Chapter Text
Even after their opponent absorbs some of the most potent paralytic poison that Junpei has to offer, he doesn’t begin to believe that this fight will be easy, especially after Todo sent Yuji flying with a single punch.
Junpei breathes heavily, directing Moondregs to extend a tentacle to pick up Yuji from his place on the floor. “Lock in, Yuji. He’s still gonna be dangerous, even while poisoned.”
His classmate groans, steadying himself and allowing the scars on his face from Flowing Red Scale to lengthen. “Yep, got that much, alright.”
Todo laughs, spitting up blood in the process. “I’ll admit, you all are pretty cunning,” he says with a wicked grin, tearing his shirt off in one motion. “Cursed poison, right? Pretty nasty stuff too, considering how bad I feel right now.” (That should not be as hot as it is.)
CLAP!
Junpei’s mouth falls open as the poison flowing through Todo’s veins suddenly splashes across the forest floor. “A single opening move from you, and I’m already forced to use my cursed technique? You’re pretty impressive for a liar.”
Moondregs billows angrily behind him, the mental link between Junpei and his Shikigami vibrating with fury, a rage now reflected on his face as Junpei sends a stinger soaring at Todo. Yuji leaps into action with a discus of blood, quickly followed up with a devastating right hook. (I am NOT a liar!)
Junpei infuses his body with cursed energy, sticking to the treeline and directing Moondregs from a distance as Yuji weaves around blow after blow from Todo with absolute focus. Junpei, on the contrary, fails to notice the giant suddenly warping behind him with another clap of his hands. The punch lands squarely in Junpei’s back and sends him tumbling to the forest floor.
As he plummets, he chants, “Stitched Beast: Basilisk,” in a panic. His shadow bubbles up from under him and explodes in a deluge of snakes that catch him before he hits the forest floor. Most of them fall back into his shadow after catching him, only a few remaining to slither around his body.
“That’s new,” Todo comments, taking a more passive stance as he stands before Junpei and Yuji. (Why did he stop? Is he curious? Whatever, it’s best to stall right now.)
Carefully schooling his expression, Junpei declares, “It is new. Basilisk is a gift, and I’m gonna cherish it.”
“Yoshino…” Yuji warns, poised to attack. Junpei shoots him a look that asks him to go along with what he says.
“Fascinating,” Todo murmurs, clenching and unclenching his hands. “If you won’t tell me the truth, I’ll just have to get you to show me it.”
Not giving him a moment to consider what that means, Todo springs into motion once more, aiming a powerful kick directly at Junpei’s midsection. Junpei catches it with Moondregs, ordering his Shikigami to allow Todo’s foot to sink into it in order to hopefully keep him trapped for long enough for Yuji to land an attack.
CLAP!
Suddenly, though, it’s Yuji stuck in Moondregs’ grip, and Todo launching a blow. (His teleportation can affect others!?)
In a panic, Junpei allows Basilisk to escape his shadow again, keeping a tight hold on its binding and allowing the swarm of serpents to wash over Todo. (Dammit, I can’t hold these serpents stable! How does Fushiguro make it seem so easy?)
He doesn’t get any time to consider that, though, as Todo bursts from the pile of snakes, punching Junpei directly in the stomach and causing him to double over on the spot, heaving as he loses concentration on his shadow. The snakes vanish into the forest floor, their shadows slithering back to him.
Junpei tries to recover as quickly as possible, his vision finally clearing to reveal Todo and Yuji trading blows at an almost imperceptible speed. Swiftly, he orders Moondregs to fire both of its stingers at Todo, and actually manages to land one… that bounces right off of Todo’s reinforcement.
Todo then proceeds to catch Yuji by the foot, and bodily throws his friend directly into him, causing the both of them to be sent into Moondregs’ waiting embrace to cushion their fall.
“I’ve seen enough,” Todo proclaims, much to both of their horror. (Dammit. We were supposed to hold out for much longer! Now our teammates might not be able to complete their duties.)
The teleporting sorcerer scratches his chin, looking deep in thought as he appraises Junpei and his friend. “You know, originally I was going to try and push you further before asking you this, but you’re already wound tightly enough, I think.”
“What are you saying?” Yuji asks, guarded.
“Itadori Yuji,” the giant boy says calmly. “What kind of person is your type?” (Geez, I hope Yuji can manage to answer Todo in a way that satisfies him. He’s clearly not taking us seriously yet, and he’s been kicking our asses with the most basic form of his cursed technique.)
Yuji takes a deep breath in, minutely unclenching his fists. “You value honesty, right? Well, I’ll answer you honestly; I don’t know if I really know right now. So much has changed for me recently that I haven't really been thinking about who I’d date, guy or girl.” (Wait, Yuji’s a queer?)
Todo nods for Yuji to continue. “But, I guess, if I really had to pick… a tall girl with a big ass sounds pretty great. Or maybe a classic tall, dark and handsome guy.”
The tall boy sighs, and Junpei readies his stance, hearing Basilisk hissing in his ear, begging to be free. “Just like junior high, huh, Yuji?”
Pushing down his jealousy at how easily Yuji was able to answer, Junpei asks, “Yuji, did you go to school with him?”
Sounding bewildered, Yuji responds, “No, I didn’t. I have no idea what this guy is saying.”
Then, Todo begins to cry, monologuing about his middle school experience with Yuji and himself. “We were the three musketeers, weren’t we!? All for one and one for all! We truly were the best of friends!”
In a flash of movement and cursed energy, Todo brings the two of them into a hug. “I can’t believe the cruel world tore us apart!” the boy blubbers, and Junpei is too stunned to even order Moondregs to do anything.
A blush blooms across his face, and he extracts himself from the hug, trying not to think about Todo’s arms. (I’m not a gay. Why am I reacting like this?)
Yuji awkwardly pats Todo on the back, but also slowly extracts himself from Todo’s arms.
“Now! The cruelty of the world has torn us apart in more ways than one,” Todo proclaims, snapping his fingers. “For we are not equal anymore! This. is. UNACCEPTABLE! The three musketeers must be on par with one another, yet you, Itadori, are now weaker than I, and Yoshino is weaker still.”
Both Yuji and himself grumble, but can’t find it in them to reject that. (Despite his delusions, Todo is clearly very intelligent.)
“Clearly, I must teach you all what I have learned during our long time apart,” the boy decides, to which Junpei and Yuji hesitantly nod.
“Itadori,” Todo addresses him.
“Yuji,” his classmate interrupts. “If we’re supposed to be the three musketeers, you shouldn’t be calling me by my family name,” he decides, nudging Junpei to say something similar.
He’s definitely not blushing as he says, “Uh… yeah. You can just call me Junpei. I guess.”
Todo freezes for a moment before slapping a hand on his forehead. “Of course! How could I forget? Very well then, Yuji, listen up, I have a question for you! You are incredibly powerful for such a new sorcerer. Is this because of Ryomen Sukuna’s influence?”
Yuji nods hesitantly. “Yeah, pretty much. Sukuna’s a wellspring of knowledge about sorcery.”
The third year nods. “I see. That explains your strong theoreticals and cursed energy control.”
“Now, Junpei…” Todo stares him down, almost causing him to flinch. “What’s your technique, my friend?” (That’s what the intense look was for!?)
Junpei cocks his head to the side. “I can make poisons? And, I guess I can make them stronger, too,” he answers hesitantly.
He raises an eyebrow, glancing at Junpei’s shadow. “And your Shikigami?”
“Uhhh, methods of delivery?” (What’s he even asking me?)
“I know that,” Todo says, rolling his eyes. “I mean it’s name, friend. What have you called your power?”
Junpei shakes his head, confused. “I didn’t name it? I mean, is it really all that important?” (I mean, I know incantation is important to learning Jujutsu, but does it stay important?)
“Of course it is, Junpei!” the muscular boy bellows, patting him on the shoulder with enough force to almost send him tumbling to the ground. “Names hold power in Jujutsu, my good friend! Would you try to navigate an unfamiliar kitchen if the ingredients had no labels?”
Processing what Todo said as he rights himself, he responds, “Uhhh, I guess not?”
Todo snaps his fingers, staring Junpei down with a gaze that seems to peirce right through him. “Exactly! If you truly wish to cook, then, you must learn what each ingredient is, or you will be lost!”
Still slightly confused, Junpei asks, “So I should like… shout out my attacks like Naruto does, or something?”
Yuji and Todo both immediately answer, “No!”
Junpei sputters. “You too, Yuji? Why? I mean, don’t you call out your attacks?”
“Yeah, but it’s different for me, Junpei,” Yuji says, a thin strand of blood peeling off the scars on his face, floating over his hand in shifting patterns. “Manipulating your own blood outside your body is really hard. It takes most of my focus to do just this, and this isn’t nearly as much blood as I usually use in combat.”
“On-the-fly Blood Manipulation just doesn’t work for me, because I'm not skilled enough yet, so I practice set moves like my Slicing Exorcism,” Yuji continues , shaping his blood into the familiar disc he uses as a throwing weapon. “Naming my moves and calling them out like that helps me remember them, and makes them more consistent. It’s like phonetic memorization!”
Todo interrupts, “Calling out your attacks also activates Disclosure. After all, the time that you’re going to attack is a detail about your technique, and a very important one at that.”
“However,” the giant boy continues his lecture. “You don’t need Disclosure for your technique to be strong; after all, your poisons are already lethal to any sorcerer without a technique to counter them. All you’ve got to worry about is landing them, and revealing when you’re going to strike only makes that harder.” (Wow, he’s a surprisingly good teacher. I didn’t think he understood how to talk to people at first, to be honest.)
Junpei nods along to what his friends are saying. “Okay… I think I get it, but why does my technique need a special name if I don’t really use Disclosure?”
Yuji cocks his head to the side. “Do you really not remember, Junpei? Jujutsu is a deeply personal, emotional art. Everything you do with cursed energy is based on your mind, your emotions and your intent. Your technique needs a name the same way you need to put a name to the emotions you feel; without one, you’re just stumbling around in the dark.”
Junpei’s breath catches. He still doesn’t know how Yuji can go from dumbass to therapist at the drop of a hat, but that’s just his friend’s magic, he supposes. (Of course it needs a name! Nameless emotions are what got me into this mess in the first place.)
He throws his focus inwards, towards his cursed energy as it flows across his body, through his technique, and into his Shikigami. For a brief moment, it seems like he can almost see an entire world inside his technique, a lush jungle temple swarming with all manner of horrors inside of it, where even the air wants you dead. But as soon as it appears before him, it’s gone.
Junpei knows what his technique is now, this toxic gift that Mahito cursed him with. He sees the ugliness in his soul, and understands what it takes to tame it. This is his sickness; all the hate, confusion and suffering he’s experienced. (I see it for what it is, and accept it as a part of me.)
“Thanks, you two,” Junpei says, a genuine smile crossing his face. “I think I get it now.” (My malice, my hurt, my rage.)
His cursed energy sharpens as he sees himself with new eyes. “My name is Yoshino Junpei, and I hold within me All Things Vile.”
Yuji is glad to see his friend succeed, especially with how rocky his transition from clueless civilian to first year sorcerer has been. (That’s one of my two schoolmates who seems to have figured themselves out. Now I’ve just gotta make sure Inumaki doesn’t crush himself under his own expectations.)
Todo claps Junpei on the shoulder. “The best way to learn from here is experience, my friend. You should seek out your fellow Shikigami user, the Ten Shadows boy.”
With renewed confidence in his eyes, Junpei nods readily, beckoning Moondregs closer and jumping on its squishy body with a cursed energy-infused leap before floating away on the back of the jellyfish, towards Jujutsu High’s main campus.
Within him, he hears a voice. “So, the young man managed to figure it out. It was my hope that my gift for him would let him take the next step down his path to power.”
Yuji jolts. “Mom? You’re awake?”
“Yes, my child,” she responds, internal voice sounding drowsy. “Not for long, but perhaps I shall remain awake long enough to grant you the wisdom you desire.”
“Thanks,” he responds, grateful, pausing for a moment. (I have to know.)
Yuji’s almost scared to ask, but he needs to make sure. “Hey, Mom… is it just me, or have you been a lot more tired lately?”
He receives a mental nod from the ancient sorcerer. “Your intuition does not deceive you, child. I fear that manifesting grows more and more exhausting with each passing day.”
“Yuji,” a serious voice calls to him from outside. “What ails you, my friend?”
He blinks. “Oh, right. Uh, nothing, Todo, sorry. I was just… lost in thought, I guess.”
Todo claps him on the shoulder. “Come now, Yuji, surely you won’t hide your pain from your fellow musketteer!” (I should have known I couldn’t lie to him like that if he managed to get around Gojo-sensei’s bullshitting.)
He sighs. “You’re right Todo, I–”
Yuji cuts himself off, his blood springing from his face to form a shield in front of him, splintering an arrow fired at his head and deflecting a bullet away from center-of-mass. Recalling his blood, he activates Flowing Red Scale, taking advantage of his heightened mobility to run away from the cursed laser blast the mechanical student fired, and finally getting into cover. (Shit, they’re actually trying to kill me.)
His mother, for all that she is exhausted, still hisses, “How dare they?” in incandescent rage.
“Jealous Kamos, or the higher ups?” Yuji wonders internally, sharing his thoughts with Ena.
“It matters not, my child. Gojo Satoru will know, and when he learns of this attempt, he will retaliate,” she assures as he leaps across the clearing, firing a Slicing Exorcism at the opposing blood manipulator and knocking Maki’s sister off the branch she’s perched on.
He’s about to knock the Zen’in girl out, but before he can, her sister leaps through the trees and carries her away, drawing the girl on the broom away at the same time, towards a bloom of thorny cursed energy he identifies as Nobara. (Maki and Nobara! I think some of the others are close by.)
As the broom girl flees, Yuji splashes a tiny portion of his blood on her dress, making sure it doesn’t dry until Nobara sees it.
A familiar voice bellows, “Worry about Todo!” Panda lunges through the treeline and slams Uchikudaku against the cursed energy-reinforced mech, sending it flying away.
“Tsuna, Tsuna,” Inumaki agrees, before following after Panda, chasing down the puppet sorcerer, chased closely by the blue-haired girl.
“Orochi!” Megumi shouts, a giant snake falling from the sky and carrying the Kamo heir away. As Megumi flies away on the back of Nue, he shouts to Yuji, “Yuji, keep him occupied, we’ve got the small fry.”
“They must have been chasing the Kyoto students for some time if they were only able to catch up to them now,” Yuji comments internally as he is once again left alone with Todo in the clearing.
His mother internally rolls her eyes, but her voice is strained as she says, “Perhaps. Regardless, their timing is rather impeccable, granting me all the evidence I need to have Gojo Satoru rain hellfire on those old men.”
“You’re speaking to Sukuna,” Todo suddenly blurts out, jabbing a finger at him. (Uh. Shit, I didn’t think he’d catch on so quickly.)
“That foreign cursed energy inside of you spikes regularly, and in time with your face,” Todo observes, tapping his finger against his head. “And judging by your lack of alarm, this happens often.”
“No point in denying it, child. It seems we must explain ourselves” Ena says warily, manifesting on his neck. “And so what if I do, boy?”
“That depends on you, Sukuna,” Todo replies, before gesturing to Yuji. “And on him.”
“You’re right,” Yuji confirms, slightly guarded. “Sukuna is one of my mentors, of course I talk to her.”
The musclebound boy raises an eyebrow, wondering “Is that so? It would certainly explain how advanced you are, despite only recently gaining access to cursed energy.” (He’s extremely smart. I’m going to have to give him more than this.)
Tiredly, Mom laughs. “Indeed. I have taken to tutoring my vessel extensively in the ways of cursed energy. However, I am not so foolish as to think that you missed my vessel’s slip.”
“Slip!?”
“You referred to me as a woman, child,” she says, and Yuji starts mentally kicking himself for such an obvious mistake. “It is of no matter. I likely would have told you either way.”
His mother introduces herself. “I am Ryomen Ena, King of Curses.” (Even as exhausted as she is, she still sounds so happy to introduce herself as her name.)
“I see,” Todo murmurs. “You’ve picked your name well, Ena. However, the name ‘Ena’ was never once mentioned in the records we have. I take it this is a recent event that I shouldn’t tell anyone else about?”
Yuji feels her mother’s mouth bob up and down on his neck, her version of a nod. “That would be correct, boy.”
Todo points directly at the two of them, bellowing, “Then you, Ena! What kind of woman is your type!?”(I probably should have seen that one coming.)
Dryly, Ena asks, “I take it you won’t stop pestering me until I answer you?”
Todo scoffs. “Obviously not.” (Dammit, Todo, only you say something so stupid in front of the literal King of Curses.)
“Very well then,” she says, amusement coloring her exhausted voice. “I like someone who knows how to appreciate a gift.”
“I think I’m starting to sense a pattern with you and gifts, Mom,” Yuji comments internally, using the dryness of his voice to cloak his concern over his mother’s disregard for herself.
“A gift is a truly miraculous thing, my child,” she responds evenly. “Even the smallest act of kindness expressed through a gift can change the life of its recipient.” (And that’s the problem. You don’t know how to accept a gift yourself, Mom.)
Todo nods solemnly. “You clearly know exactly who you like.”
“Indeed,” she says, trying to stifle a yawn as she starts to fade beneath his skin. “You’re his friend now, boy. Protect him with all you have.”
“Mom?”
Dead silence from her innate domain. (She’s asleep again. Dammit.)
Todo asks, “She can’t hear us anymore, can she?”
Yuji shakes his head. “No. She can’t.”
“It seems unlike the King of Curses to be held down like that,” his friend comments. “Do you know why?”
“Yeah, I–” his voice breaks up as he looks down at his hands. “I’m absorbing her. Eating her. It’s what my body was made to do.”
Todo gives him a serious look, meeting his eyes with intensity. “Be honest with me, Yuji–If we simply allowed your body to consume Sukuna, what would the outcome be?” (I really don’t want to think about that.)
“I–I’m not sure, but I know it’s nothing good,” Yuji replies hesitantly. “Look, I've accepted the fact that my body was made to kill Sukuna, but that doesn’t make it right. I was never told my destiny is supposedly predetermined. I wasn’t asked to be a weapon in this war. Hell, I didn’t even know about it until recently, and honestly, I don’t want her to die.” (If whoever made me this way was only trying to target Ryomen Sukuna, then they will be happy that I prevented Ena from getting caught in the crossfire. If they always intended it to destroy Ena, then I wouldn’t want to operate on their orders anyway.)
Todo nods sagely. “I understand, brother. In that case, I’ll help you destroy that future as best I can. I will aid you in learning the tools that she gave you. Is there anything that you still struggle to learn from her?”
One of the things Ena saw during that day when he encountered the change curse comes to mind.
The twirl of a swaddled cleaver. The precision of cursed energy. The power behind his strike.
Black Flash!
Those beautiful sparks. Those wonderful, impossible sparks that ignited awakening in Nanami’s eyes, that made him even stronger than he was before.
“…on one of my missions, my supervisor used a move that made his cursed energy turn black,” He hesitates for a moment. “Ena called it a Black Flash. She refused to teach me back then, saying I wasn’t ready yet, but I know I am now. I know I’m close.” (I just need to learn the theory. Then, I’ll be able to land one.)
Todo crosses his arms. “A Black Flash is the highest expression of raw cursed energy manipulation out there. You can think of it like a critical hit; if you apply your cursed energy within a trillionth of a second of your hit landing, space will distort, and cursed energy will flash black. “Upon landing a Black Flash-”
Yuji interrupts him, holding out a hand. “Todo, that’s enough. I don't want to know what it does.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“Yeah, I don't need to know what it does,” Yuji says, his eyes focused, his mind made. “The only way I want to learn that is by experiencing it myself. I’ll earn that knowledge. I have too.”
Todo laughs uproariously. “You truly are something else, Yuji. Very well, then we must–”
Both of them freeze on the spot, looking towards the sky as the inky blackness of a veil spills down the air itself, cloaking the entirety of Jujutsu High in a sickly yellow glow.
“That’s not a standard veil,” the musclebound sorcerer comments, cracking his knuckles.
“Or an authorized one,” Yuji adds. (Who dropped the veil? A curse user, or a curse? What if it’s the same group that put the veil over Satozakura?)
His eyes widen. “Wait, Junpei! We told him to find Megumi, what if-”
Todo slaps him in the face. It stings like crazy, and Yuji reels backwards from the blow, but it succeeds in pulling him out of his spiral. “Yuji! Get a hold of yourself! Junpei is strong and capable. I am sure that he will be fine. You must have faith in your fellow musketeer!”
Yuji takes a deep breath in. “You’re right, Todo, I can't afford to panic,” he realizes, rubbing his face as he scans for signatures of cursed energy nearby. “I feel three major sources of cursed energy within the barrier.”
His friend nods solemnly. “I do as well, Yuji. We shall pursue the one closest to us!”
With no further words necessary, they rush into the forest towards the nearest mass of cursed energy, leaping across rocks and trees, pushing their cursed energy to its most violent to reach their destination as fast as possible. (Fear-forged cursed energy is the best for movement, just like Mom and I tested!)
Yuji feels the cursed energy in the area go from thin to present to choking in the space of fifteen seconds as he vaults over one last rock, a kick already lined up to crash against the cursed spirit before him. He ignites his power, and with an almighty strike–
“BLACK FLASH!”
He is gifted with the sparks of black. The spirit’s chest is nearly caved in with the force of the blow, the aftershocks of sparks rippling across his body as his mind sharpens. (What a rush! I’ve got to keep going!)
Todo laughs uproariously, punching the stunned spirit in the face and sending it sailing away. “Magnificent, my friend!”
His eyes darting around, Yuji takes in the scene around him. The battlefield is already in ruins, with Panda and the puppet sorcerer already down. Inumaki is not looking too good either, coughing up blood from the use of a cursed word, and Miwa is impaled with a cursed bud. (It’s up to us, then. If we can buy enough time for Inumaki to recover, I think we can win with no further casualties.)
“You’re the applauding man that Lord Rozetsu has interest in,” the pale, muscular curse ‘says’ evenly, pointing at Todo. “And Sukuna’s tomb,” it comments, turning its branched face towards him. “Two of my objectives in one place.” (It knows my nature, but does it know Mom’s? And who the hell is Rozetsu?)
It releases its bandaged arm, a cursed flower blooming on its shoulder. “How fortuitous.”
Midair, Maki addresses Nobara, announcing that “We’re going after my sister.”
“That bitch?” Nobara asks, thinking back to the times she comforted Maki through her nightmares, listening to her sob about how ‘Mai wanted to go back there.’ There’s more to their story, Nobara knows, but she’s not keen on learning it now. “Anything I need to know about her?”
“Yeah, her technique,” Maki hums as they fall towards the forest floor. “You know that Yorozu woman that Ena hates? Yeah, well, they share a technique, except she’s about a million times less threatening with it.” (At least there’s that.)
Nobara guesses that she, “Can’t create much?”
“Yep, got it in one,” Maki confirms. Suddenly, she whirls around, her gaze falling on a point far away as she leaps off of their flying chunk of rock. “I found her! Nobara, use your soul eyes to find me, and bring that broom girl into the fight, too, I want to beat her!” (Isn’t that the girl that has a huge crush on Mai? Oh that’s petty, Maki, but I love it.)
Nobara spots the girl on the broom running away from some of her classmates towards a clearing with two people in it. (Is that Yuji and that really strong Kyoto student?),
She leaps off her rock, chasing after the girl,but she’s already being assailed by Panda, who has bashed the tree she’s hiding in over with his new Kanabo.
“Oi, Panda,” Nobara shouts, “This one’s mine. Go handle that robot guy,” she instructs, pointing deep into the forest where she can see the blinking soul of the mecha sorcerer. (Man, this eye upgrade is really useful. I almost understand why Gojo-sensei is so up his own ass about his special eyes.)
Panda gives her a nod, telling her to “have fun with Nishimiya,” before bounding into the woods and leaving her and the broom girl alone. Immediately, her eyes narrow in on a patch of blood on the girl’s dress. (That’s Itadori’s blood! His blood never coagulates until he wants it to, and it’s still dripping. He’s trying to tell us something, and I think I know what.)
After a beat of silence, Nobara comments, “You know, it’s generally considered polite to introduce yourself, you know? Though, I guess politeness really isn’t a concern for someone who tries to execute another student, is it?”
The girl immediately flinches, confirming Nobara’s suspicions. “What are you saying?”
“You’re really shit at deflecting, you know that?” Nobara hums, flaring her cursed energy. “It’s okay. I know your principal was the one to give the order. Wonder who’s pulling his strings?”
“Shut up,” Nishimiya hisses, only to be interrupted by an almighty crash resounding in the background, followed by the sound of cursed energy igniting. Focusing with her soul sight, Nobara notes that Panda is in much better shape than the mech sorcerer, despite the mech getting some backup in the form of a girl wielding a Katana.
“Doesn’t seem like the fight’s going all too well for your robot guy, huh? Panda’s really strong, I wonder how long this’ll take him,” she idly wonders, watching as the broom girl gets angrier and angrier.
Nishimiya glares at her. “You think the world of sorcery is based on skill, right?”
Nobara scoffs in response, crossing her arms. “I’d say it’s based on power, personally, but I can tell you’re using skill as a synonym.”
The other girl rolls her eyes. “Whatever. It’s only based on power for the guys. For girls, you have to be strong and cute in order to succeed. We’re expected to be perfect, get it?” (Goddammit, why did I have to get stuck fighting internalized misogyny woman?)
“I get how fucking annoying you are,” Nobara hisses, snapping her fingers and resonating her cursed energy. “Starburst!” (Starburst is my newest innovation with my technique. With my cursed energy, I can resonate the displaced air by snapping my fingers with a pocket of air on top of my opponent.)
Looking through the forest with her soul enhanced eyes, Nobara spots Maki dueling her sister, pushing her closer to where she’s fighting with Nishimiya. (She wants a two on two.)
The blond girl fires off a gust of wind at her, but Nobara easily shrugs it off with standard reinforcement. Her opponent rants, “But what’s expected of Mai isn’t just perfection! She’s a part of-”
“The Zen’in clan, I know,” Nobara interrupts, leaping into the air, using resonance to displace the ground beneath her feet. “One of the three ‘great’ families, obsessed with cursed techniques, major misogynists, you really don’t have to give me the recap,” she hums, landing on a tree branch right in front of Nishimiya.
Her opponent looks surprised. “You know?”
“Obviously. Maki’s told me all about those assholes and the shit they get up to,” she spits, remembering the times Maki’s talked to her about the origin of some of her scars. “You idolize Mai, that much is obvious, but I can’t stand her.”
Nishimiya launches another wind attack that Nobara easily evades, a vein popping on the smaller girl’s forehead. Nobara can see Maki and Mai approaching, just a couple dozen feet away, and continues her advance toward them.
“You wanna know why I hate her, corn cob? It’s ‘cause she wanted to stay! Stay under the thumb of those horrible men, instead of go out and become something, to RAGE against her chains,” Nobara yells, kicking off a tree and leaping into the clearing where Maki and Mai are fighting.
Maki’s eyes widen as she enters the clearing. Mai immediately turns her aim on Nobara and fires.
“Nobara!” Maki shouts, preparing to block the bullet. (She won’t be fast enough.)
In a burst of speed Nobara didn’t know Maki was capable of, Nobara is swept out of the way of the bullet, cradled in Maki’s arms and set gently onto the ground.
Getting to her feet, Nobara declares, “Holy shit, Maki, I could kiss you,” before realizing what she said, her face heating up in a blush.
Maki sputters for a moment, before she’s abruptly reminded that the fight is still ongoing, and has to drag Nobara out of the way of another two bullets and a wind blast, pulling her behind a tree.
Nobara asks, “Since when could you move that fast, Maki?”
“Since a few hours ago,” she admits. “Your theory worked. I can push my cursed energy into you for around three-fourths of a second.”
Nobara scowls, dashing out behind a different tree as another shot blows through the tree bark. “That’s not enough for your dream, Maki.”
Maki nods sadly. “It’s not. But it’s overkill for these two.”
Nobara’s face changes to a smile. “That much is for sure.” (God, I love her so much.)
Nobara glances over at where the clearing is, seeing Mai in the process of reloading. She asks Maki, “Wanna teach them what we know about the unwritten history of the golden age of sorcery, Maki?”
She projects her voice so that the Kyoto students will hear, stepping out from behind cover with Maki by her side. “The erased parts that you won’t hear about outside of Lady Tengen’s personal library.” (But I won’t be forgotten as they were. I’ll etch the name ‘Kugisaki Nobara, Girl of Steel’ into the halls of history. I’ll be honored as the greatest user of my technique.)
Mai’s face twists into shock when Nobara refers to the ancient sorcerer as ‘Lady,’ before curling into a snarl. “What do you mean?”
“I’m so glad you asked,” Nobara says, voice falsely saccharine as her cursed energy flares.
Maki sighs fondly, causing Nobara’s heart to skip a beat as she readies Hama Yumi. “You know what? Let’s do it.”
Cursed energy surging, Nobara leaps at Nishimiya, snapping her fingers with a call of, “Starburst,” causing cursed energy to erupt on top of her broom, knocking her off balance and sending her tumbling to the forest floor. (Ena wasn’t lying. My technique really is powerful. I held back quite a bit there, and it still got her pretty good.)
“Another story about the Angel, child?” Sukuna asks amusedly. “Your obsession with her is quite odd, you know?”
Nobara groans. “Dammit, Grandma, just tell me about her already.”
Sukuna laughs heartily from her place on Itadori’s neck as he snoozes on the couch. “If you insist, child.”
“Let me tell you about the Angel, the Abe clan’s superweapon,” Nobara declares, jumping into the skies with a burst of cursed energy, managing to lay a hand on Nishimiya’s broom before she can fight back. “It’s said that it was useless to face her in open combat, because cursed energy would weaken by her mere presence! Cursed techniques were just as worthless against her, something she proved against Sugawara no Michizane himself, and her Reverse Cursed Technique was so powerful she managed to pull herself back together from a pile of bloody sludge!”
“Oi, Sukuna. Tell me about Uraume,” Nobara demands, slightly breathless from her spar with Itadori. “You kept comparing my fighting form to hers.”
“Theirs,” Sukuna corrects. “Ume never found a home in their body, much like myself. They requested I stop referring to them as either prince or princess, despite that being their rank in the imperial family.”
A gunshot rings out across the clearing, the bullet sailing towards her and missing entirely thanks to Maki grabbing hold of her and flinging her out of harm’s way. She watches as Maki volleys off an arrow at her sister, spearing the gun from her hand.
“Let me tell you about Uraume, Sukuna’s first and most faithful,” Nobara yells, causing another eruption of cursed energy on Nishimiya’s broom with the snap of her fingers. “They were strong enough to keep up with Sukuna in open combat and smart enough to be a match for Sukuna’s own sorcerous genius. They laid the groundwork for modern lethal domain barriers!”
“My turn, Nobara,” Maki shouts, preparing to remove her cursed energy once more. (God, she’s so hot.)
Her senpai dashes after Mai, knocking her sister to the ground and holding her at spearpoint. “Did you know there was someone in the past who shared my Pact, Mai?” she asks, voice deadly quiet. “Her name was Fujiwara Maki, and by Sukuna’s own admission, she was the strongest foe he ever faced. My ancestor fought Sukuna thrice and won decisively two of those times, all without a drop of cursed energy.”
Mai stares up at her sister with equal parts hate and confusion. “The hell’s your point, Maki?”
Maki sighs, crouching down before Mai, planting her Naginata in the ground. “The point is that my dream isn’t hopeless or unrealistic, Mai. We both deserve better than what we’ve got, y’know?”
Mai shakes her head angrily, wiping a tear from her eye. “Even if I shared your dream, I’d never be able to get as strong as you, Maki.” (That just isn’t true.)
“Hey Sukuna, who do you hate the most?” Nobara asks.
“My brother,” Sukuna answers without missing a beat. “But aside from him, there was a single sorcerer I can truly claim to hold a grudge against; Yorozu of the Fujiwara.”
Maki asks, “Did you know there was a girl with your technique during the Heian era?”
Mai coughs. “Gonna rub it in my face how much weaker I am than her?”
Maki shakes her head in response, getting back to her feet. “Not everything I say to you is an insult, Mai. But I’ll say this much; she was enough of a threat for Sukuna to have an opinion of her. You can be more than this, Mai. All you have to do is commit to it.”
And then, the sound of applause resounds across the clearing they find themselves in. (That doesn’t sound like anyone in either school.)
“My, my, how inspiring. I must admit, girl, your knowledge of the past is impressive. Do you think yourself a scholar?”
A claw peeks out from behind a tree, cursed energy spiking as a pale skinned, humanoid curse steps out into the clearing. (Fuck. This event is over, isn’t it.)
“I’m a sorcerer, not a scholar,” Maki says defiantly, hands gripping her naginata tightly.
The curse frowns, glancing down at its claws. “All the greatest scholars of jujutsu were powerful sorcerers, you know?”
It sighs, finally staring at them head on with glowing red eyes. “Oh, but what is the point of conversing with weaklings like you?”