There are a lot of things that tick Percy off in life.
Bullies. Nasty pre-algebra teachers. Murderous supernatural monsters.
Occasionally, nasty pre-algebra teachers who were also murderous monsters in disguise - that was once a whole thing, really.
But one that immediately makes it to the top of his list on the day of their trip to Kyoto is the absolute crime against both humanity and nature that is Shoji-sensei forcing them up at three in the friggin morning to get ready to catch the train in a couple of hours.
There was a reason for it - something about the Gojo Clan expecting them at their earliest convenience or whatever, but come on.
The early bird catching the worm might be a thing, but there's a difference between early and prehistoric.
Ugh.
Still, once he's up, he's up, and Percy finds himself groaning quietly shuffling into their dorm's common room on his way out of bed. Suguru and Satoru are already awake, though that's only for a given value of the word - Suguru's nursing a cup of coffee and barely keeping his eyes open, and Satoru is outright sprawled over the length of the sofa across the room, legs thrown over the armrest and sunglasses slapped onto his face.
Percy's so drowsy he can't even muster up the effort to judge him for wearing them inside - heck, with the way the light is stinging his ordinary, non-cursed eyes right now, he wishes he had a pair himself.
"Morning." Suguru murmurs, massaging his forehead carefully with his free hand while taking measured sips from his mug with the other. "Want some?"
Percy blinks when he tilts the mug his way.
"Did Satoru make it?"
Because if he did, then the pot probably has enough sugar loaded into it to bring down a horse and is a legitimate health hazard all around.
"Hell no, do I look insane?" Suguru says dryly. "I'm not like that freak - my heart would never survive it."
Satoru raises a hand and idly flips him off. "Get bent."
"Right back at you."
Percy snorts as they start bickering and shuffles over to the counter to get his own cup. He doesn't have really have much of a taste for the stuff, but he can work with it when he has to - and he probably will be needing to every once in a while somewhere down the line.
Sorcerors tend to have early mornings and late nights on a revolving schedule that was more a suggestion than anything else, what with curses tending to pop out at any time or term all on their own and getting the occasional dose of caffeine isn't going to hurt that much in the long run.
The three of them pass the next quarter-hour in relative peace and quiet, just getting their bearings, when Percy suddenly picks up an abrupt surge of cursed energy that has him perking up from his slouch with a start.
"Did you feel that?
"Hmm? Yeah. It's probably Yaga-sensei again. He's been tinkering in his workshop the last couple of weeks."
That right?
"How come?"
"You think I know?" Suguru shrugs. "Probably making more cursed plushies or something."
Fair enough
Percy almost shudders at the reminder of his sensei's veritable army of near-sentient murder-fluff. Suguru catches the gesture and nods in commiseration.
Not even Satoru would make fun of those things after the time they'd spent bieng hounded by them for leveling half the training grounds on their first spar.
At least not anywhere Yaga-sensei could hear.
And speaking of the man...
"I'm going to go check it out."
"Why?" Suguru raises an eyebrow. "Did the mystery get you worked up?"
"Nope," Percy replies breezily as he stands up. "There's still an hour before we're due to set off and I need to do something to get my blood pumping before the caffeine kicks in or I'm going to pass out."
"Ah."
"Yeah."
Sleep was sacred for a reason, damn it.
This mission had better be worth the trouble.
...
A little while later, and Percy finally heads off to the old, unrenovated basement workshop on the other end of the grounds where Yaga-sensei had set up his craft.
Oddly, he never gets to set foot inside.
There are unmistakable surges of cursed energy pulsing in odd patterns and at an intensity Percy can feel despite the talismans he can see hanging over the main doors - never mind the ones that are almost certainly inside - but the moment the sole of his shoe drops onto the engawa, he doesn't get a chance to take another step before the door slides is thrown open almost violently and Yaga steps forward."
"Jackson."
Percy blinks up and leans back a little as the man looms over him, the extra step giving him an extra boost in presence.
"Morning sensei?"
"Is something the matter?"
"Not...really?"
He doesn't get why the man sounds so curt.
It's not like Percy had woken him up, not when he's clearly been up and at it for some time now - but then again, the bags under his eyes and stressed crease to his forehead don't exactly scream well-rested either way.
"I just sensed some cursed energy acting up, and figured I'd come see If there was anything going on."
"There are no issues. I'm creating a new cursed doll, and the process is volatile and demanding."
"O...kay?"
He was staring at Percy with a look so guarded it might as well have been carved from stone - and that wasn't exactly a new experience, Yaga-sensei could be intense like that - but he was fairly certain he hadn't done anything to warrant this kind of intensity in a while now.
Seriously, what was off here?
"Good luck?" Percy shrugs, and points a thumb over his shoulder "Should I just leave you to it then?'
Yaga continued to stare intently for a few beats more before he suddenly leaned back and sighed deeply.
Just like that, he seemed to deflate a little
"That would be for the best, I think." He hesitated, still glancing at Percy, and then took a step and very deliberately closed the door to his workshop behind him. "I apologise if I seem...rough, but rest assured that it has nothing to do with you."
Yeah, he kind of got that.
"It's fine, sensei-"
"No, it isn't." The older sorcerer sighed again and raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, looking even more tired than Percy had felt moments before. "But it is what it is. Suffice it to say that I am dealing with some personal issues and they are taking their toll. I value my time in my workshop these days more than most, and I do not appreciate interruptions-"
His lips pulled into something that might have been a smile on a good day, but looked more like a particularly spirited awkward grimace.
Percy could sympathize with that at least.
"-However well-intentioned they may be. Thank you for your concern, but for now-"
"Take off and don't come near your workshop again." Percy shot him a thumbs up. "Got it."
Honestly, he wouldn't have minded if the man had come out and just said that outright. It'd be a lie to say he's not curious, exactly, but he also knows when not to push, and he'd only come here to pass the time anyway.
"I'll just-"
There's another small but unsubtle flair of cursed energy, followed by a crash and a loud, sharp sound of shattering glass from inside the workshop, and Yaga-sensei stiffens like a plank of plywood all over again.
Percy just looks at him funny.
Volatile cursed dolls, huh?
"Should I ask?"
"No."
"That's cool."
"Sensei?"
Both of them turn around at the newcomer's voice.
A girl stands there - an upperclassman by the look of her, one that Percy vaguely recalls having seen here and there over the past couple of months.
Pale white skin, long, dark purplish-black bangs held back by a low ponytail, and with the getup of a shrine-maiden down pat.
"Ah, Iori." Yaga-sensei doesn't even bother pretending not to be relieved at the sight of her. "This is Jackson-san, one of the first-year students. He was just leaving."
Smooth, sensei.
Percy still grins wryly and tips his head her way.
"How do you do, senpai?"
"Jackson-san." She smiles and nods politely. "It's a pleasure. Sensei-"
"I'm aware. We can discuss the mission plan for tomorrow in my office, just give me a moment to finish up here."
"Hai."
"Wait, travel arrangements." Percy turns back to him. "You're not coming with us to Kyoto, senei?"
"Not right this second, no." He grunts. "Your class is heading off earlier because the Gojo clan expects their heir to return in time for whatever preparations they have for the festival. We will be joining you a few days later when the festival is open to non-affiliated sorcerors."
"Ah."
Come to think of it, Satoru had mentioned something along those lines, hadn't he?
Vaguely. And with plenty of visible annoyance.
Percy hadn't pried - he figures he'll find out what that's all about one way or another once they hit the road.
Yaga-sensei clears his throat after a long second "Now if that's all-"
"Already going. See you around, Iori-senpai."
"Good luck on your mission, Jackson-san. Until we meet again."
She offers him a little wave as he turns and strides away, and for now, that's that.
As he leaves, another pulse of cursed energy thrums against the air and winks out just as quickly.
...
Eventually, they set off to Tokyo Station.
Compared to the first long-distance mission they'd taken as a class, the start of the Kyoto assignment is downright breezy.
No strange tension, no awkwardness, and no weird caginess to put a damper on the mood.
An assistant window drives them to the station from Jujutsu High, they get their tickets and board the train without a hitch, and they spend the first hour and a half of the ride messing about and taking turns playing Ridge Racer on a halfheartedly protesting Suguru's phone after Shoko successfully swipes it when he's not paying attention, all while the sun rises outside the window, the familiar cityscape blurring and falling away in the background.
It's all pretty sweet - scenic, even.
And then they hit the second hour of their journey, Kyoto nears, and Shoji-sensei decides to get down to business.
"Alright." He says, snapping shut the book he'd been reading. "Let's get some important matters out of the way now, while we still have the chance to speak in comfort."
There was an edge of genuine seriousness to his tone and a look in his eyes that had the four of them exchanging their own pointed stares before leaning in to listen.
"We'll be heading into the Gojo clan's estate on arrival - and while we're there, from the beginning and through to the celebrations that will be ensuing in the coming days, I need you all to watch and be conscious of your every step."
He stresses the word with a deliberate pause.
"This event is more than just a mission - it is, in practice, your introduction to the greater stage of Jujutsu management and politics. Bar Gojo-san here and Ieri-san to a lesser extent, this will be a first for all of you."
"Not to be that guy, but spoiler alert?" Satoru perks up, smirking sardonically. "It's going to suck."
Shoko snorts. "Figures."
Then Shoji-sensei knocks them both of their stride when he nods in agreement with the sentiment- that alone is eerie enough to stand out like a sore thumb.
"I would be very surprised if you found the experience pleasant, but it is necessary. You will have to manage similar experiences somewhere throughout your careers as sorcerors, that much is inevitable. The affairs of clans and the rules they play by go hand in hand with the practices of modern shamanism, and the sooner you learn to adapt to them, the better of you'll be."
Suguru clears his throat. "So when you say adapt-"
"Expect to be approached by sorcerors and clan affiliates looking to sate their curiosity," Shoji-sensei says bluntly. "The four of you have been garnering significant attention from the moment of your enrollment in Jujutsu High, and it peaked after the news of Tamamo-no-mae's defeat spread."
"We know," Suguru says. "The amount of mail me and Percy have gotten over the last few months is ridiculous."
"Ditto." Shoko agrees, and for good reason.
Her stunt with Domain Expansion had been noticed and promptly hooked the attention of just about everybody who was anybody up the Jujutsu ladder.
"That will not lessen the scrutiny you're likely to face on this mission - if anything, your lack of response will have made it all the more intense. Expect attention, questions, even demands for your time from multiple parties."
"That bad?"
"Worse."
Well, didn't that just sound cheery?
Some of their growing disgruntlement must show, because their sensei lifts his hands to placate almost at once.
"I'm not telling you this to make you uncomfortable but only to make sure you keep your eyes open when we're not fulfilling the duties of our mission. Feel free to go out of your way to ignore or sidestep any requests for your time if you must, but do so politely. This isn't one relatively minor clan such as the Karasu - there will be many who might seek you out, and making a bad impression now could make your life significantly more difficult than it has to be in the future."
Satoru rolls his eyes. "Meh, we could take them."
Shoji-sensei frowns.
"You could, but you don't have to. The four of you are almost guaranteed some degree of leeway most sorcerors won't ever expect to have, but it won't take much for that to sour. Don't walk into complications simply because you know you can trample with a little effort - avoid them and save your strength for more important affairs."
Satoru grumbles under his breath at the pointed remark, but he doesn't argue the point, which is a victory all on its own.
"One pressing matter to consider - Gojo-san will likely be avoided, but you might be approached by representatives of the New Shadow Style school of training, Jackson-san."
And just like that, Percy draws a blank.
"The who in the what now?"
At least the older sorceror doesn't look put off by his ignorance, though it's Shoko who chooses to answer.
"They're a sect of Jujutsu practitioners who pass down their secrets to students through a system of binding vows and secrecy contracts." She says, bracing her chin against her palm with a glint of recognition in her eyes. "Simple Domain is kind of their thing."
"And that's my problem how?"
"It's not impossible to figure it out on you're own without someone teaching it to you, but it's stupidly rare, and they hate it when it happens. They usually throw a fit and try to push whatever sorcerer managed it into their ranks."
Shoji-sensei nods at the explanation.
"Your efforts to learn it haven't been subtle, and they may try to force the issue - I imagine your own status and potential would make you all the more tempting in their eyes."
"So, tell them to buzz off." Percy nods. "Gotcha."
"Politely, if at all possible."
"Hey, I can be polite."
He's offended by the dubious looks that are pointed his way.
"I can be! Oh, and I already figured it out."
...
...
"Pardon?"
"Simple Domain." Percy shrugs. "I figured it out a while back"
Shoji-sensei outright goggles at him.
"But you've only just started practicing!"
"Yeah? Weeks ago." Percy frowns. "I'm embarrassed it took me as long as it did, honestly."
Still, he'd managed it in the end.
Granted, it still needs work and refinement, but Percy can proudly say his simple domain is functional.
Satoru preens smugly and elbows him in the side.
"And you doubted my methods."
"I still do."
"Hey! They worked, didn't they?"
"Screw you and your ballistic trees, Satoru! I nearly got splinters everywhere!"
Suguru frowns. "Trees?"
Satoru and Percy exchange a look, and turn back to their friend with matching grins.
"Who said anything about trees?"
"What-?"
"You've learned simple domain," Shoji-sensei repeats flatly. "In less than two months, you've learned-"
He cuts himself off and inhales sharply, before exhaling lowly and centering himself with a faint, if mildly amused smile.
"With the benefit of hindsight and given your track record, I shouldn't be surprised. I suppose I should just be grateful that Geto and Ieri-san haven't followed suit, eh?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Slowly, a look of dread comes over his face as he realizes that all of them are very carefully avoiding eye contact.
"...No."
"In our defense, it's really not that hard once you get the basics-"
"Not that-!?" Sensei ignores the words and glances from Shoko to Suguru and back again, more than a little incredulously. "How? When?"
"A couple of days after Percy." Suguru admits easily.
"A few weeks after I figured out Domain Expansion, around the same time." Shoko adds on when it's her turn, nonchalant in the face of his disbelief. "I was training. Figured I'd start practicing with the rest of them, and things just sort of clicked into place."
Percy grins her way unabashedly.
"So much for all that crap about not being able to do any of this."
Shoko doesn't skip a beat.
"Shut it. Your optimism is genuinely sickening."
Still, the corners of her lips curve upwards and she doesn't even hesitate to answer tit for tat when he offers a fist bump, so Percy counts that as a win twice over.
Across from them, Shoji-sensei looks like a man in sore need of a stiff drink or three.
"You know what?" He shakes his head and presses his glasses against the bridge of his nose. "Fine. Just... please, keep that to yourselves. At least for now."
He gets four matching smiles for that one.
"Don't worry, sensei." Suguru claps his hands together once and nods. "We've got this covered."
For some reason, the poor man doesn't seem reassured.
...
Kyoto had been the capital of Japan for over a thousand years, and the sacred land of Jujutsu for even longer. Beyond just the mishmash of modern architecture and what's been preserved from centuries before, skyscrapers melding against the archaic, there's also a sense of weight and history to it, from the architecture to the very air.
There's pressure there, Percy can tell, with an edge of the supernatural. It's almost impressive.
They don't get to sightsee, unfortunately.
When they get off the train, they find a car - a very fancy, blatantly expensive car driven by an attendant waiting for them right outside the station. The drive to the Gojo Clan estate is a quiet one, and he can tell it's not just him screwing his game face on.
Things are warming up now.
The estate they drive to sprawls over Kyoto's western mountainside, bordering the Arashimaya district, one looming main house with a sloping, elaborate roof surrounded by a neighborhood's worth of others, the architecture ancient but spotless in its upkeep.
It's all surrounded by carefully curated wilds and plant life, a little community surrounded by barriers of cursed energy so unapologetic Percy can just about taste them as they step through the main gates and into the grounds proper.
In the early morning sun, the whole place almost glints in the light, with small koi ponds and genuine cherry trees running through it in an aesthetic even he could admit looked almost otherworldly.
The row of servants that had been blatantly lying in wait for them catch sight of Satoru and immediately bow so low and so quickly it's a wonder their spines can take the sudden acceleration.
"Satoru-sama!"
That's not where things get complicated.
"If this is how you grew up," Suguru mutters under his breath as the servants begin escorting them towards the gargantuan and pretty horrendously extravagant main house in the distance, fawning over Satoru the whole while. "Then no wonder your ego is more inflated than a hot-air balloon."
Percy snorts. "Good one."
Satoru just smirks. "Trust me, peasants, you haven't seen anything yet. The brown-nosing is only just getting started."
"I have never known such excitement." Shoko drawls, and they all barely stifle their sniggers despite Shoji-sensei attempt to quiet them down.
The first hint that this isn't going to be nearly as comfortable as anybody had expected - aka hoped - is what comes after they take the first ten steps on their way.
"Satoru?"
His friend stills mid-step - even his cursed energy jolts sharply - before he suddenly rounds on the spot.
There's a pair of strangers approaching them - a blank faced man in a blue yukata with a shock of white hair and a woman in a white kimono with features that faintly niggled at something at the back of Percy's head.
"What are you two doing here?"
And woah.
That's not quite instant hostility from Satoru, but the cold, near-arctic tone he takes is still toeing the line right from the get-go.
Besides him, Percy hears Shoko inhale quietly in sudden realization.
"Isn't it obvious?"
The woman smiles warmly, or at least tries to.
To Percy, something about the expression rings false.
"We'd heard you were on your way to meet our venerable clan head, and came to greet you beforehand. Welcome home, my son."
...oh.
Oh.
Slowly, Percy turns to stare at Satoru.
He takes one look at the gleam in his eyes, just one, and knows it instantly.
This? Whatever it is?
It's going to suck.
...
Shoji, upon remembering that his students are bullshit:
/x8Zl8op
Shoko, upon realizing that it's someone else's sordid family history time:
/ovXdZMz
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