Chapter 3: Scorpio

—October 25. 60 days remain until the war starts—

Pyrrha washed her face in the sink. She grabbed some paper towels and started to clean the dried blood from herself. She felt a small sting in her stomach, but it quickly went away, her Aura started to heal most of her injuries. When she thought about it, she wasn't damaged that much compared to Maki, that girl should stay in the hospital for at least a week with all the beating she took.

It is strange, why does a girl who has yet to awaken Aura or Cursed Energy think about joining a profession where death is likely to happen?

She shook her head, she should investigate later, right now, she wouldn't get anywhere pondering forever.

She grabbed the elastic that she placed on the counter and tied her hair back to her usual ponytail. She looked at herself in the mirror and noticed that her circlet was missing. Most likely, it was destroyed alongside her shield, Akoúo̱.

She shuddered as she remembered the Special Grade curse she fought. She has fought her fair share of Huntsman in tournaments and even helped professionals to subdue criminals and terrorists like the White Fang. She has slayed a pack of Ursa, a flock of Nevermore and Griffons without breaking a sweat. She even managed to fend off curses by herself.

But that— thing not only did it beat her, it mocked her, laughed at her beaten-down state. It let itself get stabbed by her weapon only to regenerate its wound instantly, just to let her know how futile it was for her to fight.

It relieved her, to some degree, she wanted to go out the streets of Mistral and shout that she was beaten by the curse so that the world knows that she wasn't untouchable. She couldn't do that, of course, it would drag her family name into the mud, and she couldn't do that to her mom.

It relieved her to know that she still had much room to grow, even if she was stronger than the average hunter. Hard work beats talent if talent stops working hard. She should use this defeat as a learning experience.

Her frown deepened as she clutched both ends of the bathroom counter.

"Frustrating…" she muttered.

She let out a sigh and closed the sink. She will train to become stronger so that she can be a huntress she can be proud of.

She walked towards the exit and covered her eyes as the light of the sun passed through her eyes. It was still hard to believe that she was inside the school for an entire day when it only felt like an hour inside that domain. After the battle ended, she needed to make a quick stop at a public restroom to wash away her wounds. Luckily, not a single soul was nearby so no one had seen her bloodied form.

She wanted to take a shower and read a book— badly. Even if her Aura had healed all of her wounds, the battle still left her physically and mentally exhausted.

"Miss Nikos!"

Pyrrha's sour face vanished as she laid eyes on the boy who waved at her. Yuta Okkotsu.

She didn't know what to make of him. At first, she only saw Yuta as a normal civilian who needed help to get out of an urgent situation, he was fragile, defenseless, and afraid. However, she realized how wrong she was about him. The boy was so much more than meets the eye.

What interested Pyrrha the most was the fact that it was her first time encountering someone who didn't know who she was, which was a refreshing take. Yuta didn't place her on a pedestal and didn't fear to have a conversation with her. He treated her like a normal human being.

And that was enough.

"He's still not here?" she asked as she approached the boy. She crossed her arms.

"Sensei said that he wouldn't take long but—" Yuta said as he placed his scroll on his ear. He frowned. "No answer— he said it was only ten minutes and it's been more than an hour already!"

Satoru Gojo left a good first impression on her. With his display of power and intimidation, it's no wonder that the White Fang is afraid of him. Only one in a million can achieve absurd strength like that, he must be an extremely talented and gifted individual. There must be a reason why he's taking so long.

A blur in the wind startled Pyrrha as she turned to look at the sudden presence that came to them.

Satoru stood behind them, holding a white bag in his left hand, and in his right hand, he held— a bottle of chocolate milk?

"Sorry for the wait." He said as he waved at them. "Had to make a stop for this bad boy on Vale."

Satoru motioned for his bottle of chocolate milk, which he slurped, loudly.

Pyrrha felt her left eye twitch. She didn't know why, but for an unknown reason, this man irritated her to a degree. She tried to not let her bother her that much as she had dealt with people with worse manners than him.

She let Satoru's words sink in and her eyes widened. 'Did he just say Vale?!'

She knew Satoru could teleport, but she didn't know how wide is the range of his teleportation. Is it global? That would be too much, there has to be some sort of limitation of what he can do.

"You went all the way to Vale— just to get chocolate milk?" Yuta said with clear exasperation in his tone.

"Hey, this milk is miles better than the crap they serve over here."

"Sensei, that's not the point…" Yuta let out an awkward chuckle.

"I also brought crepes!"

Their irritation melted away as Satoru shook the bags, releasing the intoxicating aroma of hot chocolate into the air. It was so potent that Pyrrha couldn't help but drool, while Yuta's stomach rumbled audibly, causing his face to flush with embarrassment.

Satoru let out a hearty laugh. "Alright kids, you'll get your chance to eat. Stand beside me. We need to visit someone."

Pyrrha and Yuta exchanged glances before shrugging and walking over to stand beside Satoru. Satoru clasped his hands, and in an instant, the world around Pyrrha shifted and transformed.

Just a moment ago, she had been standing outside the public restrooms, feeling the cool breeze on her skin. Now, she found herself in a hospital room, the sudden chill of the air making her shiver. She blinked rapidly, her mind struggling to process the abrupt change in scenery. She felt slightly dizzy, but not enough to make her nauseous.

Teleportation felt incredibly weird.

It seemed Yuta was experiencing teleportation for the first time as well, as he stumbled backward before rubbing his temples, trying to steady himself after the sudden shift.

"Alright, we're here. She must be starving for some breakfast as well." Satoru said as he looked at the sign on the front door.

Zen'in Maki.

Pyrrha grimaced as she read the sign. Did Maki recover from her wounds that fast? She had no Aura, so recovering from a punctured shoulder and possible brain damage should take a lot of time. She should need plenty of rest and not be bothered for a while.

Satoru knocked at the door. "Coming in!"

"I told you I didn't want to see your stupid face for the rest of the day!"

The powerful sound of Maki's voice echoed from inside, Yuta and Maki recoiled back as sweat started to come out of their heads.

'She sounds… pleasant.' Pyrrha thought. She had just met Maki, so she had never talked to her outside of the battlefield. It made her nervous that the girl was just as intense as she was when fighting.

She couldn't help but think that she must have a lot of energy if she screamed like that after being beaten unconscious from the fight.

Satoru opened the door without a care in the world and went inside, Yuta and Pyrrha followed. It was a standard hospital room with one bathroom and a TV at the front. The lights of the sun could be seen pointing at the white bed that held the green-haired Zen'in girl, she wore a hospital gown, without her glasses and her hair down. Maki turned to them with a scowl, only for it to die down the moment she laid eyes on Pyrrha and Yuta.

'No wounds?' Pyrrha thought as she noticed that Maki's shoulder was already healed. No bandages were wrapped on her head where she was hit the most. Yuta seemed to have the same question as he glanced at her with intrigue.

"You two have yet to meet the best doctor of Jujutsu High. Shoko can heal wounds in seconds with her ability, but you would still need to rest otherwise your brain will go boom." Satoru said as he seemingly seemed to read their minds.

"Go— boom?" Yuta asked as he tilted his head.

"That was the worst explanation I've ever heard…" Maki muttered as she closed her eyes, calming down from her previous outburst.

Pyrrha mentally agreed with her. Is this guy qualified to teach at Jujutsu High? He has to be, maybe he didn't have the time to explain everything to them. He teaches there after all.

Maki's eyed them carefully. Her face held a neutral expression. "What are you two doing here?"

"You did say that you were going to invite me to food once all of this was over," Pyrrha said as she grinned at her.

Maki smiled back. "I did say that. You deserve it after what you did."

"Which is why I as the great sensei I am, decided to be kind enough to go get the food for you!" Satoru said as showed them the white bags. "Now, let's eat before it gets cold!"

The group took their seats around Maki. Satoru unboxed the crepes and started handing each one to them. They were of the same flavor, with hot hazelnut cream and strawberry bits which gave it a strange but welcoming bittersweet flavor. They munched them quietly, enjoying their much-needed meal after their fight.

Pyrrha had to give him this, Satoru does know how to pick his sweets. It was delicious.

"I spoke to Ozpin and he told me that Rika's behavior back there seemed a little bit strange compared to the other times she had come out," Satoru said, his tone relaxed but still curious. "You managed to fully manifest her and briefly control her— at the expense of a great deal of property damage. Care to explain how you managed to do that?"

Yuta's eyes widened before he frowned and looked to the side. He was uncomfortable talking about his power, but it seemed that this topic was too important to be ignored, so Pyrrha didn't say anything.

She was curious as well, but also wary. She trained to not be scared of anything and it has yielded results over the years, but Rika Orimoto was a different story. The emotions that curse emitted when she was summoned were so rampant that she swore that Grimm would be flooding them in a matter of seconds. It was so potent that she couldn't move from the ground and could only lay there as Rika loomed over her with killing intent.

However, she could also feel sadness and frustration coming from her before she disappeared.

"I— put on the ring," Yuta said as he raised his hand. A silver ring shone with the light of the sun.

"Oh?" Satoru perked up at the ring and chuckled. "So you did have a link, we're getting somewhere now. How did you manage to control her?"

"I don't know. I just—told her what I wanted her to do or else I wouldn't talk to her for a month? I know that she tends to get very lonely if I don't do that." Yuta said as he twiddled his thumbs.

"So it's just like an abusive husband scenario," Maki said as she eyed Yuta carefully. Yuta's face flushed as she started at Maki with panic.

"I would never—"

"Don't do it again." It was Pyrrha who blurted out those words. She felt everyone watch her curiously as she started to sweat when remembering the events of the school. "I never felt such a heavy presence like that before. When you got your curse out, I almost puked, all of her envy, jealousy, and anger suffocated me. It felt like I was being buried alive under a skyscraper. If that— thing was to lose control over you, I don't even want to imagine what would happen."

"Right, Aura users are more sensible to negative emotions than regular sorcerers, so that's why you've probably felt like that." Satoru as he patted her on the shoulder. "Still, Invincible Girl has a point, if you were to break Rika's heart— the damage she could cause would be catastrophic."

'Again with that nickname?!' Pyrrha thought as her face started to get red from the embarrassment. She wanted to bury her head on her knees. He has the gall to call her invincible when she just told him one of the most vulnerable moments of her career!

Maki shook her head and sighed.

"Seriously, puberty hit that curse like a truck."

Pyrrha said nothing as she quietly kept eating her crepe, but noticed that nobody was doing the same. Yuta looked at Maki with a horrified face while Satoru had his mouth agape as he tried to say something but couldn't. Maki seemed to notice this and let out a scowl.

"What?!"

Satoru leaned towards her ear and muttered some words that Pyrrha couldn't decipher. She watched as Maki's scowl turned into panic as she let out a quiet snarl at Satoru.

"You should have told me that before…!" Pyrrha heard her mutter. Satoru shrugged and went back to eat his breakfast quietly.

'What was that all about?' Pyrrha thought as she shook her head and went back to eating.

Maki let out an awkward cough.

"Changing the subject— Okkotsu, you need training, fast," Maki said bluntly, causing him to flinch. "You were mostly useless in that fight against the White Fang, and I will not babysit you twenty-four-seven if you and I are going to be going to missions in the future, which is why I will help you— if you survive."

Pyrrha could see a devilish smile forming on Maki's face. Yuta started to sweat and let out an awkward smile.

"Miss Zen'in, I don't like that smile coming out from you…" he said as he slowly backed away from her.

A dangerous glint in Maki's eye flinched Yuta on his spot. She raised one finger.

"First of all, we'll establish some ground rules," Maki said firmly. "Stop being so damn formal. From now on, you're calling me Maki, and only that, I mean it. Don't you dare to use my family's name."

Maki glanced at Pyrrha, and the latter nodded back. She didn't need to say anything as she already understood that the message was directed to her as well. It was evident that Maki had family issues, as to how bad are they, she didn't know and wasn't that close to her to even ask. Maki then turned to look at Yuta again and raised another finger.

"Second, be punctual, you will be arriving at seven in the morning, every day, and not later. Got it?"

Yuta nodded, still scared from the girl's earlier outburst. Maki raised a third finger.

"Third, no whining. I'm here to help you, not torture you to death. There's a war coming, so I want you to give it your all if you want to survive." Maki said, as watched Yuta intently. "Got all that?"

Yuta nodded resolutely. Not a single trace of the quiet scared kid from the school remained. Pyrrha smiled, it didn't seem possible at first, but she had to admit that Yuta had a warrior's mentality. He seemed like a coward the first she met him, but when push comes to shove, he can come up with the most insane stuff to pull a victory.

She wasn't sure how well could he fare on his training to be a sorcerer. From what she had heard, sorcerers had an entirely different philosophy from that of the Huntsman, which had led to heated debates between both factions. Selfishness against selflessness.

A thought popped into Pyrrha's mind. Yuta was still a fresh new leaf, so maybe if he held the values of both Huntsman and Sorcerer… then he would become a very capable individual in his own right, able to fight alongside Huntsman while striving to become the best version of himself. Even if his curse scared Pyrrha to no end, she understood that Yuta didn't hold ill intentions towards anyone, and while his feelings to protect them from the Special Grade back then were driven out of basic self-preservation, he showed that he was genuine after stopping Rika from killing them.

She had decided.

"Okkotsu, I can help you with battle tactics if you want."

Yuta glanced at Pyrrha with a dumbfounded expression, that she had to admit she found cute. She tilted her head, expecting him to say yes, after all, every aspiring Huntsman wouldn't waste an opportunity to train with her.

"Miss Nikos, you know about battle tactics?"

Unless you're as oblivious as he is.

Pyrrha blinked once as he looked at him as if he was joking, but when she saw that it was a serious question, she couldn't contain herself. She let out a snicker.

"Huh?!"

It was Satoru who grabbed Yuta by the shoulder and looked at him with an exasperated face.

"Seriously, you don't even watch TV?! She's The Pyrrha Nikos, the youngest prodigy, winner of Mistral's Regional tournament, Pumpkin Pete's mascot— doesn't ring a bell?" he said as he tried to explain it to him like he was a child. Yuta let out an awkward laugh, causing Satoru to lower his head.

"You really are a depressed kid…" he sighed.

Pyrrha shook her head in amusement and tapped Yuta's shoulder, prompting him to look back at her.

"Don't listen to him, I'll be happy to help you!" Pyrrha grinned. "The only thing I ask is that you call me Pyrrha."

Yuta smiled back and nodded. "You got it, Pyrrha."

Maki briefly looked at them and shrugged, munching through her crepe quietly.

Satoru face's twisted into a frown as he leaned toward Yuta closely, causing the latter to tense from the sudden scrutinizing gaze.

"Say, what's that on your pocket?"

Yuta perked up as to what he was saying and put a hand in his pocket. He then pulled out a severed, withered finger from inside. Pyrrha cringed at the sight, but nearly puked when she felt the curse energy soar through the air. She had felt curse energy before, but this feeling was completely different when she felt Yuta and Satoru. Just like Rika, it was more like a putrid stench, malicious and corrupted.

Maki's eyes widened at the object and her face started to lose color.

"This? Rika gave it to me, she said not to throw it away?" Yuta said innocently. He got uncomfortable the more he looked at it. "I thought it was a gift from her but—"

'A gift? What kind of gift is that?!' Pyrrha gawked at not what he just said, but at how casually he said it.

Satoru seemed to process what he had just heard as he numbly stared at the object, before quickly yanking it away from Yuta, the latter let out a yelp from the sudden movement.

Satoru's grin started to widen the more he inspected the object.

"Sensei?"

"Ain't no way this is a gift!" he said as he let out a laugh. "This is one of the fingers of Ryoumen Sukuna!"

Maki blinked before she looked at Yuta with a disapproving gaze.

"You just carried a Special Grade curse object like it was your wallet…" she sighed. "It's lucky that you have your curse with you, otherwise you would be dead."

Yuta started to tremble as he let out a mirthless chuckle.

"Good to know…"

"Yeah, if you give it a good wave like this..." Satoru said as he waved the finger like a whip. Curse energy flew out of it like a geyser and struck windows, causing them to vibrate until they cracked.

"You release so much cursed energy that it can cause curses to appear, but since Okkotsu has Rika with him, we don't have to worry about that!"

Yuta and Pyrrha had their eyes widened at the destruction a mere object caused. Maki simply rolled her eyes and went back to eat. Satoru waved the finger on Yuta's face despite his disgust for it.

"Hehe~ come on, look at it!"

"I don't want to look at that wretched thing!"

Pyrrha gritted her teeth in disgust. She leaned towards Maki.

"Is he always like that?" she whispered.

Maki let out a snort. "He's worse…"

She didn't want to think about him like this, but the more he watched Satoru waving that finger like a child playing with a toy while laughing like an idiot, she managed to come to one conclusion.

"Ehehehe~"

Satoru Gojo is a complete clown.


After visiting Maki at the hospital, Satoru stood in the waiting room, using his scroll to get in contact with Ozpin. He placed the device on his ear.

Only to be met with a rapid beeping sound of a deadline. He clicked his tongue, either he didn't want to answer or he was making his way here to Mistral. Probably the former.

Oh, he had a lot of things to say to that man. He knew Ozpin's curse technique allowed him to take risks like nobody else, but even that has its limitations, limitations that Satoru himself knows well.

He sighed. He had a lot of issues to take care of. He had a meeting with Yaga and the rest of the higher-ups to discuss the state of the current situation, or rather, they will use the meeting to reprimand him about the chaos caused in Sanctum, putting all the blame on him.

He didn't want to deal with the old bastards but in the end, this was all for the sake of restructuring the whole corrupted society of the jujutsu world. He was surprised that Pyrrha offered her help to train Yuta, which would surely boost the relations between the kingdoms and the sorcerers. The whole heroic philosophy of the Huntsman does seem bullshit to him, but if Yuta is able to harness both mentalities into one, then he might be able to surpass him.

He rested his head on the wall as he looked at the white ceiling. He looked at it for quite a while before he started to tap on his scroll again.

"I should probably call her…"

He scrolled through his contacts until he reached the one that he was looking for. He let out a sigh. He started the call and placed the scroll on his ear. He heard a long beeping sound until it stopped.

The line was up but no one answered. Satoru let out a mischievous grin.

"Doing the cold shoulder even when the line is up?"

"Why have you called?" A sharp, womanly voice could be heard from the other side. A voice he was very familiar with.

"Come on, we haven't talked in ages! I wanted to check on an old friend here. What? Did working tirelessly in Atlas turn you even crankier?"

He heard a sigh from the other side.

"Satoru, I'm busy, and I have no time to deal with your—" she seemed to choke on her words. Satoru's grin widened as she gave away her embarrassment. "—trolling."

"So you do know our slang!"

"I'm hanging up."

"Wait, Winter!" he panicked. He heard a beeping sound. "That icy bitch!"

He dialed the same number again and waited. He tapped his foot repeatedly before the line picked up again.

"You have ten seconds to speak before I block you."

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself." He said before grimacing. "Listen, I have serious news."

"Oh? I'm listening." Winter asked, her tone carrying slight interest. "You never call when there's trouble."

"I am usually able to handle everything myself." He sighed. "But this is something that should concern you as well."

"—What do you mean?" she said after a slight pause, her voice breaking slightly. She had a hunch, as expected from someone as sharp as her.

Time to drop the bomb on her.

"Suguru has appeared once again, and he intends to massacre every single person in Mistral."

The dead silence after he said it was as expected. After nine years of disappearance, Suguru decides to show up again and decides to declare war out of the blue. It must be hard for her, especially after the events that transpired between them. He heard a slight whimper from her but didn't dare to make a witty comment on it.

That incident is best left forgotten.

"Winter?" Satoru asked, tilting his head to the side.

"I'm here," Winter said, her voice heavy and tired. "Suguru— that's insanity,"

"Is it that surprising for you?" Satoru asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, it's just— it's irrational, even if it this is him that we're talking about," Winter said, her voice regaining professionalism. "Don't you tell me that you don't think the same?"

"Yeah, I feel you, he's not the one to start a war he cannot win."

"So, why are you telling me this? This is confidential, right?" Winter said curtly. Her military persona coming back up. Satoru scoffed.

"I don't give a crap if it's confidential or not, I just felt that of all people I could tell, I think you're the one that deserves to know the most," Satoru said as he let out an exasperated sigh. "Use that information how you wish. You can either come here or tell Ironwood and your team, I don't care. Though I think Ozpin will disclose this information with Ironwood eventually, so I recommend you to wait."

"I never liked your aloof approach to authority." She scolded, her voice as calm as steel. Her voice then started to lose her edge. "But— thank you for telling me, I mean it."

He nodded, letting out a grin on his own.

"Anytime," he said. His grin started to widen. "So, how in touch are you with our slang?"

He heard a growl from the other side. The line died down and Satoru checked his screen and his mouth gaped.

"She really did block me!"


In the dimly lit bar, the ambient should have had a hum of chatter and the occasional clinking of glasses, which would have set the backdrop for a friendly game of pool. However, while the game between these two people was friendly, the environment was far from welcoming.

The entire place was run over, with dead people scattered on the floor. Their faces purpled with their eyes red from the absence of oxygen. Blood dripped from their mouth like a fountain. Their eyes were lifeless as flies hovered over them. The bar tables were broken in pieces alongside the stools. The bar counter was destroyed, with broken bottles dripping small droplets of alcohol.

The only object that remained was being used by two people. He stood on one end, having a deep frown while sitting on top of the worn, green-felted table, while the other person held a cue stick with a sense of casual confidence.

This person playing pool—who's covered in blood he might add—wears a white sleeveless jacket with leather belts strapped to it, along with white pants. He had a long black scorpion tail protruding from his back.

This person was his— reluctant colleague, Tyrian Callows.

Why was he reluctant to work with him? Aside from being a complete psychopath, it was the fact that he is the perfect assassin, able to stealth himself as much as he wants to for missions. That's great, it means that he will not screw up important operations, but what ticks him off the most was the fact that at this very moment, he was not being discreet at all, and destroyed the entire bar just to spite him.

And he, Hazel Rainart, has to put up with this psycho man-child as much as he doesn't want to.

"You know, Rainart, I found out that there's a new Special Grade Sorcerer in the ranks of Jujutsu High. You don't see that every day…"

Hazel glanced at his colleague with intrigue. A new Special Grade sorcerer? That can't be good, Jujutsu High was the biggest threat against Salem, just under the Hunters. Them having a new Special Grade in their ranks is not something to scoff at.

"Do you have proof?" Hazel asked in a gruff voice, his question caused Tyrian to smirk and open his scroll. The Faunus handed his scroll to him.

"See for yourself, Watts has already made his digging."

Hazel took the scroll from him and started to check the information.

'Yuta Okkotsu, Age 16, Hair color: Black, Eye Color…"

He kept scrolling through the useless information about the boy until he stopped. He narrowed his eyes at a particular detail that caught his attention.

'Curse Energy Level— Boundless?!'

He looked at Tyrian with a raised eyebrow, the latter simply grinned as he kept playing his own game of pool without issue.

"So, anything fancy that has caught your eye?" Tyrian asked as he let out a dark chuckle.

"This can't be correct. No one, not anyone can hold that much curse energy." Hazel said as he glanced at the details of the boy's curse, Rika Orimoto. The Vengeful Spirit has haunted the boy for the rest of his life, yet it has given him access to a myriad of possibilities in battles. "Watts has to be insane if he thinks this information is remotely correct."

Tyrian hit the white ball and managed to stick two striped balls into one hole. He looked at Hazel with a disinterested gaze.

"Come on, we both know Watts is never wrong. Or are you already too old that you forgot that the impossible could become possible?"

Hazel glared dangerously at Tyrian. "Mock me once again and I'll send you to an early grave."

"Oooh~ scary," Tyrian said as he held up his hands in surrender. When Hazel scowled and started to walk towards him, his smile vanished. "Okay, okay! You made your point."

Hazel relaxed his posture and set his sights on the scroll again. When he found nothing of interest, he threw the scroll back at Tyrian who caught it effortlessly.

"So— do you think he will help us against the Satoru Gojo?" Tyrian asked as he went to his game. Hazel let out a hum as he started to ponder on the details. He then shook his head.

"Impossible, from the information Watts gathered, it seems that the kid is an incorruptible type. I've had to deal with a fair share of those back in the day." Hazel said as he let out a sigh. "They're annoying to deal with."

Tyrian snorted in amusement. "So, we're back to square one once again."

"No, this is a unique opportunity."

Tyrian and Hazel's eyes widened as another presence entered the bar. Did the Huntsman find them that fast?

No, this presence is eerily familiar. He relaxed his posture, but he was still on edge at how seamlessly this person made his presence known without alerting any of them. If they were enemies, they would have been killed instantly by this person.

Hazel turned to look at the person in question and saw a white-haired monk who had a red patch on the back of his head. He could feel the indifference from his gaze as his dark pink eyes seemed lifeless to normal people. He wore a plain white monk robe.

'Uraume…' Hazel thought as he furrowed his eyebrows. The Curse User was an enigma, he was probably as old as Ozpin and Salem, but with a temperament that was the opposite of his curse technique.

However, he is also one who holds the knowledge for them to advance.

"In all of my years, I've never seen a cursed spirit with the power of Rika Orimoto," Uraume said as he poured himself a glass of sake. "She's the key to Satoru Gojo's downfall."

"Oh, are you certain?" Tyrian said as he approached him with a sly grin. Uraume sent him a cold glare that made him stop.

"I'm never wrong. With the amount of curse energy she possesses, she can do anything she wants without bothering to run out." He said as he drank the glass. "Ozpin probably knows this and has taken steps to groom the boy as we speak. You must seize Rika Orimoto at once."

"You are forgetting an important detail," Hazel said. "She's a Vengeful spirit, even if we manage to kill Okkotsu and subdue her. We won't be able to fully control her unless we have a Curse Manipulator on our side."

"And I want to add that Suguru Geto won't comply with us," Tyrian added which caused Uraume to sigh.

"I know that which is my colleague has made a Curse Tool specifically for this situation," Uraume said as he pulled a big black metal box and placed it on the counter. Tyrian walked over and grabbed the box with a curious gaze. Hazel glanced towards the box, curious about its contents.

Tyrian shrugged and opened the box. His eyes widened we he found a severed shadow claw that belonged to a Beowolf. Hazel was taken aback as well as he observed the claw with interest. What surprised both men was not the fact that there was a Beowolf's claw in a box, but rather, it was the fact that it was not disappearing.

Grimm and Curse Spirits share one trait with each other and that is the fact that they disappear when they are killed. It was the sole reason why the kingdoms had a difficult time studying the supernatural. Tyrian grabbed the claw and held it until it disappeared after ten seconds of being outside of the box.

"Eternal Shrine is a Special Grade cursed tool that holds a strong barrier technique that doesn't allow anything to die as long as it stays inside. This applies to curse spirits as well." Uraume said. "I trust that I don't need to tell you what I need you to do with it?"

Hazel grunted and nodded. He was tempted to punch Uraume's pompous face, but quickly shoved that thought away. He knew he would be killed instantly should he try that.

"What about the boy?" Tyrian asked, eager to know more. Uraume let out a scoff.

"Dead or alive, I don't care. You only need to bring me a sample of his curse."

Tyrian's let out a psychotic grin as he started to chuckle.

"Where should we begin?"


—November 25. 28 days remain until the war starts—

Pyrrha took a deep breath as she felt the breeze of nature in full force. It was never hot in Argus, the city was well known for being in the very north of Mistral and since it was winter eve, the snow started to fill the city.

Since there wasn't a blizzard, however, it didn't feel overwhelmingly cold, so that meant for her a perfect day for training.

She rubbed her eyes as her tiredness started to get the better of her, but she fought the urge to fall asleep. She mustn't rest, not when the fate of Anima could be in play in the next few days. If she wanted to stand a chance against the menace that was Suguru Geto, she needed to bring out her best. If that would mean sacrificing a few hours of sleep, then so be it.

Standing in the courtyard of the local dojo, she heard a panting coming from behind and glanced at the source of the noise. Yuta was sweating bullets as he rubbed his forehead taking deep breaths. He gripped his bokken tightly.

Pyrrha had to give credit to Yuta's impressive progress, he had improved a lot these days. She liked his choice of weapon, a katana, though it was easy to pick and hard to master, he seemed natural with it. A talented person would take half a year to attain beginner level with the blade, yet Yuta had already grasped the fundamentals within one month. It seems that Maki's training paid off.

However, his choice of weapon also showed how disconnected the jujutsu world is from the rest, if both factions combined their arsenal of weapons with their knowledge of the supernatural, both of them would be unstoppable. But alas she had no place to say anything, politics were always a tiresome subject to her.

"Again!" Yuta shouted as he went back to his stance. Pyrrha glanced at him in concern.

"Are you sure? You seem pretty tired already."

"I'm alright, I will try to be more aggressive this time, please, one more! No Semblance like before." Yuta said with a serious expression. Realizing that any of her concerns would fall into deft ears, Pyrrha sighed and let out a challenging grin.

She gripped her wooden shield and spear prop.

"Come!"

Yuta rushed toward Pyrrha and swung his sword to her blindside. She parried with her spear and grinned.

'Nice speed!' she silently praised. However, it left his torso wide open, she took her chance to bash him with her shield.

Only for him to dodge the attack by dropping himself to the ground. Pyrrha let out a gasp as she looked down and Yuta raised both of his legs.

She leaped away from the kick with a somersault and slid away from the powerful kick.

'That was close!' Yuta has never attempted to combine martial arts with swordsmanship against her, so it did catch her by surprise. A feeling that had been dormant for too long started to brew inside her. She was getting excited.

Yuta's eyes watched her like a true predator, he rushed to her once again. Pyrrha raised her shield once again, but instead of stopping for an attack, he kept pushing forward, smashing his shoulder into the shield. Pyrrha felt herself sliding backward as Yuta used his momentum to sidestep towards her rear.

Pyrrha gritted her teeth, using the back end of the spear which hit Yuta's solar plexus, causing him to lose balance. She then attempted to deliver a roundhouse kick to the face to seal the deal, but Yuta blocked it with his arm. She used this opportunity to reposition herself and face directly. She narrowed her eyes, it's time to stop fooling around now.

'Good, Yuta, keep up like that!'

Pyrrha gripped her spear tightly and lunged towards him. Yuta panicked as he moved his blade to block her rapid strikes. Their blades clashed.

Again.

And again.

'He's blocking them perfectly!' Pyrrha let out a proud grin which didn't last very long. Yuta had managed to ensnare her spear by holding it with his blade and sliding it toward her vitals. She managed to dodge it in time, but Yuta kept pressing as he lowered the blade once again to strike her. Pyrrha raised her shield to block it.

It was a feint. Yuta jumped and climbed to her shield, placing both legs on the base. The weight made her reel back into an angle that allowed her opponent to place one foot on her spear arm. Without being able to counter now, it left her open to a fatal blow.

So Pyrrha proceeded to get out of her comfort zone and let go of her weapons.

"Huh?"

Yuta seemed at a loss as he lost balance. Pyrrha then grabbed both of his arms midair and forced him to let go of his weapon as well. Using her superior strength, she pinned Yuta to the ground with both of her arms. With no way to break from her grip, it seemed that there was a clear winner.

"Do you yield?" Pyrrha said as sweat started to come out of her. Yuta tried to struggle a little, but to no avail, he let out a sigh.

"I yield."

Pyrrha loosened her grip and stood up. She offered Yuta a hand, which the latter took with a smile as she pulled him back up.

"You're good! Still not as good as a professional, but you're getting there." Pyrrha commented as she let out a grin. Yuta let out a sheepish grin as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Thanks, Pyrrha, I'm trying my best."

Pyrrha wanted to let out a friendly scoff, this guy was humble to a fault.

"Then, time for a lesson." She said as she made her way towards a weapon box that was near the entrance and started rummaging through the contents. She then pulled out a set of wooden nunchakus.

"If a nunchaku wielder is doing this—" she starts spinning them gracefully. "What do you do?"

Yuta tried to track her movements, but it seemed the more he tried to track the movements, the dizzier he became. He couldn't help but make a nervous smile.

"I use the range I have with my weapon to overwhelm you." He said reluctantly. Pyrrha raised her eyebrow in amusement.

"Show me." She said as she went into her stance. Yuta focused his eyes on her and carefully treaded to her side.

When he swung his blade the first time, it was his last. Pyrrha dodged the strike and quickly spun the nunchakus fluently as she swung the weapon to the point of just barely hitting Yuta in three different vital areas. His arm, clavicle, and head.

"You would've been sent to the hospital had I hit you with all three of those strikes," Pyrrha said as she watched Yuta's stunned face in amusement. She tapped him in the forehead which brought him back from his stupor. "See, when you're fighting against a nunchaku user as a katana wielder, you're evenly matched. You can disable the user with precise attacks, but if I were to dodge you I would have poked you for damage and broke multiple bones. So while I will not kill you on the first strike, I will wear you down until you become a cripple. So, what do you do?"

Yuta started scratching his head with a frown as he got his gears working. His eyes lit up as he placed a fist on his open palm.

"I tangle the user with my blade, right?"

Pyrrha blinked a couple of times as she processed what she just heard. She started to splutter and snicker until she broke into a full-blown laugh. The fact that he just said such a baffling statement with so much confidence and seriousness had broken her teacher persona.

Yuta's face turned red and he let out a sigh.

"Come on Pyrrha, don't laugh at me. I'm trying to learn…"

Pyrrha's laugh died down as she took deep breaths and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Sorry, sorry, I haven't laughed like this in a while, it's just that what you're saying only happens in movies. Nobody is that good." Pyrrha said. "Look, it all comes to timing and footwork, because trying to parry against the nunchaku is almost useless, as you can't predict where it's going to land, you must trade blows until you find the perfect opportunity to strike."

Yuta nodded as he took all the information in. If he wanted to be a hunter, he needed to gather all the necessary information about weapons. There is a myriad of rogue hunters in Remnant, each of them having their own custom weapon, but most of them are amalgamations of basic weapons.

"Salmon roe!"

Pyrrha perked up at the voice that called them and looked at the entrance. Standing there was a slim, pale man with brown eyes. He had spiky white hair and wore a Jujutsu High uniform with a brown scarf wrapped around his neck.

"Oh, Inumaki, is it time to leave?!" Yuta shouted loud enough for the young sorcerer to hear. Inumaki nodded.

"Salmon!"

Right, she forgot about that. The only reason Yuta had come to her hometown was because there had been an increase in curse activity and Satoru sent him here for a few days as they investigated.

Yuta tilted his head and let out an anxious grin. It seemed that he didn't understand his partner quite well, and neither did she, but she would worry about it later.

"R-Right…" he managed to say. He turned to Pyrrha and let out a quick bow. "I'm sorry Pyrrha, but I must leave now. I have to accompany Inumaki on a mission."

Pyrrha let out a chuckle and shrugged.

"It's alright Yuta, I've had fun! Just don't forget to come here to practice tactics against mono spear wielders, and one more thing—" Pyrrha said as she let out a wink. "If you want to learn a trick to beat Maki, I can show it to you in our next session."

Yuta's face lit up when she said that and let out a nod. "Thank you Pyrrha, you're the best! I'll be off!"

Pyrrha waved him goodbye as she watched the boy run off. She had known him for a month now, and even after knowing who she was and the accomplishments she's made, Yuta still didn't seem to care about her status and treated her like a normal human being. It was a great change of pace from the usual pompous characters who tried too hard to impress her. She was proud to call him a friend by now, and she was more than happy to teach him more about being a great fighter.

It might have frustrated her that Rika had destroyed Sanctum, but she understood that it wasn't Yuta's fault. When he learns to control Rika better, future tragedies can be avoided, and with the pace he's going, it won't take him long to achieve that.

She had to admit that Yuta had immense potential, if he kept training and survived this upcoming war, he could become a great sorcerer. And she will keep training as well to make sure that he survives to protect that bright future.

'Maybe I should pay Maki a visit…'


Yuta absentmindedly walked towards his destination as he thought about the words Satoru said to him before sending them to Argus.

'If Rika loses control again, both of us are gonna be executed! So you better not let her out.'

What baffled him was how nonchalantly he said it.

He shook his head; he didn't have to worry about that anymore. He's stronger now, he can face his opponents with his own strength.

Argus's fish market stood forlorn and empty, the people were evacuated as the curse activity in this vicinity soared. Yuta felt uneasy as he smelled the metallic scent of blood and rotten fish. The mist made it hard for them to see further inside the market.

"Inumaki, where is the jujutsu member we were supposed to meet?" Yuta as he glanced at the mysterious sorcerer.

He didn't know what to make of Toge Inumaki. He always wore a neutral expression on his face and with the mask covering his mouth, it made it incredibly hard to know what kind of emotion he tried to convey. It didn't help that the only language he spoke was onigiri ingredients.

To say that Yuta was intimidated by him would be an understatement.

"Tuna." Toge's said as his eyes narrowed. He scanned the room as he seemingly tried to find the Jujutsu High operative, but to no avail, not a single soul could be found inside. "Mustard leaf…"

'What the hell does that even mean?!' Yuta's anxiety rose as he tried to understand the gibberish.

A whistle. Yuta's blood ran cold as he heard the sound of footsteps and dragging treading from behind. The whistle came from the voice of a man, and his chilling melody sounded had a mix of melancholy and dread. Inumaki seemed to have felt the same, as he stood motionless with his eyes widened and sweat started to come out of his forehead.

The footsteps became closer and the figure started to show itself. The first thing that Yuta noticed was that the man dragged the corpse of a blonde man in a suit. His blood painted the floor red as he was getting dragged on.

It was the Jujutsu operative they were supposed to meet. Now lying lifeless while getting dragged like a sack of potatoes.

The man who presented himself had a pale complexion and wore a white vest. His most notable trait was the black scorpion tail that moved from his rear, the tip covered in red as it started to let out droplets of blood.

They heard another set of footsteps that started to approach which added to their anxiety. While the previous footsteps sounded smooth and almost quiet, this set of footsteps thundered across the market, and each step carried power. A hulking man with dark brown hair and light brown eyes started to make his presence known, wearing an olive green coat. Unlike his companion who wore an annoying grin, this man had a stone-cold face, giving an intimidating glare at them.

Yuta started to sweat bullets as he unsheathed his katana, gripping it tightly while his hands trembled. The scorpion Faunus let out a manic grin at him and his eyes started to glow bright purple.

"Yuta Okkotsu, we meet at last."

Toge's breath hitched, and his first reaction was to pull off his mask, showing the black marking around his lips. He spoke.

"Hide!"


Author's note: Hi, it's DB, and I want to answer some inquiries people seem to have regarding this story.

If it seems that Yuta's story is getting rushed... it's because it is. The main characters of the story are Yuuji and Ruby, not Yuta, yet the latter's story is important to establish the world of Recipe for Chaos and its power system. Yuuji Itadori will make his appearance soon, count on it.

Also, all of the questions regarding the power system will be explained as the story progresses. For example, how can Aura users not be able to exorcise curses if Aura counts as positive energy, yet Satoru could do it with his Aura? Inconsistent author, you suck!

Bear with it, all of it will be answered as you read.