Chapter 5: Smoke and Mirrors

2018, September 28th

"There you are." Geto stops at a shadowed figure. An abandoned apartment, on the poorer side of Tokyo where curses would typically come to live, is where he had found himself. He looks past the shadow to the forms lying still on the floor. Vague, featureless bodies twitch, but make no move to get up. But the thing that Geto's gaze lingers more on is the form of various books all haphazardly lying on the bed.

"Oh?" Out of the darkness emerges the form of Mahito, who even now doesn't take their eyes off of what lies on the floor. They stand side by side to Geto, who seems mildly curious. "I'm surprised you could find me." Mahito says. "You shouldn't have been able to." His voice trailing off in curiosity.

"Is that so?" Geto asks. He adjusts his position for a clearer perspective of who he had been searching for, taking in all the details. "I see you have taken the form of Mahito again, Berserker."

Berserkers' mouth emits a noise of subdued astonishment as they inspect their arms, fascinated. "It appears that way," Berserker says with a sound of quiet surprise as they inspect their arms, fascinated. "I'm not sure if it is so much me taking the form, and more the form taking me." Despite their words, there is a intensity to their words that bubbles to the surface. "I should not have a true form like this."

Casually, Geto strolls towards the bed and takes a seat as Berserker speaks. "I remember when we first met." Geto says. "That was something you said. But you never explained." Geto picks up a book next to him, raising his eyebrows as he peers through various texts to find a common theme: an exploration of the body.

"It is hard for me to articulate, truly." Berserker adds for emphasis, Geto notes the similar mannerisms to how they act to the person they imitate. "I know who I am, or who I should be. But I don't know the how or why it came to be for the things I did. I know I am a killer, that much is clear. But I must find out *why.*" His voice stays the same in volume, but the fervor and passion in it only rises.

Completely still as he watches the forms writhing on the floor, his eyes constantly take in their every movement with rapt, unblinking attention. "I wanted to be as faithful as possible to who I was, but there was something wrong." Voice dropping an octave, a brief scowls of hatred fills their face. "Someone had replaced part of myself with something else."

Geto picks up another book and flicks through it. "Ah yes, that was my doing." He adds. "Although summoning you was not intentional, if that means anything to you."

"I have heard it from my master," Berserker calmly replies, quickly losing all emotion. "My entire existence is built on contradictions. I am madness made sane. Mystery made manifest. The false made real." They cut themselves off before taking a deep breath. "Strictly speaking, I am not sure who I am."

Having discarded his gained books to the side, Getos' full attention had migrated over to Berserker. Soaking in all the details with a weight and age to it that the servant before him couldn't understand. "So you seek to imitate others?" A slight hesitation from Berserker is all the information Geto needs. "As one who has played roles themselves for a large amount of my life, that way leads to no true answers."

"What do you mean?" Confusion is obvious on their face.

Geto sits up to take a better view of the entire room. "Perhaps there is reason with wishing to reconnect with your past. But you cannot find your true self by imitating others." There is an understanding of Geto's body language, but not genuine sympathy. "The basis of all knowledge is experience." He laces his fingers together in faint amusement. "If you do not know who you are, experience shall teach you."

The servant seriously contemplates his question, before their brows furrow in thought. "But what about our plan to imitate Itadori? I know Assassin has refused to keep up the disguise, but I could certainly pull it off still."

The faint amusement of Geto only increases as he shakes his head. "I was not suggesting you throw away your talents completely. Merely that you should do things because you want to, rather than based on what others would do."

Geto's head turns to gaze at Berserker's victims. "Like you have done here." Leaving his spot on the bed, he makes his way to the door and turns his head to have his conversation partner in his periphery. "But we have spent enough time here already. It would be for the best if you were to make your way back. And let your master know to return as well. The shadows hunt tonight."

Before Berserker can ask anything more, Geto makes their way outside of the building. Leaving the servant alone with the desperate scrapping of his victims, which he silently contemplates. "Things to experience, huh?" Slowly his gaze drops to the forms at his feet. "A couple more couldn't hurt, right?" He muses to himself before he crouches with a grin.

2018, September 28th, 1:00AM

The streets were drowning in a haze, a black miasma that made it as hard to see as it was to breathe. Even on the further reaches of this fire, it was still enough of a problem to be noticeable. Nanami rested in the back of the car as he checked the time on his watch. A silent sigh leaves his mouth at seeing the time truly well past midnight.

His driver of the morning, as tired looking as Nanami himself felt at such a awful hour, was Nitta, who scrolled through her phone for a brief couple of seconds before closing it with a snap. Turning her head to put Nanami in her periphery, she gives a brief grimace. "Nanami." She says. "I just had an update from Ijichi. Gojo is dealing with the major threat, but there are a couple of rogue curses who seem to cause problems in other areas."

"Noted. Any other details on what they can do?" Nanami asks.

"Fire based abilities seem to be the common theme. We suspect the special grade curse Gojo encountered is involved." Her eyes tighten as her lips purse. "They have yet to be seen acting themselves." Turning to face forward, she peers out the door window. "Be warned, there appear to be curses in the shape of moving shadows seen in the smog, although they have yet to be seen doing anything. Gojo mentioned the smoke itself is a form of incomplete domain."

"Thank you." Nanami opens up his side door and slides his way out. "I will keep in contact when I can. Stay safe." He doesn't give any time for a reply before closing the door, cutting off the smoke. Nanami takes one last stare at his path ahead of him and makes his way further inside.

Internally, he reaches out to the odd connection he felt within himself. 'Sakura, keep an eye out and follow me closely.' He says across their bond, silently stepping in further.

'Yes, master.' He hears her reply in his mind. 'I'll help if you need me.' He nods minutely at her statement. Nanami, with a practiced motion, undoes his tie to wrap around his palm, and has the familiar form of his weapon enter his palm.

Nanami treks at a quickened pace, with his eyes spared from the no doubt burning sensation it would have had with the air. His head swivels to take in as much detail as he can. During the first couple of minutes, Nanami hears only his footsteps and his own heartbeat.

'Can you tell if anyone else is nearby?' Nanami asks. His brows furrow in concern. With how many people would have been in this district, the lack of people around here is enough to draw his worry.

Sakura takes a moment to consider his question, before he has a reply. 'Not that I can tell. Since we stepped into this smoke, it has been challenging to sense much at all. Whatever made this can't be good.' There is a coldness to her voice that Nanami has echoed in his own feelings. If someone had hurt the people...

His eyes catch the sight of a dark section of the street down one alleyway. It shifts unnaturally and wavers in no way a shadow should truly move. Deliberate advances in its direction reveal more, although Nanami does not have his confusion cleared at all.

A shadow with impossible depth stands against the wall, its form wavering like a strange mockery of a candle light. Now, with what clearly seems like a curse to his eyes, there is a distinct sense that he is being watched. What makes him hesitate is how it remains docile. This close to a true curse would have had him attacked quickly if they could sense they were being watched. Part of why he wore his current eye-wear.

Not taking his eyes off of it completely, he backs up and takes further stock of the surrounding area. Now that he has an example, the darkened windows reveal what he already suspected. Even with the current lighting making it hard to see through the windows, the various buildings contained more of these things.

'Even staring at them, I can't sense them.' Sakura says in his mind. 'They feel exactly the same as the smoke. They have barely any energy to them at all, even less than the weakest of those curses you showed me.'

'Best not to cause more problems for now, and focus on the larger threats,' Nanami eventually decides, making his way further down the street. There was always at least one shadow watching him as he traveled. His throat tickled in irritation at the smoke, but it wasn't enough to be truly dangerous for Nanami on what others before him had mentioned.

A distant woman's scream has his head snap in its direction. He picks up the pace, making his way closer to possibly help whoever this was, while making sure not to let go of his guard.

Dull flickering lights ahead draw Nanamis' attention, with the lights too low to the ground to be anything natural. With careful steps in its direction, a disturbing sight becomes apparent. A bubbling pool of unnaturally dark mud blocks his path, with over a dozen bodies frozen stiff as they sink halfway through at the waist in the mud. The corpses had all been lit on fire and were giving off the light that he could see, all clothes and features charred beyond any unique features.

Now seen, the smell was second to come to Nanami. His nostrils flare as a white hot flash of anger comes over him. Such a high amount of cursed energy in this pool itself meant only one thing.

'Sakura, we need to be careful, this is at least a 1st grade.' A quick sound of acknowledgment is enough for him. Spending a moment to focus his own energy, Nanami quickly glances around the area one final time.

As if rising in response to him, the corpses rise to some form of life with painful sounding pops and tearing. They emit a wheezing, high-pitched scream from their throat before forcefully launching towards Nanami with explosive force. Out of caution, he dives a further distance as they fly far behind him. A silent part of himself notes how he can't sense the corpses anymore before taking quick steps toward the mud.

It had folded inwards, in a way that hurt to stare at as it fell constantly into itself. Its form was much closer to vaguely being humanoid in the brief time it had after ejecting, but its arms extending in impossibly long whips made that illusion quickly dispelled.

Tearing through part of the concrete, and through part of one building as if it was paper leaves enough time for Nanami to duck. One whip flies just above his head in an impossibly icy presence, as the second whip has him quickly alter his direction closer to the wall as it slams diagonally in his previous location. Distant, gargled wails behind him let him know he has got little time.

Whatever this was supposed to be, couldn't decide on what form it wished to take, warping between vaguely curvaceous female forms and a muscular male physique. Its arms quickly contract and it tosses some of the mud it was made of in a loose spray.

'Sakura.' He thinks urgently. He quickly aborts his movement to jump to the side and avoid whatever this mud would be as it winds.

Sakura appears behind the mud amid fling and replies, "On it." In the moment of their communication, she crouches and holds onto her sheathed Katana, swiftly piercing where the heart would be on a normal human. She drags the Katana out and through its side, producing a dull thud. A quick decapitation where its head would have been, has part of its mud fly off separate from the rest of its body.

Even with all of this damage, it still lived.

Nanami tears off parts of his suit where the mud had touched, quickly burning through the fabric as it smokes. Wasting no time, he charges down his unobstructed path. Both Nanami and his servant meet eyes, with hers widening fractionally.

Abandoning her attacks, there is a blur as she arrives in front of him and blocks multiple pellets that strike the path before him. Where there had been no one previously, the patchwork curse stands above them on a roof, its arm warped into some sort of mockery of a canon. It's cold, a curious glint in its eyes watches them as it fires once more.

'Distract them. I'll finish the other curse.' Nanami quickly directs. He reaches the form of the weakly rising mud spirit as Sakura deflects projectiles sent his way. It swells as if about to pop, but a quick slice in a perfectly aimed space is enough to deflate it. The flaking as it dissolves is relief enough, even as the half-formed corpses drag their way at a inhumanely fast pace to meet with Sakuras blade.

Her blade only increases in speed as she carves through one corpse in a smooth motion, deflects more pellets from the curse above and seamlessly transitions into another slice of a different curse.

The other free hand of the patchwork lightly tosses the effigies for its cursed technique. It expands into a wall of flesh above servant and master that rapidly falls, with the shots stopping shortly after. Nanami and his servant both rush to escape its range as they crash through the glass of a nearby building. The deafening wet smack of a street long slab of flesh seals them both inside.

"At least the other enemies got squashed." Okita adds lightly as they both stand up, breaking their streak of talking internally.

"There is that." Nanami agrees plainly. "Lets try to make our way above." His stare goes above him, where the sense he had of the curse had completely disappeared now that he could no longer see them. The nod of his partner has them move ahead and through the racks of what could only be a clothing store they had broken into. The lack of power, as well as all the smoke pouring in, did not help visibility in the dark.

Sakura had a razor focus to her as Nanami followed behind her, as she marched through the shelves. 'I'm glad I've been wanting to kill this curse when you told me about them.' There is a cold, vicious satisfaction to her voice in his head.

Not acknowledging her statement for now, she stares down at the side and slows to a halt. Blood excessively sprayed and splattered on the flickering light of a dented exit sign. Someone had carved a woman with sightless eyes from the neck down, flaying her body open. Her organs laid sprawled by the side, and the fresh smell of blood is enough to let them both know how recent this was.

There was a message in English left on the wall. Nanami frowns but struggles to read it entirely. 'Can you read this for me?'

Distaste fills both of their faces as they stride their way to the exit sign. Sakura opens the door leading out, but Nanami bends down to close the eyes of the dead woman.

'It says.' Sakura mentions in his mind, her confusion clear in her voice. 'To you, from hell.'

"I see," Nanami says out loud, voice tight. "How disgusting."

He strides forward, opening the exit himself as Sakura follows. Both of their eyes narrow at the surrounding scenery, the haze having reduced significantly since they had been in the shop.

'Check the roof.' Nanami asks.

Disappearing once more, she leaves Nanami in silence. His head turns to stare at the exit behind him, his fists tightening. It only takes a short time for him to get a response. 'Nanami.' His servant projects, annoyed. 'Looks like they ran away. Even with everything easier to sense.'

Extending his hand into his pocket, Nanami checks his phone and observes as it gradually restores its connection. 'It seems Gojo has finished up.' He tells Sakura. He types on his phone and presses send.

Stepping out from his shadow, Sakura frowns. "It must have been a tricky opponent if it took Gojo so long to defeat it." She adds.

"Considering the smoke." Nanami says. "They likely hid more from him than actually fought." Nanami jerks his head in a motion to follow as he moves on. "Lets try to find what street we are on. And clear up any more curses."

"Yes, sir." Sakura says, fading once more.

As they walk away, a crouched figure in an alleyway smiles. Getting up, a businesswoman with a neutral expression walks away in the opposite direction. Unseen and unheard, they escape. "A curse, from me to you." She says mirthfully to herself.

That, Gojo decided to himself, was a complete pain in the ass. But he couldn't drop the full grin that showed all of his teeth. His blood drips from his eyes before his healing takes care of it. His eyes still itched, though.

In front of where he stood, devastation had brought down a sizeable chunk of the infrastructure. There had been no threat for Gojo in facing any of these shadows, or their ribbon based overlord. But the people surrounding the area had severely limited how quickly he could get rid of these.

Lifting his blindfold once again, he takes the opportunity to prod the spot where his enemy had dropped. Something had seemed off when he had struck it with a blue, but he could say the same thing about the entire fight.

He hadn't been able to see properly in the smoke.

It had been almost futile to try to see through whatever this incomplete domain was supposed to be. There had been things that seemed real in the smoke, but were mere constructs of cursed energy, real things that felt like their boss but were imitations.

Things his eyes couldn't see properly, that weren't made of cursed energy but were real all the same.

It had taken much longer than he'd have ever wanted just to find the stupid thing. And then it had spent their entire fight running away. It certainly wasn't faster than him, but it had a frustratingly large amount of tricks.

Gojo's frustration had reached a point where he started using his circuits and improvising with some of the Magecraft he had learned to catch it off guard. It hadn't helped all that much. But man, the speed of both had been such a *rush.*

His body had been on the cusp of being fit to bursting with so much energy running through it.

The thing that had done it in was it had been slowly picking off its own hostages, to the point it hadn't mattered in the end and he could destroy everything and not bother with collateral.

Gojo brings out his brand new phone as he stares down at one of the fading shadows. It doesn't take many rings before someone else picks up. "Hey, Megumi, how did you go on your end?" There is a pause as he listens to the other end as his frown grows. "What a pain." Gojo pouts. "Why can't you go away quicker?" He complains at the smoke. "I'll call you back later." He says into the phone and hangs up. Glancing one more time in all directions, he focuses his attention on his own arm.

"I've never heard of stealing cursed energy from others before. Neat." He muses to himself, placing his hands together and disappearing.

"Yuta, is it really fine to have your…" Yuji fumbles on finding the right words to say. "friend following me like this?" Yuji asks. Both of them were sitting in the back of a car, with Ijichi driving for them after they had dropped Gojo off.

They all woke up in the middle of the night, with Gojo giving Yuta a well-timed call as a warning. It had taken some convincing for Yuta to not get involved with the incident, but he had come to a compromise to send his servant.

The elders influenced the split-up, resulting in Yuji being separated from the others in different groups.

"It's fine." Yuta places a hand on Yujis' shoulder with a small smile. "I'm sure that you will be fine, but better safe than sorry, right?" His hand drops off of Yujis' shoulder at his returning smile. "Thanks for doing this for me, Rider."

His servant Ryouma materializes in the seat next to him in the back, with Oryou appearing in the front passenger side. "It's no problem, master." Ryouma says. "Being able to help others in this way is enough for me."

"Oryou does not want to eat curses." Oryou adds. "So make sure you don't either."

"I wasn't planning on it." Ryouma says. Fond amusement fills his face.

"That means you too pinky." Oryou turns in her chair to press her chin on top of the chair seat, staring down at him. "Oryou has heard you eat weird things."

Yuji rocks backwards in his seat as chagrin fills his face at her comment. "Only because I need to! I don't eat anything weird outside of the fingers, anyway."

Her head tilts in confusion. "But eating fingers is normal."

The stare off between the two of them is deafening. "Hey, hey. No eating fingers, Oryou." Ryouma says in concern. "Itadori here did and didn't have a good time."

"Yeah." Yuji says quietly, energy noticeably dipping at the reminder. "You shouldn't do it."

The car comes to a halt at the edge of the smoke. "We've arrived." Ijichi interjects. "And be wary. Phone calls don't seem to work well through the smoke." Nervously, Ijichi checks through the mirror periodically as he stares at his new strange passengers. He had only just met them, and it had been making him nervous.

"Thanks Ijichi!" Yuji says. As he opens his door and steps out, he tilts his head back to give them all a smile. "Thanks for your help, Senpai. Take care!" The door closes once more, with Yutas' servant disappearing to follow Yuji, hidden.

Ijichi gives a sigh. "He didn't even wait for me to finish." He mutters to himself.

"I think his passion is admirable." Yuta adds, startling Ijichi. "I just wish I could help more." Leaning his head closer towards the window, he peers outside of it in the direction Yuji had left in. "Even if this is the best choice... still." He closes his eyes in frustration.

Ijichi puts his foot on the pedal, driving them further away from the area. "I'm sure... he'll be fine. We should trust in Itadori." His voice picks up strength at the end.

"Yeah. You're right."

"Man, this smoke *stinks.*" Yuta mutters to himself. Jogging through the area with a quick glance, the smell and sense of the total area rubbed him the wrong way. The unfamiliar sensation of the sheathed sword at his side constantly jostled him.

It had only been this morning since both of his teachers in magecraft had handed him this longsword. It was magical as far as he could tell, but all he'd been told was its ability to not break as easily. Sharp enough to be deadly, but more for practice than anything.

Yuji huffed to himself. "Practice?" Darting to the side, he slices through a smaller sized curse, a caricature of a small child. A form littered with burns, warped and bubbling. "I'll do my best."

It didn't take long for identical copies of the same curse he had just dispatched to swarm the entire street. Witnessing this, Yuji channels his cursed energy and forcefully slams his foot into the ground, resulting in a cascade of concrete raining towards them. Dashing through, he used the length of his blade to carve through leagues of these creatures.

Channeling his cursed energy through this blade had been weird at first, but Saber had been an outstanding teacher for him. She appeared to comprehend the way it seemed more instinctual for Yuji to battle.

A punch reveals that they don't burn him in touch, which he is glad for. Its body propels through various others, pulverizing them against a wall. A vague part of Yuji notes that carving through these creatures is leagues easier than sparing with his teacher.

What would have originally taken Yuji much longer takes only seconds to carve through well over a hundred of these things. Their bodies flaked away, only adding to the haze that surrounded Yuji. A deep breath has him coughing for a few seconds before wiping his mouth. "Rider, is there anything else nearby?"

Appearing next to him, Ryouma stood with his hands in his pockets. In front of both of them, Oryou leans downwards to stare at where the curses had originally been placed, her face scrutinizing. "Nothing we can tell." Ryouma says. "So, is this what curses are like?"

"Yeah, basically." Yuji answers, looking around despite himself. "Although these were a lot easier than usual. And they rarely work together like this either..." He trails off.

"They don't?" A note of interest enters Ryoumas' voice.

The servants fall in line with his steps as he jogs again. "Nah. Weak curses are usually stupid. It's only the strong ones who get nasty." He sheathes his longsword once more than he runs, turning his head to peer at Ryouma. "How are the people around here?"

"They were staying inside, and didn't seem in too much trouble for now."

"Pinky, when can we do something?" Oryou cuts in. "Watching is kind of boring."

"You can just help now, right?" Yuji says. "I don't really understand the whole hiding thing. I mean, if people need helping, shouldn't we just do it?" Both of their gazes focus more on Ryouma, who has a weary appearance.

"It's not as if I disagree completely. But we should help others in the best way possible, you know?" As if to emphasize his point, he motions to the surrounding smoke. "If it's needed, of course we will help. But it's not as if we have to be obvious in how we do it."

"So Oryou will help then. Super secretly." She agrees. A fond chuckle from Ryouma doesn't disagree with her.

"Sounds great." Yuji says. Oryou gives a flat toned cheer in response, with Yujis eyes closing in a smile for a moment before they all turn a corner. In front of them are burned corpses that shuffle their way, their guttural cries enough to stop them in their steps.

"More curses." Yuji says plainly, his eyes pinching in a drawn look, before making his way forward.

"Oryou will smack them. I expect frogs later." She says. It doesn't require much time for her husband to follow, leaving Yuji behind.

"What happened to just helping people? Why do you want something now?!" He shouts after them as he runs forward.

"What the hell." Megumi said flatly. Surrounding them was a veritable crowd of those strange shadows. Everything had been going fairly well for Megumi and Nobara. But as soon as Megumi had summoned his shikigami, those shadows had immediately started following him.

"Can you tell your fan club to go away?" Nobara asked, annoyed. With practiced ease, she hits another nail into the form of a curse at the edge of her vision. "It's really annoying trying to move around them and not get touched." She shivers. "They are super creepy, too."

'Archer?' Megumi mentally projected to his servant. 'Do you know what these are?'

'Nothing I ever encountered when I was alive. But I don't think you should touch or stay near them if you can help. I'll get you two out of there and see if I can deal with them.'

'Sounds good.' Taking that as warning enough, he turns his head to Nobara as he makes his way to her. "Kugisaki, group up so we can get out of here." The two of them meet in the middle, but have to duck as another rock of some kind comes whistling through the air above their heads.

"I'm so sick of you, you asshole!" Nobara screams into the smoke. "Stop throwing rocks at me. Are you a monkey or something?" Her only response is another grouping of rocks thrown towards her that she avoids with a curse.

Both of them have a hand on their back before they soar upward in the air. Landing on a roof, they finally have some fresh air. From down below, the street appears completely obscured, but Archer gazes through it as if he can see everything. "Step back a little. I'm going to clear down below." Archer says. Both of the teens back up as they watch Archer pull back on his bow.

Even with time to get an idea of the power of Archer, both are stunned as he rapidly fires arrows beyond counting. The thuds as the arrows strike are rapid and constant, enough that they can all feel the vibrations in the building themselves. Arash turns his head to give them a smile and a thumbs up. "Everything should be clear for you now."

"You should help more Archer. Being up so early isn't good for my skin." She gives a nod in his direction. "With you here, this will be a lot quicker."

"Glad to help." Archer says, humble.

"Can you get us down once more, Archer?" Megumi asks.

It's a simple nod and a task for him to take them both down. Where once the street had been, it seemed as if multiple small missiles had showered the floor, devastating the area. Any sign of their foes was gone, as if they had never existed.

Nobara makes a sound of appreciation at the sight. Both of them continue their trek forward. Only a couple of minutes later, another rock flies through and Nobara shoots it out of the air, splattering her clothes in the mud. Filled with apocalyptic rage, she hits a nail blindly after her target. "I'll kill you all!"

Megumi sighs.

Berserker thought that the night had been fantastic so far.

Their master had been a strange thing for them to truly understand. As much as a part of them was very much a copy, whatever they had taken from their master had been hollow. They had a soul now.

A cursed technique that they inherited meant that what existed in them now was something they should not have had. Their master was cruel enough to create hope and snuff it. Curious enough to communicate with its toys. And ambitious enough to believe they could truly replace humanity.

Berserker knew better.

Originally, imitating the master had been a exploration of the self. But a talk with Geto had shed light on what true enlightenment would be.

They would never be their true self. There was too much different from themselves. Which meant they were free to be anything else. So they had experimented.

Hunting people had been curious and interesting in its own way. Recreating what their original had done, but in a new land even more so. Trying to kill one target of the master was amusing in its own way, but hadn't been worth potentially dying to that servant he had with him.

Berserker hoped they enjoyed the artwork they had left in the building. It was the beginning of one of many plans that had been coming to them in this city. There were so much new things to try.

So they had made their escape, and come across something new they were deliberating about. Below them, a girl cried over a burned body on the floor. Both in school uniforms, as far as they could tell. Nothing particularly dangerous was nearby, as far as he could tell.

Silently, they approached closer to gain a better perspective. He watched as this red haired girl lifted the body with a heave, one of a male clearly taller and much heavier than them. Stubbornly, the girl took one aching step after the other, as tears streamed down their face, teeth grit. This continued for what felt like an eternity as Berserker watched, enraptured. Eventually, the girl stopped and took in heaving gasps. Her eyes darted around, wary, missing Berserker completely despite how close they were.

A benefit of it being night time.

Another figure stumbled out of an alleyway in front of the girl. Berserker watched with a grin as her expression of brief hope turned into horror at the curse that came in her direction. "No, please!" She cried. "I just want to live! My friend..." Her voice cuts off in a hiccup as she backs up. Instead of giving up, though, a determined grimace comes over her face. Something in Berserker's heart stirs at the sight. Red hair and a feeling of being truly happy. They shake their head.

In Berserkers' mind, a word echoes in their mind. Experience.

Before they knew it, they had stepped up next to the curse. It was a simple matter to hit them hard enough to flatten the body, and kick downwards with their heel to flatten their skull with a crunch. The satisfying pop brings a shiver down their spine.

The choking sound of the girl at the wet squelch brings a smile to Berserker's face that he quickly hides. "Are you alright, miss?" They asked.

"I, yes." She stutters. "Thank you. Can you please help me? My friend they..." A sniffle breaks her words for a moment. Giving enough time for Berserker to step forward, assuming the appearance of a generic salesman.

He fakes a sound of sucking in air through his teeth as he peers over what remained of their friend. Unless someone did something right now, their chances of survival would be unlikely, as they had suffered horrible burns.

"I know they... I just have to help!" She says, almost in hysterics. "What else am I supposed to do?"

"Most." Berserker says. "Would have just left them. Anyone can tell this is someone who is dead, their body has just yet to catch up." The despair on her face brings a small joy to Berserker's heart, which they don't let show. "But." He lets the smile show for a different reason. "I think I can help save them."

"How?" she begs.

"Let me show you." With all the practice Berserker had gotten from transfiguring others, using it on this husk wasn't as hard. The flesh slowly returned to what he assumed was their original appearance, although he left them unconscious. Funnier that way.

Amazement filled the face of the girl next to him, which was surprisingly pleasant for Berserker. Her hugging them was a shock, which lasted for a few seconds. She lets go to check over her friend, who breathes much more easily than before. "That was amazing. How did you even..." She trails off in confusion, circling back to amazement.

"It's a secret. Just don't tell anybody, okay?" Berserker said, jovial. "Here, let me help you get out of this place." It isn't hard for him to take the girl's friend off their shoulder, carrying them like they weighed nothing.

"Thank you!" Something occurs to the girl, who appears embarrassed, wiping the tears from her face. "Sorry, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Ritsuka Fujimaru."

"You can call me Jack." Berserker replied. "And I get it. It was a stressful time for you."

Something about walking down the street with this girl was oddly soothing. There was something at the tip of their mind that tugged at them. But it faded as quickly as it came.

"Thanks for saving us." Fujimaru said, quietly.

"You're welcome." Berserker replied. When she smiled at them, it made everything feel as if it was brighter. Maybe this whole new experiences things was a good idea. They aborted their plans for killing the two once they were freed.

That'd be such a waste.

Yujis' hand quickly covered his yawn. After the whole burning of parts of Shinjuku, they had got some sleep. With Saber, their ruthless teacher forcefully dragged all of them out of bed. Nobara had been the most upset by the disaster.

"I, will, kill those curses!" Nobara said. She lies face first in the grass, muffling her words. "Whole shops, closed! I was going to go shopping there today." She slammed her fists into the ground with a groan. Yuji took the time to sit next to his friend as she complained, his sword in his lap.

"There are always those other stores, right?" Her answering glare makes him nervous, but he doesn't back down. "We can go to different parts of Tokyo. If you want to."

"Whatever." She sighs. "Yeah, you're right." Nobara sits up, watching Oryou hover over Megumi. He had his hands up as if to fend her off. "Thanks Yuji."

He gives a short, good-natured laugh before shrugging. "It's no problem." Yuji, for a moment, is content, staring across at everyone who had come into the clearing today. Servants, Nanami, his teachers, friends. All they were missing were the second years and this would feel complete. He pointedly tried not thinking about what Todo would be like if he were here.

"No, you can't eat my Shikigami." Megumi says, exasperated. Oryou still stared at his shadow where his Toad had come from. Her stare and pout were making him sweat, but he held firm.

"Oryou thinks you should share." She says.

His stare is unimpressed as he crosses his arms. "I can't replace Toad if they die."

"Oryou will find you more frogs." She offers.

His sigh is long suffering. "No, thank you," Dejected, and disappointed, she hovers her way back to Ryouma.

Sakura to the side was practicing against Archer, who fired blunt arrows in her direction. Behind her was a target that she zealously protected under the weather of shots. They had separated themselves far enough not to disturb anyone else.

All the teachers, as well as Yuta, had gathered next to each other in a semi-circle as they spoke to each other. Nanami was the most tired of them all, with bags under his eyes.

"So, you think a new curse had joined those other special grades you mentioned?" Rin says. Rin crosses her arms as she frowns in concern. Saber matches her expression and had been initially irate at the attack in question.

"Yep." Gojo says. "The whole area was saturated with cursed energy. Whatever this incomplete domain was, they were making use of it to do *something.*" He confidently states. "Initially, it gave me some trouble, but I've had a theory about it ever since."

Gojo, since they had seen him this morning, had his eyes revealed as he watched everything with rapt attention. Gojo, who had been acting oddly intense, had unsettled all the sorcerers.

"The cursed spirit had more techniques than should be possible." He said plainly, his smile growing intense. "I think it was using magecraft. Near the end of the fight, I think I was seeing it. And ever since, things have been becoming even more clear to me."

"Gojo, are you alright?" Saber asks, concerned. Her brows furrow as she takes a closer stare at him.

His gaze drifts to her, and his pleasure only seems to grow. "Don't worry, *I'm fantastic.*"

"A curse using magecraft only leads us to more questions." Rin mutters to herself. "If this happens again, I will have to get involved. If it's possible that whatever this is has any chance of being connected, it's my duty to get involved." Ignoring for now, Gojo she turns to focus on Nanami. "And you can confirm this is unusual."

"It is." Nanami says.

"Ah, Tohsaka." Yuta says awkwardly. "I've only recently learned about magecraft, so I'm a little behind. But why is the curse knowing it such a big deal?"

Her stare for a moment is her processing, before she puts on a pleasant smile for Yuta. "That's perfectly fine to ask. Essentially, the more that people understand about how magecraft works, the weaker it gets. So if it was to become common knowledge, most magecraft would die out."

"Oh..." He mutters. "That's all I wanted to know."

Before the conversation dies, Gojo interrupts. "I think we should have Yuji summon right now. We have everyone here and now. We might as well risk it." Despite his words, something hungry in his eyes belies his intentions.

"I don't see all that much against it," Rin agrees. Saber nods along with only Nanami and Yuta being the ones to hesitate.

"Shouldn't we give them a bit more time to rest?" Yuta asks.

"They can do that later." Gojo waves off. "By the time it's later they will be sleepy and want to rest, anyway."

Nanamis sigh has him shake his head. "As much as I dislike it, it's likely for the best. Let's not wait too long to get it over with."

"Alright!" Gojo raises his voice before excitedly waving to Yuji. "It-a-do-ri~" He sings songs. "Lets summon your servant right now!"

"Right now?!" He shouts back, jumping to his feet in excitement.

"Right now!" Gojo shouts back. His fellow adults seem more exasperated by him as he comes over to Yuji. It doesn't take long for everyone gathered to be warned and get into more ready positions.

Both Yuji and Gojo stand across from each other outside of the building, both almost exploding with excitement. "I've been practicing summoning all the time. What servant do you think I will get?" Yuji asks. "Someone who can do beam attacks, or a cool sword like Sakura. Or maybe they can do magic like Merlin?" His excitement only grows as he lists each example until Gojo places his hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, don't get too worked up. We still aren't sure what having Sukuna in you will do to the summoning, so just be a little wary." Mirth gone, Gojo turns serious for a moment. The enthusiasm from Yuji noticeably drops as he nods.

"Okay." Yuji says. "But I'll still hope!"

Gojo laughs and shakes his head before they both enter the house. Gojo stands behind Yuji with a hand on his shoulder before he starts his own chant. A grin rises to Yujis face as the lights and wind pick up, the thrum of his magic circuits that he activated just in case in tandem with his heartbeat.

The eyes of Sukuna under his own open enough to watch the summoning unfold in a rare moment, visibly interested in his surrounding.

There is a flash, and a billowing of smoke. Before anyone sees the servant, a familiar, oppressive energy swamps the room. Stronger than anyone had ever felt it before, or anyone they knew. A hulking, muscular man with four arms, two sets of eyes and coarse, slicked back red hair. He wears a light-colored kimono with a blue edge, a black scarf, and black shoes. One of his left hands holds a trishula-like trident, while he crosses one of his pairs of arms. His last remaining right hand is on his hip as he stares across at both Gojo and Yuji, displeased. The same tattoos are the final nail in the coffin to point to an obvious conclusion.

This here was Sukuna.

"Heroic Spirit Ruler." He says into the silent room, face scowling. "This war better be worth my time if you went to all this effort to call me here." He takes the time to glance at the room in disinterest. "The only way this could be worse is if that other version of me got summoned." He clicks his tongue.

"Gojo, can I refund my summon?" Yuji says plainly, staring at his servant before raising his fist in a motion to punch them.

"No, you can't," Gojo says amused. "But I'm more curious about why he's a class we weren't told about, myself."

A mouth opens on Yujis cheek, just under an eye. "Did you just summon more of me, brat?" The mouth laughs mockingly before Yuji slapped it, appearing on the other side of his face. "All you do is bring more death to others!"

Across from them, the eyes of Ruler comes to rest on Yuji, furrowing in mild confusion. "Is this boy a vessel? Is that why I am being summoned?" A light of realization comes to their eyes without the answer even being told. "I see. What a mess you have gotten yourselves into!"

The chuckles of Ruler, and mocking laughter of Sukuna ring in Yujis ears as he contemplates on the command seals on the back of his hand. His disappointment was immeasurable, and his excitement was now gone.

End of Chapter 5:

Hey everyone, been a while huh?

But thanks for your patience! Now we have revealed part of the question on Yujis servant, and left a lot more of different questions. Poor Yuji got no beautiful women or bros on his luck. Blame Sukuna on that. Till, next time, and take care.