Cursed Shards (JJK/Worm)

[Crandorn]

This is IKnowNothing's story, for which Zaru and I are betas helping with the writing. I started helping out on chapter 2, and I am reposting it here now with permission. You can (and should) read it on Spacebattles, where they can get the dopamine chemicals from interactions there since they don't use this website. If you don't want to for some reason, I'll keep things updated here. With that said, I hope you enjoy PEAK FICTION.

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Brockton Bay, New Hampshire.

A former shipping hub along the eastern seaboard for those not wanting to deal with the bustle of Baltimore and Florida, it is now a corpse of its former glory.

When there is a giant sea monster going around sinking ships for fun, the economy can be like that at times.

It was humid, but nothing that Yuta Okkotsu wasn't used to as he got off the train. The tall young man of Japanese descent had a white sweater with black jeans on as he put on his sunglasses. From what he recalled, many of the Asian demographics in this part of town were under the thrall of some Villain gang called the Azn Bad Boyz. Or ABB for short.

If Gojo-sensei were here, he'd probably mock them for cultural appropriation. In Mr. Miguel's name in all likelihood. Though given that his sensei was in town, there probably wasn't going to be too much craziness from the villains while he's around.

For now though, Yuta's phone buzzed, and he flipped it open.

"Gojo-sensei, what can I do for you?" The black haired man said.

"Awwww still being so formal to me Yuta~. I'm touched~. Just checkin' in on my favorite student!" Satoru Gojo replied on the other side. "Soooo, how was the train ride up from NYC?"

"Fine. Ticket was cheap."

"Good, now, I know this isn't your first rodeo in hunting Cursed Objects." Gojo said. "But, this is a whole different beast you're gonna be tackling." Yuta closed his eyes, recounting the mission that sent him to this city in the first place.

"A cursed finger." Yuta mused.

"Yeah, one of the sellers we have been tracking sold it to some collector in Brockton Bay. You just go find the buyer and, well, buy it from him. Problem is, the buyer may have connection with one of the Villain gangs in the Merchants this, Anthony Reali fellow." Gojo mused, going off the top of his head. "So find Reali, find the Finger. Assuming the Finger hasn't been found by the Heroes first. If it has, then well, have a nice chat while the talks are happening, you know everyone hates to have something explode while they're doing paperwork!"

"And if Reali isn't willing to cooperate?" Yuta asked.

"Well, we are Sorcerer's for a reason. I trust you can be… persuasive. Flex your muscle. Besides, the Bay has a huge amount of crime in it." Yuta looked around as he departed the station, seeing the squalor on the sidewalks as people kept to themselves. He could make out the sight of some gangster down the street, bunch of tattooed Caucasians with, nazi imagery. The third of Brockton's Villain gangs, the Empire 88.

"I can tell." Yuta said as he looked at his watch. 3 in the afternoon. "And if the Finger winds up with one of the Gangs?"

"You'd have all the permission in the world to bust heads my guy, considering the conferences with the Protectorate branch. After all, the Sorcerer Foundation wasn't established just for us to hide in the shadows like the wizards from Harry Potter." Gojo said, smirking like a cat. "Oh! Broadway show's gonna be starting soon, gotta get in line. You get that finger back soon, and maybe I can let Maki off of a mission early~"

Yuta blushed, and he felt the ring he had in his pocket stir. While her spirit maybe gone… Rika's shade wasn't exactly pleased to hear of his teacher's teasing.

"Gojo-Sensei…" Yuta sighed.

"What!? She's been working hard."

The ring twitched in his pocket.

"You're a cruel man, Gojo-sensei." Yuta toned.

"Hehehehehe~"

"I'm going to go hunt for the Finger now." Yuta went into an alleyway to the side, and channeling Cursed Energy, leapt up a Fire escape and parkoured his way to the top, one hand on his phone, the other pulling himself up the steel grader.

"Alrighty, have fun." Gojo said. "Be my guest, be my guest, put our service to the test~" He sang as Yuta rolled his eyes and hung up.

"Alright." Yuta closed his eyes, pulling out his ring from his pocket. "Rika, help me find what I'm looking for." He donned it, and using Copy, he drew upon a Cursed Technique he had encountered while partnered with Miguel in Cabo.

"Radar." He closed his eyes, feeling Rika's embrace from behind as the invisible beast surrounded him, her strong gangly white arms enclosing around.

"Yutaaaa~, those people down there were looking scary at youuuuuu~" Rika, the Queen of Curses, whined. "We should kill theeeem~"

Her spirit is gone, but her shade remained. And its bloody protective instinct with it.

"I know. But they're not in our jurisdiction." Yuta replied. "The Heroes will handle it." Heroes handle the material world, and Sorcerors the Ethereal world. That is how it is.

He focused, as the Cursed Technique activated, the world going monochrome. And from the city, he sensed it. Small flickering black lights. Minor Curse Spirits roaming about, all due to the negative air this city had.

But he sensed one… and it was starting to blaze as Yuta opened his eyes.

"Found it." He picked up his sword, channeled his Cursed Energy and leapt from the top of the building in but a single bound, Rika flying by his side. He rushed, jumping from roof to roof as he focused on the suburbs.

"I sense it Yutaaaa~ Dangerous! Dangerous!"

"It's fine." Yuta urged. "I have you with me." The monstrous eyeless Cursed Spirit let out a 'squee' and a giggle, and calmed down. In a way she was like a clingy dog; give her attention, and she'd be satisfied.

Though, he wasn't exactly satisfied when he landed in an alleyway close to his target. A target that clearly was the last place that he would've liked to find the finger. He hoped it would be a drug den, or some sleazy bar.

That said, what he had heard about American highschools, it might not be far off.

Yuta glanced at the sign.

Winslow High School.

The place was practically bathed in cursed energy, he'd have to get a call from the Foundation and permission from the city to exercise it as soon as he found the finger. Rika's presence was scaring off minor ones, no bigger than crows or cats.

Walking through the front door, he kept his senses open, trying to find the light that marked the cursed object. It wasn't too late in the day, but most of the students would be in their final classes.

"Hey, who are-"

Yuta turned to the voice, a teacher by the looks of him. Bit on the fraying side but well, Yuta didn't have time. His eyes were wide with apprehension, considering Yuta held his clothed sword. The black haired man reached into his pocket and pulled out a badge.

"It's alright sir. My name is Yuta Okkostu," he said in English, displaying the Sorcerer Foundation license.

His name, picture, and rank as a Special Grade Sorcerer were on full display with such authenticity that even a Tinker would be hard pressed to copy it.

Didn't hurt that it was glowing a bit.

The teacher paled instantly at seeing it.

Not surprising, considering the reputation of the two top Special Grades, and that there were only four in the world.

"Wh-what can I do for you Mr. Okkotsu?" the teacher asked.

"You have a Cursed Object on the premises, I need to find it and-"

"YUTA!!!" Rika screamed in his mind.

He felt Radar ping again, greater, and far brighter this time. Without even waiting, Yuta rushed down the hallway in a blur of cursed energy. He moved through halls, around corners, until he saw it.

A group of three girls, stuffing a fourth into a locker.

One of them, a darker skinned girl saw him, her eyes widening in recognition.

The other two didn't, and finished their work.

Stuffing a finger down the throat of a struggling girl with glasses.

Yuta flashed his ring, and poured as much cursed energy as he could into Rika. She appeared, and the two moved as fast as they could.

Rika grabbed the two that were distracted, Yuta grabbed the girl that noticed him.

They got halfway through the hall before the marks appeared on the final girl.

They were able to run out of the door, bursting out of it.

The school exploded.

Yuta felt the biting cursed energy, Rika's form cut up by the explosion of cursed energy, using herself as a shield from the blast. He felt cuts dig into his back as he used Reversed Curse Technique to heal as he rolled along the ground.

And what a blast it was.

The school, or that section of it, lockers and all were gone, the roof blown off and leaving a small hole where the lockers were.

Standing in their place, was the girl.

Black hair turning darker, her form covered in blood, not hers.

But she wasn't just a girl anymore…

Marking were formed, and Yuta spotted… eyes forming on the black haired girl's cheeks.

"W-Wha…I…"

One of the girls that Rika was protecting, a redhead, looked around in surprise.

"What-?"

Yuta didn't answer her, he had to move before the curse that was the brown haired girl did anymore damage.

Rika got to her first, grabbing hold of her with her hands and flying out of the hole that the curse had made. Yuta followed close behind, sword coming out of it's sheath. He lept from the roof of the school onto the street, just as Rika threw the curse onto the sidewalk hard enough to crack it.

It didn't so much as damage the curse as it did the street.

She got up, stretching her shoulder and looking at Yuta as he landed.

"Oh?" What came wasn't the voice of a girl, but of a man. Rank and oily with sadism. "So both times I wake up, I end up finding more of you sorcerers." The possessed one spoke, all four eyes on him.

Yuta didn't answer, blade held at the ready while Rika got behind the possessed. Inhuman eyes flicked between the two, before she tilted her head.

"Well then, aren't you interesting?"

"DIE! DANGER!" Rika roared as she slammed her claw down, and the possessed dodged, leaping away.

Yuta didn't blink, he simply waited.

"You're practically a babe yet you have so much cursed energy!" And the Possessed turned on Yuta, holding his sword in one hand, the other carrying the stunned red haired girl in his other. "Oh? She's bound to you?"

"Release her. Now." Yuta ordered, and the Possessed smirked.

"How about you die with that girl in your arms first, human!" She leapt, and Yuta raised his blade as the red haired girl screamed

The curse had the chance to take to the streets, and given who said curse was….

Only for a massive Eastern Dragon to slam into the girl, the Possessed screaming in pain as the Dragon slammed him into the ground, Yuta's eyes widening.

"Oh Yuta, there you are, I missed you at the conference."

He knew that dragon… or rather, that cursed spirit.

Yuta's head snapped around, and he saw someone he didn't expect.

A man in black monks robes with a green and yellow overcoat smiled at the other sorcerer. He was eating a thing of Lay's Potato chips casually, looking between the three of them there with a tilted head.

"You making a new friend, Yuta?" He mused. "And carrying around a girl like a superhero? Maki ain't going to be pleased about that."

"W-What…. Is going on…" The red head uttered.

"Geto-sensei!" Yuta exclaimed, "What are-"

"UNHAND ME!" The Possessed roared, Koryu keeping her pinned to the pavement as it buckled. "So Sorceror's in this era are so weak they must enslave Spirits now! How pathetic!"

"D-Don't kill her!" The redhead said. "I-I can't see whats going on but… you're crushing Taylor!"

"Be silent you curr!" The Possessed, this Taylor apparently, yelled. "Once I'm finished with these weak sorcerers, I will eat your hear-BLARGH!"

And an octopus spirit was wedged into Taylor's mouth, gagging the Possessed as Rika flew over. Geto-sensei walked by, munching still.

"Do you mind? I'm meeting my student again, I'm trying to have a conversation." Geto looked down at the frothing mad Possessed as if one looked at a cockroach. "Besides, who are you, if I'm weak?"

The Possessed let out a muffled roar, but Koryu's jaws tightened.

"Geto-sensei!" Yuta called, "The girl, she ate the finger!"

"I could tell," Geto said, casually eating another chip, "She's practically a carbon copy of Gojo's report."

"A report?" Yuta asked.

"Oh yeah it was super recent."

Geto nudged the Possessed with his traditional Japanese sandal-covered shoe to the head. If looks could kill, Geto-sensei would have been dead a hundred times over.

"Sleep." He ordered, and Taylor's eyes widened… before she slumped, her hair returning back to its normal chocolate sheen and the marks and eyes on her face vanishing. Relaxing as Koryu and the octopus spirit vanished.

In the crater a brown haired girl blinked and sat up in the crater.

"W-What… where am I? I-" She turned around, seeing the sight of the burning school…

"W-Winslow…I-" She turned, and saw the monk and scampered away.

"Easy," the monk said, hands raised, a warm smile at ease as he offered his hand, "I'm not going to hurt you."

The girl's head snapped around, looking around, her entire form was shaking.

"I… I was in a locker… then… then I…"

She hugged herself tight, and Geto leaned down gently placing a hand on her head and she stilled. Yuta set the redhead down, as she looked at Taylor with fear.

"Don't worry, you're safe now. Nothing bad will happen to you." Geto said in perfect English, offering his hand to her. "I am here after all."

He smiled, and Yuta saw that familiar smirk.

"And I am the strongest."

(X)

(AN on Spacebattles):
Bit of a brain thing that's been in my head for a while, now off the back burner, but here we are!

Me and @Zaru have been talking about this for a while, so here it is, another worm fic from the two of us, but well, another fun story moving forward.

Obviously, not exactly what some might expect, but hope everyone gives it a chance! Worldbuilding and other changes are going to be explained in chapters to follow, but soon enough that'll come around.

Hope y'all enjoy, and if you got questions, more than willing to answer.

(My crossposting note):

If you ask questions here I'll do my best to answer them, but this is IKN's brainchild so I won't have all the answers. I'll try and pass them along and get back to you though!

 

[Crandorn]

Hospitals were an annoyance.

They were the perfect breeding ground for Curses. Them, High Schools, office buildings, jails. Anywhere that produced tons of negative emotions became the perfect breeding ground for spirits to grow and thrive.

That being said, they provided great training grounds for amateur sorcerers. The negative emotions in those places were indistinct and unfocused, giving birth to curses of insubstantial power.

However, the issue never came with the demand, it always came with the supply.

Despite having a greater number of sorcerers in the world than almost ever before, there weren't enough to go around. Sorcerers were called by the Foundation everyday for everything between their expertise in stopping curses to helping everyone understand certain master/stranger protocols.

Yuta had seen more dangerous and lethal curses than the little bug and rat sized ones that scurried around in the corner of his eye. Brockton General Hospital had plenty of curses writhing about, and seeing them was irritating. If he had the time he'd exorcise them, but for now he had a job to do.

He sat outside of Taylor Hebert's room where the girl was resting on Geto-Sensei's orders to the doctors. She needed it to calm herself lest the spirit she had consumed go rampant.

The most dangerous Cursed Spirit of all. The King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna.

Normally this would be cause to lock Taylor into a room covered in sealing tags awaiting execution. That's how it was for Yuta when he first manifested his curse, but Brockton had no sealing room to use. Which, frankly, was a good thing.

The last thing that she needed was to be subjected to something like that.

So here she was, sitting in a hospital, waiting for her future to be decided. This would ordinarily be a cause for concern from the Foundation, but given the Vice Administrator and an additional Special Grade Sorcerer were there, only a fool would have tried to press the issue.

Which left time to ask some questions…

"How did that girl ever get that finger?" Yuta mused. "Our sources said Reali still had his hands on it."

Geto-Sensei was on his phone, looking through various messages. The man stood out like he always did with his monk outfit, to say nothing of the dragon spirit circling the building. It had caused more than one intern to scream when they first put on their Cursed Glasses for the day. While Geto-sensei's technique allowed him to gather and store cursed spirits, they still caused quite a stir to anyone not in the know.

"It was supposed to be, but Reali was arrested two days ago according to an updated police report." Geto handed his phone to the younger man.

The man had been arrested and wounded in some irreputable part of Brockton Bay. The report listed puncture wounds characteristic of sharp knives and ranged projectiles, alongside a generous helping of blunt trauma.

"How come the Police didn't notify…us…" Yuta muttered, before it clicked in his head and he took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose.

God damn it sensei…

"And here I was thinking that your containment of the Special Grade Cursed Object would go swimmingly while I handled my meetings," Geto chuckled. "Guess I was wrong."

"Did you make a bet with Gojo-Sensei?"

"He wanted to bet, I refused." Geto commented dryly as Yuta rolled his eyes.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," the younger sorcerer said deadpanned.

"Always," Geto said, smiling sickly sweet.

They heard footsteps from down the hallway and Yuta turned to see a frantic looking man in his forties rushing towards them. He had a lanky frame, and was starting to go bald, and wore glasses too big for his face. He stopped, glancing between the two sorcerers.

"Who are you two? This is my daughter's room, isn't it?" He asked, tone taut.

"You must be Taylor Hebert's father." Geto replied as he stood up, smiling much more diplomatically. "I'm Suguru Geto, the Vice Administrator of the Sorcerer Foundation. And this is my understudy, Yuta Okkotsu." He gestured to Yuta, who bowed. "We have been watching over your daughter since the incident."

If the man was thankful he didn't show it, though he was pale with worry, to his credit.

"The Sorcerer Foundation?" Mr. Hebert asked before going even paler. "Is Taylor okay? Was she hurt by-!?"

"She's alright, physically at least." Geto said. "But there is a curse involved, unfortunately." He frowned. "Mr…" He droned, hoping to get a name as he offered his hand.

"Hebert. Daniel Hebert." Daniel shook it, and Geto nodded.

"Well Daniel, I won't mince words. Your daughter was force fed a Cursed Object, one belonging to an exceptionally old and dangerous curse." Geto said. "She was-is- possessed, but my understudy and I were able to quell the Cursed Spirit inside her without killing her, which was honestly a first for us. Your daughter was a lucky girl to survive that."

Geto paused, glancing to the side in thought. "Though living with a curse wouldn't be the best way to survive, but we all take what we can get I suppose."

Daniel's jaw was agog, and Yuta winced and looked away. "She was force… fed? HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT SO-"

Geto-sensei held up a single finger and Daniel shut his mouth instantly. "I'm speaking like this because I am one of few people in the world truly capable of helping her," he said calmly, "And because for now, she is safe and healthy, a far cry from most who encounter a curse. Were this like the overwhelming majority of cases we normally deal with, you would be identifying your daughter from her dental records right now."

Daniel swallowed hard, and Geto clasped his hands together, his smile never having left his face. "Now, I know you must have many questions such as how and why this all happened. For that, we have an eye witness."

Geto held out his hand, and Yuta handed him back his phone. "They already identified the ones responsible. The perpetrators, one Sophia Hess, one Madison Clemants, and one Emma Barnes are currently being held in the police station."

Daniel's eyes widened, and Geto cocked a brow. "E-Emma Barnes…?"

"Oh? You know of them?" The monk asked with a tilt of his head.

"Emma mostly," Daniel said, his voice far away, "She and Taylor were good friends, and I work with her father but…"

"Then my apologies for being the bearer of bad news," Geto said, "But worry not, everything is already taken care of. Yuta, if you would?"

Yuta reached into his pocket, grabbing his ring and sliding it on as Daniel blinked. "Memograph." Yuta uttered, Copy coming into play as the Cursed Technique he took from a voyeur Sorcerer in Miami during his days as a Grade 2 Sorceror took effect, a protrusion forming on the side of his head as he recalled from memory of what he saw. Daniel could only watch in abject amazement. The man probably had never seen a cursed technique before, let alone one like this.

Like a camera, a photo began to form from it as Daniel looked on in horror as it came out bit by bit. Once printed, Geto took it in hand, looking it over before giving a nod, letting the protrusion fade away. Yuta rubbed his head, wincing a little from the use of the power.

It always came with a little headache at the end, a trade off for a technique that, while useless in combat, was far more practical outside of it.

"I will ensure this matter reaches the right people," Geto explained, "And we will proceed accordingly with criminal charges."

"You? But, why?" Daniel asked. "I get a Curse is involved but this- my daughter was hurt! I should be the one to press charges."

Geto put the photo in his robes. "This was a violation of the Treaty. Take from that what you will." Daniel's eyes widened.

"A hero… was involved?!" He uttered. "But Emma isn't a cape! Then…" he looked to the side, eyes wide.

The Protectorate-Foundation Treaty, often simply called the PF Treaty, was well known as a treatise of allegiance and cooperation between the Sorcerer Foundation and the Protectorate and its affiliate groups like the Parahuman Response Team.

The rules and consequences were strict and for good reason.

"Unfortunately yes," Geto said, "Rest assured Mr. Hebert, we will be taking this matter seriously. I've scheduled a meeting to address this personally, which is rare. so I'll do what I can to enjoy the bureaucracy in your stead."

He gestured towards Yuta."Yuta here will remain by your daughter's side, in case the Cursed Spirit awakens inside her once again."

Daniel looked sick as he slumped into his chair.

"It will be alright. Trust me." Yuta spoke up. "Your daughter will be safe, and we'll do what we can about the Cursed spirit inside her."

"Can't you just exorcise it? I mean, you clear our spirits all over the country and…"

"If we could we would, but this Curse Spirit attached to her soul," Geto said, his tone hard. "It's unique. Old. Powerful. And without a shadow of a doubt, evil beyond compare."

Daniel cupped his mouth, suppressing his despair as Yuta saw the Curse Spirit wiggling on his shoulder. A disgusting, slug-like thing with too many eyes all over its body.

Yuta reached out, and with a simple chop, exorcised the spirit.

"We'll do what we can to protect her to the best of our ability." Yuta assured. "We are strong after all." He said with a little pump of his fist.

'Yuta's so kiiiiind.' Rika chirped in his ear. 'You're so sweet Yutaaaa~'

Geto chuckled, and Yuta felt his hair get ruffled."As my pupil says. We are on your side, Mr. Hebert. Let me fight this battle in your stead." Geto said, a warm smile of assurance on his features as Daniel looked up. "And I will come out the victor, I assure you."

Daniel wiped his eyes, taking a deep, shuddering breath. "Thank you… I've heard rumors that you Sorcerers are a callous bunch… I didn't think…"

"It is as you said Mr. Hebert. Those are only rumors." Geto nodded as he stood up suddenly, bringing his sleeves together. "Now if you'll excuse me, bureaucracy calls and I must present myself. I will be back shortly." He walked off, nodding towards Yuta's way who responded in kind.

Yuta sat by Daniel's side, and he looked at the hospital door, sensing Taylor within as she slumbered.

A girl whose life had changed forever. Just like Gojo-Sensei's new pupil.

There would be many in the upper echelons of the Foundation calling for her head.

Just like they did for Yuji Itadori's in San Francisco.

Just as they did for Yuta Okkotsu.

But then, that's why sorcerers like him existed. To protect others, and train others to handle the life of curses and spirits they were thrust into.

She'd be fine. She had to.

(X)

The ride to Protectorate Headquarters East-North-East was rough. The city streets had a horrifying number of bumps and potholes. At least the inside of the base was better paved.

Then again, when three of the most dangerous Villain gangs on the Eastern seaboard are nestled in the city, public funds had to go somewhere.

Truly government spending was the greatest and most invincible curse out there.

Geto maintained that if he found the Tax Curse and absorbed it, his power would be beyond compare.

Regardless, looking at the city Suguru found himself disappointed. It was normal for larger cities to struggle with crime, but Brockton Bay was a case study of how bad it could get before the Heroes decided that it was a lost cause, no longer worth continuing their giant charade of cops and robbers. It was all just so… tiresome to even look at. Then again, things like the Endbringers did exist, as did the Slaughterhouse Nine.

Suguru understood the necessity of it all, but he could never feel the logic. Criminals should be punished, not given quarter simply because they were strong when heroes like the triumvirate were stronger. It was- mostly- fine elsewhere, but here it was just a mess.

"We're here sir." His driver said, breaking the black haired man from his thoughts as he exited the van, having entered with ease when his credentials were shown to the gate. Suguru walked towards the door with a measured gait, looking out of place and out of time. A garbed buddhist monk, sandals and all entering a high tech Hero Base. As the doors opened, every eye was on him and for good reason.

For they were in the presence of the Strongest.

"Mr. Geto!" Waved a man jogging through the lobby around the many officials, officers and interns whispering at his entrance. "Welcome to PRT ENE! I'm Deputy Director Thomas Calvert." He offered a hand and a wide smile, which Suguru took with a small smirk.

"Mr. Calvert, it's a pleasure to meet you." He said, before releasing the hand and bowing slightly. "I was hoping to speak to Director… Biggot I believe?"

"Piggot actually."

Oh that poor woman. Her days in high school must have been hell.

"Ah, my mistake," Suguru said with a smile, "English is my third language, and french surnames are even harder for me."

Calvert chuckled awkwardly before coughing into his hand.

"Well, she's in a meeting at the moment, but considering you're here I'm sure she'll be done in a moment." Calvert said, guiding him along.

"You greeted me rather promptly on my arrival," Suguru mused while observing his surroundings. The place had scant few spirits, and the ones there were rarely much bigger than earthworms. He did notice a Curse upon Calvert's hand that looked like a starfish, with many mouths and dangling tongues sticking onto the skin. The security there let him through without issue, and the people in the halls cleared quickly to let him and Calvert through.

"My office is above the lobby and has a convenient window looking out onto the grounds." Calvert replied by way of explanation. "And having heard an esteemed member of the Foundation was present from the gate staff, I felt it improper to give you anything less than a proper welcome."

"My thanks," said Suguru, smile hardly shifting as they entered an elevator and began to ascend.

"Pardon the question, but do I have any well, Curses on me?" Calvert asked. "I heard many people do and…" he trailed off.

"Hold out your hand." Suguru commanded, which Calvert obeyed, placing his palm in Suguru's open palm. He flexed his cursed technique and the spirit shrieked as he rendered the Curse into a small pearl that he let dissipate a moment later. Calvert flexed his arm, staring.

"Wow, I'd been wondering why my hand had been aching for days… The rumors are true, then. Thank you."

"Sorcerers who eschew a life of combat often become rather successful masseuses," Suguru remarked with a sly smirk as Calvet looked at his hand.

"I imagine so. I had no idea that was there, they don't let us have goggles unless you're on a mission, and well, I'm no fighter. Haven't been for a while." Calvert commented as they arrived and they marched on ahead. Calvert stepped on ahead of him, a ghost of a smug smirk on his visage.

"Allow me."

Calvert opened the door, and Suguru glanced about the room. The office was rather austere, but little things here and there tried to make it more homely, like the bowl of mints on her desk nestled between more phones than most would ever use with enough paperwork to kill a man with the weight alone. But then again, directors needed to be on call for almost anything, and often many things at the same time.

"We can't afford to lose her, I'm working with a fraction of the force I should have as is!" Hissed a plump middle aged woman as she looked up, eyes glaring daggers at Calvert before her gaze settled on Suguru, and her eyes widened before hardening. "We'll be talking about this later." She shut off the call with an annoyed huff. Geto had a good idea of what exactly was going on there…

"Vice Administrator Suguru Geto." said one Emily Piggot, according to the name plate on the desk. Suguru noticed the immense bloated caterpillar of a Curse coiling around her shoulders and near her sides as she adjusted her glasses. "To what do I owe the pleasure? I wasn't told you would be coming." Her glare shifted to Calvert, who shrugged.

"I found myself in the area, for reasons you're already aware of." Suguru said as he walked in. "Given the nature of what I just heard, after all."

He kept his smile perfectly diplomatic, which did little to blunt the spike of negativity he sensed from her. Though it was certainly more helpful than the cocky grin that Satoru would be giving her right now. Suguru was far better at playing politics than him, whether he was dealing with normal humans, parahumans, or Curse Users. Fighting was always something of a last resort in his eyes. It's what set him apart from Satoru and Yuki.

He was very glad Yuta was taking more after him than his colleagues in that regard.

Lord knows he got enough headaches from the Foundation about his fellows' consistent property damage.

"Is this about the incident at Winslow earlier today?" Calvert inquired as he pulled out a chair for Suguru.

Suguru took the chair, resting his hands on his lap with his robe's sleeves still interlocked.

"One of your Wards broke the Treaty." He wasn't going to bother with politeness here- they both knew he was in the right. "I'm just grateful she was kind enough to do so during the week, when we have more hands on deck to help fix things without having to deal with tons of extra overtime."

Piggot's eyes narrowed. "And which part of the treaty would this ward be breaking?" she asked. She knew already, of course, but she was hoping he would make a mistake.

"Article three, subsection two." Suguru remarked, reaching over and helping himself to the unused mints. Her eye twitched as she watched him, but she didn't stop him. "If a Hero under Protectorate or PRT supervision comes across a Cursed Object, they are supposed to report it to a Foundation Sorcerer immediately for exorcism, containment, or destruction. But that's not what happened."

Piggot took a deep breath, the curse spirit on her shoulder bulging lightly as it warbled a bit, feeding off of her stress. "Do you have proof?"

Suguru nodded. "Would you be satisfied with a photo and an eyewitness testimony from a Special Grade Sorcerer, or do I need to refer you to the hole where the greater part of a local highschool used to be? I always endeavor to be accommodating."

"There's another Special Grade here? Who?" Calvert asked, surprised.

"My pupil." Calvert looked to the side, giving a low whistle.

Piggot's eyes narrowed further."Your lack of professionalism isn't appreciated, Vice Administrator."

The two of them stared at one another for a moment, giving Suguru time to crunch through his mint.

"The Foundation was tracking a collector and smuggler by the name of Anthony Reali. He purchased a Cursed Object that belonged to a Heian Era Sorcerer from a bazaar in Toronto recently. Unaware it was a Cursed Object, he returned to his home here in Brockton Bay. Reali, as I hope you're aware, was arrested two days ago by a hero. If my recollection of Brockton Bay's Protectorate roster is correct, it was the work of a Ward by the name of Shadow Stalker."

Piggot exhaled through her nose, leaning back in her chair. It looked like an uncomfortable motion, for someone of her bulk.

"The Sorcerer who we had sent out to retrieve this Cursed Object," Suguru pulled out the photograph and set it on her desk. Piggot's jaw was tight. "Found it being force fed to a Winslow High School student."

Calvert averted his gaze, choosing to carefully study the books on the shelf as the Curse spirit on Piggot's shoulder gurgled, bathing in the wash of negativity the woman was giving off. She really could use an exorcism, but he wasn't inclined to be helpful right now.

Some people deserve some negativity after all.

"You realize outing a Ward is a crime?" She hissed, trying for intimidation.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about," he said, smiling. It dropped a second later.

"As much as it amuses me to beat around the bush, let us be frank. Your Ward was harassing a young girl in a startling bullying campaign that escalated until she force fed said girl a Cursed Object. That's an attempted murder charge at best, as it's a miracle that the young girl survived the experience and an even greater miracle that my student was able to save your ward and bystanders before they all reaped the consequences of what she did. It is in spite of all odds that those young women avoided death today. We can quibble about the particulars all you want, but the fact of the matter is that I have all the evidence in the world necessary to bury you and your administration."

Satoru would likely be sniggering like a gremlin if he were here, watching the pudgy woman stew in fury. Piggot took off her glasses, setting them down as she ran her hands up and down her temples. "What do you want Geto?"

"Accountability would be a good start." Suguru remarked, "Stalker and her pack are to be punished to the fullest extent of the law, but that was going to happen anyways without your interference."

She was fuming, but fighting to stay in the moment and 'reason' with him. "I can't afford to lose her. She's one of our best potential counters to Brutes like Lung." She was at the end of her rope it seems, trying to appeal to someone like him. Especially given Lung's history and who he targets to bolster his gang.

"That's not my problem. As per the treaty." Suguru smiled as he leaned back. Calvert got up to a nearby water cooler, pulling himself a cup and getting something to drink. Piggot looked ready to explode as the spirit warbled again.

"Must be nice to not have to care about throwing people to the wolves with no help." Piggot snapped. Calvert sipped from his water, as he hid a tiny smile at the sight of his boss being knocked down a peg.

He wanted her job, if he had to guess.

"Again, not my problem. She broke the treaty, and I think both of us can agree we have enough of our own problems going around that we don't need to add to them with a loose cannon running around mucking things up." Suguru replied as Piggot signed. "You can keep your job, throw Stalker, deservedly, to the wolves, and we can move on. Or this can get ugly, and you'll be flipping burgers by year's end." He smiled. "Your choice." She ran a hand over her face, sighing loudly. When she didn't respond he smiled. "And one last thing about today's victim…"

(X)

Taylor woke up screaming.

She didn't know where she was, but she could hear the electrical beeping of machines, white walls covered in tags bearing characters in some foreign language and enough candles to light the place up and choke the room in incense.

It was then that she noticed where she was.

She was in a hospital bed, and there was an Asian man with long black hair that she didn't recognize sitting across from her.

He was dressed in monk robes with bangs over his face and with a happy little smile on his face. He had broad shoulders and was visibly well muscled even through his strange robes. He rose.

"Oh! Hello there Taylor! Did you sleep well?" He asked with sleeves together.

Taylor blinked, lifting up her arm to find the tubes leading into her body.

"I…" she started, only to look back at the man, and her mind filled in the blanks.

"You're that man with the bangs that saved me. Before I passed out."

He shook his head, muttering as his hands touched his hair. "Why do they always notice the bangs? It's enough to make me self conscious."

"I'm… sorry?" Taylor said, and the Japanese man looked back and chuckled.

"Oh it's nothing," the man said, waving her concerns off, "But again, how are you feeling?"

Taylor shrugged, noticing a surprising lack of pain. "Well as I can be… after…" she looked off, remembering the dark giggling from Madison. Sophia holding her down as Emma's dark expression as she was fed… that. Whatever it was had tasted like death.

"Oh yes, well on the plus side they're all going to juvie." he said, "The evidence stacked against them is overwhelming."

"...what?"

"Lawyers got involved, and their charges are looking like they'll be hard to beat. Photographic evidence can be a pain like that." The man mentioned. "One of them was white belligerent until the photo was presented. He deflated like a balloon."

Taylor didn't know what she was hearing .But she got the basics. The trio, Emma, Sophia, and Madison were gone.

"Who- who are you?"

The man's smile widened. "I am the Vice Administrator of the Sorcerer Foundation, the Special Grade Sorcerer Suguru Geto." He leaned forward in his chair. "And I would like to make you an offer. Tell me, Taylor Hebert, have you ever dreamed of being a sorcerer?"

(X)

(AN on Spacebattles):
Got another one for you.

Was going to post this earlier but power outages and all that good stuff.

Anyway, one more for you to get things moving, hope everyone likes.

Big thanks to @Zaru and @Crandorn for their help, much smoother now.

This is just a tiny little start up for things, but we're going to be stepping closer to the meat of things soon enough. If you got questions, concerns, memes, feel free to post, love reading them all and it's always a pleasure to see this getting any sort of traction.

Now, I am back to the mines for writing things like the next chapter and Shattering, still need to get that fixed up lol.

 

[Crandorn]

Taylor couldn't believe what was happening.

She was sitting with her dad in a limo on her way to the Sorcerer Foundation Embassy of New Jersey. And it wasn't just any limo. It was the kind of vehicle she saw driving celebrities and politicians to red carpet and black tie events. Big, and fully stocked with drinks and snacks with labels in other languages that she couldn't pronounce. And that was just the stuff that had labels.

And all of this for a single transport just to meet the Administrator of the Sorcerer Foundation.

"Does she really need to meet the Administrator?" Her dad asked their guide for the millionth time that hour.

Mr. Geto had been content to answer every question that popped into her fathers head with a smile that never wavered. He seemed genuine, but then again Taylor was never the best at reading people or playing the social games that most of the trio had delighted in. "It's not part of the typical process for inducting new sorcerers I admit," Geto answered, "However due to her unique situation it's best that we do so. She'll have the chance to meet my compatriots and be introduced to her fellow students."

Oh, right.

Fellow students.

"These students, are they…?" Dad asked.

"They are not anything like Winslow I assure you. We have… very small class sizes." Geto smiled ear to ear. "It's a very hands-on, practical education.."

That was the part of the deal she was trying not to think about.

"Taylor, are you sure you want to be a sorcerer?" asked Geto. Some part of her worry must have been visible on her face or body language. She schooled herself, trying to emulate the calm confidence her heroes projected so easily before nodding resolutely.

Of course she had said yes, why wouldn't she? She'd looked up to Heroes for as long as she could remember, and has had a poster of Alexandria hanging above her bed since she was ten for god's sake.

Being a sorcerer wasn't quite what she'd imagined for herself, but she didn't have powers so this… this was the next best thing.

More than that, being able to use Cursed Energy was far rarer than triggering. Despite having been around longer than parahumans, they numbered criminally few, far less than were needed to do their jobs.

It was a chance to be something different, to be more than just Taylor Hebert, another nobody to be forgotten.

She certainly felt like she was right now, given the money that had to be being shelled out for her transport alone.

She watched the large embassy building come into view. It looked much like every other government building she'd seen, except it flew the flag of the Sorcerer Foundation instead of the red white and blues. A red circle was centered on a black background, with four waving, river-like lines feeding into it. The whole thing looked like an eye, ever vigilant and watching for the things that went bump in the night. If half of what she'd heard about sorcerers was true, the red was more than fitting.

"Home sweet home. At least for this part of the country," Geto said, and the doors opened on their own as the limo came to a stop.

No, that was wrong.

As Taylor stepped out, she saw a group of tiny dolls retreating from the car and down into a sewer grate. They were cute, but very strange. Maybe they were the work of a tinker? They could have weird themes. When Taylor blinked it waved back at her then closed the grate behind it..

"Quite ingenious work, aren't they?"

Taylor glanced up, startled to find Geto standing above her.

When had he…?

"Come along, we have much to do today," the monk said, gesturing to the building.

Taylor glanced at her father who shrugged noncommittally and she repressed the desire to sigh. Regardless, the two of them followed Geto into the building without a fuss. No one said a word as they made their way through the building behind Geto. The interior wasn't quite as boring as the exterior had her believe. Concrete was everywhere and brass railings littered every other surface of course, but they weren't the only things there.

Calligraphed paper slips she was pretty sure were called Ofuda adorned seemingly every surface. Some things were made out of lacquered wood, while others were constructed from truly ancient looking stone. It was such a jarring shift Taylor wondered if the outside was kept the way it was for appearances. This was more like a shrine than anything related to the government. It was unevenly lit by candles in alcoves, of all things.

"This place looks so…" Daniel murmured.

"Japanese? Magical?" Geto asked.

"Authentic was what I was going to say."

"Hmm. Good enough."

At the center of it all, behind a large wooden desk sat a tall asian man wearing a dark blazer and a goatee going through pages of paperwork. Stuffed animals and puppets sat up against the pillars and walls throughout the room. One ugly green bear, much bigger than all the others, sat on the edge of his desk, fake eyes staring blankly at the door.

"Yaga-sensei," greeted Geto.

The older man glanced up, setting down the papers in his hands and standing. "Ah, good to see you. And right on time, as always."

Geto smirked. "I'm not Satoru, Sensei."

Both men smiled together at that. "And isn't that lucky." the man said, and gestured at the mound of paper on his desk. "I swear half of that's because of him sometimes. And if it's not him it's Yuki. I'm just glad that my teaching stuck with you. I don't think I could handle another Satoru Gojo."

Geto snorted. "I'm not sure the world could handle a second ego that size."

"It already has to," the man said as he focused on Taylor. He looked at her and she fought not to react, but she couldn't stop her hands from unconsciously rising to cover the marks beneath the corners of her eyes. "Taylor Herbert, I presume?"

"It's Hebert, actually," corrected Geto. "It's french. And behind me is Daniel Hebert, her father."

"H-hello," Taylor said, bowing as best she could, and her father copied the motion behind her. Mr. Yaga bowed slightly back as he rose to his feet, walking around to approach them. Whoa. He's built like a brick shithouse.

"My name is Masamichi Yaga, and I am the Chief Administrator of the Sorcerer Foundation"

He glanced down at Taylor and Taylor had to fight the urge to flinch away as he got a better look.

"So you're one of them? A Finger Bearer?"

Taylor nodded. Daniel growled a bit, looking off to the side.

"That's what I've been told."

There was apparently another case like her, but Geto hadn't said anything beyond that she'll learn more soon enough. Yaga hummed in consideration, before letting out another sigh as the doors to his office were flung wide open with a bang.

"Satoru Gojo. You're late, again."

"Oh come on," whined a voice from behind her. "You were in the middle of introductions, I didn't want to steal the show."

Taylor and her father turned as one, seeing two people that came up the same stairs that they had moments before. A whitish-silver haired man walked in with a rakish grin pushed his deep black sunglasses, leading a pink haired boy roughly her age down just far enough to make eye contact with Taylor over them.

And- wow. It was like seeing the world in a speck of sand and heaven in a wildflower- or maybe a rose? Taylor wished she'd read more of her mom's poetry books so she could describe the moment properly- looking into those eyes.

They were sapphire blue, and filled with an endless shine that made Taylor's jaw drop open stupidly.

'Oh my god he's hot,' She thought to herself. The man smirked at her gaze, and she clamped her mouth shut before the man turned towards the monk.

Then he opened his mouth and shattered the moment once again. "Suguruuuuu!" He shouted, throwing his arms wide enthusiastically as he glomped the Vice Administrator, clearly uncaring of the disturbance he was causing that made Taylor want to retreat into her coat with second hand embarrassment.

"Satoru," replied Geto warmly. "I see you've brought your protege."

"Haha!" Gojo said, shaking his head and pushing his glasses up from where they'd sat askew, "Of course! I had to bring him in for orientation anyways." He glanced at Taylor with a tilt to his head."So, you're Taylor Hebert, the Second Finger Bearer." He walked up, looking up and around her. Even with his extra dark sunglasses on it was felt like she was under a microscope. "Hmmm~"

"Sensei, do you have to do that?" The pink haired boy said.

"It's normal for him." Geto remarked.

Taylor felt like she was swallowing cotton but she managed a nod. Gojo threw his head back and laughed.

"Aww, she's nervous! How far you've fallen, my old friend. Your new student is nothing compared to my own!" He mockingly said, finger pointed at her. "She looks like she'd run from a grade four! If I couldn't see Sukuna inside her, I'd never have guessed she was a sorcerer."

"We're right here you know." Daniel said. Taylor was glad he could say something, cause she could barely breathe as this was going down. Satoru looked at him and he quailed.

"Ah, she gets it from you huh? Shame." Satoru mused. "But yeah, I'm shocked she wasn't taken over after eating that Finger. She looks like a normal person. Maybe slightly elevated brain activity? Nothing crazy though. !"

The pink haired boy rubbed his head awkwardly.

"Oh?" Geto answered, hand on his chin, "You think he's better just because he's strong?"

The students traded looks once again. What the fuck was going on?

Satoru laughed again.

"Think? Please, I know!" Satoru Gojo declared, pointing forward dramatically, like a general giving an order to his soldiers, "Go forth my student and prove yourself! Your Sensei commands it!!"

"Come on Satoru, don't be silly. My student would destroy yours."

Gojo squawked in anger. "No she wouldn't! Look at her! You don't need my eyes to see she's a sack of bones."

"Oh? Then why not have her prove it."

Taylor stared at the pinkette across from her as half the adults in the room made a scene..

…

The boy stared back.

…

"Yo," he greeted with a wave. "I'm Yuji."

"Taylor. It's nice to meet you?" Yuji was boyish, around her age. He was kinda cute but also somewhat forgettable, especially when surrounded by people who could probably make a living as runway models. Still, she felt like there was something more to him.

Both men slumped.

"You're no fun," they chorused.

Yaga heaved a sigh, and was pinching his brow in the way she'd seen dockworkers do when they really needed a drink.

"Can you two be professional for five minutes? You guys are adults, I shouldn't have to feel like I'm begging for a miracle just to get through a meeting." He looked apologetically at Daniel. "My profound apologies. My Deputy Administrator tends to forget himself when with Gojo here."

"R-Right…" Daniel uttered.

"Oh come on Yaga-sensei," Gojo said, slapping him on the shoulder, "Don't be so uptight it's all in good fun!"

"I'd be less uptight if you stopped causing problems," the administrator grumbled.

Yuji walked up to Taylor and jabbed at the Administrator with his thumb."He does look like he needs a nap," he whispered to Taylor.

"Y-yeah," she answered, taking a small step away.

An eyebrow went up slightly in confusion, but he didn't seem offended or anything like that.

"So, uhh… how did you eat it?" He asked, lifting his right index finger and flexing it. "The Finger, I mean?"

Taylor carefully avoided eye contact. "I was force fed," she said flatly.

Yuji blanched. "Damn. Sorry about that…" He sounded genuine about it, but Taylor had dealt with jocks faking sympathy.

He was definitely built like an athlete, if nothing else.

"'S fine."

"So," Yaga said, taking a seat on his desk and letting Geto and Gojo lean against the nearby wall, bringing Taylor's father along with them, "I never thought I'd see a vessel for the King of Curses, and now I've got two in front of me. I've been told you two intend to become sorcerers, is that right? "

"Yes!" Yuji declared, a confidence in his voice that Taylor couldn't match. She managed a nod.

"Why?"

Taylor bit her lip.

"It was the last request from someone important to me," Yuji said easily, "I don't really care for the details, I just want to help people."

Behind her glasses, Taylor couldn't help but stare at him.

Was… was that it? He said that so easily, so confidently, what kind of guy just does that? Says something straight out of a comic book or a PRT-V show like this wasn't real life, and like people that good and noble really existed outside of like, the Triumvirate.

"Help people? That's your goal?," the Administrator said, disappointment evident in his voice. "People don't need you. What could you do that Alexandria, or Legend, or Eidolon couldn't do a thousand times better in a hundredth of the time? And if not them, then one of thousands of other heroes and sorcerers?"

"I don't see what that has to do with anything," Yuji said mulishly, "I refuse to regret how I live, so why not help people?"

"Hmm," the administrator said, "So you're both guided by pathetic purpose, and you're an idiot. What about you?"

Taylor gripped her wrist, wringing her hands together. That wasn't good enough? In the corner of her eye, she saw her father try to step off the wall, but he was held back by Geto and Gojo.

The message was clear. He could help her here, not with this question.

Who was she?

She was just another bullied girl, that the teachers and boys ignored and the girls laughed at. Her grades were fine. They'd be better if she didn't have to deal with her bullies' sabotage, but she was no genius. She could barely run, much less fight anything. Her only real skill was keeping her head down and just… doing nothing as she got pushed around.

That's all that Taylor Hebert was good for.

So why the hell did she say yes when Geto asked her to be a sorcerer? It being the next best thing to a hero was a stupid reason, and she didn't need the Administrator to inform her of that.

"Don't have an answer?" Yaga asked, "If you're not planning on being a sorcerer, there's a lot of us that take that as acceptance of your execution."

Taylor's head shot up. "Executed?"

She heard her Dad grunt as he fought to try and get free. "What?!" Daniel barked.

Yaga looked at Geto, who stood perfectly calm next to the struggling but powerless Daniel as Gojo held him by the shoulder.

"You didn't tell her?"

"I didn't think it was required," he said with a smile.

But his eyes had an edge to it.

"Are you insane? That's not a surprise you halfwit. We had a right to know that! Besides, the death penalty got outlawed in Massachusetts." Daniel yelled.

"You're pretty smart for someone so weak." Gojo remarked, "But the weak don't get choices, not real ones anyway.

"Aren't you supposed to be on par with the Triumvirate? Where do you get off being such an ass?" Daniel rounded on Gojo as best he could who simply shrugged.

Yaga sighed again. It sounded conflicted and tired. "Mr. Hebert, forgive my student's nature. A life spent as the Strongests doesn't lend itself to common sense or social niceties."

"That's perfectly clear." Daniel hissed as Taylor gulped.

"I am truly sorry, but it's out of my hands," apologized the Administrator, "Sukuna's Fingers were thought to be indestructible. We've tried every method we can think of to get rid of them, but even Eidolon couldn't put a scratch on it. But your daughter survived eating a finger, just like Yuji did. And that means if they die, that part of the King of Curses dies with them.

"But there's curses all around the world, right?" Taylor started, taking an involuntary step back, "It can't be that important, it's just one more-"

"Just one more? My students didn't explain anything to you, did they," he said with a glare.

Taylor felt her entire throat clench up even though it wasn't directed at her, and next to her, Yuji narrowed his eyes. Geto kept still, matching the glare without an issue.

"Ryomen Sukuna is the King of Curses. We didn't give him that title for no reason. He's the reason we've had a dearth of sorcerers for the last thousand years. He killed so many that he ended the golden era of Jujutsu. He is the greatest, most powerful curse in human history. If fully resurrected he might as well be another Endbringer." Yaga explained as he glared at the two teens. "Killing you too would be the right thing to do. Killing you two would weaken him permanently, saving hundreds, if not thousands of people."

The room was silent as the two Vessels sat with that uncomfortable truth.

"Still nothing to say?" Yaga pressed, "If you can't even tell me why you're going to be a sorcerer, you won't be a good one and that means we have no reason to let you live on endangering countless lives."

Taylor stared blankly at the Administrator before a body came to stand in between them.

Yuji was standing there, hands raised protectively, and face hardened in a look of determination she would've never thought the boy in front of her could make.

"You know, you say a lot of mean things."

"As a teacher I learned that it's better to be harsh with the truth, than kind with falsehoods. Sometimes the truth is needed to get people to think," Yaga mentioned wistfully.

"But that's not fair!" Yuji shouted, "You can't expect people to have an answer to something like that out of nowhere!!"

You did though.

"Let her answer. You're not cleared yet either, young. Your reasons are terrible too.

"Oi! My grandpa asked me to help people so that's what I'm going to do." Yuji said.

"Hundreds of people die to curses every year. Tens of thousands to the endbringers. Even more will succumb to disease or one of a hundred different things. There are too many battles to fight, and each and every one of them has broken better people than you will ever be. If you fight because someone asked you to, you'll live and die a tool. And the second part of that will come soon enough. We might as well save you the pain and execute you now."

With a twitch of his finger the green bear sitting on the desk twitched, hopping up and clenching its paws into fists. Yuji gasped in surprise, but Taylor had recognized it to be a doll like the one that had opened their car earlier. Was the Administrator the tinker? Or whatever the sorcerer equivalent was?

"A worthless aim and a lack of one at all. I'm sorry, but by my authority as the Administrator of the Sorcerer Foundation, I sentence you both to death as Vessels of the King of Curses."

"NOOO! Damn you let me go! This is murder!" Daniel was yelling furiously, red in the face and struggling, but unable to get through an invisible barrier that was holding him back.

Geto removed one hand from his sleeve, eyeing his former teacher. However, the half of the desk the was sitting on crunched as the bear vanished. Taylor didn't see it move until it was right in front of her, rearing back to punch her in the face.

"BUGIIIIIIIII~!" It shrieked a warcry as Taylor yelped, raising her arms.

Before the puppet could connect Yuji was there, punching it in the face hard enough to launch it and make it bounce off the floor, then the pillars, then the ceiling; it pingponged about like it was like it was made of rubber. For the life of her, Taylor tried to keep up and help fight back but it was far too fast.

The bear tackled Yuji, sending the two of them to the wall. It hammered down with its fists on the redhead's head, but he put up his arms to block. He brought his legs around, hooking them around one of the arms as he tried to grab the other arm with his now free hands. But, only the leg grapple worked, leaving the other to try and bash his head in. Yuji cried out in pain as Taylor watched on.

He took the blow for her.

Why?

Why protect her. What about Taylor deserved protection?

If she died, that might even be better for the world. It was morbidly funny that the trio and their clique might have been a little correct with some of their insults, in a way.

Objectively, the choice was clear.

One finger of the King of Curses would be destroyed, and the world would be better for it. All she had to do was the same as she always did. Keep your head down, let it happen, and the world would be better off for it.

Only…

One green fist landed collided with Yuji's side, again, and he grunted as he scrambled for a better position. Taylor felt herself move. One foot went in front of the other, driven by a greater purpose. She knew nothing about grappling, but she could intuit enough to grab hold of the wrist of the doll, and fall back into something that felt vaguely right and worked well enough.

Her back hit the ground hard as the doll struggled, but between her and Yuji, it seemed to be stuck. She groaned and kept her knees wrapped around the limb despite the writhing and hissing struggles of the doll..

"I don't want…" she started, and it came out low and growly. Furious in a way she'd learned to numb herself to and ignore as she winced and forced her way through the pain.

Her arms burned from holding onto the doll's own arm, and she felt her grip slipping. On another day that would've prompted a shame spiral, but today it just made her so fucking angry!

She was so sick of hiding and letting it happen, letting the trio beat her, letting everyone ignore her because they knew better or could get away with it.

She didn't want to be that girl anymore.

"I don't want to be just me anymore."

Taylor didn't want to die the bookworm that was stuffed into that locker.

"Good. You both pass."

Instantly, the pressure on her arms subsided, as the doll reverted back to plush in her hands. She jerked, sitting up as best she could, looking around wildly. Her father was crying and as confused as she was, but the Administrator, Gojo, Geto, were smiling bright and proud. The latter however, was putting his hand back in his sleeve.

"I am sorry for forcing you to go through this," the Administrator said as he walked forth. "Bu the test was necessary. I couldn't have you both become sorcerers otherwise."

Taylor couldn't believe what she was hearing.

This was a test?

A fucking test!?!

"You…" she trailed off, shaking too hard out of a cocktail of shock and fear and rage that yanked her along.

"Taylor," Geto said soothingly, gently holding out a hand, "I know the events were surprising, but we were being honest, about the execution. Many people out there want you dead."

"Not just the Sorcerer Community either, though many of the old-heads are screaming for your head already." Gojo picked at his ear. "A teenage girl and boy carrying the soul of an ancient evil from thousands of years ago? People will hear of you and just want you gone. If it ain't the Birdcage, than definitely the axe."

"But why the smoke and mirrors!?" she screamed, that fire within her still burning, "You could've told me, you could've, but you didn't!"

Geto had lied to her, kept information she had a right to know and hid it all behind an easy smile.

Just like the trio, like her teachers and every other adult in her life that had failed her. She was trading one evil for another!

Geto wasn't smiling now though. He stood there, for a long moment, before bowing low.

"Suguru," Yaga said, "You don't have to-"

"No," Geto said firmly, "This was unfair of us all, but especially me. I owe her an apology."

He lifted his head long enough so that he could look Taylor in the eye.

"It was never my intent to hurt you. I have… overstepped." He admitted. "There were other ways to go about this, this was just the most expedient one. I trusted my superior in this respect, but now I hate myself for doing so."

He rose fully from his bow at last.

"Oh shit, you're serious." Gojo noted, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"It was done to gauge your potential as a sorcerer, but you won't be able to work with us if you can't trust us. To that end, I vow that for as long as you are a sorcerer under my tutelage I will not lie to you again." He extended a hand to her.

"Suguru!" Yaga snapped sternly, "You know better than to promise something like that."

"You can't stop him."

Gojo was standing straight, utter seriousness in his tone. It was nothing like the playful teasing he'd been doing before. This was what she'd expected from the man known as the Infinity.

"Taylor," he continued, "What Suguru is offering is called a Binding Vow. Once agreed to by both parties, it cannot be broken without terrible consequences."

"You expect me to believe that?" Taylor asked.

"No," Satoru admitted, "But it's not exactly a secret. You can ask other people once you're a sorcerer. I'd also say you owe him the benefit of the doubt for ensuring your almost-murderers went to jail." He rubbed the back of his head. "And it's not like he wanted to play along. We didn't have much of a choice, but we are all guilty here still."

"Still did it, you jerks." Yuji added.

"Maybe we are," Gojo admitted. "But he's going much farther than he needs to to apologize. My best friend doesn't bow and apologize for just anyone, so don't make light of it."

Taylor wouldn't.

It was more than a statement for that last sentence.

That being said, it was still hard. He stood there, and didn't do a thing to stop this or argue against it. She should scream at him and tell him to fuck off.

She extended her hand instead.

"Okay," she whispered as they clasped hands. A jolt raced up her arm as something settled into place between them, and she could feel that it had worked. "Don't do it again."

"I can't," said Geto with a wry smile as he returned his arms to his sleeves.

"Wow."

Taylor snapped around to look at Yuji. She'd forgotten he was there, she was so wrapped up in what was going on. God that was embarrassing.

"So that's all good and done now, yeah? We passed??" Yuji asked, tilting his head.

He was way too unbothered by what just happened. It was almost like he didn't care at all. Was there something wrong with him?

"Yes, and now the unpleasant parts are over," the Administrator answered, "You'll be given a room here, as well as a training regime to follow yourselves. Geto and Gojo will run you through your basic courses as soon as you're available. In the meantime, I'll be making things clear to the Elders and forbidding them from sending assassins after you."

"Assassins?" asked Daniel, "Christ I need a drink…"

"There's a decent place down the street, old timer.." Gojo waved. "One of my faves. We could go together!"

"I'm not going anywhere with you,." Daniel said as he glared.

"Come on, it'll be fun. It'll be my treat. " Daniel just glared harder.

"The Elders may still try to be clever, but you're under our protection now," Geto said, gesturing at himself and Satoru. "With us here, nobody will be able to do anything."

"But what about Dad? He'll be safe too, right?" She asked, looking at Dad.

"He will. We have means of keeping an eye on him. If anyone tries anything, we will know and find the perpetrator." Yaga added.

"And they'll answer to me." Geto looked at Daniel. "Mr. Hebert, you have my sincerest apologies for our recent actions. But I can assure you, you and your daughter will be kept safe. I promise."

Daniel took a deep breath.

"I suppose all I can do is trust you. I trust you more than him," He uttered, glaring back at Gojo.

"That's very wise," Geto stated.

"Absolutely," added Yaga.

"Without a doubt," said Taylor.

"Hey, I'm right here you know!" Gojo exclaimed. "Yuji! Defend your sensei's honor!"

"No they're totally right." Yuji piled on. Gojo gawked in betrayal as the black-haired monk chuckled.

"It's a bit out of fashion," Yaga said, wearing the ghost of a smile as he offered his hand to the two of them. "But welcome to the Sorcerer Foundation Taylor Hebert and Yuji Itadori."

(X)

Alright, here we are, going strong without my normal wait a few months between chapters.

Big thanks to @Zaru and @Crandorn who did great work as always.

Now, got more questions and stuff to ask? Would love to see it in the chapter, but this is the start of things really going forward with the obvious duel protagonists.

The vow is made, and the pact shall be honored.

And for you poetry fans... yes, I did that on purpose with the next line in mind.

Anyway, back too the grind!

 

[Crandorn]

After an introduction like that, Taylor wasn't quite sure what she expected; perhaps the Foundation would toss her into a mission right off the bat, or would force her into some brutal training regimen to get her up to snuff. She was brought in easily enough. Got a nice room, though barren, she could do anything she wanted with. Geto had already partially filled it with textbooks and literal scrolls on sorcery for her to read. When she saw that she expected them to lock her in a room to read about the basics of manipulating cursed energy. Somehow she'd underestimated their cruelty. This was far, far worse.

They let her be taken in by… her with little more than a wave and a credit card.

Nobara Kugisaki was a short auburn haired woman with her hair cropped to hang around her chin, holding out yet another outfit for Taylor to try on. She looked at it like it was a deadly scorpion. Nobara looked like she could be one of the best looking girls back at Winslow. Apparently, she was part of the three person team working under Gojo.

"I don't think she wants another outfit," observed Megumi Fushigoro from where Yuji and him were standing laden with a dozen or so bags, most of which were being carried by the pink-haired boy. Megumi was very different from Yuji. He had spiky, gravity defying black hair that framed the bored expression he'd been wearing since she'd met him. The man had barely talked either, and didn't seem to want to do much other than brood in the background, which was fine by Taylor. She honestly preferred it that way.

This craziness was almost enough to make her wish she'd stayed in that locker.

Nobara scoffed at Megumi as she waved Geto's card in the air between them. "Are you serious? I'm not letting her waste this chance. That guy is fucking loaded." She looked back with a smirk.

"But Nobara," whined Yuji, "I want to watch a movie or get some food! And all of this stuff is yours anyway!"

"And? It's just payment for my hard work. Most boys would be happy to carry around a pretty girl's belongings. Taylor would have more if she stopped turning everything down," Nobara huffed, looking back to Taylor with a cheeky grin. "She makes a perfect model." She looked to the side, pulling out a sports bra and looking at herself, then back to the long-haired brunette. "Well, almost perfect. I'm obviously better."

Taylor's eyes twitched.

"Oh relax." Nobara grinned. "Yuji's wrong.. At least half of this is for you anyway, I'm enjoying the ever-loving shit out of this."

"I'm not a Victoria's Secret Model." Taylor grumbled.

"And I'm not the Queen of England, doesn't mean we can't dress up and do nice things! Maki's across the country doing stuff, and her sister's a kind of a bitch." Nobara grabbed another thing, gasping as she held up as Taylor blinked. "Oh look at this. You're going to turn HEADS girl."

Taylor blinked at the article of clothing. Were this any other situation, she'd wonder why she would ever buy it, mostly cause… well… it's-

"It's a cardigan and jeans. How will that turn heads?" Megumi asked.

"You are going to be a forty-year-old virgin Fushigoro." Nobara sniped flatly as she marched forward, grinning as Taylor blinked as she placed the outfit stack in her hands. "Well, go on! Try it on!"

Taylor looked at it.

"Can I-"

"No."

Taylor sputtered.

"You didn't even let me finish!"

"If it was going to be anything other than 'Wow, thank you so much Nobara for fixing my wardrobe? Do you think I can get a nice hat to go with it, then I don't want to hear it," Nobara said firmly, "Besides, you'll rock it! Even the boys agree."

Taylor pointedly looked at the two boys. Megumi was sending a text. Yuji gave a small thumbs up while looking awkward. No help was coming from over there.

She held in a sigh.

"Fine. Guess it can't hurt."

(X)

Nobara sighed as she leaned against the wall down the hall from Taylor's dressing room, waiting for her to wrap up.

"Yo, Kugisaki."

"Hmm? What?" She turned her head to Yuji, sitting around and looking like an energetic puppy. As always.

"You haven't been this excited since we've met. You're super eager."

Her eyebrow twitched as she glanced towards the changing room. "So far I've been stuck with you and brooding and edgy over there for days." She jerked her thumb to the black haired youth, whose eyes were on his phone. "Taylor's a decent girl. She just needs friends."

"Well why didn't ya say so?" Yuji said. "Hey Taylor!" he shouted down the hall. "We're friends now!"

She clocked the back of his head, glaring down at him as he rubbed the now sore spot.

"Shut up!" Nobara hissed. "You're making a scene!"

"I doubt he cares." Megumi mentioned, blasé as he tapped away.

"O-Okay, how do I look?" The door opened, and Nobara saw Taylor walk out, hands tugging at the bottom of her dark gray cardigan.. Nobara brought her hands together as if making a camera as the American girl flinched.

"You look…" She murmured and Taylor winced. "Cute. I love that look for you.." Nobara grinned. "But once we get some more risqué stuff on ya, I think we're going to be making a lot of girlfriends jealous."

Taylor flushed, and Nobara laughed. "I'm joking. I won't force you into anything you hate."

"You look nice." Yuji added. "You kind of remind me of a pretty girl in a painting. Not sure what kind of painting, but one that's definitely super fancy and well made."

Taylor blinked and looked down.

"Oh, uhh, thanks. Then I guess I should keep this one? I don't know about the rest though."

Nobara fought down the urge to sigh. All the funds in the world, and Taylor only wants a single outfit.

"Have you ever been outshopping with friends before?" Nobara asked.

"No." Taylor looked to the side. "We never had the money to spare, and my old school life…" She shrugged, and Nobara winced.

High school. What a uniquely cruel experience. Boy was she glad that wasn't going to have to play out her next few years at one.

"Well I'm happy that you're happy with an outfit." Finally. "Yuji may be a dummy, but he's an honest dummy."

"Hey!"

"She's right though." Megumi added.

"I'm being bullied here!"

Nobara grinned back at the pouting Yuji. "Tell you what. get something you're comfortable with. Fushigoro!" She grabbed the pile of clothing Taylor had denied and dumped it into Megumi's hands, covering up his phone. "Take this back to the return pile!"

He looked at it like it was radioactive.

"But why though?"

"Yuji's being a good pack mule already, it's your turn to be helpful. Now mush, doggie boy." Nobara explained, gesturing him onwards.

Megumi rolled his eyes as he got up, followed by the sound of Yuji giggling like a gremlin and high-fiving Nobara.

"You really meant that?" A quiet voice came from behind as Nobara turned, the brunette looking back to the dark haired girl with her big owl-like glasses. "I look cute in this outfit?"

"Yep." Yuji said without hesitation.

"Totally. The jeans do a lot for your legs, and the style makes you look pretty academic. Especially with your glasses." Nobara gave a thumbs up.

Taylor bit her lower lip, but Nobara could see the ghost of a smile on her features.

"I've got one last one for you to try though. Here!" Nobara whipped out an outfit she'd been hiding behind her back, placing it in Taylor's hands and pushing her shoulders towards her changing room. . "Try this on.You're not getting out of here without at least one head turner outfit.."

"Kugisaki, you're making her paler than Fushigoro." Yuji replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Megumi challenged.

"I'm just saying you could get some sun."

Taylor held the small dress in her hands. It didn't even look like it would pass her knees. It would stop waaay above them. She wrestled down her embarrassment as Yuji needled Megumi in the background, but somehow this made her feel relieved. Like this was a part of the high school experience she'd been denied and was finally getting in a far, far stranger way. Of all the things she could have expected out of her time in the Foundation, this was a nice surprise.

(X)

The Devil's Den was a run-of-the-mill hole-in-the-wall dive bar crammed between two high rises. It reminded her of the time she saw a short person sandwiched between two tall people into too-small airplane seats.. The devilish aesthetic leaked onto the exterior. A fact which didn't deter any of the people there, stumbling about in the midst of a grand old time.

"Gojo-Sensei told us to meet him here." Yuji said, multiple bags of clothes still in hand. "It's good exercise, at least. Helped me get my steps in."

Megumi rolled his eyes. "It's for a mission, I can sense Curse Spirits close by. Stronger than usual." Taylor perked up.

"So we're here for you guys to exorcize a building?" She asked.

"Maybe.." Nobara shrugged. "We've done some haunted houses and the occasional abandoned building, but here with all these people and with all of us here? We're likely gonna be clearing out more than a building."

"Ding ding ding ding!" Chimed a voice as Taylor cringed, looking back at the source. There, squatting down on a local bench and giving them a mock salute was Satoru Gojo with Geto right beside him. "Well, it's not a building per se, but I'll give you all points on a technicality!"

"Sensei." Megumi said dryly as Gojo and Geto landed right beside him. Taylor heard whispers and mutterings from the people near the bar, and when she turned she could see they were being stared at. "What're our orders?"

"Well since you asked so nicely," Gojo pointed down the street, where some yellow tape and a sign saying KEEP OUT, DANGER marked a subway port leading underground. "The city wants to renovate the subway system here in Hell's Kitchen, but the place has been abandoned for years and our windows have confirmed it's full of cursed spirits. so go down there, bust some heads and come back out here. Me and Geto are gonna relax here." Gojo pointed to the Den behind him. "This had like, a ton of positive reviews."

Megumi's eye twitched. "You chose this place because it had a nice bar. I can't believe you."

"Ah come on, you gotta live a little Fushigoro! We're only around here every so often." Gojo grinned.

"Taylor." Geto walked forward, Taylor winced a bit as the attention of the group fell on her. "Did you have fun today?"

Taylor looked back at the smiling Yuji and the amused Nobara. Being used as a dress up doll had been annoying.But the company had been nice. Yuji and Nobara were sensitive enough to know when to back off. Even Megumi, who seemed hard to read and who'd been dragged along for the ride had been fun to spend time with and rib with the others.

"Yeah. Yeah I think I did," Taylor replied, a small smile growing on his face as the monk nodded, reaching into his robes and pulling out a small black box.

"That's good to hear. Here." He offered it to her. "Because you can't see curses yet, these should help." Taylor blinked.

"Ohhhh, you got Cursed Glasses. Nice!" Yuji exclaimed as the brunette took it, opened it and saw the glasses that looked exactly like the ones she wore every day. She took off her own set, and put the new ones on.

"So, see anything special?" Geto asked.

A distorted, inhuman voice gurgled in her ear.

"Urrgiiiiii~"

On her shoulder was a slug with too many eyes the size of a pigeon as she screamed in shock.

Only for a hand to come down, exorcizing the spirit as it shrieked, before dissipating into flakes of purple flesh that vanished in turn. .

"What the fuck was that?!"

"That was a curse." Geto explained. "Curses are the product of negative emotions. Stress is often the cause of most personal curses. Do you feel any more relaxed now?"

Taylor looked towards the bar and saw a lot of the patrons had similar sized or smaller creatures on their bodies.

She took off the glasses and the spirits were gone. She put them back on, the spirits were back. And now that she'd been without the spirit, she could feel the difference. It was a little easier to stand straight.

"A little…" She looked back at the three. "You guys have been Sorcerer's longer than I have, right? Couldn't you see the curses on me?"

"Yeah. That's why we were giving you so many pats on the back and shoulders." Nobara replied. "Curses are drawn to you like mosquitos."

"She's just stressed." Yuji replied. "Taylor, are we stressing ya out? Sorry if we were…" He said, looking guilty.

His sad face was making her feel bad!

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't but…" Taylor let out an explosive little breath. "I enjoyed the shopping spree. A little." She admitted. "So you were… exorcising curses for me?"

"Yep." Nobara gave a thumbs up.

…

"Wait, are they attracted to me because of the stress or the finger?" She asked.

"Probably both. Curses weren't drawn to me that much." Yuji said. "Then again, Gojo-Sensei was there the night I ate a finger to save my friends from a giant Curse before tossing me in the deep end, so maybe I'm not a good example."

"Yuji, how could you!" Gojo said exasperated. "I'm a great sensei! I taught you stuff!"

"When you were training me you gave up and said, 'fuck it let god sort it out.'" Megumi replied on the spot.

"Yeah, you're not… great?" Nobara added. Gojo looked back to Geto who shrugged.

"Your students have a point." He replied with a smirk.

"Jerks…" Gojo pouted, before coughing into his hand. "Okay! Now that Hebert here can see spirits, here is your mission, affirmed and approved by the Foundation and the City of New York!" He put his hands on his hips. "Team Gojo and Team Geto is to go into the Hells Kitchen Subway Station, long abandoned, and exorcise it of all spirits present so the city can begin renovations!"

"What? Now? What can I even do! I don't know any spells and don't know how to fight!" Taylor exclaimed.

"It's fine." Megumi said. "You're here to watch and learn." The black haired boy said. "Stay by our sides, and you'll be safe. This is your first step into the world of Sorcery and Curses."

"Megumi is correct." Geto added. "Before we begin your proper training, you should get an idea of what will be in your future. Missions like these are common for us sorcerers, especially beginners like you all. Watch and observe, and then we can begin on your training so we can find what your Cursed Technique is."

"Cursed Technique…" Taylor paused to think, trying to remember what she'd read online before all this started. "Those are a sorcerer's unique powers right?"

"Effectively," Geto said, "It's a power that you're born with, down to the DNA. Doesn't even matter if you have cursed energy or not. You have one or you don't. According to Gojo here, you've yet to unlock yours."

"Lucky," Yuji grumbled.

Taylor looked at him strangely.

"Do you not have one?"

"No," Yuji said, deflating further, "And it sucks! I've always wanted to use Bankai or a Rasengan."

"Or a kamehameha?" Taylor offered. She was pretty sure that was a thing? She'd heard other people joke about it at Winslow.

The entire group looked at her like she grew another head.

"You've seen Dragon Ball!?" Yuji asked, looking at her with stars in his eyes.

Megumi looked like he was very disappointed.

"Uhhhh…."

"You can geek out later," Gojo cut in. "Time is money and the city isn't paying us by the hour." He pointed down at the dilapidated subway entrance. "Go forth my students, and have fun cleansing those spirits!"

As the group moved forward, a rat scampered out of the darkness.

"Eeek!" All heads turned to Taylor, who wilted.

"Psssst. Megumiiiiii. Try and get a video of her freaking out when the fighting starts.." Gojo stage-whispered.

"You're the worst." Geto uttered. He walked up, smiling at the slump-shouldered American. "It'll be okay, Taylor. Just stay by their side and they'll keep you safe. Everything will be fine."

Taylor nodded, and walked on ahead taking a deep breath. She adjusted her new glasses, and saw Yuji and Nobara led the way towards the subway entrance, Megumi by her side as he pulled out his phone and activated the flashlight.

"Here we go…" She uttered.

"It'll be fine. Don't worry." Megumi said matter of fact. Taylor looked his way as they descended into the dark depths of the subway, "If you want to make yourself useful, use the flashlight app on your phone. We can use the extra light with Kugisaki and Itadori ahead of us."

"I don't have one."

The three other teenagers and the two adults stared at her, and she wilted further.

"You don't have a cellphone? Wow. You're like. A caveman," Nobara grinned, slugging her in the shoulder.

"My mom died because of a car crash. She was on her phone."

"You can use mine, then." Yuji interrupted the awkward moment, tapping away on the screen before handing over his smartphone.

Taylor numbly held the device in her hand, glancing down to see that it was fully unlocked. It was a shocking display of trust. In Winslow, this would've been the start to Yuji's downfall as she had access to his phone, his personal photos, everything. But the pinkette was just walking down the stairs without a worry in the world.

Glancing down again, she saw a picture of Yuji smiling next to a grumpy looking old man laying on a hospital bed. Yuji had an arm around his neck, holding his reclined form close. Probably his grandpa.

"Alright, keep the light shining, warn us if the idiot didn't charge his phone enough," Nobara said, following after Yuji.

Megumi said nothing, hands in pockets as he followed, leaving Taylor little choice beyond activating the flashlight as she moved after them.

There were dozens or hundreds of small curses there. It was like the walls were moving, slithering with worms with mouths and eyes. Hairy rat-like creatures with flat chipped teeth and blinded eyes scrambled between shadowy corners. Blobs of misshapen flesh oozed on the ceiling, covered in many eyes and withering hands.

(X)

"What was this place supposed to be known for again?" Suguru mused as they approached the Devil's Den.

"HOLY-!" a high pitched scream came from the tunnel.

The monk winced, looking back at the tunnel.

"That's twenty dollars~" Satoru sang as he skipped to the bar, as many of the female patrons did a double take at them. "Heyooo, coming through here." He leaned over the bar and shot the bartender his flirtiest expression. "What's the best thing you've got here?"

Suguru sighed, looking back at the subway.

'Be strong Taylor.'

(X)

Megumi glanced back at Taylor. She was grabbing another rock from the floor as her previous weapon clattered away into the dark. Her target stood back up, running away deeper inside.

"Yeah, that won't work unless you imbue the rocks with cursed energy," he admits, looking up at the ceiling at the group of disembodied hands and mouths in odd places.

"It's just an instinct okay!"

"Well your instincts are pretty good then. I just punched my first cursed spirit," Yuji said, holding up a fist, "Saved a classmate of mine though."

"Course it worked for you," she murmured under her breath.

"Don't worry though. These weak curses are harmless." Yuji said, seemingly not hearing her. "There's a lot of 'em though."

"Shame, but then again, we've got to make her first mission memorable right?" Nobara cheekily said as she pulled out a hammer and gripped several metal nails between her fingers. "Watch this Taylor!"

With a flourish the nails ignited in blue flame. She launched her nails with a swing of her hammer, the nails flying like bullets from a gun, perforating the curses and making them scream as they evaporated.

Taylor did her best to keep the light focused forwards so the group could see. Though, in the corner of her eye, something twitched. Instinct pushed her to point the light at that wall. A slug-like curse on the wall gurgled.

"Grrrgggliiiiii…"

"Gotcha!" Yuji yelled.

He launched himself across the subway with a single leap, his fists glowing blue with cursed energy as he struck, punching straight through the ooze and into the concrete behind it. After shaking out his hand he gave a thumbs up for Taylor.

'He cleared a good twenty feet in one jump without any build up.'

That was easily a brute power for Yuji. Not like Alexandria, who could lift mountains if the forums were to be believed. But according to the books Geto gave her, sorcerers could train and get stronger naturally. Yuji didn't even look like he needed a cursed technique, if he was a strong brute already.

He was fed a finger too, and look at him. He didn't need glasses to see spirits, and all she could do was hold a flashlight and watch.

"So this is what sorcerers do? Go around killing these things?" she asked, keeping the phone steady as Megumi nodded.

"This is our duty. To exorcise these curses and purify locations of negative energy. As you can see, if normal humans came down here, it wouldn't have ended well for them." Megumi brought his hands together.

It almost looked like the shadow puppet for-

"Divine Dogs."

From the shadow under him, huge twin wolves appeared. One had completely black fur, the other was polar white. Each had a triangular symbol on their foreheads of the opposite color on their forehead. Both dogs- though they were easily the size of wolves- growled, jumping into the frey, tearing at curses on the walls with fang and claw.

The group moved like a well oiled machine. Yuji led the way, carving a swath of destruction that the Demon Dogs used to their advantage to tear into the disrupted ranks as Nobara flung explosive metal nails into larger targets.

"So, this is what cursed techniques are like?" She asked.

"Some." Megumi replied, walking more casually beside her. "Kugisaki is able to channel her Technique through nails she imbues with her energy. She can use the resonance of someone's soul to cause damage, or just detonate them.."

"And Yuji just… punches?"

"Not entirely," Megumi said, eyes flickering around the area, "Sensei taught him a trick called divergent fist. It essentially lets him punch twice by delaying part of his hit."

"How do you delay a punch to make it hit twice?" Taylor inquired, as Yuji and Nobara were running in and out of rooms, the Divine Dogs at their heels.

"His technique lets him hit once when hisfist connects, then again when his cursed energy does." Megumi explained.

So even without a cursed technique, he'd learned something.

And if she got the days right, he'd only been a sorcerer a day or two longer than her. All she'd figured out was some of jujutsu society's history, common knowledge, and some of the organization's rules.

"I see," she said, voice soft to her own ears, "And you can summon dogs?"

"Among others," he explained casually. "They are my shikigami, which-"

"COWABUNGAAAA!" Yuji leaped over the escalator down with hands ablaze as he punched his way through a wave of curses.

"-are part of my technique."

"Is it a family technique?" Taylor asked.

Megumi hesitated for a moment before nodding. Taylor connected the dots. "It's the Zen'in clan's technique, isn't it?"

The boy's shoulder slumped a little.

"Yeah," he said, hands in pockets.

"Then why isn't your last name-"

"Because they're not my actual family. Not that it's any of your business," Megumi said, with a warning glare.

Taylor flinched back, retreating inward, holding onto the wall for some support. But she shook her head, and shook her head. Megumi rolled his eyes, and kept going down the broken escalator.

She waited a few moments before following.

After that, she didn't ask anything, she kept the light up, and let the others do the work. It was mostly walking, and some jogging to keep up as she kept the light moving for them. 'Watch and learn' she did, as she got to see that the three people who were meant to be her peers were just… already more than she was.

"And that's the last of them!"

Taylor straightened. They were already done? She glanced around, barely recognizing the tunnel around them. Had she been that distracted?

"Thank god, it's going to take ages to get this smell out of my clothes," Nobara complained.

"Couldn't you just put on new ones?"

"And abandon this great outfit!?"
Megumi let out a loud sigh.

"Let's just get those idiots out of the bar before they cause an international incident."

"We're already here~!"

The subway entrance burst into noise and confetti as their teachers hoisted a big neon sign announcing, 'Congratulations!'

"You did such a great job finishing so quickly!" Gojo said with a grin.

"And with zero casualties. Quite the achievement." added Geto.

"And we agreed that since you all did such an excellent job, we're going to reward you all with a meal!"

"You're really paying?" Yuji double checked.

"For my students? Absolutely!" Gojo declared, "What would you like?"

"STEAK!" Yuji and Nobara shouted together.

"On it!" Gojo declared, throwing a thumbs up, "Megumi, what would you like?"

The black haired boy ignored him, as he tapped away on his phone, walking by the sign to the exit. Gojo tilted his head to watch him go before facing the group again.

"Well, no steak for him! Taylor, you want steak?"

Taylor fidgeted. "Uh… I mean. Sure?"

"Great," Geto said with a clap, "Then wait up top, we'll be done in a second."

"Finally, fresh air!" Yuji declared, heading out.

"Why finally? You could get this as often as you want if you didn't spend all day reading manga or other stupid shit," Nobara said.

With little else to do, Taylor put one foot in front of the other to follow. Glancing over her shoulder, she caught sight of Gojo glancing at the wall where she'd backed away from Megumi. The silver haired superhero had his glasses down, staring at the wall with those eyes that could see eternity. Gojo hummed, gently rubbing his fingers over the spot.

"Taylor, did you do something here when you touched it? Feel anything?"

"Yeah, worried, nothing more than that why?"

Gojo laughed.

"Oh, no reason."

Taylor felt her eyebrow twitch.

"You're really annoying."

"Imagine what it would be like to have dealt with this for years," Geto said cheekily.

"OI! I'M STILL HERE!"

(X)

"Did you enjoy your first mission, Taylor?"

Taylor shrugged noncommittally.

They were back at the compound, filled up on steak and with little more to do in her room than send an email to her dad talking about her day and read more books on protocol and history. That was probably what Geto was doing walking her to her room, making sure she was doing things 'by the Foundation's book.'

"It was remarkably less explosive than Gojo and I's first mission together," the older monk said wistfully, "Far less screaming. And property damage."

"Well, you two are the strongest. That's just natural, right?" Taylor said as she got to her door.

"Still no reason to disrespect public property," Geto mentioned offhandedly, "It is not a crime to be strong or weak, but it is a crime to use that position to justify the unnecessary."

"Sure."

She opened the door, seeing the blank room beyond the books, the few ones she hadn't finished open at the desk.

"You feeling okay, Taylor?"

Taylor sighed, leaning against the doorframe without looking at Geto.

"Just tired. I'll see you tomorrow."

She moved to close the door.

"Oh, one more thing before you head to sleep."

The crack in the door let the sound in, and some sense of propriety made Taylor open it just a bit more to see her… sensei? Teacher? She didn't really know what to call Geto.

"Do you know how my cursed technique works?"

"No."

The techniques of a sorcerer were closely guarded secrets. The public only knew what it could figure out from leaked footage, and even that had a tendency to be taken down. A security measure. As far as she knew, Geto could tame curses in order to do what he wanted. The man had an army of them stored if the internet was to be believed.

"Well, then this will be my final lesson for today. To not bore you with the details, it involves absorbing cursed spirits. They have to be weaker than me, though I can weaken a spirit by damaging it. Like Pokemon. I take their energy, and shift it into a different form capable of being absorbed, which comes in the form of balls that look like crystals. Do you know what I do to absorb them?"

Taylor shook her head, not willing to waste the energy on answering with words.

"I have to swallow them," he said with a grin, "They're huge. It's murder on my jaw and throat, let me tell you. As far as I know, so long as I can weaken them enough to crystallize and eat them, I can absorb any sort of curse in the world."

Taylor made a brittle smile, starting to close the door.

"Great, thanks for the lesson teach but-"

"And if I were to do the same to one of Sukuna's fingers, I would've died."

The door eased back open as Taylor relaxed her arm in confusion.

Geto's smile was softer now, more concerned and gentle than she'd remember any teacher ever being. Hell, she hadn't seen an expression like that in her dad's face since her mom died.

"I can devour monsters that can destroy mountains and level cities. But you? You're containing something beyond what me or Gojo could handle alone. Doing something that would kill me if I dared to attempt what you've accomplished."

"Remember this lesson. You, Taylor Hebert, are special, and are capable of far more than you know. You might even surpass me one day."

He poked her gently right in the forehead, which she instinctively covered up as the monk laughed.

"Good night Taylor. Sleep well, because your training starts tomorrow" he said with a wave as he headed down the hallway.

Taylor watched him go, waiting for the other shoe to drop. After all, the binding vow made it so that he couldn't lie to her. He just kept walking, perfectly fine.

She couldn't believe he was telling the truth, but he couldn't lie to her. What he was saying had to be the truth.

She honestly couldn't believe it. It didn't even sink in as she closed the door and looked back at her books.

… maybe a chapter or two wouldn't hurt before bed.

(X)

Taylor woke up drowning.

Water poured into her lungs like liquid fire. Her entire body convulsed, hands flailing weakly through the water and a haze of suffocating pain for purchase to get herself out. Her hands found something blessedly solid and she pushed herself up. The instant she felt fresh air on her face, she took as much air as she could between the hacking coughs turning her lungs inside out.

She trembled in the water like that, wiping the liquid from her closed eyes.

Her hands came back red.

Again she screamed, falling backwards, splashing more of the red liquid around her. It couldn't be water. It was too thick, too warm, too sticky to just be water. The bloody tang in her mouth wasn't from her coughed-raw lungs, it was from the liquid that was drowning her. She would've thrown up if she hadn't noticed everything else around her.

Above her was a ribcage of something huge, gigantic, the bones framing the area around her stretching for football fields. Above even that, starless sky stared down at her in dark red. Everything was illuminated by floating torches, whose brackets looked like mouths that were devouring the fire. All around her were the remains of what she assumed made the lake of red all around her.

Bones, some small, some larger than her, hundreds and hundreds of them were scattered everywhere, with the majority creating a small mountain in front of her.

And the top of that pile of a thousand damned souls was something.

No-

Someone.

The silhouette of someone, as their eyes opened, red-ringed and dripping with malice.

But they also held a playfulness she was all too familiar with… she'd seen those eyes in her tormentors.

These eyes were the same, but far, far older and far more dangerous.

"Who…Who are…" Taylor heaved between gasps.

"Hn." The eyes curved lightly in amusement, and with a snap of a finger, the hellscape brightened. A pale blue light illuminated the space around them.

It was Taylor. Or, well, a version of her.

The impostor sat too confidently, too powerfully on their bone throne. A black dress draped her form in a style that Taylor could never pull off. She was more than Taylor ever could be. She was too beautiful, too… developed to be her, but behind the markings around her eyes and the symbol on her forehead, Taylor recognized the morphed reflection of her own face.

The mirror of her smiled, and Taylor heard a far deeper voice come out. Almost male.

"Welcome to my Shrine, Taylor Hebert, I've been wondering when you'd be willing to talk."

"You're..." it dawned on her who she was facing then. A cold, sinking pit festered in her gut as her dark reflection leaped down, grinning and cupping her chin.

"Even this far in the future, I am recognized. Good. Rejoice, girl, for you stand in the presence of Ryomen Sukuna, the King of Curses. We have much to discuss."

(X)

Well well well, would you look at that? The first mission of a fusion fic not going tits up instantly. Probably a first for me, I'mma be real, but it isn't needed.

But here we have the trio fully integrated, some interactions, some developments, and some conversations.

There's some hints here and there where stuff is going to come from and where things are going, if you can find them, you'll be able to find them. Feel free to guess what they are, but I am pretty sure no one will get them.

Also, Sukuna is here to cause issues as he seems to do, there are several questions, but I'm sure you guys will be able to figure out why he looks like he does right now.

Big thanks to @Zaru and @Crandorn who took point overall as I had stuff to do this week and before.

But back to the grind as always. Hope everyone enjoys!

(X)

QQ-Only AN:

I can't believe I forgot to post the second chapter when it came out.