The uniform was atrocious, like some stupid Matrix cosplay. The high collar was not it, and the skirt was down right idiotic. For a school that was going to teach me to fight, I was disappointed they chose to have the girls uniforms with skirts. I took one more look in the small mirror in my room, my eyes trying not to linger on the swirling black mark of the half-formed seal right between my brows. Washing my face raw did not make it go away like I hoped it would. The design was something akin to the evil eye, the ends tapered with a swirling in the center like an iris. I was never one for makeup, but I really needed something to hide it. The last thing I wanted was questions. Well, not like I had to answer any annoying fucking questions.

"So ugly, fat and ugly!" Came the gleeful cry of the curse from last night as its head peeked out from the collar of my shirt. A disgusted shiver ran down my spine as I pulled the thing from the clothes and threw it to the floor. It made a pathetic squeak as I stomped on the thing.

"Die, die, die!" Every stomp was followed by the command. Of course, it did nothing but wriggle and twist like a dying snake while I mercilessly abused the curse. I had tried to exorcise it, only for it to disappear in a puff of white smoke and reform a few minutes later. So I guess I was stuck with it.

I grabbed it off the floor and forced it to meet my gaze, which was a bit of a struggle given that the thing hung limply in my hands like it was dead. "You better not show your ugly mug to anyone, and I better not hear a word from you today. If you do, so help me!" I threatened darkly, causing the curse to fight to be released from my hand. My hand released its death grip, allowing the curse to fly off.

Its sharp teeth latched onto the tip of its tail. I watched in confusion and revulsion as it consumed itself until it became a shriveled little pellet, slightly resembling a wrinkled date. My hand snatched it out of the air before it could clatter to the floor. Part of me considered throwing the thing away to try and rid myself of the irritating curse. Something in me knew that even if I threw it away, it would find me again. At least this way it was less of a nuisance. I tucked it into the waistband of my skirt, hating how it was close to my body. I bet that gross little thing was pleased with the turn of events.

Once I was out in the hall, I realized there was a crudely drawn map pinned to my door. The tiny doodle of Gojo in the bottom corner revealed who it was that left it there. His handwriting was stylized to be super cartoonish, maybe the Japanese version of Comic Sans, overall it was unnecessarily hard to read. Still, there was a big star smack-dab on the building, so I figured that was where I was meant to go.

The campus felt downright eerie. Large traditional buildings looming around as the dense forest sat at the edge of the area. I distinctly remembered Gojo saying we were in Tokyo, and I was starting to wonder if he was lying just to fuck with me. Tokyo was an hour by train from where I was before, I had never really been there, but I was pretty sure it was a major metropolitan area. My footsteps echoed down the paths as flickers of people danced at the edges of my perception. Similar blips of emotions returned. Triumph, relief, disdain, pain. All of it painted a predictably bleak future for everyone who studied here.

When I rounded on a familiar building, I began to make sense of what was going on. This was where I had seen the doctor. All Gojo did was lead me to the building, there was no sight of Dr. Shoko. Then the bitter scent of cigarettes wafted to me on a rather gentle morning breeze. A few sniffs and I was on her trail, finding her around the corner of the building. Her long brown hair lacked any shine, skin pale, and the same dark bags beneath her eyes. She looked awful. Like, worse than when I first saw her.

"You're early." she said, her voice as dull as her eyes. The lit cigarette danced as she spoke, held loosely between her pale lips. I hadn't realized she noticed me, discomforting. A scowl pulled at the edges of my mouth and I let out a scoff.

"That a problem? Let's get this over with." My arms crossed over my chest and I jerked my chin to the building she was leaning against. Dr. Shoko made no move to put out her cigarette, she merely smoked as if I wasn't there.

"I'm on my break, kid. Give it a few minutes, and back up, would you? These things are bad for you." She waved me off, and I took a step back, not without glaring at her first. Her lack of reaction, I didn't know if I found it admirable or annoying.

"I'm dying, not like some second hand smoke is going to make a difference." The words were bitter, but with good fucking reason. Not like I ever had plans for a long and fulfilling life.

"Okay, give me some space. They don't pay me to start dealing with people until seven-thirty, it's currently seven-twenty, and I would prefer to spend those last ten minutes people-free." Her honey-brown eyes looked right through me, impassive to my presence. The sensation of being nothing at all had draped over me like a veil. The expression was surprisingly familiar, even if it was missing the Monkey Man's disdain for me.

A tingling sensation of pins and needles coursed through my hands. Who did this woman think she was, anyway? Most of the time, school staff would bluster about authority, respect, or whatever topic they chose to lecture me on. Others would even cower, fearing the extent of my potential misbehavior. However, there was something about her expression that made me feel as if I had encountered a ghost, resembling the same sharp-featured face of him. All I could do was turn on my heels and wait by the door. I didn't say another word, just silently waited for sensation to return to my fingertips, as I tried not to think about the last time I had seen that look.

I hadn't thought about him for a long time, I had given up on proving anything to anyone, especially him. Our last meeting proved what a waste it had been to even try. My mind couldn't puzzle out why Dr. Shoko shared such a mannerism with the Monkey Man, but their expressions were near identical. It was hard to ignore there might have been a connection, though I wasn't sure how. He had always been an enigma, for a while I even wondered if I imagined him. What fucked up imaginary friend that would be…

Dr. Shoko's footsteps brought me back to the moment. She said nothing to me, what else was there to say? The silence followed us closely, the looming specter of the unspoken between us. The set of her shoulders held my attention, the pace of her gait, all the things that separated her from the image of someone else in my mind. A wooden door was opened by her, and she led me into what looked like an infirmary. It was empty, the fluorescent lights flickering about us were sterile white and bright as any hospital's. It must have been for students. She motioned for me to sit down as she readied some things. I huffed but sat, not wanting to extend this longer than need be.

"So how does this work? I'm your lab rat, right?" The cold of her gloves chilled me instantly, her hold was firm as she tilted my head to-and-fro.

"Yes, I'm checking through your vitals right now, and I will begin to test a few things out. We'll see how they affect you, or don't affect you." She clearly was more interested in seeing my eyes follow her finger, and the color of my tongue. I sat rigidly as she pumped a cuff tight around my arm, I tried not to show my discomfort. I had spent far too much time in hospitals recently. The way she readily agreed I was her lab rat surprised me, and I was starting to see this was how she was. On work, off work, without a care for who it was she was speaking to.

"Fine." I muttered, doing my best to ignore the coldness of her gloves. The infirmary stunk of chemicals, beds neatly made, and health posters along the wall. It would have been normal if it weren't the fact I knew. Dr. Shoko's hands were steady, her examination of me thorough and detached. I had no idea what it was about me that seemed to draw out analytical fascination from others. Though she didn't feel the emotions that gave me the sensation I was about to be dissected.

In fact, I hardly felt anything from her. The emotions were buried, not as though she were actively pushing them down. The sense of exhaustion, cold acceptance, and morbid fascination were there, but muted. I could even feel the cold dregs of pain if I concentrated enough. Betrayal simmered in the depths of her, calling to me to dig deep and coax forth the emotion until it consumed her completely. The pellet against my skin warmed until it felt as though it might burn me. My features were schooled into a mask of indifference, not wanting to let on what was going on in my mind.

"Well, your vitals are good. Nothing has changed since yesterday, but that doesn't mean things won't ever change." She switched gloves as she spoke, the fresh pair not looking any different from the old pair. Her fingertips pressed into my temples, gently. "Okay, now I'm going to ease some reverse curse energy into the seal. Gojo's barrier isn't a long term solution, however, if I could unravel this thing with posit-"

Searing pain radiated through my head, I screeched, but Shoko didn't back off immediately. I pried my eyes open to see her dispassionate stare fixated on my forehead. My hands tried to claw at hers, to remove them from my temples, but my arms could not go higher than my chest. Inside my skull, my brain was melting, I was sure of it. This crazy doctor was trying to kill me, or had no investment if I survived or not. She was far more like him than I had originally given her credit for.

"S-stop!" I pleaded, my throat raw from the scream I couldn't hold back. My chest heaved with every desperate breath, the curse burned against my skin, as if drawn to my pain and suffering. The doctor merely hummed with curiosity as her brows furrowed.

"What is this…" she muttered, her hands traveling over my scalp as if trying to see something with her bare eyes. The pain traveled around the circumference of my skull, the pressure of thorns sinking into my brain causing my vision to blur. How much more of this was she going to put me through? As soon as the thought entered my head, the pain began to ease, until the doctor had pulled away completely. "This one is certainly something. This Matsushita has a pretty unique technique."

I groaned, my body covered in a thin sheen of sweat, which caused my uniform to cling to me. My spine popped as I leaned forward with my head in my hands, the room swayed ominously as I fought back the bile climbing its way up my throat. This whole ordeal had me throwing up more often than I ever had in my life.

"You trying to–huff–kill me?" The rustling of her moving around the room to gather things was all the response I got. A scratching of a pen followed as she took notes. Slowly, the room stilled and I raised my head to peek at Dr. Shoko.

"I'm trying to save your life, actually. Your seal is rejecting the RCT, I can still heal your injuries so long as they are minor, but anything that has to do with reforming nerves is out of the question." It was clear she wasn't exactly talking to me, she was talking at me. Her eyes lifted from her clipboard and she watched me with bright eyes. This had caught her attention, I could feel the interest in her stirring to life. "Don't lose any limbs until we figure things out. It's probably why you reacted so poorly when I fixed your arm when you got here. You had severe nerve damage." Her voice turned to a mutter as she continued to write down her findings.

"Any more shitty news you got for me, Doc?" Great, if I needed any serious healing, I was fucked. Wait, did that mean she could, like, restore limbs? That people lose limbs regularly? Gojo had warned me this would be deadly, not that I didn't believe him. It's just hard to picture. Whether or not I'd stay in one piece, I was going to kill Matsushita, and get answers from Santo.

"You'll have to bleed off the excess, things didn't get better for you until I dispelled some of the ambient CE with positive energy." She went back to checking me over, seeing if my vitals had changed after my experience. Dr. Shoko checked my heart rate as her words sunk in.

"How do I do that?" I looked up at her face, she was taller than me while standing, as I sat I felt even smaller. My body felt separate from my mind, the distance between me and everyone I had come in contact with in the last two days felt so vast.

"That's a question for your teacher, but you'll need a focus like a tool." The barest hint of a smile played at the corner of her mouth. Her feelings of interest and curiosity reminded me of when a cat watched a bird from a window. She began gathering her things and I began to relax, the most painful part was over.

The door opened with a slam, as Gojo made his grand entrance. I pressed my eyes shut, a dull throb forming from the loud noise. The white haired fool looked as chipper as always as he strode in without a care in the world.

"Well, how's the newbie today?" He greeted, resting an elbow on my head as I tried to ignore his presence. "Did Dr. Shoko give you a lollipop for bening, a good kid?" His voice became a joking coo as he refused to let up.

"You're late, I could have used your eyes on this." Shoko's voice had returned to its flat cadence, but her feelings said it all. The mystery of the seal had fully grasped her attention.

"I was busy, besides, I have my own method to figure her situation out. We'll swap notes later, right now I'm making sure my precious student here isn't late for class." He ruffled my hair as he spoke, and I desperately wished to stab him. I knew that if he didn't allow it, I wouldn't be able to come anywhere near him. My eyes opened just so I could glare at him, in hopes of communicating silently just how much I wished he wasn't here.

"I can go to class on my own." I growled slowly.

"Sure you could, but where's the fun in that? I have a surprise for you and everything, you'll love it." He assured me as I hopped off the infirmary bed, my legs a little shaky but overall more stable than the last time I was here. "You and the rest of the first years."

"Great, great." I drawled sarcastically as I walked beside Gojo. Ugh, classmates, a bunch of emotionally volatile teens I was going to have to suffer through. My last school had been bad enough. "How many more kids did you manage to snatch?"

"Two, and one panda."

I nearly tripped at the mention of a panda. Gojo didn't miss a step, however, walking with a swagger in his step that I hadn't seen before. He must have been in a really good mood. His long-legged stride was not as wide as before, making catching up with him easier than before. It was stupid to attribute consideration to someone I hardly knew, but I had noticed. That must have stood for something.

"I'm going to ignore the panda bit, I'm new, not stupid. Tell me about them." I demanded, which Gojo chuckled at breezily. The winding paths weren't as confusing, the stairwell not as difficult this time around. The idea that I would eventually find them familiar was discomforting. I would never see this place but a stepping stone to my ultimate goal.

"Where's the fun in that? You're just going to have to get to know them, ask some questions, get some answers. I didn't peg you for the shy-type."

"I am not shy." My insistence was firm, Gojo merely shrugged as we exited the building. The sunlight was nearly reflected off his white hair. He stood tall in the light, shoulder set wide and lips set into a wide smile. I squinted as I realized just how shiny his lips were. "Are you… wearing lip balm?"

Gojo popped his lips curiously, as if he hadn't noticed he was wearing anything. His thumb dragged over his mouth experimentally. His thumb was matte, not a sign of any sort of substance. It was natural, and somehow that was worse. Gojo shook his head, tutting softly, as though he had come to some sort of realization.

"I know you're a growing young lady, and I'm flattered but-"

"Nope, nope, nope, stop right there. That is not what's happening. I just want to get to class." My skin burned as an uncomfortable warmth started at my face and traveled down my neck. I rushed ahead, trying to get as far away from his laughter as possible. He caught up and I ignored him.

"It's perfectly natural to start noticing-"

"I swear if you don't stop…" He kept talking, but it was clear he was more focused on bothering me than trying to be the mature teacher he was pretending to be. Every part of me wanted to simply sink into the ground and disappear forever. Was his surprise just mortifying me under the guise of 'sage advice'? The buildings passed quickly and thankfully, Gojo lost interest in his lecture about puberty.

The building for the actual school building was rather small for a school, or maybe my mind had been skewed because of how big my school in Kamakura was. It was just as ancient as the rest of the place, everything made of wood. There were no other students around, which was odd. I would have expected plenty of other students. The rooms we passed were quiet, the doors shut, and the lack of emotional overload told me that this place was a ghost town.

"Where is everybody?" The question came out before I could think better of it. Gojo's face settled into a contemplative expression.

"I told you, this kind of life isn't easy. People that can use Jujutsu are already a minority, anyone capable of being Jujutsu Sorcerers are an even smaller minority among them." We had slowed to a stop, standing before a closed door. I peered at him from the corner of my eye as he stood straighter. "Now, enough of that, it's time for your surprise!" He announced eagerly, throwing the door open to reveal a decorated classroom.

I was shoved into the room by Gojo, my loafers scraping against the wooden floor with an ugly noise. In the room were three…people? One was a girl with dark hair and round glasses, another was a boy with spiky silver hair and his face half covered up by a scarf, the last was a large full-grown panda. It towered over everyone (except Gojo) and was wearing a brightly colored party hat, as did everyone else.

"Welcome!"

"Kelp!"

"Alright, she's here, I'm done with this circus!" Shouted the girl, yanking the hat off. I simply watched, dumbfounded, as the panda picked the hat up and attempted to put it back on her.

"Maki, Gojo-sensei said it was going to be a good surprise for the new kid!" The PANDA said as he stretched the elastic to place the hat on Maki's head. The girl scowled and easily dodged the hat, for a brief minute the panda chased after her only to eventually give up.

"Everybody, welcome your new classmate, go ahead and introduce yourself." Gojo said as he walked from behind me to lean on the wall opposite near the door. I glared at him and squared my shoulders anyway. I could do introductions—I had made plenty with the number of schools I'd been kicked out of since I started fighting. No big deal. I stepped forward, both the panda and the silver haired boy looked at me, while Maki remained scowling at Gojo.

"My name is Reyna Vaca," I began, keeping my voice steady, and tried to just be normal about the panda. This place was weirder than anything I could have come up with. "I'm not here to play games or be anyone's friend. Stay out of my way, and I'll stay out of yours, got that?" The last bit turned into a bark as my lip curled up to show my teeth. Any place that I had been expelled from had one name for me, Feral Dog. Mean mugging people always worked, these losers would have no reason to think I'd be friendly.

"Quit the stupid delinquent act! You think you can just waltz in here and make demands?" Called out Maki as she marched up to me. There was always one, someone who thought they could step to me.

"You think you can just get in my face, and I'll let it slide?" I snarled, leaning closer to her to show I wasn't one to back down.

"This isn't one of your normie schools, that attitude isn't going to win you any favors. If you have any sense, you'll cut that shit out." Her voice had gone almost calm, every word coming out of her filled with promise. For the first time since being here, my blood felt like it wqas filled with electricity. This was familiar. This was right.

"What if I don't? What are you gonna do, four eyes?" My face split into an excited grin. This was better than fear, this was an example. "I already said I ain't here for games." Her hand snatched the front of my uniform, and adrenaline began to skitter through my system like electricity.

"I have an idea, let's all play a game!" Cheered Gojo as he lifted me up by the back of my uniform like an unruly kitten. I kicked and wriggled before I distinctly felt a breeze pass under my skirt and noticed the silver haired boy turn a dark shade of red, even the panda blushed. That's when I realized my thrashing had caused me to flash them. I could feel their mortification blend into my own.

"Don't fucking look you pervs! Put me down you bandaged freak I'm not done with four eyes yet!" I tried to tell myself the hot flush of my face was from the anger. My shouting was ignored as Gojo's grip on me remained and he rushed out the class room with me in tow.

The others ran after him, with Maki shouting that Gojo was a dumbass as they gave chase. They seemed far more used to Gojo's insanity than I was. Gojo was swift and I had resigned myself to essentially being lugged around like an inanimate object.

I was unceremoniously dropped into the dirt once he reached his desired location. It looked a bit like a soccer field, the ground being sunken in with dirt tracks surrounding a grassy center. By the time I was on my two feet again everyone else had caught up. My blood was still humming with adrenaline, which helped push the lingering discomfort from my wardrobe malfunction.

"Great now that we're all here, let's split off into pairs. Maki and Panda, and Reyna with Inumaki Toge." He declared an excited smile as he motioned for the named Toge to approach. "And just for fun, no using cursed energy!" Gojo threw his arms up to emphasize the enthusiasm with which he shouted. I grimaced at the sheer volume of his voice. It was far too early for his bullshit.

"Roe." The silver haired boy greeted, his hand raised in a wave. I raised an eyebrow at the strange greeting before looking over to Maki as she and Panda walked off to get into stances. Gojo was messing with me further. This weirdo with the spiky hair wasn't who I wanted to be facing and he knew it. I had no urge to get into it with Inumaki, but that wasn't what mattered. Sparring before any kind of lesson? This place was nuts.

"This is Inumaki, he's a cursed speech user. This amplifies the power of his words, making targets compelled to obey. He uses rice ball ingredients to communicate." Gojo explained, with Inumaki nodding along with the explanation.

"Got it…" I spoke slowly, trying to process what he explained. Power with his words? Sounded freaky. Then again I guess I hadn't given much thought to what everyone could do. Shoko could heal, Inumaki could order anyone around, Matushita could burn those seals into curses or people, and Gojo… I didn't know exactly what he could do but I knew it made my skin crawl to imagine it.

"Tuna-mayo." Inumaki gestured to me to follow him and I followed without much else to do. I spied Maki, already in position, a calm on her face that pissed me off for a reason I couldn't put into words. Panda was in position too, and I could feel the anticipation rolling off of him. What bothered me was I could feel nothing from Maki… much Like Matsuhsita. When I realized she was the same void-like non-presence, it chilled me.

"No offense, uh, Inumaki, but I really want to beat four eyes." My body came into a pose I got straight from a Kung-fu movie. Normally I just went in swinging but these freaks had special poses or whatever. All I had was my fists and this stupid curse in my…

Wait, the eel was still in my waistband. If I finished this quickly, they wouldn't find out about it.

"Tuna mayo…" His eyes hardened with determination, there was no animosity or anger that usually accompanied physical violence. This was all so different but I didn't want to let that get to me. Gojo said the rice ball thing was how his spoke, but I had no fucking clue what he was saying.

"Uh…rice?" I answered back, making Toge tilt his head at me as if I were the one being weird.

"Round one, fight!" Gojo announced as if he were the announcer in Mortal Kombat. The bell had been rung and I charged forward.

I had no idea what other people thought of when they fought, normally I didn't think of anything at all. Except today, when I swung at Inumaki, my fist flying through the air as my body twisted along this invisible line that guided my arm, when I looked into his purple eyes… I thought of my mom. My eyes widened as I tried to shake off the image of her, she always hated that I fought. Toge's fist sunk into my stomach, my jaw dropped as I felt my whole body lurch backward. I became weightless, flying through the air form the strike, the blue sky above me feeling out of place before I landed on my back. I gasped and rolled onto my stomach, weakly lifting myself off the ground onto all fours.

"Come on Vaca, get back in there!" Cheered Gojo, earning a middle finger from me. He ignored it, typical.

"F-fuck o-off!" I coughed as I brought myself up on shaking limbs. It had been a fluke, a trick of my mind.

"Mustard leaf?" Asked Inumaki as he jogged over to me. My hand slapped at his hand that he held out for me to take, even as it left my balance askew. Shame burned at my ears, I was not going to be humiliated by a guy who couldn't even talk to me normally. I was going to prove to him and that four eyed bitch I was strong and I wasn't here to fuck around.

"Shut up, it was a fluke. Let's go again." My insistence wasn't questioned, he merely nodded and got back into position. This time I watched him closely, my body shifting to try and mimic stance. He seemed to notice and nodded, making me frown. I didn't need his approval, not when I was about to kick his ass.

With a nod, he signaled me to attack, which I did eagerly. Instead of going straight in I went low in a baseball slide to attack his legs.

"Roe!" Inumaki shouted as he leapt over me, body moving fluidly as he arched through the air like an arrow. I didn't want to marvel, or be impressed. By now my mind was seeing red and I scrambled off the floor again to close the distance between us. I tried to recall anything to aid me, past fights, several rounds of Street Fight V I had won when I skipped school to hit up arcades.

My elbow came up, aiming for his chin, only for the momentum to be redirected as Inumaki's palm met my arm. I was facing away from him when a fist slammed into my ribs and I was kicked away. Pain bloomed across my side, my fingers dug into the dirt as I took in a raspy breath. This was far from over.

"Goddamnit, let me hit you!" My voice was weak, due to the lack of air in my lungs but I ran toward him again. His violet eyes held a look of some soft emotion, then I felt it like a cool hand on feverish skin-concern. I swung again, every step he took backwards, I followed, kicking and swinging without ever connecting. "Stop moving!"

"Kelp." Was his response, he wasn't out of breath at all. The worst part of all this was that he wasn't smug, or even proud about what he was doing… he was worried about me.

My feet staggered, I could feel myself bruising from the falls. He'd barely hit me, he was toying with me, I just knew it!

"Fucking hit me, I can take it! Unless you're scared?" I taunted, lifting my fists up, nodding at him to attack rather than simply dodge me.

"Salmon roe…" His voice was firm, and I could feel a wave of resigned determination.

"Just fucking do-" He launched himself at me, faster than I could keep up with. There was a moment where we locked eyes, violet meeting purple and he struck me, sending me hurtling to the hard packed earth beneath our feet.

With a mouth full of dirt, I lost my first fight.

Gojo had called an end to the spars, Maki and Panda looked scuffed up but no worse for wear. It was obvious what went down between me and Toge, even if Maki hadn't paid attention to my fight. Our gracious teacher told us we could take a break. As the three discussed their spar, or at least Maki and Panda spoke while Inumaki spouted off nonsense they pretended to understand, I sat a ways away. The eel burned hot and insistent against my skin while I thought of everything that made me lose.

This uniform was atrocious and I would demand a boys uniform if need be, obviously Inumaki knew what he was doing out there. I needed someone to train me, Gojo probably since he was my teacher. The idea of spending more time with him then necessary made my headache in anticipation of his annoying disposition. The more I thought, the more I realized all the things I had done wrong. Kicked into the dirt like a dog.

"Hey, you." Maki said as she walked up to me, leaving Inumaki and Panda behind. I didn't respond to her, preferring to act as if she wasn't there. "That's fine, you don't have to answer me but you will listen. You fight like someone who wants to die." My jaw went tense as she spoke to me, callous but calm.

"And? I'm not scared of dying."

"No shit, you wouldn't be here if you were. If you want to make it to your next fight, try not coming at your opponent like a wild animal." She looked down at me, and the same frustration as before came rushing back to me. I couldn't feel her emotions, was she here to rub my nose in my failure or something?

"Whatever." The sight of her made me feel on edge, more than I had before. Still it nagged at me…why couldn't feel her emotions? It was eating me up, but I couldn't outright ask. No one liked knowing I could feel what they were feeling all the time. Even if Maki was another anomaly, I didn't believe in revealing my hand anyway. Maki rolled her eyes at my, admittedly, sullen tone and marched off. Still I felt watched, and I did my best not to look Inumaki's way.