JUJUTSU KAISEN: THE MIURA LINE

Miura's Past Arc


Disclaimer:

This is a work of fan-fiction. All rights reserved to the creator of JJK, Gege Akutami.

This is simply an output of my 'what-ifs' in the JJK world and Juju-fever. My timeline and interpretation of concepts behind the franchise may not be consistent with the current published works but I tried. Hope you guys like it. Feel free to comment and interact but let's refrain from strong negativity ne?

Concepts and characters behind the Miura clan came from my own research and imagination. I tried my best to tie them in the main plotline.

The first few chapters may focus on the OC for now but rest-assured, the characters you all love and cherish will fill the pages.

This may contain anime and manga spoilers.

I intend to write from Gojo's past arc to the present arc in the manga.

Also, hope Akutami-sensei is alright and is getting some much-needed rest.

Again, this is just a product of my appreciation to the JJK world and project before I transition into a full-time occupation in the upcoming months. Wish me luck!

The story will center on this premise, "Love is the most twisted Curse of all."

Note: This story is also posted in AO3 under the same pseudonym.


Chapter 1: Kitsune in Tokyo

Hideo was never good with goodbyes.

The weather that day matched his mood perfectly. It was only mid-afternoon but the sky was filled with dark clouds. Droplets tapped on the window around the traditional Japanese panes around the Miura estate. It grew colder as the day went but the radiator didn't seem put him more at ease as he delivered his speech.

He had planned every detail of his meeting with his granddaughter, from the heirloom tea set, the exact placement of the furniture and the refreshments set on the table. The only thing that was in disarray was his heart.

He paced around the room and turned on a few lights before making his way to the receiving table where a young lady in a muted-dress stood and waited for Hideo to sit first.

He watched as the pale child with intricate markings on her face set her attention to pouring tea for her elder. She was very composed as she offered a filled cup to her grandfather but he knew well that she was weary.

Sending his only grand-daughter away, the heir to the clan after he had just recovered her not a few years before would be a daunting task. For him, the event seemed like it had happened yesterday that in his eyes she was still the same, thin and shy little girl he found crying in her bedroom. Reflecting on how much she has changed now, he also couldn't deny the happiness that she could feel now that that she would get the opportunity to grow on her own.

After all, her father, his son, had his life taken away too early for him to experience the peace they had now.

Hideo cleared his throat by drinking from the ceramic cup which was still letting out steam, "All shamans," He began, "-eventually go through the academy in order to get officially recognized by the higher-ups. Trivial as it is, I can attest that it will do you some good to get more training outside the confines of our clan. I do hope you will get the chance to explore and meet people there."

Sachiko already knew the topic of conversation prior to her visit. Listening to him speak calmly gave her some sort of solace despite her looming departure. He only spoke at ease to her. To the rest, with much precaution. She knew that despite her favored position, she could not escape this task laid out in front of her.

But beneath his serene expression, she noted a glimmer of sadness in his eyes.

It had only been a few years since she was reunited with her real family and there was never a day that he was unkind to her.

Kindness…she had experienced it so rarely growing up with a sea of strangers who only had derision in their hearts for her. Visions from her past home fought their way to resurface in her mind. It is the sort of trauma she could never truly erase but instead learned to live with.

"The school will provide you allies. As the heir to the clan, you will need a lot of help," his voice sounded stern was but he wasn't totally unsympathetic towards her lamentations.

"Then, who were those people who visited you? Are they allies?" her brows furrowed to which he replied with gritted teeth,

"No." Hideo briefly recalled the events of that day.

He received visitors from the Zenin Clan days before her send-off. One was a white-haired tall, bearded stoic man who called himself their clan leader, accompanying him was a middle aged man with long hair tied in a high pony-tail and a young man with blond hair who had very sharp features. All of them wore traditional clothing but more importantly, all of them were armed.

No weapons were allowed inside the main estate of the Miuras except for the guards but it was hard to dispel the demeanor of the Zenin clan that he thought it rather pointless to persuade them to follow their rules.

The purpose of their visit wasn't informal at all. They had come with a proposal, no, a warning that would force him to send his precious grandchild away.

"I'm afraid, I cannot give you permission to that. I'm not the person whom you should ask permission to," Hideo said, matter-of-factly. The tension inside the same quarters he was apparent now and was almost palpable. He was never truly acquainted with the Zenin clan despite their proposal to have the Miura's recognized as a Jujutsu-led family. To him, the family could never truly be in line with their own creed as followers of peace.

He knew about their ambition. Ruthless as they may be, their principles were not akin to the beliefs set as a Miura.

Naobito scoffed, "Is that so dear friend?" he lifted his feet off the floor which signaled the rest of them to follow-suit, "If that's the case then, we shall go and ask ourselves." No condescension was hinted in his tone but Hideo wasn't fooled. Naobito once fought alongside him when they were still young. Their alliances were mostly out of necessity but needless to say, their bond didn't go well outside of missions.

Hideo's eyes darted at Naobito's nephew who was grabbing the hilt of his dagger. The pool of cursed energy was sensed immediately by his Inari, a fox shikigami specifically summoned by the Miura blood-line, that it went to his side and growled at the visitors. His Inari was a grey-colored beast which was larger than mountain lion that even its shadow overpowered the three. Its eyes were glowing ablaze as it turned to his master as if to ask permission to attack.

The middle-aged one stood in between his nephew and the head of the Miura household but drew no weapons. Instead, he whirled the youngest around and forced him to bow his head.

"I apologize," Ogi Zenin bowed, "I didn't mean to offend you." His eyes met with the beast with much taunting despite his attempt to dampen his true reaction towards it, "We shall come again another time." The Inari took a step forward pushing the three to take two back. Ogi continued, "Perhaps, you might have a change of heart by then."

The three excused themselves from the Miura head and his shikigami. Clearly, their welcome has come to a rough end.

They were escorted across the estate to the dojo where they would take their exit. Slit-like eyes and their ireful fiends tore through them with their glares as they moved past the inhabitants of the Miura manor but even more-so when the youngest of the Zenins ran past the guards and followed the voice of the Kitsune. He was fast. They weren't sure if it was part of his skill or if it was his sheer will that enabled him to escape.

Sachiko was training in one of the dojos that day but she was heavily guarded. There were just enough guards stationed around the young lady. Naoya was able to make it past enough of them to take a peek at what she looked like She was made oblivious to the fact that she was being watched thanks to the Inaris and sorcerers surrounding her.

Soon, a brown-furred Inari even made it as far as to knock the youngest Zenin visitor on his back and stand over him. But it would never be enough to throw away the image he had just locked in his memory.

Hideo and his shikigami resurfaced and dragged the boy by the collar before throwing him across the room where he was lucky enough that his uncle quickly caught him before he hit the hard wall.

Hideo's growl was mirrored by his Inari, "This is goodbye Naobito." His warning resounded across the hallway but that only made the Zenins more curious about his precious girl. Their audience with him was a ruse. All they needed was confirmation of her existence.

Naoya may have been disconcerted but he got what he needed to agree to his elders' plan.

I saw her. I saw her energy. The youngest of the Zenins present thought.

And that was enough motivation for them to get what they needed.

Hideo closed his eyes as he took a deep breath to shake off his memory, "Those people aren't the people I want you to meet. I'm sending you to a place where you can find the right kind of people to grow with." He decided not to be transparent about the events of that night. It wouldn't help with her transition.

She took a sip of tea and nodded. Her crimson eyes looked at him steadily, "Yes grandfather,"

Hideo cocked a brow as he held his cup mid-air, "Are you not excited to go to the academy?"

She shrugged, "I don't know how excited I should be knowing that they have all been forewarned about how dangerous I am in my state," she clasped her hands together on her lap, "I don't know what they'll expect,"

Her granddaughter already had a reputation in the Jujutsu domain. She was considered to have natural potential to be a Jujutsu practitioner but she was more known for her unwarranted cursed energy crises. Even among her tribe, they always gathered around her with caution.

He set his cup of tea down and reached out to pat her shoulder, "You'll be fine. All students' backgrounds and status must be disclosed for admission. Just like the others, you will get your powers in control. All you need is the right people to help you do that."

"I thought that was what we were doing here. The reason why I was homeschooled and trained up until now was to help with-" she stopped mid-sentence and bit her tongue, "I get it-it's not enough isn't it? Are you trying to get rid of me because of that?"

Hideo put his hand on her cheek then patted her head, "Never think that my child. If anything, our progress, is surely working. We just need a little help with control of your gifts. If the academy would be too much for you than just say the word and I will fetch you myself." He gave his granddaughter a hug, "I just don't want you to miss out on anything. I need you to-try."

I need to make our home safe before you return.

A tear trickled down her cheek but she didn't sob, "I will…" Sachiko looked at her grandfather more intently as if she was looking at him for the first time in a long time. His hair was all gray but cut neatly. His eyes were still the color of hazel wood but under it were shadows. When he smiled, creases at the canthal side of his eyes as well as folds on the sides of his face but his expression of pure kindness and ardor stood the test of time.

They both took the time to sit in tranquility and silence. The fire that burned in the eyes of the younger one ignited the much needed rekindling of the older. Another fight was afoot and this time, they would both have to face it on their own.

"Never fear Sachiko. You will never be alone. You may seem different but you will always have a place in this world."

But in her mind, it wasn't the people at the college whom she feared the most, it was herself.

Hideo had the elite Inari squad fetch Sachiko at the train station in Tokyo. She arrived a little past midnight which was intentionally done to deviate from adjudicating eyes that they may encounter. She was heavily guarded but in all actuality, the sorcerers around her were warding the outsiders from her.

I guess this is the treatment of a semi-rogue special grade.

Shamans or sorcerers were given ratings according to power in the same way as demons were. The rank goes up whenever they are reclassified by appointed seniors depending on their abilities and mastery of their craft.

She was immediately tagged as a Special Grade, the highest of the ranks. But to her, it wasn't because she was innately a master of sorcery but rather she was born with an S-rated power. Being a six-tailed Kitsune granted her that status. In any case, at the stage she was on, as a first year student who was only half-way through her clan training, she was nothing but dangerous.

A ticking-bomb.

Normally, Kitsune-born Miuras start training by the age of 4 so by the time they entered the academy, they would more or less have their powers in check. That wasn't her case. She had not mastered the glamour to hide her Kitsune markings on her body. The traditional red paintings of the Kitsune's features as seen on traditional ceremonial masks were plastered all over her face and body. Sometimes, her claws and sharp teeth would not retract. Her crimson eyes, which would often frighten even members of the Miura household, would probably never go away.

Ironically, when she was alone, she would sometimes catch her reflection the depicted a normal girl. Her grandfather always saw her in her best light even calling her kind and beautiful but she wasn't sure if it was his words that gave her a fa?ade of normalcy or an actual transition took place.

But still, she was lucky enough to be able to conceal her full Kitsune form and to repress her tails. Her cursed-energy however was overwhelming. Any psychic could sense the waves she would emit.

She felt that her cursed energy was easily influencing the paranormal bounds that they passed. Small stray curses were taking a curiosity to her. Windows could easily detect her strong presence.

Good thing we decided to move in less traffic.

Upon arriving at the school, she was greeted by the vice-principal who escorted her inside of her separate dorm. The dorm was a only short walk away from the academic building but was also strategically located in between the training grounds and the administrative building. She recognized the curtain around her dorm immediately.

She thought that she'd mind it but it didn't concern her that much. She couldn't blame them.

The dorm was basically a duplex but she was informed that her co-inhabitants were actually cursed-dolls or corpses. Those dolls were created by the vice-principal himself.

He explained to her that they were generally harmless but were made to function independently with some basic knowledge. She was however given special cursed dolls like one in the form of a bear who had boxing-gloves for hands. Those dolls remained dormant as soon as she entered. She was told that those dolls feed on cursed energy and would become violent if they sense no cursed energy being dispelled.

She didn't know if she found that comforting or insulting but what she did get is the benefit of not feeling drained in her own home.

"Not to worry, these dolls are here to help you and keep you company," he said. He wasn't unsympathetic to her concerns but there wasn't much he could say that could appease her.

She looked at wallpaper and some decorative items around her room which was inscribed with talismans then turned to her teacher, "I'm guessing those aren't just for decoration right sir?"

The principal placed one hand on his pocket and sighed, "Surely you understand that it's just part of our precaution. Its only temporary."

She could simply nod. This person was a friend of her grandfather's so surely, he knew what he was doing. Mr. Yaga fought alongside the Miuras once and he was kind enough to provide her a place to learn despite complaints from the higher-ups regarding her admission.

"I understand," she quipped.

Besides the glaring talismans and the crowded room of stuffed-dolls and sleeping bears, the place was decent and spacious.

"I'll leave you to it then. Welcome to Tokyo Jujustu Tech, hope you find your stay here worthwhile."

I hope so too.

It was already mid-morning but she didn't feel at all drowsy. Unpacking her things didn't even take long. She didn't have much possessions. What she did take some extra time with was laying out her energy-dampening gear and her uniform which her small and fluffy roommates were hanging and ironing out for her.

Her old middle-school uniform was a white ensemble but this time she was to don a dark purple blazer, white short sleeved wrap-around blouse that would be tucked into an asymmetrical skirt which matched her blazer. Her eyes darted towards the gold-buttons with a vortex symbol engraved on it, "Guess this makes it official."

Soon, a small doll in the form of a fox tugged on the hem of her dress and guided her towards her room which was already fully furnished with a comfy bed, table and an assortment of books, stationary and even accessories for women laid out in front of her vanity dresser. The fox-doll jumped on the dresser and used its nose to push forward a small box tied in red with the Miura seal. She sat on the stool and opened the box which contained a pair of hair-ties woven with the Miura emblem. She took the piece of paper that was placed beside the tie and unfolded it,

"We'll always be here to hold unto you. We are with you always,

~Grandpa."

And already she knew, her first day, might not be so bad.


Freshman Homeroom

Unlike other rooms with common seating, the freshmen of the school year were treated to a brand new set-up. Separate working tables were provided for each. There were only 10 students admitted as freshmen that year, still, the layout was rather strange.

All of the 9 tables were at the periphery while a single set was found smack in the middle of the room directly overlooking the professor's table. All over the table and chair were talisman markings. There were even floor sigils outlining the very space as if to hinder any movement.

The disturbing sight was of course the first topic of conversation for the young shamans in the room, except for a few.

One of the admittees was a young, lean man with pale white, almost silvery-gray, untamed hair wearing a rather dark-pair of circle-lenses as he slumped on the chair nearest the center table. He seemed the least concerned by the person who would sit beside him and rather fixated more on when the class would start. His light blue eyes peeked for a quick second to read the room but at no sight of his professor, he decided to rest his arms and head on the table and head straight for a nap.

Another student was rather fascinated by the incantations on the center chair. He was slim and tall and his raven hair was cut in a way that it would cast shadows on his left eye and the rest could be kept tidy in a bun. He took one of the talismans and read the incantation, "Control," he read. He couldn't help but wonder why such incantations were needed in their classroom. Not wanting to cause a scene, he put them back and took the seat in front of the center chair.

The student next to take a curiosity was a female with long brown-hair and a distinct mole on right cheek just under her right eye. She moved her chair towards the side upon learning that she would seated in front of the 'cursed seat.' She opened her phone and checked the class directory sent as a message but couldn't find any information on student number 10.

The last student who was least perturbed by the special seat was a tall, blond-haired boy with sharp brown eyes. Originally, he was to be admitted on the following year but was granted early admission to observe if he was ready to train in sorcery. Besides fixing the misaligned chair of the desk, he didn't take much interest in it and proceeded to take a seat in the back side of the room.

One by one the students took their seats as they waited anxiously for the faculty to arrive.

It took another 10 minutes until they heard footsteps approach the room. Soon, a tall dark figure in formal clothes, a goatee and shades entered the room. It was the vice-principal Masamichi Yaga.

"Good day freshmen. Welcome to the Tokyo Jujutsu Academy. I am your Vice Principal," He slid the door close and walked towards the podium where he rested both of his palms as he leaned on the table, "Today, all 10 of you will start your training and education. The next 4 years will determine your status as sorcerers. I hope that you all reach that pedestal reach success."

Whispers began to fill the room as others felt a little uncomfortable by his implication.

"That is-if you all survive your training," there were indignant stares thrown towards Yaga but it wasn't enough for him to take back his words, "You've all met each other a while back during the screening process. I hope that you all won't forget what I told you before. It is important that within your educational years, you all form a sense of camaraderie, responsibility and most of all, courage to live as a sorcerer."

The other 9 students began to fidget in their seats. They weren't the friendliest set of classmates. They had among them a legacy-child, as others would call it. A descendant of the Gojo family, one of the most influential sorcerer families in the Jujutsu world and one who was proclaimed strongest of them all. Another was a protegee who was already being scouted for his Cursed Spirit Manipulation.

While a number of them weren't on board with building friendships or rather, rivalries, their banter was replaced with a different kind of tension as another set of footsteps were heard in the hall.

The silver haired boy, jerked up in his seat as he sensed the sudden surge of cursed energy emerge.

The surge felt like a domain slowly spreading inside the vicinity but not enough to cloud their own energy.

What is that? He thought.

There was a knock on the door and a woman, presumably another faculty gestured something at the vice-principal before leaving the door half open and left.

The principal leered to his side and then back at the students, "Before we begin, allow your classmate to join you to complete your class,"

Emerging from the door was a long haired girl with jet-black and silver-streaked hair tied into a neat braid. Her whole face was covered in a traditional Fox Mask with some incantations engraved on its sides. She was a normal looking female student from afar save from the mask, the slightly long curved nails and pale skin that barely peeked on the hem of her blazer and skirt. But what stood out from her was this powerful wave of cursed energy that she was exuding and she wasn't even aware of the extent of it.

"Why don't you introduce yourself to the class?" he gestured for her to enter.

She took a few hesitant steps forward and curtsied, "My name Miura Sachiko." She spoke calmly towards the crowd of vexed individuals.

"Miura?"

"Is that why she's wearing a fox mask?"

"Is she the lost heir?"

"I heard she's dangerous."

Whispers of conspiracy greeted her alongside malicious stares as she made her way to the center seat. She didn't seem too concerned about it at least, she didn't want to be.

She had heard all of those words before. But for their sake, she just hoped that she'd also have the patience to keep the mask on until the day ended. She was assured that in-classroom sessions were infrequent after all.

"Psst! Psst!"

She tried to ignore their banter and tried to concentrate on the vice-principal's instructions before their class started but the tug of the heavy eyes around her felt tangible at that moment that she wanted to run. The talismans surrounding her was being consumed one at a time which startled her. Her hands curled into a fist. But, at her state, she just needed to focus to get through the day. If she could cross out the first of many, she would do just fine. She just needed to focus on that one voice.

"Psst! Psst!"

The sudden informal call for her attention wasn't the voice she expected to hear but it was a rather odd one not to miss.

She looked towards her left and saw a hand wave at her and then point towards the pieces of colored paper spread on top of her desk. She furrowed her brows behind her mask and saw that there was a crumpled talisman with the word "Calm," on it. This made her drop her shoulders and relax. That small piece of paper affected her mood the whole day. It may have been a talisman but it just made all the sense.

"That actually helped a little," she uttered to herself. She peered to her left once again and saw that the boy with the dark shades and huge grin was already slumped back and scribbling in his desk.

There were other tugs of strong cursed energy that surrounded her but her own was too overpowering to distinguish from the others.

Best to ignore it.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful. They were basically just told that they could be called anytime for some field-work exposure. Physical and sorcery training would be more frequent than their time in class for theoreticals.

She wasn't the least surprised by it. That was her life even before entering the academy. Difference was, she never had to deal with any real classmates before now.

Despite having to catch up on her knowledge of sorcery, Miura Sachiko was always a good student. She had enough proof on paper but it was different in the academy. Written outputs were scarce but that didn't hinder her to perform at her best.

Days fleeted by fast during the first week. Being classified as an S-grade sorcerer, she was trained separately.

Her mentors were the vice-principal himself and her great aunt, Miura Kodansha, a 2-tailed Kitsune who occasionally came to help with her specialized training. She was a middle-aged woman with auburn and silver hair who was also working in the infirmary as a specialist in reversed-jujutsu. One of her classmates was actually training directly under her.

Unlike the others, she had no problem harnessing energy to perform sorcery. What she needed was to learn how to control her innate abilities. Cursed energy can be transformed into a pulse that can be manipulated either as a means to attack or to deflect an attack from adversaries. It takes a great deal of concentration and emotional control to achieve its balance. Having no willing comrades to train with proved to be a detriment to her training.

Behind her tough exterior, they couldn't see her fleeting expression of anger, frustration and even sadness.

The very ingredients to the creation of curses.

She walked amongst her peers in the same halls but all she could read from them was fear and resentment. Talismans surrounded her everyday even if it was evident that she was in control of herself.

It has been almost a month since she started the academy and things weren't looking up for her despite improvements in her skills. Some students opted to transfer to the Kyoto institute or even file a leave out of fear that the Kitsune might invite high ranking curses in their midst. Initially, there was no guilt on her part but overhearing comments from some of the faculty considering on petitioning her transfer to a foreign facility made her feel like she was failing her grandfather. Nevertheless, she kept on going. She hated the thought of needing to prove herself worthy of staying.

She knew she was.


The first years shrunk to a group of 7 people after 3 had dropped out. The chairs from around her emptied one by one. Except for 3 people. The silver haired boy, the raven haired boy and the blonde boy. She felt bad that she only had distinctive features to label them but she couldn't risk any more negative attention. All of their auras emanated strong cursed energy easily. Perhaps their strength allowed them to shake off any concern from her presence. It was both a comfort and cautionary sentiment for her. Their admission may have not been a coincidence. She was told beforehand that a handful of sorcerers were legacies and perhaps she was amongst some of them.

A month and a half had passed since they started. As always, she would arrive at least before the sun was up to avoid crowded hallways. She preferred having at least a quiet moment before the day's activities commenced but she mostly took the extra effort to be punctual so she could just be herself and not be forced to wear restraints and hide behind the mask.

Even from afar, she could sense dispelling talismans reacting to her cursed energy. Sometimes even the ones she touched would just dissipate or whither but miraculously, she would never run out of them. In her previous school, she was treated fairly. Her previous home however, was another story. So, alienation wasn't strange to her. It was the people whom she thought was peculiar.

As she neared the classroom, she loosened the strap around her nape and placed her right thumb and index finger on the chin of her mask and began to lift it away from her face.

There was a movement and rustle inside the room making her withdraw her hand from the door handle momentarily but she slid the door open and glanced inside in the next minute. Taking a step forward and looking at the only occupied seat, she took a breath and closed the door slowly to avoid much noise.

The silver-haired boy was sprawled on his table, face down with his dark rimmed glasses resting on top of his head. He seemed unphased by her presence even as she made her way to her seat. She peered at him once more and noted the steady up and down movement of his shoulders.

"He's asleep," she muttered. Her eyes scanned the wall-clock which confirmed her early arrival.

She set her things aside and opened the window half-way. Taking another look at her classmate to verify his status, she proceeded to loosen the hold of the mask around her face and placed it on her table. Her crimson eyes reflected in the sunlight like rubies. The warmth embraced her fair skin as she lifted her chin to take in the fresh breeze. It was refreshing to pretend that the school could provide her the feeling of belonginess but then again, she was always akin to nature. She continued to watch the trees dance and meet the rays of the sun while she tried to ignore the activity of the talismans and enchantments on her desk.

Unraveling the mask would allow an extra wave of her energy to envelope the people around her. It would even have the capacity to disturb inanimate objects nearby. Normally, trained jujutsu sorcerers would be quick to register strong cursed energy as hostile, however, it seemed like her training was finally paying off as she was awarded with a few more minutes of peace.

"Why did I have to get deployed so early?" he groaned as he dragged his feet across the room.

The Gojo boy was exhausted from his mission from yesterday that seeing as he had to report back to the principal after arriving that decided to head straight to school. It wasn't that he had a difficult time with the exorcism but it was more of the hassle of his travel and clean-up duty.

He stretched his arms wide then slumped on his seat, "Anyway, at least I have time to take a nap."

He heard foot-steps from the other side of the door which stopped as soon as the door was being slid open but he didn't bother to get up nor open his eyes.

The steps resumed and he felt a shadow being cast in his direction but nothing else.

"Why is it awfully quiet? What time is it?"

He heard the sound of the chair being occupied as well as a soft thud of items being placed on the table. There was also the sound of a soft scorch coming from a consumed talismans which should have given him a clue on who arrived.

"Okay, someone definitely sat down. Maybe I should take a quick look-" his eyes began to welcome the light and the figure beside him began to assemble itself. He always had sensitive eyes. In fact, his eyes were even more special than others know. He could see different layers of energy distinctly to the point that it become overwhelming at times. This one was not any different. His first glimpse of her energy was prodigous. It was hard to pierce through the thick blanket of cursed energy that he couldn't make out her whole face. He did notice that the occupied seat was filled with talismans. Forcing his eyes to open wider, he reflexively had to blink a few times before he caught sight of the raven-haired girl with the pony-tail braid and very notable crimson eyes.

"Whoa. Who is that? What's with her eyes? Are those face tattoos?"

She was very pale, he thought. But there was something about her expression as she looked out the window that was quite peaceful. Still, he couldn't get past the glowing sigils on her face.

"Is that what the Kitsune looks like?"

The first of the school bells rung making his classmate rush to return her mask. In that instant, her expression turned rather serious.

"Pity. She looked…decent."

Out of fear that the weight of his stare might catch on to her, he pretended to go back to sleep.

"Damn, her cursed energy still clouds the room despite the talismans."

Miura's cursed energy began to creep into his being now and that urged him to awaken. At his peripheral, he could see talismans still being consumed hourly and the trickle of her cursed energy didn't subside.

"Must be one hell of technique to stay sane in this school," he murmured.

Her cursed energy registers strongly but I doubt that its purely intentional. If she wasn't in this class, she could easily be mistaken as a special grade curse. If she wanted to, she could just destroy all those things sitting on her desk including that damn seal hidden under her table.

His comments were turning rather critical. The Kitsune was known to be intelligent and even strong-willed so it was strange that she had a lot of restraint.

The Gojo boy was well versed in Jujutsu sorcery so creating his own assumptions came naturally after his encounter with the mask-less Kitsune. He watched as the Miura girl left for training hurriedly. He couldn't catch a glimpse of her face again despite trying but he just shrugged it off. He noticed another set of eyes following her trail across the room.

The raven haired boy plastered a side-grin as he took the place of the Miura girl on the center table. He spread out the few talismans that were left intact and left the seat.

Guess I'm not the only one who noticed.

Gojo extended his hands and pushed himself up, off the table and made his way to Suguru Getou's side.

His friend was first to speak, "Interesting, isn't she?"

He pushed his glasses towards his nose before looking out the window, "Yup,"


S-grades were normally trained separately in active deployment most of the time.

Unlike Miura however, he had interactions with his classmates and seniors even during training. None of them had ever trained with her. This piqued his curiosity more.

Initially, it was all about curiosity. He thought that perhaps she really was more dangerous than him but if she were than it would be better if they became allies. Perhaps she could also teach him a thing or two.

The Miura line had a bit of an occult following among Jujutsu sorcerers. They were relatively a new clan who had a unique history of Jujutsu ancestry. Gojo Satoru was told about the legend of a celestial beast called the Golden Fox who gave the ability to a bloodline to ascertain its abilities and traits therefore creating a strong line of hybrids called the Kitsune.

The specifics though, he would have to learn from his classmate.

He was briefed before classes started that he had to be on the lookout for her in case she lost control of her powers. He half-expected a maniacal sorcerer in chains to join his class so he would be lying if he didn't say he was a little disappointed.

It was 5 days after since he saw the Kitsune's face when they returned to the study hall. He had estimated the time of his arrival and did as he had done before.

When he took a peak at her again without her mask, he noted that she seemed to be counting something. She then took a few pieces of paper splayed on her desk and neatly folded them and placed them into one pile.

"She's counting the talismans."

Her expression was quite confused.

"I wonder if she noticed-"

The class started early that day that he couldn't start a conversation with her so he decided to forgo his plans on approaching the S-grade colleague.

The classroom door slowly opened and a mellow girl with bags around her eyes, yawned before speaking, "Gojo and Getou, the vice-principal wants to see you."

The whispers evolved into casual chatter around the campus that overhearing them became part of her routine. So was counting and disposing the talismans on her belongings. What irritated her more was the fact that they were adding to the trash that had to be eliminated. Sometimes she pondered on dispelling them as they watched with one move but she wasn't a flashy person so just went with it.

"Huh, there are less than usual. I wonder if they're tired of writing these things."

Miura Sachiko sat comfortably the rest of the period. Despite feigning attention, her thoughts were elsewhere. She received a message from the vice-principal that morning.

"You will be deployed on your first mission 2 weeks from now. Be ready."

His words sounded like a command rather than a scholarly instruction but he didn't say anything else that increased her concern regarding her preparation.

"Be ready," he said.

His words echoed through her that day even as she made her way home. From a short distance, she noted that the cursed dolls were scrambling to prepare for her arrival and made quite a noise but as soon as she walked in front of the door, the bears dropped in slumber.

"Gotta work a little harder then,"


End of Chapter 1