July, 2008
Japan, Tokyo
When Denki turned six years old, Shota decided that it was time to teach him how to use cursed energy. Shota was reluctant at first, but the more he thought about it, the more logical it seemed to train him. Shota couldn't always be there to take care of Denki due to him having to work as a Jujutsu Sorcerer, so it made sense to train Denki in order to defend himself with cursed energy. However, once he finished training Denki to use cursed energy, Shota wasn't going to force him to become a Jujutsu sorcerer; if Denki wanted to become a Jujutsu sorcerer, he would train him more and support, but if Denki wanted to live a normal life then he would still support him.
Once Shota revealed to Denki that they were going to train, Denki was more than eager to learn how to use cursed energy; Denki has seen Shota train before and he thought Shota looked cool, so if he could become as cool as Shota, then he would do whatever Shota told him to do. However, when Shota brought Denki to a park with a baseball in one hand and a bat in the other and revealed to Denki what his first stage of training consisted of, it left Denki confused.
"Huh?," Denki uttered.
"I said that for the first stage of your training, you're going to try and hit five baseballs in a row, with no misses," Shota explained.
"Why?," Denki questioned.
"You said that you wanted to use a sword, right?" Shota asked.
Denki nodded his head in response to Shota's question.
"One of the first things I learned as a swordsman was how to read a person's attacks. Specifically, I learned how to read a person's attacks before they could finish executing them and block it as soon as their attacks were about to reach me. Do you want to know how I did that?"
Denki once again nodded his head in response to Shota's question; he may not have understood what Shota was telling him, but it sounded important.
"I was able to block their attacks by reading their Ki (1)," Shota explained.
Denki tilted his head in confusion, "Ki? What's that?"
"Ki is a kind of energy that everyone and everything gives off," Shota elaborated. "It's different from cursed energy, no one can manipulate Ki, but everyone can learn how to detect Ki. However, although everyone can learn how to detect Ki, how fast a person can learn Ki may vary. Some people can learn how to detect Ki instantly while other people can take years and years of training to detect Ki."
As Shota explained more and more about Ki detection, Denki just nodded his head as his guardian continued talking. Denki didn't completely understand what Shota was saying but he got the gist of it: Ki detection was used to know when a person was going to attack and learning it could be easy or hard.
"The way I'll be teaching you to learn to detect Ki is pretty simple: I'll pitch to you and you have to detect the ball's trajectory before it reaches you and then hit it. Do that five times and the first part of your training will be complete."
Shota held out the bat in order for Denki to grab it, "Are you ready to begin your training?"
Denki immediately grabbed the bat out of Shota's hand and smiled brightly, "Let's do this, Sho."
April, 2018
Japan, Kyoto Jujutsu High School (Principal's Office)
Waiting in the office of the principal of Kyoto Jujutsu High were second year students Kasumi Miwa and Mechamaru and third year student Aoi Todo. Sitting on one of the couches in the office was the principal, Yoshinobu Gakuganji, a very old man who oddly likes rock-and-roll.
"Students, as you know, we will be having two second year students transfer to our school today," Yoshinobu stated. "Their names are Denki Kaminari and Izuku Midoriya and they are both Grade 4 sorcerers. You three are here to introduce yourselves and act as their guides as they try to settle in."
"Uh, pardon me sir," Kasumi interrupted meekly. "If you don't mind me asking, why are we getting second year classmates, and why are they transferring so early in the year?
"She's right," Aoi agreed. "Having second years transfer to our school so early in the year doesn't make much sense. What I also don't get is how they're both Grade 4 sorcerers even though they're second years; even the weakest Jujutsu sorcerers become Grade 3 sorcerers after their first year, but to have two second years be Grade 4 sorcerers is downright suspicious."
Yoshinobu held out his hand in order to signify that he would like no one else to speak, "I understand your concerns, but rest assured, there is a reason for why I'm allowing this transfer to occur."
Yoshinobu took a sip of tea from his cup on the coffee table in front of him and placed the cup down before he continued to talk.
"Kaminari and Midoriya's former principal has assured me that they are capable of becoming Grade 1 sorcerers, so I allowed them to come to our school in order to assess them," Yoshinobu elaborated.
'Grade 1, huh? They must be pretty strong. Hope they're not the strong, but boring type,' Aoi thought to himself.
"The reason as to why they're transferring is rather unfortunate," Yoshinobu continued. "During a mission-."
Before Yoshinobu could explain why Denki and Izuku were transferring to his school, the door to his office slid open, revealing Denki with his visors on his head, Izuku, and Utahime Iori, a teacher for Kyoto Jujutsu High.
"Principal Gakuganji," Utahime began. "Denki Kaminari and Izuku Midoriya have arrived."
"Ahh, right on time," Yoshinobu smirked. "Thank you, Iori. You may take your leave now."
Utahime bowed respectfully before closing the door, leaving Izuku and Denki with the principal and their future classmates. Izuku took a double take after getting a good look at Mechamaru.
'Is that a cursed corpse, or maybe it's a robot that someone is controlling with their cursed technique,' Izuku pondered.
"Welcome, Izuku Midoriya and Denki Kaminari. I am Yoshinobu Gakuganji, the principal of this school," Yoshinobu greeted. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
Izuku bowed his head in respect with Denki following his lead a few seconds after.
"I-It's a pleasure to meet you as well, sir," Izuku greeted, respectfully.
"My, what good manners you have," Yoshinobu noted, causing Izuku to smile sheepishly. "I hope that Iori treated you two well as she escorted you."
"Don't worry, she was super nice to us the entire way here," Denki reassured with a smile and a wave of his hand.
"That's good to hear," Yoshinobu claimed before turning serious. "As you know, you two aren't students of this school yet, not until you are both properly assessed."
Yoshinobu turned his focus towards Kasumi, Mechamaru, and Aoi.
"Would you three please introduce yourselves to Midoriya and Kaminari?," Yoshinobu requested.
"Of course, sir," Kasumi answered politely before turning her attention to Izuku and Denki.
"My name is Kasumi Miwa, it's a pleasure to meet you Kaminari, Midoriya," she greeted, bowing to both of them briefly.
"Uh, nice to meet you too, Miwa," Denki returned her greeting in an unsure tone of voice, not used to anyone talking to him so formally.
"I'm-," Mechamaru began, stopping his introduction once he saw how close Izuku got to him.
"Wow, I never thought I would see a combination of cursed energy and robotics! So cool!," Izuku gushed.
Mechamaru stayed silent due to not knowing how to respond to Izuku's enthusiasm.
Before Izuku could try and analyze Mechamaru, Denki loudly cleared his voice in order to get Izuku's attention. This seemed to work since Izuku froze in place and turned bright red from head to toe.
"S-Sorry!," Izuku apologized meekly, quickly returning to Denki's side.
"Don't mind Izuku, he can get pretty excited when it comes to anything that involves cursed energy and cursed techniques," Denki explained, causing Izuku to shield his beet red face by waving his arms in front of his face.
"Okay," Mechamaru replied, unsure of how to properly respond to Denki's explanation. "As I was saying, I'm Mechamaru."
'Is that all you're going to tell us,' Denki thought, deadpan.
"N-nice to meet you, Mechamaru," Izuku greeted meekly, still embarrassed by what he had done.
"Enough of the pleasantries!," Aoi demanded before pointing towards Izuku and Denki. "I've only got one thing to ask you two; what kind of wo-"
"Todo, please refrain from asking such an inappropriate question in my office," Yoshinobu commanded sternly.
Aoi looked ready to challenge the old man's words but ultimately decided to just head towards the door and make his way out of the room.
"Fine, but we will continue this conversation later," Aoi stated more to Izuku and Denki than to Yoshinobu before heading out of the room.
Once Aoi left Yoshinobu's office, Izuku and Denki tilted their heads towards the door in confusion while simultaneously thinking, 'What was that about?'
Izuku and Denki turned their attention back to the principal of Kyoto Jujutsu High, who had sighed heavily due to Aoi's rudeness.
"I apologize for Todo's actions. He can be a bit… difficult to deal with at times," Yoshinobu explained. "With our introductions out of the way, let me explain what you must do in order for you to officially transfer to this school."
Yoshinobu gestured towards Kasumi, "Tomorrow, Miwa will meet you two in front of the school and will be accompanying you two on a Grade 3 mission to assess if you two are fit to enroll here."
Yoshinobu's face turned cold and stern, causing Izuku and Denki to feel slightly intimidated by him.
"If Miwa tells me you two failed your assessment, not only will you two be unable to become Grade 3 sorcerers, you two will also be unable to enroll in this school. Do I make myself clear?," Yoshinobu warned coldly.
Izuku and Denki both silently nodded their heads in understanding.
"Good, now, do either of you have any questions?"
Izuku and Denki both silently shook their heads.
"Alright, with everything out of the way, I will allow Miwa and Mechamaru to give you a tour of the campus and then escort you two to your rooms; Iori should have already stored your things in them," Yoshinobu explained.
Kasumi opened the door and gestured for Denki to follow her, causing Denki to nod his head in understanding before turning his attention to Izuku.
"Think you'll be fine without me?," Denki teased.
Despite Denki's teasing, Izuku genuinely smiled and nodded his head, "Yeah, I'll be fine."
Denki smiled before making his way to the door and waving goodbye to Izuku as he and Miwa left. Not long after Denki and Kasumi left, Mechamaru told Izuku to follow him as he led Izuku out of Yoshinobu's office, leaving Yoshinobu alone in his office, sipping tea.
On their way to Denki's room after Kasumi gave him a tour of the campus, Denki and Kasumi walked side by side in awkward silence. Feeling uncomfortable by the fact that they had not said a word to each other, Kasumi decided to break the silence.
"So, Kaminari," Kasumi began, causing Denki to turn his attention to her out of curiosity. "You and Midoriya seem pretty close."
Immediately after saying that, Kasumi mentally beat herself up in her mind. 'Why did I say that?! Of course they seem pretty close, they used to go to the same school! That was so stupid!'
Fortunately for Kasumi, Denki didn't find her statement to be stupid as evidenced by the fond smile on his face.
"Yeah, we actually go back a few years," Denki revealed. "He actually helped me develop my fighting style."
"Really?," Kasumi asked.
Denki nodded in confirmation, "Yup! You see, I was taught to fight with a katana but I had no idea how to incorporate my innate technique with my sword style, until one day, I met Izuku. He was really shy at first but I got him to open up once I started talking about my innate technique. Once I explained how my technique worked, he went on and on about the different ways I could incorporate my sword technique with my innate technique and only stopped once I patted his shoulder. Once he realized what he did, he turned bright red and got really shy again."
Denki chuckled at the memory before continuing, "I told him that it was fine and that what he said was really helpful. Once he heard that, he asked if he could take notes of me while I trained and I told him, 'sure'. From that day on, Izuku would come over to my house to help me combine my sword style and innate technique together. After I finally figured out how to use my innate technique with my sword style, me and Izuku began sparring and hanging out together."
Kasumi smiled due to what Denki revealed, "Sounds like you two are pretty close friends."
"Yeah, we are," Denki confirmed as he smiled brightly.
Just as Kasumi was about to ask Denki what his innate technique was, they had finally arrived at the door of his room.
"Oh, we're here!," Kasumi stated before pointing to the door. "This is your room."
"That was fast," Denki noted before grabbing onto the door knob. "Thanks for showing me the way."
"No problem," Kasumi assured before taking her phone out of her pocket. "Before I go, we should exchange numbers."
Denki Kaminari was a bit of a flirt, so whenever he asked for a girl's number, he would ask for it unsuavely, yet confidently. However, when a girl was interested in him and tried flirting with him or asked for his number, he would get shy and not know what to do. So, it's unsurprising that when Kasumi asked him for his phone number, a blank expression appeared on Denki's as he uttered, "Huh?".
"If you need anything or if you have any questions, just text or call me and I'll help you with anything you need," Kasumi explained, unaware of Denki's blank expression turning into one of relief.
"Thanks, I would really appreciate that," Denki admitted as he took his phone out.
After exchanging phone numbers, Kasumi and Denki said goodbye to one another before Denki entered his room.
Once Denki entered his room, he was greeted with blank walls, his luggage, and Aoi Todo sitting on his bed. Denki had to do a double take to make sure that he wasn't seeing things, and sure enough, Aoi was still there, sitting on his bed.
"Finally! I was wondering when you were going to get here," Aoi complained.
"It only took me ten minutes to get here," Denki blankly commented.
"That's not important right now," Aoi claimed.
Aoi took a katana with red wrappings out from underneath the sheets of the bed before standing up. Denki ran up to Aoi in a panic and tried to snatch the katana out of his hands, unsuccessfully.
"Dude, what are you doing with my sword?!," Denki exclaimed as he continued to try and snatch his katana out of Aoi's hands.
"Inspecting it," Aoi confessed before handing Denki his katana back, which Denki quickly snatched and cradled in his arms. "It's a very well made sword, though, I'm really not surprised considering this a Special Grade cursed tool."
"How do you know that?!," Denki asked incredulously.
"I've used cursed tools before and the pressure that this sword gives off is similar to the type of pressure I felt when I used a Special Grade cursed tool," Aoi revealed. "Although, this Special Grade cursed tool is different from other Special Grade cursed tools. For one thing, although it has a ridiculous amount of cursed energy, it doesn't have a cursed technique imbued into it. Also, this sword seems to have a latent power that you haven't tapped into."
"How do you know that?!," Denki repeated.
"I tested your sword out for myself; you can learn a lot about a weapon by practicing with it," Aoi explained.
"Um, alright," Denki reluctantly accepted, not knowing how to respond to Aoi. "What are you doing in my room?"
"I wanted to ask you a question, but that old man interrupted me, so I came to your room and waited for you to come back to ask my question," Aoi confessed.
"Fine, what is it that you wanted to ask me?," Denki questioned in an exasperated voice, hoping that if he answered Aoi's question, he'll leave his room.
"What kind of woman is your type?!," Aoi yelled.
"What?," Denki asked with a blank look on his face.
"I asked, what kind of woman is your type?!," Aoi repeated. "Depending on your answer, I may or may not beat you half to death."
"What?!," Denki repeated, more incredulous.
'Is he serious?! How the hell did it even get to this point?!,' Denki thought, panicked.
"Dude, why would I tell you that when I don't even know you!"
"Alright, I'll introduce myself," Aoi decided. "I'm Aoi Todo, I'm a third year and a Grade 1 sorcerer. My type of woman is a tall one with a fat ass!"
"I introduced myself, so hurry up and answer my question!," Aoi demanded as he cracked his knuckles, causing Denki to realize that Aoi really was serious about killing him.
"Alright, alright!," Denki yelped.
Denki searched his mind for an answer, but he was drawing blanks. He didn't have a particular type of girl that he liked, he liked any girls that he found attractive, but something told him that telling Aoi that would not end well for him. Ultimately, he decided in order to avoid getting killed he would describe someone from his past that he had a fondness for.
"The type of girls I like are smart girls who enjoy reading,…"
'Damn it, he turned out to be boring after all,' Aoi thought gloomily, a single tear running down his face.
"…are tall, and have nice curves."
Once Aoi processed what Denki had said, he looked at Denki with a shocked look on his face as tears streamed down from both his eyes. Denki looked at Aoi with panic and confusion written all over his face.
"Hey, are you okay?! What's wrong?!"
Aoi wiped the tears from his eyes and smiled happily, "Finally, after all these years we have finally been reunited, my long lost brother."
The panic on Denki's face disappeared, leaving only confusion, "I'm sorry, what?"
"We have so much to catch up on, brother!," Aoi declared as he got closer to Denki. "It's been so long since I've seen you; please, tell me everything that's happened to you while we've been separated."
"What are you even talking ab-?! Argh!"
Before Denki could finish his question, Aoi embraced him tightly, causing Denki to gasp for air.
"Can't breathe!," Denki wheezed.
"I've missed you too, brother!," Aoi exclaimed, mishearing what Denki was trying to tell him.
Something told Denki that this was going to be a long day.
At eleven o'clock in the evening, Izuku was up and walking to the kitchen in a white t-shirt and dark blue shorts in order to get a glass of water. Once he got to the kitchen, Izuku was surprised to find Denki sitting down at one of the tables in black pajama pants and a black shirt with a lightning bolt print on it as he sipped a glass of milk. When Denki noticed Izuku, he put down his glass of milk and flashed him a bright smile.
"Hey, Izuku," Denki greeted.
"Hi, Denki," Izuku greeted back, returning Denki's smile with a smile of his own.
"So, did you come down here for a snack?," Denki asked. "Because if you did, you're going to be disappointed by the selection."
Izuku shook his head in response, "No, I got thirsty so I decided to get a cup of water."
"Ohhhh," Denki muttered. "Well, I came to get a glass of milk to help me fall asleep."
"You're having trouble sleeping?," Izuku asked, concerned for his friend.
"Yeah, but it's just because I'm nervous for tomorrow," Denki admitted.
"You are?," Izuku questioned in a surprised tone of voice. "But you seemed so confident this morning."
"I know, I know, but the more that I think about tomorrow, the more nervous I get," Denki confessed. "I mean, we haven't killed curses for seven months, we might be a little rusty."
"Yeah, but we've been training and sparring with Mr. Yagi and Mr. Aizawa," Izuku stated confidently. "We've gotten a lot stronger since the beginning of the year."
"I know that, but…I don't want a repeat of the Kamino Incident; I'm scared that if something bad happens, I'll be helpless while other people are getting hurt.," Denki admitted guiltily.
"Denki...," Izuku drifted.
'This whole time you felt this way and I had no idea,' Izuku thought remorsefully.
Denki saw the remorseful look on Izuku's face and forced a smile on his face while rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Sorry about putting all of that on you. I guess I'm a little more nervous than I thought," Denki excused himself while forcing a chuckle.
'I can't let my anxiety get the best of me. Being scared is what caused me to freeze up in Kamino; I won't freeze up again,' Denki thought as he clenched his fist.
Before Izuku could try to say anything to Denki, Denki held his fist out to Izuku with a determined look on his face.
"Tomorrow, let's do our best, alright Izuku?,"
Izuku looked at Denki with a blank expression on his face before it transformed into a look of determination.
"Right, let's do our best," Izuku agreed before bumping his fist against Denki's.
As the two sorcerers looked at one another with determined expressions, they smiled at one another, confident in one another's abilities to exorcise curses.
The next morning, after getting dressed, Denki putting his katana in his sheath, and eating breakfast, Denki and Izuku made their way to the front of the school, walking side by side.
"I forgot to ask yesterday, how did the tour with Mechamaru go?," Denki asked.
"Not well. I think I offended Mechamaru," Izuku admitted, guiltily.
"Why do you think that?," Denki questioned.
"I was curious about whether or not he was a mutated cursed corpse like Principal Nezu, so I asked him which caused him to get upset," Izuku explained. "He raised his voice and told me that he was talking through and controlling a cursed corpse because he can't be here in person. After that, he only talked to me to let me know about the different rooms in the school."
"Yeah, that does sound like he was pretty offended," Denki bluntly commented, causing Izuku to appear deflated.
Upon seeing the deflated look on his face, Denki waved his hands frantically, "Oh, but I'm sure that once you apologize, he'll forgive you! Mechamaru doesn't seem like the type to hold a grudge."
'At least, I hope he's not,' Denki mentally added.
"You really think so?," Izuku asked, hopefully.
"Yeah, of course," Denki confirmed with a hint of uncertainty in his voice that Izuku couldn't detect.
"Oh, thank goodness," Izuku sighed in relief. "I'll make sure to apologize to him once we get back."
"Good," Denki stated before pointing towards Izuku's red boots that now had iron soles attached. "By the way, have you had a chance to try out those iron soles Hatsume gave you before we left?"
"No, I haven't," Izuku admitted. "I was going to try them out yesterday in the forest near the school, but one of the students here stopped me."
"Really, why?," Denki questioned.
Izuku's cheeks turned slightly red, "W-well, the thing is-"
Before Izuku could continue, he and Denki had reached the front of the school where Kasumi and Aoi were standing in front of a black car. Izuku's eyes widened in surprise while Denki looked like he wanted to be anywhere but where was at the moment. Once Aoi took notice of Denki, he smiled widely and began to approach him.
"My best friend! I've been waiting for you!," Aoi exclaimed as he got closer and closer to Denki.
"Todo?! What are you doing here?!," Denki asked, hoping that Aoi wouldn't crush him again.
"I wanted to see you off," Aoi revealed. "Remember, if you're having a hard time and you don't know what to do, just think, 'What would my brother Todo do?'"
"Uh, yeah, okay," Denki remarked in a deadpan voice, not wanting to deal with Aoi at this moment.
Aoi's attention turned to Izuku with an impressed look on his face and pointed his finger directly into Izuku's face, "Hey, you better not hold my brother back due to your weakness."
Izuku waved his hands in denial, nervous of what Aoi might do to him, "O-of course I won't! "
"Hey, stop trying to intimidate him," Denki commanded.
"What, is he your other best friend or something?," Aoi questioned.
"Yes."
Aoi looked at Denki incredulously, "Wait, are you serious?"
It was at this moment that Kasumi decided to step in, "Uh, Todo, we really have to get going."
Aoi sighed heavily before moving away from Izuku and Denki, "Fine, I don't want to delay my brother's assessment; the sooner he passes, the sooner I get to spar with him."
"I never agreed to that!," Denki pointed out.
"Take care, brother," Aoi advised, ignoring Denki's statement as Aoi patted his shoulder.
Aoi then turned his attention to Izuku again with an unimpressed look on his face, "Just make sure to not get in my brother's way."
Having said everything he wanted to say, Aoi left the three second year sorcerers to their own devices. Once Aoi was out of sight, Denki looked at Izuku with a deadpan expression on his face.
"He was the student that stopped you from using your iron soles, wasn't he?," Denki asked.
"Yeah," Izuku confirmed.
"He asked you what type of girl you liked and he didn't like your answer?"
Izuku slightly blushed at Denki's question before nodding, "He tried attacking me, so I spent the rest of the day avoiding him."
"That explains why he said he had urgent business to attend to," Denki realized, exasperation clear in voice.
"I'm sorry about Todo," Kasumi apologized. "He can be a little…eccentric at times."
'That's not the word I'd use,' Izuku and Denki thought simultaneously.
"Anyways, are you two ready for your assessment?," Kasumi asked.
Izuku pulled the rabbit mask over his face and put his respirator over his face as Denki took his visors off the top of his head and put them over his eyes.
"We're ready!," Izuku and Denki simultaneously confirmed, determination clear in their voices.
(1) I used the concept of Ki Detection from my favorite manga and anime Black Clover. I decided to add this concept because I liked the concept of Ki Detection and thought it would be interesting to incorporate into my story.
Alright, hey guys, Phoenix here and I hope you enjoyed the second chapter of "Our Jujutsu Academia". Sorry that I didn't reveal Izuku and Denki's innate technique in this chapter, but I couldn't think of a way of mentioning them without it feeling like they were shoe-horned in. If you really want to know what their innate techniques are before the next chapter, just message me and I'll let you know. Next chapter will be called, "Afternoon's Twilight". Make sure to review, give me your honest criticisms, and follow and favorite if you liked the chapter. Hope you enjoyed, and until next time, later!