Summary: Being different was hard, being different was lonely. Being different was what brought her to Jujutsu High where being different was far more dangerous than she ever thought it was. Left to navigate life among humans for the first time since she was a child, she was going to find out just how dangerous.
Author's Note: Greetings everyone! I'm Kyandi-sama. For those of you who know me, welcome back. For those of you who don't, let's go through my one and only rule. No flaming. Compliments are cherished, constructive criticism is valued, and flaming will be reported and posted on Twitter for everyone to see how rude you are. :D So, let's all be civil and not do it, agreed? Agreed. Anyway, everyone enjoy and review. I do not own Jujutsu Kaisen.
Chapter 1 The White Lady
Cursed spirits.
A race of spiritual beings manifested from the energy generated by the negative emotions of humans. They harm humanity, bringing sickness and death. No one knows for sure where they originated from, though it's widely suspected they have always existed. One thing was for sure…as long as negative emotion exists, so will they.
This was a lesson Itadori Yuuji was learning the hard way. After a near death when Sukuna took control and stabbed his heart, he now found himself hidden in secret, training with the help of Gojou and Nanami. As part of the training, he joined the two as they ventured up a mountain in Hokkaido in search of the source of a local legend.
"The White Lady?" Yuuji repeated the phrase as he followed the two older men.
"Yep. Apparently, locals say there's a lady of white who lives up in the mountains and can come and go like a ghost. Whoooo!" Gojou told him, grin on his face.
Nanami was in the process of scrolling through information on his phone. "One report from last winter says that a little boy went missing in the mountains only for a blizzard to stop search teams. All hope was lost for the child as the temperature plummeted. Just when the storm was reaching its peak, the boy appeared on the edge of town. He told authorities that a "white lady" had saved him and showed him the way home."
"Really?" Yuuji was happy to hear that the kid had managed to make it home alright.
"We're going to meet up with somebody who knows a thing or two about where this lady hides when she doesn't want anyone to find her." Gojou added. "Ah! There she is!"
Ahead of them, waiting next to a trail that would lead them up into the mountain, was an older woman. Her brown hair was starting to gray, and she was looking around nervously. When Gojou called out to her, she flinched, turning to face him.
"A-are you Gojou-san?" she asked.
"I am. And you're Nakakiri-san. Pleasure to meet you." Gojou greeted with charm. The woman was a little flustered at first, but let it go with red cheeks when Nanami addressed her.
"You are the one that knows where this White Lady is?" Nanami asked.
"I-I am." The woman glanced over her shoulder, scanning the tree line behind her. "You promise that if I take you to her that no harm will come of her?"
All three males were surprised, but Gojou was quick to question her in return. "You're protecting her?"
The woman's eyes dropped to the ground. "I know many claim her to be a demon in this area, but…you see, she saved my son."
"So, your son was the one who got lost in the blizzard last winter?" Yuuji asked.
"Yes. She saved my boy and brought him home when we had lost hope of finding him alive. He's not the first, either. There have been several lost people and other cases in which she has helped. She's no demon, so please…don't hurt her."
The woman raised her eyes to them, pleading in their depths. She truly didn't want them to hurt this creature they had come looking for, whatever she was. Gojou hummed to himself as he considered her plea.
Then he clapped his hands. "Of course not! You have our word."
The woman let out a relieved sigh and gave them a nod of thanks. "Thank you. It's a long hike and the trails are confusing and dangerous, so please stick close."
With their agreement, she lead the way up the trail. They walked that for twenty minutes before she stepped off the trail and onto one that looked like only animals traveled. As they started the climb up that faint trail, Yuuji turned to address the woman.
"So, this White Lady…what does she look like? Have you actually seen her?"
"Only partly. She never fully comes out for others to see her. There's always trees or undergrowth in the way. All anyone has seen of her is long, white hair that trails on the ground and blood red eyes. I've only seen her a few times, myself. The cave I'm taking you to is the one many have seen her around but never have dared to venture into."
"Locals are scared of her when she's helped you so much?" Yuuji asked, confused.
"Some, yes, but most avoid the cave out of fear of driving her away. In the ten years that she's been spotted around here, our town has been safer. We're quite grateful for her presence." The woman smiled fondly as she spoke. "She never does anything to harm anyone as long as they don't try to harm her or one of the townsfolk."
The statement made it clear that this creature was either a highly intelligent cursed spirit, or just wasn't one at all. That said, all of them could feel the cursed energy around them that only thickened the further they went up the trail.
Thirty minutes of walking and the dense trees finally parted to show them a cave opening ahead of them. The little clearing before the cave was bare of any grass or plants, a few bones of smaller animals littered across the ground. The woman came to a stop at the tree line, not daring to step past the line of green foliage. She turned to them. "This is as far as I go. She should be inside."
She gave them a nod and quickly beat a hasty retreat back down the path. Yuuji watched her leave before turning to Gojou, only to find that he and Nanami were already heading for the cave. He rushed to follow them, side stepping a pile of bones along the way.
The inside of the cave was nothing different from any other cave. Dark and damp, it gently sloped downward, leading them deeper into the heart of the mountain. Only the sound of dripping water reached their ears, Gojou using the flashlight on his cellphone to light the path. The deeper they went, the more the cursed energy pressed in around them until it made Yuuji feel like there was a weight on his shoulders trying to drag him down. Then the tunnel ahead of them took a sharp turn to the left.
Rounding it, the tunnel opened into a cavern lighted by a hole high up on the ceiling over their heads and a fire lit at its center. All three males came to a stop as growling reached their ears from the other side of the cavern. Across from them, the opposite side of the cave lay in deep shadows. Out of those shadows came a large fox. The creature had to be over ten feet tall, its fur stark white with red marks slashing over its face and legs and tipping each of the many tails that flicked out behind it.
As it slunk out of the shadows, it parted its lips in a growl, flashing fangs that had to be longer than Yuuji's hand and sharper than a knife. Its ears flattened against its head as its hackles rose in a warning threat. It was obviously a cursed spirt and had all three pausing where they stood as it gave them a warning, shrill bark like noise that, to Yuuji, sounded more like a shrieking woman than any noise an animal should make.
"Whoa, that's a big boy," Gojou exclaimed as he looked up at the fox.
Nanami unbuttoned his suit jacket, already reaching for his weapon in case the fox decided to attack them. "That has to be a special grade. This feeling is oppressive."
Gojou stepped in front of him, holding his hands up before him as he addressed the fox. "Down boy. We mean no harm."
The growling grew louder, another shriek leaving the spirit, as he crouched like he was about to pounce. Gojou's remark only seemed to anger the spirit, the creature taking one menacing step forward.
"Gojou," Nanami warned.
"Hey, now. Calm down. Are you the White Lady we're looking for?" Gojou tilted his head when the fox snapped its jaws. "No, I don't think you are. Why don't you step aside and let us talk to the real White Lady hiding behind you?"
The fox's jaws parted in a snarl, legs bunching under it in preparation to jump. It only stopped when a small, weak voice sounded from the shadows behind it, making the creature glance back.
"That's enough, Kyui. Step aside."
The fox relaxed, easing back into a calm stance. It hesitated for a moment, looking back at the three sorcerers before glancing back into the shadows. Giving the males one last warning growl, it backed to the side. The glow of a new light flared to life then, lighting the back half of the cave. In the light of the lantern, it revealed the speaker perched among tattered bits of cloth and old blankets.
There, starting back at them, was a girl who looked like she couldn't be more than ten. Placing the lantern on the ground and scooting it a little bit away from her, she turned her eyes on them. "I am the one the locals call the White Lady."
Yuuji was surprised with what he saw before him.
The little girl was filthy, long flowing locks of hair pooled around in a muddy, brownish-orange color. She was thin, sickly so, many of her bones jutting out from greying skin. Her face was hallowed, sunken in, minty green eyes lost among deep shadows. What clothing she had was torn and dirty, hanging from her bony frame.
As they watched, the fox shrank down, twisting its body around the girl protectively. She didn't try to move as it settled around her. Her eyes remained on the three before her, as if she was perfectly comfortable with the cursed spirit's closeness. "What are three jujutsu sorcerers doing here?"
"Oh? You know who we are?" Gojou asked excitedly.
"That spiral button on the boy's jacket is a giveaway. Many cursed spirits know of that design. Kyui here is no different."
The fox wound tighter around her as she idly stroked its head. Gojou smiled as he watched the girl. "What's a child – "
"I'm sixteen."
The girl suddenly cutting him off to correct him had Gojou laughing. "You sure are small for your age!"
The girl only blinked once. "If you are here only to insult me then I must ask you to leave the way you came."
Gojou laughed at that one, but the girl's expression never changed from its stoic state. "You misunderstand! I'm not insulting you at all! I wasn't expecting the White Lady to be a Migawari!"
Another blink and the girl turned to look at the fox she had called Kyui. At the same time, Nanami turned to Gojou, surprised. "A Migawari? That clan was wiped out years ago."
"Migawari? What's that?" Yuuji asked.
The girl turned her eyes back to Gojou. "So…you know who we are."
Nanami's eyes shifted to her as she weakly got to her feet, her legs shaking as they struggled to support her. "You're a Migawari?"
"The last one, I'm afraid." The girl stepped out of her makeshift bed, knees wobbling, the fox having to press into her side to keep her on her feet. It was all the more apparent how malnourished she was while standing. "As you said, the rest of my clan is long gone."
"Wait a minute," Yuuji looked between them all. "Who are the Migawari?"
"I told you how cured techniques are something you're born with and most often are passed on through families," Gojou started, eyes fixed on the girl before them. "The Migawari was one of the big clans years ago whose technique was creating seals for cursed spirits and objects. Their greatest achievement was the sealing of the nine-tail fox, Kyuubi…a cursed spirit who was sealed within the clan's very bloodline. Every time an heir is born, they are born with the spirit already housed within their bodies. It's said that some Migawari heirs could even transform into the fox."
"He has a name. Please use it instead of referring to him simply as a cursed spirit." The girl pet the fox's head. "He's not so bad of a sort, as far as cursed spirits go. After all…he's the reason I still live, regardless of how pathetic my state might be."
"Well, of course…I mean, if you die with no other heirs, then so does he." Gojou replied flippantly, a laugh leaving him. "When I heard that the so called White Lady was often seen followed by a white, multi-tailed fox, I had a feeling this was what it was. It also explains why the townsfolk said they saw white hair and red eyes. They saw her when she was partially transformed into the fox."
"Oh? And what do jujutsu sorcerers want with me and Kyui? We've done nothing to warrant a visit from any of you."
Gojou clapped his hands together. "Am I correct in guessing that along with Kyuubi, that you also inherited your clan's sealing technique?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Yes."
"Well, while I'm curious as to what happened the night of your clan's slaughter," The girl's eyebrows dropped and furrowed. "We came here to recruit you to join our school!"
"Recruit? If that's all, you didn't need or Itadori-kun." Nanami told Gojou sourly, a glare shot his direction.
"Aw, come on, Nanami! You can't say it's not exciting, meeting the last of a long thought dead clan with a special grade cursed spirit at her disposal." Gojou turned back to the girl. "So, what do you say? Come back with us and become one of our first years."
Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully before she spoke. "A bit sudden, don't you think? I do not have much experience with other humans, even less with other sorcerers, but what little I do have says that there is almost always catch. What is yours?"
A laugh ripped free of Gojou then. "Man, you're quite sharp! You sure you're only sixteen?" The girl only stared at him, as if waiting for him to just get to his point. "Wow, you're a solemn one. Alright, I'll tell you! I want you…to be this one's bodyguard!"
Gojou turned, grabbing Yuuji by his hood to pull him forward and wrap an arm around his neck. Yuuji blinked in surprise, pointing to himself in questioning. The girl's head tilted to the side, one eyebrow raising.
"Me? Protect him? Are you joking? I can feel the cursed energy within him. I could feel it as you were coming up the trail. Even if I was not about to fall over from the lack of nourishment, Kyui and I could not come close to the energy dwelling in him. As a Migawari, I know a fellow vessel when I sense one."
Another gleeful snicker left Gojou as the fox huffed. Then a deep, somber voice sounded from the fox's muzzle. "Little One, you underestimate yourself and I. I could devour these humans in a single bite if you would only let me." The fox snapped his jaws in a snarl.
"Enough, Kyui. You and I both know that I am weak and that weakens you. Your energy is the only thing keeping me alive when my body would have perished years ago." The girl soothed the fox with a stroke of his ears. Her eyes never left Gojou. "So? Why do you want me to protect him?"
"Until we can secure an agreement, let's leave it at this…there are a lot of people higher up in the jujutsu world who want him dead. I need strong, loyal people around him to ensure he's safe. I figured a starving, stunted thing like you would happily exchange shelter, clothes on your back, and all the food you can eat for the use of your unique abilities. After all, you yourself just said that you can sense what's in him. If it comes down to it, I need you to seal him. What do you say?"
The girl silently pet Kyuubi's head, her expression thoughtful. Then she looked down at Kyuubi. "What say you, Kyui?"
The fox's red eyes raised to meet her mint green ones. A silent exchange passed between them before she turned back to the men before her. "You are serious?"
"As the grave!"
Another thoughtful silence followed before she stepped out of the protective curl of Kyuubi's body and started shakily towards them. "We should introduce ourselves first, do you not agree?"
Gojou grinned. "I'm Gojou Satoru. This here is the suit-turn-sorcerer, Nanami Kento."
"Don't call me that," Nanami scolded.
"And this is Sukuna's vessel, Itadori Yuuji." Gojou continued as if Nanami hadn't spoke at all, annoying the other man. "And you are?"
The girl held out her thin hand to Gojou then, the nails naturally tinted red and sharpened to a point like claws. "Apparently, I am your new bodyguard. My name is Inari. Migawari Inari. And the big fellow is Kyui."
"Kyuubi," the fox corrected. "Only Little One calls me that."
"So sorry that, at four years old, I couldn't say Kyuubi." Migawari Inari kept her eyes focused on Gojou. "We have a deal?"
Gojou took her hand with a grin. "Of course! Welcome to Jujutsu High and your new life as a jujutsu sorcerer."
END
Author's Note: Next chapter I'll start with my usual character interactions, in which I and my OC, Inari, will greet you at the beginning of the chapter and see you off at the end. I do hope you will continue to read, but please know that chapters might be slow coming out. Please, review and enjoy, and I'll be back soon. Bye-bye!