Nothing beats the sounds of a quiet, summer afternoon.
A slight breeze ends up rustling the leaves, the shadows on the ground dancing with each burst of wind. The cicadas buzz loudly, and it's welcoming as long as one doesn't land on her face. In the distance, she could hear Haibara's loud yelling as he messed around with Nanami.
But a sound that was music to her ears was coming out of the sleek, pink device in her hands. A piece of familiar yet upbeat music. Her thumbs were continuously pressing the buttons with vigor, while her eyes were focusing hard on the small screen of the device.
Her very own, brand new, Nintendo DS. Sachi had bought this for her the last time she went to visit her, reminding her yet again why she loved the woman.
As she played her brand new game of Pokemon Diamond, she was aware that training would start again in 5 more minutes, and she stole every moment she could for some alone time.
Besides, right now she has 3 Pokemon to train- her Turtwig (who was very creatively named Leafy), her Shinx (who was very humbly named Blacky), and the Starly (who was named Zacky because she could not think of any rhyming names anymore). And the plot was now picking up pace also. The first Gym Leader Roark was already defeated, and she was now in Floarmoa Town fighting off the Team Galactic goons that were hidden in the Windworks.
Her heart started beating louder as one of the antagonists of the game, Commander Mars challenged her to a Pokemon battle. Poor Zacky and Blacky were low on health, and they were already low-level. In the end, she will end up depending on Leafy only.
For all the comfort that the game gave her, it also stressed her out a lot.
Hissing loudly as Zacky the Starly got knocked out, she kneeled over, head touching her knees. Blacky, her Shinx, the 2nd Pokemon she caught, was still level 13 only. He was kind of weak, though he also ended up taking down one foe.
"It's two-against-one now Leafy! You gotta do it otherwise we will lose money along with our self-respect!"
Behind her Haibara cleared his throat, and she didn't have to look behind to sense the slightly judgemental look on Nanami's face. Brown hair came into her vision as Haibara kneeled at her side, looming over her shoulder to see what was going on in the game.
Her thumbs pushed the buttons aggressively as the battle approached its end, with the last foe remaining and her using more and more potions, and...
"Huh, I won."
Haibara clapped from beside her before he reached out towards the DS. She let him take it since it was his turn next. But before his hand could touch it, the DS was snatched from her hands by a pair of really fair hands, almost glowing in the sun. Her eyes followed them, following a pair of forearms to a white t-shirt and finally to the face of the culprit.
White hair, white t-shirt, white skin...everything about him was so white. She didn't know in a good way or bad, but the thought was there. But despite all the...whiteness, somehow he made it look good.
If he wore a white robe and some fake ass white wings, he might just pull off the look of an angel. And if not the clothes, his face definitely will do the part.
Only if his personality wasn't that of the devil though.
"Pokemon...really? What are you, a kid?"
Sanvi looked at Gojo Satoru, eyes deadpanned.
"You watch Digimon."
"Because it's better."
"I wouldn't know. I have never found it interesting."
"Should have known, you look like you have bad taste."
"Just how different can two shows about magical animals be?"
The white-haired boy clicked his tongue, tossing her DS into Haibara's waiting arms, and she swore her heart almost gave up. She hissed, standing up in reflex.
"Can you not toss my things around? You'll break it!"
"So what?" He drawled out, sitting on the same stair as Nanami behind them. "Just buy another one!"
Her eyes fluttered to the sky, asking all the Gods in the world for the mental fortitude to deal with this ape.
And what is that even supposed to mean?
Is he just being an asshole, or is he that clueless and thinks everyone has enough money to throw around? If it was someone else, she would have come up with the asshole part, but with this guy, you really can't be sure.
The white-haired boy's lips quirked up in a surprisingly sweet-looking smile though she knew the intent behind it was anything but. He just had a pretty smile, that was all. But she knew he was thoroughly enjoying the perplexed and exasperated look on her face.
'His face is just so dumb,' She couldn't help but think, eyebrow twitching as in front of her that pretty, infectious smile morphed into a dumb, shit-eating grin.
He was getting a bit too much chummy with her these days, which just meant that he was being decent enough.
Her lips quirked up a little against her wishes, and she quickly disguised it with a frown.
But the disguise melted away when black hair came into her view.
Of course, wherever Gojo is, Geto-senpai will be sure to follow. His black hair was as sleek as always, shining under the sun. Dark eyes looked at them curiously, before he marched towards his best friend and sat beside him.
Leaning his elbows back and resting them on the stairs behind him, he took a deep sigh. Her eyes caught the way a drop of sweat traveled on his neck, near his Adam's apple...
Looking away quickly, she shook the stupid thoughts out of her head.
"I hate the summers, I swear."
She gave him an understanding look, muttering a small 'I know'. Gojo gave her an impish look, and her hackles were raised before he had even uttered a word.
"Yeah, makes sense. You are as red as a tomato."
"YoU aRe As ReD aS tOmAtO, shut up! You are as white as a common 50 yen hand cream! And believe me, I could bring out worse comparisons."
Geto-senpai huffed out a laugh, and she felt, even more, warmer than before. Then she caught a look at Gojo's scandalized face, and the warmth doubled as pride filled her chest.
Honestly, at this point it could either be a heat stroke or just her happy feelings, so she'll just go with the more positive option.
"WHAT can be worse than a common 50 yen hand cream!?"
Weirded out, she gave him a look which finally caused Geto-senpai, Nanami, and Haibara to fall into snickers.
"I love watching the faces you make. And they are always On. Point. Where the hell do you even learn these expressions?" Her brown-haired classmate looked up from the game, watching her with bright eyes. Now it was his turn to receive a weirded-out look.
"They come naturally, I suppose. And really? I mean I have been on the receiving end of many slippers and even a broom once for making such faces. My parents HATE it, but it's just a bad habit ya know, can't help it," she quickly back-peddled when she saw the surprised and even slightly concerned looks her way.
Now she was on the receiving end of the weirded-out faces, how great.
It's...not good. Is that really how other people feel?
"...what?"
Gojo sighed, leaning over and resting a palm on her shoulder, and gave her a serious look.
"Now it all makes sense."
With a click of her tongue, she punched his shoulder lightly before leaning in towards a snickering Gojo's face.
"I'll have you know that disciplining your misbehaving kids once in a while doesn't mean bad parenting. Wouldn't want them turning," she leaned in closer for a more dramatic effect and lowered her voice further, "into snot-nosed little brats like you."
A satisfied smirk made its way onto her face as his smug expression finally fell away.
"That was...surprisingly hot."
Her jaw clenched, but she couldn't let him have the last word.
"Not unless you have a mommy kink, you pervert...or perhaps a daddy kink, can't be sure with you."
The black-haired second-year seemed to choke on the water he was drinking, causing Nanami to frown before he firmly patted the senior's back. A small blush was visible on his cheeks, but Gojo's smirk only widened.
"Woah, woah, WOAH!" Haibara finally stood up, hovering around her, unsure of what to do. "Come on guys, keep it PG!"
"Oh dear," Geto-senpai muttered, but for once her attention wasn't on him.
But Gojo Satoru was just as stubborn as her, if not more. His brilliant blue eyes peeked over the black glasses, and it felt like he was challenging her. His lips quirked up, and so did her own.
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
With a small huff of laughter, she pulled back, stretching her arms behind her back. Haibara was left a bit stumped, clearly not expecting a peaceful de-escalation.
"Wait...you didn't say no...why didn't you say no!? Am I missing out on something!?"
"No, I don't feel like engaging him any longer, that's all."
Geto-senpai stood up, shrugging off his jacket. The simple action was enough to catch the attention of both Gojo and Sanvi, though the girl was more discreet while Gojo stared unabashedly.
He made his way to the middle of the field, where they often practiced outdoor weapons combat. Gojo followed suit, and the three first years shared a confused look as they followed them.
Midway, Sanvi realized that her DS was still with her, so she jogged to the stairs to put it back into her bag. Dusting her black track pants, she ran back to the others.
"Now that you two are done talking nonsense, let's come to the matter at hand. The Kyoto Sister School Goodwill event is a month away, and I think it's high time we get serious with you three."
This piqued their interest, and the three juniors looked up at the boys with a mix of interest, nervousness, and caution.
"So you know that the Jujustu High has another branch in Kyoto, right? Well, every year the Kyoto High students come to Tokyo so that they can participate in this event-" Gojo started, stopping when Haibara raised his hand.
"Yes, Haibara?" Gojo pointed at him dramatically, and the boy stood straight like a rod.
"But I heard the loser team comes to the school of the winner team."
"And we always win, silly Haibra. Moving on, usually, firsties like you are not allowed, but this time the first-year assholes from Kyoto are participating. I'm afraid old man Ogawa has already decided for you three to participate, so guess you idiots will get your time to shine as well."
"And you hate them because?" Haibara asked, as curious as a nosy cat - and that too about all the wrong things.
"Because they exist?" the auburn-haired girl muttered, looking at the white-haired senior in slight exasperation, while Nanami looked on with a deadpan expression.
"If this is what you think about a bunch of Kyoto first-years, I don't even want to think about where we stand."
Gojo gasped dramatically, sauntering towards Nanami and resting an arm over his shoulder.
"Aww...is Nanamin worried? Don't worry, you are still my favorite first year!"
The blond boy's eyes twitched, before he huffed in annoyance, swatting the grinning senior's index finger that was poking his cheek.
"I am most certainly not. All I care about is what that means for us in terms of your usefulness as a senior."
"Ouch, how cold."
"Why does it matter anyway? So a bunch of kids are visiting our school, what's the great deal?" Haibara asked Geto-senpai, trying to hide - and failing- a yawn behind his hand.
"What do you think they mean by goodwill?" Geto-senpai asked, his lips pursed a little. Despite his casual body language, his face seemed to reflect otherwise. It was like he was trying to convince them that he was not worried, or maybe himself. It left a bad taste in her mouth, after all, nothing that the bat-shit crazy principal and his bat-shit crazy school was sane.
And while she had not even met them, she didn't like the sound of these "asshole first years of Kyoto".
"Ehhhh, I don't know. Sports? Training together?...Quizzes?"
"I suppose you can consider it training together," Gojo admitted but then his face turned uncharacteristically serious as he slowly walked towards Haibara. When he was sufficiently close to an awkward Haibara, the white-haired boy glared down at him.
"But it's much more dangerous, considering we are students of Jujutsu High and not some average high school. It'll last for two days. There will be a team battle on the first day, and individual ones the next day. The only rule-," he stopped suddenly, and anxiety filled her as she waited for him to finish what he had started.
Haibara gulped loudly and even Nanami looked a little concerned.
"-IS NO KILLING!"
A yell made its way out of her throat as he moved at the last moment and shouted in her face, causing her to panic and send a punch his way on reflex. Small bursts of flames crackled in the air around her, but his hand caught hers while he leaned over in chortles.
"Oh boy, they are going to devour you alive."
It made her feel better when she saw Haibara had also jumped up a little bit, and even Nanami appeared a bit rattled. Placing a hand on her chest, she tried to calm down her breathing. Her heartbeats were slowly getting normal, and she swore she had felt her heart slow down drastically. There was this swooping motion in her chest as if her heart was coming to a stop. Kind of like the weird feeling you might get when you are falling from a height, but in your heart instead of your stomach.
I guess the 'heart attack by fear' thing really exists.
But she had no time to focus on Gojo's antics because his words were ringing in her ears.
"Wait, are you serious? What do you mean by 'no killing'? How far do these guys take this 'training'?"
This time it was Geto-senpai who answered. He kicked a laughing Gojo away from her and smiled gently as if to ease their worries.
"The only rule indeed is to not kill, but generally these battles do not give really serious injuries. But make no mistake, it remains extremely dangerous because you can never be sure what kind of people you are up against. Those clan kids can be nasty sometimes, but they won't kill you. Still, I want you three to prepare for every kind of possibility, considering those two are participating."
The slight emphasis didn't miss the first years, but before they could properly question him, they were ordered to start warm-up exercises.
It didn't help that their standard of 'really serious' injuries was far different from the normal, acceptable standard.
"Arm circles."
Unconsciously, her teeth nibbled at her lower lip as she wondered if she should inquire about this or not. Stealing a glance at the other two, they seemed to be deep in thought as well. Her eyes met Nanami's green ones, and he gave her a determined look.
"Who are these 'two' people you are talking about? Is it the first years?"
Geto-senpai shrugged as he stretched his hands behind his back, before dropping on the ground for a few push-ups alongside the white-haired boy. A focused expression was on Gojo's face as he kept on going, and she had to admit that whether he took anything seriously or not, but training he did.
"I am not worried about the other first years as such, but that Zenin kid...what was his name again...? Naoya...he'll trouble you three. Kamo Hisashi is there, but he's a third year. I doubt he'll be interested in you three. But that Naoya...I haven't heard good things about him."
On to jumping jacks, she had to first just appreciate the fact that he was able to say the entire sentence without sounding like a dying hyena-the way she would have done. And then her thoughts wandered to what he had said.
"Oh, a clan kid? What, is he a special snowflake like Gojo-senpai or what?" she asked, already sweating buckets. It was disgusting, and she hoped others wouldn't notice it that much, not that they were faring any well in the summer heat.
"I suppose. Apparently, he is supposed to be a genius. And a sociopath. I doubt he will be thinking about anything other than Gojo, but still, let's not take any chances."
"...if this is supposed to comfort me then it's not working." Haibara finally spoke, wiping some dust and sweat off his eyes.
"Because it's not supposed to be comforting." Gojo's voice was cutting when he spoke.
He finally stood up, dusting his hands as he pinned the three with a look so serious that it even gave her the creeps. That was the thing with Gojo Satoru, you can never know what goes on in his mind. Even now she was unsure if it was one of his many ways to mess with them or if was he really serious.
"Haibara, how is your training with your cursed tool going?"
The brown-haired boy fumbled a little at the sudden change in attitude, before his trademark smile found its way onto his face, though a lot more unsure now.
"Pretty good. But sensei says there's still a lot I need t-"
"And your Black flash training Nanami?"
It took the blond boy a few seconds to answer, and she noticed the delay anxiously.
"I was able to do it again two weeks ago," he said quietly, pulling his hand into a fist by his side, "but no luck since then."
"And you," his eyes ended up on her, and she had to physically force herself not to jump. Never had she liked being on the other side of that look. Especially since that night.
"...yes?" She asked cautiously, wincing as he raised an eyebrow. Clearing her throat, she tried again.
"Training is good. My control over cursed energy is better..."
"And what about hand-to-hand combat?"
A nervous smile made its way onto her face.
"Uh...It's good? I have been practicing with Haibara and Nanami."
"Oh really? Just to let you know, I'm not going to coddle you three like Suguru does,"
He does not.
"These battles will just reflect your skill level. If you lose, it's on you. Not on someone else, no matter how crazy they are," And with that he stretched his long arms above his head, before looking at them with what was a terrifying smirk.
Somewhere across her, Haibara gulped. And she followed suit with a high-pitched nervous laugh when she realized what his intentions were. Of course, Nanami was too composed to join commoners like her and Haibara when they were scared, but she was sure if she looked at him she would find his eye twitching.
"Well, then. Let's see how much you have really improved."
She would have liked to believe that they put up a fight.
But their 'test' was over within seconds after it began.
And this is how she ended up pinned on the ground, hands in the tight grasp of the white-haired boy as he pinned her down with his weight. She could feel his knee digging into her back, and it only worsened the pain in her back.
Her face was literally in the dirt, and coupled with his weight, it was making it hard for her to breathe.
"What will you do now? If this was a real fight you would already be dead."
Yes, she really would be.
"I can't breathe..." It came out more breathlessly than anticipated, but it didn't make him loosen his hold.
"That's the point," she could almost imagine the frown on his face. "This is what a real battle is going to be like. Well then, what's your next step?"
Her mind raced as the previous training situations filtered through her mind.
First thing first, what is his position?
Her hands were behind her back, not on the ground. Which meant the first option of making him lose balance by sliding her hands across was out. And even if she could try it, she doubted it would work on someone who knew the trick.
Her knees and legs were pinned down completely by his own, leaving her completely immobile. She could only move her toes, not that this could be of any use.
There is no way I can get him off me. I'm completely immobilised...He has the complete physical advantage here. Should I use CE now?
Well, no rules were saying she couldn't...and besides, hand-to-hand combat is infused with CE anyway. Making up her mind, she first tried to calm down her racing heart (as much as she could under the conditions).
The familiar burning sensation crawled its way through her skin and to her hands, but before she could even release the CE, she felt his hand tighten and suddenly it hit her.
The one holding her down was Gojo, not a real threat. Perhaps it was the moment of hesitation, or maybe her plan wasn't that good to begin with, but the sensation of her CE vanished.
And yet, he was already making his move. Her hand was twisted even further, making her cry out. Out of place compared to the entire situation, his forearm gently pressed down at the back of her neck, pushing her face further into the dirt.
And she realized what this meant.
If this was a real fight, the person pinning her down would have already broken her neck...and her arm.
And although she had almost been a curse dinner, this thought was an epiphany in itself.
Ah, yes. Humans are just as dangerous for sorcerers as curses are.
"And you are dead."
His voice drawled out near her ear, warm breaths hitting her skin. It made her even more uncomfortable, considering it was the middle of the summer and heat was beating down on their heads. And here she was, pinned down by a giant (in the dirt, no less) all sweaty and clothes sticking to her skin.
Drops of sweat (not her own, she noted with disdain) hit her eyelashes, causing her to blink rapidly. He finally let go of her hands, giving her space to breathe.
With her hands out of his hold, she quickly put her elbows beside her, pulling her face up. The joints of her shoulders hurt when she put her weight on them, especially the one he had twisted.
Gojo, on the other hand, had gently plopped himself down on the ground beside her, waiting for her to sit up.
The removal of his weight from her was a welcome moment, and she took deep breaths. But all that dust must have entered her lungs, because the next moment she was coughing pretty badly.
Eyes tearing, she turned her back away from him. Someone patted her back firmly, but it only made the coughing worse.
Someone handed her a water bottle, and she waited for the coughs to subside for a moment before taking a huge sip. There was an instant relief, and she let out a huge sigh. A handkerchief came into her view, and she took it quickly to wipe the dust, tears, and sweat away. Her eyes fell onto Nanamin, who kneeled beside her with concern clear on his face.
"You okay?"
Sanvi groaned, pushing her sweaty locks away from her face.
Disgusting.
"Sorryyyy you had to see that...it was the mouthful of dust."
Nanami shook his head, glaring a bit at the boy behind her.
"No need to apologize. This is no place to train in hand-to-hand combat. This is why the dojo exists in the first place."
She sighed, using the handkerchief to wipe her forehead.
"No it's fine, nobody in a real fight would first escort me to a dojo, ya know. "
It seemed to surprise Nanami a bit before he shrugged and got up. After confirming that she was fine and didn't need anything else (what a sweetheart), he walked off to his training with Geto-senpai...who seemed to be beating Haibara into dust too.
Now this makes me feel better.
Whirling back, she fixed Gojo Satoru with a determined gaze. Her grip on her water bottle tightened when her eyes connected with his face. However, his eyes seemed to be focused on Haibara and Geto-senpai's training session, and her mouth felt a little dry when she saw him.
Is this how he fought when people tried to assassinate him? Come to think of it, he could easily kill her, can't he? He probably wouldn't have to bother with a cursed technique or something. All he had to do was use his normal physical strength and get the job done.
And this is just Gojo. There are other cursed users, actual men, and women, out there who could kill her without giving her a chance to defend herself.
I wonder if he has actually ever done it before...
Her eyes widened a bit at the thought, her teeth chewing on her lip unconsciously. She took a look at her hands, skin red with little purple blotches blooming on her skin in the shape of fingerprints.
Welps, seems like a visit to Shoko is needed.
He finally looked back at her, tilting his head a little like a cute little kitten as if he hadn't almost broken her arm earlier. With a small pout on her lips, she looked at him with a look that was a weird mixture of awkwardness, exhaustion, and slight gratefulness for training her.
"How did you know what I was going to do?"
"Hmm?"
"When I tried to use my cursed energy," She clarified, looking at him curiously as she waited for an answer.
"Oh, that? The flow of your cursed energy is very erratic. I knew what you were going to do before even you realized it. That, and your hands suddenly got a lot hotter."
Okay, that makes sense.
"Erratic flow as in? And was it because of your six eyes only that were you able to sense it?"
Gently he shook his head, a few strands of white hair sticking to his forehead. Leaning over, he picked a little twig from the other side before drawing a stick man on the dirt.
"No, someone else would have sensed it either. Allow me to explain, you see this little man?" She leaned over to look at his drawing of a man and nodded her head. He drew a line surrounding it evenly, but a huge circle around its stick hand.
"Well, consider this an average sorcerer. He knows his cursed energy is coming from his negative emotions. He feels it near his stomach, so naturally, he feels that this is where his cursed energy originates. So when he gets into a physical fight, he assumes that to imbue his cursed energy into his hits or kicks or whatever, that cursed energy has to travel from his stomach and to his hand or his legs. With me so far?"
"Yeah, we assume it originates in one part of our body and that when we are consciously accumulating it somewhere, we are assuming that it's coming from our stomach or wherever we think it originates."
"Yes, and this is where they get it wrong. If you start to think of your body as made of different units or parts, then it only delays the flow of your cursed energy. See in this figure," he said, pointing to the huge circle around that stick-man's hand, "there is a delay in energy flow, so when he fights his cursed energy is released after his hits. What do you think leads to this? Take yourself for example and try to think." He asked her, pointing at the circle.
She hummed, mulling over his words and then thinking about the times when she had tried to do so.
"I haven't tried hand-to-hand combat with cursed energy like this yet...but I have tried releasing cursed energy for other techniques. I suppose there is a delay, even when I am trying to accumulate it in my hands, you know. I always attributed it to my lack of control...which it is. And when that happens... oh wait, I think it's hitting me! But if I was punching someone using cursed energy," With a swing, she moved a fist around, a thoughtful look on her face, "and there is a delay in the release of cursed energy...or for it to accumulate in my hand in the first place, then I assume that there is not enough amount of cursed energy and that I need to accumulate more when the original amount should be sufficient!"
"Bingo! He consciously puts more energy into his hand when he realizes that his punch doesn't even have the cursed energy. He accumulates more than needed, exhausts more energy, and achieves nothing! Not only that, this flow is so sloppy that others can sense it quickly and use it to predict his next moves and attacks. And now look at this," he drew another stick man on the ground, this time the line surrounding the stick man evenly from all sides.
"This is an elite sorcerer. He realizes that his entire cursed energy is continuously flowing through his body. He doesn't look at his body as being made up of different parts, for him his entire body, mind, and soul are a single unit. When you realize that your cursed energy is flowing evenly through your body, then your control over your cursed energy will be nearly perfect. Accuracies in your attack will be much greater, and since your cursed energy is evenly distributed, you are no longer consciously accumulating energy anywhere, then it is nearly impossible for someone to tell what you are going to do next. At least, not until the attack hits them in the face."
"Oh. Oh. Oooohhhh..." With widened eyes, she nodded her head.
"I get it now! But can't we use this concept to trick someone else? Like I'm deliberately accumulating my energy in my left hand, but I kick them instead?"
"You can. But it requires a lot of practice and impeccable control over your cursed energy. If you don't, it will backfire. And pretty badly."
"Makes sense...huh, you know, you'll be a great teacher."
His nose wrinkled, and he blew a raspberry instead.
"Like I'd rather willingly babysit a bunch of brats in my free time."
"But it won't be free time, it'll be your job."
"Exactly, that's what I meant. Free time."
With a deadpan look, she shook her head at his silliness. He beckoned her to come a little closer, so she leaned her head in.
"Now for what we did today. Do you know what you did wrong?"
"Uhh...I didn't do anything in the first place,"
"And what was the biggest problem you faced under me?"
His way of wording it made a tint of red appear on her cheeks, but considering the sun had already turned her as red as a carrot, she doubted he'd notice.
(The slight smirk on his face said otherwise though.)
"Well, I couldn't breathe..." Clearing her throat, she looked anywhere but him. It made him snicker loudly, and with a red face, she punched his shoulder.
"Shut up, pervert!"
"I didn't even say anything. You sure I'm the pervert here?"
Her glare didn't falter, and he gave her an impish grin before continuing.
"Back to topic, of course, you couldn't breathe. That was the purpose of doing it in the first place. If you can't breathe, you will panic. There is a good chance your control over your cursed energy will slip, which might render your technique useless. Not to mention that in all that panic you'll not be able to make the right decisions. A physical fight is all about instincts and muscle memory, there is no chance to think. But when you are immobilized, it is the exact opposite."
"So, if I'm completely immobilized, I suppose CE is the way to go?"
He shook his head.
"Not always. While it depends on the fight and the situation, the first thing you should do is reinforce your body with cursed energy. When you are at a disadvantage like this, defense is just as important as offense, if not more. Besides, if you try to fight someone with cursed energy while you are completely at their mercy, you'll realize that they'll do the same thing. They'll be expecting it. And they might even overpower you instead. Generally, those with higher physical power do have a greater amount of cursed energy, but it isn't a given. For example, your cursed energy is greater than Haibara's. So with proper practice, you can overpower him but if you try to do the same with me, it won't work."
"So my overall strength is directly proportional to the amount of cursed energy I have, and not the muscles?"
"I wouldn't say that. It depends on a lot of things, like your control, the practice you have and your physical strength as well. That's why I said practice!"
"Hnnghh...so you are saying that I can never beat you? Or anyone else who has more cursed energy than me?"
The question seemed to stump him a bit before a mocking grin came over his face.
"Heh, don't get ahead of yourself brat. The day you beat me will be the day I leave the earthly realm and ascend to the heavens."
Rolling her eyes, she nudged his knee.
"Can't you just answer a question in a straight manner? And don't say such things, it's totally wrong!"
"Wrong?"
"Yeah? My mummy says what you think and say will end up happening to you, so you should always be positive."
"Great, then you should try and follow your mummy's advice first, Jaani dear, before giving it to me." He said, mockingly pinching her cheek like she was a little kid.
"Just...," she sighed, rubbing her thumb over her eyebrow and then looking up at him with a pout, "just answer my doubt, please sensei?"
Blue eyes blinked down at her slowly, and for a moment she wondered if she had crossed a line. For a brief moment, she was sure something in his expression changed, but it was gone before she could blink.
"You can win if your fighting skills and techniques are superior. But again, depends on the situation. But, the truth is that you can't beat everyone. Some people are just born superior. Don't get into hand-to-hand unnecessarily with a person who you know you can't beat. Your technique, whatever the hell it is supposed to be, might give you a better chance at survival."
That...was a bummer. It's not like some cursed user would be chivalrous enough to not use hand-to-hand if they knew she couldn't do it. Her face must have expressed her disappointment because he sighed and clapped his hands together to catch his attention.
"But you know what? I think I'll teach you the basics myself. At least until the Kyoto event, lest you drag our hard-earned name through the mud."
It made the kouhai perk up, and she looked up at him expectantly. While hand-to-hand with him sounded like hell, if she could take him on, then she'd fare better against someone else.
"I won't be going easy on you though," he warned her, and she nodded immediately.
"Please, I'm my father's daughter! I can take on anything!"
"Ah yes, the war hero father."
"What?" Sanvi looked at him sharply.
"What?" Gojo Satoru decided it's time to vanish into thin air.
"How do you know th-"
"Well, will you look at the time! It's lunchtime!"
"Bitch, you are not even wearing a watch! And lunchtime was three hours ago! When you ate 3 plates of rice!"
"Oye! That is no way to speak with your dashing and handsome Gojo-sensei!"
"Please, stop calling yourself sensei."
"Too bad, you did it first. And now I like it!"
With a suggestive smirk and a wink, he stood up and dusted his clothes. Letting out a huge yawn, he turned towards the others. Rolling her eyes at his antics, she also stood up and moved to follow him.
"Come to think of it..." he suddenly stopped and turned back towards her, fixing her with a curious look, "Why didn't you go through with it? You were going to release your cursed energy to escape my hold, so why didn't you do it?"
Sanvi looked at him like he was stupid.
"I didn't want to hurt you obviously, it could have burned your skin!"
"I don't know whether to take offense or be flattered," he huffed out a mocking laugh and flicked her forehead, "but don't hold back on my account, by all means. I'm sure I can handle a little fire."
But his mocking laugh was subdued when she took her hands off her forehead.
With wide eyes, the kouhai looked at the red on her hands before giving him the same wide look. Her nose wrinkled, and she placed her hands back on her slightly bleeding forehead.
"Uhh..."
Then he heard a small sniff at the same time Suguru's voice reached them.
"Yo. You guys done or what?"
His slightly panicked eyes looked at the girl, who was clutching her forehead tightly, big fat tears on her cheeks. His best friend's footsteps approached, and he quickly pressed his hand to her head, wrapping his other arm around the back of her head, trying to coax her to stop crying. His attempts got more desperate when Suguru came into his vision, an eyebrow raised as he saw the scene in front of him.
Gojo barely batted an eye as the other two beaten and bruised kouhais followed him sluggishly, with scratches and bruises of their own.
"Don't cry, come on! This is nothing, I swear. We'll get you to Shoko, and you'll be as good as new in no time!" He whispered in her ear, pressing her head even harder to stop it from bleeding.
"I'm not crying! And stop pressing my head, idiot! It hurts!"
"Oye, I'm just trying to help- oh hey Suguru, what's up?"
Finally, she shrugged him off, taking her hands off her forehead in the process, revealing the bloody sight for everyone to see. Now that he looked at it, it looked a little bit more concerning.
"What the fuck, Satoru?"
"Oh dear."
"Stop copying Geto-senpai, Haibara."
"Why is there so much blood? It doesn't even hurt that much...oh my god, has my forehead gone numb? It's all your fault!"
"It's nothing! Nothing to see here! I'll take her to Shoko, come on!"
"Stop pushing me around!"
Haibara followed them with a loud shout, and so did Nanamin and Geto.
"Wait! We have to visit Shoko too!"
"Yo Suguru,"
The black-haired boy hummed to show he was listening. He casually turned the page of his book, ignoring Satoru who lay on the bed, his eyes closed.
"Your stupid kouhai says a lot of weird things."
"Kay."
"..."
"..."
"Hey Suguru, call me sensei."
"What the fuck, Satoru?"
It was a fleeting feeling.
But it lingered in her mind.
Back in the East Wing, Sanvi was hunched over her current assignment. Papers were strewn across her all over the floor, some scratched out and some numbered carefully. Working with seals, while not easy, was undoubtedly the most stimulating project she had undertaken.
Training session earlier today had drained her energy, but she had Fujikawa-sensei had promised to meet her today, and she wasn't going to let it go.
Adjusting her reading glasses, she traced the various characters on the paper underneath her pencil, eyes following each word, and each design carefully. Every number, every word, every stroke mattered when it came to a successful seal. And of course, the right amount of cursed energy.
Fujikawa-sensei was yet to come, and she had taken the time to revise her work. The purpose of the seal was simple- to seal a Grade 3 cursed object once and for all. If she succeeded in this, it would be a big deal since sealing cursed objects was, by no means, an easy task.
Of course, she had exorcised Grade 3 curses before, however sealing cursed objects or tools is another thing altogether. There is a reason why there are only a few seal experts in the world (most of them in Japan only).
She had sealed a Grade 3 object before, however, this sealing would be different. Rather than going for the typical approach, this time her teacher had asked her to do it without using talismans. To be precise, using her cursed energy like she had done in the previous mission.
Lips in a pout, her mind was racing. According to her, the seal was good to go (but of course, Fujikawa-sensei needed to confirm it first). However, her last mission kept popping into her head, and she wondered if she would be able to pull it off again. It wasn't like she hadn't practiced it before the mission, but she had never actually tried one here in school. The one time it worked flawlessly was when she was on the menu of a curse buffet.
What if it was just a fluke?
Raising her hand to her eye level, she focused her cursed energy onto her fingertips. Gojo's lessons quickly came to her mind, and curiously, she decided to try it out. Closing her eyes, she took deep breaths, imagining the cursed energy flowing evenly through her body.
...
...
Nothing happened.
Her calm expression turned into a frown, and she again imagined the curse energy flowing evenly through her body...a bit more forcefully.
...
...
Nothing happened.
Sighing in defeat, she decided it was not the right time to work on it. For today's task, she'll do as she has always done. And starting tomorrow, she can work on it. Perhaps the white-haired senpai will help. Surely the great sorcerer has some more tips to spare.
She still couldn't believe it, to be honest. He was teaching her something, and that too genuinely. And he had even offered to do it again.
Sanvi didn't know whether to be suspicious or not. Their relationship till now has been very hot and cold. Granted, it was kind of his responsibility to help a kouhai learn...but still. It wasn't like he had been the most responsible senpai yet.
Crackles soon filled the air, breaking into a small flame as she focused her CE there. Shaking her head, she threw all thoughts of Gojo out of her mind. At the end of the day, he had taken his time to teach her some really important things, and she should be grateful for that.
But it was time to focus on creating a seal, and she had to be in proper shape.
Izumi-sensei's new advice lingered in her mind and decided to act it out.
She had gone to Izumi-san after today's practice, who rolled her eyes when he saw her again...twice in the same week.
Earlier she had gone to Shoko (after that day in the garden) to heal some bruises on her stomach, thanks to Geto-senpai.
The brunette had taken a look at her face in disgust, which confused her greatly at first. But then she came back with a wet cloth and rubbed at the side of her face vigorously, getting rid of the blood that had dried and crusted a little bit.
Gojo's blood.
Some of it even in her hair.
Ewww.
It almost made her throw up herself, but then she caught a look at his grumpy face and decided he was the one who got the short end of the stick on this one.
And he got his revenge today, with the way he had flicked her forehead to the point of bleeding.
Heh, asshole.
Today, however, Izumi-san was available. He had asked her to stop by when Shoko informed her of the recent issues with her CE.
Seeing the injury on her forehead, Izumi-san had done a thorough check-up. He had an entire questionnaire ready, and by the time she was done answering them, she realized she had failed even at this.
(But hey, can't be a bigger failure than burning a woman alive.
.
.
.
I need to let this shit go. The auburn-haired girl thought with a groan.)
.
.
.
"So, how much water do you drink in a day?"
Eh...
"How much sleep are you getting?"
Hmm...
"What about your diet?"
Nothing worth bragging about.
"How have you been feeling these days? Negative or Positive?"
Fucking terrific.
"What about your lessons in CE manipulation? Have you gotten any better?"
Eh-hehhh...no wait, the answer was actually yes for this one. She had improved quite significantly, indeed.
And then came his 'diagnosis', if you could call it that.
Izumi-sensei's dark hair was lit by the bright lights shining over their heads. Seated across from her, he was looking at her somewhat kindly (about as much kindness as you can expect from a doctor anyway). Shoko sat beside him, pen in her hand and a writing pad ready on the table.
"See kid, there is a common phenomenon seen among new trainee sorcerers. Since they have little to no experience with their cursed energy, they subconsciously tend to manage their CE in a certain way. Now imagine a weighing scale. It's the same concept. Spend enough cursed energy in a day that your body makes in one. If not, it will cause either an abundance or a scarcity of CE which can cause problems. Doesn't help that you kids don't understand the concept of even distribution of cursed energy."
"Uh, I have heard about it?" that was the most she could offer, but he didn't look impressed.
"Can you do it?"
"...no, obviously..." she muttered, and she caught the corner of his lip twitching.
"So, it isn't anything out of the ordinary, right?" She breathed out, relieved that his expression was no longer the deadpan one he always carries.
"No, not exactly," Shoko replied in a soothing tone, looking at her kouhai gently as her smile dropped.
"See, a novice sorcerer will experience this now and then as they continue their training. Because they use their cursed energy every day, their bodies are used to producing it accordingly each day. As they begin gaining more experience, their bodies automatically learn to manage its process of production on their own." He said, folding his hands over the table.
His dark circles looked even more pronounced under the lights, eyes sunken in like they belonged to a prisoner rather than a doctor.
Then it clicked in her mind that he was probably working 24x7.
Oh, he's a prisoner, alright.
"But I'm sure you have noticed. You can't exactly call yourself a novice any longer, or your control over your cursed energy weak. I talked to your sensei and Shoko, and at first, I thought the reason your cursed energy is so unstable was merely because of its unique property. It's inherently different than that of others, so it makes sense that it would behave differently."
It made her think about all the times she would get embarrassed or too happy. The way air around her would crackle, or the way small flames would make their way out of her skin. Nobody else's cursed energy does that. Never so freely, anyway.
"Well yes, my cursed energy reacts very easily. Whether I am happy or angry, it flares up sometimes. I always chalked it up to the same reason as yours."
He hummed, his thumb rubbing over his hand.
"Well yes, there would be some reaction always, and consider it normal. It is its nature to be more reactive, so finding your cursed energy sparking here and there is not an issue at all. It becomes an issue when literal flames are escaping you. That is a huge reaction that should be reserved for the field, and that too a deliberate one. Otherwise, it's just a liability."
She played with her fingers, looking down at the golden ring resting on her finger.
"It feels nice though, when it happens. It's like a breath of fresh fire," when nobody laughed at her unfunny joke, she cleared her throat and muttered again, "But yeah, it's nice."
Izumi-san leaned back into his chair, humming in thought.
"Feels nice, you say? It gives more weight to my theory, then. I think your cursed energy is unstable because the way you are approaching it is wrong."
"What?" She sat up straight, dark eyes wide.
Leave it to the genius doctor to figure it out. Perhaps she should have approached him from the very beginning.
"Indeed. It might not even be about how you control it. What I have is just a theory, but I think maybe your body is producing much more cursed energy than it can handle. It does explain the symptoms you listed: the burning sensation, the tightening of muscles, tiredness etc, etc. Couple it with your horrendous diet and sleep schedule, the high temperature your body runs on, which is bad enough might I add...and not to mention the depressive episode after the earlier mission-"
"I wasn't depressed-"
He gave her another unimpressed look and she shut up. Shoko narrowed her eyes in a warning, an exasperated look on her face.
"It was bound to worsen the effects. Perhaps what we should try to control is the constant production of your cursed energy."
"How constant are we talking about here?"
Izumi-san shrugged.
"Your teacher says your cursed technique has something to do with Shikigami, yes?"
"Uh, to be honest, I don't know. Any creature that I have conjured yet was all accidentally, and never out of my own accord. They never fought, they were just... there? And my cursed energy takes any shape, even non-living things. I doubt a walking badminton racket counts as a shikigami."
"..."
"Don't even ask."
"..."
Clearing his throat, the doctor continued with his explanation.
"Back to your previous question, I think the answer lies with you for this one. Try making a shikigami. A proper shikigami that is not a walking badminton racket or has appeared on its own. Summon one by yourself, those strong enough to help you in battle. Train with them, to see if what you have summoned is an actual shikigami or just another one of your cursed technique's apparitions. And try to be quick, yeah? Because if that doesn't help we'll need to look for more ways to help you out," he says, and she felt a shiver run down her spine.
A shikigami...of her own?
"But how exactly will it help me?"
"Whenever you are not using your cursed energy, it's like adding extra water to an already filled glass. It's bound to overflow. Instead of doing nothing, which causes your body to release your CE in big amounts periodically, we can try and form a valve...of kind, a constant release. But not the kind that creates curses, of course. So that's why, create a shinigami and keep it by your side as you go by on your day. If you ever feel like it's draining you, then you can stop. However, considering your large CE reserves I have a feeling that instead of draining, in the next few weeks, it may stabilize your CE instead." he leaned back on his chair with a sigh, resting his hands over his knees.
"I know the theory sounds stupid, considering cursed energies work the exact opposite. But yours is a special case, and it might need a few more experimentations. No harm in trying, is there? We'll just have to wait and see. So, any questions?"
Sanvi said a soft no, shaking her head slowly as she let the words sink in.
Along with that, he suggested she improve some basic things like her diet and sleeping schedule. And to keep herself in as much cold environment as she could, which she was already doing considering every day the air conditioner would be set at the lowest temperature it could physically give her.
She bowed in gratitude, muttering a quiet thanks as she finally saw herself out. What Izumi-sensei said made somewhat sense to her, and she supposed she could give his method a proper try.
It was when she was returning, that she forgot she had never asked the most important question of all.
"How the hell do I even summon a shikigami?"
In the end, she had rummaged through some of the scrolls in the East Wing. There were some techniques available...and in the end, she chose a scroll that was supposedly 800 years old.
She wondered how well it would work considering the antiquity of it, but gotta see what the old people were doing in their time.
So, she decided to wing it and see what would happen.
She remembered her teacher's words in the classroom that day. The teacher hypothesized that her CE was sentient, which made sense yet it still nagged at her mind.
It was true that it could take shapes on its own and clown around accordingly. But how does it explain the fact that it could predict what that curse user was up to in the cemetery?
With eyes closed, she focused on the new seal she had created for the shikigami. Cursed energy crackled in the air, and she opened her eyes to see it taking the shape of the said seal. It hovered right above her horizontally, the circle figure looking like a spiderweb. A spiderweb that was made of kanji and Siddham script instead of spider silk.
The words glowed reddish-orange, and with bated breath, she saw as more cursed energy crackled in the seal.
The flames on her hand turned and twisted in itself, taking shape as sparks filled her vision, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut.
What in the magical girl routine is this?
While she didn't have anything particular in mind (considering she needed a small shikigami for everyday use), she wondered what could it be. Something cool-looking would do fine. After all, if this magical girl routine was necessary before every summoning, then might as well salvage her dignity from an awesome shikigami.
For the first few minutes nothing happened, and just as when she was about to give up and call it a day, something fluttered in the flames.
First, it took the shape of a head, little ears, and whiskers popping out. The rest of the flames gave way to a small, lean body and a swishing tail. Four little legs struggled to come out, and then it was complete.
Her first-ever shikigami. It stretched its paws, before rubbing one over its eyes. It still retained the fiery essence of her cursed energy, making it look like it was fire only, just in the shape of a walking cat.
Reluctantly (and awkwardly), she placed her hand out in the air. The cat looked up at her, tilting its head as it seemed to size her up.
And then it meowed.
A cat.
Her shikigami...was a cat?
Honestly, the more it reacted the more Sanvi felt indecisive. Should she be proud of what she had created, or be slightly scared at the implication of it?
Was she really this weak? That even her shikigami was a fucking cat?
It reached out its head to her hand as if sniffing like a real cat before it headbutted her hand gently. Touching it, felt weird. What she touched was pure cursed energy, but it felt extremely weird.
There was a fluidity to it...like she was touching warm water. On the other hand, it did not leave her skin wet. But just a bit warm.
Huh, guess no need to get up for heating pads for the next periods.
Considering the fiery nature and the sparks surrounding it, touching the cat should have burned, but it did not, a detail that did not escape her attention
Her eyes followed the little shikigami as she pulled it towards herself, rubbing her hand over its body and its tail. It didn't seem to have any gender, but she had heard somewhere that a male cat was more affectionate and decided its gender herself.
After all, she couldn't keep calling him 'it'.
"You don't seem strong enough to be a shikigami, to be honest. Seems to me that you are just another creation, is that it? Sensei says you are conscious...would you be hurt if I destroyed you right now? After all, whether you are a cat or a worm depends on me," she mused to herself, watching with fascinated eyes as it suddenly tried to hop away, but she closed her hand around its scruff.
"Was it my words you understand, or merely my intent? You know you are just an extension of me, right? You are not a living thing on your own, so why worry? You are just cursed energy...and here you are, feeling afraid of me?"
Lifting him, she watched with intrigue as his hackles raised, mouth twisting as it hissed at her..or tried to because it only sounded like embers crackling.
"Huh, so the walking fire cat can make noises."
His little paws kept dangling, and she held one tightly. The flames around him raged suddenly and engulfed her hands (stupid, she was his creator after all - the fire never bothered her anyway) as if the little cat was angry at her. It seemed to struggle, and she let him go, watching as it ran away from her to the other corner of the room.
Interestingly, he kept close (rather begrudgingly, might she add), though out of her physical reach. It was funny, to think a cat made of cursed energy could be so expressive.
After all, it couldn't be a proper shikigami, right?
...Right?
She kept looking at it, a thoughtful expression on her face.
It was a shikigami seal, although an 800-year-old one.
A few moments passed, and it started to move around. First to the floors, then scratching at the windows, strutting over the papers, and doing all sorts of stuff. She held out her hand again, and it looked at her with narrowed eyes (can cats made out of fire even narrow their eyes?).
With a small meow, he approached her slowly, nudging against the palm of her hand.
"For now, you get to stay. As long as you do your job and keep yourself, and me, under control, we shouldn't have any issues. But I do suppose I can test if you are a shikigami in the first place..."
He meowed again, and Sanvi sighed.
"...or not."
A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait. Life has been super busy lately. I had some parts of this chapter already written out, but couldn't find the motivation to finish it. There is just so much going on! Got a new job, and will be shifting to a new place, all while giving competitive exams non-stop!
Recently, I got to make a brief visit to South India (for exam purposes, not to mess around), and believe me guys...southern India is beautiful. I didn't want to leave once! So much greenery, such lovely weather, and the beauty of these cities! I kid you not, it was the first time in three years that I had breathed in crisp and fresh air.
Just loved it! Beautiful architecture, and beautiful culture! I wished I could have stayed to go out and explore the city.
Honestly, I just need a break! I wish I could go visit the mountains or something, but man, I neither have the time nor money. My brain is so literally fried with all this studying, and even though my exam is in two weeks I'm writing this chapter because I need something that is not interests or probablity.
God knows what's going to happen, but you guys enjoy the chapter! Sorry again for disappearing, but hope this chapter was a little worth it.
A question though? Does the story feel slow? Honestly, I cannot understand how to fasten it up. Or if I even need to in the first place. I like the idea of a nice, long story with good fleshed-out characters and everything, but I don't want to drag it also. So, give me your opinion guys! And thanks to everyone who took the time to comment and show support to the story! Means a lot guys!