WHA-WHA-WHA-WHA-WHA-WHAT??!!
Cowering in the corner of the Veil set as the meeting grounds for Honen and the great Special-Grade Suguru Geto, Akio's could barely accept what his widened eyes were telling him, the air in his lungs almost too putrid and heavy to take in;
The cursed energy thickening the air, coagulating and swarming the Veil set by Hitokiri raised the hairs on his nape and pressed down on his temples, like a throbbing migraine with the potency to topple him over. The young sorcerer clung to the Veil's border, gripping the rocky barrier's edge to keep himself upright, stabilizing his breathless state to the best of his abilities, maintaining his technique.
His technique; Cloak.
When active, Akio leaves behind no trace of his presence; any scents, imprints left from touch, DNA, sounds and even his cursed energy signature is almost completely blanked out from the world; with seemingly no apparent downsides, Akio effectively becomes a ghost, and, in a room full of monsters, he can blend himself in, to become no more than a stalagmite prodding from the ground, silent and observant.
With his breath hitched in his throat, sweat pooling on his brow and his hands shaking against the Veil's wall, he watched.
Suguru Geto and the Volcano-headed Curse walked to the far side of the dining table, the Special-Grade's arms nestled in the sleeves of his garms. The Volcano Curse, short, slouched and bearing the one eye on their face, sneered at the curse users as he passed; his presence, explosive and rife with disgusted vitriol for the cursed mercenaries in attendance, tightened like a vice around their necks.
Geto spoke, the sly tone of his unnerving, and coy.
"So nice of you to accompany my associate and I through Jodo, I truly appreciate it," He said, eyeing the trio of figures who passed through the Veil as he took his seat towards the end of the table, "I don't think I would have had such an easy time navigating my way through the city, had you not provided yourself as an escort for me and my colleague, here."
Two took their seats among the other members of Honen, and the last, found their way to the opposite end.
Glossing by the other two, the eyes of Suguru Geto met the man before him, his heart pacing ever so slightly faster.
Even uttering his name, took a moment of repose before speaking.
"Jizo."
The man in question, Jizo: faceless, covered by a sleek, matte-black mask lacking holes for eyes; black turtleneck with diamond-stitch padding embroidered into the sleeves and across the chest; matching pleated trousers embroidered across the outermost sides of the legs; gloves, in black leather; suede boots, to match a thick, weathered black overcoat.
Leaning back in the throne-like chair at the end of the table with his elbows resting on the armrests and his fingers interlocked in front of his face, Honen's leader replied, curtly.
"Tell me what you want, Suguru Geto."
"Oh?" He replied with a smirk, "Aren't curious about how I'm back, Jizo? I had hoped that you'd have kept tabs on me."
"Mh...why would I do that?"
"I waged war against Jujutsu society, why else~?" Geto smirked, leaning onto his hand, perched up on the table, "The Jujutsu world you ally yourselves against, no?"
Jizo repeated himself, "Again, Geto. What are you here for?"
The Special-Grade paused, eyes open in a subtle shock, before his composure returned.
"Mh~.....I wish to enlist the services of the great Honen, nothing more."
"Then?" Jizo said.
Geto continued on, seemingly anticipating his own words with a smirk; "A contract open to all members present for the capture and recovery of Suoh Yuuya, alive."
"725 million for anyone who brings him to me."
The nine curse users present, Akio included, lurched forward, a money-fueled interest piqued by such an audacious contract.
O-Oi, Sen gawked in shock, That's insane....! That price for one of our own....t-that's unheard of...!
His eyes diverted towards the others present, sporting similar expressions of disbelief, poorly masked behind poker faces crumbling at the thought of the windfall.
Hm...but what does he think....?
It took only a moment, however, for the mercenaries at the table to analyze one another's reactions, and turn right back to the one at the forefront of decisions for the group, and, impatiently, awaited Jizo's acceptance of the-
"No. Out of the question."
"HAH?!"
Sen's jaw slammed into the fine china before him, and the Nunes girls shrieked in unison, slamming their fist against their utensils and sending them wayward to the ground.
"The fuck you say, Jizo...?!" The second-in-command hissed to the Honen leader, "The hell are you doing, turning something like that down...?!"
Slowly, Jizo turned his head towards the man to his side, and, despite the absence of eyes on the leader's black mask, Sen could feel a piercing gaze on him. His grip tensed on the tablecloth, twitching in silence.
"....remember our plans, my friend," Jizo replied, "There remain things to be done, you know this."
Sen relented, digesting the gentle tone of the leader, falling back in his seat, conceding and ending the altercation with a huff.
The leader, steadfast in his composure, leaned forward in his seat, planting his elbows on the table, locking his fingers again.
"I will reiterate this point, to you, Geto, and any who wish to defy my word." Jizo said, a sharp increase of cursed energy unnerving all within the Veil,
"Suoh Yuuya is not, and never will be, negotiable for a contract."
"Oh~," In what seemed to be an impressed expression, the Special-Grade sorcerer prodded with a smile. "And, why may that be, mh~?"
"Simple," The leader replied, shifting from his seat with a sigh and rising to his feet, "Versatility, and survival."
"Oh, do tell, my friend~."
Jizo began to circle the table, the eyes of Honen glued to their plates; the magma atop the Volcano Curse, both sentient and powerful, bubbled as the leader approached their side of the Veil.
Unsheathing a knife along his waist, and twirling it with his finger, the man known as Jizo spoke.
"Suoh Yuuya is a valuable asset to us, coming through our ranks the moment his technique had manifested. As is custom with all sorcerers born within Jodo's borders, he was trained beneath us by our curse user veterans, and, as he had begun to show a remarkable promise beyond any of his peers, he was....granted, an ultimatum."
Behind the mask, Suguru could tell; his gaze, sly and unreadable, had locked with Jizo's, as the man paused his step.
"At the age of 11, we had him decide between a future of stagnation, or progress; if he defeated his peers in a gauntlet of each and every one and successfully surpassed them, he would be directly promoted into Honen and we would train him personally, as the heir to the empire of curse users we call Jodo; if he failed to impress, or denied this chance, he would simply exist among the rank-and-file of the Jodo guard, never becoming more than a pawn for the elite of two spheres of influence, of sorcerers and humanity."
"Ah..~?"
"You caught on, I see," Jizo said, "Yuuya passed with flying colours, annihilating 27 of his peers in an all-out-brawl, sitting atop a pile of corpses."
"We gave him until nightfall, beginning at the sun's peak; he was finished before the first hour was up."
"Yuuya is capable of rising to become a vanguard and emperor of the world of curse users, ruling the human elite with their reliance on us superhumans to do their dirty work for them. If he continues to grow, developing into a man untouchable by humanity with all the blackmail and political secrets at our disposal, unrivalled in the world of sorcery that can't do a damn thing to stop him, Jodo's influence, and survival, will be cemented."
"Hmm...underestimating yourselves a bit, wouldn't you say~?" Geto replied with a chuckle, "Your forces, as they are now, rival that of Jujutsu Tech- ah, barring Satoru Gojo, of course."
"War with the Jujutsu world, unlike you, Geto, is not on our minds," Jizo jabbed in reply, "We seek nothing more than to retain both anonymity as an entity for hire, and distinction from Jujutsu society. Suoh Yuuya is the key to the establishment of both."
"Satoru Gojo's existence has substantially imbalanced our security as a coalition of sorcerers who use our powers for our own influence, this much is true; however, just as we did in the era of the Golden Age of Sorcery, just as we did with every passing era, just as we will continue to do for as long as time persists, we will persist. That is the way of Jodo."
"Hm...quite a way of thinking, Jizo~." Geto teased once more, with Jizo now approaching him.
Jizo, however, brushed him off.
"Contest our ways all you want, sorcerer, I have no quarrel with you," the Honen leader, closing in on both the Volcano Curse and Geto, snatched his knife and threw it down onto the table, lodging itself through the Special-Grade's china plate, without so much as a crack emerging.
"Now, any other business you wish to discuss?"
Sen, in his seat, cheeks still flushed, in a drunken stupor, let out a chuckle.
That's our leader, for you....
"Wah~..." Glancing down at the blade in his plate and smirking back at the sorcerer to his side, Geto raised his hand. "Actually, I do have another matter to bring up!"
"Mh? Out with it, then."
Reaching into the sleeve of his robes as Jizo returned to his seat, Suguru Geto pulled out a swirling, multi-coloured sphere. Inklings of black, scarlet and aquamarine swirled and blended together in the orb in his palm, and an eerie aura permeated from the surface.
"I want this Grade-2 Curse to be released into the Y-ARENA Parlor, along with several Grade-3 and Flyheads. Quiet and without a trace, I will need a guarantee of absolute discretion."
"Consider it done," Jizo replied, "Date, time, any additional specifics you ask?"
"I want this to serve as an operation worthy of a Grade-1 sorcerer's attention, as an emergence of a Curse organically; leave no trace behind, Jizo," Geto said, "Throughout the day, in the late afternoon when spirits have been crushed by another dreadful day at the desktop, would be preferable."
"What do you think, Jogo?" Geto continued on, glancing towards the Volcano Curse to his right, "Wednesday, or Thursday? What's a good day, mh?"
"Hmph, like I care," The short curse replied with a grunt, "None of this is worth our time, to begin with."
"Aw, you're no fun."
With a pout, Geto shrugged and muttered, "Tsk, guess Thursday will do, within the next month will suffice, Jizo."
"Understood."
"Now, in terms of payment, I don't suppose you'll need a rundown on how this works, hm?" Jizo said, leaning back and crossing his arms and legs.
"Ah, actually, I was hoping to come to an accord with you on this deal~," Geto chimed, leaning his head in his palms with a growing smirk.
"Oh?"
"That bounty for information on Suoh Yuuya is still active, no~?" Rhetorically, the Special-Grade urged on with a poorly-hidden mirth in his tone, "How about I tell you where he is, and how to get to him~?"
"....hm."
After a moment of silence, Jizo rose to his feet. "Once we validate your findings, we will deduct the bounty from your bill. We will be in touch."
"In the meantime, I present you the sorcerers at your disposal for your contract." He motioned to the left of the table.
"Gо̄ Sasame."
At the mention of their name, one of the figures who had accompanied Jizo and Geto into the Veil rose above the rest of Honen;
A tall, well-built young man well over 190 cm in height, a dominant physique contrasting the boyish nature of his face; brown eyes perpetually squinted in a slit, with long, black hair trailing down his back, white robes draped across his waist and a sash tied to his waist with a thick, leather belt, and thick metal bands around his biceps, the young man planted his hands on the dining table and glanced his way towards Geto, taking a solemn bow, before rising completely to his feet, hands held behind his back.
Jizo continued, motioning towards his right;
"Fugen."
At the call of the name, the second sorcerer;
A young woman with long, slick black locks of hair draping to the small of her back and over her shoulders, a heavy part fell over the right of her pale visage, bright vermillion eyes peering through her bangs. Red lipstick and dark circles under her eyes, the woman held the appearance of a ghost; black garms with heavy pants taped around her ankles and black leather bracers along her forearms, Geto's eyebrows raised at the sight of the ghastly beauty.
Mirroring Sasame's actions, Fugen rose to her feet, arms behind her back.
"The story of Suoh Yuuya's gauntlet, still fresh in your mind, I presume, Geto?" Jizo asked, hands now raised towards both mercenaries, "The two who succeeded in incapacitating him, are now in your care."
"Oh, that so~? I feel spoiled, truly~."
Jizo took a slight bow of his own, and said, "Then, if there is nothing more to say, this meeting is over. Fugen and Sasame will be in touch with you for further details, and we thank you humbly for your time."
The Honen leader had a look towards those at the table. "Dismissed."
At his word, Honen dispersed; Hitokiri and the Nunes Twins, quicker than the rest, were followed closely by Mi-Ogu and Gigeiten.
Sen rose from his seat with a burp and a groan as he stretched his back, and moved towards Jizo, planting his hand on the man's shoulder with a nod.
"Plans, eh?" He mumbled in a low tone of voice, to which Jizo only offered a glancing look, before shrugging the man's hand aside.
"Tch," Getting the message, Sen stomped off, closely followed by Sasame and Fugen.
It was Jizo's turn to leave as he made his way towards the exit of the Veil, but not before Geto held him back.
"Oi, Jizo," The Special-Grade hollered, "Something slipped my mind, before you go!"
The sorcerer halted his pace, though, did not turn towards the curse user behind him, still in his seat.
"Mind if I pick your brain for a moment~?"
Jizo said nothing, only turning his head.
"Hm~," Geto hummed to himself, before saying with a grin, "Why don't you tell me the truth, hm~?"
"You know where Yuuya-kun is already, don't you~?"
The Special-Grade pushed further, receiving no response.
"You and I both know that you and your forces are more than capable of contending with Jujutsu Tech- I can tell, as someone capable of waging war with them myself. I mean, had I hired you lot, my victory would have been assured~."
"But there remains," Geto said, raising a finger, "Just one problem. Satoru Gojo, the undisputed strongest."
"The greatest asset to Jujutsu Tech, he watches over them like a veritable angel; nobody can touch them while he lives. No one can touch him or any sorcerer allied with him, this fact remains true, even for your people, with your vast resources, and- say, Suoh Yuuya were to ally himself with the cornerstone of Jujutsu society that is the Tech College- this would not change. Your prized boy would be untouchable."
"However," Geto said, "With the prospect of such riches for some surveillance and confirmation of his location, just how many people would push their luck~?"
The Special-Grade prodded further;
"How many would begin to disappear in their pursuits, because of the Strongest Alive~?"
"Quite the tell, having a trail of corpses surrounding one single spot, no~?"
For such a pervasive line of questioning, the Special-Grade curse user received only a cold shoulder, blunt silence overtaking the Veil.
"....." Jizo, after a moment, relented, turning his head back towards the exit.
"....We will serve you to the best of our strengths, Geto. Put your mind at ease, your mission will be complete without difficulty."
"Oh, I did not doubt you for a second, Jizo," Geto replied, "Failure is beyond you,"
"Failure is beyond Toji Zenin's blood rival, I have no doubt~."
With the Veil shutting behind him, Geto and Jogo took their leave, exiting as well.
"Oi, Geto," The Volcano Curse spoke up, taking the steps back up to the tavern, "That man, Jizo..."
"....is a monster, Jogo," He replied, stuffing his hands in his sleeves, "That man is a monster. His loyalty is only to the money we offer him, so keep your distance, understand~?"
"Mh."
With the light of the tavern now in sight with a turn of the corner, the Special-Grade sorcerer and Volcano Curse remained silent until they returned to their hideout.
"Phewww.....goddamn close one..."
Slipping out of his cloaking technique, Akio collapsed to his knees, panting heavily.
Even while sober, the efficiency in eliminating all signs of his existence was lackluster; in his drunken state, keeping up his technique had tuckered him out. Now, all he yearned for was his bed.
No more delusions of grandeur for tonight; being in such close proximity to sorcerers on a different level; being in the same presence as the leader of Honen and one of four registered Special-Grade sorcerers, not to mention nine other beasts capable of swatting him like a fly, was suffocating.
He caught his breath, drool pooling in his mouth as he wiped it with the bracer on his arm.
"Ha...ha...ha...let's....let's just- ah?"
Akio paused. Something had bumped him in the head.
Mh?
He motioned to turn around-
"Not a muscle....move not a muscle."
He stiffened, sobering up instantly as his heart sank to his feet. A cold sweat bled from his skin as a realization dawned on him;
Pressed to the back of his head; The cold steel of a rifle muzzle brake.
Behind him; a murky, black pool manifesting itself on the wall of the Veil, from which both a young woman swamped in black herself and the rifle brake emerged.
The voice, cold, apathetic, robotic; belonging to Fugen.
What felt like years only took seconds for Akio to conclude;
"H-...How did you know....?"
"A fatal error. Your technique leaves a blank space to eliminate your presence. Is this correct?"
He did not want to reply; instinct urged him to sputter something, if only to prolong what he had a grave suspicion was to come.
"Y-...Y-Yeah-"
"A gaping, human-shaped hole in a Veil rife with Cursed Energy from eleven sources."
Akio's heart, no longer at his feet, outright stopped.
"Your reasoning for being here is irrelevant." Fugen spat, snatching Akio by the throat, "You will die."
"W-WAIT!"
The woman's eyebrow spiked, at the screech from the young man, temporarily weakening her grip.
Akio melted, hands now thrown up into the air, tears in his eyes; "I-I know this looks bad, b-but I can vouch for myself! P-P-Please, L-Lady Fugen, I beg you to hear me out!!"
"Ah?"
"I-I'm close friends with someone you know, L-Lady Fugen! S-Sen, Sen! He's my buddy, we were drinking not long ago! Please, i-if you let me go for a moment, I-I can reach him outside the Veil, p-please-"
"Lord Sen?"
Akio shivered; her tone changed.
Curiosity, rife in her tone of voice. Just as he was to repeat himself, her nails dug into his throat from behind, piercing straight through his flesh.
He couldn't even find it in himself to let out anything but a gurgled mess of groans.
So fixated on saving himself as he clawed and limply snatched away at the rifle and her fingers, Akio couldn't notice a look of pity in the eyes of Fugen, Honen elite.
"Lord Sen himself ordered your execution, Akio Hakuchi. You bored him to tears."
"A-A-A....ah-ah....!" Countless, unintelligble, irrelevant emotions surged through the body of young Akio Hakuchi, tears erupting from his eyes and screams shrieking through the walls of the Veil, as the muzzle flashed through the dimly-lit hall of flesh and stone.
Standing outside her door in the early morning hours, Suoh bore a bright grin, the same as always.
Maki Zenin, hair matted and unbrushed, glasses barely straightened properly, stood at her door, silent, grimacing, toothbrush hanging on her lip.
"Mornin', Maki-chan~!"
"Mh, Yuuya," She replied as best she could, tossing her hand up.
"Say, say, when're you free?" The boy asked, holding his hands behind his back, tilting his head.
"Mh, can't say for sure," Maki replied, scratching the back of her head, "I've got recovery training with Megumi tomorrow, and today is clean-up day, I'll see what I can do about the weekend."
"Why?"
"Heh~, because~," Suoh, never one to bother with personal space and other pesky matters, leaned forward, inches from Maki with a glimmer in his eyes.
"I'm asking you out~! Go out with me, Maki-chan~!"
.....huh?
Toothbrush clattered to the floor, Maki Zenin's jaw nearly caught up to it when it slipped from her face.
H U H ? !
Any Minecraft enjoyers here?
Y'all remember Stal, that one track with the recorder?
I'll be replaying that on loop while writing out the next chapter, so if it stinks to high heaven of mediocrity, you now know why
Anyways
You got more introduction to Honen, and Suoh's history; if you're not into backstory and stuff like this for your Maki Zenin x OC stories, then, I dunno what to tell you
Get off, I guess
You get fluff next chapter, though, I'm taking a break from so much of the intricate storyplot stuff lol
If you noticed, Geto refers to Jizo as Toji Zenin's rival; keep that in mind.
Like, really in mind.
Got it?
Yeah, you got it.
You're smart.
Big brain.
I'll talk a bit about one character I introduced here, Fugen.
She's canonically a pale, scrawny woman with no volume in her greasy hair
In other words, a gender-swapped Redditor
Side note about that site, I checked out a Jujutsu Kaisen subreddit and was instantly hit with 'Grippy' gender-swapped Satoru Gojo memes
Breaks between chapters truly unleash the beasts from anime fanbases
The name Fugen is actually super symbolic, however; it is a Japanese interpretation for venerated and respected Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, recognized for their great, omniscient wisdom.
Her type are boys who give her purpose and direction; she has only shown interest in one person before.
She enjoys steamed abalone.
She despises what her first love does not make her.
She dreams of motherhood; whether this is due to her upbringing in a Kunoichi-esque environment or due to her own independent thoughts, she does not care.