*Author's note: Sorry for the late update! After two years…I finally got COVID and am still recovering from it… I'm okay though! Tried to make this chapter a bit longer than usual to make up for lost time- thank you for your patience and continued support!
Qian begrudgingly turned the knob of her microscope as she tried to get the specimen in focus. After fifteen failed attempts, she leaned back in a sigh, rubbing her sore eyes in exhaustion.
How could I be so stupid? She folded her arms across the metal table, planting her forehead on them with a dejected sigh. I honestly just wanted to stay holed up in this lab forever.
She turned so that her cheek rested on the cool surface, glaring at the box that tauntingly peeked out of her bag. While she was hurt by the misunderstanding and his reaction, part of her couldn't help but understand where he was coming from. It was common knowledge that he despised the bureaucrats of Jujutsu High, and she just crucified herself AND insulted him by doing something unnecessary.
With a groan, she buried her face back into her crossed arms. It probably wouldn't have helped anyways.
After another moment of self-pity, Qian peeled off her latex gloves and took out her phone, scrolling through her playlist to pick a new song. Unfortunately, the song that was currently playing was a bit too depressing and not helping her mood.
Hm… 'Love You Like the Movies' by Anthem Lights… She tapped her cheek thoughtfully, before nodding to herself. She could use a cheerful, cheesy song. Would help take me out of this awful reality.
She pressed play and as the upbeat melody flooded her earbuds, she sighed in relief and turned back to look into the microscope once more.
Suddenly, she felt something on her shoulder and she jumped in her seat with a yelp, tumbling backwards. The poor girl landed ungracefully flat on her back, gasping and coughing as the impact caused the wind to get knocked out of her.
"Well. I was not expecting that." She blinked her eyes open and gasped, startled to see Satoru standing over her. "Are you alright?"
"G-Gojo-sensei! What are you doing here?" She frantically pushed up her glasses and rolled over onto her side with a wince of pain, before heaving herself up to sit on her knees. "A-Are you looking for Ieiri-sensei?"
He raised his brows, surprised she ignored his question. "Well, no, actually I-"
"S-She should be back in her office right now." The girl crawled to her knees and felt around the dark ground for her phone, refusing to meet his gaze. "L-Let me just find my phone and I'll let her know you're looking for her."
He gritted his teeth, realization dawning on him as he discerned her behavior, guilt washing over him like a rough tidal wave. "Qian, I-"
"O-Oh, here it is!" She found the device and adjusted her spectacles as she scrolled through her contacts. "L-Let's see…ah, here she -"
However, he suddenly knelt in front of her, but she kept her gaze fixated on the bright screen, straining her eyes to the light. "Qian, I'm here for you." He murmured, his voice softer than normal.
Her thumb faltered over the call button, her grip tightening on the device. She swallowed thickly, bracing herself for another onslaught of insults. "I-I'm sorry I made you upset- I-It was honestly stupid and frankly inappropriate of me to-"
"Stop." She flinched as he took a breath, pinching the bridge of his nose.
—-
The man was frustrated. Here she was, the victim of his rudeness and tongue-lashing, and yet still apologizing as if she did something wrong.
Okay, now he understands he handled that interaction poorly… though in his defense, this would not be the first time those old geezers would try to pull some strings to either distract him or get him out of the way.
Okay, perhaps he may have overreacted in this case… but she just waltzed into his office with a gift in hand, how could he not have?
Okay, yes, having just spoken to his old teacher about Kyoto's interference may have placed him in a terrible mood and on edge. Maybe he could have waited for her to explain herself fully before he completely shut her down, and maybe he could have opened the gift first…
…Okay fine, he was a dick.
"I'm sorry." He finally stated, the words sounding unusual on his tongue. As hard as it was to admit it to himself, he couldn't remember the last time he actually apologized to someone.
Her eyes were still downcast and he released a sigh. "Can you look at me, please?"
She tentatively turned her gaze up towards him, curiosity and fear dancing in her irises. He clenched his jaw upon seeing her vulnerability, feeling even more like a jerk than ever. "I completely jumped the gun and did not let you explain. Could you tell me what your gift is?"
Qian gulped, shaking her head. "I-It's nothing! It's weird and-"
"Qian." She blushed as he uttered her name once more. "Tell me."
She peered up at him and upon meeting his steadfast gaze, hesitated once more, before sighing as she pushed herself to her feet, reaching to pull out the box from her bag. "U-Um, I made this the other day because Principal Gakuganji mentioned how your mask doesn't actually protect your eyes, and then I noticed that it seemed to make you uncomfortable…" She quickly added, worried that the mention of Kyoto High's principal would cause another outburst. "S-So I tried looking into thicker but softer material."
She handed the box over to him right when he rose to his feet as well. She held her breath as he carefully tore the wrapping paper. Upon opening the packaging, he pulled out another black eye mask.
She opened her mouth to explain. "I-I used this fabric made of polyester-nylon-spandex that mainly athletes wear. It's supposed to be breathable, resistant to wear, and flexible. the fabric is also thicker, so I was thinking it could protect your sight and also be more comfortable for you, especially when you have to fight a lot…and stuff…" She trailed off upon seeing his furrowed brow and held out her palm. "S-Sorry, it's dumb…I can just throw it out-"
However, he began to pull down his mask and she inadvertently covered her eyes with a soft gasp. He raised a brow in confusion. "What?"
"I-It's just you never show your eyes to anyone so I thought…I shouldn't." She murmured behind her fingers.
He couldn't stop himself from releasing a chuckle. "It's not like I'm Medusa and going to turn you to stone. I just wear this for protection. All my students have seen my eyes."
"I-I know but…" She turned her back towards him and let out a despondent breath. "I-I'm not your student and I don't want to cause you any other trouble." Though deep down, she really wanted to take a peek, but after what happened, she didn't want to take the risk.
He shrugged and placed the new mask over his eyes, blinking in surprise upon feeling the cool fabric rest on the bridge of his nose. Despite it being slightly thicker, it remained light in weight, not gripping his head super tightly like his previous mask. It rested gently like a soft caress around his temples. "Is this water resistant?"
She turned back around, pleased to see the new mask on his face. "Yes, it is." She noticed that the mask was somewhat lopsided and part of his hair stuck out under it. Qian pointed her finger towards his face. "U-Um, you can just tuck that behind your ear, or over it, however you like."
He quirked a brow in confusion. "Tuck what? Here?" He tugged down the wrong side, causing the mask to be asymmetrical now on the other side.
She couldn't help but release a giggle, moving towards him. "N-No, your right side. Your hair is sticking out."
Satoru frowned, raising his hand to feel the right side of his face. "I'm not feeling anything."
Qian was now in front of him and stood on her tippy-toes, gingerly peeling the fabric up to tuck the stray hair back underneath the fabric, while adjusting both sides back to their normal positions. "T-There we go."
However, suddenly she was aware of how close she was to his face and froze, her brain short-circuiting. She knew she should move away but he was so close and so warm…
Her face erupted into flames and she frantically took a few steps back. "I-I'm sorry!"
—-
Satoru blinked, surprised… for some reason… that she had stepped away. He coughed awkwardly, realizing that he was not… UN-comfortable… with their close proximity. That was… weird. "Don't worry about it. So, how does it look?"
The girl's cheeks were still pink as she nodded with a small smile. "I-I think it looks good, w-what do you think? Do you like it?"
He felt the mask again, appreciating the feeling of the cool and soft fabric. "Honestly, I do. This is great."
Qian's smile widened and she clasped her hands tightly together to her chest. "I-I'm so relieved!"
They both continued standing there, awkwardly silent. Qian's heart was beating rapidly in her chest as she gulped nervously. "W-Well, I should probably get back to work."
Satoru shot his head up. "Right, well. I'll leave you to it." He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked past her before faltering in his step.
"Actually, I do have one question." He thought back to his lesson plan that he was working on before Qian came to his office. He was struggling with a certain subject and honestly was running out of options, knowing the exam was going to be insanely difficult. "This may be a long shot but: do you happen to know anything about Reverse Cursed Technique?"
Qian blinked curiously. "I-I do a bit…I know Ieiri-sensei is able to perform it. But I can't."
"I mean, obviously. I know that but…do you know how it works?" Satoru crossed his arms, giving a bitter smile. "It's the most complicated technique in the Jujustu world, and I know that old man's going to test them on its concept. I only know how to use it on myself and the exact method of using it is…well, indescribable."
"O-Oh, I see." Qian tilted her head. "I-I'm guessing this is something you have to teach?"
Upon seeing him nod, she bit her lip. "Have you tried asking Ieiri-sensei?"
He rubbed the back of his head with a sigh. "I did, but she's always been really bad about explaining things."
Qian was silent for a moment, chewing her lip thoughtfully as she recalled her mentor talking to her about it while she was treating her and Megumi weeks prior. "W-Well, if I recall, it's essentially transforming negative energy into positive energy right? And it can be used to heal others?"
Satoru hesitated, leaning back against the lab bench as he crossed his arms. "Yeah, but it's much more complicated than that."
"R-Right, of course. U-Um, so this is kind of my understanding of it. And please let me know if I'm wrong, but this is what I pieced together from when Ieiri-sensei showed me." She went to the table and pulled out her notebook, turning to a specific page. She then grabbed a sheet of paper and placed it on the counter, beginning to draw a diagram.
"S-So, I believe that all cursed energy is essentially negative energy, correct? The question is, how does that turn to positive energy? Does it involve switching energy types, like heat into light, or electricity into gravity? But it doesn't appear to be that way, it seems like it's just pure cursed energy that's being used and somehow, it transforms into positive energy."
Her pen scribbled across the page. "But then that got me thinking, if it's just pure cursed energy, which is negative… the only way for something negative to turn positive is if two negatives are multiplied by each other, right?"
His brows knitted, he pushed himself off the surface and peered over her shoulder at the drawing. "Okay, now you lost me."
"T-Think of it this way!" She shot her head up, narrowly missing his nose by inches, though she didn't seem to notice. Her eyes were wide with excitement upon sharing her knowledge. "I-It appears in math: multiplying negative numbers equal a positive number because the negative signs cancel out right? It also appears in language, when you say someone is, for example, not not sad, the two 'nots' cancel and that means they actually are sad right?"
"Right… I think I see what you're saying." He placed a hand on the table surface, the other resting on his hip.
"Y-Yes, so then that got me thinking… could it just be something as simple as amplifying it with more cursed energy?" She turned her gaze back down. "B-But it can't be from the same source, because that just increases the output of it. Like if you increase the gas output of a stove, for example, it only makes the flame bigger."
"T-Therefore…" She drew two boxes. "W-What if we use two different sources of cursed energy to combine them by multiplying them together? Do you know how a nuclear fusion reaction works?"
He let out a wry grin as the terms flew over his head. "Uh, no."
"O-Okay well, nuclear fusion reactions are what powers the sun and stars." Her pen inked out the respective images. "I-It's when two different forms of energy, two different elements like deuterium and tritium, are combined, it releases a huge burst of a whole different unique form of energy, and creates a new element, helium, for that matter. So it's just like in math and language itself, where negativities cancel each other out to make something positive."
Qian paused to take a breath, waiting eagerly to see if he had any questions. Upon meeting silence, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear tentatively, feeling slightly embarrassed by her long-winded response.
"S-Sorry, I get a bit carried away with things like this." She dipped her head shyly. "I-I get a bit too excited when it comes to learning and sharing things."
She cleared her throat. "I-I'm not good at explaining it either. To be honest, I don't even know if I'm correct- that's just what made sense to me when I looked into it."
He cupped his jaw pensively as his thoughts slowly came together coherently. "Actually, I think it does. Because a few years ago, I had a student who was cursed by a spirit. He was able to start using reversal cursed techniques to heal others back then, which was unfounded for a fourteen year old, so that must be because he was able to use her energy, plus his own."
She raised her head, brightened once more with new information. "T-That would make sense. But going off of that theory, I have no idea how Ieiri-sensei is able to use it, since I don't believe she is possessed."
"And myself as well, and I can definitely say I am not possessed." He replied with a smirk.
She giggled as she folded her hands together. "R-Right, I don't think so either. My best guess is, since cursed energy is made from negative emotions, maybe specific types of emotions can alter the type of cursed energy that is resulting from it. Like maybe anger and sadness? But that's still something I'm trying to learn so- don't take my word for it."
"Honestly, it doesn't seem that far off." He pushed himself off the bench. "I'm pleasantly surprised, I didn't realize you uh…cared so much about the things we do."
She internally flinched, slightly hurt. Does he really think of me that way?
With a sigh, she raised her chin to regard him solemnly. "O-Of course I do. That's why I'm here- I made a promise to figure these things out and to help put a stop to them…so they will stop hurting anymore people."
He looked away, realizing the crassness of his words. "I meant that- um-" Nice one, Satoru. Do you even know how to talk? "What I meant to say was you really helped clear up a lot of questions I had." He turned around. "I'll uh, see you later."
Qian's lips formed a silent 'o', realizing she had misunderstood him. "O-Oh, that's good! I'm glad I could help!" She bowed politely. "H-Have a good day!" She began to sit back down.
"And…um…" She peered up at him quizzically, as he stopped by the base of the staircase. He was looking at her over his shoulder and despite his covering, his gaze felt…softer?
"...Thanks. For the mask and for the talk." Her blush darkened and she couldn't help but wordlessly nod in response, staring after him as he headed up the steps.
—-
The moon was high in the sky as the masked man stood on the edge of Yugama Crater Lake, staring down at his reflection in somber thought. For a second, he saw his younger self as a boy, sitting on the front steps with a little girl: her tiny hands working to gently cover his face with patches, wrapping his arms wrapped with bandages.
If she was still alive… His normally hollow gaze narrowed as a spark of anger flickered across his irises. Flashes of his former life appeared in his mind: the pain, the fury, the agony.
But yet- through all the beatings, the scarring, the torment he was forced to endure… she was there. With her gentle, pure, innocent smile.
…and he hated her for it.
"Moping around again?" He recognized the spirit's voice.
"Honshoji." He replied emotionlessly, not bothering to face him nor answer his greeting.
The white-haired being chuckled, his arms folded in the sleeves of his robes. "Come now, surely you can't be angry with me for letting her slip away that night."
"I told you that I wanted no attachments. That I wanted to start a new life, in order to fulfill my mission." The man whispered, long-forgotten fury lacing his tongue. "Do you think this is a game to you?"
"Honestly, yeah!" Honshoji grinned maliciously. "You humans are so fascinating, constantly squirming around for whatever reason. Why else did you think I saved you that night?"
Kurofiru was instantly in front of him, his arms enveloped with razor-sharp leaves to form a serrated edge. He shot forward, however, his body froze in midair- the tip of his blade held precariously at the base of the spirit's throat.
The spirit smirked wryly, unfurling his hands. "Come now, surely you can't expect to actually hurt me, do you?"
He gritted his teeth, his limbs trembling as they struggled to break free from his technique. The spirit snapped his fingers and the young man suddenly was back at the edge of the lake, the leaves on his arm reversing back into skin.
"Fuck you." He hissed, glaring at the being as he gripped his arm.
"Kurofiru-sama…" He looked over his shoulder to see Hinamori limping down the shore, her eyes wide with concern. "Are you alright?"
Honshoji placed his hands back into his sleeves, his smirk remaining on his lips as she approached the two of them.
"You should be resting. You're not fully recovered yet." Kurofiru muttered, turning away to face the water.
"I'm fine. I…" She gulped nervously. "I want to be here… with you. What's wrong?"
He was silent for a moment. "Nothing. Just head back. I have things to do." In a flurry of leaves, he was gone.
Hinamori stared sullenly at the spot he stood as the spirit beside her guffawed. She glared at the being. "The fuck did you do?"
"Oh, your species never ceases to entertain me." He raised his hand to snicker behind the cloth of his sleeve. "So easy to push, so quick to anger."
She unfurled her fist, vines slowly erupting out from her fingertips. "I said: What. Did. You. Do?"
"Oh please, you think you even stand a chance against me?" He rolled his eyes with a dark sneer. "You? The wretched whore, larked and played with- left on the streets like some forgotten toy?"
She cringed before shaking her head. "That's- That's not who I am anymore."
"Oh? So who are you now?" He opened his eyes and she flinched upon seeing his irradiant opal irises piercing into her. You think you're so strong, only because he gave you some of his power." His smile never fell as he turned his heel. "Without him, you'd be nothing."
He instantly disappeared, and the woman fell onto her knees, her fingers digging into the dirt in frustration. She viciously flung the soil at the spot where he stood with a deafening scream.
"Without him, I'd be dead, you asshole!" She cried out into the night sky, tears falling down her cheeks.