The beginning of January sucks for anime/manga fans. We basically have a blank week where no new episodes come out. It's even harder now given what happened in Japan at the beginning of the year with the tsunami, earthquakes and plane crashes.
I have received some interesting names for the Shikigami combinations and their abilities, not to mention Tiger Funeral. While they won't appear for a while, rest assured they were seen and acknowledged.
Anyways, here is the next chapter, where Megumi finally begins to meet the main cast, as well some changes.
His psychotic laugh echoed in that darkness as he saw multiple events.
Some that happened, like him attacking Itadori and Angel.
It showed him fighting Itadori and Maki-san, his Shikigami attacking Tsumiki and Mahoraga slicing Gojo-sensei apart.
Others he isn't sure that happened, like Sukuna taking down a man that used lightning.
He also killed someone that reminded him of Nanami, who used a glowing sword.
Finally, it showed the others surrounding Sukuna, intending to finish him off, but the King of Curses placed his fingers in a familiar pose as he uttered a single phrase.
"Domain Expansion"
Megumi jerked awake with a soft cry. He was sitting up in an instant. His blood was pounding in his ears and he was drenched in a cold sweat. "It was just a nightmare, it was just a nightmare…" He repeated the phrase until he calmed down and fell back on the bed, which was now covered in sweat.
Ozpin hooked him up in a 5-star hotel room and the bed was the most comfortable he slept in. Then again, anything would be more comfortable than the darkness he spent a month in.
But Megumi wasn't fooled. This was clearly a bribe. The only thing useful he got from this was a hot shower and that tablet that Ozpin used, which is called a Scroll in this world.
Still, the moment Megumi laid on the bed, he quickly fell asleep. But it looked like he wasn't going to be a pleasant one.
Of course he was having nightmares about this. His time as Sukuna's vessel would traumatize anyone, Itadori being the prime example. Not to mention his worry over what's happening in Japan. But there is no point in panicking. I'm not going home anytime soon, so I shouldn't try and get so worked up about it. He breathed in and out, trying to think rationally, but then groaned. Easier said than done.
He looked at the clock. 4 AM. I doubt I'm going back to sleep, so might as well get some more info on this place.
Megumi picked up the TV remote and switched it on. Soon he began channel surfing, trying to find something to tell him more information on the world, but seeing as it was so late, all news channels were infomercials. People promoting weapons, old antiques, stuff nobody but people with bags of money would buy. He did take a closer look at the weapons. A handbag that turns into a hammer? Kugisaki would have loved that… Dammit.
Try as he might, he couldn't stop thinking about his life at home. Now that he was alone again, the memories kept coming back to him, despite his intentions on ignoring it, the most recent ones being the case.
He killed his sister. The only reason he became a Jujutsu Sorcerer was because of her, and that doubled down after she was cursed. And how did that end? With both of them being possessed by monsters and him cutting her down. Do I even have a reason to continue if I go back? Itadori… Is this how you felt after the Shibuya Incident?
Roman placed his briefcase on his desk before collapsing in the seat with a sigh.
"How did it go?"
He soon heard the automated voice of a Scroll next to him. He turned his head and looked at Neo, his partner in crime, who was sitting and eating ice cream, as usual. "Absolutely wonderful. Can't you see? I'm drowning in Dust right now." He said, gesturing around him, and dodged a knife that was thrown his way.
"Hunstmen?" She used her other hand to type on her scroll.
"Yeah, Ozpin's lackey, Goodbitch. But if it was only her, then I wouldn't have any problem. No, it's the two kids that came beforehand." Roman grumbled. "A week of scoping out the shop told me that nobody who went there knew how to fight. Not even the cops drove by! Then I go and lo and behold! There is a little girl with a giant scythe and a long ass cape like she's Little Red Riding Hood!"
"I mean, you did try and rob a place the day before Initiation at Beacon. There were bound to be student's there. I'm surprised you ran with your tail between your legs from a student." Neo stated, shrugging.
"For your information, I didn't run away. It was a tactical retreat." Roman corrected her, to which Neo rolled her eyes. "And that wasn't the weirdest part. It was the emo kid."
"Emo kid? Was he wearing all black, had eyeliner, and looked bored?" She asked with a smirk.
Roman chuckled. "Yep. While not wearing makeup, everything from his outfit to even his hair was black. I think his whole motif was being a ninja or something." He said. "He kept making these signs and summoning these weird animals. A giant bird, a frog, and even a pink elephant that shot water at us. If he had white hair, I would swear he was a Schnee."
When he didn't receive a response, he turned to Neo, who had a weird expression on her face. "Are you okay there or did you get a brain freeze?" He asked. Somehow Aura can't stop stuff like that.
Neo quickly grabbed the scroll and quickly typed. "I was just thinking."
Roman rolled his eyes. "As much as I would enjoy you hunting down those two kids, the boss lady asked us to lay low for a while. She has a plan for the Beacon students and she wants to let the animals deal with the robberies for now." He said.
Unbeknownst to Roman, Neo did not care about Little Red and only had eyes for someone else.
The next day
Ruby couldn't breathe.
The reason she could not take in the beautiful element called air was because her half sister was smothering her half to death.
"I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!" Her sister exclaimed, further crushing Ruby into the hug
"Yang, please stop," Ruby croaked out, trying to break free from the hug before she started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. If she was going to die, she'd rather be anywhere else than on a Bullhead towards Beacon.
Reluctantly, Yang released her hug, allowing her to take a deep breath in. "But I'm so proud of you!"
"Really, sis. It was nothing." Ruby responded.
Yang's lilac eyes widened at what she just said. "What do you mean?! It was incredible! Everyone at Beacon's gonna think you're the bee's knees!" She exclaimed excitedly, her long golden hair swaying with every movement.
"I don't want to be the 'bee's knees', okay!? I don't want to be any kind of knees! I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees." Ruby told her.
"What's with you? Aren't you excited?" Yang asked
"Of course I'm excited. I just…" Ruby sighed, trying to figure out what she wanted to say. "I got moved ahead two years. I don't want people to think I'm special or anything." She admitted.
Yang nodded her head "Yeah, okay. But you don't have to worry. I heard there were some celebrities coming, so you can fly under the radar." She said.
Ruby began to look around, seeing if she recognized any of said celebrities. Yang took it as something different. "Looking for your boyfriend?" She asked with a teasing grin
"Yaaaang!" Ruby yelled, blushing. "He's not my boyfriend! I'm just worried for him!"
"Suuuure. Still, I do want to thank the guy who helped my little sis." Yang said, looking around as well. "What makes you think he's here?"
"Are you kidding?! His semblance was amazing! He was like a beast tamer, controlling these animals and having them fight. And he looked around our age, so he has to be a student here!" Ruby explained.
"Either that or he's someone who dropped out and is now a criminal." Yang stated. "You did say he tried to run away."
"Then why would he help me?" Ruby asked.
"Hmmm, touché."
Yang and Ruby's attention was soon stolen by the 2-D animated newscast on Vale News Network playing nearby. The anchors were talking about the robbery that took place the previous night. A mugshot of the orange haired man appeared on the screen "The robbery was led by the nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade the authorities. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you, Lisa." A man's voice said over the mugshot.
The newscast changed to a woman with white hair that turned to a light purple the further down it went. A photo of animal-eared demonstrators holding signs saying WE ARE NOT ANIMALS! followed by an image of the logo of a glowing red Wolf's head with three scratch marks. "Thank you, Cyril. In other news, this Saturday's Fanus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organization has now disrupted-"
The news feed suddenly cut off and was replaced with a Hologram of the Huntress she met last night, Glynda Goodwitch. "Hello, and welcome to Beacon." She announced with a formal, but authoritative tone.
"Who's that?" Yang asked Ruby.
"My name is Glynda Goodwitch." The Huntress told them. Ruby stifled a chuckle as her half-sister let out a 'oh' as she began to question whether or not the woman could hear them. "You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world." Glynda finished her speech before the hologram disappeared.
"Oh wow!" Ruby whispered, running to the window of the ship and peering out of it. "Look! You can see Signal from up here!" She told Yang. Other students made their way to the windows, each wanting to look upon the view. "I guess home isn't too far after all!"
"Beacon's our home now." Yang told her as they both admired the view.
The Bullhead landed outside Beacon's gates with a thunk. contents of his stomach into it. Soon after, the potential students walked out, including Ruby and Yang, ready to enter the prestigious school.
Everyone except for the last person to exit the Bullhead.
Megumi yawned as he slowly exited the ship. He was too scared to go back to sleep and having another nightmare, so he kept himself awake until the sun rose. Goodwitch came by in order to guide him to the ships, which were callled Bullheads apparently, that would take him to Beacon (he knew it was make sure he didn't run off). Apparently, that is the only way to get into Beacon. Well, there is a stairwell, but it's so long, you would be exhausted by the time you got to the top. Still, it gave him an excuse for some extra shut-eye. Thankfully, nobody bothered and he didn't have any nightmares
Turning his head to the gate, Megumi noticed all the students walking around, all wearing some very weird outfits. After being surrounded by people wearing the same uniform with only one colour, the vibrant colours nearly gave him a headache.
There was even a Wonder Woman looking girl passing by, but she must have been distracted because she didn't notice her red sash falling from her hip. He could ignore and keep going, but just because he wasn't home doesn't mean he had to be rude. So he quickly grabbed the sash and was about to tap the girl, but she turned around before he even touched her.
"Excuse me Miss, I believe this is yours." He said.
The girl looked at the sash, before patting her side, realizing it was hers. "Oh, I didn't even notice. Thank you!" She said with a smile.
"No problem." He said, handing her the sash before walking past her, ignoring her confused gaze.
I should probably try to find the Headmaster and see if I can get my files so I can get my story straight. He thought. Hopefully, nothing interrupts me.
Megumi heard an explosion go off further down where many of the kids had congregated.
Me and my big mouth…
Today wasn't turning out like I hoped. Ruby thought as she laid on the ground, the sky spinning above her. Yang had caught sight of some of her old classmates who were trying out for Beacon and rushed to talk to them, going so fast that when she accidentally bumped into Ruby, she spun around and tripped over someone's luggage cart, sending cases flying everywhere.
Once the spinning subsided, a pale face came into view. Narrowed light blue eyes looked down at her with a fury. "What are you doing?!" She shouted at her.
Ruby slowly sat up and looked at the girl. The first thing she noticed was the rapier attached to a white skirt. She wanted so desperately to ask what the weapon did, but the look in the girl's eyes told her it was probably best to not ask. "Sorry." She meekly apologized.
"Sorry?" The girl repeated in disbelief before shaking her head. Her icicle shaped tiara holding her white ponytail as it swayed with every movement "Do you have any idea the damage you could've caused?!" She scolded Ruby. Ruby stayed silent, instead grabbing one of the suitcases and handing it to the girl in a way of apologizing. The girl did not see that as an apology and snatched the case away from Ruby as fast as humanly possible "Give me that! This is Dust, mined and purified from the Schnee Quarry!"
Ruby watched as the girl opened the case, revealing vials of multi coloured dust. She then took out a fire dust and started shaking it in front of Ruby's face. However, the vial wasn't properly closed, causing small amounts of dust to fly out and hit Ruby's nose, which in turn caused her to sniffle. "What are you? Brain-dead? Dust! Fire, water, lightning, energy!" The girl continued her tirade, shaking the bottle even more intensely, causing more to hit Ruby's nose "Are you even listening to me?! Is any of this sinking in?! What do you have to say for yourself?!"
With one last shake of the vial, the dust entered Ruby's nose, initiating the biggest sneeze she'd ever done. And it wasn't the biggest because of how loud it was. It was the biggest because when she sneezed, she ignited the fire dust in the air, causing a large explosion right between her and the white haired girl. The vial of dust flew out of the girls hand and landed near a girl, who looked at the label on the vial before frowning.
Once the explosion faded, Ruby could see the unbridled fury in the girl's face. "Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!"
"I'm really, really sorry!" Ruby apologized profusely.
"Ugh! You complete dolt! What are you even doing here?! Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?!" The girl chastised her.
"Well, I… I-" Ruby struggled to find the right words. This was the exact thing she was worried about, people judging her for her age. She wished for something to escape the conversation, and as if God himself heard her, her wish was granted.
"Is everyone okay?" Ruby turned and saw someone running towards them. It was the boy from yesterday!
"It's none of your business!" She yelled at the newcomer. With her distracted, Ruby tried to sneak away, but she was caught. "I wasn't finished with you yet!" She said, causing Ruby to flinch. "This isn't your regular combat school! It's not just sparring and practice, you know! We're here to fight monsters, so… Watch where you're going!"
Ruby was fed up with the girl's attitude. She'd already apologized. What more did she need to do? "Hey! I said I was sorry, princess!" She yelled.
"It's heiress, actually." A new voice entered the fray. Everyone turned their head to see a black-haired girl staring at them all with her amber eyes, holding the vial of dust in one hand and a book in the other. While the girls were looking at the newcomer, Megumi was more focused on the giant black bow on her head, confused as to why it was so big. "Weiss Schnee, Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellent in the world."
Weiss looked smug. Ruby looked embarrassed. Megumi just looked normal, like he wasn't sure what he was hearing.
"Finally. Some recognition." Weiss said.
"The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners." The girl finished.
Weiss sputtered at the sudden 180 and looked towards Ruby to see her giggling, then towards Megumi, who looked at her with a confused gaze. "Wha- How dare you-the nerve of- UGH!" She walked up to the black haired girl and snatched the vial from her hand before storming off in a huff.
Ruby looked at the departing figure of Weiss before shouting out to her. "I promise I'll make it up to you!" Sighing, she turned around to face the mysterious girl, only to find she was walking away as well, reading the book as she left.
She turned to to boy, hoping he wasn't walking away like everyone else, but unlike them he stayed with her, voicing his opinion. "Well, that happened." He said.
"Ah! I'm so glad to see you again!" She shouted.
Megumi looked at Ruby. "Yes, it's nice to meet you… Rose, right?" He asked.
"Yep." She puffed out her chest. "Ruby Rose, Future Huntress! You?"
"I'm Megumi Fushiguro." He introduced himself. "Apparently future Hunstman as well."
Megumi wasn't sure where to go. Ozpin didn't exactly give him directions. At least put up a sign or something! He thought as he followed Ruby.
"So you were also going to attend Beacon, but since you were so nervous, you couldn't sleep and decided to take a walk?" Ruby asked him.
"Yes." Megumi lied. He had to make something up. "Was not expecting to find a heist being stopped by a girl in a red hood wielding a giant scythe."
Ruby giggled. "Well, I didn't expect to find a boy with a head shaped like a porcupine." She said.
"Huh!?" Megumi shouted. "Porcupine!?"
"Your hair." Ruby said, pointing at hers as an example. "Did you style it like that?"
"I didn't." Megumi said, his eyebrow twitching. "It's just like that."
"Oh. Sorry." Ruby said, having the decency to look embarrassed. "Still, it was the first thing that popped in my head. That and those animals you summoned were really cool."
"They're called Shikigami." Megumi explained.
"Are they part of your semblance?" Ruby asked.
"Yes." Megumi lied. "It's called Ten Shadows, where I use shadowgraphy to summon them."
Ruby blinked.
Megumi sighed. "I make hand signs and they appear from the shadows." He said in a simpler way.
"Oh like a ninja!" Ruby said. "Is that why you don't have a weapon? I didn't notice one on you when Professor Goodwitch detained you."
Megumi stared at Ruby. "No, I do not." He said.
"Really? Most students have a weapon of some sorts." She explained. "How are you going to fight the Grimm without a weapon?"
"First of all, I'm pretty sure you of all people know how I'm going to." He said. "Secondly, I don't have my weapon because… I lost it."
Ruby gasped. "That is so sad!" She wailed and… was she about to cry? "No person should ever be separated from their weapon! What a cruel twist of fate for you to be away from each other!"
It's a weapon, not a lover! Is this girl crazy?! He thought as he looked at Ruby, who had legit tears in her eyes. He sighed. Well, crazy is basically my daily life. "I might try and get a new one, like a sword."
Ruby's eyes shone in excitement as her mood completely flipped. "Oh, you could have a mechanism that can turn it into a shotgun!"
"...I'm sorry, what?"
Ruby pulled out a box behind her before it transformed into a large, crimson red, scythe. "My baby Crescent Rose is a scythe, but she is also a customizable, high-impact sniper rifle." She declared proudly
"I... see." Megumi said, a bit shocked. Ruby transformed the scythe into the sniper before cocking the gun and smiling crazily. He was honestly half expecting her to start shooting them with the same smile plastered on her face. Thankfully though, she didn't. But Megumi was still curious. "Do they just allow people to carry guns with them everywhere they go here?" Back home, they had to make a request to carry Cursed Tools, so he wonders if it was the same here.
"In a perfect world. Yes." Ruby said in a dreamy voice, imagining a world where everyone could own a gun.
Okay, guess I'm not getting an answer. He thought.
"So, do you have any idea where we're going?" Ruby asked.
Megumi looked at her, blinking. "I was following you." He said.
"And I was following you." Ruby trailed off before both of them facepalmed. "Do you think there will be a recognizable landmark? Maybe a food court? Or arrows pointing us in the right direction?"
"I don't think so." Megumi responded with a sigh in exhaustion. If only there was someone with Cursed Energy here, he could-
He facepalmed again at his stupidity. "Hold on." He said, before placing his hands in a sign. "Divine Dogs"
His two first Shikigami appeared, howling.
"Doggy!" Ruby shouted before she started ruffling the black one, which he had nicknamed Black, for obvious reasons. "Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy? You are! Yes yes yes!"
While Ruby gushed over one of the dogs, he went to the next one, which was nicknamed White, also for obvious reasons. "Hey." He knelt down and petted him a bit. He hadn't seen him since he was destroyed by the Special Grade Curse. It was only a few months, but it felt like forever. By the expression of happiness on its face, White felt the same way as it licked his hand.
"Uh, question?" Ruby interrupted their petting session. "The dogs are cute, but how are they going to help? Are they going to follow someone's smell?"
"In a way. The Headmaster would be wherever Initiation is, right?" He asked. "Divine Dogs will take us there."
"Oh that is such a cool name!" Ruby shouted. Megumi looked down and saw White and Black stand proud. He rolled his eyes, ruffling the two of them.
"Careful or they might let it go to their heads." He said before the both of them followed the Shikigami.
Next chapter Megumi will get to interact with the main cast and the chapter after that will be Initiation. You probably want me to jump right into Initiation just to see how well Megumi deals with the Grimm, but I like to take things slow. Better to have multiple chapters rather than a giant lengthy one and making you wait god knows how long for the next one, right?
So you might be wondering: Where is Jaune? Don't worry, Jaune is going to appear in this fic.
Now I have an interesting question. Does anyone want the Narrator? In case you don't understand or remember, sometimes the anime/manga inserts a Narrator of some kind that isn't any of the characters. An example of this was the explanation of Sukuna's Malevolent Shrine. I find it interesting and wanted to see if people wanted that as well here, or were just content with the actual characters having their thoughts shown. It's either way for me, but I'm interested to hear people's opinion.