A/N: Hi guys, hope you enjoy this chapter. I have decided to flesh out Sanvi's character more by exploring the Indian culture in this fic. And considering how tied this culture is to religion, there will be the themes of Kismet and Karma included here and there. I don't plan on making it religious or anything, but I will mention it.
Also, I am not good at writing action. So please forgive me if you think it was too shabbily written.
When she was a kid, Sanvi would notice her grandmother reading various ancient texts all day long.
Every day, she would tell her stories from these scriptures. Be it the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, or the Puranas- she could still recite those stories by heart.
Perhaps it was because of her grandmother's excellent story-telling skills that her love for history and mythology grew. The more she listened to the mythic tales, the more she wanted to know the real history behind them. Who were the people who wrote these scriptures? What was happening that time in the society that they wrote such deep and beautiful tales?
And since her country is deeply religious, the belief in kismet is something she also accepts.
And she is not kidding. The entire country, the whole 3,287,263 sq km of it, is into religion. Some more, some less. Though the town she lives in is much more into it, considering it is supposed to be where a particularly favorite god of everyone spent his childhood.
As she grew older, her grandmother started to include more philosophical concepts of her religion in her stories. Most were much too complex for her to understand- still are. But there was one thing that was at the core of it all. A thought that everyone follows!
Karma.
You reap what you sow, right?
'It is what it is. You do good things with good intent, and good things will happen to you. Doing bad things, wishing someone harm? You will have to suffer the consequences. Everyone has to live out what is written in their kismet.'
This is what her grandmother had said to her years ago, as she explained to her the concept of karma one day.
To Sanvi, it made sense.
Of course!
You reap what you sow, right?
She would light an earthen lamp in the nearby temple. In front of her would be the idols of her favorite Krishna and his consort, Radha. Not the divine charioteer Krishna who recited the Gita, and enforced the concept of Karma again. But the perfect lover, who could enchant anyone with the mere blink of his eyes.
Her eyes would then roam over the other people in the temple. There would be all kinds of people, rich, poor, homeless, old and young, men and women. All would fold their hands and pray to him. They would offer flowers, light lamps, and sing songs.
Her eyes would always linger over those homeless people, who would just sit in some corner or at the stairs of the temple, their eyes closed in silent prayers.
She would wonder what they ask from him.
Sometimes she would run to the nearest shops and buy them snacks with her pocket money. While it might be their karma that they are in this position, her little heart couldn't come to terms with their suffering. They probably have a miserable life and will die a miserable death.
Anything bad happening in your life surely means you did some bad deeds. Be it this life or another.
But when all you do is good, and you still suffer because of what are meant to be mistakes of a previous life- it seems hardly fair, isn't it?
Had a nice life, a peaceful death? Your karma must be good!
Suffered a tragic death? Must be bad karma, must be written in your kismet.
There are a thousand ways to die. Some extraordinary, while some mundane. You can drown to death, you can be burned to ashes, or you can be buried alive. You can die from diseases, or if you are lucky enough, of old age. And if you are unlucky enough, you can even die naked in the bathroom after slipping on a bar of soap.
There are plenty of ways to die, whatever your karma.
Some people say you can either go to hell or heaven.
Her people say you would continue to take births until you realize the divine. But wherever you go, whoever you ask, death is inevitable. It holds no one dear. Kings, peasants, warriors, and even the strongest sorcerers die.
There are plenty of ways to die, whatever your kismet.
You can die in a car accident, in a terrorist attack, or perhaps even in a war. You can die because you were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Perhaps you died in a mugging, or by the hands of a serial killer.
But still, there are plenty of ways to die.
Then...why should death come to someone this way?
If Sanvi was honest, she would purposefully decide not to remember most of it.
The moment they came across them...the curse and its victim...she remembers slowing down. Her stomach was turning violently, but at the same time, she could not move her eyes further than the slender hand visible in the pool of red.
Blood was everywhere. Violently splat around on the trees, leaves, and the ground underneath her feet. She was sure that if she moved her gaze upwards, she would only come across blood. After all, she could something warm dripping onto her hair.
However, her feet refused to move at first.
Honestly, she could not say she saw the state of the woman, who was buried under the curse. It was all too fast, and despite the morbid curiosity gnawing at her, she could not even dare for a second to watch.
The curse, aware of their presence, leaped at them. It was Iori who acted first.
Her blade glowed with cursed energy as she slashed at the curse, only for it to dodge and leap backward, chittering as if it was laughing at them.
Sanvi's dark eyes fluttered away from the scene. She could not do it, after all. She could not look at the face of the victim, who was torn open in front of them. If she looks now, that face will never leave her memory.
Mutely, she saw Iori fighting the curse. The blade went through the curse's hand and cut it off. It continued chittering like some sort of insect before its hand regrew. Iori cursed under her breath as the curse charged at her again, swatting at her with a blow of his hand as if she were the insect there. Her feet skidded against the clearing as she tried to catch herself, before her right foot got caught on a thick log, causing her to topple over.
Sanvi's own feet moved hesitatingly as if her instincts of self-preservation had locked up her muscles to stop her from jumping into the fight.
Guess now is the time to get to try if this cursed technique of mine works or not.
Instead of the crunching noises of the leaves, she heard squelching noises mixed in as she ran towards the direction of the curse.
Ignoring the implications, she focused her cursed energy in her hand, desperately imagining it taking the shape of a dagger. She could feel the heat simmering in her hand, bursting out simultaneously. It crackled in the air indecisively, and Sanvi felt as if she was going straight into the huge, dirty maws of death as the curse twisted its neck to look at her.
Her heartbeat stuttered when its eyes met her - and NOT in a good way. She'd rather be at the mercy of the white-haired menace with his disgusting six eyes.
At the very last second, her cursed energy listened to her. She could feel it taking the shape of the knife. Her grip on it tightened, and gathering all her strength she threw it at the curse. It landed straight at its eyes, puncturing them and causing dirty purplish liquid to spray out. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Iori taking the opportunity and dashing at the curse.
Funny how adrenaline works. Unfortunately, she is still quite lacking in the strength department. Her noodle arms can't even do weights lying down more than a few times in a row. Which is still an improvement from the absolute 0 she could do in the beginning.
A sick satisfaction coursed through her when she saw it scratching at its punctured eyes. After a few days she would realize that she couldn't decide whether it was because of what the curse did to her, or was it just because she loved the power trip- however brief it was.
Iori thrusted her blade in its chest, causing it to disintegrate.
"That's...that was NOT a second grade."
The words had barely left her mouth when from the middle of the clearing, another big curse emerged from the ground. It took hold of Iori, clutching at her leg and throwing her against a tree.
There was not much time to react as another cursed spirit attacked them from the forest. She dodged it, but her eyes went to the forest around them, and her stomach churned when she saw multiple sets of eyes zeroed in on them. Some curses were slithering on the tree, some jumping on the branches and some squealing on the ground.
Lost in her observation of the forest, she missed the previous cursed spirit as it raced towards her again, its clawed hands wrapping around her neck and knocking her off her feet. Her head connected hard with something, darkening her vision. Disoriented, she could only stare at it opening its jaw wide.
So she did what her cursed energy did best even without her focus (and permission). Unrestricted arson.
Her hands connected with the cursed spirit, cursed energy exploding and catching onto it. It moved away from her, screaming freakishly before bursting out of existence.
3rd grade at best.
Staggering onto her feet, she tenderly touched the back of her head. Her fingers were greeted with something warm and wet, and she could feel it dripping onto her neck.
"Fuckkk..."
Resting her forehead gently on her palms, Sanvi took deep breaths. Her head was still swaying, but it was Iori's beautiful voice singing that made her snap out of it. It felt as if her own cursed energy was reacting to it. Slowly, but surely, Iori's technique was starting to affect them.
The purple-haired girl herself seemed pretty energetic, as if her cursed energy suddenly had leveled up. She pulled up her blade, engaging in the attack on the curse with renewed gusto, but it seemed as if the curse was barely worried about his opponent.
"Too many," Iori gritted out as the curse seemed to be overwhelming her, "there are too many cursed spirits here! RUN! I'll distract this one for now!"
"What? NO!" Sanvi protested, watching with wide eyes as she felt the curses surrounding them.
This was not normal, as far as she knew. So many cursed spirits, at the same place and at the same time- and all of them weak ones. Her cursed energy reacted impulsively as a curse leaped at her. Orange flames crackled uncontrollably as they consumed the curse who wanted to probably take her head off.
She pulled her hands up to her side, focusing on her cursed energy. The flames formed a long chain-like structure, with a sharp, pointed end like that of an arrow. Using her hands to control it, she spun the chain formed by cursed energy to get rid of the low-level curses swarming around them. The pointed end pierced the curses, causing the purplish liquid from their wounds to dirty the ground below.
She let go of the particular flame when all the weak curses were pierced with it. The moment she let go, the already injured curses burst into flames.
Huffing deeply, she felt her cursed energy replenish just as quickly as it had drained, thanks to Iori's technique.
A disgusting sound of flesh tearing apart and bones crunching reached her ears.
She almost forgot about the person in the corner of the clearing. A curse was hunched over the person with its back to her, thankfully letting Sanvi avoid the gruesome scene. It must be a lower-level curse if it was avoiding her. A pained whimper reached her ears, barely audible because of the cacophony of noises.
Red-hot anger bubbled up inside her. It was so unfair. Using the cursed energy blade she had used before, she threw it at the curse causing it to squeal and chitter and then disintegrate.
The woman's low whispering reached her ears, and Sanvi felt a pit in her stomach when she recognized a few words that people generally used in prayers. Finally, she took a look at the woman, and the nausea settled back in force.
Her lower body was so mangled that she had no idea what she was even seeing. There was a large open wound on her stomach area as if she was torn apart. Perhaps this is what the noises were for. And then her face.
The moment her eyes landed on her face, she closed her eyes and turned away from the violent scene, turning to her side and retching. Her eyes were blurred with tears, and not just her lungs, but her entire body was burning at this point, the summer heat not making it any easy for her. Even taking deep breaths hurt, but there was no time to ponder over it as she looked around.
Iori was also badly battered. Bleeding from several places, her clothes torn and the tiredness on her face. While her technique did amplify their cursed energy, it did nothing for their physical strength or stamina. Tired as Iori was, she was still up and fighting to survive.
Wiping the tears from her eyes roughly, she realized that only that curse was left now. It seemed to be too much for both of them. She racked her brain to think of something that could help them, and her mind was only ending up blank.
"You think what?"
The summer heat was sweltering, and the sunlight was beating down on them harshly. It was only the noises of the insects that could be heard, and sometimes the sound of the wind blowing now and again. Even the birds seemed quiet.
Fujikawa-sensei's blonde hair still looked immaculate after their training. She hummed, looking at her with contemplative eyes.
"It makes sense, doesn't it? Your cursed energy not only takes the shape of things, as you have told, but they seem to move also. And you say that you don't consciously control them, do you?"
"Not that I remember, no. They seem to do it on their own."
"It is possible that this is your cursed technique." She supplied helpfully.
With knitted eyebrows, Sanvi tilted her head.
"I don't...get it? What kind of cursed technique is this? Wait, is it like a shikigami thing?" She asked, her eyes falling behind her sensei to look at Haibara peeking in through the window. His face seemed to be pasted to the glass pane of the window very comically. When he noticed he had her attention, he gave her a wave and mouthed something she did not understand.
Nanami's blond hair came into view as he saw his friend, peeking into the room. He looked confused and peeked in himself to see what the hell he was looking at. Their eyes met and he deadpanned. Tugging at Haibara's collar, he dragged the brown-haired boy who struggled in his grip.
It took all her energy to not burst into laughter at their antics, but after a few seconds of calming herself down she faced her sensei once again, who seemed to be deep in thought.
"No, no, no...not exactly. I have seen these creatures your cursed energy creates in training. A shikigami needs to be summoned, and while they are generally a manifestation of their cursed energy, they also require a sort of intermediary- like a talisman or a seal."
"I don't summon them. They come on their own." She said before her eyes brightened. "I know! My cursed technique is that I don't need talismans to summon them!"
Fujikawa sighed, patting the teen's head with an exasperated yet somewhat fond smile.
"No dear, not exactly that. Consider their appearance. There is a massive difference in how they look, isn't there? Normal shikigami look like full-fledged creatures in their own right, while yours still retain the flames of your cursed energy. It looks like your cursed energy has taken shape on its own accord."
"Hmm...I see. I don't get it."
"Oh, at least try thinking."
"Uh, I don't know...maybe my cursed energy can take shape and act like sentient beings?"
"Wrong, or rather correct- but not completely," Fujikawa said, shaking her head with a frown, "at first I thought so, but with your recent mission my mind has changed. You said your cursed energy surrounded you and saw in it what was going to happen. This should not happen if we consider only this as your cursed technique."
Sanvi looked at her in contemplation. "Well, it just happened. But from the sound of it, this technique doesn't sound useful at all."
A phone rang, and Fujikawa-sensei excused herself. Sanvi's eyes again fell on the window, eyes catching sight of white, fluffy hair. Gojo Satoru passed by, his dark sunglasses perched on his nose. He seemed oblivious to the whole world, strutting around as if he owned the school.
She wrinkled her nose at him, a sneer making its way to her lips. Even his carefree mien was enough to ruffle her feathers. Her body tensed slightly when she caught a glimpse of his bright blue eyes in passing, looking at her with an expression she could not decipher. He was gone in a blink of an eye, and Sanvi sighed.
Her lips turned downwards when she thought about the differences in their cursed technique. He was all-powerful with a CT she only knew in passing. He has been a Special-Grade since he was a child probably, all thanks to his "Six Eyes". Even his cursed energy was unbearable sometimes, but maybe that was only her. The others didn't seem to have much of an issue with it.
And her? Her technique seemed pretty boring so far. So her cursed energy can take different shapes- sounds like something a circus entertainer would find useful. It's not like all those things were of any particular use. Pretty to look at, sure, but not all that strong.
"Sorry about that," Fujikawa-sensei said before sitting across from her, "So as I saw saying, I believe when you activate your cursed technique, it's not the shapes that become sentient, it's your cursed energy."
Sanvi blinked, before smiling stupidly.
"Huh?"
"It means that once activated, it's not just the shapes that are sentient, but your cursed energy in itself. That's why it works on its own accord to protect you when you are certainly not capable of doing it by yourself." The blonde-haired woman explained patiently.
"Oh great - it's alive now?" Sanvi said, sighing. Her cursed energy was so troublesome normally, that she did not even want to think about the menace it would be if it were alive.
"Hush! It has saved your life countless times now," Sensei said, her green eyes narrowing at her hesitant reaction, "Besides, I won't say it is alive exactly. More like conscious."
"Still don't get it. How is that any different?"
"You are not the brightest bulb in the box, are you? Well, think of it this way. When it is sentient, your cursed energy is conscious in itself. Like it has a mind of its own. It can perceive what's happening and when you are in danger and what needs to be done. But it is not alive on its own, it can't eat, sleep, talk, or get sick. If it wants to communicate with you, it turns into different shapes and acts out. I am still deciding whether it can feel pain and emotion, but we will have to train and experiment a lot for that." Fujikawa replied, looking excited at the prospect of training - or perhaps at the prospect of experimentation.
Sanvi seemed unsure of how to feel about this. Kinda nice that at least the cursed energy cared about her, but slightly disturbed at the thought of it being conscious.
"Not going to lie, sounds like I'm the MC of a shitty psychological thriller or- a horror movie. Wait, why would it be shitty. I'll be a great MC!"
The blonde-haired woman shook her head.
"Yes, I am sure, but we need to work on it more. If true, you have hit a jackpot. I can see it being a pretty strong technique," she said, smiling encouragingly and Sanvi perked up at the mention of her technique being strong.
"There are multiple ways we can use it. You still retain control over your cursed energy after your technique is activated. So first, you can try to make a shikigami-like creature from your end, not depending on your CE to do so for you. Next, we can see if you can turn your cursed energy to take the shape of something inorganic in real life, and if it can also be sentient. What we want is to make sure that your CE is under your control at all times."
"Wait, so this means if I train hard enough, my CE can even listen to me and take the shape of what I say?"
"I think, can't say for sure."
"And do you think we can combine my technique and sealing/barrier techniques?"
This time it was her sensei who was confused.
"Oh? Combine as in what?"
"Like the Scarlet Witch does in the Marvel comics!? They have this rune magic, and they send their magical power in the air to some surface with a whoosh! And it turns into that rune when it hits the wall! I always thought it was so cool! Or like the seals they do in Naruto! Where they do their signs and stuff, and the entire writing of the seal comes on the ground and it works! Do you think I can do it!? I will also send my cursed energy like that, and if it is sentient then it should know what to do, and it will turn into the incantations and then DONE! I won't need papers or work on it beforehand and all that stuff. And then I will be the best at it!" She said excitedly, her Japanese breaking up in the middle a little.
Sensei, on the other hand, was much more skeptical.
"While it is theoretically possible, I wouldn't put much hope on it. There are too many unknown variables, the first and foremost being the limits of your CT. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses. It might be too complex for your CT to carry out. Normal manifestations are not that hard, but if you want to use your CT as a medium for the seals and barriers...uhh, I don't know. It is unheard of, since there aren't many seal masters to begin with." she said, her eyes following the deflated figure of her student.
"Or, you may never know! It might just work. You are a bright student, and you have the CT to try it. If it works you might just become one of the best seal masters there are. We will never know till we try, would we?"
Gulping, she raised her blood-covered hands to her eyes and noticed how hard they were shaking. The more the injured woman seemed to quieten with each passing second, the more Sanvi's heart was starting to hurt.
I'm too young for this.
She couldn't help but think with dull eyes. Her mind was filled with fear, and yet there was a determination to live.
But what can determination do? Whether she lives or dies now, only god will know. Up until now, she has tried to be a good girl always, helping out others and trying to make them happy. Do good karma, ya know?
Sighing deeply, she pulled her hands together as if holding an invisible basketball. Focusing her CE in her hands, her mind raced with the seal of the barrier she was thinking of. The writings, the style, the script, and the placement - all of it. A barrier as difficult as it was strong.
Her face glowed orange with the flames crackling between her hands. The sphere of flames kept bigger and bigger, till its flames almost crackled at her face. Opening her arms wide, the large sphere of CE broke apart into eight smaller ones.
Using fluid hand movements, she spun each one of the eight spheres into the eight directions. They collided with the trees surrounding the clearing. The trunks of the trees singed as orange-red words were engraved into it.
The seal would not allow the cursed spirit to escape the clearing at all. And for the next step...
Iori's attention was caught when a ball of CE almost singed her hair as it went past her. Tired and dripping with blood, she looked around frantically. But it was not only Iori who focused on her but the curse also.
It must have sensed there was something wrong because the next moment it was trying to run in her direction.
"Oh no, you don't!" Iori struggled hard as she imbued even more CE into the blade, and attacked it with renewed vigor. Perhaps it was only the adrenaline that was keeping her going.
"Senpai, stay near the edge but don't let the curse out of it! You need to get out before I activate the seals, otherwise, we won't make it! " Sanvi shouted at her, and Iori screamed in a frustrated manner. Sanvi only started gathering her CE again when she saw Iori getting towards the edge.
Repeating the process, Sanvi again spun her cursed energy over and over in her hands. She muttered all that she remembered of the next seal and poured more and more CE into it. By this time, the effects of Iori's technique seemed to be wearing down. To be fair, this seal in itself also drained the CE a lot. After all, this was what it was meant to do.
Bending over, she placed her palm on the ground, releasing her CE. It spread over, fire spreading over the dry leaves as it formed thin ropes on the ground, like a spider's web. Various characters of the Siddham script and kanji glowed in a reddish light, and Sanvi almost fell to her feet.
She was starting to feel faint now, her CE levels dropping drastically. She already knew it would not be a good experience recuperating when she woke up again.
If I woke up, that is.
Now their life was only in the hands of the gods. She had done all she could do. Whether they live or die, it all is in their hands.
Krishna says to do your duty faithfully and earnestly and leave the results to him. He will give you what you deserve, and what is the best for you.
It was something her Grandmother used to say, and how funny it is that she finally remembers god again when her life is in mortal danger. Now only that will happen what is written in their kismet.
"Senpai, now!"
Iori screamed, pulling her blade back and pretending as if she was going to attack its eyes again. The curse fell for the trick, and let its guard down. Instead of aiming for the eyes, she changed her position at the last second and went straight for its legs. Purple liquid sprayed on her miko outfit and her face, and she fell back running toward Sanvi. Catching the wrist of the young girl she threw both of them out of the clearing, and the boundaries of the seal without looking back once.
The auburn-haired girl twisted her neck back to see the curse. Its legs were almost regenerated, but it was still crawling towards them at speed.
The moment their feet were out of the boundary she activated the barrier in the clearing as well as the seal in it. The girls gasped loudly when the curse collided hard with what seemed like thin air. It clawed at the barrier, desperate to kill them.
Her mind barely registered the fact that she was forgetting someone. It was when her eyes fell on the body in the very corner that her mind went blank.
The last Sanvi saw of the woman before the clearing burst into bright, orange flames was her unmoving, outstretched hand, reaching out in their direction, and her dead eyes.
The young teen wasn't sure what heartbreak was till then, but she thinks this was her very first.
Ogawa Daisuke, the Principal of Tokyo Jujutsu High, hummed in interest as he read the report of the recent mission undertaken by the two students of his school under the guidance of Yoshida Eiji.
Kaito, the auxiliary manager responsible for the report, stood silent in front of him, breaking into a sweat whenever the principal would even look at him.
"Sukuna's finger is dealt with properly, I suppose?"
Kaito nodded.
"Yes, Fujikawa-sensei has sealed it and it has been hidden in the Cursed Warehouse."
"Sukuna's finger in the middle of the forest. I smell something fishy, wouldn't you say Kaito?" The old man mused, and Kaito pursed his lips not knowing whether the question was rhetorical or not. BUt safe to answer, just in case it wasn't.
"Ah, yes indeed."
"The question was rhetorical, Kaito."
"My bad." The auxiliary manager smiled tightly, evaluating all the decisions he has made in life till now that brought him to this man.
"And the kids?"
"Both are still recuperating."
The old man hummed again, and Kaito smiled somewhat nervously.
With all due respect to the principal, Kaito still believes the man was clinically insane. Yes, certainly they all were to some extent, but the man should be locked and not let out in society. The only reassurance was that he was so old anyway, with white hair and wrinkled skin. He should be dead in the next few years, give or take.
Even his cabin had an ominous vibe to it. He always wondered how his secretary handled him and his ways, which were questionable at best and downright immoral and illegal at worst. One could say that the principal didn't have that bad of intentions, but his principle of "do anything it takes for the best" has made him heartless and cruel over the years.
Kaito almost jumped out of his skin when the old man gave a sudden laugh.
"I thought the second-years were the best students we have got in years. Two special grades and one with a rare and valuable talent. And now this year we have this pipsqueak. I see a lot of potential." the Principal says merrily, almost looking normal for a second. Kaito almost shuddered when he saw the smile on his face.
"Bring them to me when they are feeling better. After all, it's my job as the principal to keep up with my student's well-being."
Kaito bowed at the perfect 90 degrees, making his way out when the old man waved him away. His request was not abnormal per se, but it left him uneasy.
But for the time being, he relaxed.
He still had a lot of work to do.
