A/N: I have no idea what to say about this chapter. All of the chapters in this work have presented some level of challenge because of some unfamiliarity with aspects of JJK. Like, I'm basically learning as I go. Also...I don't think I have done more research for a story than this one. For example, the previous chapter is titled after a Scottish folktale called The Girl and The Dead Man. It's a story about a mother offering either a little piece of bread with a blessing or a big piece of bread with a curse to her three daughters. Two of the three take the big piece of bread and end up dead while the youngest takes the smaller piece, shares it with woodland creatures and somehow brings a dead man back to life...along with her sisters. I'm stalling. Let's just get to the chapter at hand. Many thanks to all of you who have read and left reviews. You guys are the best! I hope you enjoy the chapter! Best wishes and God bless you all.
Disclaimer: Jujutsu Kaisen belongs to Gege Akutami and other copyright holders. This work is a Fanfiction...and a wild one at that. What is going on with my brain?
Warnings: This is the longest chapter of the story so far at around 8,000 words and contains some heavy subject matters that made me glad I bumped up the rating of the story. Beyond that, I don't even know how to warn you guys. So yeah...good luck with that.
This grotesque shape is not my true self.
…
I am a Cursed Spirit…
…
But once I was a mother with two daughters.
…
I watched one grow into a young woman. The other was ripped from my arms seconds after she was born.
…
Time is at a standstill within the confines of my Domain Expansion.
It's an imperfect imitation of my original ability, but Satoru Gojo is currently ensnared by it with no plans to overwhelm my Domain with his own.
I couldn't have asked for a better outcome than this, especially since my attempt to compete with him in battle went as disastrously as expected.
The woman in his arms stalled him just long enough for me to initiate the technique.
…
Yes, her appearance today could be considered a blessing, for even with all the humans I consumed over the years, there isn't enough energy here to transport myself through the gates of time and space.
…
That's why I needed him.
…
A fraction of his power would be more than enough to help me cross the threshold of dimensions.
...
But even with the strongest Sorcerer in my grasp, my mission is doomed to fail, for this grotesque form cannot exist in the world I seek.
…
My experiments with humans were for the purpose of finding a soul compatible with mine. One might say I was searching for a vessel to house my shattered spirit.
...
Though egregiously powerful, this man isn't a suitable candidate for my needs.
...
I expected this too.
...
The only subject of promise was the girl with scarlet hair…
Angelica Kelmendi…
…
All the other subjects tested became vengeful whispers caught in my mind.
…
Even now, as the younger Kelmendi sister surveys the flow of the ocean with a contemplative frown, angry voices chant their calls for justice.
Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer.
You will never be forgiven. Never. Never. Never. Never.
…
There is nothing I could ever do to atone for my sins.
…
And yet, there is a chance to find pardon for it all with this woman.
…
With hair black as night and eyes like a raging storm, she resembles the daughter I never knew.
…
A maternal instinct demands I protect her from the world of Sorcery and Curses, for only tragedy awaits her there…
…
I'm certain Satoru Gojo knows this as well, but the inevitable downfall to come does not deter him from tightening his hold on her. She closes her eyes, relaxing against him when she calls for me to reveal the truth of her sister's disappearance from her life.
…
This intrinsic connection between them is not defined by logic or circumstance. It is something simply felt.
…
Most humans are wary of such instantaneous bonds. On paper, love at first sight is the flimsiest, asinine way to define attraction, physical or otherwise.
…
However, their ability to immediately understand each other was cultivated through empty years spent in cold isolation when nothing but a will to survive could guide them. Despair ate away at their hearts, and life went on carelessly, demanding they serve those too weak to fight alone as they had.
Both have lived an endless cycle of giving without gaining anything but the satisfaction of a job well done.
No one offers to give them anything meaningful…so they reward themselves with treats and entertainment to drown out the world.
…
They…aren't allowed to break.
…
I can see all this and more inside my Domain.
…
Satoru Gojo is not as invincible as he appears.
…
His soul…is an infinite void.
…
So is hers.
…
This shared loneliness is all they need to latch on to one another. They are keenly aware of time's fleeting nature, so neither will waste any questioning the validity of their emotions.
…
No soul is promised another day.
…
My own soul should have faded from existence long ago, especially after my heart sunk into the murky depths of chaos.
…
I am undeserving of a second chance, but watching them has filled me with a hope strong enough to pierce the shadows of the distant past.
…
After all these years, I finally remember who I am.
...
If given the opportunity to walk the path of repentance, I will abandon my nature as a Cursed Spirit and shed this grotesque form.
…
For that end, I must confess my sins and place my fate in her hands.
The tranquil atmosphere is fractured by the shrill scream of a child.
May 7th, 1991.
Three days after my fourth birthday.
…
My fourth birthday was on a Saturday. I remember because there had been a small party held for me and a handful of my friends in our backyard. Angelica was there too, talking to the older kids that got dragged along because of their parents and younger siblings.
I don't remember that day very well beyond one crucial thing.
…
At some point I went back inside the house. I have no idea why. It could have been to look for a toy or maybe I just had to use the bathroom.
Whatever the reason, hushed, angry whispers from the kitchen reached my little ears.
...
That's not fair. You can't keep punishing me. I have apologized every day for the last five years.
And you think that's enough? You think that means anything when you still talk to him?
You know the reason for that. We agreed…
I want a divorce.
…
Really? Because I remember you begging me to stay when I wanted to leave. It wasn't okay for us to separate then, but now that it's your idea it suddenly makes sense? Is that what you're telling me?
No. I just…don't see the point in forcing this to work anymore, Andrea. Neither of us are happy.
And how does that matter when there are children involved?
…
That's rich. Where was that mindset five years ago?
…
Don't do this today. We have guests outside and I don't want….
What? For me to make a scene? Cause that's all that matters to you, right? Keeping up appearances? Pretending everything is fine?
Stop it… That's not…
I don't care about the stupid party. I'm tired, Andrea. I'm tired of pretending to be happy and I'm tired of playing father to a child that isn't even mine. Don't you get it by now?Every time I look at her face and every time I have to say her name...all I can think about is how much you'd rather be with him.
…
I can't fix that, Lucas.
…
You could have. You chose not to…because you're in love with him. Five years hasn't changed that.
I stayed, didn't I? I didn't abandon our family.
...
I guess you didn't. You just added something unnecessary to it.
...
You don't mean that.
...
Maybe I do.
...
There was a shuffle of feet beyond the door and that little bit of sound was enough to send me flying out the back door.
…
I don't know why I kept smiling. I wasn't happy.
...
Angelica, intuitive as she was, knew something was wrong immediately.
She didn't ask me about it though. Instead, after the party, she spent the next two days secretly gathering up supplies for a picnic.
On the seventh of May, a Tuesday, she pretended to be sick to skip school, waited for both our parents to be out of the house, then scooped me up for a day at the beach beneath the massive Cliffs of Moher.
We walked there together hand in hand. We didn't live that far from the area, and, given that it was a weekday and a little gloomy out, there weren't many people out and about either.
…
Only after several hours of playing did I ask her why our father would say the things he did.
…
She didn't tell me.
…
I remember the sandcastle we constructed and how pleased we both were at how big it was. Angelica was especially proud of the moat we managed to build around it.
…
But when it was time to leave, I begged for more time.
...
I didn't want to go home. I didn't want to face a man that secretly hated me for reasons I didn't know or understand at the time.
…
Ten minutes. That's all I asked for.
...
I even threw in a little puppy dog pout designed to make her cave in to my wish even though she was wary of an oncoming storm.
...
She saw the danger. I didn't.
…
I only saw a way to run from the pain.
...
If we had just left when my sister wanted…
…
"Hey! Get away from her!"
Broomstick Man, or Gojo I should say, keeps his arm slung over my shoulders as he observes events seared into my soul.
I don't need to look to know what's happening.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
That childish wail stabs through my chest.
…
I don't know what possessed me to believe I was ready to move on from a moment that kick-started a series of truly miserable days.
…
Was it stubborn determination that propelled me against the momentum of a peaceful existence? Was my resolve for anything meaningful so potent that it would lead me to follow a demon cat through an ominous barrier?
What kept me calm while standing before the grotesque wraith responsible for Angelica's absence?
"Leave my sister alone, ack!"
The sloshing noise of blood splattering reaches my ears, but my gaze remains on the ocean.
…
I was prepared for death.
…
One could argue that I have longed for it ever since this day.
…
But that wouldn't be the truth. I was four. I don't think I even knew what death was then.
Even so, I...
...
My body jolts at the loud thump of my sister's body colliding against the ground.
"Don't look. Don't… Please…"
The inner pleas can't fight against the pull of Angelica's strained gasp. My head pivots to the left of its own accord as I glance down.
Her scarlet tresses fall gracefully to my feet.
"Don't cry. Don't you dare cry now…"
…
My chest burns with indignation when my younger self begins to hyperventilate.
…
I should have done something, anything to help, but I just sat there and watched.
…
I was too weak.
…
Why?
…
Why am I still so weak?
…
"Breathe."
Gojo's arms wind around my waist from behind, holding me upright when my knees buckle suddenly.
…
"Miharu… Breathe…"
He presses his clasped hands against my abdomen to force the trapped air out of my lungs, and a shuddering rasp comes out of my mouth the same instant my younger self breaks into loud, sniffling sobs.
It's embarrassing.
"C-Can I start today over?" I wonder aloud, trying and failing to ignore everything that's happening, namely the trembling state of my sister as she forces herself to get on her knees to crawl along the sand.
With a soft twist of his heel, Gojo turns us both around so I can watch the rest of the scene play out.
I want to hit him. I want to hit him because it's cruel to make someone face something they don't want to confront.
But when he speaks…
"You want to be free of your curse, right?"
Unable to respond at first, I focus my attention on Angelica as she screams for me to run away.
…
I listened to her. I ran.
…
I ran away from truth.
...
I ran away from dreams.
…
I even ran away from love.
…
And I have hated myself every day since.
…
This moment is my chance to start over…to finally begin the process of healing.
…
If I can just forgive myself...
...
"I do." I say at last, fixing my gaze on the image of the wraith and my sister within a cyclone of mist. "But I don't think I'm strong enough to break it."
His low chuckle reverberates through my entire body.
"Don't be stupid."
It's not the kindest response, but I wouldn't expect a guy who willfully walks around looking like a broomstick to sugarcoat anything.
"Jerk."
Gojo extracts himself from me by slow increments, his fingertips lingering along my hips for an extra second before drifting away.
I'm standing on my own now.
"You don't need to be strong," he drags out teasingly as he takes a few steps backward. "All this requires out of you is a little courage, and you already have plenty of that."
I want to ask how he came to that ridiculous conclusion, but in that moment, Angelica calls out to my younger self.
"Be brave!" she screams, her voice cracking. "No matter what happens! Be brave, Miharu!"
…
I couldn't hear these words past the noise of my fear back then.
…
Now the call for courage in the face of darkness sinks into my heart, shattering it and reforming it all at the same time.
…
This is how I made my way here, to this moment.
…
Courage propelled me against the momentum of a peaceful existence, past the wall of an ominous barrier, through the terror of reuniting with a monster, and into the arms of a man who brought me back to life with a single look.
And courage will set me free.
...
A peal of thunder screams through the air as lightning flashes across the darkening sky. The mist of the wraith thickens, trapping Angelica within it.
She smiles.
Though viciously wounded, my sister pivots along the sand and peers up at the faceless entity.
An uncannily bright grin accompanies the ethereal, golden glow of her eyes.
"Okay, Ugly. What do you want?"
Twenty-six years earlier
May 7th, 1991
Cliffs of Moher
My arm is about to fall off, and there's blood all over my new clothes.
…
If I don't die here…I'll be a goner when I get home because there's no way anyone is going to believe that a monster with hundreds of glowing eyes on its wings slashed my arm and got blood on my new clothes.
It's like telling a teacher that a dog ate your homework. No one believes it, even if it that's what actually happened.
And I would know. A stray dog ate my homework last week and no one believed me.
Well, Mom did, but she believes nearly everything I tell her…
…
And almost everything everyone else tells her too…
…
She's…not dumb. She's just…easily tricked.
I'm not sure why she's like that either. Maybe it's because she's obsessed with folklore about ghosts and strange creatures haunting forests, empty caves, and abandoned castles.
No joke, she acts like these things are real life events.
To me, they're just fun bedtime stories.
She tells them to Miharu now, just like she used to do with me when I was little. Sometimes, when I feel sad, I'll sit outside of her bedroom door to listen to my favorites. And really, I've heard them all thousands of times. Could probably quote some of them word for word.
But not one of them mentioned anything about mist monsters attacking kids.
I don't think Mom would believe me this time…because I don't even believe this is real.
Like, I have to be dreaming. This is just a nightmare, right?
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Nightmare or not, Miharu's wailing gets me moving even though it burns. Inky blood slithers down my arm like a snake through grass.
And why is it black? Blood is supposed to be red, not black.
Can you hear me, child?
I pause at the strange voice inside my head.
I meant you no harm.
Gritting my teeth, I crawl toward my sobbing sister.
"R-Run…"
She hiccups as she looks at me.
"But… But…"
Fat droplets escape from her glowing eyes.
…
My eyes do that too sometimes, though it's usually at night when everything is just a little too quiet.
…
And maybe this isn't the first time I've seen something weird.
…
But I haven't told anyone about those things. Not Mom, and especially not Dad.
…
Crap. Our parents are really getting a divorce, huh? It's not surprising. They've been fighting since before Miharu was born.
…
Because…Mom cheated on Dad.
…
That's how I ended up with a sister. A half-sister, technically.
…
When Miharu first came along, I really didn't like her. She cried all the time, stank, and basically made everyone miserable. Just a living, breathing curse on us all.
…
I don't know when I changed my mind about that.
…
But once I did there was no going back.
…
Real or not, this thing isn't touching my sister!
…
"Get out of here!" I yell, placing myself between Miharu and the monster hovering behind me.
"Gel…"
"NOW!"
The angry snarl frightens her, makes her curl into herself for a second, and that makes me want to cry too.
But I don't.
…
I'm not mad at Miharu. She's only four. Poor kid is probably peeing her pants.
…
Ugh! I'm not even going to be able to tease her about that later. This sucks.
You… You might be what I need.
I force myself to smile as Miharu finally jumps to her feet, whimpering as she dashes across the sand as quickly as her wobbly legs will let her.
It's adorable.
…
I really want this to be a silly nightmare.
…
But when she looks back at me, the terror on her face solidifies that this is real.
…
My arm feels numb.
...
I'm dizzy.
…
I'm gonna die, aren't I?
…
"Be brave!" I scream, gritting my teeth. "No matter what happens! Be brave, Miharu!"
She keeps running. I doubt she even heard me with all this wind and thunder.
But it'll be okay. Somehow, I'll get out of this mess and everything will be fine. Maybe I can even find a way to keep our parents together. It doesn't matter that my dad isn't Miharu's dad. We're all family, and family has to stick together.
...
Behind me, the monster flaps its wings.
...
I'm okay. I'm okay.
...
Child… Can you hear me?
Once my sister is out of sight, I twist slowly, and show off my biggest, fattest grin.
"Okay, Ugly. What do you want?"
The mist thickens into a fog I can barely see through as all the eyes on the monster's wings flash white.
An instant later, I'm sitting in a field of snow surrounded by palaces made of crystal. Thin trails of icy wind wrap around my bleeding arm less than a second later, scaring me half to death.
"Hey! Stop!"
Hold still.
The ice goes through the gash on my shoulder, and the pain is so intense that I close my eyes and bite down hard on my tongue to stop myself from screaming.
I'm not letting some freaky beast get the better of me.
…
I won't cry. I won't.
…
It'll only hurt for a few seconds more.
...
As promised, the stinging burn goes away, but I can't open my eyes yet.
…
I'm scared. I'm really scared.
…
It is alright, child. Open your eyes.
Slowly, I obey the voice and look down at my arm.
The long cut that started from my shoulder and ran down my arm has been replaced by a delicate, silver scar. It sparkles like crystal in the pale light of the sun.
Better?
Shock doesn't let me say anything back. I open and close my hand over and over.
"My arm isn't going to fall off?"
Laughter echoes from somewhere, and that's when I realize the monster isn't here in front of me anymore.
No. I have healed you.
For a few seconds, I watch my breaths turn into smoke in front of my face. Then, once I'm sure that I'm not about to die, I shakily rise to my feet.
I'm still a bit dizzy, but that's okay.
"Where did you go?"
A sharp gust of wind responds to my question, nearly knocking me back down to the ground.
This Domain Expansion is a realm of time, space, and memory.
"What?" I ask, groaning when I try to take a step forward only for my foot to sink deep into the slush. "I don't get it."
More laughter echoes around me.
Yes… I think this could work.
This is getting annoying.
"Do you have to speak in riddles?" I wonder irritably as I carefully make my way across the gigantic courtyard towards the nearest crystal palace. "And how did we get here anyway? Is this a kidnapping? It feels like a kidnapping!"
The monster doesn't speak for a while, leaving me alone to shuffle along until I'm standing on a cobblestone path sitting beneath a series of crystal arches that lead to the castle's entrance.
I will send you home if you can help me. I too wish to return to where I belong.
"Why should I help you?"
Because I healed you…
"After injuring me in the first place, Ugly."
…
Is it necessary to insult my appearance?
"You almost hacked my arm off!"
…
Are you no longer frightened, child?
The question catches me off-guard.
A minute ago, I was terrified.
But now…
"Not really," I say once I've reached the gigantic doorway. "You don't sound evil, and I guess you did heal me."
In silence I reach for the thick, silver handles. They feel cool beneath my hands, but when I pull on them, they don't budge.
You cannot enter until I invite you inside…
"Then invite me already."
Another series of chuckles bounce through my head.
Try it now, child.
This time when I pull on the handles, the heavy doors open easily, revealing a brightly lit foyer. Everything I see, from the chandeliers to the floor, is made out of crystal refracting light in every color of the rainbow.
"Whoa…"
What is your name child?
"Angelica. Angelica Kelmendi. What's yours?"
Once fully inside, the doors shut behind me.
My name…is Cosmos.
"That's a weird name," I murmur, glancing down at the violet carpet cutting through the center of the room as I walk. "You should think about changing it."
Perhaps I will…should I be successful in this task. Tell me, Angelica Kelmendi, do other worlds interest you?
"Only if I can get back home in time for dinner." Smiling, I raise my arm again, admiring the jagged, silver trail crisscrossing over my skin. "I can't wait to show Miharu this scar. It's really cool!"
That mark is a symbol of my power running through you now.
"Really? Does that mean I'll be able to do magic?"
No. It is simply a protection charm. It'll fade after my experiment is complete.
"Experiment?"
A soul compatible with mine is needed to reform my original body. I believe you are a good candidate for this. The process comes with some risk, but if successful, you will have the power to carry my spirit back to my home world. Afterward, I can dismantle the link and send you home in time for dinner, as you put it.
I take a few more seconds to glance around the foyer a final time before continuing my trek up a grand, crystal staircase.
"I don't know why you're saying all this as if I have a choice in it. You're gonna put me through the experiment no matter what I say, right?
There's silence for a moment.
It is my preference for my subjects to participate willingly, but yes, you are correct in this assumption. I will do what must be done regardless.
"Yeah, figured that."
However, I promise to send you home to your family immediately following the experiment. I know how important family is. I do not wish to keep you away from them. I have my own family I wish to see.
Once I'm standing at the top of the stairs, a set of French doors open to reveal another massive room of crystal.
On the far end, a deathly pale woman with long silver waves of hair sits upon a glass throne. She crosses her legs as I enter, the folds of her billowing white dress swaying lightly as her grip tightens around the golden hilt of a black sword.
Her sad eyes cycle through every color before settling on a deep blue.
"Guide me home, child. Please…"
Tears immediately run down her face.
Miharu wore the same expression when she begged for those extra ten minutes on the beach.
I couldn't say no then. Guess I'm not saying no now either, not that it matters.
"Fine. Do what you want."
Angelica Kelmendi never returned home.
When she agreed to help the Cursed Spirit known as Cosmos, it was with an extremely limited understanding of the risks involved.
The Curse took advantage of the girl's naivete, believing the emotional manipulation a simple means to a satisfactory end for both parties.
However, though successful in replicating her Dimension Traversal Technique, Cosmos's attempt to bind her soul to the young girl was a catastrophic failure that, inadvertently, trapped Angelica in the other world she wanted to reach so badly.
The protective charm emblazoned on the girl's arm remained, giving off a faint trace, but Cosmos didn't have the strength necessary to fulfill her promise to send the girl home in the aftermath. Additionally, once Sorcerers arrived with the intent to exorcise her, she lost the desire to try.
Thus, in the years following, Cosmos continued her experiments on others.
…
To this day, Angelica Kelmendi is the only one of her subjects to have survived her Soul Bind Technique.
…
Cosmos believes it was the protection charm she cast that prevented the girl from dying, but the spell is designed to fade over time. In the beginning, she kept track of the link, opening her Domain to catch glimpses of the child navigating through the world so distant from her own.
…
She felt it weaken every day that passed…and did nothing about it.
…
Eventually, Cosmos stopped looking in on the girl's life, too embroiled in her task of building up power to extend much more than a fleeting thought towards her. The weakening link was enough of a reminder that she had to keep going. She couldn't stop. If she did…everyone's suffering would be for nothing.
…
However, one day the link snapped in a manner so abrupt that Cosmos couldn't ignore it.
…
That day she searched throughout her Domain, using as much power as she dared to look into her home world, hoping to find Angelica there, alive and well.
…
What she found…tore all her reasons asunder.
…
Cosmos continued her experiments for a few years more after that, but each failure brought on new waves of grief and guilt.
…
Her victims had longed for home too, had they not?
…
She knew her hands had been sullied long before becoming a Cursed Spirit, knew that she wouldn't be forgiven, even if she succeeded.
The only reason she kept trying was because of maternal desperation.
She had a family. They needed her. She would commit every sin imaginable just for the hope of seeing them again.
…
She watched Angelica commit similar atrocities for the same purpose.
…
And in the end, when all was said and done, she didn't find any mercy.
…
This is why Cosmos decided to go to Japan.
…
On the one hand, she could, in theory, complete the selfish objective so many had died in the name of. She just needed to stall Satoru Gojo long enough to draw him into her Domain and take a portion of his power.
...
But in the core of her heart, Cosmos knew this wouldn't be possible.
…
She went to Japan to die. Plain and simple.
...
It's what she deserves.
...
It's what she expects after drenching her world and this one in blood.
…
She never imagined encountering the girl's sister.
...
Miharu Kelmendi's Cursed Technique obeys the law of energy conservation. This law makes a firm statement - that energy can neither be created nor destroyed but is transferable by means of transformation from one entity to the next.
Generally, when Miharu comes into contact with elevated levels of Cursed Energy, her body absorbs small traces for future use. If not used in a timely manner, the energy eventually cycles out.
Because she has no knowledge of Jujutsu, any other abilities that come with her technique happen involuntarily when the need arises.
Bypassing barriers such as the Curtain placed by Kiyotaka Ijichi and techniques controlling space like Satoru Gojo's inherited Limitless technique were results of Miharu either absorbing or transforming Cursed Energy.
Cosmos noticed this when she swatted the girl earlier.
This in combination with an inherited ability from the Kelmendi bloodline makes her the perfect candidate for her Soul Bind Technique.
It's a sad irony that the soul she has searched for all along is the person least likely to help her.
...
But Cosmos is fine with this. She no longer wishes to return to her home.
...
Her wish now is...
"Angelica is dead, isn't she?"
Those are the first words out of her mouth after the Curse dissolves its Domain Expansion. Once more we stand within the Veil Ijichi placed over this portion of the Shibuya district.
My phone doesn't have a signal, but I can still check the time.
7:05
The digital numbers stare back mockingly.
I'm well past my usual record of ten minutes per mission, but it's fine. Exorcising Curses is something I've been doing for ages now, so there's nothing personal in it for me. I kill them because those were the cards handed to me at birth…and because it's generally a good time to show off how cool I am.
For Miharu though, dealing with this Curse is a deeply personal matter.
…
That's why she was so determined to stop me...and actually succeeded.
…
It makes sense. I wouldn't have allowed anyone else to execute Suguru.
...
I wasn't the only one he betrayed back then, but he was my best friend, and as best friends we made a pact. Whether it be Curses, Curse Users, or even other Sorcerers if need be, we agreed to not to kill without there being a point in doing so.
If you want to kill me, then kill me.
There would be a point to that.
…
Mission or no mission, I won't exorcise this Curse unless Miharu requests it. It's not my place to take vengeance for her, even though I'm positively aching to yank every eye off that thing's wings and listen to it scream while I paint all of Tokyo in its blood.
…
Imagining the scene makes me feel a little giddy, especially because Miharu doesn't have the slightest clue about Jujutsu.
Showing the full scope of my abilities to someone who has no idea what I'm capable of sounds absolutely exhilarating.
A part of me even prays she'll ask me to step in.
...
Like Aladdin with Jasmine, I could show her a whole new world.
...
"Well," she murmurs, completely oblivious to my presence. "I'm waiting."
Yes. Angelica Kelmendi is dead.
Miharu closes her eyes.
I did not kill her, but in that other world...
The Curse trails off, its bloodied wings drooping toward the ground.
"Do you know how she died at least," she questions, her voice sharp with thinly veiled wrath. "Or better yet…how she lived while in that world? Was she happy? Did she go to university or get married? Did she have any kids?"
Silence, thick and terrible, permeates through the air.
I don't like it. I prefer motion and noise to drown out the quiet, but I've committed myself to allowing this to play out how Miharu wants.
Her willingness to listen to this despicable creature is indicative of a compassionate heart.
...
That heart won't allow her to succumb to any notions of hate, no matter how enraged she becomes.
"Stop stalling," she barks suddenly, speaking through clenched teeth. "They're simple yes or no questions. Do you know or don't you?"
All of the Curse's eyes become glassy.
You are not ready for those answers. Trust me…
"Trust you!?" Miharu wails, a harsh laugh escaping past her lips as she finally opens her eyes.
They glow so bright now that they're almost white.
"You're out of your mind if you think I would ever trust your judgement about anything! You will answer me. Right now!"
The Curse shakes its head violently, prostrating itself at her feet.
You don't understand. Like me…your sister was desperate for home, and she committed evils akin to my own in hopes of achieving that end. You are not ready to witness such things. Believe me. Please…
Under any other circumstances I'd be in hysterics over a Special Grade falling to pieces at the feet of a feeble woman. I would even make a show out of obtaining photo and video evidence of the occurrence to annoy Nanami with too.
But this isn't the moment for any of that.
"Miharu, take a second to breathe. You'll start hyperventilating if you don't."
She nods once, taking my advice in stride without a word. The breath she takes isn't the most effective intake of oxygen, but it'll help her stay calm and prevent the little Cursed Energy she has from fluctuating out of control.
Negative emotions are the reason Curses exist, but it can't be helped. Every human being has them.
Even me…
…
Spreading misery is a core aspect of a Curse's nature, regardless of any fleeting whims to change that.
Some might say the same thing about humanity, but I don't really care to juggle philosophical conjectures around.
I wish to atone.
"Of course you do," Miharu mutters, taking another deep breath while the luminous glow of her eyes dims back to a lavender color. "It's always about what you want. Forget everything and everyone else, right?"
That is how it's been, yes. But not now. Never again.
She stares down at the Curse with pure disgust on her face.
"Prove it."
The Curse raises a trembling hand of charcoal mist and points at abandoned sword it dropped in our battle.
Do what you must to bring peace to your soul.
Miharu's shimmering eyes narrow on the weapon, but she doesn't move right away.
Another agonizing silence fills the air until finally...
"Gojo?"
This is the first time she's addressed me since we left the Domain.
"What is it, sweetheart?"
Her gaze moves to meet mine.
"Thank you."
My heart skips again.
"For what?"
She starts to say something, but when the words don't come, she moves to close the short gap between us, breaking through Infinity again to throw her arms around my neck.
Though the sudden embrace is just a simple expression of gratitude for my presence, the press of her body against mine fills my chest with an unfamiliar warmth. The feeling leaves me unable to do anything but fold my arms around her.
No one has ever driven me speechless before now.
…
It's…nice to not have to fill the silence with meaningless noise.
...
It's refreshing to feel alive without needing the adrenaline of battle.
…
Miharu won't ask me to finish this Curse off for her.
...
She doesn't need me to do anything...because she has her own form of strength.
…
Courage…
…
It's the same type of strength Amanai had.
…
"What's going on in that pretty head of yours?" I question, pulling back slightly.
She looks up at me with watery eyes.
"I'm thinking that if I die in the next five minutes, it'll be okay so long as I do this first."
Taking my face into her hands, she crushes her mouth to mine.
And there it is...
...
That catatonic high of oblivion I was certain I'd never feel again.
...
Keeping one arm wrapped around her waist, I immediately weave a hand through her hair, tipping her head back so I can savor how she tastes.
...
It's a sudden, inexplicable terror to truly feel another person.
...
Look at me. The strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer on Earth...scared out of his mind over a simple kiss.
...
Except it isn't that simple, is it?
...
She was talking about dying.
...
On my watch no less!
...
It's beyond insulting, but I can't properly comment on her idiocy because my lips are occupied, and by the time I'm ready to chew her out, she's out of my arms, running to pick up the sword on the ground.
Did you have to do that in front of me?
"I kissed him because I like him," she mutters, her expression impossible for me to read, even with Six Eyes, as she bends to grip the sword's golden handle. "And because I'm going to do something stupid."
Not liking where this is going, I glance down at my phone a final time.
…
7:08
…
When I shift my gaze back to Miharu, she's struggling to lift the blade from off the ground.
It's...honestly pathetic.
"Miharu?"
"I got it," she grinds out, her stormy eyes locked on the Special Grade.
Is she going to exorcise it?
...
"Try not to get blood on your clothes."
"Shouldn't you be more concerned with me stabbing myself on accident? Why the heck is this thing so heavy!?"
She looks so cute with that grimace of determination.
"I have a dinner reservation for 7:45 at a new restaurant that just opened up. Can't have my beautiful date for the night walk in with blood all over her."
Miharu shakes her head, raising the black blade in front of her chest once she's standing over the monster of her childhood.
"There's not going to be any blood to worry about."
Her eyes brighten.
"Wait..." I take a step forward. "What are you about to do?"
Are you not going to kill me? I thought...
"I already said what I was going to do. Something stupid."
Miharu holds the black blade horizontally in front of her as she addresses the Curse.
"Tell me this, Cosmos," she commands. "Are our souls compatible?"
The eyes on the Curse's wings widen in pure shock.
You would...?
Crap. She is doing something stupid.
Raising my right hand, I conjure up a powerful Reversal Red while the Curse places a hand over hers along the hilt of the blade.
"Miharu, get away from it now!"
She shakes her head.
"No. If you want to stop me, you'll have to kill me yourself."
...
This woman...is dangerous.
...
If you want to kill me, then kill me.
There would be a point to that.
...
"Trust me. It'll be alright...probably."
My fingers tremble...
If Miharu is doing what I think she's doing...I should kill her where she stands right now.
...
I don't want to make the same mistakes as before. I can't live through the same pain again.
...
But...
...
The Curse's Eyes flash white once more.
December 15th, 2017
Tokyo, Japan - Shibuya District
7:15pm
"He's taking way too long in there."
Kiyotaka Ijichi murmurs this to himself as he paces back and forth in a panic, not because he believes Gojo is in any danger, but because he knows the man prides himself on maintaining that personal record of exorcising Curses in ten minutes or less.
Now, if Gojo had been finished within fifteen minutes that would have been perfectly reasonable. Even twenty minutes is fine because sometimes the maniac wants to take his time. You know, go at a more leisurely pace.
But when Ijichi looks at his phone for the thousandth time, the digital numbers tell him the crazy man has been inside the barriers for over forty-five minutes.
The poor manager is about to have a full-scale panic attack at this point because obviously the extra time is due to the random, non-sorcerer woman that he didn't warn Gojo about…because the Veils he put up won't come down for anything and said Veils block cell phone signals.
To top it all off, he has a fever, but he can't go home and tend to that until Gojo returns.
In summation, Ijichi is having a terrible, no good, and all-around awful December evening in Shibuya.
He'll have a worse evening in Shibuya come Halloween 2018, but so will everyone else.
Especially our main character.
But that matters little in the present as Ijichi leans against his car with his flimsy umbrella positioned over his head.
The torrential downpour only adds to his current misery.
"Okay, we shouldn't panic," he mutters to himself even though he's been panicking ever since he received word about the woman phasing through the Curtain. "It's fine. Gojo will be out any minute now. No need to drag anyone else into this."
…
Less than a second later he's scrolling through his contacts for Nanami's number, because even though Ijichi is a capable adult…he needs a more capable adult to swoop in and fix this increasingly stressful situation.
His thumb hovers over the call button, but he pauses when he hears voices coming from inside the Veil.
"Wait a moment."
"What now? I'm hungry!"
"MEOW!"
"I know. I know. Just need to see something. Try sticking your arm out."
Ijichi watches a woman's hand poke through the Curtain.
"Like this?"
Delicate, pale fingers wiggle for a few seconds.
"Interesting. Even I can't phase through right now. See?"
There's a knock against the barrier wall, and though Ijichi wants to say something, he finds that he can't.
"Wait? You can't get out?"
The hand disappears back inside.
"Haha! It's fine. I don't have to phase through. I can just break the barriers…like so!"
A loud pop screeches through the air. The two Veils split apart and dissolve, revealing Satoru Gojo and a woman with wavy black hair, grey eyes, a Shikigami tiger cub on her shoulder, and a sheathed sword strapped to her back.
They don't notice Ijichi at all.
"Wow…that's pretty cool," she coos, her eyes brightening with excitement.
"I know, right?" Gojo answers back, blindfold firmly set over his eyes. "I can do all sorts of cool things."
Ijichi blinks slowly, his expression shifting into a deadpanned expression of disbelief as he clears his throat.
Gojo and the woman finally turn to face him.
"Oh!" The strongest Sorcerer breaks into a wide grin. "Ijichi! Come over here! Meet my girlfriend, Miharu Kelmendi!"
She bows her head slightly. "Pleasure to meet…"
Trailing off suddenly, she straightens her posture then twists on her heel to growl at the Satoru Gojo.
"G-girlfriend!? I didn't agree to any relationship with you!"
"What?" he asks, a childish pout on his face. "Did we not just share a passionate kiss, my dear? Were you taking advantage of me?"
She blushes.
"Of course not! I just got caught up in the moment. A lot of intense stuff happened in there…"
"Including that kiss…"
"Shut up! You're embarrassing me!"
He chuckles while looping an arm around her waist, which causes Ijichi to raise his eyebrows in alarm.
The poor manager still can't bring himself to speak.
He's not blinking or breathing either…which is probably bad.
"Okay, I'll stop teasing you," Gojo murmurs lowly into her ear, completely ignoring the other man's presence. "For now."
She growls again, brushing her fingers against the tiger cub's head. "Keep it up and I'll feed your eyeballs to Tuna."
"Oh? Not calling him Fatty Tuna anymore?"
"He didn't like the Fatty part."
"Too bad. It suited him."
"MEOW!"
Ijichi has no idea what he is witnessing, only that it's way too much for him to take in while he has a fever.
Gojo looks back at him then, frowning slightly.
"You okay?"
Kiyotaka Ijichi doesn't answer.
"THUMP!"
Gojo and Miharu both wince at the noise of the man dropping to the pavement.
They stare at the man's twitching body on the sidewalk then at each other.
"Shouldn't we…I don't know…help him?"
There's silence for a moment as rain bounces off the Infinity shielding them both.
"His colleagues are nearby. They can handle it."
"Are you sure?"
"It's fine," Gojo reassures her with a light moan of irritation as he begins to guide her away. "Ijichi has always been a little dramatic."
Miharu shrugs, more concerned with the ache in her stomach even as she watches him scroll through his contacts to text someone labeled The Boring Adult.
"If you say so."
Once the message is sent, Gojo turns off his phone.
He doesn't want to keep up with time tonight.
Neither does she.
...
"Thank you for trusting me, Satoru."
...
"I better not regret it. Understand?"
...
"Can't promise that."
"Should've known. You're nothing but trouble."
She giggles in response to his words.
"And you're not?"
...
"Guilty as charged, sweetheart. We're just a blazing trail of red flags all the way around."
"Then let's have fun while this lasts."
Free from the grip of Sorcery and Curses for now, the strange pair walk side by side like any other couple braving a cold December night.
A/N: This has got to be the weirdest romance I have ever written in my life. And guess what...this chapter marks the end of the prologue arc for this story! You heard me right. All five of these chapters were basically a gigantic prologue. Things are going to change dramatically come next chapter. Wherever you think this story might be going...throw it out the metaphorical window.
My brain is burning again. Ugh.
Thanks for reading everyone. I think I've gone insane, but writing this is a lot of fun for me and I hope it shows. Now that I'm done with the prologue...the real work begins. Best wishes and God bless you all!