"I've found it."
Nobara turned at the sound of Emi's voice.
The older girl stood beside her, eyes closed, fingers locked into a precise hand sign. Something to aid in her sensing? The ability to precisely pinpoint curse energy signatures. It was a very useful skill, however Nobara did not like it. The way it demanded complete concentration. The way it left its user vulnerable.
"I usually have a way of protecting myself when I do this," Emi murmured, her eyes fluttering open. She smiled at Nobara, a smile that was too perceptive, too knowing.
Nobara almost took a step back.
Emi laughed. "Don't worry, I didn't read your mind or anything that complicated."
"Then how did you…?"
"A mix of body language and common sense," Emi said simply. "You're tense, but not for yourself. You're worried about your performance. And dismissive, of me, I assume."
She tilted her head then, in a way that caused a furrow in Nobara's brow. Just like he does.
"For two reasons, I'd guess," Emi continued. "One, because you don't like how still I have to be while sensing. And two…" She studied Nobara, waiting. When the younger girl didn't react, Emi sighed lightly. "I can't figure out the second reason."
Nobara nearly exhaled in relief. Proof that Emi couldn't actually read her mind. Because if she could, she'd know exactly what that second reason was. Jiki.
Emi rolled her shoulders, loosening her muscles as she prepared to move.
Nobara seized the moment. "Do you always have to stay still to sense cursed energy?"
Emi shook her head. "Not always. It depends on range, cursed energy output, and whether the energy is being suppressed. Otherwise, it's easy enough to do while moving. In this case, I had to concentrate fully because of the range. My cursed energy is average at best, and if I had to run around searching, the curse would be dead before we got to it."
Nobara clenched her teeth at the reminder. Jiki taught her this technique.
It stung.
She had tried to learn it once. But she had never been able to focus, never been able to stay still long enough. And now Jiki had passed it down to someone else. Another girl. Again. The fact that Jiki had also thought her something years ago was her only consolation.
"It looks like we're not the only ones trying to win this competition," Emi continued, either oblivious to Nobara's thoughts or polite enough to ignore them. "The Kyoto students were split into teams just like Maki planned, and a pair of them is heading straight for the Grade Two curse."
Nobara shoved her feelings down. Now isn't the time.
She barely knew Emi. Didn't even know her grade. The girl had been absent from Jujutsu High for most of Nobara's time there. And judging by the sword she carried, her Cursed Technique, if she even had one, was probably nothing special.
"Where are we heading?"
Emi nodded north and took off.
Her walk turned into a jog.
Her jog turned into a sprint.
And then she was gone.
Nobara cursed under her breath and followed, tearing through the forest after her. The trees loomed around them, thick and endless, the scent of damp earth clinging to the air. Emi moved like a phantom, slipping between the foliage with effortless grace, her footsteps barely making a sound.
Nobara gritted her teeth, pushing herself harder.
She wasn't about to let this girl outpace her.
"She's fast," Nobara muttered under her breath, gritting her teeth as she leaped over a fallen log. Despite Emi's refined and composed demeanor, there was an undeniable sharpness in her movements, a practiced ease that hinted at experience. That irritated Nobara more than she cared to admit.
As they neared their target, the cursed energy grew denser, a thick presence coiling through the air. Emi slowed her pace slightly, her grip on her sword tightening as her eyes scanned the surroundings.
"It's close," Emi said, barely above a whisper. "And so are they."
Nobara frowned, immediately understanding what she meant. The Kyoto students.
A rustling from the trees ahead had them both halting in unison. From the shadows, two figures emerged. One with a long blue ponytail, the other hovering just above the ground on a floating broomstick. She had read the dossiers the second years had created on the Kyoto students they were familiar with from the last competition. Miwa and Momo.
Miwa's expression remained neutral, though her fingers twitched toward the hilt of her sword. Momo, on the other hand, regarded them with thinly veiled suspicion, her broom tilting slightly as she floated a bit higher.
"Well, well," Momo mused, her voice laced with amusement. "Looks like we've got competition."
"Seems that way," Emi replied calmly, her posture relaxed but her stance betraying readiness.
Miwa sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Look, we all know why we're here. You're after the Grade Two curse, same as us. But if we're being honest, I'd rather not waste time fighting when the real target is still out there."
Nobara scoffed. "Oh? And what do you propose, then? We just step aside and let you have it?"
"Of course not," Momo cut in, her expression hardening. "But we're not just going to let you have it either."
For a moment, there was silence. The tension between the two groups thickened, and then Emi smiled. "How about this?" she suggested, resting a hand on her sword. "Whichever team gets to the curse first wins."
Momo narrowed her eyes. "And if we get there at the same time?"
Emi's smile widened, a smile that spoke of Maki's influence. "Then we'll just have to see who can handle it better."
Miwa exhaled through her nose, then nodded. "Fine by me."
Nobara felt the adrenaline surge through her veins, a competitive grin pulling at her lips. "Good," she said, stepping forward. "Because there's no way in hell I'm losing to you."
And with that, both teams broke into a sprint, racing through the dense forest toward their shared target.
It didn't take Nobara long to realize they had made a slight miscalculation. Where she and Emi had to move deftly, dodging trees and foliage in their haste, Momo didn't have the same struggle. The blonde-haired, annoying girl was in the skies, zipping toward where the curse was without any special care for the obstacles in their path. At this rate, she was going to get there minutes before them, and with her height advantage, it made things all the more annoying.
Nobara pumped more cursed energy into her limbs, running faster until a soft voice rang in her ear in a low tone.
"Pace yourself, Nobara."
She frowned at Emi. She had overtaken the girl. Was she jealous or...?
"Even if Momo gets there before us, it won't matter. She has a lot of bluster, but she wouldn't try to take the curse on alone." Emi's eyes darted to the side, where Miwa was still sprinting close by.
"It doesn't matter, considering the deal you made with them," Nobara replied to the older girl. But at the same moment, she eased her pace, listening even if she didn't like it.
Emi smiled at her then. A beautiful, innocent smile that lit up her dull features.
"The trap is in the details, Nobara-chan. The agreement was for the first team to get there."
"And a single person does not make a team," Nobara continued with a grin of realization.
Emi nodded as she refocused on the sprint. They were getting closer and had even lost sight of Momo. Nobara was certain the miniature blonde-haired sorcerer must've already reached the curse, yet judging by the lack of sounds of a fight, Emi had been right. Momo was waiting for Miwa before engaging.
"When we're close, you can put on a burst of speed so it'll be a draw. I'll tell you when."
This time, Nobara nodded without protest. The past few minutes alone had been enough to show her the difference between an upperclassman and herself. Emi was simply more experienced and more detailed.
Seconds later, Emi called out, "Now!"
Nobara moved. Her feet tore up the grass beneath her as she blitzed forward, fast enough to leave a surprised Miwa behind before jumping into the clearing, face-to-face with the grade two curse.
It was shaped like a snake. A massive one, almost humanoid in size, especially with the way its lower body coiled beneath it to support the rest of its twisted form. But unlike any serpent, its entire torso was nothing more than a grotesque, oversized head. Empty, bulging eye sockets stared ahead, a shock of black hair hung in uneven strands down its neck, and its split-open skull exposed a pale, glistening brain.
The moment Nobara stepped into the clearing, the curse turned to her. Its jaw unhinged unnaturally, stretching wide like a serpent preparing to swallow its prey whole. A forked purple tongue flicked out, tasting the air before snapping back into its maw.
"Get back, you bastard! We had a deal!" Momo yelled from above.
Nobara didn't care. She didn't have the time to explain or the patience to entertain whatever arrangement Momo thought she had.
She moved.
Her left hand dipped into her pouch, fingers curling around cold, familiar steel and throwing them into the air. At the same time, her right hand ripped her hammer free from the loop at her hip. The moment her nails left her grasp, she twisted her body. Torque ran from her legs to her waist to her arms, and then she swung.
The hammer slammed into the butt of the nails with a sharp, metallic crack. Cursed energy surged through them, sending them rocketing forward with a concussive boom, cutting through the air like bullets.
The curse reacted instantly.
It twisted, not like a human, but with unnatural, fluid precision. Its body bent and curved as if it had no bones, slipping just past the incoming projectiles. The nails shot by, missing completely.
At the same time, it coiled. A seamless motion: a dodge and a strike, all in one. Nobara had a heartbeat to react. A single heartbeat before it lunged. But instead of fear, a grin split her face. Hands spread, she called out,
"Explode."
The curse lunged, and in the instant before impact, an explosion ripped through the air.
Cursed energy infused shrapnel slammed into the curse's back, sending it reeling mid-lunge. Metal fragments bit deep into its flesh, slowing its momentum just enough for Nobara to sidestep.
But then its midsection bubbled.
A twisted, clawed limb erupted from its gut like a living weapon, talons gleaming beneath the sun. Nobara barely had time to register the attack before it tore into her side and pain exploded through her nerves.
She hit the ground hard, her momentum sending her rolling across the dirt. She barely stifled a scream, her body instinctively curling in on itself—
Until a hand caught her mid-roll firmly. A steady grip that slowly guided her upright. She looked up, grimacing through the pain, and met Emi's gaze. "Either this is another ploy by the higher-ups, or there's something very wrong here," Emi said as she helped Nobara to her feet, sparing only a glance at the younger girl's injury to assess its seriousness.
Luckily for them, despite how much it hurt, Nobara had been braced to survive the full brunt of the curse's attack. She had channeled all her cursed energy into defense instead of simple reinforcement.
"What do you mean?"
Nobara asked as she turned her glare to the curse, which seemed to be slowly healing. Her empty left hand pressed against her wound while her right gripped her hammer tight.
Meanwhile, the curse still looked confused, swaying on its coiled tail, oblivious to how she had hit it.
If it were human and she didn't have competition from the other students, she would've explained. How she had learned from her brief, almost fatal fight with Sukuna. Now, she didn't just reinforce her nails with cursed energy, she over-pumped them, ensuring they were fragile enough to serve a twofold purpose: digging deep into the enemy and exploding due to instability.
If Sukuna had been caught off guard enough to lose two eyes to her sneak attack, she didn't expect a grade two curse to fare better.
"That is not a grade two curse like the school had originally approved," Emi said. Her voice was low as she watched the curse rapidly heal. "That is a semi–grade one curse. A curse so close to the next step, it is almost a grade one."
Nobara's eyes widened in surprise as she looked at Emi, but the older girl wasn't done.
"Look up and to the side."
Nobara followed the instruction, even though her body resisted taking her eyes off the curse. She locked eyes with a frowning Momo and a nervous, worried Miwa. Their features were clear, which made Nobara's heart squeeze with sudden realization.
"They are not surprised."
Emi nodded, shifting her stance as she slowly unsheathed her sword and settled into a new stance with the blade drawn back.
"They knew the curse was semi–grade one," she said. "Which clarifies things a bit. Especially our suspicion about the higher-ups using them."
Nobara removed her hand from her injury, noting that it was bleeding less.
She had no skill in Reverse Cursed Energy, but the injury wasn't deep enough to stop her from fighting. Still, with blood loss and her midsection losing flexibility, she doubted she could contribute as much.
Yet when Emi asked, "Are you good enough to fight?"
Her answer started with a grin.
"Against a small fry like this? Always."
Emi ignored her bravado, instead giving her a solid nod. This time, Nobara was the one to ask questions. "What are our odds?"
Emi spared the question only a thought before replying. "Against the curse, I would say at least seventy percent if we go at it together. If it manages to gain enough enlightenment in our fight and progresses to a grade one curse, then we will probably be forced to withdraw, which is a loss."
Nobara grinned as the curse grew tired of watching them. Instead, it began to slowly coil in on itself. Nobara knew what came next: a lunge, a strike from the curse so fast she hadn't even seen the first one until it was past her and had torn a gash into her side.
"Pretty good odds."
"They would be, if the Kyoto students weren't hanging around us like vultures waiting to feast on our carcasses," Emi said with an uncharacteristic snarl. Nobara sent a glare at the other two students, who were both lingering just out of range, as Emi continued. "If both of them joined the fight, forget about withdrawing. The only saving grace is that I don't believe they have a way to control the curse. Even though they're aware of it, if anyone were given such a power, it would be the leader of the Kyoto team. I have the vague feeling that we just stumbled into this."
"So if they join in, the curse is just as likely to attack them as it is to attack us, right?" Nobara questioned, an idea forming in her mind.
Emi gave her a glance and a nod of affirmation. Nobara's smile widened as she turned away from the other girl. "Good, because I have a plan."
...
Emi inhaled deeply.
Her fingers curled around the hilt of her sword before she released her grip with intention. She brought her hands together, forming a precise sequence of hand signs. Each motion held weight, a rhythm honed through repetition in the depths of the star corridor. One of Jiki's teachings that helped her focus and shape her curse energy in what she needed.
Her voice was low and steady when she spoke in the face of the charging curse.
"Boundary of concealment, woven in silence. Boundary of defense, unyielding in resolve. Boundary of deception, a whisper in the void."
As her chant settled into the air, there was a shimmer of cursed energy that rippled outward with her as the focal point.
Emi's technique was not a typical barrier. It wasn't some spherical protection to keep curses trapped or people out. It was a fluid construct, a barrier woven from threads of Tengen's ancient protection. And for brief moments, she could bend those threads to her will.
When she first created this technique, it had been for one reason alone: survival. Defense above all else. That mindset had once saved her life against Toji Fushiguro, and she had never forgotten the lesson. It was a technique inspired by a feature Tengen left open in the way the sorcerer created the barriers. A gap that would allow other sorcerers to create curtains and barriers easily by piggy backing off the pure barriers put down centuries ago.
Later, Tengen had taken notice. The ancient sorcerer had helped her refine the technique, offering insights along with two stark warnings.
One: Outside Japan, her technique was useless as it lacked the presence of the supporting infrastructure that made it possible.
Two: Her technique placed strain on the very foundation of Tengen's pure barriers. Against a special grade, she might be able to take one overwhelming attack or two before it broke, alongside weakening the barrier in that particular area.
But this curse wasn't special grade. Not nearly.
The creature was halfway into Its lunge and Emi waited for the perfect moment.
The moment it reached her, she sidestepped lightly, positioning herself with care. The curse crashed forward, eager to devour her, but collided with empty air that suddenly wasn't so empty. The barrier caught it, invisible but immovable. A spark of feedback surged through its form and briefly made ir visible.
The curse flinched and reeled back, momentarily stunned.
That was the cue Nobara had been waiting for to start moving.
Emi didn't look at her. She didn't need to. Instead, she smiled faintly knowing that somewhere deep within the Tombs of the Star Corridor, Tengen was watching. She imagined the ancient sorcerer frowning. That made her smile a little wider.
"Collapse."
She broke from her stance, feet light on the ground, sword flashing into her grip. With both hands, she delivered a sweeping cut. The blade hummed with cursed energy and bit deep into the curse's hide.
The creature shrieked, buckling. Its tail lashed out, but Emi had already moved. She formed another hand sign as she stepped away, and the tail struck another invisible wall with a deafening crack. She was still untouched.
She closed in again, fast and focused. Her blade carved through the base of the tail, severing it in one clean motion. The limb spasmed and hit the dirt, twitching and steaming as purple blood was sent flying.
The curse let out a high, warbling cry. Its body twisted unnaturally, erupting with new limbs. They sprang out like tumors, violent and wild. They swung in every direction, forcing her to retreat or be overwhelmed.
And so the dance began.
Each time it attacked, Emi intercepted. She used her barriers like an Jiki used his paint brush. One here to block, one there to deflect. A false opening followed by a punishing strike.
Her technique was movement and redirection, not brute strength. She could not overwhelm the curse, but outmaneuvering it was all too possible. However even curses could learn.
A minute passed. Something changed.
This time, when the creature lunged, it didn't just crash forward. It reached with intention. Its many claws stretched out, searching for resistance, and they found the edge of her mobile barrier.
It grabbed hold.
With its unnatural limbs, it pulled itself forward, using the barrier as a springboard. It launched itself midair, twisting violently. Its eyeless sockets locked onto her the moment she stepped out to deliver a punishing strike, Its mouth opened wide.
She rolled, but not fast enough. It's tongue had scraped the edge of her collar.
She hit the ground hard, gasping. She formed another sign mid-roll, focusing her cursed energy inward. The shimmer of the barrier distorted.
"Conceal."
Light bent. Her curse energy vanished. To the curse, she simply disappeared.
The creature snarled in confusion. It spat, then clicked its malformed jaw, trying to sniff her out. But it was too simple a creature to search too long for an invinsible foe. Instead Its mind snapped toward the closest target.
Nobara.
She had been edging toward the Kyoto students, Miwa and Momo, keeping her steps low, her breath steady.
Now, she flat out sprinted.
Miwa's body went taut, her hand on her sword hilt. Her eyes flicked between Nobara and the curse. Momo stayed floating above her, mouth set in a grim line, knuckles white around her broom.
"No, don't come here! What are you doing?"
Nobara only grinned, wild and reckless.
"Brace yourselves, you cheating bastards."
The ground fractured beneath the curse's lunge. It hurled itself after her, driven by bloodlust. Its bulk crushed soil and snapped branches. It was a tidal wave of flesh and rage. At the last moment, Nobara dove aside.
The curse barreled past her and straight toward Miwa.
Credit where it was due, Miwa didn't do more than flinch before she regained her balance. Her hand remained on the hilt of her still sheathed blade and she dropped into her stance, her weight steady. She waited until the curse entered whatever range she used, then she whispered a command.
"New Shadow Style: Simple Domain."
Steel exploded from her sheath. A streak of steal and blue cursed energy ripped through the creature's midsection. It severed two limbs and almost bisected it. The curse shrieked as it was knocked off course while Nobara's eyes widened.
However that was not enough. The curse was was learning. It twisted mid-fall, dragging one limb against the ground, using the force to spin. The remaining limbs coiled and struck at Miwa's exposed side.
The blue haired girl's eyes widened. She couldn't reset her stance in time.
Then, from above, Momo descended.
She brought her broom down, swinging it with full force. The impact cracked the air as wind surged. The curse slammed into the ground beneath the weight of the sudden air pressure.
Pinned and writhing, it screeched in fury and Nobara was already moving. She pulled a pair of nails free, her cursed energy surging violently down her arms. Her body shook under the strain, but she didn't hesitate.
"Straw Doll Technique: Hairpin."
She drove the nails into the curse's flesh and they detonated with precision and force, pinning its limbs into the earth. Purple ichor sprayed in bursts.
It struggled, but it couldn't move.
Emi appeared beside it once more, her presence flickering into view. She and Miwa moved together, silent and synchronized. Their blades plunged into opposite ends of the curse's frame, driving it deeper into the dirt.
Nobara followed with one final anger-fueled hammer strike, the force of it detonating inside the creature's skull.
The impact crushed the curse's skull. Its body convulsed once, then again. A wave of cursed energy pulsed out violently, and then, nothing. The creature stilled. It twitched one final time, then began to crumble, its flesh falling away till there was nothing but the indention it had formed on the ground.
For a long moment, the only sound was the heavy breathing of the four girls. Then, as if realizing they were no longer in immediate danger, Nobara let out a breathless laugh.
"Well," she said, swiping at the blood on her cheek, "I think I delivered the last blow. That makes it our kill."
Miwa frowned. "Excuse me? I literally bisected it first."
Momo scowled. "And If I hadn't stilled its movement, you wouldn't have landed that hit."
Emi sighed, rubbing her temples. "And I was the one to weaken and wear it down. Yet does it really matter?"
"Yes," the other three answered in unison.
Before the argument could escalate further, the sky above them cracked.
"What the hell is that?" Momo, the closest to the sky and the first person to notice, asked in confusion as the crack widened, revealing four giant and gnarled arms gripping it from various corners. The arms pulled and the fissure widened as the air itself stilled and the four girls watched reality being forcibly torn apart.
From the jagged opening, a dense, suffocating curse energy spilled forth. All four students fell silent as they looked up as the first twisted body fell with the wailing of the damned on it's lips.