August, 2009
Japan, Tokyo
"Alright, this is the last pitch. Focus on sensing the ball as soon as it leaves my hand and then swing once you have the chance," Shota instructed.
After a year of trying and failing to detect the baseball's trajectory using Ki, Denki had finally gotten the hang of reading Ki. He had managed to successfully detect the ball's trajectory four times, now all he needed to do was hit it one last time and then he would finally be finished with the first part of his training.
"Ready?," Shota asked.
Denki nodded his head in response, prompting Shota to pitch the ball to him. As Shota began to pitch the ball, Denki felt like he knew what the course off the ball was going to be. Once Shota threw the ball and the ball got close to him, Denki swung as hard as he could, sending the ball a few inches behind Shota.
"Well done, kid," Shota congratulated with a small smile on his face. "You were able to learn Ki detection after a year of training; that's pretty impressive."
"I did it, I did it, I did it!," Denki cheered after putting the bat down on the floor and jumping up and down in joy.
"Don't get too excited, there's still a lot you have to learn," Shota warned. "Starting next week, you'll be learning how to use cursed energy and how to use a sword. For now, we should head home so that I can make us dinner."
"Okay," Denki replied, ready to go home.
"Before we go, I want you to do something for me," Shota halted.
Denki tilted his head in bewilderment, "What is it, Sho?"
"I want you to tell me how I feel right now using Ki detection," Shota instructed.
"Huh?," Denki uttered.
"You heard me. Use Ki detection but instead of trying to detect my movements, I want you to detect my emotions." Shota directed. "Since you know how to sense Ki now, you should be able to sense how I feel with no problems."
"O-okay," Denki reluctantly agreed, nervous that he might mess up.
As Denki focused and used his Ki detection on Shota, he could feel the pride Shota felt towards him emanating from Shota's body.
"You feel…happy, kind of. A weird kind of happy," Denki answered, not knowing what the word pride was or what it meant.
"You're correct," Shota admitted. "On top of being able to predict incoming attacks, you can use Ki to sense another person's emotions and if they are lying or not."
"Woah! Really?!," Denki asked, amazed by the capabilities of sensing Ki.
"Yes," Shota confirmed. "A person's glance, their breathing, their scent, the way their muscles move, the hint of their presence, all of that combined is what makes up a person's Ki, so being able to detect a person's feelings and whether or not they are lying comes easily to a person who can detect Ki. Additionally, you can sense how powerful someone is by sensing their presence using Ki. On a different, yet equally important note, nonliving things give off Ki when they are in motion, so you can detect them faster than you can a living thing."
Shota bent down and placed one of his hands on one of Denki's shoulders, "What I just told you is very important, so try your best to remember it, okay?"
Denki nodded his head and then smiled, "Okay, Sho."
April, 2018
Japan, Kyoto (Abandoned Apartment Building)
"So, this is the place, huh?," Denki asked.
"Yup! This is where you'll be assessed," Kasumi confirmed.
After a half hour drive to the test area, Denki, Kasumi, and Izuku arrived in front of a large and abandoned apartment building.
"There have been reports of people going into this building and never being seen again," Kasumi revealed. "Three months ago, a murder occured in this very building, causing the former residents to feel a sense of anxiety and uneasiness. It wasn't long before the residents moved away from here due to the discomfort they felt living in a building where a murder occured. That, in combination with negative rumors about the apartment building that spread around this neighborhood caused a curse to manifest. Your mission is to find and exorcise the curse that is living in this building without my help; if I see that you two can't handle the mission and you need for me to step in, you both automatically fail your assessment test."
"Don't worry, we can handle this test no problem," Denki assured before turning to his masked friend with a smile and determined look on his face. "Right, Izuku?"
"Right," Izuku agreed, smiling back at Denki, only for it to not go unseen due to his mouth being covered by his respirator.
"In that case, let's begin your assessment," Kasumi announced.
"Alright then, let me handle tracking the curse down," Denki suggested.
"Go right ahead," Kasumi encouraged.
Denki focused on trying to feel the curse's presence in the building in front of him using his Ki sensing ability. A few seconds later he felt a weak, ominous presence emanating from the apartment building.
"The curse is on the third floor," Denki informed.
Kasumi was shocked by what Denki had just told her and Izuku.
"Huh?," Kasumi uttered.
"Good job, Denki," Izuku complimented. "Let's head up there now."
"Wait!," Kasumi cried, causing Denki and Izuku to turn their attention to her. "How do you know for sure that the curse is on the third floor?"
"I sensed the curse's presence from there," Denki explained.
"You did?," Kasumi questioned.
"Yup! It has a weak presence, but it was still super easy for me to sense," Denki boasted.
'He can't know that from sensing a curse's residuals, if that were the case then he would only be able to tell the direction of where the curse went. Could it be that he's using his cursed technique to sense the curse's presence?,' Kasumi thought to herself.
"Come on, let's get going," Denki insisted with a confident smile on his face, snapping Kasumi out of her thoughts.
"Alright, lead the way," Kasumi instructed.
Denki nodded in understanding before walking inside the building with Kasumi and Izuku following not that far behind from him.
As Kasumi, Izuku, and Denki made their way to the curse's location, there was something on Kasumi's mind that seemed to pique her interest.
"Hey, Kaminari?"
"What's up, Miwa?," Denki questioned.
"If you don't mind me asking, how does your cursed technique work?," Kasumi asked sheepishly.
"I don't mind at all. It's actually a super cool technique," Denki assured with a smile on his face. My cursed technique is called 'Hatsuden'(1), and it allows me to generate electricity and lightning from my body and manipulate it."
"Wait, so your technique allows you to control electricity?," Kasumi asked in a bewildered tone of voice.
"Yup!," Denki confirmed enthusiastically. "Pretty amazing, right?"
"If your technique only allows you to control electricity, then how were you able to sense the curse's presence?," Kasumi questioned.
"Oh, that? I was just sensing its Ki," Denki admitted nonchalantly.
"Huh?!"
"Ki is energy that living and nonliving things give off," Denki revealed. "It's different from cursed energy and anyone can learn how to detect it, but it can be either super simple to learn for some people and super hard to learn for others."
"Really?," Kasumi questioned.
"Uh-huh! Ask Izuku, he knows how to sense Ki too," Denki revealed.
If it weren't for his rabbit mask, Denki and Kasumi would have seen the sheepish look that appeared on Izuku's face.
"W-well, that's true, but I'm not as good as Denki when it comes to sensing Ki," Izuku admitted. "I have a hard time picking up on other people's presence, so I still need to work harder until I'm able to master detecting Ki."
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get there someday," Denki assured. "The fact that you were able to pick up Ki detection so easily is way more impressive than being able to master it."
"Thanks, Denki," Izuku expressed gratefully.
Before anything else could be said, Denki stopped in front of one of the doors to one of the apartments.
"The curse is inside this room," Denki revealed before applying cursed energy into his fist.
Denki punched the door down, revealing a skinny, black curse that had three arms and crawled around on the floor.
"Alright, I'll restrain him and then you exorcise him," Izuku decided, prompting Denki to nod in agreement.
Izuku clenched his hand into a fist and then raised his fist towards the curse.
"Blackwhip Technique: Restrain"
Suddenly, three black energy tendrils started to emit from Izuku's wrist, shot straight towards the curse, and wrapped around it, restraining the curse. Denki followed up by unsheathing his katana, dashing towards the curse, and slicing it in half, exorcising it in the process. Kasumi stood stunned by the display of power that happened right in front of her.
'That was incredible!,' Kasumi thought to herself. 'Midoriya was able to restrain that curse incredibly fast and easily without any signs of it breaking free of his technique while Kaminari dashed towards and exorcised the curse without using his cursed technique or amplifying his physical strength with cursed energy.'
Kasumi watched as the two teenage boys complimented one another on their abilities and smiled.
"Congratulations you two! You passed the assessment test and are now officially Grade 3 sorcerers as well as students of Kyoto Jujutsu High School!," Kasumi informed.
"Alright! We did it!," Denki cheered before sharing a high five with Izuku.
The boys were glad that the test had gone well and that they were going to be able to continue their Jujutsu academia without any problems. Everything had gone well…that is, until Denki sensed a strong, ominous presence coming from behind them. Not long after, Izuku had felt that presence as well, prompting both him and Denki to turn around. What they saw behind him was a large bipedal black wolf with white fur on his stomach and underneath his snout that wore beige pants. Kasumi looked at the two in confusion before sensing an extremely frightening pressure coming from behind her, causing her to turn around as well and stare at the wolf in shock.
"I came into this building, sensing a strong aura coming from in here," the wolf revealed in a gruff tone of voice. "I thought it might have been a special grade curse like me but I guess I was wrong."
The wolf smiled before pointing at Izuku and Denki, "You two give off the aura of strong predators, so you better not disappoint me."
"I call myself Ryōshi (2)," the wolf revealed as it pointed at itself. "And more than anything, I want a fulfilling fight with a strong predator like me. I don't care if I die or not in the end, as long as I feel a sense of joy before I die."
Ryōshi smiled sinisterly at the two male sorcerers as they stood frightened.
"So now, let the hunt begin!," Ryōshi yelled before dashing towards Izuku and Denki.
'Oh, no! He's going to attack!,' Kasumi thought in a panic before getting into her Simple Domain stance.
Just as she was about to activate her Simple Domain, Denki unsheathed his katana.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Magneto Ball"
Denki thrusted his sword before a ball of lightning formed in front of the tip of his sword. The ball grew larger and larger until it was the same height as Denki. Before Ryōshi could reach Izuku and Denki, his feet stuck to the floor and couldn't move no matter how hard he tried moving.
"What the hell?! Why can't I move?!," Ryōshi questioned as he continued to struggle to move.
"My reverse cursed technique, Magneto Ball, is made up of electromagnetic energy and causes anyone aside from me that gets too close to it to get magnetized to the floor," Denki revealed. "It only lasts for a good ten seconds and drains a lot of my cursed energy, but it's really useful in battle."
"Hatsuden Technique: Blue Blade"
Just before his Magneto Ball dissipated, Denki coated his sword with lightning and shaped the lightning into a longer blade, extending the katana's reach. Denki flipped over his Magneto Ball and Ryōshi and cut Ryōshi's back, causing a cut to appear and blood to start coming out.
'I'm scared out of my mind right now. This guy's Ki is so strong and intense that all I want to do is run away and hide,' Denki admitted mentally before his face hardened. 'But I'm not going to stand by and let my anxiety get the best of me, never again!'
Once Magneto Ball dissipated, Ryōshi was about to turn around and attack Denki but before he could do that, he noticed something black and sharp coming his way.
"Blackwhip Technique: Black Scythe"
Izuku had activated his Blackwhip Technique and shaped the end of the whip into a scythe before using it to slice Ryōshi's chest, causing a cut to appear and blood to come out. As this happened, Kasumi couldn't help but stare at the two friends in awe.
'Incredible! They were able to injure that Special Grade curse so easily!,' Kasumi mentally noted.
As Ryōshi used his reverse cursed technique, he began to laugh loudly.
"I can't believe it! You two were actually able to injure me!," Ryōshi exclaimed excitedly. "As thanks for giving me this small amount of joy, let me show you exactly what I can do!"
Our Jujutsu Omake
As Denki, Kasumi, and Izuku were being driven to the assessment test site, there was something on Kasumi's mind that she wanted to express.
"Hey, Midoriya?"
Izuku turned to Kasumi, his puzzled expression hidden from Kasumi due to his bunny mask.
"What is it, Miwa?," Izuku questioned politely.
"Why did your uniform come with a bunny mask attached to the back and a respirator?," Kasumi asked.
"Oh! It's because my mentor told me that I'm too expressive and that could be used against me during a fight, so when I was asked if I wanted any customizations to my uniform, I asked for something that could hide my face," Izuku revealed.
"That makes sense," Kasumi commented.
With the mask and respirator on, the only part of Izuku's face that anyone was able to see were the green iris of his eyes, so the customization worked well; Kasumi thought that Izuku looked kind of intimidating.
"Is that why you customized your uniform with a grey cloak and blue tinted visors Kaminari?," Kasumi asked curiously.
"No, I just thought that they would make look cooler if I added them in, which they do," Denki admitted with a smirk.
"Oh," Kasumi uttered.
Kasumi thought that Denki's visors and cloak did in fact make him look cooler.
"Even though it looks cool, why did you ask for your mask to look like a bunny?," Denki asked Izuku.
"I-I didn't! I honestly have no idea why they chose to make my mask look like this!," Izuku admitted, baffled by that feature of his uniform's customization.
Somewhere in Tokyo, the most powerful Jujutsu sorcerer, Satoru Gojo, was wondering if one of Utahime's new second years had gotten his uniform that he had a slight input in how the design looked. He kind of felt bad for the kid, but after Utahime had explicitly demanded that Satoru did not get them caught up in his "foolish antics", he couldn't help but do the exact opposite of what she told him.
"Heh, heh. Oh well, he'll get over it," Satoru chuckled.
(1) In Japanese, Hatsuden translates to electricity generation and power generation.
(2) In Japanese, Ryōshi translates to hunter.
Alright, hey guys, Phoenix here, and I hope you enjoyed the third chapter of "Our Jujutsu Academia". So, I finally revealed Denki and Izuku's innate techniques and I wanted to ask what you guys thought of them; were they good or bad? Also, what did you think of the omake that I added at the end of the chapter; was it informative and funny, or did you feel it was shoehorned in. Next chapter will be called "Predator vs. Predators". 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!