June 18th, 2027
Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College
"Kasumiya, did you see Okkotsu-sensei get back late last night with that kid?"
The tall girl named Kasumiya held up her hand as she slowly shoved the entirety of the eggs on her plate into her mouth. Everytime the boy in front of her went to interrupt her chewing, she once again held her hand up. Finally, after dragging out the silence, she harshly swallowed and responded. "No, I was dead asleep. You should've been too, Aibou. If it was truly important, your body would alert you."
Aibou groaned, his black eyes rolling to the back of his head. "Don't you ever just want to live a little? Aren't you curious about if he's a new student? If he's cursed and we have to exorcise something off him?"
"No." Kasumiya bluntly stated. Turning to her toast, she once again shoved it into her mouth. Satisfied at the empty plate as she slowly chewed the last of her breakfast, the raven-haired girl leaned back in her chair. "Okkotsu-sensei will tell us what is up. If he doesn't, then we don't need to think about it."
Sucking his teeth, Aibou quickly grabbed the plate off the table and put it into the sink nearby. "I don't understand how you live like that. Life should be about following your desires, your passions!"
"I do that already. But I'm not one to desire unnecessary things like you." Kasumiya retorted. "Now that you bring it up, I do desire to not have to look down when I talk to you."
The two stared at each other for a moment before the two shared a smile. "At least I wasn't born with the genetics of a giant!" Aibou said between laughter.
Standing up from her chair, Kasumiya effortlessly picked up Aibou and moved him to the side as she began to wash her plate in the sink. "Instead, you get to be small enough to fit in someone's pocket."
Shaking his head, Aibou grabbed an orange from the fruit basket in the small kitchen. As he slowly peeled it, he split it in half without a word, placing it beside the sink. "Still, I am curious about him. That kid had a weird feel about him."
As she placed the freshly washed plate in the drying rack, Kasumiya grabbed the orange half and threw it into her mouth. Not stopping to finish chewing, she responded. "Like I said, I'm sure Okkotsu-sensei will tell us what's up. You can curb your enthusiasm for," She audibly gulped down the thoroughly pulped fruit as she looked at the thin watch on her wrist. "Thirty minutes."
"Saito, Hyoushi, are you two curious about the new student?" A young voice came from the doorway. The two students looked to see the dog-like cursed corpse.
Aibou walked over, kneeling down. "That's right, Takeru. You know anything about him?"
"Everyone says he feels more like a curse than a person, but I think he's just scared." Takeru quipped. "Aren't I a genius?"
Rubbing the top of the cursed corpse's head, Aibou beamed. "Of course you are." Splitting what was left of his orange half, he gave it to the corpse. "Take that as a treat."
"Thanks, Hyoushi!" Takeru spun on his heels, walking out and down the hall.
Kasumiya sighed. "You treat them all like siblings, it's endearing."
"They have a soul to them, so I treat them equally." Aibou plainly stated, finishing up the last remaining slice of his orange.
"A soul?" Kasumiya's eyes widened for the briefest of moments. "I always thought they were just filled with cursed energy."
Shaking his head, Aibou held up a finger on either hand. "The ones we encounter in the wild are just objects possessed by curses which have souls in their own right too," He gestured to his left hand before then raising his right. "But the ones who freely roam campus are different. You can feel their soul. It's just like mine or yours."
"All that soul stuff was always confusing to me." Kasumiya dismissively waved her hand. "If my soul is powerful enough to resonate and intimidate others, that is all I care about."
Rolling his eyes at the girl, Aibou took a deep breath. "You'll learn about it soon enough."
"Oi, don't speak as if you're my senior. I've been at this longer than you, even if we are the same year." Kasumiya spat back. "I'll learn about it whenever I want."
Mockingly raising his hands in fear, Aibou began to strut out of the kitchen. "Oh, I'm so scared of the girl who got recruited for being a brute when she was young."
Closely following behind, Kasumiya easily picked Aibou up by the collar of his blue uniform. "I could throw you. You know that, right?"
"Go ahead, do it." Aibou taunted.
"Just for that? I won't." Kasumiya resigned, roughly placing the boy back on the ground and harshly smacking him on the back, forcing him to stumble.
The two began to walk in silence for the most part as Aibou smoothed out his uniform. Every now and then they would exchange a question or comment, but ultimately, it was a comfortable quiet. That was simply the dynamic they often settled into. They had only known each other for roughly four months. But with her stubbornness, it felt like he had grown up with the world's most thuggish sister.
Kasumiya had already been at Tokyo Jujutsu High when Aibou had arrived, which was always a shock to him considering he thought that the semester hadn't begun yet. He later found out that some big-name sorcerer had found her when she was still young and began training her.
He had to admit, she was undoubtedly powerful. Her cursed technique was terrifying to go against. Despite the hollowness inside her skull, he was surprised by the sheer skill she had in jujutsu. Although, that must be what growing up while learning about the ins and outs of it would net.
She may have had an amazing teacher, but trying to learn anything from her was like attempting to understand an ancient language. Her descriptions and lessons always devolved into her beating the knowledge into you until you somewhat grasped it. That's why he preferred just going to Atsuya when Yuta wasn't present.
As the two began to move out into the courtyard of Tokyo Jujutsu High, heading towards the main building where they took their classes, Aibou couldn't help but look around. "Kasumiya, did you ever get to see this place when it was still wrecked?"
"Somewhat. The cursed corpses were already building it up like crazy. Those little things can move." She laughed to herself. "I saw both campuses though. I just went to this one because it was closer than Kyoto."
She looked to the distance, pointing towards the general area of the subterranean region visible through a massive hole in the ground. "As far as I'm aware, that was ground zero for what destroyed this place at first. They still haven't patched it up."
"Any idea what could do something like that?" Aibou asked, the slightest bit of awe in his voice.
"My mentor's teacher." Kasumiya stated blankly. "From what I hear, she was one hell of a force to handle."
It had happened back in 2018, the both of them knew that and just how much the world of jujutsu had been shaken up that year. They now existed in a rebirth of the Heian Period, the supposed golden age of jujutsu and curses.
Aibou appreciated the way things were run though. From what he had read of the original system in place, it was terribly conservative. Perhaps it was because of the people who survived and rebuilt everything from the ground up, or perhaps it was just the passage of time.
He tried not to ask any of the teachers about what happened in 2018 out of fear of resurfacing any traumatic memories.
"Kasumiya, try not to scare the new kid too much." Aibou suddenly said, his arms folded above his head as he looked at the scarred girl. "I need someone else to talk to, and I don't want him tucking tail and running because you made him think we're bullies."
Kasumiya blew a strand of hair out of her eyes as she continued walking. "I'm not a bully, Aibou. All that matters is gauging his character."
"And we all know how that'll go." Aibou calmly stated. "I know you always do whatever you want and live on spite alone, but please just take it easy if he seems like he's in over his head."
"He's at least as old as we are, right? He should know what he's getting into." Kasumiya reminded him. "I'm not going to run him off though. You're pretty boring sometimes, so I'm hoping he'll be a little more interesting."
Aibou's mouth opened to retort, but he couldn't find the words at the moment. With several glances at Kasumiya, he finally shook his head and decided to let her win this time.
Before long the pair arrived at their destination, the classroom as empty as always save for the new addition of a single chair. "Looks like we'll have to wait for them." Kasumiya stated, huffing as she slumped into her chair.
"No, we won't." Aibou chided, knowingly raising a finger. "I can feel Okkotsu-sensei's cursed energy from here. The other boy's too. They're almost here."
The boy's cursed energy felt off. It was just as Takeru felt. He felt more like a curse. Whereas Yuta's felt ominous, this boy's felt like raw emotion. Pulsing out at everything nearby.
"Congratulations, you can tell where people are. Very helpful." Sarcastically clapping, the towering woman let her head roll back. "Still have to wait a little bit."
"Would you just give me this one for once?!" Aibou snapped back. "Don't be mad that I'm better than you at perceiving cursed energy."
Kasumiya's head slowly turned to glare at Aibou's smug face. "What good is perceiving it when you should be focused on your immediate opponent in front of you? If I can read it on them, that's what matters to me."
Aibou sighed, deciding to relent on the subject. "You're going to get yourself killed at some point."
"I'll stay alive longer than you since you keep wanting to make stupid claims." Kasumiya snapped back, irritated at the smile that immediately split her classmate's face.
The door of the classroom suddenly opened. Yuta was the first to enter. "Good morning, Saito, Hyoushi. I would like to introduce you both to your newest classmate." He took a deep breath, putting on his best impression of the man who once introduced him to his classmates. Having students of his own was still new to him, so he could only try to emulate him, even if wasn't the greatest of teachers. "So, let's get fired up!"
Aibou and Kasumiya exchanged glances. Aibou was clearly more willing to put on the theatrics, whooping and clapping his hands. Kasumiya, on the other hand, stuck to merely slowly clapping and letting out a dull monotone cheer.
"Well, it's more than I expected. Come on in!" Yuta called to the closed door.
Standing on the other side, Owari took a deep breath. He didn't have a uniform yet, so he was just in what he imagined was his best outfit, which frankly wasn't that impressive as he looked at it now. He wasn't even wearing a formal shirt, he had chosen a floral-themed button up and plain pants.
In his defense, he had barely gotten sleep and hadn't finished unpacking.
Taking a deep breath, he slid open the door to the classroom.
There were only two students in it. He was expecting an entire classroom, but this? When Yuta said it was a school, he had been wondering why he hadn't seen the hallways full of students.
He audibly let out a deep breath, his shoulders relaxing.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Gappei Owari, it is a pleasure to meet you both." Owari spoke with renewed confidence. Maybe if it were only two people, he wouldn't make a fool of himself as bad when he didn't know a thing about what went on at this school. "I look forward to learning with you both."
It was a blank slate.
"These two will be your classmates, Gappei-kun. This is Saito Kasumiya," Yuta gestured to the girl whose eyes threatened to bore into his soul. "she's your senior in jujutsu by a few years. This is Hyoushi Aibou-'' He then gestured to the boy who seemed to study him with an intense curiosity.
Before Yuta could continue, Aibou spoke up. "I'll be the one to make sure Kasumiya doesn't act brutish if we do any training."
'First name basis?' Owari's eyebrow raised as he looked over the platinum-blonde haired boy. "It's nice to meet you both. I'll need all the help I can get."
"Oi, Okkotsu-sensei." Kasumiya spoke up, her eyes never leaving Owari. "I see what Takeru was talking about. He reeks of cursed spirits."
Owari's stomach went cold as a lump grew in his throat.
"She's onto you. Maybe she'll exorcise you like a proper jujutsu sorcerer. You wanted to die after all." Kyouhi goaded him, her honeyed cackling reverberating in his mind.
Yuta held up a hand. "He has a cursed technique that revolves around cursed spirit manipulation. His cursed energy feels a little different because of it."
"Like Geto Suguru?" Aibou quickly interjected, earning a glare from his sensei.
"In a sense." Yuta confirmed. "Gappei-kun doesn't know the ins and outs of it or any of the jujutsu basics quite yet, so that will be our assignment for the day."
Kasumiya's brow furrowed. "So we're allowed to beat the life out of him until he learns?"
"It'd be better if you control yourself, Saito-chan. I'd prefer if you tried other methods first." Yuta gently said, a knowing glance being exchanged with Aibou. "Hopefully in teaching him, you both can refine your knowledge of the basics."
Kasumiya took a sharp inhale before biting her tongue. Of course she would get stuck with tutoring.
"I look forward to getting to help you, Owari." Aibou hopped to his feet, quickly patting Owari on the shoulder. He ignored the snide remark Kasumiya made under her breath.
'First name basis for me already? He's…friendly.' Owari gave a smile and a nod. "I hope I can pick it up quickly, Hyoushi-san."
"Drop the honorifics. There's nothing to be formal about here." Kasumiya snapped, standing up and stretching. "Call me Kasumiya and call him Aibou. Only one to be formal with is him," She jerked her thumb towards the slightly taller man. "and that's only because he could kill you in an instant."
Aibou rolled his eyes. "No, not because he's our teacher or because he's older or anything, right?"
As Aibou and Kasumiya descended into a slurry of remarks and playful insults at each other, Owari slowly turned to Yuta. "Who is Geto Suguru, Okkotsu-sensei?"
"A sorcerer from the past. I'll tell you more about him once you get the basics down and figure out your technique." Yuta assured. "Alright, everyone, get to it! I'll be with you all shortly. I have to meet with the principal about Gappei-kun."
Before Owari could ask any more questions, Kasumiya scruffed him by the back of his shirt. "What's with this dumbass pattern? You look like a tourist to a tropical island." Even if he wanted to stop himself from moving, her sheer strength was enough to drag him out of the room with Aibou demanding that she put him down.
Yuta could only watch with a smile on his face. He could have taught Owari, but the boy needed more than the basics. He needed people to support him.
Is this what he meant when he said no one was allowed to take youth away from the young?
Owari deeply hated his choice of clothing as he looked upon the track and field that Kasumiya and Aibou had led him to. As he began to walk down the stairs, Kasumiya's head cocked towards him.
"Owari, how old are you?" She asked, yellow eyes staring him down.
"S-sixteen." He stated slowly.
She pinched her chin for a moment. "And you don't know any basics of jujutsu? You also don't understand your own cursed technique?" She chuckled to herself with a shake of her head. "You must be braindead. The technique is engraved into your brain, it's as instinctual as breathing."
Aibou smacked Kasumiya's shoulder. "You said you wouldn't scare him off, Kasumiya. You don't know what he's been through."
"I'm sorry that you've been tasked with teaching me this stuff." Owari mumbled. He truly was. He didn't even know where to begin.
What Kasumiya said rang true to some part of him though. He had that knowledge in his head, just like when he cried out to Kyouhi to not touch him. He knew that if the curses were weak, they would merge with him if he touched them. He also felt there was something more, but when he tried to think about it…
"Stomach…hurts…"
He could only think of that night. His face feeling so tight and his stomach so empty.
"In any case, do you even know shit about cursed energy?" Kasumiya barked as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "Who am I kidding, of course you don't." She began to stretch her arms.
Aibou chimed in before Kasumiya could do anything brash. "Owari, have you ever felt something building up in your stomach? That wasn't physical like food, of course."
Owari focused on the feeling of his stomach and his core. Taking a deep breath, his eyes closing as his brow furrowed, he did his best to let the world fall away. It felt like meditation to him.
He did feel it. He felt rage. He felt sadness. He felt regrets.
"He's got it." Kasumiya muttered with the barest hints of surprise in her tone. "You can see it on his face."
Owari let his eyes open, suddenly aware of the festering amalgamation in his core. "What…do I do with it?"
"You use it." Kasumiya practically cackled as she said those words. "Tell me, which of these hurts more?"
Aibou could not stop her in time as she swung her left fist directly into Owari's shoulder, throwing him into the side of the stairwell he had not stepped out of.
"That one hurt ple-" As he barely composed himself and got back to his feet, Kasumiya swung with her right hand this time.
The speed at which she moved was nearly impossible to spot for Owari, but the force of the punch that planted into his right shoulder sent him into the otherside of the stairwell with enough momentum to crack the stone.
"He can't even reinforce his body yet, Kasumiya, what the hell is wrong with you?!" Aibou shouted at his classmate, a look of disgust coming over his face as he looked at her grin.
"He did it, even if he didn't know he did." Kasumiya pointed, noting the flaring cursed energy reinforcing Owari's right shoulder. "This fucker isn't boring like you, Aibou. He learns properly."
Owari shambled to his feet, his temple leaking a small river of blood and his lip already swelling on the left side from its impact into the stone. "The second one. The second one hurt more."
"Did you feel anything different inside you when she hit you the second time?" Aibou couldn't believe the sentence he had just spoken, but he would have to compromise on how they would help Owari.
"I got really angry at the fact that I had just been knocked around…and then I got scared that it would hurt even more the second time." Owari put a finger to his swollen lip, wincing at the pain.
"But your cursed energy, did you feel it change or do anything at all?" Aibou asked, gently prodding the boy towards his answer.
He did feel it shift. It moved to his fists first, but then it moved to the shoulder. As he nodded, Kasumiya turned to the field and began walking.
"The first was just a normal punch, the second was infused with cursed energy." Kasumiya called out, beckoning them to follow. "Looks like you aren't completely braindead, Owari."
Owari took a deep breath as he followed. "So…do I have to be angry all of the time in order to do this right?"
Aibou quickly held up his hands. "No, that's the worst thing you could do. You need to be able to distribute your cursed energy through your body equally at all times, whether you are calm or irate."
"Kasumiya, was that really a normal punch the first time?" Owari hesitantly asked, taking a deep breath as the pain slowly dulled.
The smile that girl turned around to expose was one of sheer manic pleasure. "Why? You scared?"
Owari couldn't respond as he dryly gulped. What kind of people had he been roped in with?
"Let's get your distribution right before we have anymore slugfests." Aibou said, patting Owari on the shoulder before realizing it likely hurt the boy. He shot a glare at the raven-haired girl. "Got that, Kasumiya?"
Kasumiya stared down at her friend for a moment. "Fine." She put her hands up. "But he's not going to learn properly from your descriptions. You already started with the worst description of cursed energy."
"But, I did feel it in my stomach, and I felt it move from there." Owari chimed in, defending Aibou.
"It's a beginner's way of thinking though." Kasumiya retorted. "Grab the cursed energy and flow it into your right arm."
Owari's brow furrowed. He couldn't get angry, he just had to move it. Taking a deep breath, he felt the energy push through his chest and into his right arm.
"Good, now move some to your left arm as well." Kasumiya continued.
Expecting another punch to come, Owari continued with caution. It was a different feeling. It was as if he was directing a flow of water through a series of channels.
"You're doing great, Owari." Aibou encouraged the boy. "Keep going, try movi-"
"I'm the one teaching right now, Aibou." Kasumiya interrupted. "Your legs next."
They were simple enough, once again, like opening a valve and letting water flow through.
"Finally, your head."
Owari continued as he had, focusing on the feeling of flowing the cursed energy through his entire body.
"Now," Kasumiya stood stiff in front of him. "punch me with either fist."
She was crazy, wasn't she? Owari was sure she was crazy. What kind of person just demands to be punched?
Standing with his stance wide, Owari jabbed his right hand towards Kasumiya, feeling the cursed energy he had been flowing through his entire body move entirely towards his right fist.
Just as it diverted, Kasumiya slapped him with the back of her hand. "You got caught up in where you were flowing the cursed energy. You shouldn't be thinking about it the entire time."
"Owari, focus on the sensation of cursed energy not only in yourself but all around you." Aibou patted Owari's back, pointing at his eyes. "Look at Kasumiya's body."
Owari rubbed his face, the stinging pain spreading. Looking at Kasumiya, he only saw the girl who had just hit him three times in the span of two minutes. However, in the blink of an eye, her body was suddenly enshrouded in energy.
"It shouldn't be a conscious effort to push cursed energy through your body." Kasumiya stated as the shroud suddenly dissipated, before emerging once again. "When you distribute your cursed energy through your body, it should be instinctual. You are not pieces of a person sewn together, you are a whole."
Aibou's eyes widened. He had never received this lesson from Kasumiya. She mostly made fun of him for his mistakes during their training sessions.
"Your cursed energy should distribute as a whole evenly. As soon as you flow it from your stomach, it should spread throughout your entire body without you even thinking about directing it." Kasumiya continued.
Owari nodded, beginning to think to himself. He wasn't supposed to view it as opening valves or channels, because that would make him focus on the pieces of his body instead of the whole. Instead, if he viewed his stomach as a lake, and the flow as a small channel into an ocean as his entire body.
The ocean…
"I've got it!" Owari shouted, planting his fist into his palm. "Instead of powering it up paths like Godzilla's beam along his back, I should spread it out completely like Destoroyah! Instead of a bunch of microscopic organisms making me up, I should see it like cursed energy filling everything up completely!"
Kasumiya and Aibou shared a bewildered look. "God…zilla? That's what you thought of?" Aibou rubbed the back of his neck. "I can't even say if that sounds right, I never watched those old movies."
Kasumiya watched with curious eyes as Owari seemed to grasp the concept though. In an instant, whereas the flow of cursed energy had previously been choppy and uneven between limbs, suddenly, it poured through him evenly.
And there was a lot of it.
Aibou clearly noticed the same as his ramblings about cinematography came to an end.
Just as quickly as it had come to him, the flow suddenly became uneven once again. "Damn, I lost it." Owari gritted his teeth. "I had it for a moment, right?"
"A moment isn't enough to keep you alive." Kasumiya remarked. "Looks like you've got the idea of distribution down, so now I can teach you the proper way."
Aibou quickly intercepted the space between the two. "Hold on, Kasumiya. Let's pump the brakes on your kind of training for a moment."
"No." Kasumiya's face split with a manic grin. "You're welcome to join in though if you feel like that'll help."
Owari's eyes grew wide at his two classmates bickering, focusing on his cursed energy in the moment. His mind flashed through the countless series of anime that he and Jinsei had binged together and the entire cinematography of Godzilla as he tried his best to apply every possible concept of power regulation.
"Owari." Kasumiya's voice cut through his thoughts. "Tell me," She began to stance up, her yellow eyes preying upon him. "what kind of woman is your type?"
Taking a moment to process that she has just asked that, Owari's face twisted into utter disbelief. "What kind of question is that?!"
"The only one that matters in this world. Although if you like men as well," She glanced at Aibou, who rolled his eyes at her. "then I'll hear that too. Answer carefully, or I'll break you on the spot."
Owari took deep breaths as his heart began to race. What kind of person was his type? He didn't really have a type for the most part, he didn't think.
What had made him ask out Jinsei, aside from her just being close to him through his entire life? Who else did he normally form crushes on?
His eyes lit up with realization. "The biggest thing I'd have to say is someone who's strong. Especially women. I don't care about height or anything like that, but if they can-"
He barely had time to react as Kasumiya barreled down upon him, her fist missing the front of his face by just an inch as she slugged a downward punch. Without a moment of recovery, her remaining fist jabbed out from the dirt cloud erupting from the crater of her impact.
"Good answer, Owari." Kasumiya's face was split with a manic grin.
Jumping backwards, Owari controlled his breathing as he focused on evenly spreading out his cursed energy. He wasn't going to get everything that day, he knew that much.
But he could focus on the regulation of his own emotions.
He had been in fights before. Nagashi would have said he had been close to a delinquent if he hadn't known the reasons for the fights. Teenagers were mean-spirited. Dead parents weren't a sign that you were off limits for bullying and rude remarks.
If anything, they were a sign to do it even more in his case.
He was always furious during the fight. He knew what it was now, but back then, the ball of rage he felt as though he could physically grasp in his stomach would roil in those moments. It seemed to fester and get worse to the point where he felt sick.
It was the wind-down after the fights he had to think of now. Allowing the emotion to disperse and keep his head cool.
Stancing up, Owari steeled his resolve as Kasumiya continued her assault. Spinning her body, her foot slammed into the side of his arms as he blocked them. He knew he had moved to reinforce his arms at that moment.
Kasumiya did too.
With a quickness that he hadn't adapted to yet, Kasumiya's fist pummeled the left side of his torso.
Gritting his teeth, Owari felt his face crunch in anger and pain. Taking a breath, he shook his head. 'It's okay. Godzilla's march, triumph.' As his brain seemed to play the orchestral theme without hesitation, a smile lit up the boy's face as he remembered the feeling when he first listened to it.
The feeling of victory against all odds.
He knew he was nowhere near what Kasumiya tried teaching him, he could still distribute his cursed energy choppily through his body.
As Kasumiya's jab pierced through the air towards his face, he moved to the side a moment before impact. His body folded to the side as he threw a punch into Kasumiya's core. For once, instead of feeling all of his energy direct into his fist, he managed to keep it flowing through his entire body.
As his fist made contact with her core, Kasumiya was impressed. She hadn't completely reinforced her torso because she didn't expect much from him.
But the energy dripping off him was enough to pack an unexpected punch.
Hiking her knee up directly into his chest, Owari's body folded around her leg as spittle flew from his lips.
Hooking her left fist around, she managed to throw the auburn-haired boy a considerable distance away with the force of her punch.
Owari coughed out the remaining saliva in his mouth as he stood to his feet. He had landed close to Aibou, who seemed to be…practicing line dancing from the looks of it. "Are you going to help?"
"I don't think I can, Owari. When Kasumiya gets riled up like this, she's going to work it out. If it becomes too much to handle, I will take care of things though." Aibou gave the distressed boy a thumbs up. "Just focus on regulation and improving on the basics! You're getting better by the second!"
'He's really going to dance while-' Owari's train of thought was interrupted as Kasumiya rushed him.
"He's not going to save you, Owari!" Kasumiya cackled the words out, and for the briefest moment, Owari wondered if he was genuinely dealing with a psychopath. "If you don't get better at the distribution soon, I'm going to beat you into the ground!"
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Owari evaded the lariat that threatened to knock him off his feet.
'Lake to the ocean. Not rivers.' Stopping himself from mentally opening valves and allowing the container to spill, he felt the empowering energy flow through him.
Turning at the exact moment that Kasumiya passed through the air with her lariat, Owari hooked his left fist into the base of her spine.
The force of the strike caused the scarred girl to grunt in pain, tumbling to the ground before quickly recovering. Even despite the flow of her cursed energy, it felt as though he had completely bypassed the reinforcements of her body.
Maybe the long haired boy wasn't so boring.
He probably wasn't learning everything on the fly, rather, these had been things that he had done unconsciously already. Even then, he was still a beginner in every sense of the word.
That much was obvious by the evenly distributed energy once again becoming choppy and focused on his fists and feet.
"You're becoming too focused on whatever Godzilla metaphor you used to distribute the energy. You stop thinking for a few moments, but the instant you start again, you lose it." Kasumiya called out, rushing in close before simply smacking Owari with the back of her hand. "Learn to turn off your brain."
Owari took a deep breath, rubbing the bright red handprint on his face. "It's not as simple as that for me."
"Sure it is. Let yourself go. Stop thinking as a human. Stop viewing anything as anything." Kasumiya said, looking down at Owari. "Everything is connected to one another and exists as one. The world seems complex when it's really simple."
"What does that even mean, Kasumiya?" Owari snapped, his amber eyes narrowing.
"Everything that makes up you makes up me. It also can be shifted around to make a tree, the dirt beneath you. Your existence is in harmony with everything else because everything else is your existence." Kasumiya's brow raised, her hands raising in an explanatory manner. "You're complicating everything in your head by putting everything into pieces. You view your body as separate from your cursed energy, your soul, and your mind. That's why you can't grasp it. You are viewing it as filling your body with something foreign."
Owari's mouth opened to retort, but he stopped and furrowed his eyebrows. She was right. It wasn't going to come to him immediately, but at least it let him see the error of his ways.
"Thanks, Kasumiya." Owari briefly stretched his arms before dropping into a stance. The raven-haired girl smiled as she saw his cursed energy flow evenly for more than just a few moments. "I think I'm ready to get serious about this."
Kasumiya's eyes lit up. "Good. I'll end you if you don't."
The day had been an eventful one. By the time Yuta arrived at the training grounds, Kasumiya had thoroughly bloodied Owari before turning to sparring with Aibou, the two in an effective stalemate while Owari recovered in the bleachers.
The sparring didn't go on for much longer, with Yuta breaking it up and healing them all before walking them to their classes while explaining the curriculum to Owari.
The feeling of having his wounds seemingly vanish was unreal to him, and yet, eerily familiar at the same time.
He was surprised at first at the prospect of the school still having regular classes, but ultimately it made sense. It was probably best to have them educated like normal teenagers so they could make it in the real world.
With the day finally ending though, he idly walked beside Kasumiya and Aibou back to their dorms.
"So, Owari, did you enjoy your first day?" Aibou asked, poking his face into Owari's. "I hope you weren't scared off by everything."
Owari took a deep breath, eyes darting to Kasumiya who glanced back at him. "No, I wasn't scared off. It just feels like…a lot. I've known about so much of this stuff for so long, and yet, I always thought I was just…crazy." Saying the words seemed to make a weight sink inside of him. "Having names and genuine weight to everything makes it different."
"Were there no other sorcerers in your family to talk about this stuff with?" Kasumiya asked, her arms folded behind her head.
The image of his father flashed through his mind. He must have been one. He knew about the curse. Owari shook his head. "No. None that I knew of."
Aibou sighed. "That's understandable. Given the way the world is right now, even if there were any, they'd probably tell you to keep quiet about it."
"What do you mean?" Owari's eyebrow cocked.
Aibou and Kasumiya exchanged a wary glance. "How much do you know about the events of 2018?"
"Nothing that I can really recall. I never really listen to the news." Owari awkwardly laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "All I know is that there were a bunch of terrorist attacks that happened. I was never really focused on learning about that when people were talking about it."
Aibou took a deep breath. "It wasn't terrorist attacks. It was jujutsu sorcerers and cursed spirits. Jujutsu sorcerers that use their abilities for evil purposes are curse users. While the government somewhat exposed the existence of cursed spirits to the general public, most didn't believe it because they couldn't see them or touch them."
"Right. I heard people talk about the possibility of spirits in Kasama, but most of the time it seemed like they were just referring to tales and myths." Owari remembered, realizing how he could've put two and two together with the spirits they talked about and the curses he saw.
"Well, while everyone can't see cursed spirits, everyone can see jujutsu sorcerers and be affected by them. Given the battles that went on in 2018, people began to ostracize sorcerers. Instead of seeing them as solutions to curses, they instead saw them as both the source of them and a separate problem from them." Aibou continued, pausing to take another deep breath. His first week at the school, he had done as much research as possible into the past of sorcerers and curses. He hated being in the dark on things he was actively taking part in. "The ostracization of sorcerers wasn't something inherently new, but it became much more common. Most of the time it only happened in villages in the countryside, but now, even major cities will put out reports against sorcerers or attack them if they seem unusual."
Kasumiya finally chimed in. "Not to mention, following the incident in Shibuya in 2018, we're living in a new golden age of jujutsu, which means there are more curses and sorcerers than ever. But that just means there are more sorcerers than ever turning to curse users because of what they go through, or they never come forward and live their life as a non-sorcerer."
Owari nodded slowly, thinking about the information they had dropped on him. Kasama was a fairly stagnant town. He hadn't heard much talk of spirits, and he never remembered hearing about sorcerers. Then again, he didn't really talk to many people other than Jinsei, Houyou, and Nagashi.
He suddenly remembered something from earlier in the day. "Jujutsu sorcerers get assigned on missions to exorcise cursed spirits and deal with curse users, right? How do we do that if everyone wants us dead?"
"The same we always have." Kasumiya quickly answered. "The government plays mediator and covers everything up. We are essentially played off as feds and detectives in a special unit. The public thinks of how curse users appear when they think of sorcerers, not people like us or Okkotsu-sensei."
Owari's brow furrowed. "Do curse users appear…different?"
"There's just, like, a look to them." Kasumiya rolled her hand. "I don't know how to describe it. A jujutsu sorcerer looks like they are kept together, and curse users just kind of look…off."
Aibou took a second to try and wrap his mind around Kasumiya's distinction. "Whatever Kasumiya is trying to say, I guess I agree. As students, we'll be wearing outfits that have these buttons with spirals." He pointed to the buttons of his uniform. "But once we graduate, we're really free to wear whatever we want and look however we want. I feel you can tell a curse user by demeanor and, well, whatever they are doing. Make sure to watch the flow of their energy in any given moment if you can."
"Of course, it's not like you can exorcise curse users." Kasumiya locked eyes with Owari. "You have to kill them."
Aibou couldn't help but turn to look up at his classmate, eyes wide over at her audacious words. For the briefest of moments, however, he saw the flash of recognition that she had potentially been too brash in the moment.
Owari spoke up from beside him. "I'm…aware." His voice wasn't full of fear, but it wasn't a tone of acceptance. "I won't think of that for the time being though. I want to focus on getting better."
In more ways than one, but they wouldn't know that. They didn't need to know that. Not yet.
"You should focus on your look as well." Kasumiya shook her head, a muffled chuckle rising from her chest. "Who are you trying to fool with that lip ring?" She reached over and tugged on the labret hoop, before turning to pull his long auburn hair. Owari could only wince and awkwardly laugh as his new classmate seemed to examine him as if he were a doll.
"I think the red is a nice colour choice, not too bold and it matches his skin. A lot of people look really washed out with it." Aibou chided, also lightly tugging a piece of his hair and examining it against the skin of his face.
Owari nervously smiled as he carefully pulled away. "It's not dyed. I got it from my mom."
Kasumiya shoved Aibou into Owari, laughing at the shorter boy. "Look at you, sounding like a dumbass! "Ooo, nice colour choice," now who looks like a jackass? Gonna say he chose his skin next?"
"I'm pretty sure assuming something about his hair is a lot better than beating him bloody on his first day here." Aibou scoffed. "I seem like a civilized person, you just came off like a brute. I had just assumed because of the darker red tones-"
"Listen, Owari, no matter what he says," Kasumiya reached around Aibou to shove her new friend. "he's a boring nerd. He can try to be all dancy-pantsy, but then he spends all his time reading."
Owari chuckled before shaking his head. He didn't expect it so soon, but he was actually feeling like he could improve here. He could feel…like a full person for once.
As the trio arrived at the dorms, Owari immediately paid attention to where he was positioned. Kasumiya's dorm was to his right, and Aibou's was on his left.
He was dead center. Anything he did, the both of them would likely know about it.
As if he was reading his thoughts, Aibou stretched up to whisper to Owari. "Kasumiya isn't so bad to live beside, she spends most of her time sleeping harder than a hibernating animal. It's when she's awake that she's harsh to be around."
"I heard that." Kasumiya spat. "If you wake me up, what you dealt with today will be a walk in the park compared to what I'll do."
Owari quickly held his hands up. "Don't worry, I didn't get much sleep last night. I'll just do a little unpacking and then go to sleep myself."
"Good, because we're going to spend the weekend training." Kasumiya immediately answered. "If you're going to start going on missions then I'm not going to have you messing things up for us. I better not hear you wasting your time watching any giant lizard movies."
The air immediately grew tense. "It's Godzilla, not just some giant lizard."
"Whatever. I'm done for the night!" Kasumiya called out as she walked to her door, not bothering to turn around as she waved. With a slam of her door, Owari and Aibou were left alone.
"She's really not that difficult once you get to know her. She's just a bit abrasive." Aibou said, clapping his hand on Owari's shoulder. "Just get some sleep, okay? You do not want to be tired when training with her. I'll work with you on fine tuning your cursed energy more tomorrow as well."
Owari nodded as Aibou approached his door, but his eyebrow raised as the shorter boy came to a halt before opening it. "Try to figure out more about your cursed technique if you can. Maybe now that you understand cursed energy, you can try to understand that as well." Finally, he opened his door and entered, leaving Owari by himself.
'I do understand it, it's just…' Owari began to think as he entered his room. He had a single corner full of clutter where he hadn't begun to unpack his things, his bed only being covered in a thin top-sheet and a blanket. He had barely managed to pull even that off the night before in his drowsy state.
Taking a deep breath, his shoulders dropped and his face untensed. Walking to the bags, he idly began to open them and categorize what needed to be unpacked first. As he set into the mind-numbing process, he felt himself beginning to dissociate.
Slowly, his consciousness faded from reality.
When next he opened his eyes, he found himself in a completely different domain. Endless fields of crimson flowers stretched as far as the eye could see. Different species of lilies, pansies, and alliums provided varying shades and shapes. Massive chains and tethers erupted from the ground, seemingly continuing into the infinite nothingness yet pulled taut.
The wind smelled sweet and enticing, distant tranquility as the sound of wind passing through the open field embraced Owari.
This quickly came to an end as a draining voice barked out at him. "You have some nerve."
Taking a deep breath, Owari locked eyes with Kyouhi, who stood a head below him. "You're in my mind, I should be the one saying that."
"No, no no no." Kyouhi waggled her finger. "I'm not in your mind. My soul is stuck in yours, you dumbass. It's much worse."
Owari dropped to the ground, laying flat in the blooms. "Then why not try to kill me again? You've been talking non-stop since last night, I'm sure you're dying to try."
"I can't." She spat. "Whatever it is you did to me took everything from me, I'm just a husk living inside you at this point." She looked into the meadow of flowers before snatching up a frolicking curse. "And what's worse, you stuck me in here with this disgusting freak of a curse."
Owari raised his head to look at the curse she was referring to, knowing full well what she meant. Still, seeing the amorphous blob of a curse made him freeze for a moment. Its teeth gnashed as it threw ripped blooms into its open maw.
"Hungry. Tuna salad. Medium-rare ribeye." It spoke as it grabbed at Kyouhi's hand to be let go, which she obliged by chucking the curse into the distance.
Owari allowed his breathing to slow. Placing his head to the ground, he looked into the endless expanse above him. "I told you not to touch me. You did anyways, and look what happened. You're alive though, aren't you? Or whatever you call a soul is."
"This isn't being alive, this is being an accessory to your soul at this point. You took my cursed energy, you took my technique, you took everything from me." Kyouhi's words were laced with venom as she approached Owari.
The boy seemed unfazed though. "Well, it's not like I know how to use any of it. I don't understand all of this cursed technique stuff." He closed his eyes for a second, taking a moment to think. "Still though, you seemed awfully concerned with staying alive when you were fighting Okkotsu-sensei. The only reason you still exist is because of me."
Kyouhi slammed her foot into Owari's side, sending him rolling through the flowers. "Don't act like you're better than me or like you did me any favours. You stole my existence. So I'll do everything to make you regret it until you die."
"At which point, you'll probably die, won't you?" Owari coughed as he righted himself. Despite there being force to the attack, he didn't really feel any pain from any of it. "I don't know that for sure, but I imagine that would be the case."
The cursed spirit hated that he seemed completely unfazed by her attack, but she kept her signature look of disgust as she looked at the darker olive skinned boy. "Then why not go on and kill yourself? You wanted to cry and whine about being a monster last night, then kill yourself and be sure that you won't be."
Owari was stunned for a moment, before remembering the sheer hatred that he felt entering him when he had assimilated her. That, among other things, was what made up the entirety of her being. It was to be expected. But that was why he knew what he had to do.
"If I can get everything under control and learn how to do all of this stuff," Owari opened his left eye to glare at Kyouhi. "then I can soak up every curse that I see and remove that "bad" from the world so it is safer for the people I love."
Kyouhi and Owari stared at each other in unbroken silence for what felt like an eternity before Kyouhi erupted into maddening laughter. "You actually believe some bullshit like that?! You won't do shit! You can absorb every curse in the world, that won't do anything!"
Owari moved to respond, but Kyouhi held her hand out as her cackling only grew louder.
"It's not like we make ourselves, it's all humans that make us. Your aunt, that girl that was probably only your friend out of pity, they contribute to making us. What are you going to do, kill them to make sure they can't contribute to "the bad" anymore?" Kyouhi questioned, crouching low to the ground, her eyes manic as she put her face close to Owari's.
Owari nudged himself away, exhaling sharply. "No. I just want to purge as much as I can to make everything safe for everyone else. I don't want to be a monster." He took a moment to close his eyes again, remembering his mother's face when she was still alive before envisioning the sight of her bashed in visage. "I want things to be right. I want to be a hero to someone."
"Too bad. Cry about it." Kyouhi immediately responded, her voice dull as she rested her head against her fist. "You weren't born to be a hero. Some people are, like that Hyoushi kid. Not you though. You were born to be a monster. You've got too much fucked up in you to be a hero. You can't relate to the people you're trying to save because you aren't put together right like them."
Sucking his teeth, Owari looked away. "And you would know a monster from a hero? I've seen what makes you up, it's all part of me now. All of that negativity-"
"Then that only solidifies that you're a monster now whether you like it or not." Kyouhi interrupted. "Even despite that, I'm in your soul now. I know what makes you up as well. I understand your thoughts, your memories, all of it. Hell, I understand your cursed technique better than you do. I know you're a monster. It's just a matter of time before you break and accept it, or kill yourself in the process."
Owari shook his head, sitting up from his prone position. He looked in the distance as the gluttonous curse mowed down flowers in its path, devouring them without hesitation.
He wasn't a monster. He may not have been a hero, not yet, but he would be. More than anything, he was the cage to throw monsters in. He would use every bit of them he needed if it meant he could right his wrongs.
He wouldn't become a monster. His eyes seemed to track the amorphous curse, envisioning his father's face. He remembered his face when he was alive, and then remembered the man in his final moments. He wasn't corrupted by the curse. He was just as much of a monster.
He would rip the monsters out and purge their corruption if it meant making sure no one had to live like him again.
"Considering the prospect of killing yourself? I don't blame you." Kyouhi lulled to herself as she looked at the absent boy's face. "If you don't, I'm going to make your life a living hell."
Owari smirked as he turned to the pallid woman. "Try your best. You can't do anything but say words. And when you fail?" He stood up, patting down his clothes. "Cry about it."
Before the rejection cursed spirit could respond, he found himself leaving the domain in his mind, or rather, his soul if Kyouhi was correct. Looking around, his eyes widened at the sight of how much unpacking he had done while dissociated.
As he quickly switched into his pajamas and settled into bed, he couldn't disregard the excitement of what tomorrow would bring. Not even Kyouhi's rampant curses being thrown at him could stop it.
However, the wall-shaking snores that soon began to emanate from Kasumiya's room would definitely dampen it.
'That bastard. Aibou probably sleeps with headphones on.'
June 19th, 2027
Iwaki, Fukushima
Crystal blue waters seemed nonexistent as aquatic life cut through them in the Marine Science Museum of Fukushima. No guests walked the halls according to the surveillance cameras recording, the clock ticking slowly past midnight.
That was except for a young man, watching the marine creatures with utter fascination as he stepped through the puddle of viscous red blood from the horribly disfigured security guard on the ground.
"There are a few different species here compared to the aquariums in Tokyo." The young man spoke softly, looking through sunglasses as dark as the abyss at the figures around him.
The cameras that moved to survey the building came to an immediate halt upon glancing in the direction of the man before deactivating in a flurry of sparks.
"That's no good, Sansei." He looked at the small child beside him. "You'll harm the fish if you put that stuff out recklessly."
The child named Sansei tutted. His disheveled, soot-covered black hair seemed to let out a cloud of ash as he shook his head in disapproval. "You're the one who chose to come to a place like this, Sainoro. We could have waited until tomorrow when it was actually open."
"Then we would have dealt with a bunch of bratty children running around screaming their heads off." An extravagantly dressed man with jeweled skin groaned while looking at a phone in his hand. He briefly glanced up, golden eyes resting on Sainoro. "No offense."
Sainoro waved his hand. "None taken, Taishaku." Stopping the group, the white-haired man crouched low to the ground so as to be eye-level with Sansei. He knowingly held a finger up as a childish grin grew on his face. "It's more fun at night time, that's when the really freaky fish come out." Blowing a strand of his shaggy hair out of his face, he turned back to press his forehead against the glass. "Besides, Kokai likes it better when it's dark like this."
Taishaku looked up from his phone at the ever-shifting amalgamation of hazy darkness. Even as a curse, he felt put off by it. Glimpses of figures and faces could be seen emerging from the haze before being swallowed yet again. But even worse-
A shrill screech followed by a reverberating cry announced the beginning of Kokai talking, their voice resembling that of a sobbing woman. "It's true. The night is the domain of curses though, you all should feel more comfortable as well."
"Is there any way you could tone that down?" Sansei asked, his voice deadpan. "I don't like having to hear "the horrors of the night" every time you speak."
Although there was little change in the appearance of the haze, Sansei could tell that Kokai was staring directly at him. "Is there any way you could change your appearance? A child doesn't belong in matters such as these."
"I'm just as old as you." Sansei quickly snapped back.
"Relax, you two." The final member of the group spoke up. Compared to the rest of the group, he looked fairly ordinary. A middle-aged man with grey hair and a salt and pepper beard, standing amongst a haze of darkness, an unusual child, a man of jewels, and a white-haired young adult. "We aren't going to accomplish anything if we argue and fight the entire time. Sainoro," He put his hand on the man's shoulder. "let's focus up for a moment."
Sainoro looked up at the man, nodding with the same childish grin. "Okay."
"Thank you." He looked back to the group, his face growing stoic. "Now, with the continued development of Sainoro's prowess, I propose we escalate our plan. If we instate mass fear, we can advance his development."
Taishaku chuckled lightly to himself, looking up from his phone yet again. "And how do you suggest we do that, Michihime?"
"That's up for the group to decide." Michihime held his hands out. "However, once we set things in motion, we can begin determining several factors." He spun his right hand around, holding up four fingers. "The current state of Jujutsu Sorcerers, the scale they can handle, if they will influence Sainoro's development as well, and finally," Only his right pinky remained in the air. "If we keep them occupied long enough, we can determine the location and seals placed on the body of Fushiguro Megumi."
Haunting cries and screams erupted from Kokai. "Fushiguro Megumi? You intend to get him involved?"
"He holds the key to merging humanity into a cursed spirit. If we can find his body and unseal him, then we could potentially force him to activate the process." Michihime explained before gesturing to Sainoro. "In the event that we can't convince him or force him through our usual means, then we'll make sure Sainoro is empowered enough to take matters from there."
Sainoro scratched the side of his face, nervously laughing. "This is a whole lot of importance for me."
"That's because it is." Sansei said, locking eyes with Sainoro's abyssal shades. "If that amalgamation is activated, then we can all join into it together. We're relying on you to take control of it and turn this golden age into the favour of the curses."
Sainoro grimaced. 'This just feels like a lot.' Letting out a sigh, the white haired man shrugged. "But if we merge all of humanity, then there's nothing really to do? There's no humans to make new curses to live with in it, and if it's all a bunch of humans inside it, I bet they are going to be really boring."
The air grew tense, broken only slightly by Taishaku's muffled chuckles. Sansei's lip twitched with rage. "We are putting everything into you to either finally cement the world under cursed spirits. It doesn't matter what existing as it is like. You may not know what existing purely as a cursed spirit is like," His small fists clenched. "but existing as a collective entity like that, constantly gaining power as everything lives in terror of you sounds like paradise. It's the way things should be."
"Whatever." Sainoro shrugged. "As long as I get to fight plenty of jujutsu sorcerers, it should be fun."
Michihime took a deep breath as he looked at the young man. "In that case, who wants to start rolling the ball?"
"I will." Sansei replied without hesitation. "Is there anything in particular I should arrange?"
The grey-haired man shook his head. "Make it as big as you can, even if it takes you some time. If you need support, we'll provide it."
"Don't bother, I'll get some curse users to take part. They may be useless for the most part, but they're always willing to get into a battle if it means shaking up the world." Sansei cackled. "I haven't had fun like this in a while, I can't wait!"
As Sansei, Kokai and Taishaku began to travel further down the hall, Michihime and Sainoro lagged behind. "Will I be able to join him? I really want to."
"We'll have to see how it looks. I'd rather you stay unknown for the time being. The stronger you are, the better." Michihime patted Sainoro's shoulder, who roughly pulled away.
Looking over the brim of his sunglasses, Sainoro's glaring blue eyes pierced Michihime's soul. "I'm tired of being hidden away." The endless expanses of his irises seemed to expand.
"I'm ready to feel everyone's fear firsthand."