"Hmmm..." Satoru Gojo stared through his blindfold at the building across from him, holding his chin in thought. From what he could "see" with his heightened senses, this "abandoned" building just became even more abandoned.
Yesterday, this place had been roaming with curses, caused by people's negative thoughts that it was haunted, and so it became just that. Today, however, as a way to introduce his new students into the fold, have a taste of what fighting curses in the city was like, Satoru brought them here as a form of entrance exam, only to find that someone else had already purged the establishment of all entities.
Did another shaman do this? He could have sworn he put in a notice that he would be borrowing this place for today. Looks like he'll have to take his students elsewhere, except something else was keeping Satoru's attention here. There was a ward around the premise. An expert use of magical power that would prevent any new curses from infesting the building again. It would have been difficult to notice if someone other than Satoru was here. Now who could have pulled that off?
"-No way! You ate a cursed finger?! Gross!"
Behind him, his class of first-years consisting of only three students talked amongst themselves. Yuji was openly offended by Nobara's outburst and her etching away from the boy as if he was carrying some sort of disease. Megumi paid no attention to the two, staring at the abandoned building alongside his teacher, noticing the lack of curses as well.
"Hmmmm..." After letting out another thoughtful hum, Satoru started his walk towards the building. "I'm going to check something. You three stay put, alright?"
"Huh?" Yuuji and Nobara looked over to their teacher, and watch the tall man cross the street.
"What's up with him?" Nobara asked. "I thought he was gonna bring us somewhere cursed. There's not even a hint of curse remnant in there."
Which is strange, since places like these are usually the perfect conduit for new curses.
"Curse remnant? Oh. You mean cursed energy?" Yuuji asked innocently.
Nobara looked at him like he had asked the stupidest question ever. She sighed deeply. "God, you're gonna be so annoying to deal with..."
"What did I do?!"
Megumi simply kept his focus on the building, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Satoru leisurely walked up the staircase with his hands in his pockets. The building was completely empty. Not even up close did he notice any curse remnants left behind. Although that's usually advised since it avoids attracting other curses, the way this was done was especially thorough.
Whoever came through here, they made sure this place was cleaned to the brim, almost like they were trying to hide something. There's some type of blockade - no, a filter that's nullifying any leaked cursed energy from the untrained.
There was no one in his school who was capable of achieving that. It certainly would have made a sorcerer's job easier.
He reached the top of the floor and entered the last room at the end of the hallway. In the room was several mannequins, left behind to collect dust. There was one mannequin that had its head split open. Its fragmented pieces scattered all over the floor.
And the cause of that...
He looked to one of the walls of the room and approached it.
...Is behind this.
He pressed his hand against it and pulled off its surface. The fabric was peeled from the chipped wall, like removing a curtain, and a door was revealed underneath. He dropped the camouflage from his fingertips and opened the door.
A single silver-black sword stood in the middle of the room. Its red handle channeled magical energy - or more tediously explicit, "holy energy", that had the entire building warded.
Satoru walked into the room and stopped right in front of the embedded weapon. A black key.
To those who lived within Mage Society and was familiar with their oppositions, there was only one group many know to have wielded these types of weapons.
Executors.
The Church don't usually send their hunters this far out, and aside from a few representatives here and there, they know better than to cross borders without at least notifying the higher ups of Japan's magus community first. So for one of their own to be in this city, their arrival impeccably timed after Sukuna's revival, it's safe to assume that the buzzards have caught whiff of a silver fish, and they were here to check things out.
It's possible that the government wasn't even aware of the executor's presence, which meant this was off the books. An opportunity for the Church to put their foot into the rest of the world, systematically pushing out the competition in the meantime, perhaps.
Satoru didn't care about any of that. What interested him was the way this black key was hidden. As far as he knew, there weren't a lot of executors that were able to conceal their weapons that was basically "energy solidified" like this. Even now, the black key was barely emitting anything strong, yet it was enough to purify this whole building of all curse traces. If not for Satoru's Six Eyes, even he wouldn't have noticed, and he noticed plenty of things as is with his blindfold on.
There might be a handful of people who could accomplish this level of discretion, especially if they're the top dogs of the Holy Church, but only one person came to mind who have this much magical power to spare...
He left the room and took a trip down the hallway again, heading up the stairs one more time, and made it to the rooftop.
Feeling the summer's wind against his uniform, he stood at the center of the roof. He lifted his blindfold then, and his Six Eyes perceived into the world, encased within his mesmerizing crystal blue irises.
"…Heh." He smiled. "Would you look at that? You really are in town…"
He uttered the name of that person whose colorful, beacon of light encompassed the entire area she was currently residing, an immense array of energies only seen by him. Now for the big question: what was someone like her doing here?
"Everything okay, sensei?" Yuji asked as soon as his teacher came back.
Satoru gave an OK sign to his students. "Yup! Turns out this place is a dud, but no worries. I already have another spot in mind. Quick question, though, how do you guys feel about grave robbing?"
"Eh?"
The class of Satoru Gojo arrived at the foot of the cemetery entrance. There were no other visitors at this time of day. Cherry blossom trees decorate the sides of the vacant pathway, providing the hundreds of tombstones their gift of flowers; the pink petals lying at their beds.
"I don't see any curses here either. I can see them now, right?" Yuji said as he gave a respectful prayer to a couple of tombstones they passed by.
"Now that you're a half-curse, you'll start seeing them even if you don't want to," Satoru explained. "Shamans tend to frequent burial places like this, so it doesn't get too encumbered with curses. Compared to a creepy abandoned building, there are more "bad" emotions and feelings put into this place. Right now, it looks like it's been recently cleansed, but there's probably still a few curses around."
He looked to the temple monastery up ahead. "You could even find some underground. Anywhere that's dark and cramped is bound to be their favorite hiding spot. They'll use objects like vases or mannequins, but a shaman would be able to sniff them out."
"Isn't that like poltergeist?" Yuji asked.
"Not really," Megumi was the one to answer, moving his hand around. "Curses don't necessarily possess objects, they just hide in them. Usually a strong enough curse would be able to physically grab someone or something, enough to cause harm. Whereas a weak curse would drain the person of their stamina, their life-force in a way. Neither would actually need to possess an object to do that. There are some exceptions, such as a curse living in an object that has a hard shell for protection, and is easy to move around, like a bowling ball. But weak curses generally don't have enough strength to move most objects completely."
It's more common for a sorcerer to imbue their own cursed energy into inanimate objects than it is for curses to control said objects, known either case as cursed corpses.
"That's right. So whatever you've seen in those horror movies, don't mistake it for real life," Nobara said with a sigh, as if it was exhausting having to explain this much. Yuji was starting to get a little annoyed by her attitude.
"Something as complex as a mannequin would take too much effort for a curse," she followed up. "The best they can do is keep themselves from falling over, or amble towards you all jittery-like. You'd be an idiot, though, if you just stand there and let it get you."
"It's a different story if a weak curse got their hands on a cursed object, like that finger you ate, but they wouldn't need a physical body to consume it," Megumi continued. "Cursed objects harbor cursed energies that were once possessed by past sorcerers. They don't hold any consciousness to their surroundings, so they wouldn't be able to move themselves, only exude their aura that attracts or repels other curses. It's immensely rare that the sorcerer themselves would reincarnate into whatever or whoever consumed it – be it curse or human. The fact that you're still alive, even able to suppress Sukuna, is a miracle – a one in a million."
"Huh. So I'm a special case. Neat," Yuji quipped, though it did faze him a little that he actually could have died if that cursed finger didn't go down right. Nobara just lets out another sigh beside him.
Satoru smirked, and he stopped at the cross-section of the pathway. "This seems like a good place to start."
A mausoleum stood before them. Its sleek walls made out of concrete, and a single door at its front. Its condition was well-kept and modernized, following a mixture of gothic and western-style themes. Although it looked small on the outside, the truth was that this would lead deeper into the underground crypts, where people were buried in their stone caskets rather than the earth. It was faint, but there was undoubtedly a "cursed" air that roamed within this structure. The thought of anyone going so underground that not even daylight would reach you, it was a decent mark for plenty of curses to retreat or be born into.
The teacher then turned to face his students. "Alrighty! From here on out, you two will be hunting for curses together. It'll be a little trickier since it might be a maze down there, but I'm sure you'll manage just fine. I want to see how far you guys can go, so consider this your entrance exam. Oh, and before I forget..."
Satoru reached underneath his coat and handed over a wrapped gift to Yuji. "This is for you. You have cursed energy running through your blood already, but since you can't control it, you'll be using this in the meantime."
After Yuji accepted the weapon, his teacher presented him a rule. "One more thing, don't bring out Sukuna. It'll scare away all the other curses, and other people might get dragged into it too."
And, more than likely, it'll prompt her into taking immediate action, despite whatever backlash that'll follow. "Let's meet back here in an hour. That's all for now. Good luck."
"Shouldn't we follow them? Someone has to monitor Itadori, right?" Megumi voiced his concerns after seeing Yuji and Nobara enter the mausoleum.
"They'll be fine," Satoru stated with a still kept smile. "For this exam, it's not only Yuji we're testing, but Nobara as well. Besides, someone will already be keeping an eye on them. I'd say it won't be long until she notices that we're here."
"She?" Megumi asked for an elaboration.
"You remember a nun girl who walked you home several years ago, right?" Satoru suddenly said.
Megumi looked surprised. "Wait... You mean...?"
"I don't know what she's doing here in Tokyo..." Satoru began, an etch of curiosity and amusement in his tone. "But something tells me there's a lot more to it than just a social call."
Either way, he's not gonna pass up this opportunity.
"This feels really wrong," Yuji expressed his hesitation after stepping into the mausoleum. The lights were dim, almost like they were just candlelight's hanging on the wall, hidden behind glass fixtures. "Can't help but think we're intruding."
Although, he did visited a few cemeteries back in Sendai when he was hanging out with Sasaki and Iguchi. Those two explorers were willing to brave through anything if it meant getting whatever supernatural experience, something that will later backfire.
"Get used to it. Being a sorcerer means getting your hands dirty, and that means going through places like this," Nobara chided with a click of her tongue. Great. Not only is she dealing with a complete newbie, but he's a softie too. "Can't believe I'm spending my first day in the big city in some dusty underground. At least it doesn't stink in here. Hey, Itadori, right? Let's split up. I'll check that side. You check the other way, and we'll meet back here."
"Huh-?" Before Yuji would register Nobara's words, the girl already departed down the tunnel. "Whoa. Hold on! Shouldn't we stick together?"
He'd seen how dangerous curses can be. His friends were victims of such attacks, with Iguchi even hospitalized. It kind of concerned him how nonchalant this girl was being. Even if she was strong, she should still be careful.
"Also, you shouldn't talk bad about this place. These were somebody's loved ones, you know?" Yuji added.
"I've no time crying over a dead guy who I never even met." Nobara simply stated and resumed walking. "I won't be held back by sentiments if it means getting my feet stuck. They're dead, aren't they? No use dwelling on it."
Geez. That's cold... Yuji stared befuddled as the girl ahead loudly ushered "Come on. Let's get a move on already! I want sushi after this!" and proceeded down the tunnel on her own.
"What's with her? She's such a bitch..." Yuji muttered to himself. Seeing his classmate set in her ways, he looked to the opposite direction and started his walk there, passing by rooms that held burial vaults in each wall. Even if these were strangers, she should still be a little respectful. That other girl he met on the train was definitely way nicer.
Thinking of her, Yuji wondered if Ciel finished her classes already? They had a nice chat over the phone after he settled in his new dorm at Jujutsu High, mostly about how their day went. He considered sending her a text right now, but since he was underground, there's probably not much reception down here.
Hopefully she's doing okay. With how productive and a good talker Ciel was, Yuji had a feeling she'd be alright. If not, there's always him, who's just a phone call away. Being newcomers at their respective schools, they could probably use the encouragement every once in a while, even if Yuji's own tribulations was a lot more than what homework and antagonizing teachers may bring.
I probably shouldn't get too close to her, though... He left behind Sasaki and Iguchi for the same reason, regardless of how little he knew them. Maybe he should have thought twice about giving his number, but that tea and cakes offer sounded way too good to pass up.
It also seemed like Ciel was still really new to this city. He felt she could use a friend while she was still learning to adjust here. He felt bad he couldn't remember her, though. He was pretty good with remembering faces too, and she sure knew plenty about him. Huh, now that he thought about it, he never asked what her last name was.
Yuji stopped at the second to the last room. He spotted something moving in one of the vaults. A head of a twisted, slug-like curse with little wings and bulging eyes, uttering sounds of self-loathing as it crawled away.
"Oh! Found one." Like a colorful egg on Easter, Yuji approached the curse, holding out the wrapped gift his teacher gave him. "A lot smaller this time. Hm. How should I…?"
As he etched closer, there was a slight rattle from the vault beside him.
-!
The vault flung open. Inches before it would collide with his head, he was ready to jump back. However, someone reacted faster than him and yanked him away by his hood. The hatch of the burial vault slammed against the wall beside them and shattered upon impact.
Another one!
Before him, a second curse revealed itself through the unlocked vault. Dark ectoplasm spewed from its mantis-like limb, severed by Yuji who had unsheathed his weapon from its wrappings quickly. The Slaughter Demon's blade faintly shone under the lights of the crypts, immediately tasting the blood of a curse.
The curse mumbled incoherently. Its distorted physique faced Yuji. "R-Remember… to complete… your evaluation…!"
Yuji reacted at once. Gripping his weapon, he moved on instinct to quickly disperse the curse. He sliced across its lanky body, lunging himself from the wall to avoid its scythe-like attacks and cut off its other limb. He knew someone else was behind him, and he told them to stay back, keeping the curse's attention solely on himself.
Before long, the curse was defeated, and it laid bleeding on the floor. Yuji sat upon the curse's back, breathing out in relief. "That was a close one."
Yup. He was strong alright. He felt a little proud of himself, exorcising his first curse. He might just get the hang of this after all.
"Hey. Are you okay-? Ah!"
He looked over to the other person in the room and was surprised to see who it was.
"Yes! I think so..." In front of him was a student in a blue overcoat. She had short brown hair with a silver hairpin above her left ear. Her round, pale-black eyes looked back at him, expressing her relief and gratitude over the vanquished curse.
"That was impressive. Is this the sort of thing you do often?" She asked obliviously.
Yuji stood up. "Senpai! What are you doing here?"
Despite her different appearance, voice, and overall demeanor, he instantly recognized her.
The girl blinked at his question and then puts up a slow smile. "Ah... Sorry. Have we... met before?"
Huh. Talk about Déjà vu.
Yuji tucked the Slaughter Demon away in the back of his pants. "Don't you remember? We met on the train the other day. It's Ciel-senpai, right?"
The girl stiffened, her expression nearly crumbled. There was a moment her eyes sharpened with serious intent before dulling at the sight of Yuji's genuine bemusement. She regained her composure, her smile returning as she straightened her back and clasped her hands together. "I'm sorry. I believe you've mistaken me for someone else."
"Huh? But..."
"You're mistaken." The brown-haired student said in a sing-song voice. After all, she clearly looked different from the blue-haired, spectacle-wearing girl from before. Surely he could read the memo and simply drop the claim. Not that he had any proof it's her anyhow.
"...No. It's definitely you." Yuji didn't get the hint. He grabbed his hips and looked at her. His face reading: "Why are you lying? Your pants will catch on fire". Sure, she looked a little different and was without her glasses, but he was certain it was her.
The nicety fell and Ciel gave him a disgruntled look, almost childishly so. As soon as she had noticed him down the tunnel, Ciel was hoping she could avoid this sort of interaction. She hadn't expected to encounter him again so soon, but she suppose it only made sense.
From their last talk (through texting), he mentioned that he would be going out for a "test" today. A cemetery was the perfect place for shamans to exorcise curses. Ciel admitted, she was careless not to consider this, but she had to come here and investigate after what she discovered in that abandoned office building. That little boy she found there barely escaped a terrible death.
She attempted to alleviate this mistake by putting up a disguise, but it became evident to her now that there was more to this shaman than what her research disclosed. She even wondered if there was some sort of abettance between the vessel and the corrupt soul he carried. Clearly, the only reason he was able to see through her illusion was because of Sukuna.
At this point, it's obvious her cover was blown, but it would put her in a worse position to admit it. Besides, Ciel was stubborn. It added to her annoyance that the boy in front of her was pulling the dumb card. He didn't seem suspicious at all, only curious, and she couldn't be sure just how legitimate it was. Perhaps he was a lot craftier than she gave him credit for. Or perhaps he really was oblivious. Well, two can play that game.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Ciel said, her fists pressed at her hips. "Is this 'Ciel' person someone you have a crush on? You should know us girls don't like being compared to others girls."
"Uhhh..." Yuji was a little dumbfounded by Ciel's response. Was she trying to avoid being recognized? It did seem a little weird how much her looks changed after a day. Was she sneaking around?
"...Okay?" Yuji decided to relent. Whatever her reason was, it's probably best to just let it go for now. She sure sounded like she's willing to deny it to her grave anyway (no pun intended). "So... what are you doing here?"
Pleased to have won this match, the disguised "not" Ciel answered. "I was walking home from school when I came by this mausoleum and decided to pay my respects. It seems like no one's tidy up the place for some time, so I've been doing a little cleaning. I know it's not my job, and I don't mean to intrude their resting place. I just felt a little bad seeing all the dusts and cobwebs on some of these vaults."
"Huh. That's really nice. But you should really be careful," Yuji said, although it did brought him closure to how impressively shiny the walls here were. So much for Nobara's comment of this place being dusty. "It's dangerous around here."
The curse he fought was proof of that. He wondered if she saw it too. The girl looked surprisingly calm if she did, even with him carrying a short sword and nearly getting his head slammed by a-
"-! Oh crap! That's right!" Yuji suddenly remembered, and he turned around. It was a mess of broken stone. A large crack on the wall where the slab had slammed against it, and pieces lay everywhere on the ground. "Crap. How am I gonna explain this to the family? I'm gonna feel bad for weeks."
Also probably haunted. Or was that how this worked? Yuji wasn't entirely sure.
"I'm sure if we report this to the groundskeeper, they'll be able to have someone fix it in a day. Or bring in a replacement," Ciel said reassuringly, sparing Yuji of any guilt. "It was an accident, and as long as the body wasn't disturbed, I'd say the family would be more relieved if anything."
"Yeah? You think so?"
The girl nodded. She then walked over to the mess and knelt down. "You might find a worker at the main office near the entrance of the cemetery. Although, it'll be difficult trying to explain this..."
At Yuji's agreeing look, Ciel proposed a solution. "Let's keep this between us. I won't tell anyone what I saw, and we'll say we found it like this. That should keep us out of trouble. Hmhm."
"Yeah..." Yuji couldn't argue with that approach. He crouched down with her. "You should come with. There's probably more curses lurking around somewhere - that's what we call 'ghosts', basically. It's what I was fighting just now. You saw it too, didn't you?"
"Oh? I'm not sure. It was all really a blur to me," Ciel conveyed her ignorance to the boy next to her. While it was true that some people in Japan have enough acute senses to perceive the supernatural that most people could not, even at the face of someone who could, she would rather play the role of the mundane so to avoid attracting unnecessary attention to herself.
"I thought maybe you did, but if I'm mistaken, then don't mind what I said," Yuji said, resting his arms over his knees. "I'm something of a shaman. A Jujutsu Sorcerer. I've started training recently, and today's kind of like my 'initiation'. I'm here with a few other classmates of mine to show what we can do. To be honest, I'm still really new to all this, but I'm handling it as I go. I don't even know how to use cursed energy yet - sorry, this probably doesn't make a lot of sense to you. Like I said, you can just ignore everything I say. I just figured I owe you an explanation."
Ciel blinked openly at the truthful teen beside her, and another strained smile of hers appeared. "Well... It's not that I don't believe you. I'm just surprised that you'd be this forthcoming to a... well, a civilian like me."
Were shamans not so keen on discretion in Japan? This really was a culture shock.
"I don't mind. I had someone who was straightforward with me too, so I figured it's probably alright to tell a few people," Yuji said. Ciel wanted to argue otherwise, but she kept her mouth shut.
"I doubt everyone would believe it, though," Yuji continued. "Pretty sure they'd call us nut cases. I wouldn't blame them either, even I didn't took it seriously until a while ago."
...There was something curious about that statement. Ciel wanted to press for more details, but she held back for now. There was another predicament she needed to explore first, and she wouldn't be able to do it while this shaman was present, or else she would risk exposing herself.
With a gentle smile, Ciel responded. "I don't think you're a nut case at all. In fact, I believe you. You wouldn't have looked so serious back then if you were lying."
She started picking up a few fragments from the floor. "You should get going. I wouldn't want to distract you from completing your 'initiation'. I'm just going to clean this up so it doesn't impede anybody else."
"Nah. It's fine. This is kind of part of my duty anyway," Yuji said as he joined in on the clean up, grabbing one half of the broken slab. "Here. Let me carry this. This was aimed at me, so I feel I should accept some responsibility. I'll help you dust off these burials too if you're not finished yet. We can get it done faster that way."
Ciel looked at him expressionlessly. His contribution unhesitant and unprompted. She didn't say another word, only resuming where she left off.
They brought the broken slab and its pieces over to the opening of the burial vault, placing it on the ground beneath the hole.
"-? Huh?" When Yuji stood up, he noticed something within the burial vault. "Hey... This casket's empty."
Ciel went still when she heard that, slowly rising after Yuji. They looked into the open vault, and indeed, nothing was inside. Nothing but what appeared to be broken wood of what was the foot of the coffin.
"Did the family move the body? It looks like something broke through here..." Was it the curse? It must have been really strong if it had enough power to blow through wood.
Ciel was quiet. They heard faint noises and looked over. It was the curse Yuji had first spotted in the room, now worming itself away.
"Oh! I almost forgot about that one." Yuji said. He watched curiously as the curse dragged itself across the ground, leaving the room as if something was calling for it. "Where's it going?"
"...Yuji-kun." The disguised girl addressed him, momentarily dropping the act with an empty tone. "You said that you came here with a few other classmates. Are they currently here in this mausoleum?"
Another curse was successfully exorcised by the pierce of a cursed energy fueled iron nail, embedded into the wall in blue flame that ate the small entity away.
"That's the last of them," Nobara commended herself. A good thing too, it was starting to get a little cramped in here. "At this rate, I might still have some time to go shopping later."
She wondered if that newbie was still alive? These curses were pretty low-leveled. She's sure that even an imbecile could exorcise them. Seeing how she cleansed this side of the crypts, she might as well go back and see his progress.
"-mmmrrrnggggghhh..."
Nobara turned to retreat when she heard noises outside the room, and she stopped. "Huh? Is someone here?"
It didn't sound like Yuji. Honing in, she felt the presence of more curses, likely to have come from other parts of the mausoleum. Guess the noise drew them in. Fine by me. I still got some nails left to spare.
She stayed put, eyeing through the entrance of the room with her heart-printed hammer held ready. "-?! What the-?"
Ambling around the corner, a pair of red eyes peered through. Multiple eyes and twisted mouths protruded through the body of wilted clothes, the eyes and mouths of curses that rode in the torso of a rotting, lifeless vessel, and together, they have found their new prey.
Author's Note:
Ciel - Gaslighting her way through everything since 2000. I'd also add 'Gatekeeping and Girlbossing' but I think those belong to Akiha and Arcueid respectively. Akiha - Gatekeeping, and Arcueid - Girlbossing.
Whew! Finally got chapter 2 out! Hope it was worth the wait. I'm gonna try to limit myself between 6,000 to 7,000 words each chapter. Maybe 10,000 words if the scene feels particularly epic, but no promises. Don't want to burn myself out.
I want to use the setting of Tsukihime in the Manga/OG Visual Novel for this story. There'll still be characters I'll take from the Tsukihime Remake though. Look out for any more additions I'll be pulling.
Romance won't be the main focus this time (might give a dash of it but hopefully won't be so much like in JJE). Canon-Divergence is what I plan for.
That's about it. Thanks for reading! See you guys next time!