The trio stood in the rain as a man stood before them. Despite being younger than Gojo, he looked middle-aged.
Kiyotaka extended his hand, saying, "Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. Nice to meet you."
The man looked surprised before saying, "Ijichi Kiyotaka."
Kiyotaka's eyes widened as the man smiled, laughing a little.
Nobara deadpanned, saying, "I feel a little bad for Ayanokoji, having the same first name as that old man."
Ijichi's eyes widened in horror before shouting, "I'm 26!"
Nobara laughed for a second before realising and asking, "Wait. You're serious?"
Ijichi cried a few tears as Kiyotaka patted his back, saying, "It just means you look very experienced."
Kiyotaka lied as easily as he breathed as Ijichi seemed to feel better.
Ijichi coughed and then said, "Well, ehem. On to business. Our window confirmed the Curse Womb three hours ago."
Kiyotaka heard that term and asked, "[Window]?"
Megumi looked to him and said, "Someone whose job is to see and report Curses. They also perform risk assessment."
'So, like a scout.'
Kiyotaka confirmed this in his head as Ijichi continued saying, "Once 90% were successfully evacuated, they made the call to seal off the centre. Citizens within a 500-meter radius have been evacuated, as well. Detainee Block 2. At present, five detainees remain there with the Curse Womb. If this Curse Womb is the type that metamorphoses, we predict it will become a Special-Grade Cursed Spirit."
Everyone had the same thought of 'Special Grade!' and as Kiyotaka recognised the anxious expressions on the other two's faces, he was easily able to deduce the issue with such a threat.
Kiyotaka sighed and asked, "Can I see the files on those five people?"
Ijichi looked surprised and said, "Of course."
Ijichi handed them to him as Kiyotaka flicked through the files and said, "I'm not going in there."
Ijichi's eyes widened as he exclaimed, "What?!"
Kiyotaka looked seriously at him and said, "The deal with Gojo was for me to protect innocent people. From what I've gathered, all these people are guilty, so I have no reason to go in there and risk my life."
Ijichi sighed and said, "This is... your assigned mission. If you do not, then..."
"I'm being backed by Satoru Gojo. I can already tell he's the strongest. What fool would oppose him? None of you have any kind of leverage on me. Especially when I suspect we were chosen for this mission with the intent of having me die in there."
They all looked tense as they realised this.
Kiyotaka looked at the building and said, "This isn't a mission suited for us. It's a ploy to make things difficult for Gojo, and I'm not going to play along."
Nobara sighed and said, "I get what you're saying. I'm not even arguing. Hell, I'd never want to step foot in there, but even if they're criminals, it seems a bit..."
Kiyotaka looked darkly at her and said, "Using your life to protect those who are undeserving isn't a noble act. It's simply an act of self-mutilation."
Nobara sweated a little as Megumi sighed and said, "You're completely right. We aren't heroes. We're Jujutsu Sorcerers. And since we're under Gojo's protection, no one can judge us but..."
"But?"
"Gojo isn't here right now. He's away on business. If you don't go in, they'll execute you while he's not here."
Kiyotaka heard this and contemplated this, thinking, 'If that happened, the binding vow will probably activate for Gojo, so he could die from the consequences or something like that, meaning he won't be able to retaliate. Do those higher-ups know about the vow?'
Kiyotaka sighed, thinking, 'Now I understand why Gojo vilified them without a care in the world.'
That's when a woman tried to push past security, shouting, "Excuse me! Excuse me, where's Tadashi?!"
A member of Security held her back, saying, "Stop! Please stay back!"
The woman looked desperate, shouting, "Is Tadashi... is My son Tadashi all right?!"
Ijichi stepped forward and said, "Please step away. There's a possibility that someone has spread poison gas throughout the centre. We cannot share any more details at this time."
The woman looked devastated, uttering, "No... it can't be..." as she began to cry.
Kiyotaka stepped forward and said, "Ma'am, it is only a possibility. We're still unsure of the situation. We'll do our best to resolve the situation and bring your son out safely. For now step away."
The woman looked a bit relieved as she stepped away with security. Kiyotaka watched her leave, thinking, 'Protect the innocent... it would include their hearts, if possible, right? If so, what I just did was the best move,' as the other three look confused from the exchange.
Nobara pointed to him and shouted, "Hey! What the hell was that? Don't act like you're some kinda hero suddenly, you faker!"
"I'm not a hero."
Kiyotaka said this as he began walking towards the detention centre, nonchalantly saying, "Let's go then. Off to our deaths."
Nobara sweated, shouting, "Don't say that so casually, you bastard!"
Ijichi sweat dropped at this before calling out , "If you do encounter the Special-Grade, run away. Don't forget that your mission here is strictly to verify and rescue the survivors."
Kiyotaka casually walked up the steps of the detention centre, saying, "We'll probably be long dead before we can run."
Megumi followed after him. A tick mark formed on Nobara's head, as she followed after them and shouted, "Stop it, you jerk! It's not funny!"
Kiyotaka stood there, thinking, 'There is still a chance... if Fushiguro's Cursed Technique has more applications than I think.'
When they gathered there, Ijichi made a hand sign saying, "Emerge From Darkness, Blacker Than Darkness. Purify That Which Is Impure."
A black dome formed around the detention centre as Megumi explained it, saying, "It's a Veil. There's a residential area nearby, so this barrier conceals us from the outside world."
Megumi made a hand sign saying, "Demon Dogs!" as a white dog shikigami manifested from his shadow and howled.
Kiyotaka looked at it and thought, 'What else can he store in his shadow?'
Megumi let his hands fall to his sides and said, "He'll let us know if the Curse gets close."
Kiyotaka noted this thinking, 'A tracking-type summon?'
They opened the door, entering when suddenly things changed, and Megumi held out his arm to stop them, saying, "Wait!"
They both stopped. Kiyotaka had already noticed, but Nobara looked up, exclaiming, "Wh-What is going on here?"
Nobara sweated, saying, "It must be a masionette."
Megumi looked tense, thinking, 'No, it's not. It's the deployment of an Innate Domain due to Cursed Energy. It's my first time seeing one this big.'
Kiyotaka tapped Megumi on the shoulder and asked, "So. Will our deaths be slow and painful or quick and painless?"
Megumi grew a tick mark, saying, "Things are bad enough! Don't say that so nonchalantly!"
Kiyotaka sighed and said, "Suzune did tell me I was horrible at jokes, but I didn't think I was this bad at them."
Nobara pointed at him, saying, "So you were joking around, you bastard."
"Not completely. Unless Fushiguro has more than just the Demon Dogs, we'll probably die."
Kiyotaka said this, thinking, 'My technique is actually quite good and well-suited to me, but... I'm too inexperienced. I've only fought two Curses so far, and I only used my Cursed technique minimally on one of them.'
Megumi then had a realisation as he turned around shouting, "Where's the door?"
Everyone looked around to see that it was gone.
'Well, I have horrible luck.'
Kiyotaka thought this as Nobara pointed at the wall of pipes in a panic, shouting, "How?! We just came through here, didn't we?'
"It'll be fine. The dog remembers the scent of the entrance."
Megumi said this as Nobara walked over, petting the dog, saying, "Good boy! I'll get you some jerky after this! All the jerky you want."
Nobara turned to Kiyotaka and said, "Hey, Ayanokoji, try petting this one. The fur is so soft!"
Kiyotaka walked over, petting it and feeling its fur as he looked surprised, saying, "It is quite soft. How interesting."
He petted the dog, scratching the right spot as the dog lay on the ground, feeling good from the scratches.
"Don't just go ahead and do that!"
Megumi said this as Kiyotaka let go, thinking, 'It's best to stop now before I get addicted.'
Megumi sighed and said, "Let's get moving."
They started walking through the facility until they came to an open space. There were three dead bodies lying there.
Kiyotaka sighed and said, "It's the son of that woman. Let's go verify the other two and then get out of here."
Megumi nodded, but before they could move on, a hole appeared underneath Nobara as Kiyotaka grabbed her arm, pulling her up. She looked shocked as she landed on her feet, saying, "Thanks."
Megumi looked horrified, thinking, 'That's impossible. Demon Dogs should have sensed the Curse!'
He looked to see the decapitated head of Demon Dog on the wall and shouted to them, "We're running! Let's get out of here!"
The Curse appeared next to them as all three of them froze on the spot with Megumi thinking, 'There's no mistake. It's a Special-Grade. I can't move.'
Kiyotaka stood there thinking, 'This thing is stronger than me. Way stronger than me. Would I even be able to percieve it's attacks?'
He took a breath and said, "Fushiguro. Kugisaki. You two get clear and come up with counterplay."
Nobara wasn't moving, thinking, 'Is he insane?'
Kiyotaka then took a breath and said, "Manifest!" After a split-second, white smoke appeared around him, and he punched the curse, forcing it back as he commanded, "Go now!"
Megumi grabbed Nobara and rushed away, thinking, 'Don't you dare die!'
Kiyotaka stood there thinking, 'What a pain. Risking my life for the innocent doesn't suit me at all.'
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's Cursed Technique is an Inherited Technique that he was born with, but his body did not have the Cursed Energy to activate the technique. It did not even have enough to engrave the manual into his brain, as all inherited Cursed Techniques do, at least that was how it was until he ate Sukuna's Finger.
It allows the user to give their Cursed Energy physical mass and the ability to control any of that mass that they can feel. They can shape it in any way they want and in any state of matter they want and at any length or density they want. They can even change the mass's state of matter. There are, of course, limits to each of these, and the user cannot construct elements from the periodic table, but besides that, if the corresponding required Cursed Energy is spent, it can be done. Mass, created from the User's Cursed Energy, will no longer be considered Cursed Energy and so will not retain its Cursed Energy trait, meaning when Ayanokoji Kiyotaka uses his Cursed Technique, the mass is visible to all, including himself. This was the nature of his Cursed Technique Mass Sorcery.
Kiyotaka looked to the Curse, thinking, 'This technique requires a lot of Cursed Energy to use. I must use the chant [Manifest] first before I can give my Cursed Energy Physical mass. Otherwise, it costs too much Cursed Energy.'
The Curse rushed at him as he shouted, "Manifest!" while throwing up his arms. He was punched through a wall as he dragged his feet, sustaining much less damage than appropriate. He had created a physical barrier between himself and the Curse's fist, along with one behind him to protect himself from the wall. On the other side, where he had landed, was a bridge-like platform with water below.
Kiyotaka spat out some blood from his mouth and said, "Manifest!" as spikes appeared next to him, completely visible as Kiyotaka thought, 'They may be visible, but the Cursed Energy I'm using to manipulate it isn't.'
He fired them at the Curse, hitting it multiple times as it screamed in pain before rushing towards him.
Kiyotaka saw this, thinking, 'I need to time this dodge perfectly.'
He shouted, "Manifest!" creating a smokescreen as he practically threw his body to the side, dodging the attack and sliding on the ground, saying, "Shift!" as suddenly the Curse was impaled by something with spikes multiple times, and the smokescreen disappeared. Kiyotaka had converted the smokescreen from a gas state to a solid state to form massive spikes to attack the Curse.
He clicked his tongue, thinking, 'It moved its neck away on instinct.'
The Curse wailed as it began pulling out the spikes and regenerating from its wounds. Kiyotaka stared, thinking, 'You can't be serious. Healing?'
Kiyotaka sighed as he got up and held out his hands, chanting "Manifest!" and forming a staff in his hands. The Curse rushed forward as Kiyotaka entered a stance, moving the staff to deflect an attack and chanting, "Shift!" as a blade appeared on the staff's end. He slashed at the Curse's neck, only for it to catch the staff, stopping the attack.
Kiyotaka let go and jumped back, shouting, "Shift!" as blades extended from the staff, and sliced the Curse's arm clean off, causing it to yell in agony before healing its injury.
Kiyotaka sweated a little thinking, 'I was very lucky.'
The Curse jumped forward, nailing Kiyotaka in the gut as he was flung back into the wall, having barely managed to apply Cursed Energy to his gut in a desperate attempt to defend himself as he impacted onto the wall, feeling dizzy as he thought, 'Not good.'
That's when a bird flew out and tackled the Curse, causing it to fall off the bridge and into the water. Nobara jumped out and grabbed the arm. Kiyotaka grabbed her arm and threw her off to the side as an energy blast tore through the floor and hit Kiyotaka, flinging him up into the ceiling as he coughed up blood and fell, landing back onto the platform. He fell through the hole, regaining consciousness mid-fall as he shouted, "Manifest!"
The spikes fell down on the Curse as it moved to energy blast Kiyotaka, whose eyes widened when nails protruded from its body, and Nobara could be heard shouting, "Straw Doll Technique: Resonance!"
The spikes Kiyotaka fired impaled the Curse multiple times, holding it in place as Kiyotaka shouted, "Manifest!" creating a staff that was long and dense enough to hit two pillars as it dragged to a stop, and Kiyotaka did a pull-up jump and balanced on the staff, shouting, "Fushiguro do it now!"
That same bird flew down, shooting electricity into the water, electrocuting the Curse as Kiyotaka took a breath and chanted, "Manifest!" as many more spikes appeared above his head and rained down on the Curse, eviscerating it.
The Domain fell as Kiyotaka saw that the ground was just one step down as he jumped down from his staff, chanting, "Dismiss!" as all the manifested mass disappeared. He wiped the sweat from his brow and breathed heavily as he walked over to Megumi and Nobara.
"It's over."
Megumi nodded, saying, "Yeah, it is. Let's get out of here."
Kiyotaka sighed and said, "You two go. I'll verify the last two people."
Megumi grabbed his shoulder, asking, "Are you serious? We just fought a Special-Grade Curse. You need to..."
"I'm not exhausted, and while I did suffer some damage, it's not enough to be an excuse to not complete the mission. You two go."
Megumi looked at him, shocked, thinking, 'This guy... he's a Grade 2 Sorcerer already from how well he fought against that Curse. He's only been a sorcerer for two days, and this is his first mission. Also... he's not exhausted? But he used his Cursed technique so many times. Generating mass like that must be very taxing. How much Cursed Energy does this guy have?'
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Sukuna smirked from inside his innate domain, thinking, 'It's like Yorozu's Cursed Technique. Though it's not as good in terms of what can be created, he can manipulate the shape and state of matter even after casting, trading variety for quickness of change and manipulation. If I coat the objects in an absurd amount of Cursed Energy via this kid's Cursed Energy Trait, I can even make the objects invisible. With a good binding vow, I can reduce the Cursed Energy necessary. Heh heh.'
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They made it outside after confirming that all 5 prisoners were dead as Ijichi rushed over, shouting, "You exorcised it?!!"
Megumi nodded, saying, "Barely. If one thing had gone wrong, we'd all be dead."
Nobara looked to them and asked, "Well, we almost died. Let's celebrate being alive. What do you two wanna do for some fun?"
Kiyotaka looked perplexed, asking, "Fun?"
They both deadpanned as Ijichi stood there completely dumbfounded.
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To Be Continued
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Rating Out Of 10 For This Chapter?
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