Special Grades and the Commissioners of Ginza Part : Color Theory (II)

AN: Thanks for coming back! Sorry for the slight delay, FF was down last Sunday night (PHIL ST). Anyway, hope you guys enjoy the second half of Color Theory.

Shoutouts to: VampireSiren (Hi new bestie ahaha) and MaxOliver for your support ^^

The Mondrian staircase led them to a small salon where a large circular wooden table occupied most of the room. The room was already engaged by the middle-schooler with the grey hair and another bouncer on the other side of the room.

There were at least 5 other sorcerers-no curse users-gathered around the table. Each of them had this aura of greed and malice stamped on their eyes that Gojo found it unnerving how these people were even allowed to walk freely under the noses of the Tokyo Jujutsu officials.

Tch! Sure, keep us on the radar but these fools get a free pass.

They were each ushered to a certain radius of the circle, and he found himself occupying the southmost pole. Instead of taking a seat, Gojo leaned on the table irritably, holding his left leg so he would stop it from shaking. He continued to scan the room behind his large sunglasses. His peculiar eyes were already making the other players suspicious of him and even though he wore an energy dampener, some of the more experiences ones in the room may already be on to him.

When the girl who wore his eyes was finally ushered in, a huge weight lifted from his shoulders, allowing him to relax further on his chair. He covered his easing beam behind his hands that made a steeple and flicked his shades upward to signal Sachiko of his presence.

A lot of eyes flipped through the right most pole towards Sachiko, already discerning what could be her advantage that allowed her to join the game. Sachiko's energy still registered thickly, so it was important that Jan was there to help keep their glamour intact.

The whole room was lit with vintage drop lights, the bulbs casting a dawn-like shade over each corner giving off a saturated overlay leading guests to marvel at each other's form in sepia.

It didn't take long for each of them to find their place within the shape. The side chattering from the other members made it apparent that it may not have been their first time to play the game, or they were, like Sachiko and Satoru, working together to get an audience with the Scrybe.

Sachiko turned to the decorations around the divination room-the wallpaper was made up of Victorian tiles, where some faded out photographs and paintings hung below the ceiling, miniature sculptures were also scattered on the side-tables the variation didn't even hint of any pattern for such arrangement.

Even their chairs were a bit strange. Hers was a red garden chair, Satoru's was a blue Windsor type, the rest were none-alike in form and color. She had wondered if Satoru also noticed the sigils on each corner of the room.

Why does it feel like a trap?

But, then again, why are the other guests relaxed?

She turned to Jan's directed. He was busy with making sure that the players' requests were being handled. There was wary on his expression as he made small talk with the each of them but with one-word from his superiors, he snapped back and beckoned on their call.

Jan went to the northern most part of the divination circle where a small gramophone was displayed. The boy lifted the needle and placed it over a blank disk where a crack in the speaker was heard. Music didn't play from it and instead, the voice of a man echoed through it.

"Good evening guests," the Scrybe began, "Thank you for your interest in joining my humble club,"

Satoru listened intently to the muffled sounds behind the Scrybe but could only make out a bass-like tone.

Where the hell is he? What's with all the theatrics?

The Scrybe continued, "I'm sure a number of you are looking forward to commission some of by seers. For this round, I'm afraid only two of my seers are available to take in new clients. But not to worry, should you miss the chance to meet them, perhaps we could come up with some sort of other arrangement. After all, I am here to make sure you all have a happy ending for tonight's festivities," the Scrybe's laugh boomed from the speakers.

He described transactions with his elite fortunetellers as Commissions. If rumors held true, their predictions were accurate. People paid good money for an audience but not everyone is granted a chance. Hence, his screening games.

There was a clap coming from the other side of the gramophone, "Tonight, we shall play, Kokkuri-san. I believe this game is most fitting as everyone gathered here is either a sorcerer or curse user. Allow me to explain the rules,"

"Each of you has been given a coin with a corresponding number. The number will correspond to your turn,"

Jan went in front of the table and removed the large black cloth that covered it to unveil engraved symbols and letters all over the wooden furniture. It highly resembled the Japanese version of the Ouija board so it was easy to predict that there would be a summoning.

"Before you is the divination table. Each player will place their coins on the Toriii-gate and call upon the Kokkuri spirit. Everyone will pool a bit of their cursed energy but allow the spirit to move the coin. However, you will only be allowed to ask one question,

Am I worthy enough to meet the seer?"

The man on the northern east-pole who sat on the orange stool clicked his tongue and banged on the table, "That's subjective! Each of us can get eliminated instantly just because the spirit feels like it!" another person joined in protest making the two special grades exchange short glances but otherwise remained calm.

The Scrybe laughed, "If you get eliminated it just means that you are unworthy. That is all,"

Sachiko was actually familiar with the traditional game. It wasn't an urban legend. It was one of the techniques that some of the ex-clan members used to predict their future. Her main concern was which spirit they would manage to summon.

There were three possibilities, a dog the most balanced, loyal and fair spirit, a racoon the most mischievous but was also known to bring good fortune and of course a fox-spirit, a wise yet slightly mysterious creature.

Surely, if a fox-spirit would appear, it would be a Nogitsune and the spirit would easily recognize her registry and blow their whole cover. The only thing that kept her at ease was Satoru's thoughtful stare from the other side of the room seemingly telling her that everything would be alright.

Everyone took turns to drop their coins on the Torii symbol and not long after, they all simultaneously released their cursed energy and began chanting,

"Kokkuri-san, Kokurri-san, are you here?" the windows of the divination room opened forcibly as the Torii symbol lit up in red and expanded its image, seemingly opening and releasing a whisp of white and yellow that formed the silhouette of a small creature that sat beside the coins.

The silver pegs began to float and moved as the cursed spirit-a racoon, to Sachiko's relief, jumped towards the Yes, etched on the table.

Satoru wiped the bead of sweat the formed-on top of his forehead, he knew instantly why Sachiko's face changed the moment they announced the game. It was however an advantage that the racoon-spirit lifted his coin first.

Better I go first so I could think of a back-up if I don't get through.

Satoru waited until the racoon allowed the coin to dangle in between its teeth as it skipped in front of him. The racoon's beady white eyes stared at Satoru's borrowed crimson making him brace himself to ask the question that would determine his position in the game.

"Kokkuri-san," he began, holding up his hand and releasing cursed energy onto the coin, "Am I worthy enough to meet the seer?"

The raccoon threw the coin in the air and let out a screech before it settled on the part of the table that had engraved the words Yes. Gojo unclenched his fist and smirked. He had no way of confirming beforehand if he'd get a pass. The game was unpredictable.

Phew! Hope Chi gets through.

His coin went back to the pool on the Torii gate and one by one, the seven other players asked the same question. Sachiko was last to get her turn. Already, four people were eliminated just by getting a No.

When her coin finally floated, the racoon stared at her longer than the rest of the players.

I'm Kitsune-borne, it's probably sensing something off from my cursed energy. To dissuade its doubts, Sachiko feigned a smile as she lifted her chin, "Kokkuri-san, am I worthy enough to meet the seer?" she said, teasingly.

Unlike the others, the racoon first answered her question before it went to the sit on the word that said, Yes.

Satoru was quick to notice the slight deviation of the spirit's movement but was still relieved that it gave Sachi a pass.

There was a bit of commotion as the other half of the group began demanding reentry. The racoon spirit didn't seem to mind the fuss and just sat and waited for the banter to die down. What was more surprising was that the Mondrian pattern on the staircase transferred into a grid that became an electric barricade that kept the eliminated participants on the other side of the divination room.

The bouncer from before was already dragging one angry curse-user after another until their complaints were muffled out.

The Scrybe's voice resurfaced from within the walls, seemingly impassioned reverberations coming from his throat as his voice filled the room, "We're down to the last four participants. The order of the draw will remain the same but this time, it will be the Kokkuri who will ask a question. Answer well and answer honestly."

The four of them lifted their hands and began chanting once more, "Kokkuri-san, Kokkuri-san, please ask us a question,"

The racoon's cursed energy increased, filling its entirety with a dark blaze as its small, sharp teeth widened.

Again, the boy with the six-eyes was up first. The racoon had settled in the center of the Kokkuri mat and instantly spread its cursed energy to illuminate all of the symbols engraved on the table. Each of the coins jingled in the air, setting Satoru's aglow, matching the eyes of the summoned spirit.

It looked menacingly at him as if it was looking through his glamour and if the Racoon could see through his ruse, then Sachi would be in trouble.

The advantage of coming as a silent pair was that they increased the odds of infiltration, still the both of them knew that the only way the operation could go smoothly was to go in together.

The racoon tilted its head sidewards and opened its mouth, it spoke with a high-pitched voice that caused a temporary ringing in Satoru's ear, furrowing his brows at the sudden wave of cursed energy that aimed at him, "Tell me your name,"

"Shuichi Junji," he replied blandly.

"Shuichi," its voice echoed, "What can you contribute to our faction? What is your skill?"

Gojo smirked now, he had correctly predicted one of the questions. It was a great way to distinguish which of them would prove useful to the Scrybe. His innate techniques guaranteed a sure in of course, at that moment, he wasn't Gojo Satoru. But he wasn't about to display himself as a small fry either.

Gojo snorted and raised his right arm, balling his half-gloved hand into a fist and glared at the racoon with his crimson eyes piercing through his shadowed glasses, "Me? I'm extremely strong," he grinned wider, releasing a little more of his cursed energy just to give a hint that he was more than just a first-grade sorcerer.

The Kokkuri's teeth chattered in amusement, "We shall see…" it said.

The racoon lifted the other coins now and asked the same to the other strangers. Their skills weren't particularly interesting however it proved that they were still quite dangerous. When it came to Sachi's turn, Satoru was concerned as to which technique she would center on. He knew that she wouldn't choose anything that would display her elemental manipulation but if she also chose physical prowess, they might be forced to face each other.

Sachiko placed a hand on her waist and the other above her chest, blinking curiously and fluttering her lashes at the rest of the people around the room, "I am an anti-toxin. Poisons are my thing," she allowed a bit of her cursed energy to dance on her fingertips and mouth to prove that she was also a person of interest, but the racoon partly took it as a hostile presence that for a moment, it hissed.

The racoon levitated alongside the four coins that represented each player making them take a step back as the large round table disappeared and revealed a color wheel underneath them.

Gojo took the spot of the blue triangle, Sachiko stood over the red while the two other players settled on the green and orange. The color wheel insignia still had the same runes as the Kokkuri board. The coins flew in front of the players and as soon as the Kokkuri spoke,

Render,

Three different voices whispered the spell that transported them into curated prisms that would test their skills. Signaling the beginning of a rather complicated story board inside the hollow corners of the club.

Sachiko found herself transported into an all-white room. From across, she saw Jan and the raccoon spirit. The spirit was already speaking with Jan when she was running towards them. Jan lifted his palms where a small vial was dropped by the Raccoon.

The spirit turned to the Kitsune now and tilted its head and projected its tail to the side before turning to Jan. Its beady eyes lit up as it aligned towards Jan's azure eyes that widened as the spirit placed him in a trance,

"Drink," it ordered.

Jan's face turned blank as his hands robotically moved to open the vial. He gave one stony look towards Sachiko who was already increasing her pace, contemplating if she should release her flames towards the Spirit but doing so, could endanger the kid more so she was left to watch as the kid tilted his head backwards and allowed the small amount of fluid to go down his throat.

"Jan!" she yelled earning her a look of suspicion from the unkind spirit that settled on Jan's shoulder. His color began to change into a pale blue, stripping away the rouge on his cheeks and lips that he soon found himself on his knees as Sachiko neared.

"What did you do to him?" she said, behind barred teeth.

"You'll see!" it exclaimed. The raccoon positioned its mouth beside the kid's ear and whispered,

"Kudokku,"

Sachiko's brows weaved and face tightened as she heard those words. She caught Jan before the rest of his body made impact on the ground. She felt her Kitsune eyes' illuminate behind her glamour but she knew she couldn't risk her cover now that she was so close to getting an audience with the Scrybe.

The Raccoon sat in front of the two and clapped its tiny paws together, "What are you waiting for? He doesn't have long,"

The poison was spreading fast. Jan was already gurgling the contents of his stomach that Sachiko had to proceed with creating the healing bead from her own breath. She quickly opened Jan's mouth and began removing each toxic element in his body as she breathed them in and quickly placed the bead inside his mouth to hasten his recovery.

Immediately, her chest constricted as her body now fought to dispel the poison. It was a strong type of spell that only veteran curse-users were able to perfect.

Her face still twisted at the side-effects of her technique but she had to check if the kid was okay, "Hey, are you okay?" she shook his shoulders which was followed by a loud gasp that sent Jan into a half-sitting position. He clutched his throat and coughed up a number of times before turning to his savior with teary eyes as he mouthed a soft 'thank you.'

I don't think this is the first time they used him as part of the games. This is unacceptable.

Her eyes squinted at the cursed spirit now, "I did what you asked, I want what I was promised,"

The raccoon let out a shriek, "You are indeed worthy to meet with the Seers!" The Raccoon teleported towards the door at the end of the white room. Sachiko helped Jan up and motioned for him to come with her.

As soon as she turned the knob, the Raccoon made one last remark, "You will definitely be an invaluable part of his collection. Goodbye, Kirie,"

Satoru's first test of strength required him to punch through each of the Terracota soldiers that blocked his path. It wasn't difficult but still tedious.

"Where the hell did these come from?" he groaned.

As he cleared his path, the walls transformed into white and black marble, specs of gold scattered like stars which led him to a hall full of other shiny statues.

He recognized a few of them.

A half-dressed Greek lady without arms and a muscular man whose physique carved well under the light that bounced from it.

The Venus de Milo and the Statue of David.

Though he had no idea if those were the real deal but they did animate in sync, startling him slightly as they pointed their heads towards the far end of the hall.

He was greeted by three similar statues. This time, each of them had the same facial features.

He read the golden plaque beneath the middle one's feet, "Hercules in three phases,"

The stained marble of the large, muscular figure belonged to the famed Greek legend and was depicted in his youth, in his prime and in his aged form.

The three-dimensional figures made up of crystallized calcium carbonate was covered in cursed energy as soon as he took a step forward towards the statues.

Gojo knew what was next.

The slight tremor on the floor emerged as soon as the center statue raised its leg. Its stained edges cracking from the joint movements as it turned to the young sorcerer.

Gojo readied his stance and allowed his eyes to shift from one animating statue to the other. They moved heavily, carrying the refined limestones that decorated their core until the expressions on their undetailed faces of their eyes turned forbidding.

"Heh! And I thought I'd be done in 5 minutes," he said to himself in between attacks.

The raccoon finally made itself known to Gojo and floated above his head as it jeered, "You have 40 seconds to destroy Hercules, goodluck!"

Satoru clicked his tongue, "Stupid raccoon! You could've told me that 10 seconds ago,"

The boy with the six-eyes tried to concentrate much of his cursed energy within his fists and his limbs in attempt to pass it off as a flash technique. It was a little tricky to land blows over the marble statues because if it wasn't deep enough, it would just regenerate.

Despite their bulk, the cursed statues were quite fast. The Hercules in its prime was able to swing its mace against Gojo but was left unscathed thanks to his Infinite. The raccoon saw how the large piece of marble disintegrated into pieces even before it landed an inch away from Gojo's shoulder.

"20 seconds Shuichi," said the racoon.

I forgot to turn it off, I can't risk getting my cover blown at this stage.

Hesitantly, Gojo moved his glasses further in and deactivated his technique, allowing one hard blow to land on the side of his trunk before grabbing the older Hercules' arm and throwing it across the room effectively destroying the statue.

Two left!

"12 seconds Shuichi," the racoon sang.

Gojo noticed something peculiar about the statues, ever since he destroyed the first one, none of the other two's movements stopped synching, as if one of its foundations kept them from making purposeful movements.

That's it! They're moving in opposite directions at least 2 seconds apart, but I don't have time to wait for them screw up. So, I'll just have to do it at the same time!

"8 seconds!"

Gojo lured both of the statues towards one of the corners and as soon as they were close enough towards the wall, he flipped back and grabbed both of the statues' heads and ripped them off from their bodies, crumbling the marble in his hands as he landed on a crouch.

The raccoon spirit let out a maniacal laugh as it banged its paws together, "Very impressive Shuichi! and with 1 second left,"

Gojo scoffed as he dusted off the marble dust that settled on his head and shoulders. He walked towards the raccoon and picked it up by its nape and glowered through it with his scarlet eyes, "Great furball, now, where's my pass?"

The raccoon hissed at him and was ready to pounce but Gojo let it go before he could actually retaliate., Gojo laughed and dropped the creature on the floor. The raccoon spirit then floated towards the end of the room where a green door outlined itself, "Get in, you brat!"

Green Room

Seriously, another room. Hm?

She heard footsteps from behind but one look from her white-haired weirdo made her less tense. Sachiko sent a small, relieved smile at Satoru, whose grin she had come accustomed to.

Satoru's mouth quirked sidewards as he scrubbed off the debris that decorated his coat and continued to walk ahead.

Satoru tried to make light of things by starting a conversation but really, all he wanted to do was go to her side, "So, looks like it's just you and me now, eh?"

She shrugged but didn't look over her shoulder, "Guess so,"

They reached another door, this time it was a semi-crescent door that slid open on its own.

A bright light sent them into a temporary daze and soon they found themselves in another scenario.

There were people, stripped in all of their clothing doing all sorts of activities-some heinous while some seemingly innocent in the wide grass-filled garden but every single one remained stationary.

Walking across, they felt ripples of water and saw smearing colors that looked like paint. A large globe-like tower emerged at the center where a single window hung. It felt like they were inside a real-life diorama except they didn't fit in the motif. Everything was just highly texturized that even the apple trees looked too 2D to be real.

Sachiko looked at her hands and noticed that they were dysmorphic, like patches of color overlapped by different hues of brown and white, when she looked beside her, Gojo also look askew, that he couldn't help but wince as they met each other's stare.

This type of illusion was beyond Jan's ability, so they knew,

He's here.

Sachiko took another quick scan of the whole scenario, there was something very familiar about the subjects and the style of how they were painted.

Her eyes grew wide. She recalled one of the books in their library-a collection of artworks and their symbolism and there was this page dedicated to creation, humanity and damnation as seen in canvas.

That's it! We're inside a painting…this is Bosch's piece. But how and why?

The window opened and out came a rather large, golden-sheened man peering from the balcony. He wore nothing but a pair of silken hakata-like pants. He had very defined features, from his dark and thick brows to his angular and wide jaw covered in a closely shaven beard and his crow like eyes, the same marble-like dark gem that the racoon possessed targeted his two guests as he stood on the balcony.

Satoru's head tilted upward towards the figure above and not a few moments later, he shortened the distance between him and his friend.

The Scrybe's cursed energy spread like wildfire that each dot that made the picture they were in, hinted of his being.

His Six-eyes already began scanning the rest of his form. He hardly had any spaces left on his skin that remained blank. Every inch of him was inked in different body parts-faces, eyes, lips, a leg and bones…the whole skeleton traced on his broad back, and grotesque stitch-marks that outlined each of his vertebrae.

On his neck were the words, Life and Death perfectly calligraphed with each end looped in infinity.

So, this is the Scrybe.

The Scrybe revealed his jarringly symmetrical white teeth and huffed, "Welcome to the Garden of Earthly Delights,"

His attention shifted from one to the other, "Welcome Shuichi and Kirie, I do hope you find you find your stay at my club satisfactory. My seers await you and I sincerely hope that you find the answers you are looking for,"

"Wait," Gojo took a step forward in attempt to delay his exit as Sachiko began manipulating the earth from below to find traces of Suguru, "I think we deserve a little bit of introduction from our new partner, dontcha think, sir?"

The Scrybe folded his hands behind his back before turning around, "Yes of course, how rude of me. I am Saijo, the master of this establishment. I am very excited to work with new curse users with very unique traits,"

There was something sinister about that man, having been labeled by other guests as the Dorian Gray of the Jujutsu realm, they knew better than to just prance around the club without putting up defenses.

Jan had already told them about his background. The seers collected enough information throughout the years that they eventually were able to piece together how they were trapped.

Sixty years ago, he was being hunted by authorities after being accused of killing his wife. To cover up his murder, he commissioned artists to draw the ghastly image on his back using the ink and ash from his dead wife. After the portrait was done, he became a curse user and originally operated as a tattoo artist. Later he discovered that those whom he inks can be influenced under his control. Once he got ahold of the seers, he had tricked them into getting inked by him and thus, their faces became part of his gallery that decorated his skin.

Souls trapped within another soul.

Sachiko looked towards her hand, cursed energy seeping back through her fingers as the illusion began to lift.

No true elements. I can't use my technique here.

She shook her head slightly so that Satoru would get a cue about their predicament. Satoru took a deep breath and went to her side now as they waited until the garden disappeared, slowly reverting into the night-club where other members were busy mingling.

As the voices became more audible, he slipped his hand over hers and gave it a quick squeeze and whispered, "Let's find Suguru,"

"Yes, let's get to work,"

Satoru removed his glasses and wiped it with the hem of his coat and gave her another meaningful look as he began to walk away, "Be careful Chi,"

Sachiko's expression relaxed into a more confident one as she nodded, "You too," she said.

The Scrybe had summoned his seers into the Divination Room to speak about their knew clients, eyeing each of them with directive eyes, voice deepening in a serious tone as he circled around them, "We seem to have two new very important guests but I'm quite sure you three are well aware of who they are behind their masks,"

The seers didn't dare to answer.

The Scrybe cupped his chin, "In addition, we have a traitor among us, well, a few actually," he pointed towards each of them now, their faces on his skin glowing as he said their names individually, "I want all of you to be on your best behavior. Enchant the other two and make sure that the curse-spirit manipulator stays in his trance. I'll deal with the traitors myself,"

The three seers nodded simultaneously, "Yes sir,"

He turned to the bouncer now, "Any word from the old lady?"

"Ms. Kusama has declined your invitation sir," he replied.

His laugh boomed across the room, "Funny how one of the greatest and most powerful craft sorcerers didn't even accept my invitation. That Yayoi is really something," his eyes transferred towards a very uneasy Jan that as he patted the boy's head, he felt like his soul was being sucked out by the Scrybe making him tremble all the more as he spoke directly at him,

"You should thank her for her protective murals, they're a pain for curse-users like me,"

Jan remembered how he and his mother frequented the park where the said artist left murals and interactive displays of dot-colored animals, tentacles, and even random shapes. He always wondered why the artist chose very public spaces and even playgrounds to display her work. Every time people were gathered there, it seemed to bring joy and a sense of security and now he knew why. Yayoi was a sorcerer.

The Scrybe headed towards the door, "Anyway, we've finally completed a trifecta. An addition of two to the one already in captivity, so now, I can expand my empire. Make sure you seers are able to convince them to ink with me, it will be troublesome if they get angered,"

Only the Present seer was brave enough to ask a question, "Special grades?"

The tattooed man sneered, "That's correct. Those kids, they're exactly what we need,"

The boy didn't waste anymore time and ran back to the time lapse room where Suguru was kept in isolation. It was a sealed room that was embedded inside another painting, where Salvador Dali's Persistence of Memory was brought to life. Inside the room, occupants were forced to continue crafting without regard to time, setting or even their well-being. Each time they finished a piece, they would revert back into a state compelling them to continue producing art.

To put it bluntly-torture.

Jan had covered his whole body with his cursed energy and entered the painting where in between the melted watch was a small table filled with scattered drawings, charcoal and different sketching materials and a boy, a little older than him, sat in silence.

Suguru as caught in a transitive state that forced him to repeat his deepest thoughts and translate them into artwork that his now calloused and dirtied hands produced.

Jan sat beside the boy with the long-hair and purple eyes, his red bomber jacket filled with crumpled paper and fingerprints as he hunched over the desk and continued to draw.

The boy's hand floated above Suguru's right hand where he drew on the blue-star that made him see visions of his inner workings. Passing through the drawing like an eraser, Jan removed the symbol on his hand and whispered, "Kirie and Shuichi are here for you,"

Suguru gasped forward, his hands finally free from the magnet that the parchment yielded before him, fingers aching from what seemed like an eternity of drawing that his finger-joints remained stiff and his back ached as he slumped back on his cushioned chair. His charcoal and paint-dried hand went to the back of his nape, making circles on his side to provide relief from the pain.

As soon as his lilac eyes caught light, his eyes filled with water from the strain of days of sleepless nights.

"Jan," he said in between restrained breaths, "Where am I?" he covered his eyes with his hands but continued to scan the room. It was an utter mess of rectangular white posters of his drawings and rakugaki.

He forced himself to stand, wobbling with each step he took as he looked at the floor-there were probably around a hundred of his artworks scattered.

From outlines of his captured curses to random objects such as a sword, a lace ribbon and even shadows, familiar figures of his friends and family roughly sketched and incompletely colored. He picked up one of the more obscure ones that he didn't even remember making.

A self-portrait?

It was a drawing of himself, one side drawn in his signature bun, his features were softer on that side, he had even drawn in a lip upturned. He felt a little bit of melancholy as his trembling fingers traced over his drawing.

I don't think I look like that anymore. That hopeful glint in my eyes, that benevolence in my stare, I think it's gone.

Examining the other half of his piece, his eye twitched from the mood of it. It was still him, but he didn't like the dark expression that stared back at him. There was no light in his eyes, the shading was harsh, the line art was messy, and his smile was non-existent.

Is this what I look like now?

"Getou-san, I'm sorry, I can explain later, for now, I need you to come with me,"

Suguru crumpled the paper and threw it on floor, massaging his temple as he took slow strides towards the kid who was also on edge, "Sorry, who did you say was here?"

Jan looked around him as if the room was bugged. Sweat was already dripping below his chin that he had to stick with the aliases that Sachiko had provided, "Shuichi and Kirie, they're here, for you," he said, lowering his voice.

Suguru let out a low chuckle.

Of course.

He knew instantly that her choice of aliases would stem from her brilliant mind. Referencing characters from a book they both enjoyed was a safe bet and no other pair would be bold enough to fetch him from the clutches of a high-level curse-user.

"Getou-san?"

Suguru felt a little hopeful and a tad bit embarrassed that his two other friends had to come and rescue him but still, it was nice to know that people were looking for him and were actually willing to risk their lives to bring him back.

I'm not even sure if I'm worth it.

"Sorry," he took a deep breath and gave him half-a-smile, ruffling his grey-tailed hair making him flinch, "Alright, let's go,"

Jan pursed his lip before leading the way out of the room, "Getou-san, my mom?"

"Don't worry, we'll go to her first, I'm sure my friends can buy us some more time," he reassured.

Jan's mouth curved, "Thank you Getou-san,"

Before Jan could lead him out of the time-lapse room, another voice ascended from the entrance.

It was a slim man, with paper-white neck-length hair wearing a black and gold fleece-like robe that covered the length of their whole body.

They had very long, slender fingers, nails painted in a raven color. Around their wrists were heavily inked by a bracelet that looked like a chain. They were leaning on the portal that led to the club, their heterochromatic eyes of blue and green lasering through the other two in the room sinisterly. When he came into the light, Suguru's eyes widened at the missing part of his face-a mouth.

Suguru's expression was daunting. He positioned himself in front of the kid, holding out one hand filling up with the blaze of his cursed energy. His mind was already shuffling through which of his captures he would summon when Jan placed a hand on his shoulder.

"That's Tsukasa…a seer,"

Shit. If Jan's right, the seer is probably under the Scrybe's control.

Tsukasa held their hands into a surrender as he approached, his bare feet sweeping through the drawings on the floor as he continued eyeing the cursed spirit manipulator, "Easy now," a voice connected through his own head. It was quite disturbing, but the kid confirmed that it was how the seer communicated.

Tsukasa shoved their hands inside their robe and lifted their shoulder, "I'm not here to detain you," their focus shifted on the boy behind Suguru, "I'm getting you out, all of you but before we can do that," Tsukasa took a step toward the boy in the red jacket, "You still have to meet with the Scrybe,"

Suguru cocked a brow, "I think it's pointless for you to defend your master now, don't you think? After all, it's no mistake that I'm still alive and that the two new recruits are my friends."

Tsukasa's disembodied chuckle entered their thoughts, "So, you know? I guess that complicates things less then," they snorted.

Jan weaved his brows, "What do you mean?"

Suguru smirked and crossed his arms. He knew from the get-go since he played the game that there was something off about their placements. He remembered now, how his last memory before he went into a trance, he was scribbling something important, and this was the reason why.

"The whole game is rigged, and you," He looked over his shoulder towards Jan, "You're part of it Jan, you just didn't know it."

Tsukasa clapped their hands, "How amusing that it would be our first capture who would figure it all out, but then again, Saya and Jinx hoped that at least one of you would figure it out before this whole place went under,"

Jan gave both the older men confused glances, "Figure what out? What did I do?"

Tsukasa walked past the boy with the azure eyes and headed to take the place of Suguru on the table. They crossed their legs and rested their chin on their palm, "Jan, the moment you recruited the cursed spirit manipulator, was the day we agreed that we'd finally end this routine and honestly, we're just lucky that you got another two to help us make it possible,"

"So, are you going to help me escape? Or are you going to keep me locked in here?"

Tsukasa's two-toned eyes creased, quirking a brow upwards at the young special grade, "That depends on how reliable you are. I have to make sure that you know exactly why we brought you here,"

"Very well," Suguru straightened and lifted his chin, "First of all, I noticed something about the arrangement of the players during my game, we were all standing on separate sections that had corresponding meaning to it,"

"Go on," Tsukasa challenged.

"The color wheel below the table. It was a brilliant but blind tactic,"

Tsukasa crooked a brow. Only a very experienced sorcerer would remember complicated sigils and yet this student was able to figure out the complete structure of the trap.

Suguru continued after sensing a bit of enthusiasm from the seer, "You mentioned that there were three of you who shared similar techniques, so it only made more sense that there were three sorcerers capable of creating a such a scheme.

In a sense, it was a domain. You positioned each of the players that the Scrybe wanted to recruit in three important poles-the northernmost pole was occupied by the Gamemaster, then the other two in the southwest and southeast poles. Those in between practically were just there for decoration," he squared his shoulders.

Tsukasa tapped on their chin. Observing the young sorcerer as Suguru flipped through the first page of his scribbles that lay on the table. He lifted a sketch and showed it to Tsukasa and Jan. He drew on a perfect circle with multiple arrows within the sphere with the initials Y on the northern most pole, and B and R on the southern east and west poles.

He tapped on the bottom part of the circle, "I was positioned here," he pointed towards the southernmost pole with the letter P written on it, "Which actually made me an outlier in the algorithm you have created,"

"I still don't understand…" Jan said beneath his breath.

Tsukasa rested their hands on their knee as they turned to the kid,

"Allow me to explain the rest. You see, what he said is indeed correct. I admit, the winners for this round were predetermined and it's all thanks to him being an outlier. Jan, take a good look at the figure of the color wheel,"

Tsukusa moved their wrist into a full rotation, reanimating Getou's sketch by creating a magnified version of the wheel with his cursed energy,

"The two new players were positioned on the primary colors of the wheel, Blue for the boy and Red for the girl. By virtue, within the domain the seers have created, the third primary color was purposefully given to the Gamemaster's position,"

"You mean-"

Tsukasa stood now, their demeanor sparking a bit of hopeful admiration and restitution at the special grade. They offered one hand towards Getou to which the young, cursed manipulator shook,

"Yes, it's time to erase the Scrybe,"

END OF COMMISSIONERS OF GINZA PART 1

PART 2: RENDER

ETA: Sunday September 26

MY JJK-WORLD ART LORE FACTOIDS AND OCs:

The cursed scribe (Spelled as Scrybe, taken from two words Scribe as in a writer and Scry meaning to predict the future) was inspired by Saijo who wrote the cursed poem, 'Tomino's Hell'. It's only lightly inspired by the urban legend since I didn't want to read the poem hahaha. I got scared lol.

The tattoo inscribed on Saijo's back is inspired by the real Kusozu (Death Paintings), particularly the 8th image-Phrenology. I think I may have given it away with the stitches hehe, but feel free to search the art that inspired the special grade cursed spirit brothers of Choso.

Kokkuri Game-according to my research, this is the Japanese version of a Ouija board. The game is played usually by school-aged children where they try to summon the Kokkuri spirit and ask the spirit a few questions then after should be asked to leave before the game ends else they would be haunted. According to legend, the spirits are usually in the form of a fox, dog or raccoon though it is also possible to summon a different spirit if you are not careful.

Kokkuri mentioned Render, which signals a finished or fully refurnished masterpiece. The spirit used it as a technique to activate the illusion.

Blue Star Acid Legend – Jan draws the blue star on Suguru, trapping him inside the Scrybe's domain. According to western legend, the blue star temporary tattoos were distributed to children and were rumored to have LSD, a hallucinogenic drug laced in it.

Suguru played the Satoru game (this will be part of the next chapter), which is like séance using a cellular phone. I changed the name to avoid confusion.

Seijo mentioned an artist, Yayoi, and I was referring to one of my favorite artists, Yayoi Kusama. :)

The vial of Kuddoku that Jan was forced to drink is based on a type of poisonous magic from Japanese folklore. It is described traditionally as trapping a few poisonous insects in one bottle letting them kill each other with the last remaining insect will be used to extract a poison.

Sachiko chose the aliases Shuichi and Kirie in an attempt to give Suguru some sort of signal that they were there. The names were taken from one of Junji Ito's novels called Uzumaki, whose protagonists are a couple with the same name. Kind of also hinted something else to him, sorry. If you can recall in one of the Good Jujus, Getou lent the Ito books to Sachi.

OC-Feature: JAN KAZUHA

"The Prodigy"

Physical description: Male, slim built, around 5 feet +, has gray hair cut neatly below his ears but has a long lock that courses past his nape and just below his scapula. He has very notable azure eyes.

Position on the Wheel: Outlier, no official colors

Classification: Unofficial Jujutsu Trainee, likely a Second Grade but has potential to ascend with training.

A middle-schooler who got special admission to a science school and latest discovery of the Scrybe. He won an art contest but unknowingly left remnants of cursed energy in his finished piece. Much like the seers he entrapped, Jan's cursed technique is heavily reliant on his artistic skills. His forte is creating illusions. When he paints other subjects, he can influence the perception of other people if he embeds his emotions and desires using his cursed technique similar to how the blue star, he drew on Getou's hand made him go into a trance. Only he can dispel his own technique actually making him more powerful than he knows, and which is the reason why the Scrybe didn't ink him yet.

He has an innate technique called a Glamour. He drew particular features (Gojo's red eyes and brow piercings, Sachi's collar bone tattoo and blue eyes) on a clean piece of drawing paper which was seemingly painted on their faces completing their disguise. He used another technique common to art-led sorcerers called Rakugaki (RKGK), where scribbles or doodles work the same as finished pieces by using twice the amount of cursed energy in their illustration. They are seemingly harmless drawings which only sorcerers are able to distinguish from uncursed objects.

He was recruited primarily to help in trapping and tricking sorcerers into servitude by the Scrybe.

The Seers also commissioned him to make the calligraphy that completed the divination table allowing them access to his illusion techniques thus tricking players that they had summoned the real Kokkuri.

OC-Feature: Saijo aka the SCRYBE

80-year-old man who doesn't age thanks to his technique. He is known as an ink-artist who inscribes enchanted phrases or words into his customers' skin. He also has the ability to trap and control anyone who gets inked by him, transferring their faces or features on his skin as a trophy and proof of his capture. He has successfully captured the three seers and uses their skills to cater to the rich sorcerers and cursed users to accurately draft their fortune.

Jan, his latest recruit, is unmarked as the Scrybe is unsure if it would work on him.

The scribe is classified as a Grade 1 cursed spirit.

He is the founder of an underground club of cursed-users.

(Not much of his technique is detailed yet on this chapter)

OC Feature: Tsukasa Hasaba and the Seers

This chapter has mentioned the three Seers, Tsukasa, Saya and Jinx each a representative of a time period (Past, Present and Future).

All of them have cursed techniques related to art (but are yet to be detailed in this chapter).

They have created a shared domain using cursed objects they curated.

The divination table was crafted by Jinx, the Kokkuri board was created by Tsukasa with the Torii gate and some letters drawn in by Jan. The color wheel sigil hidden beneath the table was created by Saya. (We'll meet the rest of the Seers in the next chapter)

Tsukasa's pronouns are they/them.

Possibly related to the Hasaba twins that Getou rescued (in the future).

Color-wheel Domain

(A diagram is available on my Ao3 page explaining the domain)

As Suguru and Tsukusa explained, the color-wheel was created to ensure that they could devise a way out of the Scrybe's control.

Two principles:

The group of people in the domain would be divided into two, the Primaries and the Complements.

The primaries are pre-screened after getting references from the Scrybe and his associates which were usually high-level sorcerers or curse-users.

The primaries were originally planned to be recruited one by one as the Yellow would always have to be occupied by the Gamemaster (Kokkuri and Sato) leaving only 2 players to get a slot. Those chosen as primaries are always either on Blue or Red.

Depending on which color of the wheel they win in, they would be matched with their complementaries.

The Green, Purple and Orange represent the Seers. During the games, players positioned in the complement areas are just decoys.

The Seers can only have control over the positioning the pre-selected candidates, but the test of technique is dependent on the ones being tested themselves.

Suguru was originally a Purple (details regarding how he replaced the Yellow slot will be found in the next chapter).

GOOD JUJU

Shouko and Sachiko's Text Exchange

Sachiko: Ieiri! What does Tsun-tsun mean?

Shouko: Haha, nanii? It's shortcut for tsundere…

Sachiko: What…does it mean?

Shouko:

Hahahahahahaha

Oh Sachi u r so kawaiiiiii

Tsundere means a type of person who's all cold at the beginning ends up being all sappy

And warm and shit

Why? Did someone call u a tsun-tsun?

Sachiko:

Ah no, Just overheard it.

Shouko:

Okaayyyyy

Btw

Bean meaning to ask u

R u dating anyone? U better not lie to me!

I'm your bff!

Sachiko:

Eh? Why are you asking me that all of a sudden?

Shouko:

The gran said that u were being lovey-dovey and shit with one of your visitors at the dojo!

SPILL!

Who was it? What did you do?

Someone I know?

COME ON!

Sachiko:

Huh? Gran must've seen or heard wrong…

AN: All rights reserved to Gege Akutami (JJK)

Please do take the time to view the art on my AO3

Let's interact either here, on AO3 or twitter /MiuraChronicler