That guest lol: "The chapter was not what I expected it to be, a bit grimmer too. Even still, I agree it was necessary to establish the world Adam is in more. It was still very good tho, all things considered.
My Question: What chapter is jjk cannon gonna start? I'm asking because currently it should be May (cuz mothers day is on May 4) and the event that kicks off the story (Megumi getting sent to retrieve Sukuna's cursed finger) happens in June."
Thank you for your compliments! I may go back and rewrite that chapter at some point, but I have no plans for that right now. For your question, its partially answered in this chapter, but I do have an actual number, considering I'm writing the Cursed Womb arc on my pa-treon right now. Canon officially starts on chapter 21! For a little, tiny, sneak peek, I do indeed have Adam fighting Sukuna after he incarnates!
Melone71009: "Gyat i was not expecting this so soon"
Well I hope it was a pleasant surprise! Even though that week had an extra chapter, I will always update on Saturday (my time).
Now that the reviews are out of the way, please enjoy this chapter!
"I know you're the leading expert in this 'core of cursed energy' topic, but are you sure you're not mistaking it for something it's not?" Shoko asked, her eyes focused on the white haired man sitting across the table from her.
On her right sat Principal Yaga, and on his right sat Kusakabe Atsuya, the three of them together made up the relevant staff for today's meeting's topic, Adam.
At her question, Gojo shook his head in a negative response. "I'm 100% sure." He raised his blindfold slightly to reveal his sparkling blue eyes, one finger on his other hand pointing towards them. "Trust these if you don't want to trust my word."
"Neglecting the fact that what you just said doesn't make any sense." Kusakabe interrupted, Gojo stuck his tongue out at the man childishly in response. "What does all this nonsense about the 'core of cursed energy' mean?" He'd stayed silent during the meeting so far while they went over basic things like the boy's background, but the current subject was something he'd never heard of before.
"Some people call it the soul, some call it the core of cursed energy, it's described as the true form of your being." Yaga explained seriously. "Sorcerers who can understand it are in a league of their own from normal ones, much like a sorcerer who has performed a black flash compared to one who hasn't. Though it's much harder to achieve, requiring something like Satoru's six eyes to even see in the first place; that also happens to be the biggest problem here, because of Satoru's theory."
"Alright, alright, I get that part, but what I don't get is how his cursed technique affects it. Nobody has even told me what it is!" He'd been pretty much blind to any sorcerer talk so far, and it was starting to get on his nerves.
"Shoko, you said you had told him." Yaga growled. Shoko shrugged indifferently.
"I guess I forgot." Gojo snickered at the newly bulging veins appearing on Yaga's head.
"Adam's cursed technique is called status increase." The principal began calmly. "It's a blue panel in the form of a character sheet straight out of a video game, allowing him to increase his physical abilities whenever he 'levels up'." Gojo let out a quick cough, interrupting the principal and bringing the attention of everyone in the room towards him.
"It's not just his physical abilities. He can increase his cursed energy capacity and charisma." A slight teasing tone slipped into his voice as he said that last part. "Not only that, he can form skills that allow him to do certain things automatically, like stitch up his body."
Yaga narrowed his eyes, "I was not told of this. When did he learn how to do that?"
Gojo shrugged, a lazy smile appearing on his face as he responded. "Just the other day, Monday this week." It'd been 4 days since then, making it Wednesday, the 16th of May.
"Are there any other things you're forgetting to tell me?" Yaga growled, preparing to pull out a pen to begin writing things down. Gojo shrugged, his smile becoming more devilish by the second.
"Depends on who's listening." He chuckled. "Are you prepared to make a vow with me?" Gojo's hand stretched out towards the middle of the desk. Kusakabe's mouth dropped at the request.
"Y-You really think this is that important?" He said anxiously. Kusakabe was strongly against forming a vow of any kind, especially when it came from a mischievous person like Gojo Satoru.
Yaga reluctantly accepted the man's hand, "it's because of the higher ups, isn't it?" Gojo ignored the man while deciding on the terms of the vow mentally.
"Anything said by me for the next 5 minutes must not be shared with the executives in jujutsu society." He began, outlining the purpose of the vow and the conditions. "If this binding vow is broken by Masamichi Yaga without Gojo Satoru's express permission, it will result in his immediate death." A bead of sweat trickled down the side of Atsuya's face as he realized he was being pushed into some top secret shit.
"I accept." Yaga said quietly, a glow of blue surrounding the joined hands before disappearing. Gojo offered his hand to Shoko, and the woman rolled her eyes before creating the same vow. When the hand was finally offered to Atsuya, the man glared at it intensely.
"Do I have to? Can't I just leave?" The annoyed glare from his employer threw that option out of the window immediately. Kusakabe whimpered quietly before accepting the vow.
Gojo nodded silently before cracking his knuckles. "My leading theory, based off of the observations of both my six eyes and my experience as a sorcerer, is that Adam's cursed technique directly alters his soul." He explained calmly.
Kusakabe narrowed his eyes skeptically, "you said that already, and shouldn't all cursed techniques alter the soul?"
Gojo nodded. "They do, when they're used; but Adam's is different. Everyone knows that your talent as a sorcerer is decided upon as soon as you're born, your maximum cursed energy, cursed technique, ect." The other three in the room opposite him nodded at the common knowledge. "Adam's is constantly changing. While everyone else has a set amount of cursed energy because of the way they're born and the form their soul takes, Adam's soul adapts and shifts based on what he does; whether it's inputting stat points, learning new skills, anything." Seeing their confused looks Gojo sighed. "I guess that doesn't really put things into perspective for you."
"Not really. It just kind of sounds like he grows at a faster rate than others and is able to reach his maximum potential easier, which is great, sure, but nothing to write home about." Shoko shrugged.
Gojo snapped his fingers, a wide grin forming on his face. "That's the point! He has no limits! Once Adam reaches his maximum 'level', he can reset it while gaining new perks!"
"So once he gets strong enough, he goes back to being weak?" Kusakabe asked.
"We don't know yet, but I think it's more along the lines of shifting gears in a car. His strength will drop for a little while, but after that he can rise to an even higher maximum!" Gojo's excitement was almost palpable, but the other people in the room still didn't really understand the hype. Sure, being able to get stronger infinitely was nice, but the potential of the technique was directly linked to Adam's motivation and ability to put time into it.
Yaga frowned slightly, "I don't think the binding vow was necessary, Satoru. I doubt the higher ups would have much of an interest in Adam if all his cursed technique is, is that he gets as strong as he wants."
Gojo almost seemed ready to pull out his hair in annoyance as he tried to put together an idea that would put things into perspective for them. "Look, Satoru, I get that you want to support your students and everything but putting unreasonable expectations on them isn't healthy." Shoko explained gingerly, earning an annoyed sigh from her coworker.
"Just, just wait and see." Gojo finally said with a sigh. "He'll be special grade level by the end of the year."
Kusakabe looked between the school nurse and the strongest sorcerer. "I think I'm with Ieri on this one. Adam's strong for a first year, no doubt about it, but special grade in 6 months? He's not a kid like Okkotsu, Gojo, at least from what I've seen." Yaga stayed silent, but it was clear what side he was on by the blank look on his face. "This isn't me downplaying him or anything, I think if what you're saying is true, he certainly could be a special grade sorcerer in the future…but it's impossible for him to reach that goal by the end of the year." Atsuya's attempt to salvage the situation was responded to by an annoyed grunt from the man in front of him.
Gojo stood up from his chair abruptly, annoyance clear on his face. "If I come up with an example that might make sense, I'll tell you all, but for now I think you can just sit back and see how far he goes." It was well known that Gojo had an eye for good eggs, but the way he was trying to convey Adam's potential was just far too unrealistic for anyone other than himself to understand.
With his final words spoken, Gojo left the room. The other occupants looked at each other before each letting out a quiet sigh. "I'm worried about Adam, honestly." Shoko expressed. "When Satoru gets like that, he'll stop at nothing to prove his point."
"I'm glad I have nothing to do with it then." Kusakabe replied while standing up to stretch his legs. "He's getting Zenin to teach him swordplay after that fiasco yesterday, so I'm off of babysitting duty." With a short grunt of satisfaction, the man finished his stretch and left the room.
When the door closed for a second time, it became Shoko's turn to leave. "I really hope this doesn't end too badly." She murmured while picking up her bag.
Yaga watched her walk away from his desk with narrowed eyes. "You know him better than anyone alive, Shoko; what do you think he meant when he was talking about Adam's cursed technique?" Shoko turned slightly to respond.
"It's outlandish, which is why I said what I said, but I think he was trying to say that Adam could surpass every single one of us, including himself. Based on the tone he used though, it almost seems like he was convinced the boy could do it with ease, like our current levels were nothing but pebbles on his road to success." The woman shrugged non committedly, "that's what I took from it anyway. It's nothing new for Satoru to be hyping up his students like that, so you should probably take it with at least a fist full of salt."
Yaga chuckled slightly, "not just a grain?"
"It's Satoru we're talking about, does he ever do anything in moderation?" A fond smile crossed Shoko's face before she opened the door and left the office they'd been occupying. When her footsteps finally faded from Yaga's ears, the man gained a smile before turning his attention to the clock.
"Quite a bit longer than 5 minutes, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt." A heavy sigh escaped Yaga's throat as he packed up his notes and left the room, locking the door with a soft click as he did so.
Fushigoro held up his hand sign with one hand, beginning the practice ritual for what would be his new shikigami if all went well. "Come, Orochi." He whispered, his voice barely rebounding from the dirt before dissipating. A black curtain covered the entire track, trapping Adam and himself inside. "I'll watch you fight Adam, it'll help me learn its moves."
Said white haired boy strode forward with his spear in his hand, getting into a thrower's stance as the ground began to rumble. From the ground behind Fushigoro, an extremely large snake burst into the air.
The way it had appeared left its cream colored underbelly exposed, hiding its patterned black and white hide from Adam's view. 'This serves as a good way to test my new strength.' He didn't know how strong the veil covering the warehouse was, so it didn't serve as a proper test for him, especially when there was so much adrenaline flooding through him it clouded his mind. With a quiet grunt of exertion, he launched the spear towards his target.
A loud whistle permeated the air as Adam's cursed tool left his hand and whipped through the air. Barely a moment after it left his palm, it met its target, straight in the middle of the snake's body.
Thankfully, since there was more than one person within the veil at the time of the ritual, Fushigoro could restart it whenever he wanted without having to worry about losing the shikigami permanently. On the other hand, it seemed like Orochi was slightly weaker than Adam had thought.
Orochi's body exploded in a shower of purple blood and gore, each speck of stray blood barely hitting the ground before they dissolved into shadows. Fushigoro stared at where his shikigami had been rising from, his jaw hanging lower than he thought was possible. He distantly heard Adam whistle at the destruction as the veil surrounding them began to dissipate, signifying the end of the ritual.
Adam walked up to his classmate's side with a dissatisfied smile. "I think you'll be able to handle it." He assured, giving the boy beside him a small thumbs up before picking his spear up from where it had dropped.
When either boy was asked about how the subjugation went later, it was almost a guarantee they'd describe it like this; it was if a bomb had gone off from within the snake's throat. The spear of longinus had only touched the soft underbelly of the snake shikigami before its multiplied force rippled across its body and exploded.
Fushigoro let out a short sigh before waving his classmate towards the seating area. "I'll do the real subjugation now, so stay out of the area." Adam slapped his spear against his shoulder and nodded.
By the time Adam had reached the bleachers, Fushigoro was already prepared with his shikigami out. 'It shouldn't be too dangerous, since Adam was able to brutalize it so easily.'
Nue hung in the air far above him, preparing to rain down thunder as soon as Orochi appeared. Shiro and Kuro took up positions on opposite sides of the dirt field, ready to spring into action at any time. Gama had its tongue wrapped around Fushigoro's waist, ready to pull him out of trouble whenever it was needed. Datto remained unsummoned, but Fushigoro was ready to call upon it if need be. 'My plan is solid enough, we should be good to go.' With a final nod to himself, Fushigoro put his hand into the appropriate hand sign and started the ritual.
The same pitch black veil as earlier enveloped the entire field, barely stopping before the bleachers edges and by extension Adam's position. Fushigoro saw the boy give him a thumbs up before the darkness cut off their view from one another.
Fushigoro shifted his feet slightly as a hiss rang through the air, quiet enough for its origin point to not be obvious to anyone who hadn't attended the test run. When the ground began to rumble, Fushigoro gave the mental command for Gama to pull him out of the way, something the Shikigami did with ease.
As soon as Fushigoro was clear, Orochi burst through the ground like a bull on steroids, its body springing up into the air the same way it had before. "Kuro, Shiro, attack the underbelly while Nue distracts it!" When summoned during their ritual, shikigami usually exhibited the same behaviors they had done a previous time. Nue's practice run under Gojo's supervision had began with the bird swerving and flying through the air in a figure eight pattern while raining down sparks, and it did the exact same thing at the beginning of Fushigoro's successful ritual, only changing its strategy after gaining its bearings on the situation.
By his estimate, Fushigoro had about 4 seconds of time fighting the same shikigami Adam had before it would change its strategy according to its surroundings. Those 4 seconds were the ones Adam had waited for while Orochi was surfacing from the ground in the test run, and so far 2 had passed.
Shiro slashed a deep gash across the middle of Orochi's belly, while Kuro dug its claws into a specific spot and let the rogue shikigami's movement do the rest. With a deep gash running across and along its side, Orochi recoiled in pain, letting a loud hiss escape its throat as its body coiled into a more compact form.
Before it could land however, Nue dug its clues into the snake's head and let loose a large electric shock, sending indigo colored sparks dancing across the shikigami's body like a midnight colored firework show. A howl of pain even permeated the air before Fushigoro initiated phase two of his plan. "Gama! Throw Shiro into the air!" The boy immediately felt the tongue wrapped around his torso disappear as he jumped backwards.
In the next second, Shiro was being launched towards the airborne snake with the force of a freight train. Nue flexed its claws, pushing them further into the snake's nose before flying away at the last moment. A moment was all Orochi needed however, as its tail shot into the air to block Shiro's path.
Shiro's claws dug into the tip of Orochi's tail before the shikigami was swatted into the ground like a fly. Luckily, Fushigoro managed to catch the wolf by sliding through its path, therefore dodging the snake's follow through with ease.
Rubble was kicked into the air as Orochi's tail slammed into the floor, throwing Fushigoro forward due to the shockwave created by the impact. The boy rolled onto his feet easily, putting down his white wolf shikigami with an anxious smirk. "It has some power alright, but it's also just as slow."
The dust cloud dispersed when Orochi began to drag its tail across the ground, forcing Fushigoro to jump out of his mud colored smokescreen and into the air. With his mental command, Nue shot downwards and caught him from the air before Orochi could even attempt a follow up.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the field behind Orochi, Kuro reached its top speed. Like a bullet, the void colored wolf shot through the air towards Orochi's face, clawing out one eye as it passed. For the third time, Orochi screeched in pain, its gaping maw opening towards the sky like a particularly hungry venus fly trap.
Fushigoro was dropped out of Nue's claws towards Orochi's waiting mouth, his hands flying into a morphed hand sign. Behind the boy, Nue dissolved into shadows, signifying its use in his new extension technique. 'Greased lightning!'
Hundreds of rabbits spewed from the depths of Fushigoro's shadow, each of them adorned with a coat of orange fur that was sparking wildly. They moved like a wave of thunder, climbing into Orochi's mouth and frying its organs from the inside. Any final cry it may have tried to give out was silenced by the mountain of sunset colored fur entering its maw, eventually leading to the shadow dissolving back into Fushigoro's own, a sign of success.
The veil cleared up almost immediately, as did Fushigoro's shikigami at his command. He heard a shout of congratulations from the bleachers, and offered his classmate a thumbs up in return. Fushigoro took several moments to organize his thoughts and analyze the fight he'd just completed.
By the time Adam had arrived at his side, he had decided on a few things he'd improve on for his next subjugation. "1 minute and 49 seconds, good stuff." Adam offered a high five, which Fushigoro reciprocated before sighing in satisfaction.
"I'm going to go have a shower." The black haired boy announced, sparing barely a glance at his classmate before beginning to walk away. A smile began to appear on Adam's face as the boy turned away. "I want hainanese chicken with rice and a ginger sauce."
Adam growled in annoyance before beginning his jog to catch up to his classmate. "You're so lucky I was prepared for something like this. Otherwise I'd kick you in the teeth." Adam replied sarcastically, earning a quiet chuckle from the boy next to him. By the time they reached their dorm building, Adam had already surfed the web for different recipes.
It had become a bit of a tradition over the past month, the boys cooking for each other. It had started with Fushigoro 'accidently' making too much food and giving it to Adam, to which the boy reciprocated the next day with a dish of his own. They'd come to know each other's tastes relatively well, which was why it was no surprise to Adam that Fushigoro picked a dish that came with a ginger sauce; it was the same reason they'd both began to keep at least the basic ingredients they would each use for their respective favorites in the community fridge, a tradition that would have to stop when they received new classmates, if they did.
Luckily for them both, their teacher already had plans to install mini fridges in their rooms if something like that were to ever occur. The man found it rather cute the tradition had stuck around for so long, and as such was prepared to go out of his way to keep it going; the leftovers weren't a bad bonus either.
As it stood currently though, the right side of the fridge was kept for ingredients to make things that paired well with ginger, and the left side of the fridge was kept for ingredients to make things that paired well with chicken. That last part is the exact reason why Adam wasn't grumbling too much over having to make Fushigoro's chosen dish; even if that wasn't the case, he'd make whatever he asked for anyway, he lost the wager, after all.
By the time Fushigoro had finished having his shower and had cleaned up, Adam had completed his end of the bargain. Fushigoro sat opposite him at the table and clapped his hands, conjuring a silent prayer before digging in. "Wow, it's actually decent for once." The boy joked, barely dodging the used washcloth that had been thrown towards him a moment later.
"The hell do you mean, for once?" Adam asked as finishing his bite. Fushigoro smirked, not gracing his classmate with a reply as he shook his head and continued eating. Adam scoffed quietly before continuing to eat his own dish. "For that comment, I'm expecting a 5 star full course tonight."
"Get bent." Fushigoro retorted right as Adam put another bite into his mouth. His classmate fumed silently while finishing his mouthful, deciding to keep his manners intact despite his mild anger.
"I'm going to hide red bell peppers in all of your meals from now on." He quietly muttered. A shiver crawled up Fushigoro's spine as he was reminded of his least favorite ingredient.
"You wouldn't."
"Blindfold would appreciate the extra food."
"I'll drink all your Boss coffee."
Adam squawked in obvious rejection to the idea, signaling Fushigoro's victory in the 'argument'. Any further retorts the white haired boy may have had were silenced by their teacher sliding open the door with a wide grin. "Come on, my cute little students! We're going to go meet your senpais!" Fushigoro completely ignored the man's antics while Adam ate his food silently. "Hey!"
Adam glanced up at his teacher while taking his final bite. He quietly swallowed the remaining food before shaking his head. "Sorry Blindfold, I've got a mission."
"What he said." Fushigoro mumbled, despite the fact he was not scheduled for anything.
Gojo's shoulders slumped slightly, but he still kept the grin on his face. "So what's this mission you're going to, Adam?"
Adam stared at his teacher, unimpressed. "The usual, why do you care?"
"Because he totally isn't going to bring the second years to your mission site after he picks them up from the airport just so he can introduce you. I'm definitely not speaking from personal experience." Fushigoro said in a monotone voice, earning a snort from his classmate.
"I need to ask Zenin about weapons anyway." Adam twisted around and grabbed a napkin and pen, writing down the address for his investigation. "If everything goes well, the mission should be finished by the time you get there." Gojo happily accepted the scribbled note and skipped out of the dorm building with a container full of leftovers that had been prepared while Adam was plating up.
As soon as the door closed, Fushigoro began to clean up the dishes. "You gave him the wrong address, didn't you?" He said with a knowing smirk. Adam, who was drying one of the plates they used, sent a smile right back.
"It doesn't really matter though." The boy huffed, "he learned after last time, so he's probably going to go to the principal for my mission information." Fushigoro shook his head.
"Clearly you don't know him well enough. He never learns." Adam snorted at the obvious challenge. "You're making dinner if you lose." Fushigoro shook his classmate's offered hand with a smirk. "Hmm, I wonder what I'll ask for…"
"You won't win." Adam declared.
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