AN: Summary has been changed by the way.
Chapter 7 Bishamon
"Geto!?"
Yato wasn't sure who cried out that name first. It sounded like everyone altogether.
The Zenin girl ignored the "Who's Geto?" from the other girl and exclaimed, "Isn't he dead!? How could he be here? Are you seeing his ghost or something?"
Toge nodded. "Shake." Then he shook his head like he was unsure. "Okaka?"
Gojo, who noticed the look Yato was sending him, clapped his hands to get his students' attention.
"Alright kids, let's focus on your training. Let the adults do the ghost-hunting."
There were murmurs of dissent, especially from Toge, but in the end all kids went back to their training while Gojo led Yato back to that room.
Yato could tell he only did so because this room was probably one of the most secure places in Jujutsu High and he had to ensure their conversation couldn't be eavesdropped by anyone.
But it certainly didn't feel like that. When he sat down on that chair once again, and Gojo sat on the opposite chair backwards with his arms resting on the back of that chair, it felt like their conversation this time was going to be an interrogation.
However, Yato wasn't in the mood to be interrogated by humans.
"So this Shinki thing, are they essentially ghosts? You Gods take in human ghosts as your 'weapons'?" Gojo rocked back and forth on his chair while asking casually.
Yato stuffed his hands in his pockets, his mood sour. "We call them 'Loose Spirits'. Only dead humans' Loose Spirits can become Shinki."
"And the Loose Spirit you took in as your Shinki…" It felt like Gojo was struggling to get the next words out. "Was it…Suguru?"
His voice cracked when he spoke the name of his best friend, and it broke Yato's heart to hear that. To think the Strongest Sorcerer who seemed invincible in any way could falter so easily with the mention of a single name.
"...My Shinki's name is Natsune. He's not Geto Suguru and he will never be. The Geto you know…is gone." Yato wasn't saying that to be mean. He had to make sure Gojo understood the difference, because Shinki and the person they used to be in their past life were two completely different beings. The moment a God gave them a new name, that name became a binding that sealed away all their memories of their past life into the name tattoo on their body, which, in Natsune's case, was on the side of his neck.
"I know…" Gojo murmured, his voice so quiet, so weak. "I know Suguru's gone. I killed him myself. And nothing can bring him back."
"If you know, then you better stay out of our business. You made a grave mistake, Gojo Satoru, you almost killed Geto again," Yato growled, leaning forward and narrowing his eyes at Gojo, who clenched his fists when he heard that last part. "Shinki don't remember their past life not because we Gods are heartless beings who won't let them keep their memories. They can't remember because if they do, all the suffering they went through in their past would return to haunt them, and all that darkness would corrupt them, turning them into an Ayakashi. By then, it'd be too late to perform an Ablution, and our only option would be to kill them."
"A Shinki…can become a cursed spirit…just like that? Even if they weren't sorcerers when they were alive?"
"Humans and Ayakashi are made of similar substances after all. Their compositions won't change even after they die. Becoming a Vengeful Spirit post-death isn't the only way for them to become an Ayakashi. They can also…" Yato thought of Hiyori jumping around in her spirit form and waving her "tail" at the Ayakashi. When she was in that spirit form, she was essentially a Vengeful Spirit and could technically be considered as a Half-Ayakashi. If she were to fall into temptation and cross the line to the Far Shore, then she'd no longer be able to return to being a human. "The point is, if Natsune were to recover his memories, then he could potentially die again. I don't want to lose my Shinki, and I'd rather not have to kill yet another Shinki of mine."
The implication that Yato had killed his own Shinki before had Gojo looking up in alarm.
"How can they recover their memories?"
"Through various means, like seeing their corpse, or meeting someone they once loved dearly. Any sort of strong psychological stimulus caused by catalysts like these might trigger their memories. There's only one way to trigger it with absolute certainty. And that's by telling them their real name." Natsune didn't look like he remembered being Geto Suguru, so perhaps his two encounters with Gojo weren't enough of a stimulation. "You should be glad your meeting with him last night didn't evoke anything. Because if it did, then his death as an Ayakashi would be in your hands, again."
"...I'll stay away from him."
"Stay away from us. I'll call you if I need you. Just text me if you find out anything about Kenjaku." Yato added as an afterthought. "We can't have Natsune see his dead body walking around, so it's best if we take care of this imposter ASAP."
Gojo didn't stop him when he got up to leave the room. Yato glanced back at the man, the sight of the strongest sorcerer hunched over the back of the chair, looking so tired, so broken, almost made him feel bad for being so harsh on him. But it couldn't be helped. He had to make it clear for both of their sake. It'd only hurt Gojo more if he ended up killing his best friend again.
The girl had school, so she left after dropping him off at Yato's girlfriend's shop and telling him to stay put.
Of course, Natsune wasn't going to "stay put." Who did she think she was? Trying to order him around like he was beneath her when she was just a monkey no more important than the rest of them in this country. She should be glad Natsune's response to her bossy command was a pleasant smile because he wanted to avoid arousing suspicion to ensure his escapade went unnoticed.
Jujutsu High was about a twenty minute walk from the store owned by Yato's pink-haired girlfriend. Humans couldn't see him, and it wasn't like he was stealing anything, so it wouldn't alert Yato either. Instead of paying for a train ticket, Natsune simply sat atop the train and rode it to his destination.
On the way there, he untied his hair and let it tousle in the wind. It felt nice, like he was letting loose a part of himself, unrestrained, simply letting nature do its thing and passively accepting it all. It was still a hot Summer day but the Sun was blocked by the clouds, granting him a well-needed break from its heat. Natsune closed his eyes and lay on his back, sucking in a deep breath.
The air was still humid and suffocating. Each breath felt so thick and heavy on his lungs, requiring extra effort to simply breathe. He didn't know why he still needed to breathe and could physically feel all these sensations despite being dead. If Gods wanted to give him his five senses, why not bring him back from the dead while they were at it? Why did he have to live like this, like he wasn't completely himself, like he was missing a part of himself?
Natsune had asked Daikoku before how he felt about not being able to remember his past life. Daikoku and Yato's girlfriend just looked at him weirdly, like it wasn't normal to wonder about the past.
"Does it bother you, not knowing who you are in your past life?" Daikoku had said, "I never thought about it, and I don't want to know either, because I like the lifestyle I have right now." He poured his God another cup of tea, his gesture so gentle and caring despite his large imposing stature. "The question 'how did I die?' might occasionally cross our minds, but we Shinki usually don't dwell on it that long. Live in the present, Natsune. I'm saying this for your own good. Don't trouble yourself with the past. Let the past stay in the past."
Maybe something was wrong with Natsune to be so concerned with his past. He'd thought about asking Yato. Yato, despite being no different from an ordinary monkey, was still a God (his God) at the end of the day, so reasonably speaking he should know or at least have a way to find out who Natsune was before he died.
But right now, there were far more pressing matters Natsune wanted to figure out first.
Like who was this white-haired man named Gojo Satoru, why did his heart ache whenever he saw him, and what was Yato hiding from him since yesterday?
It all started at that cafe restaurant Yato wanted to eat at. He must have seen something to suddenly look so pale and hurriedly drag him away.
And then there was this meeting earlier at that…Jujutsu high school. Despite having never heard of this term before, the meaning of it and some of its associated terminologies rose to the surface of Natsune's mind. Jujutsu, Curtains, Windows, Sorcerers, Curse Users, Cursed Spirits, and Cursed Energy. Jujutsu was the art of manipulating the Cursed Energy within all humans, and Jujutsu Sorcerers used Jujutsu to exorcize Cursed Spirits, the agglomeration of Cursed Energy.
"Why did you call them 'Curses'?"
"It just felt right to call them that."
He couldn't deny it any longer. He, Natsune, was involved with the Jujutsu sorcerers when he was alive. Otherwise it made no sense why he knew these things. Shinki didn't have their past memories, but they still retained basic knowledge akin to a person with amnesia knowing how to use a computer or how to write in the language they spoke. Knowledge such as these could technically be considered muscle memory, for they were not stored in the brain, but in the body itself. For Natsune to still retain his knowledge on Jujutsu, it must have been so ingrained in his life that it was as intrinsic as walking and writing.
Which brought him to his second confirmation.
He had to be acquainted with Gojo Satoru when he was alive.
Natsune thought about investigating the restaurant first, but after weighing the two options, he decided that heading straight to Jujutsu High and asking Gojo would yield a better result.
Gojo Satoru, whoever he was, had to know something.
Natsune wasn't a hundred percent sure Gojo would recognize him, hell he might not even know who Natsune was, but the way his heart ached at the mere sight of that man must have meant something. Gojo might not know him in the past, but he definitely knew Gojo. It could be a one-sided unrequited crush, or Natsune could have been a yandere stalker for all he knew.
Didn't matter. What mattered was Gojo might be the key to recovering his memories, and even if his effort would prove to be futile, he still wanted to give it a chance.
"So you're the new Shinki."
A voice so full of hate drifted into his ears, carried by the wind. Natsune shot up to his feet and was instantly on guard. Before him was a blond woman riding a lion standing about thirty feet away on the moving train. Her blond hair was long enough to reach the ground, but now they were blown past her shoulders by the wind. She was dressed in a scanty outfit: long black boots that ran up past her knees, gray mini-skirt, black belt, jacket that was open in the front to reveal her black bra, and black military-style hat.
"Who are you?" Natsune cautiously eyed her whip, which came off as more of a threat than her lion was. It'd be faster, more difficult to follow, and its long range would put her at a greater advantage.
"Bishamon."
Bishamonten. Vaiśravaṇa. A well-known God of War in Buddhism. Yato had said that the strength of a God was directly equivalent to their popularity. So someone like Bishamon with far more followers than an unknown God like Yato should reasonably prevail in combat abilities, as well as having a wider range of Shinki at her disposal.
The only other Shinki he'd met could apparently transform into an earring when summoned as a weapon. In addition to Yato's former Shinki all being some variety of blades, Natsune concluded that Shinki's weapon forms weren't limited to weapons and accessories, which meant the lion Bishamon was riding as a mount, as well as, dare he say, the clothes she was wearing could all possibly be her Shinki.
"Why are you not with your God?" His lack of reaction spurred her to resume the conversation.
"Why do you care?"
Natsune winced. Perhaps his retort came off a little too curt, which wasn't his intention. When he was clearly at a disadvantage if a fight were to break out between them two, it'd be wise to act with a reposeful demeanor to allay the other person's hostility. The blatant hatred in Bishamon's purple eyes was clearly not directed to him, but the stance her lion had taken couldn't be interpreted as anything other than a combat ready stance.
She (they) intended to attack him, even though she bore no ill will towards him.
What could her objective possibly be?
Her voice cut into his thoughts before he could reach a conclusion. "You're very new, aren't you? I doubt it's been a full week since you've become a Shinki. There's so much you've yet to learn." Bishamon snapped her whip against the train and extended it to its full length, the resounding rumbles reaching the soles of his feet and sending waves of tremors up his limbs. This woman wasn't like Yato. Not taking her seriously was tantamount to signing his own death warrant. "First lesson, never leave your God's side."
The lion leapt towards him with its maw open, sharp fangs ready to bite into his flesh. Natsune dodged its attack easily since he was ready for it, and when the whip strike came from his blindspot, he flipped over it nimbly.
"Not bad for a newbie. But there's a limit to how much you can do in your human form. Only with your God can you unleash your full potential. Gaiki!"
A silver revolver appeared in her hand and a crystal flower-like pattern appeared on her right eye as she stared into the ironsight, almost as if that pattern was somehow guiding her on where to aim.
Two rounds were fired at him, aiming for his throat and right arm.
They were fast, perhaps just as fast as real bullets, too fast for Natsune to dodge.
As the bullets drew near, two options emerged at the forefront of his mind. He could take the hit and bet on the chance that he'd survive (which was very unlikely since she was coming for him with murderous intent), or he could use the only defensive attack he knew of, which was the Borderline technique Kazuma taught him.
But Borderline supposedly only worked on Ayakashi. Would they work on a God? On Shinki? Were these two bullets considered a part of her Shinki even though they were created by her gun Shinki?
He could see the hollow tips of the copper bullets as they tore through the sound barrier and reached him in the blink of an eye. It was too late to draw a Borderline.
So Natsune did the only thing he could think of.
"Issen!" He called out but his hand didn't move, instead, he mentally drew a horizontal line focusing on the space before him.
He had intended for the line to be on the ground, creating a barrier to shield him from the bullets.
But what ended up happening was a horizontal line appearing at his eye-level and cutting right through the two bullets, unseen force propelling it even further until it zipped past Bishamon who dodge the strike at the very last second.
"Not bad." Kazuma's voice said in Bishamon's mind. She clicked her tongue, and he immediately followed up with an apology. "Pardon me."
A Lance attack from a new Shinki oftentimes lacked the power and control to pose a threat to experienced Gods like Bishamon, so the thought of dodging that attack didn't cross her mind until its incredible velocity was made clear when it didn't dissipate even after cutting through the bullets. To think that man could find such a talented Shinki. How horribly fortunate of him.
"Suuki!" Kazuha's pistol form manifested in her other hand. Cross-hair swaying in the center of her right vision with fifty percent opacity, Bishamon fired round after round at the nimble figure while Kuraha charged with his claws. Scratch marks tore through the roof and left indents in their wake. Stray bullets hit pantographs and passing structures. The onslaught of attacks forced the Shinki into defense, giving him no time to dish out counterattacks of his own.
Lance taxed on the mind more than Borderline, for it required far more mental fortitude than the latter did. It wasn't the kind of attack that could be unleashed perpetually, especially if the user hadn't built up the proper stamina to engage in a prolonged fight. The Shinki's inexperience was shown when his Lance began to fall short in its velocity and range, barely lasting long enough to cut through the bullets before dispersing.
No matter how talented he was, stamina wasn't something he could build up in the span of a week.
It wouldn't take long until she hit him with a critical strike and ended his life, giving that dastardly God a taste of his own medicine. Such wasted potential working under that man. If she could, she'd have loved to recruit and welcome this Shinki into her family. But alas, certain sacrifices were necessary in the pursuit of one's goal.
"Chouki, focus," Bishamon said when she noticed Kazuma's aim wobbling.
"Sorry, Veena."
Her voice softened. "It'll be over soon."
She fired another shot. The Shinki had his back turned, and Kazuma aimed for his blindspot. It's over.
Clang!
The fatal attack that should've ended the Shinki's life was blocked by an unknown figure that darted before him, parrying the attack at the nick of time. It happened too fast for Bishamon to react, but Kazuma with his tracking ability was able to see its form clearly and feed it to her.
It was a wolf Ayakashi wearing a strange one-eyed mask on its head.
"Ayakashi!?" Bishamon cried out in alarm.
"What's a Masked Ayakashi doing here?"
Some of her Shinki were asking in her mind.
"Are you…" Bishamon stared at the Shinki in bewilderment. No, it can't be. He's clearly a new Shinki. He couldn't have… Unless it was his God? But how would he even… She raised her revolver. Doesn't matter. I just need to kill it like I do any other Ayakashi.
A few more blurs of shadows appeared in between her and that Shinki. They were also wolf Ayakashi wearing a mask on their heads, snarling and growling at her as if they were trying to protect that Shinki.
The masked Ayakashi were weak. One shot in the jugular was all it took to kill them. They were clearly just pawns meant to be sacrificed. Their purpose wasn't to defeat her, but to make a point.
"This Shinki is under my protection."
This was what The Sorcerer was trying to tell her.
Sightings of mask-wearing Ayakashi had been an ongoing thing in the Near Shore for quite some time now. The only way to control these creatures was by using cursed techniques to name them as if they were Shinki. Sheltering these accursed vermin directly challenged the balance of the worlds and the authority of the Gods, hence why The Sorcerer had been on Heaven's wanted list for centuries.
Their abilities and motives remained unknown. With them in the dark and Bishamon in the light, continuing her assault on this Shinki who for some reason was protected by The Sorcerer posed too big of a risk. The wise choice here was to retreat. Eradicating the world of that evil could wait.
She had waited this long already. She could wait a little more.
"We're leaving," Bishamon said to her Shinki, then she turned to her opponent. "Tell your God to watch who he interacts with, if he doesn't want to get on Heaven's bad side."
If her purpose was as simple as wanting that man dead, she could have reported this incident to Heaven and made him out like an accomplice of The Sorcerer, and thus borrowing Heaven's strength as the instrument of his demise.
But then, he would have died without experiencing the pain he had inflicted upon her.
The way her heart throbbed with each death she could feel in her very soul, and the cries of her family that awakened her in the dead silence of the night and rattled her skull.
Each time she felt a tiny sting on her nape, so feathery light that it didn't amount to a fraction of what she had to endure back then, the sensation of the Blight that nearly killed her returned to torment her in the form of phantom pain.
He wasn't allowed to die without having experienced all of these. The repercussions of his actions had escaped him for far too long. The Sorcerer's meddling only helped the Shinki stall for some time. Once The Sorcerer had been dealt with, Bishamon would be coming after this Shinki and his God again.
And before then, that man better not get himself killed.
Because she would be the one to kill him.
Natsune couldn't get his heart rate to slow down even after Bishamon left as suddenly as she arrived. That was technically his first real battle. The Ayakashi he took care of with Yato were so easy they couldn't even be called a battle.
They were nothing like what he had just witnessed.
Not a God like Yato, homeless and poor, who only had one Shinki he could rely on.
But a mighty God with her arsenal of Shinki, ranging from her mount to her weapon to her tracking ability, this was what a real God should be like.
Bishamon's unwarranted assault left Natsune furious and vexed, but it also piqued his interest.
He tied his hair back into a bun as her parting words whispered in his ears, adding more questions to his already growing list of questions. Why were those wolf Ayakashi wearing masks? Why did they protect him? Did they have something to do with Yato? Just how much had Yato been hiding from him?
Natsune thought back to Yato being all secretive and shit as if he was lying when he said, "I permit you to serve and remain by my side longer than kin."
Longer than kin? Was this how he treated someone who should be like a kin to him? By hiding things from them, kicking them off to the side while he did his God stuff ("Why are you not with your God?"), and leaving them vulnerable and defenseless from people who were out to kill them?
"Oh man oh man, that was terrifying!"
An unfamiliar voice cut through his thoughts, causing Natsune to look up, startled.
A teenage boy dressed in a school uniform was hanging off of the side of the train while laughing nervously. He seemed way too composed for a kid who was at risk of falling off of the train. This unexplainable composure made him an enigma, a perceived threat in Natsune's eyes.
When it was clear that Natsune wasn't going to help him, the boy pulled himself up onto the roof easily and walked forward wobbly with the help of a six-ringed shakujo.
"Holy shit, that was crazy. I thought those wolves were going to eat me for a second!"
"Who are you?" Natsune asked for the second time that day.
The boy grinned, stabbing his shakujo on the roof and exclaiming proudly, "My name is Fujisaki Kouto! Nice to meet you, whoever you are!"
AN:
I've seen multiple translations for "The Sorcerer." Some call it "The Crafter", others call it "Mask Carver". I've even seen it called "The Mage." Since this is a crossover with JJK, I went with The Sorcerer translation.
The word "Curse" in Noragami has a different meaning than "Curse" in JJK. In Noragami, Curses are essentially evil spells, Cursed Weapons are weapons that have been imbued with these evil spells, and Cursed Energy means the energy radiating off of these Cursed Weapons.
But in JJK, Curses are short for Cursed Spirits. Noragami's "Curse" in Japanese is written as 呪 or 呪術, which means Cursed Techniques or Jujutsu (as in Jujutsu Kaisen 呪術廻戦). That's why for the sake of clarity, I've made it so Noragami's Curse (evil spells) is the same thing as Cursed Techniques from JJK, and Cursed Energy means the same thing for both universes.
Bishamon's original line here was supposed to be "The only way to control these creatures was by using curses to name them as if they were Shinki" but I changed "curses" to "cursed techniques" for the aforementioned reason.
