▬▬ in time, all will know
YOU COULD NOT TELL IF IT WAS ALREADY EVENING OR STILL IN THE BRIGHTEST OF THE DAY, because in this place was where the sunlight couldn't reach.
Bet this is the basement.
You were treading the enclosed staircase, and it was seemed to be endless. Inside this place, there was no one else, just the rings in your ears because of the dead silence, and the dull, yellow torches flickering against the brick-layered wall, where spider webs hung in the corners.
Your legs and knees were getting wobbly because of the steps. Too many steps. You sighed, continuing your pace.
By the way, wait! Just how deep did they dig just to create a basement with a secret chamber?
Humans sure got some time.
And yes, it did take long enough to reach the first main level of the structure. Then it led to another hallway. In this area, you caught the whiff of decomposing bodies mixed with chemicals.
You hummed, realizing what kind of place this was: a mortuary. Walking a little more and reached a certain double door. You opened it, learning that it was a room for refrigerated cabinets where they stored dead bodies. As you filled your curiosity, you noticed the restrooms just across from you.
Now you remembered, you hadn't bathed yet. Damn.
It was your fault, though, for you spent your nights drinking, smoking, getting miserable, and having self-destructive issues.
Entering the restrooms, you immediately wash your face in the lavatory and gargle your mouth with water. Getting some hygienic tissue paper, you wiped your face. You saw your reflection in the mirror and sighed more exasperated than before. Your hair was so frizzy and dry, making you even a lot uncomfortable. As you took out your hair comb, you dampened your hair just to reduce that dryness.
You had to get out of here quickly, but you could spare yourself with one stick of cigarette. Reposing your lower back on the table-top lavatory, you indulged with temporary pleasure. Smoking was one of your coping mechanisms with the stress of your daily life.
Not too long when a lady entered the restroom. And not you having a smoke in a public area.
"Oh, sorry," you quickly muttered while weaving the grey substance away.
You were about to throw the cigarette, but the lady stopped you.
"It's okay," she said, "I came here to get some of it as well." Then she got her pack of cigarettes and lighter out of her white lab gown pocket.
By the looks of it, she was the resident doctor here.
"So–" she prompted as she sucked the intoxicating fragrance of chemicals– "did that idiot let you go?"
Idiot?
"Gojo Satoru?" you inquired.
"Yes." She nodded.
"Oh, yes, he did." You lied. Of fucking course.
"I see," she thinly grinned at you. "Ieiri Shoko, my name."
"Murphy Ryusei," you casually smiled back.
You finished your cigarette and eaten some mint candy, and told the she-doctor to leave.
As you exited the restrooms, you noticed the room next to the frozen cadavers room. You noticed a young man with spiky pink hair. He was solitarily watching what was in front of him, an odd shadow would cross his face, it was as if he was staring at something that no longer existed.
You angled your line of sight to see what his eyes were seeing. It was an examination room, and inside, there were trolleys arranged with body bags of the dead on top of it.
This is where the rotting smell comes from.
How nostalgic.
Not.
You yawned, and at the same time, you felt your stomach growled. You hadn't had a decent eat for almost two days.
Fuck sorcerers.
And fuck cursed spirits.
On the corners of your eyes, you saw the young man averting his gaze at you; it seemed like he took notice of your presence.
You panned your head, facing him. Once your gaze connected at him, you did it so intensely, something that could seethe to his soul. Then you smiled with stealthy evil glints in your eyes. For the record, you were not smiling at the kid, but at the one who was inside him.
Ryomen Sukuna
Nothing really, you chuckled inwardly, you just wanted to aggravate him.
That damned curse—King of Pussies.
You bet that he could still recognize you, despite the little changes in your appearance.
Itadori Yuji, the resident whom the ancient demon took in, suddenly heard sinister whispers inside his head.
I WILL THIS KILL THIS WOMAN. I WILL FUCKING KILL HER. I WILL KILL HER. I WILL KILL HER, THAT STUPID FUCKING CUNT!
"Shut the hell up!" the boy snarled at the demon while lightly hitting his head.
Itadori thought that Sukuna was acting as if he knew this woman. Then he looked at you, only finding out that you were leaving.
"Ano . . !" Yuji called, grabbing your attention. "You were the one that got attacked at school, right? By that cursed spirit?"
"Yeah?" You shrugged, one shoulder tilted.
Then he followed, "You were cursed that time—"
Yet you finished him off, "Yeah, like, how the hell did I manage to resist his cursed technique, and went just like, booogshh, I'm alive. Magic!"
You saw how the young man deadpanned after hearing your sarcasm.
"Yes," he trailed, "and I'm also wondering if I can get a favor from you?"
You shrugged once again, giving him a sign to continue.
"Would you, only if you could, bring them back alive?"
"What?" You frowned then you scoffed, "What do you exactly think of me? A god?"
"N-No . . ! But your ability . . ?"
"Why bother yourself with the death of others? They died, end of the story. Move on."
"I can't just move on!" He apprehended, his voice was deeply sympathetic and guilt resided in his eyes. "They died because of me! And the last thing I can do is to give them a proper death!"
"Proper death, my ass." Now it annoyed you. Every single sorcerer in this place was getting on your nerves. "What do you know about 'proper death', huh? What are you, a saint? When you're an epitome of death yourself? Wait, firstly, if they died because of you, then, you should have given them the 'proper death' you meant."
The lad had already swallowed the fiery anger towards himself, yet hearing your condemnation made him want to explode. You saw how much his eyes griefed, and there was an inferno in his heart could manage.
Yet you rejoiced in his despair.
"If I could do that myself, I would have done it . . ! I don't want anyone dying because of me, I never want to lose them! Yet I'm weak and inexperienced . . . I can't save anyone!"
"What's this?" you coldly asked, your eyes gleaming with animosity. "You're blaming your weakness and inexperience? Don't give me that bullshit. That's how you resort? Yeah, that's right, you should suffer. Or give up; you're not good at this job."
Anger boiled up in him, shooting deathly glares on you. "Give up this job? Then what should I give up next? My principles? My choices? Or even breathing? You say unpleasant words as if you're making a difference yourself."
You inwardly smirked. Kid can talk.
"All of you . . . Even you–" he said through gritted teeth, frustration and antagonization had made his flesh quiver– "you're probably just trying to demonstrate how morally superior you think you are to everyone else!"
His testimony got you thinking. Perhaps he was just a victim of the bullshit called "having no choice". He might now know the resolution for all of this, but he would get there one day.
You dispelled the superiority on your attitude, so you smiled at him. Low chuckles escaped next, so you covered your mouth.
"I'm sorry," you told him and went closer to him, then lightly nudged him. "You're such a good kid, that's why I can't help myself to tease you."
"Tease me?" he incredulously said. "That's not a great way to tease someone!"
"That's why I'm sorry!" you rebutted. "And I'm actually testing you: if you're worthy to help or not."
"You . . ." He pouted slightly. "You're despicable."
"That's right!" You then heard a secondary character's childish whine echoing inside. "You're despicable."
Gojo Satoru.
You only showed your tongue to him. He was with the other two: the she-doctor Shoko and the man called Nanami.
"Whatever." You dismissed the subject and gazed at the corpses arranged in the examination room. "So? What happened to these people?"
"That Mahito guy," the pink-haired lad started.
"Ah, yeah, that patched-work fuckface, I hate him, too," you muttered while redundantly nodding your head. "I'm assuming that they got transfigured as well?"
The young man nodded his head.
"I'm sorry," you said, "what's your name again?"
He pointed himself with his thumb. "I'm Itadori Yuji!"
"I'm Murphy Ryusei," you introduced with your fake name. "I'm hoping you'll forget what I have said earlier, Yuji-kun; I just love pissing dedicated people off."
He didn't answer, but only looked at you with disgust.
"Well, just so you know," you prompted with a smirk, "yes, I have the ability to bring someone alive."
You felt everyone's awes with your declaration.
The hope in Itadori's eyes returned, ecstatic with the possibility it could bring. Junpei — he was someone he desperately wanted to save.
"T-Then, you—"
"Only if they meet one condition–" you cut him off, your pointer finger lifted– "only if they were within my range."
It was as if there were question marks popped on Yuji's head, whilst the adults were closely listening to you.
"What . . ?"
"Can't be helped," you sighed. "Guess I'll demonstrate it to you all. Yuji, do you mind?"
The kid didn't hesitate to be a subject to your illustration, thus you didn't hesitate as well.
In a swift move, with your fingers reinforced with cursed energy, you slashed his neck, leaving a deep cut on it.
Blood splattered. And he fell down, choking his own breath.
"Time-based ability," you spoke, waiting for him to die. "It is said that time is limitless—sure, it is—but it is also a relative construct. Meaning, I can record everything, but within a certain length, depth, and height."
You activated your cursed technique, as you met all the conditions, the space you set glowed, creating a dome that accommodated Yuji's dying state.
"With that said, if it pleases me, I can control one's life—fast forward it, backward, pause, stop, and whatever bullshit."
To end Yuji's suffering, you weaved a hand signal, turning back time in the given space. He got healed, returned to his standing position, and none of his blood spilled.
"You understand?" You beamed at Yuji.
"'You understand?', my foot!" Yuji snarled at you. "At least be gentle! I thought that I was gonna die twice?"
"Hai! Question!" Gojo raised.
"Yeah, what?" you responded.
"If you can forward or backward one's life, then will it also show its life's timeline? Y'know, just like your life flashing in your eyes the as a movie?"
You shook your head. "It's not. Maybe because, all life matters lead to death, it also begins from nothing, thus it will end to nothing. Memories aren't needed."
"Certainly–" Gojo supported your reasoning– "nothing matters."
You grinned, "Yep, nothing matters."
"Then, that's the answer why you broke through my Infinity?"
Infinity?
Oh, must be his ability to slow things down.
"Well, that's a kinda different matter," you answered. "In simple words, time can curve into space, and space into time. Relativity."
On the other hand, as Yuji's brain was getting fried, he interrupted the discussion. "Say, Ryusei-san, what about them?" Then he pertained to the cadavers.
"Oh, pardon me." You then averted your attention to them. "Unfortunately, I can't 'bring them back alive'," you quoted, "but I can undo the curse."
"I've already tried that," the female doctor said. "Nothing happened when I used the Reverse Cursed Technique on them."
"It has something with the Soul Manipulation, hasn't it?" Nanami explained, as someone who was almost a victim of it.
"Soul Manipulation?" You turned your gaze to the blonde man. "That's what he said?"
Nanami only nodded. "Idle Transfiguration."
"Oh, I see, that's how that fuckface explained it." Then you grinned.
"Why? Do you have another explanation?" Yuji queried.
"Yeah, more or less." You went to the cabinets where the surgical instruments were. As you took a scalpel, you headed to one body bag and zipped it open.
You flinched at the smell that greeted you.
But nonetheless, you continued to do your work.
"Well, let's say that the Soul Manipulator was right in a spiritual way, but I'll explain the science behind it. Of course, I know what it felt like to be transfigured lmao."
With your scalpel, you cut one of the victim's arms. A curse spirit had no living flesh, only pure energy, thus seeing the flesh of the victim somehow proved your point.
You disposed of the scalpel and closed the body bag again.
"I'm guessing that Mahito guy is able to alter an information of living matter."
"Information?" They all asked.
"Uh-huh." You nodded. "As an objective definition in quantum mechanics, information is typically understood as a property of the arrangement of particles. What does this mean? Imagine a property of carbon atoms, arrange them in a certain way and you will get coal . . . Arrange them in a different way, and you will get a diamond. The atoms are the same, but what changes them is the information."
"Altering information of a living matter, huh?"
"If making it more complex and add in a few more atoms, you might get a stick of cigarette . . . Change the arrangement, and we might get gin, or drugs," you laughed at your own humor, but you went on. "The building blocks of everything—which are atoms—in the universe are the same, they don't care if they are a part of the animals, humans, cursed energy, cursed spirits, and whatnots."
"In conclusion," Shoko spoke while a hand on her chin, fully grasping your illustration, "it's reversible."
"Yes," you smiled.
"Guess I have to work hard," she only said, after realizing that her ability was still limited.
"You're very knowledgeable, huh, Ryusei? Though it doesn't fit your looks," Gojo commented.
You snorted hearing his mockery. "It may not look like it, but I'm actually a quantum physicist."
Everyone was amazed upon hearing you.
"Ehhh?? You?!" It was Gojo's exaggerated reaction. "Liar! There's no way!"
"There's no lie in that. Though I have had my master's degree under a different name," you grinned ruefully.
"Impossible! You might be like Shoko! Obtaining her doctor's license in just two years by cheating!"
"Shut the fuck up, you damned paintbrush!" you growled at Gojo, eyes widening in annoyance. "You want me to punch you again?"
"Ack! Nanamin, save me~!" Then he cowered behind the blonde man.
A vein of nark appeared on Nanamin's forehead, pushing the manchild away.
Then you panned your eyes at Shoko. "Amazing, hey! Cheating a licensure exam without getting caught."
Shoko only smiled with a side-long glance. "What's the point of studying it for years if I'll only end up here?"
You chuckled. "I totally understand. You all sorcerers are shits."
They didn't seem to disagree, though.
Then you proceeded to finish your work here. Looking at Yuji, you painted a smile once again. By helping him this time, you could benefit from it in the future.
As opened each of the corpse's body bags, you set the conditions for your technique. Then you uttered the incantations while weaving the hand seals.
"Reverse Curse Technique: Time Regression."
Your teal-colored cursed energy had swelled to the ground, forming a circle to the area, then it climbed up like tendrils to meet the certain point of height. And for cursed energy, they felt like they were in a cocoon; it was warm and regenerating.
Just like what Shoko had professed a while back, nothing was changing to the carcasses.
It was just simply multiplying cursed energy to cursed energy, in order to produce positive energy . . . But the technique of the Soul Manipulator was complex than that.
As you said, it had something to do with alteration of information, then you must focus on the atomic level of one dead person and remove all the residual of that patched-face's technique.
If only a matter of cursed energy level, you had immense of it, thus multiplying it ten more fold times was no issue for you.
The specters—Itadori, Nanami, Gojo, and Shoko—were only watching you perform, using immense energy and reverting them to human beings again all at once really did amaze them, and at the same time, became more cautious of you; a new character was something that could never be taken lightly.
You gazed at Yuji again, now his face had somehow brightened. He felt your stares, so he returned the gaze.
"Thank you," he smiled warmly. Simple words, but you could feel how grateful he was, for he could give his friend, Yoshino Junpei, a proper burial like humans had.
You smiled at him, "Not a problem."
"Eww, disgusting." Gojo Satoru butted in. "She's all smiles. How nauseating." Then he hopped behind Yuji, covering his mouth as he whispered on him. "Yuji, don't ever trust her, okay? She's a cunning woman, she might use this as an opportunity to manipulate you in the future."
And what he said was right on the money. He read you right.
You made a catatonic expression and raised your middle finger to the blinded-folded man.
Everyone grimaced at the sight of it, whilst Gojo was the only one who got offended.
"See?" he blurted. "I'm right!"
"At least I'm not gonna lie about it!" You shot back angrily. "And what's the big deal, huh? Is it wrong to help my soon-to-be student?"
"Student?" Everyone reacted to it.
"What? Didn't you offer me a teaching job?"
"Yeah, but you . . ?" Gojo ebbed.
"Did I say no?" you said, giving him a dumb look.
"No," he replied meekly.
"Right." You flashed a condescending, fake smile, and walked towards the exit. "If everything has settled, I'm gonna take my leave."
In a fast move, Gojo was beside you. "You still need an interview, y'know~"
"Yeah, I know," you said dismissively, going back to your grumpy persona.
"Then you must stay."
"Fuck off. I'll have my interview whenever I want."
Gojo flabbergasted hysterically. "What disgraceful woman! Does your mouth has no filter? And mind you! You're not the one who's gonna decide to your interview!"
You bitchily arched your right eyebrow. "Yeah? Watch me."
And you just left.
Gojo was just watching you pacing forward as he stayed on his feet. "How can I contact you?" He somehow wanted to let you know.
"Don't worry," you said as you raised your hand holding his wallet—it contained his cards, IDs, and some cash.
"Huh?" Gojo was stupefied, checking his whole self. "What? Really, how? Since when?"
You managed to swipe his wallet without his notice.
Then you were gone.
Chuckling, Gojo headed back to where his colleagues were with his palms inside his pockets.
"Really, what a woman," he uttered.
"Are you sure keeping a woman like that?" Nanami questioned. Leaving an impression distasteful to his preference, he didn't particularly like you.
"Why not?" Gojo mused. Unlike him, he didn't necessarily dislike you. "She's an oddball. I personally think that someone like her would shift the gears in one way or another."
Nanami was aware of the 'dream' Gojo had. And if having you in the team could help, then he had nothing to do with it.
"You handle her then." Nanami turned back away from them. He preferred not to have another nuisance when he had so much to do.
Getting his nata blade from the tables, he treaded out from the room.
"What's his problem? Gojo sighed. "That Nanami."
Shoko cackled as soon as hearing him. "Didn't you notice? That Murphy Ryusei is like another version of you."
Gojo was slightly taken aback, realizing that her statement was quite accurate. "I know that I'm a good-hearted fellow, but she . . ? Well, a slight good-hearted fellow."
Shoko only made a moued face. "And you know how much Nanami hated you, then that oddball you pertained has joined, imagine the growing mental strain when you two meet."
Out of the blue, Gojo had started laughing aloud with a very unpleasant way to laugh. "That's nice, that's nice! Every once in a while, I might take her to conferences with the higher-ups and we'll harass them together!"
The she-doctor only shook his head while sighing. This guy is irreconcilable. "Whatever. If you don't have any business here, you're free to leave."
The proclaimed strongest sorcerer happily left, for he was plotting some mischievous schemes on his head, whilst Itadori Yuji stayed to help Shoko to transfer the cadavers to the refrigerated cabinets room.
As Gojo walked in the hallway, he felt his phone buzzing.
Text messages.
Today 14:28
8888anon:
hey, asshole ~ !
8888anon:
tomorrow at tomioka
hachimangu shrine.
8888anon:
1600.
8888anon:
see me there.
☆～（ゝ。∂）
8888anon:
m.ryusei
Gojo only grinned broadly, either annoyance or mirth. Maybe Shoko and Nanami were right: a newly unlocked character as you might be too hard to handle.
uhm... another supporting chapter ..?
im losing braincells while writing this.
sorry if it's boring and lousy ajhdjkhdjas
im still constructing the pace and world building
and remember when i said that this
will contain science-y stuff?
yeah, it just begun lmao
and yaaaassss the commissioned art
for you is finished !!!!! Aibxisbciwiwbciwn
here it is ~~~
that's your jjk alternate ego.
AND YASSS URE SO MAD HOT 🥵🔥
and support your creator y'all
🗒 H A N D T H E I R E N D 〰 ♡