A/N: Hey Guys! I'm back. Now I have a question for you guys. As you know, the OC I am writing is supposed to be Indian. I always felt American OCs are done to death now, and a lot of us brown people cannot relate. Personally, I prefer Japanese OCs, as it makes stories more authentic and realistic- but that's just me. After all, fanfics are all about imagination and exploration right?
That's why I am sort of at an impasse here. As an Indian myself, I can do a lot to give Sanvi a more authentic personality and character. If I don't focus on her more "Indian" side, I think she will be another generic OC. Up until now, I have been reluctant to explore that side. But I want to give her more life. I want to do properly what I have started.
I don't want her to be just another OC among the rest. I want to make her more unique, explore her real personality as shaped by her culture and society, her likes and dislikes, the problems that she faces in an entirely different country, and all.
I am not sure how you guys would receive it. A lot of our fellow readers are probably from different countries and might want the OC to remain generic. However, I am very keen on exploring Sanvi. I'll be really glad if you guys can comment on what you think!
Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoy this chapter :)
A day off was what all of the first years needed.
Especially considering it was the middle of the summer, the worst time of the entire year.
Sanvi bent down to adjust her shoe, but the uncomfortable sensation did not leave. It was still very much present, the back of the shoe biting into her skin. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead and onto the ground.
She checked the pocket of her skirt for a handkerchief and took it out to wipe her skin. The clothes stuck to her skin in the disgusting summer, and she was dying to go back to her dorm and straight into a bath.
"Well, it looks like this is the place."
Iori Utahime shielded her eyes from the sunlight with her hand as she carefully observed the vast field in front of her.
Countryside. Again.
Sanvi sighed, fanning herself with her hand as if it would help her anyway. Her cursed energy felt like it was simmering underneath her skin. She had already gotten rid of the jacket. Seeing no point in hauling it around, she left it in the car.
A breeze ruffled her hair, giving her some respite. Thankfully, it was still morning. There were still two or three hours till midday and after. If by then, they were able to do with this cursed spirit, Sanvi could avoid the worst of this weather.
Pulling the collar of her white shirt away from her skin, she smiled hesitatingly at the beautiful scene in front of her. Long, golden-brown stems of wheat swaying in the air with the breeze. The area was filled with the sound of the swaying wheat, the sun casting a golden glow on the stems. A sea of golden wheat plants was visible for as far as she could see, cut off at the edge by dark and dense trees.
The field was littered with scarecrows, with brown straws tied in small bales to make their hands and body. Dressed in normal human clothes, they were eerie to look at. Finally, her gaze went to the middle of the field, the one place that single-handedly turned this beautiful place into an unsettling, terrifying one.
A single pole, devoid of any scarecrow, with the surrounding wheat stems destroyed and downtrodden. The blood surrounding the pole was so much that the red was visible from the edge itself.
Pursing her lips, she felt the seriousness of the situation settle in.
Iori-senpai pointed towards the middle of the field, her straight purple hair shining sleekly as the wind ruffled through them.
"This is where it happened. According to the report, the curse turned the victim into a scarecrow by-" Iori fell silent, and Sanvi scratched her nose, not wanting to hear it anyway.
By skinning them alive and stuffing their skin with bales and immaculately stitched skin mirroring a terrifying smile.
"I don't think it is a Grade 2 cursed spirit," Iori-senpai said, her eyes narrowing at the field. Sanvi almost shuddered, her eyes stuck to the single pole in the middle of the field.
It felt like a dream. While she knew how brutal the curses were, for the first time the example was right in front of her eyes. Thankfully, she was spared from the vision of the victim as their body was already taken down and sent to the mortuary at Tokyo High. Their identity was yet to be ascertained, but they did look young.
She wondered if her father, who was in the military back home, had ever seen someone dead. Which she felt was a stupid question, because he had fought in a literal war in Kargil 7 years ago. Of course, he had seen dead people, from his comrades to the more innocent people. That was a time he never talked about willingly.
But she wondered if he saw things to such an extent.
If he knew what I was doing here, I wonder how he would react...
The man who reluctantly satisfied her morbid curiosity with the tales he'd rather not recount. Especially to his daughter, nonetheless. After all, what parent would want their child to know the dark side of the world?
"And you are right, it's not. That's why I am here."
The girls turned around, watching as Yoshida Eiji, a Grade 1 sorcerer, exhaled smoke as he shook his cigarette a bit, the dark ash falling on the dirt path. From the corner of her eyes, Sanvi saw Iori-senpai scrunch her nose in disgust.
"But the report says there is a-"
The surly man gave her a side eye, dismissing her with a wave of hand. Sanvi scowled, understanding Iori-senpai's dislike for him.
"The report gave a shoddy description of the state of the body. With the flawless way the body was sown up, sounds like a higher grade to all of us." He said, taking another drag of his cigarette.
Yoshida Eiji was a tall man, towering both over her and Iori-sensei. He wasn't too old, looked like in his mid-twenties. His burly form was accentuated by his form-fitting, black button-down shirt which he wore under a long trench coat.
In summer, she might add.
His dark hair was gelled back, and his honey-brown eyes appeared amber under the sun. He was conventionally attractive, Sanvi supposes, and perhaps that was the reason why his womanizing ways were quite the gossip material among sorcerers.
Sanvi had first heard of him through Takeda-san, the fourth-year who had gone on a mission under his guidance. The 19-year-old girl (the same age as Utahime-senpai) despite being tight-lipped about the mission that promoted her to the semi-grade 1 rank, was quick to turn the attention towards the flirtatious Yoshida-san.
Sanvi remembered grimacing, he might be a first-grade sorcerer, but what kind of twenty-something guy would flirt with a nineteen-year-old?
"Yes, but I don't understand why you are here," Iori-senpai muttered, glaring at him darkly. The man shrugged, and Sanvi saw how his eyes had roamed over Iori-senpai before he smiled in a crooked manner. Impressively, Iori-senpai did not back down or show any discomfort she was certainly feeling, though her face did tense up a little. On the other hand, Sanvi did fidget in an uncomfortable manner, which seemed to catch his attention.
"Heh, the pipsqueak's sensei cashed in some favors," He said, throwing his cigarette down and stepping on it, "Come to think of it, I wonder what the elders were thinking, sending a twelve-year-old here."
"I'm fourteen-" her protest was ignored by both the elder sorcerers.
"It doesn't matter what the elders were thinking. I am here, and so is my kohai. There's no time to chit-chat, we have a curse to find and put an end to." Iori-senpai all but snapped at him.
"The curse is speculated to be some sort of scarecrow curse, according to the report. This was the first victim, who was skinned alive before they were turned into a scarecrow and tied to the post. The owners visited the field in the morning to start the harvesting season and found them there. Initial investigation by the police revealed that surprisingly, the person is not from this village. We do not know who they are or what they were doing here in the first place. The local postman, who is a window, sensed cursed energy here and contacted us after a woman from their village disappeared last evening." He said, jumping down into the field.
The girls shared a look before they followed the man towards the center of the field. The wheat tickled Sanvi's skin, but her breath was stuck at the fact that the auxiliary manager was nowhere to be found.
"The one who was supposed to accompany you was a Second Grade Sorcerer, but your teacher was suspicious. Unfortunately for me," he said, slowing down as they reached the bloodied land and the pole in the middle of it, "I had just returned from another mission and Fujikawa hounded me into accepting this mission."
Sanvi took in the scene with wide eyes. She didn't realize just how much blood the human body possesses until she saw the it on the ground and the surrounding wheat stems. A squishing sound came as her foot stepped over something. She gagged at the thing she saw stuck to her shoe- something skin-colored and covered in red liquid.
"Heh, first time? Looks like some part of the organ that the curse probably feasted upon. After all, where would the rest of the inside of the body go?" He yawned, stretching his arms.
Sanvi grimaced, feeling nausea settle in. She could not decide what was worse- the remnants of the savage attack or the nonchalant way the man in front of her addressed it.
Are all the strong sorcerers like this? She thought of Rihan, her gentle and playful brother, whose eyes were always filled with love for her. The way he teased her, got furious at her whenever she annoyed him, and made her laugh when she was down. Then she thought of the way he cried when he left her in Tokyo High.
Was he also like this? Was he also this heartless, this nonchalant when he saw people getting massacred and butchered?
Iori-senpai put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her out of her thoughts. If she saw her watery eyes, then she said nothing, only patting her back. She did not look all too good either, and it did comfort Sanvi that she alone was not affected by the scene.
"The civilian you mentioned, the one who was missing, we were supposed to find her. Exorcise the spirit or even engage with it was not what we were asked to do. We should start searching for her this instant." The purple-haired girl said in a steely manner.
"Hmm, yes, I get it. But why the hell you two? Anyway, it's not my problem. Considering the state of the body, there's no way we are finding her alive. It probably took her in the woods."
Sanvi did not like the way he had already declared her dead. She opened her mouth to protest but Iori had caught her wrist. When the younger girl turned to look at her, she shook her head grimly. Grimacing, the auburn-haired girl nodded slowly.
Her nausea was getting stronger with each step she took, but still, steeling her nerves, Sanvi followed the elder sorcerers into the forest.
"I think we should split up-" Iori-senpai stated before she was interrupted rudely.
"Great, take the kid and go right. Don't go in too deep if you feel something suspicious. And for the love of god, don't directly engage with the curse if you run across it. Call me or go for some type of signal." The dark-haired sorcerer said seriously, eyeing them both.
"Wait- but how can I call you when there won't be any signal on my cellphone-"
"Eh, you will figure it out. Besides, you have a human flamethrower with you. But if you are not sure, then hey, take this. Make use of it."
Yoshida Eiji opened his coat before pulling out a small blade and handing it to Iori, who took it with a perplexed expression on her face.
"Huh? Where did you even keep it-"
"See you later! Try not to die? It will be quite troublesome for me." He flashed them a smile which made Sanvi's spine crawl and turned in the opposite direction, sauntering into the forest as if without a care in the world.
"He talks a bit too much," Sanvi murmured to her senior, who looked like she was going to blow up in anger, "And this is so careless, the way he just dismissed us without any plans-"
"You don't feel it yet...but I can feel slight traces of cursed energy in the direction he went. It must be a strong curse," Iori said, a thoughtful expression on her face," because if it was a weak one, I couldn't have felt its cursed energy at all. Besides, that guy is a Grade 1 Sorcerer. He senses cursed energy much more easily than we do."
"So what is he expecting us to find there?" Sanvi asked, adjusting her glasses.
Iori shrugged, a flat expression on her face.
"Nothing perhaps. Maybe he is just sending us on a wild goose chase. To keep us out of his way maybe?"
There was a pause before Sanvi huffed.
"I am weirdly offended. With me, I get it. But you are a great sorcerer. And it can never hurt to have a backup, just in case. So arrogant."
"You know, in the Jujutsu world, two types of people are this arrogant. Grade 1 sorcerers, especially the men, and the clan kids." Iori replied flatly. Walking in front of her kouhai, she made sure to hold any stray branches she came across so that they wouldn't hit the younger girl following her. Sanvi noticed this, her eyes brightening at her senior's chivalrous ways.
"You are also from a clan, senpai. But you are very kind- kinder than a lot of people." She said, noticing the Wway tension seemed to leave Iori's shoulders.
"I am from a clan, that's true, but not strong enough. I didn't inherit the cursed technique, and in terms of offense, my own is considered mediocre at best. But I am glad to know you think so highly of me." She teased her slightly, smiling back at her.
"Yeah well-" Sanvi stumbled over an overgrown root, holding onto Iori's outstretched hand, "Because you are! Out of all the people I have met so far, I can only consider Nanami, Haibara, Shoko-senpai, and you as friends." She said sheepishly.
Iori let out a light laugh.
"Well, Shoko and the boys are indeed good people. Can't say the same for the other two though." Iori said, her face turning bland at the mere mention of the other two.
She really did not like them.
"Yeah, I don't like them either. So haughty, egoistic and arrogant. They are horrible." Sanvi agreed, scrunching her nose. Iori nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes indeed! Say, Shoko told me about what happened at your mission..last month." The purple-haired girl said tentatively, her eyes roaming around the forest, taking in every single detail.
Sanvi tensed up, looking down at the leaves on the forest floor scrunching under her shoes.
"You okay about it?"
"Uhmm, yeah I am fine."
The purple-haired girl spared her a glance and sighed at the downtrodden look on the girl's face.
"I don't know what Gojo said to you, but ignore it! As a sorcerer, he is an anomaly, you know...he is entirely different from the rest of us. With how effortlessly he does things, he doesn't know what it is like for the rest of us- how we struggle to hone our skills and to survive. Those who know what it is really like would be much more understanding. Missions go horribly wrong all the time, and this was your first time. What happened was not meant to, but both you and Nanami survived. It is all that matters. You have improved a lot in the past few months, and you will continue to. It will all be fine."
A smile blossomed on her face, and with a blushing face, she stared at the Miko's back. She was still holding her hand, not wanting to separate at any cost.
"You are the best, Iori-senpai." Sanvi said, squeezing her hand.
"Ha! Of course, I am kiddo!" The purple-haired girl said, flipping her hair over her shoulder, causing both of the girls to end up in giggles.
"Say, senpai...did you have such problems in controlling your cursed energy?"
"Huh? Of course, I did! Believe me, it was the worst time ever. It took me months, in school alone, to hone it. You get better as you grow older and get more experience. Only a select few, like Gojo and Geto, have complete control over their cursed energy so soon. Even Shoko is still learning, and she is one of the rare few who can use RCT on others."
"Then how did you solve it?"
"What I did was pretty unconventional. You see, my cursed technique makes use of both singing and dancing. I love dancing in itself, so when all the other methods did not seem to be working all that well, I tried incorporating it into my dance routine. Focused my cursed energy within my hands, and danced while making sure it didn't blow up in my face. It's not like other methods weren't working, but they weren't effective enough, I guess."
"Huh?" Sanvi almost stood still as her face broke into a reluctant smile. She tugged at the older girl to make her stop.
"Do you think I can try!?"
"Sure, I guess. But I wonder if random dancing would work...because the dance I do is more traditional- related to my cursed technique and I have been practicing it since I was little. So..."
"Uhm, well I have been dancing for the last 10 years also. And my dance is also traditional...I am a classical dancer, you see. I think I get what you are trying to say, and I can try to make it work. These seals have indeed helped me a lot with my cursed energy, I have not had an episode with my cursed energy for a while, but I still struggle with the more general uses. Like I can use it in smaller amounts and in a more refined way, but I can't use it in bigger amounts yet."
Tapping her finger on her chin, Iori hummed in contemplation.
"It worked for me because dancing was like second nature to me, I had practiced it for so long that I could go in the flow undisturbed for long. I did not have to focus on the dance and keeping my breathing normal, how to move, and stuff, because I was already perfect at that. All I had to focus was on controlling my cursed energy in the same way I could dance- like a second nature. If it's the same for you, then I would say it is worth a try. However I should warn you it is not an overnight process, it will take time!"
Sanvi nodded enthusiastically.
"Thank you so much, Senpai!"
As both the girls went in deeper and deeper, Sanvi noticed the forest getting quieter and quieter. The birds were no longer chirping, the leaves were no longer whistling with the breeze, and the bushes were no longer rustling. The forest was turning darker and darker, the sunshine diminishing with each step into the forest.
It was Iori who broke the silence.
"Hey, you said you were only fourteen. Here most kids start high school when they are fifteen."
"Oh yeah, Haibara asked the same question. I suppose in India there's no set rule as such. A lot of people start elementary school at 5, and others at 6, hence the difference later on. Back home, it's completely normal. Not so much here, I guess. I will turn fifteen in December though."
As she was talking, the auburn-haired girl saw a shiver run through Iori. It was then that she noticed that her sweating had long stopped. A cold breeze blew against her nape and she rubbed her neck. The temperature had indeed fallen.
But it was a noise that made both of them stop in their tracks.
Iori put a finger to her mouth in a signal to shut up and listen. A whimper reached her ears, and Sanvi felt as if icy fingers were gripping her from within. Heart beating fast, she heard another sound that shook her from within.
The sound of something tearing, followed by a strangled scream, a kind which she had not heard ever before. It was a sound that would haunt her for the rest of her life.
A look at Iori, who was green in her face, did not bode well with her. The older girl pulled out her phone to check, and of course, there were no signals.
"Che!" She muttered angrily, pocketing her phone and tightening her grip on the blade's handle.
Sanvi pursed her lips, nervously wringing her hands. Her senses tingled, and her cursed energy flared when she sensed a curse's presence nearby. Beside her, Iori seemed to have schooled her expression, perhaps realizing that any weakness on her part would only discourage her kouhai.
"Something's wrong. The curse should be a Grade 1, and not here. While this one's cursed energy is weaker...perhaps a Grade 2. But what the hell is it even doing here!? The report mentioned only one."
"There is more than one cursed spirit, then?"
"I'm afraid so..."
"But then the cursed spirits should be fighting among themselves for prey, shouldn't they?"
"Not if the main culprit is intelligent enough to go beyond this kind of instinct."
"Oh...you mean..."
"Well," Iori said, rolling her shoulders and giving her a grave look, "Whoever that person is, looks like they are alive. You can stay here if you want, but I have to go."
"I can give a signal-"
"The forest is too dense, it will catch fire. You can stay-"
Sanvi sighed, before clenching her fingers into a fist. Taking a deep breath, she looked at her senior with determination. She was terrified of what she would find, and what state the person whimpering would be in. But god forbid she abandon someone to die when they might have a chance to live.
At least I have Iori-senpai. But that person, they are alone. I can think of nothing more terrifying- dying alone. Papa never left anyone behind, even if it almost killed him. And I won't either!
"No, let's go. Besides," She gave her a shaky smirk (after all, fake confidence until you make it, right?), "I think I have a trick we can try."