There was a certain mindset required in the creation of a barrier. For a simple curtain, it starts with an immense need for containment and secrecy. The user subsumes his will into his cursed energy, then molds it into what they want, projecting an internalized image and slowly manifesting it over an area with a flex of cursed energy.
For Japanese sorcerers, it was an easier task to accomplish, especially for the well-trained, and it boiled down to a single being: Tengen-sama.
The millennia-old sorcerer had laid the building blocks by placing numerous pure barriers around Japan, which helped the average sorcerer to manifest his by piggybacking off Tengen's own barriers. This worked to strengthen theirs and weaken curses caught in them, but he had not told her that.
"Emerge from the darkness, blacker than darkness. Purify that which is impure."
He looked up, the effort more for the sake of others than any real need, and watched the way the pitch black cursed energy manifested above them, slower than he could've manifested it, but faster than he expected from the girl after just three hours of teaching.
Even with Tengen's pure barriers as a building block and a foothold, the demure girl had done something he had never expected from her. She created a curtain on her thirty-first try.
The fact that he created his on his first try was not the standard. He was him, after all.
He walked over to the edge of the curtain and pressed a palm to it, and it flexed at the motion of pressing against infinity. She winced, and he didn't need to look back to know she had felt it. He could see it.
The curtain she had created was weak, partly transparent, and needed her complete concentration to even keep up. Yet, it was a curtain still. A malformed and nearly useless thing that if Hikari had shown it to him, he would have beaten the fever out of the afro-haired punk. But at the end of the day, it was a barrier. One created from the efforts of a first-year.
He tilted his head to the side with amusement. Something was immensely wrong with her mental headspace to have accomplished this so quickly and with bare basic knowledge. There was a reason barrier creation was reserved for second and third years.
They would've gone through the requisite foundational training to create it, and here she did the same thing in hours. Did her unrevealed cursed technique have something to do with barriers? He mused with a hand on his chin.
As he mused on the strange girl, seconds later, she gave out a gasp as the curtain collapsed with a shattering sound.
Fifteen seconds.
It would take her a while yet to fully hook a barrier on one of Master Tengen's, taking the pressure of keeping it up constantly off her shoulders, but he didn't expect it to be a challenge for the girl.
"Maa maa, that wasn't so bad now was it? You're a natural," he spoke to the girl as she lay sprawled out on the ground.
A one-handed thumbs-up from the ground was her only reply, lacking the strength to even curse him out. He smiled widely and moved to help her up when he felt it.
It was like Jorogumo once again. The malicious soul-wrenching curse energy manifested from nowhere and everywhere, exploding and rolling around Japan like a nearly living thing.
"She's manifested then," he noted with some degree of amusement, ignoring the shivers that traveled down his spine. This new queen of curses.
"Stand up, Emi-chan. We're going on a short trip once more." There was no way the higher-ups had not felt that back at Jujutsu High. They were probably scrambling and reconsidering that pesky little execution order.
They were worried that he might not be able to face her. Fearing his reluctance to kill the boy stemmed from a fear of loss. Mistaking his kindness and future goals of raising a new generation for weakness. They were wrong, of course. It was not that he couldn't do it; he just didn't want to. He'd win anyway.
The brown-haired girl let out a tired sigh before climbing to her feet and dusting off her dress. She could not understand it then, he noted idly, as he watched her watch her surroundings warily.
She felt fear but couldn't understand where it was coming from. Yet with a deep breath and a look of determination on her face, she grabbed his arm, and he activated his cursed technique. The kid was in for a shock.
They appeared outside the original curtain he formed with a whump and displacement of air and cursed energy.
Ijichi poked his head out of the car that was left running, and Satoru noticed the normally overworked man was soaked with sweat and seemed to shiver intensely.
He frowned at the scene. He liked the man, his weakness aside, the black-suited man was dedicated like few others, rushing over here to take over after dropping Jiki off at Mount Fuji.
"Are you okay, Ijichi?"
The man nodded rapidly in reply before pointing in the direction of the monstrous cursed spirit.
He acknowledged the other man with a nod without turning to face the cursed spirit. He could see it easily even with his blindfolds on as it rested inches deep into the other curse and ripped into it with mad glee and hysterical cries of "Yuutaaaa". Instead, he shifted his attention to Emi.
His student had fared better this time, managing to keep her balance without doubling over to throw up. She had more steel in her spine than he assumed at first glance. Then again he should not have been surprised. Jiki must've seen something in her for him to put so much effort into the girl.
Without Jiki's aid, she would've probably ended up like Ijichi after her graduation, if she even managed to live long enough to graduate. Now at the rate at which she was improving, maybe…
A loud screech tore out behind him, and a near-instant application of cursed energy to his ears dulled the sound to a more acceptable volume. Ijichi and Emi were not as lucky, falling to their knees in an instant.
"Ora Ora Ora, you're a loud one, aren't you?" he questioned with a smirk at the white-skinned yet deceptively muscled curse, but he didn't expect any real reply from the special grade cursed spirit as it continued to rip into the already dead curse. Judging from the rapidly depleting cursed energy it used to be a grade one curse.
One that wasn't present when he came to scout earlier… he noted with a raised brow. Had someone been here shortly after he left?
The shuffle of feet on gravel drew his attention to the duo of Maki and Yuta, each carrying a pair of children in their arms. Although Maki seemed to be favoring her right side more, to the extent of using the soul split blade as a crutch.
He had to force himself to stop that laughter that formed at the thought of the higher-ups seeing the girl using a special grade cursed tool as a cane. They would probably blow a gasket and hit her with her own personalized kill-on-sight order.
"Ohayo! How was your first exorcism, Yuta-kun!" he called out with a wave of his hand the moment they reached earshot.
Simultaneous frowns from Maki and Yuta were the reply he got, right before he realized they were still logging the two kids behind them. Ahhh, he should probably go and help them right?
He scratched the back of his head in realization before smiling, that would explain the damp mood. Well, he'll let them continue with that and tag it as a strength-building exercise whenever they ask.
"W-what is that-t?" Emi managed to stutter behind him, using the car as leverage to keep herself up.
"Oh, that's Yuta-kun's lover," he replied, to the furiously blushing figure of Yuta and a Maki that seemed to be trembling. Was the kid too heavy for her?
Oh well, she was a strong girl. He was sure she'd make it the rest of the way; he couldn't hold their hands forever. As to Yuta, his blush sent a rush down Satoru's spine, another angle to tease the kid at. Oh, they make it so easy.
"Help us with the kids, you fraudulent teacher, don't you see we're struggling enough!!" Maki roared out as they got closer, so it was anger… whoops?
He made to tease them more till he saw the fire in the girl's eyes and decided to be more chivalrous. "Maa maaa, fine. Let's have them."
He walked up to the duo and lifted the kids up easily, before putting them in the car. He was about to send them off with Ijichi before someone cleared her throat behind him.
Ah, yes. His students were hurt too, weren't they?
"Are we going with them?" Maki asked, all her vigor and strength had seemingly left her the moment he lifted the kids off, and she was slumped on the ground, hands spread out.
He thought about it for a few seconds. He didn't need them here, and the longer they stayed here, the more dangerous it would be for them whenever Rika decided she had enough of the cursed spirits and turned her malice-filled attention elsewhere.
"Yuuutaaaaa!!!" The special grade screeched out once more as it raised its malformed head from the guts of its victim. It stared at them in sudden silence, analyzing their danger to its lover before spontaneously unraveling and slipping back into oblivion. Was that a glare at Maki, he sensed? He thought amusingly.
He raised a brow at the scene, had it somehow managed to kill itself? He wondered, arms in his pocket but cursed energy primed to fire a blue if he needed to on the spot, heedless of whatever infrastructure damage would occur from that.
"There there, Rika-chan. Thanks a lot," Yuta spoke to the ring he wore on his ring finger; he smiled at it while rubbing it gently at the same time cleaning off imaginary dirt on the cursed steel.
Satoru relaxed with that observation, so not dead then, simply dormant like it was before. Did it take energy to manifest like it did? He continued musing as he realized they truly knew so little about the curse in hindsight.
Yet this little foray into the field served a purpose and reestablished something for him. His goal wasn't so far off anymore. The way he planned on changing the jujutsu world.
He was blessed with strong students, students who seemed to grow stronger by the day, and he knew half the reason was because of the fulcrum that was Jiki's presence.
Even Maki and Emi were shaping up to be more than anybody ever expected them to be.
"Gojo-sensei!" Emi called out as Ijichi got ready to drive off with the kids to the hospital.
He turned his attention back to them and answered with his signature smile. "You guys are coming with me for remedial lessons; how can you be this hurt from a measly grade-one curse!" he replied with faux outrage.
The blank and unbelieving return stare he got from the trio made him realize he would have to take more acting classes. He used to be more believable.
"Wait? Coming with you, how?" Emi asked, her voice shaky, eyes wide, and face grim. So he smiled in response.
"The all-express Gojo delivery service of course. It's free too." The horror that spread out on their faces was a balm to his heart. That'll teach them not to take their sensei seriously. He laughed diabolically.
…
He sat and brooded.
Of course, if anybody came and caught him like that, he would've denied it and sent them a hollow purple just for the sake of it.
He remained in his seat for another three minutes before he saw Ieri walking towards his office.
He straightened up, pushed his chair away from the dark corner he had originally been brooding in, and sat upright in front of his desk.
She opened the door without knocking and looked down at him with little care for his status as he went through the test he had his cute little students write just a day ago.
"You were brooding, weren't you?" she asked rhetorically.
"Of course not, I was just—"
"Yes, you were," she continued, uncaring for his rebuttals, before walking up to the seat opposite him. "You always do whenever you come back from one of those meetings. What is it this time?"
Was it too late to fire that hollow purple?
He focused on her. On the lines beneath her eyes, the eye bags beneath her eyes, and her tired posture to match his. His former classmate was easily the most hard-working person he knew, and burdening her with his problems was one of the last things on his mind.
"How are my cute little students, by the way?" he asked instead in an attempt to change the conversation. She gave him a look that let him know she knew exactly what he was doing but obliged him anyway.
"Good. Emi was exhausted and suffering from intense disorientation and a ruptured eardrum in her right ear, courtesy of your teleportation and Rika's screech no doubt," she gave him a very pointed stare before continuing, "You didn't remind her to reinforce her ears with cursed energy to reduce the disorientation that came with your teleportation, did you?"
He turned to the side, suddenly distracted by the copper bust of the first Headmaster of the school, oh what a marvelous beard the old foggy had. Unfortunately for him, his eyes made sure he saw the glare she sent him either way.
"Yuta was suffering from extreme exhaustion. It seems manifesting the cursed spirit takes out of him as well, but other than that and a few scratches, he was good."
Satoru leaned back to face her and locked his fingers together. "Maki?"
"She was the worst off," Ieri admitted. "She had deep lacerations from where she fought the curse. You'd think she was smart enough to retreat at the sight of a grade-one curse."
"You can't blame her," he responded in defense of his student. "Unlike the rest, she has something to prove. Especially with the Zenin breathing down on her neck."
"Fair enough," Ieri conceded. "She's also the one person that didn't need my help."
"Huh?" was his eloquent reply.
Ieri continued with a faraway look in her eyes. "By the time she got here, she had already healed most of her major injuries. I held off on healing the rest to see how her healing factor worked. Like her body, it seemed her regeneration was accelerated and ratcheted up to superhuman. Although I can't say how external factors like a cauterized injury or a brain injury will heal… not without experimenting of course.
He gave out a sigh at that discovery. "I'm not going to allow you to put your pesky hands on my cute little Maki, Ieri."
"But it'll be for science!"
He tilted his head and stared at her. In times like this, he cursed his need for an eye wrap. It made it harder to stare down someone the same way his little brother could. Jiki could send most people running off his imperious stare alone.
Luckily, he had found ways around it. "No," he replied with steel in his voice. One that Ieri picked up because her overly excited features shifted into her default uncaring mask before she shrugged the matter like water off her back. The unflappable woman. He was sending Jiki after her as soon as he got back.
"So are you going to tell me about what had you brooding in the dark like a blue-eyed bat?"
He sighed once more before replying. She was just as stubborn as unflappable, unfortunately for him. "It's the old bastards again."
"Yuta?" she questioned.
"Yes. They want to reinstate the kill order. I managed to talk them off that path, so they switched to Jiki's missing."
"Jiki is missing?" Ieri questioned with surprise written on her generally passive face.
"Not really. He went to Mount Fuji yesterday, but he's not gotten back."
"You're not worried something is wrong?"
"It's Jiki," he replied with a shrug. When she continued to stare at him in bewilderment, he continued. "If he needed help, we'll know." He finished with an easy smile.
If Jiki needed his help, he would've made enough ruckus that not even the death mist of the Aokigahara Forest could mask it, and Satoru would come running and end whatever the threat turned out to be, even if he had to rearrange the topography and wipe out the entire mountain, he mused darkly.
That will give them something to complain about.
She gave him an amused look before speaking. "Fine, so what now?"
"Now we wait," he replied with a shrug. "The kids are still recuperating, and Jiki—" He trailed off as his finely tuned senses picked it up.
"Satoru!, is anything wrong?"
"Hmmm. I can finally sense him once more," he replied, still distracted, trying to parse out the sensory overload coupled with pinpointing his signature. It was brief, but for a split second, he felt another curse energy signature. One he could not mistake for anything. An old friend he had lost a lifetime ago.
"Who?" Ieri asked again.
He turned to her with a smile before replying. "My little Jiki-kun." He did not need to burden her with the additional knowledge he glimpsed behind the obscuring mists that clouded that particular forest.