Beta-reader: Biabialex

2002 October 31

"You should go now. We're here right behind you," Emi whispered in Shoko's ear as she patted her back, assuring her that if anything terrible happened, they would step in and help them.

Shoko nodded while she bit her lip. "Thank you."

Suguru watched their interaction then gestured for them to go after. Satoru stood beside her and dragged Emi back by the collar as they both watched their two friends attack a special grade 1 curse. It was almost Halloween, and the four children went out to exorcise curses. Since it was the time where people fostered fear as a sign of merriment, the number of cursed spirits also increased more than it already was. They were on their last one, and all of them agreed to give it to Shoko and Suguru for the experience. It was done so that after entering jujutsu high, they would skip a couple of steps, preventing them from fighting curses with lower grades than them.

Emi and Satoru had already killed a special grade curse, effectively raising their rank by special grade as sorcerers when they entered Tokyo Jujutsu High. They already took the amount of their cursed energy and their techniques into account. Suguru would surely be a special grade 1 sorcerer by the end of this fight, while Shoko would be a grade 1, considering her hand-to-hand combat experience needed improvement.

"You're baby-ing them too much." Satoru grew taller during the vacation. He could rest his chin on her head now, which, to be honest, irritated the girl a little at first.

"That's because I could," Emi retorted, her lips curling into a smile as she turned her attention back to the two. "Who would have thought there'd come a time where I would watch Shoko like this proudly."

"You're like a mom."

"Something you don't have." Emi felt a sharp pain in her ribs right after that, forcing her to lean on the boy as support.

Satoru was practically being used as a pole after jabbing his childhood friend. "That was uncalled for, Emi-chan."

"Well, I don't have one, either?" She managed to reply after recovering from the pain. The white-haired boy did not respond and only grabbed her by the hips to lift her over his shoulder to watch Suguru and Shoko fight better. "Thanks, Ruru." Emi lazily drawled with a smile.

Satoru's mother died a few years after his birth, which forced his father to burden himself with work. It was also why they would rarely see the man for he was taking care of the Gojo Clan's finances. Emi had seen the boy's father, and oh boy , it seemed heartbreak was indeed the worst pain of it all.

He was overworked, and it looked like something had sucked the life out of him. The current clan head and the white-haired boy tried to talk him out of it, but he never agreed.

That was something she never wanted to experience—how much would it hurt to let your life fall apart like that to get over the pain?

Emi did not know if she wanted to give birth to children or fall in love. Both seemed tiring than they should have been, and she had seen her co-workers in her last life get drunk because of that. Either way, those were not part of her priorities for now, considering she was too willing to die sometimes. There was also no way she would use children so she could guarantee she would live long; she wasn't that selfless.

"What's Suguru doing?" Emi narrowed her eyes to see how the fight was doing when she noticed they started to engage in close combat. "Where's Shoko?"

"Up there." The white-haired boy pointed at the trees, jumping closer so that she could see clearly. He offered his hand for her to hold and make her lean closer.

Emi held his hand, eyes jumping from Suguru and Shoko in a matter of seconds. "Is she trying to make a surprise attack?" Seeing how the girl completely hid her presence that she could not even detect her cursed energy impressed her.

"Suguru's doing well too. Tagging with Masamichi-san improved his style, and fighting with the two of us nearly made him invincible in hand-to-hand combat." Satoru generously offered his opinion with a smile, removing his blindfold to see how the two children were using their techniques.

In truth, Suguru did not move near the Gojo compound because he only wanted to be classmates. It also allowed security and protection against curse users and curses themselves. Improving his technique was a plus since he was always against the two monsters, Emi and Satoru, but it also prepared him to fight against opponents stronger than him, too. Shoko was usually partnered with him as a diversion and medic since the other two barely got injured when exercising.

Emi examined how the two children switched positions during fights. Shoko then engaged in close combat while Suguru focused on reversed cursed technique she usually used would burst the opponent, and if that was impossible, she would increase the surface area, so the other boy had a larger range to hit.

It was like a match made in heaven, but now it seemed they were relying on each other more than themselves.

Grrr!

A special grade curse suddenly appeared as reinforcement to the first one. As expected. Emi exchanged glances with Satoru as they both disappeared from where they were and popped out to where the two were fighting. As if they had talked about it beforehand, Emi snatched Shoko before the newly arrived curse landed a hit. She ran meters away from the other two boys as a way to decrease the distraction.

Shoko, who always sneaked attacks, had a partner specializing in ninjutsu, and Suguru, who was good at taijutsu, had a hand-to-hand combatant as support. How would the fight turn out then?

It did not take long for Emi to find out the answer when Shoko jumped out from her princess-carry right away to fight at the front. Her brows rose incredulously, backing away to act as support. They were fighting with the special grade 1 curse the two were dealing with previously, but it seemed they did not deal much damage. "Technique Release: Control."

"Unbounded." Shoko released her technique at the same time Emi released hers. As an invisible hand attacked the curse, she ran straight to the enemy, gathering her cursed energy on her one hand. "Charge," she murmured, running sideways to avoid a physical attack directed at her left. "Deliver."

Emi changed her technique right away after seeing the girl successfully touch the cursed spirit. Its body became much larger than it was before, and its movement became noticeably slower. Lumps appeared on its face as it got buried from the excess meat and skin, preventing it from talking. "Technique Release: Vibration," she said out loud, signaling for Shoko to do the finishing blow.

The girl immediately brought out a scalpel-like weapon, much larger than its counterpart, then slashed down at the curse. The opponent stood frozen as it burst, forcing the two girls to jump back, avoiding the flying pieces of gooey mess.

"That was good." Emi showed up beside Shoko, patting her shoulders while praising her for exorcising their enemy. "Let's check on Ruru and Suguru?"

The girl stiffly bobbed her head then mechanically turned it to face her friend. "I think…"

"Yes, maybe you should wash your face first." Emi blinked slowly, thinking how much slime went to Shoko's face.

Shoko winced and let herself get hauled to the nearest water source.

Satoru swung his legs sideways, kicking the cursed spirit with the front of his leg. His enemy flew to Suguru like a soccer ball. The white-haired boy landed on the ground with his hands on his pockets, examining the boy's movements in a rational mindset.

For a curse manipulator, the boy was unexpectedly excellent at receiving attacks. Typically, shikigami users or anyone related that would use that technique never focused on short-range fights, becoming comfortable with using their 'pets' on the line of fire. Satoru thought it would be better for the boy to use a hand-held weapon since it would be helpful in an emergency. Suguru also liked using his fists, so his adjustment time would not be that long.

Satoru pulled out the three-section staff behind him and threw it to Suguru's way, who flawlessly caught it at midnight. "What the hell?!"

"That's the playful cloud Emi-chan stole from the Time Vessel Association!" Satoru shouted with a large smile, feeling a little proud that his childhood friend managed to snatch something from that weird religious group. The playful cloud (游雲, Yū-un) was a special grade cursed tool decorated with a flame-like pattern. Although it did not have any cursed technique, it could amplify the user's cursed energy enough times that they treated it as one of the best tools out there.

On the other hand, the Time Vessel Association ( 時の器の会 , Toki no Utsuwa no Kai) was also called the Star Religious Group revered Master Tengen as their god. They were filthy rich and had a collection of rare cursed tools taking into account their long history.

"Satoru! Stop stealing from other people!" Suguru intentionally ignored the part where Emi had stolen it and seemed to focus on the part where they stole it from the infamous organization. "And how should I use this?!" In this case, the boy wanted to cry, but there were no tears as he tried to figure out how to use the weapon during combat.

The white-haired boy clapped his hands, amused at how Suguru evaded all attacks while probably cursing him on his mind. "That's a good way to dodge, Suguru!"

Satoru teleported to where they were fighting, waiting if ever their opponent would use its domain expansion. Thankfully, it seemed incapable of producing one, so Suguru quickly finished the fight with the help of the three-section staff.

"Ugh," Satoru shuddered in pain when he willingly received the boy's attack. Grabbing his throbbing head, he sent Suguru an accusing look. "What was that for?"

"For being an idiot. Who throws a weapon at a person who has never used it before?" Suguru exclaimed sarcastically, a little pissed off at how his friend did not consider his skill level in the middle of the fighting.

The white-haired boy had taken into account his experience and concluded that he could, so he threw it to him. Choosing to act dumb (because it never failed him during situations he knew he would get scolded, but it was never his fault), he reached for Suguru's shoulder and deadpanned. "Me. I would do that."

And alas, Suguru was too frustrated to continue explaining, and Satoru was easily let off the hook. The technique never worked on Emi, though. She would always find a way to make him suffer—for a reason he could not explain—since she just knew he would calculate every little action before doing it.

Right after their banter, Emi and Shoko arrived at where they were. The former appeared embarrassed while the latter was drenched in water. Looking over his childhood friend, it seemed like nothing serious happened, so it was maybe an accident. Nevertheless, he went to her side to sling his arms over her shoulder in a relaxed manner. The girl leaned on the side of his neck, murmuring about how she would never offer help to anyone again.

"What happened?" Suguru tried to hide his snicker with a face full of concern but failed, so he had to turn around and chuckle.

Shoko was unimpressed, turning to look at Emi, seeing how she was too embarrassed to look at her; she lamented, "Emi wanted to help me remove the slime from my body, but she pushed me to the river."

"Accidentally," she quickly emphasized, the redness on her cheeks subsiding to a certain degree when she faced Shoko. "I'm so so sorry, Shoko."

Satoru pursed his lips as he tried his best not to worsen the situation. "On the bright side, I'm sure that a short bath helped."

"Y-Yes, it looked g-good on—ugh." Suguru received a punch to his stomach, but instead of ceasing the laugh that escaped from his mouth from time to time, it became full-blown as he tried to breathe in between gales of laughter. "I-I'm so s-sorry—hahaHahaHAHA!"

Satoru got infected by the boy's laughter, so in the end, he had to separate himself from Emi to join Suguru. The white-haired boy held his aching stomach while slapping the other boy's shoulder. Shoko creased her forehead, and her two brows met in anger; grabbing the playful cloud on the floor, she mercilessly slammed its hilt imbued with curse technique to the two boy's feet.

Emi, who normally mediated the situation, turned around, pretending she saw nothing.

The two boys jumped up and down from pain, forming large o's with their mouths. Satoru mentally swore not to mess with the girl again since she was too ruthless.

2003 January 19

Masamichi gazed over his student's fading figure before he turned over his friend with a look of pity. Patting Osamu's shoulder, he followed him inside his clinic, where he recently finished a consultation with Suguru. Currently, the psychiatrist was seeing all three children at the same time, except for his apprentice. It was a good thing he could distract himself with his job, or else he would get drowned out by the issues they were encountering with the jujutsu community.

"I'm so done." Osamu managed to blurt out before falling head first on the sofa that was supposed to be for his clients to lie on. "Are kids like them really common? A technique that absorbs cursed spirits so that they could whisper to your ear—really?! "

"Of course, they're not. Suguru, with his technique alone, could be a special grade one sorcerer, but ever since he hung out with Emi, I could easily see him ranking up with experience." Masamichi sat beside his friend as he patted his head gently. The doll that he was holding with his other hand was given to Osamu for comfort.

Upon receiving Cathy, the doll, Dr. Tomita's face brightened a little. "Thank god he listened when I told him not to swallow any special grade curses yet unless the boy was sure he could exorcise them easily," he ranted, slumping his shoulder while using the larger man's wide arms as a backrest. "It disgusts me that irritating old men force me to go on their side and stop protecting those children."

"Isn't that the reason you left in the first place?" Masamichi reminded him. "You did not need to go back if you didn't want to."

"Hey, they're the only kids I'm attached to. I mean—kids that I surprisingly tolerate," he shot back since both of them knew how he hated crying children, mainly the only ones who acted like brats.

"Yeah, I guess. Must be nice if I have them, though," he replied as if in a trance.

Osamu turned his head and twisted the doll lying on his arms unconsciously. "You're having problems about that with Mari again?" When his friend did not answer and only blankly stared at nothing, he added, "Masamichi, what did she say this time?"

"We will divorce."

"What?!" Osamu could not believe what he heard, so he had to repeat it a second time. "Divorce? Is that what she said?"

"It was both of us. No one forced the other. It was of mutual consent." Masamichi was able to clarify while holding his breath. It was something he expected. Neither loved each other, and both were forced into an arranged marriage because of their clans.

"What did you feel?" His friend asked using the same slow but firm tone he used with his clients, holding the doll lying on his arms a little tighter while he waited for his response.

"I feel… relieved," Masamichi confessed as he stared at the ceiling, admittedly guilty that he could finally go home after exorcising a lot of curses without getting shouted at.

In the first place, he and his wife had already talked about their boundaries before getting married, and even after three years, he could not bring himself to love the woman. Maybe it was because he did not feel like he was also being loved, cared for, or that were all excuses so he could treat her badly—he did not know, honestly. Masamichi tried his best and did all the things a husband should do, but it turned out to not be enough. It was a constant cycle of blaming himself or blaming her. Thank goodness they never had children, or else the separation would be much more complicated.

Mari, his wife, was a non-sorcerer born from the Inumaki Clan. Her parents were more than willing to sell their daughter to him, who was pressured to marry because of his mother. They were victims of circumstances, and he knew better than to say yes to that arrangement. However, his wife begged him to continue with it so she could escape from her family.

And escape she did. Mari, until now, did not realize that Masamichi had known long ago that she was in love with another person.

As a matter of fact, he caught them many times, but in none of those events was there a point that he could confront them, so Masamichi endured. It took the woman three years of marriage to get tired of his face. That was why when she offered a divorce, he agreed right away. Osamu knew some parts of the story, but he never told him the full one. He still respected Mari to an extent, and he would allow her to keep that ounce of shame she was trying hard to maintain.

"That's good," Osamu observed his expression, then gave back the Cathy doll he was holding. "Maybe you need this doll more."

Receiving his doll, he let out a chuckle as he smirked. "I think I'll go through it scot-free."

"Hope you do. I'm no couple psychiatrist, but I can see how your relationship affected your mindset," his friend replied seriously, giving him a semi-hug using only his left arm.

Masamichi reached for the man's shoulders, returning the hug. It did not matter now, and he was the happiest he had been since he got to spend his time with children. And oh, he really wanted his own, but not everything you wanted would be given to you. Settling with dolls and the 12-year-old kids seemed to be the next best thing to the real one. Additionally, it appeared Osamu would not mind him visiting from time to time, considering they both had no family.

2003 February 14

"… he's there for business." Emi gratefully took her bag away from Shoko, checking if she had brought that apple and cinnamon oatmeal packet she stored in her backpack in case of emergencies like this. Pulling the package from her bag, she gave her ready-made bento to Suguru, who forgot to bring his food, then prepared her hot water to make her porridge.

"Satoru always travels for business? Is this jujutsu-shi related or?" Suguru intentionally did not continue his words as he received the bento box. Opening it, his eyes seemed to shine because of the tempura and small octopus sausage at the side.

Shoko decided to consider before answering his question and placed her convenience store lunch on top of the table. "Probably both. Gojo Clan needed the money, and they also needed to get in touch with other family members in other prefectures," she replied, then whispered 'itadakimasu' before opening her food.

Dr. Tomita did not need to wake up early today, so Shoko slept longer. It also meant she did not need to prepare breakfast for them, so instead she rushed to buy the only stock from their nearest 7-eleven store. She did not also get to sleep early considering the back-to-back exams they had, and it was such a bummer the two kids in front of her never seemed to take any exams seriously and yet ranked higher than anyone who worked harder than them.

Shoko never felt terrible, of course. She got to leech off with these geniuses for free. Take that.

"Actually, it was easier for him to travel from place to place as compared to me," Emi shared, stirring her food in a disposable paper bowl she snatched from their cafeteria earlier. "I don't think I can handle the continuous traveling with all those small recurring movements."

"Ah, you always have to vomit your food after a car ride, don't you?" Shoko remembered that time where they had to go to the Kamo family, and the only mode of transportation was through a quick car ride.

As if adding to the girl's shame, Suguru smiled widely and made sure she recalled one of her worst moments. "How about when we rode the public bus, and you had an empty stomach during the ride?" It was one hell of a journey, and they all remembered how Emi tried to endure but failed in the end.

It was one of those moments where they had to exorcise a bunch of curses together in the countryside. Satoru insisted on teleporting Emi there, but she declined. Shoko even remembered they had to stop in the middle of the food for a solid hour so that the girl could clean herself. In the end, the white-haired boy forcefully warped all of them to their location. It took another two days before the bus arrived to get their belongings, considering he could not teleport large objects yet.

The bell rang, signaling the end of their lunch break. There was a rush of students that would enter the building, so Suguru bid goodbye right away to go back to his classroom. Since Satoru was out of town, he had to spend time alone in their class. It was no problem seeing he was pretty close and popular with everyone. The boy even had his share of fangirls, much larger than the white-haired boy's. Shoko had her fair share of fanboys, but nothing could beat Emi's.

Albeit it appeared she completely had no idea about this. Partially because they were trying to keep it from her but mainly because they were harmless enough to continue existing in the backdrop. Shoko believed those kids were pretty cute, so she let it be.

Shoko looked at the last window facing the hallway, and as if right on time, a girl appeared waving at her. Sighing tiredly, she stood up, hearing Emi behind her saying, 'your friend again?.' She waved backward, neither confirming nor rejecting what her friend said. It would only be a moment until their teacher entered their class, so she rushed towards the door.

"Ieiri-san?" A boy a year higher than her called out once she was outside. "Can you give this again to Tokunaga-san?"

Shoko tried to receive the package with a blank face, thinking inside this box was a month's worth of oats again . The lengths she had to go and help this group of boys to make sure Emi would never buy even a grain of her favorite food in this life was astounding. It was out of character for her, but she doubted she would say no soon. She had not even said anything when the boy waved goodbye.

Was his name Yori or Nori? It was something fish-like, and Shoko could not remember for the life of her. Tucking the package behind her, she walked back to her classroom.

2003 March 02

Emi was never the type to overthink about possibilities, the 'could-have-beens' nor 'what-ifs.' She was the type to move forward continuously—without stopping, then, in the end, get tired and break down. It was working well for quite a while now, and she was surprised that this mindset made her last until her 13th birthday, but there was something about dying and getting reborn in a story you had read before that irked her. The girl could not put her finger on it. However, there was something .

Then it dawned on her. It was the loneliness of death that made her unable to sleep at night. It was the knowledge that no one could understand how difficult she was suffering.

Sometimes, deep at night, she would drown herself in self-pity. Although she tried her best not to show them to her friends, it would slip a couple of times. Like now, where all she wanted was to die right here, right now.

"A noose around the neck works perfectly fine, right?" Emi glanced at the fun-sized Kento Nanami in front of her. Her temples throbbed while she tried to comprehend how a primary schooler took a lot of time to evacuate.

Suguru was unfazed by her answer as he grabbed the blond's shoulder. "Now, now, Emi-chan. He's still in sixth grade, but he's the same age as us. And he might feel unwelcomed—"

"I also don't want to be here." Nanami seemed as if he was done with everything that was happening to him right now.

Me, too, kid. Me, too.

Suguru was on his way home when he saw a grade one curse and followed it on the way. Then he saved Nanami, who was being assaulted, so he brought him to their middle school since it was the safest place for them right now. A curtain prevented any curse from entering, and civilians were evacuating under the pretense of a 'terrorist attack'. There was a surge in the population of curses that night, so she had to guard the non-sorcerers against accidentally exiting the boundary. In truth, she couldn't care less even if they did.

"Make sure he goes to where the kids are—" she ordered as if she was not a kid herself then continued, "—you should go back home now. Find Suzume-san so you could evacuate her, too."

Suguru nodded then left to find the spot where they gathered some of the primary schoolers. There were some sorcerers under disguise in the crowd, so she was not worrying a lot. Plus, she only had to wait until Satoru finished with exorcising and Shoko from helping those who were wounded outside. Emi was also stationed to act as an additional healer for the jujutsu-shis if they attacked the middle school. On the positive side, her job was laid back, and on the contrary, it started to get boring when the time got past 8 PM. They also received consistent intel from the ones outside, and from what she knew, her grandfather was also helping eradicate cursed spirits.

The girl looked at her watch and realized it had been five hours since the fight started. Since then, she helped with the relief efforts, completely avoiding the front line. Satoru also agreed with this idea; not everyone knew she existed yet . Emi was the Gojo Clan's hidden card and would continue to be as long as the white-haired boy consistently defeated all those who attacked him. It had a nice ring to it, and it was nice that the people she cared for protected her even though they perfectly knew she could defend herself.

22:00

Emi narrowed her eyes when she saw a familiar silhouette charging towards her. "E-Emi! EMI!" They heard Shoko shout all over the place as she tried to reach where the girl was at her fastest speed.

"What happened?" Emi asked as she stood frozen in her place, meeting her friend halfway to grab both of her shoulders and shake her.

Shoko struggled to tell the situation in chronological order but finally came to when she saw Emi's level headed gaze. "I-I, w-we found a special grade curse. No—I mean, we fought with at least three to four, but the Gojo family handled them well. But t-then there was the last one, and it was just so strong!"

Emi's eye movement stilled, coming into terms with the information that she delivered to her. Since Shoko was the fastest, she was the one that Tadashi could ask to call for Emi. She was their only reinforcement considering the Tokyo and Kyoto Jujutsu High were too far to help. The cursed spirit was unlike anyone the white-haired boy had encountered before—it had the same technique as him. It was much more powerful than any of the curses thrown at them until now, and if she did not hurry, her childhood friend might not be able to hold out.

22:34

"Ojii-chan!" Emi called out to her grandfather once she arrived. The older man was in a pitiful state, he was bleeding from all orifices, and if she did not arrive on time, he would be choking in his own blood.

Tadashi winced when the girl forcefully carried him, applying reverse cursed technique while trying to go to where Satoru was. "Emi," he whispered, raising one of his hands to call her attention. "T-that curse. That was the one that killed your grandma. Years ago, right after I left the jujutsu community, we were attacked by the same cursed spirit. I-it has—" he coughed blood, so the girl had to be a lot more careful of her movement, "—it has the same technique, limitless."

"Jii-chan, stop speaking. I'll help Satoru no matter what." Emi found a safe place for Tadashi to rest. She slowly lay him down on the grass then called for the Gojo family aide stationed in the area to look after him.

This was not the first time she heard of this; no, she expected this. She never stopped researching ever since she listened to the cursed spirit referring to someone in cahoots with it back in the cave. Emi found researchers who could see the cause of the increasing curse attacks, and that was where she found out about what happened to her grandmother. The woman died a few years after the birth of her youngest child, and that was Tadashi's greatest regret. She did not exactly die, but she disappeared once she was warped in some place unknown to everyone.

That was why she asked Satoru if he could travel through time and space.

23:00

"SATORU! " Emi shouted at the top of her lungs when she saw the white-haired boy grab the humanoid cursed by the head to slam it on the ground. "You look like a mess," she teased with a smile as she shielded him from another attack.

Satoru was the opposite of his usual arrogant self. The majority of his clothes were torn, and there was blood on the side of his mouth. Half of his face was similarly bruised beyond recognition. "You were staying nice and dandy back in the shelter, weren't you?" He replied as a reflex, but instead of sarcasm, there was relief on his face.

"Oh, another child?"

The cursed spirit looked far too human than she expected. Emi surmised it had masculine and feminine traits, and even when speaking, two voices were overlapping. Only, there were no genitals. It was naked and had skin way too pale to be considered alive. There were two eye sockets, but instead of eyeballs, it appeared to show a bottomless pit. The girl did not know what kind of abomination this was, and she hoped they had already called for help from other jujutsu sorcerers around the area.

23:30

Crash!

Emi lost all hope that help would arrive. All she could do was help all the previous jujutsu-shis who were on their fighting range to escape. The cursed spirit was way more powerful than both her and Satoru combined. Its movements and techniques were highly clever for something that only manifested from human emotions. Frankly, she had already broken a bone or two from some of their clashes, while the white-haired boy was not in a better condition either.

"We look like shit." Satoru wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth; his left broken shoulder made his left arm dangle on his side. "Hey, cursed spirit!"

"Hmm, what is this?"

"Where do the people you absorb go?" he smirked after getting thrown a couple of meters away. It did not stop him from having an inane conversation with the enemy nonetheless.

It seemed to attract the interest of the curse, so it replied. "They die. Sometimes they were strong enough for interdimensional travel so that I would see them once more; that's why I have to kill them again." It produced energy from one of its hands, something similar to Satoru's 'curse technique lapse: blue,' and threw it to them casually.

Emi appeared mid-air, raising one of her legs to do black flash for the tenth time that hour. "Thanks for answering our survey!" Her feet slammed on the cursed spirit's stomach, making it fly backward.

"Wow, I love asking questions when fighting." Satoru teleported behind the curse, kicking it down back to where his childhood friend was. He disappeared again beside Emi with a short cursed tool in his hand, attempting to dismember the opponent.

The enemy was too careless that its arms fell off, and its head forcefully twisted to a full 360 degrees by Emi. As if glaring at the two children, its face slowly returned to its position straight from a horror movie. "You'll pay for this!"

23:50

Both of the children were close to fainting, so they had to make their final attack. Emi was close to using all of her cursed energy again, and even if Satoru had some left, his body could not handle the continuous physical damage. The girl was pretty sure the only reason he was holding out and was not bleeding all over the place was that she had to heal him using the reverse cursed technique from time to time. Grabbing the short sword from the white-haired boy, she placed all her hope on him as she charged towards the enemy.

"You don't look that pretty," she gave her unsolicited opinion once she managed to get close to it. It only made the opponent angrier as she giggled. "Cursed Technique Overpower: Increased Pressure. "

An invisible barrier formed around them while she held her breath. Air particles inside the bubble slowly decreased as it also made the diffusion of the cursed energy from inside to outside faster, albeit it sacrificed Emi's breathing in the process. Paralyzing the monster via chokehold (it scared the shit out of her, but hey, it worked), she tried her hardest to buy some time.

23:57

"Humans!" The cursed spirit uttered hatefully after it freed himself. Emi slammed to the ground out of breath when she saw Satoru finished with the preparation.

The white-haired boy crossed two fingers and maximized the use of his Six Eyes. "Domain Expansion: Infinite Void."

It appeared as if everything and anything was covered by darkness and behind it was information. Emi was also overwhelmed by it until Satoru teleported behind her to exempt her from his power. Because of the prolonged fight and considering he was up against someone with the same power, the white-haired boy had a better understanding of his domain expansion, making it complete. The only downside was he needed a few minutes to comprehend his battles against the cursed spirit, so the girl had to take one for the team.

23:58

Emi grinned, absolutely thankful this monster of a jujutsu sorcerer was her childhood friend. "Took you long enough."

"I'm not that all-knowing like how you painted me to be." Satoru carried her weak body on his shoulder, bringing her closer to the curse.

"How long can you activate this?" she curiously asked, glancing around the void he created.

"Around 1/10th of a second outside."

Satoru formed a fist in his hand and bore a hole through the opponent's head, chest, and stomach. He was not leaving any way for the cursed spirit to survive. Its body dissipated, and the domain expansion disappeared, leaving the two of them floating in the air.

23:59

"It's not over yet, is it?" As soon as Emi said that, a black hole formed in front as if sucking the two children inside.

It confirmed her suspicions. Although the body dissipated, some of its power was released, forming into a portal of some kind. If she were too slow, the energy around it would engulf them in a matter of a millisecond. Flipping her body, she removed Satoru's hold from her then kicked his face with as much power as she could, throwing him off outside the range of the black hole. Thankfully, Satoru was tired and overwhelmed with his recent battle, so he let down his guard temporarily.

"EMI!" she could hear him shout as she got closer to the entrance of the portal. Too bad she wanted to hog this swirly circle entrance all to herself.

Oh. Emi had forgotten she turned 13 today. What a way to spend her last day; she did not even hear Satoru greet her a happy birthday, dammit.

00:00

A/N

*cough* Hello? *taps mic* I hope this chapter answered most of your questions. Yes, I will use this opportunity to make her completely OP. And yes, this is the part where the tag gentle angst comes to life. This is also proof that I spent a long time in the KHR fandom because complication is just *chef's kiss*.

Thank you to those who recently followed and favorited this story. Specially to those who commented!