"I'm sorry."
Sanvi sighed, putting the katana down back on the ground, its blade crumbling at the end.
Her cursed energy flared uncontrollably, the flames crackling at the skin of her arms and shoulders. She had no idea how to put it out, so she waved her arms around in case that worked. But the flames just ended up on the ground, setting the grass on fire.
Her face paled at the sight and she froze in her place, turning to face Fujikawa-sensei.
The woman scratched her cheek, a thoughtful expression on her face. At the sight of her pale face, she waved a hand.
"Calm down. Don't worry about it. It's only grass. Close your eyes, and take a deep breath. Don't think about anything that would make you feel something strong, whether positive or negative. You just have to keep your mind off this. Calm your emotions down, and if it's still burning then let it. Just don't move until your cursed energy is back under control."
Sanvi did as told, closing her eyes and thinking about the new season of Naruto that was released a few days ago. She did not trust herself thinking about Pokemon Diamond, still not having defeated Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion, and her overpowered Garchomp. That would be a recipe for disaster, given her strong attachment to the game.
Briefly, her thoughts wandered to her parents, and what would they be doing back home.
Papa would probably be at work, and Mumma would be at home, resting perhaps.
Her father did send a text that she had been discharged from the hospital, for now. Her grandmother would be looking after her, at least until he didn't come home. She then thought about her sister, who must have been working hard to unpack and set her things in her new apartment. She wondered what paint they finally chose, Sanvi did vote for the warm cream one.
Her thoughts again circled back to the new Naruto season. It was apparently the last season, and the new sequel series would probably be released next year.
"It's okay now, open your eyes."
Sighing deeply, Sanvi did as told. Her cursed energy had finally simmered away, leaving black scorching marks on the ground below. Her hand moved towards her shirt, and of course, she felt the large holes in her shirt as the fire ate away at her clothes.
"Why is it not working? Nanami and Haibara are already so much better at it than I am. What am I doing wrong?" She asked, scratching away at the red skin of her arms absentmindedly.
The blonde woman slapped Sanvi's hands off her arms. Resting a hand on her shoulder, she led them towards the school building. Once near, she waited as the auburn-haired girl gathered her bag from a bench near the entrance and after urging her to drink some water, led them inside the armory.
"It's not what you are doing wrong, it's what we still haven't figured out. I followed this method of using a weapon to channel curse energy because it works for a majority of sorcerers. Especially best for those gifted with an amount of cursed energy more than your average sorcerer, like you are. The theory is that instead of imbuing too much energy at once, you infuse only small amounts at a time."
Sanvi listened to each and every single word of hers carefully. Fujikawa-sensei wrapped the katana in a cloth and led them deeper into the armory. She watched with fascination at the various weapons that stood tall over her. From knives to katanas to axes to maces - the armory had everything in between. Her eyes fell on a particular weapon she did not even know the name of, but it was so heavy and tall she wondered who even was able to use it.
She stopped and prodded at it, forgetting her sensei who was further ahead doing something or the other. Her hand gripped the handle of the weapon, which looked like a very tall spear but the head of the weapon was pretty different. She squeaked loudly under a sudden weight as the weapon suddenly fell off its support and over her.
Both of her hands burned as she tried to keep it over her and not let it fall on her head. Her back bent back but even after trying, she could not move it back onto its support. Her savior came in the form of her sensei, who without batting an eyelash, simply held it with one hand and pushed it back where it belonged.
Sanvi blinked slowly.
"It's where we keep the compromised weapons," Sensei called out, pointing to the area further ahead before leading her out of the armory.
"So, theoretically it should work for me right?"
Sensei hummed. She stopped, checking her phone for something, before walking towards the east wing of the school, away from all the classrooms.
"It should, but I failed to keep in account the fact that your cursed energy is different from others. The properties of fire do not only provide superficial changes to your cursed energy, but it changes its nature from the very core level. Compared to others, your cursed energy is much more unstable, and much more usable in raw form because of your lack of control over it. Though if I am correct, your cursed technique has something to do with using it in such a form itself, we'll just have to wait and see."
They took a turn for a hallway that was fully empty and walked to a door at the very end. Her nerves thrummed with excitement, anxious to see what she would find on the other end of the door.
Sensei opened the door, and she watched with bated breath, expecting another cool room like the armory or something. But it was just a normal room, with a lot of papers strewn around, ink and brushes scattered on a table in the middle of the room. Her face fell, and she quietly followed the woman in. Entering, she realized that the walls were also covered in multiple papers, with various scripts written on them.
She walked around the room, peering into the yellowish papers. She recognized Kanji (no surprise), an old English script that said words she could not understand, Sanskrit that had been written in the familiar Devanagari script of her mother tongue, and even what looked like ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Other papers included scripts and writings that were completely unfamiliar to her, ones she had not ever seen or heard of.
Her grin returned to her face. Now, this is much, much more interesting.
At the corner of the room, in a glass almirah, she could see various scrolls stored on top of one another.
"For an average sorcerer, they can learn how to control their entire cursed energy as a whole along with their emotions. That's always an option for them which you do not have. The katana should have worked, but you need to start from very small. Even the small amount of your cursed energy that you tried putting in the katana was too much for the weapon because of its different properties. In large amounts, your energy is unstable and hence too much for an untrained child to control. But if you start small, and learn the intricate and refined use of the cursed energy then you might be able to control it in large amounts."
Sensei trailed off, opening the almirah and going through the scrolls.
"I know it goes against logic. Any normal person with a normal cursed energy would think of trying to control the bulk once and then go on to the more elaborate and specific uses. First simple, then complex. But we will do the opposite. Here, you might even find it easier. Those with large amounts of cursed energy do tend to prefer this method. Since the katana could not handle it, maybe this will work...you do seem the nerdy type anyway. You'll probably enjoy this."
Sanvi watched with wide eyes as the blond woman took out a yellowish scroll from the very back.
"What if it does not work?"
Sensei gave her a quick smile before ruffling her hair.
"Then we find a new way. Now, what do you know about seals and barriers?"
"What the hell is wrong with the both of them!?"
Haibara jumped in his seat, obviously not expecting her. Nanami, on the other hand, gave her a side-eye before sighing and closing his book.
"What happened now?"
Sanvi let out a hiss as her skirt got caught at the edge of the table and she kicked her chair away from the desk loudly. She felt the buzzing in her body become more unstable as a small flame crackled from her skin and into the air, before disappearing in seconds.
Her temper reached new heights.
She was trying, but she could not control her cursed energy still. If anything, it seems like it was becoming worse. Whether she finds herself happy, sad, scared, embarrassed, angry, or anything in between, these flames and embers are becoming even more visible now.
Pushing her hair out of her eyes, she took her place between Haibara and Nanami. The blond boy looked at her warily, probably waiting for another outburst. Sweet Haibara was looking at her with a sympathetic and friendly expression on his face.
"Arghh! Who do you think I am talking about? Of course, it's the stupid love birds." She put her head in her hands and rubbed her palms over her eyes.
"Oh. My. God. Nanami, Haibara, these guys are literally the worst! I really thought with what happened last week that maybe they were not so bad, bantering and laughing with them was fun but fuck I don't think I can even look at their faces now without feeling the intense need to just punch them till all their teeth break."
"Well, you were the one making googly eyes at Geto-senpai." Nanami pointed out, before leaning a bit on his desk.
Sanvi scoffed.
"Well, obviously I learned looks are not everything. God, just the audacity of these two. Who the hell they think they are!? That's why I don't like these prodigies and the like, they are so fucking full of it. Especially that Gojo, he's such an asshole. Fuck him, honestly."
"I have been saying this since the first day, but you were the one who thought he was funny."
"He stopped being funny a long time ago! All he does is mock and humiliate me, and being all flirtatious and coy. Do you know what he said to me in front of Takeda-senpai!? God, I could not look in her eyes after that. And that Geto, all he does is encourage that piece of shit."
"He is just doing all that to feed his ego," Haibara commented wisely, patting her arm in consolation.
"Just how much more feeding does his ego need!? His head is going to burst with all the shit he has in it!"
"You need to stop reacting to him now, or he will go on forever. You know that's the only way to deal with these types of people."
"Nanami you know it's not just about being mocked in front of a bunch of strangers. I know I suck at all of this alright!? I know I am so weak that I can't even control this stupid cursed energy, but he doesn't have to rub it in! He thinks it's hilarious when I lose control over something he says, but I do not find it funny. I am already trying my best! And his boyfriend is just as bad. All he does is fuel the fire with even more comments on weak people and whatnot. I don't know what you see in him Haibara, I think these two especially hate me for some reason."
Sanvi quieted down as she heard a pair of footsteps approaching the classroom. The footsteps soon passed, and she saw a pair of third-years pass by. Haibara took the opportunity of quiet from her side to ask the main question.
"Well, what did he do now?"
"What did he not!? Fujikawa-sensei just asked the second years to take me along on a mission tomorrow so I can learn from them or whatever. And of course, he starts spewing bullshit out of his mouth, about how he is sooo great and is the messiah of mankind, and how the rest of us are maggots under his feet. About how stupid he thinks the non-sorcerers are and whatnot. Like, I don't care what he thinks - I tried to ignore it in the beginning you know? I thought it would be a one-time thing or something like that but each and every single time I fail at something he just has to comment. And if it's such a bother to help protect non-sorcerers then why even take missions!? Unlike him, I actually happen to have a heart and I just can't stand such talk. Unlike him, the rest of us don't come from hotshot wizard clans. These non-sorcerers also include our families and friends, you know? And he talks about them as if they are worthless. God, I hate him so much!"
Haibara ruffled his hair, letting out a sigh. He hooked his fingers in the spring of his notebook and pulled at it absentmindedly.
"That's true, even I don't like this about him. That's why I respect Geto-senpai, at least he understands why jujutsu sorcerers exist in the first place. But look, there is nothing you can do to change your situation. You'll have to deal with them both for quite some time now. If you keep letting your emotions get the best of you with them, you are not going to make any progress. You know how important emotional control is when it comes to manipulating cursed energy, especially a kind like yours."
Nanami rested his head on his hand, giving her a contemplating look.
"If you think they will change then that's not going to happen. You keep bitching about them all you want, I'm always available for that but don't let them get between what you really want. If they can't help you with anything, don't let them hinder you either. Ignoring them is the best advice I can give you."
Rubbing her forehead with her fingers, she murmured her agreement with both of them.
Sanvi hummed, earphones in, and painted her nails in the common room. Spreading her hand on the table, she leaned back in her chair and examined it. The cherry red color looked beautiful against the light brown of her skin, and she smiled in satisfaction. Switching hands, and starting to apply the nail paint on the other hand, she glanced back at the television.
It blared in the background with some anime she did not bother to know the name of.
Nanami and Haibara were yet to arrive, having no plan to come early.
It was a Sunday, and they had planned on taking a trip down to Tokyo. There was no destination in mind as such, other than cafe hopping and window shopping. Things have been busy for the past few weeks. They would train, attend classes, take on a few low-level missions, and then again go back to train some more. In the evening, sensei would call her to the room back in the east wing and teach her the art of seals and barriers. And she would end the night by hanging out with Ieiri-san, or rather, Shoko.
She glanced at the open windows, watching the sunlight filter in. The breeze moved the white curtains, and her eyes watched transfixed.
She felt someone tugging on her scarf and looked back lazily.
It was Shoko. The brown-haired girl waved at her and took a seat beside her. She pulled her earphones out and grinned at her.
"What's up?"
Shoko groaned and leaned back in the chair.
"I don't want the weekend to end. Wish I could just take a nap."
"What's stopping you?"
"Can't sleep."
"Wanna go out with us?"
"Where are you going?"
"Not decided yet. Whatever is closer, somewhere not crowded though. I do wanna buy lip gloss and nail paint though. "
Shoko looked at her in contemplation. She seemed to think for a while before shrugging.
"Sure, why not. I wanna buy a pack of cigarettes anyway. I'm all out."
Shoko pulled out her phone, texting someone. Sanvi went back to painting her nails. A lock of her hair came in front of her eyes, and she tried to blow it away but failed. The anime continued blaring in the background, a fight playing out on the television.
"Who do you keep texting Shoko-senpai, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Huh?" Shoko looked up, before smiling gently. She went back to her phone and after a few seconds, showed the screen to her.
It was a picture. Sanvi recognized Shoko, her hair much longer, and pulled into twin tails. She was on her knees, hugging a small boy with the same round cheeks as her. He was grinning widely, teeth visible, a colored picture held up in his hands proudly. Sanvi smiled at how cute the boy was.
"It's my brother Shouta. He sometimes uses my mother's phone to text me. Cute, isn't he?"
Sanvi awwed, "Only as cute as his sister."
Shoko let out a short laugh, showing her even more pictures of her brother.
A loud conversation filled the corridor outside, and Sanvi sighed wistfully, already missing the peace and quiet.
Of course, Gojo and Geto entered the common room. But what was surprising was the person following them.
"I am your Senpai, Gojo! You really need to learn to respect your elders! Are you even listening to me!?"
Sanvi perked up, leaning back in her chair to look past Gojo and at the owner of the feminine voice. It was a girl, looking older than them. The first thing she noticed was how pretty she was. With long violet hair, amber eyes, and cute bangs, she had a fierce expression on her face, starkly contrasting the cute face she had. She was wearing a miko uniform, something Sanvi had only seen once in real life.
"Respect is earned, not given freely to anyone Utahime~!" Gojo said in a sing-song manner, and she rolled her eyes at the voice.
Remember how she thought that Gojo and Geto were okay people? Turns out that the more you know them, the progressively worse they get. Gojo's voice was beginning to grate on her ears, and she could not help the slight sneer that appeared on her lips.
Ever since that day, Gojo had been getting particularly nastier. She had been failing a lot in her training. While Nanami and Haibara had already moved on from the cursed energy control training, she was still stuck on it. She did not know how he came to know about it, but he was starting to mock her and taunt her about it a lot. Geto would soon join, keeping a polite smile on his face but making a few passive-aggressive comments every now and then.
She wondered what their deal was, but she did come to a conclusion. They were obviously in some sort of relationship, though for some reason they only called each other "best friends". Perhaps they were annoyed that she got too casual with them.
Or maybe they were just arrogant assholes.
Whatever the reason, she decided to ignore it and kept her distance from them.
Sneering at his back, she closed the nail paint, both her hands done with. Splaying her hands in the air in front of her, she smiled in satisfaction. When she looked up, the new girl was already looking at her. She gave her a smile before approaching. Shoko kicked another chair from the table, gesturing for her to sit.
"How was the mission Utahime-senpai?"
"It was fine, nothing special. Just a small fry curse in an abandoned shop in Harajuku." The violet-haired girl said, before turning to Sanvi. But before she could even say anything, the white haired menace again butted into the conversation, never failing to give his two cents on things that did not concern him.
"Say Utahime, they still giving you those useless missions? Even a bunch of newbies could do those ya know?" Gojo drawled out from behind them, manspreading on the couch. Both Utahime and Sanvi scoffed at the same time and looked at each other.
"So you are the new first-year right? I'm Iori Utahime, a second-grade sorcerer. Nice to meet you." She smiled very cutely, and the auburn-haired girl grinned back.
"Nice to meet you, Iori-senpai! My name is Sanvi Sharma, but please call me Sanvi. I'm so glad to meet another girl here."
If anything, Utahime's eyes brightened.
"I know right? I'm so glad you are here too, which means Shoko would have to spend less time with these two." Her voice became particularly biting at the end.
She heard Gojo scoff from the corner of a room.
"Oh, I don't think it's as good as you think it is. This one," he said, pointing a thumb at her, "can't even control her cursed energy yet. And it's been what, months now? That's even worse than you Utahime."
"Shut up. It's not even your conversation, stop butting in." Utahime snapped, and Sanvi quietly looked at the desk. It's not something new she had heard from him, he always insults everyone. Plus, it's not like he was particularly wrong, per se.
"Huh? And whenever have I ever followed what you say?" He said, before getting up from the couch and moving towards them. He pulled a chair adjacent to her and sat down. She scrunched her nose as his legs touched hers, and she moved away from him.
Shoko sighed, shaking her head.
"That's why I need cigarettes desperately."
"Honestly though, you are really bad at it. Perhaps you should try going for the position of an auxiliary manager. But even they require a certain amount of training, maybe you should just settle for being a window."
Sanvi sighed deeply before pursing her lips. She was not falling for his tricks again. Instead, she brought her nails to her mouth and blew on them softly.
"Hey," she felt him poke her arm," it's disrespectful to ignore your senpai, you know."
She turned to Iori, who had put her head in her hands and was looking more stressed than she should. Shoko's eyes were sharp and she was glaring at Gojo with a warning look. Gojo raised his hands in the air, leaning away from her.
"Come now, Satoru. Leave them alone," Geto said from the couch, "don't bother wasting your time on someone who doesn't appreciate your help."
Sanvi looked back at him incredulously.
"Excuse me? Help me? You think bullying me is help?"
"That's rude, Satoru is just looking out for you," Geto said, his lips curling in a smirk.
"Well, I don't want him to."
"Okay guys, I think it's time to-"
Shoko was interrupted by Geto, who rested his head on the palm of his hand.
"Oh, don't say that. Do you know how hard it is to convince Satoru to look out for the weak?"
"Motherfuc-"
She was interrupted by a large hand resting on the back of her chair, and turning her around to face snow-white hair and uncharacteristically serious blue eyes.
"Listen, it's not that you don't have the potential to be strong, you are just not competent enough. It's a shame really, such a special cursed energy wasted on you." He mused, before perking up. "And isn't Fujikawa-sensei teaching you things like talismans and seals and stuff?"
Sanvi shuffled uncomfortably in her seat. She felt a weight settle on her chest, and her lips quivered slightly. Her fingers fiddled with the gold ring on her left hand, twisting it on her finger.
"She said...she said it would help me..." She trailed off, stomach flipping as he gave her an indulging look.
"Sure," He drawled out, letting out a small laugh along with Geto, "aren't you guys going out? Stay away from boys, Jaani dear, all right? Since you can't control yourself in the presence of one."
She felt humiliation burn through her. Opening her mouth to say something, she quickly looked down, pursing her lips. She scrunched her face up in order to stop her eyes from watering, but it didn't work at all. She heard Shoko telling him to shut up and Iori-senpai berating him.
"Come on, why are you coming after me? It's not like I am wrong! Should you really be taking her out anyways? Don't wanna set a shop or something on fire-"
"That's enough Satoru." Geto stepped towards them, but she was already done with this conversation.
Sniffing, she stood up quickly and collected her cell phone and nail paint before stuffing them into her bag.
"Hey, come on, you know how these two are. Okay, you know what, let's go right now. We will pick Nanami and Haibara-"
Sanvi interrupted Shoko quietly, carefully ignoring the two second-years behind her. Keeping her gaze on her shoes, she stole a quick glance at both the girls and smiled shakily.
"It's fine, you guys go. See you again, Iori-senpai."
From the corner of her eyes, Sanvi saw that the evening sky was a pretty pink. In the distance, the trees swayed in the wind, the birds flew home over the temples of Jujutsu High.
Everything looked inky black when placed against the blushing skies. Blinking slowly, she let out a yawn. Her ink-stained fingers came towards her face to push her hair out of her eyes, but upon realizing the state she hurriedly pulled her hand away.
Even though it was a Sunday, Sanvi had locked herself up in Fujikawa-sensei's working room. She sat on the cold floor, right beside the open balcony. Several pages were strewn before her, full of what would seem like scribbles and gibberish to a normal person.
With a heavy sigh, she laid down on her back, pulling an arm over her eyes. It was a hot and humid day, though bearable enough. After all, the climate back home was much hotter than Tokyo.
While not ideal for her body, moving here was still a bit of a respite. It was probably because of her special cursed energy, but her body temperature was always pretty high compared to the rest. While this aspect of her body was welcome in the colder months, it made her life hell for the rest of the year. She could not wait to get older, so she could leave everything behind and settle in the snow-capped mountains for the rest of her life.
She absentmindedly twisted the ring on her finger, lips pursing while remembering the debacle in the common room earlier.
A wave of fiery frustration fell over her, and she sat up, huffing.
A lock of curly hair fell over her eyes, and she blew softly to get it out of her eyes. Scratching her cheekbone, she scrunched her nose while trying to get Gojo's annoying face and his annoying voice out of her mind.
"Motherfucker." She snapped in the empty room, rubbing her hands over her watery eyes in anger.
It's a shame really, such a special cursed energy wasted on you.
Letting out a strangled cry of frustration, she pushed herself on her knees and bent over the papers. She fished out an ancient-looking scroll from the pocket of her backpack and opened it flat. Her hair fell over the paper like a curtain, hiding her face from the world.
Should you really be taking her out anyways? Don't wanna set something on fire again-
Her face scrunched up, tears falling over the pages below. Using the marker, she wrote a few kanji characters in straight lines forming the shape of a diamond. The pressure of her fingers on the pen increased, and she scowled heavily when the paper tore down under her anger. A string of curses left her lips when she realized that the seal she had been working on since the morning was all lost.
The day just keeps getting worse and worse.
She pushed the marker through the paper and began tearing it up completely in anger.
"What has the poor paper done to you?"
She bristled behind the veil of her hair, sneering at the voice but ignoring it completely.
Geto sighed heavily.
Sanvi rubbed at her eyes and her cheeks with her sleeve, still ignoring his presence and hoping he would go away on his own.
"The door wasn't locked, so I came in. Hope you won't mind."
"You and your boyfriend both hope for a lot." She couldn't help the bitter jibe that left her lips.
"Ah, yes, about Satoru-"
"Shut it already."
"Excuse me?"
She spun her head in his direction, watching the frozen smile on his face. If anything, his polite yet distant smile made her even more frustrated.
"I said, shut it. And leave me alone. I don't wanna hear anything from you."
"Well, there are things I have to say to you."
"Ughh. If you are here to do damage control on behalf of your boyfriend, then go back. Seriously. I am not in the mood to even hear about him." She made sure to roll her eyes to express her utter annoyance.
The dark-haired boy walked over before sitting on the floor in front of her. She felt her hackles rise, and huffed as he scratched his forehead with his thumb. He gave her a cautious smile, and she shuffled away from him. He let out a low chuckle, making her blush despite the situation.
"I cannot say Satoru doesn't mean what he says, because he does. Though I agree he can be a bit insensitive about it."
"What did I just say..." Sanvi gave him a deadpan look. Geto, if annoyed at the interruption, didn't show it outwardly.
"Life as a shaman is full of death and suffering...in such a world where not even the strong are safe, the weak are bound to die sooner than later. All it just needs is one mission to go wrong, and you are lucky if even a part of your body is ever found. But I doubt anyone here will tell you that." He said, somewhat bitterly. A bitchy reply died on her lips as the image of her own brother begging for her forgiveness at the gates of this school cropped up in her mind.
"Satoru is definitely not the most compassionate or considerate person around, but he is kind in his own way. Despite all of the shit he regularly says, he does not want people around him getting hurt. Especially not when he can do something about it. His methods are far from acceptable, but he tries in his own way."
A bang fell over his face, and he calmly took an empty paper from the pile beside them. Taking the marker from her hand, he drew the same diamond of kanji she had tried to make. She noticed as he included a circle of kanji inside it, brows furrowed in concentration.
"Right. Like he really cares whether I live or die. I am going to be honest with you, I don't care whether he wants me to give up or if he is hoping nagging and humiliating me is going to make me work harder and get stronger." She said wryly.
"Listen, I don't need his kindness. I have no plans of joining this fucked up life and I feel no shame in admitting it. The only reason I am here is to learn how to control this cursed energy so that no one ever gets hurt because of me. I am trying my best, and I don't care if doing this," Sanvi gestures her hands towards the paper strewn her, "is weak or whatever. I am under no obligation to prove anything to anyone, let alone him."
Geto peered down at her, before taking her hand in his. She squawked and tried to pull away, but he pulled her closer and brought her hands to clutch the paper. She looked at him quizzically, before he positioned her hands and fingers in a certain position around the paper.
"I don't know how much she has taught you, but if you bent your ring and index finger to your thumb like this," he bent his own fingers as an example, "and twist your wrist just a little bit, you will find it that the flow of cursed energy is much smoother. I bet you feel that you are just kind of expelling it out of your body, right? What you need is a constant and stable flow, and that can only come with constant practice, but this will help immensely. I discovered this method while practicing last year, it might help you. Give it a try, go on."
Glancing at him from her lashes, she did as told. Taking a deep breath, she felt the familiar warmth burning through her body as she prepared to flow her cursed energy into the piece of paper. Geto's hands came up to her wrists and adjusted them. He gestured for her to go ahead, and she did as told.
Mustering up all her concentration, she held her breath as she felt the warm energy trickle out of her hands. A small red flame enveloped her hands and the paper they held, and she watched with fascination as it crackled lazily. Unlike other times, it seemed to be concentrated around the paper only and did not seem to be burning the paper.
Unlike the other times, she only felt warmth in her body. There was no burning in her veins and her skin. In fact, it felt comfortable...it felt warm.
Geto hummed, and she watched as his head tilted in fascination. His face was tinted with the red light of her cursed energy. Her eyes couldn't help but map out his sharp features. Compared to him, Gojo's features were a bit softer. She turned her gaze to the paper, smiling in satisfaction at the fact it was not another pile of ashes. Suddenly, she saw the kanji written on the paper glow a dark black-red, and let out an excited huff of laughter.
Not only was the paper intact, but she was actually able to put some of her cursed energy into the actual seal written on the paper. After the first kanji glowed, the feeling of her cursed energy trickling changed. It was a weird feeling - as if her cursed energy was slowly being sucked out of her. Not in a bad way as such, but still a weird feeling.
Almost forgetting her problem with him, she smiled excitedly as she held the paper out in his direction as if to show him that she had done it. She saw the transfixed expression on his face as he watched the red flames on her hand, looking lost.
But as soon as she did that, the fire cracked loudly before the paper was set on fire and it crumbled into ashes too. The fire in her hand burned white, her hands felt as if they were burning. A small scream left her lips but the fire died down just as quickly. She cursed loudly, pulling the water bottle out of her backpack and pouring the water down her hands.
Her hands shook, and a lot of water fell on her skirt and shirt. Her hands felt as if they were being burned from the inside.
Waving her hands around, she saw Geto who looked as if he had just been pulled out of a trance. She gave him a quizzical glance, but he just shook his hand.
"It's...nothing. I thought I saw... never mind." He said, a bemused expression still on his face. "You did well for now. It takes a lot of practice. And it does hurt."
She seethed as the burning pain in her hands would not go down.
"Must have been easy for you though." She muttered, but he just smiled.
"Not at all. It took me a lot of practice to get it perfect. Not all of us are as gifted as Satoru in everything. But even he works very hard, you know."
"Really? You look like someone who is definitely a prodigy." She mused, trying to pour more water into her cupped hand. Her hands shook along with the bottle, and Geto's hands took the bottle from her and poured a small amount of water into her cupped palms slowly.
"Heh. Being born with a great cursed technique and actually being good at it are two very different things. Being blessed with one does not guarantee you are going to be good at it. I still have a lot of work cut out for me."
The door slammed open, and she jumped a little. A cold hand gripped her fingers, and she saw as the black-haired boy still gently poured the water into her hands in small streams. The little streams ran along her arms and onto her clothes.
Bright blue eyes looked at her and Geto and narrowed dangerously.
Sanvi sighed deeply. She was still feeling like shit because of him and was by no means jumping with joy at the sight of him. However, she was no longer full of hot, burning anger. All that was left were feelings of exhaustion, frustration, and slight satisfaction at her significant progress.
Oh, and pain.
Rolling her eyes at the poorly-hidden jealous expression on Gojo's face, she shook away Geto's grip from her and took the bottle from him. He stood up, walking over to his Satoru, who whispered something to him in a sulky manner. She raised her eyebrows, before resolving to ignore him and packing her things up.
Passing them when she left, she gave a hesitant wave to Geto and muttered a thank you. Gojo stuck his tongue out from behind the black-haired boy, which she ignored.
What she needs, is a good night's sleep.