"you are not me and i am not you, but you and i are the same thing"
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2009
Blood.
It coated the ground you walked on, bathing the end of your kimono in its dark tint as you made your way through a village in disarray. Just a gaze at the debris and dead bodies was enough to resemble a Renaissance tragedy painting right in front of your eyes; it's as if you could hear their cry for mercy. It's a sight you don't mind seeing. It was up to society's probing eyes to decide whether that was fortunate or unfortunate. Nonetheless, you may have had a sinking feeling since ripped bodies, and dead children did not elicit a sense of dread from you.
Time and experience sure as hell managed to mold you into the perfect human being.
Nonetheless, what you witnessed now was trivial compared to all other matters you have seen and experienced. The metallic smell of blood was quite heavy in the air, and it caught your attention as the scent that lingered in the air made you realize what exactly you stepped into.
Sorcerers.
The answer appears to be at the root of every single disaster you've witnessed. Finally, taking a good look at your surroundings, it bemused you that it took you this long to form an answer. Even if you weren't there to see this in action, you could feel the events that occurred from beginning to end. It was also painfully clear that this was the work of a special-grade sorcerer; no average shaman had this much power. The person had the scent of their cursed energy practically strewn throughout the landscape.
It disturbed your state of mind. It was overwhelming, and you hated it. Did you miss coming back home to sights like these? No, you didn't.
It was a shame that souls of the dead were unfortunate enough to play a role in these nauseating incidents caused by disgusting beings like curses and power-hungry false deities (that's what you liked to call the rotten hearts who assumed themselves to be gods). You peered up at the still intact sakura trees, which were shedding their old, worn-out skin in the form of powder-pink blooms, their petals settling on your traditional black kasa.
You wore an amused smile on your face, feeling like you were standing under the sole solitary place in the depths of hell. Perhaps the guilty shaman felt the same way when he looked over at his masterpiece with pink petals adding a soft little touch. What a lovely feeling it must've been to be proud of your own work or even yourself. It's a feeling you never knew, a foreign one; for only the gods knew the heavy burdens and regrets you carried on your shoulders. Your clear skin bears more scars than humanly possible.
Despite how much you've tried to strip yourself away of the world you belonged in, wishing to erase your existence from the old tales of history, the jujutsu world has always found a way to reel you back in with its sharp claws. It has always been a chaotic reality.
Nonetheless, you embraced that reality, for it was the one you were unfortunate enough to grow up in. You spend your days surrounded by your own kind, and despite your overall dislike for them, there are always exceptions along the road. You encountered quite a few people who attempted to emancipate themselves from the system by rioting bravely. They were seen as villainous by the blind jujutsu society, but you always recognized them as the true hero of the story.
It's been a long since you met another, the little flicker of hope within you was on the verge of going out. Perhaps this specific shaman could light it again. "Hm, Geto Suguru. Perhaps you'll join my name in the history books." You whispered into the silent breeze, the same amused smile still on your face. So, did you really miss being back home? Maybe. Who knows?
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"This is the ninth one; you have one more to collect, Y/n. It's almost over."
You were currently inside the Ise Grand Shrine, having your usual scheduled conversation with the head priestess Fujino Akemi, the woman whose family guided you for decades. She had her dark brown locks tied neatly into a bun and her face bare from any makeup. She, like her entire family, was a natural beauty. Fujino's grin could brighten whatever room she entered, and even your dark emotions were lifted when she smiled with her dimples showing. She was your lone confidante when it came to your tale and objective.
A curse so cryptic that it required the intervention of the most powerful priests to be lifted, and even that took time. It's a hassle, forcing you to acquire ten stones dispersed over seven continents; it's a literal treasure hunt. Each stone you found was linked to another, and Fujino provided you with the locations by delving into the cursed energy housed in the stones. It would generally offer an area and if you were lucky, a specific country. Fortunately, the more data you collect, the more accurate the results.
"When will it show the next one's location?"
"Give or take a month. Don't worry; this is the last one." Fujino Akemi offered you a gentle smile as she moved the Herkimer diamond to place it with the other stones. She stretched her arms over her head as she got comfortable in her seat with a glass of tea on her right. "How do you feel about your return?"
"It astounds me how nothing manages to change over time. I even found another village slaughtered to death, exactly like last time." You sighed, twisting your neck to relieve the tension. "Another one? How recent did it seem?"
"So recent that I already know the name of the guilty sorcerer." You grumbled. "Mind telling me who?" Fujino sat straighter with her legs crossed, her usual serious expression adorning her face.
"Geto Suguru. The sorcerer you told me about before my arrival."
She tensed at the sound of his name, the reality that a foe she got to meet was now an enemy of the system. "That's unfortunate." She released a heavy breath, "He was a very promising sorcerer, second next to Gojo Satoru. I'm sure he'll be devastated when he hears the news."
"Whatever, he should've picked better friends." You sipped your tea. You didn't care about what was going on in the jujutsu world; it wasn't your business, to begin with; the only thing on your mind was your goal and completing it as fast as possible. Moreover, why should you be sympathetic to a system that has subjected you to both mental and physical torment? For what it's worth, they deserved to have their principles and beliefs destroyed and trampled on because that's the only way things would begin to change. And, in some sick twisted manner, you thought Geto Suguru was a ray of hope in the darkness.
You hoped Suguru wouldn't mind being painted as the villain in the books by your side cause you sure as hell wouldn't mind it; a little company would be good.
author's note
btw this is how i imagine akemi's outfit looking like in the chapter, (i suck at describing clothes, add a mask and a fan to you imagination pls) ↴