? I just enjoy seeing the innocent joy that only a child can produce. I totally forgot that the age of consent back in these times was basically just from when one is capable of producing children onwards.

Shit. I'm not a pervert, I was just being friendly!

"Uhhhh," I intelligently respond. "Cool...."

What am I supposed to say in this situation!?!

Miwa chuckles at my uncomfortable expression. "Just something to think about," she says before moving to help her daughter set the table.

At around that time, Taro returns, carrying a bag over his shoulders.

"I have returned!" He exclaims, and Miwa clicks her tongue without even looking up to greet him.

"Here!" He says, shoving the bag at me.

Accepting it, I look inside and see plenty of rice and some smoked meat all wrapped in salt and seaweed for preservation. There's also a few rolls of fabric for the sake of trading, since there isn't really a currency outside of the big cities.

"Thank you, Taro-san," I say as I close the bag, accepting the kindness gratefully.

Taro grins like a child at my thanks and pats me on the back again before pulling me to the table in time to be served.

The four of us sit down and begin eating in silence until Mira speaks up. It's generally considered impolite to talk during mealtime, but she is a child, so she's allowed a free pass on this kind of thing.

And besides, commoners don't care as much about etiquette as nobles do, and I certainly don't care, even if I have been raised to abide by these customs by the old man.

"What's with the bag, Narau? Did you finally let Tou-san pay you properly?" She asks, making me chuckle.

"I've said before, there was no need for payment. I helped because I could, not because I needed to."

For some reason, Mira sputters at my answer and starts paying a lot of attention to her rice while her parents both chuckle, though, Miwa then glares at Taro for laughing at the same time as her.

They really have a weird relationship.

"The bag is because Narauko is going on a journey," Miwa answers, getting her daughter's attention.

"A journey? Where are you going?" She asks me, and I smile.

"Everywhere," my answer leaves as a whisper full of longing.

"When will you be back?" Mira asks, brining my attention back to the room and her stricken expression.

Ah shit. Now I feel bad again.

If I was who I used to be, I'd probably have folded here. Too scared to upset a little girl I barely even know to actually pursue my dream. Unfortunately, I am not so lacking in resolve anymore.

Doesn't mean I want to see her cry.

"I'm not sure. I'm going to be visiting a special school for three years, but I'm not sure when I'll be able to return after that exactly," I answer.

Expectedly, she doesn't like that answer, but I can't really do anything about that. I'm not going to lie, that would just be even meaner.

The atmosphere the room plummets as Mira starts sniffling and poking at her food, and the rest of the meal is incredibly awkward. Eventually however, it is over and I rise to my feet.

"Thank you for the meal, Miwa-san, Taro-san," I say as I bow to them both before turning to Mira. "I'm sorry for departing so suddenly, Mira-chan, but this isn't goodbye, it's just see you later, okay?"

Mira sniffles and nods her head. Then, without saying a word, she runs at me and hugs my waist again, crying softly into my kimono as I stroke the back of her head soothingly.

Man, I feel bad. But at the same time, I can't stop smiling.

It hasn't even been a day yet, but this is exactly what I am looking for. New experiences, good or bad, thing's I've never seen or felt before.

This display of emotion? It's beautiful. If I was any good at poetry, this is the kind of scene I could write a poem about.

Alas, soon enough her tears dry out and her mother pulls her away. "Come on, Mira-chan. Let's not delay Narauko-kun any longer."

The two women watch me as I put my sandals back on, but right before I leave the door, Mira abruptly jolts.

"Ah!" She exclaims before turning around and running deeper into the house under the rest of our confused eyes.

I look between her parents for a moment, but only Miwa doesn't seem as confused as I am.

A moment later, the question is answered when Mira comes running back into the hall with a pure white bundle in her arms. She comes to a stop before me and holds the cloth out to me with both hands.

"I m-made this for you!" She says as I accept the gift and find that it is a white scarf with one end full of flaying edges.

"I-I.. I didn't finish it yet," she whispers, looking down.

Chuckling, I accept the gift and wrap it around my neck before patting her on the head. "Thank you, Mira-chan."

She beams a smile up at me before quickly deflating once more. "Y-you'll come back, r-right?" She asks, sounding so incredibly vulnerable.

"Of course," I answer with a smile.

"T-t-then I'll wait for you!" She abruptly exclaims, scrunching her eyes shut as she does so before turning around and running back into the house.

Blinking at the unexpected response, I send the two parents a questioning look but they both just smile at me like they're in on some joke that I'm not getting.

Probably just a kids thing that only parents will understand.

Shrugging, I follow Taro out of the building, waving goodbye to Miwa, and together we walk to the edge of the small settlement before Taro stops.

"Thank you for the help, Taro-san. Goodbye," I say, but instead of answering properly, he gets this shifty look in his eyes and glances around us suspiciously before stepping closer and wrapping an arm around the back of my neck, pulling my face close to his own.

"Hey. Narauko-Hakase. Before you leave, I have something I must ask."

Feeling the seriousness behind his words, I nod. "Of course, what is it?"

"What do you think of my daughter?" He asks with a completely serious face, and my expression blanks. "She's reaching a marriageable age now, and she's already infatuated with you."

Again. Really?

"Taro-san..." I begin, before remembering that he's an idiot and getting an idea. I match my expression with his own, becoming deeply serious as I pull one of my own arms over his neck too.

"It's not that Mira isn't wonderful, but... Well, when I look at a woman, I'm more interested in, you know..." As I trail off, I bring my other hand forward and hold it out in front of my chest, miming something being there.

Taro nods solemnly. "I see, I see. You are indeed a man. In that case, I will make sure Mira does not marry until she blossoms into a beautiful woman. Give it a few years and then you can come back to a good wife."

"That's not what I was trying to imply at all, Taro-san."

"I look forward to welcoming you into my family," he continues, ignoring me completely.

"Taro-san. I'm really not looking to marry anyone."

"Good. Mira will be happy to know she is your only wife. Not that she would be disappointed if she wasn't."

"Taro-san. Stop ignoring the issue."

"I wish you good fortune on your journey, Narauko-Hakase. I will let my wife know of your intentions."

"Please don't Taro-san. Taro-san!" I repeat, but he's already walking away and ignoring me entirely.

Sighing to myself, I chuckle slightly and start walking.

Let's just hope they forget about all of this by the time I get back.

Shaking my head, I turn to face the sky, noting it to be around early evening.

"On the road again," I hum to myself, randomly remembering the song as I walk.

I wonder what my next interesting encounter will be? Hopefully something less troublesome.

Whatever the case, my excitement hasn't dimmed in the slightest.

Chapter Text

Day three of walking to school. I have come to the realisation that no one can ever pull the 'back in my day, we had to walk blah blah blah' crap on me ever again.

Oh, you has a two hour walk over a mountain to get to school grandma? Well I've walked over several for multiple days, and I don't even know how close I am.

It's not like I have Google Maps or anything like that. Hell, I don't even have an actual map.

I just have a vague, go that way, kind of direction.

I don't mind though. I can always ask for directions, as I have been doing, and I'm having fun.

One thing I have noticed though is that there are a lot more Cursed Spirits out here in the wild than back home. It's only been three days and I've killed dozens already.

Well, my Shikigami have killed dozens. I only had to kill one myself because it was actually strong.

I probably could have just let my Shikigami gang up on it, but I wanted to get some practice in before reaching school, so I beat it up myself.

It didn't die in one hit like the others I've faced, but it was also pretty slow so it didn't hurt me either.

I've only encountered two settlements so far, mostly because I haven't been sticking to the roads but traveling in a straight line instead, but still.

The first one was pretty welcoming, but the last seemed pretty suspicious of me. Apparently they didn't trust me because I looked like a Sorcerer, according to some old guy who would actually hold a conversation with me.

Purely out of curiosity, I then did confirm to them that I am a Jujutsu Sorcerer. I pretty much knew what to expect, so I wasn't surprised when they sort of subtly tried to get me to leave as quickly as possible.

So, it turns out Sorcerers aren't very popular everywhere. That's good to know.

Still, I was pretty satisfied with the whole experience. I've never been treated so poorly before purely out of prejudice, it was an interesting experience.

It probably didn't help their opinion of me that I was still smiling even when they kicked me out, but I was too happy to care.

New experiences are what I'm looking for after all.

And there have been so many!

I've seen rice fields that go on for ages, I saw a field full of blood red flowers, a tree so big that it would take twenty of me hand in hand to hug it. There was even this giant mountain that I was going to explore, but by the time I got halfway up, I got this really bad feeling that if I took another step to the peak then I would die.

I'm not really afraid of that, but it didn't feel like the kind of thing I could talk my way out of, so I just resolved myself to go back when I'm stronger.

I can be patient after all. If something is too dangerous to explore, then I just need to get more powerful first. If anything, I just felt challenged.

The point is, I've been having fun.

Which brings me to today.

The sun is at its zenith, shining down on me through the leaves of the lush forest I tread. By my side is one of my Shikigami, Gentle Deer. It basically looks like one of the deer I grew up with, just that it's as tall as I am and the brown fur has darkened to black while the spots are more white and it has a weird symbol like an upside-down teardrop under its jaw.

This is probably my favourite Shikigami. Both because of personal bias, and because its special ability is that its Cursed Energy is backwards.

I don't know if there's a name for it, but I'm guessing it's something like Blessed Energy, since it seems to be an opposite to Cursed Energy. Either way, this version of energy actually heals, which is awesome, and though it took about a year, I did eventually manage to replicate the effect by myself.

I basically just smash my Cursed Energy against itself and it makes Blessed Energy. I don't know how it works, probably some double negative stuff, but it does work, so I'm happy with that. The old man was pretty surprised by my Blessed Energy too, so it doesn't seem to be something all that commonly practiced.

Honestly, I don't think I'll ever get tired of Cursed Energy. It's just so cool and interesting, not to mention just generally useful.

It would be much more of a pain to walk through this untamed forest for example, if not for the fact that I can literally just walk through it. Bushes and roots and the like aren't a problem when they're incapable of tripping me before they tear.

Though, I did have to learn how to protect my clothes with Cursed Energy to avoid ending up naked all the time. It's kind of energy intensive though, so I try to only use it when the foliage has thorns and stuff that will rip my clothes.

Pausing in my stride, I close one of my eyes and the next moment I am seeing the world through two perspectives. One is from my open eye and the other is through one of my Divine Dogs' eyes.

Near a decade of practice and experimentation with my Innate Technique has opened a lot of doors for me. My ability really does have a lot of potential, and I couldn't be happier about it.

I'd take versatility over overwhelming power any day of the week.

From my Dog's eye, I can vaguely see what I have been walking towards.

The Dog is hidden behind the foliage, so the view isn't great, but I can still make out pretty clearly two forms in a recently made clearing, and by clearing, I mean an area of the forest that used to have trees and now has broken trees and cratered earth.

You see, I started walking this way, despite it being in a different direction to my destination, because I felt a gathering of Cursed Spirits, each of which seemed to be about as strong as that one I struggled with.

Naturally, I got curious.

However, as I was on the way, all of the Cursed Spirits seemed to disappear from my senses, and then I felt even more Cursed Energy getting thrown around, likely by the battle that ruined this part of the forest, and I got even more curious.

Now, Cursed Spirits fade away when killed. Which is why it's interesting that my Dog is looking at a woman who seems to be resting, and what seems to be a Cursed Spirit's corpse a short distance from her.

Curious and curiouser.

Abruptly, a pale blue fire engulfs my vision and I flinch my eye open just as I feel my connection to my Divine Dog sputter out into the ether.

...Did this she just kill my dog?

What the fuck?

If I wasn't who I am, I'd probably be a lot more mad about that. But eh, it's just a Shikigami, not a real dog, so I don't really care that much. Still, I desummon all my active Shikigami just in case.

Okay I care a little bit, they're very fluffy. But I also have another dog, a bunch of rabbits and this cute deer among others.

Hmm. I keep walking as I try to decide if I'm mad or not.

"Come out! I know you're hiding!" I hear the woman yell and realise that I'm actually pretty close now, closer than my dog was.

"I'm not hiding actually," I return as I step around a tree and quickly step back behind it to avoid another burst of fire. "That was rude."

"Who are you!" The woman demands as I step around the tree again, my arms raised in surrender and a smile on my face even as she glares at me. "What are your intentions here!?"

For a moment I don't answer, because this woman is just so beautiful that I forgot to.

Her hair is long and blonde, which stands out in this nation, though not as much as I feel like it should. She has hazel eyes, small eyebrows and a face so beautiful that no amount of description could do it justice with a body to match.

Damn, she's beautiful.

"Damn you're beautiful." Crap. I said that out loud. Coughing into a fist, I pretend that never happened and continue, "What I mean to say is that I was merely coming to deal with a gathering of Cursed Spirits that I felt. Though, it seems as though you have done so for me."

The woman blushes slightly at my misspeak, but quickly gets back to glaring at me with one hand alight in blue flame that feels weird to my senses held out threateningly.

"Do you expect me to believe that?" She accuses, sounding awfully scornful.

"I would hope so, but ultimately the choice is yours. On another subject, how come that Cursed Spirit hasn't disappeared yet? Is it still alive somehow? Also who even are you? My name's Narauko, nice to meet you."

"Don't change the subject, Sorcerer. If you have no ill intentions, then why were you watching me and why have you been suppressing your Cursed Energy?"

"Eh?" My head tilts as I look at her in confusion before a lightbulb goes off in my head and I realise the misunderstanding taking place. "Ah! That. No, don't worry, I am not suppressing my Cursed Energy, it's just like that."

She seems dubious. I feel like I failed a charisma check.

"I don't believe you."

Damn.

Wait, this is an easy fix! "Alright, if I start actually trying to suppress my Cursed Energy now, will you believe me then?"

She raises a brow and makes a go on gesture, so I shrug and focus on sucking all my my Cursed Energy away and into my gut.

Really, I should have seen it coming, but the moment that I opened my eyes, I barely got to see a blur of gold before I felt a heavy impact in my gut and then another on my back as I was slammed into the ground with a clawed hand squeezing my throat.

Right. Concealing my energy that much also takes away my active reinforcement.

Oops.

"Who are you," the woman demands once my head stopped spinning, and I try to answer, but just end up wheezing.

The woman takes, in my opinion, too long to realise I can't be choked and answer questions at the same time, before loosening her hold on me.

"M-" I start, only to cough. "My name is Narauko, nice to meet you. Could you please try and void tearing my scarf? It was a gift from a little brat and I think she will cry if it breaks."

The woman above me glares even harder at me, and I match her stare with a light smile of my own, looking her straight in the eye.

She really is beautiful.

"You're not lying." She states, more than asks, though she does seem rather confused as she does. Probably because she seems to think I have something against her, but I haven't tried fighting back and don't intend to unless she's really going to kill me.

"I try to avoid lying if possible. It's not something I like to do."

"Why did you reveal yourself to me?" She asks, and I get the feeling she's got some kind of lie detector thing going on right now since she's repeating questions.

"I was curious and wanted to see if you were up for a conversation."

"That's all?" She asks, seemingly struggling to believe me at all.

"I've been told curiosity is my Curse."

She seems to take my answer with more weight than I intended, and after staring into my eyes a bit longer, her expression softens from a glare into that expression people make when they're kind of embarrassed about being wrong but don't want to admit it.

It's kind of cute on her.

"Oh." Her hand leaves my throat and she jumps to her feet, walking back to the rock she was resting on, though I notice she doesn't let me out of her peripheral vision.

Sitting up myself, I rub at my slightly sore throat for a moment as I return my Cursed Energy to its usual flow and feel the light pain fade away.

Standing up, I pat myself down and check my scarf for any scratches and happily find none, then I walk after her into the clearing.

The corpse on the floor is some weird kind of bird monster. Kind of like a harpy, but with a really long nose. I kind of recognise it, but I can't quite remember what they were called. Something beginning with a T.

"He's not a Cursed Spirit," the woman says, clearly having seen me eyeballing the thing. "He's a Yōkai. A Tengu, to be specific."

Turning back to her, I grin at the new source of information, even if she seems slightly bashful. Probably about the whole threatening me thing, but I was over that before it was even over.

Still. Yōkai? The old man mentioned them as basically being Cursed Spirits with physical bodies, but he also admitted that he didn't know much about the subject.

But here is a Yōkai corpse! I kind of want to cut it open and see what its biology is like, but I'm not sure if this lady would appreciate that.

"I would like to apologise," the woman says, each word coming out slowly and with great difficulty. "However I was just in battle, so I feel it is perfectly reasonably that I mistrusted you, especially as you were spying on me with a Shikigami."

Not the best apology but not the worst.

"Oh yeah, you just reminded me. I want compensation."

"What." She levels a flat look at me, and I just move my hands back to rest in their sleeves.

"That was a special Shikigami. Now that you've killed it, it's gone forever."

"Oh." She says again, looking a mix between regretful and annoyed.

She really doesn't like being in the wrong, does she?

I suppose I can understand. I'm quite prideful myself after all, even if my pride is a lot more difficult to wound.

"As compensation, please teach me everything you know about Yōkai!"

I am not above using guilt to gain knowledge!

"Why?" She demands, looking suspicious once again.

"Remember that thing I said about me being curious?"

"Shouldn't you be more focused on Cursed Spirits, Sorcerer?"

"Eh. I'm not technically even a Sorcerer yet, since I'm actually on my way to the school up in Edo right now, and I'm only attending out of curiosity in the first place. I don't intend on spending my whole life focused on nothing but Cursed Spirits."

We hold each other's eyes for a moment before eventually she concedes and lets out a sigh.

"Fine. As compensation for destroying your Shikigami, I will come with you and teach you about Yōkai until we near the city of Edo. Deal?"

"Deal!" I accept before moving a piece of broken tree over and sitting down in front of her.

"Well, where do you want to start?"

Bad question lady, I have so many places I want to start.

"What's with that Tengu? Why were there so many Cursed Spirits here? Why did you kill them? What separates Yōkai from humans and Cursed Spirits? Your Cursed Energy felt weird, is it different? How do Yōkai interact with Sorcerers? How come you're fine with sticking with me all the way to Edo? What was that Tengu even doing here? What's your name anyway? What's a Yōkai's life span? Are Yōkai inherently negative like Curses? Do-"

"Okay! Okay!" She abruptly yells, interrupting me. "Let me answer before asking your next question!"

Grinning unrepentantly at her, I wait for her to calm down.

Clearing her throat and shooting me another glare, she straightens in a way that reminds me of when Kinoshita would lecture me.

"First of all, Edo is only about one day's walk from here, so it is not far." She gives me a deadpan look when I blink in surprise at that information. "You're going to Edo and you don't even know where it is?"

"I've been asking for directions. I know it's that way," I say as I point the direction I was walking.

"It's not that way," she responds, still deadpan.

"Well, I'm sure there is someone in that direction who would have known the way."

"You're kind of an idiot aren't you?"

"I prefer the term carefree."

She sighs again and decides to just move on. "Yōkai are not Cursed Spirits, but they are not human either. You could think of them as somewhere in the middle. They have a physical body, instead of Cursed Spirits who are beings of negative energy. Like Cursed Spirits, Yōkai can be born from negative energy, but that is incredibly rare, and those born that way tend to be incredibly powerful and then become ancestors to great lines of Yōkai, such as Tengu. Yōkai are not inherently negative like Curses, but they can become incredibly powerful through negative energy, though most Yōkai just live peacefully in isolation."

Hoooh? That's interesting. Does that mean I could find a Yōkai village?

"Are there Yōkai villages?" I ask.

"Don't interrupt me," she immediately returns. "Yes, there are Yōkai villages. They have a civilisation, just like every other sapient species. As for your other questions, this Tengu has been terrorising a nearby village. He gathered up some Cursed Spirits and would send them to attack the village, then disguise himself as a human Sorcerer to fight them off."

Doesn't sound so bad, just a bit of an attention seeker.

"He would then use the fact that he saved them to demand that the people of the village do as he said, from bedding the woman to eating them if he felt like it. Sometimes he would just skip the process altogether and fly in and steal away whatever or whoever he wanted."

Well, never mind. then.

"I'm sure the villagers will be happy to know he's dead then," I comment.

"You don't seem that upset. No compassion for your fellow man?" The woman asks, her tone mocking.

I'm not sure if she's trying to get a rise out of me of if this is just how she is as a person, but I just shrug and smile. "I'm not happy they have suffered, but it happens. People live, people die. People suffer, people thrive. Nature moves on, time goes on. I do feel compassion, and I don't want to see people suffer, but focusing all your attention on the suffering of the world will make you blind to all of its joys. It's best to just think about what you can do to make things better and move on, than to just wallow in grief."

I don't look back to see her expression as I approach the Tengu and crouch down next to it.

"Are you some kind of monk?" She asks, making me chuckle.

"No, but I was raised in a shrine. Did you have any plans for doing anything with this corpse, or can I take it to that village you mentioned? I'm sure it would bring them some closure."

"Why bother? I was just going to burn it."

"Because they will be grateful."

"So? Why care what they think? They aren't Sorcerers like you. Just a bunch of monkeys, they can figure it out themselves."

"Hmm. Why did you kill this Tengu?" I ask, and she goes silent.

Shrugging, I make the sign to summon my remaining Divine Dog, only to pause as I feel something strange in my connection to my technique that causes me to freeze.

My Divine Dog... It's bigger?

Focusing closer, I realise what's happened. The dog that died, it's power seems to have flowed down into the other dog, making it even bigger and stronger.

So cooool~!

Making a different sign, I decide to leave the upgraded dog alone for now. "Gentle Deer," I intone and my shadow stretches out, allowing my Shikigami to burst free.

Grabbing the Tengu by its burnt, leathery skin, I haul it up and over my deer before turning back to the woman who's name I still don't have.

"I just realised that I never did get your name," I say as she looks at my deer like she's never seen one before, "Also, which way is it to the village?"

Shaking her head, she points an arm to the side. "That way," she says, and I start moving in that direction. "They won't show you any gratitude you know?" She asks, making me pause and turn back to her with a raised brow.

"It doesn't matter if you tell them you killed him yourself. Just the fact that you're not a monkey like them will make them hate you. If you don't scare them into submission, they will come after you with torches."

"Maybe," I acquiesce, thinking back on that village that threw me out. "I still think they will be grateful though."

"You're wrong. Humans aren't like that. They will hate you just because you are different. They won't thank you."

"Good thing I'm not looking for thanks then, isn't it?"

"You're a fool, but maybe this will be good for you. A wake up call to the true nature of those monkeys." Her scornful tone tells one hell of a story, but I'm not socially obtuse enough to call her out on it.

Instead I just chuckle and give her a wink before continuing my walk. "Humans are more complex than that, you know? You should give them more credit."

I make it a few steps before noticing that she isn't moving to follow me at all, which isn't unexpected considering her earlier words. However, even if she doesn't follow me, she does still call out.

"Tamamo. My name is Tamamo-no-Mae."

Smiling, I wave over my shoulder. "Nice to meet you, Tamamo-Sensei."

It doesn't take long before the village is in sight. It's bigger than the one near my home by quite a bit. About six times as big, with over two dozen houses that I can see, and they're actually arranged near each other on a proper road. From what I know, most villages in this time period are more just a few hamlets roughly near each other.

Before I actually leave the forest proper, I make another shadowgraphic hand sign, this one in the shape of a fox.

"Trickster Fox," I intone, and from my shadow emerges a small white fox, about the size of my forearm, maybe a little bit bigger, with sleek, smooth white fur and glowing blue eyes that somehow just seem mischievous.

It also has a symbol between its ears of a triangle similar to the ones on my dogs, or dog now, except it's on top of another symbol that kind of looks like one of those stands I remember using to hold stuff over bunsen burners in high school.

When I first started training my technique, I struggled to even summon more than one Shikigami at the same time, and even now, I struggle to get four out at the same time.

Still, Trickster Fox's ability is the ability to project illusions. They're not physical illusions, and I have to make an illusion of a shadow when I use it because it doesn't block out light either, which kind of doesn't make any sense from a physics standpoint.

How can you see something if light passes straight though it? Is it weird of me that this is the thing I find the most unexplainable in this new life? Probably.

Whatever the case, my fox climbs up my clothes and crawls into my scarf, hiding itself wrapped around my neck. It's very warm.

Then I have the fox project an illusion over my deer of itself. This way, the people of the village, monkeys, as Tamamo called them, will actually be able to see the deer, instead of just seeing a floating Tengu.

A short walk later, and I am approaching the village proper. I noticed some people spot me earlier, so there's already something of a crowd gathered to greet me, with even more people hiding around in the buildings and alleys watching.

Walking up to the group of not so subtly armed men, I give the one front and centre my best smile.

"Hello there! I have heard that you have been suffering attacks by this here Tengu. Rest assured, as you can clearly see," I gesture to my side before returning my hand back to rest before me, "It has been slain. You needn't live in fear any longer."

Nobody responds for a moment, and then a whole lot of muttering breaks out. So much that I can't catch any words, but the tone doesn't seem particularly happy.

The guy I assume is the local leader steps forward and glares at me, holding some sharp farming equipment in a white knuckled grip.

"W-what have you done!" He yells at me. "Now who will protect us from the Spirits!"

I make sure to keep my peaceful smile, even as the crowd starts to get agitated. I can actually feel the Cursed Energy in their bodies spiking as negative emotions flood the crowd.

"The Cursed Spirits are also dead. So much so that I cannot even bring you corpses."

"LIES!" Someone in the crowd yells out.

"It's just another trick!"

"Look at that deer! That's no normal animal!"

"We have nothing left to give!"

Having my deer step closer to me, I grab the Tengu's corpse and throw it to the ground before the crowd before cancelling my technique and letting the deer dissolve into shadows. "This is not a trick, and I do not want anything that you have. You are safe now."

"That bird said the same thing! Then it took my wife!"

"This is just another demon!"

"We're done being cattle!"

Looking through the crowd, feeling their negativity, I don't hate them. They're just people in the end. And they've suffered the worst poison of them all.

Hope.

First the monsters came, and they felt despair. Then came a man who said he would save them, and they felt hope. Then this man demanded food and drink and women, and they felt that hope shatter.

In the time since then, they have just been getting hammered down, again and again by this Tengu. So much so that they gave up on fighting back. So much so, that hope now tastes to them like a bitter poison.

They want to accept it. To believe me. To be free from despair.

They just can't bring themselves too. They're too close to the edge, too hopped up on emotions to be able to think rationally.

Too human to accept reality.

That's fine. I didn't expect them to.

Putting my hands back in my sleeves, I start walking. Edo is on the other side of the village after all, so I do need to go that way.

"Your demons are dead," I say, even as they all back away from my approach, keeping a distance with their bodies but not with their words as they curse at me. "You may rest easy, knowing that your suffering has been avenged."

A rock bounces across the ground in front of me, and then another bounces off my hip.

I ignore it and keep walking.

"Monster!" They yell as another stone hits me as I continue to walk, not changing pace or expression.

"Liar!" They scream, as some rotten fruit splatters against my shoulder, getting some gross juice on my cheek.

"Sorcerer!" They accuse, as a sharp rock smashes into my forehead, leaving a faint mark but nothing more.

I don't react to any of it, I feel no need to.

Physically, they cannot hurt me, and words definitely can't hurt me. I'm going to have to clean my clothes, but that's something I do anyway, so it's no bother.

Nothing they could possibly do to me, would have any kind of lasting effect. More than that, I understand.

They are angry. They don't hate me. They are just angry at the idea I represent.

All in all, this whole interaction, this whole day? To me, it is just another day.

I learnt some new things, which I always enjoy. Had some new experiences, which I love. But ultimately, none of this could have happened, and my life would not be any different for it.

To me, today has hardly been significant.

To them? To them, their entire lives have just turned on their axis. Everything has changed. It is so much more significant for them, so I just ignore the rocks and the fruit. Because it means so much more for them to throw it than it does for me to clean it off later.

Eventually however, I do leave the village behind and walk back into the forests, headed for Edo.

Humans are so interesting to me.

"I told you they wouldn't thank you," a voice calls out ahead of me, and I turn my smile up to Tamamo, sitting on a tree branch.

"Tamamo-san. I wasn't sure if I would see you again."

"I am not one to flake on a deal made, and drop the -san." Tamamo hops down from the tree and starts walking alongside me, giving me a strange look that has me raising a brow.

Reaching a hand up, she uses her thumb to wipe the bit of juice off my cheek. "There's a lake this way," she says instead of whatever is actually on her mind, and I nod gratefully.

The walk to water is done in peaceful silence. Well, peaceful for me. She seems rather frustrated for whatever reason.

When we arrive, the first thing I do is take off my scarf and look it over. It's not that bad, luckily. The fact that it's poor quality actually did it some favours, since it's actually sturdy, instead of better looking silks are.

It doesn't take long to scrub it clean, and I hang it on a branch to dry before taking off the outer layer of my kimono and doing the same. I don't bother with the hakama pants, because they're just going to get dirty again walking through weeds.

"Why did you let them do that?" Tamamo eventually asks once I've hung up my clothes to dry and pulled a spare set out of my shadow, sounding like she's really trying and failing to understand.

"You sure make me repeat myself a lot," I tease with a smile, continuing before she can be offended. "They needed closure. They needed to see that the Tengu was dead."

"They threw rocks at you Narauko. Rocks and rotten food. I was right. They weren't grateful at all. They Cursed you and spat on your kindness." At this point, she is pinning me under a glare like she's accusing me of a crime or something. "You don't seem that strong, but you're better than those monkeys. You could have slaughtered them all. Why would you let them treat you like that?"

Sighing, I take a seat on the grass next to the lake as I think about how to word this.

"Most humans don't really stop being children. They struggle with maturity. Perspective. In the end, they are an emotional people, and those people down there? They are the downtrodden. They have been suffering for so long, with no possible outlet for their pain. It's not good to bottle up your emotions you know? It's bad for your health, and that goes for me and you too, for everyone and everything capable of feeling. If you bottle your emotions up too much, eventually you will start to crack. That's why you should smile when you're happy and cry when you're sad."

Pausing as I look at my reflection in the water, I consider what I'm saying before continuing.

"Those people have been bottling up their emotions for so long that they started to crack. That kind of wound isn't something that can be easily healed. Time will eventually dull the pain, but the scars will likely be with them for the rest of their life. However, even if there isn't really a treatment for that pain, the worst thing you can do is keep bottling it up. They needed a release. They needed to vent those feelings, or the cracks would just keep growing larger and larger."

Finding myself smiling, I turn back to Tamamo, feeling like I'm better understanding my own feelings by saying this all out loud.

"Emotions are not some simple thing. When I say they needed to vent their negative emotions, that doesn't mean they can just scream at the sky and feel better. For something like that, they need a target to throw all of their hatred, all their grief and their frustrations upon. They don't hate me, they were just so full of hate that they took it out on the first available target."

Tamamo is starting to look at me like I'm an alien with two heads.

"But why would you let them? You only showed them kindness, what right do they have to choose you as the target of their hate? How could you accept such an injustice?"

"Because it is a good thing for them," I answer honestly. "It is progress. If they truly thought that they were still in the same bad spot they were in yesterday, then they never would have had the courage to Curse me. That they could even do that much, shows that they feel safer already. And I don't mind if they return my kindness with malice. I don't show kindness with the expectation of receiving gifts in return in the first place. I just do what I want to do. Besides, better they target me than someone who will punish them for their feelings."

"...You are a strange man, Narauko, and an even stranger Sorcerer. Aren't your kind supposed to be selfish?"

"I would say I am pretty selfish. I selfishly love the world, no matter how it treats those that walk upon it." I glance at the scarf drying nearby. "I selfishly pursue my desires, no matter who I leave behind."

"You are the strangest Sorcerer I have ever met," Tamamo says, eyeing me like I'm something completely foreign to her before she continues in a softer tone, "But that is not necessarily a bad thing."

"Thank you." I grin at her.

"I still don't see the point."

"Give it a year," I tell her. "Give it a year and then come back here. By then, their frustrations will have faded. By then, they will have accepted that they are no longer in danger of Curses. They will have had time to feel safe again, to feel free again. The wound will never fully heal, but if you come back in one year, you will see the difference for yourself, and by the time the next generation rolls around, the wound will fade into time."

Tamamo shakes her head, but I can tell that she's not as confident as she was before.

"I still think it was pointless," she says, and I just shrug.

"You are entitled to your own thoughts. You don't have to agree with me to understand my motivations."

"And you are okay with me finding your motivations to be foolish?"

"We've only just met. It would be strange if you started accepting my own opinions over ones you have held for however long before we met."

"You really are strange," Tamamo mutters, making me chuckle.

Seeing as we're going to wait for my clothes to dry, I make a shadowgraphic of a rabbit and summon my most populous Shikigami.

"Rabbit Escape," I intone and the clearing is flooded with tonnes of fully balls of white fur.

Letting myself fall backwards, I close my eyes and let out a contented sigh as I am caught by and enveloped in a pile of fluff.

Using magic superpowers for mundane lifestyle stuff is the best, and having an on demand super fluffy army of bunnies ready to act as a beanbag is amazing.

Cracking an eye open, I meet the deadpan stare of Tamamo's with a grin. "Do you want a cushion, Tamamo?"

She doesn't answer so I make her one anyway and ignore the way she glares at me when I snicker at her obvious comfort.

"So," I say after a moment of comfortably enjoying the peace. "Do you know much about current events? My information is a few decades out of date."

"A few decades?" She asks. "How old are you?"

That makes me laugh. "I'm only fifteen," I say with a chuckle. "My teacher is old though. I only left home for the first time a few days ago, so everything's pretty new to me."

"Human politics aren't something I'm interested in," Tamamo answers, and I choose to ignore how she keeps separating herself from humanity. "I only know the broad strokes."

Smiling, I give her my undivided attention.

"Teach me."

Chapter Text

Another beautiful day has me and my new travelling companion, Tamamo walking through yet another forest of lush greenery under the bright sun.

The peace is somewhat disturbed by the sound of the ground shaking and trees being crushed as one of my Shikigami, Lion's Pride, tears through a few weak Cursed Spirits.

Lion's Pride is probably my strongest Shikigami, at least, before my first two combined into Divine Dog: Totality. That one's probably my strongest, but I felt like hiding it from Tamamo, so I haven't brought it out.

Lion's Pride is a massive lion, its shoulders reaching above my head and its width tripling my own and then some. Its fur is a lush golden hue that shines like the sun and correspondingly, its ability is that it gets stronger under daylight, with its peak strength being when the sun is at its own peak.

Since it's only early in the morning, the Shikigami is not too strong right now.

"Various unique Shikigami and the ability to store things in your own shadow. What even is your Innate Technique?"

Tilting my head to Tamamo I notice her giving my Shikigami a strange look as it finishes off the last few Cursed Spirits.

"It's called The Ten Shadows Technique. What about you? What's your technique?"

"I don't have one," she breezily answers as we continue walking. 

"What about that blue fire you used?" I ask as I begin petting my Shikigami's side once it joins us.

Tamamo has been hogging the attention of my fox Shikigami since she saw it. It's been sitting on her shoulder since we got up this morning after a brief camp.

"That wasn't an Innate Technique, and on the subject of Innate Techniques, firstly, you shouldn't answer that question. Innate Techniques are kept private for a reason and people consider it rude to ask about it. Yōkai however, don't have Innate Techniques like Sorcerers do as a rule."

"If it's rude then why did you ask?" I dryly answer, getting only a mischievous smirk in response. Sighing, I don't press the nonissue since I don't really care. "Can I learn how to use that fire then? And why don't Yōkai have Innate Techniques?"

"No. You can't," she answers my first question, much to my visible disappointment. "Yōkai don't have Innate Techniques because Innate Techniques are purely a product of Cursed Energy, and thus only appear in humans and powerful Cursed Spirits. Yōkai have Osore instead."

Speaking of Cursed Spirits, I sense another one nearby and send Lion's Pride to go kill it.

There really are a lot of them all over the place, and there's only been more and more the closer I've gotten to civilisation from my little slice of nowhere, which does kind of make sense.

They are born from human emotions after all, it's only natural there would be more when there are more humans around.

"I thought Yōkai were full of Cursed Energy?"

"There is a distinction," she pauses to think of how to phrase it. "Cursed Energy is purely spiritual. It is the energy behind negative emotions. Yōkai don't have Cursed Energy, because they are not purely spiritual beings like Cursed Spirits, and they are not neutral beings like humans. To Yōkai, Cursed Energy isn't just the result of negative emotions, it is tied to their very being. So instead of Cursed Energy, they have Youki."

"Youki?"

Tamamo sighs, understandably. I asked a lot of questions before we even made camp, and have been doing nothing but asking anything that comes to mind since we woke up. "Think of it like natural Ki corrupted by Cursed Energy."

"Ki?" I ask with a smile while she groans when she realises she's just further ignited my curiosity.

"Life force."

"Can you manipulate Ki?"

"Not by itself," she answers, and I'm glad she's still humouring me. "You need to use either Negative or Positive Energy to do so. Negative is easier, you do that already. There's also Touki, but that is both more complicated and a lot simpler."

I've really got to give her some credit. Not only is Tamamo incredibly knowledgeable, but even more than that, she is being so generous. At the start, she seemed pretty entertained answering my questions, probably finding amusement in my curiosity.

But after so many hours, she's clearly starting to get annoyed by it. But even then, she isn't withholding information or shortening her explanations even knowing it will only lead to more questions being asked.

It's respectable.

"So, when I'm reinforcing my body with Cursed Energy, I'm using my Ki?"

"Yes, though it is more accurate to say you're using your Ki as a base and then multiplying it with your Cursed Energy. You know what multiplying is, right?"

"Yes, I know my numbers," I answer with a chuckle, not at all offended. This is the past after all, most people don't know how to read let alone count. "So what's different with Touki?"

The trees around us clear away somewhat as we reach the peak of a hill, and far off on the horizon, over more forests and hills, I can finally see Edo starting to come into view. We're almost there.

"Touki isn't pulled by positive or negative emotions. Kind of. It's complicated because it is difficult to explain, but it is simple because it is easy to use."

"How so?"

"Give me a moment to think how to explain it," Tamamo snaps, making me laugh. "Touki is Ki that gets enhanced by 'fighting spirit'. The reason it is so difficult to explain, is because 'fighting spirit' isn't clearly defined. No one really knows exactly what it is, so it has been simplified into 'fighting spirit'. Basically, if you train your body really really hard for a long time and stubbornly want to fight with your whole soul, then you can manifest Touki. I wouldn't recommend bothering with it though."

"Why not? It couldn't hurt to have more sources of strength?"

"Because mastering Touki requires a great deal of dedication. You would have to push your studies and training in Cursed Energy aside to focus on it, which is pointless anyway since you can achieve the same effect with Cursed Reinforcement. Touki is only really practiced by stubborn fools who have no other path to growing stronger."

Humming, I don't agree or disagree with her words. I already trained my body plenty, and I still want to experience it, so I'll probably try and unlock Touki at some point. That said, it doesn't seem a priority when apparently all it is good for is reinforcement.

We walk in peaceful silence as I ponder over the new information, but after a while I eventually speak up again.

"You mentioned Osore. What is that?"

As an answer, Tamamo turns her head enough that she can meet my eye, and when she does, I feel a shiver go down my spine that I haven't felt since that first Curse I met.

It's fear, I realise that I am feeling, and I can feel my grin widen at the strange sensation.

Then, with a blink, the feeling disappears as if a gust of wind.

"That, is Osore. It is the fear that makes a Yōkai, manifested," Tamamo says, and I think she's forgotten that she's been trying to hide the fact that she's a Yōkai.

Not that I'm going to point that out to her of course.

Instead, I just ask more questions. "You mentioned that Ki is neutral and can be brought out by Negative Energy or by fighting spirit, but you haven't said anything about Positive Energy. How does that work? Who uses Positive Energy if Yōkai and humans both use negative?"

"Kami," is her immediate answer. "Kami are the equal and opposite of Cursed Spirits and so their energy is positive, like that deer Shikigami of yours. Though, don't mistake the average Kami with a Kami in the Heavens. Those Kami are Divine and naturally work by different rules."

That makes sense actually. Kami are everywhere in everything, and they're pretty much always kind and helpful, this is why we show them respect and kindness in turn through rituals and prayer.

Also, good to know that that is called Positive Energy, not Blessed Energy as I've been calling it. And, now that I think about it, it makes a lot more sense how I can manifest it by smashing my Cursed Energy against itself.

Two negatives make a positive after all.

"How do the Divine work?" I ask, and for the first time since I've known her, Tamamo doesn't have an answer.

"I don't know." She must have seen the surprised look on my face because she sends me a glare. "The Divine live in the Heavens above us as Celestial beings, to know the Divine is to be Divine. So unless you happen to meet an Ōkami, no one is going to answer that for you."

Sighing, I accept her answer and keep walking.

The silence is longer this time as I actually struggle to think of questions to ask, my mind too occupied absorbing the wealth of information already given.

Not to mention some excitement at finally reaching the big city. Soon enough, I'll be in the ancient Japanese spirit equivalent of Hogwarts and I'll get to meet all sorts of interesting people. Hopefully.

I'm not in a hurry though, so we keep our pace light. By my estimate, we should reach Edo by evening.

However, once we clear the forest and with Edo still only on the horizon, Tamamo comes to a stop, not stepping out into the sun.

"Tamamo?" I ask, turning back to her to see that she's adopted a purposefully aloof expression.

"Our deal was merely that I travel with you until we reach near Edo. We have done so. This is where we part ways."

"Oh." Right. I forgot about that part. It's a shame, but I have a feeling we will meet again, so at least it's not goodbye.

"Wait," I call out before she can walk off. "Before you go, may I ask a favour? One last lesson?"

She stares at me for a long moment, her clothes blowing in a breeze that idly makes me realise that at some point I'd stopped considering jeans as normal clothes and kimono as traditional clothes.

Now, when I see Tamamo's dress I just think of it as clothes. That's pretty weird to think about. Just another aspect of living in the past really. What once was traditional and strange to see is now just everyone's everyday wear.

Though, Tamamo's clothes are definitely of a better quality than my own.

"Fine. One more lesson," she agrees, and I send her a mischievous grin full of eagerness.

"Fight me."

Her head tilts and her lip twitches into a brief frown.

"Why?" She asks, almost accusing but not quite.

I'm sure there's some subtext going on here that I'm completely blind to, but since I don't know what it is, I just ignore it.

"Because being a Jujutsu Sorcerer is all about fighting Cursed Spirits, but I've never really been in a fight before, and I don't want to embarrass myself too much when I get there with my inexperience."

Tamamo raises a brow with a deadpan expression on her face. "I've seen you kill a number of Cursed Spirits in the short time we've been together."

"I don't really count them as fights," I respond with a shrug.

"Why is that?" She asks, and I feel my smile become slightly more solemn without my control as I give her the honest answer.

"Because I've yet to exert myself."

Other than that time with the first Cursed Spirit I ever saw, I have never once in this life truly had to push myself. 

Sure, I push my body in training, but that's not really the same. I've yet to have to truly try. 

It's... unsatisfying.

Tamamo-no-Mae

As Narauko gives his answer, she notices the far off look that briefly crosses his eyes, and she understands.

He has never faced an equal in battle before. She understands that feeling well.

She is a genius. She has been praised as such her entire life by her village.

Like all Kitsune, she was born with a single tail. Normally, as a Kitsune grows older, they will gain a tail every one hundred years, except for the final tail which takes two hundred.

Every one hundred years, when a Kitsune's next tail grows in, their power grows to match. That is just how it works. Their strength is directly tied to the number of tails they have.

However, Tamamo-no-Mae is only seventy eight, by all accounts, she should only have one tail. She has three. Because unlike every other Kitsune known, it is Tamamo's age that needs to catch up to her power, not the other way around.

Instead of gaining tails and then power, she has done the opposite. Because she is a genius. Her village expect her to be the first Nine-Tailed Kitsune in one thousand years.

There has only been one before, and they died so long ago that no one is really sure they existed in the first place. Most Kitsune don't even make it to their seventh tail before their potential runs out. Then they can't gain any more tails no matter how long they live.

So she understood the look in his eye perfectly. The look of someone yet to meet an equal.

Still. She's pretty sure he's not nearly as strong as she is. He's just too sheltered to have met anyone powerful yet. He's also only human. Even if he isn't as lowly as those monkeys, there is still a distance that separates them from birth.

Though, that lion Shikigami of his is pretty dangerous, and the deer could be annoying with its Positive Energy.

"Are you sure?" She still asks, because it's a risky thing he is asking of her.

"Of course," he responds, as she knew he would.

"Very well then. Just don't Curse me when you lose."

Narauko laughs at her answer, which doesn't surprise her. She would be surprised if he was even capable of Cursing anyone out of something as petty as vengeance. He's the kind of man who would die complimenting the one who killed him.

Truly, he is the strangest Sorcerer she has ever met.

As if to prove her point, Narauko continues, "Would you like to change into one of my spare sets of clothes first? Your kimono is very pretty and looks well made, I'd feel bad if I damaged it."

Truly, truly strange.

"I thank you for the consideration, but you needn't worry." She doesn't explain that she can clean and repair her clothing, or even just create a new set altogether, and being the considerate man that he is, he doesn't ask why he needn't worry and merely accepts her words at face value.

He's very lucky she felt intrigued enough by him that she humoured his 'deal' in the first place. Had she not felt the strange warmth of his Cursed Energy and become intrigued, it would have been incredibly easy to trick him with lies when he seems to believe everything she says.

"Suit yourself," Narauko responds as he takes off his scarf that he seems to care a lot about considering it's poor quality and drops it into his shadow.

Following that, he stretches his arms out and cracks his neck, raising an eyebrow in her direction when he notices she isn't doing the same.

Then he holds two fingers out in a familiar, annoying gesture and calls out, "Curtain."

Immediately, ink paints the sky and falls around them in a large radius, forming a dome-shaped barrier and Tamamo has to put some effort in keeping her Kitsune featured hidden as the barrier's effect kicks in.

Cursed Spirits within a Curtain are unable to hide, for the most part, and while Yōkai aren't Cursed Spirits, as she has been telling him, the Curtain still makes it more difficult to hold their human disguises.

Still, she wouldn't be a genius if something as simple as that could trip her up.

"A Curtain with no incantation. Impressive," she comments, getting a confused blink in response.

She's noticed that when he gets confused he tends to blink and tilt his head slightly. She does her best to ignore how endearing she finds it.

"Is it?" He asks.

"It means you are above average, at least." She answers.

"Ah, it's probably just that Curtain is the only barrier technique that my father taught me, so I've practiced it a lot."

She almost rolls her eyes at his modesty. She imagines the faces that those Sorcerers in Edo will make when he gets there will be incredibly amusing. It's a shame she won't be able to see it.

Most Sorcerers are Grade Three. The above average ones are Grade Two, and most of those still use the incantation when making a Curtain. They're also all quite a few years older than he is.

Shaking he head, Tamamo enters a combat stance and throws away useless thoughts, focusing on her body and her Youki as she puts herself in the mindset of battle.

Narauko mimics, though his stance is obviously unrefined. Just looking at him she can tell that he has some proper education but has never actually applied what he's been taught.

"Oh, by the way," Narauko says, a friendly, if sheepish smile on his face. "I'm going to try to kill you. I would appreciate it if you do the same."

There's the Sorcerer in him. Saying that with a smile she can tell is genuinely friendly.

Still, she tilts her head at that, confused until realisation sets in.

"You really are sheltered, aren't you?" She asks, amused despite herself as he blinks in response, so she continues before he can ask, her voice hard. "There is no point in a fight if you are going to pull your punches. In fact, it's greatly insulting to fight with the intention of sparing your opponent. Hear this well Narauko. You must always fight to kill, there is no alternative."

Teaching students could technically be called an alternative, but that's not really fighting, it's teaching, so she doesn't count it.

"Oh, I didn't realise," he says, his grin only growing wider, and for the first time, she properly recognises him as a Sorcerer. "Let's fight with our lives on the line then."

"As it should be," she returns.

Standing opposite each other, the tension between them rises slowly, and being the more experienced of the two, Tamamo decides to engage first.

Truthfully, she wouldn't have accepted the fight if not for his deer Shikigami. With that, he should survive. Probably.

Dashing forward, a gust follows in her wake as Tamamo blurs in front of Narauko and thrusts a clawed hand at his chest, intending to tear a hole into his torso to end the fight in the first move.

But, unexpectedly, Narauko was fast enough to respond to her movement and leaned back until his hand touched the floor behind him, giving him enough leverage to kick up at her.

She blocks the blow with a reinforced arm, intending to counter only to be launched a few paces back from the blow, her arm stinging slightly.

That... Was a strong blow.

Before she can question it any further, Narauko appears in front of her with a fist raised in a telegraphed punch that she easily counters, even distracted, with a palm thrust to his chest that returns the favour of sending him back.

He is stronger and faster than she expected. More durable too.

He has such a weak presence that she underestimated him even after travelling together.

That is her mistake. She won't do it again.

Pushing her Youki harder, Tamamo dashes back into the fight as fast as she can, making Narauko's eyes widen at her speed, and yet, he still manages to block her claw.

Blood splatters as she tears a chunk out of his forearm instead of his throat and she feels a rib crack when his retaliatory kick strikes home.

"Owwwww," Narauko whines as he cradles his arm and generates his own Positive Energy, somehow, to heal himself.

The battlefield isn't a place for endless speculation, so she just assumes that he is somehow channelling that deer Shikigami's ability without summoning it and moves on.

Similar to Cursed Spirits however, Positive Energy is poison to Yōkai and the opposite heals, so she only needs to pour some Youki into her cracked rib to fix it.

There's a brief lull as they circle each other, reassessing.

Yet, despite the injuries, she finds that they are both smiling.

This time, both of them dash each other at the same time and meet in the middle.

Narauko goes for a punch to her face that she ducks under, grabbing his wrist with one of her own and pulling him off balance and into her waiting elbow.

He takes the hit straight to the jaw and his head snaps back, but before she can continue to pummel him he surprises her by swinging his head back forward and viciously headbutting her. 

Luckily, they are about the same height so he doesn't break her nose, but it does disorient her enough that she loses her grip of his wrist and has to defend as his other fist swings at her.

But in the end, she is the more experienced fighter of the two of them and she has his measure now, so she manages to defend herself, and in the flurry of combat that follows, she finds herself scoring more and more hits while only occasionally receiving one of his.

Yet, as the fight continues, she starts hitting him less and less, and the fight gets more and more even.

It takes her a moment to truly understand why the fight is shifting in his favour, but when she does she can't help but feel incredulous.

He's... Learning?

He's getting better, that fact is undeniable, and when she nearly loses her throat in an incredibly familiar manoeuvre, she realises that he's not just getting better, he's copying her.

He's devouring her martial arts with every hit he takes.

I apologise, she thinks to him as her own grin actually grows to match his own. It seems I was still underestimating you.

Ducking under his next punch, Tamamo spins a roundhouse kick into his gut, sending Narauko flying back a dozen paces.

Not waiting for him to recover, she spins back onto her feet facing him and holds out her hands.

A moment later, blue fire engulfs her hands in a series of rings going all the way up to her elbow.

When he notices the fire, Narauko's first response is to bark out a laugh before charging at her with his full speed.

However, he misses.

To her side, two paces away, Narauko swings at another Tamamo-no-Mae identical to herself, and his fist goes straight through her body without resistance.

The illusory clone disperses around his fist like disturbed smoke and she doesn't give him the chance to express his confusion before a pair of blue rings of fire leave her wrists and slam into him in an explosion of fire.

The concussive force sends Narauko flying, but the fire doesn't leave him and continues to burn away at his Cursed Energy.

A moment later, his Cursed Energy swells and drowns out her fire, putting it out.

At this point, she kind of expected it, but he really does have a lot more Cursed Energy than she thought.

He barely feels like a Grade Three Sorcerer, but no one with such little output would be able to put out her fire so easily, all without showing the slightest bit of exhaustion.

"Hey Tamamo," Narauko calls out, making her pause.

"Asking for mercy?" She asks in return, a mockery that doesn't faze him in the slightest.

He grins wildly at her. "Your tail is showing~."

His words shock her back into focus and her head snaps to the side to look behind her, only to see that her tails are not, in fact showing.

She realises the trick for what it was only an instant before an incredible impact slams into her gut, knocking the air out of her lungs and launching her across the ground.

Narauko doesn't let up and she has to roll to avoid him stomping down on her, and as she rolls onto her back she points both arms up at him and releases a point blank explosion of fire that once more separates them.

Coughing to herself as she floods her system with Youki to repair her ruptured organs, Tamamo climbs back to her feet and pats herself down of dirt, glaring at Narauko as he does the same.

"You tricked me," she accuses, genuinely offended.

Tricking people is supposed to be her thing. Tricking people is the past time of her entire species, and yet this human tricked her and has the gall to grin about it.

But more importantly... 

"How long have you known?" She asks, her voice a whisper.

"Pretty early on," he answers without a care, still smiling that damn smile at her. "You are going to want to do a better job avoiding making such a distinction between yourself and us humans if you want to blend in in the future."

"Why didn't you say anything?" She accuses him with a glare.

"It seemed like you wanted to keep it a secret for some reason, so I didn't ask. Everyone is entitled to their secrets, and you've been too kind for me to pry on yours."

"You don't seem to have a problem doing so to score a cheap hit," Tamamo grumbles.

"All is fair in love and war," he responds, sounding like he is quoting something but she doesn't know what. Either way, she can admit that it's a good quote.

That doesn't change the core issue here however.

"Why would you travel with me if you knew?" She asks, getting somewhat frustrated at him acting like he doesn't get it.

"Does it matter?" He asks instead, making her brow twitch.

"Of course it matters!" She yells at him. "You are a human and I am a Yōkai! Our nature opposes one another! Humans are nothing but food and entertainment to Yōkai and Yōkai are nothing but monsters to be killed to humans! I should have deceived and killed you the moment we met! That is my nature! And you should have killed me the moment you found out! You're a Sorcerer aren't you!?"

Breathing hard after her rant, Tamamo glares at Narauko as he tilts his head this way and that, visibly thinking over her words.

Eventually however, he just shrugs and grins that same. Damn. Smile at her. "I don't really care about anything like that. Labels are pretty limiting. Besides, you were literally teaching me about how Yōkai have their own society just like humans do earlier. If you tried to kill me because you were evil and that was your nature then I wouldn't blame you, but you didn't, so why does it matter? You're not just a Yōkai. You are Tamamo-no-Mae, and while Tamamo-no-Mae is indeed a Yōkai, no other Yōkai is Tamamo-no-Mae. In the end, I'm a pretty simple guy you know? I like you, so I'm not going to kill you if I can help it, even if you do wind up being evil and slaughtering my kind."

This insufferably single-minded man...

Yōkai and humans don't get along. They don't make friends and they certainly don't travel together, teaching each other. It's wrong. It's all wrong.

But his words... 

Yōkai should despise humans. She should look down on them as the pathetic monkeys that they are. Humans too, should despise Yōkai. They should look at them with hatred and fear.

Not a single human has ever seen her without her disguise and not given that instinctual reaction. It is written into their very being. An order of nature.

A Yōkai exists off of the fear of humans. It is humanity's fear itself that composes their souls, so it is impossible for a human to see a Yōkai and not give the same reaction. Even trained Sorcerers who do not truly fear Yōkai still flinch. It is an instinctual truth that proves the separation between their species.

Glaring at him, she decides actions can prove her point better than words ever could, and she makes his bluff a reality by completely dropping her illusions, revealing her true form.

Aesthetically, the change isn't massive. Her hair grows longer, her ears reveal themselves on top of her head. Her eyes slit, fangs sharpen, claws grow and three thick tails fan out behind her.

She is a Kitsune. A Yōkai. A Monster.

For all his words, there is simply no way for a human to look upon her without flinching.

She closes her eyes, irrationally unwilling to see the judgment in his own.

Yet, deep down, she knew his answer. There's only one way he could ever respond.

"Beautiful." The whispered word carries its way to her ears and she feels warm.

That's just the kind of man he is.

Opening her eyes, she ignores the slight stinging in them as she takes in the sight of Narauko, slightly ruffed up from their fight but otherwise fresh as his eyes roam her body with his mouth slightly parted.

For some reason she refuses to identify, a flush of embarrassment fills her under his intense stare, so she reflectively strikes a subtle pose and winks seductively at him.

Kitsune are seductresses after all. Even if it's not something she practices a lot, it is still a comfort zone she can go to to hide her feelings in this moment.

"It's rude to stare~," she purrs at him, not hiding her heritage at all, and he really doesn't flinch.

His eyes meet her own, and it's actually her that has to hide a flinch as she can feel the pure acceptance in his gaze.

Humans are food. Playthings. Savages that will swarm you with fire and blood just for being different.

They should be killed. Eaten. Tricked or avoided.

That's what the village Elders always told her. It's what every Yōkai she's ever met has told her.

Humans and Yōkai are enemies by birth. Coexistence is not possible. Humans will never accept them. There's no point in even trying. Even compared to trickster Kitsune, humans cannot be trusted.

Kitsune trick and they lie, but when a deal has been made, they do not betray. Oni proudly claim that there is nothing false in the words of Oni. Humans however? They lie and they cheat and they betray. Using dirty, dishonourable tricks to make up for their own weakness.

Humans are the enemy.

So why.

Why are you so different?

"Ah, my bad. I didn't mean to stare, I just didn't expect your fur to be so beautiful, you must take great pride in it," Narauko comments, and she forces down a blush because yes, she does take great pride in it.

"You truly don't care, do you?" She asks, still somewhat baffled even if she's coming to accept it.

"Tamamo-no-Mae is Tamamo-no-Mae. Yōkai or human doesn't really matter. It's you I like, not your species."

When he says things like that she doesn't know if this dense idiot is flirting or not and it's incredibly annoying.

"You are a truly strange human."

"Better to be a freak than to be boring," he responds with a shrug before grinning wildly at her once again. "So, we were in the middle of something?"

Laughing lightly, Tamamo feels her own savage grin spread to match his.

She's done holding anything back. He is clearly so far beyond anything she would have expected from a human.

So for the first time in her life, she is going to give this everything she's got.

Her tails fan out and blue fire once more graces her body. A series of concentric rings cover her arms all the way up to her shoulders, where another two rings of blue fire hover, above and slightly behind her shoulders.

Behind her, three rings of matching fire light up at the tips of her tails, not quite touching and finally, another ring of fire appears above her head like a burning halo.

"Kami that looks so cool~," Narauko practically squeals, his excitement clear and matching with her own.

"Don't die on me now," Tamamo calls out to him as she blurs into his personal space, a blue ring of fire glowing in her eyes, "Narauko!"

Despite her speed having increased significantly, he still manages to lean out of the way, but it doesn't matter as the ring of fire around her wrist doesn't lose any momentum and flies right into his face, exploding into a burst of fire.

Narauko is launched to the ground but he just reaches an arm out behind him and transitions the fall into a backwards flip, curling his legs in to avoid having them removed by her follow up.

She keeps up her momentum, leaving him on the back foot as he is forced to block, parry and dodge as best as he is able.

Which is pretty good, as she only manages to land some grazing blows.

Her grin only grows wider as she waits for him to get comfortable with her assault, and then she coats herself in an illusion and has her illusory self drop low for a leg sweep.

Narauko jumps over the leg as she predicted and she is already in the air ready for him.

Spinning for momentum, Tamamo kicks him with everything she's got, but unexpectedly, he is able to bring his arms up in time to block, flaring his Cursed Energy enough that his arms only snap in half instead of getting removed entirely.

Her attack creates enough distance between them that Narauko can gather his bearings, and he meets her in the middle once again. Only this time, when she sends an illusion forward and comes at him from the side, he notices.

Her clawed hand meets air as he ducks under it and grabs her wrist, ignoring the way his hand burns under her fire, and uses the leverage to pull her off balance, right into his waiting elbow.

Her head snaps back from the blow, but her grin only grows as she recognises the movement he just made.

That's my move! She thinks, recognising the counter as a perfect mirror of her own movements at the start of the fight.

Instead of letting him press harder, her tails shoot over her shoulders intent on skewering him, but he uses her gut as a springboard to kick off of and launches backwards.

As soon as his feet touch the ground, they are charging right back at each other, and she feels his Cursed Energy lean to her right, so she leans left, right into Narauko's fist.

What!? She thinks to herself as one of her tails throws its ring of fire like a shuriken at him. I know I read his Cursed Energy right. He was going right!

Narauko leans back under the ring of fire, showing some impressive flexibility, and she feels his Cursed Energy surging in a pattern she knows to mean that he will plant his hands and use them as a spring to kick her in the chest.

But when she leans back to avoid it, she finds her knee getting kicked hard enough to buckle, but not snap.

As she falls, the rings of fire above her shoulders slam into each other and cause a concentrated explosion that launches Narauko back away.

In the brief respite, she tries to figure out what is going on, and like a lightning bolt, it comes to her.

He's trying to mimic my illusions with just Cursed Energy!

Standing off against him, she notices that his clothes are in tatters, showing off most of his well muscled upper body, and most importantly, that he is uninjured.

Obviously, he has taken damage, but his use of Positive Energy has healed him. Yet, he doesn't even seem tired despite that.

The next moment, her senses blare as she feels a lot of Cursed Energy gathering around one of his arms until it becomes visible to her and she realises what he's doing.

He's trying to copy her fire now. The idiot doesn't realise that it is literally impossible, but that doesn't mean he can't just launch pure Cursed Energy at her.

Which he does a moment later in a thin beam that tears up the ground behind her when she dodges.

Just how much Cursed Energy does he have! She screams to herself as she charges forward once more, feeling her blood pumping in her veins like it never has before. Is he even human!?

Illusions cloak her form but Narauko's eyes meet her own regardless, and she can only smile wider, a laugh leaving her lips as she realises what she's feeling.

Danger.

She's in danger of losing, for the first time in her life, and against a human at that!

Her laugh turns slightly hysterical as they come to clash once more, and she feels her Youki surging like it never has before, a clarity of mind hitting her like the greatest drug.

Sparks of black race off of her fist as it closes in on his chest.

"Black Flash!" The words leave her lungs without thought.

Space itself bends around her fist as it digs into Narauko's diaphragm an explodes with more force than anything she's ever hit before.

Blood explodes from his chest and flies out of his mouth as Narauko is launched back into the forest and through half a dozen trees before eventually sliding to a stop.

A feeling of euphoria floods Tamamo's mind as her Youki flows to her every whim. It feels to her like her Youki has been mud this entire time and only now became water, flowing with such ease she wonders how she ever managed to move it before today.

Turning delighted eyes upon the forest, she watches Narauko pick himself up, a hand over the steadily closing hole she left in his chest.

But despite very nearly dying, his smile almost matches her own.

No words are needed.

This final clash will decide the victor.

Narauko's Cursed Energy surges, and for the first time since meeting him, she can feel it. His Curse.

All restraint disappears and an ocean of Cursed Energy coats his body.

The inefficiency is obvious. The return in reinforcement he is getting for each unit of Cursed Energy is noticeably diminishing, but what does it matter if he can just keep pouring more, and more, and more energy into his body?

Matching him, her own Youki surges. The rings of fire covering her arms double, and she creates an equal amount covering her legs from thigh to ankle, then she makes even more. Half a dozen tiny rings of fire bursting into being over each of her fingers.

She doesn't bother with any illusions and just shoves everything she has into her body and her fire, enhancing herself so much that her back itches, a new tail wanting to spring to life but not quite able to.

There is no spoken signal.

Some instinct in them just understands. A connection between them forged from travel and combat lets her practically read his mind as they charge one another.

No holding back.

No defence.

No hesitance.

Do or die, attack with everything.

They meet in the middle.

The ground craters.

Trees are torn out of the earth and flung into the distance.

The very sky cracks and a thunderous boom deafens all the animals unlucky enough to be in the Curtain.

Wind rages as they are both launched back from the point of impact like a pair of missiles, trails of blood following in their wake.

Pain like she has never felt before fills Tamamo's mind like static as her body is flung through tree after tree until she eventually bounces across the earth and slowly rolls to a stop.

For a long moment, she just lies there, unmoving as she waits for the ringing in her ears to stop.

Without moving her body, she cracks her eyes open to see a cloud of dust settling around her.

She feels numb, but little by little, control of her body comes back to her.

Enough that she can tilt her neck and look at herself.

Her clothes are in tatters, leaving her rather immodest.

Her skin is red and raw, covered in tears and cuts profusely leaking blood.

Moving her eyes to the side slightly, a disbelieving huff leaves her throat and the pain hardly even registers as she takes in the sight.

Her arm is gone. 

Only a roughly torn stump remains of her bicep, flaps of flesh and white bone open to the air as blood endlessly pools around her.

Relaxing herself, her head falls back and she stares up at the sky, feeling too many emotions to really pick any one out.

It takes some time for her muddled thoughts to gather around a single, unavoidable point.

I... Lost?

Even if Narauko is in as bad a spot as she is, not winning is itself an act of loss. He also seems to have better healing options than she does, at least in the short term.

What a monster.

A wheezing, stilted laugh leaves her and she ignores the pain it causes as warmth fills her with a smile.

I lost, she thinks to herself again and in spite of the pain it causes her, she continues to laugh.

She feels... Joy.

Finally, she has found an equal. Someone who can keep up with her.

Someone who can understand her. Who accepts her. Who is strong like her.

How could she feel anything but joy at that?

"You're not dead? I'm glad." Her head turns enough to see Narauko approach.

Leaves, twigs and debris crunches under his bare feet as he limps closer to her, one of his owns arm also missing while his other slowly works on repairing all the internal damage done to him.

Once he shuffles close enough to her, he plops down on the ground next to her head with a slight grunt and looks down into her eyes with a happy, childlike grin on his face.

"That was fun," he tells her, and she wants to believe him, to bask in the moment with him. But when she looks into his eyes, she can see the truth.

He's not truly satisfied.

Once that thought hits her, she can no longer keep ignoring one simple fact.

Throughout the entire fight, not once did Narauko use his Innate Technique.

Even still, his smile is pure and his joy is genuine. 

He is happy. He's not lying when he said he had fun. In fact, he hasn't lied to her once. She didn't think he was even capable of lying.

So why,

"You're strong."

Would he lie?

Chapter Text

A comfortable warmth coats my skin as the evening sun shines down on us where we lay in opposite directions from each other on a patch of the grass that isn't torn up, our heads resting next to each others.

Across my lap, Generous Deer lies, curled up and at least pretending to sleep. I don't think my Shikigami can actually sleep. In fact, I don't think they're really sentient at all. They probably just act how I subconsciously believe they should act.

Thanks to Generous Deer, I'm already fully recovered, even if I am feeling rather drained. It's a novel feeling, I decide.

I'd never actually run low on Cursed Energy before today, so I had assumed that it wasn't an energy reserve kind of deal. I though that instead of running out of Cursed Energy, the stamina concern was more along the lines of running out of focus to continue to manipulate it.

Guess it's actually just difficult to use it all.

I'm satisfied though. I've learned a lot.

My Cursed Energy Reinforcement has improved somewhat, but it doesn't compare to the improvement in my ability to sense Cursed Energy.

Tamamo's illusions were really difficult to see through at first, but really it was just a matter of focusing harder to be able to at least vaguely sense where they are and aren't.

She also helped me learn how to project my Cursed Energy as an attack. It was horribly inefficient, but a big part of me is still marvelling over how cool it was to shoot a genuine magical laser beam from my hand.

Then there was that extra powerful punch she hit me with that ruptured my heart and very nearly killed me. That felt weird, beyond the pain at least. To my senses, it was like a flashbang, like her Youki froze and teleported or something.

"Hey Tamamo," I speak up after what felt like hours of just lying together in a comfortable post-fight bliss.

"Hm?"

"What was that attack?" I ask, further clarifying, "The one that put a hole in my chest? It felt weird."

She doesn't turn to look at me as she answers and neither do I, both of us just staring at the snow white clouds in the blue sky. "It's called Kokusen, or Black Flash."

Tamamo pauses her explanation to let out a sigh of contentment as her arm finally finishes regenerating. Generous Deer can't heal her because she's a Yōkai and Positive Energy is poison to her, so she had to do it herself, unfortunately.

"Black Flash isn't a technique. It's more like a natural phenomena. When Cursed Energy, or Youki, is applied almost in the exact same instant as a physical hit, the Cursed Energy will flash black and the power of the strike will be increased by about two and a half times."

"No wonder I couldn't defend it," I comment.

"That's not all though. When one achieves a Black Flash, they enter a temporary state of heightened ability. Everything becomes easier to do and clearer to understand. For me, it felt like I was seeing my Youki again for the first time. Even now, I am wondering how I could ever manipulate my Youki so inefficiently. Black Flash isn't a random phenomena, but it's also not something that can be done on command. No one is capable of choosing when they experience a Black Flash, all I really know about the activation conditions is that Youki must strike within one one thousandth of one one thousandth of a second."

"So one one millionth of a second then?" I muse, considering if I could activate that on command and immediately throwing away the idea.

Even if timing is the only thing taken into count, my fine control over my Cursed Energy is nowhere near that precise.

"Million?" Tamamo parrots, once more reminding me schools don't exist properly yet.

"One thousand thousands," I answer easily enough.

"Ah." Another short quiet passes before she speaks again. "How did you make Positive Energy without summoning your Shikigami? Can you take on their traits without bringing them out?"

Her second question makes me pause before I can answer.

I... Hadn't thought about trying that. Can I? I don't know. Something to test later. Maybe I'll see if I can merge my Shikigami with each other first, before experimenting on myself.

"It's a double negative," I answer and Tamamo briefly tilts her head enough to send me a flat stare before turning her attention back to the clouds. "When you multiply a number by a negative, it inverses. Positive becomes negative and negative becomes positive. It took me a while to learn it from Generous Deer, but since Cursed Energy is inherently negative, I just smash it against itself and it inverses into a positive. I haven't studied it academically yet, so I don't know how it functions in exacting detail."

A cloud drifts by that looks like a rabbit and when I point at it, Tamamo hums and points to the distance at a cloud that vaguely looks like a fist.

"That actually makes some other things make more sense," Tamamo comments and I hum inquisitively.

"When Negative Energy encounters a lesser concentration of Positive Energy, it corrupts it into more Negative Energy. However, when the opposite is true, Positive Energy simply overwhelms the negative and purifies it away. So, negative by negative makes positive, positive by positive makes more positive and negative by positive makes negative. So while Negative Energy can corrupt positive, the opposite is not true, so it just overwhelms and destroys instead."

Huh. I actually never thought about that, but now that she's mentioned it, I've heard plenty of stories about positive things being corrupted, but I can't remember any about negative things becoming positive, unless you count the eradication of the negative as a positive.

I suppose that would depend on whether you count zero as a positive.

"How does your fire work?" I ask after another brief silence. "I tried to copy it but it didn't work."

"You can't copy it," she scoffs, though I think I can hear some amusement. "Foxfire is an ability unique to Kitsune. It's more of a physical trait than a technique, so unless you somehow manage to turn yourself into a Kitsune, you can't use it. Before you ask, it's the same with the illusions. You can't do them like me. However, you can probably mimic them with some talismans and practice. I doubt it though. Cursed Energy isn't that flexible, most of your potential is decided at birth."

"Lame," I complain. "I don't really have a proper offensive move beyond just throwing Cursed Energy around."

"I'm sure you will figure something out," she consoles before taking her turn to ask the question. "What is your goal?"

I wasn't expecting a deep question like that, but the answer is already so clear to me that I don't hesitate in my answer. "To learn."

"Learn what?"

"Everything."

"Heh, you don't act like a Sorcerer most of the time, but you definitely are one."

My brow raises at her apparent amusement. "Is that a compliment?"

"Maybe it is," she says, sounding like she is actually unsure herself.

I don't have any more questions, and she doesn't seem to either, so we both just relax under the sun for a while, occasionally pointing out a cloud if it looks like something.

It's nice. Relaxing.

Once again, I find myself thinking how in my last life, I never would have been able to just lie down and enjoy the sun like this. It's embarrassing.

But here and now? I'm just happy.

I love this world, this second life of mine.

I'm just.. so happy to be alive.

Eventually however, the sun moves further across the sky, and I realise I'm going to need to start moving if I want to get to Edo before dark.

"You should get going, it's going to be dark soon," Tamamo eventually says, her words mirroring my thoughts exactly.

Still, despite that, neither of us move from where we lay right away.

"It seems this is where we part ways then, Tamamo-Sen~sei," I comment, lightly teasing her because I know she doesn't like suffixes.

Probably a Yōkai thing, though it's also probably racist to assume all Yōkai are the same just because of the one I met.

"Don't call me that," Tamamo snaps, though there's no heat in her tone.

An amused breath leaves me at her response, and there's another brief silence before Tamamo lets out a slight sigh and climbs to her feet, with me joining her, feeling unexpectedly reluctant.

She can use her Youki to magic her clothes all back to perfect condition, which is unfair, because I can't. So once I'm up, the first thing I have to do is get a fresh white kosode, a short sleeved thin kimono worn as an undershirt, from my shadow to slip on.

My hakama pants were thankfully mostly undamaged, so there's no burning need to change them.

Once I finish covering myself, I turn back to Tamamo to notice her quickly turning her head away to stare at a random tree for some reason.

Following her stare, I don't see or sense anything strange and just shrug it off when she turns her attention back to me.

Our eyes meet and I smile. "So, what will you be doing now?"

Instead of answering immediately, she turns to gaze upon the city of Edo with a strangely solemn, and somewhat hesitant gaze.

Tilting my head curiously, I wait a moment for her to respond.

"I think... I think I am going to give the mon-" She cuts herself off and glances at me. I'm not sure what she was looking for, but she seemed relieved as she turned back to Edo. "I am going to give humanity a chance."

"What do you mean?" I ask, and she turns to face me fully, taking a half step closer to me, putting herself close enough that I could touch her if I reached out.

"I have only ever heard of humans through the Yōkai of my village. Before you, I had never spoken with a human for more than a single exchange. I have realised that I don't truly understand humans. It is as you said, humans are complex animals-"

"I don't remember using the word animals," I interject, but she ignores me.

"Regardless," she continues, "I intend to experience humanity through my own eyes. To that end, I shall be heading to the capital city, Heian-kyō. I shall see for myself if humans are as deserving of credit as you say, or if I was right about them."

What she doesn't say is that she intends to make use of the vast amounts of Negative Energy said to be swarming the capital to enhance herself.

By spending a few years absorbing all of that ambient negativity, she will be able to make herself significantly stronger, and in three years time, she hopes she will be able to truly satisfy him as he did her.

"You're not just doing this because you really want to say 'I told you so' are you?" I ask, my tone purposefully sceptical.

A truly befitting vulpine grin is my answer, and I let out a dramatic sigh.

Both of us chuckle and a moment later, we are just standing there, smiling at nothing.

Tamamo's hand twitches forward for just a moment before retracting. "Well," she states, "I suppose I will see you around, Narauko."

I feel... Like I should say something, but I don't know what, so I just nod my head and smile. "Yeah. Goodbye, Tamamo."

A moment passes where neither of us move, when Tamamo raises a foot to step closer to me before changing directions at the last second and turning to the side.

Another step follows, and an unfamiliar sensation curls in my chest as I watch her walk away.

"Have fun in Edo Narauko," she calls out without looking back, "I'm sure you will have an interesting time."

"I'll be sure to tell you about it," I blurt out without thinking, and her steps falter for a moment before she continues into the forest, "When we meet again."

Her back disappears behind the trees and a breath I didn't know I was holding leaves me.

...What the hell was that?

I don't know. The fact that it was a new experience brings a smile to my face however. Besides, who doesn't love mysteries? I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually.

For now, new kimono, then Edo Jujutsu High, here I come!

Though... Didn't the old man say it was called Edo Metropolitan Curse Technical College? I'm pretty sure that's the proper name, but it's such a mouthful I cut it out of my brain.

Eh, who cares.

Strolling down the hill, I resume my four day long walk.

As the city gets closer I'm briefly struck by how much smaller it is than I was picturing, before remembering that I'm used to cities accommodating a much larger population.

Hell, I'm pretty sure the population of Tokyo when I died was greater than the entire population of Japan right now.

Still, 'smaller' doesn't necessarily mean 'small'. It might not be as big as the big cities in the future, but it is still very impressive.

Then again, I wasn't much of a city boy in my last life, though more so than in this life where I was raised alone in the forest with just one old man. It sounds sketchy put like that.

Either way, Edo is a beautiful sight to behold.

There are only a couple of buildings taller than three floors, and not by much, but honestly I think that looks better than towering monoliths blocking out the sky.

The biggest building by far is obviously the Edo Castle, standing proudly above the rest.

It truly is a sight to behold, enough that I lose myself in just observing it as I mindlessly walk closer.

The buildings are all with the matching architecture of the era, and I'm probably the only person in the nation as fascinated by them as I am, simply because to me this is all new and exciting, but to them it is just all they know.

There's also a lot of open space.

Edo is smaller than the Tokyo it will become, but calling it small would be a disservice. It is still incredibly large. After all, space isn't a premium in this age, so all the buildings are massive. Twice the size of the old man's home, which was already multiple times as large as what I was used to living in in my last life.

Even from a distance I can tell that the castle grounds have more open space than all the farms that the people living near my home had combined.

Damn. I just suddenly got struck with the urge to freeze this moment in time, but cameras don't exist yet and for some reason I never thought to practice drawing.

Well, on the bright side, I'm literally going to magic school in the morning, so maybe someone there will be able to help me out in making a magic camera.

...I should have watched one of those videos of how to kickstart modern technology from nothing. I have no idea how cameras are made.

I don't even know how to make the bits that make the bits.

Hopefully Cursed Energy will have a solution. Some kind of permanent barrier? That could maybe work. Make an incredibly detailed barrier that is a perfect match to whatever I want to take a picture of, then cover it with ink and press the barrier onto a an empty paper?

Aha! Tamamo!

Maybe her illusions can be manifested in some way and she can be my living camera?

Snickering at the thought of what face she'd make should I ask that of her, I shelve the idea.

Lost in thought as I am, I only realise that I've reached the entrance to Edo when someone calls out to me.

"You there!" The stern male voice states, pulling my attention to the approaching pair of men.

Very carefully, I control myself to avoid squealing as I take in the sight of two genuine, real life Samurai.

This is so fucking cool! I think on the inside, but on the outside I merely turn to them with a calm smile, my sleeves helpfully hiding my clenched hands. "Yes?"

The two of them come to a stop, each of their left hands resting casually just under the guard of their katanas, the tsuba.

"What brings you here alone so close to nightfall, and without any belongings?" The one who called out to me asks, not quite accusatorily, but it still feels like I'm getting softly interrogated by a police officer.

I'm not sure how open I'm allowed to be about Jujutsu school, but I also don't like to lie, so I decide to just give a partial truth. "I have a letter to deliver from my father. Is there any trouble going on that I should be aware of?"

"No. No trouble," Mr Samurai replies. "May I see your letter, to verify it's existence?"

"Of course," I smile and with my hands still in my sleeves, I reach into my shadow and retrieve the letter in question.

Briefly, I pull it out of my sleeve and wait for him to get enough of a good look to confirm it is real before putting it back in my sleeve and shadow.

"Very well, you may enter."

"Thank you, but before I go, could you recommend an inn I could spend the night in? I would rather spare the recipient of this letter the bother of reading it shortly before night. Better to pass it along in the morning."

The Samurai that hasn't yet spoken glances at the darkening sky before nodding his head in agreement. Then he turns a speculative eye upon me, his gaze lingering on my scarf for a moment, taking note of its unfinished state and poor quality material.

"For a good inn, you will need coin," he says.

"I have coin." The way both of their demeanour changes at my admittance is interesting.

It's not unexpected though. According to the old man, it is only really aristocrats, officials and other wealthy people that use coins, so having some of my own likely makes them think I'm some kind of noble.

Imagining their faces if they knew I got nicknamed Forest Child because I grew up with nature and wild deer as my only friends makes my smile widen a little.

"In that case, I would recommend Komachi Ryokan," he points directly at a specific building, one of the benefits of no skyscrapers, "They offer the best service in the city."

"Thank you," I say with a bow that is returned before turning and making my way past them.

I manage to control myself until I am well out of earshot of the Samurai before letting myself giggle a little, earning a strange look from a passer-by.

But I don't care, I talked to Samurai! That's so fucking cool!

I'm going to have to write some kind of memoir at the end of my life where I can admit to having gone through time just to brag to all the people of the future about all my cool experiences.

Ah, thinking that, I should probably just write some documents and stuff down anyway, for the sake of all the poor historians that have to try and figure everything out from random people's personal diaries.

Well, that's for future me to think about. I need to stop getting lost in my head so I don't get lost in real life too.

The street is wide, wider than a typical modern street, and it feels even larger since pedestrians aren't constrained to the paths on either side of the road. Anyone can walk anywhere, and it just makes that spacious feeling even greater.

Since it's late, I'd have thought there wouldn't be many people out, but once again, that's a thought for a future society. These people don't have at home entertainment after all, so the streets are rife with people.

Mostly men though, walking in groups, some with gourds of saké in hand as they stumble about. It's pretty lively, but also rather restrained. By which I mean that no one is incredibly loud despite fooling around drunk with their friends.

If it was America, I wouldn't be able to hear myself think, but as it is, no one is really much of a bother.

Other than the men, there are also a few woman, and they seem to fit into two categories.

There's the simple women, who are running errands, likely either for their husbands if they are adults or for their employers if they are children, because child labour is still cool in this time.

Then there are the less simple women, dressed in elaborate, fancy kimonos, caked in makeup and often wielding fans without actually fanning themselves.

These woman are the ladies of the night, otherwise known as prostitutes.

Thankfully, I'm not mentally my age, and I'm also used to a world where seeing a woman's entire body was nothing special, so I'm not so enraptured by them as many other men in the street are.

Huh. That's a funny thought.

I alone have probably seen more boobs than anyone else on the planet right now.

All these poor men will never know the joys of unrestricted access to the internet.

So, a few woman covered in way too many layers of clothes, with painted white faces and sometimes blackened teeth don't really stir my loins.

...I feel embarrassed that I just thought those words.

That said, I can't deny that it feels good getting so many sultry looks from so many women. It's the nice, bubbly feeling of my ego being stroked, and I don't mind it at all.

Still, I'm not the horny fifteen year old I should be, so I just return their flirtations with a smile and keep walking.

Eventually, I make it to my destination, closer to the street glowing with red lanterns than I expected, the Komachi Ryokan. I can tell as much because it says so above the door in big Kanji.

What is interesting however, is the seconds script below the Kanji that I can't read, and that looks a lot simpler.

My curiosity piqued, I start moving to the building, only to have to step back as a carriage passes through the street in front of me.

The carriage is just a single horse tied to a wooden box with a bench on the front to hold the driver.

The main part of the carriage is simple but elegant in a way that makes one easily recognise the wealth of the person riding it without shoving it in your face with gold lining and the like.

The only openings are a pair of windows on the doors either side, except the window is covered by a red curtain.

Other than admiring the craftsmanship, I don't really think much of it until I feel a sudden, if slight, spike of Cursed Energy inside of it.

Out of instinct, my own Cursed Energy moves slightly, but other than that I make no reaction. I'm not sure if that was enough however, or if there was another reason, but either way, as the carriage moves past me, a single, slender finger emerges between the curtains and pulls them slightly apart.

The window doesn't open entirely, but it does open enough for me to meet the eyes of the passenger.

She is a woman of pale skin, with smooth black hair flowing past her shoulders and out of sight and a fringe that ends about halfway past her eyes, swept slightly to the left.

She has a small, button nose and sharp, angular features that make her appear noble, and her eyes are so dark that I wouldn't be able to pick out her pupil if not for the thin ring of iridescent light that shines between the pupil and iris.

Our eyes meet, and I feel her Cursed Energy move again, though I don't know what for. The moment feels longer than it is, until she simply raises a brow and turns away, facing forward once more.

The last I see of her before the curtain falls back and the carriage drives off is a faint, almost derisive smirk on her lips.

The carriage moves away, and I watch it go for a moment, confused and intrigued by the mysterious girl. Alas, I'm not going to chase her down like some maniac, so I will just leave it to Fate if we will meet again.

Moving on, I continue my approach to Komachi Ryokan.

There are some well dressed woman out in front of the building, but not in the way of the entrance. They don't call out to me or stop me as I walk past them, though they do give me more looks that flatter my ego.

A servant girl slides the shoji door open for me, and I'm briefly struck by how strange it is to see a child worker out in the wild, but I shake that feeling off pretty easily.

I mean, what's stranger. Child labour or Cursed Energy?

The reception room is rather lavish, with fancy artwork painted onto the walls and even some of the doors.

Right front and centre is a counter with a pretty woman standing behind it. The room is otherwise empty, save for a man and woman having a quiet conversation off to the side.

Mentally shrugging away my own inexperience at life, I walk up to the counter with confidence and speak with a smile.

"Hello, I have heard that I may be afforded a room here for the night. May you assist me in this?"

The woman bows briefly, and when she straightens I notice her eyes roaming my body, but unlike those women in the street, I can tell she's not actually looking at my body, but my clothes.

In a manner that is starting to feel somewhat repetitive, her eyes pause briefly on my scarf.

"Honoured customer," she begins, the awkwardness of her voice barely noticeable. "This Komachi Ryokan does provide such a service, however our services are tailored for a.. specific clientele."

I should probably be offended or something, but honestly I just find her answer amusing, especially because of the hesitance with which she delivered it.

Clearly she doesn't want to be rude, but can't accept me for whatever reason.

That just makes me want to tease her.

"May you please explain exactly what you mean by this? I am afraid I do not understand," I say, and the way her face pinches slightly makes my smile widen a little.

Unfortunately, my fun is interrupted by a man's voice. Fortunately, I am easily entertained.

"What she means is that this is a high class ryokan, not some minshuku," he says the word like it's an insult, which really says a lot about him since a minshuku is basically the local equivalent of a boarding house compared to the ryokan's hotel. "Low class commoners like you don't belong in establishments like this, so run along and stop polluting the air. You're ruining my saké."

Hah. This guy's funny. 'You're ruining my saké', what a line. I'm totally going to steal that in the future if I ever get the chance.

Since he now actually has my interest, I look him over. He is obviously not a commoner, so there is some nobility to his face, though in a more stern way than that lady's graceful look, and his hair is brown and tied up into a topknot. His body is pretty good too, so he might even be a samurai. Though, the gourd of saké in hand ruins the serious vibe I'd always imagined Samurai to have.

"You wound me with your words, Stranger-bō, I was assured I could find room here for the night," I respond, using the suffix that I thought would annoy him the most, just for fun.

Bō, from what I understand, is basically the male exclusive version of chan, which is already a diminutive hypocorism only really used when talking to people you're really close to or babies.

The Japanese language is so much more fun than English. You don't need to swear, or even use any insults to insult people, it's brilliant.

Predictably, he didn't like that.

"You watch your words, Boy, or I will have your head. I am Taira no Yoshikane, and because I am in such a good mood, I will not pursue this if you apologise and leave immediately."

Honestly? A surprisingly level-headed response. I was half expecting a 'prostrate yourself one thousand times' kind of thing. Maybe that's a Chinese thing? Or maybe it's just a harmful stereotype and I shouldn't keep assigning traits I remember from popular media onto strangers.

I don't know, or really care. I just want to go to Jujutsu Hogwarts, but that's not until the morning so I have to amuse myself somehow until then.

"Ooh, one thousand apologies, Ōtaira-kakka-sama," I respond with a deep bow, going from calling him as if he is a cute child to effectively calling him 'Your Excellency Great Lord Taira'. "I was not aware my head was such a valued commodity. However, I must unfortunately decline your request, for I am still in need of a room for the night, and my feet already hurt from so much walking, I could not bear to travel any further."

Okay, maybe I'm laying it on a bit thick. I blame Tamamo. For some reason, she has made me feel confrontational today. Maybe I just want to get in a fight again thanks to our fight still being fresh on my mind. That's probably it.

Yoshikane's eyes narrow at me, and the woman he was talking to earlier takes a subtle step back, clearly not wanting to get involved with any upcoming violence.

However, before anything more fun can happen, another voice interrupts.

"What is going on here?" The aged, demanding feminine voice calls out, and both of us turn to see some old hag walking our way with a massively slouched back and a walking stick that honestly looks kind of of cool in her hands.

The old lady's glare snaps to me as if she could sense that I just called her a hag in my head, but she quickly moves on to glare at the receptionist girl instead. Probably because her womanly intuition got confused since I also complimented her at the same time.

"Well?" She demands, and I start to get the feeling that the receptionist is new to the job because she has that kind of nervous energy you see in new hires who think they've messed up but don't know what they did wrong.

"U-um. Well," she begins, only to be cut off by the Taira.

"I'll tell you what happened, Madam. This low born brat has come to make a mockery of not just myself but of this very establishment."

"What are you, twelve?" I can't help but blurt, rolling my eyes. "To think, you had such impressive lines earlier and now you are pointing blame like a child caught sneaking sweets. Are you so afraid of getting in trouble that you lost composure?"

"You-!"

"Enough!" The ha- her glaring eyes snap to me -old woman yells out, slamming her cane into the floor and effectively shutting the Taira up.

Then, after glaring the man down, she turns her full attention to me and points her cane at me. "You! Boy! Who are you and what is your purpose here?"

"My name is Narauko," I answer with a smile, not at all intimidated by her, since I am a man with nothing, so unlike the Taira, she can't exactly ruin my reputation or tattle to my family or anything like that. "I am simply here to rent a room for the night, by the recommendation of a Samurai at the city limits."

"Hmm," her glare lessens once she notices its ineffectiveness. "This ryokan is expensive, and we only accept coin. Do you have any coin, Boy?"

Pulling my hands out of my sleeves, I hold out the pouch of coins the old man gave me and lightly toss it underhand at her.

She catches it against her chest and pulls the strings open to peak inside.

I have absolutely no idea how much is in there, since even the old man wasn't sure how currency is functioning these days. But he said it should be enough to get by, so it's probably enough for a room.

Unfortunately she doesn't have a visible reaction to the contents of the pouch, so I don't know if it's an impressive amount, hardly anything, or just average.

The Madam pulls the string closed and tosses the pouch back, which I catch and return to my sleeves.

"Anyone who pays our prices is an honoured customer, and I will not have fighting in my establishment. If either of you cannot accept this, then leave."

"I have no problem with this," I quickly agree, sending the Taira a sunny smile and getting a glare in return that doesn't seem as murderous as I would have expected.

"Fine," he says before turning and wrapping an arm around the woman he was talking with's waist and stalking off. "Just have another bottle of saké delivered to my room, this one's ruined."

No one speaks as we watch the pair leave, and once he's out of sight I turn to the Madam with a friendly smile. "He seems fun," I comment, and she doesn't seem amused.

However, I feel like she secretly is, deep down.

"Don't go causing any more trouble in my house, Boy, or I will kick you out myself."

"Of course, Madam. But you would need to sell me a room first, before you can kick me out."

"Indeed," she says as she moves behind the counter, shooing the other woman away. "How long do you intend to stay?" She asks.

"Just the night. I will have other lodging options in the morning. Well, I hope so anyway."

The old lady hums and nods her head before writing something down behind the counter.

"Six," she says without looking up.

"Eh?"

"I am charging you extra for causing trouble with Taira," she says, not answering the part I was actually confused about.

Still, the time she spent talking was enough for me to figure it out, and I pull six coins out of my pouch and slide them across the counter. "Seems reasonable," I say.

It's not like I really care. This money is basically worthless outside of big cities, of which there are maybe three, and when dealing with politicians, which I don't really intend to do if I can help it.

Politics just seems so boring. Maybe it's more interesting in the past, and I do want to see a court in session, just for the experience. But some old dudes talking about laws and stuff could never compare to the beauty of the natural world.

The Madam moves to the side of the room and slides a door open. A moment later, another child comes out and the Madam leads her back to me.

"Jishi will take you to your room," the she says with a hand on the girl's shoulder, who bows low.

"Oh, one more thing," I speak up before Madam can walk away, and she raises a brow in question. "I noticed a script I'm unfamiliar with under the Kanji," I gesture behind me to their front door, "What is it?"

The old lady seems intrigued by my question and starts looking at me in a new light, as if I've just turned some preconceived notion of hers on its head.

"You can read Kanji but not Hiragana?" She says, and inwardly I curse the old man for teaching me the much more difficult Kanji when Hiragana is apparently already invented.

Well, I don't mean it though. I'm quite happy to know Kanji, even if it was a pain.

"My father assured me it was the only written language being used," I answer.

"Is your father a monk, perhaps?" She asks in turn.

"No, but he did raise me in a shrine." I don't think the old man had a very positive view of Buddhism mixing in with traditional Shinto traditions.

Then again, it's basically only in the capital that Buddhism is such a big thing. Most people are still Shinto. I can't imagine Amaterasu-Ōmikami is particularly happy that her descendants are worshipping another pantheon. But then again, maybe she doesn't care or is encouraging it, I don't know, I'm not a God.

Though, the old lady's question briefly brings back some vague memories that rich old people in ancient Japan treated Buddhism much the same as rich old people in Europe did Catholicism.

Which is to say, they could live their lives however they want, so long as they bribe the church or become a monk right before they die, then they get to avoid the bad afterlife.

So, she's probably thinking that the old man is some old noble who retired into monkhood, as is popular. It would explain my knowledge of Kanji but not Hiragana, my having coin, as well as why my clothes are, while not high quality, still higher quality than a commoner would have, with exception to my scarf of course.

"I see," she says after a moment. "Hiragana is fairly new, so if your father retired some decades ago it is possible he simply doesn't know. In that case, I will have Yoshino sent to your room instead. She is better learned than Kaeda."

I don't know who Kaeda is, but I just smile and bow before following little Jishi further into the building and up some stairs.

The walk is silent, both because I'm enjoying admiring the art decorating the halls and because I'd feel awkward talking to a little girl who I'm pretty sure is basically in indentured servitude, which is a polite way of saying slavery.

It's a pretty common thing these days. From what I understand, since people have a very strong sense of family in this era, selling your daughters off, mostly to brothels, is considered a perfectly normal thing.

People don't even look at it with shame, just sympathy. For the women, or girls really, it's considered as them doing their duty to help their family through tough times, and people understand that.

It's pretty strange to my sensibilities, but at the same time, as someone who wants to explore the world and all of its cultures, I'm hardly going to go around telling whole peoples how they should be living their lives.

I just want to learn and experience. I don't particularly care about fixing any perceived problems or creating some kind of utopia. That's way too much work.

The brat eventually slides a door open and steps to the side, bowing as I walk past her.

The door slides shut behind me, but I pay it no mind, too busy admiring the room.

I haven't been to many hotels before, so I can't really comment on any differences, but the room is pretty large, plenty of space.

There's a large futon laying in the centre of the room, and past that is a balcony. There are some draws that I obviously don't need thanks to my shadow, and to the side is another door that a quick check shows to have a tub for bathing inside.

The walls are all covered with artistic designs which, combined with the tatami mats and shoji doors really just make the whole room aesthetically pleasing.

It's so freaking weird.

As disconnected as I have become with the memories of my old life, I can't really just forget them entirely. So it fills me with such a strange feeling to just enjoy being in a room.

What happened to humanity that we went from having beautiful buildings like this that improve your mood just being inside of them to soulless boxes of concrete and bricks all painted tan, of all colours?

I doubt I'll live long enough to do anything about this, but if I somehow get into a position that I am owed a favour by someone with power I know will hold through time, then I'll ask them to ensure their descendants preserve the beauty of their culture.

The quiet sound of my room's door sliding open brings me out of my thoughts, and I turn around to see a pretty woman shuffling into my room, holding a tray with food and drink on it.

Unlike the brat that led me here, she is a woman grown. With voluptuous curves, pale skin and long, flowing black hair, she really is a beauty.

If asked a week ago, I would have said she's a ten out of ten, but now, that ten spot is taken by Tamamo, and this woman doesn't really compare. I'd give her a seven out of Tamamo.

Damn fox woman has made everyone else look less attractive to me by comparison. The thought almost make me laugh, but I don't want to seem crazy.

Besides, it's not like this woman is any less beautiful to my eyes than she would have otherwise been. I just keep thinking about Tamamo for some reason.

"Honoured Guest, it is not every day that I am asked for specifically," The woman I assume to be Yoshino greets, her tone and expression both sultry. "I hear you have travelled far, so I made sure to bring you an extra large serving~."

...Did the old lady forget to mention why she was called for specifically?

I'm aware people of this time are pretty sexually open, and I am totally fine with that. I want to experience everything, and sex is not excluded in that, especially with a beautiful woman. But on the other hand, venereal diseases exist.

Though, on the other other hand, I have magic healing in the form of Positive Energy. Though, again, on the other other other hand, I don't know if that will work on diseases.

I'll have to experiment before I'm willing to risk myself.

Then again, she would probably get fired if she was diseased, since this is a high class place.

Still not going to risk it though, patience isn't something I lack.

"Thank you," I smile as I move to a small low table and sit on my ankles in front of it.

With a smile of her own, Yoshino places the tray on the table and takes a seat by my side, pushing her breasts against my arm.

Smiling, amused, I shake my head at her antics and pick up the provided chopsticks while she pours me a cup of saké which I insist we share.

Turns out I was actually pretty hungry, because the food didn't last long. It doesn't help that it was probably the best meal I've had in this life.

Placing the chopsticks down on top of the bowl, I let out a satisfied sigh.

"Thank you for the food," I say, smiling at Yoshino. "It was much better than what I've been eating on my journey here."

"I could tell~," she teases before her eyes lock onto my lips," You ate with such gusto that you made a mess~."

That's embarrassing, I think to myself as I look to the tray for a napkin of some sort, only for my attention to be stolen away when Yoshino gently turns my head to her with a slight touch of slender fingers.

Before I can even think about why, I feel and see as she leans forward and licks the sauce off of my lips directly.

The sudden intimacy makes me freeze for a moment, which Yoshino uses to guide one of my hands under her kimono and onto her breast.

Ah. Hello hormones, nice to see you.

I squeeze without even really thinking about it, and Yoshino drapes herself over me in response and softly moans into my ear.

Okay then.

"You feel tense~," Yoshino whispers to me, "Are you just going to sit there, or will you allow me to alleviate your stress~?"

But my Hiragana lesson....

One of Yoshino's hands drops down to my rapidly hardening crotch, all while trailing kisses along my neck.

"You're so big,~" she whispers, "Please use me to your heart's content~."

....Ah fuck it.

If she even does have any diseases, my deer can probably fix it.

Actually... Couldn't I just cure her from the get go?

....I can always learn Hiragana later.

Chapter Text

Waking up with a voluptuous body draped over me is certainly an enjoyable experience.

Last night was fun, even if it wasn't quite as educational as I was expecting. Fortunately, she didn't actually have any diseases, which kind of made me feel like I was pushing expectations onto the world from future media again honestly.

Though, that just means that I need to find someone with syphilis or something to actually see if I can cure diseases or not.

Alas, as enjoyable as it may be, I have much more interesting things to do today.

Namely, attending Hogwarts!

With that thought spurring me on, I carefully disentangle myself from Yoshino and climb out of the futon, makings sure to tuck her back into the sheets afterwards so she doesn't wake up cold.

Stretching my arms over my head, I don't bother getting dressed yet as I slide one of the balcony doors open to bask in the early morning sun.

"Good morning, Amaterasu-Ōmikami," I mutter as her rays shine down on me.

I've always been an early riser, in this life at least, so I'm generally up with the sun. Then again, that's not really anything special in the current times.

The soft sound of a door sliding open breaks me from my reverie, and I turn around to see one of those servant girls, Kamuro, Yoshino taught me the word is, standing at the open side-door and staring at me in all my naked glory.

Well, this is awkward.

"Honoured Guest," the Kamuro greets after a moment, briefly glancing at Yoshino happily snoozing away. "I have prepared your bath."

Shrugging to myself, I follow after her into the other room. I'm not entirely comfortable being naked around a kid, but at the same time, if I'm going to explore the world and all its cultures, then I can't go around projecting my own values everywhere I go.

So long as a line isn't crossed, I'll just do my best to respect whatever culture I'm the guest of. I mean, slavery is a practice that every civilisation ever took part in, so even if it's not something that sits right with me, I'm not going to stink up a fuss or try to cause any civil rights movements.

At the end of the day, I'm not a saint. I'm just a selfish guy who wants to see the world, not save it.

So I allowed her to wash my back, but I made sure she knew I'd prefer to actually bathe alone.

But as enjoyable as a nice warm bath is, every second I spent soaking I could just feel my excitement growing and growing until I couldn't ignore it anymore.

With anticipation driving me, I quickly finish up with my bath and get dressed in a fresh set of my usual clothes, drape my scarf around my neck and slip on my T shaped geta sandals before exciting with all due politeness.

Just because I'm in a hurry doesn't mean I have to be rude after all.

Heading out into Edo once more, I am full of smiles as I walk through the streets, witnessing the daily lives of modern day city slickers, as it were.

According to the old man, the Jujutsu high school is hidden behind a barrier that was put in place by the founder, and headmaster, of the school.

Apparently, Jujutsu school is a recent addition, well, recent as in from the last few centuries. He said that some Sorcerer called Tengen decided to start a school around two or three centuries ago, and even though the big clans didn't want to, everyone kind of just went along with it, because apparently Tengen's Cursed Technique is just straight up immortality, and there wasn't really anything anyone could do to stop them.

I'm sure there were other considerations, such as the fact that proper education is just a good thing in general, but it's not like I know all the details.

All I know from the old man is that this Tengen guy is some barrier wizard who's made the school and surrounding grounds basically impossible to find for anyone who doesn't already know where it is.

Y'know, like me.

The solution that the old man came up with?

Go to the general area the school should be, and blast out Cursed Energy.

Basically, make a ruckus until someone comes to get me, then I can show them my letter and hopefully they won't be mad.

It doesn't seem like the greatest of plans to me, but hey, whatever works right?

So it is that, after briefly getting distracted for a couple of hours walking through the city, I find myself sitting on top of a hill a short walk away from Edo and out of sight.

Reaching into my shadow, I pull out a the small travel bag the old man gave me, and pull it open.

Inside is a few bundles of cloth and emergency rations wrapped up, because the old man is a worrywart like that, but I'm more interested in the folded up rectangle of paper sealed by a thread of string.

Taking the letter out of the bag, I place it by my side and go to close the bag again, only to pause when I see something else deeper in the bag.

Curious, I reach deeper into the bag until I feel two pieces of wood, and when I pull them out, I can't help the wry smile that graces my lips, even as I feel warmth in my chest.

It's a pair of small wooden talismans, about the size of both of my pinkie fingers side by side. Kanji covers most of the front side, with small imagery of the shining sun on each corner in red. The back side is entirely covered with a similar drawing of the red sun.

They're called ofuda, but since these are wood, kifuda would be more accurate. In simple terms, they're basically a prayer venerating a specific kami to be kept in shrines or carried around as good luck charms.

Reading the Kanji on them, I realise they're both dedicated to Amaterasu, which shouldn't really surprise me.

I don't really worship. I'm too prideful for it. I don't know why, and I can acknowledge that my pride is completely pointless and stupid, but we can't help the way we are.

The idea of treating someone as if they are just above me in all ways.. I just can't do it.

My head does not bow that low.

But I still respect the kami, they are more than deserving of that much.

That said, the old man would tease me that Amaterasu had a special place in my heart or some such along those lines, because she is the one I respect the most.

Not just because she is the ruler of The Great Kami in Heaven, but because she is the sun, and she is beautiful.

I love this world, and I want to see all the beauty it holds.

But no matter how beautiful a field, forest, mountain or valley. No matter how beautiful, everything is even more beautiful when graced by the rays of the sun.

A field of lush grass is a calming, enjoyable sight. But a field of grass, fresh from a previous night's rain, reflecting the light of the sun? Very little can compare to that.

So, it shouldn't be a surprised that the kifuda the old man snuck into my stuff would carry her blessing.

Placing the two sticks to the side for now, I close the bag back up and return it to my shadow before picking them back up again and giving them a considering look.

He probably only made them so small so I wouldn't notice them. Probably wanted it to be a nice surprise for me, which it is, so fair play.

Still, the size gives me an idea.

So with a smile on my face, I move the kifuda to one hand and cup one of my ears with the other.

Using the vague sense of location I get from my own shadow, I use one of my favourite tricks, and manipulate the shadow now covering my ear into a thin, sharp spike and drive it through my earlobe.

"Ow," I mutter without flinching before pulling the hand away.

Ignoring the small bit of blood dropping from my ear, I reach into my shadow and pull out a thin piece of shimenawa rope that I made years ago on a whim when I was thinking about fishing and got irrationally worried a Cursed Spirit would steal my catch.

Placing one of the kifuda down, I hold the other in front of me and place my hand over one end of it, once more using my shadow to make a small hole right at the end.

Moving the hand away, I grab the shimenawa and thread it through, then I bring it up to my ear, wipe the blood away and then guide the string through, cheating with shadow manipulation to make it easier.

After that, it's just a case of tying a knot and repeating the process with my other ear. A quick application of Positive Energy closes the wounds, and a quick wipe gets rid of any remaining blood, leaving me with two brand new accessories and a happy smile.

Unfortunately for me, I don't have a mirror in my shadow, nor a method I can think of to create a reflective surface, so I can't see how they look.

Wait a minute. 

Never mind, I've just had an idea.

Picking up my introduction letter, I fold my hands back into my sleeves and put it back in my shadow for now.

My Innate Technique, The Ten Shadows Technique, allows me to summon up to ten unique Shikigami and enter a ritual, wherein, should I kill the Shikigami in question in single combat, I will henceforth be able to summon it through my own shadow until it dies.

The main limitation of this technique, is the limited number of Shikigami I am capable of owning at one time. This is somewhat offset by the fact that they all have unique techniques of their own, and that Escape Rabbit exists.

Because of this, I got really picky about summoning Shikigami. I likened it to the Master Ball problem in Pokémon. You have a really powerful item, and it will help you in a given scenario, but you think to yourself, 'what if I need it even more later?' And you don't use it ever.

I was always hesitant to summon Shikigami, because I didn't know if I would just be stuck with whatever ten I got and that would be it.

However, since Tamamo killed one of my dogs and they merged, I now know that clearly isn't an issue.

With that in mind.

"Come forth," I solemnly intone as I make a matching shadow puppet with my hands, "Reflective Tortoise."

My shadow races out across the hill in front of me, and from it emerges a very large tortoise, about the size of a small house, and with a shell entirely constructed out of diamond, shining and glittering under the sun like the greatest gem I have ever seen.

The thing doesn't hesitate to try and kill me, its head snapping out of its shell far, far faster than anything its size has any right to, yet still not fast enough.

A short leap backwards avoids the snapping jaw, and a rising gesture in return is all that is needed as my shadow shoots forward and up, cutting through the stretched out neck with ease and decapitating the beast and causing it to dissolve back into my shadow.

That's the thing with my technique. The Shikigami summoned don't tend to think much. Lion's Pride was an exception, but all the others just attack me with single minded devotion.

It makes them pretty easy to kill, especially since this one isn't even an offensive Shikigami.

The Shikigami with more offensive techniques are harder to kill, which doesn't seem right at first thought, but it makes sense once you understand that the defensive ones attack just as harshly as the rest instead of playing to their strengths.

Looking at the thing, if it just turtled up then it probably would have been a pain in the ass to kill it.

As it was however, it exposed its weak point immediately.

Whatever, it hardly matters.

Remaking the same shadowgraphic, I summon it back. "Reflective Tortoise."

From my shadow it emerges, and I quickly make it turn its side to me so that I can use its shell as a mirror.

Is it needlessly excessive to summon a permanent Shikigami just use it as a mirror? Probably. But it's not like it's a weak Shikigami anyway, so I'm not losing anything.

The reason I haven't already filled out my roster isn't because I couldn't find useful Shikigami. I just couldn't decide on which ones to summon.

Looking at myself, I think the kifuda look pretty good. It adds some colour to my look, since my black hair and eyes and white scarf are pretty monochromatic. Some light red shading goes well.

"What do you think, Amaterasu-Ōmikami?" I ask, mostly rhetorically, and I'm sure it's my imagination, or some placebo effect that made it seem like the sun shined just a bit brighter for a moment.

Dismissing the tortoise, I bring my introduction letter out once again, this time intent on actually using it instead of just putting it back away again.

Now, how do I cause a ruckus big enough to be noticed by magic school, but without alerting the people of Edo?

By myself, my first idea would probably be to throw my Trickster Fox into the air and make an illusion of a firework or something, but the old man says that normal people can't sense Cursed Energy properly and that I'd be able to get enough attention by just pushing mine out.

I would have doubted him, just because that doesn't seem nearly as noticeable as an explosion or something similarly visually stand out, but he seemed pretty confident that they'd be able to sense my presence once I started projecting it.

I guess they're just really sensitive or something.

Mentally shrugging, I close my eyes and focus on the well of energy within my gut and how it spreads throughout my body.

My deer would shy away from my touch when I first started practicing with my Cursed Energy, so I worked to modify the flow of the Reinforcement Technique to be 'quiet' enough that it wouldn't bother them.

At this point, that flow is just second nature to me, so it takes a moment of concentration for me to be able to break it.

It honestly feels a little bit uncomfortable to do, which I find interesting.

Still, it's no true trouble.

My will reaches into my gut and grabs hold of my Cursed Energy. I don't know how sensitive they are, and I don't want them to miss me, so I just grab it all and push it to the surface, projecting it out of my body.

There we go. 

Now I just have to wait, I guess.

...I feel stupid just standing here.

Are they even going to notice?

Edo Metropolitan Curse Technical College

Inside of a well maintained and organised office, the soft sound of a brush on paper fills the room as yet another form is filled out.

Kamo no Yasunori, a teacher at Edo's Jujutsu school, lets out a sigh as he finishes his morning's work.

"If only this generation wasn't so interesting," he quietly complains to himself as he leans back into his chair and continues to mutter, "Such a waste of time."

Turning his gaze to the side, he takes in the view from the mountain they are situated on with a disinterested air, brushing some of his long black hair out of his face as he does.

In his mind, he thinks about the current generation of Jujutsu Sorcerers, and feels a smile grow as his good mood returns.

In terms of Jujutsu, Grade Four might as well not exist. They're barely better than the monkeys in his eyes. Weak Cursed Energy, weak Techniques, if they even have one.

It's pathetic. The only ones excused are students, but even then, any student that weak won't likely even reach Grade One, so what's the point?

Grade Three is the average, in other words, it's full of weaklings. Most students come in at either Grade Four or Three, and they at least might reach Grade One if they're a late bloomer or something.

Then there's Grade Two. Sorcerers at this level are okay, but still pretty weak. Honestly, to him there's not much of a difference, so it's hard to tell sometimes between those three grades.

However, if a student is assigned Grade Two upon entry, then they are generally considered geniuses that will almost certainly become Grade One in the future, so they are people to look out for.

There's also Semi-Grade Two, but the difference in power is so negligible he barely notices it. Similarly, there is a Semi-Grade One for those that are somewhere between the two ranks.

And finally, there is Grade One. The so called peak. This is the grade for the strongest Sorcerers, for the people who lead the world of Sorcery by setting an example of excellence.

These people are interesting, and per Jujutsu regulations, it's impossible for anyone to be assigned the grade upon entry. Though, there is Special Grade One, for people with the appropriate power but without the authority given.

Of course, then there is the Special Grade who don't fit into any category and are always, without exception, worth paying attention to.

He has been alive for a while now. Not as long as Tengen, but long enough to live through multiple generations of Sorcerers.

In the time since its founding nearly three hundred years ago, this school has had a total of twenty seven students assigned Grade Two upon entry, two for Semi-Grade One and only one Special Grade One.

That all changed recently.

Ever since the founding of Jujutsu, the balance of power has always been in the hands of the Curses. Jujutsu Sorcerers have always been outnumbered, that was just a simple fact of life.

And then, a child was born with eyes that could see six.

Sugawara no Michizane. A child blessed by the Heavens with mutated eyes that allowed him to reach a level of understanding of Cursed Energy that no one ever had, and one of the few people to have bested him in a long time.

With his birth, the balance shifted just enough for Curses to be behind.

For a while after that, things started to get better for the average monkey. Once Sugawara came into his power, he went on a campaign decimating Special Grade Cursed Spirits one after the other.

However, the good times did not last, and the balance shifted again.

The reason isn't certain, but to Yasunori, it always felt like an overcompensation.

Cursed Spirit after Cursed Spirit was born in the following years. Thousands upon thousands of them, many Grade One and multiple Special Grade.

The reason he calls it an overcompensation is because the balance shifted so dramatically in favour of the Curses that they are actually worse off now than before Sugawara was born, and he's still around today.

Not that he is in a very good position. People have started blaming him for the increase in Curses his birth caused. Yasunori gives it a year tops before his rank is stripped.

But there is always balance, and when the scales tipped too far in the Curses favour, another correction took place.

Two decades ago, the balance started shifting back to normalcy as genius after genius was born, chief among them being his own student, Abe no Seimei.

That's a big part of why the foolish higher ups now have the courage to act against Sugawara, because a new age of geniuses is here to replace him. 

However. Almost exactly fifteen years ago from today, there was another overcorrection.

The balance that had been slowly recovering back to normal was suddenly shattered.

If before Sugawara's birth, the balance was forty to sixty in favour of the Curses, then one could say that after his birth it shifted to fifty-five to forty-five, barely in favour of the Sorcerers.

Then it rapidly shifted to thirty-five to sixty-five in favour of the Curses. Such a needlessly large change is why he calls it an overcorrection.

Over the years, the balance was building back up to solid ground, maybe forty-three to fifty-seven, if he had to put a number on it.

But that day, fifteen years ago? Any illusion of restraint disappeared as the balance shifted to ninety-five to five against the Curses.

Such a thing was unheard of, but everyone knew what it meant. Someone had been born with enough potential to rival the entire world of Jujutsu singlehandedly.

Considering this is already the greatest era of Jujutsu Sorcery he has seen already, it meant one thing to Yasunori.

Things were getting interesting.

Naturally, he set out to find this miracle child, as did everyone else.

The only difference between him and the rest, is that he found them.

Living in isolation in a run down forest shrine, he found them.

A nameless boy with unruly short pink hair and more Cursed Energy than he ever thought possible to store inside a single being.

The shrine was a filthy place, full of monkeys who looked down on Sorcery, so the first thing he did after introducing himself to the boy, was help him slaughter those pathetic monkeys that would spit on such an unpolished gem.

After that, he took the unruly kid in and taught the little monster.

Not that he needed to do a lot of teaching. Just showing the kid a technique was generally enough for him to master it by himself quickly enough. The lessons were mostly language and life lessons, along with Barrier Techniques.

He even gave the kid a name.

Sukuna.

It seemed fitting, since the kid is more a Curse than a human.

The brat has already nearly killed half his classmates, and he's only been here for two weeks.

So now, he is here, working as a school teacher of all things. 

It's not something he ever thought he would waste his time with, educating others when he could be educating himself.

But he just couldn't resist such a bountiful crop.

Grade Two upon admission denotes a genius. The kind that shows up maybe once or twice in a generation. Semi-Grade One or Special Grade One however, that is a once in a century genius. That kind of potential is incredibly rare, and anyone born with it will almost certainly become the leader of the Jujutsu world until the day they die.

There are seventeen students through the three years at present, and not a single one of them entered the school weaker than Grade Two.

It's unheard of, but this era seems to be a true Golden Age of Jujutsu Sorcery, that much is clear to anyone with eyes.

Of those seventeen students, seven came in at Grade Two, with only the two first years having not yet promoted to Semi-Grade One.

Four students were admitted as Semi-Grade One, one of whom has promoted to Grade One, in part thanks to being the grandson of Sugawara, the Jujutsu Inspector General.

Already that would be enough to make this the most promising generation ever, but even still, of the remaining six students, five were admitted as Special Grade One Sorcerers, while Sukuna alone earned the classification of Special Grade thanks to his immense Cursed Energy.

The best part is that this is all just for the one school.

He was already teaching Abe no Seimei, so he brought that student with him when he came to teach here in Edo, but with the exception of Sukuna, the Onmyōji school in Heian-kyō has a similar pool of talents. 

Then there's the major clans with their own geniuses that they are teaching in house instead of sending to a school, as well as the odd commoner figuring things out themselves.

This era has enough geniuses to exceed the entire history of Jujutsu, and will likely continue to do so for thousands of years.

All because of the chain reaction caused by Sugawara's birth.

It's exciting.

There is already plenty of chaos, but he can see what the others, except for maybe Tengen, can't.

The chaos that has been growing throughout Japan?

It has only just begun.

The next few years are only going to get even more chaotic as all these geniuses come into their power. It's going to be so chaotic that he won't even be able to control it anymore.

He can't wait to see what happens.

Abruptly, he is shattered from his thoughts when an incredible weight of Cursed Energy pushes down on his shoulders, causing him to shoot straight in his seat.

Sukuna? He thinks to himself before immediately dismissing the idea. This doesn't feel like Sukuna at all. In fact, except for in volume, it feels almost like an exact opposite.

Did Sukuna encounter a strange technique? 

He considers the thought for a moment. Sukuna was sent out on an assignment yesterday and likely won't be back until tomorrow. It's not impossible that he was hit by some strange Innate Technique that inverted him or something similar.

No, that doesn't feel right.

This is someone else entirely.

A whole other person with Cursed Energy comparable to Sukuna.

It takes a second for him to realise how widely he's smiling.

"Haha, how exciting," he mutters as he gets up and walks to the window, looking out in the direction the Cursed Energy is coming from.

With his smile not fading, Yasunori reaches a hand up to his head and lightly trails a finger across a long horizontal scar.

Things are getting interesting.

Elsewhere, inside one of the grounds' many training fields, a pair of teenagers can be seen duking it out in fast paced hand to hand combat.

On one side is a handsome boy with hair like a white cloud and an androgynous face, while against him is a beautiful woman with long black hair and an eye-catching ring of iridescent light separating her pupil form her iris.

Unlike the boy, who is lightly perspiring, the girl seems perfectly fresh, not even breathing hard despite the fight having been going for a while already.

Stepping back from a punch, the boy throws one of his hands forward in a sweeping motion, and the earth in front of him is torn apart by an unseen force.

However, as if she could see into the future, the girl was already in motion to dodge before his attack even began, and before he can do anything about it, she sweeps his legs with a low kick and slams him into the ground with a hand on his throat.

"Looks like I win again, Gojo-kun~," the girl mocks, before jumping back right before another invisible wave of force passes through where she just was.

"Don't call me so closely, Kiyohara-san," Gojo says as he sits up, sounding like it is a line he has repeated many times before.

"Don't tell me what to do," Kiyohara haughtily responds. "Weaklings who can't even land a hit on me aren't allowed to complain."

"I am not a weakling," Gojo responds, glaring at her as he gets back to his feet and pats his clothes down. "But if I am so insufficient to you, then why did you invite me to train in the first place?" He asks, but she is already walking away.

"I just thought I might be able to gain something from sparring with you since you advanced further in your technique," she says over her shoulder before sighing theatrically. "Such a shame you couldn't live up to my expectations. If only you were more like your grandfather, then maybe you wouldn't be such a disappointment."

She doesn't look back, but she still smiles knowing exactly the kind of face Gojo would be making. He hates being compared to his grandfather. 

Living in the shadow of Sugawara no Michizane can't be an easy thing, she mockingly thinks to herself. How pathetic.

He was even born with a powerful Innate Technique. Limitless, she's pretty sure he said it was called.

It's just a shame he lacks the talent to properly use the technique.

"I truly hate boring men like you," she mutters to herself as she walks away, not caring what he does anymore now that he's disappointed her again.

However, right as she is about to leave the field, she almost stumbles and misses a step as her senses are overwhelmed by Cursed Energy.

Spinning on her heel with her heart abruptly hammering in her chest, Kiyohara no Nagiko and Sugawara no Gojo both stare into the distance, looking in the same direction.

Special Grade? Kiyohara thinks to herself, and immediately sets out to find her father to ask him what is going on, a smile of interest on her face.

Inside of a simple and orderly office in the centre of the school's grounds, a woman with long, blue-tinted straight silver hair that looks like it hasn't been cut in years, with even the front bangs reaching past her chin, sits at a desk with her eyes closed in meditation.

Not a sound is made, but her eyes flicker open, exposing two crimson orbs. Her head tilts to the side slightly, and she stares at a random spot on the wall, almost as if she is looking through it.

After a moment, she allows a shallow smile to briefly cross her lips at what she 'sees'.

"I knew it," she whispers with satisfaction before closing her eyes and seemingly returning to her meditation once more.

Kiyohara no Motosuke gives a nod of acknowledgement to the rest of the gathered staff once he arrives.

"You took too long," the gravelly old voice Mibu no Tadamine complains at him.

Motosuke only gives the shrivelled old man a brief disdainful glance before casting his eyes over the others.

Kamo no Yasunori stands out the most solely due to how little attention he is paying the rest of them, something that makes Motosuke inwardly scoff.

Taira no Kanemori and Sarumaru Dayū at least both wear severe enough expressions considering the sheer Cursed Energy that is still blanketing the area.

Including himself, that makes five of them, all standing at the peak of Grade One.

More than enough to deal with a hostile Special Grade.

"I am here now," Motosuke states. "Let's go."

Without even any acknowledgement, all five of them disappear from their spots in a blur of speed, reaching the edge of Tengen's barriers in moments and pushing through to the other side.

It barely even takes a minute for them to reach the source of the Cursed Energy, and that's with them conserving themselves in case of a battle to come.

When they reach the source however, instead of seeing a veteran Sorcerer, or a Cursed Spirit, what they come across is a boy. A child.

Mid-length straight black hair that reaches to his ears, eyes like coals and a small upwards tilt to his mouth even as he stares blankly off into space.

His clothes are better quality than a commoners, but nothing that seems noble born, except for that scarf which is clearly of a lower quality.

Physically, the only things that really stand out are the scarf, the talismans hanging from his ears and that his geta only have one tooth for some reason.

Their approach is noticed before they can call out, and the boy beats them to it, his Cursed Energy vanishing like the wind as he reigns it back in with an impressive amount of control.

"Hello!" He exclaims, taking a hand out of his sleeve to wave it at them. "Would you esteemed elders be from the school?"

"Of what concern is that to you, Boy?" Tadamine responds first, glaring at the child even as he hunches over his cane.

The child isn't fazed by the hostility in Tadamine's tone even slightly and returns the old man's glare with a sunny smile. 

"That is wonderful to hear," he says. "I was starting to feel silly standing here not knowing if anyone was coming."

"A mere display of Cursed Energy won't scare us away, Child," Dayū comments, his tone bored even as his eyes are alert.

"Huh?" The boy responds, his head tilted in confusion. "No, sorry, I just meant that I wasn't sure if you even knew I was here."

Those words take the wind out of their sails somewhat, and none of them would even considering believing what the boy is implying if not for the pure honesty practically exuding from him.

The idea that he somehow thinks that anyone wouldn't notice his presence is absurd, but he can't sense any lie in the boy's voice.

"Anyway," the boy speaks up again as he waves a folded letter with his other hand. "I have a letter for someone named Kiyohara no Motosuke. Would any of you be willing to assist me in getting into contact with this man?"

Four sets of eyes turn to him, and Motosuke coughs awkwardly, getting the attention of the boy.

"Kiyohara no Motosuke is me," he says, seeming to surprise the boy, "From whom are you delivering this message?"

"From my father," the boy happily answers as he walks up to Motosuke and holds his arm out.

"Who is your father?" Motosuke asks instead of accepting the message.

"Kinoshita," is the answer, and Motosuke does not recognise the name. "Though, he said you knew him by a different name. He refrained from telling me what that name was, however."

The grouching in his tone as he complains reminds Motosuke of his daughter, but he refrains from smiling until the situation is resolved.

Reaching to accept the letter, he sends some of his Cursed Energy forward under the boy's curious gaze, checking for traps or anything nefarious.

Finding nothing, he finally takes the letter in hand and turns away slightly for the sake of privacy before opening it.

I am writing to call in that favour.

We have had a son. Though she has not seen him, I know she would love him just as dearly as I.

Please take care of him. He is a kind and curious child, much like your own, except that he does not yet know how exceptional he is.

Yes. I am alive. Please do not tell my son who I am. I do not want his opinion of me to change because of the past.

Signed; an old friend.

Folding the letter back up and carefully avoiding any kind of facial expression, Motosuke flexes his Cursed Energy and the paper flares with fire for just a moment before burning to ash.

The message was very cautious, purposefully revealing little, but it is enough for him to understand.

Nearly two decades ago, a dear friend of his was sent into exile because he secretly married a woman above his station, and even worse, got her pregnant.

Unfortunately, the child was stillborn and the poor pregnancy resulted in Murasaki coming ill.

For his friend, he took her in and sheltered her for the next ten years. During that time, though her condition only worsened, his own daughter latched onto the woman as a teacher.

His daughter was beyond herself with grief when Murasaki eventually passed.

Now comes a boy supposedly adopted by his old friend.

Mentally sighing to himself, he knows he only really has one option here.

"The boy is here as a student," Motosuke stoically states. "Another Sorcerer noticed their potential and sent them our way to learn."

His peers all turn back to the boy who nods his head in agreement.

"What is your name?" Yasunori asks, eyes glittering with intrigue.

"This one bears the name Narauko," he answers with a bow that almost manages to be deferential. "It is an honour to make your acquaintance, esteemed elders."

"Well then, Narauko," Yasunori happily continues, stepping forward to pat the boy on the shoulder. "Welcome to Jujutsu High."

Chapter Text

Inside of a traditional classroom, four teenagers sit together in their school uniforms, dark blue, almost black kimonos that almost turn purple in the light, a similarly coloured sash tying it together at their waists. 

The room has plenty of space for more people, leaving it feeling a little bit empty, but none seem to mind it.

There is only one row of seating, six chairs each with a personal desk, all made out of wood alone with expert craftsmanship. With the space available, two rows would be more efficient, but none of them trust each other behind them, so that idea was scrapped for the sake of keeping the peace.

Despite not trusting each other not to stab them in the back, the four of them manage to talk amicably enough. After all, it's not like they don't trust each other out of maliciousness or any such thing. It is simply the way things are.

None of them would hesitate to kill each other if it benefitted them. Such is the nature of Jujutsu in this era, so they don't hold any hard feelings about it either.

On the side closest to the door is a figure with long black hair tied in a ponytail and a slender figure with soft, feminine features and expressive eyes.

"I heard they're another Special Grade, Ise-chan," they say, continuing a conversation, their voice as soft and demure as their figure.

"Really Minamoto-chan? I heard it's a boy from the countryside who is super sheltered. Apparently he's somehow related to a friend of my grandfathers," the person next to him replies.

She is a girl who looks mature for her age, sitting a little taller than the rest in the room with a straight and proper posture. Her figure is notably more womanly with a wide, but naturally healthy, hourglass figure and forest green hair tied up into a pair of buns.

"Do you think that Cursed Energy earlier was him?" The farthest person from the door asks in a slightly crass tone, though it would only be considered casual in one thousand years, as she sits casually on her desk with one foot resting on the desk between her and Ise.

She has her brown hair in a short wolf cut that only reaches her shoulders at the back. The sleeves to her kimono have been ripped off, showing her toned and scarred arms off in a way that, combined with a small scar on her upper lip, general attitude and the sword at her side, makes her seem somewhat like a delinquent.

"If they really are a Special Grade, then maybe, Taira-chan." Minamoto answers, face pensive. "What do you think, Kamo-chan?"

Their attention turns to the final person present, who is less a person and more a floating red oval about the size of a person, if a little bigger, hovering above a chair.

The surface of the oval glistens like it is a liquid, but it is completely still without ripple. That is, until Minamoto addresses it, when the surface then ripples and makes the shape of an expression.

"╮(╯-╰)╭," the oval responds, and the other three simply accept the answer with a nod as if nothing about the scenario is strange.

"I would have doubted it a month ago..." Ise states, trailing off instead of finishing her sentence, but they all know what she means.

The arrival of their last classmate shattered any expectations they might have had about the limits a Jujutsu Sorcerer could achieve.

One of the first things he did after arriving was beat them all half to death, so they are all intimately familiar with the depths of his Cursed Energy and how greatly it eclipses their own reserves.

"(☆.☆)," Kamo 'says', and Taira nods slowly with a steadily growing grin.

"You're right, Kamo-chan. Maybe this new guy will be able to teach that guy some humility."

"Don't get your hopes up," Ise cuts in. "We don't even know what they're Cursed Technique is yet, raw output isn't everything, or Sugawara-senpai would be the strongest. He's only held back because he has no talent. Besides, what if this new guy has a just as bad, or even worse personality?"

"(.﹏.*)," Kamo accurately reflects their opinions on the matter.

"I think it'll be fine," Minamoto says, optimistically. "I mean, you all felt it, right? His presence, if that was him, was completely lacking in all the malice of that guy's."

"Hm," Taira grunts. "I guess. Still, it's not like the bar is high. He can't really be worse than-"

The slamming sound of the classroom door opening with too much force interrupts her and they all freeze as the unmistakable presence casually strolls into the room.

Walking with an air of apathy around him, Sukuna strolls past his classmates without even glancing in their direction, completely ignoring their presence and the way they all shuffle away from him slightly as he passes entirely.

When he passes her, Taira moves away and back into her chair, not willing to face the others directly if it means exposing her back to him.

Sukuna notices this and he smirks at her as he takes his seat on the farthest chair, leaning back with an elbow resting on the window sill.

"Don't worry," he says without looking at them, his voice casual, dangerous, but most of all, bored. "Trash like you isn't worth killing in the first place. Maybe you should just give up on Sorcery, Woman. I imagine even you could manage to at least be a woman, you certainly lack the ability for anything grander than bearing children."

Taira bristles at the insult to her pride, to her ability, to her everything, but at the end of the day, what can she do?

It's that simple fact that stops her from reacting, no matter how much it burns to leave such insults standing. She wants to kill him. She wants it more than she has ever wanted anything in her life.

But the moment she tries, she's dead.

So she doesn't react.

"I thought your mission was going to last longer, Sukuna-sama," she says instead, almost doing a perfect job of hiding the venom in her words.

"The Curse was only Grade One, but it could fly, so I made it give me a ride back before killing it. Did you miss me?" He asks rhetorically, not really caring if he receives an answer.

"Of course, Sukuna-sama," Taira responds through gritted teeth, "How could we not?"

She almost said something sarcastically insulting, but she knows he isn't stupid enough to not see through doubletalk, so she corrected herself.

Sukuna rolls his eyes at her answer, annoyed at how boring she is.

"Pathetic," he mutters to himself, not caring if they hear or don't.

With the addition of their final classmate, the room, previously full of conversation, falls into a tense silence as none of them want to disturb and annoy Sukuna.

He told them not to talk to each other when he is around because he finds the noise annoying, but in truth, what he finds annoying the most is that they listen to him.

It's so pathetic. So boring.

When that annoying scar face old man came to him and showed him the world of Jujutsu, he thought that he might finally have something in his life he can enjoy.

And he did, at first. 

It was fun. Learning new things, fighting strong opponents.

He especially enjoyed learning about Cursed Energy and its applications. Cursed Techniques too. There are so many of them, with so much variety and variation. Each technique is like a puzzle, but if you can't solve it in time you die, and if you do solve it, they die.

It's fun.

Then he got older. He mastered his Cursed Energy, and then his Cursed Technique, and now...

Briefly, he glances at his so called 'peers', using only a moment to take in their stiff postures and the slight perspiration on their skin.

So boring, he thinks to himself.

The worst part is how restricted he is.

At the start, he was only improving. Learning and growing.

But now he's starting to stagnate, and he can't even enjoy himself properly.

Scar face showed him that much.

After all, he lacks a Domain.

Without achieving the peak of Jujutsu Sorcery, he can not truly act as he pleases. Because the right Domain could kill him immediately, he is not blind to this fact.

It's the only reason he holds back from killing those maggots that annoy him. The only reason he even bothers to kill Curses, or do any jobs assigned by the higher ups.

Because he is not an idiot. He is capable of biding his time.

The moment he masters Domain Expansion is the moment he stops ever having to listen to anyone else.

Don't get it wrong, he doesn't fear putting his life on the line, that alone wouldn't make him hesitate. There are still plenty of powerful people out there he has no problem fighting. It's just that the right Domain against someone who can't counter it can simply be an instant win. 

There's no challenge there, no obstacle he can overcome. It would just be game over, and if he's going to die, he wants to at the very least die at the hands of someone who he can truly consider an equal.

There is another option though. If he could learn Hollow Wicker Basket, the Anti-Domain Technique, then that would also serve the same purpose.

Unfortunately, no one seems to be willing to teach him, even under threat of death, and he hasn't found a Curse User yet who knows it.

The higher ups don't want him to be able to counter Domains. He doesn't blame them, but he's still going to kill them all first thing once he crosses that final hurdle.

Then, even if his fellow Sorcerers continue to disappoint him, at least he will be able to entertain himself by doing whatever he wants. It's not like all of them are even that weak. Taira is pretty strong, not as strong as him obviously, but strong enough to fight him.

She just lacks the mindset. Too cowardly. Too pathetic.

After a short, but uncomfortable silence for all but Sukuna, the door slides open for a second time, and this time it is an adult that walks in, closing the door behind him.

With long black hair tied in a bun at the top of his head but with more hair flowing down his back anyway, he has a long scar just below his hairline and an angular face set into a cheerful smile as he practically skips up to the podium at the front of the room.

"Good Morning~! Dear students of mine~!" He cheerfully greets them, receiving nothing but silence in response. "Ouch~! Such a lacklustre response will hurt my feelings you know~?"

"\^o^/!" Kamo 'says', and he snaps his fingers and points at her.

"Thank you!" He exclaims, before turning to the others with a reproachful look. "Now why can't the rest of you be more like my cute granddaughter~? Is it true that we can only rely on family~!?"

"Kamo-Sensei," Taira drawls, sending him an annoyed glare, "You're an embarrassment to adults."

Kamo reacts as if struck, clutching his chest. "Your words wound me, Taira-chan~! Don't you love your Sensei? Isn't he a strong, knowledgeable and respectable person?! It's okay if you're shy, but if you never state your honest feelings then you will die alone you know! But don't worry, I'm sure there are men who prefer dumplings over flowers~!"

"I can get a husband whenever I want!" Taira snaps at him, "And just because I'm not a useless leech doesn't mean I'm not a woman!"

"I believe in you~!"

"Don't talk as if I'm dreaming! I'm not ugly!"

"Anything repeated enough eventually becomes true," Kamo agrees, nodding his head sagely, casually tilting to the side as Taira's desk flies past him and embeds itself into the wall with a crash.

"Anyway!" Kamo claps his hands with a smile to make them focus. "I'm sure you've heard, but we have a new student joining us today~! Everyone say yaaay~!"

No one says yaaay.

Kamo doesn't mind. Instead, he walks back over to the door and holds the handle dramatically.

"Without further ado, a big round of applause for your newest classmate~! One big cheer for Narauko-kun~!!!"

With his words, Kamo slides the door open with matching panache, and the moment he does, a dark blur slides into the room and comes to a stop in the centre of the class, revealing Narauko, who slid in on one knee, striking a pose with his head in his hand.

Matching their Sensei's exaggerated demeanour, he slowly turns to look up at his classmates and brushes his hand up through his hair, flicking his bangs as he gives them a model's smile.

"I have arrived~!" He exclaims, keeping the pose as he stares at them and they stare back.

Earlier

"It's going to take a bit before your identification is properly finished, but you're going to get Special Grade for sure, so it doesn't really matter."

Nodding along with Kamo-san's, or is it Sensei now? Words as we walk down a corridor, I tilt my head as his words register in my mind.

"Wait, Special Grade?" I ask. "I thought that was the highest one? Shouldn't I be Grade Two or something?"

Kamo-Sensei gives me a funny look at that. "Narauko-kun, you must not have noticed since you've lived an isolated life, but you actually have quite a lot of Cursed Energy."

"To be perfectly honest, it was only the other day that I even realised Cursed Energy ran out, I thought it was just a matter of having enough concentration to keep using it," I say, and for some reason Kamo-Sensei bursts out laughing.

"That alone is enough proof of how much of a well you are, Narauko-kun. I don't think there has ever been a Sorcerer to not even realise their Cursed Energy has a limit."

"To be fair, I hadn't met anyone that wasn't really weak until recently." 

Kamo laughs again. "Whether they were too weak or you were too strong is the question, Narauko-kun. With the exception of one person, a classmate of yours by coincidence, no one alive can match you in Cursed Energy reserves, so don't go comparing people to you and thinking they're weak. You have more energy than me, and I'm pretty strong you know~?"

"Ah, my bad, I don't mean to insult anyone," I quickly say, "I'm aware that just having more energy doesn't mean I'm the strongest, especially when I am so inexperienced."

"Hmmm~, well, you're a pretty modest person, aren't you?" He asks, and I smile wryly.

"I'm not really modest. I actually have quite a lot of pride, and knowing that my reserves are apparently super impressive is certainly appealing. It is just that my pride does not extend to arrogance, and I don't really look down on people."

"You see a differentiation between arrogance and pride? Most consider them the same, I'm curious what your thought process is to see a difference?"

Turning to meet Kamo-Sensei's eyes, I notice something in him, something familiar, and it makes me smile.

He's like me. Curious for the sake of curiosity.

Knowing that, how could I do anything but give a comprehensive answer.

"It's about fragility," I say. "Arrogance is fragile, pride is not. If you insult an arrogant person, they will shatter and lash out. However, if you insult a prideful person, well, they might still lash out, but it won't be because they're upset, it'd just be a matter of principle. A prideful person's feelings won't get hurt by something as meaningless as words. Only arrogant people are pathetic enough that something as minor as an insult could effect them in any way. Arrogance is hollow, so if you throw a rock at it, it will shatter. Pride is the opposite, any rock thrown will just bounce off or shatter against it."

"Hmmm~." Kamo-Sensei holds his chin and looks up at the ceiling as we walk. "I've encountered the kind of thing you're describing before, but I don't think I've heard it put into words so aptly, so thank you for that perspective."

"No problem, Kamo-Sensei. By the way, do you know anything about Positive Energy?" I ask, returning his curiosity with my own, and I can see that by his smile that when he looks me in the eye, he sees the exact same thing I saw in his.

"It's the opposite of Cursed Energy, why do you ask?" He says, and in response I produce some Positive Energy on my hand and show him.

The way his eyes light up at that makes me feel like I'm looking at a mirror. "I figured out how to produce it," I say, "But I'm not sure of all the mechanics behind it, so I can't explain it properly, beyond calling it a double negative."

"You figured it out all by yourself?" He asks, smiling when I nod. "Impressive. What you're doing is a process called Reverse Cursed Technique, turning Negative Energy into Positive to invert its properties. You can do more than just heal with it. If you apply Reverse Cursed Technique to any other technique it can invert. For example, a technique that launches people up used with Reverse Cursed Technique could press them down instead."

Oh, I never even thought to apply Positive Energy to my technique. Well, I did briefly think about it, but it didn't seem like something that would work.

Guess I just didn't try hard enough.

"What if a technique doesn't have an obvious opposite?" I ask, and Kamo-Sensei just smiles.

"That, is where it gets interesting. The less clear the answer, the harder it is to inverse, generally. For example, my Cursed Technique is Blood Manipulation. I haven't figured out a way to use it with Reverse Cursed Technique yet, in part because I can't really visualise what it's inverse would be, and Jujutsu is a world of visualisation."

I put a finger to my chin as I think. What would the inverse of blood manipulation be? "Absorption or something?" I mutter. "If you can only manipulate your own blood, then maybe the reverse would let you manipulate others? Or drain them?"

"All theories I have considered," Kamo-Sensei says, still smiling. "It is possible that I simply lack the ability or inspiration. Jujutsu isn't so simple that merely figuring something out means one can do it. The process of creating Reverse Cursed Energy is rather simple to explain, but very few manage to learn it. Not that we have had a lot of time to practice it collectively. It was only Sugawara no Michizane that properly figured out how to explain it by himself to others. It's impressive that you could do the same."

I suppose it would be silly if I could think of a new application of his own technique in two minutes that he wouldn't have thought of in however many years he's been using it.

I don't know who Sugawara no Michizane is though.

"Thank you, but I shouldn't get all the credit," I say, "I don't know who Sugawara no Michizane is, but I doubt I'm as good as him. It is just that one of my Shikigami naturally produces Positive Energy, so I had a template to reverse engineer it from."

"'Engineer'?" Kamo-Sensei asks, and it takes a moment for me to realise why before my mind screeches to a halt.

Crap. Do engineers not exist yet?

"Reverse engineer is a term I heard for working a problem backwards using the finished product to figure out the materials and process and stuff." I make sure not to panic and just give a normal explanation, and I do a pretty good job of it, because Kamo-Sensei just nods his head and accepts the answer.

I have some practice keeping calm like this, so I'm pretty good at it.

After all, I am a reincarnated person, and at first I was a little bit worried about giving something away, but over the years it's really solidified in my mind that no one is going to figure it out.

Unless I explicitly say it, no one is going to assume I've reincarnated form the future, that would be absurd. They'd be more likely to assume I'm a seer than anything else really. So basically, just don't freak out as if people can see into my mind, and they won't think too deeply about any abnormal knowledge or phrases.

In real life, if someone says something you don't understand, and then explains it, you just assume you've learnt something you didn't know. No one just goes 'Ah! He's a reincarnated person!' That would be absurd.

"Could I see this Shikigami of yours?" He asks after a moment.

"Sure," I shrug, and make the shadowgraphic hand sign, summoning my deer out of my shadow in front of me, causing us to stop walking for a moment.

"Interesting," Kamo-Sensei mutters as he pokes and looks over my deer. After a moment, he turns back to me. "Would you mind letting me study this Shikigami at some point? Cursed Energy originates from the gut, but Reverse Cursed Technique originates from the brain. Though Shikigami aren't human, they are still fully biological when done right, so I might be able to learn something studying this one's brain."

An interested hum leaves me at his explanation. "I don't mind, but only if you are willing to accept two conditions of mine."

"Them being?"

"Generous Deer is my favourite and most valuable Shikigami, but if it dies then it's gone forever, so you can't kill it, and I want you to share whatever you learn with me."

"Haha, that's more than reasonable enough," Kamo-Sensei cheerfully agrees, and I dismiss the deer for now. "People always underestimate how sturdy brains are, but you'd be surprised at how easy it is to poke around at one without killing it~."

What an ominous thing to says so cheerfully.

"I look forward to listening to your discoveries then, Kamo-Sensei," I say with a light bow to my peppy new teacher.

"Me too~, me too~," he says and we continue walking in silence for a short while, turning the occasional corner, because this complex is apparently pretty large.

"Where do Shikigami come from?" I ask something that has been bothering me for a while after a moment. I've asked the old man before, obviously, but it's important to verify. 'Trust, but verify', as the saying goes.

"Shikigami don't come from anywhere, they are not summons," Kamo-Sensei answers. "They are conjured from one's Cursed Energy. In a way, you could consider the creation of Shikigami as the creation of artificial souls, even if they don't quite reach the same level of sophistication."

"Is it possible to create Shikigami in whatever form you desire then? Like a rope Shikigami?" 

"Of course, though there is little point. It is much more efficient to simply use a Cursed Tool for something like that. The benefit of a Shikigami is its ability to act independently."

Hmm, true enough. Though, maybe the rope Shikigami would be able to float and tie people up by itself? Then again, you could probably just get a Cursed Tool rope that can be controlled by your mind that'd be better to use.

It's not like I'm going to be using inanimate Shikigami. Not only can I not sense any available to summon for me, but I just think independently acting Shikigami is better, like Kamo-Sensei said. I was just curious.

"Hey, Narauko-kun?" Kamo-Sensei asks, and when I turn to him I notice a mischievous smile on his face.

"Yes?"

"Do you want to make a good first impression on your classmates~?"

"I wouldn't want to make a bad impression," I answer.

"Good good," he says, "Well, you should know that all Jujutsu Sorcerers are somewhat eccentric, it comes with the trade, and since you are all so young, it results in some pretty excitable students~. So if you make them laugh on your first meeting, I think that would be a good impression, no~?"

"I guess..." I say. I think I'd probably rather just introduce myself normally and properly, like the old man taught me to, but he's their teacher, so I'd assume he knows best here.

"Wonderful~! In that case, I have an idea~!"

Present

"I have arrived~!" I exclaim into the room, flipping my hair like I remember seeing in some commercials.

...What's with this lacklustre response?

Looking at my new classmates, the first thing I notice is that there is only five of them. Why is there a class for only five people? I don't know, I guess this isn't a subject that can be taught without personal attention, so it kind of makes sense.

The second thing I notice, is that one of my classmates is apparently a big red orb. Why do I have an orb classmate? I have no idea.

The third thing I notice is that one of the desks is embedded into the wall, which I guess was the cause of that bang earlier.

The fourth thing I notice, is that with the exception of Pinkie, they are all staring at me with flat, unimpressed looks. Even the orb is making a flat expression.

Where are the cheers? The laughs? The equally over the top responses?

Robotically, I turn my head from where I kneel to look up at Kamo-Sensei, who is holding a hand up to cover his mouth.

"Sensei..." I moan pitifully, a tear in my eye. 

He just stops hiding his laughter.

"Betrayal," I whisper to myself before straightening up and turning to face the class properly.

I can feel my face burning, and I ignore my new Sensei's laughter as I face the crowd, probably feeling more embarrassed than I ever have before in this life.

Coughing into a fist, I straighten my back, put my hands back in my sleeves and bow slightly to the others.

"Hello, my name is Narauko, nice to meet you," I say, doing my best to just pretend that embarrassing event didn't happen.

That said, I am still smiling. 

Just because I am the victim of the prank, doesn't mean I can't laugh along too. Plus, this is a new experience, I've never really been pranked like this before, so I don't really mind, and I can feel the shame rapidly draining from my face.

"Nice to meet you, Narauko-kun," the one with long black hair says, seemingly content to also pretend that didn't just happen. "I apologise for our Sensei's sense of humour."

"Hey!" Kamo-Sensei interrupts, stepping forward enough to clasp me on the shoulder, "My sense of humour is very refined, after all, I laughed a lot, didn't I~?"

"You're the only person who ever laughs at your jokes, Sensei," the sexy tomboy says, and I get the feeling she doesn't have the best opinion of Kamo-Sensei.

"Mah~ mah~, so judgemental~, no wonder you don't have a husband~." 

"That's not the reason!" The tomboy yells as she grabs her neighbours desk and throws it at our teacher with impressive force. "I will get a husband when I want one!"

"Sure~ sure~," Kamo-Sensei says before clapping his hands and then patting me on the shoulder. "Now, it's time for introductions~!"

Why is this so informal? I feel like I'm getting stun locked. I was expecting to have to speak properly, address people properly and study in an actually traditional manner, what the hell is even going on.

Is this what he meant when he said all Jujutsu Sorcerers are eccentric? I guess it would be difficult to have a normal classroom if everyone has such strong personalities, even the teacher.

"Starting from the left," Kamo-Sensei says as he directs my attention to the cute black haired girl, "Is Minamoto no Yoshiie-chan, he's the current heir to the Minamoto clan and the wielder of their famed Inherited Technique: Kindred Link!"

Wait a minute, 'he'? What?

I go to ask but Kamo-Sensei cuts me off before I can.

"Next is Ise no Tayū-chan! She's the granddaughter of Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu, one of the renown Five Men of the Pear Chamber, and she possesses his Inherited Technique: Wakawaka~!"

Wait a second, go back one! What do you mean 'he'?! Are there really traps in this world!

"Next in line is Kamo no Sabishī! She's my granddaughter," there's a brief pause where I wait for elaboration, but none comes. "After her is Taira no Takiyasha, she is the daughter of the Special Grade Sorcerer Taira no Masakado and is also already Grade One herself!"

"Wait wait!" I interrupt, "Please elaborate! Why is your granddaughter an orb!"

"Last in line," Kamo-Sensei says, ignoring me completely, "Is-"

He cuts himself off and at the same time, some instinct screams at me and I lean backwards enough to plant a hand on the floor at the same time that Kamo-Sensei leans to the side without losing his smile.

The next moment, a massive gash appears on the wall behind us, like a valley opening up.

The fuck? Did I just almost die? Never mind dying on the first day, I haven't even gotten past the introductions yet!

This is so much fun already! I can already tell I'll have a blast here.

"Don't introduce me to trash," the final guy says, a dude with pink hair that honestly looks really good on him.

I feel my smile grow a little wider as my hand dips into the ground through my shadow, and the next moment, my shadow shoots forward and connects to the shadow of his desk before a giant inky black spike rises out of it, piercing into the ceiling, all in less than two seconds.

However, despite my own speed with my shadows, Pinkie moves fast enough to backflip over his chair with only one hand as leverage, and avoid the fate of his desk being reduced to splinters.

"It's rude to call people trash you know?" I say as I straighten up and meet his eyes with a smile that only grows when a heavy feeling of being under the eyes of a predator suddenly engulfs me.

It feels like I'm staring at malice made manifest, like by merely proximity I'm going to become a worse person, like he will tear me apart slowly just so he can hear me scream.

It's so exciting~.

"Did your parents not socialise you, Pinkie? You are supposed to start with a 'Hello, how are you?'"

I know I shouldn't rile up someone who is so clearly quick to violence, but I am honest enough with myself to admit that I just really want to fight another Jujutsu Sorcerer.

I can't get that fight with Tamamo out of my head. I just want to experience that again, and this guy feels even more dangerous than her.

"Why are you hiding your Cursed Energy?" He asks after a moment, surprising me both with his calmness and with the question, especially since he shouldn't have been able to tell how much I have, my energy is too sneaky for that.

"I'm not," I say with a shrug. "It just does that."

I notice my other classmates all moving to the side of the room, but I don't take my eyes off of Pinkie, and that proved to be the right decision as I manage to catch his hand twitching just moments before that feeling of invisible danger returned.

I can vaguely sense something tiny rapidly approaching, and it's only thanks to having to deal with Tamamo's invisibility that I can notice that much.

Still, I was actually expecting it this time, so I am quick enough to put my hands in a shadowgraphic of a tortoise, and my shadow raises in front of me like a wall.

Since the Shikigami is bigger than the room, I only let a portion of his shell manifest outside of my shadow, but that is enough.

Pinkie's slashing attack, at least I assume it's a slash of some sort, hits Reflective Tortoise's shell and the attack is reflected back, but Pinkie leans out of the way easily enough, ignoring the new gash in the opposite wall.

I don't have to pay for repairs, right?

"Okay~! That's enough you two~!" Kamo-Sensei interrupts, stepping between us and clapping his hands in a very teacher-like fashion.

Cautiously dismissing my Shikigami, I watch as Pinkie scowls for a moment before he relaxes and turns back to me with a mild expression of interest.

"What's your name," he says.

"I literally just introduced myself."

"I wasn't listening."

I snort at his honesty. I can't really blame him for ignoring people he thinks are boring. I'm assuming I'm interesting enough because I survived. Maybe this is like a baptism rite kind of thing to be accepted by the class?

"My name's Narauko, nice to meet you, Pinkie."

Another slash is sent my way, but it's easier to dodge this time.

"My name is Sukuna. Don't forget it."

"Oh, I don't think that will be a problem," I say with a grin. This whole interaction has just been too interesting to forget, but after the briefest of pauses, I continue my sentence, "Pinkie."

Chapter Text

The evening finds me in a large open field on the school grounds with two of my classmates.

After the introductions earlier, Kamo-Sensei gave a brief lesson on Barrier Techniques before dismissing us for self study, which is apparently a significant portion of our study time.

According to my classmates, there isn't actually a whole lot that a Jujutsu Sorcerer can teach another Sorcerer. Innate Techniques for example can only be figured out by their user, with the exception of Inherited Technique Users who can benefit from the efforts of their predecessors.

I still managed to get permission to visit the library and borrow some of the books and scrolls there.

Then Ise and Minamoto both had to leave for a mission and Sukuna wondered off somewhere, so my other classmates offered to spar with me.

I think they just want to test me for something, though I'm not sure what, but I don't mind, because I'm here to learn, so this is perfect for me.

I learnt so much in that short fight with Tamamo, and now I feel like I'm addicted to smoking again with how badly I want to experience that again.

Now that I think about it, I could probably smoke without worrying about my lungs now that I have superpowers. Neat.

"I know you're a bumpkin," Taira comments while stretching, breaking the silence without a hint of grace, "So have ya ever been in a fight before?"

Turning to face my classmates properly, I crack my neck as I answer. "Only once," I say with a smile, enjoying the warmth of the sun on my face as that thrill for battle slowly starts to grow for the second time in my life.

Taira makes a face at my answer, as if I'd just said the most unbelievable thing.

"I grew up in an isolated shrine and I only left it for the first time a few days ago," I defend myself, and she lets out a sigh in return, looking put out.

"(¬‿¬)," the orb 'says', facing Taira, who immediately blushes.

"S-shut up!" She yells at Kamo, who floats back a little in an imitation of backing off.

"(￣y▽,￣)╭," is the face Kamo makes, and I feel like I'm missing some inside joke as Taira huffs out a breath and steadily regains her calm.

Well, mostly. She still looks kind of pissed actually.

"Whatever," Taira scoffs as I feel her Cursed Energy spike and she settles into a combat stance. "Let's see how you fare, Special grade."

I turn a dry glare to Kamo at the fact she just got Taira all riled up right before they fight, and the orb ripples and changes in response.

"(ง •.•)ง."

...This school is so weird.

I kind of love it.

"Pay attention!" Taira suddenly yells from right next to me, and it's only instinct that has me raising an arm in time to block her punch from hitting my face.

Even still, there is enough force behind the blow to send me cartwheeling away, which is incredibly disorienting by the way.

Still, I am able to twist enough to land on my feet, and my smile only grows when I look up to see Taira rushing me down, moving even faster than Tamamo did.

She reaches me with a left cross that I block with both of my arms in an 'x', yet the punch still has enough force in it that my knees buckle and the ground cracks beneath us.

Stronger than Tamamo too, I think to myself as I notice her other hand drop to the katana on her waist, and as I move to dodge the coming slash, I am blindsided by a kick to my lower ribs that sends me rolling across the ground.

Palming the floor, I flip myself back to my feet with a spin and bring a hand to my rib, feeling that two of them are broken.

Taira doesn't push the attack this time, so I use the brief pause to channel some Positive Energy and fix myself up, earning a raised brow from the tomboy opposite me.

"So you can use Reverse Cursed Technique then?" She says before settling into a one-handed stance with her sword. "A Sorcerer's entire body is a weapon," she says, "Don't focus on any one part."

It's my first time fighting someone with a weapon, so I guess I did focus on it too much.

"Thanks for the lesson," I happily respond, and she answers with another charge and this time, I move forward to meet her, instead of being entirely passive.

Her sword has the longest reach, so she brings it down on my head in a straight slash, however I am able to keep up with her speed, so instead of dodging, I deflect by slapping the side of the blade with the back of my hand.

The cut goes wide, but her other hand is already closing in, so I meet her fist with an elbow. Unfortunately, her hand unclenches at the last moment and she catches my elbow in her palm, closing her fingers around it.

With my elbow as leverage, she leans back matrix style, pulling me off of my feet with her. Right before her shoulders would hit the ground, her other hand comes back up and her sword drives straight through my shoulder before she completes the movement and throws me behind her.

I don't go far, since she lacked the leverage to put much power into the throw, but that doesn't mean I have the time to counter her before she's back on her feet and facing me again.

"You're starting to piss me off," Taira says with a scowl. "Why are you smiling like that?"

"Because I'm learning."

Once again, she charges at me, but I've already seen what she does on flat ground, so this time, right before she reaches me, I raise a foot and stomp.

The ground craters under my Cursed Energy Reinforced geta and Taira looses her footing for just a moment before resuming her dash with even more fervour.

Her sword swings horizontally, attempting to disembowel me. Two quick steps back avoid it and then I have to lean even further back to avoid the roundhouse kick that follows the blade.

Taira spins with the kick, bringing her sword to bare once more in a fluid motion, like a whirlwind of water. Her sword slashes across at me again, and I step back again, but this time her sword pauses mid-swing and transitions into a thrust that I manage to twist past with only a small cut to my clothes.

Reaching my freshly healed arm out, I grab her sword by the blade, my palm on the flat side, and yank it away from her while sending a kick for her gut, but she immediately twists her wrist ninety degrees so that the blade is poised against my fingers and pulls back, regaining control of her sword and taking my fingers with her.

Owwww, I whine in my head even as I raise a knee to block a front kick of hers, jumping with my other foot so I can use the force of her kick to gain some distance.

But as soon as I land, Taira makes a clapping gesture and I quickly leap another step backwards, just in time to dodge as a pair of giant skeletal hand burst out of the earth, following the movement of Taira's hands.

With even more distance between us, Taira doesn't chase again, and I glance down at my fingers, or at least what's left of them.

Can Positive Energy regenerate limbs? Probably. I used Generous Deer to fix the hole in my chest that Tamamo made, but I don't know if I can do that myself yet.

"Oi!" Taira yells, pulling my attention away from my bleeding digits. "Do I look like a whetstone to you!?" She demands, confusing me.

"What?" I ask with a tilt of my head, and she points her sword at me as she continues to glare.

"Do you think I'm stupid? That I wouldn't notice?" She says, practically spitting the words out. "You've been holding back this whole time. You had an opening when you made me lose my footing but you didn't take it! You're not even treating this like a fight! You're treating me like a grindstone to sharpen yourself on and it's pissing me off!"

What she doesn't say, what is bothering her the most, is that his eyes remind her of the way Sukuna looked down on her. The eyes of someone who knows they are better, but gave you a chance to show what you can do just out of curiosity.

The only difference is that Narauko is not blatantly mocking her. He's still looking down on her though, and it pisses her off that he doesn't even seem to realise it.

"You haven't even used your Technique!" She yells.

I don't respond right away, recognising the truth to her words. A part of me feels bad about it, but I truly just can't bring myself to look at her and see a genuine threat to my life, so I wanted to keep the fight going so I could continue to learn.

"My apologies," I say with a slight bow, "I did not mean to insult, I just wanted to keep learning from your example."

"So you think the battle will end once you actually start trying then!?" Taira demands, and her words unconsciously make my eyes briefly flicker to Kamo before returning to her. Unfortunately, she noticed the movement and connected the dots.

Taira's scowl only grows deeper. "Oh? You think I need Kamo's help to put up a fight against you?"

Scratching my cheek, I feel somewhat sheepish at her decidedly unhappy expression. "I mean..." I trail off as I try to think of a diplomatic way to avoid lying, and fail miserably. "Kind of."

Predictably, she doesn't like that answer, however, to my surprise, she actually does seem to take the honesty for what it was instead of just blowing up and turns her scowl to Kamo. "Don't get involved unless it looks like I'm going to lose," she says before turning back to me. "Now start using your Technique."

Sighing at her demanding tone, I don't argue. It's not like I mind how we fight, either way I'm going to be learning, either martial arts or Jujutsu doesn't matter to me.

Looking back down at my stubs of fingers, I only smile at the flow of blood and simmering sting, finding the experience too novel to be upsetting.

I've never regenerated a limb before, and I don't want to mess it up, so I go to summon Generous Deer, only to falter when I bring my hands up to make the shadowgraphic.

...How to I make the antlers without fingers?

That's pretty funny. Can you really disarm Jujutsu Sorcerers by literally disarming them? I guess in the future I should keep in mind to aim my attacks to disrupt ritualistic things like hand signs when necessary.

Well, Kamo-Sensei did say something about this right? He said that techniques are normally powered by Cursed Energy, which is inherently negative, and this process is called Lapse. Then, when Cursed Energy gets multiplied by itself into Positive Energy it's called Reverse, but there's also a subtraction too.

I don't know why it's so mathematic, probably just because maths can explain pretty much everything, rather than it being the other way around. Either way, the point is that subtraction involved limiting the number of steps required to activate a ritual. Basically anyway.

So with that in mind, I drop the injured hand and make half of the shadowgraphic for my Shikigami.

"Generous Deer," I intone, and it feels a little bit less efficient and slower, but a moment later my dear deer is standing tall beside me regardless.

That was easier than I thought it'd be, I think to myself, recalling how Kamo-Sensei briefly described the process. Maybe it's just because my Technique is Shikigami? Or, considering that prank, maybe Kamo-Sensei was just messing with me by exaggerating the difficulty.

Generous Deer's snout reaches for the back of my palm, and in a burst of Positive Energy I feel the strange tingling sensation of my fingers regenerating.

It feels weird.

Wiggling my newly remade hand, I dismiss Generous Deer and face Taira again.

She is faster and stronger than Tamamo was, but not by a massive amount, and Tamamo's illusions made her much more difficult to fight. Plus, that fight let me get over the initial hesitance one has for new things, so I'm easily a much better fighter than then.

It's easier to improve when one is a novice after all.

Time to fight for real then.

"If you die, can I have your sword?" I ask with a sweet smile while subtly sending a thin line of my shadow forward to connect with her own.

Immediately, her scowl grows deeper, and in that moment, I flick two fingers up, causing a giant spike of inky black to rise from the ground right in front of her.

A fight is more than a clash of bodies. Deception is important too and words are weapons. Tamamo taught me that as well, though I already kind of knew it thanks to the wonders of the internet.

Taira dashes to the side fast enough to avoid the spike, but my hands are already in a different hand sign.

"Lion's Pride," I intone, and my lion Shikigami launches out of the shadow spike with an open maw, ready to bite her head off.

In slow motion, I watch as Cursed Energy coalesces around Taira's free hand and conjures up the form of a small, ornate silver bell carved with intricate designs and with a handle of smooth brown wood capped by a golden cap.

The bell chimes, a soft tinging sound that somehow both manages to be perfectly clear and calmingly quiet at the same time. The next moment, the earth between her and my Shikigami explodes outwards.

A giant skeleton rises from the earth, its bones making a low creaking sound as it stretches tall and swings one of its arms at my Shikigami, batting away the lion like it's a stuffed toy, rather than my second strongest summon.

"My Cursed Technique is Rattling Skeleton," Taira informs me as the giant skeleton looms over her, about seven times as tall as she is and radiating an aura of inevitability, like it is foolish to even consider taking the titan down. "It allows me to summon this Gashadokuro, who possesses great strength and complete invulnerability to all forms of damage."

"Why are you telling me this?" I ask, not that I'm complaining. Also, giant skeletons are cool as hell. Every day I wish I had a camera more and more, because I never want to forget this sight. I don't think my new life has ever felt more like a movie than right now, it's just so cinematic with the afternoon sun hanging behind the titan.

"It's a Binding Vow," she answers with a twitch of her brow at my ignorance. "By revealing my technique I am putting myself in greater danger. The 'revealing one's hand' Binding Vow rewards this by boosting the effectiveness of the Technique being revealed. This explanation I am giving is also enhancing my abilities, because I am making the fight more difficult for myself by educating you."

Huh. Seems useful more for people with simple techniques like her. But for me, Ten Shadows is a technique who's greatest strength is versatility, so I don't think it would really be worth it for me to do the same.

"That's nice," I say before making a new shadowgraphic, "Rabbit Escape."

A veritable ocean of rabbits swarm out of my shadow, though they're more like hares with their size, and then each other's shadows to create a fluffy tidal wave that drops right onto the giant skeleton to weigh it down, at least for a little bit anyway.

As that happens, I push my body reinforcement as hard as I can and launch myself at Taira. Her eyes widen at my speed but she still manages to block my opening punch with her forearm.

She still winces from the strength behind the blow, but still brings her sword to bare when I go for a kick, causing me to abandon the attack and pivot around in a spin, sending a long sweep at her legs that she hops over.

The moment that her feet leave the ground, my lion launches out of my shadow at her. She tries to twist out of the way mid-air, but my Shikigami still manages to rake its claws down her thigh, and I am ready to follow it up with a rising knee, only to hesitate when my ears barely manage to catch the sound of hands clapping together.

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch sight of Kamo's orb and I see that a pair of heavily scarred hands have reached out of the surface.

The hands are entirely covered in scar tissue rather than skin, looking like the most horrific burn I have ever seen, but regardless they are held steady together, pointing right in my direction.

I don't even think about it as I abandon my advantage and lean backwards, just in time as a thin line of red appears in front of my eyes, cutting through right where my torso was a moment ago.

I don't get to catch my breath as the giant skeleton follows the attack by slamming its palm down at me, not seeming all that bothered by the hoard of rabbits covering it.

My lion falls back into my shadow as I hop backwards, avoiding the palm, and then just for fun, I hop back forward and land a spinning kick on the skeleton's wrist.

My leg immediately shatters on contact, and I have to have my rabbits cover me from Taira's sword so I can get some distance, the woman struggling to cut through so many Shikigami quickly.

My rabbits clear away into black ink that drains into nothing a moment after I have gained some distance, leaving me standing on one foot beside my lion while facing Taira, her skeleton and Kamo, who has retreated back into her orb.

I honestly didn't even think there was a person in there in the first place. I've seen enough magical stuff recently that I was just fully ready to accept that one of my classmates is a sentient floating orb of blood.

Kami this life is so much fucking fun~! I love it~!

"Why did you attack my Gashadokuro, Idiot?" Taira asks, though it comes out more as a demand.

"I was curious," I answer with an unrepentant grin, "Besides, you could have been lying."

A standoff forms between us with growing tension as we wait for someone to make the first move. 

On my side, I want to summon Generous Deer, or I could just try healing my leg by myself, while on their side, Taira's injury isn't too severe, so they probably want to stop me from healing and keep pressing the attack.

If I try to summon my deer, Kamo will probably use that attack on me, and it seems super fast so I doubt I can dodge it while summoning a Shikigami, and Taira's skeleton would stop my lion from disrupting Kamo.

However, if I send my lion forward first, Kamo will probably attack it right away, and then it will be a question of whether I can summon my deer before Taira's skeleton can reach me.

Or... I could always try something new.

I wanted to test merging my Shikigami together before trying to merge them with myself or borrow their abilities, but hey, it's my technique, what's the worst that could happen?

Illusions seem like they would be perfect right now, so I reach deep into my being and mentally take hold of Trickster Fox, bringing the Shikigami closer to the surface as if I was about to summon it forth, but not going all the way.

It's difficult to describe the process, but I try to then layer the Shikigami over myself. I feel it's illusion technique in my mind's eye, and my grin only grows when I make a gesture to create an illusion of myself rushing for Kamo with my Lion-

Crap, I think as Kamo's hands remerge from her orb pointed right at me, I failed~!

Oh well, I guess I'll just have to-

The battlefield is cut in half.

Taira and Kamo both seem to stutter and freeze as an enormous cavern opens in the ground between us like a valley had just opened up between blinks.

Slowly, their eyes turn to the side, where the training field rises up into a grassy bank before the school.

But my attention is more occupied by my Shikigami that was just ahead of me and is now missing its upper half.

That was my strongest one! Other than the combined Divine Dogs of course, but in terms of default strength, Lion's Pride was great! And it's even stronger closer to midday!

"Sukuna-sama," Taira says after subtly swallowing whatever her first response was, and I follow her eyes to see the guy in question standing on the bank, looking down on us with a disinterested frown.

However, whatever else Taira was going to say is cut off by me. 

"Oi!" I yell up at him, "I have to tame my Shikigami you know! They don't just respawn! So don't go killing them, Asshole!"

"Haaah?" Sukuna questions dangerously, looking down at me with disapproval, and then, without a word of diplomacy, he swipes his hand at me and I briefly fall into my shadow to avoid the wide, invisible slash, remerging right after it passes.

Why do I feel like a Whac-A-Mole doing this?

"Violence isn't the only answer to everything you know?" I sardonically ask him. "You should try being diplomatic and just apologise for killing my Shikigami! I can't get that thing back now! Ever!"

"Why should I apologise?" Sukuna asks in a slow drawl that is clearly supposed to be mocking.

"Because it is the polite thing to do when you upset someone!"

"Really." He says again, not sounding convinced. "You don't look all that upset."

His words cause me to falter slightly, and I bring a hand up to my face to realise that yes, I'm actually smiling pretty widely right now.

"Yeah well... It's still polite to apologise for breaking other people's things! Even if they don't get mad about it!" 

I try, but I really just can't bring myself to be angry. Part of it is that I know through my dogs that Lion's Pride's strength will be carried on, but mostly it's just because Sukuna's Technique is so cool that I just don't care.

"Too bad," Sukuna shrugs, smirking down at me. A second later, he changes the conversation entirely. "We've been assigned a mission together from Kamo. Hurry up, if you slow me down, I'll kill you."

I can tell that he means that last part, so is it weird that it makes me want to get to know him even more?

Probably.

Whatever.

Focusing on my Cursed Energy, I smash it against itself and send the resulting Positive Energy down to my injured leg, not trusting Sukuna to not kill my deer if I summoned it.

It's a bit more challenging to fix, since I need to make sure the bones are all set right, but ultimately it's pretty easy. Probably just because I've seen Generous Deer do the same, so I'm not fumbling in the dark.

Turning to my classmates, I give them a smile and a wave, "That was fun! Thanks for the lesson, I'll see you later!"

With my piece said, I set off on a jog to catch up with Sukuna.

"You know," I start once I reach his side, "Even just a 'my bad'-" I step backwards once to avoid death and forward twice to continue my sentence, "Would be fine~."

Sukuna doesn't answer.

"So," I start again after a minute of silence, "Mind filling me in on where we're going and what we're to be doing?"

"Shut up."

"Tsk."

Whatever. I can be patient. Sukuna clearly doesn't want to talk right now, and I don't feel like needling him just yet.

I have a feeling he'll be more willing to open up later, so I let the matter rest for now and just enjoy our walk. Though, even as I admire the architecture and floral arrangements we pass, I do make sure not to let my guard down, just in case he randomly decides to kill me.

This guy is seriously a scary kind of guy after all. He'd totally be a serial killer in my last world.

Wait... "Hey are you a serial killer?"

He doesn't answer, but I get a certain sense of smugness from him that makes the answer clear enough, and I stifle a laugh at that.

Murder is obviously a bad thing, but it's also just another part of nature, so even if I don't plan to indulge in it, I'm not going to throw a fit about someone else doing it.

At the end of the day, he is just doing as is his nature, it would be hypocritical of me to condemn him for that when I am the exact same in essence.

Still.. Didn't think I'd ever make friends with a serial killer.

"Hey, are we friends?" 

An invisible blade very nearly removes my head from my shoulders and I grin.

Yeah, we're friends.

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

Could have probably made this chapter longer, especially since it was only supposed to be the start of the chapter leading into the mission, but I ended up writing 4k words, so now I'm feeling like I might as well just split the setup into its own chap and have the mission be separate.

Plus it means I can sperate things more cleanly to keep avoiding any cliffhangers with my uploads.

If you want to read ahead or just support me, there is an extra 6 chapters right now on my patreon, Kevin the Bored. Donations are taken with much gratitude, I am broke and jobless, so I really do appreciate it :)

Chapter Text

The dirt path we walk down is flanked on both sides by trees with wide canopies about twice as tall as a two story house. The sun shines down on us through the gaps in the leaves, making a nice, warm feeling of dimmed light.

We've been walking for a while now, and though not a word has been spoken, I'm not bothered by the silence. 

Occasionally I see some wildlife, deer and rabbits mostly, but there was also a bear that didn't seem to want to get close to us. Well, it was probably Sukuna that scared it off, that guy gives off bad juju like he gets paid to.

I've also seen some new flowers! So that's cool too, I don't know what they're called, but they were such a vibrant shade of blue that I had to pick a few. 

I even made a crown of flowers to wear, because they smelled nice too.

Sukuna didn't accept the flower crown I made for him. In fact, he seemed kind of disgusted by it.

It turns out that Minamoto's Technique: Kindred Spirit allows him to connect two 'cuts' together. Basically, he can swing a blade in one place, then swing a blade in another place, and create a portal connecting where the two blades cut.

He has a range limit, unfortunately, but we could still use his Technique to cut the travel time for this mission down a bunch.

As for the mission itself, well... I still have no idea what it is.

Sukuna doesn't feel like talking, so I've been keeping to myself. No need to rush him.

Maybe he's shy~.

Obviously not, but it's a funny thought, and I'll definitely tease him with it once we're closer, something I don't doubt will happen, simply because he's too interesting and I want to learn more about who he is.

All I know is that we're heading towards a small town, well, small to my sensibilities. It probably only has around a thousand people or something living there.

I only know that much because Minamoto had to know where to teleport us.

It would have been funny if he portal-ed us in the opposite direction, but I'm pretty sure Sukuna would have killed me if he did that.

Oh well.

Still, I haven't just been admiring the scenery on this walk, I've also been taking the time to train in Subtraction.

One of my Technique's biggest weaknesses is the brief time it takes to summon my Shikigami. If I can get it to the point that I don't need words or gestures to summon them, then that'd be great.

So I've been summoning and dismissing my Escape Rabbit over and over again as we've been travelling.

I haven't quite mastered it, but I got to the point where I can summon either with just the hand sign and no chant, or a chant and no hand sign.

The latter seems the most helpful, since it'll keep my hands unoccupied, but the former will undoubtably be best if I need to be sneaky for whatever reason.

However, while I have been training my Technique, one thing I've made sure not to do is summon either Divine Dog: Totality, or the latest result of power trickling down from Lion's Pride's demise.

Because I honestly feel like it's a good idea to keep as many tricks up my sleeve as I can, just in case Sukuna decides he wants to kill me before heading back.

He seriously is not a nice person. I don't think I can express enough with words how not nice of a person he is.

It's like, if you have a murderer on trial and say they're a horrible monster, then you get a serial killer on trial, then what are you supposed to say that's worse than horrible monster?

Just because the crime is worse, doesn't mean the lesser criminal is less of a horrible monster, but by calling them such, you run out of ways to describe anyone who is worse without just repeating yourself.

So basically, Sukuna is the single worse human I have ever met in my life, and likely will ever meet again. As a matter of fact, I'd say he's more of a Curse than a human, that much I can tell just from exposure.

If anything, he's more of a Curse than even Curses are, simply because he is also human.

He's so interesting.

Eventually however, we do reach the end of the forest trail at around evening time. As the trees clear up, we exit to the sight of a small settlement of wooden buildings built in the same design my mind still calls traditional Japanese, even though it's just normal now.

The streets are surprisingly bustling, lit up by the soft glow of lamps hung up all around, preparing for the approaching night.

Glancing to my side, I notice that Sukuna didn't even stop to take in the sight and just kept walking forward, his nose buried in one of my books.

Not that I gave it to him mind. I took it out of my shadow to read it, but then he just snatched it. He even cut my hand off when he did it, the prick.

Not that I'm really mad. If anything, I was just intrigued that there really was more to him than just hatred.

Plus I used the chance to try and regenerate my hand by myself, having realised that even if I do fuck it up, I can just cut it off again and have my deer do it for me.

Unfortunately however, it seems that regenerating limbs is a bit beyond me at the moment, so I did have to summon Generous Deer anyway.

I was really quick though, because I still can't take on my Shikigami's abilities without summoning them like I tried earlier and I didn't want him to kill my deer.

I might actually be upset if he did that, it's my favourite Shikigami. I am very bias for deer.

I also realised that since my lion is dead, I only have half my Shikigami slots filled now, but again, I don't want to start the ritual around Sukuna.

Shaking my head clear of useless thoughts, I speed walk my way back to Sukuna's side as we approach the settlement.

Absently, I note how the road through the town is all just dirt without any paving, the sight standing out to me alone. It makes me think back to my other life and realise that I'd never take note of a city road being made of tarmac or concrete or something grey like that, just like these people treat a dirt road as something so banal as to not even notice.

But to me, it's strange seeing so many people walking down a street of dirt. It's just one of those things you notice, a culture shock, I guess it's called.

Though, saying it's shocking feels like an overestimation. It's more like how if you're used to taking your shoes off or keeping them on when you're in your own house, then you tend to notice when you visit someone else and it's the opposite, while ignoring it if it's the same.

Basically just something that makes you go 'oh okay' and move on.

The point is, I'm smiling as we reach the entrance to the town, finding a man in a formal kimono standing to the side of the road waiting for us.

My sense of Cursed Energy tells me that he barely has any more than the average person, and my lessons with the old man tell me that he's probably a 'Window', the term for people with enough Cursed Energy to see Cursed Spirits, but not enough to fight them.

They are usually the people who report when and where Cursed Spirits are spotted to be dealt with.

A brief bit of history from the old man that I found interesting was that Windows used to actually not see too much use, because they only needed to keep an eye on low Grade Curses. This was because the Jujutsu world was content to just leave powerful Curses like Special Grades alone to their devices so long as they weren't causing too much trouble.

However, ever since Sugawara no Michizane started his one man crusade against Cursed Spirits, that is no longer the case. The problem is that Cursed Spirits don't truly die, at least not the normal way. The only way they can die is if they are well and truly forgotten.

So now there are a bunch of powerful Curses that are going to reincarnate randomly with no hint as to where or when. Because of this, Windows now have a much more important job of making sure everyone knows exactly when any powerful Curses are born and where they are as soon as possible.

It kind of makes me feel a bit bad for Michizane, since he was probably just trying to do a good thing, but now it's just going to cause even more problems down the line.

Oh well, I'm actually not that upset about it now that I think about it. After all, more problems down the line just means more opportunities for me to see interesting things.

"This one greets Sukuna-sama and Narauko-sama on behalf of the Fujiwara clan," the Window greets once we get close enough, bowing deeply. "By your will, I may inform you of what we have learned of the Curse present."

Why am I getting '-sama'-ed? I'm a forest child, not a noble. Maybe they think I'm an asshole like Sukuna and are just scared?

I'm only fifteen though. Even if they gave me that Special Grade rank, it's just because I have a lot of Cursed Energy, not because I'm particularly amazing.

I've only been in two fights now and they were both in the last week.

However, more than that, my attention is drawn to Sukuna as he looks over the town with blatant distain.

Where before, I got the feeling that Sukuna would kill me and everyone around him without a care, it always felt like something he would only do with a reason, even if the reason was incredibly thin, like not bowing when he walked past or something.

But when he looks out over these people, I feel a true, genuine hatred coming from him. His Cursed Energy is tumultuous, raging against his skin as if he is actively holding himself back from just killing them all.

I don't get why though. Why does he hate people so much? Why does he want to kill them all?

Why is he holding himself back?

"Narauko greets the aid of the esteemed Fujiwara clan," I return in greeting, since Sukuna would probably kill someone if he had to speak right now. Though, I don't bow. "What have you learned about this Curse?"

I'd like to have said something about being grateful for any information given, because that feels more polite, but the old man taught me that giving gratitude is a dangerous thing with nobles. Apparently if you apologise to, or thank a noble, they think it means you owe them or something.

Politics.

At least the Window seems pleased at my attitude, furtively stealing subtle glanced at Sukuna, the same way you would glance at a coiled snake just in case it lashed out.

"It is a Vengeful Cursed Spirit, Narauko-sama," the Window says with another bow, "In life, she was the wife to a local Samurai. However, she was adulterous while her husband was away fighting. He discovered this on his return and slit the corners of her mouth open as punishment. She then died and turned into a Vengeful Cursed Spirit. Its exact abilities are unknown to us, as everyone we've sent to investigate has died. It is likely Semi-Grade One at a minimum. The locals have started calling it Kuchisake-onna."

Seems like an overreaction to adultery to me, and for a second I get whiplash about how casually the Window retold the story.

It's just completely foreign to me that a man cutting his wife's mouth open like the Joker isn't even that big of a deal here. Hell, they'd probably be more scandalised if he just divorced her.

It's so weird. Though, it's kind of funny in hindsight that some people in the twenty first century fail to understand how much more peaceful the world is for them.

Sure there were, or will be? Still wars, but at least that Samurai would get sent to jail or something for mutilating his wife instead of just divorcing her.

Wait a minute... "What happened with the husband?" I ask, eyes alight with curiosity enough to ignore the strange look the other two gave me.

"I.. Don't know?" The Window asks more than states, caught flatfooted, "I assume he returned to his clan in the capital. May this lowly one ask why you wish to know?"

So he's not even going to get punished? Probably just made fun of by his friends or something.

"No reason," I wave him off, "I was just curious."

"Enough," Sukuna cuts in, his voice hard and full of poorly hidden bloodlust, whether that's directed at the Curse or the people, I couldn't say. Probably both. "Where is the Curse."

The Window immediately bows to Sukuna. "We have managed to confine it in the Samurai's compound to the north of the town, Sukuna-sama."

Sukuna doesn't say anything or nod any kind of acknowledgement to the Window, simply turning on his heel and walking north, tossing my book to the side as he does so.

Naturally, I catch my book before it hits the ground. These things aren't that sturdy like they will be in the future. I don't want to ink to smudge.

Putting my hands back in my sleeves, I deposit the book back in my shadow and give a shallow bow to the Window before hurrying my steps to catch back up with Sukuna again.

We get a lot of looks from the townspeople as we travel through the town, and it becomes clear to me that they know we are Sorcerers. It also becomes clear that they don't have a particularly high opinion of Sorcerers, even when we are here to exorcise a dangerous Curse for them.

It just makes me curious how other Sorcerers have acted in the past for them to be so distrustful.

Though, glancing over at Sukuna kind of answers that question. No one is willing to even get close to us, some primal part of their brain warning them that death will follow if they do.

Normal people can't consciously perceive Cursed Energy, but their subconscious still can. It's like that feeling you get when you enter an abandoned, spooky building, that unnatural chill.

Except in this world, I know for a fact that that feeling is not just mould or whatever making you hallucinate, but the effect of feeling Cursed Energy, even if you can't perceive it.

I also don't doubt for a second that their instincts are correct. If any of these people were to approach us, Sukuna would probably kill them before they can get to the second syllable of whatever they wanted to say.

The town itself is very reminiscent of Edo, just smaller. The only three story building being the Samurai's compound we are approaching, and though the place is too small to have it's own redlight district, I do spy a slightly larger building decorated with red lanterns.

Vaguely I remember some factoid about how Japan was one of the nations most accepting of prostitution as a part of society, though I'm not sure if that was just people on the internet spreading misinformation again.

It's hard to say.

Eventually however, my musings are cut off when we finally reach our destination.

The compound is rather large, a good two hundred metres or so wide at a guess, probably longer lengthwise, but I can't tell from this angle.

There is a wall about twice my height surrounding it, with what looks like archer towers on each corner and a big fancy gate with the same kind of roofing as all the other buildings.

The gate is closed, so I can't see the details inside, but I can see the rooves of the buildings, showing that there are three, one two story building on each side, and a three story main building at the far end in the centre.

Overall, it's an incredibly nice compound. Makes me think this Samurai guy is actually probably someone important. Or maybe houses like this just aren't that uncommon among nobility and the like.

Around the entire compound, there is also another barrier, except this one I cannot see with my eyes. It is only through my sense for Cursed Energy that I can even notice it, a faint but sturdy feeling barrier invisibly coating the entire place in a dome.

It doesn't feel like it would affect me in anyway, but I guess that makes sense, since it's probably designed with restraining Curses in mind, not Sorcerers.

hearing the sound of approaching footsteps, I turn my eyes away from the architecture to observe the approach of a middle aged man.

He has messy dull grey hair that looks more natural than a result of advanced age and a bland expression of disinterest on his face as he approaches.

Like Sukuna and I, he is wearing a kimono, except unlike us who are matching, except for my scarf, his is shaded with a pure black base that is covered with white and dark blue markings like that of a snake's skin.

It makes him look like how I imagine Yakuza would look honestly.

However, what is most interesting, and what draws my eye, is the strange tattoo-like markings over his mouth that I can just tell are Cursed Markings.

The man, in contrast to Narauko's interest, briefly falters as a pair of equally curious eyes bore down on him, greatly discomforting him.

"Sukuna. Narauko." The man begins, not even trying to be polite as his lifeless eyes move between us. "I am Inumaki Kotone, Grade One. I will be supervising this exorcism."

Sukuna looks like he's going to try and kill the guy for not putting any respect on his name, so I step forward and bow to Inumaki. "It is nice to meet you, Inumaki-san. Is there anything else, or shall we begin the exorcism now?"

He waves a hand at the compound. "No. Go ahead. I will be waiting outside the Curtain."

What's the point in being a supervisor if you're not even going to come and supervise? Naturally, I don't say that out loud, but still.

With that out of the way, I once again have to catch up with Sukuna, who has already started strolling for the gate, practically broadcasting his boredom through his Cursed Energy, a stark contrast to my own that is reflecting my excitement.

After all, I am about to see a Curse that's either Grade One or on the verge of it. I know that Special Grade among Curses isn't really the same as Sorcerers, so saying that a Grade One Cursed Spirit is the peak like with Sorcerers would be a lie.

But still, it's exciting.

Taira is technically a Grade One Sorcerer, but she's also a student like me, so I don't think she's actually at the level of Grade Ones yet, which means this should actually be pretty challenging.

I really can't wait. Tamamo and then Taira have made me want to experience that combat thrill again. I was never interested in violence before, but now I just really want to push myself.

It feels like... Like if you lie in one position for too long and want to stretch your leg, but can't fully straighten it.

Like having satisfaction within sight but out of reach.

Tamamo and Taira.. They just weren't strong enough, I'm starting to realise.

I hope this Curse isn't disappointing.

We reach the gate together and I feel a faint whiff of Cursed Energy emanate from Sukuna, kind of like a spider's web in that you can easily miss it without light reflecting off of it.

And then the gate crumbles into pieces.

"So much for knocking," I mutter as we stroll through the remains of the gate, entering the court proper.

The edge of the court, where the buildings are, is lined with gardens of flowers, mostly blue and yellow, arranged in subtle patterns. Most of the court is just simple stone, but right in the centre is a large sakura tree that is unfortunately out of season, going by the empty branches.

Still, the sight holds my eye for a moment. I'm sure sakura trees are beautiful in bloom, but even still, the sight of the tree completely devoid of any petals is strangely beautiful in its own right.

I just can't help but admire it.

Standing there, barren of colour surrounded by blooming flowers like a corpse of what could be.

God I wish I had a camera.

Then I notice Sukuna moving forward through my peripheral vision and snap out of my daze, following after him at a sedate pace, preferring to enjoy the compound than rush.

As I walk, I spread out my senses and feel for Cursed Energy.

Far to the south I can barely make out the presence of the normal folk. Closer, there is about half a dozen Windows, each having barely more Cursed Energy than the normal people.

Then there's Inumaki, who stands out like a candle in the night.

But if Inumaki is a candle, then Sukuna in front of me is a raging inferno, almost blinding my senses entirely with how intense his presence is.

Even with him distracting me, I do manage to notice a bundle of Cursed Energy further ahead in the main building. Going by Sukuna's chosen direction, he probably senses it too.

Speeding up my pace a little bit, I overtake Sukuna before matching him, because I selfishly don't want him to kill the Curse.

We reach the front door and I slide it open with much more respect than Sukuna treated the gate, and walk inside, followed silently by my classmate.

The halls are a mess, with lines carved into the walls and broken shards of vases and other decorative items littering the floor. It looks like its been ransacked and left to rot, which might actually be true.

Or it is just the Curse.

Going by the cuts in the walls that still hold faint echoes of Cursed Energy, I think I can safely assume the Curse's main form of offence is likely a slashing type attack.

That would be more helpful information if I had some kind of counter to slashing type attacks, but I don't. At least it's still nice to know what to expect, though it also kind of ruins the surprise.

Hmm. Is it better to be prepared or surprised? I honestly couldn't say. That's a really difficult question for me.

My senses tell me we are close enough that I shouldn't be getting distracted, so I focus back on the world in time to come to a stop before another set of sliding doors.

On the other side is the Curse, and I'm pretty sure it has noticed our approach, even if it doesn't seem to be showing much aggression, which is very interesting.

Taking a deep breath, I slide the door open and step inside, Sukuna following behind me.

The room is simple with lots of space, as is pretty normal here. The flooring is a nice tatami wood and the wall on the right has a winding river painted on it.

On the opposite side of the room from the door, is an eight foot tall figure bent over a vanity case, it's long, greasy hair drapes over hunched shoulders even though the ceiling is high enough for it to stand straight.

Even as we stand there, the Curse doesn't respond to us. It just keeps muttering incomprehensible things to itself.

Sparing a glance at Sukuna shows that he is barely even paying attention, bored out of his mind.

Huffing in amusement, I turn back to the Curse and take a single step forward.

The instant my foot touches the ground, the world takes on a different hue and I suddenly know that I cannot take any violent actions right now.

It takes me a moment to figure out how this information just appears in my mind as true as anything else, and when I do I am shocked.

It's a Domain. The old man told me that Domain Expansion was the peak of Jujutsu Sorcery, and as I feel the barrier spring to life around us faster than I could hope to react, limiting my actions like a law of nature, I can't help but agree.

It feels so foreign. Like the world has been flipped upside down. It's fascinating to observe.

My eyes flick to Sukuna, who seems just as surprised as I am, but they quickly turn back to the Curse as it stands and faces us.

It's form is like that of a woman, a very tall woman, which is no surprise since it's a Vengeful Curse, dressed in a simple white yukata. But as it turns to face us, any possibility of mistaking it as anything but a Curse disappears.

Its hands hang by its sides, wrinkled and pale like a corpse's with long, uncared for nails coloured black and yellow from necrosis and puss, a sharp cooking knife held in one hand.

Its face is covered by a gigaku, a theatre mask shaped like the classic interpretation of an old witch's face. But the mask is also covered by its long hair, flowing down from its bowed head and all the way to the floor, obscuring most of the mask.

Disturbingly, the hair is covered in eyes that each look this way and that, as if they are each on their own psychedelic trip.

Truly, it is a scary, horrible, disgusting sight.

"Am I beautiful?" The Curse asks, its voice raspy and painful to listen to, and I just know that I have to answer. That I can't lie or even delay my response. I can only-

"Yes," I say without hesitation, ignoring the look I get from Sukuna.

The Curse seems oddly happy at my answer and raises its free hand to the mask it wears, grabbing it gently and pulling it away, brushing hair out of its face in the process as it turns up to stare right into my soul.

Its face is the thing of nightmares, with a still bleeding mouth cut too wide, showing a set of wicked fangs when it smiles at us. Its skin is pale and clammy, almost making me feel sick just looking at it, and its eyes are difficult to meet just from how disgusting it is.

Like all Curses I've seen so far, this thing is gross to look at.

"Even now?" It asks, and once again, I know I must answer honestly, that I can't lie-

"Yes," I breathe, the feeling of its domain softly brushing against my mind. "I have never seen a beauty like this before. I surely won't forget you, because you are truly beautiful."

The Curse's smile widens to disgusting proportions at my answer, and then the world cracks around us and shatters, the domain coming undone.

Without hesitating in the slightest, the moment I regain full control over myself from the rules of the domain, I gesture forward with my two forefingers.

Following my movement, my shadow lurches forward fast enough to blur, a spike of inky black shadow piercing through the Curse's head faster than it can react.

"You were beautiful," I mutter to the Curse as it fades away into nothing, successfully exorcised. "But you were also too weak."

Sighing to myself, I bring a hand to my chest and feel my heartbeat.

Steady as usual.

Another sigh leaves me at that.

I had hoped it would at least be as challenging as Taira.

Whatever, at least I got to see a domain. That was fun, not to mention rather enlightening. Now that I have a base to work from, I might be able to figure out my own domain, which would be very cool.

Cracking my neck, I turn to the side and am greeted to the sight of Sukuna intensely staring at the floor, right in the centre of the room. No, that's where the centre of the domain was that he is staring at.

I open my mouth to ask him if he's okay, only for my words to freeze on my lips as he suddenly seems to wake up and his Cursed Energy spikes like oil poured on a fire.

Slowly, or maybe I just imagine it in slow motion, I watch as Sukuna's face splits into a wide, bloodthirsty grin, his eyes alight with sadistic joy as he turns my way.

Ah fuck, I think to myself. That's not good.

Yet even as I think that, I know that my smile soon grows to match his own.

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

Cliffhanger!!!! Muahahaha!

Remember that bit about Sukuna only behaving because he doesn't have a counter to domains yet? lmao.

I was honestly originally planning to keep Sukuna from developing a domain or anything like that for a while, planning future events and the like, but I caught myself. The whole point of this fic is basically "whatever happens happens", and I came up with a better idea anyway.

Hope you guys like it, and I also hope next chapter's fight scene isn't disappointing.

My Patreon if you wanna support me. 7 Chaps ahead rn I think, I'll post the next 2 publicly once I finish the next chap :P

Chapter Text

Inumaki Kotone is a genius.

That is something his clan has told him almost every day since he was four, when the Inherited Technique of his Inumaki clan manifested in him.

A genius they called him.

By the time he became an adult, he was already considered a top class Grade One Sorcerer, and more than that, he was called the greatest Inumaki to ever be born.

None of his line before him have ever been able to match him in talent and ability, so it is only natural that he became the clan head shortly after graduating the Onmyōji school in the capital.

The elders of the clan hoped that his talent would allow him to bring the clan into higher standing than its long standing minor piece of nobility.

A genius.

That word used to mean something.

If he was born a century ago, he might have been the most powerful Sorcerer of his generation. A leading figure to the entire world of Onmyōdō.

However in this insane Age of Sorcery, that is not the case.

He wasn't even the most impressive Sorcerer of his generation. Didn't even make it into the top five.

Not because he is weak. He could fight multiple average Grade One Sorcerers by himself and win with ease.

No, he is not weak.

It is just that everyone else is too strong.

It all started with that old man Sugawara, according to his elders.

But now he has to live in a world where people like Abe no Seimei exist. A teenager who has already earned national fame with his moniker of 'The Most Deadly Sorcerer Ever Born' thanks to his disgustingly overpowered Innate Technique.

Though, one should keep in mind that his moniker is strictly in reference to being deadly against non-Sorcerers, as well as people with generally low levels of Cursed Energy. Because these people he can kill simply by looking at them.

He's not quite as certainly lethal against other Sorcerers. That title goes to yet another abnormal teenager. 'The Most Lethal Sorcerer Ever Born'. A similar title, but with a very different meaning.

Seriously, what is with all the absurd Cursed Techniques these days?

The point is that despite being a true, genuine once in a lifetime genius, Kotone doesn't really stand out much.

The world is just going insane.

As if he needed further proof of his thoughts, he feels a drastic spike of Cursed Energy come from the mansion in front of him, great enough that the Curtain around it shatters like glass.

Not a moment later, the main building abruptly falls apart. A million lines appear across the building as it is cut into too many pieces to count between one blink and the next.

Then, as if enough isn't enough, another surge of Cursed Energy, equalling the first in volume, bathes over the area.

The Windows around him all collapse to the ground as the weight of two Special Grade Sorcerer's presences presses on them like an unstoppable force.

Even Kotone feels his bones creak under the pressure, though he does not buckle.

It just further proves his feelings true.

What does it matter that he is a genius, when monsters like this keep popping up?

For a moment, he feels doubt about the mission that was given to him.

Two Special Grades certainly don't need any kind of supervisor looking out for them, after all.

The only reason he is here, is because the higher ups believed that there was a chance the Curse present had some kind of innate domain as a part of its Cursed Technique.

The idea is that they want Sukuna dealt with. It has only been that Kamo's interference that has prevented Sukuna from getting an execution order already.

But the higher ups were willing to accept it if it meant getting a Special Grade they can use against the growing number of Curses.

However, now that there is another, more appealing Special Grade, some have started to wonder if it's even worth keeping Sukuna around.

However, they made an agreement that they would leave the boy alone unless he becomes too much of an out of control threat.

No one has outright said it, but they all know that they are talking about domains.

So long as the boy cannot properly counter one, they will always have a way to deal with him if he becomes a problem.

So, knowing what they did about the Curse present today, they sent Kotone to 'supervise'. In reality, he is merely there to wait until Sukuna can catch a glimpse of a domain, so that they have an excuse to execute him immediately.

Which is why they sent him. Because they need a domain that can kill in an instant, before the little monster can figure out how to counter it.

They need a domain like his.

So now, all he has to do is kill the brat, and his clan is guaranteed to rise in the Imperial Court.

Simple, right?

Sukuna

The light of the evening sun illuminates the remains of the once illustrious home of a named Samurai.

For a brief moment, there is a peaceful silence, only the gently blowing winds causing any noise.

Then a small portion the rubble begins to shift until it suddenly explodes away in a burst of invisible force, revealing the unharmed form of Sukuna, standing with his clothes undirtied and his pink hair unruffled.

The only change in his appearance now to how he usually looks is the wide, savage grin on his face. The expression of a man ready to unleash hell upon everyone around him, all for no particular reason at all.

However, before he can leave to do so, a hand extends from another spot of rubble, drawing his attention, and his smile only widens when Narauko pulls himself out of the shadows to stand atop the rubble, equally as unruffled as Sukuna.

The two men straighten their backs and meet one another's gazes, each adopting the same casual pose, with their arms tucked into their sleeves, seemingly not preparing for battle at all, even as their auras crash into each other like a pair of tsunamis, equal in force and opposite in nature.

"Well," Narauko sighs while tilting his neck to the side until it cracks. "That was rather rude of you, don't you think?"

"You don't seem upset," Sukuna returns, making Narauko's grin only grow.

"Haha, I suppose you're right," Narauko agrees with good humour. At the same time, he reaches a hand up and grabs the front of his scarf, pulling it off of his neck and dropping it into his shadow. "I honestly don't know how to explain what I'm feeling, Sukuna. I just... I feel so happy right now."

Sukuna's grin grows a fraction at Narauko's words, and both of their Cursed Energy levels continue to grow in tandem, neither able to overpower the other, even as everything around them starts to crack and shatter to pieces under the weight of their presence.

"I'm going to kill you," Sukuna says, speaking as if he is making a simple observation. 'The sky is blue, grass is green, and you are going to die'.

"Hah!" Narauko barks a laugh in response. "Sorry to disappoint, but I'm actually immortal right now. I haven't felt enough satisfaction to die yet."

"Hmph," Sukuna scoffs, starting to scowl at Narauko, scorn filling his tone as he continues, "As if you could survive while restricting yourself so much."

"Hahaha!" Narauko laughs again, knowing exactly what Sukuna is hinting at but choosing to ignore it, as he has done for many years now.

Instead, his head tilts back slightly so that he can look down on Sukuna through more than just elevation as he whispers a single word, soaked so thoroughly in a contradictory shade of affectionate mockery as to be almost physically felt.

"Hypocrite~."

Sukuna's frown twitches and he immediately swings an arm forward in response, swiping an arc in Narauko's direction.

"Dismantle."

Narauko instantly raises a hand, causing a wall of black to follow his gesture and rise in front of him, just in time for the invisible line of Sukuna's Cursed Technique to reach it.

And as if Narauko's barrier was but air, a large gash opens through it, not slowing Sukuna's technique in the slightest. Yet, through the cut wall, Narauko's form is no longer visible.

Sukuna doesn't even get to think his question before it is answered when Narauko comes flying out of his shadow behind him, attempting to spear a hand through his heart.

But he is far too slow and Sukuna is more than fast enough to react in time, leaning to the side to dodge and following with a spinning punch of his own that meets Narauko's hastily crossed arms.

The punch launches him backwards, but Sukuna dashes ahead of his trajectory and throws a kick to connect with his back, only for Narauko to spin in the air and catch the kick with both hands on Sukuna's shin, using it as a platform to flip past Sukuna and onto his feet.

Spinning around, both of them face each other at the same time, and Narauko claps his hands together and spreads them apart at the same time that Sukuna sends another Dismantle his way.

However, between Narauko's hands his shadow grows and a small portion of Reflective Tortoise's shell is manifested, shining like a diamond mirror, just in time to catch Sukuna's technique, reflecting it right back at him.

Sukuna's grin returns as he ducks under his own Dismantle and dashes forward, moving faster than Narauko can bring his arms back down to defend, and in less than a blink, Sukuna's palm slaps against Narauko's gut, a sound that echoes clearer than it should.

"Cleave."

A lattice of cuts appear on Narauko's torso before the force of Sukuna's palm strike can send the man crashing into and through one of the compound's side buildings' walls.

The whole exchange didn't even take a minute, but Sukuna is pleased with it.

Staring at the building he knocked Narauko in, Sukuna knows that Narauko is still alive, and that thought makes his blood sing in his veins.

Trees, bugs, monkeys, there has never been a difference when it comes to his technique. Everything he has cut as parted as easily as the last. It was all so boring.

But he felt it when he landed his Cleave on Narauko. That he survived.

It's exciting. The idea that he might have met someone who can actually keep up with him.

So far, the only people who have been capable of fighting him as equals have had years of experience over him. Narauko however, is the same age as him, and actually able to match him.

He's certain that he hasn't seen everything the other boy has yet either. In his mind, it's perfect.

Today is the day that he will no longer need to behold himself to any rules or higher ups, so having a good, proper fight to start this new period of his life seems fitting.

Plus, he really wants to kill Narauko.

His Cursed Energy just pisses him off.

Narauko

Owww.

Lying on my back, I don't have the wherewithal to account my surroundings, all too focused on the feelings of my organs falling apart in real time.

Focusing inwards, I apply positive energy to just my entire torso and let out a wet gasp as my wounds rapidly fix themselves.

Sitting up, I turn to the side and spit out a globule of blood and wipe my mouth with a sleeve.

"Haha," I feel the chuckle leave me without control, a grin growing on my face as I remember the feel of Sukuna's technique cutting through my body.

It's so interesting. Simple but effective. I like it.

"Still though," I mutter as I climb to my feet and start walking back the way I came, "He's so fast."

That thought only makes my grin grow even wider as I reach the hole in the wall and take in the sight of Sukuna.

From the feel of his Cursed Energy, I know he's feeling the same.

This excitement, this joy at finally being able to stretch without restraint. It's a feeling I didn't know I wanted to experience so badly until just now.

Guess I'll just have to give it everything I've got, I think to myself.

"Hey Sukuna!" I call out to him. "Wanna make a bet?"

He raises a brow at me, still matching my smile. "What kind of bet?"

"The only one that matters of course~," I answer with glee. "Everything. Winner takes all."

Sukuna laughs. A full, hearty laugh from the gut. "Very well then!"

My grin turns into a smirk at his agreement, and without breaking eye contact, I bring one of my feet up to my waist and pull of my geta before doing the same with the other, placing my bare feet on the ground.

It's honestly been a while since I've been outside without wearing them, so I take a moment to enjoy the feel of the earth on my soles. I specifically wear one toothed geta for the sake of honing my balance, so taking them off should boost my capabilities a fraction.

But that's not really the main form of training I use.

Crouching down, my hand makes contact with my shadow and extends it hundreds of metres behind me, like a giant void has opened in the earth.

From that void, dozens, then hundreds of boulders and rocks of varying size rise up into the world. My weights that I carry around, pressing down on me everywhere I go.

The moment they are out of my shadow, I feel so light like I'm going to start floating into the sky. It feels good.

Apparently tired of waiting for me, Sukuna appears in front of me, throwing a hand at my throat. Except this time, I'm faster than him.

I tilt to the side and grab his wrist, pulling him down while bringing a knee up to meet him, but he copies my earlier move and uses my knee as a platform with hie free hand to flip behind me.

I barely manage to sense the activation of his technique before my hand holding his wrist is removed in a clean cut and I have to drop low to avoid being bisected next.

Spinning around, I use my momentum to throw a kick into his side, but he steps back to avoid it and I fall into my shadow to avoid his counter attack.

Inside of my shadow, I move to put some distance between us so that I can summon my Shikigami-

"Cleave."

-But I am forced back into the world when the entire grounds of the compound is cut into innumerable tiny pieces.

"Reflective Tortoise!" I intone, even making the hand sign to speed up the summoning, and in the span of seconds, a giant gem of a tortoise, the size of a building, appears from my shadow in front of me, just in time to reflect a dozen slashes back at Sukuna.

However, this Shikigami has a pretty obvious weakness that Sukuna takes no time to exploit, dashing around the slow moving beast and pointing at me almost with a finger gun, except some very real, very deadly slashes come from it.

I do my best to dodge them all, but I still lose the arm of the hand I just finished regenerating by the time I'm able to move to put the Shikigami between us again, hardly even noticing how I've figured out proper regeneration with Reverse Cursed Technique.

It's like when you're running from a fight in school and you just keep running around a desk, I bemusedly think to myself as I make the shadowgraphic for Divine Dog: Totality.

"Rabbit Escape," I intone, and I manage to catch a glimpse of Sukuna's pink hair before my sight is engulfed by the white fur of my endlessly cloning Shikigami.

At the same time, my dog manifests in my shadow and starts travelling through the shadows of my rabbits, ready to strike.

I honestly didn't know I could summon two Shikigami at the same time using Subtraction. I had never even thought to try it until just now.

Still, it worked.

But I don't want to let Sukuna see the dog yet. He might be able to figure out that it's a combination of a deceased Shikigami and an alive one. From there, it wouldn't take a genius to figure out that my lion still lives on somehow, and I don't want him to think about that until it's too late.

My cheeks start to hurt from all my smiling, and unbidden a soft laugh leaves my throat.

I feel like if I make a mistake I'm genuinely going to die, and even though that should should terrify me, hell, it does terrify me, I don't want to die, but I just can't stop smiling!

An enormous slash cuts through my swarm of rabbits and I only avoid it by dropping into a split and pushing my back against the floor.

The slash hits my tortoise and shatters into a thousand individual smaller slashes that fly all over the place, cutting down yet more of my rabbits but giving me an idea in the process.

Sensing Sukuna approaching me, I keep Divine Dog close to him but hidden away, and I push more Cursed Energy into Rabbit Escape, causing a new surge of rabbits to fill the space between us.

They are killed almost immediately, but it's enough time to get back to my feet and meet Sukuna's opening right with a forearm.

That was a mistake on my part, I recognise, as my arm falls to pieces, but I don't let it distract me from throwing a punch of my own, even as I pump Positive Energy into my arm.

Sukuna blocks my punch but isn't fast enough to properly take the hit, so I end up punching past his arm and into his chest anyway, a burst of raw Cursed Energy following the impact and blowing a small hole in his chest while mangling my fist at the same time.

Blood spurts out of his mouth as he is knocked backwards, sending more slashes at me while healing himself at the same time, but instead of pursuing him, I leap backwards into my tortoise that melts into ink right before I touch it.

At the same time, the horde of rabbits disperse into shadows, drawing Sukuna's eye right as I command Divine Dog: Totality to attack.

His instincts are too sharp for me to land a killing blow like that, but it does manage to carve a line through Sukuna's flank as he spins around my Shikigami's claws.

His retaliatory Dismantle hits nothing as my Shikigami dissolves into ink, but even as he counter attacks, I have one hand raised up to my eye, making a shadowgraphic of a fox, my thumb and middle finger connecting to make the shape of a the fox's head while keeping Sukuna visible within the gap.

He must have felt my Cursed Energy moving, because his head snaps my way one second too late.

"Kon."

Like it's something from photoshop, between one instant and the next, an enormous fox's head appears, pure white fur covered in eyes that glare like angry suns, and chomps right down on Sukuna.

Blood spurts into the air and coats the teeth of Kon, my Shikigami that was born when the corpse of Lion's Pride fused with Trickster Fox.

Unfortunately, I make the mistake of letting my guard down for just a moment, and pay for it when my body is cut in half at the waist.

Even as I'm catching my legs and running enough Positive Energy to fix myself back together, my eyes are snapping past Kon and staring with joyful surprise at the form of Sukuna falling through the air with his own legs rapidly regenerating.

"Haha! You're not dead!" I gleefully exclaim, feeling my joy suffusing me even as I resummon my dog with a gesture and have it join Kon in chasing down Sukuna.

Kon can tank Sukuna's Dismantle to an extent, helped by the simple fact that it is about as large as the Samurai's late home, but Divine Dog can't, but it is fast enough to dodge so it should be fine.

Looking at the fight for a moment, I can tell instantly that Sukuna is going to win, but my Shikigami can maybe buy me a few seconds.

Clapping my hands together, I focus inwards on Reflective Tortoise and Rabbit Escape and bring both of them forward, like when I summoned two Shikigami at the same time earlier.

Except instead of trying for two summoning's, I combine them into one.

"Extension Technique: Endless Reflections."

From my shadow a thousand rabbits rise. Each has fur that glistens like diamonds under the sun, and they have tiny shells on their backs, a sight that brings me a smile.

At least, until a dozen rays of light shine directly into my eye and I realise the technique might have a downside.

Fuck it, whatever, lets fight under a disco.

Sukuna notices the new Shikigami, it would be impossible not to and he laughs, clearly enjoying himself just as much as I am.

I feel his Cursed Energy surge and send Divine Dog down into the shadows just in time for dozens, and then hundreds of slashes as long as I am tall to rain down on everything between Sukuna and I.

But my combination Shikigami scatter everywhere, reflecting cuts all over the place, completely annihilating what was left of the Samurai's compound around us, but allowing me to charge forward unhindered.

As I do so, I have Divine Dog move behind him. That Shikigami has better piercing power than I do, so I'll punch Sukuna into its claws.

Every time he tries to move from his spot Kon blocks him, and every time he tries to cut Kon one of my diamond rabbits reflects the cut away. If my brain was a supercomputer I'd probably be able to make sure all the reflected blades bounce around right back to Sukuna, but there's thousands of them by this point and I'm struggling to keep up as is.

In terms of raw power, he easily outstrips me, but as they say, a Jack of all trades is better than a master of one.

I'm gonna win, I feel the thought come unbidden as I get close enough to lunge at him, moving faster than I ever have before, fast enough that the world around me feels like it is move in slow motion, my blood singing in my veins and filling me with euphoria.

Divine Dog erupts from a shadow behind him, claws poised for centre mass as I get closer, inch by inch, my fist reaching for him, when Sukuna's smile changes.

The enjoyment we were both feeling amplifies tenfold to an insane, manic degree. Sadistic, malicious joy filling his gaze as his hands come together in what feels like stopped time.

The sign he makes is like a prayer, except his pointer and pinkie fingers are bent against each other, and as his Cursed Energy pulses around me, I realise what's happening.

He figured it out already? I think to myself, feeling my own gaze become even more affectionate even under the weight of his malice. You really are just so beautiful, Sukuna.

"Domain Expansion-

I immediately drop everything and push all of my Cursed Energy that I can into my shadow, extending it in a circle around me in a poor imitation of what I remember the Curse doing-

"Malevo-

"Domain expansion: The Final Command."

The budding barrier of Sukuna's domain shatters like glass as a foreign voice interrupts, and both of our heads snap to the side at the same time, only now noticing Inumaki Kotone standing there, a mere ten metres away from us, his hands held together in what looks like a bird whistle.

My body comes to a stop next to Sukuna without any input on my part as the world around us disappears until we are standing in a void of pure white nothing.

All that exists is myself, Sukuna by my side, the Inumaki and an uncountable number of wooden wind chimes floating on nothing all around us, above us, even below us, seemingly infinitely.

It seems my Shikigami fell apart when I pushed everything into my shadow. I can feel them bubbling in my shadow, my own mood riling them up like sharks smelling blood.

No wind blows, but the chimes still fill the silence with soft tinkling anyway.

"Inumaki-san?" I ask, caught completely poleaxed by what is going on. Are we in trouble for fighting?

The Inumaki's eyes meet my own dismissively before turning to Sukuna, and then he speaks a single word.

"Die."

My shadow holds out for only a moment before rippling and tearing apart, and then..

We die.

Chapter Text

The darkness is foreign and familiar at the same time.

It is the complete absence of anything. There is no light, a darkness so perfect my shadows seem like a torch in comparison. There is no sound, not even the beating of my heart or the sound of my blood rushing through my veins.

There is just... Nothing.

I feel like there shouldn't even be thought. I'm not even sure if what I am experiencing is thought.

Then, there is something.

A faint... Presence. A light. A feeling. A sense of something existing, just out of reach but getting closer every second.

It feels like darkness. Decay. Death.

Behind me, insofar as direction exists here, I feel something else. It feels like... Like Balance. Like that feeling when you're standing on one leg trying to keep straight. It feels like trying again. Like a second chance. 

It is an existence far too grand for me to even begin to comprehend, even just the minor impression it is giving me fills me with fuzz, but it also feels like a goodbye.

'Looking' ahead once more, I feel the call of Death coming closer. 

It... It isn't as scary as it should be. Perhaps it's simply because I have died before, but that doesn't feel right.

It takes what felt like years before I figured it out.

My apologies, Izanami-no-Mikoto-Yomo-tsu-Ōkami, I 'say' into the void, But I am not ready to join you in Yomi just yet, and then, because I am apparently an idiot and unable to help myself, I continue, I am totally pining for your daughter though, so I promise to visit when I can call you mother.

My piece said, I put the entirety of my mind into the memory of my favourite Shikigami, remembering the feel, the texture and taste, everything about it that I can imprint into my mind.

My focus is so deeply intense that I completely miss the soft sound of demure laughter filling the void.

I remember the first time I saw a deer, my father holding my hand as he took me into the forest around our home. I remember seeing them and immediately being enraptured.

I'd seen pictures of western deer before in my old life, but I never even knew that Japanese deer looked different, and they were beautiful. I fell in love right away.

I remember the nights where I would lie awake worrying if my soul would shatter or something since I should not exist as I do. I remember how I would leave the house to walk through the forest.

I remember countless nights of falling asleep in a pile of warm, soft deer. I remember feeding them berries. I remember doing what I can to help the new-born and watching them grow.

I remember burying the dead once age caught up to them.

I remember when I first summoned my favourite Shikigami. I remember the joy I experienced then, the love I felt seeing it, knowing that that part of my life will always be with me. That no matter how far I travelled, I would always have a memory of home right in my shadow.

I remember all of it, and I carve it deep into my mind, into my very soul.

"Generous Deer."

I speak and it is not just the sound, but the very essence of my words that fill the void, burying the silence of nothing under an avalanche of happy, invigorating feelings.

For a moment, so brief I'm not sure if it's imagined or not, I feel the phantom touch of a palm on my back, as if pushing me forwards, and instantly my mind is so full of static that I don't hear the softly spoken words that follow.

I look forward to meeting you then, Narauko.

[center]Inumaki Kotone[/center]

Watching the pair of Special Grade brats start to drop, Kotone lets out a sigh at the wasted potential.

Perhaps if they were the only Special Grades around he would feel more put out by it, but they are not, so it's not too big of a deal, really.

Mostly it's a shame about Narauko. That boy is respectful, and from the feel of his Cursed Energy alone it's a wonder he is even capable of functioning as a Sorcerer. He just has no idea how that kid manages to Curse anyone.

However, sacrificing such potential is worth it in this situation. 

For one, his clan is going to rise greatly thanks to this. He expects he will be in a meeting with the heads of the Fujiwara, Minamoto and Taira by the end of the week.

His return to the capital will certainly be enjoyable.

Then there's the fact that his actions have ended Sukuna. Even without the benefits his clan will receive, he probably still would have taken the chance anyway.

For all that their power seems to be about equal, the brats in front of him could not be more opposite if they tried.

Where he struggles to understand how Narauko is capable of Cursing anyone, he also struggles to understand how Sukuna doesn't just Curse everyone around him merely by proximity.

That kid is more Curse than any Curse he has ever seen. He should have been smothered at birth.

Well, it's a decade and a half too late, but the threat is no more.

Kotone was barely a fraction of a second away from bringing his hands apart to end his domain when the barrier is abruptly engulfed by so much Positive Energy that he struggles to even continue holding it together, no matter how impossible it should be to break a Domain Expansion from the inside.

His hands reclasp, muscles taut and tense as he watches Narauko abruptly, jerk, one leg snapping out to catch his fall, and then, under Kotone's disbelieving eyes, Narauko stands back up.

It's impossible. It should be impossible.

Narauko was dead, they both were. Even if their bodies were untouched, the whole reason the higher ups chose him for this is because when he uses his domain, he can go beyond the body and kill the soul, severing its connection to the body and leaving no chance for survival.

He should be dead.

He was dead.

As Narauko rises to his feet, radiating Positive Energy like he's on fire with it, Kotone easily notices the change.

A radiant set of majestic antlers have emerged from his temples, growing up and sparkling as if they have been shined to a perfect finish. If there was such a thing as a crown among deer, this would be it.

So much Positive Energy is radiating from him, a if his entire reserve has flipped alignment that even Kotone feels revitalised. It almost makes him seem divine.

And then things get even worse when Sukuna lets out a gasp and shoots up from the ground to a seating position, eyes wide as he looks around the domain.

"Die!" Kotone yells in a panic, and they do.

Both of them die.

And then the impossibly dense flood of Positive Energy filling his Domain thicker by the second just brings them right back.

"Sukuna! Ignore defence and attack!" Narauko yells, getting an annoyed look from Sukuna as he stands back on his feet, "Just trust me!"

A short staring contest is held between them that feels like an eternity before Sukuna lets out a huff. "My Cursed Technique is burnt out right now."

"So fucking what!?" Narauko retorts with a laugh, one that is soon matched by Sukuna.

"So what indeed," he agrees with a smile before turning his eyes upon Kotone.

"Explode!" Kotone yells, but Narauko's shadow spreads out in a circle around him and Sukuna, infused with so much Positive Energy that Kotone's technique falls apart before it can reach them.

Inumaki Kotone is a genius.

This is something he knows. Something he has been told all his life.

The greatest Inumaki ever born. His Cursed Technique was so strong he could kill Grade One Curses by the time he was twelve. By the time he was seventeen he hit his first Black Flash, reaching an even greater understanding of Cursed Energy.

Sukuna dashes forward, a savage grin on his lips with Narauko matching his pace like an afterimage.

"Split!" Kotone yells, sending a force that would cut them both in half.

It manages to cut down to bone on Sukuna's chest before falling apart, and the wound is healed so quickly it doesn't even have time to bleed.

Inumaki Kotone is strong.

This is something he knows. Something he has seen all his life. Even among Grade One Sorcerers, he stands at the peak. The number of Sorcerers of his own Grade that can defeat him ten times out of ten can be counted on his fingers.

The pair of Special Grades reach him faster than he would have liked.

"Blast away!" He yells at them, and he can see his words ripple through Sukuna's body, but the boy doesn't get knocked back a step.

Instead, Sukuna sends a punch at Kotone's sternum so quickly that the older man simply can not react in time to block it.

He feels his organs get pulverised from the blow as it launches him back like a ragdoll.

He tries to heal himself, but he knows he won't be able to fix his internals before Sukuna is before him again. Not that his efforts mattered in the first place, as he feels himself start to recover just from the immense amount of Positive Energy passively radiating from Narauko anyway.

Inumaki Kotone is not weak.

He isn't. He truly, truly isn't.

He has been acknowledged by everyone he has ever met. 

No one who knows Inumaki Kotone would ever claim that he is weak.

Were he born in any other century, he could have been among the strongest.

The pair of Special Grades reach him again, and even if he knows deep down it is pointless, he tries anyway.

"Shatter!" He yells.

It doesn't work.

The sight of Sukuna's clawed hand grows bigger and bigger, closer and closer, and he feels a tension leave him in his final moment, a peace settling on him.

He knows he is dead, and he can't even bring himself to Curse them.

Inumaki Kotone is not weak.

They are just too strong.

Sukuna's hand tears through Kotone's skull, sending a spray of blood and brain matter behind him.

On this day, Inumaki Kotone, eleventh Clan Head and Pride of the Inumaki, dies, aged thirty-two.

[center]Narauko[/center]

With Inumaki's death, the world of chimes around us cracks and shatters, returning us back to the ruined remains of the Samurai's compound.

It really is a mess, I can acknowledge. Even the walls aren't standing anymore, everything is just rubble, except for one of the towers in a far corner.

I don't get to focus on that for long though as when I attempt to take a step forward, I stumble, barely managing to catch myself.

The antlers that had just grown on my head slowly fade away into motes of black that disperses into the air, and with it, my Cursed Energy flips back to being Cursed.

Then, without a constant influx of Positive Energy reinforcing me, I simply collapse backwards, suddenly feeling a bone deep exhaustion that has me panting heavily and bleeding from my nose and ears.

I hear a soft thud to my left, and tilt my head to the side to see Sukuna collapsed next to me, his pink hair slicked with sweat against his forehead, probably not much different from my own at this point.

Turns out, dying for a bit is actually pretty tiring, huh?

That thought, combined with everything that just happened, is so absurd that I fail to suppress a snort of amusement.

Sukuna tilts his head to meet my eyes, and then we both start to smile, wider and wider until we start to just laugh and laugh and laugh.

Not some manic, battle hungry laugh. Just a simple, happy, amused laugh, like old friends with an inside joke, uncaring of the corpse at our feet.

Eventually, our laughter dies down and we both simply spend a moment staring at the darkening sky, the sun just beginning to set.

"Hey, Sukuna," I eventually say after what must have been half an hour just lying there gathering our breath.

"What."

"Wanna be friends?"

"No."

"Tsk."

Asshole. Closing my eyes, I focus on my technique for a moment, checking everything is fine. And it is, everything feels as it should be, except for Generous Deer.

Luckily it doesn't seem damaged or anything, it just feels a little faint right now, like it needs some time to recharge. It'll probably be fine in a few hours, maybe even better than before, if I'm feeling things right.

"Narauko," Sukuna says, surprising me that he would actually initiate conversation. 

I'm surprised enough that I actually turn to look at him, even if he simply keeps staring up.

"Yes?"

He doesn't answer right away, and when he does, he sounds oddly.. Relaxed? I'm not sure if that properly describes it, content, maybe?

"That was fun. You're strong."

"Heh, it sure was, Buddy, and thanks. You're strong too."

"We're not friends."

"I saved your life," I imperiously remind him, "You owe me a debt. I'd say it's getting off pretty lightly to pay back that debt by letting me call you my friend."

He scowls at me but noticeably does not deny my words, which makes me feel incredibly pleased.

Today, I have made a friend. An equal. That, more than anything else today, brings me no end of joy.

"I think we're gonna get in some trouble," I comment, not really all that worried about it, even if I'd prefer to avoid getting branded a criminal. At least for a while anyway.

"So?" Sukuna responds exactly how I thought he would.

"I don't want to miss out on my Jujutsu High experience."

"Too bad," he says, shrugging as much as he can from the ground. "Once they hear what happened here, they're going to start sending execution squads after us."

I hum at his words and he pauses for a second, then when he continues, I think he's trying to be considerate, at least in his own way.

"It doesn't matter though," he says before turning to meet my eyes. "Because we're The Strongest."

That does bring a smile to my face, and I feel my unreasonable pride swell at the words. I make sure to tamp down on the fire, as I have done for over a decade now, still not wanting to become arrogant, but even then, I can't help but acknowledge it a little.

I guess I am pretty strong, huh?

"Hey, Sukuna."

"What."

"Our bet was interrupted."

"So it was."

"Let's make a deal." Sukuna raises a brow at me, curious, and I give him a winning smile. "Let's go back to school, and then in three years' time, when we graduate, let's fight again. No interruptions. Winner takes all."

A chuckle leaves him, his chest shaking with mirth.

"Even if I cared, they're not going to let Curse Users like us attend." He says.

"They won't brand us as Curse Users until they hear about Inumaki-san."

"So what?" He asks, rolling his eyes. "They will find out eventually, we weren't exactly subtle."

"Not necessarily," I say, feeling a pang in my heart as I do. This world doesn't have the internet, and even supernatural means of communication take time to set up for Windows.

Sukuna gives me a curious look, and I feel my heart drop out from my chest as I continue, "They wouldn't be able to find out anything if there weren't any witnesses."

His brows furrow, "There are witnesses, many of them in fact, what-" Then he pauses as he figures it out, and that malicious smile of his starts to return.

"Ohh?" He asks, and I nod my head, not feeling any reluctance even as it feels like my heart is in a vice.

"Seven Windows, a bit over a thousand civilians. If we kill them all, then we can just tell Kamo-Sensei that the Curse was actually a Special Grade, and how it was oh so tragic that we didn't manage to stop it before it could destroy the area."

I'm sentencing over a thousand innocent people to death with my words. It makes me feel horrible. Yet this sensation that should be bringing me to tears has me smiling instead. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that I want to smile as I cry?

This is the problem with compassion. Because unlike Sukuna, I can't just kill people and feel nothing other than satisfaction. I love people, so the thought of killing them burns me inside like a poison.

Unfortunately, I'm just too selfish.

I want to experience all that I can. I want to see what Jujutsu school is like. I even want to know how it feels to slaughter a bunch of innocent, powerless people, even though I already know that I will hate it.

But if I only ever experienced things that I enjoyed, wouldn't I merely be living half a life?

I guess it really is true that Jujutsu is a Curse.

Sukuna's vile laughter snaps me out of my morose thoughts.

"What a surprise," he says as he sits up, "It turns out you do have some Curse in you after all."

"Naturally," I agree as I join him in getting up. "I have the greatest Curse of them all, Love."

Sukuna snorts. "Love is not the greatest Curse. Hatred is."

"I suppose we will see which Curse is greater in three years," I say as I start to stretch, Sukuna doing the same.

"Enjoy your life while you can," he says, making me laugh.

"I intend to." A beat passes before I straighten like a lightbulb has just gone off in my head. "Oh, by the way, you're going to have to do the lying."

Sukuna's eye twitches. "Why?"

"Because I'm a terrible liar, they totally won't believe me."

"Why would you suggest lying in the first place if you're terrible at it?"

"Well, it's not like it really matters if they believe us or not," I answer with a shrug. "So long as there's plausible deniability, they will go along with it. After all, we're The Strongest, right?"

He grins but says nothing.

With nothing left to say, we both move back to the town, an unspoken agreement splitting the town in half, and I feel his Cursed Energy fluctuating again alongside my own as a sense of competition rises between us.

Slowly, our casual walk starts to speed up until we share a glance and break out into a sprint, laughter trailing in our wake as our morbid competition begins.

[center]Edo Metropolitan Curse Technical College[/center]

Standing side by side before Kamo-Sensei and some other old guys the evening of the next day, I do my best to keep my face straight as my mind is full of memories of death and suffering.

I was right. I didn't like it at all. 

I did actually end up crying. All that wasted life...

But there was a beauty to it in its own way, so I don't regret it.

There's something about a person's final moments that is just undeniably beautiful, it just has such an impact.

I don't know, I'm still thinking about it.

Sukuna enjoyed himself at least, and I certainly enjoyed the sight of him having so much fun. There was just some kind of pure joy suffusing his aura as he cut people down by the dozen.

It's nice to see your friends happy.

"So," Kamo-Sensei begins, giving our perfectly clean outfits a once over. We're the same height so I let Sukuna borrow one of my spares. "No one reported back about your mission. Someone with a scrying technique checked on the location and found nothing but ruins. If you waited any longer to show up, you'd have been declared missing. Mind filling us in on what happened on your mission?"

Thankfully, Kamo-Sensei doesn't seem upset, if anything he just seems amused. One of the old guys behind him seems pretty upset, but the other doesn't look like he cares about the proceedings.

"The Curse ended up being a Special Grade," Sukuna drones out in answer, not even trying to be convincing. "It killed that weakling Sorcerer and everyone else before we managed to exorcise it. That's all."

"Ree~eeally," Kamo-Sensei drawls, clearly not believing him at all, before turning his eyes to me. "Is this true, Narauko-kun? A single Curse wiped out an entire town and killed a top notch Grade One Sorcerer before you could exorcise it?"

"...It was a really strong Curse," I answer, and Kamo-Sensei stifles a laugh, hiding his expression from those behind him.

I told you I was a terrible liar! I think really hard at Sukuna, glaring at him and getting a smirk in response.

"Well! If that's the case, then I'm glad you could exorcise such a dangerous Curse before it could cause even further damages~!" Kamo-Sensei exclaims, even though he definitely knows we're lying.

"Absurd!" The angry old man interrupts, jumping to his feet. "They are obviously lying!"

Ah, he actually said it.

The urge to say 'Nuh uh' is incredibly strong, but I hold myself back.

"Shut up, weak trash," Sukuna responds, clearly not possessing the same kind of restraint.

The old guy goes to speak again, but Sukuna's Cursed Energy abruptly fills the room, its weight pushing the dude back into his seat. In a show of solidarity with my new friend, I release my aura just the same, making sweat break out on both the old guys' brows at our combined presence.

Kamo-Sensei claps his hands twice, his smile unaffected by our auras, which is about what I expected from him. "Now now, there's no need to get defensive, Sukuna-kun, Narauko-kun. I'm sure Fujiwara-san was merely acting without thinking. After all, it was his dear friend Inumaki-san who perished to that Curse you killed. I'm sure Fujiwara-san is simply acting out in his mourning, I'd bet that he's actually really grateful that you avenged his friend, right, Fujiwara-san?"

As he asks, Kamo-Sensei tilts his head enough to send a close-eyed smile at the now named Fujiwara, who, despite looking like he's about to burst a blood vessel, reluctantly nods his head and settles into his seat. Both of us reign in out Cursed Energy when he does.

"If that's everything, Fujiwara-san, Minamoto-san, I will escort my students back to their dorms. It is getting quite late after all, I'm sure they're tired after their long journey back."

The other old man, Minamoto, smiles genially. "Of course, I wouldn't wish to keep you."

The other guy doesn't say anything.

Either way, Kamo-Sensei leads us out and towards the dorms like he said.

We walk for a bit in silence before Kamo-Sensei breaks it. "So, would you mind telling me what actually happened?" He asks, and I get the feeling that he really only wants to know out of curiosity rather than anything else.

Still, his words make me glance around us, and he catches the movement.

Waving a hand ahead of us, I feel as an incredibly thin barrier surrounds us like a bubble, following along as we walk.

"No one will be able to hear anything we say now," Kamo-Sensei says before we can ask.

As he does, I brush my Cursed Energy along the edges of the barrier, feeling Sukuna do the same on the opposite side as we both study it.

At the same time, I figure there's no harm in answering. I think we can trust Kamo-Sensei with this.

"Inumaki-san tried to kill Sukuna and I, so we killed him, and then we killed all the witnesses because I didn't want to get expelled."

Obviously, even if I trust him with this, I'm not going to tell him everything, and I doubt he expects me to. Still, I watch his expression carefully when I answer, and though I can't tell what he's thinking, I'm at least pretty confident that he couldn't care less about the people we killed.

"I figured that would be the case," he sighs. "You two will probably have to deal with assassination attempts fairly regularly on your missions, so be ready for it to happen again."

"Why?" I can't help but ask. "It's not like I'm in line to inherit anything, what could they gain from killing us?"

"Peace of mind," Kamo-Sensei immediately answers without hesitating. "The higher ups are all old, they don't like seeing other people rise who can threaten their position. You two are just too strong, you make them uncomfortable." A moment passes as he seems to be considering something before he lets out a small chuckle and mutters, "Well, not like it matters anymore."

I don't ask what he means by that, and the rest of the walk is made in silence until soon enough, I find myself alone in my dorm, looking out the window at the stunning view of untamed mountains painted by the faint light of the fading sun.

Yawning, I give the sunset one last look before heading to sleep. 

"Goodnight, Amaterasu," I mutter, not even realising that I called her without suffix for the first time.

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

I liked this chapter more than the last, but I'm also unsure if I properly captured Narauko's feelings about slaughtering innocents.

You've gotten a bit of a peak into Narauko's mind too in this chap. I wanted to highlight that Narauko is a Jujutsu Sorcerer, through and through. That means that he is selfish, and that he is cursed. All sorcerers are at least a little bit insane, and just because Narauko is a good person, doesn't detract from the fact that he is a Jujutsu Sorcerer.

It's more of a Curse to kill someone you love than to kill someone you hate. Or rather, the distinction is that killing someone you love puts a Curse on you, while killing someone you hate Curses them.

Also, 7 chaps ahead on my patreon, Kevin the Bored, rn, and I just finished writing a fight that was literally a solid 10k words straight lmao.

Chapter Text

Jujutsu is an incredibly simple thing, I'm coming to find.

It's basically impossible to define, but really easy to understand. Kind of like that old saying about porn back when someone was trying to put some law or other into place, I never knew the details, but I remember the line.

'It's difficult to define, but you'll know it when you see it'.

Jujutsu is much the same. It's not complicated at all, but if you tried writing a guide for it there would need to be a bunch of appendix's saying 'But if this...' and 'Except for when...' and so on.

Unfortunately, it means that there isn't actually a lot of schooling that goes on in this school. I'm not really sure how I feel about that.

On one hand, what little I remember about school from my last life mostly involved me waking up at the end of the day and getting walked home by my friends.

Yomi, I'm pretty sure that I didn't even bother to remember where my classrooms were, I just found which friends had the same classes as me on which days and followed them.

So, I think there's a chance I wouldn't have enjoyed it if it was a proper schooling, though obviously I won't be able to know for sure. Maybe some time in the future I'll be able to attend a magic university or something?

There's got to be a magic school somewhere in Europe right? Unless Cursed Energy is the only source of power for humanity in this world?

I have no idea, but I can't wait to find out.

Though, schooling being mostly self study isn't something I necessarily dislike.

I do actually enjoy the peaceful silence of solitude, simply sitting under the shade of a tree in one of the vast complex's many many gardens, each more beautiful than the last.

Seriously, whoever designs these flower arrangements deserves a raise. I can practically feel the millennia of history behind it all. Aesthetics honed and perfected over many centuries of tradition.

The idea that two hundred years ago there would have been someone sitting where I am, looking at this exact same arrangement of flowers as me...

I don't know, I just think there's something beautiful about that.

There is one definite upside to the difficulties of defining Jujutsu however, and that is that there are so many books!

Well, most of them are scrolls really, or thin enough to be more of a pamphlet, but still! There's so much reading material!

It's all really good too! Well, maybe not everyone would think so, the writing can be pretty dry and unengaging.

But due to the inherently personal nature of the subject, the vast majority of these books and scrolls are basically diaries. People writing about their personal experiences, how they felt during fights that had lasting impacts on them, how they feel while using their techniques.

I'm not going to lie, I have definitely cried a few times reading these. Not like, balling my eyes out or anything, just a few tears.

I can't help it. These accounts are just so human. It makes my heart ache. I just love it, so so much. It sometimes feels like they're here with me, the authors of these accounts.

Sitting by my side and regaling me with their life, from their greatest triumphs to their lowest sorrows. These are written for the sake of educating future Sorcerers, so nothing can be left out.

There was a Sorcerer seven hundred years ago called Hachiro who fought a battle against a Grade One Curse, though the Grade was added as an appendix, as apparently the current grading system only came about around three hundred years ago, invented by Master Tengen, The Immortal.

He himself was probably around Semi-Grade Two, though it's obviously difficult to be sure considering it happened so long ago.

He was there with his friends. According to his own writing, there was a wedding ceremony going on in his village, between the Chief's daughter and a friend of Hachiro's.

So he invited his Jujutsu comrades to the wedding, which proved to be either a blessing or a curse, as none of them were much stronger than Hachiro himself.

So the Curse came, and he and his allies fought it back.

They all died. Except for Hachiro, who described in detail everything he was feeling from before the fight began all the way to a full week later. All this because in that fight, he experienced a Black Flash when he killed the Curse.

He didn't go into detail on what happened to his friends, but the shakiness of his brushwork does enough to explain why.

That's just one example, but there are hundreds like it, maybe thousands, just in the school's library.

Truthfully, I don't really get anything from reading these. None of the accounts have provided any useful information, and I know anything containing actually good techniques I could learn from reading are all hoarded by those in power.

That's part of why I never have to worry about being able to borrow these scrolls, because they're all so useless that nobody else reads them.

But even then, I continue to read these 'useless' accounts. Because sometimes it feels like these Hachiro's are sitting beside me as I do, and though I did not know them in life, there is some deep, inexplicable part of me that just feels that they would be happy knowing that someone will remember them.

That their lives will not be forgotten. That their deeds, their triumphs and their sacrifices will be remembered, even if it's only by me.

"There you are," a feminine voice brings me out of my thoughts, and I look up to see the mature figure of Ise no Tayū, my classmate with forest green hair tied into a pair of buns.

"You were looking for me?" I ask with a smile as she comes to a stop in front of me, her posture straight and proper like it has been drilled into her.

"Yes. I ended up asking Kamo-Sensei and he suggested the library. From there I had to keep asking around for anyone who had seen you."

She seems a little bit upset. "I apologise for the inconvenience, Ise-san. I will leave a Shikigami on my desk in the future, in case you need to find me again."

"Ah, there's no need," Ise suddenly backpedals, belatedly realising she was being a little bit rude complaining about me not acting in a manner convenient to her, but it's not like I mind. "I feel that I have a better understanding of where I should look in the future."

"Well, I will do so regardless. It would be silly if I couldn't be found in an emergency."

Obviously, if there was an emergency, they would be able to find me, but still, I do like to wander about and spend a lot of time sitting in random places, so it would genuinely be convenient.

It's not like there are cell phones that they can use to contact me from a distance.

"If you insist," Ise demurs. "As for why I was looking for..." She trails off as she meets my eyes until she just stops talking altogether, her brows scrunching together slightly in concern.

"Is something the matter, Ise-san?" I ask, and my words seem to snap her out of some stupor as she flinches back minutely before shaking her head.

"No, no, it's just..." She struggles to find the words for a moment, "Your eyes seem sad. I apologise if I am being presumptuous, but... Is everything okay?"

Her question brings a rueful smile to my lips as I unconsciously look down at my lap, staring at my hands.

I know it's not real, but in my mind I see my hands coated thickly in warm, sticky blood, and when I close my eyes I see terrified faces staring back at me in the dozens.

Innocent people dying, being killed by my hand.

So many lives.

So many stories ended.

It has been a couple of weeks since then, and the nightmares stopped after a couple of days, but it's not something I will forget.

Sometimes I wonder, what would they have written? How would the accounts of those who died by my own hand read? What were they feeling, exactly? Their thoughts?

Were they like Hachiro? Did they mourn others before themselves?

I don't know, and I never will know.

I think that is what I mourned the most. That I can't know.

But.. I find that there's a beauty in that too.

The idea of something being forgotten. It pains me, but also warms my heart.

There is something uniquely beautiful about a grand story that never gets written down or passed along; known only to those directly involved and forgotten from the world once they all pass away.

I like that.

It even made me realise something from my last life. I remember that I used to find Stonehenge to be rather beautiful, but I never understood why. It's just a bunch of rocks in a circle after all.

But it is beautiful because no one knows why it exists.

For thousands of years, this monument has stood, withstanding the passage of time in body but not spirit. You can stand there and look at it and just know that someone, sometime, made this. They made it with a purpose, they stood where you stood.

We can't know what they were feeling, who they were or what the purpose was. All we know, is that they existed. Stonehenge is irrefutable evidence that even thousands of years ago, humans were human.

How could that not be beautiful?

So yes. I am sad that I can't know the lives that I took and sad for the pain I caused, but I am also happy for them, for living a life made all the more meaningful by the fact that only they and those close to them will ever know their names.

"Narauko-san?" Ise asks, snapping me out of my introspection.

"Ah, my apologies," I answer with a slight dip of my head, turning a sad smile her way. "Everything is okay, I assure you. It is just that I've realised something recently."

I clench and unclench my hand into a fist, feeling the phantom sensation of lives ending on my palm. "I have realised that beauty is really not an emotion at all."

One look at Ise's face tells me that she doesn't understand what I'm talking about, so I decide to try again. Mostly because verbalising your thoughts and feelings is a good way of solidifying them, rather than because I particularly care if she understands me.

"All my life I have been chasing the beauty of life, wanting to experience it all," I begin, thinking back to my forest. "When I was younger, I would imagine myself seeing wonder after wonder, meeting fascinating, interesting people and experiencing all sorts of amazing, beautiful things."

A sigh leaves me as I slump further against the tree behind me. "However, I now know the mistake that I ignored. Beauty is not happiness. It is not an emotion at all," I turn to look Ise in the eye, wanting to see if she will understand. To see if she even can. "Just because something is beautiful, does not mean that it will bring you joy."

I look, and a small part of me hopes, but I can see it in her eyes that she just doesn't understand. She understands my words perfectly fine, but she just doesn't get it, and that small part of me feels like it's drowning under a crushing weight at the realisation.

Unbidden, pink hair flashes though my mind and I think of Sukuna.

Maybe he will understand? I think to myself, resolving to talk to him later about it. Though, if he doesn't then I think I will cry again, and I've been doing that too much lately, it will get embarrassing.

Still, even if it makes me cry, beauty is what I pursue, not happiness.

"For what reason were you looking for me?" I ask after a short silence, moving the conversation forward as I am no longer interested in sharing my feelings with her, since she clearly can't understand.

Not that I am upset with her or anything. A little disappointed maybe, but humans being each unique to our own is beautiful too, so I can appreciate her not understanding me enough to make up for, well, her not understanding me.

"Right!" She drops a fist into an open palm, the most expressive I've seen her. "A friend of mine wished to speak with you. She is a second year here."

"Oh?" I am always down to meet new people. "Do you know what she wishes to speak with me about?"

I get to my feet and start following her lead as she answers, "She merely wishes to chat. She is curious to meet the newest Special Grade Sorcerer."

"Does she not want to meet Sukuna then?" I ask, noting the way Ise flinches almost imperceptibly.

"Ah, that.." She awkwardly begins. "She did actually want to meet him when he first arrived, but I managed to convince her otherwise."

"Haha, that was probably a good choice on your part, Ise-san," I agree with a laugh, just imagining how Sukuna would react to anyone, especially a student, summoning him as if he is a servant. "He would have killed her on the spot."

"Indeed." Ise agrees. "Though, she wouldn't die so easily. My friend is strong."

It doesn't matter if she's strong, I find myself thinking.

Inumaki-san was strong too, after all.

Mentally, I sigh to myself. Ever since Sukuna and I started going on missions together, his words have been having a deeper and deeper impact on me.

It's been a couple of weeks since that mission, and we've been on a few since then. I've also filled up my Shikigami slots all the way to nine.

In this time, every time we've killed a Grade One, whether it was a Curse or an assassin, his words have just resounded deeper.

The Strongest.

That was his claim, and though I did agree with him, I didn't really accept it at the time. It's absurd after all. There are plenty of talented Sorcerers who have been at this for longer than we've been alive.

Sugawara no Michizane is apparently The Strongest, and he's old.

Alas, the vast majority of a Sorcerer's potential is decided from birth, and with every 'strong' opponent that we have felled, it's just become more and more clear.

I'm strong.

Like, really strong.

By the time that thought crystalised in my mind, it was as if my unearned pride suddenly enflamed like a fire poured with gasoline.

That pride that I have been holding with me my entire life for no reason at all, suddenly feels at home. It makes it difficult to deny being The Strongest, because that just feels right to say.

I hope my pride doesn't turn into arrogance at least, I think to myself with a sigh. I spent a lot of time keeping my pride in check after all, it would be annoying if all that effort was wasted.

Damn Sukuna, why do you have to be such a bad influence?

That's right. I'm just going to blame Sukuna for all of my problems. It's not even a lie to say that he deserves it, that guy is a total asshole.

However, if there is one thing that accepting my pride has done to benefit me, it's that my technique has improved.

I only really realised it after the fact, but I've been holding back with it all this time. But now that Sukuna has forced me to stop ignoring my pride, I can't really hold myself back so much anymore.

It was most noticeable when I summoned Reflective Tortoise. After all, until then, all of my Shikigami have been pretty small. Even Lion's Pride was only about the size of a wide horse.

Until then, I'd been holding back my Cursed Energy every time I summoned one of my Shikigami. It was only after my fight with Tamamo that I actually let myself go a little bit, and the result of that was a tortoise the size of a house.

Then there was that whole thing where I died for a bit. My memories of that are all kind of fuzzy, but one thing I can't ignore is how Generous Deer has gone through a qualitive change.

It's not all that much bigger, physically, but its fur now glistens a pure white, like snow, with only the spots of ink black marring its colour. It also now has a truly majestic pair of antlers, and more importantly than any aesthetic change, the amount of Positive Energy it can produce has increased considerably.

Other than Generous Deer, Rabbit Escape and Divine Dog: Totality, my technique is basically a kaiju printer at this point. They're all really big.

The other three don't benefit from a size increase, so they're more normal, though my dog is a lot faster now than I remember him being before.

I can also keep four Shikigami active pretty comfortably now. Five if I really push it, but it's not easy. Similarly, merging my Shikigami either with each other or myself has met several roadblocks.

Ultimately, Jujutsu isn't that simple, unfortunately. Each of my Shikigami is unique, so just because I can merge two doesn't mean that I can merge another two.

I have had more luck merging them together at least, since I have only managed to bear Generous Deer so far. Surprisingly enough, I actually felt like I got closest with one of my newer Shikigami instead of my older ones, so clearly the issue isn't one of time spent together.

I don't know, it's difficult. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it eventually though. It's only been a couple weeks.

Eventually our walk returns us to the main compound of the school, and Ise leads me through a few corridors until we find ourselves entering a closed in garden.

The garden is a square about ten metres by ten metres. There is a green tree I don't know the exact name of in each corner, and the grounds are full of a variety of flowers.

The centrepiece of the garden is the pond dug into the centre, from which a number of lotus flowers bloom. To the side of the pond a small table is set up with three chairs sitting around it. A tea set and a small plate of aosashi, a sweet made of mochi and filled with red bean paste sits on the table.

I've had aosashi only once about a week ago with Kamo-Sensei during an insightful talk about Barrier Techniques. They kind of remind me of jam donuts, even if the taste is completely different. Still, I liked them.

However, it is not the confectionary on the table that draws my attention. Rather, what draws my eye is the woman sitting at it, a steaming cup of tea held firmly in an otherwise delicate hand.

Her hair is long and straight, almost shining a perfectly glossy black. Her skin is smooth and pale without blemish, mostly hidden under a lavish, if casual, dark purple kimono decorated with flower imagery.

Most notably though, is when she turns to us at our entrance, and I meet a pair of pure black eyes that shine with a ring of iridescent light.

"You." She doesn't even wait for us to finish approaching the table before speaking, staring intently at me.

"You," I agree with a smile, meeting her eyes for the second time now.

Ise glances between us as we reach the table and take a seat each without asking to be seated. "Do you two know each other?" She asks, even as she reaches for one of her friend's snacks, her hand getting batted away before it can get close enough to steal one.

"Do you remember that amusing boy I told you about?" Ise's friend says, not looking away from me, and I feel as if she's trying to dissect me with her eyes.

Like when we crossed paths in Edo, I can feel her Cursed Energy fluctuating, but I can't tell what it's doing.

"The one who was more interested in the craftsmanship of your carriage than the lady it carried?" Ise answers, looking at me curiously, making me smile a little bit.

It was a really nice carriage. Kind of made me want one.

"The one and only," Ise's friend answers with a hum, and her staring is starting to get a little weird. "I don't like the way you look at me."

Blinking at the abrupt change in conversation, I can only look in askance at Ise.

"Right, introductions," Ise says. "Narauko, this is my friend Kiyohara no Nagiko. Nagiko, this is Narauko."

"Nice to meet you, Kiyohara-san" I greet almost reflexively, bowing in my seat slightly, as is polite.

"Sure sure, whatever. I don't care about all that formality crap, just call me Nagiko," she says, surprising me. "You really thought I was the Young Lady type? I can't be bothered will all of that."

"Well, in that case," I say, and her eyes widen slightly but too slowly as I snap a hand forward and snatch one of her sweets, immediately taking a bite and exaggeratedly groaning slightly. "Mmm, so good~."

The two ladies stare at me with open shock, and I can only mentally blame Sukuna for making me a less respectful person.

Thankfully, after a brief moment passes, Ise starts to softly laugh, with Nagiko following shortly after.

"So," I begin once they have collected themselves. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Nagiko-san?"

"I merely wanted to see the latest Special Grade with my own two eyes," she quickly answers while Ise pours herself and I a cup of tea.

"How is it?" I ask.

"I'm pleasantly not disappointed," she answers. "You're certainly not a boring man, Narauko."

She really can't meet Sukuna. I might not care about her dropping honorifics, but Sukuna literally kills people if they don't address him respectfully enough.

Saying that though, I can see what Ise meant about Nagiko being strong. I don't think I can completely accurately gauge someone's power just from a glance or anything, but I've only really felt danger from three things before.

First was that mountain I passed on my way here, second was Kamo-Sensei and third was, and still is, Sukuna.

However, looking at Nagiko, I feel a bit of that dangerous sensation in the back of my head. Not to the level of the previous three of course, but that it is present at all makes me think that she's stronger than I am.

"What qualifies men as boring?" I ask, interested in her thought process.

"Talent," she once again answers without pausing to think. "Or the lack thereof. Men without any talent can hardly call themselves men at all."

I feel like there's something deeper to what she is saying that I don't know. Something more to her thought process than just a disdain for the weak and untalented. I want to find out what it is, but I doubt she'll tell me if I just ask right away.

My curiosity demands answers, but I know the value of patience, so I don't ask.

"We've only just met," I say, tilting my head slightly. "How could you measure my talent already?"

Even saying that it's obvious because I'm Special Grade isn't enough, since I got that grade by virtue of having apparently more Cursed Energy than basically anyone other than Sukuna, not via talent like Sugawara.

"Because you've been watching my Cursed Energy this entire time. Even back when we simply passed ways."

"Is that impressive?" I ask, making Nagiko laugh while Ise adopts a somewhat pinched expression.

"Do you know what Black Flash is?" Nagiko asks after a moment, to which I nod my head.

"It's a phenomena where Cursed Energy impacts within one millionth of a second of a physical strike, causing the blow to be enhanced by two and a half times and putting whoever used it into a heightened state of ability for a bit."

"Close, but not quite," Nagiko says, making me raise a brow.

Ise is the one who explains, picking up from Nagiko who doesn't seem to want to bother. "The common explanation of Black Flash is that it increased the power of a strike by two and a half times, but that is just because most people are not very accomplished in arithmetic. Do you know what an exponent is?"

"Exponent?" I blurt out in surprise, not expecting the term to come up right now.

Ise seems to misplace my question as me not knowing the word however. "An exponent is not a multiplication. To give a simple example, two times three is six, but two to the power of three is two times two times two, making eight."

I mean, I already knew that but I nod my head regardless.

"Black Flash enhances the power of blow by an exponent of two point five, which is a much greater increase than mere multiplication. The arithmetic is beyond most people, but in simple terms, Black Flash is significantly more powerful than you might think."

No wonder Tamamo managed to much a hole through my ribcage. Exponents are scary. Seriously, if someone hit me with just a ten, then what I thought would happen would just enhance it to twenty five. But if what she's saying is true, then it would actually be enhanced to.. three hundred and sixteen?

I imagine the numbers would just get more absurd the greater they are, but the base point still stands, exponents are scary.

"Have you ever experienced one?" Nagiko asks, getting back into the conversation now that she doesn't have to waste her breath explaining things.

"Not directly." My answer makes her brow raise so I continue, "I've been hit by one, but that is the extent of my experience."

"When did you get hit by a Black Flash?" Ise asks in minor astonishment.

"On my way here I met someone and we had a fight," I say with a shrug. "I still won though."

"So you haven't experienced a Black Flash then," Nagiko continues, grinning slightly when I shake my head. "That, is how I can tell you are talented. Because you have such a deep understanding of Cursed Energy, enough to notice the movement of my own energy, all without ever even experiencing a Black Flash. Do you know how many people can see through my Cursed Energy without having experienced a Black Flash?"

I obviously shake my head at the rhetorical question. I didn't even know her name until five minutes ago, obviously I don't know anything about her or her life.

She holds her hand up and makes a circle between her middle finger and thumb. Zero, huh?

"Does experiencing a Black Flash really cause such a significant permanent difference?" I ask, making Nagiko smirk again.

"The difference between Sorcerers who have experienced a Black Flash and those that haven't is like the difference between heaven and earth," Ise answers. "At least in terms of understanding the flow of Cursed Energy anyway. Nagiko here holds the record for the most consecutive uses of Black Flash in a row right now at five, and because of this, there are very few people alive who can understand the flow of Cursed Energy quite as well as her."

I didn't even know it was something that could be used consecutively, or that doing so was impressive, but good to know. Nagiko certainly seems proud of her accomplishments, so I will just assume it's really impressive.

Suddenly, Nagiko's smile falls into a frown and her eye twitches as she abruptly glares at me. "Stop it," she says, confusing me. "I already said it earlier, I don't like the way you are looking at me."

Ise tenses slightly at the glare Nagiko is sending my way, but on my part I am just incredibly confused.

"I apologise, however I am not sure what you mean?"

"You are looking at me as if I'm weaker than you," she accuses, and I feel her Cursed Energy moving again as her brows furrow, "No, you think I'm stronger than you? But that you could beat me in a fight?"

She seems confused by her own words, which is honestly just confusing me too. Thankfully, Ise helps explain the situation.

"Nagiko possesses Cursed Eyes like Sugawara no Michizane's Six Eyes, but different. Her eyes let her see the truth of things," Ise hesitantly explains, though she also seems confused by Nagiko's reaction.

However, that explanation is enough for me to understand the contradiction Nagiko is struggling with.

"Oh, well, I suppose that makes sense," I say before turning to look Nagiko in the eye. "I believe you are stronger than me. I'm still new to all of this, and I can tell you're dangerous just from looking at you. Were we to come to blows, I would be unsurprised if you bested me."

"So you think I am stronger than you, and thus if we fought, you would lose?" Nagiko asks through gritted teeth as I give her a kind smile.

"Nah, I'd win."

It doesn't matter if she is stronger than me, because I am The Strongest. If she is stronger than me, then all I have to do to beat her is to become even stronger.

That's the main difference that I've noticed that separates Sukuna and I from the rest. None of them seem capable of really rising to a challenge. They can fight people equal to or slightly stronger than themselves, but if they are greatly outmatched, they simply die, instead of becoming stronger versions of themselves in order to win.

It's vaguely disappointing, but at least I have Sukuna, someone who will keep up with or surpass me every step of the way.

"Get out," Nagiko says, glaring at me.

I don't answer, simply nodding and departing, leaving my steaming tea and half eaten sweet behind.

I'm not surprised I pissed her off, but a part of me is maybe a little bit irrationally annoyed at her.

I just feel like she should be more dangerous than she is. Maybe if she hates me enough, she'll be able to keep up? Even if it's in the hope of killing me.

Man, I don't know what I'm doing. My head's all in the clouds.

Where's Sukuna? I want to show him a new Barrier Technique I've been working on.

Chapter Text

Sugawara no Gojo

Normally, when a new Innate Technique is born to a clan, it is treated with hopeful scepticism.

The clans being as they are, tradition is paramount, so any technique without centuries of history is generally looked down on. Of course, there are always exceptions to be made if the technique in question is particularly powerful.

His Senior, Abe no Seimei is an absolutely perfect example of this. His Innate Technique is the first of its kind and has little similarities to the Abe's usual Inherited Techniques, such as the one that Abe no Yasuchika, his classmate, possesses.

He, like Abe no Seimei, is another example, possessing an entirely original Innate Technique.

His Innate Technique is called Limitless. If he had to describe it, he would call it the perfect defence. It operates on the concept of infinity in space. His instructors referenced Achilles and the Tortoise, an old explanation of the paradox of a distance that continues to grow infinitely from some foreign nation.

When he is using his technique for defence, the effect is that the closer anything gets to touching him the farther it has to go. It makes him basically untouchable.

However, he is not Abe no Seimei.

His Senior is all but guaranteed to become Clan Head once he graduates, to no one's surprise. He may be called a Grade One, but everyone knows that the only reason he isn't Special Grade is because his technique can be resisted with sufficient Cursed Energy.

Personally, Gojo is of the opinion that Seimei will become a true Special Grade the moment he figures out Reversed Curse Technique.

Unlike Seimei, Gojo is not a genius. Well, perhaps it is more accurate to say he is not enough of a genius. He has certainly earned his promotion to Grade One, even if people, namely Kiyohara, keep insisting he only got the promotion due to the nepotism of his grandfather.

The problem with Gojo's technique, Limitless, is that it is all but impossible to control.

Perhaps if he was his grandfather, it might have been doable with his eyes. But he is not his grandfather, he is Sugawara no Gojo, and he can only do what he can do.

He can't master his technique, not truly. He knows this. It is not a matter of effort or even really talent. It is just impossible, there are far too many variables for the human mind to keep track of.

It took his entire life honing what he had just to be able to consistently put up barriers and send out repulsive forces. It was only recently that he managed his first proper use of Limitless beyond the base neutral application of Infinity.

Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue.

It's an impressive technique, he can admit that much. But it is still clearly not enough.

Evidence enough of this was Kiyohara inviting him to spar shortly after acquiring the technique. He barely got one proper use out of it before she had overcome it and bested him again.

Her words as she left hurt, as they always do, the constant mocking burning deep into his psyche and tinting the entire world in greyscale.

But it's nothing new.

It's the story of his life, really.

The moment his clan knew the specifics of how his technique functioned, he was put on a pedestal. The elders aren't fools after all, they could see the immense potential his technique possesses.

Yet, he could not live up to the expectations placed on him.

Day after day, year after year, he continued to fail. They treated him like he was incapable of thought. Like his mind was so addled and retarded that he could not parse together enough thoughts to figure out how to use a technique that is literally engraved into his body and soul.

They didn't understand. Couldn't understand. How could he possibly make proper use of his technique? How could his eyes see through Infinity? He is not his grandfather.

His entire life has been filled with mockery. His clan, his family, telling him that he is useless. Telling him that he has failed them, that he should stop treating Jujutsu like a game and actually put some effort in.

As if any of you have ever put in as much effort as me.

He is simply not enough. He knows this.

He will never master Limitless.

But that doesn't mean he has to give up.

He just had to shift his goals around a little.

It doesn't matter if he will never experience the heights that his technique can reach. He already knows he won't, so he gave up trying to be a Sorcerer that could reach the hights of his grandfather.

Instead, he looked to the future.

His clan no doubt expects him to give them some children once he graduates so they can preserve the technique without the added shame of his name.

But Gojo has different plans. For why would he obey those who have done nothing but ridicule him his entire life?

When he graduates, he intends to leave the clan entirely and found his own.

Because even if he cannot master Limitless, that does not mean that his descendants would be the same. In the end, his grandfather's blood does run through his veins.

Perhaps in the distant future, a descendant of his will inherit both his Innate Technique and his grandfather's Cursed Eyes. Then, surely they will be able to bring honour to his name.

So it does not matter if they ridicule him. It does not matter if they mock him, or if they treat him like an object to be used to advance their own techniques.

He will continue to come running like a trained dog every time Kiyohara calls for him to spar, or anyone else for that matter. He will continue to allow himself to suffer humiliation after humiliation as his fellows best him in combat and mock his poor control of his technique, either with their eyes or words.

He will bear all of it, everything it takes, and all the while, he will watch them. How their Cursed Energy flows, what little of it his lacking talent allows him to sense. He will watch how their Cursed Techniques function, how they use them, and he will learn.

He will hone himself on them even as they use him as a whetstone for their own progress.

It doesn't matter, after all, what happens to him.

He just needs to explore his technique as much as he is able. He just needs to write it all down, to make a record of his experiences, everything he's learnt.

Part of the reason Inherited Techniques are so valued, beyond simple tradition, is that they can benefit from generations of user experience to call upon, making mastery that much easier to achieve.

Gojo does not have this advantage, but that does not mean his descendants must suffer the same disadvantage. To make up for the lack of many generations, he just needs to keep experimenting and writing everything down.

This way, whoever inherits Limitless might be able to do what he can not.

Sugawara no Gojo knows he will never be anyone special, so he is simply pinning all of his hope on the future.

It is the only way he could possibly bear to keep going, by dreaming of a better life. Perhaps it is cowardly of him, to live vicariously through the dream of his descendants, but it is all he has.

He can not do what he can not do, so he can only do what he must.

The sudden sound of destruction snaps Gojo out of his thoughts, and he spins on his heel to turn and face the building behind him from where he stands in a solitary training field.

The echo of walls being shattered rings out in a rapidly loudening staccato until the wall he is directly facing explodes outwards. From the shower of rubble, a figure blurs in his direction, and he hastily raises a wall of Infinity between them.

The figure crashes into his barrier and instantly slows down to a stop as if he had miles to bleed off the inertia instead of inches. It's only once they are floating right in front of him that Gojo is able to make out the figure's shape.

Dressed in the same standard almost-black kimono of the school, he sees a man with a head of straight, short black hair. Notably however, the figure is missing both arms up to the bicep, a steady stream of blood dripping down to the grass below.

"Eh?" The man makes a noise of confusion, not sounding pained by his wounds before slowly tilting his head sideways, struggling slightly due to Infinity, to look behind him.

"Oh," he says once their eyes meet, his own lighting up with a smile. "You caught me. Thank you for that."

With his piece said, he simply steps forward out of Gojo's Infinity and then, in the process of turning around, both of his arms regenerate fast enough to be fully healed by the time he can clasp them together in front of himself and bow, though not very deeply, in thanks.

Gojo recognises this boy. It is one of his Juniors. Specifically, one of the Special Grades, Narauko.

Yet another existence to whom he cannot hope to compare.

Abe no Seimei, Kiyohara no Nagiko, Narauko, Sukuna, Minamoto no Yorimitsu, Ashiya Dōman. Just off the top of his head he can list six people who surpass him so utterly that he could train every day of his life until he is forty while still being incapable of beating them when they were twelve, and all of them are students of Jujutsu High just like him.

There has never been a great many Sorcerers overall, but in this era of prodigies, Sugawara no Gojo struggles to even be considered average. Then there are people like the one in front of him, who need only weeks to catch up to his life's worth of effort. People who can surpass him without even realising that they've achieved anything, just because it is so easy to them that they are incapable of being proud about it.

Such as mastering Reverse Cursed Technique to such an extend that one can regenerate entire limbs in moments without showing any kind of effort. Does he even know how absurd that is?

It was Gojo's grandfather that spread knowledge of how to produce Reverse Cursed Energy outside of the Great Clans in the first place, and here is a clan-less boy who likely would have figured it out by himself, without the Six Eyes.

He has heard a lot about Narauko. Rumours about him seem to spread as if wildfire.

It is to be expected when one is a Special Grade really, especially when one comes out of nowhere.

As far as anyone seems to be aware, Narauko was just some random commoner until about two months ago. The story goes that a passing Sorcerer noticed his Cursed Energy and sent him to the school.

Obviously that is not true, everyone with a functioning brain knows this, and despite what his family may think, Gojo is not so blind.

No one would ever give up a Special Grade so easily. They would either take them in and teach them themselves, or they would try to turn them into a weapon or all manner of other things.

At the very least, they would want credit for finding the boy. Just asking for compensation for delivering him would grant anyone enough wealth to live the rest of their days as if noble.

Gojo thinks that the mystery has contributed to the spread of rumours.

There are of course the absurd rumours, like the one that he scorned Kiyohara by rejecting her advances. As if that woman would ever make an advancement without knowing it would be accepted.

Some people say that he is secretly a kami, or half kami, or the child of a kami, or blessed by one. Those rumours are pretty popular, simply because he is said to be incredibly kind, at least for a Sorcerer anyway. Gojo doesn't know if that means much, considering how Sorcerers are rarely kind.

Especially since Narauko is supposedly best friends with Sukuna.

Gojo himself has only had the misfortune of meeting that Curse in human skin once, but even then, it's impossible not to know when he is nearby. Sukuna has enough Cursed Energy to blanket the entire complex, from the school to the administrative buildings, and his aura of malice is unmistakable.

How could anyone who would befriend such a being be truly kind? He struggles to accept that. Especially since Narauko is so adept at hiding his Cursed Energy, that is supposed to be comparable to Sukuna's, even though to Gojo's senses he might as well be looking at a Grade Four.

He's even heard rumblings of Narauko, and Sukuna as well, getting titled. Not officially, of course, but despite the irony, it is the unofficial titles that always seem the most significant.

Sugawara no Michizane is The Strongest.

Abe no Seimei is The Deadliest.

Koshikibu no Naishi is The Most Lethal.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu is The Fastest.

Titles have weight. Official titles less so, because they are simply decided by some bureaucrat and enforced by paper. Unofficial titles are formed and enforced by consensus of the people.

It gives them more meaning.

Abe no Seimei is not The Deadliest because he has an official title declaring him such. He is The Deadliest because everyone who knows how his technique functions understands it to simply be a true fact.

He doesn't know what people will end up calling Sukuna, but for Narauko he has heard numerous people declare him The Most Versatile.

He doesn't know all the details, but apparently his Innate Technique is equivalent to eleven individual techniques. At a minimum.

Even he, with the ability to manipulate the Infinity between space, knows that that is absurd. Unlike him however, Narauko actually has the talent to make use of his technique.

"It is no problem," Gojo belatedly responds to Narauko's gratitude, getting a smile in response.

Narauko's smile is strange to him, who has only ever lived surrounded by Sorcerers who scorn him. It's unfamiliar, pulling at a faint memory from one of his missions where he saved some girl, a child. He doesn't remember her face or name, but her smile stuck in his head, along with her words of thanks.

Perhaps he was being weak again, to be finding so much validation in the innocent thanks of a child, but he doesn't care. It was the first time anyone had thanked him.

Narauko's smile reminds him of hers. A pure, childlike excitement and simple, unburdened happiness radiating from him.

It kind of pisses him off a little, but he knows that it is just jealousy speaking. His entire life he has felt as if Mount Fuji itself were pressing down on him. He wishes he could be as carefree as the boy in front of him.

"Whatcha doin' out here by yourself?" Narauko asks before scowling and clicking his tongue, though he keeps smiling even under the expressions of annoyance. "Sukuna is influencing me too much," he mutters more to himself than Gojo.

Straightening himself out, Narauko gives Gojo a shallow bow. "My apologies for my casual verbiage. What I meant to ask was if you would be willing to indulge my curiosity?"

Despite himself, Gojo feels his lip twitch upwards briefly and he waves Narauko's words away. "Do not worry about it, most of us students tend to speak casually with one another. And I am training. What about you? Why were you missing your arms a moment ago?"

"Oh that," Narauko says as if he forgot already. "I was annoying Sukuna because he was mean about a project I have been working on, so we got into a fight and he cut my arms off."

"I heard that you two were friends?" Gojo asks with a raised brow.

"Of course we are!" Narauko exclaims with a bright smile. "Best friends, even! Sukuna is just a massive asshole, so he uses violence as a vector to display his affection."

That doesn't sound right, but he's not going to question it.

"I don't think the staff will appreciate if you continue to fight outside of the designated training areas," he says instead.

"I know, I know. That's why I am going to leave Sukuna alone for a bit. In the meantime, the first person I met who knew anything about Sorcery told me that it's rude to ask about people's techniques. That said, would you be willing to tell me about yours anyway?"

The only reason it's considered impolite to ask about other people's techniques is when it is assumed that the two people will come into conflict at a later date. Nobody wants to give potential enemies an advantage over them, doing so would be foolish to the extreme.

"I don't mind at all," Gojo answers. After all, it doesn't matter if he gives Narauko an advantage over him, since he could never hope to win in the first place. Better to give something pointless up in the hopes that he might get something out of it.

Decision made, he holds his hand out, fingers splayed, to Narauko, layering Infinity over it. "My technique is called Limitless," he says as Narauko reaches forward to take his hand and finds himself pressing against an infinitely growing distance. "It allows me to govern the infinity between space, like Achilles and the Tortoise, if you know that tale."

Narauko lets out a long, impressed whistle at his words. "Your technique functions off a paradox? That is so cool! Does that mean you can mess with gravity too! Or teleport! Can you make enough gravity to bend light around you to become invisible! Kami, there's so much potential! Heh, you could even say there's Limitless potential, eh? Eh?"

Gojo's brows rise at Narauko's immediately excitable response, and already he knows he made the right choice. He's never even considered attempting to turn invisible before. He chooses to ignore that last bit though.

"I can mess with gravity, yes, but I cannot teleport and I have not attempted to bend light. I was not aware that gravity could effect light."

"Oh yeah," Narauko flicks his hand like what he's talking about is inconsequentially simple stuff. "Gravity can affect basically everything. From weight to light to time itself, gravity is pretty fundamental. You know how strong winds cut around objects? If you were to surround yourself like that but with heavy gravity instead of air then you could probably turn invisible."

"I will have to try later," Gojo states. "I might have more success with this than my failed attempts at teleportation."

"I would have thought it'd be pretty easy to teleport with a technique like yours?" Narauko points out. "Just make an infinitely small tunnel, so that the massive concentration of gravity messes with time, that connects two places, with an entrance and exit on either size that basically sucks you in and spits you out. Well, I don't know how to explain it better than that, but I'm pretty sure I about got it right. Maybe."

Gojo finds his eyes widening with incredulity as he hears the rather simple explanation. Simple though it may be, his own attempts have been more along the lines of simply reducing the infinity between two spaces as low as possible.

The best he's been able to achieve is pulling two places together like magnets, and he hasn't been able to spread the technique very far because of how intensive it is on his Cursed Energy and concentration.

But if he only needed a thin string of Limitless instead, then maybe he'd be able to figure something out. The explanation given was limited to be sure, but he feels in his bones that he can make something of it.

It really just goes to prove the difference between people like him and people like Narauko. He's sure that if Narauko had his technique, he would have achieved much more by now.

Still, this interaction has definitely been beneficial. With that in mind, he gives Narauko a polite bow. "You have given me much to think about Narauko-san, thank you."

"It's no problem at all, Sugawara-san," Narauko waves away the thanks with a smile. "You're technique is really interesting, I'm probably going to be thinking about it all week. It'll be something to talk about with Sukuna too. He loves talking about interesting techniques."

That makes Gojo pause slightly, and he briefly debates internally if it's a good idea to ask, before deciding that Narauko likely won't make an issue of it, from what little he has observed of the boy. "If I may ask you one thing before I leave, Narauko-san?"

"Of course."

"I have heard that you and Sukuna are friends, yet I am finding myself struggling to understand how one such as yourself could befriend one as, if you will excuse my words, blatantly malicious as Sukuna." It's something that has been bothering him since he saw Narauko smile.

Said smile changes imperceptibly at the question, gaining a thoughtful, somewhat solemn tone as he faces Gojo.

"We can not help who we are, and we can only do what we can do. Sukuna disagrees with my every opinion, and for that reason, he is the only one who can understand me, and I him."

Gojo doesn't really fully understand what Narauko means, and can tell that Narauko knows this from the hidden disappointment in his eyes. But nonetheless, he feels the words resonate with him somewhat.

It gives him a new perspective on things. He's spent this whole time focusing on what he can do and giving up on the expectations placed on him by others. But Narauko's words resonate with his own feelings.

He can only do what he can do.

"I see," he says before bowing again and preparing to leave. "Thank you for humouring me, Narauko-san."

"It is no issue, Gojo-san. Good luck in your training. With your technique, it shouldn't be difficult to imagine a more powerful version of yourself."

Narauko's parting words bounce around his head as he walks away. Imagine a stronger version of himself. His grandfather always comes to mind whenever he tries. A mountain he cannot surpass.

But maybe he can climb closer than he thought. He still knows that all his efforts are for the sake of his descendants being able to advance quicker, but even then, he can't help but want to hold onto this feeling, the possibility that he might be able to actually achieve something with his technique.

In this era, he is no genius. He is no Abe no Seimei, no Narauko. This fact hasn't changed.

But if someone like Narauko can look at his technique and be so impressed...

Shaking his head, Gojo walks through empty corridors until he reaches his private garden to sit down in peaceful silence, his mind still on the ideas Narauko has given him.

"Limitless, huh?" He mutters to himself, barely a whisper leaving him as his hand clenches shut and his eyes close.

For the first time, he considers that maybe he will be able to give his descendants more than just the basics as a guide.

Whatever the case, it would be best if he can figure it out soon. His grandfather's position as Jujutsu Inspector General is becoming increasingly shaky lately.

Part of the reason is actually Narauko himself, alongside Sukuna. They've been doing so many missions with so few problems that the big families are feeling more and more confident about a world without Sugawara no Michizane having any power.

He needs to be prepared.

He must be ready to cut himself off from the clan at the opportune moment. Right when his grandfather loses his position. He feels a little bit bad for using his grandfather's hardships like this, but at the same time, he doesn't hold any love for the man.

The chaos that will surround his 'retirement' will be exactly what he needs to separate himself from his clan and found his own before they can force him into anything.

For that, he needs to be stronger.

Or, he mentally concedes, I could just learn to hide from them instead.

It would be dishonourable, but he has long given up on bringing honour to the name Gojo by himself.

Narauko

"Even if that is the case, what is the point in having a perfect defence if there is no offence? A battle of attrition?" Sukuna scoffs at the mere idea, making me shake my head in exasperation.

On one hand, I kind of get where he's coming from. A battle of attrition takes out a lot of need for skill, so it's understandably less impressive in the eyes of someone who views talent and technique above all others.

But at the same time, sometimes you just have to play to your strengths. It'd be pretty hypocritical to complain about someone's fighting style just because their strengths are different to your own.

It was about a week ago that I met Sugawara no Gojo, and Sukuna and I are still arguing about Limitless.

Perhaps it is in part because of the limited knowledge of maths and physics I possess as someone who has lived a thousand years in the future, but I just can't see an end to the potential that Limitless has, it's just so damn overpowered.

For crying out loud, it literally governs infinity. It doesn't matter if the infinity is limited in any way, not that space is really much of a limitation, but anything infinite is obviously going to be incredible.

Sukuna is just too caught up in the fact that it's barely got any natural offence to it.

"I just don't understand how the technique doesn't spaghettify everyone it touches," I say while idly side stepping a needle of Cursed Energy the size of my arm.

It's my turn to kill the Curse for our mission, so my Divine Dog: Totality is doing that while we talk. It's some bee-like thing that shoots giant spikes from its tail that are poisonous. I only know that because I let it hit me because I was curious how it worked and what it felt like.

Still, it's only Grade One so we can just ignore it in favour of our argument.

"Spaghettify?" Sukuna asks, seeming unimpressed by the sheepish grin I send him.

I kept saying future words by accident when our arguments got heated, so at this point I've basically given up on censoring myself around him.

It's pretty liberating for me, but I think it's lowered his opinion of me since I keep making up random words from his perspective, with none of the context either, since it's not like he knows what spaghetti is.

Tch. I should have just said noodlification.

"What I mean is, if someone gets caught in his Infinity, then the distance gets larger even as it gets smaller. So surely if you tried to pull your hand out of Infinity, it would fall to pieces, since different parts of your hand would be moving differing distances, right? You would end up looking like a noodle."

Sukuna rolls his eyes. "That would only happen if the speed was constant, wouldn't it? Your hand would just push and pull at speeds relative to whichever part is furthest into the Infinity."

My head feels like it's going to melt the more I think about it. I'm pretty sure what Sukuna said makes sense, but I also know what people smarter than me have said about black holes.

I'm not a physicist, and I'm starting to get confused.

"Still, anything that can get called 'perfect' is definitely powerful, even if its offence is limited," I say instead, making Sukuna give me a look.

I return that look with a smug smirk. "Heh, I bet you're just jealous because your defence is terri- AH FUCK! STOP CUTTING MY FUCKING HANDS OFF!"

He just gives me a smirk exactly mirroring my own. "Just because your defence is terrible..."

This asshole...

My brow twitches even as I fail to hide my smile and the moment my hands finish regenerating, I make a fox-shaped shadowgraphic with one hand, looking at Sukuna through the gap between my thumb and middle finger.

"Kon."

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

Sukuna and Narauko are getting along well, huh?

Also, I started writing this chap and got about halfway through before getting distracted and then procrastinating for like, nearly a week, and I ended up losing my thought process about what I was doing with Gojo, so if there feels like there's a quality falloff or something this chapter, that's why.

Also, I've notice that I'm doing a lot of foreshadowing n stuff lmao.

There is action coming up, but I'm undecided if I wanna do one more chill-ish chapter before kicking it off :/

You know the deal, donation site yada yada :P Kevin the Bored

Chapter Text

A/N: Btw, just typing this while I remember, but for the sake of the minority that does, I figure I should mention this. I am actually pretty good at spelling and grammar, so when you see mistakes, I also know that they are mistakes, they were just typos. That said, my ass is too lazy to go and correct all my typos, I only make like two a chapter, so there's no need to waste your time leaving a comment correcting me, cuz I know it's wrong and I ain't gonna bother to fix it lol. I do appreciate the thought tho. :3

Onto the chapter!

Humming some barely remembered tune to myself, I ignore my surroundings as I focus on the talisman in my hands, carefully guiding ink along it in very precise patterns with my brush.

We're at some lake today and Sukuna is currently having fun fighting the Curse we were sent to exorcise. It's some Water Spirit that got corrupted by a nearby village doing ritual sacrifices for some reason.

The story behind it is pretty interesting to me, and the fact that even a neutral kami of such strength can be corrupted by human worship is definitely something to think about. It is Special Grade, after all. That's why we were sent.

But unlike the other grades, Special Grade isn't as evenly defined. Most Grade Ones can generally fight with a chance of winning against most other Grade Ones. However, this is now the third Special Grade Curse we've been sent to kill, and so far none of them have really been much stronger than Inumaki-san.

Sukuna is at least having fun, I can tell that much by the way his Cursed Energy is fluctuating, as it always does when a good battle excites him. The Curse's technique is a pretty lethal poison after all, and I'm not going to purge it for him if he gets hit, so he is technically in danger here.

Obviously he's still going to win, but still.

Either way, it's his turn to kill the Curse, so I'm just sitting a safe distance away on top of Kon's head. I was sitting on one of my other Shikigami on the way here, but Sukuna's fucking up the environment like he's getting paid to, so I summoned Kon instead so I can be above the treeline.

I don't want to get distracted and fuck up again, after all.

I'm working on one of my barrier projects. I'm trying to reinvent the phone via spirit magic. I could even call it the Telephone Technique when I'm done, since it's not like anyone will know I'm copying names, and it would be funny for me, if no one else.

Then again, maybe there are some Seers out there that would recognise the name and be able to call me out on knowing the future, so maybe not then. Damn, that sucks, I was really planning on laughing a lot about that.

Ah well.

I've naturally told Sukuna and Kamo-Sensei about my project, and Kamo-Sensei at least seemed very interested by it. Sukuna was too, for about five minutes.

A technique based around communicating with others will naturally not hold his attention for long, because he doesn't care about anything that promotes teamwork and such. Expansive, long range communication doesn't interest him because it doesn't directly enhance his own abilities, skill or understanding.

Selfish prick.

Even Kamo-Sensei lost some interest when I brought up the idea of spreading the technique to facilitate easier communication throughout the Jujutsu world.

They're both so selfish. No wonder they're such good Sorcerers.

It's a strange triangle that we make. Sukuna and Kamo-Sensei can connect with their shared distain for everyone else, Kamo-Sensei and I can connect on our shared curiosity, and Sukuna and I can connect on being The Strongest.

It's strange, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Another explosion of force sends an enormous geyser of water into the air, and I briefly glance up to see Sukuna riding the draconic sea serpent-shaped Cursed Spirit into their air, laughing manically all the while, and a soft smile grows on me.

Yeah, I love these selfish assholes.

Even the knowledge that they don't, or maybe even just can't love me back, I really don't care. If anything, it would be a little bit disappointing if they were to abruptly turn around and stop being who they are just to return my platonic affections.

Regardless, I shake my head and get back to my talisman.

According to Kamo-Sensei and the reading material he has recommended me, the art of Barrier Techniques, Kekkaijutsu, actually originated from another art called Fūinjutsu, or Sealing Techniques.

As a side note, Sealing Techniques apparently came from freaking Ninjas! As in, genuine, real life, Shinobi! There are Ninjas as well as Sorcerers! This is awesome! I want to meet them!

I spent a solid day full of giddy, hyper energy when Kamo-Sensei told me about that, because holy fuck it's cool, but apparently they're basically impossible to find. Which makes sense, since y'know, Ninja. So I probably won't be able to meet one until they inevitably get hired to assassinate either Sukuna or I.

Anyway, the point is that while Barrier Techniques are purely an art of Sorcery, it does have roots in Sealing Techniques. The difference is that Sealing Techniques functioned off of paper tags and special ink, or maybe sometimes blood, the books weren't entirely clear on the exact process.

Barrier Techniques however, don't even need any kind of paper or writing to work, such as the Curtain. However, Barriers can be enhanced by going through the proper process and making talismans. It's no different from any other kind of Sorcery in that aspect. Going through the proper rituals and chants and stuff naturally enhances Sorcery. We just use Subtraction to speed things along, but that's only really necessary in a fight, where a bit of speed can be worth a reduction in power.

The ink is not strictly necessary for Barrier Techniques, but drawing the pathways your Cursed Energy needs to take certainly helps out, even if it does make it easier for other people to understand and thus potentially counter the techniques.

Right now I'm working on what will hopefully be the final revision of my new technique before I can start putting it to use. Since I actually want other people to be able to decode it, I'm drawing it out on a talisman instead of just visualising the whole thing with my Cursed Energy alone.

The end result is incredibly similar to the average Paper Shikigami, the most basic, entry way Shikigami for Sorcerers entering the practice. The normal technique basically just amounts to animating some paper that has been cut into a specific shape, usually a stick figure.

My version is naturally a lot more complex, but I've put a lot of work in, with some help from Kamo-Sensei, to simplify the design enough that it should be relatively easy for anyone to learn.

Apparently I have a pretty warped sense for what's easy and what's difficult though, so I'm basically just running on hope for that.

Either way, my original technique is called Black Butterfly, or Kuroichō, because I could not think of anything more creative.

First, one must cut the paper into the shape of a butterfly. Then comes the infusion, where you simply need to infuse Cursed Energy along the appropriate paths, paths that I am marking with ink to make it so one doesn't have to have a keen sense for Cursed Energy to see what's happening.

During the infusion process, you can implant your message directly from your thoughts, transmitted through your Cursed Energy. Then, once the butterfly is animated, it will seek the nearest shadow and sink into it.

From there, it will seek out the recipient, using the shadows as a vector of travel. I only designed it like this because my own Innate Technique made it a lot easier and more natural for me, and I couldn't think of another way to have the same effect.

It's probably why the paper butterflies always turn out ink black too.

To use the technique, you will also naturally have to be at least passingly familiar with the target of your message. After all, the way the butterfly finds the recipient of the message is basically by tracking their soul through their shadow.

It's pretty complicated, which is why it's taken me so long to do. I've been attending Jujutsu high for just over three months now and been working on this for most of that time.

Even still, I only managed to get it to work through the use of Binding Vows. The main Binding Vow that you accept when you use the technique is that you will only be using it for the sake of peaceful communication.

If you send a Black Butterfly with hostile intent, or to try and track it to find someone, or to add a delayed effect to the butterfly, or anything like that, then it just won't work.

The method that the butterfly uses to find people is based on my theory on the base structure of humanity.

I believe there are three portions of a person. The soul, the body and the shadow. The body is connected to both, but separates the shadow and soul. So the body can interact with both, and vice versa, but the soul and the shadow cannot directly interact, despite being reflections of one another.

At least, not when there is a body separating them anyway.

This actually helps my technique. It travels through shadows, and because of the connection between shadows and physical bodies, the butterfly is basically incapable of separating people from each other, or even animals.

However, souls stand out. It's like looking at the night sky. The vast, empty and dark space is everywhere, only interrupted by the pinprick lights of the stars.

In this analogy, the bodies are space, and the stars are souls. If there were no stars, then my technique would just get lost in the endless sea of bodies and their shadows. But the soul stands out like a beacon, giving the butterfly direction so it does not get lost.

This way, even if shadows and souls cannot interact, the shadow can still use the soul to find the right body in an endless and indistinguishable sea of bodies.

It's pretty cool, in my admittedly bias opinion. It's not really the telephone I was looking for, but it got the main part down in that it can send messages to anyone you know from anywhere to anywhere. Theoretically.

It also has the added benefit of meaning the recipient can recognise who sent the message purely by feeling, rather than needing the letters to be signed or something. This way, it'd be pretty difficult to send fake messages.

I'm sure people will figure out how to block them eventually, but I doubt anyone will be intercepting my technique anytime soon. It's not just like a radio or morse code or something, you can't just decrypt it and read private messages.

For one, you'd have to somehow be able to actually find the butterflies from the shadows in transit, which even I couldn't do and shadows are my whole thing.

But there's also another Binding Vow in place that makes it so that only the writer and recipient are capable of viewing the message.

The only way to break that would be if someone were to reverse engineer my technique and then remove that Vow from the process, but why the hell would anyone want to purposefully make their messaging less secure?

Regardless, I finish drawing the technique on my paper butterfly and put away my brush. Then I begin pulsing my Cursed Energy through the inscriptions until I eventually reach the part where I need to imbue my message, and I do so with a smile.

Hey, Dad.

It's been a while. How are you? I am doing excellently myself. I have already learnt so many things and seen so much, met so many interesting people. It truly is amazing, I'm having a blast.

My Jujutsu has advanced considerably too. Apparently I'm actually pretty good at this stuff, The Strongest, even. Some warning about that would have been nice. I'm pretty sure I accidentally insulted a lot of people by thinking they were weak. I think I understand your reasoning though. You wanted me to have these experiences myself, instead of just spoiling everything by taking out the challenge and mystery, right?

What do you think of this technique? It's called Black Butterfly and I invented it myself, with a little help from my friends. I would offer to introduce you all at some point, but they're both very very mean and might try to kill you, so I won't.

But even if they are mean, I really do love them both. Especially Sukuna, he's my best friend. I really hope you can safely meet him someday.

Speaking of Sukuna, he's about done with the Curse we were sent to exorcise, so I'll wrap this message up before he cuts my hands off again. He does that a lot, because he is very mean.

I'll explain how Black Butterfly works now so you can send a message back, because I miss you and want to hear from you again.

However, right as I started explaining how to use the technique, the paper butterfly in my hands abruptly burst into a bright blue flame and burned to nothing in mere seconds.

"Eh?" What happened?

Closing my eyes, I recall the sensations coming through my Cursed Energy and quickly realise the issue.

It's a storage problem. I will either have to figure out how to allow for larger messages to be held by the technique, or just deal with sending multiple smaller letters.

Obviously I'm not going to just settle and not try to improve it, but I do quickly make a new Black Butterfly, not bothering with drawing it out, so that I can restore my message before I forget it.

I had to cut a little bit more out of the message to make up for the lack of proper ritual in the form of drawing it all out, but that's fine.

Now, how do I increase the amount of information it is capable of holding?

...I have no ideas.

What did they do to increase storage for computers and stuff? Not for the first time, I regret not paying more attention to school and science and stuff. All I know about increasing storage in computers was to just buy more hard drives.

I have no idea how they actually got the technology to compress from a basement full of servers to a smartphone, so there goes that source of inspiration.

How do you increase storage space without decreasing the size of the object doing the storing? I have no idea. The only thing I can think of is compressing files and stuff, but all that really is is deleting useless data.

The problem with that is that there isn't really background data to be deleted. My technique is already incredibly efficient. It has to be, or I wouldn't have been able to give it enough range to cover the entire country.

Collapsing forwards, I rest my chin on my fluffy foxy Shikigami as I think on it while watching Sukuna kick the Curse into the ground. Compression isn't an answer, I can't think of any examples that could help inspire something, and the technique is already using shadows as an expanded storage, like my own shadow storage technique, so I can't really make the butterfly more like the Tardis.

Staring at the sight, no ideas come to mind, annoying me slightly, when Sukuna kicks the Curse one last time, sending yet another geyser of water into the air.

I watch the water rise with an empty mind until suddenly flinching when an unreasonably bright ray of sunlight reflects off of the water and right into my eyeballs. I rub a thumb over my closed eyes as I roll onto my back, and when I open them again, I am looking at the bright blue sky, dotted by a few pure white clouds.

...Clouds?

Clouds!

The Cloud! That's it! If I'm having problems with internal storage, then I just need to modify it to make use of external storage instead! That should work, right?

Instead of giving the butterflies an internal shadow to function as a miniature pocket dimension, I could instead just link the butterflies directly to the concept of shadows!

I know there is some kind of reverse world, like a shadow dimension of some kind that my technique has given me some access to. So what if I make the butterflies with a Vow that has them deposit their message into the shadow dimension and then pick it back up once they've reached their destination.

By cutting out the required power needed to keep the message through transit and moving that energy to just being enough to hold the message during the receiving and delivering of the message, it should work, right?

"Heh heh heh, I'm gonna invent the fucking Cloud before computers even exist~."

I need to talk to Kamo-Sensei.

A shadow appears blocking out my sun and I look up into Sukuna's judging eyes.

"What? Can't a guy laugh at his own thoughts?"

Sukuna just shakes his head at me, and I call that progress. He would have tried to kill me a couple months ago. One day he might even call me his bestest friend in the whole wide world. Or maybe even share with me a crisp high five.

"Stop thinking annoying things," Sukuna grunts at me. "Let's go."

Or maybe he just didn't try to kill me because he's in a good mood from his fight.

Either way, I shrug my shoulders and mentally command Kon to start heading towards the nearby village, both of us riding it's head.

"This is not the correct direction," Sukuna neutrally comments, to which I nod my head.

"We're going to the village first, to let them know the Curse is gone and to warn them off sacrificing people to kami. Better to prevent than cure and all that."

Sukuna huffs, but he doesn't mock or insult me this time, nor does he voice complaint, even as he very clearly doesn't want to bother reassuring some random commoners.

That's fine though. We have an understanding. He indulges my desires and in turn I indulge his, which in this case means that he doesn't complain even when he thinks it's a waste of time to offer comfort to 'foolish monkeys', if I wanted to use his words.

But seriously, these villagers need some chastisement. Kami are benevolent beings. The only exceptions are Ōkami, who have a greater degree of individuality and are naturally thus less blanketly benevolent than the average kami that isn't really capable of thought in the same way humans are.

The point being, kami are good. They don't generally want human sacrifices. The only example I can even think of of the practice is hitobashira, which is the practice of burying people alive before building any large construct.

But the old man was adamant that that practice is something that came from China and has nothing to do with our Shinto gods in the first place.

We don't venerate our gods out of fear that we will spend eternity in torment if we don't. We venerate them because they deserve it, because a prayer is what little a human can do to pay back the kindness that they show us.

A big part of me is glad I was raised in a Shinto shrine. These gods are much better than the rape happy Greek ones.

"Hey, Sukuna," I say, breaking the silence, getting a hum of acknowledgement from him. "How do you think one would go about linking a Shikigami directly to a land or concept, such that the Shikigami can deposit and collect metaphysical 'belongings' from said land or concept?"

My question manages to get more of a response from him as he turns to face me properly, his expression turning pondering, and though he doesn't show it, I can tell that he's interested in the idea.

Sukuna may be the kind of guy who prefers getting his immediate physical satisfaction, but he's not so one dimensional that he can't enjoy a good theoretical debate. Especially if it's on a subject he's interested in, which is basically just Sorcery and killing people really.

But if I'm being honest with myself, I asked the question more just so that I could enjoy myself by having a fun and engaging conversation with my dear, distant friend. That's more important to me than actually finding a solution.

He looks so much happier when he's exploring new aspects of Jujutsu.

Chikuzen Province, Kyūshū

Exile. Banishment.

How could they?

After all he has done, how dare they banish him. Him!?

Sugawara no Michizane!? They dare send him into exile!?

He is the single greatest Sorcerer there has ever been!

How could they. How dare they.

His genius has pushed Sorcery forward by centuries!

Their nation experienced decades of unheard of peace because of him. He alone has killed more Special Grade Curses than anyone else ever has!

So what if the world overcorrected and started causing a little chaos recently? That does not undo everything he has accomplished! They wouldn't be where they are right now if it wasn't for him!

They should be grateful.

Bowing on their hands and knees and begging for favour, for mercy. Begging that he save them from the coming storm of chaos.

He is the only one who possibly could.

They need him.

Time will prove him right. They will come back, begging for him to save them.

Of course, he's heard plenty about how there are an unprecedented number of Special Grade Sorcerers running around today, a result of his existence, he thinks they tend to forget, but so what?

Special Grade is the grade with the least equality. Just because there are a bunch of children claiming to be his equal simply because they too bare the title of Special Grade, does not mean that they can replace him!

He is Sugawara no Michizane, the single greatest Sorcerer ever born! He is tired of these nobody monkeys acting like they have any right to tell him what to do!

To Yomi with waiting.

He will show them.

He will show them all!

As a great educator, he will teach them all the folly of crossing Sugawara no Michizane.

They will pay-

His thoughts slam to a halt as an uncomfortable throbbing appears in his head.

He feels something warm and wet trailing down from his forehead and he reaches a hand up to touch it, feeling the liquid coat his fingers until his hand touches something solid that he recognises as cold hard steel.

Pulling his hand away in confusion, he looks down at the blood, his blood, coating his fingers, his mind struggling to comprehend what is happening. Everything just feels so slow, like there's cotton webs in his brain.

Turning his head at the hint of movement in his peripheral vision, he finds that he is not as alone as he thought he was when he comes face to face with a man wearing a mask.

No.. Not just a man.

He is wearing all black of slightly differing shades, covered from head to toe without a single inch of skin exposed. The clothes are all loose but tight, and there's a tantō sheathe on their lower back.

What stands out the most however, is the mask on their face that is designed like that of a butterfly with wings spread. A pretty mosaic suitable for the only bit of character in the outfit. Even their hair is hidden by a hood, and there are no eyeholes through which to see.

It takes Sugawara's addled mind what felt like an eternity to comprehend what he is looking at. Who he is looking at.

"Assassin," he whispers, barely audible.

Recognising his own words manages to light a fire of urgency in Michizane's heart, but no matter how hard he tries, he just can't do anything, and he can't even figure out why.

He's just so tired right now.

"Ninja," the masked man corrects, shaking his head casually even as he pulls his tantō out of its sheathe. "Really, you Sorcerers are a resilient bunch. A kunai through the skull and you're still talking?"

Their words remind Michizane of the blood, his blood, trailing down his face, and he brings his hand back up and touches the blade sticking out of his forehead. His mind is yelling at him to do something, but he can't figure out what.

"The key to killing Sorcerers is to aim for the head," the Ninja comments, as if he is sharing friendly advice. "You lot can heal anything else, but your Reverse Cursed Techniques start in the brain. Add in a little poison, and it all simply comes down to the first strike."

Michizane hears the words said, but he isn't able to comprehend them. It sounds no different to a waterfall to him. Just indistinguishable noise coming from an increasingly blurry figure.

A figure that draws its tantō and raises it. "By the way," the figure says before poking Michizane's head with its free hand, after which his entire world seems to come into focus as the previously incomprehensible words are heard with perfect clarity. "My client wants you to know. Your death was always a part of the plan. The exile was just an excuse to keep you isolated."

The Ninja's words send Michizane reeling, but he doesn't get the time to so much as think to question them before the Ninja's blade swings down and removes his head from his shoulders in a cut so clean that there isn't even a burst of blood, just a steady flow running down the neck like an overfilled glass of water.

The head hits the ground with a soft thud, and immediately the Ninja shudders as a feeling of dread briefly washes over him.

"I know about the whole thing with Sorcerers needing to be killed in the right way to avoid them turning into Vengeful Spirits," the Ninja mutters to himself as he collects and puts away his weaponry. "So what the hell are they thinking hiring us to kill him like this? What kind of idiot wants to make a Vengeful Curse out of this guy?"

After a moment, he just shrugs to himself. "Eh, not my problem."

A sudden weight of malevolence falling on his shoulders reminds him of the corpse at his feet. "Right then, time to go," he says to himself, and putting words to action, he disappears like a ghost in blur of speed the next moment.

Outside of the small mansion Michizane was exiled to, the sky rumbles with violent thunder, lances of lightning lighting up the dark clouds near constantly.

Winds pick up, blowing with enough force to knock a man off his feet and the earth itself shakes as if it too is feeling wrathful, while everything green within a mile of Michizane's corpse withers away into dead brown and ash.

The locals can only assume the worst, and they quicky pack up their belongings and head for their homes, hoping to weather the coming storm and all the dangers it will bring.

Meanwhile, inside of his study, the decapitated head of Sugawara no Michizane...

Opens its eyes.

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

Awooga, looks like things are gonna kick off.

Sorry for the delay btw, my wifi developed schizophrenia for a bit :(

Also, I've kind of realised that I really don't need to take this fic slow like I normally do, cuz there is honestly so much shit that I could travel at the speed of fucking light and I'd still have mroe shit to write about. Even just the DxD cross does enough for that, but as you might have noticed, there is a few more crosses than just that :

Also, questions. Should I start using Japanese for technique names and stuff? Like, should I keep saying Barrier Techniques and Sealing Techniques, or should I start saying Kekkaijutsu and Fuinjutsu?

Also, do you have any characters you wanna see a pov from? Or characters/historical figures you wanna see added to the fic? The only requirements is that they were alive between the years 900-1100 or were alive earlier but have some reasonable method of extending their lifespan, like being a yokai.

I had another question too but I can't remember what it was :/

7 chaps ahead on money site, Kevin the Bored, including the fukin near 10k fight scene with Michizane lol. Next public upload will be a double, and after that another double (the latter will be the one with the fight).

Chapter Text

Taira no Takiyasha

Laying back on a bank of grass, Takiyasha pays half a mind to the sparring taking place in the training field between Ise no Tayū and Minamoto no Yoshiie.

Fights between the two of them are usually pretty even despite Yoshiie still being Grade Two when Tayū is Semi-Grade One. She's not really surprised by it though. Give it a few more months and Yoshiie will be the stronger of the two. He just needs to sharpen his instincts a little bit.

Not that Tayū is weak in anyway, her technique is pretty good, it just lacks the versatility of Yoshiie's ability to spawn portals constantly.

Tayū's technique is called Wakawaka and has its root in poetry, waka literally just being the word for poetry.

There are many types of waka. There's Katauta, which comes in the form of five-seven-seven, the shortest type of waka with only three lines and nineteen syllables. There's the Tanka, the most popular form of poetry that comes in a five-seven-five-seven-seven.

There is also Bussokusekika, which is just a Tanka but with an extra seven on the end and a Sedōka which is the same length but with a different composition.

Finally, there is Chōka, the potentially longest type that can really be as long as you want, so long as it repeats a cycle of five-seven at least once and ends with five-seven-seven.

The way Tayū's technique works is that she picks a type of waka, and then every time she manages to hit her opponent, it pushes her waka forward one syllable, and every time she passes line, she gains a boost to her speed and strength. Then once she has hit them enough times to finish the waka, like nineteen hits for a Katauta, she gains a multiplicative boost dependent on the number of lines.

This makes her technique something of a gamble. She has to decide at the start of the battle how long she can last against her opponent in order to optimise her gains.

If she picks a Katauta, then she might not get enough of a boost to be able to overwhelm her opponent, but if she picks a Sedōka then she might lose before she can achieve the final and most important boost.

It does give her something of an advantage when she fighting against people she has fought before, like Yoshiie, because she will already know how long she can last and how much she can push her technique.

There are of course, other benefits to using a longer waka. Mainly that every time she clears a line her body receives a burst of Positive Energy that can heal most physical damage.

It means that in order to really beat her, you have to do so not only incredibly quickly, but while also making sure she can't hit you with a few quick strikes.

It doesn't matter how light her hits are, so long as they connect it count for the technique. So it's best to go for a finishing blow after she's finished a five hit line so that she needs another seven before she heals again.

Takiyasha knows from experience that it is an incredibly annoying technique, but it is also one of those techniques that become drastically less difficult to deal with once you know the trick.

It makes it the virtual opposite of Yoshiie's technique, Kindred Spirit.

Every swing of his knives, every movement of his hands, all of it leaves invisible 'lines' in the air where they pass, and at any time he can connect two of these 'lines', opening them up and forming a doorway between them.

Knowing the mechanics of his technique does not make it any easier to deal with, because there's no way to know which lines will connect to which. It's very annoying.

Her own technique is more like Yoshiie's in the sense that knowing the mechanics doesn't really make it easier to counter, but hers is still a lot more simple. Not that that is a bad thing, she's still the stronger of the two after all.

Still, it means that the best counter to Yoshiie is speed, while the best counter to Tayū is evasion. Both of their strengths are the opposite's weakness. It makes their spars interesting to watch.

Which is part of why she and Sabishī are just watching instead of sparring themselves, not that Sabishī's grandfather cares that they aren't participating in today's 'lesson', insofar as being told to fight each other counts as a lesson.

Another part of the reason is that they are the complete opposite of the other two when it comes to sparring. Not entertaining at all.

She just sends her Gashadokuro after Sabishī and then her friend has to either keep the Shikigami at bay or allow herself to be defeated. Then it's just a matter of landing a clean hit for her and she wins again.

It's too boring.

And again, it's really not like their Sensei cares, she thinks to herself as she glances to the side, where Kamo-Sensei is sitting, not paying any attention at all to the spar happening in front of them.

Instead, his attention is consumed by a stack of paper and bottle of ink that he is using to make a bunch of Paper Shikigami of various different animals that all keep simply transmuting into ink and falling to stain the grass in front of him further.

She has no idea what he's trying to accomplish, but it's nothing new for him to ignore them all in favour of his own experimentation, so she's used to it.

That said, she really thought he'd be at least a little bit more attentive today, considering the ongoing emergency.

Sugawara no Michizane turning into a Vengeful Cursed Spirit is definitely not something she saw happening. She'd be more worried if she was going to be sent to exorcise him, but she's not, so she doesn't really care that much.

She knows her limits, and Sugawara no Michizane is far above them. The man is a living legend, or is it 'was' now? He is dead but also alive, so she's not sure which tense is right to use.

Either way, it's not her problem.

As if summoned by her thoughts, she notices Kamo-Sensei's head snap up, looking into the distant sky, and a moment later she feels why. The rest of her classmates follow almost in synch, the fight below freezing in place as they all turn their attention to the same direction.

Faintly, only because it is so far away, the unmistakable aura of Sukuna tickles their senses, rapidly getting closer.

However, where that malicious presence used to purely be a source of fear and frustration for her, and the others too, now, there is more to it.

Because now, hidden away behind that blinding aura of hatred, she knows that there is an accompanying force of good that balances it out.

She would still prefer to never be anywhere near Sukuna, but so long as Narauko is there too, it's not as bad. In the months he's been here, Narauko has shown a surprising capability of keeping Sukuna from trying to kill any of them.

Granted, he mostly does this by fighting Sukuna himself, which is still pretty dangerous for anyone around them, but still. It's a good thing that Tengen-sama is able to easily fix all the broken buildings.

But Narauko has done more than just balance Sukuna out.

He's actually sociable, unlike his fellow Special Grade, so he's spent plenty of time with all of them, either sparring, discussing techniques, or just hanging out.

She hasn't failed to notice how much she and her classmates have improved since he showed up. It feels like every time he spars with them they discover a new facet of their techniques, or manage to push themselves just that much further.

He's inspiring.

Jujutsu is an inherently selfish path. Sorcerers don't really help each other, not if they don't have to. Yet he does. Even accepting that none of them would return the favour.

She doesn't really get it.

It's easy to hate Sukuna, because there is no doubt that Sukuna hates you. Emotions are cyclical like that. So what does that mean for someone who is just so incredibly and blatantly in love with everything he sees?

"That's a nice flush you've got on your cheeks there~, Taira-chan~!" Kamo-Sensei's voice calls out, snapping her from her thoughts as she turn to glare at him. "I wonder what's making you blush~, could it be that you're daydreaming about somehow finding a husband again~?"

"I'm not blushing!" She snaps at him, her mood immediately soured, "And don't talk about me finding a husband as if it's some impossible thing!"

"I am sorry to say, Taira-san, but you are definitely blushing," Tayū says, suddenly standing by her side and idly fixing her forest green hair, the buns having come slightly loose in her spar.

"I am not!" Takiyasha yells back at her.

A gentle nudge on her other side has her turning to face Sabishī, "(¬‿¬)," and immediately regretting it.

"Shut up!"

Out of her classmates, Sabishī is the one she's closest with, and so she naturally is aware of her... type.

She likes country boys, okay!? Stuffy nobles and prideful Sorcerers are just annoying. But she obviously can't marry a country boy, both because she is a noble and a noble doesn't marry commoners, and also because she is a Sorcerer, and she refuses to marry a weakling.

Unfortunately, this means that ever since Narauko has shown up, Sabishī hasn't stopped teasing her about him.

It's annoying.

"Do you think they faced any troubles?" Yoshiie asks, changing the subject from embarrassing her, something she is grateful for. "It was a Special Grade they were sent to exorcise after all."

"I doubt it," Tayū comments. "A Sorcerer should be able to defeat a Curse of the same grade in the first place, and there is two of them as well."

None of them even considered the thought that they would lose, the question was just more if it was easy or not. After all, it would be best if they are at full strength coming back.

"True," Yoshiie accepts, "But their next mission is not going to be easy. Having to exorcise the Vengeful Cursed Spirit of Sugawara no Michizane right after exorcising a different Special Grade Curse... Even knowing who we are talking about, it still seems a bit much. I can not even imagine anyone succeeding without trouble."

The mood gets a bit sombre when Yoshiie actually says what they are all thinking about. None of them would care even the slightest bit if Sukuna died, but at the same time, they would all miss Narauko if he should perish.

It really is difficult to hate that man. She's never met anyone so willing to help others for no greater reason than simply wanting to.

You certainly wouldn't find anyone in the capital willing to do anything without getting something in return.

"They will probably be fine," she says, studiously ignoring the feeling of Sabishī staring at her, knowing that she is even without a face etched into her blood. "Even if they can't win, I'm pretty sure that there isn't anyone alive better at Reverse Cursed Technique than those two monsters, and there's that deer to consider too. They're pretty difficult to put down."

Her words receive a few nods, and the mood lightens minutely, but...

"Even then," Yoshiie frowns thoughtfully, "It is still Sugawara no Michizane."

He says the name as if it is an explanation in and of itself, and in some ways, it is.

Michizane is The Strongest. He has been for decades, since before all of their births.

Imagine for a moment, if that for the entirety of your life, every time you ever asked who was the best at anything, you were always given the exact same answer.

Who has the most Cursed Energy? Sugawara no Michizane.

Who can control their Cursed Energy the best? Sugawara no Michizane.

Who has the best techniques? Sugawara no Michizane.

Who is The Strongest? Sugawara no Michizane.

It has been her entire life. Everyone's entire life. Even her parents grew up with the same name standing as The Strongest.

So even if intellectually, they know that Sukuna and Narauko should each possess more Cursed Energy than Michizane, it's a difficult thing to accept.

The idea that anyone could beat him? It just doesn't compute. It goes against what they have been taught for their entire lives.

Sugawara no Michizane is The Strongest, that has always just been a fact of life.

And now Narauko has to kill him, all because of stupid politics.

Kami, she really hates politics.

"You kids are so rude~," Kamo-Sensei cuts in, now standing with his tools collected under one arm. "I don't do this a lot, so pay attention, because I am about to teach you something!"

Should you really be admitting that? She thinks to herself, but pays attention anyway.

"Jujutsu is a world of imagination. I know that I have told you this before, but I don't think the lesson has really dug in yet. So pay attention, and you will see."

His piece said, Kamo-Sensei turns away from them to stare at the sky, where a distant dot is steadily growing larger, bringing with it an aura of hatred.

Is that it? She can't help but think to herself, struggling to even find it in herself to be disappointed in her Sensei. It's not like he has ever been that shy about being a useless Sensei.

No more words are said as they wait for the pair of Special Grades to arrive, and soon enough, they do.

Riding on the back of a truly giant bird with bark coloured feathers and a bone-white mask as a face. Nue, she recalls its name. One of Narauko's Shikigami.

The earth shakes when the Shikigami lands, and a great gust of wind buffers against them, blowing hair and clothes alike before settling down.

"Hey guys!" Narauko calls out to them as he leaps down, seeming to be in an especially good mood.

Behind him, his Shikigami collapses into liquid shadows a moment later, unceremoniously dropping Sukuna to the floor before he could dismount.

However, before Sukuna can even hit the ground, he waves a hand at Narauko who was already hopping forward ahead of time, dodging the cavernous gash that opens in the ground behind him.

Practically skipping, Narauko walks up to their Sensei with a wide grin. "Kamo-Sensei! What did you think of this version of my technique that I left you?"

"It was pretty good," Kamo-Sensei answers with an honest smile he has never given the rest of his students. "Very educational. It revealed a lot to me, so I'm grateful for that. I would say that it is a fully functional, completely original and complete technique, congratulations. Though, I did notice that its capacity is pretty limited, but that can easily be worked around by just sending multiple messages."

"I noticed that too!" Narauko exclaims with stars in his eyes. "I actually had a breakthrough for how to fix it though! Sukuna and I talked about it on the way back, and I think I can extend the capacity to near infinite, I just need some time to calibrate it all and work out the new formula!"

"Ohh~?" Kamo-Sensei's smile grows as he seemingly forgets that they aren't alone right now, ignoring the rest of them in his intrigue. "I did try to modify the technique to fix the issue, but I failed to come up with anything greater than the most minor of improvements of a few extra words. So I gave up on that and started trying to modify other elements of the technique, such as changing the messenger from a butterfly to another animal."

"Ooooh! I actually tried crows and cranes first before settling on butterflies," Narauko admits, also falling too deeply into their conversation to pay attention to anyone around them. "I didn't try any other animals though. Were there any interesting results?"

Kamo-Sensei makes a so-so motion with his free hand. "Symbolism and tradition play very important roles in Jujutsu, so I'm not really surprised that butterflies are what work best for your technique, their symbolism is pretty much perfect for it, possessing freedom, for travel, a connection to the soul, to properly deliver messages, even the idea of transformation fits enough to make it more compatible. Most of the animals I tried were a bust, for example, using a Paper Ox Shikigami, the message could carry a greater load, but it could only go in a straight line, so, useful only if the recipient isn't going to be moving at all."

"That's still pretty good, it could have been used to set up a bunch of relay points across the country, stationary locations designed to receive and send messages between each other and then disseminate them outwards from there, but it doesn't matter anymore, because like I said, capacity isn't an issue anymore."

"So you did. I'd love to hear what solution you came up with, because I really can't see how the butterflies would be able to carry more, not without just using higher quality materials, but that would defeat the purpose of your technique, no?"

"Indeed it would," Narauko nods before grinning up at Kamo-Sensei. "The solution I found was to simply not have the butterfly bear the entire weight of the message for the whole journey. Instead, Sukuna and I figured out a way to basically drop the message into the Shadow Realm and then pick them back up after the journey is finished. It's like if you need to carry a message through a lake with an island in the centre of it. To avoid getting the message wet, you just throw it onto the island, swim up to it, throw it across the rest of the lake and swim over, y'know?"

Kamo-Sensei rubs his chin thoughtfully, his smile growing wider the more he thinks about it. "That is interesting. You really do have such a unique way of thinking, Narauko-kun~. How would you account for the-"

"Ahem!" Takiyasha interrupts, having had enough of just standing by and listening to them talk, making the two blink at her. "You can be all scholarly later. Didn't you have something to tell them, Kamo-Sensei? And what the hell is a Shadow Dimension!"

Both of them shrug helplessly at her shouted question, frustrating her greatly.

"I just noticed that there seems to be some kind of deeper, greater shadow that connects all other shadows together," Narauko answers. "Shadow Dimension is a fitting enough name, and no one has given me a reason to call it anything else yet."

Why is he so casual about discovering a potentially unknown realm? Does he not realise how disconcerting that is? She feels like someone just walked over her grave.

"Well!" Kamo-Sensei claps his hands together, looking between Narauko and Sukuna to make sure he has their attention. "Taira-chan is right. I know you just got back, but you two have been assigned an emergency mission."

Both of their brows raise almost in synchronisation, and she really doesn't get how they can be so alike while being such opposites.

"Can I pass?" Narauko says before Kamo-Sensei can continue. "I really want to get this written down in case I forget it or lose inspiration."

"Unfortunately no, you cannot pass," Kamo-Sensei immediately shuts him down, making his shoulders droop.

"But my technique..." He whines quietly, but doesn't offer an argument either way.

"So what is it?" Sukuna demands, almost looking like he wants to refuse just because he was told he couldn't. It wouldn't surprise her.

Kamo-Sensei shoots them both a big grin. "While you were gone, Sugawara no Michizane was killed and has come back as a Vengeful Cursed Spirit!" He abruptly points dramatically at them as he continues, "Your mission is to join the Sugawara clan and exorcise him!"

The air feels tense as she and her classmates look at them with concern, well, only really Narauko, when the daunting objective of their mission is finally revealed.

Which is why they are all caught so flat footed when neither Narauko nor Sukuna seem to react at all to the mission.

Sukuna looks about the same as always, with maybe a hint of interest coming through his expression, while Narauko just lets out a little sigh. "Fine fine," he says before straightening up and resummoning Nue back where it landed earlier.

What? She thinks to herself. What's with this casual reaction!?

"Oy! This is Sugawara no Michizane we're talking about here," she finds herself saying, getting a look of genuine confusion from Narauko. "You should be more concerned! The Sugawara clan will probably be wiped out entirely by the time you get there!"

"Really?" He asks, seeming rather put out. "That's unfortunate. Does that include Sugawara no Gojo? Our Senior?"

That's not the part you're supposed to be concerned about! She wants to scream at him, feeling like he's just not listening.

"Don't worry, Narauko-kun," Kamo-Sensei says, waving a hand dismissively. "Gojo-kun severed his ties with the Sugawara clan a couple of days ago, and he seems to have spontaneously developed the ability to be incredibly difficult to find~, so he's missing right now."

Narauko sags with relief at that, a feeling she doesn't share, as she hasn't even met this Senior of theirs, but she doesn't care about that.

"Narauko," she says, trying her best to impress upon him how important her words are. "This is Sugawara no Michizane. His Cursed Technique is Natural Order Manipulation, and it's exactly what it sounds like. He's basically a God! If you don't take him seriously, you will die. At least get some Cursed Tools before you leave."

"Natural Order Manipulation?" He asks, smiling lightly as he twists his torso to face Sukuna. "You hear that Sukuna? Sounds pretty interesting, huh? I wonder how his technique defines 'Natural Order'?"

Takiyasha feels her teeth grinding against each other as he continues to just not listen to her. However, right as she opens her mouth to yell at him until he understands, he turns back to her with a gentle smile on his lips that freezes her in place.

"Don't worry, Taira-san. We'll win."

The simple, plain confidence in his answer stumps her, and it takes a second for her to even respond. "How can you be so sure?" She asks, almost demanding, but he just shrugs without a care and gives his answer while turning to catch up to Sukuna.

"I just can't imagine myself losing anymore."

Such a simple sentence, and yet his words reverberate deep within her soul.

Kamo-Sensei's earlier words echo in her mind, and she knows that she understands them. Truly understands.

Jujutsu is a world of imagination.

They lost the moment they pictured themselves losing.

Meanwhile the thought never even crossed Narauko's mind.

"They really are a pair of monsters," she hears Yoshiie mutter to himself, and she can't help but agree.

Even now, she still just can't picture anything but an immediate loss against Michizane.

"The Strongest will always herald the beginning of a new Era," Kamo-Sensei comments. "It's about time."

Shaking her head, Takiyasha snaps herself out of her daze and takes a hurried step forward, noticing that Narauko is already on top of his Shikigami, ready to depart.

"Narauko!" She yells at him, "Catch!"

Grabbing at her side, she unties her sword's sheathe from her clothes and throws it at him, the sword spinning rapidly in the air until it lands right in his palm.

"You better give it back when you're done!" She yells at his surprised face and steps back with a huff when he smiles and nods.

As the two of them fly away, they can vaguely see Narauko waving her sword in front of Sukuna's face while wearing a mocking smile, at least until his arm falls off to a faint cry of complaint before they disappear into the distance.

Standing there, Takiyasha finds that she really, really doesn't want to turn around. She can practically feel four pairs of eyes boring holes into the back of her head.

Unfortunately, she can't just stand there forever, and so, with a deep, steadying breath, she turns around.

Immediately, she wants to kill someone. Preferably four 'someone's.

"Don't." She warns them. "Just. Don't."

Their infuriating smirks don't abate, but regardless, they at least don't immediately start teasing her either. At least, not with words anyway.

Of course, Kamo-Sensei only hesitated for that one moment. "I wouldn't have thought you'd be so bold, Taira-chan~. I know you're desperate to find a husband, but to think you'd go so far as to declare your intentions for the entire world to see~. So romantic~."

"Shut up!" She yells at him, almost on reflex at this point, before his words really click in her mind and her glare turns suspicious. "Wait, what do you mean by that?"

Somehow, Kamo-Sensei's expression becomes even more smug, and she has to resist the urge to punch him.

"Welllll..." He trails off, tapping his chin with a finger in obviously fake consideration. "Do you really want to know~?"

Her teeth start to hurt from how hard she's gritting them, but she's already done enough shouting for today, so she just grinds out, "Yes. Tell me."

"Hmmmmm~? Are you suuure~?"

Feeling her eye twitching at her shitty Sensei's antics, Takiyasha raises a hand and summons her bell, making Kamo-Sensei hastily back away, raising his hands in mock surrender.

"Such a scary face~," he says, one last tease, before straightening into a proper teaching position. "This mission isn't just a simple exorcism, there is quite a lot of politics behind it. In short, the result will decide who holds the power this Era. If the Sugawara clan manage to subdue Michizane by themselves, then, as servants of the Imperial Family, the court will be more favoured to them. However, Sukuna and Narauko are the bids from the Great Clans. If it's them that subdue Michizane, then the court will favour the clans in this era."

"It's a really important moment, one that will shake up the balance of power in the entire nation," he continues. "So when Narauko is seen wielding your sword, it will be taken as you, and by extension the Taira clan, directly showing your support. I'd imagine that a lot of those court nobles will take it as a marriage proposal~. I'm sure your family will be very happy with you staining the reputation of the entire clan by being the one to propose to a commoner, no matter how exceptional he is~."

...She really hates politics.

She's just lending it so he doesn't die! There's nothing more complicated about it.

But her Sensei is right, so now she's going to have to deal with her family breathing down her neck. A Great Clan does not lower itself to others, and being seen offering a proposal, no matter how true the fact of it is, will be taken as the Taira clan lowering itself to Narauko.

Which is double humiliating because the Taira clan already has a Special Grade in her father in the first place.

"Look on the bright side, Taira-chan~," Kamo-Sensei says, and she gets a feeling she won't like what he has to say. "Your clan would only lose more face if, after being confronted about a potential marriage, they went and denied it. That would make them look divided, like they can't even control a single member of the clan. That means your clan will probably push for you and Narauko to get married for real~! Yaaay~!"

Kami, she really really hates politics.

"You're blushing~."

"Shut up!"

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

Someone mentioned wanting to see more of Takiyasha so I started this and before I knew it, it was already chapter length.

Also, I've gotten a lot of comments about Mahoraga, so I'll just say here and now, I have plans and they are cool as fuck in my mind, so hopefully they will still be cool on paper. :)

Chapter Text

Catching Takiyasha's sword, my brows furrow as I turn to her.

"You better give it back when you're done!" I hear her yell, and feel a grateful smile grow on my face at her consideration.

Then, as Nue starts to fly away, I immediately turn to Sukuna and wave the sword tauntingly in front of his face.

"Heh heh, I got a Cursed Tool before you~," I mock before putting on a fake commiserating smile, "Don't worry, I'm sure- OW MY FUCKING ARM!"

I barely manage to catch my dismembered arm with my non-dismembered arm before it falls off of Nue. With my newly regenerated arm, I grab the sword again, while my other hand throws my dismembered arm up in front of Nue, letting the Shikigami eat it.

Shikigami aren't really alive, so I don't have to worry about it developing a taste for human meat or anything like that, it's just a convenient waste disposal.

I don't want to just litter the countryside with bits of me that Sukuna cut off. That would be weird.

"Seriously, what is it with you and cutting my arms off," I mutter, more to myself than out of any expectation for an answer.

Turning Takiyasha's sword over in my hands, I hold it in front of myself and pull it out of the sheathe. Immediately, I can tell that it's an impressive Cursed Tool, one imbued with a Cursed Technique, which I'm pretty sure makes it a Special Grade Cursed Tool.

I kind of want to keep it. Takiyasha would probably be pretty mad though...

I'll think about it.

The sword itself is deceptively simple. It really just looks like a normal Tachi, the sword that apparently predates the Katana and is about a hand's width longer. It is perfectly standard, if with a slightly embellished tsuba, that has a swallowtail butterfly engraved on it, the symbol of the Taira clan.

"Doesn't look like much," Sukuna comments, making me glance at him briefly before turning my attention back to the sword.

We both know that there is more to it than its simple appearance.

Knowing that, I call forth some of my Cursed Energy and channel it into the sword. In no time at all, the sword begins to change. From my palm outwards, first the Tsuka, the handle, ripples and shifts into smooth, near pitch black wood.

Then the guard and the pommel, Tsuba and Kashira, both twist and shift until they look more like gnarled, ancient wood on either end of a sturdy black painted stick than any part of a sword.

The guard barely even functions as a guard anymore, being only marginally thicker than the handle and the blade, with three 'roots' stretching out and seemingly holding the blade in place.

Then, from the guard like a wave, the blade of the sword starts to turn black, so dark that it reminds me of the void after death. But before the blade can turn completely black, a red energy that I struggle to keep track of properly starts to pour out out the guard.

Not enough to fill the blade with red light, but enough to stain it, like a few red koi swimming below, leaving a trail of swirls and eddies in their wakes.

By the time the strange red energy reaches the tip of the blade, I feel a faint... Something surrounding the darkened metal. Whatever it is, it makes the sword difficult to even look at. It's all fuzzy, like I'm looking through heat waves or an out of focus camera.

Even that sixth sense for Cursed Energy that I have as a Sorcerer is of no help. When I try to peer at it, it feels almost as if my perception itself is getting torn apart, which really shouldn't be possible, because that just doesn't make any sense at all.

Without any real kind of guard, the sword really seems like it has forsaken any kind of defence in favour of being a tool existing purely for the sake of violence.

"Hey, Sukuna," I say without taking my eyes off the blade, getting something between a hum and a grunt from him in response. "What in Yomi am I looking at right now?"

"Disruption?" He theorises, referencing how distorted the blade is, as if the world itself is struggling to recognise it.

"Feels more like Destruction," I return, getting an acknowledging hum back.

Ultimately, it's hard to tell just from observation alone.

...Heh.

A moment passes in calm silence before I let an evil smirk grow on my face, right as I abruptly twist and swing the sword at Sukuna's centre mass.

Sadly for the sake my experimentation, Sukuna dodges by leaning backwards at the last second and plants his hands on Nue before twisting and kicking me off my own bird.

A number of my ribs break from the contact, but at this point Positive Energy almost comes as naturally to me as Negative Energy does, so I hardly even have to think about it to heal.

It honestly helps that I keep having to regenerate my arms. Lots of practice that way.

As I'm falling from the sky, I make sure to dismiss Nue before the asshole can kill it, and then I just allow myself to fall. I make sure to keep an eye on Sukuna's form as I do so, enjoying the feeling of freedom that comes with being completely unbound and untethered.

Turning my attention to the sword in my right hand and the sheathe in my left, without taking Sukuna out of my peripheral vision, I mentally debate for a moment before just shrugging and sheathing it for now.

Wouldn't want to accidentally drop it or something.

"Sukuna!" I yell up at him, the sound of rushing wind almost drowning out my words. "How are we gonna know what it does if you dodge!"

"Cut yourself then!" He yells back at me.

"Are you crazy!? I'll die!" I blatantly lie, and not a moment later I hit the treeline and feel dozens of branches snap and shatter against my back.

However, I don't make any attempt to slow myself down, yet, instead of splattering against the earth, I just keep falling. Right before I hit the ground, I simply pulsed my Cursed Energy and fall into my shadow. My technique is awesome like that.

It's a strange sensation, being inside of my shadow. It's tough to describe. If I had to try, I'd say it's like being underwater, you can't even breathe down here and your every move feels heavier, with no leverage to base your movements off.

Naturally, it's a lot easier to move around for me, since I can control my own shadow with the same ease I control my body, but still, it's not as easy as moving around normally. I still can't breathe, and I have to actively make footholds of condensed shadows to stand on.

It would also probably be impossible to see for anyone else, but a nice side-benefit of my technique is that I can see perfectly fine in the dark.

But even if my shadow is a 'pool', it is still more like a flooded warehouse, or even bigger really. In the near distance, I can see all of my stuff. Most of it is just a bunch of rocks to weigh me down.

However, even further away than that, there is a sort of barrier, or perhaps a membrane is more accurate, that surrounds my shadow, containing it.

Like space, direction is difficult to define here, but 'up' is easy to find, because it is the only source of light, pointing back to the material world.

Yet, the most interesting thing for me is in the exact opposite direction. Because down below is what I have tentatively named the Shadow Dimension.

I don't really know what it's like in there, because there is some kind of barrier blocking it off and I haven't figured out how to pass it yet.

If I were to describe the difference between a normal shadow and the Shadow Dimension, it would be that shadows are more like reflections. Hmm, that doesn't really explain it right.

Picture the earth as a flat plane, that is where we walk around and live. Then, below the earth, is another flat plane, this is the Shadow Dimension.

Wait, is this just Yomi? I don't know, probably not though. Feels different.

Anyway. The connection that I have noticed, is that every single shadow acts like a pillar holding the Shadow Dimension and the Material World apart.

It's actually how my Black Butterfly technique works. It travels down through the shadow of whoever is sending the message and into the Shadow Dimension, from which it searches for the appropriate soul and then travels up through their shadow and back into the world.

It's kind of annoying that I could design a technique to go through the Shadow Dimension even when I can't enter it myself, but it also kind of makes sense, since I have significantly more Cursed Energy than a single Shikigami messenger.

I also really really want to explore it, but I haven't had any luck on that front, which is incredibly upsetting.

One day.

As I have been thinking, my body hasn't stopped falling. Careful manipulation of my shadows has prevented me from even losing any momentum, meaning that I'm still falling at terminal velocity.

One of my eyes closes shut, and at the same time, another opens. Back in the Material World, my Divine Dog peers out from the shadow of a tree, its eye locked onto Sukuna's still falling form.

I wait just a little longer, watching him get closer and closer to the earth, until he too, is just about to hit the treeline. That's when I bring the sheathed sword to my side, holding it in place with my left while resting my right on the hilt.

Iaido is a term that doesn't exist yet, but the art of the quickdraw has been about long before then. It's called Battōjutsu now, according to Yoshiie, who taught me about it.

He's the Heir to the Minamoto clan, so he's been taught a whole bunch of stuff. Really a wellspring of knowledge, doubly so when it comes to traditional stuff and politics, though I mostly ignored the latter.

Either way, I turn away from the light of the Material World and start a nose dive down, my hand ready to draw Takiyasha's sword. Through my Shikigami's eye, I wait until the first leaf touches Sukuna's kimono, and then I twist my shadow until up is down and down is up.

In less than a second, the abyss of the Shadow Dimension disappears from my sight and the light of Earth replaces it, yet I do not slow down, only falling 'up' instead of 'down'.

There's a faint sense of vertigo as my centre of gravity is violently yanked around, but it only lasts a brief moment and is easy enough to ignore.

Instead of thinking about that, I just focus on the sword in my hand and the sight of Sukuna above me, and then there is no more time to think as I burst out of my shadow with my sword already in the motion of being drawn.

I feel my ears pop at the sudden shift in air pressure, and the light of the sun against my skin feels extra crisp as Sukuna and I crash towards each other, both of us smiling like idiots.

Unfortunately for me, I forgot one key fact about my relationship with Sukuna. Almost every single time that we've fought without Cursed Techniques, he has kicked my ass. Repeatedly. If I'm not holding back at all, I'm both faster and stronger than him physically, but his instincts and sheer skill in close quarters combat just outshine me too much.

That is to say, despite the surprise attack, despite both of us moving incredibly fast in each other's direction, and despite the fact that he was literally falling from the sky, he still manages to dodge.

Only by the barest of margins, but Sukuna's instincts are too sharp and right before the sword could cut into him, he makes a platform of condensed Cursed Energy that he then kicks to propel himself over the sword and behind me.

But worse than just that, he even grabs me by the forearm, uses it as a pivot to twist until his feet go from pointing at the sky to crashing into my back, sending me flying into and then through a number of trees, sans one arm and one sword.

Left lying in a pile of splinters on the corpse of a now dead tree, I allow myself a moment to just stare at the sky and wallow in pain.

"Sukunaaaaa," I whine once I hear him walking closer, and I wait until he is close enough before leaning my head up enough to glare at him. "Why are you so mean to me?"

"Am I to just allow you to cut me?" He asks in turn, a mocking smirk on his face that I repay by lifting my stump of an arm and pumping it full of Positive Energy until it regenerates with my fore and middle finger already crossed.

Turns out, you can't really flip the bird in Japan. I know that the expression was derogatory back in ancient Greece, but apparently it never spread to Japan until the modern era of my last life. Which means I can't flip anyone off, sadly.

Luckily, there are two alternatives. One is to clench your fist and stick the tip of your thumb through the middle and forefinger. Apparently it's a hand sign meant to represent the vagina, and I guess anything related to women is supposed to be insulting.

Then there's the option I prefer, which is crossing your fingers. In Western nations it's a sign of good luck, but here it is a sign of cleansing the impure. So making the gesture at someone is basically like saying they're dirty.

In other words, I'm being derogatory.

Which I why I have to quickly roll away to avoid being cut in half.

Sometimes I feel like I lost my common sense at some point, because even with Sukuna acting like Sukuna, I'm not even remotely upset. Instead, I just roll to my feet with a slight laugh and turn to Sukuna with a smile, quickly raising my arms in surrender when he points the sword at me.

"Relax~, we should really test it on some wood or an animal or something. It would be really reckless to use it on a friend, don't you think?"

Sukuna huffs, but does actually lower the blade, which surprises me somewhat.

"It felt strange," he says. "When I projected my technique off of the blade, I barely managed to keep it's cohesion, and the energy expenditure was incredibly inefficient."

"Oh~? So the sword isn't capable of discerning between friend and foe then? Or do you think it's exclusively tied to Takiyasha-san?"

"Who?" Sukuna abruptly asks, looking at me with furrowed brows.

My own expression falls flat as I stare at him with much disappointment. "Taira no Takiyasha. Our classmate. The owner of that sword?"

"Oh, so that's her name."

"You really forgot?"

"I don't make a habit of remembering the names of weak trash."

"Well whatever," I say, not feeling like reopening this argument. "Gimme the sword back, I'll cut myself."

He doesn't bother asking for a Binding Vow or anything, because we both know I'm a terrible liar, and he is more curious about the nature of the sword than he is worried that I'll attack him with it again.

So he tosses it back at me, blade first and like a javelin aimed at my heart, because he is still an asshole like that.

The sword feels really dangerous though, so I don't catch it with my chest, just in case it can kill me faster than I can heal. Instead I simply lean to the side and catch the hilt before it can pass me.

The minor attempt on my life is so expected at this point that I don't even think to complain about it this time. I just catch the sword, hold it out in front of me and clench my free hand into a fist except for my pinkie finger.

Then, for the first test, I simply slowly push my pinkie finger into the flat of the blade. Immediately, I feel like I'm poking a burning stove and I watch in abject fascination as my finger just disappears as I push further into the flat of the sword until I hit the first knuckle.

When I then pull away, I am greeted by the sight of one third of my pinkie completely missing, a small amount of blood leaking down the stump.

Observation number one, the cut doesn't cauterise, so despite the feeling being similar to burning, it is not the same. Observation number two, the cut is incredibly clean, so the effect is not rough at all. Observation number three, holy shit that was just with the flat of the blade, how sharp is the actual edge?!

"Hey Sukuna, cut off my finger," I say while holding the same hand out, clenched into a fist except for my ring finger.

Then my hand falls off at the wrist, and even as I catch it, I can only give Sukuna the stink eye. "I said my finger."

"It is off, is it not?" He says, looking down his nose at me.

Shaking my head, I toss the sword at him so that I can hold my hand in my hand, and I bring my severed pinkie up and hold it next to my severed wrist.

"Come look at this," I say, gesturing to the two bleeding stumps, and Sukuna dutifully steps closer to peer at the two wounds.

A moment of observation passes before Sukuna frowns slightly, an expression that grows when he looks up at my own mocking smile.

The difference between wounds is barely noticeable at all. Sukuna's technique cuts at a molecular level, or maybe even finer, I can't say for sure without a microscope. But at the end of the day, it is a slash, which means that the cut has a faint groove in the direction of the slash, unlike the wound from the sword which left no groove at all, just a perfectly clean bisection.

"The sword left a cleaner wound," I say, looking down my nose at him. "Did you really get outdone by an inanimate object~?"

Sukuna's hand flashes forward, but before he can get his attack off, Divine Dog bursts out of the shadows and into his side, biting down on his wrist and smacking him through the forest with its paw.

"Ha!" I laugh as I pull the sword out of his dismembered hand. "How does it feel!"

Sadly, my elation is cut short when I feel a Black Butterfly emerge from my shadow, distracting me. Pouting, I reach a hand forward for the butterfly to land on, only for the sudden impact of a pair of feet against the side of my head to send me crashing through the forest for a second time.

What an asshole, I think to myself as I climb out of the second pile of rubble in as many minutes, completely ignoring the fact that I was the one that started this this time.

Brushing myself off, I walk back to Sukuna, who is holding the sword again, and other than huffing in his direction, I ignore him in favour of the butterfly. This time I'm not interrupted when I hold my hand out, and the butterfly lands on my forefinger, causing the message within to be transferred into my mind.

You two ran off before I could even tell you where to find Michizane~, Kamo-Sensei's voice fills my head, his tone teasing, and my lips twist a little in embarrassment. You need to head to Chikuzen Province, in Kyūshū. I trust that you can find your own way with that. Try not to get distracted~.

"What is it?" Sukuna asks, in that way he asks questions that comes out more like a demand than anything else.

"It's just Kamo-Sensei, don't worry about it~," I say, not wanting to admit that I didn't know where I was taking us with Nue. "He was just reminding us not to get distracted is all~."

I wasn't lying, but he can clearly still tell that I'm not saying everything either, but he doesn't comment on it.

"Anyway, we best be going." I match my words with action by making the shadowgraphic of a bird to summon forth Nue once more. "Wouldn't want our prey to run away or something."

Sukuna huffs and tosses the sword back at me, normally this time, and hops onto Nue's back. However, when I move to join him, I abruptly freeze as I realise something...

"Where did the sheathe go?" I mutter, staring accusingly at the sword in my hand. "Divine Dog, find it."

As my Shikigami plays fetch, I hop up onto Nue's back and decide to use the time before it returns wisely. By which I mean figuring out where I need to go.

A fun fact about Jujutsu is that I actually wasn't really too wrong when I first called it magic. There are actually spells, a whole bunch of them. The only thing is that they are basically all incredibly weak in terms of combat potential.

Innate Techniques outshine spells many times over. They're more like cantrips than anything really. Still, cantrips are useful too. Such as a spell to point you in the right direction.

Jujutsu Sorcerers are really too obsessed with fighting. I kind of get it, since their whole job is killing Curses, but still. Apparently there are five 'Principle Clans' that focus more on communing with the Gods and miscellaneous stuff, like divination and calendar keeping and such.

Kamo-Sensei called them a lot of not very nice things, so I don't think he has a very high opinion of them. I want to visit one of the clans though, because I feel like I'll be able to learn more theory stuff, even if I won't be able to learn anything that will make me stronger.

Shaking away my thoughts, I bring my free hand forward, coated with Cursed Energy, and I quickly draw a set of symbols in the air. The first layer is designed to mark the spell as something that effects myself.

Then, the second layer of symbols are drawn, all referencing the stars and asking for guidance. I briefly glance up, but it's still evening, so the stars aren't out yet, which sadly means I can't use them for reference like an open book exam.

Finally, the last layer is the 'offering' part. If I was a non-Sorcerer, I'd have to make an actual offering of grain or livestock or blood or something, but I'm not, so I can just fill this part with Cursed Energy.

According to Kamo-Sensei, the offering part only needs to be dedicated to the stars, but I tend to modify my spells to honour all the kami involved, not just the stars. From the wind to Amaterasu herself, since it is daytime right now, so she can undoubtably see where I'm trying to go.

Doing so makes the spell cost more energy for basically no gain at all, but I have energy to spare, and I love the kami of my home, so I do my best to give them all the respect they deserve.

...Forest kami might be a bit mad at me though, since I keep getting kicked through trees and stuff by Sukuna, but I've made sure to plant a bunch of trees too. I don't know if that makes up for it, but hey, no harm in trying. Probably.

Whatever the case may be, the spell is finalised just in time for my Shikigami to return with the sheathe in its mouth, and I activate the spell with a single word, skipping the lengthy incantation because I know Sukuna will attack me for wasting his time if I don't.

"Chikuzen," I intone, and the array of script I wrote into the air bursts alight. A moment later, the light transforms into a faint line that only I can see, shooting off into the distance, over the horizon.

A mental command has Nue take off while I dismiss Divine Dog and sheathe Takiyasha's sword. I'm not sure if it's a placebo or I'm reading into things too much, but it almost feels like the wind is gently pushing us forward as we fly.

If it was a few months ago, I would have written it off for sure as some hallucination, but now the feeling just makes me smile.

"So!" I exclaim after a while, turning to sit down next to Sukuna with Takiyasha's sword on my lap. "Do you think it's Destruction or Disruption?"

Sukuna tilts his head side to side for a bit before answering. "Destruction," he answers. "It felt more like it was tearing at my technique than trying to unravel it."

That's about what I figured from the sensation I got when my finger touched it.

"I wonder what its limit is, if it even has one," I ponder to myself before shaking away my curiosity and turning my attention back to Sukuna. "By the way, Michizane is definitely going to know Domain Expansion. Did Kamo-Sensei show you Hollow Wicker Basket?"

He scoffs and scowls off into the distance. "Only after I figured out my own Domain."

"Sounds about right. You might just be better off using your Domain though, since you actually kind of need your hands to fight, unlike me."

Domains are powerful because of the sure-hit effect that forces everyone inside the domain to play along with its rules, and Hollow Wicker Basket is an Anti-Domain technique that disables the sure-hit effect of Domains, making it very useful to know.

However, one must keep both of their hands locked together in the appropriate hand sign in order to keep the technique running, which is pretty inconvenient when you need your hands to fight. It's not a problem for me though, because I am a Shikigami user.

"Are you not planning to use your own Domain then?" Sukuna asks, though I feel like it's more just to make conversation than out of any real interest. Then his tone turns mocking as he continues, "Or is it that you cannot?"

"Of course I figured out my Domain," I scoff at him. I witnessed the same stuff he did to figure out his own. It's not like it was really all that difficult. "I probably won't use it though. I feel like something's missing from it, but I can't figure out what."

It's kind of annoying. I feel like I could use Domain Expansion right now, but the thought of doing so rankles me in a way I can't properly explain. It's like how you could put on a sock filled with slime, but would you really want to?

It's a weird example, but that's how I feel about it. Like my Domain is full of slime. Metaphorical slime.

"Oh, speaking of Domains," I say, snapping my fingers and feeling like I just had a eureka moment. "I actually just remembered something I wanted to talk to you about. I got this feeling a few days ago that a Domain isn't actually the highest peak of Sorcery."

Sukuna raises a brow at that, and I can understand his incredulity.

"I can't really explain it properly," I start. "But I was messing around with my technique, when I felt like there was some extra expression that I was missing. I don't know, it just feels like there's some... Final form, or hidden technique. Like the technique's soul or something, some kind of... Black box hidden away inside the techniques engraved in our brains. However, I feel like to access it, you need to master everything your technique has to offer, which really screws me over, because my technique has a whole lot of stuff. You just cut though, so I figured that out of the two of us, you'd have a better chance figuring out what it was I felt."

Sukuna actually looks a little bit surprised by the time I'm done talking, and I find myself surprised when he starts chuckling lightly.

"I have already felt something similar," he says, making me smile ruefully, because of course he has. ""The Soul of my technique" huh?," he mutters, looking contemplative.

I decide to leave him to his thoughts, recognising when he is focusing on something in his mind and not wanting to disturb, because I'm actually a nice friend.

Like I said, I'm not really sure what this feeling that I, or apparently both of us, have felt is, but I know I'll figure it out eventually. Probably way after Sukuna though, because seriously, my Ten Shadows is way too versatile, I love it so much.

I should probably be more concerned about the fight we are heading towards, but honestly I just can't bring myself to be. Even if I was alone I would be confident, but with Sukuna by my side?

I really just can't picture us losing, no matter what scenario I come up with.

We're The Strongest, after all.

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

Next upload will be a double chap, including one 10k word chap lmao. It's a long fight but hopefully it lives up to expectations, I had fun writing most of it :P.

Also, while I remember. Mahoraga will eventually be a part of the fic, so I have a very important question regarding this.

Mahoraga's Adaptation Technique. Should it;

A) Be permanent Adaptations

B) Be temporary Adaptations

C) Be up to 8 permanent Adaptations (With this, it can toss away one adaptation, such as fire, for something else like lightning if needed.)

I am undecided on which to go with, but it is a very important decision, cuz it will naturally have a very big impact on the future, so please pick your preference.

(Edit: members were split between A and C and so I've already pretty much decided on C, but still feel free to share your thoughts.)

Chapter Text

A/N: I'm not dead, sorry for the delay, I'm just moving house rn, and the new place is up 6 flights of stairs and we don't have any movers and I'm not exactly a beefcake. My everything hurts, washing machines are heavy cuz they have concrete in em, so are beds and fridges and sofas and draws and so on. (/._.\)

Anyway. I have been struggling to find the time and energy to write anything with that going on, and we've still got some more stuff to go, sadly. :(

Once again, sorry for being so late with this chapter, not that I had a schedule anyway lol.

Even though it's only the evening, no glimpse of the sun can be seen in the sky, shading the entire world as if night came early. Up above, instead of seeing the blue of the sky or the light of the stars, only an endless expanse of dark clouds roll overhead.

The darkness is only interrupted by the frequent flashes of lightning, briefly illuminating the world again and again in endless repetition while thunderous cracks ring out over and over as if the world itself is screaming its rage down on them all.

But even above the near constant boom-crackle of thunder, it is the sound of the heavy rainfall and violent wind that drowns out all noise, making it difficult to even hear yourself think from the constant white noise.

Sitting on the clean-cut stump of a fallen tree atop a sharp cliff, a man dressed in loose black clothes that is tied tightly by black bandages at the wrists and ankles, looks out over the view before him.

His face is covered by a full face mask of a solid off-white colour with a stylised design of a butterfly painted on in a dull red, but regardless, it is clear where his focus lands.

Across a long field of grass, cut in half by a simple dirt path, there is a medium sized compound of three walled in mansions standing alone as the sole evidence of human habitation as far as the eye can see.

From this alone, it would seem as though the man is staring at nothing, just the still front wall of the compound, unshaken by the turbulent weather.

However, he can see with more than just his eyes, and his attention is on what is going on inside of the compound.

There he can feel a dozen rapidly dwindling presences standing against one phenomenally large one, cutting them down one after another.

Behind his mask, he smiles to himself. Pleased with a job well done and amused by the consequences.

However, he abruptly jolts as another presence makes itself known, rapidly closing in on him and making his cold heart beat rapidly in his chest from the overwhelming sense of evil, even greater than the Vengeful Curse ahead of him.

He knew he should have left immediately after accomplishing his mission, but he just really wanted to see what would come of the 'Strongest Sorcerer'.

He doesn't really regret it, but it's still going to be a pain for him later.

Behind him, an enormous bird lands on the plateau a short distance away, and he quickly notices and corrects himself that it is a Shikigami, not an actual bird.

From the back of the bird, a boy with short pink hair and wearing an almost-black kimono jumps down, landing a few paces away from the man and looking at him curiously.

The man can tell that this boy is the source of that overwhelmingly evil aura, and he smiles when they look at him, knowing that a fight could mean his death and excited by the prospect.

And then a second person jumps down, a black-haired boy wearing the same outfit fluttering in the strong wind, and the man's smile turns into a pout. This boy doesn't have an aura even fractionally close to that of his companions', but the man knows strength when he sees it.

"Hello there!" The black-haired boy greets with a polite smile, almost yelling to be heard over the rain, his eyes flickering to the compound ahead and back to the man. "I am Narauko, and this is Sukuna! Who are you!?"

The man doesn't get up from the stump he is seated on, though he does turn to be facing them, as he brings a hand up to scratch at his cheek. The sound of his nail scratching against his mask is lost under the endless downpour.

This is awkward for him.

"I wasn't supposed to leave any witnesses," He says, more to himself than them, but to his surprise, they both seem to hear him, even over the deafening sound of crackling thunder. "Oops. Guess I should have expected that."

Both of the, he assumes Sorcerers, squint at him for a moment before the one named Narauko waves his hand through the air in front of him, Cursed Energy leaving a trail behind his hand that rapidly forms a set of symbols that the man almost recognises.

Sealing Techniques? He thinks to himself when in the next moment, an invisible dome forms around the three of them, blocking out not just the rain but the noise as well, almost making him fall over from the disorientation of the sudden decrease in volume.

"Neat trick," he comments, recognising the difference between what he just saw and the Sealing Techniques that he knows.

"You're the one that killed Sugawara no Michizane, aren't you?" Narauko accuses, making him slouch and let out a pathetic whine.

"I'm gonna get yelled at again," he moans to himself, continuing with a whisper. "If there was just one then it'd be fine, but of course there's two. Killing both of them would be way too much trouble, I might actually die y'know? Eh, fuck it. I've been yelled at before. I probably won't get executed for this right? ..Right?"

A sense of danger abruptly flares in the man's mind, and he throws himself to the side right before the stump he was sitting on is rent in half, alongside a chunk of earth behind it, sending a small avalanche of dirt down the cliffside.

"You speak awfully casually, Shinobi," the one named Sukuna says, glaring at him while he simply gets back up and sits back on the stump, casually patting himself down.

"You know you're not gonna get any ladies with an attitude like that, right? You should be more gentle~," the man says, his tone teasing.

However, right before Sukuna can respond, all three of them abruptly snap their attention towards the compound in the distance, and not a moment later does an absolutely titanic bolt of lightning strike down on the centre building.

The boom of thunder that follows is lounder than any other, strong enough even that it shatters Narauko's barrier and shakes the earth beneath them. The shockwave is enough that it surely would have knocked them all over, perhaps even brought about their deaths, if they were just ordinary humans.

Then the explosion follows. A gigantic cloud of dust is knocked up, covering the entire compound and practically glowing with remnant sparks of electricity.

With the, frankly insane, amount of Cursed Energy that was in that strike, the two boys fail to notice what the man senses, that being how almost every presence other than the obvious culprit just disappeared.

There goes the Sugawara clan, he callously thinks to himself as they watch the cloud of dust slowly settle.

When it does, they are greeted to a sight of complete annihilation. The centre building of the compound, as well as much of the other two, are simply gone, only a vast scorched crater left in their wake. What is left of the remaining buildings is reduced to a pile of rubble blown away by the force of the explosion.

And right in the middle of it all, floating in mid air, is Sugawara no Michizane.

Or at least what has become of the once great man.

Even from this distance and through the fog of endless rain, they are all able to see him clearly enough.

He is wearing a three layered kimono, the innermost layer being white, followed by red while the outer layer is a dark grey not unlike that of the rolling thunderclouds above, decorated sporadically with his clan's symbol, the Umebachi, a five petaled flower.

A white belt, the obi, decorated with red circles holds the kimono closed and hangs down his front. On his head, he is wearing a traditional hat fitting of his former station, being a cap with a long protrusion pointing further to the skies.

From so far away, his face is difficult to discern, but it is clear that he is an old man, wrinkles covering his face. He has a trimmed beard covering his chin and a moustache that has been shaved below the nose, leaving two spikes of hair shooting up from the corners of his lips like a pair of lightning bolts.

Even his hair below his hat and his eyebrows are spiky and erect, pointing sharply up in defiance of gravity. His eyes both glow a deep blue, small sparks of lightning dancing from the orbs as if struggling to contain his own power. Similarly dancing with blue sparks is a tokkosho, a single bladed vajra, held in one hand.

But more than anything else, what they cannot ignore is the sheer, overwhelming weight of his aura engulfing them and pressing down on them all as if the very sky itself is his to command, and he is commanding it to fall.

Narauko

My entire skin crawls with goosebumps as the immense well of Cursed Energy wraps around me like the air itself is alive, pinpricks stabbing into my skin like a million little needles, as if I'm standing in a pool of weak acid.

Looking at the Vengeful Spirit formerly known as Sugawara no Michizane, I am so completely in awe that I can hardly think of anything else.

"So strong." The whisper leaves me without conscious thought, and I notice Sukuna glance at me from the corner of my eye, prompting me to look back at him, and even under the pressure of Michizane's aura, I give him a happy smile. "Stronger than us."

Sukuna scoffs, but he doesn't deny it. He can't deny it. Right at this very moment, Sugawara no Michizane is stronger than us. It's intimidating, which only makes it more exciting.

As I think that, I see Sukuna's lips curl into a smirk as he looks down at me. "You scared~?" He mocks, making me laugh out loud.

Hardly, I think to myself. You're here too, after all.

"Well then, I think I've overstayed my welcome," the mysterious Shinobi abruptly states, slapping his thighs and rising to his feet as I turn my attention back to him in time for him to give us both a thumbs up. "Good luck!"

Before even waiting for a response, the Shinobi promptly disappears, his figure blurring until it is no longer there.

Fast! I think as I try to follow his movements with my eyes, barely even managing to see his shadow and completely unable to sense his presence.

Thinking quickly, I slam my hands together, "Divine Dog! Follow him!" With my words, my fastest Shikigami emerges from my shadow and immediately disappears after the Shinobi.

Sukuna raises a brow at me, clearly having already dismissed the Shinobi from his mind, even though the guy was definitely strong and I know he knows that too.

Arrogant asshole.

"You don't want to visit a ninja village?" I ask him, only somewhat incredulous.

"Cowards who run and hide do not interest me."

"It was a tactical retreat, totally different."

"Because he knew he would lose."

"You're impossible, you know that?" I let out a sigh before turning my attention back to the floating Michizane.

Belatedly, I notice that there are some survivors around him, which I didn't really expect. Only two though, and both of them are running for their lives.

Glancing back up at Michizane, I see that he has noticed them, and from the sadistic feeling to his Cursed Energy, I figure that he's not exactly planning on letting them go.

Stepping forward, I slap Sukuna on the chest with the back of my hand. "Let's go."

"No."

"Come oooonn man!" I whine as I whirl back on him, my cool moment ruined. "We've gotta hurry or the Sugawara clan will end up completely wiped out."

"So?" He answers, voice cold and glare heated. "Their deaths will allow us to observe its techniques."

"Tch, you're such an asshole," I mutter before abruptly having to duck under a Dismantle. "Time and place, Sukuna! There is a time and a place!"

Shaking my head at his unapologetic glare, I turn back to the fleeing Sugawara and mentally command Nue to fly, causing the Shikigami to flap its mighty wings and launch forward with incredible speed, grabbing my shoulders with its talons as it does so.

I'm not so callous as to simply watch people die for fun like Sukuna, and even though I am capable of doing so without intervening like some neurotic Shonen protagonist, it would just be such a shame for an entire clan to be wiped out today.

I mean, obviously most of the clan is still alive elsewhere, but if they lose every single Sorcerer of decent power, then it won't take long until the rest are either consumed or burned.

At least if these two survive, the Sugawara clan might be able to get by long enough to build itself back up.

Or maybe they will lose themselves in the annals of history, there's no way for me to know, but at the very least I intend to do what I can now to prevent that tragedy.

Plus, I'm sure they have at least somewhat interesting Inherited Techniques that would be lost with their deaths. Sukuna really has no forethought. All that asshole cares about is his immediate gratification.

I'm rather forcefully pulled out of my thoughts when I feel a concerning amount of Cursed Energy gathering in the sky above the two fleeing Sorcerers, and some instinctual part of my mind tells me to turn around and run.

The Vengeful Spirit of Michizane is stronger than me after all. Like, a lot stronger. Maybe even stronger than Sukuna and I combined.

Naturally, I ignore that part of my mind. After all, we're still The Strongest. If Michizane is more powerful than us, then we just have to become more powerful versions of ourselves. It's not complicated.

So instead of doing the safe thing, I instead chose to do the stupid thing, which amounts to leaping ahead of Nue and into the air above the escapees.

A laugh leaves my throat at the absurdity of the current situation. "I'm gonna punch a motherfucking lightning bolt!" I all but scream to the heavens, the constant rainfall drowning out all noise as I throw a punch into the air, following instinct alone as I obviously can't move as fast as a lightning bolt.

Right as my fist reaches the zenith of its trajectory, the sky above lights up and my world turns white.

I think I passed out for a second, because the next thing I know, I'm groggily blinking my eyes open, my back on the earth and my entire body singing sweet agony as white noise rings in my ears.

Wha-? I blearily think to myself before managing to remember my own abilities. Reverse Cursed Energy flows through my body in a soothing wave, massaging away the all encompassing ache and regrowing the arm I didn't even realise I lost.

"Owww."

The crunch of feet on earth is lost to the ever present sound of downpour, but it's impossible not to notice when Sukuna is near you, so I push myself into a seating position and turn to look at him regardless.

"You are an idiot," is what he says, making me pout.

"I really thought that would work." My defence of myself only makes his flat, mocking stare intensify.

"Why?" He asks, seeming genuinely baffled, which confuses me in turn.

It takes a second, but I think I figure out what the issue here is.

It's my past life's media fucking me over again. So much superpowered media, from movies and comics to fucking fanfiction, has superpowered people tanking and slapping aside lightning attacks that it's become so engraved in my mind as something that is just possible with superpowers.

But with the benefit of hindsight, that's pretty stupid, and obviously Sukuna hasn't been exposed to the same fiction that I have, so the idea of punching a lightning bolt probably never even crossed his minds.

"I'unno," I shrug at him, making a 'what can you do' kind of expression at him with both my arms held up and my tongue sticking out. His eye twitches, a win for me. "I was curious what it felt like to get struck by lightning anyway, so it's not so bad~."

"You're an idiot," he reiterates in a tone that makes it sound like he's agreeing with me. How rude~.

I hold myself back from insulting him back, knowing that he'll try to kill me again if I do, and now really isn't the time for that. Instead, I glance behind us and spy Nue flying away with a survivor in each talon.

Dang, I didn't get the chance to see what their techniques were.

Okay, maybe punching a lightning bolt was not a very good idea. Whatever. I'll try again when I'm stronger. It'd be pretty lame to be outdone by rubber.

Clearing those thoughts from my mind, I turn around while grabbing the torn remnants of my kimono and simply ripping the upper half off. It's so soaked with rain that it was hindering my movements even before it got torn to shit.

Michizane is exactly where he was when we arrived. Floating in the sky above the remnants of his compound. The only difference is that now, he is staring right at us with unnerving intensity. It feels like he is looking through me, like all my secrets are laid bare before his eyes.

That must be the Six Eyes, I think to myself, remembering what I was told about the one of three Cursed Eyes present in the current era. A part of me honestly thought that he would have lost the eyes during his evolution, but I guess not.

"So, how do you wanna do this?" I ask Sukuna, knowing that our usual routine of taking turns isn't going to cut it here.

However, right as Sukuna opens his mouth to answer, he and I both freeze.

Standing there, right between the two of us, is Michizane. I barely even noticed him moving. First the Shinobi and now Michizane. I'm starting to feel like I'm not really all that fast.

"You." Michizane states, his Cursed Energy overwhelming even as it is inert, lacking intent. "Special Grades. It's your fault. Die."

The moment that overwhelming Cursed Energy shifts I feel such an intense feeling of imminent danger that I don't hesitate to leap away, waving my hands between us and pulling their shadows out to form a wall from which I summon the shell of Reflective Tortoise.

An omnidirectional burst of Cursed Energy erupts from Michizane's position, shattering the ground beneath him and creating a momentary sphere of space devoid of any rain.

The attack hits Reflective Tortoise and I watch as it bounces back and crashes into Sukuna, who had already just been hit by his side of the attack, causing his already cracked skin to explode into gore, exposing his organs for just a moment before his own Reverse Cursed Technique patches the hole.

I can't help the startled laugh that leaves me at that, though I feel bad about it right after, however I have no more time to think about Sukuna when my instincts scream at me from behind.

Moving as fast as I can, I drop low under a grab from Michizane's hand and spin to deliver a rising roundhouse kick at his side, however my foot stops short, impacting an invisible barrier of some sort.

Acting quickly, I use the barrier as a foothold to push myself away, only for it to disperse the moment I try, causing me to lose my balance and fall forward instead.

Michizane's hand grabs hold of my ankle and my world turns into a blur as he swings me behind him and lets go, launching me through the air.

I'm too disoriented to control my flight, but I don't fail to feel when my legs disconnect from my body and the rest of me crashes into Sukuna's chest, sending us both tumbling across a solid few hundred metres of ground.

"Get off me," Sukuna grunts as he shoves me off of him and into the dirt, the asshole.

Not saying anything, I climb back to my new feet, groaning at the feeling of some more full body pains being washed away under my Reversed Cursed Energy.

I think I underestimated the Six Eyes, because I assume that Sukuna wasn't just attacking me for fun, and that Michizane just used me as a shield and spear in one move.

Glancing down at myself, I realise that I'm basically naked at this point, which is a little bit embarrassing, but by bringing my shadow up and coating my entire body with it, I am able to bring out a spare uniform without having to put it on, like equipping an item in a video game.

Okay. I need to take stock of the situation really quick.

Since video games are already on my mind, let's go with that. On my side is Sukuna and myself. Sukuna can cut things and we're both very physically strong. Michizane can apparently move faster than us, but I felt his grip on my ankle was pretty weak, so he's likely not actually physically stronger than us.

His speed is likely the result of a Cursed Technique rather than a strong body, that also gives us the advantage of natural durability.

As for me, I have nine shadows available to me. That's four more than when Sukuna and I first fought. Since then, I have gained Nue, Max Elephant, Ice Bear and Great Serpent.

Nine Shikigami, and I can have four or five of them out at the time. I can also manipulate my shadow for various effects. Lastly, both of us have our Domains available, even if I don't really want to use mine.

Then there's Michizane, what does he have? Takiyasha said his technique is Natural Order Manipulation, which is honestly too vague to really be helpful, so I'll just focus on what I've observed.

First is his speed. I don't think it's a constant effect, it's more likely that he is capable of incredible speeds in short bursts but is actually slower than us for more intricate movements, which makes close quarters an attractive concept.

There is also that barrier technique of his. I don't know what it was, but it felt unnaturally sturdy, so it will probably be better to focus on avoiding it rather than smashing through it, though that depends on if it was just because my attack was blunt. Maybe Sukuna's slashes can cut through it.

Then there's his Six Eyes, which is probably the most troublesome aspect. He definitely has us beat on observation, so it would be fair to assume we won't catch him off guard, at least not easily anyway.

Lastly there is his own Domain Expansion. If he activates it, he will probably overwhelm our Domains, so using Hollow Wicker Basket is likely a better defence than entering a contest of Domains.

That said, I highly doubt his own Domain can withstand the pressure of both of ours, so we can try something there.

But even with all of that, there is also his Cursed Energy to consider. Not only does he simply have more than me, but it feels like it hasn't gone down at all yet, almost as if he doesn't even need to use Cursed Energy for his techniques.

Oh, and since he's a Cursed Spirit now, he won't even need to use Reverse Cursed Energy to heal himself, just regular Cursed Energy will work, and since his doesn't seem to be running out, that means we need to aim for the head and get an instant kill.

"Man, I feel like I fell into the boss room without even picking up any loot first," I complain to myself as I wipe my soaked hair out of my eyes.

Belatedly I notice Sukuna giving me a strange look. Ah, right, I shouldn't have said that out loud.

Oh well, I don't think his opinion of me can really get lower.

"Aim for the head," I say instead of voicing those thoughts, making Sukuna click his tongue.

"You think I don't know that?"

"Better safe than sorry, you should always wear prote-"

My words are interrupted when Cursed Energy explodes out of Michizane, bathing the world as far as I can sense with his aura, and the effect is immediately noticeable as everything starts to rot away and decay.

Every tree, every rock, every blade of grass, all of it rots into dust in mere seconds as far as the eye can see, horizon to horizon. Even my own skin starts to crack and dry up until I reinforce it with some more Cursed Energy.

"Now that just seems excessive," I mutter, looking at the barren wasteland around us.

By my side, I feel Sukuna's Cursed Energy start to soar, like a pillar of light dispelling Michizane's darkness, and when I glance over at him, I see him wearing a wide, maniacal smile, staring at Michizane with pure bloodlust.

The sight makes me sigh, but it does also bring a smile to my own face as I follow his lead and release any limiters on my own Cursed Energy, our combined auras pushing against and surpassing Michizane's.

A pillar of Love and Hate towering over the single greatest Cursed Spirit to ever grace the realm.

"You think too much," Sukuna whispers. "Just fight."

"Hah," I chuckle, my smile turning wry. "I guess so. Let's exorcise this old relic."

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

This fight kicked my ass to write btw, but the whole next chap is about 7k words of pure combat lmao. I kinda got into it after this point :P

Plus an extra 2k that finally introduces an important guest for a brief cameo :P

Chapter Text

In a barren land of nothing but damp earth and endless rain, two Sorcerers and one Curse stand against each other.

It's pretty cinematic. I really wish I had a camera. I need to invent one already.

As a Shikigami user myself, I am naturally aware that the greatest advantage of outnumbering your foe is the ability to apply constant pressure, such that they do not have any time to think or counter.

With that in mind, I quickly speak up, before Michizane can take the initiative.

"Sukuna, we should attack together. You go- eh?" I cuts himself off in surprise when I turn to the side and notice that Sukuna is not standing next to me.

Facing forward again, I see him already halfway to Michizane, his rampaging Cursed Energy expressing his excitement.

"Oi! Don't run off alone, Asshole!" I yell as I move to keep up, only to pause as I realise that he's actually providing me a perfect opportunity to get my Shikigami out.

I think too much? I think sardonically to myself, realising what he meant now. Or at least, I think I do. I could just be thinking too deeply about it, which would be pretty ironic.

But I like to think I am right about what he meant.

We don't need to discuss our plans. Talking is a waste of time. Just act and have faith.

...It really doesn't sound like something he'd say.

But maybe it is something he thought.

Whatever, he's buying me time regardless of his intentions, so I'd better not waste it.

First things first, I close my eyes and suddenly my perception is split in two. From one eye I see through that of Divine Dog, while through the other eye I see from Nue.

I click my tongue when I realise that Divine Dog lost that Shinobi, but don't hesitate to dispel it. At the same time, Nue has taken the survivors far enough away that they aren't in any danger, so I have it drop them off safely and dispel as well.

Now I have four open slots. Five if I need to push it.

First, "Nue," I intone. I need to know how Nue's ability to manipulate lightning reacts to Michizane's own similar capability. Being able to restrict a stronger opponent's avenues for attack is naturally a good idea. Plus, distraction in battle can be fatal, and people can easily get distracted when they face an ability that matches their own.

Though, that last bit does assume that Michizane's thought process is still anything like a humans now that he's become a Curse.

"Divine Dog: Totality. Rabbit Escape. Reflective Tortoise."

My Cursed Energy overflows as thousands of cute little rabbits pour out of my shadow, multiplying exponentially as they spread. The sound of thousands of tiny bodies splashing against the slowly flooding earth joins the cacophony of noise, making me realise just how bad the weather actually is.

I assume the weather has something to do with Michizane's technique, but the thing I'm focused on right now is how the heavy rain not only limits vision somewhat, but it also almost completely eliminates hearing, reducing our natural senses. Meanwhile, Michizane has the Six Eyes, so his already present advantage over us in the department of awareness is only exacerbated.

Such a troublesome opponent, this really is fun.

I know Sukuna says I think too much, but I respectfully disagree. I think he just doesn't think enough. Fighting is a lot more fun like this. He's such a brute.

I keep Reflective Tortoise in my shadow for now, but I send Divine Dog to go help Sukuna, who seems to be doing okay.

Watching the ongoing fight for a moment, two things become clear immediately. First, Sukuna's technique can cut through the barrier that stopped my kick, or that barrier is limited in how often it can be used, but that doesn't seem as likely.

Second, Michizane has a lot of versatility, and I still can't feel if his Cursed Energy has gone down at all, so at this point I might as well just assume that he either regenerates Cursed Energy too fast to ever run out, or his well is somehow limitless.

His output is only slightly above my own though, and that's really what matters here, since it's not like any of us will be running out of Cursed Energy anyway.

Also, Michizane seems weirdly incompetent in hand to hand.

I watch as Sukuna throws another two punch combo, not sensing but just knowing that his Cursed Technique is following his every action. Michizane shows his preferences by avoiding any kind of physical retaliation.

Instead, he makes some distance by leaping backwards, though it almost seems as though he is being pulled backwards. At the same time, he gestures his free hand upwards and a pillar of earth shoots up form between them, following the gesture.

Sukuna dodges up, using the rising pillar as a foothold to launch himself at Michizane, but at the same time, Michizane swings the hand holding his Cursed Tool down and a lightning bolt follows, slamming right into Sukuna and sending him crashing down.

I'm not idle while I watch, as I have a bunch of rabbits climb on top of Nue, who then picks me up in its talons and flies into the air.

Divine Dog reaches the two right before Michizane can strike Sukuna with another bolt while he's still stunned from the last, and drags him out of the way before dropping him, spinning on its heel and launching itself at Michizane.

Once more, an invisible barrier blocks my Shikigami, and I start to get the feeling that the barrier is actually the air itself. It would fit the theme, what with the rain and earth. Wind would make sense. It is all part of nature after all. He's like The Avatar.

Though, it's strange that he seems to be using that Cursed Tool to control the lightning instead of his technique. It's either a limitation of the technique or a Tool for enhancement.

However, as if to spit on my assumption of his technique being focused on the elements of nature, an entire tree suddenly sprouts from the ground right beneath my Shikigami, attempting to spear through it.

In hindsight, what he did to decay everything into ash is certainly not a typical elemental technique, and this is likely either the Reverse of that technique, or the Lapse, if the previous move was already the Reverse, which actually seems more likely to me.

Regardless, the attack is too slow, so I am able to dispel the Shikigami, leaving the tree to only pierce a pool of ink-like liquid shadow.

At the same time, flying above the battlefield on Nue's back, I decide to try out a trick I've had in mind since my first fight with Sukuna and forcefully spread my shadow out behind me, something that taxes my Cursed Energy and that I can only do over so much distance.

From my back, Reflective Tortoise's shell materialises, and immediately starts reflecting all the light being generated by the constant lightning dancing about the thunderclouds right onto my back.

I would have normally just positioned myself to have the sun behind me, but there is no sight of the sun from under these clouds, so Reflective Tortoise will have to do.

Without any further effort on my part, my shadow extends forward above Michizane. Naturally, there are enough other sources of light to dissipate it, which is why I then have hundreds of my little rabbits pour out of my shadow and into the air.

They then form a daisy chain. A rabbit climbs out of my shadow and uses its own body to shield my shadow from the ambient light, allowing it to extend just a bit further, from which comes another rabbit, so on and so forth.

Even more Shikigami need to pour from my shadow as the effects of gravity take place, but in a matter of moments, I have, for at least the space between Michizane and I, replaced the rain of water with a rain of rabbits.

Open fields are a weakness of mine, since they lack shadows, so naturally I have already come up with a way to counter that weakness by generating my own battlefield advantage on command.

A wonderful thing about shadows is that they are the absence of light. Which means, in a round about way, shadows travel as fast as light itself, and, more importantly, my entire shadow counts as one thing.

What that means is that there is no delay summoning my Shikigami from my shadow, no matter how far away my shadow has stretched. As is proven a moment later when at the end of the chain of rabbits, a different Shikigami comes out.

"Max Elephant."

With my intonation, a great pink elephant, more of a mammoth really, with large curved tusks and yellow markings, manifests in the air above Michizane's head, its feet all held together as its massive weight brings it down on the Cursed Spirit.

Max Elephant's ability is water generation, but it is also capable of storing an incredible amount of water inside of itself, making an already very heavy animal even heavier. That thing probably weighs over fifty Toyota Corollas- I mean, tonnes. Over fifty tonnes.

The giant Shikigami starts to fall, rapidly gaining speed, and Michizane seems to panic for only a moment before waving his hands upwards, causing not only the fresh tree to grow an enormous canopy, but also for pillars of earth to rise up to catch my Shikigami. I assume that he also makes barriers of air, but I obviously can't see that, and there's too much going on for me to be able to sense something so minute.

That said, I feel myself smirk, unconcerned.

It's like the man said. Just fight. There's no need for discussion.

Distracted by my offence, Michizane notices Sukuna's approach too late and barely manages to twist enough to avoid losing his head, but Michizane is not unscathed as a great gash opens up from his collar to his stomach.

Michizane moves to retaliate a second later, which is when Max Elephant crashes into his defences, shattering the earth and wood but failing to reach Michizane.

"Kon." That is, until Kon's massive maw erupts from the ground below him.

Michizane leaps up to avoid Kon's bite, but as he does, Sukuna cuts the barrier holding Max Elephant up, causing the Shikigami to come crashing down on his back.

I immediately dispel Kon after summoning him, causing Max Elephant to crash through the shadow left behind, splashing it everywhere. A moment later, it hits the ground with such force that the earth turns into a wave from the point of impact, cracking and shaking a significant chunk of land while blasting the sky clear of rain for just one moment.

"ENOUGH!" Michizane screams from beneath the cloud of dust as a green sphere of Cursed Energy expands from him, except instead of rotting anything, the effect is much more fundamental as time itself turns backwards for everything within the sphere.

The previous devastation caused by Max Elephant's fall plays back in reverse, my Shikigami rising up into the air, Sukuna running backwards and all of Michizane's defences rebuilding.

Seeing that happening, I have Nue charge a bolt of lightning and send it down below, but Michizane, the only one within the sphere not moving backwards in time, notices.

With a wave of his Cursed Tool, Nue's attack is sent off course, sailing through the air until it runs out of energy.

The sphere eventually stops expanding and time returns to its usual function, but Michizane does not wait.

Briefly, he lets go of his Cursed Tool to slap his palms together, and when he pulls them apart, there is a line of script written in the air out of pure Cursed Energy.

His arms swing wide apart and the spell activates, causing a shimmering spherical barrier of Cursed Energy to form around his body, and he quickly catches his Cursed Tool right after.

Once again, Max Elephant comes crashing down, but this time Michizane ignores it entirely in favour of turning his attention to Sukuna, who, instead of throwing another Dismantle like before, has dropped low and placed a palm on the ground to Cleave the floor.

Michizane's footing is only disrupted for an instant before he simply rises up, ignoring the floor entirely as he stands on the air instead.

Acting quickly, I dispel Max Elephant and Reflective Tortoise and direct the swarm of Escape Rabbit, that at this point has pretty much carpeted the entire battlefield, to rise up around Michizane.

For a second, Michizane's form disappears under the swarm, but it doesn't last as an uncountable number of thread-thin chains of lightning descend the heavens, jumping between drops of rain until they reach Michizane's position, where they pierce through thousands of my rabbits' heads in an instant.

Lightning travels at one third the speed of light, so I couldn't have dispelled them if I wanted to, but luckily for me, it's Escape Rabbit. Being expendable is literally its entire purpose, and even as the shadows that made up their form starts to collapse around Michizane, I already have more rabbits on their way back.

Michizane abruptly shoots into the air, and a moment later the reborn tree next to him starts to fall as Sukuna's slash cuts through it.

Stepping forward on Nue's back, I fall forward until I am pointing down before kicking off of my Shikigami, feeling the very sky itself pushing against me as I rush down at Michizane's back.

He yells something up at me, but the rain combined with the roaring winds in my ears means I don't hear him. However, I do see as his free hand rapidly blurs through the air, blue lines being left in its wake as he writes out an entire spell in less than a second.

The next instant, the entire space between us lights up red as a wave of pure heat washes over me, hot enough to burn away my skin, forcing me to use Reverse Cursed Techniques just to keep my eyes from melting.

Inwardly, I can't help but be curious about how he is able to make Jujutsu spells combat applicable. If I'd tried to do that, the fire would either be weak or the spell would get overloaded and disperse into nothing. I have no idea how he is able to do it.

Regardless, I spear through the fire even as it burns me, and time seems to slow down when I reach Michizane.

As if the sky itself it trying to protect him, Michizane is pulled to the side, avoiding me, and I feel my instincts scream danger at me even as I only barely notice the faintest traces of Cursed Energy in the air ahead of me.

But despite what Michizane might have thought, I wasn't trying to punch him in the first place, so I simply let out a blast of Cursed Energy that propels me just a bit further away from Michizane and out of the path of what I assume was a blade of hardened air.

As I pass him, I look him in the eyes with a smirk on my lips as I close both of my hands most of the way into fists, leaving a small gap that I point at Michizane.

"Great Serpent," I intone, and from one of my fists comes my Shikigami, bursting forth with incredible speed, having the fastest summoning speed of all my Shikigami, even faster than Kon, who is basically instant.

The Shikigami is an incredibly large white snake, with a yellow underbelly and black markings running down its entire length, and Michizane isn't fast enough to avoid the snake from wrapping around his body and holding him still.

"Divine Dog," I intone again from further below as I continue to fall, and my first Shikigami bursts forth from my other hand, its claws swinging for Michizane's head.

The air hardens to stop the blow, but almost as soon as it does, it shatters. So quickly that Divine Dog hardly even slows down, and the way that a large gash opens up on Great Serpent tells me that Sukuna is the reason the barrier didn't hold.

However, Michizane acts quickly, and using the wound on Great Snake, manages to rip an arm free, tearing right through my Shikigami's flesh.

Unluckily for me, that arm is the one holding the Cursed Tool, and he uses the movement of freeing the arm to summon another bolt of lightning down that slams into Divine Dog and sends it crashing into the ground where it dispels itself, too damaged to continue existing for now.

The very next moment however, I feel a hand grab my shoulder before Sukuna uses me to pull himself up and then uses me again as a foothold to kick off of, launching me faster at the ground and himself up at Michizane.

I'm not even remotely surprised by my friend's callousness, so I don't lose focus enough to miss as Sukuna leaps over Michizane, grabbing hold of the Vengeful Curse's unrestrained forearm and leveraging himself around to kick Michizane in the back in a move I find familiar.

A laugh bubbles up and out of my throat as I see Michizane falling towards me even faster than I am, Cursed blood trailing behind him as his arm is completely missing, the Cursed Tool now held firmly in Sukuna's hands.

Great Serpent dispels in that moment, the damage it took from Sukuna being too much to remain, but I ignore that in favour of pulling on Max Elephant's shadow but not summoning it. It's easier than I thought it would be.

Instead, I simply try to make use of its technique and clap my hands together, pointed at Michizane. In my mind, I picture my classmate, Kamo no Sabishī, and I summon forth as much water as I can between my palms, rapidly condensing it until I feel like I can't anymore.

A second later. "Piercing Blood," I call out the name of the technique I am copying, as the added ritual will help it work, even if I'm not actually using blood. Still, it's an easy thing for me to visualise, being someone who has seen water cutters of the future.

With incredible speed, a beam of crystal clear water launches from my hands and straight at Michizane, with Sukuna also 'coincidentally' being in the line of fire too.

At the same time, I have all of my rabbits on the ground rush together below me, climbing on top of each other like something out of a zombie movie as they form a tower right below me.

Michizane twists out of the way of my attack, but not enough to be unscathed as he loses the arm he wasn't even finished regenerating yet.

A second later and I crash into the tower of fluff, immediately diving into my shadow when I do.

I flinch at the disorienting feeling of deafening noise abruptly transitioning into the dull silence of my shadow, but I keep my focus.

Instead of looking up at the light of the Material World, I instead turn my focus to my shadow and what lies around it.

I have previously described shadows seeming like pillars between the Material World and the Shadow Realm, and that holds true. The reason that my Black Butterfly Technique runs through the Shadow Dimension in the first place is because it is impossible to jump from metaphorical pillar to metaphorical pillar.

Because the space between them is not space. As far as I can tell, it's some kind of Void, a nothing that exists between dimensions that tears everything it touches to shreds.

Every shadow has a sort of membrane around it that prevents this Void from destroying them, and this membrane also prevents anything else from getting in, though it is only difficult to pass the membrane from the Void, not the other way around.

There is no such defence against the Shadow Dimension, hence why my Technique goes through it.

However, that made me think. If nothing can enter through the membrane, then what happens when two shadows overlap? That is something that happens in the material world after all.

Well, it turns out that space is really more of a guideline here than an exact rule, so two shadow pillars are capable of existing in the same space without overlapping somehow.

However, when two shadows overlap in the Material World, the 'pillars' representing them do come into contact, and something else I've noticed, is that when there is no Void between two pillars, the membrane weakens dramatically.

With my plan in mind, I spin around in my own shadow until my training boulders are all in sight, and then I gesture forwards and will my shadow to act like a blender, something that is pretty easy to visualise when being in here already feels like I'm underwater.

In mere seconds, the pile of rocks has been turned into dust that is then compressed into a single, massive ball.

I feel my rabbits rapidly dwindling in number and realise I'm running out of time, causing me to hastily rush over to the massive ball of rock and quickly write out a script on its surface, hardening it into one single mass.

With that done, I look out around my shadow. It is incredibly difficult to see anything through the Void, but Michizane's shadow is close enough that I am barely able to make it out.

"Kon," I intone, summoning my Shikigami in the real world and closing one eye to watch from one of Kon's.

As Kon leaps at Michizane, it keeps its tail firmly pointed at where it came from, a message to Sukuna.

A wall of earth rises in front of Kon from which a dozen branches sprout, growing exponentially from one another until a massive wall of wood and earth stands to block Kon's claws.

It doesn't hold Kon for long however as I hear through my Shikigami Sukuna say a single word.

"Cleave."

By his will, the ground beneath Michizane and Kon shatters into a thousand pieces, the barrier following suit and collapsing into debris.

Michizane spins around to face Sukuna just in time to receive a bolt of lightning to the face, sent from his own Cursed Tool, now in Sukuna's hand.

The attack sends Michizane flying right in my direction and I keep an eye on his approaching shadow from the Void.

The very moment it makes contact with my own, I kick the boulder with all of my strength and send it hurtling for the edge of my shadow, willing the currents to carry it even faster.

The boulder hits my shadow's membrane and passes without issue, smashing into Michizane's and catching for just a second before passing through.

A small chunk of the boulder doesn't make it in time before Michizane's shadow passes and is instantly vaporised by the Void, but enough of it got in to matter.

Moving quickly, I dispel Kon and launch myself out of my shadow with my hand already in the sign to resummon that same Shikigami.

The heavy rain hits me like a weighted blanket, the overbearing noise that I'd already forgotten about seeming like a physical force that makes me flinch again.

However, I do not hesitate to take sight of Michizane, my eyes landing on him right as he crashes into the layer of rabbits covering the ground, sending up splashes of inky shadows as he digs a trench into the earth, flipping back to his feet.

However, he is already in my sight.

"Ice Bear," Intone right before I summon Kon once more.

The instant Ice Bear manifests, I pour an obscene amount of Cursed Energy into it and flash freeze everything for kilometres all around, locking Michizane's feet right as Kon bursts into being underneath him.

Holding his arms out wide, Michizane stops Kon's jaw from closing with a pair of invisible barriers, however that only lasts a second before his arms are removed, courtesy of Sukuna, who is charging forward right behind me.

Kon's mouth snaps shut, but it only manages to take Michizane's feet as the air once more pulls him to safety, but this time not fast enough to be completely unscathed.

Michizane's massive amount of Cursed Energy allows him to heal the wounds incredibly quickly, but by the time he has turned to face the approach of Sukuna and I, I am already upon him.

With the boulder in his shadow, he is visibly weighed down, and I am much faster, which is why I have no trouble sliding on the already wet ice and landing a solid right hook on his face as I pass him, the feeling of his face breaking against my knuckles being incredibly satisfying after however long this fight has been going.

A hundred tiny little blades of shadow grow out of my bare feet and dig into the ground to halt my momentum and I spin around just as Sukuna lands a solid kick on Michizane's chest, sending the Curse flying at me with a scream.

From behind me, Kon meets Michizane's flight, my Shikigami's massive paws crashing down on him, crushing him against the earth not two steps away from me, causing a spiderweb of cracks in the ice.

I like the sound ice makes when it cracks, I randomly decide as I stare down at Michizane, held down as he is by my Shikigami.

For some reason, I hesitate.

Not out of concern or anything, actually, the reason is fairly obvious.

I just enjoyed the sight.

Seeing Michizane lying there, his Vengeful Spirit staring hatefully up at me while my Shikigami crushes his chest. It felt like an important moment. I wanted to drag it out.

Foolish, on my part, but I don't regret it.

"Maximum: Renewal."

The moment Michizane started speaking, I felt a slash leave Sukuna's hand, headed for his head. However, it never lands.

The very instant Michizane finishes the final syllable of his Technique, everything changes, like something from photoshop.

All of my Shikigami disappear, dispelled so quickly there isn't even the usual evidence of their disappearance in the form of the shadow that made up their being collapsing.

At the same time, one second I am looking at Michizane being held down by Kon, pressed against cracked ice and being pelted by endless rain.

The next, Kon is gone, Michizane is standing upright, unharmed, and the area about one hundred metres in diameter around us is suddenly full of lush grass, as if...

As if the 'natural state' of the world has been renewed.

"Ha, that's bullshit," I mutter with a smile, staring Michizane right in the eye and not hesitating in the slightest to bring both of my hands together, as if in prayer, except that my middle and ring fingers are curled against each other.

"Domain Expansion-"

The barrier of Cursed Energy if formed in less than a second, far enough to even include Sukuna, and it immediately closes around us all under Michizane's wide eyes.

However, when I look around at my forming Domain, I just can't accept it. It feels wrong, and I have no idea why, but it makes me somewhat uncomfortable. Which is why..

"Nah." I pull my hands apart and break the Domain before it can even finish forming, feeling a hefty chunk of my Cursed Energy disperse into nothing, completely wasted.

I don't care though. I'm not going to do something I don't want to do, and I don't want to use my Domain while it feels incomplete.

Michizane's distraction at my wasteful action costs him as he barely manages to pull himself back into the air to avoid Sukuna's slash, though everything below his ribs still explodes into a paste of blood.

I also have to leap to the side to avoid that attack from killing me as well, but I don't bother complaining beyond just clicking my tongue as I follow Sukuna up into the air after Michizane.

My Technique is burnt out right now, and my head is pounding at me, not at all happy with what I just pulled, but I ignore all of that and simply condense some Cursed Energy beneath my feet, just like Sukuna is doing, to continue the fight.

However, it seems that Michizane really has had enough, as right before Sukuna can reach him, he brings his own hands together, only the tips of his fingers touching each other.

Unnoticed by Michizane, Sukuna and I both grin at his action and bring our own hands together, clasping them with fingers interlocked.

"Hollow Wicker Basket."

"Hollow Wicker Basket."

"Domain Expansion: Heavenly Order of Natural Progression."

I blink and I am on the ground again.

Information floods my mind as the rules of the Domain are explained to me. All of my 'progress' has been reset. For the duration of the Domain, any memory involving any technique or advancement of skill is temporarily sealed away.

From the moment of the Domain's activation, I am as experienced with Cursed Energy as I was when I was six and first learned of its existence. I don't even know what I've lost, what I am capable of. I can barely even move the Cursed Energy in my body, I only know that it exists.

Turning to my side, I see Sukuna in the same boat, glancing around in confusion.

I still remember Hollow Wicker Basket, or at least, I remember what its purpose is, even if I can't remember quite how to activate it.

Why didn't it work? How did Michizane's Domain hit us?

These questions last only until I actually look around us and notice one small, but very, very important fact.

"There's no barrier," I whisper in shock.

Michizane's Domain. It isn't constrained to a barrier. It's just painted onto the world itself.

Hollow Wicker Basket functions by neutralising the barrier of a Domain in order to remove the sure-hit effect.

So what the fuck am I supposed to do against a Domain without a barrier?

I have no time to answer that as the earth abruptly splits open beneath Sukuna and I, and I'm forced to leap to safety to avoid being swallowed.

Luckily, my body is still incredibly tough even without Cursed Energy, though I am quickly getting back into the hang of Reinforcement. My mind can forget, but my body knows what to do.

Heh. A snort leaves me as I have a thought.

"I guess you can have this one, Sukuna. Now really isn't the time to think too much."

Saying so, I immediately disregard my thoughts and just move on instinct alone, trusting my body to remember how to act.

I glance over at Sukuna just as his expression morphs into a triumphant smirk and he waves Michizane's Cursed Tool forward, sending a bolt of lightning crashing down on the Curse.

"I hate you." Michizane states. "You cannot replace me."

The bolt is blocked by a barrier of wind, but Michizane clearly seems unnerved by how quickly Sukuna relearned how to use his Cursed Tool and he waves a hand forward, causing an entire mountain to rise from the earth in front of Sukuna.

With his freshly lacking mastery over his own Technique, Sukuna is unable to Cleave through the mountain, but instinct alone is enough to push his Reinforcement hard enough for him to leap halfway up the mountain in one bound, kicking off of the freshly risen earth to clear the rest.

However, Michizane meets him in the sky, his face twisted into a rictus of snarling rage as, for the first time in the fight, Michizane takes the initiative to throw a punch.

Sukuna smirks, understandably confident in himself even under the effects of Michizane's Domain.

However, right before their fists clash, sparks of black lightning dance across Michizane's fist and the scent of ozone floods my nose.

"Black Flash!"

Sukuna's entire output of Cursed Energy reacts to the imminent danger and concentrates every ounce of energy over his vitals before he can even formulate a single thought.

An instant later, the world shudders as space itself cracks open, iridescent lights blinding me as both of my ears pop, blood trickling down.

The moment the explosion of force finishes, Sukuna's body shoots down from the sky, moving faster than a bullet and seemingly missing half of his mass.

Shit.

Done with Sukuna, Michizane then turns to me, his Cursed Energy only growing more and more dense as the bliss of a successful Black Flash floods his mind.

I can't even react as, between one moment and the next, before I can come up with any kind of plan, he is simply standing right in front of me, palm raised and pointed my way.

I try to summon a Shikigami, but my Technique doesn't answer my call, whether that's because of it being burnt out or because of Michizane's Domain I don't know.

What I do know is that my body abruptly freezes in place, the air around me seemingly turning solid, making me feel incredibly claustrophobic as my entire body is pressured from all sides.

"I hate you," Michizane repeats, staring blankly at me as I vibrate in place, struggling with all my might to just move but failing completely.

I can't die yet. I think to myself. It would be way too embarrassing to see Izanami-sama after speaking so confidently before.

"I hate you. I hate you so much it burns," Michizane continues, and I continue to ignore him. "I Hate. So much hate."

I stop struggling physically, recognising its uselessness and focus on my mind, trying to think of anything that can get me out of this situation, and mostly coming up blank.

"Die knowing that you failed to reach my heights."

Die? I repeat to myself in my mind, looking up to see Michizane pointing a single finger at my forehead.

Abruptly and completely randomly, my mind pictures the face of my purple-haired, historical delinquent classmate Takiyasha, and as if a revelation from the heavens, the answer comes to me.

Michizane's Domain is interesting, because it only seals away practical experience. Not theoretical. Which is why I am able to recall the fact that Curse Techniques can get disrupted by Reverse Cursed Energy.

I can't exactly remember how to use Reverse Cursed Energy, but my very soul knows that I can do it, so I simply stop thinking about the how and the why.

I just act.

Cursed Energy builds up on the tip of Michizane's finger, a penetrative attack coming into being ready to tear through my skull.

However, right before he releases it, under the ever growing pressure of my beating heart in the face of incoming death, something just... Clicks.

My Reinforcement inverses and Positive Energy pours out of my skin, coating my body in an aura of white fire and destabilising Michizane's hold on me enough for me to barely lean to the side as his attack is let loose.

I feel it tear through the side of my head, taking an ear with it, but I ignore it all and move as fast as my impressive physique allows me to, continuing my lean until my hand touches the floor, where it then sinks down to the wrist.

I feel cold hard wood settle in my palm and my grin grows so wide it almost hurts as I pour Cursed Energy into the sword as I draw it, leaving the sheathe in my shadow as I swing a rising slash so fast that every muscle in my arm tears from the action, spurting blood everywhere.

However it is worth it to see the transformed blade dig into Michizane's lower rib, cutting straight through a barrier of air as if it wasn't there, and then keeps rising until it exits from his opposite shoulder.

I don't stop there, and with Michizane still reeling, I take half a step back, poise the blade, and thrust, straight through his skull and out the other side.

Michizane jolts and freezes, but a second later, he begins to fall. I don't move the blade, but it is so destructive that it simply slides through the top of Michizane's head like nothing when he collapses to the side, landing on his back.

I wait a beat until I feel the Domain collapse, all my memories of how to use Cursed Energy rushing back to me, making me take a step back to avoid falling over.

Finally, a deep, ragged breath leaves me as I allow myself to fall on my ass anyway, completely exhausted, more than I have ever been. Even dying isn't as exhausting as this.

That ridiculous thought make me chuckle, and a moment later my attention is brought to the new mountain as Sukuna explodes out of it, able to heal himself now that he remembers how.

He takes one look over at me and Michizane's corpse before he too, falls back on his ass.

That just makes my chuckle turn into a full blown laugh and I fall backwards onto the wet, muddy earth, my arms spread wide and my chest heaving with exhaustion as I just laugh.

That was so fun! I squeal to myself simply because I'm breathing too hard to shout it out loud for all the world to hear.

I really thought I was going to die for a second there. I didn't expect him to be able to fuck with time.

And what the fuck is up with his Domain? What's a Maximum Technique? Questions for Kamo-Sensei, I guess.

However, as my euphoria starts to die down, I notice something odd.

Normally, when a Curse is exercised, it disperses into nothing.

So why, I think as I glance to my side, my brows furrowed, Can I still feel his Cursed Energy?

As if to answer my own thoughts, the Cursed Energy that made up Michizane's body starts coalescing together, compressing and compressing as the aura that once covered thousands of metres all concentrates under his skin.

You have got to be fucking with me, I think to myself. What is this, Dark Souls?

Scrambling to my feet, I grip Takiyasha's sword and lunge forward, intending to dice the fucker up until there's nothing left, however I am blasted back by an incredible force, unlike anything he showed himself capable of before, sending me hurtling through the air until I manage to dig a furrow into the earth to slow myself down.

Looking up I realise that he must have knocked me half a kilometre away with that one hit and I start rushing back forward, feeling both incredibly annoyed and also incredibly happy.

I really might end up dying, but man if this isn't an exciting way to go down.

Michizane's form quickly becomes concealed as a strange, golden energy that I can't even identify starts to cocoon around him, seemingly being pulled out of thin air in thin wispy strips for as far as the eye can see.

I have no idea what the energy is, but it feels powerful. Dense.

In my mind, I would stop him before he can finish his transformation, or whatever the hell is happening right now, but unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, this isn't like an anime battle. The transformation is over before I can even cross half the distance.

The cocoon of golden energy that formed around him fades away into a pure white before exploding outwards in a burst of wind, pushing me to a stop and flattening all the grass around us.

With that, Michizane's form is once more revealed to me.

Other than being in pristine condition, nothing much looks different. His skin is smoother, his body looks stronger, but the change isn't massive.

The only obvious physical difference, is the large golden ring sticking out of his mid-back, its diameter extending past his shoulders and over his head while evenly spaced along the ring is eight gold drums sparking with electricity.

Whatever just happened, I can tell it's important. I know it in my bones. My Soul is resonating as if to tell me I have just witnessed something incredible.

I am inclined to believe that feeling as the heavy weight of Michizane's presence presses down on me. It feels nothing like before, not needlessly malicious, not full of hate, and far, far stronger.

If anything, it feels somewhat... Noble?

Sukuna moving gets my attention as he sends a slash at Michizane, but the new man simply waves his hand and the slash disperses into nothing.

"This fight is over," Michizane states, soundly oddly serene. "I no longer have any desire to hurt you."

"Eh?" I voice my confusion without really meaning to, making Michizane's attention fall on me.

Much to my surprise, his expression is not hateful as it was mere moments ago. Instead, he actually smiles at me, even if it seems somewhat wistful.

"That was an impressive blow you struck," he compliments, confusing the hell out of me. "And I thank you for it. Facing death so directly while also being in a heightened state of awareness thanks to Black Flash, I have managed to overcome the final hurdle of evolution."

Now I'm really starting to get lost.

Michizane spreads his arms wide, as if presenting something great, and when he speaks again, his words feel so intense, as if they are somehow more real than anything I have ever said or heard.

"Congratulations, for you have bore witness to my apotheosis. Henceforth, I am Tenman Daijizai Tenjin."

Apotheosis? Is he saying that he just ascended to godhood?

That's so fucking cool!

"Congratulations! Tenjin-sama!" I call out with a wide smile on my face, clapping and inordinately happy to have witnessed such a monumental event.

"Thank you," Michizane responds with a small but grateful smile, his voice back to sounding normal.

"So, what now?" I ask, and his smile turns into a thin line.

"Now, I will head to the capital. My rage has not abated, I am simply able to think clearly once more. It is not you who is deserving of my Divine wrath, it is those scheming neophytes who call themselves Noble."

"Wait, you're just going to leave?" I ask, a little bit disappointed.

"Yes," Michizane answers as he floats higher into the air, giving me and Sukuna one last smile. "Stand proud. For among the world of Onmyōdō, the two of you now stand as The Strongest."

With those parting words, he doesn't wait for a response before simply turning into a lightning bolt and disappearing over the horizon, taking the storm clouds with him, and it's really weird seeing clouds move that fast.

...Talk about an anti-climax.

"The fuck?" Sukuna's voice has me turn my attention to him to see him wearing an incredibly pissed off expression as he stares into the distance where Michizane, or rather, Tenjin, disappeared to.

Right. He's probably not as happy about this situation as I am. In fact, that's easily an understatement. He's pissed the fuck off that Tenjin would leave the fight unfinished.

As a man who only cares about immediate gratification, an anticlimactic end like this must be akin to swallowing acid to him.

Technically we did win. We beat Sugawara no Michizane. Anything to do with Tenman Daijizai Tenjin has nothing to do with us.

Somehow, I don't think Sukuna is going to see it that way.

I cough into my fist to bring Sukuna's attention my way, and then I tilt my head back enough to look down at him and give my biggest, most mocking smile.

"Heh."

A yelp leaves my throat as I dive forward to avoid a slash, and I break out into joyous laughter as I run as hard as I can away from a very angry Sukuna. He'll feel better once he's had some time to vent.

But even as we play around, well, I'm playing at least, there is only one thing resonating through my mind.

So, Apotheosis is possible, then?

Maybe I won't miss out on so much history after all.

Takamagahara

Inside of an impossible grand palace, larger even than entire mortal nations with walls that continue to rise with no heaven to pierce, lavish decorations worth more than entire noble families covering every surface, there is a throne room.

To call it a simple room would be an understatement, as it is by itself larger than any mortal's palace. Grand pillars of white and gold hold the ceiling up and form a path from the entrance to the throne itself.

Further decorating this path is a carpet shaded a beautiful red and decorated with golden designs so intricate and captivating that should any human see it they would be in such awe that their breath would leave them until they died on their feet.

There are no lights or candles to illuminate the room, but such is not necessary when the very room itself is illuminating. Not a single shadow can be seen as light shines seemingly from nothing.

At the end of the room, that carpet rises as it climbs a set of stairs, framing a path that only one being should ever walk until finally, it reaches the throne.

An incredibly ornate seat of power. Its base is composed of pure gold with beautiful, stylistic designs engraved into the metal and a white cloth as pure as snow covering the seat and rising up the centre of the throne's back.

Seated there is a woman of peerless beauty. Such that no words from mortal minds could possibly come close to accurately describing her. If her palace is of such beauty that a mortal man would stare at it until his death, then she herself is so beautiful that that same man would simply be incapable of looking at her in the first place. It would simply be impossible for them to gaze upon her.

But if they were to do so, they would see a mature woman, with glossy, straight black hair that falls down to her lower back. A portion of her hair is tied up in a bun atop her head with multiple intricate golden ornaments of such wealth that each could be used to buy Empires.

Her body is covered by multiple layers of silk smooth kimono. The base colour is white, while the secondary colours are every shade of orange, from the brightest yellow to the deepest red.

Her clothes look themselves like the radiance of the sun, glowing without glowing, just being bright without any kind of glare that would make you squint.

However, for all the beauty of her attire and accessories, none of it could compare to the simple beauty of her face.

Her features are perfectly symmetrical, with not a single hair out of place, skin so smooth as if pores do not exist and lips that shine entrancingly.

Yet what stands out the most is her eyes. Each iris having seemingly been replaced by twin suns, fire dancing across her gaze that brings a the warmth of the sun to all it sees.

Any with the great fortune of being in this woman's Divine and Noble presence would know who she is without a shred of doubt.

For she is Amaterasu-Ōmikami, The Great Goddess of The Sun and The True Ruler of The Heavens.

And right now, her attention is entirely devoted to a floating mirror in her lap, the Legendary Yata no Kagami, her most Divine Treasure.

Reflected in the surface of the mirror is the sight of the Imperial Palace of the lands which belongs to her.

A small frown pulls at her lips as she witnesses the dark clouds that have blanketed over almost the entirety of her realm as lightning bolt after lightning bolt rains Divine Punishment upon the mortals below.

So deep in her focus was she, that she did not notice the approach of another until the giant doors marking the entrance to her throne room abruptly slam open with a bang!

Amaterasu's noble aura immediately shatters as she jumps in her seat, startled, and brings a dainty hand to her chest as she glares at the unrepentant entrant, though there is no heat behind her glare.

Well, no heat that could be called harmful.

"Inari," she says, her voice so melodic and serene it would fill sirens with so much shame they would end their own lives. "Will you ever learn the value of knocking?"

Inari-Ōkami, Goddess of Foxes, Rice and Fertility, among many other tenants, does not allow her sly grin to falter, the expression marking her connection to foxes even clearer than the pair of silver fox ears sticking out of her head and the thick, fluffy tail swishing behind her.

She, like Amaterasu, is a beauty that mortals simply cannot compare to, cannot even imagine with their limited minds. But unlike Amaterasu, her hair is pure white, even purer than clouds and the fur of her ears and tail seem even fluffier than clouds too.

Her attire is far less complex than that of Amaterasu's, wearing less layers with less colours, focusing primarily on white with accents of red and gold.

Her lips are curled into a fox-like grin as she responds to Amaterasu, and her eyes almost curve upwards with her grin, the pearl-like orbs shining like diamonds.

"Only when you stop making such cute reactions~," Inari says as she walks up the stairs to Amaterasu's throne and hops onto one arm, leaning against the highest authority in the realm with an impressive disregard for potential consequences. "Then I'll just start sneakin' in and going 'boo'~."

Amaterasu continue to glare at Inari for a moment before simply letting out a huff and turning her attention back to the mirror, far too used to the disrespect and informality to comment on it. It's not like she really minds if it's Inari anyway.

"Oooh~, looks like you beat me to it~," Inari says, peaking over Amaterasu's shoulder. "I was just coming to tell you about a new God being born. It's not every millennia we get to see an Apotheosis~. When was the last one? Was it Yahata? Or I suppose they're calling him Hachiman now?" Inari lets out a long suffering sigh before leaning further into Amaterasu. "Humans are so allergic to consistency. It's only been six centuries and they're already calling him something else, poor guy~."

"Inari." Amaterasu's voice is soft but full of millennia of exasperation.

"Yeah yeah," Inari waves her hand in front of her face as if to dismiss Amaterasu's words. "There's no one else here, lemme relax a little~. Being all stuffy and Divine suuuuucks~." Inari winks at Amaterasu and gives her a quick peck on the cheek, making the Sun Goddess blush slightly and huff at her.

"So anyway," Inari continues. "What are you gonna do about that guy? Tenman Daijizai Tenjin he called himself? My~ what a lofty title~. Surely you aren't planning to allow him to continue killing the rulers of the Human Realm? It's been a while since you've descended~."

Amaterasu lets out a sigh that immediately has Inari zeroing in on her, her eyes squinting full of suspicion that is answered by Amaterasu's following words.

"I do not intend to do anything."

Sensing the shift in tone, Inari straightens up, though she doesn't get up off the throne's arm.

"Why?" She asks, no hint of her usual playfulness in her tone. "His actions are a direct insult to you, however inconsequential. It will make you look weak if you simply allow it."

"I know that," Amaterasu doesn't quite snap, but it's a close thing, which makes Inari's expression soften.

"What's going on, Ama," Inari asks, her concern only growing when instead of answering, Amaterasu brings a hand up to rub at her eye.

The images in the Yata no Kagami fade away as the mirror floats out of Amaterasu's lap and retakes its usual place behind her.

Silence reigns for a while, and Inari doesn't interrupt it, patiently waiting.

Eventually, Amaterasu lets out another sigh.

"I have received some concerning messages from the Egyptian Pantheon and the Norse. Apparently, sovereign realms are being invaded and sacred treasures, as well as powerful souls are being stolen away."

"What?" Inari fails to suppress her harsh, whispered response. "Is someone trying to start a war?! Or is it an independent faction?"

"Worse on both counts," Amaterasu responds, her voice tired, but Inari would be a fool to not recognise the rage hidden behind her eyes or how the entire palace heats up in response to it's ruler's feelings. "It's Him."

Such simple words, spat out as if a Curse, yet they suck the breath out of Inari's throat as she practically recoils at the information. Amaterasu doesn't wait for her friend to gather together a response before continuing.

"His war with His son is growing more intense, and so He is expanding on his little project. Lord Odin informs me that the soul of the King of Arcadia, Lycaon, who was once Cursed by King Zeus, has been taken, and that there was even an attempt on Mjölnir recently. He's getting bolder."

With her words, Inari now understands Amaterasu's wrath and she feels her own temper rising, but she tempers it to keep from saying anything foolish.

"Is there anything we can do?" She asks instead, but Amaterasu shakes her head in denial.

"We can only prepare. In the case that his foolish arrogance does bring about a war, we need every advantage we can get. That is why I am not going to act against Tenjin. We need all the help we can get, and he is a decently powerful God now. Let him vent his anger now so that he may add to our Pantheon in case of war."

"I see," Inari says, the calm of her voice not hiding the freezing anger behind her eyes. "My apologies for questioning you."

"It is fine," Amaterasu dismisses. "On somewhat brighter news, Lord Odin and Pharaoh Amun-Ra have tentatively agreed to a defensive pact, should His actions go too far, and we all know that the Olympians would leap at the chance to war against Him."

"That is indeed good news," Inari states. "But even so..."

She doesn't finish her sentence, and she doesn't need to, for Amaterasu has the same thought.

Even if we all join together, can we even achieve victory? At what cost?

He is not just some God, after all. He is the single most powerful being in the universe, only falling short of those two Anomalies, and even that is debatable.

"In that case, I shall keep an eye out for any intruders to the Realm. I refuse to allow any of our Pantheon's Treasures or Great Souls to be reduced to those 'Sacred Treasures' for him to hand out to random mortals as if they are mochi."

"Thank you," Amaterasu says with a slight dip of her head.

"Don't worry about it~," Inari responds, waving away the thanks with her foxy grin returned as she forcefully pushes away the serious atmosphere. "Now that that's out of the way, I wondering about something~. What were you doing before little Tenjin started throwing his tantrum~?"

"I do not know what you mean," Amaterasu responds a little bit too quickly, causing Inari's fox-like grin to only grow wider, which in turn makes a faint blush grown on Amaterasu's perfectly stoic face.

"Well you see~," Inari begins, staring right into Amaterasu's eyes as she does. "Not to brag, but I am the one who keeps track of the Mortal Realm for you~. I am always the first to know about anything happening down there~. So, isn't it a bit strange that you were already observing Tenjin before I even got here~? I did come as fast as I could you know~?"

"It was just a coincidence," Amaterasu lies, poorly. Inari sees through it immediately, as she always does when Amaterasu tries to hide something from her. "Besides, he is not being subtle. Is it really so shocking that I would notice such a commotion?"

"Hm~ hm~ I suppose~," Inari says, unconvinced and enjoying making Amaterasu squirm. "It couldn't be that you just happened to witness his Apotheosis while you were spying on your new favourite mortal~?"

"What!?" The effect of her words are immediate as Amaterasu flinches minutely and looks away, her flush growing just a bit larger. "I have no idea what you are referring to!"

"Hm~ hm~, come on~, there's no need to deny it~, he's totally your type~," Inari continues her teasing, loving the view as Amaterasu's skin gradually grows more and more red.

"I do not have a type!" Amaterasu exclaims, aghast at the accusation.

Inari's cheshire smile doesn't falter at all under her superior's glare as she brings up a hand and starts pulling up fingers as she lists off, "Respectful but independent, check. Nauseatingly sincere, check. A completely absurd way of thinking, check. The shameless confidence to act upon that absurd process of thought, check. Full of nothing but praise for your own beauty, check. Just face it Ama, he plucks all your strings~. By Yomi, even I can't help but find him cute~, maybe I'll pay him a visit~?"

Amaterasu's steadily growing blush transitions into an outraged glare when Inari finishes with her diatribe.

"I do not. Have a type," Amaterasu repeats in a voice that would convince absolutely no one.

But Inari figured she'd get a response like that, so she prepares her Ultra Mega One-Hit K.O. Critical Strike and utters a single word.

"Uzume~."

Amaterasu's blush immediately goes atomic, and Inari quickly decides to make a valiant retreat while Amaterasu is still stunned.

As soon as she is outside of the throne room's doors, Inari wills herself to be elsewhere and appears in her own bedroom, immediately bursting into a fit of giggles while jumping on and then rolling on her bed.

After having a good laugh at Amaterasu's expense, she lets out a satisfied sigh, happy that she managed to take Amaterasu's mind off of the stress she's been under recently, even if only for a moment.

Alas, her good mood cannot last forever and her mind inevitably drifts back to what she's learnt today.

As it does, her eyes turn cold as she glares up at the ceiling. Her personal palace shudders as she relaxes her self-control slightly, causing her wrath to start tearing apart her palace.

She doesn't care though. Anything broken can be repaired, and with no other being existing in her realm, she has no need to restrain herself.

Staring at the ceiling of her room, now covered in a spiderweb of cracks, Inari mutters a single word with such hatred, as if it is a curse that merely saying aloud burns her tongue.

"Yahweh."

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

I had a lot more fun writing this chapter, idk if you can tell or not by the 10k length lmao.

I got really into it, and there isn't really a solid point in the middle I can use to split it in half to get 2 chaps out of one, but oh well.

Let me know what you thought of the fight! I kinda baited you a lil with the climax lmao, hope that didn't feel cheap.

But I had 2 reasons. One is that irl Michizane was deified as Tenjin-sama after his death, cuz he supposedly became an onryo, aka evil spirit, and caused plague and famine and struck the imperial palace with continuous lightning, killing heirs to the throne and a bunch of nobles. So I wanted to keep some of that real history, just twisted a little to fit the second.

But the main reason was that this chapter was officially the introduction to the bullshit scaling that is DxD lmao.

Also, what did you think of my depictions Amaterasu and Inari? I couldn't fine any good anime/general media representations of the two, so I just made it up. Also, look up Uzume if you don't get that bit at the end.

Also also, on the subject of people talking 'properly' like with haths and thous and stuff, I would do that, but I have no idea how nobles spoke in ancient japan and how to then translate that into modern english, so I'm just going to keep the speech like this. That said, when he gets to an english speaking place, I'll prolly start doing some olde english.

Also also also, I know none of you are likely to care, but I really like the title for this chap. I know it's simple, but it's got layers and if you know me, you know I love layers in my literature. Cuz who is The Strongest? Narauko and Sukuna are officially the strongest humans in the realm, but can they really hold that title proudly when it was given to them by a being who is now so much more powerful than them?

And there's also the connection between Amaterasu being the strongest Kami, who then talks about the strongest god. God that's fucking quad use out of that title I'm so fuckin hyped. :D

Also, 6 chaps ahead on Kevin the Bored at the money site :P

Chapter Text

Narauko

Age 11

The soft light of the sun filters through the canopy above and illuminates my path as I walk towards my usual spot, the only clearing in my forest with a lake, though it might be more accurate to call it a pond, since it's not exactly large.

My single toothed geta stopped being difficult to walk through the forest with a while ago, so I'm making a game of it now to step exclusively on roots. The challenge is to make it there and back to the house without getting a single bit of dirt on my shoes.

So far, I haven't succeeded, but I mostly blame that on dirt being kicked up on the roots. I swear that the various tree roots are more dirty than usual. It's like the trees are conspiring against me, and my pride won't let me give up on the stupid challenge.

Oh well. Challenges aren't any fun if they are easy to achieve. Kind of defeats the point, really.

In my hand, I'm holding a basket full of berries, since it's lunch time for the deer, and there was a new fawn born recently, so I want to make sure it has enough sustenance to grow strong enough to get through the coming winter.

I've been kind of worried about it, since it seems weaker and smaller than the other new-born deer have been. If it really seems like it'll be too weak to survive the coming winter, then I'll just bring it to the house, where it can stay warm. 

I'm sure the old man would understand.

The walk isn't long, even with the challenge slowing me down somewhat.

As usual, a number of deer are already present lying around the water, relaxing. They really are beautiful creatures. Part of me wants to see if I can introduce the native deer here to the rest of the world at some point, but another part of me worries that something bad would happen, though I'm not exactly sure what that bad thing would be.

It is just that anxiety you get at the thought of something you care deeply about going through a significant change. Worry that things will somehow be different, even if you have no basis for why that would be the case.

Emotions are a funny thing like that. Rhyme and reason are difficult to comprehend, but I think that's fine too. I believe that the simple explanation of 'It wouldn't sit right with me' is a perfectly valid reason to make a decision.

Regardless of my thoughts, the deer perk up at my arrival, and most of the younger ones swiftly stand and come to swarm me. The older ones already know that I will come and sit down next to them, since I do always sit in the same spot, so they don't bother.

"You're all so adorable, you know that?" I say as I pet the deer, having to hold my other hand up so that a particularly adventurous young one doesn't steal everyone's food.

It takes a bit of wrangling and a lot of bribing the young ones with berries to get to my normal spot, whereupon I am quickly engulfed in yet more fur, making me laugh at their friendly eagerness.

"I really do love you lot," I smile as I continue handing out berries with one hand and petting my friend with the other, knowing that they can't understand my words but speaking to them anyway. "Thank you for having me."

It doesn't take long for me to run out of berries to feed, and with the initial excitement done with, a lot of the older deer went back to lying down on the grass or drinking from the lake, or going for a wander, to stretch their legs or get more food.

The young ones however, all bunched up together and clambered over one another into a great big pile over my legs and chest, with the smallest one somehow winding up at the front, its head resting on my shoulder and pushing against my cheek.

In my last life, my favourite animal was the swan. In this life, I don't think there's going to be any competition for what my new favourite animal is.

I still like cats though. And rabbits. Foxes too, and snakes as well. Okay, I like a lot of animals, but I like a lot of everything, so I don't think it's really surprising.

When the little fowls eventually settle down enough for a nap, I simply lean back against my tree and look up at the sky above, watching as the sun ever so slowly moves across the sky.

I figured out how to augment my Cursed Energy Reinforcement to layer over my eyes in a way that removes glare a little bit ago. It's kind of a pain to keep up, but that just means it's good training. Besides, even if it is a pain, it's worth it to be able to watch the sun without having to squint or going blind.

In my last life, I remember pacing out of boredom just from spending five minutes with nothing to do and no interesting thoughts to distract me.

In this life, I continued to sit there for hours on end, simply watching the sun move across the sky with nothing but peaceful contentment on my mind.

I feel like... Like I'm starting to forget what boredom felt like.

The joys of no internet, I guess, I think to myself with a snort.

Still, time does not last forever, and in what felt faster than the hours it must have been, the sun is eventually blocked by a specific branch that, from this position, always gets in the way of the sun just before I need to head back to get dinner ready for the old man.

So, with no real reluctance, I gently guide the sleeping fawns off of my form, doing my level best to avoid waking them up as I do, something that is inordinately difficult with wild prey animals. Once I am free of added weights, I stand up, briefly stretch, getting a nice and satisfying click out of my back and pick my basket up before heading back home.

Once again, the walk is not very long, especially since I don't rush, preferring to enjoy the peaceful sounds and atmosphere of nature as I go.

Soon enough, I hop off of the final tree root and land on the smooth wooden flooring of my home, the satisfying click of my geta on wood bringing a smile to my face.

The first thing I do after getting back is checking the soles of my feet, and I click my tongue when I see the strands of dirt. Shaking my head, I move on and walk further into the building, depositing my basket near the back door as I pass it and slipping off my geta.

Making my way to the kitchen, I set about preparing dinner, humming some long forgotten tune as I do so. My ability to sense Cursed Energy has improved of late, so I don't have any trouble locating the old man, and I make sure to prepare some tea with the food, packing both up on a pair of trays when ready.

We don't have the ingredients for anything particularly fancy, but there's nothing wrong with simple food, and it's filling enough to support my growth. The forest even has a bunch of rabbits, so we even have meat, which I understand to be more difficult to obtain in these times than my old memories of just going to the store.

I find the old man sitting on the wooden walkway that lines the outside of the wall of the house, kind of like a veranda, except it doesn't have an eave to keep the rain away, making it a nure-en, named as such because the Kanji for 'nure' means 'wet', which it gets every time it rains.

It's not the first time I've found him sitting there, stoically observing the shinboku, watching the sacred tree as if he is expecting something to happen. However, there is a certain sense of melancholy about him today that gives me pause.

Kinoshita's body shifts slightly as he smells the food in my hands, and I continue my approach as he turns to acknowledge my presence.

"What were you thinking about?" I ask as I settle down next to him, passing over the tray with his food and drink in it.

He takes the tray, places it on his lap and looks down at the food for a moment of solemn silence, before eventually, "Itadakimasu." Ignoring the question entirely.

Being brushed off hurts my feelings a little bit, but I have no right to pry, so I simply turn to my own meal, pick up my chopsticks, and dig in.

The meal passes in comfortable silence, both of us simply eating to the sight of this shrine's sacred tree.

"Gochisōsama deshita," Kinoshita says once the meal is finished, thanking me for the food in that kind of murmuring voice everyone gets when they repeat the same phrase every day.

"Osomatsusama," I respond by habit, using the same tone as I wave off his thanks, just as I have every other time.

He fed me when I could not feed myself. It's only natural that now that I can feed us both I would do so and repay the favour, he really doesn't have to thank me for it. But I understand that politeness is very important to the culture here, so I've gotten used to it at this point.

Kinoshita places his tray between us and picks up his half drank tea, prompting me to stack my own tray and bowl with his, before picking up my own drink and holding it in both palms to feel the warmth.

I'm not sure how long we sat there, simply sipping silently at our tea, but eventually Kinoshita surprises me with his voice.

"I was thinking of my wife," he says, abruptly answering my earlier question. "Today is the anniversary of the day that she died."

Oh. That explains the heavy feeling to the air.

"What was she like?" I ask after a moment of uncertainty.

He gets a far off look to his eyes at my question, staring at nothing, and for a moment I wonder if I should not have said anything, but right before I can apologise, he answers.

"Wilful." He says the word with so many subtle emotions that I can't pick out an exact tone. From affectionate to exasperated to annoyed and mournful. So many emotions tied down into one single word, more emotions than I've ever seen the old man express before, even if his face remains stoic.

"She did not get to spend much time here," he continues after a moment, gesturing lightly to the shrine around us. "But in the time that she did have, she would spend it there," I match my eyes with his, gazing upon the sacred tree.

"She would pray, every day. It is why she wished to live in a shrine." I can't help but feel somewhat surprised as the old man continues to talk, almost sounding animated as he does, even if he still hasn't smiled yet. "She specifically wanted to live in an isolated shrine no one would ever set foot in. She said she did not want the kami to be distracted by anyone else's prayers. So selfish," he finishes with a fond mutter.

She sounds like a really interesting person.

"What was she praying for?" I find myself asking. Surely, if she was willing to go to so much trouble to garner a kami's personal attention, she must have had some specific wish that only a kami could have granted her.

"The same thing that she always prayed for. The only thing that she ever desired," is his somewhat cryptic answer, but I get the message that he doesn't want to say what she was praying for, so I instead ask another question.

"Were her prayers answered, in the end?" I ask knowing it is probably a bit rude to do so, but too curious to stop myself in the moment.

For some reason, my words make the old man turn his head to meet my eyes, and for a moment, he just looks at me, some inexplicable feeling to his glistening gaze, as if he can somehow find the answer in my eyes.

"Yes," he answers after a moment, his voice lowering to a whisper as he suddenly turns away from me. "They were."

I feel like I have missed something, but I would have to be incredibly obtuse to not notice the sadness in Kinoshita's aura, or the faint glistening in his eye.

Without saying a word, I push the trays between us to the side, get up on my knees and shuffle closer to Kinoshita's side before simply leaning forward and embracing him in a hug.

He stiffens at my touch. "What are you doing."

"Comforting you."

"I am not a child," he quickly responds.

"Feelings do not disappear with age," I counter. "Adults need emotional support too. Does it bother you?"

He doesn't answer.

"I know that a man should be strong, able to stand on their own without support, without ever being seen to cry," I continue. "But you miss her. So my eyes are closed. I cannot see anything."

A beat passes, and Kinoshita's muscles relax, a tenseness leaving him. I keep my eyes closed as I tighten my hold of him.

In my last life, I was completely alone. Any sadness I ever felt was always compounded by the fact that I was not just sad, but also alone. I remember desperately wishing that someone, anyone was there with me.

Hugs are good. They are warm. No one deserves to mourn in solitude, without any warmth at all to support them. People generally don't like asking for support, but rarely will they complain after it is given.

We are all people, in the end. Everyone cries.

"...rau...ko!.....Nara...."

A faint voice, steadily growing louder comes to my attention, and I blearily pry open heavy eyelids, squinting slightly at the light. Slowly, my eyes and thoughts come into focus, turning the indistinct blur of purple and black before me into the sight of Taira no Takiyasha staring down at me with a frown.

"Narauko!"

Ah, I must have fallen asleep in my meditation. 

I never did find out what she was praying for.

Kiyohara no Motosuke

Walking through the endless corridors of the school at the behest of Tengen-sama, Motosuke considers whether her decision is the right one or not.

He does not doubt that Tengen-sama only wants what's best for everyone, but even so, her latest idea gives him pause. He wonders if it is a good idea. There seems too many ways for things to go poorly, no matter her intentions.

Most Sorcerers are not nearly as concerned with others as Tengen-sama is, after all. In the end however, he does not believe her kindness to indicate any naivety. Tengen-sama is older than all of them, he trusts her judgment.

Still, she could have told him where Narauko was before sending him after the boy.

Narauko has virtually no presence at all, if he wanted to find the boy by himself, it would be an impossible task. He wouldn't be able to sense that Special Grade unless he was right next to him.

It's a stark contrast to Sukuna, who can be clearly sensed even by the most dull of senses from anywhere in the complex.

Sliding open another paper door, Motosuke steps outside, raising a hand to shade his eyes from the sun, and once he has adjusted to the change in brightness, he quickly locates his target.

Down below in one of the many training fields, Taira no Takiyasha, the current object of his pursuit can be seen sparring alongside Minamoto no Yoshiie and Kamo no Sabishī in what appears to be a free for all brawl.

For a moment he simply watches, assessing their growth. It has been a few months since the start of their tenure here, and they have all clearly made plenty of progress, a staggering amount, actually.

The growth of Jujutsu Sorcerers is not some linear thing. They grow in bursts and spurts. Stagnating until properly stimulated into a period of rapid growth.

He remembers how they were when they first arrived, and their growth was fairly stable at the time. Just refining the basics, gaining experience and earning the proper muscle memory.

However, there was a noticeable change once that boy Narauko arrived.

All of them have started growing much faster. He has been inspiring them.

And in no one is that more clear than Taira herself. She was already Special Grade One upon entry, a rare accomplishment that put her among the most talented Sorcerers ever born, but it's only recently that it has really shown with how rapidly she has been growing.

It wouldn't surprise him if she were to experience a Black Flash soon enough. Such a thing can obviously not really be predicted, but at the same time, sometimes there is a certain.. tension that builds up, like a bowstring pulled ever more taut.

It's hard to describe it, and there are so many factors that go into it that it would take days to even attempt to do so. But in short, it just feels like it. Like she's pushing against a door with more and more force, making the door bend more and more. It feels like she just needs the slightest push forward to advance to even greater heights.

Shaking his head, he dismisses the thought from his mind and steps forward, flaring his Cursed Energy enough to get their attention.

The moment he does so, Minamoto and Taira freeze right before striking each other while dozens of lances of blood slam to a stop in mid-air as they all turn to look at him.

Absently, he wonders what kind of ripple effects will come of the Minamoto Heir, the Taira Princess and the granddaughter of Yasunori all befriending one another.

Well, he can guess the result. A lot of heartbreak, betrayal and rage. He does not think Tengen-sama to be naïve, but neither does he see a future where the clans can be at peace.

Though, perhaps she can merely see further ahead than him. She is immortal after all.

"Taira-san. With me," he calls out, waiting for her to sheathe her blade and join his side before leading her back inside.

"What is it, Kiyohara-Sensei?" She asks him, and he chooses to ignore the way she slouches slightly as she walks. He is entirely unsurprised that her father would have failed to raise his daughter like a proper lady.

"It is my understanding that you are close with Narauko-san, no? I am in need of him, but cannot locate his Cursed Energy." He doesn't miss the way she scowls at his words, nor does he miss the ever so faint brush of embarrassment that briefly colours her aura.

"We are not close," she all but hisses out. "We are just classmates."

She says that, yet she still leads him forward as if confident that she would know where he is even without being able to sense him. Besides, he might not have his own daughter's eyes, but neither is he blind.

"Really?" He asks with faux obliviousness. "I heard that he claimed the title of Strongest with that blade in hand," he gestures to the sword at her hip. "I find it struggling to believe that a mere classmate would be allowed to wield such a blade."

His words visibly upset her, but he can tell that she is not nearly as upset as a woman would be with an unwanted match. This surprises no one.

Her blade is the Sword of Ruin, the twin of her father's own sword, the Sword of Extermination. It is an incredibly valuable treasure, to the point that it is harder to believe that allowing Narauko to wield it was merely an act of friendship, instead of courthood.

"Tch. It was just a loan," she insists, purposefully not looking his way. "It was not a gift. I was just generating a favour from a Special Grade, nothing more."

The lie would be obvious even without his own observational capabilities, but he lets it lie for now, feeling a rueful smile grace his lips as he loses himself to the past.

He has not forgotten the letter that that boy came with. As the son of his dear friend, he would consider Narauko as something of a nephew. 

Still... He glances at Taira's face, taking in the frown and the fading blush, and he can't help but shake his head.

If I had any doubt that he is yours, he thinks to his old friend. Then that doubt is no more. I only hope your son will at least possess some restraint.

His old friend was also quite the attraction to the woman around him. At least until Murasaki stole his heart away.

"He's probably in here," Taira says, distracting him from his memories as they walk up to a set of shoji doors that lead to a small garden.

Taira slides the door open and steps inside without any fanfare, himself following closely behind, only to almost walk into Taira as she stops right in front of him.

Frowning, he takes a step around her and quickly finds himself freezing in place at what he sees, mouth agape with sheer awe.

The garden is a square with plenty of open space. White, blue and yellow flowers line the edge of the square, intermingling in a way that brings peace to the eyes.

There is a tobi-ishi, a set of stepping stones, that leads from the door to the centre of the garden, where there stands a single tree.

But what has their attention so enraptured is what is at the base of the tree under the light of the sun.

Sitting with his back to the wood in a lotus position is Narauko, his eyes closed in what is clearly meditation. But what stands out is the flowing white aura surrounding his body, flickering like soft flames that do not burn, reaching mere inches from his skin.

Is that Touki? Motosuke thinks to himself, shocked to the core. But how?! Where could he have found the time?! How could he even feel it under all of his Cursed Energy?!

One should note that Touki is technically not incompatible with any other sources of energy, but at the same time, it is a path for the weak and stubborn, for those only with no other method of advancement.

Part of this is because Touki does not have any nature. It is the most pure expression of neutrality without an ounce of positivity or negativity.

This means that for a Sorcerer, especially a Special Grade, who is full of Cursed Energy, it is almost impossible to even feel such a neutral expression, never mind bring it forth.

Even then, to be able to express your Touki requires years, sometimes centuries of near constant physical conditioning of the harshest kind. It is not something that can be accomplished by any but those who are able to dedicate every hour of every day to physical training.

There is a reason barely anyone makes use of it, especially humans who's lifespan is much more limited than the Yōkai who can afford to dedicate a century to the art. 

It is simply inefficient. There are plenty of examples of Sorcerers who thought mastering Touki would give them an advantage over others, and while this was sometimes true in the physical department, each of those examples were failures who accomplished nothing.

He supposes he should have known not to attribute normalcy with a Special Grade. They are anomalies for a reason.

However, as if witnessing Narauko glowing with Touki was not enough, there is another surprise in front of him in the form of a majestic, shining white deer lying with its head resting on his lap.

For a moment after laying his eyes on it, he was almost convinced that he was looking at the manifestation of a kami.

He has of course heard of Narauko's deer Shikigami before, it's likely his most well known Shikigami due to its ability. Positive Energy is a rarity among Sorcerers.

But either the reports vastly underestimated the Shikigami, or something has changed and they are out of date.

Generating Positive Energy is one thing. It is not even purely unique, as there are examples of it in history. But this is something different, he knows it down to his soul.

The thing with Shikigami is that they are Shikigami. They are not technically alive, just mere facsimiles of life brought into the world via a Sorcerer's Cursed Energy.

Yet this deer.. It feels alive.

Such an idea is absurd enough to be called impossible, but he would have thought that about Narauko using Touki, and he is looking at that right now, so he is feeling inclined to believe his instincts here, no matter how unbelievable.

It is always easy to tell a Shikigami when you see one because they are mere constructs. But when he looks at this, whatever this is, he does not recognise it as a Shikigami.

Yet, neither is it a kami, at least, he doesn't think it's a kami.

Frankly, he has no idea.

"Narauko," Taira calls out, snapping him out of his own shock, and when he glances over at her, he gets the distinct impression that she did not recognise the same oddness with the deer that he did.

Well, she probably noticed but simply found herself too inexperienced to recognise what it was her instincts were telling her. 

Though, he does have to hide a smile as he notices that unlike he, who was enraptured by the impossibility he was witnessing, she seems to have been enraptured with the sight for an entirely different reason.

'Just classmates' she says, he thinks in amusement.

He used to take great joy watching the wreck that was his old friend's love life before he settled with Murasaki. It is nice to see that he might be able to enjoy such entertainment once again with his son.

"Oy! Narauko!" Taira calls out again when the boy does not answer her.

Once again, there is no response except from the 'Shikigami' that raises its head to look at them.

Motosuke finds it curious how the deer almost seems to brush away Taira's presence in favour of focusing on him instead, as if he is the only one who needs to be watched for the sake of its Master.

'Just classmates', he repeats in his mind, raising a hand to cover his smiling lips with a sleeve.

"Narauko!" Taira shouts once more, leaning down until her face is merely inches away from the boy's own.

That finally garners a reaction from the boy, whose face scrunches slightly before his eyes slowly open, looking up at Taira as he visibly gains clarity until he recognises her and breaks out a smile.

"Takiyasha-san?" He asks, confused as his mind is still catching up. "Do you want me?" He asks, making Taira's face flash red, before realising his own groggy words and quickly correcting his misspeak, "I apologies, I mixed my words. What I meant to ask is if there was something you needed me for?"

"A-ah, right, I mean, no, I was just helping Kiyohara-Sensei find you," Taira quickly says, tripping over herself slightly with her words, not that Narauko seems to pay it mind.

I suppose there are some differences after all, he thinks to himself.

Narauko's attention turns to him, and at the same time, his aura of Touki slowly dissipates into the air.

"Kiyohara-Sensei?" Narauko asks after rising to his feet. "What can I do for you?"

Instead of answering right away, Motosuke turns to Taira and briefly dips his head, enough to be respectful of her position while keeping in mind his own position as her teacher. 

"I thank you for your assistance, Taira-san. You are dismissed."

Taira scowls at his words and briefly glances between the two of them before huffing and spinning on her heel. "Whatever," she scoffs with her back to them, and he watches her go until the shoji slams shut behind her.

Turning back around, he finds Narauko petting his deer, though the boy's attention quickly turns back to him.

"I'm sure you're curious as to why I am here," Motosuke begins, continuing at the boy's nod of the head. "In short, there is to be a goodwill event between our Jujutsu school and the Onmyōdō school in Heian-kyō, where the event will be held. It will be held in one month. I am merely here to inform you so that you can prepare yourself in whatever way you deem fit."

There is a lot more behind it all than just a goodwill event. It's mostly politics, really.

Sugawara no Michizane is now dead, and the title of The Strongest has fallen to Sukuna and Narauko, both of whom are attending Jujutsu High. This is significant because Michizane was an Onmyōji, not a Jujutsu Sorcerer. He was loyal to the Imperial Family, not to the clans.

Because of this, the balance of power in the court has been skewed towards the Imperial Family, and with his loss, the balance has come into question. If nothing is done, the country could fall into chaos as everyone tries to grab for whatever power they can.

Which is why Tengen-sama suggested this event. The latest generation of Sorcerers composes a significant chunk of the Jujutsu world's current total power. So the idea is that this event will clearly decide which side of the court will hold the balance of power, because even if no one likes the answer, getting rid of any uncertainty will go far in pre-emptively putting an end to any political chaos.

He just hopes Tengen-sama knows what she is doing here, because he can see many ways for this to go horribly wrong and spark the very civil war it is intended to avoid.

"A goodwill event?" Narauko parrots, intrigued, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Am I allowed to know what this event will look like?"

"It will likely be a team battle followed by a tournament."

"Why did you wait for Takiyasha-san to leave before saying this?" He asks, and Motosuke nods his head, pleased with the intelligent question.

"Because it has been decided that the event will only have participating members from the second and third years, as first years are too inexperienced and were judged as too likely to die, which would be a waste."

"And why am I an exception?"

"Because you are The Strongest."

"Ah. Does that mean Sukuna will also be participating?"

"Unless something pressing comes up, yes, that is the case." He says that, but he knows that Sukuna will not be allowed to participate.

It was deemed to much of a risk to the other participants to allow him to do so. As such, there will 'coincidentally' be an urgent mission at the time of the event that Sukuna will be sent on. Of course, he isn't going to tell Narauko this.

"This will be taking place in the capital?" Narauko asks, his excitement and curiosity plain to see, and briefly, Motosuke sees Murasaki's eyes reflected in this boy's.

He really is their son, he thinks. Whether he shares their blood or not.

"Yes. It will be an eight day journey, so you will be departing in just under three weeks."

Narauko's smile only grows at his words, really making him seem like a child eagerly waiting for a promised gift.

"I shall look forward with utmost eagerness, then," Narauko states with a respectful bow.

Now, Motosuke has said all that he needed to here, but he does not yet turn to leave.

"If I may ask," he begins, "How is it that you are able to manifest your Touki?"

"You saw that?" He asks, making Motosuke think that it is a new development.

"You were glowing."

"Oh." Definitely a new development then. "Well, it was mostly a coincidence really," he begins.

"At the end of Sukuna and I's fight with Sugawara no Michizane's Spirit, he used his Domain and stripped us of all our understanding of Cursed Energy. At that point, I was held in place, unable to move and nearly lost my life. Luckily, I was able to persevere, and though I did not notice it at the time, I have now realised that I must have used Touki instinctively back then."

By instinct? Motosuke almost wants to call him a liar. Men spend decades training their bodies just to get the faintest of understanding of Touki, and yet, from his description, it is almost as if Narauko did it by accident.

"My theory is that since I had forgotten how to use my Cursed Energy it was easier to call upon Touki, since I was just following my body's instincts, and Touki is from the body, right? Though, it is not like it manifested enough that I was glowing or anything, I wasn't even sure if I had actually used Touki until today. My Cursed Energy is pretty distracting."

For a second, Motosuke is unsure what to say to that. Narauko says it all as if it is so simple, but it really is not. If it were as simple as he described, there would be far more users of Touki among the Sorcerers.

"Your Cursed Energy didn't seem to be distracting you just now," Motosuke comments for a lack of having anything else to say.

"Yes. It was distracting, so I just used Domain Expansion repeatedly until I ran out, since Domains burn so much Cursed Energy. That way I could feel for my Touki without distraction." Motosuke is so incredibly baffled with open mouthed shock at Narauko's happily spoken words that he almost doesn't hear him continue muttering a complaint under his breath. "Took forever though."

A normal Sorcerer is basically drained after a single use of Domain Expansion. Realistically, a Grade One Sorcerer should have enough Cursed Energy to use their Domain twice, maybe three times, but even if they have the energy for that, in a fight they would need the rest of their energy to actually fight, and that's without even mentioning the amount of control that is required to use a Domain Expansion when your technique is already burnt out from a previous use.

Yet here Narauko is, describing using his Domain in rapid succession, so many times that he is actually complaining about how long it took to run out of Cursed Energy.

Who even uses Domains as a way to drain energy in the first place!?

Everything about this is absurd. Motosuke doesn't even want to think about it anymore, he's going to start doubting himself at this rate.

At the very least, any hesitancy that he might have had about calling a fifteen year old The Strongest has well and truly been erased.

What kind of Monster have you raised, Old Friend? He thinks to himself.

"Well, I should return to my duties," Motosuke says, hiding his awkward feelings behind a smile. "It has been a pleasure, Narauko-san. Have a good day."

It's certainly been an experience. He can see why his daughter got so angry at him.

She hates untalented men. She has ever since Murasaki died. His daughter looked up to the woman like a mother, more even than her own actual mother.

He has tried to inspire reason within her, but she is even now still too wrought with grief to forgive or forget. In her mind, Murasaki's death could have been avoided if only her husband were better able to take care of her.

And her husband would have been able to do so if he were talented enough to be truly strong. But he was not, and so his friend was exiled and his wife left in his care.

Narauko is not lacking in talent, that much is obvious. But unfortunately, his daughter's eyes see too much. He assumes that she simply noticed him thinking of her as weak and got upset.

His Nagiko despises weakness more than anything else, and she despises weakness in herself most of all. It's why, with her eyes that see through all things, she can never get along with anyone stronger than her, and can never respect anyone weaker than her.

A sigh leaves him at the thoughts of his daughter, as he has no idea what he can to do help her overcome this issue of hers.

Motosuke pauses at the door of Narauko's garden, thoughts of his daughter reminding him of one last thing he wanted to say.

"One last thing, Narauko-san," he says with his hand on the door, turning only enough to face the boy. "You will be participating with the second and third years, which means that you will acquaint with my daughter, Nagiko, once more. If she challenges you to a fight, I would take it as a personal favour if you were to accept."

The boy cringes slightly at her name, an awkward expression flashing past his face that turns contemplative at his request.

"You needn't owe me a favour for this," he says, showing exactly how little political experience he has. No one in the capital would ever turn down an easy debt. "I would have accepted anyway."

"Then you have my thanks," he says, giving one last bow before leaving.

He won't dishonour his daughter by saying anything like asking him to hold back or to treat her in any specific way. Besides, she would no doubt notice if Narauko were to act in a specific way due to his own request. She is perceptive like that.

Still, she has gotten a lot stronger lately, ever since those foolish rumours of being scorned by Narauko came about. Though, he no longer has the confidence that her growth will make the difference he once thought it would. Not now that he understands that Narauko has not been idle either.

Once again, he notices the effect Narauko has had on others. As he continues to grow in strength, he seems to be rising those around him along with him, entirely unintentionally too, he is pretty sure.

Truly, what an absurd existence.

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

Did you think we wouldn't get a goodwill event? Ha! Not only will there be a goodwill event, but it will be the first ever in history!

Also, Narauko is going to the capital!! (Kill me! I'm gonna have to try and keep politics in mind as I write! Yippie!(<Sarcasm)

And yeah, Touki. I figure that it's reasonable enough for him to unlock it. I mean, typically it takes decades of hard training, and even then most people fail. But Narauko has been doing literally the most intensive physical training possible for nearly a decade now.

stuffing shit in his shadows weighs down his entire existence. He is constantly working out every single muscle simultaneously, but not just his muscles either, he is exercising his 'self', his entire being. Plus, he's a heaven defying protagonist level genius equal to Sukuna, so yeah, Touki at 15 seems reasonable enough to me. (Sukuna is at a disadvantage here, but dw, he's obviously gonna catch up ;))

Chapter Text

Inside of the Imperial Palace, sequestered in the Dairi, the section of the grand palace designated to house the Imperial Ladies, from Nyōgo, the Consorts, to the daughters of Ministers, a group of such ladies sit together in a lush garden drinking tea.

The garden itself is varied in colour, with four paths of stone cutting through it, leaving the greenery for the corners except for the orange tree standing as the centre piece.

Four women sit around a finely crafted table, three young and beautiful, one more mature but no less striking to the eye. Seven more ladies stand around the table, Uneme no sakan, maids of no importance except for the two standing behind the eldest of the seated ladies.

At the head of the table is the elder of the four, Fujiwara no Shōshi, who holds the title of Tai-Kōtaikōgō as the Grand Empress Dowager, the mother of the previous Emperor.

She, like the others all seated, for they are all related, possesses straight black hair and dark eyes, though around her eyes alone are a few wrinkles that her makeup has failed to cover. 

Her hair is tied up in an elaborate bun with an ornate pin topped by a shining blue opal keeping it together. Similarly coloured, her multi-layered kimono has a deep sea blue as its base, with subtle designs flowing in a lighter shade of blue.

Her back is perfectly straight as she sits, a cup held gracefully in her hand and her face a picture of demure stoicism, her mature beauty on show for any to see.

Behind her stand two of her most trusted and loyal Ladies in Waiting, Akazome Emon and Izumi Shikibu, both of whom are Noble Ladies in their own right, holding the title of Naishi-no-Suke. Additionally, they are both Grade One Sorcerers, loyal to her and her alone.

To Shōshi's right sits Fujiwara no Tamako, an Imperial Consort of the Emperor's harem, a Nyōgo, and a Noble Lady both, holding the title one rank below Shōshi's attendants of Naishi-no-Jō.

Behind her she has two maids of her own, but they are each just mere second daughters of minor nobles, while only one of them is a Sorcerer of Grade Two.

Tamako herself is dressed in a light set of kimonos, a bright yellow being the primary colour, with accents of a warmer gold and gentle white to soften the colour, making her skin seem brighter, drawing the eye to her no matter where she goes.

Like Shōshi, she has her straight black hair done up in a bun, however her headpiece is much larger than Shōshi's, poking away from her head like branches of gold growing both above and to the side, framing her further in a halo of her chosen colour.

To Tamako's right, sitting opposite Shōshi, is Fujiwara no Yasuko, a fellow Nyōgo, though Yasuko does not share quite the same level of authority as the others seated, as neither she nor her father holds a place in the Daijō-kan, The Great Council of State.

Yasuko is wearing a deep purple kimono that matches with the faint hint of amethyst in her eyes. Her hair is left to flow down her back and over her shoulders, with small tassels tying the ends of her hair together.

Neither of her maids are Sorcerers, and in fact seem to be the youngest of the servants present, seeming even younger than Yasuko herself, who is only sixteen years old.

Finally, sitting to Shōshi's left is Fujiwara no Nariko, the only lady present with a single servant, who is herself, no one of importance. Nariko, like Shōshi's own Ladies in Waiting, holds the rank of Naishi-no-Suke, as she is the daughter of Fujiwara no Nagazane, who is a Chūnagon, a Middle Councillor.

Nariko's appearance is rather similar to her cousins, straight black hair, dark eyes and fair skin. However, there is something extra about her, something unidentifiable that draws the eye.

She is dressed in a black kimono that is decorated with stylised lines of blue, like currents in a river. Her hair is tied up in part in a small bun, with the rest flowing freely down her back, leaving her face and neck fully exposed.

Nariko is a fairly new addition to the afternoon tea being enjoyed. She used to keep to herself, studying Onmyōdō even though she lacked in Cursed Energy. However, her doting father ensured that she could continue to study regardless, to the point that she even became a somewhat respected advisor on the matter, even if she has not shown any ability to be an impressive Sorcerer herself.

However, a few months ago she started becoming more social, which eventually led her here, where Grand Empress Dowager Shōshi has decided to give up her afternoons in order to teach the younger Yasuko and Tamako how to survive and thrive in the court under the guise of afternoon tea.

Shōshi and Yasuko were both welcoming of her joining them, though Tamako much less so, even if she has done a good job hiding it. Well, not good enough, as Nariko can easily feel the seething envy that the slightly younger girl continues to send her way.

She knows why, too. After she started becoming more socially active, the Emperor took notice of her, and there are whispers of him taking her on as a concubine.

She is curious if her father would go so far as to deny the Emperor, should he make such an inquisition. She knows that he loves her, more than most fathers ever would, and he dotes on her so much that he has said himself he could not imagine marrying her to any man.

She wonders if that resolve would hold up in the face of the Emperor.

She doubts it.

"I trust that you have all heard of the coming event?" Shōshi asks after setting down her cup.

Nariko notices the slight straightening of the shoulders as Yasuko and Tamako both perk up at the older woman's words, while she herself simply takes another sip of her tea.

She knows the question was more directed to the other two. In effect, they are the 'students' here, while she is more of an observer. She does find it slightly irritating that every action made in the capital needs to be carefully thought over for the sake of potential double or hidden meanings.

Nothing is ever simple here. Even the names aren't simple. Some time in the last couple of decades, women in court started using 'ko' to suffix their names, something that was typically reserved for male names, but is now fairly common among noble women.

"You mean the competition between the Onmyōdō school and the Jujutsu school," Tamako states, putting a noticeable effort into copying Shōshi's easy grace. "I have heard that there will be an abnormally large number of Special Grades in attendance."

Shōshi nods her head and they all take a sip of tea.

"It is to be an incredibly impactful event," Shōshi agrees, "Can you tell me why?"

"It will show which side has greater strength," Yasuko states, though Nariko notices that her words are not as confidently spoken as Tamako's.

"Indeed." Shōshi turns to her, a smile on her lips that is almost as fake as her own. "May you elaborate on Yasuko-Kōi's words, Nariko-kimi?"

Nariko keeps her false smile in place, even as she takes note of the suffix attached to her name. -Kōi is the suffix for an Empress Consort, while -kimi is the suffix for a Lord or Lady. Yet when she first joined these little meetings, Shōshi called her with -chan, with condescension that was hidden only to the younger two women. However, she has started using the proper suffix for her position lately. Nariko is unsure exactly of the reason why.

"Of course, Shōshi-Heika," she responds, using the proper suffix as she has been since the start. "It is significant because our Fujiwara clan is already the one who holds the power in matters of the court. However, the Imperial Family has held onto its power over matters of Sorcerers, balancing things somewhat."

She pauses to take another sip of tea, in part out of pettiness, wanting to make them wait for her, which here in the capital is just yet another of the many tiny power plays. "Yet, now that Sugawara no Michizane has perished, it has come into question whether it is the Onmyōji, who serve the Emperor and protect the capital, or the Jujutsu Sorcerers, who serve the clans and exterminate Curses, that has the greater power."

The difference between the two is a fairly simple distinction, even beyond the fact that one serves the Emperor's will and the other the clans.

The difference is that Onmyōji tend to be more defensive. Their main job is simply to protect the capital after all. They only leave for exorcisms at the will of the Emperor and generally only for the sake of the nobility.

However, Jujutsu Sorcerers by contrast do not have a set grounds to protect, nor do they truly have a single authority to rule them. They simply exist to exorcise Curses. So naturally they tend to be more aggressive and focused on the aspects of what is useful in combat, rather than focusing on barriers or rituals like the Onmyōji do.

Then there is also the Principle Clans to consider, but they do not get involved in matters of Curses at all. They focus more on communing with the Gods and dealing with Yōkai instead of Curses. They are ultimately less involved in matters of politics, and thus irrelevant to the current topic of conversation.

"Indeed, that is the case," Shōshi states, taking another sip of tea. "However, really, all that matters is the Special Grades. Especially in this era where there are so many Grade One Sorcerers, it is the Special Grades that will lead Sorcery forward."

"How many are there?" Yasuko asks. "If I am not mistaken, it is historically expected that there will be one Special Grade Sorcerer every one hundred years, not counting Tengen-sama. How many will be participating in the competition?"

Tamako is the one that answers, jumping in before Shōshi can, while making sure not to seem too eager to answer, lest she damage her image by seeming impatient. "There are three Special Grades in the two schools. Sukuna and Narauko from the Jujutsu school and Koshikibu no Naishi from the Onmyōdō school."

Nariko glances behind Shōshi at Tamako's words, because behind her stands her Lady in Waiting, Izumi Shikibu, who also happens to be the mother of Koshikibu no Naishi, the woman who is one of two left alive to possess Cursed Eyes.

"Good answer, Tamako-Kōi," Shōshi says making the girl brighten up slightly, only to deflate as the elder lady continues talking. "However, not entirely accurate. Koshikibu no Naishi has taken example from formally Sugawara no Gojo and has separated herself from her family."

Nariko notices the way Izumi Shikibu tenses at her Lady's words, fists clenching. Yet, the woman remains impressively stoic, hardly letting an ounce of her true feelings show. Nariko is impressed by the attempt, but she is still capable of seeing through it.

She had actually heard of it already. It only happened a couple of days ago, shortly after Sugawara no Michizane, or rather, Tenjin-sama finished raining his wrath down on the capital.

A lot of Nobles and Princes died, including Tachibana no Michisada, the father of the former Koshikibu no Naishi.

That is another reason why this competition is important. Tenjin-sama's actions risk destabilising the realm. There needs to be some kind of reassurance for the nobles that the danger has passed.

Thus, a competition that will show off the talent of the greatest generation of Sorcerers ever born. Not only will it solve the issue of the balance of power in the realm, it will also serve to calm the hearts of those who worry that the realm will fall into chaos without Michizane.

She is still somewhat shocked that they would be willing to appease Tenjin-sama's wrath instead of simply trying, and likely failing, to fight him off. Perhaps she shouldn't have been surprised.

What can be expected of humanity but shameless cowardice?

"Koshikibu no Naishi now goes by the name of Nanami Shiki," Shōshi continues. "She has also struck up an alliance with the now named Gojo Isanko. They will likely use Gojo's claim to one of the Sugawara clan's shōen in order to build themselves up and properly regain their nobility."

A shōen is simply a piece of land that is effectively owned and controlled entirely by a private owner instead of the Emperor. It is the shōen itself that has caused the clans to hold such great power over the Imperial Family in the first place.

Nariko wonders how the two of them intend to settle the land together without a marriage. Though, just because she hasn't heard of such a marriage yet, does not mean it shall not happen.

"Regardless, we have gotten off course," Shōshi states. "What matters in the coming event is the showings of the Special Grades. However, one of those Special Grades that you mentioned will not be present. It was decided that Sukuna is too violent to take part, otherwise the event will have the opposite effect as intended. That said, the number of Special Grades participating might not have really diminished."

That actually does get a raised brow out of Nariko. She doesn't recall hearing of any ne Special Grades since Narauko showed up and bumped the number from four to five, not counting Tengen-sama.

"The current generation is truly a bountiful crop," Shōshi states with a smile, answering the unasked question. "Five Special Grades is already an excessive amount, and so the Higher Ups have been hesitant to grant the designation to any more Sorcerers. It is supposed to be a special position, after all. If there are too many holding the title, then it will cease to be special. Saying that, however, I believe that they will be unable to keep control of that number by the end of the competition."

Shōshi takes another sip of her tea, a smile on her lips that is more than just polite. If anything, to Nariko's eyes she seems... Excited.

"Abe no Seimei. Minamoto no Yorimitsu. Kiyohara no Nagiko. Tachibana no Nagayasu. Ki no Tokibumi. Four men and one woman, each man born on the same year, seventeen years ago, one year before Kiyohara. Each of them are currently graded as Grade One Sorcerers, but it is my belief that at the end of this competition, should they properly display their abilities, we will be graced by a generation of over ten Special Grade Sorcerers!"

As she's been speaking, her voice has been gaining momentum, her excitement becoming less and less hidden, and Nagiko briefly glimpses the true face of the woman who could have Akazome Emon, Izumi Shikibu and even the Legendary Fujiwara no Kaoruko, better known as Murasaki Shikibu, as her loyal Ladies in waiting.

To have such women willing to serve her, Shōshi could never be a simple woman. Nagiko almost feels vindicated by the fact that even the ever composed Shōshi is wearing a mask no different to anyone else in the capitol.

How pitiful, she thinks to herself while Shōshi lets out a long sigh and relaxes her shoulders back into calm composure.

"Ahh, what a time to be alive~. Humanity has never been stronger."

That, however, Nariko finds herself solemnly considering.

Humanity has never been stronger.

It is true, and it is dangerous. After all, stronger Sorcerers will only result in stronger Curses, and the Yōkai certainly won't simply sit by and allow humanity to surpass them in strength.

No matter what happens, there will be chaos in the future. The only question is how much of the chaos can be mitigated. Which path forward is that of least resistance.

She is interested in how things will play out.

"Nariko-kimi." Shōshi's voice brings her out of her musings, and she turns an inquisitive glance upon the older woman. "The two youngest Special Grades are the ones I know the least about, Narauko and Sukuna. The latter's personality seems rather straight forward, yet I know little but rumour of the former. I have heard that you are familiar with the boy, what is your measure of him?"

How could she possibly know that? Nariko thinks to herself, though on the outside she does not allow her false smile to falter.

"I have only met him briefly once, Shōshi-Heika," Nariko demurs.

"I trust your judgement," Shōshi counters.

Conversations are rather irritating in the capital, Nariko thinks. With Shōshi's words, she can not dodge the question any further lest she be insulting her elder, something Shōshi is clearly aware of, what with her choice of words.

She has been verbally backed into a corner. How pitiful it is, that this is how people live in the capital, where a compliment is not a compliment and a question is not a question.

Turning her eyes down to her tea, Nariko briefly loses herself to her reflection as she considers her answer.

She doesn't want to go into detail, but at the same time she must give an answer that is acceptable enough.

Which leaves the question, how does one describe Narauko?

"Narauko," she begins, still staring at her reflection and finding her words oddly solemn as she gives them, a small smile gracing her lips. "Is the kind of man who would give a gift of seeds instead of flowers."

She can picture that easily enough. 'Watching flowers you planted yourself bloom is a beauty like no other,' she can picture him saying.

The other younger girls seem contemplative at her words, yet Nariko ignores them in favour of the near open-mouthed, wide-eyed shock on Shōshi's face. Glancing behind her, Nariko can see a similar expression on the face of Izumi Shikibu and Akazome Emon, the latter of which's expression quickly falls into that of a soft, reminiscent smile.

"Is something the matter with my words, Shōshi-Heika?" Nariko asks, snapping the older women out of her trance, and to Nariko's surprise, Shōshi actually smiles.

Not like the fake, polite smiles of before, but a soft, genuine smile full of nostalgia.

"No no, not as such," Shōshi says, "It is just that your words remind me of words spoken to me by Murasaki-chan."

"Really?" Tamako interjects, leaning forward slightly with poorly hidden excitement. "I have heard tales of Murasaki-sama. They say that she was the Special Grade Sorcerer closest to Sugawara no Michizane. May you share what she was like?"

"Wilful," Shōshi immediately answers. "Selfish. She only ever had a single desire, and she did not care what consequences were wrought in her pursuit of it." Shōshi's sound both annoyed and fond as she speaks of Murasaki. "As for why your words remind me of her, Murasaki-chan once told me that flowers lose their beauty once they bloom. Because it is in watching them grow under your care that the true beauty is to be found."

Yasuko smiles at Shōshi's words, sighing longingly. "Such a pretty thought."

"Murasaki-chan might have been a wise woman, but do not idealise her too much." Shōshi sighs, a breath full of nostalgic exasperation, while both of her servants' eyes dull a little as they look into the middle distance, reminiscing their own memories. "She still caused me much trouble, and that was even before she decided to run off with a man. Not even an impressive man, but an untalented one too. I do not think I will ever understand how she thinks."

"What was her desire?" Nariko asks after a moment of silence, continuing as Shōshi's questioning glance. "You mentioned that Murasaki-sama had but a single desire that she pursued above all else. What was it, if it is not too far for me to ask?"

Shōshi hums, and for a moment Nariko wonders if she's going to receive an answer at all. The question is clearly more personal than she intended it to be.

However, right before she can attempt to retract her question, Shōshi speaks up, her voice a soft whisper.

"What Murasaki desired more than anything else... Was to be a mother."

A mother, huh? Nariko thinks to herself as a heavy mood falls upon the table. She can't imagine herself as a mother. Not yet, at least. She will admit that the thought is an appealing one, but it is not something she believes she can commit herself to right now.

However, the atmosphere is abruptly shattered when the eyes of Nariko, Shōshi and both of her Ladies in Waiting all snap to the exact same spot at the same time.

The others present all are soon to follow until all of them are staring right at Nariko's shadow, watching as a bubble forms, as if a drop of water falling in reverse, rising from her shadow.

The bubble does not pop so much as it melts back into her shadow when a pitch black butterfly flies out, flapping its wings innocently as it comes to hover right in front of Nariko's confused face.

"What is this?" Nariko asks, her voice flat.

"A Kuroichō." Shōshi answers. "It is a Communication Technique invented by none other than Narauko. The Black Butterfly is capable of carrying messages to anywhere in the realm. It will likely become the next primary source of communication once the knowledge of how to cast it properly spreads. You merely need to touch the butterfly and the message will appear in your mind."

Nariko nods her head and holds a finger out for the butterfly to land on, which it swiftly does. Immediately after, she feels a familiar Cursed Energy filter down from the Shikigami and into her system, carrying its message with it and making her smile.

However, that smile of hers disappears immediately from the first of Narauko's words that filter into her mind.

Ta-chan Ma-chan Mo-chan! Hey hey! It has not been that long, but it feels as though it has been forever since I've seen you! 

As you can see, I created a Technique for easy long range communication! I'll teach it to you when we next meet, because I miss talking with you.

Oh, right! You're in the capital, right? Well, as it happens, I am going to be visiting the capital in about a month for some event. If you're still there, we should meet up! I know we didn't really spend long together, but I actually miss you a bit.

You said you were going to spend time among humans to learn if we were all bad, right? I'm looking forward to hearing about what you've been up to! Though, I feel that I ought to mention that the people in the capital are a little bit less nice generally speaking than the people in the countryside, so if you're hating the nobles of the capital, I implore you to at least spare the innocent farmers of any prejudice.

Anyway, I will see you in about a month, Tamamo.

P.S. Trickster Fox got a bit bigger, sorry.

She has no idea what 'P.S.' means, or why he's apologising. It is his Shikigami, he can do whatever he wants with it, that doesn't change just because she is partial to it.

But mostly, she is just thankful that the message is delivered directly into her mind, because it would have been incredibly troublesome if any of the humans present realised that she was not who she claims to be.

A number of months ago, she told Narauko that she would head to the capital in order to see if humanity was worth the credit he cave them.

To that end, she took the place of Fujiwara no Nariko. She's sure that he would not approve of her killing some random girl for such a reason, but at the same time, she knows that he will not blame her either.

Though, she does feel a little bit bad with that line of thinking, as if she is abusing his kindness in order to get away with upsetting him.

Regardless, the result of her endeavours so far is something of a mixed bag.

The main thing the experience has taught her is that humans are truly more complex animals than she once thought. They have so many rules, both spoken and unspoken, that everyone is expected to abide by even when none of them are explained.

And they always seem to be in such a rush. They make decisions so quickly and constantly change their minds. She understood that their lives were short, but it never really set in what that meant for their day to day lives.

She has observed a great many interactions in her time here, among the nobles, merchants, Samurai and servants all. She is still undecided on her opinion of them.

In part she can understand Narauko's position. She has certainly been surprised by the decisions some of these humans have made, by how sometimes they can come together to the defence of one another without a single word spoken.

But at the same time, the capital is so full of false smiles and facetious masks. A person's worth and life can be brought to ruin merely by the words of another, simply because their father holds a position in court one rank higher than the other.

She has seen alliances made and betrayed, eyes that look at her with lust and ambition, men who see their fellows more as tools than actual people.

Truthfully, it all brought to mind her supposed 'teacher's words.

Hagoromo Gitsune, the leader of the West Yōkai Faction and her self proclaimed teacher. That woman has always been telling her that humans and Yōkai could not coexist. That she should embrace the malice that they fear in order to grow strong enough to defend herself against them.

But some part of her always rejected that idea. Her interaction with Narauko only compounded that thought.

If humans and Yōkai truly cannot exist in peace, she at least wants to learn this herself, instead of simply trusting that woman at her word.

That said, Hagoromo Gitsune is a knowledgeable Kitsune, and although Tamamo is confident that she could grow strong enough all by herself, she will not deny that the woman's advice has been fruitful.

Now that she thinks about it, she hasn't heard from Gitsune for a few years now. She briefly wonders if there is a problem but quickly shakes the thought away. Gitsune is strong, she doubts the woman would have faced any trouble.

Gitsune is probably still stronger than she is, and she has made great progress in these months, in large part thanks to Gitsune's teachings and the excessive amounts of Negative Energy permeating the capital city.

When she fought Narauko, she was in possession of three tails, burgeoning on her fourth. It took her mere decades of half-hearted training to exceed any Kitsune her age and many centuries older than her.

However, in the last three months, her strength has increased significantly. From three tails in decades, she has gained another three in mere months for a total of six.

The progress is staggering, and she is unsure if it is entirely due to Gitsune's teachings or because she now actually has a goal to strive towards, a reason to become stronger.

She doesn't doubt that he has gotten stronger too, after all. She needs to advance as fast as she can if she wants to keep up.

The fact that she is not even entirely confident in her victory with six tails is enough of an endorsement of Narauko's abilities. That is not to say that she is not confident in her new strength, as the increase in tails is not additive, but multiplicative. Her strength has more than doubled since their fight.

Even more than that, she feels as if she is on the verge of breaking through to her seventh tail, an incredibly important milestone.

There is a commonly used system of power in this world. It goes from the weakest, Low-Class beings that could be fought off by simple humans, to Mid-Class, then High-Class, Ultimate-Class and Transcendent-Class.

A Kitsune's seventh tail is a symbol of their transition into an Ultimate-Class being, a transformative leap in quality. The difference in strength between a five or six tail Kitsune is not truly that large, at least, it is not an impossible distance to gap with skill.

However, the leap from a High-Class being into an Ultimate-Class being is completely different. It is a complete and total transformation. A rebirth. An evolution.

A recent example would be Sugawara no Michizane's evolution into Tenman Daijizai Tenjin. It took the former Strongest Sorcerer evolving into a Curse to brush against the Ultimate barrier and then actually attaining Divinity in order for him to ascend into Godhood and thus become an Ultimate-Class being.

As a general rule, all beings that possess Divinity are Ultimate-Class beings at a minimum, though not all Ultimate-Class beings must possess Divinity. Nurarihyon certainly doesn't.

Becoming an Ultimate being in less than one century without any Divinity is something unheard of. She is unsure if there is even a single other case of it happening or if she is truly the first Yōkai in the history of the realm to do so.

Well, assuming that she can bridge that final gap in the next two decades. She is confident.

She only hopes that she does not leave him disappointed a second time.

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

Shoshi is a character that is more interesting than I thought she'd be, since she has at least 3 of the 36 female poetry immortals as her ladies in waiting, which when translated over to JJK terms where I'm liberally just making poets be Sorcerers, that must make Shōshi a pretty impressive person, right? Charismatic at least.

Also, kinda fucking myself a bit by adding more and more op characters :/, but whatever, right? It's DxD anyway, so why not.

For those of you who know Tamamo's story, my version won't be playing out the same, probably, but if you know that story then you can probably still predict somewhat what is gonna happen.

Also, I need help finding a demon lord. I'm looking for a historical/mythological demon lord type character and it's a massive pain in the ass searching through wikipedia page after wikipedia page, so if anyone knows any eastern (preferably japanese, but korean or chinese could work if I can't find anything) demon lord/dark lord type characters please share.

Any Asura, Mazoku, Akumazoku or Maou is fine, it's just that wikipedia doesn't really have any specific, named examples of Demon Lord type characters in japanese folklore. At least not any that I can find anyway. (btw, if no one knows any, I might just straight up add another crossover, so if you know any fictional demon lord type characters that can fit into japanese folklore, feel free to suggest them and I'll see if it can fit with what I need it for)

Kevin the Bored on patreon for five extra chappies, including the first part of an omake set in the culling game. :3

Chapter Text

"Kyaaaa~! Save meee~!" I dramatically exclaim as I run away from a small gaggle of giggling children while waving my arms in their air, even as I slow my pace enough that they can catch up to me.

It turns out that Curses don't have any respect for other people's schedules, so there being an event coming up hasn't changed the fact that I still need to do my job.

It is a little bit less fun now, though. Ever since we kind of beat Michizane, Sukuna and I are officially The Strongest, and with that, we are no longer getting sent on missions together.

We've just been spending more of our free time outside of missions together to make up for it. He might be unwilling to admit that we are friends, but he is not ashamed to admit that he enjoys our conversations, especially since we mostly talk about Cursed Energy.

It is, after all, our most shared interest.

"Got you!" One of the children yells before leaping onto my back, and I make sure that they don't get hurt as I fall to the floor.

"Noooo~!" I exclaim as the rest of the children pile on top of me until I really wouldn't be able to move as a normal human.

The laughter of the children as they triumphantly hold me down is like a balm on my soul, filling me with warmth on the inside and leaving me incapable of hiding my smile.

"Now you gotta do another trick!" One of the kids shouts, full of excitement that is mirrored by the rest, who all start shouting over one another into one indistinguishable noise as they each start begging or demanding that I show them another magic trick.

The adults of this village were about as wary of me as any other Non-Sorcerer that I've met on mission, but at the very least they seemed willing to consider the idea that I might not be scum of the earth.

My assumption is that an actually friendly Sorcerer passed by this village at some point, since they seem both aware that they should generally be weary of Sorcerers, but without being completely prejudice.

The children however, are naturally just innocent and full of curiosity. Their parents wore pinched expressions when the kids first came up to me, but I think they're a bit more relaxed now that they've seen that I'm not going to do anything fucked up.

I just like kids. It feels weird for me to think that, because as a man who lived in the modern era one thousand years from now, that statement is just super skeevy to hear.

Alas, it's not like there's another way I can express my feelings without sounding to my own ears like a criminal.

They're so innocent and cute, their pure joy is contagious.

"Okay okay~!" I call out to the pile-on. "You have bested me~! I have no choice but to show you my super secret, special and magical spell~!"

The kids all cheer, and it takes a moment for them to realise they need to get off of me before I can show them. One of the kids in particular refuses to let go of my back, so I simply reach up behind me and grab him, effortlessly pulling them off of my back and around to my front so that I can hold them on my hip like I vaguely remember parents doing in my last life.

Looking at the kid I'm holding, gaze full of innocent guile, I boop him on the nose with a smile and settle him down on his feet, after which he immediately latches onto my leg.

Aaaaahhh~, I mentally whine to myself, I'm starting to want kidsss~.

I feel as if my paternal instincts have awoken, but I'm only fifteen, which is way too young for me, even if it's not egregiously young these days. Besides, I'm still exploring, and I don't want to be a deadbeat dad.

Shaking my head clear of these thoughts, I grin down at the kids and start waving my hands around dramatically, strategically using Kon's inherited Illusion Technique to make various special effects as I do so, to which they 'ooh' and 'aah' appropriately.

From the corner of my eye, I see a number of men and especially women standing in the near distance and watching. I especially take note of one woman clutching nervously at her arm while staring more intensely than the rest. I'm pretty sure I can guess which one of the kids is hers just from the similar looks.

She notices me noticing her, but I just send her a wink and focus back on the kids.

"Prepare yourselves for the ultimate ability~!" I yell out to them while upping the light show a little bit, making them all gasp and or lean forward excitedly as I finish the build-up with a powerful declaration. "A spell to create a field of flowers!"

As I finish my words, I bring my hands down and slam them into the floor, the lightshow coming with and dispersing across the ground as I do so. At the same time, I activate the script I'd already written on the floor.

The next thing they know, a massive field of beautiful, multicoloured flowers spring into existence in full bloom all around us, petals flying around and filling the air, making for a truly majestic sight.

I designed this spell myself after taking inspiration from the way Michizane grew a tree. Sukuna and I were talking about it, and it made me laugh how different we are. Because thinking about a Technique to manipulate flora, my first thought was using it to grow flowers, while Sukuna's first thought was to turn the grass into knives.

Either way, this has quickly become one of my favourite spells. Both because it is a beautiful sight when used and also because, my eyes drift to the kids and their wide-eyed looks of wonder, the reaction it brings out in others is even more beautiful.

From there, most of the kids start running around through the flowers, playing with each other in a way that only kids can do.

I feel warm.

My head tilts back, and I close my eyes and bask in the warm rays of the sun for a moment, laughter filling my ears.

When my eyes open, I find them turning towards the sun, my Cursed Energy removing the need to squint at the glare, and I must have been really relaxed at that moment, because the next words that left my mouth did so without any conscious thought on my part.

"I wonder if a God can even have children with a human like me?"

The moment my words register in my own mind, I find myself feeling slightly embarrassed and look away, even if there's no way that the actual Chief God of the entire Realm, Amaterasu, actually heard me... Right?

Desperate for something else to think about, I return my attention to my immediate surroundings. It's not like I'm all that shy or someone easily flustered, it's just that I spoke without thinking that's really leaving me embarrassed.

Either way, my attention is soon brought back down to Earth when I see that the clingy boy is sitting by himself, only a few steps away from me, and watching the other children play as if he had been excluded.

I think I get the feeling though. I doubt he has actually been excluded, he's probably just the type to overthink things and assume no one wants him around just because they haven't explicitly said that they did, when in truth, the others likely just expected him to follow.

Or I could be completely wrong, I'm not psychic.

Moving over, the kid notices me as I sit down in front of him and sends me a nervous smile that I return with a what I hope is a warm and comforting one.

His shoulders relax a little, so I assume I found some success there.

"Do you want to play with the others?" I ask him while idly picking at the flowers in front of me.

He startles a little bit and then turns his big baby eyes to the other kids, and I can practically feel the longing in his gaze.

Then he turns back and just completely lies to my face.

"N-no," he says, lying in that way that children lie when they think that it is the answer they are supposed to give.

"I see," I hum, not calling him out on it directly. He's already nervous, I don't want to make him any more uncomfortable. "Well, I can understand wanting rest your legs for a moment."

I'm not exactly an expert at dealing with kids. But unlike anybody in this time, I have the benefit of having attended public schooling in my last life. Which means that I have had meaningful interactions with hundreds of kids, most of whom had some complaint or other about their parents.

Which means I have a long list of things not to do at the very least. In this situation, I judge that bringing any kind of light to his shyness would be a bad move, so I decide to spin my words differently.

"You know, believe it or not, but I used to be really really scared of people," I lie, poorly, but he's a kid so he can't tell. Either way, I can tell that I have his attention, and I keep picking at the flowers as I continue, "I used to think that everyone hated me, because they never told me that they didn't and they always left me alone. But then a friend helped me realise that I was actually being left alone because they thought that I wanted to be alone, even though I didn't. It is funny, but people cannot know what you are feeling unless you tell them. So I did, I told them I wanted to play and have fun, and then we did. It was so silly, and I was pretty embarrassed to admit it, but that embarrassment was worth it, to me, because I got to play with my friends again."

I sense a couple of presences approaching us and rise from my seat into a crouch, looking the kid in his eyes as I hold up the crown of flowers I had been making and place it on his head.

"I have to go now. Thank you for keeping me company, but you can go play with them now. I'm sure that they are missing your company." I pat the kid on the head as I rise properly, turning to face the approaching pair.

One of them I was expecting, the chief of the village, a middle-aged man with a solid build and short black hair that is starting to grey. However, I wasn't expecting the woman next to him, though I do easily recognise her as the one who was anxiously watching me before.

She has long black hair set loose, slightly pudgy cheeks, a clear sign of the prosperity of the village, and is wearing the same simple, poor quality clothes that all villagers seem to wear, the same kind of material quality as my scarf.

I walk to meet them halfway, and the chief quickly greets me with a bow, though the woman seems to be lost in her thoughts and seemingly doesn't notice.

"Buddha-sama," he starts, making me sigh internally. "It is beginning."

I nod at his words, which is about when he notices the lady not paying attention, and I see panic briefly flash on his face when he glances back at me, but my smile seems to reassure him that I'm not going to suddenly take offence.

Being a normal commoner born before the modern era in my memory must have been so anxiety inducing. You just need to say the wrong thing, or do the wrong thing to someone of higher standing and your entire life and livelihood could come to an end.

It's sad. I do wish the weak did not have to live in fear like that, but I can't realistically think of a way to 'fix' the issue. It is simply a part of human nature. I even have an extra one thousand years of history to point to as proof.

"Ayano-san," the chief speaks again before I can even respond, nudging the woman by his side. "You are being disrespectful to Budd-"

He is cut off when Ayano's head abruptly snaps to my own as she speaks over the chief. "Kentako is playing," she all but whispers, making me turn back to see that the kid I was talking to, Kentako, I assume, is indeed playing with the other kids, running and laughing and having a whale of a time. "Thank you for talking to him. He hasn't smiled so much in..." She trails off.

The woman goes to bow, but I quickly place a hand on her shoulder to stop her. I can more or less understand the situation. A mother's love is a powerful thing, she is probably just emotional because she has been forced to see her son suffer loneliness for however long without knowing how to help.

Still, "You needn't thank me, Ayano-san. Happiness is infectious you know? I merely selfishly wanted to make them smile so that they could infect me, so if you really want to thank me, then just smile. That is enough."

And she does, smile that is. It is a little tumultuous and full of emotion, like she is holding herself back from crying. I don't presume to know exactly what her situation is, and I don't pry. I feel like whatever was troubling her has passed now, that's all I really need to know here.

"You are too kind, Buddha-sama," the Chief says, making me sigh internally once again. "If you are willing to continue to extend your kindness, we should move to Mina-san's side post-haste."

I don't correct him though. When lacking in information, people tend to assume whatever they want to think. If he wants to think that I am a Monk and not a Sorcerer, then that's his prerogative.

I don't really care either way, honestly. Whatever makes them more comfortable.

"Right you are, Chief-dono," I agree with a nod and turn to walk back to the village, knowing that the Chief would prefer to walk a step behind me.

I obviously would prefer he treat me like an equal, but I'm not going to force my opinions on him when he is clearly uncomfortable around me. Demanding him treat me as a peer would just do more harm than good.

The crowd of adults watches as the Chief and I get closer, Ayano having chosen to stay behind to watch the kids.

One of the women falls into step with us as we walk. She looks almost identical to Ayano, as they are sisters, except that she is very clearly better put together.

"Ayane-san," I greet with a nod and a smile that is reciprocated. "How is she?"

"Mina-san is doing well, but she is about to enter labour, so I imagine that her calm will soon come to an end."

I give a polite laugh at her words, understanding the truth behind them.

My mission today was just to get rid of a Grade One Cursed Spirit that kept spawning a great number of Grade Two Curses, but I finished that pretty much immediately.

I copied what I saw Michizane do with the lightning using Nue, making a single bolt shatter into hundreds of tiny bolts that each would hone in on any source of Cursed Energy, kind of like how a lightning rod functions.

That did mean that the bolts honed in on me as well, since I possess Cursed Energy, but whatever, it worked out in the end.

So that was quick and easy, but then when I was leaving I encountered a man in the forest who was apparently searching for a specific type of medicinal herb, so I helped him find and collect some and then offered healing for whoever needed it, since he wouldn't have been out so deep into the wild unless it was urgent.

I still made sure we picked herbs first because I won't be here forever, so it would be best if they have them for when I'm gone.

Then the man took me to his home, where he lives with his family, deep and isolated in the forest. They were a homely bunch, and the father, as well as the son whom was sick, are both blacksmiths, so they offered me a sword as thanks.

It isn't a very high quality sword, and it would probably break if I swung it without using Cursed Energy to enhance it, but it is still a gift given out of gratitude, so I will treasure it regardless.

Then I found out that the son got ill because he was staying up all night forging a futokorogatana for his sister, a small dagger designed to be held within the folds of a kimono and generally held by the ladies of Samurai families so that they can kill themselves if they get captured in order to avoid being shamed.

I don't really like that, but again, I am not going to try and force my opinions on an entire culture.

Apparently, a Samurai took a liking to his sister and got her pregnant. They're set to get married once he gets back from some assignment or other. The only reason she's still in the village is because she is heavily pregnant, so they decided it would be better to have the child first before moving in with the Samurai's family, lest she risk having to give birth on the road.

With that information, I decided to visit the village, because I know that the mortality rate for new-borns in this day and age is pretty high, so I figured that with Reverse Cursed Energy I could prevent such a fate.

Which brought me here to this village, where, after a brief chat with the Chief, I ended up playing with the kids, as she would be going into labour soon.

That time is now.

"You're quite good with children," Ayane notes as we approach the building, a tone of compliment to the words. "Do you have many younger siblings?"

"No, I am an only child. Though, I did have an older brother, once. I just like how easily children smile." In my previous life to be exact. I haven't really thought about him in a while. I generally just don't think of my previous life much at all, only really when I experience culture shock at things I find odd in this time.

"I am sorry for your loss," Ayane says, noting my use of the past tense.

"It is fine," I wave her off. "It was a long time ago, I have moved on."

"That is good then. Grief weighs us down."

"Indeed it does."

The rest of the walk is in silence until we reach Mina's family home and Ayane, who I can only assume is the closest thing this village has to a midwife, leads me in, while the Chief stays outside.

Typically, a man is not supposed to see a woman during birth, culturally. Though, I'm pretty sure that, at least with the nobles, women often give birth with a crowd behind a thin curtain. Nobles are weird like that.

Well, I suppose it's not entirely out of weirdness in this world.

After all, the Spirit World and the Material World come closest together during times of life and death, as well as the full moon and probably eclipses too.

So nobles tend to have a bunch of Monks and Onmyōji present during pregnancies in order to ward off the malevolent Spirits and Miko, Shrine Maidens to become vessels for Spirits in order to properly commune and disperse them. Which is why it's even acceptable that I be present.

Though, these people aren't nobles, so they're less anal about following rules and traditions in the first place. Out in the boonies, what matters first and foremost will always be survival, not tradition.

Which is why no one complains as Ayane leads me into the room where Mina is. The woman in question is squatting upright, dressed in a loose robe and holding onto a shimenawa rope tied to the ceiling.

It's a little odd to me, since in my mind the image of giving birth involves laying on your back with the legs held up in stirrups, not this. Still, I don't stare, obviously. It would be very rude to do so.

Instead, I glance about the room, taking in the two other women present, making three with Ayane. They're the ones that will actually be tending to the birth, I am just here to ward of spirits and for the sake of after care.

It's not like I could heal the woman during the birth, that would be... Not a great idea. After all, the.. 'Wound' does need to remain open for a bit. Ah, I feel so awkward right now.

I give the women all a polite nod of the head before heading to the wall behind Mina and sitting down and closing my eyes. A part of me is honestly tempted to sit down facing the wall, but again, that would also be rude. Maybe.

Okay, I really don't know what I'm supposed to do in this situation or how I'm supposed to act. It's not like I've been trained for this, and I feel so damn awkward right now.

Especially as time passes and the labour actually starts properly, alongside the agonised screaming of Mina. I just want to dig a hole and hide in it.

I am a very curious person, but there are some things that even I am fine with not knowing. Though, maybe I'll be more willing to pay proper attention when it's my own child?

I doubt I'd feel as awkward then.

Thankfully, as the pregnancy progresses, my poor attempts at meditating through it is interrupted when I feel a number of Spirits brushing against my senses.

I don't move my body, but I do open my metaphorical third eye to look at the hungry ghosts, and quickly figure that I likely won't need to do anything.

The Spirits aren't really intelligent, but they aren't stupid either. The birth is attracting their attention, but they won't get closer, or rather, they can't get closer, it's a matter of survival to them.

They aren't even really properly manifested Cursed Spirits, so their strength is around that of a Grade Four, and since they don't have any kind of physical bodies, I am capable of killing them without even using any techniques.

Just my Cursed Energy alone would be enough to disperse them, to crush and grind them down into nothing. So all that they can really do is hover around the building, staring hungrily at Mina but knowing that my presence will crush them if they get any closer.

Still, at least they are good for something, as I can spend my attention studying them instead of focusing on literally anything else right now.

I might have forgotten how long birth takes though. It's probably because I've seen some of my deer give birth, and that whole thing lasted like twenty minutes. Just popped the little guy out.

Human labour lasts more like ten hours. So it eventually reached the point that I got so bored that I figured out how to make tendrils out of pure Cursed Energy Manipulation that I then used to capture a few hungry ghosts.

From there, I probably spent a few hours just mapping out their bodies with my Cursed Energy, both the outside form and the internals. Quite a few of them died in my experiments, but the others aren't intelligent enough to take that as a warning to run away.

I ended up losing myself to the experiments, eventually even attempting to recreate the Spirits with my own Cursed Energy by just copying their makeup, to mixed results.

Instead of making Spirits, I just ended up making Shikigami, though it's not like the difference is particularly large. The only thing that really separates the two is that a Shikigami is a servant, under the control of another's will.

Which is nice and all, but I could already make Shikigami, even if every Shikigami I've tried to summon without my Technique has turned out horrendously weak, likely as a result of some kind of Vow imbedded into my Technique.

What I was trying to do here was to make an actual, untethered Spirit. One that is not bound to me in any way. Not for any particular reason, like thinking such a creation would be useful. I just want to see if I can create independent life.

Eventually however, I am finally broken out of my meditation by a great commotion. The pained screaming has disappeared, but in its place is a whole lot of panicked shouting from multiple voices, including Ayane, who is calling for my attention specifically.

My eyes snap open and I take in the situation as quickly as possible. Ayane is in front of me, getting my attention, while the other two women are in front of Mina.

There's plenty of blood on the floor, which I choose not to think about, and a baby is being held in one of the woman's hands, while the other is steadying Mina who is also reaching for the baby, though too tired to make much of an effort.

As for the baby, it is rather blue and its head is lolled to the side, unmoving, with what I think is a bit of a cut umbilical chord on its neck.

Ah, I think, already moving, That's not good.

Frankly speaking, it would simply be too depressing to witness a miscarriage, and I'm trying to stop crying so much, because Sukuna keeps making fun of me every time I do.

In other words, I refuse to allow today to be a day of mourning.

One quick step brings me across the entire room and next to the baby, which I quickly snatch from the woman holding it, ignoring any protests as I flip my Cursed Energy into Positive and all but drown the baby in it.

It, rather, his skin rapidly regains its pallor, and even though it's actually super difficult to do, I push some normal Cursed Energy inside of his body, specifically into his lungs, so that the violent energy can destroy any amniotic liquids or whatever that is in there.

It's challenging because using Negative Energy and Positive Energy at the same time, on the same body, is a massive fucking pain in the ass, but time is of the essence here.

In short order, the baby is in perfect physical health, yet I notice that it is still not breathing, nor is its heart beating.

With my Cursed Energy practically suffusing the boy, I can very clearly tell that it is already dead. His soul has already left his body.

But fuck that.

Since when has death been something that has stopped me?

"Generous Deer," I intone, not actually summoning it, since there is limited space in here and it's pretty big. Instead, I simply bring its own Positive Energy out through my body and into the world.

Generous Deer is so much better than me at matters of pure Positive Energy that the entire room is engulfed in it, healing and revitalising all four woman present, especially the mother.

But I focus my attention on the baby and watch as the void I felt in his soul starts to spark with life until it abruptly blooms back into place, like a tiny fire lit in his little baby heart.

I hadn't actually had the chance to confirm it before, but I did have the feeling. Ever since Inumaki killed me, when I was in that dark void between life and death, I have felt a change in Generous Deer.

I don't really know what happened or how, but what I did think, and now know to be true, is that unlike myself, Generous Deer can heal the Soul.

A wet cough is heard, followed by a high pitched cry, and a palpable wave of relief washes through the room. I don't waste any time turning to the new mother and holding out her baby boy, whom she accepts gratefully, crying with so many emotions overwhelming her.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you," Mina repeats, curling up as she hugs her baby close.

I smile at the sight, feeling warm just from the pure, motherly love radiating off of Mina. It's quite a beautiful sight, yet, instead of properly enjoying it, all I can think of is how much more beautiful it would be if it were my own child being born into the world.

Man, I'm too young to be having these thoughts.

Glancing down at my hands, I grimace at the gross mix of fluids covering them.

"Well, I am going to go and clean myself," I softly inform the women present, not wanting to disturb Mina, who doesn't seem to have heard me anyway.

Two stay with Mina but Ayane follows me out, and I quickly step off of the road and out of the way before using Max Elephant to summon forth enough water to wash my hands clean, doing the same for Ayane a moment later.

It's only then that I look up and realise that night has fallen at some point.

"Thank you, Buddha-sama," Ayane says, gaining my attention to see her bow, "For everything you have done."

"It's fine, it's fine," I wave her off. "I should probably head off though, I am already late, I don't think I am going to get yelled at, but I am sure Takiyasha-san is going to glare at me at least, maybe even click her tongue."

My classmates and I spar fairly frequently, but I am also late fairly frequently, because I keep getting distracted, so they're pretty used to it by now. At least enough so that Takiyasha doesn't waste her breath scolding me anymore.

"Are you sure?" Ayane asks, looking rather torn. "It is already late, we would be more than happy to provide lodging for the night."

"Don't worry, I will be fine," I refute. I do appreciate the offer, but... Wait a minute, is there actually a reason to refuse? Not really. I've already sent a Butterfly to inform them of my success in regards to my mission.

"But if you insist," I continue, "How could I refuse?"

Ayane lights up at that, which in turn makes me smile.

"In that case, please come with me. My daughter should have a meal prepared for us, then you can sleep in our spare room."

"I will be in your care, then," I respond with a slight bow.

Nothing else overly exciting happens. I meet some of Ayane's family, we eat and then go to bed. In the morning I am treated to another meal, and then it is time for me to leave.

However, before I can even make it to the edge of the village, a ragged, frantic looking woman stops in front of me, and I don't fail to notice the look of pity on Ayane's face at her appearance.

"Buddha-sama, is it true that you can bring the dead back to life?" She asks, her tone as frantic as her appearance, and she continues talking before I can even begin to answer. "Please bring my Tochiro back to me!"

Ah.

"I am sorry," I say, my voice sombre. "That is not something that I have the ability to do."

The almost broken look on her face makes my chest feel tight, and when she falls to her knees, crying with eyes full of resignation and grief, I crouch down with her, and place a comforting hand on her shoulder.

With my other hand, I rotate my wrist and trace a perfect circle on the ground, before using my Cursed Energy Manipulation alone to write out a quick script, like I saw Michizane do, and a moment later, a small portion of the earth forms into a crater about the size of my hand.

The displaced earth rises up into a cylindrical shape that compresses and transforms into pure stone and then changes some more until it resembles the head of a smiling baby, made to look as happy as I could make it, with its body covered with a cloak except for a small parting at the front to show the statue's hands in prayer.

I pick up the little statue and hold it out to the woman, speaking softly to her as I do so. "We only truly die when we are forgotten. Do not let grief hold you down forever."

The woman accepts the statue with a barely whispered thank you, and I give her shoulder one more pat before standing and continuing my walk, a small smile on my face.

I think it's pretty beautiful that she still has such strong feelings of love for her child even after they have presumably passed a while ago now. There is beauty even in tragedy.

There are no more distractions, and we shortly arrive at the edge of the village. It is quite the affair, with a lot of the village gathered around to see me off, which is honestly rather heart-warming, but also a little bit excessive.

Which is why then the Chief steps forward, no doubt ready to make some great proclamation, if I had to guess from the looks of the others present, I stop him by speaking first.

"I will be going now, Chief-dono," I say before raising my hand in a two fingered wave, "Later."

The Chief is visibly stunned by my brief goodbye, which makes me snicker as I turn around and walk away, waving my hand over my shoulder at the hastily returned goodbyes.

I just don't like excessive partings. If the last memory I have of someone is a tearful goodbye, then I feel like it will make me forget the previous memories.

Besides, it would be embarrassing if we meet again after having such over the top goodbyes. Better to keep it simple.

Sukuna

Sitting on a rock overlooking a small valley, Sukuna rests his elbow on a knee and his chin in his hand as he watches the Sorcerers below fight the Curse.

He was sent in response to an emergency request for aide. Some Grade One Sorcerer and his two Grade Two students encountered a Special Grade Curse that they thought was only Grade One.

The only reason they even managed to inform anyone of the danger they are in is because the Grade One learnt how to use Narauko's Black Butterfly Technique.

Still, he doesn't really feel like saving them.

The Curse isn't even that strong for a Special Grade. It barely qualifies.

So boring.

Besides, he wants to see what Techniques are being used.

"I'm not saving them," he says, purely out of habit. But then he glances to the side and remembers that he is alone.

Scowling slightly, he turns his attention back to the fight, and a moment later, he witnesses as the Curse is cut in half by the Grade One getting a lucky strike in.

However, before the weaklings below can celebrate, the Grade One Sorcerer's head abruptly pops like a melon, and his eyes are drawn back to the two halves of the Curse in time to watch as they both regenerate into fully-formed, identical bodies.

The only difference is that now, they are both twice as powerful as they were in one body.

Interesting, Sukuna thinks with a growing smile, rising to his feet now that the Curse has garnered enough interest in him for him to want to act.

"What do you think its limits.. are..." His words trail off and he glances to his side again, once more finding nothing but empty air.

There is no one for him to talk to. Narauko got send on a mission the other day and still hasn't gotten back yet. Probably got distracted by something pointless.

He is alone.

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

Just felt like Narauko should do something wholesome. Only really wanted to do the scene with the flower crown, but whatever lol. If anyone can figure out what legend Narauko is accidentally becoming, then you will earn nothing, but you'll make me happy :P

Also, what do you think of the little Sukuna pov? I kinda want to limit pov's from his perspective, cuz I feel like it's better if we don't know exactly what he is thinking from his own perspective, but I feel like little snaps are good :3

Still 5 only ahead on patreon cuz I didn't write for like a week :P

Chapter Text

Pre-A/N Post-Writing Edit: Just wanna apologise briefly for not uploading for like 8 days. I won't get into the why, but I will post that omake now to make up for it :P Imma try get back into the swing of things and upload more.

A/N: I just wanna say this here and now to pre-empt the inevitable 'this lore doesn't match with that lore' and 'this lore contradicts that lore' like I know. Brother, I know. I spend so many hours researching the shit I write before I write it, I've literally had two instances where I've had 91 and 73 tabs of wikipedia open at once respectively.

So I'm just going to say that this is a crossover that is going to grow, but I shall be making sure to modify and twist things a little bit to fit in crossover elements without them seeming out of universe. So please don't give me any 'um actually, this character is blah blah blah which doesn't fit with what you've written'. I KNOW! It's a crossover!

Thank you for listening to my ted talk, onto the chap :P.

Kiichi Hougen gently drops down in front of the excessively large mansion of her host in the reverse side of the world with barely a sound marking her arrival.

She is a woman of moderate height, slightly taller than the average human woman. Her hair is long enough to reach her thighs and coloured a wonderful silver while her eyes shine golden with slit pupils.

On her head she has a pair of black, feather-thin horns that sprout from behind her ears and curve around her head and up, lightening in colour as they rise and leaving a small gap between them directly above her head.

She is wearing a scarlet red armour that doesn't really cover much, protecting her neck, her breasts, the left side of her hip and both of her thighs. There is also a white under armour that covers her sides and left arm, but that too has a pair of diamond shapes cut into it, exposing her flat stomach and the space between her neck and chest.

Her legs are fully covered by tight black leggings that lighten to grey at her ankles, leading to her feet that are fully covered by a pair of red-trimmed white sandals that each has a thin blade jutting out the length of the bottom to stand on.

Additionally, she wears black gloves and has an attachment on her left bicep that flares a number of crow feathers over her shoulder, each pitch black at the base and lightening into grey at the tips. Lastly, she has a number of thin red ropes tied to her, on her wrists and in her hair, to add some more colour and a white half skirt covering her left side.

In one hand she casually rests a long naginata on her shoulder, it's shaft a dark black that also lightens into a lighter grey as it reaches the tip, which is a red blade with two large serrations on the back. Like much of her other aesthetic, the blade is a dark red at its base and lightens towards the tip.

On her back she has her other weapon, a large fan with a black handle and long white feathers that are each half as long as she is tall.

It is with a slight smile on her lips that Kiichi Hougen steps towards the mansion, ger gait relaxed.

The front door slides open as she reaches it, and she doesn't miss a step as she enters the building, humming in appreciation. They didn't do that last time.

It's not like she has a problem with having to open doors herself. Despite being a Daiyōkai, she's not as hot-headed as most of her 'peers'. Comes with age, she supposes.

That said, she still cut down the door last time instead of opening it, but that was because of who the door belongs to, rather than out of any feeling of misplaced insult.

Maybe that's why it opens by itself now? She doesn't know, nor does she really care.

It doesn't take long to reach her destination. She can feel the building reform itself so that the hallway she's walking through leads straight there. It didn't do that last time either. Did he find a new servant?

For someone like her, it isn't difficult to find the answer before she even enters the room where he sits. A simple feeling of her surroundings reveals a new presence standing behind the despicable man, one she doesn't recognise.

A slight deeper look into the presence and she can see the connection it has to the building. It's a moderately impressive showing for such a weak Yōkai, but if they specialise in terrain manipulation, then she doubts they're very good at anything else.

Kiichi tilts her head when she feels the presence shudder and start to shake, a faint sense of fear starting to waft from them.

Oops, she thinks to herself, recognising the issue. It seems I looked a little bit too close and they noticed.

Oh well.

At least it means that no one is surprised when she arrives. She can tell that they are all paying attention to the door before she even opens it, not that she hesitates to do so.

Inside are six beings, five of whom are fellow Daiyōkai, sitting around a large circular table, each with varying amounts of sake in front of them. the final being a simple Yōkai, and the one who she noticed manipulating the building.

On the left is her second favourite, Tsuchigumo. He is a giant of a man, standing at about seven and a half metres tall. A little bit over four times her own height.

He has long red hair, almost as long as her own, relatively, and possesses bulging muscles that still fail to do justice to the strength they hold. His face is that of a white horned mask. She's unsure if the humans who started making those 'demon masks' did so in imitation of him or not.

He's also not wearing a shirt or anything, just a pair of hakama pants, and he notably possesses five arms. It used to be six, but she cut one of them off when he first challenged her to a fight. She knows he doesn't mind though. If anything, he's the kind of man who wants to be weaker so that he can enjoy a bitter struggle against more opponents.

He's fun.

Next in line comes in a pair of Oni sisters.

Ibaraki and Shuten.

Unlike Tsuchigumo, these two look pretty human. Or at least, they are shorter than she is, and other than Ibaraki's hands and feet, their skin is mostly human-looking.

Aside the horns, of course.

Ibaraki's horns are black at the base before a series of swirling red, almost tribal, markings start covering them, lightly at first but more and more until the tips of the horn are simply painted red.

Similar red markings can be seen on her head, contrasting with her long yellow hair and bright yellow eyes. There are further markings under her eyes, on her neck, shoulders and the lower half of her legs.

Her decency is covered by a loose flower-printed yellow kimono, with a white corset-like undershirt to protect her modesty where her kimono is too loose to do so.

At her back is the large handle of her sword, peaking over her shoulder, and in her hand is a cup of sake, though she keeps glancing suspiciously between said cup and her sister.

Shuten is quite the opposite, possessing short and straight purple hair that is almost dark enough to be black. Her eyes are similarly dark, a light shadow surrounding them, and her lips are painted the same dark purple colour as her hair, almost looking as if a kiss from her would be poisonous.

As for her clothes, well, Kiichi is of the opinion that it would be less suggestive if she was simply nude. Her kimono, purple with dull red at the tips of the sleeves, only connects at the sash over her waist. Above and below, the kimono is basically just open, exposing the only coverings she has underneath. That being a small set of black coverings over her equally small breasts, and a tiny strip of black fabric to cover her womanhood.

Additionally, her kimono cuts off below the waist. The only thing she is wearing below her hips is a pair of knee guards that stretch from the middle of her shins to the middle of her thighs, leaving much skin exposed.

Kiichi likes it.

She doesn't like exposing her legs so much, but she understands that wearing too many clothes just feels restrictive. She has no idea why humans wear so many layers. They're such interesting creatures.

The fourth person in line actually makes her smile.

"Yo, Inugami," she greets, not really paying much mind to the others present.

Inugami is the only one who's age can compare to her own. His form is mostly covered by a large black cloak, leaving only the large head of a brown dog visible, large enough that his jaw is about half as big as her body is.

"Sōjōbō," he greets in turn, using her true name and not the temporary one she's chosen to use for this era, his deep voice slow and old. "It has been some time."

"Six hundred years or so," she responds with a half shrug. "You're getting old."

"Ha ha, indeed I am," he agrees while she walks to take her seat next to him. "You are as full of vigour as always, however."

As she sits, her eyes turn to the final Daiyōkai currently present and the one who called for this meeting in the first place.

Nurarihyon. The leader of the Eastern Faction of Yōkai

His appearance is that of a handsome young man, with pale yellow eyes that have a pair of black markings underneath them and hair that is a pale silver on the top and a deep black underneath.

However, distinctly from a human, his hair extends a large distance behind him, such that he almost makes the shape of a scythe when he stands up, and she knows that it's not just his hair, but actually his skull that is so long.

Shame he doesn't have enough brain matter to fill that whole skull of his, she thinks to herself, unkindly.

"Unlike you, I can still find interests to pursue," she says, continuing her conversation with Inugami.

"Hoh hoh," he chuckles, a furry paw coming out of his cloak to stroke his chin as if he is a human with a beard. "I am finding that life slows down as you lose your vigour. It is peaceful."

Briefly, she wonders if he is going to die. It's not like either of them will ever die of old age, not unless they want to. But maybe that is what he wants? To wrinkle away until he eventually dies?

She doesn't get it, but she will still support her friend if that is what he wants. The fact that he even seems so old makes her think that she's right. He wouldn't look old unless he felt old.

"Sounds boring," she comments before picking up a bottle of sake right after it appears on the table in front of her.

As she drinks from it, she briefly turns her gaze to the final Yōkai present, standing deferentially behind Nurarihyon as they are, and feels her brows rise slightly at the sight.

Interesting, she thinks to herself.

She can recognise them as a spider Yōkai, though they are currently wearing the face of a beautiful woman rather than showing her spidery form.

What is interesting however is her control over the building. Looking with her own eyes, Kiichi can tell that she is doing so through the use of her Osore, which seems to be a most interesting Osore.

Something to keep an eye on.

"Right?" Tsuchigumo says, agreeing with her. "Why would you ever want to stop fighting?"

"Oh, I don't know~," Shuten's playfully seductive voice answers as she swirls her cup of sake right in front of her mouth, no doubt to bring attention to her lips. "I can think of plenty of fun things to do instead of fighting~," she continues, punctuation her words by sliding her tongue out of her mouth and into her sake cup before tilting it up and taking a gulp.

Unfortunately for her, Tsuchigumo is the kind of muscle head that is immune to seduction by virtue of being kind of an idiot.

"Brat, my cock is the size of your entire body," he starts, the unexpected vulgarity making Kiichi snort a laugh, "Fighting and fucking are the only fun things in this world, and you're both too weak to fight and too small to fuck."

Shuten clearly didn't like that answer, if the thinning of her eyes is any indication, though Ibaraki is the one who truly seems ready to resort to violence. However, they are interrupted by the door opening again before anything can happen.

Well, she says 'opening,' but it would be more accurate to say that the door is destroyed in an explosion.

From the smoke, a petite, pink haired child appears. She is easily the smallest Yōkai present, and she manages to prove Kiichi's earlier thoughts about Shuten correct, as she is covering even less skin than Shuten is, and yet doesn't appear nearly as suggestive.

The newest entrant is only wearing a pair of black sleeves connecting with a collar and turning white as it covers her chest. Other than that, she is wearing a similar strip as Shuten over her womanhood and a pair of red scale boots up to her knees.

"I have arrived!" she triumphantly yells, her hands on her hips and her bright blue eyes wide with childish excitement. "Demon Lord Milim Nava is here! You're welcome!"

...She's been calling herself a Demon Lord ever since she met one of those Abrahamic Devils, even though she is one of Yamata-no-Orochi's daughters and definitely not a demon of any sort. Apparently it's 'cooler than Daiyōkai'.

She might even be stronger than Inugami though, so it's not like anyone is going to say anything about it to her face.

"Welcome, welcome," Nurarihyon greets genially. "Would you li-"

"Shut up weird-hair! Gimme sake!" She yells, interrupting Nurarihyon and skipping over to Tsuchigumo to grab one of his many bottles of sake and then jumping across the table to land in a free seat.

Tsuchigumo doesn't say anything, both because his sake is refilled anyway and will continue to be, so long as he remains a guest, and also because the last time he challenged her to a fight she ended it in one punch.

Behind Milim follows her aides, Frey and Carrion.

Carrion appears as a blond-haired man wearing a sleeveless white robe with black lining going down the centre. He is a wolf that managed to evolve into a Yōkai. A somewhat impressive achievement, though he doesn't seem to have done much since then.

Frey however, is much more interesting to her eyes, solely because Frey is a Tengu just like she is. Well, not 'just like', as she is a Daitengu, but still.

Frey has short white hair and covers her body with a black dress that actually conceals everything except for her arms, which are mostly covered by long red gloves, only leaving the skin around and below her shoulder exposed.

She also has her wings folded behind her as she walks with Carrion to stand behind Milim, who is already ignoring the world around her and downing bottle after bottle of sake.

Milim, Nurarihyon and Hagoromo are usually the only ones to bring aides, since they're the only ones in positions of leadership. Though, she would have expected Hagoromo to have arrived by now.

A part of her laments the fact that there is hardly any good food or drinks out there. It's certainly better than a thousand years ago, but not by a massive amount. Sake is the best there is, so it's pretty much all a lot of them subsist off of.

It is good though. She takes a sip of her own sake. Very good.

Milim lets out a long, satisfied sigh only after finishing her seventh bottle. "Sake's so gooood~!" She then exclaims, getting a round of nods from everyone at the table.

Except for Ibaraki, who still seems to be trying to figure out if her sister poisoned her drink or not.

Finally, the last Yōkai arrives, strolling casually through the doorless frame.

First through the door is a large, muscular man. He is only wearing hakama pants like Tsuchigumo and has a large mane of black hair flowing down his back. His race is made clear by the pair of horns sticking out from the side of his head and curving horizontally forward.

This is Otakemaru, the only living Kijin, which makes him to Oni what she is to Tengu. A higher form of life.

By his side is yet another Oni. She holds the appearance a young looking woman, taller than the other two Onis but shorter than Kiichi herself, who possesses short light brown hair and is dressed like a Shirabyōshi, a type of human entertainer that wears a mans Shinto outfit, though far more loose and thin, and her hakama cut off barely halfway down the thigh.

She also possesses a Tachi sword sheathed at her side, the hilt facing down. However, what is the most strange is that she has, for some reason layered an illusion over her horns to make them look like fox ears, and has another illusion of a fox's tail swaying behind her.

Kiichi doesn't even know who she is, but she already feels like she knows what kind of a person they are.

"Oh~?" Otakemaru hums as he enters, strolling up to a seat of his own. "It appears I am the last to arrive, unless your father plans on coming?" He finishes, directing his question first to Milim and then to Ibaraki and Shuten.

Milim stops drinking to glance about the room ponderously for a moment before turning back to Otakemaru and tilting her head at him. "I don't think he'd fit," is all she says before returning to her bottles.

As Otakemaru pulls out his own seat at the table, the chairs being more like thrones, beside him his partner does the same.

However, right before she can sit down, she has to rapidly step to the side to avoid the throne she was pulling out as it is launched with incredible speed into the far wall, shattering into pieces on impact.

Eyes are drawn to Ibaraki as they all feel her power flowing, the Oni making no attempt to disguise it as she glares at the brown-haired woman.

"These seats are for Ultimate beings only. Don't insult us by thinking a weakling like you may sit with us as if an equal."

Kiichi sips her sake as she watches the new girl's eyes tighten into a frosty glare, but despite their look of anger, she, and likely a few others present, does not fail to notice the very real fear hidden behind her glare.

It's not surprising, really.

Ibaraki, as well as everyone else seated at this table, is the near sum total of Ultimate-class Yōkai in the realm. Whereas this girl is a mere High-class, and Ibaraki isn't being shy about releasing her aura. If anything, it's impressive that the girl's knees haven't buckled yet.

However, a moment later, an even more oppressive aura bursts forth from Otakemaru, countering the effect and reliving his partner.

"Watch how you speak to my wife, Brat," he says, surprising Kiichi.

She didn't think he of all people would get married. Least of all to someone weaker than himself.

Maybe she's actually just really specialised in mind magic and is controlling his will somehow? It honestly seems more plausible than that guy settling down.

"Congratulations on your marriage," Inugami says, dispersing the growing tension with his old man geniality. "Will you introduce us?"

Otakemaru is not a particularly respectful person. If anything, Kiichi would say that he is the opposite of respectful. To her eyes, he is an insolent youth with a lot of pride and very little tempering. But even then, he at least knows to show Inugami and herself proper respect, so at least he isn't too stupid.

"This is Suzuka Gozen, my wife," he says, his voice calm and steady as he gestures briefly to the girl in question. "Gozen, stand behind me."

Suzuka huffs but obeys, glaring at Ibaraki all the while.

Kiichi is surprised she hasn't had to stop a fight this time. Usually she gets to stretch her blade a little bit when they meet up like this.

Then again, the last time was six hundred years ago, and a lot of these youngsters simply weren't around back then.

Still, one thing is bothering her about his words...

"Say," Shuten speaks up, her words mirroring Kiichi's thoughts. "What do you mean when you say you are the last to show up? Aren't we still waiting for Hagoromo Gitsune, the leader of the Western Yōkai Faction?"

"Hm?" He responds. "You have not heard?"

"Hagoromo Gitsune is dead," Nurarihyon states, bringing the room's attention, minus Milim, to him. "That fact is part of the reason why I called for this meeting."

Kiichi once more finds herself surprised. Hagoromo might not have been exceptionally powerful, but she was certainly still an impressive Daiyōkai. One who was older than most present. That said, Kiichi won't really morn her, though she is a little sad that a face she has known for so long is now gone from the world.

"How did she die?" Inugami asks for her.

"Fuck knows," Tsuchigumo gruffly answers, being the only one here who was subordinate to her, if only in name. "Last I heard it was her son, that Seimei brat. He's the only one that came out alive though, so it's just a theory, and I ain't sure I believe it. All I know is the faction is tense. Right now we're still unsure exactly how dead she is, but the faction'll probably fracture if she doesn't come back soon. There'll be a succession dispute, probably. Not like I really care."

Kiichi has a hard time believing that too. She never met the kid, but her understanding was that he and Hagoromo were very close. The woman in question certainly loved him with all her being.

As for the succession of the West Yōkai Faction, she remembers hearing that Hagoromo had an impressive student. A Tamamo-no-Mae. Though, she doubts that kid is nearly strong enough to succeed Hagoromo.

"Wasn't she s'pposed to be impressive?" Ibaraki asks, tilting her head plainly. "How'd she die to a human?"

It's a good question since Hagoromo was a Kitsune with eight tails. She was impressive.

"And that," Nurarihyon states with a snap of his fingers, "Is the reason I called for this meeting. That Seimei brat may be a human, but he's strong. It's not just him either, the humans already have half as many official Special Grade Sorcerers as us, and I hear that soon enough that number is likely going to be bumped up until there are as many Special Grade Sorcerers as there are Daiyōkai, roughly."

"Sounds fun," Tsuchigumo says, taking another swig from his bottle.

"So what?" Ibaraki asks, unintentionally making her youthfulness clear to the older Yōkai present. "Humans are human. Special or whatever doesn't make a difference. Humans will always just be humans."

Nurarihyon nods his head in agreement. "Indeed, no human will ever be able to match an Ultimate being in terms of pure power, their very being binds them from reaching our levels. However, even if they lack our raw power, you should not underestimate those they call Special Grade. They don't have the power of an Ultimate-class being, but if you underestimate them, you'll die."

"You tryna start a fight, Stupid-hair?" Ibaraki all but growls at Nurarihyon.

"Not at all," he mildly responds, unconcerned. "But if you are so confident, then feel free to seek out the one they now call Nanami Shiki. Even I would rather not face her."

"Coward," Ibaraki snorts.

"Perhaps. But better a coward than dead, and Nanami Shiki is, with no doubt in my mind, the single most lethal being in our realm, perhaps even more so than the Gods themselves. Then there is Sukuna and Narauko. The power they both possess borders on the Ultimate. If it wasn't for their human nature holding them back, they would certainly have climbed to even our heights by now."

"It's not like you to praise a human, Nura," Otakemaru comments with a raised brow.

"It is not often there are humans worthy of praise," he easily responds.

"Is there a point to this?" Tsuchigumo interrupts. "If all ya wanted was to warn us off humanity, then you're wasting your words. I'll fight who I want to fight when I wanna fight 'em."

"The point," Nurarihyon says, "Is that this era of humanity is dangerous. Never before has there been so many Special Grades among the humans. If they run out of Curses to exorcise, it is us Yōkai that they will come for next. I don't know about you, but I will not stand by and allow the humans to cull our kind. I called for this meeting so that we may discuss the removal of these problematic elements. We cannot allow these humans to live."

"I guess with an Osore like yours, I shouldn't be surprised you're so damn boring," Tsuchigumo says before rising to his feet and turning to Ibaraki and Shuten. "Oy, wanna go fight instead of listening to this crap?"

"Yes!" Ibaraki immediately answers, looking more alive than she ever been as she jumps to her feet and doesn't hesitate to pull out her sword.

"Sure sure," Shuten also agrees with a slight sigh. "I had been hoping this would have actually been an interesting meeting, not just a cowardly little man worrying over humans, of all things."

The rest of them watch the three of them walk out in silence, and only once they're out of sight does Otakemaru also rise to his feet.

"I am also leaving. I have no interest in your plans." Without another word, he turns and walks away, his wife following dutifully behind him.

Well, Kiichi thinks to herself, This is turning out to be a quick meeting.

It might even be a record.

"Hm?" Milim looks up at last, noticing the number of presences as having gone down, and she does so just in time to see Otakemaru leave.

"Oh, is it over already?" She asks, and without waiting for a response she turns to Kiichi. "Sōjōbō! Fight me!"

"Sure," she easily agrees. "Wait for me outside."

"'Kay~!" Milim sings as she hops off her seat and flies over the table and out the door, her exasperated followers following after her.

With Milim gone, all that is left at the table is Inugami, Nurarihyon and herself.

A short silence falls upon them, eventually broken by Nurarihyon.

"I suppose neither of you intend to assist me either?" He asks, already knowing the answer.

"No, I am too old to be so active."

"I don't see the point," she answers.

"Then-" Nurarihyon starts but she interrupts him before he can attempt to convince her.

"Even if I saw the point, I like watching the humans. I would rather help the impressive ones grow than cut them down young. I have no interest in your proposal."

"I see," he says after a moment. "Then this was quite the waste of time, wasn't it?"

"It was nice to see everyone," she says, not really trying to lighten his mood, more just making conversation really. Though, maybe she shouldn't, since Milim is waiting for her. "Try not to do anything reckless. You'll make your fears into a self fulfilling prophecy."

With those final words, she departs, feeling some anticipation as she meets back up with Milim.

The little Dragon isn't as strong as she is, but it's still a fun fight.

She'd prefer it if Milim knew how to use a sword though...

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

Not really much of a chapter tbh. I was gonna add more stuff, but it's already passed 4k words so I might as well just post it as its own chapter and go to sleep.

I thought there'd be more conversation, but I guess I didn't take into account the personalities I'd brought to the table when I thought that. I really just can't see any of the others giving a single shit about Nurarihyon's words here lol.

My bad.

Still, there was a lil bit of foreshadowing in this chap, which I always love doing :P

Still 5 only ahead on patreon cuz I still didn't write for like a week :<

Chapter Text

A/N: CONTEXT! This is an Omake set in a pure JJK world. It's a what if for if the world Narauko was born in was just pure JJK, no crossovers. Meaning that while there are some very minor kinda spoilers inside, everything here is still strictly non-canon. Though it does hint at things that are gonna happen in the future of the fic.

I say hint, but it's hardly as subtle as my usual foreshadowing. (Btw, I'm pretty sure like 65% of my foreshadowing goes unnoticed lol, but it's fine, cuz I don't do foreshadowing so you can predict the future, I do it so you can reread and catch one line and be like "wait a second, is this talking about that?" cuz I think those moments are fun :P

Under dark night sky, lit only by the dim lights of the rooftop and the general light pollution of Shibuya's cityscape, Takuma Ino considers his foes.

An old hag in loose robes chanting with a beaded necklace in her hands and some guy in a white sweater and black pants while styling a mohawk that really doesn't look good on him, at least not in Ino's opinion.

Maybe it's just because he's blond like Nanami that Ino is being so critical of his hair. It's hardly important right now.

The man is about as unimpressive as he appears, but he's doing everything he can to protect the old hag, and he doesn't think he wants to find out what all her chanting is leading up to.

Sorcerers tend to waive chants and such to trade power for speed, because speed is what matters most in a battle. By that reasoning, whatever she's doing is likely to be powerful, or at least very difficult, which makes it not something he wants to experience.

As if to prove his thoughts exactly right, the old hag's aura abruptly changes, beginning to rise for reasons he really doesn't want to learn. Neither of them were very daunting opponents before, but as her aura continues to grow, Ino feels a weight settle on his psyche, a foreboding warning that he has come to trust over his time as a Sorcerer.

Danger.

"We're all set now," the old hag says, stopping her mumbled chanting. The abrupt absence of her chanting almost feels loud to his ears, like there's a vacuum trying to fill the gap.

"Got it, Granny," the dude answers, and Ino's foreboding feeling only grows.

"I won't let you!" He yells, his technique summoning Kaichi between his hands, the black-patterned golden horn manifesting, rearing to go.

But even as he does, he feels his bodies hairs stand on end, his skin growing clammy with a sudden sweat and he heaves in a sudden desperate breathe, as if he had forgotten how to breathe for a moment.

I'm in danger.

The guy throws something into his mouth and swallows it even as Ino launches Kaichi forward at the old hag.

It's so close. The man swallows, but it's so close.

And then, with his attack mere seconds away from landing, the old hag speaks.

"Zen'in no Narauko."

The very instant the final syllable is spoken, Ino's attack is halted entirely, caught in the dude's hand as if it's nothing, even though he very clearly remembered that very attack carving a chunk out of his arm just earlier.

It's only then that the old hag's words are comprehended by his brain and the implications set in of what just happened, and he only notices himself stepping backwards after the fact.

That building dread returns full force, that sense of danger, honed through dozens of near death experiences screams at him more that it ever has in his life as he stares at a face split in half.

On one side, is that random dude he has been fighting, but the other half of his face has morphed into a rugged, handsome face with soft skin, a strong jaw, and short black hair.

"How is it, Grandson?" The old hag says, but Ino barely hears it.

Zen'in no Narauko.

He knows that name. Everyone knows that name. The Blessed Sorcerer of the Heian Period. The founder of the Zen'in clan, inventor of basically every Technique. The only one who has ever equalled fucking Sukuna.

One of the most famed names in all of the Jujutsu world, up there with the likes of Tengen-sama.

Fuck.

"Yeah, it's great, Granny," the guy answers, "Better than any before."

Transformation through Seance? Ino thinks to himself, bringing a hand up to his mask so he can pull it away from his skin, hoping to get some air as his breathes come in short and sweat flows from his every pore. I didn't think that hag was a Medium!

No, that's not the problem here, he thinks to himself. Is it really Him? His stance has changed, it's dangerous. Just looking at him, I feel like I'm going to die if I do anything, even thinking about running doesn't feel safe. If he really has the abilities of Zen'in no Narauko, then what can I do? That guy was the first user of Ten Shadows, right? Will Megumi be able to help, or would he just die too? But unlike Megumi, Narauko was said to be proficient in every aspect of Jujutsu, I don't think it would matter if he has the technique or not. Fuck. Fuck fuck.

He's pretty sure this is it for him. He can't beat someone weilding the power of the revered ancestor of the Zen'in clan. But he's not going to just lay down and die.

Even if Narauko's power is too much for him to handle, the man was a Shikigami user through and through, so he might be able to do something if he's fast enough.

With that blind hope driving him, Ino doesn't hesitate to bring his hands forth.

"Number Four, Ryu!" He yells, his Cursed Energy gathering, and then there's a gust of wind and he can feel the air on his face.

Where did he go? Ino is already turning around before he even finishes forming the thought, but he barely manages to catch a glimpse of black hair before he feels all of the air leave his lungs as a palm slams into his sternum, shattering his ribs instantly and sending him ragdolling across the rooftop and off of the side, deaf to the world as white hot pain overwhelms his senses until sweet oblivion takes him.

Left alone, the man walks to the edge of the skyscraper on which they stand. "The veil's been lifted," he says. "What now, Granny?"

The old lady turns her eyes to her grandson at the question, but she hesitates to answer when she notices him start to shake.

"Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-What do we do now?" She watches him stutter, but answers the question nonetheless.

"It won't hurt to keep Gojo Satoru out of play, so go down below and kill Sorcerers." However, he does not answer, making her turn greater attention upon him. "Grandson?"

The boy stills, freezing as if a statue, but only for a moment before his body relaxes, making her think that whatever trouble there seems to have been had passed, only for his words to shatter that illusion.

"'Kill Sorcerers?' You should not give out such vague orders." 'Her grandson' says, his voice sounding rich and downright archaic, like something out of a period drama, tilting his head enough to stare into her eyes. "You're a Sorcerer too, right?"

Shock floods her system as she sees not a inch of her grandson's face left, and instinct dives her legs into action, springing her form back and away from what used to be her grandson.

"What's the meaning of this!?" She exclaims, shock and fear loosening her lips into blurting out her thoughts. "I only channelled the body's information!"

"Channelled?" The man parrots in confusion before his expression lightens up with understanding. "Ah, so that is the situation."

It's clear to her what is happening just as it seems to be clear to him. She has always made it a point not to channel the Soul's information specifically to prevent accidents like this ahead of time. So why?

The man, no, she knows his name.

Zen'in no Narauko finally turns around, facing her fully. His smile is almost welcoming, but she can see the glee hidden underneath by the way his eyes tilt with his smile.

He moves to bring his arms together, only to pause when he notices the lack of sleeving to allow it and then moves his hands back down, putting them in her grandson's pockets with an expression she would describe as almost... Nostalgic? What?

"Your understanding of the Soul is lacking," The First Zen'in informs her as he takes a step closer to her. She doesn't hear the footstep. She can barely even feel his Cursed Energy. "Allow me to educate you."

He takes another step forward. "The Soul is where we originate as living beings." Another step. "It trickles down." Another step. "The shape of the Soul defines the shape of the Body." Another. "And the shape of the Body then defines the shape of the Shadow."

He stops only a few paces away from her and continues to talk. She is too terrified to do anything but listen silently.

"The Shadow is oft overlooked. But it is a reflection of the Soul, brought to bear through the body. Do you understand what I am saying here?" He looks her in the eye and sighs at whatever he sees. "Never mind, I can tell that you do not."

Her eyes flick down at the sign of movement, and she watches as his shadow begins to bubble, it's edges dancing like flames. "You can channel a Body's information without the Soul, but so what? What does it matter, if the Body will then manifest its Shadow? As a direct reflection of the Soul, the Shadow possesses the information of the Soul, too."

"Right now, your grandson is gone, because the reflection of my Soul overpowered his own." She doesn't want to believe such absurd words, but with the identity of the one saying them, can she really claim to know better? "But I do not fancy living as a mere reflection. It is strangely uncomfortable to live without a true Soul in my body."

Once he is finished speaking, her attention is once more brought down to his shadow, and she lets out an involuntary gasp as she watches it writhe and churn until a hand pushes out of the inky black, stretching forward as if pushing through a sheet of silk.

As the hand reaches higher, more is revealed. An arm. A chest. A head. An entire body behind a curtain of pure shadow emerges.

It is with morbid fascination that she watches this shadow's hands take hold of the Zen'in's shoulders before falling forward and draping itself over him. Then, she watches as the shadow starts to melt, except it does not fall away, instead, it melts into his body.

Seconds feel like hours as she watches the inconceivable scene before her, but in a moment that felt both like an instant and an eternity, the shadow finishes merging with the body, and for the first time in one thousand years, Zen'in no Narauko opens his eyes.

Zen'in no Narauko

Turning away from the old lady's corpse, I walk back to the edge of the skyscraper and gaze out at the cityscape below. My smile grows at what I see, nostalgia almost making me stagger.

How long has it been? I think to myself as I begin to laugh, luxuriating in a single fact. I'm alive again.

"Hehehahaha! The news of my death has been greatly exaggerated!" I yell out into the city. I've always wanted to say that.

Man, this is just too good, I feel so giddy. I never thought I'd actually be able to see the world like this again. I'm not immortal like Tengen or Kenny, and I refuse to do that Voldemort shit Sukuna went with. I was honestly pretty fine with my death. I led a satisfying life. Had lots of fun, a bunch of adorable kids.

That said, just because I was fine with my death, I'm not going to spit in the face of this blessing. Being willing to accept death doesn't equate to no longer wanting to live.

"Ahhh, I want to see so much. I have so many questions. Do they even remember me? Sukuna? Is he still around? Tengen probably is, but I can see Kenny pissing off enough people to have been killed. Gahh! I'm so fucking curious! Where do I even start!? Fuck why am I so hungry! I wanna eat a fucking pizza!"

I miss so much. I want pizza and burgers and ice cream and I want to watch movies and binge shows and I want to visit a theme park and fly in planes and drive above the speed limit in super expensive cars I never would have had the opportunity to drive in my last life.

My last last life? Does this one count as a third? Who knows.

All that matters is that I can finally enjoy a nice drink that isn't just sake or tea! I have spent an entire lifetime missing my modern day luxuries! I want chemical slosh juice! I want chocolate biscuits! I want to destroy the Golden Gate Bridge! I want a milkshake!

Ah, and I guess I should see if my family still exists. I'd be pretty bummed out if my name was lost to time. They'd probably have food too.

"Hm?" My internal ramblings are cut off when I feel something strange in the distance, something... Familiar?

"Is that..." My voice drops to a whisper as I comprehend what I am feeling and struggle to understand it. "My Technique?"

Looks like I know where I'm going first.

As I look down on the city however, pushing past the strange surreality of feeling just so many people.

Well, it actually seems pretty empty as far as population goes considering the sheer size of the place. I wasn't Japanese in my first life, so I have no idea where I am. My guess is just Tokyo, but that's only because I'm pretty sure that at this point in time Tokyo is like, basically the entirety of Japan's population. I think.

Well, I think, turning my gaze to the Veil that has been lifted. I guess there is a reason. Must be something going on if there's been such an evacuation.

Considering what that old lady said, my guess is some Jujutsu Terrorists or something of the like. I'd long wondered what the future would be like in a world with Cursed Energy. My assumption was that Sorcerers would eventually become something like a specialised police force as the population, and thus the number of potential Sorcerers, grew.

I spent a lot of nights wondering how things would change with the existence of Cursed Energy. Like, surely social programs would be better, rent would be lower and wages would be higher. After all, Curses are born of Negative emotions, so with that knowledge, it would only make sense for a government to do what it can to keep its populace happy, right?

Well, there's no point in speculating when the answers are down below.

That said, when I looked below just now, I noticed something of vital importance, so investigating the source of my Technique, or whatever is imitating it, has just become my second priority.

Not having any reason to keep wasting time, I take a step forward, off of the building, and allow myself to fall. As I do so, a passing thought crosses my mind.

I truly hope we will meet again, Sukuna.

Zen'in Maki

Standing on the opposite side of the Curse, Dagon it called itself, as her uncle, she frowns to fight off a grimace.

This thing's Domain looking like a paradisical beach out of a fantasy does nothing to help the horrible feeling in her gut. She should be afraid, she really should. She's outclassed here, she can't even hurt the fucking thing. She will die the moment it deigns to actually take her seriously.

But she isn't feeling any fear. She's just feeling pissed the fuck off.

She's angry that she is so fucking useless. That she's so weak.

But most of all, she's pissed that even this fucking Curse is disregarding her, as if all her efforts have been for nothing. It pisses her off like nothing ever has.

Even with Playful Cloud in her hands, courtesy of Fushiguro, she knows that all she can really do is try to be enough of a distraction for either Nanami or the old geezer to actually hurt the thing.

Not for the first time, she laments her Cursed birth.

"You two!" A shout from Nanami draws their attention, "Gather 'round!"

Considering the situation, she doesn't hesitate.

The moment she finishes processing Nanami's words, she is already moving, running as fast as she can when she needs to do so on a path of frogs, her uncle doing to same by her side.

She obviously doesn't know why Nanami called them, but in a situation like this, they have no choice but to trust one another. Even without that, she trusts Nanami.

"To Fushiguro-kun's feet!" Nanami yells once they're closer, and she hears the Curse giving chase behind her.

It takes her a second, but from his words she gathers the plan, and she smiles at Fushiguro's audacity. Maybe she won't die today after all?

As if to spite those thoughts, right as she and the old man leap for the hole in Dagon's domain, a different hand emerges, forcing them to halt their movements.

It is with wide eyes that they watch a black-haired man burst out of the ground beneath Fushiguro's feet and into the sky above them. All she manages to catch as he passes her by is the wide smile on his face.

They all freeze, as if time itself has stopped. Every pair of eyes locks onto the man in the air.

A human? She thinks. A Sorcerer?

He's wearing a white sweater and black trousers and isn't carrying a weapon, but he does have a bag in one hand. He doesn't feel strong, either. He barely feels any different from a regular human to her, and a quick glance at the others makes her think that they have a similar conclusion.

The moment of stillness passes as his arc reaches its zenith and he falls down to the shadowed platform without any fanfare.

His gaze first goes to Dagon, she notices, then it flickers to her second before glancing over the others.

"Yo!" He greets with a two fingered wave, his cheer a stark contrast to their own grim countenance. "You guys have had it pretty rough huh?" He notes, taking in their varying wounds.

Then, to her astonishment, he reveals what the bag was by bringing his free hand inside and pulling out... Tiny cookies. What?

"Who are you?" She asks first, and he quickly swallows as he turns his attention to her, taking two long steps until he is right in front of her, close enough that she takes a step back, but he matches that step, keeping his face mere inches away from her, one of his hands rubbing at his chin thoughtfully.

Without answering, he tilts his head one way and then the other way, as if trying to observe her from every angle. It is only right as she is about to tell him to fuck off that he answers.

"You remind me of one of my daughters," he says, the unexpected non-sequitur throwing her off both because it isn't an answer to her question and because of the contents of his words. "She was suuuper strong. Even stronger than me! Physically at least, she couldn't use any Cursed Energy though, a Heavenly Restriction. You feel similar to that, but you still have a little bit left in you. It's weighing you down. No wonder you're so much weaker than you should be."

At first his words leave her reeling, but then his final sentence has her reacting instinctively.

"Oy!" She shouts at him, but he ignores her in favour of turning to Fushiguro.

"You're working pretty hard, kid. Layering your Domain against the barrier of this one to make a gate is pretty innovative, nice going," he compliments Fushiguro as he walks up to him.

No one moves to stop him. Their bodies simply won't let them. But there was no danger, as when the man comes to a stop in front of Fushiguro, he simply ruffles his hair and smiles down at him.

"You can leave it to me now though," he says before turning back around and crouching down, laying a hand on the floor. "Have Ashiya's teachings not lasted through the ages? If you just want to neutralise an opponent's Domain, there is a much easier option than using your own. Simple Domain."

Maki has seen a Simple Domain before. Even just recently against Miwa in the goodwill event. She knows what it is, knows what it can do, knows how it manifest.

Which is why it is all she can do to keep her jaw from dropping when from this mysterious man an empty Domain expands, and expands, and expands until it covers the entire Domain.

Glancing around, she's glad that she's not the only one gaping at the scene. Because it really is just absurd. How the hell can he cover the entire Domain?

It doesn't make any sense, but there's that old saying about gift horses right?

"There we go, no more sure-hit." The man says, smiling with satisfaction. His eyes briefly glance over them all before settling back on the Curse. "I would love to chat further, but I suppose it would be best to exorcise this octopus first."

For some reason, his own words seem to stun him, and his mouth parts slightly as if he's drooling. "Mmmm," he mutters lowly, eyeing the Curse. "Octopus... Squid... Sashimi... Maybe Curses have evolved to become edible? No, that's stupid."

With a shrug, the man walks forward until he is between them and Dagon, who was not idle, and has send an enormous eel-like Shikigami surging forward.

The mysterious man just raises a palm in the direction of the Curse, and then all four of them simultaneously buckle and fall to their knees as an overwhelming weight of Cursed Energy falls upon them. So much so that she is convinced that she would be able to see it even without her glasses.

All of it, more Cursed Energy than she has ever felt, more Cursed Energy than this Octopus has in its entire body, and all of it, all of it, gathers in his palm, compressing into a ball so dense with Cursed Energy that it starts to generate gravity.

"Jujutsu Sorcerers are obsessed with Innate Techniques," he says, not seeming bothered at all by the approaching Shikigami. Though, she doesn't think he needs to be bothered. "I get it. They're strong. But you can still be strong without them too." He lets out a sigh and shakes his head. "You really shouldn't underestimate simple Cursed Energy Manipulation."

And then, that building pressure, he simply lets it go.

A sound like a bomb going off hammers into her and residual force knocks her onto her back, but none of that can be compared to the pure destruction that her eyes behold.

The Shikigami, the ocean, the island, none of it remains in sight, everything crushed to oblivion from where the man stands all the way to what must be the opposite edge of the Domain.

All that is left is a massive trench. A cavern. Dozens of metres deep and even more wide.

A second passes and rushing water hurries to fill the void, crashing against each other as they do so, sending spray all through the air.

Who the hell is this man!? She thinks. Where has a Special Grade been hiding?! That power.. Could he be as strong as Gojo-Sensei?

"Oh~?" The man hums. "That didn't kill you? I suppose your durability must be one of your strengths then."

In a burst of speed that is a blur even to her eyes, the Curse appears once more, right behind the man but missing an arm and much of its torso with the rest of its body horribly mutilated as if it took a bath in acid.

"Die!" The Curse yells as it swings a punch for the man's head, and she wants to help, but she is too slow to even try.

However, there was no need.

Without even turning around, the man catches Dagon's fist in a casually raised hand, and to her shock, the fist stops. Immediately.

"If your focus is durability, then you should focus on a battle of attrition," he says as he turns around, the movement seeming casual even as it is faster than any of them can react to. "Well, not like it would have made a difference."

Dagon tries to get away, but before his struggle can even begin in earnest, the man's free palm lays on the Curse's chest, almost tenderly.

"Goodbye."

Dagon dies.

There is no build-up or big show like his last attack.

He simply placed his palm on the Curse, and it died.

No, she thinks to herself as she watches the Disaster Curse disintegrate into motes of light. He didn't just kill it. He purified it.

She blinks and she is back in the station. The Domain dismissed with its master's death.

But the tenseness in her shoulders does not go away.

After all, this man may have saved them from the Curse, but now comes the question of who he is, and whose side he is truly on?

The feeling of tension grows as the four of them stare at the man and he stares back, an unnerving silence that has her clenching down on Playful Cloud.

And then the mood is shattered when he strikes a pose, half turning to the side, raising one leg slightly and turning his face up, flicking his bangs with the back of one hand.

"Feel free to stare all you want~! I was pretty cool just now, was I not? You needn't be shy with your praise~!"

"Haah?" She unintentionally vocalises her thoughts as her face falls into an expression she is familiar with, though only Gojo-Sensei has caused her to make this face before.

Why are the powerful always so weird? She laments.

"What?" He asks, blinking at her with an expression that she just finds to be strikingly... Open. Sorcerers are secular people by nature. It stands out. "Ah, I understand. I am too cool that words cannot describe me, right? Understandable, I am very handsome~."

"Would it have been better to die?" She mutters to herself, though she thinks he heard her anyway. She mentally notes that, because she spoke quietly enough that he shouldn't have been able to hear.

"Who... Who are you?" Her uncle, Naobito, eventually asks the pressing question.

"Who knows~," is the swift response, and the man follows it by taking a step forward and then leaning his torso towards them with his fingers on his chin, inspecting them thoughtfully.

"You," He points to her, "Remind me of my daughter." His finger moves to be pointed at Nanami, and he shudders dramatically. "You remind me of one scary lady." His finger then turns to Fushiguro and he seems to hesitate slightly before a wry smile grows on his lips and he chuckles lightly. "And you. You remind me of Gojo."

Finally, his finger turns to Naobito. "As for you..." He trails off, furrowing his eyebrows and for a moment she thinks he's going to give some deep revelation. Then he just shrugs and sticks his tongue, turning to her with an expression that would only be fitting if they were both in on a joke. "Who is this guy?"

"Heh," the old geezer snorts. "My name is Zen'in Naobito, Head-"

His introduction is interrupted as the man's head snaps to the old man with incredible speed as a joyous gasp leaves his throat. "Zen'in!?" He exclaims. "You are a Zen'in!? Haha! That is so cool~! What are the chances~!? Hahaha~!"

That, was not a reaction she was expecting, and clearly neither was anyone else.

"I am.." The old man cautiously answers, treading carefully with the potentially insane but incredibly powerful Sorcerer. "But who are you?"

The man waves him off, "Don't worry about that yet. I'm the one against four, so it falls on me to have the most dramatic introduction, which means I need to go last. So you lot introduce yourselves, oldest to youngest, starting with you, Geezer, make sure it is all proper and formal too, that would make it more dramatic if this was an anime or something."

Why does he remind her of Gojo-Sensei so much? It's kind of starting to piss her off, but in a good way. Does that make any sense? Not really, but the feeling is confusing to her anyway.

Regardless, with the power imbalance here, it's not like they could deny him anyway, so the old man just coughs and straightens his back.

"I am Zen'in Naobito. Grade One Sorcerer and the Twenty-Sixth Head of the Zen'in Clan."

"Nanami Kento. Grade One Sorcerer and Heir of the Nanami Clan."

The man's eyes turn to her, so she follows the lead set out, trying her best to sound formal and not as annoyed as she is about this farce. "Zen'in Maki. Grade Four Sorcerer. Second year."

Surprisingly, he only gains a curious, and oh so gentle smile when she declares her Grade. His expression is so damn open and welcoming that a long repressed part of her soul almost wants to cry in his embrace. It's like by just looking at him, she knows that he would accept her, support her, encourage her. That he would care for her, genuinely and truly.

It pisses her off.

It pisses her off how badly she wants that.

"Fushiguro Megumi." The words snap her thoughts back into focus. "Grade Two. First year."

Out of all them, it is only Fushiguro's introduction that has the man's eyebrows rising in apparent surprise.

"Fushiguro, huh?" He mutters, not trying to hide the words but not saying them to anyone else either. "And Megumi, too? That is a pretty mean spirited joke."

Before any of them can ask what he means, the man shakes his head and brings back his grin, facing them with his chest puffed out and his hands on his hips.

"Greetings! My dear children!" He starts, spreading his arms out wide as if in adulation. "This one whom you stand before is The Blessed One! Zen'in no Narauko!"

..."Haah?"

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

What do you think lol?

I got randomly motivated to write this out, and now it's 3am and my sleep schedule that I was trying to fix is fucked again XP

If I do finish the omake it'll probably end in like 2 or 3 chapters, cuz I really can't see the rest of JJK lasting long with Narauko added to the mix lmao. Then again, I've been wrong before.

Chapter Text

Nurarihyon tried to not let his fellow Daiyōkai's dismissal of the human threat get to him. How they fail to understand what he can see, he does not know, it is obvious enough to him.

But evidently, he couldn't dismiss his annoyance as well as he'd have hoped, going by the faintly concerned expression on his new aide's face.

"Jorōgumo, if you have concerns, then speak them." He doesn't stop walking as he commands her, passing through the streets of Heian-kyō without a care for being seen.

After all, thanks to his Osore, Displacement, he is invisible to the eyes of the humans around him. The only actual struggle for him is controlling his Osore enough to hide from the senses of humans without using too much to hide from the senses of Jorōgumo too.

That said, there are still plenty of eyes following them, but that is just because Jorōgumo's human form is that of a beautiful woman. She has pale white skin that the humans must think to be powder and not her natural shade, pitch black hair tied up in a somewhat messy bun, though the loose strands of hair only exemplify her beauty, rather than detract from it.

Matching her hair, she has dark markings around her black eyes as well as six small black marks above her eyebrows and black lips. Once again, none of this is the result of makeup, which only makes her all the more attractive as her appearance is lacking in unnatural imperfections.

Her kimono is a light black, but not quite grey, and is decorated sparsely with pale dark green clouds of stylised smoke. The inner layer of white beneath forms a nice contrast while also complimenting her skin. Additionally, the wood-brown obi sash wrapped around her waist provides some more colour, preventing the ensemble from appearing too monocoloured.

Finally, she is wearing a pair of simple geta on her feet and is holding a wagasa, an unadorned pale red parasol, in her hand, shielding her from nothing, as the sun has already set.

"You seem..." Jorōgumo still hesitates to speak, even with his permission. He knows that she holds him in great regard and can more or less figure out the reason for her hesitance. She simply does not want to say anything that might dim his image in her mind. "..Troubled, my Lord."

"Your powers of observation continue to astound me," Nurarihyon half snaps back at her with a roll of his eyes and immediately regrets the harsh tone of his words when Jorōgumo turns her head down and purses her lips.

"Haaah, I apologise, Jorō, I should not have lashed out like that," he apologises, but she does not respond, making him sigh again in his mind.

How childish, he thinks with fondness.

Jorōgumo is a very young Yōkai. The fact that she could reach her level of strength so quickly is nothing short of astounding. The only Yōkai he can remember hearing about in recent history with such talent would be Hagoromo's student, though he doesn't know how far she has advanced these days.

Either way, Jorōgumo is a powerful Yōkai with even greater potential. A fitting member of his Hyakki Yagyō. Though the term translates to Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, ever since his own Hyakki Yagyō took heavy casualties a while ago, it has become more of an ideal. As such, it is really just a term for any number of Yōkai serving under a single leader.

He picked her up a short while ago and has basically been raising her. He doesn't think he's doing an especially good job of it though. He certainly never thought he'd ever wind up acting as any kind of father figure.

Still, as a result of this, he knows Jorōgumo very well, so even if it wasn't blatantly obvious that he had upset her, he at least knows how to move past his blunder.

First was obviously assuring her that he didn't mean to speak with anger, then is to simply move the conversation forward. She has a habit of remaining her silence when she is upset until the cause her of discomfort has passed enough that she won't have to interact with it.

In this case, that simply means that he has to go back and answer her question as if this little scene didn't happen, so as to assure her that it is something that can be forgotten.

Children are so troublesome, he thinks, not for the first time. Yet, the part that scares him the most is that he doesn't really mind dealing with this kind of trouble.

"I am troubled," he says at last. "I am annoyed that my 'peers' are content to ignore the threat that the current era of humanity represents to our kind."

Jorōgumo doesn't verbally respond, nor does her expression shift greatly, but once again, he knows her well enough to notice the slight furrow of her brows, making him want to sigh again.

Children are so troublesome. Is it so difficult to communicate your thoughts through your words? I am not capable of reading minds.

"What are you thinking, Jorō?" He asks, making sure his tone is adequately warm this time.

"I apologise, my Lord. I do not doubt you, but I also I do not understand. Are the humans truly such a threat?" Jorōgumo glances at the street around them and the numerous people walking by, her impassive face falling into a frown that he only notices because of how well he knows her. "They are so weak?"

Nurarihyon sighs. This is exactly the problem that he finds so vexing.

He loves his kind, he is truly proud to be a Yōkai, and is willing to go to great lengths for the sake of his people. That said, he is not blind to their faults, and one of them is that no one seems to be able to see the danger he sees, simply because they are incapable of seeing beyond what is right in front of them.

"Jorō," he starts, getting her attention with the tone of his voice so she knows to pay attention. "None of these things around us are human."

Unsurprisingly, she doesn't get his meaning. Scrunching her brows and looking more closely at the wandering people, trying to see something that isn't there, because she hasn't realised that she can already see it.

"These are not humans," he gestures broadly to the crowd. "These are animals. Monkeys. Do you remember the lesson I gave you on how one determines a being's position in the world?"

"Yes, my Lord. Low-class beings are civilians and non-combatants. Mid-class beings are foot soldiers, High-class beings are Nobles and powerful individuals, while Ultimate-class beings are Kings, Gods and Monsters."

Nurarihyon nods his head. "There are obviously exceptions, but as a general rule, that is accurate. Now, can you figure out what the difference between a human and a monkey is?"

She doesn't answer. He gives her a couple of minutes, but with no response and no change in expression to tell him if she's still thinking or not, he simply gives up and continues talking.

"The difference is that monkeys are just animals that have learnt to mimic humans enough to be almost indistinguishable, but they are not the same. Tell me, Jorō, what is the difference between yourself and the average, mundane spider?"

That she actually seems a little bit offended by his question is something he considers a good thing, as it should help her understand.

"The difference is great, my Lord. I am not a spider anymore. I am a Yōkai. I am capable of higher thought and am powerful."

"Exactly," Nurarihyon grins up at her, since she is taller than him. "The weakest sapient beings are all Low-class. That is why it is the lowest rung of the ladder. Even a new-born Yōkai is always at least Low-class. However, this system of ranking does not take into account the various animals of the world, such as spiders. No mere spider is even Low-class, because they are just animals, not capable of higher thought nor weilding any power, different to you."

He can see that she is starting to get it, so he keeps going to make sure. "Humans are the same as you in this instance. Do you know the average strength of a human? It is Low-class, and though they cannot go beyond High-class, they are still capable of achieving admirable things. Monkeys, however, are not even Low-class. That is the difference between the two."

His eyes drift to a passing family of the things, and all he can feel is revulsion at the sight of them, making his tone turn cold and hard as he finishes his lesson.

"These monkeys are just animals that mimic humans. They wield no power, they possess no higher thought. Just.. Soulless creatures putting on an act."

There is a brief lull in conversation, during which they continue to walk without pause, until Jorōgumo eventually responds. "I see. Then, how does one tell them apart, if they are so proficient at mimicry?"

"Just feel it," he quickly answers. "Don't look at them. Don't listen to them. No matter how real the act seems, they are just animals, no different from spiders and cattle. Just feel it."

Jorōgumo closes her eyes, and he knows that she is focusing her senses through her Youki, and he also knows what she is seeing through that sense. A whole lot of animals.

"I see," Jorōgumo says once more after another length of silence. "So it is not humanity that is weak, but these monkeys. Is this purposeful? Do the humans breed these monkeys in order to camouflage themselves? So that we underestimate them?"

Nurarihyon stifles a huff at her question, but when he goes to answer that no, the humans aren't purposefully breeding monkeys, he pauses.

 Are they? He thinks to himself in doubt. He didn't think they were, but now that she says it...

It is sometimes hard to say if a beneficial coincidence is a coincidence at all, simply because if it were not a coincidence then it would be an impressive scheme instead. It is always easier to dismiss coincidences when they are harmful rather than beneficial.

"I doubt it," he answers at last. "I find it more likely that the monkeys simply breed too fast to be effectively culled, like rabbits. Whether they do or do not however is irrelevant. What matters is that this smoke screen exists, and because of it our kind habitually underestimates humanity and dies for their folly."

"It is unlike you to express so much concern, my Lord. Are the humans truly so strong? You yourself admitted that they cannot reach your heights." Jorōgumo asks, and an instinctual part of him wants to call her an idiot before he remembers that she is just young and is ignorant, not stupid.

Hell, she's probably smarter than him. Give it a century or two for her to gain some experience and it will likely be him who is relying on her for matters of strategy.

"They are. Do not underestimate them. Ever." He makes sure to look her in the eye to ensure she does not brush off his warning. "I know I am repeating myself, but it is important. Do not underestimate them. It will be the last thing you ever do."

He has lost too many friends to humans, he has no desire to lose any more. That is why he is doing all of this in the first place. "Humans lack our strength, they will never have the same volume of energy as us. But they are tricky, and they are skilled. Humans have short life spans, but they make up for that by improving at an incredible rate."

He truly detests humans.

"They will never have our power. A human will never gain skill with the blade equal to a Tengu. They will never master illusions to the degree of a Kitsune. They will never possess the overwhelming strength of an Oni or the speed of a Raijū. They are a species that will never reach the peak of any field."

He gives her a moment to absorb his words, because he doesn't want to accidentally give her a sense of inferiority. No matter how dangerous they are, she should never have the thought that they are stronger than her. She needs caution, not fear.

"But they are versitile. They might not be particularly good at anything, but they can be reasonably decent at everything. This is where most Yōkai fall. A Tengu can be fighting a battle of swordsmanship against a human, only for them to pull out a bow, or some manner of Sorcery. Against an Oni they will move fast and pounce on weakness while against a Raijū they will hold steady and prepare a trap or counter-attack. They must be treated with caution, because they will trick and misdirect you. If there is one thing that humans can be called experts on, it is being able to capitalise on openings. They do not fight like we do. To them, the greatest of them, a fight is not a martial battle, it is a mental one. Never forget that."

He has had so many friends, too many, who have fought against humans with the belief that there was no chance they would lose. He has seen it happen over and over again. Yōkai looking down on their human opponents simply because they are weak, only to be defeated anyway.

Humans are almost always the weaker party, yet they are so used to being weak that fighting more powerful opponents has become engraved into their being. It is in their nature to fight their betters as equals.

Maybe that is what he hates the most about them.

"What are you thinking now?" Nurarihyon casually asks after another brief silence, not even needing to look back at her to know that she is once again holding back her thoughts.

"I am reassessing our purpose here," she answers. "If humans are so dangerous, is our current course of action wise, my Lord?"

"It is fine, do not worry," he waves her off, then cringes because he knows she doesn't like when he does that, and now she's going to pout at him. "Humans are dangerous, but they are still only human. You mustn't underestimate them, but at the same time, there is no need to overestimate them either. They become easy to manipulate with some experience. We won't face any problems."

The plan is pretty simple really. He intends to make the humans fight themselves for him.

He truly does not want any more Yōkai to be killed by humans, unlike his peers, who seem to be indifferent to the fact. But not him. He knows first-hand how dangerous a Special Grade Sorcerer is, and he knows the ruin all Yōkai will face if nothing is done.

Luckily, if there's one thing that humans can be counted on, it is that they will always fight amongst themselves. So he simply intends to stoke the fire a little bit and help them fall into infighting.

After all, nothing is better at killing humans than humans themselves.

"I'm going to go ahead," Nurarihyon states, not needing to elaborate his intentions as Jorōgumo simply nods her head in acknowledgement.

Minamoto no Yoriyoshi

In the past, it was the Imperial Family that ruled the realm.

As the head of the Minamoto clan, he could have accepted that.

The Imperial Family rules with the authority and Blessing of Amaterasu-Ōmikami, he could accept serving such an Emperor, both personally and professionally.

What he cannot accept however, is Fujiwara no Michinaga making a mockery of the court and taking over the realm in all but name. In the time since Michinaga took power, almost every high ranking official's name now starts with Fujiwara.

As if that were not bad enough, Michinaga clearly expects his Minamoto clan to serve as a subordinate clan to his Fujiwara. It infuriates him.

Naturally, if it was his clan in such a position of power, he would certainly not reject it, but that is just the way politics are. No one can have too much power, unless that someone is you. The main issue is simply that Michinaga out played all of them in this little game of influence, and now something must be done.

Luckily, Yoriyoshi is not the only one who thinks that it is about time for some changes to be made, which is why he is here, meeting with Taira no Tadatsune, the current Head of the Taira clan, which just so happens to be the only one among the Great Clans that officially has a Special Grade among their name.

He hopes that fact will soon change. Not that he expects his own son, Yoshiie, to become a Special Grade. Rather, he is placing his hopes in Mitsunaka's son, Yorimitsu, also known as Minamoto no Raikō, The Fastest Sorcerer in History.

Now, a meeting such as this cannot happen just anywhere, but fortunately, Tadatsune has already secured a good location to meet.

The manor of Fujiwara no Sumitomo. After all, who would suspect them of discussing a rebellion against the Fujiwara clan inside of the manor of a Fujiwara?

According to Tadatsune, Sumitomo and Michinaga are not on good terms, and as such, Sumitomo is fully willing to join them in their rebellion.

Obviously, he doesn't fully trust either of them, and he knows that the feeling is mutual. Rather than calling them allies, it would be more accurate to say that they are simply agreeing on a temporary ceasefire so as to concentrate on a greater threat.

The usual pleasantries of being welcomed into another's home were rather rushed, as none of them want his presence here to be wildly known. Even if they do have an excuse prepared, it would naturally be better to not have to use it in the first place.

Soon enough, he was sitting opposite Taira no Tadatsune and Fujiwara no Sumitomo, while standing at each of his flanks he has the elderly Minamoto no Tsunemoto and his son, Minamoto no Mitsunaka, both of whom resemble Mitsunaka's son Yorimitsu, handsome and strong, albeit less lean and older, both of their heads wearing blond hair that has dulled with time.

Comparatively, Tadatsune almost looks like a muscular bandit, despite his noble bearing. His face is set in stone with a strong jaw and sharp eyes, and his hair is a mess of wild short hair coloured a mixture of violet and scarlet.

Sumitomo meanwhile looks about as one would expect of a Fujiwara. His back is as straight as his hair, which is as black as his clothing. He is clearly not a fighter, just a politician at heart, the kind of man who jumps at every opportunity and doesn't hesitate to throw his allies to the side if and when it benefits him.

"I am still against this," Tadatsune states, and he has to consciously avoid rolling his eyes at the man's need to repeat himself.

"Your opinion is duly noted," he drolly responds to the brute.

"While I do not disagree with the plan, such as Taira-dono does," Sumitomo interjects, and a part of Yoriyoshi wonders if the man simply takes every opportunity to voice his own thoughts simply because he loves the sound of his own reedy little voice. "I do still have some concerns about including a Yōkai in our.. Business. It seems risky in and of itself, and that is without considering the consequences that will befall us should the Principle Clans hear of this."

"Do you intend to tell them?" Yoriyoshi plainly retorts.

"Of course not!" Sumitomo looks appropriately panicked at thought of obeying the law that he once again reaffirms his notion that the man is the epitome of a politician.

"Then it is fine, is it not?" He continues, his voice flat, annoyed at having to explain this. "None in this room would admit it, leaving only the Yōkai who could accuse us, but who would believe them over us? Besides, I need them to ensure my plan is executed smoothly."

Tadatsune scoffs at his words. "Hmph. Having to rely on those beasts. Have you no pride?"

"I have plenty." He responds, his voice once again as dry as sand. "They may be foolish beasts, but even fools and beasts have their uses. They just need a proper guiding hand."

"Is it truly necessary to rely on them?" Sumitomo asks once more.

Tired of this line of questioning, he glares at the man, and his voice turns somewhat snappish as he replies, "Do you have a better method through which to acquire That Monk's corpse? Besides, if there are any complications, we can simply shift all of the blame to the Yōkai."

Predictably, Sumitomo wilts under his glare, because he does not in fact have a better plan. The security is simply too tight, and none of them have the ability to sneak past it.

The Legendary Nurarihyon however? Is there any place that disgusting thing cannot go?

And to think it was so easy to get that beast's cooperation. Some vague promises about convincing the Principle Clans to leave some areas of land untouched for Yōkai who wish to live peacefully that he does not intend to follow through with, and the beast was dancing in the palm of his hand.

Even with his impressive influence, getting those overly stubborn bastards of the Principle Clans to change anything about their policies would be a matter of difficulty that he has no desire to bother with.

And for a beast, Nurarihyon is at least somewhat intelligent, which means that the little monster will more easily be able to accept his excuses of 'Change takes time' and 'Next year will be different'.

Before the conversation can go any further, there is a soft knock on the door.

"Enter," Sumitomo answers as the host, and the door is slid open to reveal an attendant sitting respectfully on his knees and not looking up at them.

"Fujiwara-sama, Honoured Guests. There is a man and woman who claim to be expected."

"Send them in," Sumitomo commands, and the attendant bows even lower before sliding the door shut and only then getting to his feet and shuffling to escort the guests back.

The five of them remain silent as they wait for the Yōkai to arrive, and they are not left waiting long.

The first through the door he recognises as Nurarihyon, even if he has never met the thing before today. Other than the excessively large skull, it almost looks just like any handsome man would look, but to the eyes of an experienced Sorcerer, he is clearly anything but human.

The woman that follows however, almost enchants him with her beauty the moment he lays his eyes on her. Unlike Nurarihyon, she does not have any inhuman characteristics on display, and even though he can still tell that she is not human, he cannot deny the beauty that she represents.

However, no matter how beautiful, she is still a Yōkai, and Sumitomo is the only one who seems to have forgotten that as he stares at her with open lust.

The door slides shut behind them, and Nurarihyon sends them a grin that comes out threatening, though his glare is only for Sumitomo. "Greetings, Humans."

The woman doesn't speak, nor does her expression shift from calm indifference, as if she is a painting come to life.

"Nurarihyon," he greets in turn with a simple nod of the head, remaining at least somewhat polite, even if the effort is wasted on this beast.

"Since I do not like any of you, and none of you like me," Nurarihyon begins, not bothering to sit or regard them with any sense of caution. "Let us get to the point. Minamoto and I have already discussed what I am getting out of this little partnership of ours, so whaddaya want of me in turn?"

He tries not to react to this little beast calling him without any honorifics, and a part of him wonders if it is purposefully being impolite just to get a rise out of him, or if it truly simply does not know any manners. It's not like he knows how these animals are raised, if they are even raised at all.

Still, it is right about one thing. The quicker they get to the point, the quicker they can be free of one another's presences.

With that in mind, he leans forward and sends the beast an insincere but polite smile, honed over years of politics. "Tell me, are you familiar with the name Genshin?"

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

Sorry for the delay in uploading. I've been sleeping a lot lately.

Anywho, I always enjoy getting philosophical, and I accidentally made Nurarihyon into an interesting person lol. Also racism exists both ways.

I don't like when I'm reading things and it feels like one side of the story is doing all the scheming while the other side is exclusively reacting. Hopefully the transition in this chap will make it feel like both sides have their own thoughts and biases and that neither side is exactly 'right' or 'wrong'. 

Cuz in real life, people have biases that they believe are facts, and conflicts only arise when two opposing biases cross paths and cannot reconcile with another.

Also, I was thinking about that scene where Flamme is talking with Frieren when I wrote Jorōgumo's personality :P

Also also, in case it isn't obvious, Nurarihyon for sure has some undiagnosed PTSD regarding humans lol.

Also also also, I'm sure some of you will know who Genshin is and what is going on here, but I'm not gonna explain it cuz I'm also sure plenty of you don't and that's funny to me :P

Still just five chapters ahead on patreon for the same reason, yet I am ever hopeful that I will get back to writing more frequently.

Chapter Text

Cursed Energy is really interesting.

It's probably redundant at this point for me to say that. It should really be one of those things that goes without saying, but I feel like it still needs to be said anyway.

Because Cursed Energy really is interesting.

In my time here in Jujutsu school, the lessons, sparse as they have been, have all been about combat, Innate Techniques, Barrier Techniques and miscellaneous skills, like sensing Cursed Energy or refining Reinforcement.

It's honestly a little bit disappointing, really. I didn't think that Jujutsu Sorcerers were so combat oriented as to ignore everything else.

Am I the only one that sees the potential of Cursed Energy? You can do so much with it, you don't even need to make a proper technique in order to use it, but no one seems to bother.

I suppose I can understand it, somewhat. Jujutsu Sorcerers exist to exorcise Curses, so they need to be able to fight, and Spells that aren't helpful in combat or directly after it, like a cleaning Spell, are thus not all that important.

But still, can they not even have an academic interest? Studying Spells could help them come up with new ways to use their techniques, and it can help refine Cursed Energy Control.

Ultimately, I guess that the answer is simply that Cursed Energy isn't really anything too special to these people, since they have never known a world where it doesn't exist. It's kind of like how in my last life, kids younger than me would have their brain blue-screen at the idea of someone not knowing how to turn a phone on, forgetting that some of these people had never seen a phone until they were in their thirties or something.

I suppose that is a benefit of having lived in a world without any supernatural side, that I knew of, anyway.

Because to me, Cursed Energy is something mystical and magic and incredible. I don't think I will ever get tired of playing with, learning or experimenting with it.

The reason I'm even thinking about this is that in the month since Sukuna and I kind of killed Michizane, I haven't been able to stop thinking about how the man was able to use Spells in combat like that.

He made a barrier that was able to hold my Max Elephant just through a simple Cursed Technique, not an Innate one engraved on his body and Soul, but a simple Cursed Technique that anyone could learn, no different to the Curtain.

It's absurd. If I tried to hold even a tenth of that weight with a Barrier Technique, it would have either shattered under the weight or shattered under my Cursed Energy if I tried to give it enough power.

It baffled me.

However, I believe that I have come to a conclusion on how Michizane was able to do it.

The answer lies in the Six Eyes.

I even asked Gojo, or rather Gojo Isanko now, about it through a Butterfly, since he is still dealing with some stuff and can't come back to the school yet.

Apparently he's struck quite the friendship with a Nanami Shiki, formerly Koshikibu no Naishi, to the point that they even discussed a marriage, however neither of them want to give up on their names, so that's just a complicated situation that I do not know enough about to be able to comment on.

Though, he did say that Nanami is going to attend the Goodwill Event in order to regain her own Nobility title, through which she is likely going to grant Gojo Nobility too, since he can't really show his face publicly right now without what's left of the Sugawara clan making a fuss. At least, that's my assumption, he didn't tell me that.

But other than just catching up, he did freely explain the intricacies of the Six Eyes to me, though he did ask that I make a vow that I will never tell anyone else what he told me, something I was happy to do.

What it boils down to, is that the Six Eyes grant an insane degree of perception, through which one can gain an otherwise impossible level of control over their Cursed Energy.

Apparently that's why it felt like Michizane's Cursed Energy wasn't going down no matter how much we fought, because the man was simply using it so efficiently that it was basically infinite.

Talk about unfair.

However, that is where I found a potential answer for how Michizane was able to apply Spells to combat. Efficiency.

When a normal Sorcerer casts a Spell, it is either really weak, or it gets overloaded with Cursed Energy and dissipates into air. However, Michizane was able to make it all so efficient that the Spell was able to hold its form, even when being subject to enough Cursed Energy as to actually make the Spell useful.

Now, this doesn't really help me, because it is impossible for me to reach that level of efficiency. However, what it does do, is prove that it is possible. Sometimes that is enough.

History is rife with examples of seemingly impossible to beat records that have held for years being broken and then immediately followed by even more people breaking it again and again in a rush.

That's just a thing with humanity. Once we know something is possible, there is nothing stopping us from achieving it.

So the question then becomes, how do I make it so a Spell can carry enough Cursed Energy to be viable in combat without coming apart in its casting?

The answer is actually really simple.

I have no clue.

This shit is complicated okay! I'm basically trying to invent an entirely new system of magic here, even for me it's not something I can just do over a couple of long weekends.

I don't really mind though, because I have been having an inordinate amount of fun trying to figure it all out. Plus, Sukuna and Kamo-Sensei both enjoy the intellectual conversations that come about when I get truly stuck on something and brainstorm with them.

Still, it's fun to think about. I feel like I can finally understand those scientist type characters in movies who spend all their time experimenting. It really is fun trying new things, seeing what works, what doesn't. Measuring the slightest increases in efficiency to try and find and amplify the source of the improvement.

It's fun. But it's also really really difficult.

If not for the fact that I knew it was possible, or at least, believe that it is possible, thanks to Michizane, then I might have given up by now.

At one point, I even had a eureka moment where I thought I could just mimic what I did with my Black Butterfly Technique and use some type of external storage for Cursed Energy as a solution. I even snapped my fingers when I thought it and did a little dance afterwards.

But then I tried it and it didn't work. Kind of obvious in hindsight, since the issue is completely different than what was holding back the Black Butterfly Technique. 

What does it matter if the Cursed Energy is being stored externally when the issue is that the Spell falls apart when too much Cursed Energy is applied in the first place? Externally applied or not, Cursed Energy is Cursed Energy. What I need is a way to allow the Spells to actually make use of the additional Cursed Energy.

Urgh, semantic satiation. I've thought Cursed Energy so many times now that it's starting to sound weird.

Cursed Energy Cursed Energy Crused Energy Crused Ernginy fuck.

What was I thinking about?

Right, efficiency.

Basically, what Michizane was somehow able to do is use barely any Cursed Energy to get the same effect as if he had used a lot. I don't really know how I can replicate that.

I really wish using external means to store the Cursed Energy would be enough, but again, it doesn't help if the Spell channels can't handle that Cursed Energy in the first place. 

Maybe I should just invent a new material? Drawing out Spells just through Cursed Energy control alone is something of an advanced skill. Most people just use a brush and write out the appropriate script on a paper talisman, or sometimes a wooden talisman.

Maybe I can try and find or produce a material that will be better able to channel Cursed Energy, allowing for the Spells written on it to hold more power?

It's an option, but it's not like I spent my last life looking up how different alloys or synthetic materials were made, so it's not like I can just magically know how to invent Kevlar or something.

Though, there is one thing I remember, because it was simple enough that normal people could actually talk about and understand it.

Graphene. As far as I recall, it was just hexagonally layered carbon designed at the atomic level, and I only know about it because of some conversation I think I had about turning coal into diamonds. I could even be misremembering it, so I'm not all that confident on recreating it.

Wait, maybe I can just try using diamonds and other gems instead of focusing on getting a tougher material? After all, this isn't really science, even if I can still apply the scientific method. Spirituality and symbolism is deeply important to Jujutsu.

With that in mind, pretty much every type of gem has some kind of spiritual or symbolistic meaning to it, and plenty of them, like diamond, are also fairly durable.

Does Japan even have a lot of different gems native to the land? Or were they imported? I don't know. I'll ask one of my rich clan friends.

Though, there is nothing saying I have to use gems as a catalyst or base or whatever in order to make the Spells viable. Pretty much everything has some kind of spiritual or symbolistic meaning attached to it. It's just a question of if any of them would be powerful enough to match what a gem could accomplish.

Then again, perhaps I should actually get my hands on some gems and try out this theory before arbitrarily deciding what does and does not work.

Although, that does pose the problem of how the fuck do I get my hands on a bunch of precious metals? I guess I could try just making diamond from coal, I'm pretty sure that just needs heat and pressure.

Maybe I can try and scam spirituality and just incorporate drawings of gems into the Spells? I highly doubt it, but it would be very funny to try anyway. I can imagine the kind of face Kamo-Sensei would make if he saw such a design. Sukuna would probably find the idea very interesting though. One of his favourite things about Cursed Techniques is trying to make the most out of every tiny detail. He has such an interesting thought process about it too.

"What are you smiling about?" A familiar voice pulls me out of my thoughts.

"Hm?" I respond as I look up from my desk to see Yoshiie entering our class.

Today is the day we leave for the Goodwill Event, so I was told I had to sit here until it was time to go, so as to make sure that they did not leave without me because they couldn't find me.

"I was thinking about the viability of replacing spiritual catalysts with replicas or simple drawings of said catalysts. Would there still be the possibility of taking advantage of their symbolism if it is a mere imitation, or does it have to be the real thing to work? I'm going to do some tests on the way to Heian-kyō to find out."

For a moment, Yoshiie seems somewhat flummoxed, making me wonder if he was expecting me to just brush off his question with a 'Nothing much,' or something.

"Right." He responds, dragging the word out a little bit before shaking himself from his stupor and continuing, "Well, I would assume that even if that did work, it would be incredibly inefficient."

"Probably," I agree, "But I still want to see the result with my own eyes. Just because it is useless, does not mean that nothing can be learnt from it."

Yoshiie nods his head in acknowledgement and moves on, that conversation having reached its conclusion. "Kamo-Sensei sent me to bring you out front. Preparations are mostly done, so you'll be setting off soon."

Naturally, I light up at his words and quickly gather my things from my desk, stuff them in my shadow and get up to follow after him. A great thing about my shadow is that since I can manipulate it, I don't have to worry about how I place things inside of it, since I can sort it all after the fact. Meaning that I can just chuck everything in without a care.

However, even as I feel excitement for my trip to the capital, I also cannot help but feel somewhat upset.

There was an emergency mission yesterday that Sukuna had to take, and it's pretty far north, so he won't be able to make it to the event.

A part of me is suspicious that someone planned this. I can see why they would, honestly. As much as I may call him my Best Friend, I am not blind to his nature. But that doesn't mean I'm happy about it, because I just know that Sukuna would love to see all the Cursed Techniques that will no doubt be on display.

I will just have to make sure to memorise all of them, that way we can at least talk about them later.

"How have you been, Yoshiie-san?" I ask as we walk through the halls, and he gives me a smile in response that forces me to remind myself that he is not actually a woman, no matter what he looks like.

"I have been well, Narauko-san. I even managed to use Reverse Cursed Technique recently, though only for a moment before I lost it."

"Really?!" I smile and pat him on the back. "Nice! I'm proud of you, Yoshiie-san, I knew you could do it."

"Only because I followed your advice," he humbly responds, scratching at his cheek, but I just shake my head at his words.

"Your achievement is your own, Yoshiie-san. You are allowed to be proud of yourself."

"Thank you, Narauko-san," he says after a moment, giving me a grateful smile that I easily reciprocate.

I have come to find that the feeling of someone being grateful for your own actions is a wonderful feeling, so I truly am, "Happy to help!"

From then, the walk is enjoyable as we talk about trivial things, such as how Yoshiie's younger brother of six years, Minamoto no Yoshimitsu, is showing himself to be something of a prodigy in hand to hand combat even at such a young age.

The idea that a nine year old is being praised for his hand to hand fighting skills is so incredibly baffling to me that it was only halfway through the conversation that it even clicked in my mind what he was saying.

I try imagining it, but I really just can't picture a nine year old being a skilled fighter. All I can picture is the movie Karate Kid, and I'm pretty sure Karate doesn't even exist yet. 

As we get closer to the front courtyard of the complex, more and more presences become clear to me, either headed in the same direction or already there.

However, before we arrive, I feel Yoshiie suddenly tense by my side and pause mid-step, making me turn to him with a brow raised.

"Is something the matter?" I ask, but before he can answer, a pair of presences turn the corner a short distance ahead of us, and I take note of the way Yoshiie's eyes immediately lock onto the pair with a frosty glare.

Figuring I will find the answer to my own question by doing so, I turn back forward and look at the two, blinking in momentary confusion when I see two of the same person, only to quickly realise upon closer inspection that it is in fact two different people who merely look very similar, probably brothers.

Both of them are blonds with bright blue eyes, and I am already used to people having hair and eye colours that I'm pretty sure they shouldn't have in my previous life's history, so I don't bat an eye at that.

They wear their hair short and spikey, and once more, I do not bat an eye at the natural hair style that would not have been natural in my last life.

They're dressed in the same uniform as us, so they are fellow students, and they both have strong features, like some kind of fantasy prince, the knightly type of prince though, not the singing and dancing type.

They also both have a sword attached to their waists and a bow strung over their shoulders with a quiver of arrows hanging horizontally at their lower backs.

It feels like they've put effort in to make themselves as difficult to discern as possible. One of them has slightly higher cheek bones and the other is slightly wider at the shoulder, but other than that, they might as well be identical.

Probably twins then, I think as I continue to observe the brief stare down that appears to be taking place.

"Well if it isn't Young Master Yoshiie," the broader one speaks up, breaking the silence with a voice that is clearly only pretending to be polite, and not very well. "Are you well?"

"I am just fine, Yorinobu" Yoshiie responds, his voice cold. "Thank you for asking."

The now named Yorinobu smirks at Yoshiie's words and turns his gaze to me, almost seeming to dismiss Yoshiie's presence, which I find to be a rather interesting way to act around one you call Young Master.

"And you must be Narauko, yes?" He asks, but he cuts me off as I go to answer and continues talking. "I hear you're a Special Grade, but standing here, I don't see it."

Ouch, my feelings, they are insulted, I sarcastically think to myself.

Something interesting to note about being shunted a thousand years into the past without consent, is that clichés? They don't really exist yet. A consequence of mass media is that every angle and every line has pretty much already been tried. With the existence of the internet, someone can come up with an original joke or pick up line or something, and then it will get spread to so many people so quickly that it will go from original to overdone in a week.

The point being, this scene right now is making me feel like I'm standing inside of a cliché high school movie or something of that vein, but I need to remember that the line Yorinobu just spouted is probably pretty original to everyone else's ears, even when it's just slightly cringe worthy to me.

Still, it means that it's not particularly difficult for me to think of comebacks compared to everyone else. Because I've spent many years on the internet, and even if it was fifteen years ago now, trash talk has been embedded in my brain as a permanent addition.

"Fear not," I return, putting on my nicest smile, "Having performance issues is nothing to be ashamed of. I am sure that if you really push yourself, you might be able to make your father proud someday."

Yorinobu blinks, and then his expression rapidly twists into one of anger, something that is likely exacerbated by my own smile.

"You-" He begins, only to be cut off by his brother, who places the back of his arm in front of Yorinobu's chest and pulls him back.

Yorinobu looks at his brother in protest, but he simply shakes his head and Yorinobu relents with a huff. Then the brother turns to me and sends me a smile, though I can't help but feel like he is looking down on me as he does so.

"The first event will be a team battle, but after that will be the tournament. See you then." With his piece said, he simply turns around and walks away, waving over his shoulder at us.

Yorinobu quickly joins him, though only after sending another venomous glare my way, to which I blow him a kiss. He didn't like that much either.

Turning back to Yoshiie, I see in staring at me with open shock.

"What?" I ask, however he just chuckles and shakes his head.

"Nothing," he answers, and after a moment of silence, we continue walking.

"So," I break the silence, "Who were they?"

"You do not even know?" He asks in turn, to which I can only shrug. "The one you insulted is Minamoto no Yorinobu. The other is Minamoto no Yorimitsu. They are brothers, if that was not obvious enough."

"They are Minamoto?" I ask. "Doesn't that make them your brothers too? Or cousins or something?"

"Cousins, yes," he answers, clearly not particularly happy to have to say it.

"I take it you do not get along then."

"No." I don't ask any further questions, not intending to pry, but luckily for me, after a moment of silence he continues talking anyway. "They are both Minamoto, yet their allegiance is to Fujiwara no Michinaga, not the Minamoto clan. It has caused some tension, to say the least."

"I see." I don't. Not really. I could probably understand his feelings better if it was just normal family drama, but the Minamoto clan is a lot bigger than just single normal family sized. In a sense, it feels less like a personal betrayal, as I get the feeling they weren't close in the first place.

It's like the difference between a family who really loves one thing finding out their brother or son does not like that thing, which would be a close and personal matter, and living in an entire town that loves one thing and hearing about some guy you vaguely remember from school who lives there and doesn't like the thing.

It's less personal, but still offensive on principle, is what I'm getting at.

"Who's Michinaga?" I ask instead, once more getting a strange look from Yoshiie that quickly morphs into understanding.

"Right. I keep forgetting that you are not from a clan," he says, referencing my lack of political knowledge no doubt. "Michinaga is the Sadaijin, the Minister of the left of the Daijō-kan. It is the highest permanent position in the Great Council of State, and as the position above him is currently empty, it leaves Michinaga with the single highest political authority beneath the Emperor. Through this, he has effectively taken full control over the Imperial Court. Officially, the Emperor still has full power, but realistically, everyone knows that it is Michinaga that rules the realm. This is why it is so offensive that those brothers would side with Michinaga. It is a direct betrayal of their clan."

I hum in response to his words, but don't say anything, because I don't really know what I'm supposed to say here. It is not like I have a particular personal attachment to the Minamoto clan that would make me share in Yoshiie's anger, so I just let the conversation die there.

We've nearly arrived anyway.

I can feel a mass of gathered sources of Cursed Energy idling in the complex's courtyard, which makes me a little bit curious since the complex is situated on top of a mountain, and I figured we'd be gathering at the base to pile into some carriages or something.

I'm still somewhat new here though, so I don't think too hard about it and just resolve myself to copy whatever everyone else does.

Not long later, we exit the building and walk out into the open air. Yoshiie' squints slightly at the change in brightness from the sun, but I've managed to use my anti-glare technique so much that it's become something I keep active without even thinking anymore

Maybe I should give it a name? Sunglasses Technique sounds stupid. Bōgen-jutsu? It's hardly creative, but 'Anti-Glare Technique' is at least simple enough. Not every technique needs a cool name, especially not such a small one. I suppose I could call it Bōgen Juhō instead. Does it really make a difference if it's called a Technique or a Spell? I'll ask Kamo-Sensei about it later.

Either way, thanks to my Anti-Glare Technique, that feels more fitting than Spell, I am easily able to sweep my eyes over the gathered crowd the moment we step through the doors.

A quick count tells me that there are twelve people already present, all of whom are wearing the same uniform as us, though with some slight changes for some. Kiyohara-Sensei seems to be the only one of our teachers present at the moment, leaving the rest to be the sum total of my Senpai, the second and third-years.

Other than the Minamoto duo and Kiyohara no Nagiko, I don't recognise any of them, though I do recognise the feel of plenty of their presences, just from having felt them around over the past few months I've been here.

Noticeably, Sugawara, or rather, Gojo Isanko, is not present. It's going to take me a bit to get used to the new name.

Our arrival does not go unnoticed, but most of them simply turned back to whatever they were doing, be it talking or just standing still and doing nothing. The ones that don't are a pair of boys who start walking to meet us halfway as we get closer to the group. I notice that both of them, as well as most of the others gathered have either a sword, bow, spear or some combination of them all too, reminding me that we're going to a combat tournament.

I honestly kind of forgot about that part. I'm just excited to see the capital and maybe see Tamamo again too.

However, before they can reach us, I abruptly turn right and jog over to to the Minamoto duo, making Yoshiie and the approaching pair pause their steps, though I don't focus on them.

Instead, I focus on the Minamoto pair, who both turn to face me as I reach them.

"You need something, Special Grade?" Yorinobu asks, somewhat rudely, but I just smile and shake my head.

Then I ignore Yorinobu entirely and don't answer his question, instead turning to look his brother in the eye. "You had a pretty cool departing line earlier, but since you bothered my friend, I figured that I would just come over here and ruin your line by speaking with you again before the tournament you mentioned even begins. It's kind of embarrassing right? To speak so dramatically for absolutely no reason at all?"

Neither of them are quick to respond, but I also don't really care for what they have to say, so since I have already said my piece, I simply turn around and walk back to Yoshiie.

He gives me a strange look and glances at the Minamoto duo, where I can sense Yorinobu's Cursed Energy fluctuating angrily, and them back to me. Yoshiie then just huffs and shakes his head, not saying anything but smiling nonetheless as we continue walking, meeting up with the approaching pair a moment later.

"Yoshiie-sama," one of the boys, an unremarkable fellow with short black hair and a face that doesn't stand out at all, greets Yoshiie with a bow before turning to bow to me as well. "Narauko-sama, I assume? It is an honour to meet with you."

This is still weird to me. In my last life, no one would give such a heartfelt greeting unless it was sarcastic, or they were meeting like, a President or something. A part of me finds the whole formality of this era pretty fun, but a larger part of me much prefers being able to talk casually with people instead.

"Nice to meet you too," I say, returning the bow as is proper, but trailing off as I don't know his name.

Yoshiie chimes in then, "Narauko-san, this is Minamoto no Yorisue. He is my uncle's son and a Semi-Grade One Sorcerer."

"And I am Tachibana no Nagayasu, also Semi-Grade One," the other guy, a boy with long, dark blue hair, emerald green eyes and a vibe that for some reason makes me feel like he should be on a boat, introduces himself next, bowing too but not as low as Yorisue. "It is nice to meet you, Narauko-sama."

"You as well, Tachibana-san." I return, "Please feel free to call me with just -san though, or even without honorific, there is no need for formality here, is there?"

"If you insist, Narauko-san," Tachibana says with a friendly smile, though it doesn't feel entirely genuine, but not in a malicious way. "In that case, you may call me Naga if you would like."

"Sure thing, Naga-san."

"Well, Narauko-san," Yoshiie starts. "Unfortunately, I cannot stay, but I leave you in good hands. See you later."

"Later," I return as Yoshiie turns to walk away, the other two saying their own goodbyes, bowing and everything. I have only really been interacting with strong people and people of political significance, so I assume their overly polite mannerisms is a result of being neither strong nor politically important.

Not that I'm going to treat them any different with this information, it's just something to note.

Either way, we make some small talk from then, mostly just talking about interactions with Yoshiie, such as how we each met him, since he is currently the only tie that really connects us that we can talk about.

However, not long later, I feel another pair of presences approaching from the main building. One of them I easily recognise to be Kamo-Sensei, while the one walking with him is unfamiliar to me, but they feel interesting.

I wouldn't say the aura is necessarily powerful, not in the way that Sukuna's presence weighs down on you. But this person's aura does feel vast, just not heavy, if that makes any sense. There is also a strange sense of negentropy. It feels consistent, but slow, like the aura could build up into something impressive, but it would need a lot of time to do so, instead of the explosive kind of strength I usually see in a Jujutsu Sorcerer. 

My attention is naturally drawn to the door, and I watch as it is opened and Kamo-Sensei walks out aside a shorter woman who is wearing an unadorned grey kimono with a similarly simple black obi tied around her waist.

She has straight, but messy, silver hair that is somewhat tinted blue and looks like it hasn't been cut in decades with how long it is. Additionally, her eyes are a rather fetching ruby red, and when they sweep over everyone gathered, I can't help but feel like they pause on me for a moment.

"Who is that?" I whisper to the two next to me.

"I do not know," Naga whispers back, "I have never seen her before."

"That is Tengen-sama," Yorisue says, his voice matching ours. "I am not surprised you do not recognise her, as Tengen-sama rarely leaves the chambers beneath this mountain."

Tengen? I think, my interest abruptly increasing manyfold.

I have so many questions to ask an immortal.

"Alright everyone!" Kamo-Sensei calls out, clapping his hands to get out attention. "Please gather on this side of the courtyard!" He gestures to his sides as he says this, and everyone makes their way over without much of a fuss.

I do too, though I'm somewhat curious as to why. My immediate assumption is that we're all supposed to walk down the mountain behind Tengen or something along those lines.

However, once the courtyard is mostly cleared, what happens instead is that Tengen simply walks forward alone, stopping a few steps ahead of the frontmost person.

Then she squats down and lays her palms on the floor. Immediately, I feel a large amount of Cursed Energy moving from her, and my question of what she is doing is quickly answered. At the same time, my mouth drops open, alongside a few of my fellows, at the scene that unfolds next.

In front of Tengen, a wooden wall abruptly rises, one not unlike that of the building behind us. The wall then moves away from her, and at the same time, more and more walls start appearing one after the other in the dozens, at the same time, a tatami floor rises from the ground and a traditional roof sprouts from the tops of the walls.

In the span of about two minutes, we watch as an entire mansion is built in front of us, and it is only through my sense for Cursed Energy that I even notice that the entire thing is a Barrier Technique.

Since fucking when could you build mansions out of barriers?! What!?

However, Tengen is not done there, as once the mansion has finished being built, large enough that it can definitely house us all comfortably with our own rooms each. She finishes the construction off by adding what looks like four bird perches, one on each corner.

My curiosity for why only lasts as long as it takes Tengen to pull four paper talismans out of her sleeves, two held in each hand, and throw them into the air. The talismans travel about halfway to the height of the new building before rapidly gaining mass and transforming into four identical and very very large tanchōzuru, a type of crane with white bodies but black necks and feather tips and red on the crown of their heads.

These birds, each the size of a normal house, if not bigger, fly up and land on a perch each, and suddenly I am no longer wondering how we are going to travel to Heian-kyō.

But still... 

A flying mansion carried by giant birds? Isn't that a little bit excessive? I suppose if you can then there's no reason not to, right?

The number of questions I have has increased. Significantly.

Tengen doesn't turn around nor does she wait for anyone. Once the construction is done, she simply walks forward and disappears into the building.

"Are you waiting for an invitation?" Kamo-Sensei's voice rings out after a moment of silence. "Come now, we don't have all day~."

His words finally get people moving, though I stay when I see Kamo-Sensei start making his way to me. He dismisses Yorisue and Naga with a gesture when he gets near, and both of them simply bow and leave for the building.

"Kamo-Sensei," I greet with a smile. "I have had a new idea for how to go about improving the use of Spells, do you have the time to talk about it?"

"Perhaps later," he responds as he starts leading me to the building. "I have matters to attend first. The journey will take roughly a week, so there will be plenty of time to talk, which brings me to something else. Tengen would like to speak with you tonight, so don't go getting distracted before then, okay~?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" I return, huffing at the dry smirk he sends my way.

"If you manage to stay inside of the building for the entire duration of the journey without getting distracted and flying off for a day or two, then I will do a Gigaku on the roof of the Imperial Palace."

A Gigaku is basically a skit style joke dance, and so it is something that I would very much love to see Kamo-Sensei do on top of the imperial palace, even though we'd probably get in trouble for it afterwards.

But damn that just sounds like it would be hilarious.

"I want to see that," I say, earnestly, a wide grin on my lips. "But I do not trust you at your word. Make a Binding Vow with me right now."

"Haah?" He returns, turning to me with a raised brow and a bemused expression. "Why in Yomi would I do that? There is no benefit to me."

"Because it is funny."

"Heh, that it is," he agrees. "Alright then." I blink, not having actually expected an agreement, however his following words wash that surprise away. "I vow that if you remain inside of this building until it reaches Heian-kyō, I will do a Gigaku on the roof of the Imperial Palace. In turn, if you do leave the building, you must do a Gigaku on the roof of the Imperial Palace. Deal?"

I can't help but start to laugh, finding this whole thing incredibly funny. I feel like I'm a kid again in my last life doing stupid shit all because of a dare. 

And just like back then, I am not going to back down.

"Deal. I accept these terms."

With my words, I feel a set of metaphysical chains wrap around my very being and connect to Kamo-Sensei, truly binding us to the bet. Now, if either of us flakes on the deal, we'll face some kind of retribution.

Binding Vows with oneself can be broken without any consequence beyond losing whatever was gained through the Vow, however, Vows made between two people will always levy some kind of catastrophic punishment on anyone who breaks the deal.

It can be anything from wrecking your body to permanently reducing your Cursed Energy, sealing away your Innate Technique or even death. Or it can just be a bit of pain for a while, it isn't always disastrous, but it is also basically impossible to predict, unless the punishment is described in the Vow itself.

Kamo-Sensei laughs once the Vow settles in place, and I join him, feeling only slightly put down that it is just the two of us here. I would give so much to see Sukuna do a Gigaku, that would make my year.

"I look forward to seeing you dance," Kamo-Sensei says after calming his laughter, his voice tinged with amusement.

"I could say the same," I return, grinning at him.

Kamo-Sensei lets out another brief chuckle before shaking his head and letting out a sigh.

"You are definitely going to lose," he says, incorrectly, "But for now, I have matters to attend. See you later."

"Later," I give a two fingered wave as he walks away, looking around to notice that I'm the only one that hasn't already moved further into the building.

Absently, I note that Kamo-Sensei, and Yoshiie as well, and really just most of the people I frequently talk with, have started saying their goodbyes like I do.

Just saying 'Later' isn't really a proper way to say goodbye in this era after all, but I have always preferred casual goodbyes, because it always feels awkward to me to meet with someone after having said a dramatic goodbye. Kind of like with the Minamoto earlier.

Still, I find it oddly warming to hear my friends adopt the same goodbye as me.

I feel the building shake slightly and feel as the Shikigami start flapping their wings and pulling the building into the sky.

Right. I still need to find a room. Then I just need to stay here for the next week, that shouldn't be hard.

I have plenty of things to occupy myself with in my shadow, and I don't think I'm that easily distracted, right?

Right?

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

I know absolutely nobody is likely going to notice, let alone comment on it, but I know that the ages aren't historically accurate. Irl Yorinobu is the father of Yoriyoshi and Yorisue, but I needed more people, so my fic is using people from like 200 years of time. That means in my fic, Yoriyoshi the head of the Minamoto clan while Yorinobu is 17 and Yorisue is 16, even tho irl Yorinobu is both of their father.

Also, the first properly showcased binding vow in the fic and it's a fuckin dare lmao. I regret nothing.

Also also, same patreon message as last time, 5 ahead right now, except I am more confident that I will write more faster this time, so who knows, maybe there'll be more than one chapter next week.

A man can hope. Cuz trust, I want to write just as much as you want to read, it's just a lot harder to write consistently than it is to read consistently.

Chapter Text

This flying fortress is pretty badass. I mean, that should be obvious, right? Giant fancy building being carried through the sky by four giant cranes is the kind of thing that would struggle to be lame.

My room is also pretty nice, about as fancy as my room in the school. A part of me still can't help but compare the difference in floorspace between what I've been living with in this life compared to my last.

Hell, in my last life I'd lived in places where I couldn't even stretch my arms out fully without hitting both walls. Even commoners have more space than that in these days.

It's academically interesting to note how the passage of time has had both positive and negative effects on the general standard of living of most people.

Medicine, education and general rights and such is obviously better in the future, but I am still finding that life is much better now than the future.

Granted, I've already been educated since before I was born here and I am both capable of surviving any illness and protecting my own rights, but still. Even without that, I still think life is more peaceful, if shorter, here in the past.

The internet really is a mixed bag of positives and negatives, both in the extreme.

Looking out from my balcony view, I am hardly hindered by the lack of sunlight as I observe the world pass us by. Nothing in the darkness can really hide from me, not any more than they could during the day anyway.

I have a lot less experience observing the forests at night than during the day, but I am still fully able to see the signs of the nocturnal animals getting up and about.

They tend to be a lot quieter than diurnal animals, which is only to be expected, since sound is a much more common method of tracking at night than during the day when one can simply use eyes.

It makes the forest at night a lot more peaceful. Or rather, a different kind of peace.

However, that peace is interrupted when I feel my own shadow fluctuate, and I look down in time to watch a butterfly emerge from the darkness.

I am constantly surprised by the warmth I feel in my chest when I see my own Technique being used by someone else. It truly makes me feel like I've accomplished something. Something beyond myself. It's a hardy feeling.

Holding out my hand, the butterfly lands on my forefinger, and I am immediately hit by the familiar feeling of Kamo-Sensei's Cursed Energy as his words dance across my consciousness.

Tengen is ready to see you now. Feel free to be late.

Isn't it supposed to be, 'Don't be late?'

Whatever, I don't want to be late anyway, why would I want to delay talking with an immortal for the first time? First because I have no doubt I will end up talking with another immortal at some point.

Wait, are Yōkai immortal? I have no idea. I'll ask Tamamo more about Yōkai lifespans when I get to the capital.

As these thoughts cross my mind, so too does the question of where I can even find Tengen, as I have not been given directions and can't feel her presence through the walls of this building. 

It is constructed out of barriers after all.

However, my question is answered before I can even ask it when the butterfly abruptly expands, stretching apart into pieces that then reform into another script that glows briefly before dispersing into the air, leaving behind a sparkling golden trail leading out of my room.

It takes me only a moment to comprehend what just happened, and I fail to supress the squeal of excitement at the realisation that Kamo-Sensei has modified my Technique to carry with it a Spell to give me directions.

I didn't even know you could do that! It was enough of a challenge to get the butterfly to just carry thoughts without imploding, so I didn't think it would be able to carry anything else. Maybe it only works because this Spell is such a low powered one?

I have no idea, but I am very eager to learn, and even more happy that Kamo-Sensei is building up off of my Technique.

Kami I love Jujutsu so much, it's so cool.

I close the balcony door behind me as I move to follow the trail of light that I know only I can see. There is no clack of wood on wood as I walk, as we are indoors, so I am not wearing my geta, and once more I am impressed by Tengen's design as the floorboards truly feel like tatami wood under my soles, instead of the Barrier Technique that I know they are.

Nobody passes me in the hallway, something that doesn't altogether surprise me, as I get the feeling that most people will simply be spending the week of travel in their own quarters, either practicing or relaxing.

Since I'm the only first year, I don't have any real friends to spend my time talking with either, except for Kamo-Sensei I suppose.

Doesn't mean I can't just make friends.

The walk doesn't take altogether that long to bring me to a pair of doors, whereupon I knock on the wood, even if the paper squares are probably sturdier than normal in this instance.

"Go for a walk!" Kamo-Sensei's voice calls out from the other side, "You're not late enough."

Eh? I think to myself, pausing with indecision as to whether I should actually leave or not, when another, more feminine voice filters through.

"Ignore him. Please enter."

Mentally shrugging, I slide the door open and step through.

Inside is a comfortable room with warm lighting from a series of paper lamps, as the room is in the centre of the flying fortress and thus not in line for any sunlight.

The centre of the room is taken up by a simple low table, behind which sits Tengen, looking the same as she did this morning, not seeming at all like the strain of building, sustaining and flying a giant building across the country is bothering her in the slightest.

Kamo-Sensei is also sitting on the right side of the table, but I ignore him for now and focus on Tengen. I meet her captivatingly red stare without flinching and simply provide a polite bow.

"Tengen-sama, it is my honour to be acquainted with you."

"Hey," Kamo-Sensei interrupts, and I turn to look at his pouting face, which is not cute at all. "Why are you being so polite? You are going to feed into her delusions."

"I try to always be polite, Kamo-Sensei." Except for with Sukuna goes unsaid.

"That is exactly the problem," he returns, and I tilt my head in confusion at how that could be a problem, when Tengen speaks up once more.

"Kamo-san, please stop talking."

"Don't wanna."

"Are you nine?"

"Not right now."

Tengen's lips twitch up into a smile and half a laugh leaves her, making me feel like I just missed out on some kind of inside joke. Whatever the case may be, Kamo-Sensei does indeed stop talking, and Tengen gestures to my side of the low table.

Following her offer, I take my own seat and wait to hear whatever it is Tengen called me here for, though I do find my eyes glancing about curiously. Not that I find anything other than Kamo-Sensei, the table and the lamps in the room with us.

"Narauko-kun," Tengen begins. "I am sure you are wondering what I wanted to speak about with you."

I once again remind myself that clichés aren't cliché yet, no matter how cliché that opening was, and give her my full attention. Her words are kind of obvious and a little bit redundant, but still, this is a conversation, so I give the appropriate answer to keep the conversation moving along.

"I had been wondering, yes."

"An understatement," Kamo-Sensei mutters quietly to himself, his mouth hidden behind a sleeve. We both choose to ignore him.

"Firstly, I wanted to ask a question regarding this Technique," she says, and as she does, she brings a hand up and creates a Black Butterfly in her open palm.

"I will happily answer any question you have, Tengen-sama," I respond with a smile, and she seems to consider me for a moment before nodding her head at whatever she was thinking.

"I have been informed that you intended to allow anyone to learn this Technique," she says, dropping her hand back down and dispersing the butterfly, to which I nod. "As we are approaching the capital and the Onmyōji, I find myself curious if your allowance truly spreads to all, or if there was anyone you intended to limit the Technique from?"

"Oh," I respond, not having really expected that to be the question. "Well, no, not really. I mean, I'm pretty sure even Yōkai should be able to use it, I don't really care about that."

Tengen raises a single brow. "Most Sorcerers defend their Techniques vociferously." She doesn't say it like she is bias either way, just stating a simple fact.

I shrug at the look she gives me, as if expecting some kind of deep, personal reasoning, like wanting to make the world a better place and save everyone or something extreme like that.

Not that I don't want to make the world a better place, but that isn't what I focus on with Jujutsu, because Jujutsu is completely different to things like social and economic reforms that can actually make daily life measurably better for the common folk.

So I just shrug. "An artist would be happy to have their art appreciated by anyone. I do not care who uses my Techniques. I just think it is cool to see. 'Value not the hands that wield, but the eye of the beholder'."

"I see," she says, meanwhile Kamo-Sensei leans forward slightly, looking at me curiously.

"Was that a quote?" He asks, "I don't recognise it. Who did you just quote?"

I give him a wide grin. "Me."

His brow twitches. "Why would you speak like you are quoting something if you are not?"

"Because it is fun, and I want people in the future to think I was a really cool guy who said a lot of cool things, so I am making it easier for them."

"That's stupid," Kamo-Sensei says, though he doesn't try to hide his amused smile.

"You're stupid," I return, no doubt shocking him with my advanced vernacular.

"How could you say that?" He asks, sounding so serious and genuinely upset that I almost fall for it for a second, before remembering that I don't trust Kamo-Sensei at all.

"'Truth to which one calls foul is oft truth from which one must learn.'"

Kamo somehow manages to scowl and smile at the same time. "Stop talking like you're quoting something."

"But I was quoting something that time."

"You are the worst liar I have ever known."

"You do not have to believe me for me to lie to you."

"What kind of logic is that?" He asks, leaning back slightly out of bafflement.

I puss my chest out with pride. "My logic."

"Your logic is stupid," he says, and I smile.

"You're stupid."

Kamo-Sensei's expression turns hurt a second time. "How could you say that?"

Both of us stare at one another and a beat passes before we both burst out laughing.

It's only after a moment of laughing together that I remember we aren't alone when Tengen lightly coughs to get our attention, and attention does she get.

Both of us pause our laughter and turn to her like a pair of kids caught with our hands in the proverbial cookie jar.

""He started it,"" we both say at the same time, pointing at one another, and naturally we then both start laughing again.

At least this time, Tengen seems actually amused, letting out a half laugh half sigh as she looks between us with a smile.

Abruptly it hits me that I'm sitting next to an immortal and my Jujutsu teacher. Never in either of my lives would I have imagined a scenario like this to feel so casual. I figured it'd be more intense.

In hindsight, it kind of makes sense that an immortal wouldn't just act like old people act, since an immortal wouldn't be at the end of their lifespan for one. But mainly, everyone changes as they age, but humans don't generally age past like, a hundred. So there's no real way anyone in my last life could have even begun to guess how an immortal would act after hundreds of years.

Maybe they keep getting more grumpy and stubborn, maybe they just wind up chill like Tengen seems to be.

Guess I'll have to meet more immortal humans to find out. I don't know where in Yomi I'm going to find another one though, since immortality is rather famously something that humans all over the world have constantly been searching for.

"Haaah," Kamo-Sensei sighs out the last of his laugher, one of his hands reaching up to absently rub the line of stitches across his forehead. "When was the last time I laughed like that?"

"I am not sure you ever have," Tengen responds, her own amusement not having been as great as ours, though she is still smiling. "You have changed rather rapidly as of late."

Kamo-Sensei looks at her and then at me, and once again I feel like I'm missing some extra meaning behind Tengen's words as he smiles and shakes his head. "Perhaps I have."

"With that out of the way," Tengen says, half sarcastically, while turning her attention back to me. "Can we get to the main reason I called for you?"

"Of course, Tengen-sama," I oblige, and Kamo-Sensei doesn't interrupt this time.

"Then, I have another question for you," she begins, but I speak up before she can continue, interrupting her in a way I never would have if not for Sukuna and Kamo-Sensei corrupting my manners.

"Before that," I start. "As you have already asked a question, may I ask one before you get another?"

Tengen releases an amused breath through her nose and Kamo-Sensei gives me a proud nod, presumably for interrupting Tengen. Sometimes I feel like he thinks I should act like an asshole just because I'm strong.

"That is fair," Tengen agrees, not bothered by the interruption, and my eyes immediately light up.

Leaning forward with poorly restrained excitement, I ask the question that's been bothering me since Tengen first showed up.

"How did you make this building out of barriers?" I ask. "I cannot even sense the composition of the walls, and I don't know how you made freestanding barriers so durable!"

They are seriously tough too. I punched my balcony door earlier and it didn't even crack. I don't see how I could make a Curtain that tough without imposing a bunch of strict Conditions, like saying that anything can pass through except for me specifically.

Even then, I could probably maybe break it.

But as far as I can see, the barriers that make up this building don't have any kind of blatant Conditions applied to them to explain the toughness.

Tengen smiles at my question, and probably my enthusiasm as well. "Since you are so open with your own Technique, I shall simply show you."

With that said, she brings her hand back up and floating just an inch above the skin of her palm, she manifests two simple parallel white barriers, hexagonal in shape, and immediately I understand.

It kind of brings to mind the principles of quantum locking, from what little I understand of quantum locking anyway.

What she has is two barriers, and they are both designed to be releasing waves of attractive and repulsive force sequentially. Effectively meaning that one barrier releases a pulse that attracts the other, followed by a pulse that respells, then attracts and so on.

At the same time, the opposite barrier is doing the same thing but the other way around. When one releases an attractive pulse, the other releases a repulsive pulse and vice versa.

The result is a pair of barriers that cannot be pushed apart or pulled together. It should also be noted that these barriers are less than a nail's width apart, and I'm pretty sure that's her separating them more than usual for the sake of ease of viewing.

I imagine that the barrier is at its best when the two sides are practically fused together.

Additionally, it seems to function kind of like Anti-HEAT armour, specifically the spaced kind. High explosive anti-tank rounds basically function by being an explosive that only detonates after penetrating hard armour. It came about when normal rounds couldn't pierce through metal boats and tanks and stuff.

Spaced armour is just having two layers of armour with a gap in between so that the HEAT round penetrates the first set of armour and then explodes into the second.

This barrier works with a similar concept, except it's also kind of like a circuit. There is the Cursed Energy that goes into the construction of the Barrier Technique as a whole, but in order to actually break the Technique, you have to actually break both barriers. Only break one and it will just leech energy off of the other and fix itself.

The issue is that the Technique makes the barrier you attack extra tough by weakening the barrier you aren't attacking, creating a vulnerability to balance an increase in strength. It seems reactive too, so the only way to easily break it would be to attack both sides at the same time, otherwise it will just harden one side and then the other as it is attacked.

Or you could just hit it harder.

It really is a pretty amazing Technique. Not least of all because it can likely be used as a base to build more complex Techniques on top of, as I have had struggles otherwise manifesting simple but sturdy freestanding barriers.

Turning my gaze away from Tengen's Technique, I bring up my own hand, palm up, and focus my Cursed Energy.

Like that time I tried recreating ghosts, it isn't really difficult to just copy the form of her Technique. In fact, it's even easier since her Technique is actually made out of Cursed Energy, so I can just sense it without having to infuse it with my own Cursed Energy.

A second later, a pure black barrier springs into place, floating in the palm of my hand. The gap between the two sides is probably around about a millimetre in width.

Smiling, I use my other hand to attempt to squeeze the barrier, and then push it apart, but it doesn't budge. Test done, I bring out some more of my Cursed Energy and make some more barriers of varying size, shaping them until I am holding a miniature of the building we are inside in the palm of my hand.

Then I just apply a quick bit of colouring through an illusion Spell, and it really looks like the building Tengen made. Just tiny.

Awesome.

So lost in my thoughts am I that I utterly fail to see the look of surprise on Tengen's face as she stares at me.

Though, this Technique does get me thinking, what with how focused it is with magnetism, and I disperse the building I'd created, leaving only the base form of the barrier in my palm.

Then I decide to just dispel it and recreate it in the image I have in mind.

Above my palm, a barrier springs into being in the shape of a coil, and using the principles of Tengen's Technique, I make this coil effectively function as a magnet. Though, it isn't specifically magnet, and I have no idea if there are limits to what it can attract or repulse.

With that in place, I create a second barrier in the shape of a thin spike and once again I use the principles of Tengen's Technique to make this barrier appear to be ferromagnetic.

Then I just bring the spike-shaped barrier to the base of the coil-shaped one, and then, before I can even put it in, the spike is yanked out of my hand and into the coil, where it slams to a stop, floating in place.

Right. For a coil gun to work, it needs to let go of the projectile at the halfway point, so as to not arrest momentum.

With that in mind, I dispel the coil, catch the spike, and recreate the coil. This time, when I press the spike up to the bottom of the coil, I am ready.

The spike is sucked in, and I almost immediately dispel the coil, leaving the spike to fly with all of its momentum, and it's only when my eyes track the projectile right past Kamo-Sensei's face that I realise I got distracted.

The spike clanks against the wall, but it wasn't really going that fast in the first place, so there's no damage. Sabishī's Piercing Blood moves faster. I'm actually a little bit disappointed. Well, hopefully it can be improved in the future.

On the bright side, even if it can't, if people without Innate Techniques learn it then they might be able to better exorcise the weaker Curses out there, so it's not all bad even if I can't make it stronger.

But that's not imminently important.

Turning guiltily to the other two that I totally just forgot about, I scratch my cheek sheepishly as I look between them and let out a nervous chuckle.

"Having fun?~" Kamo-Sensei asks.

Neither of them ask about the coil gun based barrier, because both of them saw me make it and figured it out on their own. It's not exactly complicated.

"Yes, I am," I answer truthfully, before turning to Tengen. "I apologise for getting lost in my head."

"It is fine," she says after a moment. "I should have given Kamo-san's words more weight."

I don't know what Kamo-Sensei's words were, but I can totally understand where she's coming from, so I give her a sagely not. "I understand. He is completely impossible to trust."

"Hey!" Kamo-Sensei exclaims and is ignored.

"I see you know him well," Tengen agrees.

"This is slanderous."

"Unfortunately that is the case," I sigh.

"I am feeling unwanted."

"You have my condolences," Tengen says with an amused smirk that fades somewhat as she continues. "You have asked your question, now will you listen to mine?"

"Of course, Tengen-sama. My apologies again."

"You need not apologise so often. I do not easily take offence," she begins, but then her expression turns somewhat serious, though not to the point of being severe. "You have been a Jujutsu Sorcerer for nearly half a year now. What are your thoughts on the Jujutsu side of the world?"

Not having expected such a broad question, I tilt my head, giving Kamo-Sensei a quick glance to know that he doesn't seem like he feels like helping me out.

"It's cool?" I answer, not entirely sure of myself, since the question isn't specific at all. Though, I guess now that I think about it, if I had some kind of extreme opinions, then the question would be enough of an excuse to air them.

Unfortunately, I don't. I don't think I'm really an extreme kind of person.

"I love Jujutsu," I continue. "It is super awesome and I love it. I don't really like that Curses exist, but I do enjoy fighting them and seeing what they can do. I'm not really sure what else I am supposed to have particularly strong feelings about here."

"There is more to the world of Jujutsu than merely exorcising Curses," Tengen says, making my head tilt once more, since it's literally the job of a Jujutsu Sorcerer to exorcise Curses.

"Is there?"

My words seem to bring pause to Tengen who, after a moment, lets out a small but genuine smile. "I suppose you are right, my apologies."

Tengen dips in a brief bow, and it's only then that I think I might have figured out some of the subtext here. That being that she was maybe talking about politics, but I don't really care much about politics.

Being a Jujutsu Sorcerer and being a politician is two different things, even if one can be both.

"I do not truly know what it is you are apologising for, but your apology is accepted either way. May I ask another question?"

Tengen smiles and nods. "Naturally."

"Are there any Techniques or applications of Jujutsu that have been lost to time that you are aware of and able to teach?" I ask, getting a short laugh out of Tengen and a roll of the eyes from Kamo-Sensei.

"A good question," Tengen says with mirth. "However, Jujutsu has only grown. Any Technique I know that is not known by others is not exclusive by design, but simply because they are Techniques that take centuries of practice to perfect. I imagine you could learn them quicker than I did, but by that same metric, you will simply figure them out yourself as you progress, and I am starting to get the feeling that you would prefer to learn that way than be given shortcuts."

Dang, I was hoping for some super secret forbidden art or something, like out of a novel. But I guess Tengen really doesn't seem the type to hoard knowledge in the first place.

She is literally the headmaster of one of two Jujutsu schools and the literal founder of the idea of even having Jujutsu schools in the first place. She very clearly is not the type to hoard knowledge.

Oh well. She isn't wrong to say that figuring it out is half the fun. I'll just make my own super secret forbidden art. Can't be too hard. Just make a Technique powered by life-force and boom, forbidden.

Okay that's dumb, never mind.

"My turn," Tengen says, recapturing my attention, and her casual tone almost makes me miss her following words. "Would you like to live forever?"

It takes a second for her words to properly clock in my head, because she says them more like an offer than a curiosity.

"Uhm," I intelligently respond. "What?"

Tengen's expression remains calm. Almost but not quite casual. "It is difficult to have friends when everyone withers away and dies so much faster than you," she says.

I recognise the immortality dilemma right away, because I have heard the question posited so many times on the internet and heard every argument that can be given about whether immortality is good or bad.

Personally, I've always been in the camp that it's a good thing, rather than a curse.

"Kamo-san is the only person I know who I will not likely have to watch die," she continues, making me turn my attention to Kamo-Sensei.

From her phrasing, he must be older than he seems. Is Kamo-Sensei immortal too? Or just long lived? 

I decide to just ask directly. "How old are you, Kamo-Sensei?"

"Guess."

"Seventy," I immediately answer, having already thought of it before he asked.

"Hey!" He exclaims, seeming offended, though I don't believe it for a second. "Why did you answer that so quickly, at least think about it a little bit. I do not look seventy, I look fifty at oldest."

"Regardless of Kamo-san's age," Tengen says, bringing the conversation back on track. "You are someone I believe I could be friends with, and Kamo-san also speaks well of you. Eternity gets a little bit boring when you have no one to talk about old times with, and so I am asking you, would you like me to make you immortal?"

I find myself empathising with her. I couldn't imagine what it would be like living centuries after everyone I knew and loved died. However, unlike how Tengen seems, I think I would simply make new friends and loved ones.

It's a part of the argument I never agreed with, that outliving everyone would make immortality a curse. I obviously understand that it would suck watching everyone you love die.

But I also don't see the problem with just making new friends and loved ones every century. If anything, I'd be happy to have so many, likely differing, friendships.

So I do give Tengen's question its due consideration.

Which isn't actually a lot of consideration, because the answer is pretty simple for me.

"I do appreciate the offer, Tengen-sama, but I will decline."

"I see," Tengen responds, not sounding overly surprised. "Not the answer most would give. May I have your reasoning?"

"I just do not know if I want to live forever or not. I am only fifteen, I still have decades ahead of me before I even need to bother thinking about my time running out. I figure that if by the time I start getting old, that I want to die peacefully at the end of my natural lifespan, then I will. Otherwise, I will simply figure out immortality then, when it becomes relevant to my life."

"You do not act your age," Tengen comments. "Except perhaps for the lack of regard you seem to hold forethought in."

"If you spend all of your time thinking about the future or holding on to the past, then how can you ever experience the present?" I respond. "Memories should be cherished and held close, and the future should not be ignored. But my priority will always be ensuring that my present is the best that it can be, so that when, or if, I die, I will have an entire world of memories to look back upon."

"Hmm." Tengen tilts her head up as she considers my words, nodding slightly. "I cannot say I fully agree with your thought process, but I understand it. In that case, I will not push the issue. Though, I would like to point out how absurd your confidence in 'figuring out' immortality is."

It's fine that she doesn't see the world the same way as me. At the end of the day, we are different people, this much should be expected. But it's nice that she at least puts the effort into understanding, rather than just ignoring any opinion that doesn't match her own as false.

Though, I suspect that living as long as she has would make such a mind set to be expected.

As for the bit about immortality, I can't really just say that I've seen hundreds of solutions for immortality through various movies and games and such.

It's probably a bit dumb to try and recreate fictional methods of immortality in my very real life, but I figure a broken clock is right twice a day, so one of them will probably work. Maybe.

Worst case, I just beg Amaterasu to make me immortal. Gods can probably do that. Maybe.

It's not something I need to think about for decades anyway, and I'll have even more knowledge and experience when and if I do decide to try figuring it out.

"It just doesn't seem that hard," I say instead, making Kamo-Sensei snort and Tengen shake her head.

I just grin at them, just generally feeling happy that I've made another friend, even if she might want to keep me at arm's length thanks to the whole immortality thing.

This is not at all what I expected to happen when I walked into this room, but I am definitely happy with it.

"Well," Tengen says after a moment. "It is your turn."

Grinning wider, I excitedly blurt out the first question that comes to mind, while also looking forward to a long night of questions being asked an answered.

"What is the most confusing Innate Technique you have ever seen?"

My question makes Tengen smile widely, and Kamo-Sensei burst out laughing, making me think he already knows the answer.

"Let me tell you about a Sorcerer from Harima..."

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

I am so fkn tired rn. I'm tryna fix my sleep schedule again and it's fucking with my will to write ._.)

the sorcerer from Harima isn't important, I was just making a reference.

Also, before anyone can start theory crafting, Tengen can't grant immortality, that was just a bluff. don't think too hard about it.

Also also, Narauko made a coil gun, not a rail gun, there is a difference, I cba to explain it tho, so use google if you're curious. Obv, this isn't exactly the same cuz it's magic and not science too. 

And no, I don't intend to make rail gun go brrr like I did in my first fic (not that the vast majority of you have read anything I've done but this one lol). Tbh, I'm probably gonna forget about it entirely, and just try to remember to have him introduce it into the system so people without innate techniques can learn it. idfk, I don't plan this shit out lmao.

Tbh I don't even wanna do anything with the railgun, I just thought about it while writing it by accident. Plus I'm tired. I'm just gonna mostly ignore it and say the Cursed technique barrier can't generate enough magnetic force to be truly deadly, cuz Innate Techniques are supposed to be vastly better than spells, and allowing this spell to break that would feel disingenuous, so the coil gun can't shoot faster than piercing blood.

I'm going to bed. It's not even 4pm but I am so fkn tired rn.

patreon 5 chaps yada yada you get it by now

Chapter Text

A/N: If you're the type to listen to music while reading, I recommend going to your spotify or yt or whatever and getting the song 'Can't take my eyes off you' prepared for when Narauko's door is opened. It's literally the perfect song for him. Like, if he had a theme song, this'd be it, the lyrics are just so perfect I wanna scream lol.

Ashiya Dōman hums pleasantly to himself as he walks through the corridors of the flying fortress, idly impressed that he cannot even feel the fluctuations of the flying Shikigami's wingbeats.

Impressed he may be, surprised he is not. It is Tengen-sama after all. Going above and beyond what seems conventionally possible should be expected of the immortal Sorcerer.

It was still weird to wake up this morning and be however high in the sky though. He is the kind of man who likes to go for a walk in the morning, and if he was any more tired then he might have fallen off of the balcony.

Alas, all was fine, and he had a nice and relaxing morning, followed by a brief spot of training, because it would be best to keep himself sharp with the upcoming event.

Which brings him to the afternoon, where he has decided that he wanted to visit the Special Grade among them, Narauko.

Truthfully, he's been wanting to meet the man ever since he first heard about the Black Butterfly Technique.

Dōman is a firm believer that the strong have a duty to protect the weak, it's why he has been trying to figure out an easy to use counter to Domain Expansion, something that has killed many good Sorcerers, all because the big clans want to hoard their knowledge.

So when he heard about someone else, a Special Grade at that, inventing and freely spreading a Technique that will uplift and assist the entire Jujutsu world?

Well, he naturally wanted to meet the man and see if they truly see eye to eye. Dōman has yet to meet another Sorcerer of real strength who has agreed with his view. He doesn't get why Sorcerers must be so selfish.

It's only unfortunate that he hasn't had the opportunity to talk with Narauko sooner. They do not have a lot of free time as Jujutsu Sorcerers these days, what with Curses popping up left right and centre, so they just haven't been free of obligation at the same time yet.

However, now that they are all in transit to Heian-kyō, he finally has the time. Well, assuming that Narauko isn't busy right now, experimenting or practicing or something.

However, as he is making his way towards Narauko's accommodations, something he only knows because of the servants have come with them to serve food and stuff, he finds himself bumping, metaphorically, into a familiar face.

Not exactly familiar in a good way, unfortunately.

"Dōman," she says, her kaleidoscopic eyes looking at him as if he were the dirt at her feet. "How nice to see you."

He faces her blatantly insulting gaze with the grace of a man who has never been looked at differently, brushing some of his hair out of his face, half as black as her own hair and half pure white, a clear sign of his bastard blood, and smiles politely in her direction.

Kiyohara no Nagiko is a perfect example of his earlier thoughts of Jujutsu Sorcerers being a selfish lot. She has hated him since the moment they met, seemingly for no reason at all.

It was only later, after he learned of her Eyes of Truth that he even found out why. 

Kiyohara no Nagiko detests the weak and untalented. Now, while he is neither weak nor lacking in talent, that hardly matters when the goal he pursues is to uplift the weak and untalented, such that they may better survive this occupation.

She seems to take such a goal as an insult, though he has no idea why. He simply assumes that it is for the same reason that most Sorcerers look down on him. A simple contempt for the weak.

"Kiyohara-san," he returns her greeting, far more politely than her, who would use the given name that was forced on him when he was banished from his family, the Doumon clan. One final insult for him to carry with him.

"It is nice to see you as well," he continues, lying. 

Normally, this would be the extent of their conversation. They have nothing much to say to one another after all. 

However, when they both go their own way, he finds that they end up walking the same way.

Still, there is but silence until the third chance for them to split passes by, and it appears that they might be walking in the same direction.

"I do not suppose that you are heading to meet with Narauko-san, are you?" He asks, getting a narrow-eyed glare in return.

"And if I am?" She responds, terse.

"Nothing, nothing. Just an idle curiosity."

She doesn't ask what would cause him to be visiting Narauko this fine afternoon, but that's okay. She would have just sneered at his answer anyway, so he doesn't mind avoiding that.

He might be able to bear the looks of contempt, but that does not mean that he enjoys them.

The rest of the walk is filled by an unfriendly silence that he happily ignores, only slightly pleased by the hope of Kiyohara finding the silence uncomfortable.

Still, it does not take long for them to arrive, and Dōman raises his hand to knock on the sliding door and pulses some Cursed Energy to announce them, but is beaten to the punch when Kiyohara simply slides the door open without waiting for permission.

Dōman is halfway to constructing a thought on how rude she is being when the sight and sound beyond steals the words from his lips.

"-Of you~,"

Narauko's voice drags out, soft and rhythmic, interrupted in the middle of a verse. But the words are foreign. Gibberish.

"Pardon the way that I stare~,
There's nothing else to compare~."

Narauko is sitting at his balcony, directly opposite the balcony. He is sitting with his side to them, one finger rapping steadily on the balcony's banister.

"The sight of you leaves me weak~,
There are no words left to speak~."

His finger taps out a repetitive beat. Slow but steady, each tap sounding louder than it should, like a soft beat of the drum. Matched only by the soft tone of his voice.

"But if you feel like I feel~,
Please let me know that it's real~."

The sunlight caresses his face where he is seated, leaning against the balcony with his head resting against the bicep of the same arm tap-tap-tapping against the false wood, his face tilted to the sky, a smile in his eyes as they look unwaveringly to the sun.

"You're just too good to be true~,
Can't take my eyes off you~."

Dōman has no idea what foreign language Narauko is speaking, or rather, singing with. He doesn't recognise it. Wouldn't even recognise it as a real language if not for how structured the words sound.

But even if he could not understand the words, he could feel the depth behind them, the emotions put into mere words. Enough that he hesitates to interrupt, feeling like it would be a cruel thing to do.

Kiyohara apparently feels the same, though he honestly forgot she was with him for a moment, as she does not interrupt either, despite her earlier disregard for manners.

And so he listens. Lyrics pass by without comprehension, and yet he find himself enjoying them regardless.

"You'd be like Heaven to touch~,
I wanna hold you so much~."

Dōman certainly never would have thought that one as powerful would practice the arts of song like a Shirabyōshi. Sorcerers rarely deign to learn performative arts. It is a waste of time when a lack of dedicated training could get them killed.

"At long last love has arrived,~
And I thank God I'm alive~."

He supposes that Narauko is powerful enough that he does not need to dedicate his every moment to Jujutsu in order to survive and thrive. Still, Dōman wonders who taught him, since he has heard no rumour of Narauko singing.

"You're just too good to be true~,"
Can't take my eyes off you~."

Idly, Dōman wonders if Narauko would appreciate a gift of a koto. He believes that he has one of the stringed instruments lying around somewhere. However, his musing is cut short when, with the next lyric, Narauko seems to come aware of their presence.

"I, love, yo-" He freezes mid word, his mouth held open and immobile as his eyes snap to the two of them.

It almost seems as if he believes they will be unable to see him if he does not move with the way he becomes as if a statue, freezing entirely.

Well, not that he and Kiyohara are any better, feeling as if they have been caught doing something they should not have been.

It's awkward.

And then Narauko is moving again. He straightens from his slouch against the balcony and rises to his feet, giving them both a small smile, just a hint of already fading red on his cheeks the only sign of embarrassment.

"Yo. Sorry, I didn't hear you come in," he says, for some reason not seeming at all upset that they were the ones to be rude by opening the door without permission in the first place.

Dōman knows men that would have others put to death for interrupting such a clearly private moment without good reason. Narauko certainly shouldn't be the one apologising here.

Perhaps some of those rumours hold truth after all.

"It is us who should apologise," Dōman says with a polite bow, recovering before Kiyohara. "We should not have barged in without your word, that was rude of us."

He makes sure to phrase his words appropriately. On one hand, he is not the type to simply throw people to the wolves as he easily could have done with Kiyohara being purely at fault.

However, he would argue that it is even better to take the blame equally with her, because he knows that she will hate the idea that she is in anyway equal or indebted to him for his little show of solidarity.

He also knows that she will see through his subtle insult at her lacking manners, but that just makes it better for him, because he wouldn't want her to doubt his dislike of her.

So he can be a petty man, so what? He never claimed to be perfect.

Narauko blinks. "Yeah, I guess that is actually pretty rude. What if I'd been naked or something?"

Dōman stifles a laugh and enjoys the pinched expression that briefly crosses Kiyohara's face at Narauko's words.

"It's fine though," Narauko continues, moving towards a low table in the centre of the room and gesturing to the side opposite him. "I choose not to concern myself over the little things, so I do not mind. Would you like some tea?"

Dōman decides that if Narauko is willing to move past that whole awkward encounter, then he has no problem also doing so, and so he bows once more as he answers and finally steps beyond the boundary of Narauko's door. "I would find myself most grateful of your generosity."

Kiyohara hums, vaguely in agreement. He gets the feeling that she just wanted to say something but has nothing to say and settled for that.

"So," Narauko begins again once they've all taken their places around the table. "What brings you here?"

Dōman accepts the cup poured for him as Kiyohara answers first.

"Tengen-sama saw fit to add a number of training halls to this construction," she starts, accepting her own cup. "It would be a shame to put such effort to waste, and so I would like to offer you a friendly spar."

He knows in his bones that there will be nothing friendly about that spar. At least not from her end. But then again, maybe he is being a little bit too bias, he can at least admit that much.

He just really doesn't like Kiyohara no Nagiko.

"Sure," Narauko easily agrees with barely a thought, "Sounds fun." His attention then turns to Dōman. "Are you here to fight too?"

"Ahah, no, not as such," Dōman responds with mirth. "I merely came to talk, though... No, never mind. I only wanted to talk with the man who invented the Black Butterfly Technique."

He was going to say how he now finds himself curious about the language than Narauko was singing with earlier, however he decided against bringing it up for fear of being rude.

Asking questions of Sorcerers is a dangerous game. Often it is without consequence, but Sorcerers can become incredibly defensive if they feel it merited, and he'd rather not sour any potential relationship he might have with a Special Grade like Narauko.

Besides, if they can become friends, then it is likely that he might be able to find an answer to his curiosity some time in the future.

"Would the conversation be an extended one?" Narauko asks, a curious tilt to his head that Dōman is noticing to be a regular thing.

He doesn't think he has ever met a man who wears his emotions so openly as Narauko.

"I would hope it to be, yes, but the main point need only be brief, if you have not the time." Dōman answers with practiced politeness even as he wonders as to the nature of the question. He might be a bastard cast out of his family, but he was still raised to be noble and can act as such.

Besides, it never hurts to be polite.

"I see. In that case, let us head to the training hall now and talk afterwards, so that we do not bore Kiyohara-san."

Ah, so he was asking in order to determine in what order he should give them his time.

"I find this agreeable," Dōman says with a nod of the head, draining the last of his tea.

Kiyohara is the first to stand. "Let us not waste time then."

"Sure sure," Narauko casually agrees, and then they are up and away.

Kiyohara no Nagiko

The training hall is deceptively large as they enter it. There are three in total built into the flying fortress, including one on the roof that would have allowed for even more space.

However she cannot fly, and she doesn't intend to give Narauko any kind of field advantage over her by providing such access to open air.

The room itself is large enough that it is difficult to make out the little details of the far wall, but not so large that Sorcerers as powerful as them could not close the distance with ease.

Her Cursed Energy thrums beneath her skin, her own emotions stirring the volatile energy.

Narauko's attitude certainly doesn't help matters.

It was his dismissal of her talent that left her burnt with fury in the first place. That he would declare her stronger than him yet hold the belief that it wouldn't matter, because his talent would simply allow him to overtake her should they fight.

It was perhaps more insulting than if he'd have just called her weak. Because it is not her ability he was looking down on, but her talent. Her potential to improve.

That is not something she could just accept. Talent is all that matters in this world. Without talent, you are nothing. Just a tool to be used by your betters and an obstacle to be overcome or ignored.

It was That Man's lack of talent that lead to the death of the woman Nagiko considers more her mother than her own blood. If only he'd been better, things might have been different.

Murasaki always complimented her talent. Told her that she was going to stand among the greatest of her generation.

Oh how she wishes she could have believed those words, but her eyes do not lie. Can not. And every time Murasaki told her of her talent, there was always a... Not quite a lie, but not a truth either.

She will never know what Murasaki was not telling her. Just that she was not enough. That Murasaki saw some flaw in her that she does not know.

It pisses her off. Makes her want to scream, but at what, she does not know.

She just knows that Narauko looked at her with the same eyes as Murasaki. Eyes that acknowledge her and discredit her in the same breath.

Perhaps that is what pisses her off the most. That he seems to recognise the same thing that held Murasaki's compliments back that she hasn't been able to find even after all of these years.

"Are you ready?" Narauko's voice brings her back to the world, and she looks up to see him standing opposite her.

Immediately after taking sight of him, her eyes do as they always have and they speak to her.

Relaxed. Doesn't see you as a threat. Thinks you have gotten stronger. Thinks you are less dangerous. Believes he has grown stronger faster than you. Is disappointed. Hoped that you would have grown more. Wants you to be strong-

She scrunches her eyes shut to put an end to the noise, feeling her Cursed Energy grow even stronger as her fury fuels it.

If he could just have looked down on her then she could have handled that.

But why do his eyes only remind her of Murasaki?

She hates it. Hates him.

Her eyes open. They are cold.

"I am," she says, and Dōman steps between them, holding a coin on a thumb.

He looks between them and nods his head. They don't need to discuss how to start the fight, none of them are stupid. So Dōman does not say anything, he just flicks the coin in the air and jumps back.

She doesn't track the coin with her eyes as it arcs. Instead, she just pours almost all of her boiling Cursed Energy into her bones. Suffusing her entire body with the violent power.

She is Kiyohara no Nagiko, and she holds the record for the highest number of consecutive Black Flashes achieved in a row. Combined with her Eyes of Truth and she has greater control over her Cursed Energy than just about anyone, especially now that Michizane is no more.

With this control, she has refined her Reinforcement beyond what most Sorcerers are capable of, and has even gone a step further to use a Binding Vow that limits her strength in exchange for extra speed, as she has no need for strength.

With this, she is likely the fastest Sorcerer in the world in terms of pure physical ability. She obviously can't run as fast as Minamoto no Yorimitsu when he uses his technique, but the speed of her body is second to none.

The coin starts to arc down and she lowers herself into a stance, while what remains of her Cursed Energy she pushes towards her Inherited Technique, priming it to be ready for use.

Her eyes return to Narauko.

Arms tense. Uses shadowgraphics to summon Shikigami. Hands twitching to the shape of a wolf's head. Going to summon wolf Shikigami as soon as coin touches the floor. Believes the Shikigami will form before you can reach him. Doesn't plan to step away.

He's underestimating her.

The coin clinks against the floor and she moves.

Ashiya Dōman

Truthfully speaking, Dōman has no idea what to expect from this confrontation.

On the one hand, if one were to simply look at the facts, Narauko should be the victor by virtue of being a Special Grade fighting against a Grade One Sorcerer.

However, in this era, the term 'Special Grade' has hardly retained its meaning.

Special Grades are called as such for a reason. They are supposed to be special. They are anomalies.

And yet, what value does the term hold when the special cease to be special? In this era, Special Grade hardly holds the same weight as it is supposed to.

The point being that even if Narauko is the only one of the three of them who holds the title, Dōman does not think that it really means anything. The Higher Ups don't like deviations from the norm, so they would naturally be hesitant to name too many people Special Grade.

The most they would be willing to go for would be five holding the title. And isn't it a coincidence that almost right away after Narauko arrived and could not be denied Special Grade, that the oldest among that number, Michizane, went and died, bringing the total back down to five?

Not that it will matter soon enough. He obviously doesn't know what gambit Tengen-sama is playing here, but with the show surely to come, the Higher Ups will no longer be able to control the number of Sorcerers who hold the title of Special Grade.

The question really, is whether or not Kiyohara ranks among those who deserve to be called anomalies of Jujutsu.

He's honestly looking forward to watching those uptight nobles shit themselves as they slowly come to realise how little their power means in this era full nation destroying monsters.

However, now isn't the time to ponder. 

There's no sense to miss out on the spectacle before him.

The coin clinks against the floor.

Kiyohara no Nagiko

Both of them move before the sound even reaches them.

Her first step closes half the distance, and even as the world seems to come to a stop around her, only Narauko continues to move with speed as his hands snap together into the shape of a wolf.

"Divine-"

He starts, but she is already there, having thrown herself at him with a flying kick to his chest. His eyes widen, sharing the same surprise at her speed that almost everyone she has fought has shown.

However, Narauko is differing in that he reacts in time to drop backwards just a hair ahead of her foot.

"-Dog," She hears him continue as she passes him by, the sound of his back hitting the floor barely registering in her head as a great wolf-like Shikigami bursts out from underneath her.

He connected your shadows as you passed so that he could summon his Shikigami from yours, her eyes tell her when she spares a glance behind her.

Her feet drop down from her kick and she touches the ground running, banking a hard left to test the Shikigami's agility.

It is fast and agile, that much is obvious, however it is not as fast as her and lacks the traction she can generate via her Cursed Energy, that much is obvious from the way it skids across the ground, its claws carving great trenches into the floor as it dutifully chases her.

She feels herself start to grin as her blood starts pumping, the thrill of combat temporarily overtaking her fury as she runs from the beast and arcs around back to Narauko.

Her eyes turn back to Narauko to see him standing in place, watching her run from his Shikigami as if he is a spectator and not a combatant here.

No.. That isn't quite right.

Relaxed. Doesn't think he is in danger. Is curious if his Shikigami is enough to best you. Is prepared for a surprise. Hasn't let his guard down. Doesn't think you will lose to his Shikigami.

He is still looking down on her. The thought rankles, but she ignores that.

It's fine. She doesn't like being looked down upon, but at the same time, it is to her benefit. Her Technique isn't something that can be used right away after all. She needs some time to build it up, and he seems willing to give her that time, so she spins on her heel and swings a kick at the Shikigami chasing her.

It, or Narauko depending on how much control he has over his Shikigami, clearly wasn't expecting the sudden reversal, as her foot neatly lands on the side of its head.

A crack of displaced air follows the beast as it is launched to the side, but she doesn't chase. There's no point.

Instead, she just watches the thing straight itself mid-air and carve up the ground some more as it slows itself to a stop.

Non-standard Shikigami. It has a Technique imbued into it. Not imbued. Carved. Not carved.

She has to take a sharp step back as the Shikigami rushes her and attempts to gut her. It is not as easy to dodge as she would like, but she manages, and her counter barely stumbles the thing.

She isn't very strong without sufficient momentum built up, so she uses what little distraction her punch made to hop forward and vault over the Shikigami, using its surprisingly warm back as a springboard.

As she lands in a run, she mulls over what her eyes are telling her. It's not the first time they've failed to understand the Truth of a matter right away, but usually it is cleared up almost immediately.

She's not worried, she just needs a little bit more time.

She also doesn't want to give her game away, so she turns to Narauko and launches herself in his direction, the air parting in front of her and buffeting her clothes like a cyclone. Yet, even as she runs, she does not keep the Shikigami from her peripheral vision.

Cursed Technique is simple. Enhances physical attacks. Cursed Technique is an Innate Technique. Shikigami do not have souls. This Shikigami does not have a soul. Not an Innate Technique.

Kiyohara's eyes are cut off when the Shikigami dissolves into a liquid shadow, and she barely rolls out of the way in time to dodge as that same Shikigami appears once more right in front of her, lunging out of Narauko's shadow.

"Sorry, but drawing my Shikigami away isn't a valid tactic against me," Narauko says, but she hardly hears him enough to note his amusement when he continues, "Though perhaps that does not matter, if the smile on your face is anything to go by. Did I fall into a trap?"

He doesn't sound nearly as concerned as he should be if he had been baited into a trap, but still, she ignores that in favour of what her eyes told her at the sight of Divine Dog being dispelled and resummoned.

Shikigami is formed around Technique. The Technique itself is its core. The Technique enhances physical attacks. Shikigami's body is formed out of shadows. Specifically formed out of Narauko's shadow and held together by Cursed Energy.

She grins wider as the Shikigami changes course to chase after her, only this time, she doesn't run. She doesn't move at all.

She hates the concern that appears on Narauko's face as his Shikigami approaches. She hates it because it is concern for her, and not for himself.

But even then, her mood is not ruined when the Shikigami reaches her and mercilessly brings its claws down on her neck. Yet still, she does not move, her heartbeat steady and breath only slightly uneven from the running.

The attack lands, and is summarily brought to a halt against her skin.

Her clothes don't even ruffle.

She sees the Shikigami almost recoil in what could only be called surprise and confusion at the lack of damage. However, she does not allow the thing to recover and explodes into movement, spinning her entire body to line a roundhouse kick against the Shikigami's body.

The Binding Vow she placed on herself granted an increase in speed for a decrease in strength. Because of this, her attacks in close quarters combat are almost entirely without weight behind them. It's why her earlier punch barely phased the Shikigami in front of her.

And yet her kick carves straight through its torso as if it is not even there.

She lets out a heavy breath as the two halves of the Shikigami collapse into shadows, and she turns her attention back to Narauko, who is ginning even wider than she is.

"Tch." 

Is happy you succeeded. Believed you would. Didn't want to be disappointed. Is trying to figure out the trick. Thinks your victorious smile was attractive.

She scowls at what her eyes are telling her. It's hardly the first time her eyes have told her about others desiring her. In fact, it happens with almost every man, and most women, who's eyes she meets, so she doesn't think much of it.

People find other people attractive, they're only human, it's nothing special.

What she is much more focused on is how Narauko is looking at her with an almost mirror of Murasaki's proud smile when she first started mastering her Cursed Energy.

It pisses her off.

"That was impressive," Narauko compliments. "Are you gonna use the Reveal One's Hand Vow to boost your Technique? Because I am terribly curious."

"Hmph," she scoffs, "I'm sure you are."

The Reveal One's Hand Vow, not that it really has a specific name, is only really useful for Techniques that are simple. Or rather, it is an active detriment to Techniques that benefit more from obscurity than greater effectiveness.

Hers is one such example.

Her Innate Technique is called Fragile Understanding. It allows her to become untouchable by anything that she understands completely. Combined with her Eyes of Truth that allows her to see the Truth of everything around her, and it is a fearsome combination

"You have ten Shikigami, right?" She calls out, her tone and smile both mocking, "Aren't you going to bring another one out?"

It doesn't matter if he does. Now that she's figured out the trick, it will only take a single glance for her to figure out the rest. The threat of his Shikigami have been nullified.

Quite the dilemma for a Shikigami user to face~.

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

Cliffhanger~ 

Jk, cliffhangers are gay. Luckily I wrote two chapters so I can revert all the progress I made by posting two chapters today and returning my backlog back down to 5, because I am good at decision making :)

Chapter Text

"I somehow don't think that will help me much," Narauko says with a smile, tucking his hands into his sleeves from where he stands opposite her.

Only, right as she is about to respond, it is only her eyes warning of him making a hand sign in his sleeves that allows her to avoid the great serpent that launches out of his shadow with such speed that she barely even notices it until it is fully extended.

Its mouth snaps shut mere inches away from her skin, the displaced air of its movement brushing against her hair, and her heart almost leaps out of her throat while her eyes widen in shock.

Shikigami is-

Her eyes are cut off when a tremendously heavy blow lands on her side, snapping her upper arm in half and sending her tumbling across the floor, pain flaring up every time her broken arm slams into the ground like hot fire shooting through her bones.

By the time she manages to stop her rolling, she is biting her lip hard enough to draw blood. The extra pain is preferable to the humiliation crying out would bring.

She leaps to her feet as fast as she is able, preparing herself for an attack that never comes. Instead, all she sees is Narauko standing right where she was a moment ago, the Shikigami nowhere in sight.

"So your Technique isn't just complete invulnerability then," he says ponderously. Looking at her as a scholar might look at a particularly interesting puzzle. "You led Divine Dog around for a bit before using it, so maybe it's a timing thing? You need to either be in combat with, or hold within your eyesight, my Shikigami for a set amount of time in order to become an immovable object and unstoppable force when interacting with them specifically? Doesn't seem quite right. Though, I suppose if it were a timer type of thing then it would be a good idea to bring Divine Dog back out to see if the timer resets. Unfortunately, you did a little bit too much damage to him, so he needs to rest for a bit. Good thing I have eight others then, ne?"

...It seems she might have been underestimating him just as much as he has been underestimating her.

He is obviously not right with his assumptions, but he doesn't need to be right. He just needs to be close enough.

Though, if he believes that he can keep each Shikigami out as long as the dog was before her Technique can take effect, then that is a misunderstanding that she should try to exacerbate.

A low breath leaves her lips as she calms her beating heart, feeling the thrum of challenge in her bones and sharpening her focus to the extreme.

As she pours one part of her attention into using Reverse Cursed Technique to fix her broken arm, a plan starts to form in her mind.

Without even consciously realising it, she only now starts to take Narauko as a genuine threat to be treated with caution.

The plan is simple. Allow him the delusion that her Technique works on a timer and let him quickly cycle through his Shikigami, not knowing that now that she knows they are built around their Techniques that she will be able to understand them with but a glance.

She can't be obvious about it though. She doesn't think baiting him would work, whether she tries to do so through a lie or a truth. So the better option is to simply speak of something else entirely.

"So you do not need to speak your Shikigami's name to summon them," she comments, and his lips quirk slightly with pride.

"Uhuh. It diminishes them though. Strength for speed," he casually reveals, his smile turning into a knowing smirk, "You are familiar, no?"

Has he figured out her Binding Vow? It doesn't really matter if he has, but it also doesn't make sense how he could have.

Intuition? That's pretty absurd if so.

"Are you just going to talk, or are we going to continue to fight?" She asks after a moment of staring at one another.

"I could ask the same," he counters, but she just scoffs.

"You have the advantage of range over me. As a Shikigami user you can keep your distance, while I fight in close quarters. We are a good distance apart, so you have the initiative."

"Nice lie," he calls her out, "But wouldn't it then make sense for you to make the first move, so as to deny me my advantage?" He asks, an infuriating smirk on his face. "Or is it perhaps that you are hesitant to close the distance carelessly now that you know I have such a fast Shikigami while not knowing what shape my hands are in?"

Ah, she sees it now, the gamble he's playing.

He is not wrong. That snake Shikigami is unbelievably fast. If she is too close when he summons it, it will hit her before she can either dodge or understand it enough for her Technique to activate.

However, she is not going to fall for the bait he is leaving either.

His hands are in the shape of a bear right now. He intends to use his words as a double bluff. He is pretending that he thinks he can convince her that he is intending to summon the snake, while knowing that she will see through it.

However, he thinks that she will see that his hands are in the shape of a bear and assume that is the length of his bluff and attack, assuming she is safe from the snake. But she is not stupid. If he can Subtract the need to chant his Shikigami's names, then it is likely he can do the same for the hand sign.

Meaning that if she fell for his bait and attacked, thinking he would only summon some kind of bear Shikigami, then she would end up getting hit by the snake.

It's a good tactic. Unfortunately, even after having seen through it, it hardly matters when she is simply out sped by the snake anyway.

Luckily, she has her own advantages too.

A hand slips into a fold of her kimono and retrieves a throwing knife, and she doesn't allow him any time to consider the implement before launching it at his head and dashing right after it.

Narauko's smile widens as he tilts his head enough to avoid the knife.

"Great Serpent." He intones, as she expected he would.

However, her eyes saw what would happen before it did, and she is already in the air by the time the Shikigami is summoned.

The snake spears forward underneath her so fast she still barely sees it move, even knowing it was coming, and that is all the time she needs as she watches the Shikigami beneath her immediately dissolve into shadows.

Cursed Technique extends body. Only so fast upon summoning.

The latter part explains why Narauko would dispel it right after summoning it twice over now, but is hardly important in the face of the fact that she now understands the Shikigami.

Two down.

Still, Narauko's grin doesn't falter as she comes back down, and the reason is evident a moment later when a great white bear emerges from the ground right in front of him, the temperature of the room dropping several degrees in the process.

But her eyes have already seen this coming too.

Cursed Technique controls ice and cold.

Time seems to slow for her as she reaches the ground. Ice starts to spread from the paws of the giant bear. Fast enough that it will encase her less than half a second after her foot touches the ground.

She can admit to being impressed by the feat of timing.

However it is irrelevant.

Her foot touches solid ground for barely one tenth of a second before she kicks herself back into the air, just in time to avoid being encased in ice and not a full second later she lands with both of her feet on top of the cold.

Her muscles scream at her as she pushes them further, moving even faster to slide under the bear, ignoring the slow swipes of its claws.

She is back up on her feet almost before she has even finished passing the bear, and then her mind jolts as Narauko comes back into sight, smiling and looking her right in the eye with his hands shaped into the head of a serpent.

No vocalisation is given, and even with her eyes telling her what is about to happen, she simply doesn't have the time to dodge, so she gives up on the plan of avoiding contact with his Shikigami until he has cycled through more of them.

Decision made, she doesn't even try to dodge and just renews her sprint.

The snake must have erupted from his shadow, but she honestly barely can tell. All she sees is a brief flash of white slam into her before immediately falling apart into a liquid black as the serpent shatters against her body.

She doesn't slow down at all as she steps into Narauko's personal space, throwing a punch straight at his face that is avoided by a hair's breadth by Narauko leaning to her right.

Almost in the same movement, Narauko's hands snap up to grab her extended arm and shoulder respectively. But her eyes see it coming and she drops into a crouch, half spinning to deliver the heel of her left foot to his ribs.

The hit connects and Narauko uses the force to propel himself further away, a single hand snapping out to the ground to flip himself around and back onto his feet.

She goes to give chase, but a wall of ice crashes towards her and she has to leap away to avoid it, but when she turns to look at the source, she only catches sight of a collapsing puddle of liquid black.

That's fine, she's already understood that one anyway.

Once more, she finds herself standing at a distance from Narauko, neither of them making an immediate move.

It's only the fact that this is a spar and not a true fight to the death that she can excuse his lax attitude.

However, that isn't to say that the previous exchange wasn't fruitful, as both of their eyes glance to the pool of red on Narauko's side, a small tear in his clothes.

Narauko's eyes move from his wound down to her feet, and he lets out a short laugh when he sees the blade sticking out of the back of her heel.

"So, not a timer then," he says, conversationally. "I have two theories. Either your Technique treats the entirety of my Technique as one, rather than differentiating between my Shikigami and you only dodged Great Serpent earlier out of reflex. Or, your Technique is something more about understanding what you are up against, and that after you got a read on Divine Dog it became trivial for you to do the same with the others. It doesn't really matter which is true, but what I am wondering is if it is understanding that triggers your Technique, then how did my punch break your arm? Surely you should understand Cursed Energy well enough to be immune to it, or does your Technique only affect other Techniques?"

"Humans aren't such simple creatures to understand," she snaps at him. He's already figured her Technique out enough that there's no real benefit to playing with any pretences otherwise.

"Are you an idiot?" Is Narauko's immediate reply, and the most annoying part is how genuinely sincere he sounds asking it.

However she isn't given a chance to answer him as he abruptly dashes forward, moving almost as fast as she is able to despite her Vow.

Still, even with the suddenness of the attack, she doesn't fail to act, deflecting his opening fist to the side and sliding a knife into her other hand while bringing it up, aiming right for his jugular.

He dodges, as she knew he would, which is why she lets go of her blade, letting it fly the extra distance needed to embed itself into his throat.

However, despite taking the hit, Narauko's grin doesn't falter and her eyes warn her of danger a second before it comes.

"Kon," Narauko intones, his voice wet from the knife in his throat, and she barely avoids losing a leg as a giant fox's head snaps out of the ground where she was a moment ago.

"Your eyes aren't so good when there aren't any visual cues to build off of, huh?" Narauko says, and not a second later she feels an impact slam into her back.

Rolling across the ground, she glances back to see what hit her only to see a pool of liquid black dropping to the floor.

"Kon."

She doesn't even get to finish rolling to her feet when she has to kick herself to the side in order to avoid being bitten in half, and even then she only gets to her feet in time to bring her arms up to block Narauko's fist, the force of the blow sending her flying backwards.

"Why can I hit you, Kiyohara!" Narauko abruptly shouts out after her, and her eyes warn her of another attack barely in time for her to spin around and avoid a bird Shikigami by dropping to the ground, pulling out a knife to score a cut on the thing as it passes.

And then her solid ground is washed away in a tide of water, disorienting her as she struggles to get enough leverage to jump on top of the water.

Her foot barely manages to touch the floor and she kicks herself up, landing on top of the raging waves freshly generated and using her Cursed Energy to stand on top of the ocean.

Yet still, she gets no time to breathe as Narauko appears in front of her once again. She can barely even think as attack after attack drowns her as surely as the waves.

She sees his punch coming and throws a punch of her own at his inner elbow before it can fully extend, following up by bringing her other hand up to his throat, fresh knife in hand.

It's only the fact that she is working almost entirely on instinct that she does not hesitate to listen to her eyes.

Narauko does not slow down at her attack, instead he speeds up, slamming his own neck into her blade and attempting to close the distance and close her into a grapple.

However, her eyes saw it coming a moment earlier and she ducks under his closing arms, throwing a low kick at his ankles and then-

The water explodes beneath them and she feels something break as a heavy impact slams into her and launches her to the side, leaving her dizzy as she barely keeps from sinking under the waves.

"Why can I still hit you!" Narauko's voice once more shouts out from behind her, giving her no time at all to even think!

She's never been so pressured before in her life, not even when she fought Yorimitsu. She just needs a moment to think, to plan, but she doesn't get it as Narauko throws a combo of punches at her, each barely avoided even though she is supposed to be one of the fastest around.

Her Cursed Energy boils beneath her skin, raging in a way it hasn't before. She can feel it answer her call more easily than before, as if what once took intent now only needs instinct.

"You think too much!" Narauko says, another fist barely avoiding her face followed by a leg sweep that she avoids by jumping and kicking his chest with both feet.

She doesn't even think about moving her Cursed Energy to enhance the blow, but it moves anyway, a ringing impact sounding out as Narauko is forced back a step, but only one.

"Better!" Narauko yells, his excitement clear, "But you can go even further!"

She doesn't know when it started, but a pressure in her cheeks tells her that she's smiling.

Why?

Her left hand slaps away a probing punch and her right foot kicks his leg before his own kick can even get started, causing him to falter enough that her other hand can bring a knife across his throat once again.

Why is she smiling?

Blood spurts from the wound only for a moment before it closes again, and she lets go of the knife a moment before his head snaps forward to catch it between his teeth.

Why does she feel so good right now?

Her body moves without conscious thought, ducking to the side exactly far enough to avoid her own knife spat out of his mouth. His punch that follows is avoided the same. A slight twist that has his fist graze her clothes but avoid her skin, and her hands snap up to catch the arm, turning and throwing him over her shoulder and into the water with enough force that the water becomes as hard as steel.

She looks down and her Eyes lock onto his as he smiles through his injury.

Is happy. Wants you to keep improving. Wants to see how much you can grow.

She cuts her eyes off and slams her foot down on his face, but he has already yanked his hand out of her grip and rolled to the side, ignoring how the churning waves should get in the way of both of their movement.

A knife leaves her sleeve right as he throws himself to his feet, embedding itself in his heart with perfect timing, but he barely even seems to notice, his grin just growing even wider as he turns back to her, fist cocked back to deliver a devastating punch.

But despite what should be a difference in strength between them, she doesn't even think about using her usual style of fighting and avoiding the blow to hit a quick counter.

In fact, she isn't really thinking of anything at all beyond the adrenaline pumping through her veins.

Her own fist cocks back just like his own, and for one frozen second, they become a mirror of one another, smiling wider than she has in a long time.

Their eyes lock.

He believes in you.

A single tear leaves her eye as a half strangled laugh leaves her throat and lightning dances around her fist.

"BLACK FLASH!!"

The world cracks. 

Space distorts around them as a single moment seems to last a dozen, black and red lightning arcing from the point of impact and instantly boiling any water it touches into steam.

A thunderous sound shatters her eardrums. An impact cracks her shoulder, and only then does she feel her fist impact Narauko's own shoulder, and then all she sees is light and blurred colours as she is launched backwards, flipping over herself half a dozen times.

Her feet catch on the water and the violent waves beneath her flatten out into a perfect calm the moment she comes to a stop on them.

Her broken shoulder barely has the time to be broken as her Cursed Energy inverts itself and fixes the injury faster than she can even think to do so.

She feels amazing.

If the last time she experienced a Black Flash left her feeling as if her Cursed Energy is as easy to manipulate as her limbs, now it feels as if her Cursed Energy is no different from her organs. Like she doesn't even need to think to use it. A natural action.

Her eyes find Narauko once more, in time to see his own shoulder finish regenerating from where it had been reduced to mush and mist.

"Kiyohara-san," Narauko calls out, and in her state of floaty bliss, she has no problem listening to him for now. "Do you need to count every leaf on every branch to know you are looking at a tree?"

He smiles at her, and for a moment she sees Murasaki's face overlap with his own. The same smile she wore when she was able to teach her.

"Don't overthink things. You know what Cursed Energy is." He says, and she understands.

No gesture or cue is given, but Kiyohara turns her head regardless, and the moment she looks behind her, a giant bird-like Shikigami bursts out of the waves.

She doesn't so much as blink.

The bird crashes into her and finds itself wanting, parting around her like a river around a rock.

Her attention turns back to Narauko to see him barely a step away from her.

He is Narauko. His Curse is Love.

Narauko's fist shoots forward, but still, she does not move.

His fist hits her on the chin, an attack that would have been devastating a mere minute ago, but still, she does not move.

Her lips curl into a smile that reaches her eyes, a smile that he returns.

"I win," she says.

"Do you?" He counters, his smile turning into a smirk.

In the next instance, the entirety of Narauko's Cursed Energy disappears deep beneath his skin, and white fire that does not burn bursts out, covering his form entirely and blazing from his eyes.

She barely has the time to widen her eyes in shock when Narauko spins low and kicks both of her feet out from under her, and this time, she does move.

His kick knocks her almost horizontal, and she sees the follow up punch coming, so a hand snaps out at the water below, Cursed Energy flowing through the sea to allow her to grasp it as if it is solid and pull her forward.

She uses the momentum of his own kick to add to her own and spins up and over his punch, landing on her feet and dodging yet another punch with barely a twist of her body, and then her own fist lashes out with her counter to his gut.

"Black Flash!"

Blood forces its way from Narauko's lips, but she grabs his Kimono before the force of the attack can throw him away and she sees what he is going to do before he does it and meets his headbutt with her own forehead.

"Black Flash!"

Narauko goes cross-eyed from the blow and she feels blood start trickling down her own face at the same time, but she is feeling too good to care right now as the hand not holding Narauko swings up in a vicious uppercut.

"Black Flash!"

The force of the blow leaves him suspended in the air for a moment, and she lets go of his kimono and spins on her heel, delivering a solid roundhouse kick right into his ribs over his heart.

"Black Flash!"

With no grounding or hold on him, the kick sends Narauko flying to the side, skidding over the water like a skipping stone. She doesn't hesitate to chase after him, laughter trailing after her and eyes wide as her Cursed Energy flows like the blood in her veins.

Narauko recovers enough during the flight to flip himself upright and the look he sends her way is nothing short of joyous, and she hates how much the pride in his eyes means to her.

As his feet drag trenches into the surface of the water, his hands take a new shape.

"Reflective Tortoise."

Following his intonation, from the depths of the lake beneath them, a giant tortoise rises, its shell shining like diamond.

She doesn't so much as slow down.

Shikigami's Technique reflects non-physical attacks.

It doesn't matter. Shikigami can no longer touch her.

Her fist meets the shell of the tortoise and lightning arcs for the sixth time in a row, a new record.

"Black Flash!" 

The tortoise explodes, liquid shadow flying every which way and leaving her with a clear path to Narauko.

She grins at him. He grins at her, his hands set in the shape of a serpent's head.

A bluff. Snake Shikigami is temporarily destroyed. Is not bluffing.

Her mind halts for a fraction of a second at the contradictory information provided by her eyes, but a second later her confusion is somewhat answered as a moment of time seems to last an eternity.

Narauko's eyes unfailingly meet her own.

"Extension Technique: Snake of Eden."

Time comes to a stop under her wide eyes as she watches the head of a snake emerge from between Narauko's feet, the only change being that this snake now has a pair of antlers crowning its head.

Shikigami is- Is not a Shikigami. Is a Shikigami. ?.

What? She has never, didn't even think it was possible, heard her Eyes of Truth sound so... Confused? What??

However, she has no time to ponder the strange circumstance as the snake closes the distance between them in less time than she can even twitch her muscles, and then the air is stolen from her lungs as it crashes into her.

The world around her is reduced to a blur for only a fraction of a second before she is brought to a sudden stop.

Her back flares with pain as it feels like every single bone breaks at once, and then the back of her head follows suit and slams into the wall behind her and the world turns on its axis.

Her thoughts slow to mud, stars crossing her blurred vision. She barely even recognises it when the pressure holding her disappears and she falls forward.

She doesn't hit the ground however, as a pair of strong, warm arms catch her, and her concussed mind barely recognises a smile before the world fades away into nothing.

Narauko

Looking down at Kiyohara, I can't keep the smile from my face.

That was just so cool! Her Technique is awesome! Especially once she stopped being overly detail oriented.

I even got to pass on Sukuna's advice to her. Maybe that will give him some second hand karma to even out his no doubt atrocious balance sheet.

I do not know how karma works, or even how real it is in this world.

What I do know is that Black Flashes hurt like a motherfucker. Even using Touki to defend against those blows hardly helped. Well, I guess it did help, else her headbutt might have actually killed me.

I might have survived dying to Inumaki, but my head was in one piece then. I don't know if I can still survive dying without a brain, since that's where Reverse Cursed Energy comes from.

Luckily, I was on the money with my assumption that combining Generous Deer with a Shikigami would invalidate her Technique. 

I'm still not one hundred percent sure what is up with my favourite Shikigami, though I have a suspicion, but I assumed it was different enough that she wouldn't have an understanding of it like she showed with my other Shikigami.

Good think I was right, because there were only so many other cards I could have played.

Well, not necessarily. I can theoretically make a lot of combinations with my Shikigami. Even if each one could only get one hit in, I'd have been fine.

Besides, I still have my boulders in my shadow anyway. Worst case, I just throw her around until she runs out of Cursed Energy.

Shaking those thoughts from my head, I pick Kiyohara up in a princess carry and dispel my active Shikigami, causing the water that half filled the training room to rapidly drain away into nothing.

Then I just walk over to where Dōman is standing, looking at me with an expression I can't quite define.

I think he was impressed by the fight though. I certainly was. It was even more fun than I thought it would be.

I'm really glad she proved my first assumption right, the danger I felt when we first met.

If we'd had this fight back then, she definitely would have kicked my ass.

I'm still confident I would have won of course, because I am The Strongest, but it would have been a lot closer.

I'm still a little bit jealous about the Black Flashes though. I've been hit by them but still haven't experienced one myself, it's not fair. When's my turn?

"Yo!" I greet Dōman once I'm close enough to be in polite speaking distance. "Do you know where Kiyohara's room is? I think it would be rude to just leave her here."

For some reason he starts to laugh.

"I'll show you the way," he says after a moment, though his amusement remains clear to see. "That was an impressive bout."

"Thanks. You wanna fight next?"

"No. I'm good."

Shame.

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

Black flashes galore. 

I hope you guys like fight scenes, cuz granted, I wasn't really feeling this one too much for the most part, but there are gonna be a lot more to come with the coming tourney.

I should probably skip a few of them, cuz my fight scenes are pretty long and I don't think y'all want 30k words of fighting and like 2k of plot development lol.

Then again, that would be pretty JJK of me lol.

Also, next chap will be the omake prequel :O

Also also, it came up on Spacebattles comments, but I figured I'd put it in a chapter. For all of you wondering about power levels, I have made the decision to boost the fuck out of the heian era, y'know make it a true golden age.

That means that everyone is hella strong this era, and I am telling you now as the author, that no era will have the same sheer quantity of powerhouses than the current one.

To add some perspective, Ise no Tayū, the weakest of Narauko's class of first years, is ranked as Semi-Grade One and is about equal to Nanami Kento, a Grade One of the modern era.

Taira is a little bit below Zen'in Naobito, who is one of the best of the modern era, though he would beat her 9 times out of ten. Yoshiie is currently weaker than Nanami, but he's kinda like pre enlightenment satoru in that he just needs to break past a certain barrier and then he'll be about even with Zen'in Naobito.

Posting 2 chaps has put me back to 5 ahead on patreon, though I do have half the next chap written :>

Chapter Text

A/N: Yo! Sorry for the delay with this chap. To spare you a long winded explanation, I'll just say that my ability to write is entirely psychological, and my psyche likes to stay unpredictable. :)

Take an omake prequel with this chap as an apology.

"I must say, while I knew Kiyohara-san's strength and have heard plenty a rumour about your own, I still find myself taken aback by what an entertaining spar that was."

Turning my attention away from the women in my arms, I tilt my head Dōman's way at his words.

"How so?" I ask. "What were you expecting of it?"

"I was expecting Kiyohara-san to either lose quickly, or for you to lose quickly," Dōman quickly answers without much care for censure, a wry smile about his lips. "They say that a fight between the strong will either be over in a moment or never end. Hyperbole, of course, but the core of it oft stands true."

I suppose I can see that. Sukuna comes to mind. If I did not know what he was capable of and we were to fight, then it would not be impossible for it to be over in an instant if he would manage to Cleave me into atoms.

But should he fail to end the battle right away, well, I'm unsure exactly how hyperbolic Dōman's figure of speech would be.

With Reverse Cursed Technique being a factor and both of our Cursed Energy reserves being what they are...

Kami I can't wait for the end of our third year. I have no idea how long we will fight, but I am sure I will treasure the memory more than most I have.

Unfortunately, with the excitement in my blood that comes with the thought of our fight to come, so too does a sense of melancholy pervade me.

Not because of Sukuna, not really. Rather, the issue is everyone else. 

No, that's not fair. The issue is me.

My eyes return to Kiyohara's unconscious form, and for a moment, I just feel so empty looking at her. The truth of my feelings is not even difficult for me to discern.

I'm bored.

Perhaps that's not quite right. I am plenty entertained by Jujutsu and by conversation and the wonderous views from my window. Even now, I feel the same warm glow of joy that I felt when I first fought Tamamo. The joy of finally being able to stretch my legs a little bit.

But...

It's just not enough. There is no sense of satisfaction.

She wasn't strong enough. The thought almost makes me want to cry.

Strength brings a freedom to enjoy all I wish to enjoy, and there is plenty. If I were not strong, there would be many things in this world that I would never be able to experience.

My strength is thus a blessing. It is only my strength that will let me live the life that I want to live.

So why do I wish I was weak?

A mirthless laugh leaves my throat at the thought. 

I guess that old saying holds true. People just can't be happy with what we have. Always wanting for that which we do not. The poor wanting to be rich and the rich wanting to be poor, neither is new, though the latter must be more foolish than the former.

"Something the matter?" Dōman asks, snapping me out of my morose thoughts.

At the same time, he snaps me into focus and I realise that I'm being childish. Arrogant too, the one thing I told myself I would not allow my pride to become.

I am a frog in a well. Instead of worrying about such things, I should simply enjoy the views of the well while I can, for in a about two and a half years, I will be leaving it behind.

I am content to ignore the deep pit of my soul that I know will be crushed beyond repair if I find the ocean beyond to be as shallow as the well.

"Nothing to worry about," I respond, my smile feeling more true as I reassure both him and myself. "If you consider that a fight between the strong should be over in an instant or to last a while, then surely our fight would not have been too surprising? It was hardly quick, after all."

Dōman chuckles lightly at that before giving me a knowing look. "Your fight was neither quick nor was it long. And I believe that it certainly could have been shorter."

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

Dōman's eyes turn somewhat serious as he faces me fully, though his voice still seems somewhat amused. "I mean that that was not a fight between the strong."

He lets the statement linger for a second. "Kiyohara-san is not your equal. You allowed the fight to drag on. You fought her like a teacher hoping to push his student higher."

Ah, I've been caught. In fairness though, if I didn't help her grow then she wouldn't have been able to threaten me much at all, which would have been incredibly boring.

I suppose that semantic doesn't really matter though.

So instead I just shrug, lightly so as to not disturb Kiyohara. "It worked, did it not?"

"I suppose so," Dōman chuckles, and we continue our walk in companiable silence.

That is, until a couple minutes later when abruptly Kiyohara starts to stir, letting out a cute little groan in the process.

Dōman and I both freeze, and I am suddenly confronted with the positioning that she is going to be waking up to, but I'm not such an asshole that I'm just going to drop her on the floor, so I just pray she won't wake up and throw a punch.

I've had that happen to me once in my last life, and it left a permanent, if hardly really noticeable, crook to my nose. 

Her features scrunch up for a moment, and then her eyes flutter open, the iridescent orbs snapping into focus far faster than should be normal and immediately locking onto my own.

She casts a quick glance about, observing the surroundings, before her eyes once more return to me, and I give her a smile that feels a mite awkward.

"Mornin'."

Her face flashes through a range of emotions too fast to really discern, but after only a moment, her expression settles on something vaguely amused.

"Why are you holding me?" She asks, her voice calm and casual.

"I did not want to leave you alone in the training hall unconscious," I answer, matching her casual tone as my fears of maybe being sucker punched are disabused.

She raises a brow imperiously at me. "For that I thank you," she starts, somehow managing to sound condescending while thanking me, "But allow me to rephrase. Why are you still holding me?"

"You haven't told me to put you down," I answer with half a shrug, still not wanting to jostle her.

For some reason, my answer makes her chuckle softly, and she tucks her head against my arm, seemingly content to use me as a mobile piece of furniture.

I have no idea what she's thinking, because in my mind there are only so many ways she would have taken her loss and this wasn't one of them.

"No wonder Takiyasha-san is so enamoured by you," she mutters, her eyes closed and tone sleepy enough you'd think she was tucked into bed or something. Well, she did just wake up, even if it was only kind of from a nap. I don't know if it counts as a nap. 

"I didn't realise you were close?" I say, deciding not to comment on the part about Takiyasha's feelings on me for now.

"We are not." Kiyohara hums, and I decide to just keep walking instead of standing around in confusion at Kiyohara's demeanour, Dōman matching my steps. "But I have seen her around, and she wears her feelings openly."

"I guess she does," I agree, recalling Takiyasha noticeable lack of stoicism compared to all the other nobles I've spoken to. "What does this have to do with anything though?"

Kiyohara huffs out a breath, sounding both amused exasperated. "I am of noble birth," she says, her tone as if she is talking to a child. "You are a commoner. If you held me like this anywhere else, it would be a scandal. The fact that you do not even know that much just shows how foreign you are to court politics, and with my eyes, it was difficult not to notice Takiyasha-san's preference towards men uninvolved with politics or nobility. Luckily, there are only Jujutsu Sorcerers here, so it will matter less."

"Do you want me to put you down?" I ask, tilting my head down at her.

"I did not say that," she responds, half looking like she is ready to return to the realm of unconsciousness.

Which is when Dōman snorts a laugh, making Kiyohara languidly open her eyes and tilt her head enough to glare at him.

"Something to say, Dōman?" She says, her tone suddenly a lot more frosty than ten seconds ago.

"Not at all, Kiyohara-san," Dōman responds, though his eyes and tone are alight with a mockery that feels well worn. "It is just unlike you to act like so feminine."

"It is not," Kiyohara rebuts. "I merely struggle to feel anything but contempt when I see your face, such that the feeling overwhelms any femininity that might be present. Though, I suppose it should be nothing new for you to not know a woman's true feelings as a result of only seeing their distain. I hear your mother is quite the lovely woman, yet I am sure she must be little more than an Oni to your eyes that have only ever disappointed her."

Damn. Okay. I almost miss a step at the abrupt turn of conversation from casual to incredibly vitriolic. Seriously, that was so mean I don't even know what to say.

Probably because of the internet inured me to unnecessarily excessive insults, but a large part of me kind of wants to laugh.

Dōman doesn't lose his smile, though it no longer reaches his eyes as he and Kiyohara stare one another down.

"That must be it," Dōman agrees, though his tone is anything but friendly. "Though, it is not all bad. After all, it is surely better to lose a mother who hates me for my birth, than the unimaginable pain that would surely come if I were to have loved my mother dearly when I lost her. Surely that would be just such a terrible thing? Can you imagine it, Kiyohara-san? Can you imagine the terrible pain that losing a beloved mother would cause?"

Under Kiyohara's ever increasingly cold glare, Dōman mimes an obviously fake gasp, bringing his hands up to his mouth and changing his tone to that of sickly sweet and obviously false concern. "Oh! I must apologise, Kiyohara-san. It completely slipped my mind that you do know exactly how that feels. I must give my condolences, the terrible, awful pain you must have felt when your dear departed mother figure died in front of you must have been just oh so terrible."

I suddenly really don't want to be here right now. I think I underestimated how much these two disliked one another.

"I'll kill you," Kiyohara threatens, though she says it almost casually, like talking about the weather even as her anger bringing the temperature of the entire corridor down and makes me choose lean back a little bit. I'm pretty sure she's not even exaggerating. That she would genuinely kill him given the opportunity.

Scary~.

"Ahem," I cough, causing the two of them to turn their glares on me, which makes my smile twitch slightly and a shiver go down my spine. "So.. You two really don't like each other, huh?"

"I have a special sake set aside to drink the day he dies, as a celebration," Kiyohara answers with a huff, turning away from Dōman and snuggling back into my arms.

"The knowledge that my very being alive annoys her is one of the few things that brightens my day in the morning," Dōman says, giving Kiyohara one last glare before turning his attention forward once more.

If not for the fact that I'm almost entirely sure that they are completely serious, I'd say that they act like siblings. That's a thought I will be keeping to myself. I don't think either of them would take to it kindly.

"Why?" I ask, honestly a little amused.

"That's a long story," Dōman sighs.

"Speaking of though," I say, turning down to Kiyohara and voicing the thought that has been confusing me since she woke up. "I thought you hated me as well, Kiyohara-san?"

Kiyohara cracks open one eye at me and then huffs and turns back into the nook of my arm, muffling her voice against my chest. "I never hated you," she says, and as if realising that that really isn't enough of an answer, she lets out a light sigh and leans back enough to actually look me in the eye.

"I did not hate you," she starts. "You just pissed me off. I hate boring men, but you were never boring. What pissed me off was just the way you looked at me. Tell me, what is your connection with Murasaki Shikibu?"

Under her suspicious glare, I can only tilt my head in confusion. "I- uh. I have no idea who that is?"

Even Dōman gives me a strange look for that. "For real? Murasaki Shikibu? Less well known as Fujiwara no Kaoruko?" He asks, confounded.

I shrug at their clear doubt. "I didn't grow up around all this stuff remember? Jujutsu and noble society is still new to me."

"It is an easy thing to forget," Dōman muses. "The number of Sorcerers that did not grow up with Sorcery as a part of their life is incredibly small. Mostly because those of any decent potential that are born outside of a clan tend to die young, as their uncontrolled Cursed Energy attracts Curses like moths to an open fire."

"Interestingly enough, the only other Sorcerer I can think of who grew up outside of the clans would be another Special Grade," Kiyohara says. "Just shows what is needed to survive without the adequate knowledge."

"How many Special Grades are there again?" I ask. I'm pretty sure I know the number, but there's no harm in double checking.

"Five now that Michizane is gone. That includes you, by the way," Kiyohara answers. "But we have gotten off topic. Murasaki Shikibu is the woman who raised me for a good part of my childhood."

Also the woman Dōman must have just used to mock her, I hear without it being said.

"They say that Michizane was The Strongest Sorcerer of his generation, maybe ever, at least until he met you." I grin at her teasing tone. "However, this was not true. The Strongest Sorcerer of the previous generation was Murasaki Shikibu. They never fought, but I know she would have won. If not for the Curse that was placed on her..."

Kiyohara trails off, and though she does not cry, I do ignore a quite sniffle. Even Dōman has the decency to pretend not to notice it, despite his earlier words.

"Regardless," Kiyohara continues after a moment, strength returned to her voice. "The reason you pissed me off back then is because you looked at me with the same eyes as Murasaki used to."

"How so?"

Kiyohara sighs, dropping her head back against my chest. "With my eyes, it is impossible to hide things from me," she starts, and I can imagine the pain that must come with all the benefits of such eyes. "Murasaki would always compliment my Jujutsu, but my eyes always saw the same lie. She saw something in me, but was constantly disappointed that I was not living up to what she thought me capable of. Yet no matter how hard I pushed myself, I could not live up to the potential she saw in me. No matter how I tried."

She lets out a breath that is only slightly shaky. "When you looked at me back then, my eyes saw the same thing in you. You were disappointed in me. Thought that I could be better than I was. It pissed me off. That you thought you could manipulate me into trying harder just pissed me off even more."

"Aha, you caught that, did you?" I laugh, smiling awkwardly under her deadpan stare.

"What part of my Cursed Eyes do you not understand?"

"Ehe." I smile and stick my tongue out at her. She rolls her eyes, but her lips do quirk up.

"So yes, I did not hate you," Kiyohara continues. "You just annoyed me. However, it would be awfully childish of me to remain annoyed at you now that you have helped me realise the potential that I could not find. Narauko?" I return my eyes to her own to see her smiling softly at me. "Thank you."

"No problem. I had fun." 

"To think I would hear Ōkiyohara no Nagiko ever thank someone," Dōman mocks, the added honorific prefix doing nothing to stop Kiyohara's face from rapidly falling into a scowl.

"You should kill yourself, Dōman. Save us all the trouble of making the world a better place."

"I'm afraid a weak-willed bastard like me lacks the resolve to do such a thing," Dōman retorts. "Perhaps if you give me an example to follow, I might gain the necessary courage? Also, we have arrived."

Coming to a stop with Dōman, I follow his eyes to the door next to us, and before I can say anything, Kiyohara stretches one of her legs out and uses a touch of Cursed Energy on her foot to stick to the door and slide it open with a flick.

"Well?" She asks, and I share a look with Dōman before simply mentally shrugging and stepping inside.

Expectedly, the room is exactly the same as my own, and I make it three steps towards the table in the centre of the room before Kiyohara taps me on the arm and moves to climb out of my hold once she has my attention, something I obviously help her with.

"Sit," she says as she walks to the side of the room, "I will prepare some tea."

With no reason to decline, I walk to the table and seat myself, Dōman doing the same to the side on my right. Probably because if he sat opposite me, then Kiyohara would have to sit on one of his sides, but like this she can be further away from him.

"Have you ever noticed that you seem to always gravitate to wherever the sun is shining when you enter a room?" Dōman asks, and it's only then that I look down and see that my seat is the only one in the sunbeam coming through the open balcony door.

"Sunbeams are warm," I respond with a shrug, and he softly snorts a laugh through his nose.

"I suppose I cannot argue with that," he says before leaning forward and regarding me with more attention than before. "But now that you and Kiyohara-san are done, let's talk."

"Sure. What did you want to talk about?"

"Jujutsu," he quickly answers. "You invented the Black Butterfly Technique, which gives me hope that you might empathise with my feelings. A rare thing."

"How so?" I ask with a raised brow.

"I believe that Jujutsu exists to protect others. That it is the duty of the strong to protect the weak. Survival of the weakest. Do you feel the same?"

"Eeeeehh," I answer, tilting a hand side to side in front of me. "Kinda, but probably not in the way you do."

"Freely sharing how to use your invented Techniques is not the actions of a typical Sorcerer," Dōman says, frowning slightly at the fact I didn't agree with him fully and completely.

I just shrug at that. "So what? I do not protect the weak out of duty, that's stupid. Uh, no offence."

I pause as Kiyohara returns to the table, setting down a cup of tea in front of me and another to my left, where she then sits, closer to me than is really necessary. She didn't bring a cup for Dōman, something he ignores.

"Did you know that your Cursed Energy is warm?" Kiyohara says, interrupting out conversation without batting an eye and leaning into my side contently.

"No? I don't really even know what that means?" I ask, not really flustered, but definitely confused by her closeness. "Should you be so close to me? You are of noble birth, as you say."

"I cannot seduce you from across the room," she blithely responds. "Or do you not like my closeness?"

What. "I have no idea if you are joking, being overly forward, or completely normal right now, and to be honest, I'd like to know which it is before I say anything and accidentally give insult or something."

When in doubt, honesty is the best policy.

Kiyohara chuckles briefly at my words. "I will be clear then," she says. "As a woman of noble birth, it is expected that I will do my duty and marry a man whose connections will raise my clan and give birth to at least one son and preferably more children for the sake of further marriages."

Sometimes I forget that I'm in the past and how much things have changed, or will change, whatever.

"Now, as you are a commoner, marrying you would be out of the question. However, you are also a Special Grade Sorcerer, and my family is a Jujutsu clan. This would not be enough on its own if my family were more significant, such as the Fujiwara or Kamo, but we are only a small clan, so overlooking the identity of your birth is something we can do in light of your strength as a Sorcerer. I mean, normally the Taira clan would never consider marriage with a commoner, no matter the grade. Not unless you were a woman of course, but as a man, you cannot so easily be married into the clan, and they would be loathe to have a Taira found a new clan with a commoner. Of course, their hand has been rather forced with Takiyasha-san's lending you of her sword."

"Wait what, are you saying the Taira clan is considering marrying Takiyasha to me?" I ask. I've obviously noticed her crush, but I figured there'd be some, I don't know, dating beforehand? Foreplay?

Once again, I forgot that I'm in the past. People really jump straight to marriage here.

"Indeed," Kiyohara answers with an amused tilt to her lips. "I expect that some Taira or other will be wanting to speak with you at the capital. Now, as I was saying. You are powerful, you are not ugly, you might be somewhat uneducated, but you are not stupid either, and should you not fall out with the Taira, a marriage between you and Takiyasha seems likely, which would give whatever clan you will eventually birth some potent connections. Thus, you are an attractive prospect. A man who can benefit my clan greatly and whom I may even be able to come to love. So yes, I am attempting to seduce you. Normally there would be a lot more ceremony to such a thing, but I have a feeling you would prefer to keep things simple."

What. This is way too much way too fast, and I am way too young to be thinking about marriage, let alone birthing a clan or whatever.

"Uhhh," I intelligently respond. What am I even supposed to think here? "I mean- Wait, one of the reasons you want to marry me is because you think I'll marry Takiyasha?"

Whatever Kiyohara sees in my face makes her snort. "You truly are a strange man, Narauko. Why would I ever be upset about you taking multiple wives? Who even thinks like that?"

The fact that she genuinely seems baffled, and that even Dōman raises a brow at me in confusion, really kind of makes me feel like an idiot. Not that the idea of having a harem isn't appealing, I'm a guy, but like, what? 

This is just such a clash of culture that I don't think I could explain to them why I would think polygamy strange even if I tried.

I mean, it's not like I can't rationalise it. If marriage to a powerful man can raise a house's standing, then limiting the amount of women such a man could marry also limits the amount of houses that can be raised.

Heh. Communism marriage. Our husband. Damn, I miss memes.

"Well," I say after a slightly awkward moment. "Marriage isn't really something I've put any thought into, and I don't really think it's something I'm quite ready for yet. That said, feel free to keep seducing me, I certainly don't mind."

My solution to all this confusion about marriages that I have no idea what to do with? Just go with the flow and enjoy myself. That's basically how I've been treating everything else anyway. It'll probably all work out in the end. Maybe. Probably.

"Noted," Kiyohara says, whispering the word right into my ear and causing a shiver to go down my spine.

I am being seduced. I do not mind this.

"Ahem," Dōman actually says the word, not even pretending to fake a cough.

"You're still here?" Kiyohara asks, transitioning from flirty to frosty fast enough to seep bipolar.

"You might have missed it, but we were in the middle of a conversation," is Dōman's droll reply.

"Right, what were we talking about?" I ask.

"You were telling me how my sense of duty was stupid," Dōman answers, making me scratch my cheek in slight awkwardness.

"Ah, right, sorry." I pause for a moment to remember the conversation before returning to meet Dōman's eyes with my own. With the current topic, he deserves me to take it seriously. "There is no duty in being strong. That is unfair. Duty is a choice, not a consequence. I help others because I want to. Because seeing my actions cause others to smile makes me happy, not because I have a duty to do so. Besides, if you turn strength into a responsibility, then you'll never really be strong. I am not Narauko because I am The Strongest. I am The Strongest because I am Narauko. Simple, right?"

Dōman doesn't respond right away, thinking through my answer. Even Kiyohara seems somewhat speculative of my words, though she snaps out of her thoughts quickly and sends me a smile that I think is approving.

"I see," Dōman says at length. A moment later, a sigh leaves him. "My apologies, I shouldn't have tried to push my own worldview on you."

"It's fine," I say, waving away the apology with a smile. "We might not agree completely on the specifics, but you're still the first Sorcerer I've met that seems to truly care about non-Sorcerers the same as me."

Kiyohara rolls her eyes, evidently not being one of the few who care about non-Sorcerers.

"Indeed," Dōman says with a smile. "In that case, perhaps you will still be interested in hearing what I wanted to share with you."

I tilt my head and sip at my tea, and he needs no further acknowledgement to continue.

"Did you know that one of the biggest killers of Jujutsu Sorcerers out in the field is the sure-hit effect of Domain Expansion? Many Curses Semi-Grade One and higher have some degree of access to their Domains, but the only Anti-Domain Technique that there is, other than simply expanding your own Domain, is the Hollow Wicker Basket. However, the big clans hoard that technique vociferously, and even then, it isn't the easiest thing to learn for those lacking in exceptional talent."

That last bit catches me a little bit, because it really wasn't difficult at all to learn Hollow Wicker Basket. Even knowing that I'm talented at this stuff, I really struggle to see how anyone could actually struggle to figure that Technique out.

"And so," Dōman continues, gaining spirit as he goes, "I have been trying to invent a new, simpler Anti-Domain Technique that I can spread far and wide for everyone to learn."

I ignore Kiyohara's eyeroll as Dōman starts pushing his Cursed Energy out of his body, causing an unstable sphere of energy to grow from him. It only manages to expand about half a metre from his body before falling apart, but that is enough time for me to see what he's going for, more or less.

"The idea," Dōman huffs, "Is to neutralise the Domain's sure-hit effect by creating an empty Domain that only effects the enemy Domain's barrier, but not the imbued Technique. However, I am still struggling to figure out how to project a Domain's barrier outside of my body without using my Innate Technique."

"Have you tried using your shadow?" I ask. I might be bias because of my Technique, but this seems like a really simple solve to me.

At his raised brow, I close my eyes and try to visualise what I saw of his Technique and the explanation he gave.

Then, I just push my Cursed Energy into my shadow and expand it out into a perfect circle, using my shadow as the base for the Technique instead of my own Innate Technique, as one does with a Domain Expansion.

Opening my eyes, I look down at my shadow, seeing it extended into a perfect circle around me. I also note the extra level of awareness I now have of everything inside of the circle, something I might be able to play around with later.

Dōman doesn't look shocked, thankfully. It gets embarrassing after a while. Still, I decide to explain anyway.

"Cursed Energy belongs inside of our bodies," I say, "But our shadows are a part of us too, a reflection of our soul, and the shadow already exists outside of our bodies. So by forming the Technique in your shadow instead of trying to push it out of your body, it becomes a lot easier, yeah?"

Dōman closes his eyes in focus, and then I watch as his own shadow starts to bubble slightly, and then starting from right beneath him, a perfect circle of bluish Cursed Energy expands, identical to my own save for the fact that my shadow extended with the Technique.

"I see," Dōman hums, "That is indeed a lot simpler."

"Fucking geniuses," Kiyohara scoffs under her breath.

"What do you want to call it?" I ask. "I'm terrible with names so I hope you weren't expecting me to have one on hand."

"Hah, fair enough," Dōman says. "Let's just call it Simple Domain then. No need to be extravagant about it."

"Agreed. Congratulations on your new Technique."

"Our Technique," Dōman says, raising a brow at me, but I just shrug.

"Feel free to take full credit, you've put more work into it than me. And besides, I have already invented a Technique that I will likely be remembered for, and intend to invent more. I don't want my name to be lonely in the future when people look back at us as history."

"I know you mean well," Dōman says deprecatingly. "But it is vaguely insulting to imply that this will be my only historically memorable achievement, but not your own."

"...My bad."

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

I have been sleeping a lot lately.

Pretty sure I remember some people asking about it, so voila, the invention of the New Shadow Style. A joint effort!

Also, cuz I couldn't really find a way to get Kiyohara to say it and Narauko doesn't know and Dōman wouldn't say, but Dōman is actually a genius when it comes to Jujutsu Techniques, like barriers and shikigami and stuff. But obviously Kiyohara wouldn't have complimented him.

Also also, marriage. How the fuck do you even approach that subject? I'm just gonna keep winging it, but I'll prolly need to refresh my memory on how marriages worked in the heian era when it becomes relevant.

Oh, and this chap should answer the harem question, for anyone who's gotten this far without hearing me answer it. Monogamy is more weird than polygamy in Narauko's position, so while I don't intend for him to ever be a harem protag, he is obv gonna have a harem.

Also also also, we might be getting close to the first smut, in fact, I might have written it by now if not for the fact that I got distracted by a side quest lol, which you can see on my patreon ;P 5 chaps ahead ;);)

Chapter Text

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

So, this Omake was way more popular than I ever expected it would be. It was literally just a throwaway 'here's something cool', which is why I didn't even bother starting at the beginning.

I hate not starting at the beginning. Chronology and continuity is very important to me.

So here's Shibuya 0, the prequel. Next omake chap will have the stuff y'all have actually been asking for lmao, idk when I'll write it tho.

Also reminder, this is set in pure a pure JJK world, none of the extra shit in the actual fic.

The rain feels heavy.

It's a pointless thought, but it passes Fushiguro Megumi's mind regardless as he stands between two rows of trees in the rain, staring. Waiting. Hoping.

He can still feel the Special Grade Curse's Domain wrapped around the prison, and he knows what that means. That Itadori is still in there.

Or that he is dead, a part of his mind helpfully supplies him.

He won't die.

That isn't just an idle hope either. With two fragments of Sukuna's Soul inside of him, the ancient Sorcerer is unlikely to allow Itadori to die so easily.

After all, even with only one tenth of his Soul, Sukuna is still the King of Curses. One tenth is enough.

It isn't as comforting a thought as he would hope. Sukuna wouldn't have been known as the King of Curses if he was the benevolent sort. He would have been called the King of Sorcerers if that were the case.

Megumi's absent thoughts are cut off when he feels the Domain disappear.

Now we just need Itadori to return safely, he thinks to himself.

He would be pretty down if someone he saved died so-

Something is behind him.

The feeling makes him gasp and every muscle in his body tense and robs him entirely of his ability to move.

"Sorry, but he's not coming back," the voice, so achingly alike to Itadori's, but just off, comes from directly behind him, even though he didn't notice anyone approach.

It's only Gojo Satoru's habit of appearing in the same manner that stops Megumi from giving an even greater reaction of surprise.

He hears a step followed by another, and he does not need to turn around to know who stands behind him wearing Itadori's skin.

He can tell by the ice in his veins, by the tremble in his fingers and the beating of his heart.

Ryōmen Sukuna.

"Don't be so frightened," Sukuna says, as if that sentence is not an oxymoron by itself, and his following words do nothing to help. "I'm in a great mood right now. Let's chat for a bit."

Megumi doesn't respond. He doesn't want to chat with Sukuna, of all people, but he wants to fight him even less. Not unless he has Gojo-Sensei standing right behind him as he does so.

More steps sound out, louder than they have any right to be, or is that just his beating heart hammering into him like a drum?

When Sukuna steps into his line of sight, he can almost lie to himself and pretend that it's just Itadori. But it isn't the same.

The hair is the same, pink and short, and the features are the same. They're just off, like the voice. Deeper. Sharper. Crueller.

Once Sukuna is in front of him, he half turns to face him and wears a smile as if they are both sharing in on some kind of inside joke that Megumi does not understand, even when he speaks.

"This is what he gets for trying to use me without any kind of pact," Sukuna says conversationally while smiling as if he is expecting Megumi to laugh. "Feels like he's having some trouble switching back."

Megumi still doesn't respond, and even if he did, what could he have said? This is the worst case scenario. Itadori has lost control of Sukuna.

"Still though," Sukuna continues while bringing his, Itadori's, hands up to grab his clothes over his chest, and for a moment, the casual tone almost makes him forget who exactly is in front of him, "It's only a matter of time."

Oh. So not all hope is lost then? That is at least some good news, and frankly, right now Megumi will take whatever he can get.

Then Sukuna surprises him by just ripping his shirt off entirely, tearing it to shreds as if the specially made fabric is just wet tissue paper. The sound of the fabric being torn feels like nails carving down his back.

"So," Sukuna continues, raising one of his hands up in front of himself as he does so, claw-like nails poised like knives. "I thought about what I can do right now."

Matching actions with words, Sukuna then surprises him enough for him to finally react, letting out a shocked gasp as Sukuna plunges his hand right into Itadori's chest.

"W-what are you..." Megumi trails off, having only spoken out of surprise in the first place, not believing his eyes even as he watches Sukuna pull out his own heart with a smile and a laugh, uncaring of the obscene amount of blood that follows the action, like a broken dam.

"I'm taking this brat hostage," Sukuna says only after holding his heart up to the air like he is presenting it, his tone still mostly conversational despite the sadistic smile on his face.

"Hostage?!" Megumi repeats without thought, too shocked by what he is seeing to do anything else.

He ignores the pit that gnaws away at his stomach at the sight of Itadori with a massive hole right in the centre of his chest.

"Yeah," Sukuna answers, as if Megumi's exclamation was an actual question. "I can live without this, but that ain't true for the brat." He tosses the heart aside without a glance as if it is truly worthless. "Switching out with me means he dies. Also, for good measure."

As if things couldn't get worse, Sukuna then pulls out another one of his Fingers, housing another twentieth of his Soul, and swallows it whole without hesitation.

That Cursed Womb must have consumed it to become Special Grade, Megumi thinks, though the knowledge hardly helps him.

"With that, I'm free as a bird," Sukuna says, sounding smug as his hand twitches from growing strength. "You can be frightened now. I'm finally outside, after all. Let's use the open space."

"Our positions are reversed now," Megumi mutters to himself, thinking back to when he first met Itadori.

They haven't known one another for long, but Itadori is a simple guy. Megumi thinks he understands him, even if he can't quite empathise with his decisions.

And so, even as his hands tremble and his heart tries to leap through his throat, Megumi slides a leg back and settles into his stance, the practiced motion steadying him with enough courage to actually speak to Sukuna for the first time.

"You just don't get it," he says, and Sukuna only seems amused by his glare. "Itadori's coming back. Even if that means he'll die. That's just who he is."

"You give him too much credit," Sukuna is quick to retort. "This guy's just a little tougher and denser than other humans. Just a moment ago, he was scared out of his mind, on the verge of death and prattling on about his regrets and all that nonsense."

"I know for a fact he doesn't have the guts to kill himself," Sukuna continues, but Megumi barely pays his words any mind, too focused on the hand that Sukuna just used to wipe the blood off of his chin.

A hand that Megumi saw get cut off at the wrist not twenty minutes ago.

Reverse Cursed Technique. The ability to heal with Cursed Energy. It isn't surprising that Sukuna knows it.

But that doesn't matter. What matters is that Sukuna is incarnated. Even if he can live without a heart, it should still be damaging to him. Which means that all Megumi has to do is make Sukuna believe that he can't beat him without a heart in his body, and then Itadori can bring himself back out once he regenerates.

But can I do that? Megumi thinks to himself, only to be cut out of his thoughts when Sukuna continues to speak.

"Say, it happens that I saw something pretty interesting through this brat's eyes," Sukuna says, jabbing at his temple with a thumb. "Your Technique. It's Ten Shadows, isn't it? That should make you a Zen'in, right?"

Megumi pauses.

Sukuna knows my Technique? He thinks to himself, confused. After all, Megumi never cared enough about the Zen'in clan to learn any of its history. All he knows is that Gojo-Sensei stopped them from adopting him because they wanted his Inherited Technique or some such thing.

But why does Sukuna knows this? And how does he know of it's connection to the Zen'in? Was there some Zen'in Sorcerer in the Heian Era that used it?

Megumi doesn't know, and frankly, it doesn't matter. All that really matters right now is forcing Sukuna to regenerate his heart. So he decides to give a non answer.

"My name is Fushiguro Megumi," he says as he brings his hands together, ignoring their shaking.

For some reason though, his answer makes Sukuna laugh. Hard.

Surprise makes Megumi pause a second time, and it takes nearly a minute for Sukuna to calm down from his raucous laughter.

"Ten Shadows," he says, mirth filling his tone as if he is barely holding himself back from laughing even more, "And your name is Fushiguro? And Megumi too? Hahaha! What kind of a joke is that?! Hahahahaha!"

Megumi really has no idea what is going on anymore, but perhaps it shouldn't surprise him for Sukuna to display bouts of insanity. His earlier calm hardly changes who he is.

So Megumi just stops thinking about it. He doesn't really care anyway.

Instead, he takes a deep breath, and wills every ounce of focus he can into place. He can only do his best. Any less and he will die.

It is with that comforting thought, that Megumi finally brings his hands together, making a shadowgraphic of a bird.

Strangely however, when he does so, Sukuna's laughter immediately dies down, and he watches as the King of Curses slides his feet into a slightly larger stance. He watches as Sukuna's hands flex as if in preparation to move.

He watches as Sukuna smiles widely while regarding him with a sense of almost... Caution.

Shaking the thought away, Megumi stops hesitating.

"Nue!"

Ryōmen Sukuna

Truly, human flesh is so much better than that of Cursed Spirits.

It has been a long time since he has felt the world with actual, real skin and all the other bits that come with human flesh.

The rain on his body feels amazing after so long without a true sense of touch. The smell of humidity, of damp grass and mud and, what was it called again, pollution?

The air is certainly different.

It brings a smile to his lips every time he notices the difference. Because he knows that Narauko would have hated it. Every time Sukuna sees these towering monoliths of steel and concrete, beyond just his desire to tear them down and watch them fall, he thinks of how amusing a face Narauko would make seeing them.

They are ugly, after all.

But it seems that today he will enjoy more than just the air and how much this future world that he is looking forward to tearing down would have left his equal opposite so incredibly disappointed.

Or maybe it wouldn't, honestly? He wouldn't really be surprised if that dumbass looked at this uninspiring crap and spouted some bullshit about the beauty of efficiency, or how beautiful it is that the current society is so prosperous that land of all things has become a premium.

Whatever, he doesn't care anymore.

Because something more interesting than any of that is in front of him.

One of Narauko's descendants, weilding his own Technique. Though he doesn't share the family name for whatever reason.

Even though he is called Megumi. Heh, what a laugh.

Now, Megumi, he almost snorts again at the name, does not feel too strong, but he knows not to believe such a ruse so easily.

Even beyond that thing, assuming that it carried over with the Technique to Megumi, heh, Sukuna knows that the boy feeling weak does not mean he is.

After all, Narauko always felt weak. His Cursed Energy was never oppressive or even really apparent. The dumbass actually learnt to keep his Cursed Energy constantly suppressed just so that he could pet his fucking deer.

And Megumi, haha, that just keeps getting funnier the more he repeats it. Megumi is what, fifteen? That's how old he and Narauko were when they met, and Sukuna is not ashamed to admit that Narauko at fifteen could likely have bested him with only three twentieths of his Soul.

After all, he definitely could have bested his current self with his strength from back then. In part simply because they both would have quickly learnt the tricks he's picked up over the years and rapidly closed the gap of skill, making the gap of strength more apparent.

Which is why he doesn't truly expect to win this fight. It doesn't really matter. He's not going to just grow a new heart like Megu- hahahaha, like Megumi is obviously planning. Dying would be a good opportunity to make a Binding Vow with the brat.

He has had an idea brewing in his mind ever since he first saw the Divine Dogs through this brat's eyes.

So, while he obviously does not think he will outright lose, this might be his descendant, but it is not Narauko, he does not think his victory is a certain thing.

He just wants to have some fun.

It has been so long since he has been able to truly stretch after all.

Ahhh~, he's getting excited just thinking about it.

So when Fushiguro- Haha, no, that is just as funny, when Megumi brings his hands together in a familiar gesture, Sukuna prepares himself to have some fun.

It's been so long after all.

So long since you chose to stay behind.

His smile grows as anticipation builds up inside of him, making him feel as if his blood is boiling at the thought that maybe, for the first time in one thousand years, maybe, he will finally feel whole again.

The sign the kid is making is familiar enough that Sukuna doesn't even need to try and jog his memory to recognise what is coming.

Nue's Technique was Lightning Manipulation, but it was also a bird, allowing for flight. Combined with the Technique, and he should expect a fast opening.

If it was Narauko- Well, if it was Narauko, he wouldn't have started with Nue in the first place.

Ah! That's it. His smile grows wider at the feeling of accomplishment, at the feeling of actually having to think to fight.

He already told the kid that he recognises Ten Shadows.

With that information, they undoubtably realise that attempting to take him by surprise won't work, as he already recognised the Technique.

This means that Narauko's usual opening move that focuses on speed and surprise, such as Kon, wouldn't work, as he would already be moving once he sees the hand sign, something Narauko learnt rather quickly.

So if the kid knows that he knows his Technique, but neither of them know if he has any Shikigami that Sukuna will not recognise, then he would want to go for a safer bet, something that could potentially garner information by prodding at him and seeing what happens.

Nue is a pretty good choice for that. Lightning is still fast, but because it is a result of a Technique and not the Shikigami's body itself that would be approaching him, the kid is not putting any of his Shikigami in danger of being immediately taken out of the fight.

At the same time, Lightning Manipulation is capable of casting quite a wide net, thus limiting his ability to dodge and potentially forcing him to use some other method to avoid harm.

After all, actively defending one's self reveals more about one's capabilities than merely dodging.

No doubt the kid already knows about his Techniques, he would be surprised if any Sorcerer ever forgot them, so the test this time would be more about how much of his previous power he can bring to bear with only a small portion of his Soul.

Tricky, Sukuna thinks with a smile, enjoying the game already.

Still, if the kid is planning to use Nue's Technique to prod at him, then the Shikigami is unlikely to burst out of his shadow like the kid is projecting that it will, an all too blatantly obvious bait.

No, that would be foolish. Instead, what is going to happen is that Nue will shoot straight up. This both avoids the Shikigami coming into danger by directly approaching, and forces Sukuna to attack at two targets instead of just one, as it would have been if the Shikigami merely hovered behind the kid.

The familiar feeling of accomplishment at seeing through his opponent is immediately washed away and replaced by the even greater feeling of being challenged as the kid finally opens his mouth.

"Nue!" The kid intones, and instead of anything he speculated happening, the Shikigami appears from in front of the kid's shadow and flies straight at him while the kid himself runs forward, parallel with the bird.

Not only that, but the Shikigami is vastly smaller than he remembers it being, and it feels like it is barely even equal to a Grade Two Curse.

Sukuna feels his grin grow even more at the realisation that he was wrong.

You were always unpredictable. In a fight, anyway.

There was a phrase Narauko once told him, supposedly from some book or other. Appear strong where you are weak, and weak where you are strong.

He himself has been caught off guard by this before, once. Narauko had picked up the sword, and when they fought next, he started by mostly fighting as usual but occasionally trying to use the sword as if it was a bat.

He vividly remembers mocking him for his poor skill with the blade. It was only the fact that he did not retort the insult that tipped him off enough to dodge Narauko's next cut.

After all, they both know that Narauko would have defended his skill even if he was terrible at it, and Sukuna would immediately pick up on the most obvious lie ever. The fact that he didn't answer was enough of a hint that he couldn't without giving the game away.

He imagines the current situation is similar.

The kid doesn't know how strong he is right now, so he himself is appearing weak, so that he will let down his guard. Then, once the kid has an accurate gauge of his current strength, he will push hard and fast and attempt to overwhelm him before he can react to the increased vigour.

There is no other reason for Nue to be so weak, or for why he would send his flying, lightning controlling Shikigami forward into close quarters.

Sukuna doesn't think he can recall a single time that Narauko ever attempted anything as foolish as having Nue fight in close quarters.

Thus, it can only be a trap. A bait.

Tricky indeed, he thinks to himself, glad that the modern era isn't so boring that today's Sorcerers aren't capable of fighting smart.

He might have made fun of Narauko for thinking too much during a fight, but a Sorcerer who doesn't think at all is a fool. Narauko was just stupid about it, thinking about pointless crap like aftershocks and damaging the land or whatever.

So, how to respond?

Fall for the bait and reverse it? If he pretends to be weak enough that the kid can actually push him, then the kid might let his guard down, thinking that he's lost enough strength to be manageable. That would be when he does exactly what the kid is trying to do, and surprises him with a sudden attack that ends the fight in an instant.

No, that won't work. The kid will see through it too quickly. It would probably only cause the kid to abandon his current plan and just go all out right away, which would remove the opportunity present in reversing his tactic.

He is Ryōmen Sukuna after all, the kid will only get suspicious if he appears too weak. Even just a fragment of his strength puts him well above the average so called Special Grade.

The fact that he is even in the same degree of classification as the likes of that Womb earlier is only vaguely insulting.

So if he wants to trick his opponent, then he needs to know what they are expecting.

The kid ran away from the Cursed Womb that had eaten one of his Fingers earlier. He assumes that is because he wanted something for the brat. Maybe he thinks that with some practice the brat will be able to control him?

Laughable, but understandable.

Either way, what matters is that he saw the Cursed Womb and knew that it became Special Grade just from one of his Fingers. Now he has three.

So he should adjust his strength to be just barely Special Grade then. Keep just out of reach. Strong, but approachable.

The kid will probably let himself get beaten about for a bit in order to sell it. He knows Narauko would want to be sure if he was facing such a significant threat as himself.

So he just needs to convince the kid that he is certain in his own victory and the kid's own weakness. It is only when the kid truly believes that he thinks nothing of him, that the kid will strike.

And where the kid thinks he will find surprise, he will only find suffering.

But not death. Not yet.

He has plans, after all.

The kid reaches him first, while the Shikigami passes and circles around.

They open with a kick, slow and weak.

He dodges, naturally. And then they continue to dance. The kid throws some more punches, but they're all so damn slow and weak that Sukuna would have yawned if not for the knowledge of the deception at play.

Instead, he is just mildly impressed by the kid's talent at trickery. If he hadn't known Narauko well enough to have become used to tactics such as these, then he might have truly fallen for it and believed that the kid is as weak as he pretends to be.

"Interesting," he says, continuing with the act while Nue comes about behind him. "You use Shikigami, but you'll still come at me yourself?"

That is a bit of a gamble. But he thinks it's worth it either way.

Either the kid will believe his apparent surprise, or he will not. It all depends on how well he knows his ancestor.

Narauko mostly fought with his Shikigami after all. Most people were too weak for him to bother using his fists when he could instead experiment with new Shikigami tactics. If this kid knows enough to know that Narauko was just as good with his fists, then Sukuna will have a better understanding of the kid's own knowledge and likely tactics.

They don't react in a way that makes him think they have seen through the lie however. Despite his earlier thoughts, he finds that mildly disappointing.

They should remember you better.

Sukuna ducks under the talons of Nue and steps away from the kids follow up strike.

The dance continues for a moment longer, a bird and a boy both trying and failing to strike him entirely.

After a moment of frankly boring combat, he catches one of the boy's punches and pulls their faces close together.

"Put more Curse behind it," he says before backhanding the kid in the face, "When you strike me!"

This should help sell the idea that he believes the kid to be weak, by acting as if they are so weak that he doesn't mind giving them advice.

The kid doesn't even land before he is making a new hand sign, and for a moment, Sukuna thinks that this is when the kid will reveal his lie.

But instead, Great Serpent appears in a flash and clamps its jaw around him, spearing him into the sky, whereupon Nue starts to strike at him.

Only, both of them are so weak that he barely feels the attacks.

He can only admire the kid's dedication to ensuring his lie takes hold, but if they're going to be stubborn about it, then he can only force them to feel a little bit more proactive.

With that in mind, Sukuna flexes, and Great Serpent comes apart.

The next moment, he is standing behind the kid, holding onto their jacket.

"Hey, what did I just say?" He asks before twisting and throwing the kid like a sack of rice. "Let's use the open space!"

The kid flies through some trees, and Sukuna catches them in the air with a kick that has them bouncing across some rooves, followed by a punch that sends them through some metal building.

The kid tries to run away with Nue carrying him, and Sukuna only feels anticipation at the understanding that the kid's reveal must be rapidly approaching.

It seems that they want to wait until he is truly sure of his victory before striking.

He can't wait to see the face they will make when he turns their trap against them.

"Nice try running!" He calls out moments before hammering both the kid and his Shikigami down through another building.

They really do just have these everywhere. So many buildings. So many humans.

Not that he's complaining. It just means there is more for him to destroy, and this time, no one to stop him.

He ignores the feeling that thought brings.

The kid crashes through the building and down to the ground, causing a small cloud of dust to cover him for a moment.

When the wind carries that away, what is left is the sight of an injured Megumi- Hah! It really is still funny! Well, he's injured, or at least pretending to be, while sitting under the wing of Nue.

Before he can say anything else, the kid rests a hand on Nue's head and the Shikigami melts away into shadow.

"Giving up already?" Sukuna taunts. "Aren't you supposed to have ten shadows? You won't be able to make me fix this with only two," he jabs a thumb at the hole in his chest as he speaks.

A huff leaves the kid as a sardonic smile grows on his face.

"You figured that out?" They ask, and for a moment Sukuna almost believes he is as exhausted as he seems.

"You're not a very good liar," Sukuna returns, ensuring that the kid knows that he has fallen for the ruse.

And then he waits for the surprise attack he knows is coming, the sudden burst of strength.

He waits.

And he waits.

"Well," the kid says after a moment. "I haven't tamed ten Shikigami yet. I guess the gap to Special Grade really is something else, huh?"

Sukuna believes him.

Why does Sukuna believe him?

The kid is just a good liar, right? Even if they're only young, they could just be really good at lying.

Right?

"Naturally," Sukuna responds, stepping up to the kid. "The reason it's called Special Grade, is because the rest of you trash can't comprehend true strength."

As he speaks, he reaches down and grabs the kid by the throat, lifting them up and squeezing.

But he does not let his guard down as he does so. The kid no longer has any choice after all, he simply must spring his trap now or he will die.

And so he strangles them and he waits.

And waits.

And waits.

What is going on right now? He thinks once the kid starts turning blue.

Why aren't they doing anything?

Their hands are still free, why aren't they summoning something? Why are they just clawing at his arm like they think that is how one should counter a hand to the throat?

What is happening!? Sukuna thinks with alarm and confused rage, letting go and dropping the kid as if his hand was burned.

The kid immediately drops to his hands and knees and starts hacking and coughing, sucking in air as if a little strangulation is truly enough to kill him.

"What are you doing?" Sukuna demands with a harsh glare, patience wearing thin.

A moment more of violent coughing passes, during which Sukuna kicks the kid in the ribs so that they are on their back and looking up at him.

"Dying," the kid says, monotone, after a moment of silence, "Apparently."

The response just makes Sukuna's brows furrow and a feeling akin to having the wind taken out of his sails presses against him.

"Why are you not fighting?"

The brat has the gall to roll his eyes at him.

"I tried," they say. "I only have one option left, but releasing that will probably just cause a significant amount of the people in this city to die, so there's no point. He wouldn't let it come to that. Itadori is coming back."

"You put too much value in that brat, he's not even worth that much," Sukuna hotly responds, feeling a growing itch in his brain that he cannot scratch. "Get up and fight. Stop pretending to be so weak, I tire of this game."

"Pretending?" The kid scoffs, disbelieving. "I don't know what you're seeing when you look at me, but I really tried my best here. You're just too strong."

"Haah?"

Sukuna... Sukuna doesn't know what else to say to that.

A part of him is hoping that this doubt he is feeling is just a part of the plan, and that it is simply succeeding in tricking him now.

But the greater part of him is realising the horrible, terrible truth.

For a moment, he feels as though the world is a thousand miles away. As if space itself is stretching to isolate him. As if he is truly standing alone.

"No." He says, only realising he spoke after hearing his own voice. "You wield the Ten Shadows. Your name is Megumi. You are a descendant of Zen'in no Narauko, weilding his own Technique. You cannot be this weak. I refuse to accept that."

"I don't even know who that is," the kid responds with an uncaring shrug. "I'm not a Zen'in anyway."

For the first time in a long, long time, Sukuna does not know what to say. He doesn't want to believe this.

How could they be so weak?

They have the Ten Shadows.

They have his Technique. Narauko's Technique.

It doesn't make any sense.

It's Narauko's Technique.

The ever so familiar feelings of hatred and anger start to bubble up against Sukuna's psyche as he looks down at the... The trash at his feet that would dare to use his Technique so poorly.

It is insulting.

It pisses him off.

More than anything ever has.

In his mind's eye, he sees Narauko, as he was when they were young. He sees him standing strong, by his side as an equal. His only equal. The only one who could ever keep up.

The only one that did not return his hatred with even more hatred.

And it is only then, that Sukuna accepts the lie he was telling himself.

This trash is not Narauko.

Because Narauko is gone.

Dead.

And he is alone.

This rage is a familiar one, and Sukuna pours all of his emotions into his hatred.

Why did you stay behind?

"You... Are a disappointment," Sukuna venomously spits after a moment of silence, barely holding himself back from tearing the little shit's head off. "So much wasted talent. So pathetic. Disgusting. Die."

Not a moment after Sukuna starts moving to make truth of his words, does he feel the brat trying to take back control of his body, and Sukuna doesn't even try to fight it, else he really will end up killing this fucking piece of shit waste of life.

But as much as he wants to, and he really does want to, it would be a waste.

That shit stain does not deserve to wield Narauko's legacy.

So he will just have to take it for himself.

It is the least he could do, for his one and only friend.

Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College,

Fushiguro Megumi

Standing in one of the many traditional rooms of Jujutsu High the next day, Megumi looks dispassionately down at his Sensei, who is very clearly pretending to be asleep.

He's even saying 'snore' out loud instead of at least actually pretending to just snore.

"Oi. I'll leave."

Megumi's threat gets the expected result, as Gojo Satoru, The Strongest Sorcerer of the modern era, yawns theatrically and rises from his slouch with a stretch, though he doesn't bother to stand.

"Ah! Megumi-kun~! When did you get here~? Did you need your dashing, handsome Sensei for something~?"

Megumi's brow twitches. "You're the one who called me here, stop playing dumb, what do you want. I still need to tell Kugisaki about Itadori."

"Eeeh~? You didn't tell her right away?! How heartless~!"

His eye twitches again at his Sensei's excessively dramatic response, and instead of answering, he just turns around and starts to leave.

"Wait wait wait! Megumi-kyun~! You know I was just kidding, right? We have like, super important things to talk about! Don't walk away from me Megumi-kyuuuun~!"

"Will you stop that?" Megumi snaps, turning back to glare at Satoru. "Get to the point already."

"Hai hai~," Satoru singsongs, but then his expression turns serious and he leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin in his palm as his sky-blue eyes peek out from behind his shades. "Your encounter with Sukuna. Tell me about it."

The memory almost makes him flinch, but he moves past that with an almost casual shrug. "Not much to say. He said a bunch of crap-"

"Eeeh? He spoke to you? For real?" Satoru interrupts, but Megumi ignores him.

"-Nothing important, and he kicked my ass. Recognised my Technique too, seemed real disappointed in me. Hey, do you know about some Zen'in guy called Narauko?"