《CHAPTER SIXTEEN》
《WELCOME TO THE BEGINNING OF THE "SECOND SPRING" ARC》
《THIS IS NOT CANON WITH THE MANGA》
《WARNINGS: MENTAL TRAUMA/TRIGGERS, SLIGHT HINT AT A PANIC ATTACK, PSYCHOLOGICAL TORTURE》
ON 2 NOVEMBER, 2020, A CURSED SPIRIT WAS CONFIRMED TO BE RESIDING IN A HIGH SCHOOL BY SEVERAL NON-SHAMANS AND SHAMANS.
DUE TO THE URGENCY OF THE SITUATION, AND THE LACK OF SORCERERS AVAILABLE, FOUR SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS FROM THE MAGIC TECHNICAL SCHOOL WERE DISPATCHED TO THE SCENE.
TWO HAVE BEEN ABDUCTED.
"I DON'T THINK we should be doing this alone,”
“Ah, ease up, Gen!” Itadori threw his arm around the boy’s shoulders, making both of them sway.
“Yuuji is a Special Grade,” Fushiguro said, his hands in his pockets. “We’ll be fine.”
“We should still give hell to the Grade 1 that’s supposed to be ‘supervising’ us,” Kugisaki said, making air quotes with her fingers. “That old fart isn’t even here!”
“Who was it supposed to be?” Gen asked.
“I dunno,” She shrugged. Gen sighed.
“We should still be careful,” He said, moving Itadori’s arm away. “We have no idea what kind of curses are going to be there.”
“It’s probably just a few School curses,” Kugisaki said, waving her hand. “They’re easy to exorcise, aren’t they, Megumi-kun?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, give Gen some credit,” Itadori said. “This is one of his first missions.”
“Oh yeah,” The girl said, turning around to face him as she walked backwards. “Don’t worry, Gen-kun. We’ll show you how it’s done!”
“Kugisaki, don’t yell. It’s pretty late, and there’s houses nearby,” Fushiguro said. “We don’t wanna wake anyone up and get in trouble for being in the school.”
“You mean we’re not even supposed to be here?” Gen asked.
“People don’t approve of sorcerers,” Kugisaki said. “Why do you think we put curtains up?”
“Oh man,” The teen groaned.
“Don’t be a scaredy-cat, Gen! It’ll be fun!” Itadori said. “We’ll exorcise this curse, and then head back to the school! I saw a vendor back there, and I’ll even buy you dango on the way home.”
“Fine,”
“The gate looks locked,” Fushiguro said. “We’ll have to jump it.”
“You can do a little fence jumping, can’t you, Gen-kun?” Kugisaki teased, making him frown.
He ran past them, jumping up and grabbing the top of the fence before swinging his body over, landing on the other side silently. He stuck his tongue out.
“Oh, the gate was unlocked,” Fushiguro said, pushing it open.
“Sorry, Gen!” Itadori laughed.
“You guys are just doing this to piss me off,” He glared.
“Alright!” Itadori said, stretching his arms over his head. “Go ahead and drop the curtain, Gumi.”
“Sure,” The man muttered, raising two fingers up. “Emerge from the darkness, blacker than darkness. Purify that which is impure.”
As the curtain began to drop, they walked towards the school. Kugisaki continued to tease Gen, making him pick a random stick off the ground and chuck it at her. Fushiguro sighed, following after them as Itadori jogged ahead, pushing open the door to the school.
“Woah! Listen to the echo! Echo--ow!”
Fushiguro lowered his hand from hitting the sandy-haired teen in the back of the head. “You’re making too much noise.”
“Ow! That hurt, Megumi,” He pouted, rubbing the spot. “You’re worse than Gojo-Sensei.”
“Yuuji-kun, shut up,” Gen muttered.
“I’d like you to get hit the back of the head sometimes--”
“No, seriously. Something’s moving above us,” Gen said.
They all fell silent, craning their neck up. There was shuffling on the floor above them; it sounded like something was being dragged. They all exchanged a glance.
“Gen, you and Nobara check out this floor. Yuuji and I will go upstairs,” Fushiguro said, both males turning towards the stairs.
“You’re leaving me with her!?”
“Suck it up, Gen,” Itadori said. “Yell if you find anything.”
“Oh, I’m gonna fucking yell,” Gen muttered.
“Come on, Gen-kun!” Kugisaki said.
Fushiguro and Itadori jogged up the stairs, looking around as they did. They emerged onto the second floor, looking down at the ground. Blood was smeared across the floor, creating a streak down the hall. Fushiguro summoned his Divine Dog, allowing it to go first. After a moment, he motioned for them to walk forward.
“I don’t see anything,” Itadori muttered.
The Divine Dog sniffed around before it started growling. They both tensed up at the sound of a chuckle. They stopped, turning their gazes into the window of the classroom.
A woman sat on one of the desks. Her legs were crossed, long black hair falling over her shoulders. Green eyes gleamed in the darkness as she grinned.
“Yuuji, that’s--!”
“Neoma!” He barked.
“The two of you must be part of my sister’s class,” She said, bouncing her foot in the air. “Ryomen Sukuna’s vessel, Itadori Yuuji, and the outcast of the Zenin Clan, Fushiguro Megumi.”
The glass between them broke as Fushiguro sent his Divine Dog after her. Neoma grinned, raising her hand. The dog paused before it’s growling ceased. It sat down in front of her, allowing her to pet it’s head. Fushiguro’s eyes widened.
“Now you’re just destroying school property,” Neoma stated. “I have no intentions of fighting you, Fushiguro-kun. I’m only here for Itadori-kun, and my nephew.”
“What do you want with Gen?” Itadori frowned, raising his hands up.
Neoma chuckled, leaning forward. “I’m surprised you don’t know yet. Nothing ever seems to slip past Y/n-nee,” She hummed. “Gen is a vessel like you, Itadori-kun.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” He frowned.
“YUUJI!!”
Kugisaki’s voice rang in the air, cutting through the silence. The teen turned, whipping his head to the side. His eyes widened at the wall in front of him. That...wasn’t there before.
“Megumi--!”
He turned. Fushiguro wasn’t standing there anymore. The classroom was gone too. Itadori’s breath hitched in his throat.
“Nobara!” He yelled. “Nobara, where are you!?”
“Yuuji!” He heard her scream. “Help! Yuuji!”
He couldn’t pinpoint her voice. It sounded like she was everywhere. He had no choice but to go straight, though. And so he did.
“Gen!” He yelled, hearing his own voice echo off the walls.
Holy shit. How long was this hallway? He doesn’t remember it being this long. Something was wrong. Where was the staircase? Was there this many turns?
He came to another dead end. Or was this where he started? He could hear Kugisaki screaming. His heart was racing against his chest. There weren't even any windows he could break through. And what the hell was this wall made of? He couldn’t break it, no matter how hard he tried.
He began to panic. His chest heaved up and down, wide eyes staring down at his torn knuckles. Blood dribbled over the back of his hand. What the hell was going on? What happened to Fushiguro, and Gen? Where was Kugisaki?
He turned, bolting down the hall. A left. A right.
Another right.
A left.
Right.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Right.
Why was it so dark? His eyes widened at the sight of the same wall. He knew it was the small wall because he could see the droplets of blood from where he’d been hitting it.
No. No, no. Why couldn’t he hear Kugisaki anymore? She wasn’t replying. Oh, God. What happened? Why isn’t she calling back? Is she dead? No, Kugisaki wouldn’t die. Her...her voice is just tired. Yeah, that’s it.
“Yuuji?”
He spun around in surprise. His eyes went wide as he saw the woman who was slowing her pace from running. She frowned, eyebrows furrowing together.
“Y-Y/n-sensei!” He yelled, stumbling towards her.
“Yuuji? What’s the matter?” She asked, grabbing his shoulder.
“N-Neoma’s here! We have to find Nobara and the others!” He yelled.
“What are you talking about?” She said.
“T-The mission! At the school!” He exclaimed.
“Yuuji, Nobara and the others are asleep. You were tossing in your sleep, so I came to check on you,”
“W-What are y-you…”
He looked down. He was in his bed? W-What? No. He was just at the school. His knuckles weren’t bloody. He wasn’t in his school uniform.
Something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong. Wait. Shota said...Neoma fucked with Y/n’s head.
Was this an illusion? Was Neoma fucking with him too?
He looked up again, and he wasn’t in his room. He was at the school. And Y/n wasn’t standing in front of him. It was Neoma.
Her lips formed into a frown. “Tch. Such a pain in the ass when people break out of it,” She muttered. “Oh well. You’re still hazy, so you won’t fight this.”
Itadori looked down. Gen was at her feet, his eyes closed with blood dribbling from his nose. Itadori quickly looked up, but before he could do anything, Neoma was pressing two fingers to his forehead. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, his vision going black.
Neoma huffed, tossing him over her shoulder before picking Gen up from the ground. “Why do vessels always have to be so fucking bulky? Can’t you be lean and skinny for once?”
She sighed, looking over at Fushiguro’s unconscious body, then to the window.
“Alright, looks like I’m done here.”
《CHAPTER SIXTEEN: END》
《IMAGE NOT MINE》