Ten Shadows in the Heian Era

The darkness is foreign and familiar at the same time.

It is the complete absence of anything. There is no light, a darkness so perfect my shadows seem like a torch in comparison. There is no sound, not even the beating of my heart or the sound of my blood rushing through my veins.

There is just... Nothing.

I feel like there shouldn't even be thought. I'm not even sure if what I am experiencing is thought.

Then, there is something.

A faint... Presence. A light. A feeling. A sense of something existing, just out of reach but getting closer every second.

It feels like darkness. Decay. Death.

Behind me, insofar as direction exists here, I feel something else. It feels like... Like Balance. Like that feeling when you're standing on one leg trying to keep straight. It feels like trying again. Like a second chance. 

It is an existence far too grand for me to even begin to comprehend, even just the minor impression it is giving me fills me with fuzz, but it also feels like a goodbye.

'Looking' ahead once more, I feel the call of Death coming closer. 

It... It isn't as scary as it should be. Perhaps it's simply because I have died before, but that doesn't feel right.

It takes what felt like years before I figured it out.

My apologies, Izanami-no-Mikoto-Yomo-tsu-Ōkami, I 'say' into the void, But I am not ready to join you in Yomi just yet, and then, because I am apparently an idiot and unable to help myself, I continue, I am totally pining for your daughter though, so I promise to visit when I can call you mother.

My piece said, I put the entirety of my mind into the memory of my favourite Shikigami, remembering the feel, the texture and taste, everything about it that I can imprint into my mind.

My focus is so deeply intense that I completely miss the soft sound of demure laughter filling the void.

I remember the first time I saw a deer, my father holding my hand as he took me into the forest around our home. I remember seeing them and immediately being enraptured.

I'd seen pictures of western deer before in my old life, but I never even knew that Japanese deer looked different, and they were beautiful. I fell in love right away.

I remember the nights where I would lie awake worrying if my soul would shatter or something since I should not exist as I do. I remember how I would leave the house to walk through the forest.

I remember countless nights of falling asleep in a pile of warm, soft deer. I remember feeding them berries. I remember doing what I can to help the new-born and watching them grow.

I remember burying the dead once age caught up to them.

I remember when I first summoned my favourite Shikigami. I remember the joy I experienced then, the love I felt seeing it, knowing that that part of my life will always be with me. That no matter how far I travelled, I would always have a memory of home right in my shadow.

I remember all of it, and I carve it deep into my mind, into my very soul.

"Generous Deer."

I speak and it is not just the sound, but the very essence of my words that fill the void, burying the silence of nothing under an avalanche of happy, invigorating feelings.

For a moment, so brief I'm not sure if it's imagined or not, I feel the phantom touch of a palm on my back, as if pushing me forwards, and instantly my mind is so full of static that I don't hear the softly spoken words that follow.

I look forward to meeting you then, Narauko.

///

Inumaki Kotone

///

Watching the pair of Special Grade brats start to drop, Kotone lets out a sigh at the wasted potential.

Perhaps if they were the only Special Grades around he would feel more put out by it, but they are not, so it's not too big of a deal, really.

Mostly it's a shame about Narauko. That boy is respectful, and from the feel of his Cursed Energy alone it's a wonder he is even capable of functioning as a Sorcerer. He just has no idea how that kid manages to Curse anyone.

However, sacrificing such potential is worth it in this situation. 

For one, his clan is going to rise greatly thanks to this. He expects he will be in a meeting with the heads of the Fujiwara, Minamoto and Taira by the end of the week.

His return to the capital will certainly be enjoyable.

Then there's the fact that his actions have ended Sukuna. Even without the benefits his clan will receive, he probably still would have taken the chance anyway.

For all that their power seems to be about equal, the brats in front of him could not be more opposite if they tried.

Where he struggles to understand how Narauko is capable of Cursing anyone, he also struggles to understand how Sukuna doesn't just Curse everyone around him merely by proximity.

That kid is more Curse than any Curse he has ever seen. He should have been smothered at birth.

Well, it's a decade and a half too late, but the threat is no more.

Kotone was barely a fraction of a second away from bringing his hands apart to end his domain when the barrier is abruptly engulfed by so much Positive Energy that he struggles to even continue holding it together, no matter how impossible it should be to break a Domain Expansion from the inside.

His hands reclasp, muscles taut and tense as he watches Narauko abruptly, jerk, one leg snapping out to catch his fall, and then, under Kotone's disbelieving eyes, Narauko stands back up.

It's impossible. It should be impossible.

Narauko was dead, they both were. Even if their bodies were untouched, the whole reason the higher ups chose him for this is because when he uses his domain, he can go beyond the body and kill the soul, severing its connection to the body and leaving no chance for survival.

He should be dead.

He was dead.

As Narauko rises to his feet, radiating Positive Energy like he's on fire with it, Kotone easily notices the change.

A radiant set of majestic antlers have emerged from his temples, growing up and sparkling as if they have been shined to a perfect finish. If there was such a thing as a crown among deer, this would be it.

So much Positive Energy is radiating from him, a if his entire reserve has flipped alignment that even Kotone feels revitalised. It almost makes him seem divine.

And then things get even worse when Sukuna lets out a gasp and shoots up from the ground to a seating position, eyes wide as he looks around the domain.

"Die!" Kotone yells in a panic, and they do.

Both of them die.

And then the impossibly dense flood of Positive Energy filling his Domain thicker by the second just brings them right back.

"Sukuna! Ignore defence and attack!" Narauko yells, getting an annoyed look from Sukuna as he stands back on his feet, "Just trust me!"

A short staring contest is held between them that feels like an eternity before Sukuna lets out a huff. "My Cursed Technique is burnt out right now."

"So fucking what!?" Narauko retorts with a laugh, one that is soon matched by Sukuna.

"So what indeed," he agrees with a smile before turning his eyes upon Kotone.

"Explode!" Kotone yells, but Narauko's shadow spreads out in a circle around him and Sukuna, infused with so much Positive Energy that Kotone's technique falls apart before it can reach them.

Inumaki Kotone is a genius.

This is something he knows. Something he has been told all his life.

The greatest Inumaki ever born. His Cursed Technique was so strong he could kill Grade One Curses by the time he was twelve. By the time he was seventeen he hit his first Black Flash, reaching an even greater understanding of Cursed Energy.

Sukuna dashes forward, a savage grin on his lips with Narauko matching his pace like an afterimage.

"Split!" Kotone yells, sending a force that would cut them both in half.

It manages to cut down to bone on Sukuna's chest before falling apart, and the wound is healed so quickly it doesn't even have time to bleed.

Inumaki Kotone is strong.

This is something he knows. Something he has seen all his life. Even among Grade One Sorcerers, he stands at the peak. The number of Sorcerers of his own Grade that can defeat him ten times out of ten can be counted on his fingers.

The pair of Special Grades reach him faster than he would have liked.

"Blast away!" He yells at them, and he can see his words ripple through Sukuna's body, but the boy doesn't get knocked back a step.

Instead, Sukuna sends a punch at Kotone's sternum so quickly that the older man simply can not react in time to block it.

He feels his organs get pulverised from the blow as it launches him back like a ragdoll.

He tries to heal himself, but he knows he won't be able to fix his internals before Sukuna is before him again. Not that his efforts mattered in the first place, as he feels himself start to recover just from the immense amount of Positive Energy passively radiating from Narauko anyway.

Inumaki Kotone is not weak.

He isn't. He truly, truly isn't.

He has been acknowledged by everyone he has ever met. 

No one who knows Inumaki Kotone would ever claim that he is weak.

Were he born in any other century, he could have been among the strongest.

The pair of Special Grades reach him again, and even if he knows deep down it is pointless, he tries anyway.

"Shatter!" He yells.

It doesn't work.

The sight of Sukuna's clawed hand grows bigger and bigger, closer and closer, and he feels a tension leave him in his final moment, a peace settling on him.

He knows he is dead, and he can't even bring himself to Curse them.

Inumaki Kotone is not weak.

They are just too strong.

Sukuna's hand tears through Kotone's skull, sending a spray of blood and brain matter behind him.

On this day, Inumaki Kotone, eleventh Clan Head and Pride of the Inumaki, dies, aged thirty-two.

///

Narauko

///

With Inumaki's death, the world of chimes around us cracks and shatters, returning us back to the ruined remains of the Samurai's compound.

It really is a mess, I can acknowledge. Even the walls aren't standing anymore, everything is just rubble, except for one of the towers in a far corner.

I don't get to focus on that for long though as when I attempt to take a step forward, I stumble, barely managing to catch myself.

The antlers that had just grown on my head slowly fade away into motes of black that disperses into the air, and with it, my Cursed Energy flips back to being Cursed.

Then, without a constant influx of Positive Energy reinforcing me, I simply collapse backwards, suddenly feeling a bone deep exhaustion that has me panting heavily and bleeding from my nose and ears.

I hear a soft thud to my left, and tilt my head to the side to see Sukuna collapsed next to me, his pink hair slicked with sweat against his forehead, probably not much different from my own at this point.

Turns out, dying for a bit is actually pretty tiring, huh?

That thought, combined with everything that just happened, is so absurd that I fail to suppress a snort of amusement.

Sukuna tilts his head to meet my eyes, and then we both start to smile, wider and wider until we start to just laugh and laugh and laugh.

Not some manic, battle hungry laugh. Just a simple, happy, amused laugh, like old friends with an inside joke, uncaring of the corpse at our feet.

Eventually, our laughter dies down and we both simply spend a moment staring at the darkening sky, the sun just beginning to set.

"Hey, Sukuna," I eventually say after what must have been half an hour just lying there gathering our breath.

"What."

"Wanna be friends?"

"No."

"Tsk."

Asshole. Closing my eyes, I focus on my technique for a moment, checking everything is fine. And it is, everything feels as it should be, except for Generous Deer.

Luckily it doesn't seem damaged or anything, it just feels a little faint right now, like it needs some time to recharge. It'll probably be fine in a few hours, maybe even better than before, if I'm feeling things right.

"Narauko," Sukuna says, surprising me that he would actually initiate conversation. 

I'm surprised enough that I actually turn to look at him, even if he simply keeps staring up.

"Yes?"

He doesn't answer right away, and when he does, he sounds oddly.. Relaxed? I'm not sure if that properly describes it, content, maybe?

"That was fun. You're strong."

"Heh, it sure was, Buddy, and thanks. You're strong too."

"We're not friends."

"I saved your life," I imperiously remind him, "You owe me a debt. I'd say it's getting off pretty lightly to pay back that debt by letting me call you my friend."

He scowls at me but noticeably does not deny my words, which makes me feel incredibly pleased.

Today, I have made a friend. An equal. That, more than anything else today, brings me no end of joy.

"I think we're gonna get in some trouble," I comment, not really all that worried about it, even if I'd prefer to avoid getting branded a criminal. At least for a while anyway.

"So?" Sukuna responds exactly how I thought he would.

"I don't want to miss out on my Jujutsu High experience."

"Too bad," he says, shrugging as much as he can from the ground. "Once they hear what happened here, they're going to start sending execution squads after us."

I hum at his words and he pauses for a second, then when he continues, I think he's trying to be considerate, at least in his own way.

"It doesn't matter though," he says before turning to meet my eyes. "Because we're The Strongest."

That does bring a smile to my face, and I feel my unreasonable pride swell at the words. I make sure to tamp down on the fire, as I have done for over a decade now, still not wanting to become arrogant, but even then, I can't help but acknowledge it a little.

I guess I am pretty strong, huh?

"Hey, Sukuna."

"What."

"Our bet was interrupted."

"So it was."

"Let's make a deal." Sukuna raises a brow at me, curious, and I give him a winning smile. "Let's go back to school, and then in three years' time, when we graduate, let's fight again. No interruptions. Winner takes all."

A chuckle leaves him, his chest shaking with mirth.

"Even if I cared, they're not going to let Curse Users like us attend." He says.

"They won't brand us as Curse Users until they hear about Inumaki-san."

"So what?" He asks, rolling his eyes. "They will find out eventually, we weren't exactly subtle."

"Not necessarily," I say, feeling a pang in my heart as I do. This world doesn't have the internet, and even supernatural means of communication take time to set up for Windows.

Sukuna gives me a curious look, and I feel my heart drop out from my chest as I continue, "They wouldn't be able to find out anything if there weren't any witnesses."

His brows furrow, "There are witnesses, many of them in fact, what-" Then he pauses as he figures it out, and that malicious smile of his starts to return.

"Ohh?" He asks, and I nod my head, not feeling any reluctance even as it feels like my heart is in a vice.

"Seven Windows, a bit over a thousand civilians. If we kill them all, then we can just tell Kamo-Sensei that the Curse was actually a Special Grade, and how it was oh so tragic that we didn't manage to stop it before it could destroy the area."

I'm sentencing over a thousand innocent people to death with my words. It makes me feel horrible. Yet this sensation that should be bringing me to tears has me smiling instead. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that I want to smile as I cry?

This is the problem with compassion. Because unlike Sukuna, I can't just kill people and feel nothing other than satisfaction. I love people, so the thought of killing them burns me inside like a poison.

Unfortunately, I'm just too selfish.

I want to experience all that I can. I want to see what Jujutsu school is like. I even want to know how it feels to slaughter a bunch of innocent, powerless people, even though I already know that I will hate it.

But if I only ever experienced things that I enjoyed, wouldn't I merely be living half a life?

I guess it really is true that Jujutsu is a Curse.

Sukuna's vile laughter snaps me out of my morose thoughts.

"What a surprise," he says as he sits up, "It turns out you do have some Curse in you after all."

"Naturally," I agree as I join him in getting up. "I have the greatest Curse of them all, Love."

Sukuna snorts. "Love is not the greatest Curse. Hatred is."

"I suppose we will see which Curse is greater in three years," I say as I start to stretch, Sukuna doing the same.

"Enjoy your life while you can," he says, making me laugh.

"I intend to." A beat passes before I straighten like a lightbulb has just gone off in my head. "Oh, by the way, you're going to have to do the lying."

Sukuna's eye twitches. "Why?"

"Because I'm a terrible liar, they totally won't believe me."

"Why would you suggest lying in the first place if you're terrible at it?"

"Well, it's not like it really matters if they believe us or not," I answer with a shrug. "So long as there's plausible deniability, they will go along with it. After all, we're The Strongest, right?"

He grins but says nothing.

With nothing left to say, we both move back to the town, an unspoken agreement splitting the town in half, and I feel his Cursed Energy fluctuating again alongside my own as a sense of competition rises between us.

Slowly, our casual walk starts to speed up until we share a glance and break out into a sprint, laughter trailing in our wake as our morbid competition begins.

///

Edo Metropolitan Curse Technical College

///

Standing side by side before Kamo-Sensei and some other old guys the evening of the next day, I do my best to keep my face straight as my mind is full of memories of death and suffering.

I was right. I didn't like it at all. 

I did actually end up crying. All that wasted life...

But there was a beauty to it in its own way, so I don't regret it.

There's something about a person's final moments that is just undeniably beautiful, it just has such an impact.

I don't know, I'm still thinking about it.

Sukuna enjoyed himself at least, and I certainly enjoyed the sight of him having so much fun. There was just some kind of pure joy suffusing his aura as he cut people down by the dozen.

It's nice to see your friends happy.

"So," Kamo-Sensei begins, giving our perfectly clean outfits a once over. We're the same height so I let Sukuna borrow one of my spares. "No one reported back about your mission. Someone with a scrying technique checked on the location and found nothing but ruins. If you waited any longer to show up, you'd have been declared missing. Mind filling us in on what happened on your mission?"

Thankfully, Kamo-Sensei doesn't seem upset, if anything he just seems amused. One of the old guys behind him seems pretty upset, but the other doesn't look like he cares about the proceedings.

"The Curse ended up being a Special Grade," Sukuna drones out in answer, not even trying to be convincing. "It killed that weakling Sorcerer and everyone else before we managed to exorcise it. That's all."

"Ree~eeally," Kamo-Sensei drawls, clearly not believing him at all, before turning his eyes to me. "Is this true, Narauko-kun? A single Curse wiped out an entire town and killed a top notch Grade One Sorcerer before you could exorcise it?"

"...It was a really strong Curse," I answer, and Kamo-Sensei stifles a laugh, hiding his expression from those behind him.

I told you I was a terrible liar! I think really hard at Sukuna, glaring at him and getting a smirk in response.

"Well! If that's the case, then I'm glad you could exorcise such a dangerous Curse before it could cause even further damages~!" Kamo-Sensei exclaims, even though he definitely knows we're lying.

"Absurd!" The angry old man interrupts, jumping to his feet. "They are obviously lying!"

Ah, he actually said it.

The urge to say 'Nuh uh' is incredibly strong, but I hold myself back.

"Shut up, weak trash," Sukuna responds, clearly not possessing the same kind of restraint.

The old guy goes to speak again, but Sukuna's Cursed Energy abruptly fills the room, its weight pushing the dude back into his seat. In a show of solidarity with my new friend, I release my aura just the same, making sweat break out on both the old guys' brows at our combined presence.

Kamo-Sensei claps his hands twice, his smile unaffected by our auras, which is about what I expected from him. "Now now, there's no need to get defensive, Sukuna-kun, Narauko-kun. I'm sure Fujiwara-san was merely acting without thinking. After all, it was his dear friend Inumaki-san who perished to that Curse you killed. I'm sure Fujiwara-san is simply acting out in his mourning, I'd bet that he's actually really grateful that you avenged his friend, right, Fujiwara-san?"

As he asks, Kamo-Sensei tilts his head enough to send a close-eyed smile at the now named Fujiwara, who, despite looking like he's about to burst a blood vessel, reluctantly nods his head and settles into his seat. Both of us reign in out Cursed Energy when he does.

"If that's everything, Fujiwara-san, Minamoto-san, I will escort my students back to their dorms. It is getting quite late after all, I'm sure they're tired after their long journey back."

The other old man, Minamoto, smiles genially. "Of course, I wouldn't wish to keep you."

The other guy doesn't say anything.

Either way, Kamo-Sensei leads us out and towards the dorms like he said.

We walk for a bit in silence before Kamo-Sensei breaks it. "So, would you mind telling me what actually happened?" He asks, and I get the feeling that he really only wants to know out of curiosity rather than anything else.

Still, his words make me glance around us, and he catches the movement.

Waving a hand ahead of us, I feel as an incredibly thin barrier surrounds us like a bubble, following along as we walk.

"No one will be able to hear anything we say now," Kamo-Sensei says before we can ask.

As he does, I brush my Cursed Energy along the edges of the barrier, feeling Sukuna do the same on the opposite side as we both study it.

At the same time, I figure there's no harm in answering. I think we can trust Kamo-Sensei with this.

"Inumaki-san tried to kill Sukuna and I, so we killed him, and then we killed all the witnesses because I didn't want to get expelled."

Obviously, even if I trust him with this, I'm not going to tell him everything, and I doubt he expects me to. Still, I watch his expression carefully when I answer, and though I can't tell what he's thinking, I'm at least pretty confident that he couldn't care less about the people we killed.

"I figured that would be the case," he sighs. "You two will probably have to deal with assassination attempts fairly regularly on your missions, so be ready for it to happen again."

"Why?" I can't help but ask. "It's not like I'm in line to inherit anything, what could they gain from killing us?"

"Peace of mind," Kamo-Sensei immediately answers without hesitating. "The higher ups are all old, they don't like seeing other people rise who can threaten their position. You two are just too strong, you make them uncomfortable." A moment passes as he seems to be considering something before he lets out a small chuckle and mutters, "Well, not like it matters anymore."

I don't ask what he means by that, and the rest of the walk is made in silence until soon enough, I find myself alone in my dorm, looking out the window at the stunning view of untamed mountains painted by the faint light of the fading sun.

Yawning, I give the sunset one last look before heading to sleep. 

"Goodnight, Amaterasu," I mutter, not even realising that I called her without suffix for the first time.

///

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

I liked this chapter more than the last, but I'm also unsure if I properly captured Narauko's feelings about slaughtering innocents.

You've gotten a bit of a peak into Narauko's mind too in this chap. I wanted to highlight that Narauko is a Jujutsu Sorcerer, through and through. That means that he is selfish, and that he is cursed. All sorcerers are at least a little bit insane, and just because Narauko is a good person, doesn't detract from the fact that he is a Jujutsu Sorcerer.

It's more of a Curse to kill someone you love than to kill someone you hate. Or rather, the distinction is that killing someone you love puts a Curse on you, while killing someone you hate Curses them.

Also, 7 chaps ahead on my patreon, Kevin the Bored, rn, and I just finished writing a fight that was literally a solid 10k words straight lmao.