Tashiro was never interested in Utahime's workplace. Despite the countless visits to deliver lunch or an item her wife forgot at home, Tashiro never thought about asking to be shown around.
To see what.. Exactly? A plain sorcerer school? The students themselves? It's a complete waste of time and it would probably be too boring.
That's what she thought before, but she seems to change her mind when she stepped inside one of the small storage rooms with Geto, Sumida, and Utahime.
When Y/N mentioned 'Grab a weapon just in case' she never expected to be led to a whole room with cursed tools littering the walls and tables. Spears, claymores, katanas, and.. Is that a battle axe?!
Tashiro looks over her shoulder, seeing Utahime who's standing by the door with her arms crossed. She gestures for Tashiro to go ahead and pick something from the plethora of tools.
Although tempted, she hesitates, "Can't i just use my shikigami?"
Utahime shakes her head, "It would probably be better if you have a weapon. Your shikigami feeds off your cursed energy, right?"
"Okay.. Good point, Iori." Tashiro then turns away, her eyes now set on finding the perfect weapon.
There's one problem.
Where does she start?!
Summoning and constantly changing her shikigami's form requires control and burning a lot of cursed energy. Aside from katanas she eventually throws away and daggers that she borrows from her colleagues, the woman has never bothered wielding anything else. Why would she? Tashiro already has the perfect weapon-a flexible technique.
Ah, well, what's the harm in holding a cursed tool in battle?
"Iori, can you give me a durable katana-"
"Geto, look!"
She's cut off by the curious Sumida who pulls out a three sectioned staff from underneath one of the tables. After presenting the staff to the man standing beside him, he would then start sneezing when he inhales dust.
Geto grabs the weapon. With interest in his eyes, he mutters, "Playful cloud.."
After Toji was defeated, Geto and Gojo decided to take the weapon he accidentally left and play with it. Maybe they did it to distract themselves from the death of Riko and Kuroi, or maybe it's just their curiosity getting the best of them.
As they tested the weapon on, unfortunately, eachother, Ieiri would constantly remind them not to try and actually use it. Yes, she was concerned, but her warnings were mostly because she'll be the one loosing sleep over one idiot that got himself hurt because he decided to play with a dangerous tool.
Geto sweatdrops as he recalls the deathly glare Ieiri shot at him and Gojo. He would then took it to the school once they had their fair share of fun.
They were dumb times.. But still good times..
Geto turns to the two women, catching their attention, "I think this suits you best."
With a small smile, he hands playful cloud to Tashiro who's eyes are fixated on the weird red weapon. She raises a brow.
"Playful clouds strength focuses on the raw power of it's user." Sumida explains, "You might surprise yourself with how powerful this thing is.."
Tashiro glances at her wife, as if asking what to do in a situation like this-she's tempted to try it out but still a bit scared she might fuck up when in an actual battle. Utahime meets her eye but doesn't show any reaction, silently letting Tashiro know that it's up to her.
"Okay. I'll give it a shot after you show me how it works." she then adds, "Just this once."
"Good enough." Geto says, "Sumida, go ahead and find something for yourself. Make sure you know how to use it.."
While Tashiro continues to admire the red weapon in her hands with stars in her eyes, Utahime snatches a kagana from the wall beside her before quietly leaving the storage room.
After walking around the school, Utahime eventually finds Y/N and Nanami in front of a door. Her stomach churns as she walks closer to the two. That piece of wood is the only thing keeping Naoya Zen'in from escaping.
It doesn't take long until Nanami notices her, "We're almost finished."
Utahime watches as Y/N sticks the last seal on the door. Her brows are furrowed and she has her tongue sticking out of her mouth while she sticks the last seal on the door.
Y/N sighs when she finally finishes, "Who knew Yuki was stacked with seals? Fucking hell.."
"She travels alot. Some of those might be gifts by other sorcerers." Nanami says, "There's also a possibility she stole them just for fun."
"Definitely stole all of it."
Utahime and Y/N says, a blank look on their face. Nanami almost let out a laugh at how serious they look.
"So.."
Y/N turns around to face the two adults, "Megumi's awake, Yuki's with the students, and we already discussed what we should do once Mahito attacks. We're set."
Utahime gives Y/N the katana she took.
"There's a high possibility that something's going to happen, but if i'm wrong, it's probably better if you all stayed here for the night. Since there won't be any classes until the kids from Kyoto leave, Gakuganji is off our backs for now" Utahime says.
"Not like we have anywhere to go.." Y/N mutters, her soul comically leaves her body while she remembers Kugisaki telling her about the wrecked house.
"I think there's no need to stay overnight." Nanami's then adds, "Mahito already made his move. There's no way he'll miss the chance to attack when someone as strong as Gojo's not around to stop him."
Y/N nods in agreement, "Just.. Expect the worse for now."
Unfortunately, the worse came sooner than they all wanted it to.
Eyes blown wide, a panicking Itadori rushes through the halls. The loud thumping of his footsteps echo along with the words that come from his mouth.
"OUTSIDE! THERES FIRE..!"
Fire?
When he reaches the adults, Y/N grabs the boy by the shoulder, "What fire, Yuji? Where was it coming from?"
"We.. We opened the gate because Fushiguro said he heard.. Screaming." he stammers, "Maki told me there were three large fires. One of them was a.."
He hesitated.
"A forest fire."
Nanami's the first to seperate from the group, running to the storage room to fetch the three thag Utahime left behind. The rest would then head outside the school to get a better look of the fires Itadori spoke of.
Soon enough, they reach the students who were standing by the cliff. The schools gate is left wide open.
The sun has set.
Y/N's breath hitches.
If only she could see the mix of red and orange dancing around the dying trees of her home. A large cloud of dark smoke obscures her vision, though it's quite obvious what's happening to the town below.
Kugisaki gulps nervously. Fushiguro wished what he heard was nothing more but a wild animals cry and not.. Not this.
Once she got over her shock, Y/N began to talk, "Let's not waste time. Go! Grab what you need inside the school and go!"
They should've never let go of their weapons.
"Iori!"
"Iori, what's going on?"
When Nanami called them out of the storage room, Tashiro only assumed something might've happen. She quickly found Utahime outside, playful cloud still in her hands.
"The curses set fire to Y/N's home and property including different spots in the town." the woman explains, "It's a disaster down there."
Tashiro nods.
"We should start helping, then."
It doesn't take long for everyone to leave the school, all hoping that whatever happens tonight will end out in the sorcerers favour. They would then reach the town, only to be met by pure chaos- blood curdling screams can be heard everywhere, curses chasing frightened humans, and people locking themselves inside their homes.
Your blood runs cold as you turn to look at the direction of your home. There's more people fleeing that side of the town. That's most likely where the large fire also started.
"The cursed energy over there is.. Unbelievable. Mahito's most likely near the forest." you grit your teeth. You turn to the group before giving out a set of commands.
'Split the special grades.'
"Sumida, Geto, and Tashiro, come with me. The rest of you can spread out, but find a way to stop the curses from heading to the other towns. We need to keep them here to limit any casualties. And be alert when other sorcerers come in to help." you then add, "Don't forget to Protect Ieiri and Utahime at all cost. They're gonna be taking civilians away from danger."
While the rest of them seem to agree with the plan, a certain trio isn't too happy.
"Wait! Take me with you!" Itadori says with a hopeful look on his face. Fushiguro and Kugisaki spares eachother glances before asking you to also include them in your group.
"We don't have time for this, you three! It's dangerous over there. I don't want any of you getting hurt!"
You click the roof of your tongue, annoyed.
"You can join us once you're done here."
Utahime then ushers the teens to hurry up and start helping since they're wasting precious time. Sparing Nanami a glance, the man only nods before pulling the weapon strapped to his back.
"Don't get yourselves killed."
You smile.
"Stay safe, Kento."
With that, he rushes over tho his own group. You turn to Sumida, Tashiro, and Geto. Everyone was uneasy-if planning how to take down the curses was hard enough, then executing the aforementioned plan will definitely be more difficult.
You pull your weapon out of it's sheath.
'Satoru.. Just a bit more.'
'We'll save you and the entirety of Tokyo from these damn curses.'
Her ears started to ring.
Was it an explosion?
Can curses combust now?
No.. What could possibly knock her back but not leave a single scratch on her despite the distance? Well, Whatever it was, it made her loose her footing.
Kugisaki lets out a gasp when an arm suddenly wraps around her torso, pulling her close. The curse in front of them continues screeching, it's voice followed by harsh gusts of wind being sent their way.
Fushiguro grits his teeth, hands shaking as he held his two friends. His Nue has it's wings spread out, protecting them from the ear shattering voice of the curse.
He tightens his hold around Kugisaki. He doesn't let go of Itadori's arm.
"Fuck!" his muscles feel like they're tearing apart, "You two! Can you still fight?!"
"I couldn't move before because of this damn curse!" Kugisaki starts, throwing some nails in the air before raising her trusty tool.
"But thanks, Fushiguro!"
She swings the hammer, grinning widely as she hits an eye.
The wind and ringing briefly stops for a second, but a second is enough time for Itadori to regain his bearings. Fushiguro lets go as the boy with pink hair balances himself.
He runs.
"Here you..!"
Itadori raises his leg encased with cursed energy, the limb connecting with the curses head. he delivers the, hopefully, finishing blow.
"..GO!"
The loud spirit slams to the ground below. While Kugisaki and Fushiguro approaches him, Itadori quickly backs away, afraid his ears might fall off it the curse screamed again.
"We exorcised it, but we got blown back pretty far away." Kugisaki says, preparing her nails, "Should we go back and meet up with Nanami?"
Fushiguro shakes his head, "No. We were bound to seperate from the others anyway. We should find a place infested with curses. Clean up as many as we could before regrouping."
Itadori sighs out of relief when the recently defeated spirit doesn't move. He turns to the two, "What about there?"
He points a finger at a random street. Kugisaki's brows furrow.
"Red light district. Y/N took me here once to deliver an order." she says, "From what i saw, a lot of people work and go there."
"Then red light it is.."
Fushiguro mutters.
They enter the street, exorcising weaker curses along the way. Despite never fighting together, the three of them were in sync. If a curse was too close for comfort, Fushiguro would strike it using a jet black sword he grabbed from his shadow, if a curse was out of their reach, Kugisaki's more than happy to strike with her nails, and if a curse appeared to be sturdy, Itadori handled it with his fist. No sweat.
They started out scared and rocky, hence why they almost lost to a curse not too long ago. Though once their fear subsided, their confidence also shot up.
Eventually with their teamwork and amazing ability of somehow avoiding any damage to their surroundings, they're able to venture deeper into the district.
Passing by a brothel with ease.
Passing by empty yet suspicious stores.
Passing by one of many bars.
"There's fewer curses." Itadori huffs, "Should we leave now?"
Fushiguro wipes sweat from his forehead, lookong around, "Not so fast. We might be missing a few of them."
The boy with pink hair nods, now continuing to find any curses that they may not have exorcised. While the three were busy searching, a figure standing in an alleyway catches Kugisaki's eyes.
She squints.
'Is that.. Some dude?'
She takes a few steps closer to the person, oblivious to the dangers she's about to face,
"Hey! You shouldn't be out here, it's dangerous-"
Before she could finish, a large jellyfish stinger comes rushing to her, only stopping just as it's about to pierce through her head. Kugisaki feels her heart drop, the grip on her hammer now tightening.
She starts backing away.
"Nice to see you here."
Itadori and Fushiguro both freeze as they hear the unfamiliar voice of another human. They both turn to where it came from.
Itadori's blood runs cold.
"Yo!"
Kenjaku waves at the three teens as he shows a mischievous smile, shikigami following closely behind him.
"It's been a while, Itadori Yuji."
Shocked, Kugisaki and Fushiguro both spare the boy a glance. He seems clueless about who this person is though it's safe to say that he's more surprised than they are.
'There's.. There's no way..'
Itadori clenches his fist.
He saw Junpei get murdered right in front of his face. Was it a lie then? No.. If he did bluff, then Itadori would be able to tell. Junpei's not a better liar than he is. So who's this? Who could this possibly..
' ..Are those.. Stitches on his head?'
"Who are you?!"
He puts on a tough front. No. He can't show any weaknesses. Not right now.
"Well, i'm your friend, Junpei! Don't you remember?" Kenjaku says, having no difficulty in sounding more friendlier. He then raises a hand, "Come, Itadori, let's go.. Pfft.."
He then bursts out laughing, going as far as to double over when he feels his stomach ache.
"I can't! Oh god. Your face!"
Itadori grits his teeth, "Stop.. Stop fucking around! You're not my friend!"
"ITADORI!" Fushiguro calls out for the boy when he suddenly lunges at Kenjaku, though before him or Kugisaki can step in to help, multiple jellyfish stingers block their way.
Itadori's fist connects with Kenjaku's but one of the shikigami's stinger pokes a hole in his body. Itadori winces, though surprisingly enough, it didn't hurt as much.
Kenjaku huffs.
Right.. Sukuna's vessel.
"YOU'RE.."
Another hit and another hole yet he endures the pain. He tries brushing off every single ache of his muscles. Every single tear that tried dripping from his eyes. Every single urge to just stop and break down.
This isn't Junpei. This is something else entirely.
"..NOT.."
Itadori wonders if he deserved to suffer like this. What, was Sukuna killing off his family not enough? How about almost murdering his new family? God, why does it have to be him.
'I should've died that day.'
'But the hell that Sukuna has put me through.. I know you wouldn't like it either.'
".. JUNPEI!"
A stinger would then knock the boy to the ground, catching him off guard.
He pulls out a vial from his pockets. Itadori freezes, wondering if it contained the technique enhancers that Sumida warned him about. With a grin, Kenjaku uncorks the vial.
'I don't have a technique! Who's he gonna use it on?!' Itadori curses when he feels his body start to shut down. He may be resistant to poison, but the holes on his body? He might've forgotten about that.
'SUKUNA!'
Itadori finally has his answer.
'He's.. Trying to make Sukuna take control!'
Kenjaku chuckles when he sees Itadori slowly giving up, "Don't try to fight it the poison. I promise it won't hurt!"
Itadori braced for impact. For another stinger to make a hole on his already beaten body. However, nothing came.
He opens his eyes, just in time to see Kenjaku suddenly drop the vial he held, his right hand now violently shaking. His brows furrow in annoyance, "Wha..?!"
Itadori gulps.
Kenjaku's distracted.. But by who? Is the previous host trying to regain control of the body? There's hope in the boy's eyes however he can't just stop here. Not now when he has others to fight for and rescue.
He grits his teeth.
Junpei's body wouldn't last if he ate a single finger that belongs to Sukuna. He had great control of his shikigami, but other than having pointy stingers and poison at his disposal, Junpei was left with nothing.
Close quarters combat? He can't even hold a dagger. Long ranged combat? Too dependant on his technique.
Junpei was weaker than him.
Of course, Itadori knew this. Even so, he couldn't bring himself to make one last surprise attack.
'I'm sorry..'
As much as it pains him, Itadori couldn't stop the words that came out of his mouth.
"KUGISAKI! FUSHIGURO!"
"KILL HIM, NOW!"
The boy closes his eyes, not wanting to see the aftermath.
Before he could even turn, multiple nails pierces Junpei's head, his skull cracking and blood starting to ooze out the fresh wounds. It doesn't take long until another one of Fushiguro's shikigami's, Orochi, snatches the body away.
The large snake slams to a nearby building, staining the walls with blood. When the shikigami moves away, the two standing sorcerers are met with a disturbing sight-Junpei's bleeding out body. Minus a head.
Itadori lets out a few shaky breaths.
He can't move. Literally.
"You.. Dumbass. Are you okay?"
Footsteps.
They sat beside him.
Itadori could only nod at Kugisaki's question. He coughs, feeling his consciousness slowly slipping. The boy with pink hair closes his eyes shut, hoping that getting knocked out would ease the pain in his head.
"Go... Take care.."
Fushiguro quickly reaches for his arm. A sigh of relief leaves his lips when he feels a pulse-a faint one. He turns to Kugisaki who's brows are furrowed with worry as she takes off her gakuran. She rips it apart, placing it on top of Itadori's chest where he's now full of holes. Cleaning his wounds would be easier for Ieiri. This way..
'This way he can fight some more!'
Fuck.
Only twenty minutes has passed since they separated with Y/N and Itadori's already down. Despite this, they knew they needed to move.
Fushiguro stands up.
"He's still alive. Let's call for help.."
"The area's cleared!"
Tsukumo declares, eliminating the last curse that stood in front of her with a huff. She looks around, satisfied at how quick they're moving. With a monster like Okkotsu and the fact that there's two special grade sorcerers made their jobs more easier.
They might as well have won this fight againts the curses. All Tsukumo needs to do is..
"Nanami, Okkotsu, come with me. We need to meet up with Y/N and the others." the woman says as they regroup. Utahime and Ieiri are stationed on a store nearby where they had evacuated most of the civilians-the two should be fine for now unless another curse attacks.
Maki flicks her wrist that held her spear. The dark purple liquid splatters to the ground beside her, "How about us? What should we do next?"
Tsukumo is quick to answer as she already have a plan in mind, "You and Mai keep a close eye on our medics. If they wish to move to a different street, make sure they arrive safely."
"What about Itadori and his friends?" Okkotsu chimes in, placing his katana back into its sheath.
"They're somewhere nearby, probably cleaning up curses." Tsukumo answers before turning her attention back to the twins, "If they come back, check for their wounfs. Y/N's gonna murder us if even one of her kids die." she humors.
Nanami sighs, 'If that happened and Y/N wishes us death, then her reaction is definitely justified.'
"We should get going now."
'But i don't have to worry much for now.'
From the corner of Nanami's eye, he watches a crow flapping it's wings before landing on a roof. It's beady irises staring back at him, as if challenging the man to a staring contest.
Mei Mei is nearby.
Tsukumo seems to also notice the creature as the three of them started walking away from the twins. A grin graces her lips, though her irritation is obvious.
'Those damn higher-ups. Sending sorcerers late, Huh. Do they think it's funny letting people die?'
She cracks her knuckles.
If only humans have the ability to control their fear. To stop themselves from creating the monstrosities that Tsukumo has seen everywhere. Of course, that isn't possible-
!!!
"What the hell is happening?!"
Okkotsu ignores the panicking Tsukumo, his eyes focused on the clouds of white in the distance that suddenly replaced the suffocating smoke. Nanami grumbles something about hurrying up and the others needing assistance.
White.. Clouds?
"The fire's extinguished! That's ice!" Okkotsu suddenly starts sprinting to the direction of Y/N's home once he got over his shock. The two adults follow behind, realizing it must be the work of the Gojo's informant.
And they're a thousand percent correct.
By the time the three of them arrived, the fight had already been moved into the forest. They could all see three strong curses and multiple weaker ones that are slowly decreasing as seconds pass by.
Nanami and Tsukumo both spare eachother a glance. They need to get Okkotsu inside.
With that, they ran.
Following a trail made of ice.
"Give up already, damn sorcerers-!"
Jogo curses, eye widening as he attempts to light up the trees once again. He fails as Geto whacks him across the face with playful cloud, his expression remaining calm despite the curses head flying off his body.
'Shut up.'
'Shut the fuck up.'
Oh.. Oh how he forgot how good it felt to fight. Geto hums, eyes following Jogo's severed head only to see Sumida holding it in his ice covered hand and freezing it. The man then drops it to the ground, only to stomp and shatter the head.
"..!!"
Hanami starts to falter as he feels his friend might be in danger. Of course, getting distracted in a fight is bad, as Y/N takes advantage of the second that he looked away to check Jogo.
Her katana rips the cloth that Hanami is using to keep his left arm hidden.
"You..!"
Multiple needles starts emerging from both of Y/N's hand. Just as Hanami's about to grab her, the woman ducks, giving way to Geto who swings playful cloud at the curse.
CHISI ; 150%
Hanami stumbles at the force but was still able to make the man step away by attacking him with a large tree bark before he could fall on his back.
Y/N grits her teeth as she quickly leans in, needle filled hands now wrapping around the branches that Hanami has for eyes.
'Poison?! It's killing m-!'
The woman pulls out the two branches with all her might, needles either getting stuck or falling off. Fortunately, even if only a single needle were to stick, it was enough for Y/N's lethal poison to travel.
As a last attempt, sharpened roots from below began to shoot upward. Y/N cries when one wounds her leg and ankle.
"For fucks sake!" she doesn't hesitate to pull it out. She's from the Kamo clan-she can control the flow of her blood, right?!
'Shit.'
'Shit! Mahito's curses are swarming!'
'Though it would help us a bunch, Sumida can't go all out on his technique. It's gonna slow us down too.'
Y/N huffs as she leaves Hanami's body on the ground.
'You're gonna make us a damn buffet when you get back, Satoru.'
"Tashiro! Catch!"
Geto calls as he runs towards the woman who's not afraid to face Mahito head on. The curse grins, slightly irritated at Tashiro's strong shield-her own shikigami.
She barely manages to grab the weapon thrown her way. She grins, excitement coursing through her body.
"Thanks!"
Her shikigami disappears in an instant, turning to a small flying creature.
Tashiro swings playful cloud at Mahito's direction. Her eyes burn with hope as the curse slams to a tree, but instead of letting him recover, Tashiro rushes in for another attack.
She raises the weapon over her shoulder before bringing it down to Mahito's head. He drops the box in his hand as his face smashes againts the ground below, though before Tashiro can snatch it away, the skin on Mahito's back suddenly forms into spikes before shooting at her.
She hisses when one manages to cut her arm. The woman then lets go of one end of her weapon, leaving her right hand holding playful cloud. Tashiro's shikigami start wrapping around her arm, littering it with eyes. It doesn't take long until it encases the cursed tool with itself. The woman's grip tightens.
In her hand is years worth of control combined with physical strength. She could feel her cursed energy depleting at a incredibly fast rate, however, she's sure to hit Mahito harder than the first time.
"Y/N!" she calls desperately.
Tashiro swings the weapon at Mahito who's face is still buried to the ground.
"THE PRISON REALM. GO, GRAB IT NOW!"
Mahito grits his teeth, anger bubbling as he realizes the distance Tashiro managed to put betweem him, the sealed Gojo, and Y/N.
'Where the fuck is Kenjaku?! He's supposed to find Itadori Yuji and let Sukuna out!' Mahito chokes as he spits out more curses from his mouth, 'Gotta buy time.. Gotta be more patient.. I HAVE TO TOUCH HER SOUL!'
It's within his reach. A curse filled world where he can do whatever he pleases. He has no ideals to follow, plans to execute, or kingdom he wishes to build-Mahito just wants to have as much fun as he likes.
That's what he tells himself.
If that were true, he wouldn't be fighting back so much. Gojo's sealed shut.
The moment she was given the opportunity, Y/N hurries to grab the prison realm as a sharp needle starts poking out of her pointer finger. Just like Okkotsu instructed the woman at the meeting, she searched for a frozen eye. With her heart thumping and adrenaline high, she tried her absolute best to stay focused.
With shaky hands held to the cursed object she so desperately want to crush right now, Y/N continues to turn the prison realm.
Her heart almost stopped.
'There it is!'
Relief fills her system. She found it. Though she can't celebrate yet.
CHISI ; 300%
Y/N will have ro use everything at her disposal just to free Gojo. She starts to feel lightheaded but she tries her best to keep pushing herself past her limits. Y/N aims at the cracks on the frozen eye before ramming the lethal needle inside of it.
Suddenly, she hears a voice call out to her desperately.
It's Okkotsu.
"Y/N!"
As the cracks on the prison realm glows and shine, the woman quickly looks over her shoulder, eyes now widening.
She sees..
..Rika and Mahito..
..Both reaching for her.