[Author's note] This fic solely exists because Gege-sensei's crumbs about the Golden Age of Jujutsu are not enough to satiate me any longer. So yeah, Heian-Era case study. Also dabbling in an overarching antagonist redemption story.
This story will traverse in a dual-timeline format, one of the past in the Heian Era and another in the present timeline. A lot of the characters in the Fujiwara clan are based on history but of course, this ISN'T an accurate depiction. Making up canon lore as I go! Will probably turn out very AU.
WARNING: Manga spoilers ahead.
Summary: an ancient, immortal curse user (self-declared: reformed and retired) on the run unfortunately crosses paths with the strongest sorcerer in the current era. He doesn't quite so imprison her as jujutsu protocol dictates, but perhaps forced labour is a better word. [OC, Immortal/Fujiwara OC AU. Heian Era case study]
may death finally end you
"of stories unsung and stories unheard"
They say that storytellers are the backbone of society. How a story is told, by whom, and for what purpose, changes the way it influences those who hear it.
We are nothing but stories, in the end.
.
A long, long time ago, there existed a clan.
Not just any clan, a sorcerer clan.
A powerful sorcerer clan by the name of Fujiwara.
Throughout the rise and fall of great sorcerer's clans in history, no one can ever forget the notorious clan that prospered in the Golden Age of Jujutsu. Before they had faded into whispers of bygone times, the Fujiwara clan had once dominated the imperial Heian court with unscrupulous means and oppressive ways.
The true power behind the throne.
Cruel.
Tyrannical.
And yet no modern-day sorcerer can deny their contributions to the development of jujutsu, the founded Techniques and cursed tools that are passed on as prized heirlooms to this day.
Tales of the clan's triumphs, misdeeds and blood-chilling battles alone fill a section of the library in Tokyo Jujutsu High. Echoes of a glorious era on its scrolls. If one were to ask which tale is the most renowned however… one would be surprised to know it's neither the sorcery battles of Northern Fujiwara's elite Sun, Moon and Star Squadrons—whose members were among the strongest sorcerers in the Heian Era—nor the ten-page long chronicles of the Five Empty Generals' unmatched powers…
But a rather… confusing and inconclusive short story about the "stain" on the legacy of the Fujiwara clan.
The true identity of the "stain" continues to be a highly debated topic among scholars.
Some jujutsu scholars described them as a member of the Sun, Moon and Stars squadrons, others a lowly concubine to a prominent clan member. The most influential recount, however, points to them as a Fujiwara princess, borne by a royal imperial princess who intermarried into the Fujiwara branch family.
(Every word is up for debate, of course. Everything is. Because no one knows what happened a thousand years ago. They are records but most have been lost in the weathering of time or hunted down and altered, an effort to cover up its shameful existence, no doubt. Even today the debate rages on, as it always has and always will.
This is also to say if we can believe any of what little anecdotes we have at all.)
Born into a time of great conflict and fierce competition among the warring Great Clans, the girl was educated and brought up with the finest jujutsu education. Though she paled in comparison to her mighty Fujiwara peers in innate-born Technique and combat prowess, she proved herself to be a prodigy of barrier-based techniques and research of curse tools.
Official court visit records with her uncle, the imperial regent Fujiwara No Michinaga, described her as a woman of elegant stature; carrying herself with an air of nobility befitting her position, and fiercely loyal to her clan. Her frequent trips to the Tomb of the Stars and Master Tengen were well-documented, showcasing her deep devotion to Buddhism and dedication to practising jujutsu.
In essence, the girl was the epitome of a sorcerer born into one of the Great Clan, embodying the ideal image of an era.
As for her inner life, short of a miraculous cache of new material, we shall never really know…
(However, later accounts that she would become infamous for paints a different picture of her character, causing jujutsu biographers to scratch their heads at the contradictory aspects of her personality—religious yet fiercely aggressive, loyal yet sinfully treacherous, with the light touch of the politician yet the savage grip of the warrior—but is this what she was… or merely what we strain to see through the opacity of limited evidence…?)
The Heian Era was a time of chaos, uncertainty, and most importantly experimentation. Different interpretations of sorcery led to new uses for Curse Energy, which were wielded recklessly as rival clans competed to surpass the other. While battlefield rages and sorcerers turn away from exorcising curses to killing each other for sport, fame and glory matters, the Fujiwara Clan delved into forbidden techniques and dark methods to retain their status in the brutal power vacuum that consumed them all.
One could make the case that it was the prodigious Fujiwara princess—if that is her real identity—who was the most successful in this regard. Instead of devoting time to strengthening her Curse Technique or assisting in creating powerful curse tools like others in her clan, she had accomplished something entirely different.
Something once previously thought to be impossible.
She obtained another Curse Technique; her greatest feat she would become known for.
As the news of her remarkable achievement spread like wildfire, the sorcerers of Heian-Kyo gathered in large groups, stunned and confused.
Aren't Techniques craved into the body by birth?
This isn't possible!
How did she manage to do it?
And the most pressing question, unsaid: Will she be a new contender for the title of strongest sorcerer?
Alas, all records of what unorthodox methods she used were destroyed, possibly reflecting the vileness and cruelness of it. What surviving clan records that remain only spoke unfavourably of this development.
With the emergence of another formidable sorcerer within their ranks, the Fujiwara clan's dominance in the jujutsu world and its political landscape reached its zenith. No Great Clan could outrank them now.
—until three months later, when the King of Curses arrived in Heian-Kyo for the harvest festival.
.
Ryomen Sukuna.
The undefeated King of Curses.
Revered as a god, feared as a demon. A cruel spectre, with four arms and two faces.
Whoever can take him down, would undoubtedly take the mantle of the strongest.
Over the years of his bloody reign, many had attempted to usurp his title only to fail in despair. Fearing as much as they hated him, the imperial court strived to build friendly relations with the demon. Countless offers of temples, beauties, land and titles were made, Heian-Kyo's gesture of goodwill. Not surprising that Sukuna rejected this olive branch and returned the emissary's beheaded body to the court as if to say—
"You're fools to think that's what interests me."
…Ryomen Sukuna's savage ways can no longer be overlooked, was the conclusion that the Great Clans came to eventually. Forget about creating relations, if the sorcerer clans wanted to survive, retaliation was necessary.
It was the Fujiwara clan who were at their peak of power that surged to the forefront as the next challengers. For the first time in history, the clan immobilized their northern forces. As the first rays of morning light crept over Heian-Kyo, prayers for victory were echoed fervently as the Four Empty Generals and the elite Sun, Moon, and Star squadrons of assassins departed for the deadly battlefield ahead.
This would be a battle for the ages, one that would determine the fate of the jujutsu world.
However, when the dust settled on the battlefield, the aftermath of a battle that would bring about the steady slow decline of the once-powerful Fujiwara clan began to emerge.
Two well-documented pieces of news arrived in court. One containing the report of the Northern Fujiwara's forces crushing defeat by the hands of Ryomen Sukuna; a loss that had wiped out half of the mighty clan's sorcerers overnight. And another… containing the shocking revelation of the Fujiwara princess' defection, her allegiance now lying with Sukuna.
What few survivors reported of her treachery with vengeance, claiming she had turned her fangs against her kin, even going so far as to slaughter the Fujiwara clan's branch palace. The very same palace where her parents, once powerful lords, had met their gruesome end.
Whether this is to be believed or not, the judgement of her character was no longer refutable when her curse residuals were discovered on scene. Her fate was sealed. The imperial capital wasted no time in officially branding her as a curse user who had defected from the righteous jujutsu path. An evil on par with Vengeful Spirits and Ryomen Sukuna himself. No longer was she able to return to the jujutsu world.
From then on, the once esteemed Fujiwara princess faded away, and a scorned demoness was born.
She answered this slight by massacring an entire sorcerer clan.
.
In the days to come, countless of ambitious sorcerers flocked to the newly outcasted demoness to test their mettle and ultimately fall one after another. Legend has it that the aftermath of the altercation between the Sugawara's clan strongest sorcerer and her fundamentally changed the surrounding landscape, to the point of even affecting the weather itself.
Fearing that she'd blossom into another uncontrollable Sukuna if they let her continue, the warring clans came together in an alliance to nip the evil in its bud.
And so, another long battle enters the jujutsu sagas of the Heian Era.
While Ryomen Sukuna rampaged throughout Kanto region and spread terror on every pavement he graced, the Fujiwara princess continued north, indiscriminately destroying every sorcerer clan her way. She eventually settled in Mount Tateyama, setting up countless cursed seals and declaring it her domain, in which any trespassers would be killed without mercy.
The ongoing battles between these two formidable enemies reached a stalemate, with the combined sorcerer's army torn between containing Ryomen Sukuna's rampage and breaking past the defensive abilities of the Fujiwara princess.
It remained that way for thirteen terrible gruelling years.
But hope came when news spread that the King of Curses had been divided into twenty cursed fingers.
"At last, Ryomen Sukuna has been defeated!"
With this victory, the clans united their strength to eradicate the remaining curse.
Despite her formidable powers, the Fujiwara princess could not withstand the combined forces against her. Her reign of terror finally came to an end with her subjugation and imprisonment in the Tomb of the Stars Corridor. It is there she will remain sealed and guarded for the rest of her life, a spectre of a past glory and nothing more.
And with that, the Golden Age of Jujutsu came to an end.
.
As the years drifted by and the world evolved, the Fujiwara princess like many other things that could not withstand the test of time (Ryomen Sukuna, an imaginary demon? Really?) faded into obscurity. Her story became a mere whisper in the winds of folklore, lost in the annals of time.
It wasn't until eight hundred years had passed, during Japan's Meiji Era, that her story resurfaced in the jujutsu world once again. This resurgence came with an incident recorded as the 'Plundering of the Tombs' ignited a renewed interest in the long-forgotten tale of the princess and her powers.
The seal was broken. The Fujiwara princess had escaped.
The questions hung heavy in the air, shrouded in mystery and weighing heavily on everyone's minds. How could it have happened? Who was responsible for it? And why did they do it? No one knows for sure and investigations into the perpetrators and their motives arrived at a standstill, leaving the truth buried deep within the chaos.
However, the consequences of her release were abundantly clear.
Her return would bring forth a relentless reckoning upon the jujutsu world. Her Curse Technique was fearsome, her morals, savage and exceptionally sadistic—at least, that was what the legends said. If they allowed a Special Grade curse user to rampage freely, Japan would be plunged into an endless storm of darkness and blood.
Thus, the two established jujutsu schools of Tokyo and Kyoto, the Three Great Clans and Ainu Jujutsu Society came together in pursuit once again—
But neither, she, nor the preparator who released her, could be found.
It was a perplexing enigma that baffled even the most experienced members of the jujutsu council. The council strictly monitored for cases of incarnation, sought far and wide for abnormal occurrences, and heightened their security to the maximum—
In the first year, all was peaceful.
In the second year, all was peaceful.
In the third year, all was peaceful.
...
One hundred and fifty years later, all was still peaceful.
The jujutsu administration was bewildered.
Where was the promised vengeance? The bloodshed? The violence? The deranged and notorious curse user that gained infamy from the Heian Era? What was going on?
And the most important question of all:
...Where could she possibly be today?
.
.
.
"Uh, Gojo-sensei," Okkotsu Yuta raises his hand timidly. "Does this mean that she doesn't exist at all?"
Satoru glances up from his phone with mild interest, but his fingers continue their erratic tapping on his phone. "Why would you say that Yuta-kun?"
"I think the story is fake or embellished because it has a lot of loopholes," Yuta answers earnestly. "It's been peaceful for a long time even after she escaped, and I've been wondering… rather than seal her, why didn't the sorcerers back then… kill her instead? That'll, uh, solve the problem… right?"
"That's because she can't die, stupid," Maki answers instead of Gojo-sensei. She flips through her weapons book from ancient China she borrowed from Jujutsu High library. "That's the other curse Technique she learned—weren't you listening?"
What? Yuta is certain Gojo-sensei didn't mention anything about that—!
"Eh," Gojo-sensei points to himself. "Did I forget to mention that?"
Maki rubs her temples, "...Why do I even bother?"
Frankly, Yuta is surprised that Maki is even listening to Gojo-sensei's recount of the historical tale. Panda and Toge are already noses deep into the latest issue of Shonen Jump. Jujutsu history is a subject that his classmates collectively agree to be a general anaesthesia. Yuta finds the subject to be rather helpful.
"You've heard of this tale before, Maki-san?" Yuta asks, and then immediately regrets it because of course Maki would know.
Apparently, the Zenins are a complicated, large, and very old powerful sorcerer family that Yuta is assured he will interact with eventually and will almost definitely hate. Yuta is not sure how that's possible, given that two Zenins he knows are quite pleasant and to his liking.
"Every sorcerer kid knows this story."
Yuta refrains from pointing out that it had only been a week since he'd enrolled into Tokyo Jujutsu High. "What do you mean that she can die? Like she's like an… immortal or something?"
"Ding ding! Ten points to Yuta-kun! That's exactly that!" Gojo-sensei chirps excitedly. "Cut off her head or even explode her to smithereens and she'll magically come back like a cockroach! What do you think? Super duper cool, huh?"
Maki shoots a disapproving look at Gojo-sensei, obviously making a judgment call to decide if it's worth her energy to point out that his loud texting is affecting her reading time. Yuta thinks Gojo-sensei doesn't really care.
In any case… Yuta does not think it's 'super duper cool', per se. He worries about it. The jujutsu world is far more dangerous than he had imagined. He does not ever want to encounter this missing immortal no matter what. She sounds like she could make quick work of him.
"Can you stop that," Maki barks at their teacher. "Go out if you're not going to teach the class."
Gojo-sensei continues tapping on his phone. More loudly this time. "Nah, don't wanna."
"No one is listening anyway."
"Yuta-kun is!"
The classroom door slides open abruptly, revealing a sorcerer whom Yuta does not recognise. The woman is shorter than Maki, of slimmer build too, with long, straight hair as dark as onyx. Her outfit is a chaotic haphazard clash of the traditional and modern: a black Jujutsu High uniform jacket left unbuttoned over a simple white yukata, and finished off with combat boots. Yuta had learnt quickly that sorcerers are… eccentric (that's Yuta's way of freaking weird nicely) one way or another, so he doesn't pay much attention to it.
…Her eyes though…
Striking burnished gold irises, framed by long obsidian eyelashes and glowing with that otherworldly iridescent sheen that makes Yuta think of Gojo-sensei's Six Eyes. Similar but fundamentally different. Yuta can't deny that it looks beautiful either way. It reminds him of the stray ferocious black cat near his middle school or that of a prowling black jaguar.
When Yuta gets past the golden hues, he realizes the woman's face does not quite match her predator-like irises and attire at all. She looks like she could be a shrine maiden, or a hostess, with a serene, blank expression; features soft and pretty but in an unremarkable way, in the exact opposite of Maki's vivid beauty. Her lids are down-turned, giving her a perpetually sullen expression, like she's about to cry, though something tells Yuta that that's an uncommon occurrence.
She ignores the students and walks into the classroom with purpose.
"I've gotten your—" she glances at her phone, "—one hundred and seventy-three text messages. What do you want, Satoru?"
…Oh, so that's who Gojo-sensei has been texting all this while.
"Me? Nothing! I was just teaching my adorable first years about the history of the Fujiwara clan."
"He wasn't really," grumbles Maki by the side.
The woman blinks slowly, "Okay? Good luck with that?"
Yuta has a weird feeling. Gojo-sensei has the same shit-eating grin when he ordered his classmates to beat him up while he takes pictures this morning. "Not interested? It's your favourite one. You know, the tale of a maniacal Fujiwara princess who went cray-cray and killed a whole buncha people?"
The woman tilts her head, face blank, "And this concerns me because?"
Gojo-sensei grins. "Wanna help? You'd be a far better storyteller than me."
"No, thank you."
Gojo-sensei ignores the woman. "Yuta-kun! You haven't met her before, right? Come here, let me introduce you!"
He seizes the unwilling woman by her shoulders before she can escape and ushers her to him.
"Ta-dah! This here is Okkotsu Yuta-kun! Emo, socially awkward and gloomy, but maybe that's because he's on death row! Hahaha! Play nice, okay?"
…Not really the way Yuta wants to be introduced, but he'll take it. "Uh, hello."
Gojo-sensei pokes the woman's cheeks, grinning. She remains expressionless as if she's used to being manhandled. "And over here we have the super miserable, also socially awkward and equally gloomy..." he trails off for dramatic effect, building up anticipation, "...the one, and only, the amazing Fu—"
"Hello Okkotsu Yuta-kun," the woman cuts in pleasantly. She bows deeply at the waist. "My name is Shiori, it's nice meeting you."
Yuta looks around him, making sure Shiori is not bowing to anyone else, before hastily bowing back. "I-It's nice to meet you too, Shiori-san!"
Shiori's eyes stay on him, observing. Then, she approaches. "If you don't mind, may I take a look at your left hand please?"
Yuta hesitantly glances at Gojo-sensei, who nods. Shiori takes his hand. She brushes her fingers on his ring and Yuta suppresses a shudder. Shiori's Curse Energy is… eerily cold. Emptily cold. A void of infinite emptiness—one even worse than Rika's. It's unlike anything that Yuta had felt before. He feels wretched and sad because it feels like…
Death.
Suddenly, Rika bristles anxiously inside him. Yuta wills her at bay. Calm down Rika-chan, she's friendly!
Rika snarls, threatening to manifest—
(Get away, Yuta! It's dangerous! Get away—)
As if sensing the incoming disaster, Shiori lets him go. Yuta retracts his hand back quickly, barely holding Rika back. That was… really close!
"Please forgive me, Yuta-kun," Shiori smiles softly. "I did not mean to startle you."
…Huh? What is she apologising for?
"N-No, I wasn't startled, Rika-chan just got nervous out of a sudden."
"I see."
To Yuta's confusion, neither Shiori nor Gojo-sensei explain anything (Honestly, Yuta really shouldn't be surprised by now. This is par course in terms of a normal day at Jujutsu High). Shiori swiftly turns to his other classmates.
"You look well, Panda-kun. Maki-san and Inumaki-kun too. It's been a while. I apologize for intruding on your class. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
Maki rubs her neck and stares hard at her book, "You didn't really interrupt... Satoru isn't teaching anything anyway."
Panda waves and Toge sends a quiet greeting in the form of "Bonito Flakes." Yuta finds this interaction extremely odd too, not only because Maki is never nervous around someone, but also because no one can quite meet Shiori's eyes directly.
…Yuta's missing out on something here. The problem is what?
"I'll see you around campus then." Shiori heads for the door. "I'm leaving if there's nothing else, Satoru. Please refrain from calling me during class."
"What? Why?" Gojo-sensei chases after her. "Aw c'mon Shiori, where are you going—"
"Back to class."
"What for? Classes are boring! Tohsaka won't mind! Go on that mission I gave you!"
…Is that really what a teacher should say?
The crease on Shiori's brows deepens every time Gojo-sensei talks, "Tohsaka-sensei will mind."
"No, he won't! You hardly even attend classes!"
She sighs, "Give it to Nanami-kun."
"I can't! Nanami blocked me after the fiftieth call!"
"...This is why cellphones should never be invented."
The door shuts behind them, muffling out the remaining argument. A wind blows through the classroom. Maki flips through her weapon book. Panda and Inumaki are back to their Shonen Jump. They're all completely unperturbed.
Except for Yuta. He has a bad feeling… again. He admits he always gets bad feelings, and maybe he's being paranoid again but...
Rika is still restless inside of him and she usually only does this when she feels threatened. Yuta doesn't want to judge others based on first impressions but he doesn't understand why. Yuta knows his ability to sense foreign Curse Energy is poor, but in comparison to him, Shiori's Curse Energy pool is as diminutive as a single match next to the furnace Rika radiates.
What got Rika so antsy?
It seemed like Shiori was just checking on Rika. Yuta isn't hurt or anything like that. And… Shiori seems nice, pleasant even.
(He doesn't forget though, the way Shiori's Curse Energy feels. Raw and gnawing. Death infinite.)
"Maki-san… who is that?"
"Didn't she introduce herself already?" says Maki, tone unconvincingly blasé. "Did you know she was back from her mission, Panda?"
Panda shakes his head, "Nope. Hakari-senpai said nothing either."
Yuta has met Hakari-senpai a handful of times, usually with Gojo-sensei or one of the other students, and finds him rather intimidating (said senpai had challenged him into an all-out "fever" battle on their first meeting which Yuta got away only because of Panda's interference. Thank you, Panda-san!).
"She's a second-year student Yuta," Panda offers helpfully. "Meaning she's our senpai too."
Yuta feels like he should've been told this information earlier, but everyone at Jujutsu High has the uncanny habit of not sharing important information until it's absolutely necessary. The greatest perpetrator of this bad habit, Gojo-sensei, calls it his tried-and-true teaching method.
"I didn't know she's a student," Yuta thinks Shiori appears rather polite, in the way that adults like Nanami Kento do. If anything she looks slightly too serious to be a student.
"She's not around often, but yeah," Maki mumbles. "It's kind of complicated, she's just here to get a sorcerer's license officially… sorta. Don't worry about it."
Yuta blinks. He worries about it. Maybe Shiori-senpai is terrifying and terrible in truth; if she is making everyone act strange, then surely, she has done something so awful to them in the past that none of them will admit it aloud.
"Is she Special Grade or something? Is that why you're all acting weird?"
"We're not acting weird," Maki says. "And no, she's Grade One."
Maki had given Yuta the rundown of the ranking system used among sorcerers. If Yuta understands correctly then Shiori-senpai is ridiculously strong for a second-year student, probably dangerous too. (Yuta isn't one to talk, being labelled a "Special Grade" simply because of extenuating circumstances involving a very large, semi-murderous Special Grade curse born from his childhood fiancée attached to him at all times.)
"I see," Yuta thinks about it. "She looks close to Gojo-sensei."
"Close? Well, I guess so," Maki picks at the edge of her book. "She's from the Gojo clan."
Yuta knows the Gojo clan is part of the Three Great Families. Like the Zenins, Yuta is also assured that he will absolutely despise them if they ever meet. Yuta is eternally grateful to Gojo-sensei but has also quickly realized that he gets on everyone else's nerves, and so to be associated with the "great Gojo Satoru" does not always work in Yuta's favour. Maybe it's the same for Shiori-senpai, or worse.
"They're related?"
"Distantly-distantly-distantly-distantly-distantly related," Maki frowns. "Whatever that means."
Something tells Yuta that the wayward explanation came from the 'blindfolded idiot' himself.
"I wouldn't have guessed it. They look nothing alike."
Maybe a part of the way their eyes glow…
"Salmon," agrees Toge.
"Just because you're in the same clan doesn't mean you have to look alike," retorts Maki.
Yuta does not say that the only comparison he has are Megumi and Maki, who look eerily similar, from their jet-black hair and dark eyes, and the way they are so blase about everything.
"According to Yaga, she's from a branch clan," adds Panda. "I heard she lived in Shanghai before being personally recruited back to Japan by Gojo-sensei."
Yuta thinks of his circumstances and can't help but speculate if Gojo-sensei is purposefully seeking out skilled, yet untrained sorcerers like himself and this mysterious senpai. Yuta might not know much about the jujutsu world, but he is aware that Gojo-sensei personally vouched for him because he saw something in Rika.
If Yuta has to make a guess, he'd say Shiori-senpai is probably super strong like Rika too, or at least strong enough to catch Gojo-sensei's attention.
"She uses foxfire," offers Panda, as if reading his thoughts. "You know, from the fox Yokai in the legends?"
"Fox Yokai?"
"Kitsune," clarifies Maki.
"The Kitsune is real?" Yuta is fairly shocked. "Really? Don't they only exist in books or video games?"
"Duh, every folklore involving Yokais and Shinto Kamis has to come from something. Didn't you learn anything the last week here?"
…That kind of explains Shiori-senpai's eyes. Now that Yuta thinks of it, they did look kind of like that of a fox's.
Yuta feels embarrassed, "I-I see… but is it okay that I know? I thought it was rude to ask others about their Techniques…"
"I doubt she cares," Maki shrugs.
"Knowing her she probably doesn't," Panda agrees. "She can cast illusions like the Kitsunes in the folklore can too. It's pretty powerful, I got hit by one when she was still a first-year student. It was a freakishly real experience. After that, Yaga says the mental toll made all the cores inside me go haywire. Had to spend three days bedridden while he fixed it."
Panda laughs so good-naturedly it makes Yuta wonder if such a terrifying experience is supposed to be funny. He makes a mental note never to offend Shiori-senpai in any way.
"Oh right, Yuta. Kirara-senpai mentioned she has a great aptitude for barrier and sealing techniques too. You should ask her if she knows a better way to contain Rika-chan."
Yuta perks up. Maybe that's why Shiori-senpai was looking at his ring earlier?
"You think she'll do that for me?"
"Obviously," Maki scoffs. "I'm surprised she didn't pounce at you just now."
Panda grins, "I know, right? I held my breath when she asked for Yuta's hand."
"The blindfolded idiot is around, so I doubt anything would happen."
"Tuna Mayo," agrees Toge.
…Pounce? Yuta has a bad feeling again. He doesn't want to be challenged to another "fever" battle and he's not sure if Panda will be around to bail him out again. "Oh… kay…" he says slowly. "But why would she pounce at me?"
"Not you," Maki says shortly. "Rika-chan."
"Salmon."
"Ah?"
Maki glances at Yuta's worried expression, "Stop being a such worry-wart, that just makes others want to bully you more."
"O-Oh, I'm sorry?"
"Urgh. Forget it," Maki sighs, exasperated. "Shiori-senpai just has some strange quirks, that's all you need to know. She's not going to eat you."
Yuta gulps, not finding the reassurance reassuring in the slightest. Maki realizes this and groans, tilting her head back. "Hey Panda, a little help here. How would you describe her?"
Panda doesn't even deign to look up from his magazine.
"Weird?"
"Bonito flakes," agrees Toge.
Yuta is not sure he wants to know how weird Shiori-senpai can be if a talking Panda is describing her that way. "No one is going to get hurt right…?"
"Nope." Panda pauses and thinks through his answer. "At least not Rika-chan and you… I think?"
"You think?" Yuta repeats for clarification, wary.
Panda scratches his cheek and glances at Maki for help. She doesn't even look at him. Panda is on his own for this. Resigned, Panda wraps an arm over Yuta's shoulders and scoots down.
"So… the thing is," begins Panda in a whisper. "You know Rika-chan is Special Grade right?"
"Uh-huh."
"That means she's super strong."
Yuta still doesn't see where Panda is going with this. "I guess so?"
"And like… Shiori-senpai is sort of obsessed with death…"
"Like obsessed in death as in she obsessed in the research in Cursed Spirits?" Yuta tries, he can see that happening.
"No, no, not like that," Panda shakes his head. "Like in a way where… she's always looking for an opportunity to kill herself?"
Yuta freezes. "Eh?"
"And with how strong Rika-chan is, she can easily… you know…"
Panda makes a slicing motion on his neck.
…
The pieces fall slowly into place. Yuta blinks slowly.
Oh.
"W-WHAT?!"
"I know right," Maki sighs. "Super weird."
She doesn't elaborate. Yuta looks back and forth between the three of them, gaping, but Toge unhelpfully says, "Bonito flakes" and Panda just shrugs. Maki stubbornly stares ahead at the whiteboard.
Yuta decides not to push it, even though he thinks that all of them find their senpai's suicidal tendencies a little, if not very, very concerning.
.
"So, what do you think?"
Shiori sighs. She really... just wants to go home and sleep. Her body aches and the humidity is making her clothes stick to her skin. The mission she just returned from had taken her to Osaka Prefecture and she'd spent the entire train ride stuck with a non-sorcerer falling asleep on her shoulder. Summer is a horrible time for curses. To be a sorcerer is a terrible, tiring thing. She thinks this might constitute under elderly abuse in this era's law or something along those lines…
…She wants to file a complaint.
Maybe Nanami-kun knows where she could do so? Maybe. Hopefully.
Still, Shiori concedes. Because Gojo Satoru is like a rabid dog that will bite and never let go until he gets what he wants. It's better to give in now than to have him follow her home and crap all over her carpet. Shiori is vaguely aware from the reaction of others that she can be a misanthropic miserable thing at times, but somehow the Six Eyes user of today had the uncanny ability to make her even more miserable.
She gives her conclusion with the emotions of a wet cardboard. Quick and precise.
"As you mentioned, Okkotsu Yuta-kun's Curse Energy reserves are immense. Even with all that I've seen, the curse within him is undoubtedly powerful. He has the potential to become a great sorcerer if he learns to control it."
"Right?! That's what I thought!" Satoru agrees happily, dementedly pleased. "That's exactly what I told those geezers and they wanted to cut off his head anyway! Can you believe that? Yuta-kun is wonderful, I'm glad I picked him up!"
"Rika doesn't like me," Shiori recalls the threatening aura she felt earlier when she touched the ring. "She probably sensed that my Curse Energy is… different. Or maybe she sees something else within me."
Or maybe Shiori should say that because Yuta and her situation are similar in some ways; cursed and damned, Rika instinctually feels repulsed. The noon rays cast long shadows as they walk, and Shiori ignores how her shadow ebbs. They don't like Rika too. Thankfully, Shiori has years of control.
"Rika has the intelligence of a third grader. Who's she gonna tell?"
"Curses of that calibre are not that stupid. And she could tell Yuta-kun."
"Nah, Yuta-kun won't say anything."
"Regardless."
"Does it matter anyway?" drawls Satoru lazily. "Even if the Higher-Ups find out, I'll just scare them a little and make them poop in their adult diapers. Actually… that's a great idea! I'm getting tired of all this hiding anyway. Wanna join me in terrorising some elderly? It'd be fun, I promise!"
…That's probably what will end up happening—figuratively, Shiori hopes, she does not want anyone to crap their pants—given how Satoru browbeats the council at every opportunity he gets, sometimes just for the kicks of it. Regardless, Shiori cannot help but be concerned.
"If you offend everyone like that, you'll end up being alone," she says dryly.
Is this… advice? Maybe. She doesn't know.
What Shiori does know is that to be alone… is the worst curse there is. Because when you're alone, you will have nothing, will always have nothing, until the end of time. No hope. No dreams. A deep endless chasm of nothingness. There's a fine line between the extraordinary who seek changes and the tyrant drunk on madness. You are only what the majority of the world makes you to be, after all.
"Don't care 'cause I'm not alone!" retorts Satoru. "I have my cute students backing me up! That's enough for me, plus they adore me."
But you are still alone, is what Shiori wants to say but does not. Because the Honoured One is on a plane of existence of their own. Godhood ascended. Because in the end… it is not the god who abandoned the mortal, but the mortal who loses faith in the god he never needed.
(Some things just never change. Shiori knows this.)
"You forget that while you might be untouchable, your students aren't. Continue, and you'll be alone."
She almost says again. Almost.
Shiori will not speak of Geto Suguru—the Special Grade classmate turned Curse User, Gojou Satoru's perpetual one and only, the only person who had ever joined Satoru on his plane of greatness. It's not her problem. Likewise, Satoru will not ask Shiori about her past and the shadows of those who haunt it.
That is how it is—
"Speaking from experience, hmm?" goads Satoru from the left.
—Or not.
She looks ahead to the empty hallway. "No, I simply do not want to be caught in the crossfire."
Even with his blindfold, she knows Satoru is smugly satisfied. "On the bright side, the good news is that we each have a pick the Higher-Ups hate! Yaga gets his Panda, you get Maki and I get Megumi and Yuta! I bet my boys will win!"
"I'm not going to bet, Satoru."
"Why not?" Satoru whines. "You treat Maki so precious. I had to go out on a limb for her too, y'know."
"You remind me at every opportunity," says Shiori blandly.
"She doesn't even listen to me, and she's ridiculously strong too."
Shiori hums. "Good for her."
Satoru puts himself on her path and cranes down to have a good look at her face. "So, what's the problem with betting? Not confident in Maki? Or are you broke? Don't cry, I can loan you money if you want."
"You speak as if they are pets you own."
"But I do own them, I recruited them! I'm their sensei!"
She normally would hold her tongue after—it's not worth it. She lies to herself every day that she doesn't care—but something about this conversation stings, and her wounds fester, so she unwisely continues.
"They're sorcerers, not roosters at the cock fighting pit. You don't own them."
"But I own you."
…
Hah.
…Shiori wants to laugh, feeling a little deranged. She smiles instead, shadows beneath her licking her feet. Maybe Satoru knows in some weird-Satoru-way that he'd tripped on the live wire too, because his grin turns taunting. Unbidden, her Curse Energy surfaces to her skin and Satoru's Curse Energy follows suit.
Rationally speaking, they should fight.
But won't.
So, the Honoured One simply waits for her to say something. To protest as a somewhat equal. To throw the first punch and shatter this strange association they have going on. Shiori does neither. She knows he's provoking her again to test her mettle. However much Satoru acts like an irresponsible idiot, he isn't one. He knows that Shiori could leave anytime she wanted, could start a war with the jujutsu world anytime she wanted because… what good are morals in a world where morality means absolutely nothing at all?
They're monsters. Both of them. They know this.
And they're alone.
Satoru would probably hunt her down to the ends of the world if she ever steps out of line or leaves. Fine by Shiori. She can run, fight back even. She had fought back actually, and lost pathetically to this ordained god before her, but she'll fight nevertheless because anything, anything is better than being deprived of light, sealed away like a fucking animal—
(But another question passes too; where can Shiori go when there's absolutely nothing waiting for her out there in this vast, vast world? There's nothing. Absolutely nothing—)
Shiori… truly does not know why Satoru does this. Taunt and provoke as if he's waiting to see if she'll snap and go mad like the mortal who abandoned him. Or does he simply want answers to what happened a thousand years ago? Maybe Shiori is already deep into the clutches of insanity (Who she's kidding? She is mad. Fact.) but she feels nothing but a bone-weary tiredness.
So.
Shiori will simply continue with what she'd been doing. Lie belly-up like a prey resigned to their fate before a predator.
(A prey that can turn her fangs anytime—because one never forgets the taste of flesh, the clouded ecstasy of power, the breathless euphoria that the only chosen one feels on the plane of greatness—)
"Congratulations on owning me, bearer of the Six Eyes," Shiori says pleasantly and gives him a pat on the shoulder. Surprisingly, she finds Infinity dispelled. "Rika's Curse Energy ties are most strongly entwined with Yuta-kun's ring. I could engrave a seal on the metal, that should help him learn to control the flow of Curse Energy better."
The sudden danger passes, the tide recedes, and the light returns to Satoru's face.
"I knew I could count on you, my lovely cousin!"
They're not related. Not at all.
"Come on, say onii-chan! Don't be shy! Repeat after me: onii-chan~"
Shiori sighs, resigned to Satoru's needling. "You could ask one of the Gojo clan's spellcasters, you know. Daisuke-san is more than capable."
"Yup I could, but it's best to leave the troublesome things to my underlings! Plus, you're the best that I know so it's only fair I work you to death. Hahaha!"
…This is painful. Shiori has a headache. Would be so bad if she flings herself off this building? Probably. How the mighty had fallen. If Shiori's real beloved maniacal cousin could see her now, he'd probably beat her to death and demand to know where her dignity is.
Better death than dishonour, little cousin.
Good thing he's been dead for a long, long time.
Good thing that Shiori had long discarded fickle things like her dignity. Because what use is dignity when she's alone? She does not care, has nothing to prove. Nothing to live up to. Not any longer. Everyone is dead. Disappeared. Rotting. Faded.
Except her.
"When do you think you can get it done? I want to bring Yuta-kun on a Gojo-sensei's one-on-one date: Special Grade hunting edition soon. He needs to get stronger faster so he can annoy the Higher-Ups with me. Which reminds me, I stayed up all night thinking of a plan to make Gakuganji faint in anger, wanna hear it?"
"Yuta-kun is still young," reminds Shiori tiredly. "Please schedule your coup after he's grown a little, Satoru."
He ignores her, "How strong do you think he'll be next time?"
"It's hard to say. I haven't seen a curse of that calibre attached to a sorcerer before."
"Strong enough to finally put an end to you at least?"
She thinks it through, "I don't know. Maybe."
"Not even gonna try? That's unlike you. Getting cold feet?"
She hums. "No, I just prefer to refrain from dying in front of children."
She learnt this the hard way, unfortunately. The first time Shiori attempted to secretly kill herself in Japan… she got caught and it ended tedious misunderstanding which left Tsumiki clinging onto her in tears and Megumi watching her with wary eyes everywhere she went all week. It left Shiori at a loss on what to do because she couldn't possibly explain she'd just come back… right?
…It's bothersome.
She doesn't like the way it makes her feel.
"Why not?" Satoru says. "Is this a sacred rule passed down in the Heian Era or something? Is not dying in front of kiddos the Fujiwara's clan motto? Hahaha! That's hilarious! I should tell Shoko!"
Satoru doesn't mean it. Not really. He's just running his mouth. Shiori knows he cares about the kids; stupidly protects their youth and innocence as best he can. She supposes the Honoured One can afford to care about such meaningless acts even when he knows that a sorcerer can never choose where and when they want to die.
...Is this what you call sweet mercy is nobility's true badge?
Maybe.
(Someone in the deep abscess of her mind, Shiori remembers she was a child once too. And in the end, she learnt that before they're children, they are sorcerers. And is there ever a sorcerer who is innocent and ignorant?
Normalcy is worthless. Mediocrity is meaningless. That's all there is to it.)
Shiori gazes out the building, contemplative. Tokyo Jujutsu High looks… peaceful. Serene. Down the corridor, Hakari is probably already convincing Kirara that they should skip class and go play Pachinko for the third time this week.
And Shiori is here… in Japan, at the heart of jujutsu society. Parading as what? A sorcerer? A student? A Gojo? It's not even funny, now that she thinks of it. It's madness. Ludicrous. Absurd and downright convoluted. A thousand years ago, she would've proceeded to cut down whoever mentioned such an offensive thing. How dare they look down on the blood of the Toshi? Fools. All of them—
…
Shiori shouldn't be here. She knows this.
Except somehow, she is.
She is.
She closes her eyes. Inhale. Exhale. Red, red, spilling over and pooling on the cobbled pathway. Someone screams and the shadows on her feet tremble in hysteria. She calms it down only to feel a beheaded head cradled in her arms. A phantom reminder of her loss.
(Lost? No, going by scoreboard Shiori is a winner.
She's a winner but she doesn't feel like one. Not when she won battles but ultimately lost the war.)
"No." Shiori plays with the cinnabar bead bracelet on her wrist. Her thumb brushes over the engravings on each round surface. "I have killed children before, that's worse than dying in front of them."
Satoru slides beside her and leans on the pillar. "Then what changed?"
Nothing.
Nothing exactly changes. Nothing important at least.
She just… doesn't have a good reason for why she feels this way.
In retrospect, it's silly. When Shiori thinks back, if she hadn't been in Shanghai then…. if the bearer of this era's Six Eyes had not stumbled into the city coincidentally, seeking the mortal who abandoned him… where would she be now? Thailand. Or Scotland. Maybe Indonesia. But she'll be free and alone. A bystander. But such is life; a series of coincidences that continually shaped us.
Coincidences.
…Is it though?
Twice you shall be bestowed the blessing, twice you must choose, says the OnmyōjI to her ear, echoing a time of her life-that-is-no-longer anymore. Two paths await you. Two paths you will take. Oh pitiful child, heed my words.
A divination is given. A fate secured. The pitiful child accepts the premonition with grace.
Shiori really, really shouldn't be here but—
"I really should get back to class," she says. "Tohsaka-sensei will be looking for me. You can tell Yuta-kun to see me next week."
Satoru doesn't push for an answer and she leaves him to deduce it on his own.
"You're still going on that mission!" He shouts after her. "You're a Gojo and I'm Head so what I say goes."
Shiori waves, "I respectfully reject your demands, Head. I want to sleep. Hopefully, forever."
"People are dying, Shiori-chan! And you want to kill yourself? That's irresponsible! Children are afraid, mothers are crying and fathers are vomiting in fear! Seriously, the world is going to explode if you don't take this mission! Have a heart!"
…Explode? Shiori is alarmed but wonders if she can die in a world explosion. Sounds a little fascinating. How is the world going to explode though—
She stops herself there. Never mind, Satoru is probably jerking her around again. Shoko might say Shiori's communications are partially non-existent but she is not gullible, she thinks. (To her defence being a hermit for so long had severely stunted her ability to socialise but Shiori has a year of experience now and will no longer fall for any tricks.)
"That's very sad. You should get going then, Special Grade. I'm a student, remember?"
"And I'm a sensei! I have classes to teach, which means I'm busy!"
"And I'm Grade One, which means I'm grossly unqualified."
They both know it's far from the truth. Satoru isn't busy. Shiori isn't grossly unqualified.
Still, that's how it'll stay between them.
When Shiori returns to the second-year classroom, Tohsaka-sensei is fuming because her classmates are nowhere in sight. She finds a single text from Kiara, buried among the notifications of Satoru's maniacal texting spree. It's an invitation to come join them at the malls. She does, much to Tohosaki-sensei's chargin.
The next day, Shiori ends up going on Satoru's stupid mission anyway.
Did she mention she hates being a sorcerer?
Much later, Special Grade Curse Rika accidentally kills Gojo Shiori while she's trying to inscribe a seal onto Okkotsu Yuta's ring. Except, Gojo Shiori did not die that day. Not exactly, at least. Because she woke up five hours later in the morgue to the bewilderment of everyone, looking somewhat disappointed and bitterly resigned.
A trial is held after that.
And for the first time in a thousand years… the jujutsu world stops and listens to the untold story of Fujiwara No Shiori—Heian Era immortal tyrant turned modern-day Grade One Sorcerer and reluctant student, and her perpetual quest for death.
.
Stories are what make us.
But hidden between words, alive in the gaps, lies the unbiased truth. Always there waiting, but hardly uncovered.
Everyone is the protagonist of their own stories. Villains too for that matter, though Shiori is beyond justifying all that she has done. She carries it every day. The blood that seeps through her fingers and never, ever ends.
Perhaps, it's better to start at the beginning…
And it begins one year before this, in Shanghai, the Paris of the East.
So the story begins.
Onto Shanghai next! Yuta and the others won't appear for a while. Feedback/reviews are greatly appreciated.
TRIVIA:
Fujiwara Clan: They're a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan during the Heian Era (794 - 1185). The clan eventually fell apart in the Meiji Era (1868 - 1912). The family's primary strategy for central influence was through the marrying of Fujiwara daughters to the Emperors and vice versa. Interestingly in the JJK-verse & RL, the Fujiwara Clan has ties to the Three Great Vengeful Spirits. They welcomed and recruited many sorcerers to their ranks, like Uro.
Shiori is a blood member, meaning she was born into the family and not recruited like Uro/Yorozu. To put it simply, Shiori's family is their bosses, lol.