Yo! If anyone is confused about how 'Copy' works in this story after this chapter, please let me know!! I had hella writer's block for this chapter which is why I'm only getting one chapter out this week, sorry about that!
GIMME POWER STONES SO I CAN LAUNCH THEM AT MY BITCH NEIGHBORS!! THEY SET THEIR FIRE ALARMS OFF SIX FUCKING TIMES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!! FUCK EM!!
Enjoy the chapter! (^Most of these I do are jokes, but this one isn't a joke. They actually kept me up all fucking night because they can't use the fucking stove right even though they're like 50)
...
2014: Tokyo, Japan. 10:30 PM
Three people could be seen at the training grounds of 'Jujustu High'. Sadly, only two of them were conscious.
*SNORE*
"Hahahaha!!!"
Because of his students' state, Gojo was laughing his head off at the entrance to the training grounds.
He was face down, dead asleep, with small cuts all over him. The funniest part was the happy smile on his face like his suffering finally ended.
*CLICK* *CLICK*
After taking a couple of pictures, Gojo walked over to Kusakabe, who was sitting in the corner watching in amusement.
When the man saw Gojo walking over, his face turned from amusement to disbelief as he looked back at the kid on the ground. Satoru grinned when he saw that.
"He's pretty talented, huh?" Gojo asked with a grin that showed he already knew the answer. Kusakabe just shook his head and scoffed.
*SCOFF*
"No shit. The kid copied everything I knew about 'New Shadow Style' after I showed it to him once. That's not even mentioning how fast his swordsmanship improved or how he's already working on a new attack for 'New Shadow Style'." The swordsman explained as he looked down at Yuta, making the white-haired man laugh.
"Hahahaha!! I told you to train him hard so you can take it easy in the future, but you didn't even have to do that!!" Gojo said in amusement as he walked over to the unconscious boy.
Gojo threw him over his shoulder and looked back at Kusakabe for one last question.
"So, how'd you knock him out without Rika trying to kill you?" Gojo asked with a smirk that pissed Kusakabe off.
"He's knocked out because I didn't let him use the 'Revserse Cursed Technique' or 'Cursed Energy' after I saw he learned 'New Shadow Style' pretty well. By the way, thanks for the warning asshole." Kusakabe said as he glared at the white-haired man, making Gojo snort in amusement.
*SNORT*
"You're fine, aren't you? Anyway, thanks for the help with Yuta." Gojo said as he started walking away with his student on his shoulder.
Gojo waved to Kusakabe one last time as he walked away before using his 'Blue' to compress the space between him and his destination, making the two disappear.
The swordsman looked at the spot Gojo was in for a few seconds before he looked down at his hands.
'I gotta go train some more. I know I shouldn't be mad about the strength of a 'Special Grade', but god damn, watching a 13-year-old master your skillset in a day made me feel like shit.'
He didn't take his mild frustration out on the kid. Nope, not at all.
.
.
Yuta had woken up after Gojo arrived at an open field he took him to. After healing himself with the 'Reverse Cursed Technique', the two were standing about 5 meters apart from each other.
"What are we doing out here, Gojo-sensei?" Yuta asked in a curious tone that made Gojo smirk.
"Not yet. First, tell me about your training with Kusakabe," Satoru said, making Yuta blink twice before nodding.
"Well, I learned 'New Shadow Style: Battō Sword Drawing', 'Evening Moon Sword Drawing', and 'Hazy Moon', and I'm trying to make another attack that uses 'Hazy Moon' as a base." Yuta tried to explain, but when he saw the raised eyebrow Gojo was giving him, he explained further.
*SHNG*
"So, 'Hazy Moon' is a move that can either replace a broken katana or strengthen an intact one." Yuta explained as he unsheathed his katana and covered in it very condensed 'Cursed Energy', which made Gojo tilt his head and grab his chin in fascination.
"The theory of the new attack is when I have all of this concentrated 'Cursed Energy' on my katana, and when I swing, all of the 'Cursed Energy' is released from the tip of the blade, creating a massive flying slash attack in the shape of a crescent moon," Yuta explained before he brought his katana above his head while holding it in both hands.
Gojo could see how Yuta's 'Cursed Energy' flowed to the tip of the blade as he swung it down as hard as he could. Of course, not before making a 'Binding Vow' that upped the power of the attack a bit in exchange for saying its name.
"New Shadow Style: Heaven Piercing Sword!!!"
*FWOOOOOM*
Gojo smirked when, like Yuta said it would, a flying slash of concentrated 'Cursed Energy' in the shape of a crescent moon was released from the tip of the blade.
*BOOOOOOM*
Before Yuta could even blink, Gojo teleported behind him and tapped his shoulder. When Yuta turned to look, Gojo dug his index finger into his cheek.
"That's a pretty neat attack, Yuta. That could damage most of the 'Special Grades' I've fought in my life." Gojo told him as he kept digging his finger into Yuta's cheek, making the teen's eyebrow twitch as he swatted at the finger, but he still nodded.
"Yeah, I have a few more ideas, but I can't figure it out without having a model to go off of," Yuta said sadly.
Gojo nodded at that. He had a shit ton of cool ideas that he couldn't figure out but wanted to.
Gojo would be lying if he said he never tried to make a 'Lapse: Blue Rasengan'.
He suddenly turned to Yuta with a provocative smirk.
"It's good that you won't just be swinging around that katana like an idiot anymore. It was pretty funny." Gojo said with a mischievous smile, making Yuta pout at the comment as he crossed his arms and looked away.
When he did so, Yuta was reminded of the massive open field they were in. He looked back at his mentor questioningly.
"So, why are we out here, Gojo-sensei?" Yuta asked the white-haired man, making the man put his smirk away and become serious.
'Gojo-sensei has some crazy mood swings sometimes.' Yuta thought to himself with a sweat-drop before becoming serious as well. Gojo nodded when he saw that before he started explaining.
"When you rejected and cursed Rika's death, your 'Cursed Energy' is what caused her to manifest as a 'Vengeful Spirit'. I can see that her curse is almost unraveled with my 'Six-Eyes', so you just have to 'undo the last knot' sort of speak." Gojo explained his thoughts, doing air quotes as he said the last part. This made Yuta pause and think about Gojo's idea.
'Honestly, it makes sense. I can see how I cursed Rika-chan at her death with how much I didn't want to accept it. Now that I'm thinking about it, Rika-chan would never curse me when she's been so overprotective of me, both when she was alive and as a curse.' Yuta thought to himself as he started feeling lots of remorse for what he unintentionally did as he wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.
"Sorry, Rika-chan. I thought it was always you who cursed me, but in reality, you blessed me by fulfilling my selfish wish of wanting you to stay with me. Thank you."
Rika manifested behind Yuta while he was talking and wrapped her huge, clawed hands around him in an attempt to console him. Yuta looked up at her when he felt that.
"DDOONNNTTT CCRRYYY YUTAAAA!!!!"
The cursed girl tried her best to comfort the 13-year-old boy who unintentionally cursed her, but that compassion from Rika just further nailed into Yuta's brain what he made her go through.
"But, Rika-chan, I'm why you're like this!! I was too busy being selfish, and I didn't know you were struggling more than me!!" Yuta shouted out as he did his best to hold back his tears.
He was stopped from continuing by the hand that landed on his shoulder. He looked behind him and saw Gojo looking down at him with a soft smile.
"Yuta, none of this is your fault, and nobody blames you for anything. I told you we're going to be exorcising Rika the next time I see you. She'll be able to rest by the end of the day." Gojo said softly, making Yuta nod after taking a shaky, deep breath in response.
The white-haired man just smirked in response before he started walking away from Yuta but motioned him to stay where he was.
"I said earlier that we only have to 'undo the last knot,' and by that, I mean that most of the 'Cursed Energy' from the curse you put on Rika has become yours again, and it either has or will turn that katana of yours into a 'Cursed Tool that is compatible with your 'Copy'. Honestly, something else might happen that neither of us know shit about." Gojo said as he stopped and turned around about 10 meters away from Yuta and Rika.
Yuta paled as Gojo started stretching in the same way they did before their first spar. He paled further when he realized Gojo had taken him to a massive open area where they didn't need to worry about property damage, unlike last time.
'This is why we're doing this here!! So he can kick my ass without worrying about anything else!!' Yuta thought to himself in alarm. Gojo smirked at him as he continued his explanation while watching his student almost have a panic attack.
"There shouldn't be any reason for Rika's curse to not be broken yet, but the more I thought about it, the more obvious it became," Gojo said with a contemplative tone before he strengthened his body with both his 'Cursed Energy' and by applying a layer of his 'Lapse: Blue' to his fists, which terrified Yuta when he saw it.
'His punches before with just 'Cursed Energy' felt like getting hit by ten trucks at once, and that was without using his 'Limitless'!! Now that he is using it, his punches will be like getting hit by a fucking tank!!' Yuta thought to himself in alarm as he also strengthened his body with his 'Cursed Energy'.
"The only thing I could think of is that you, Yuta, are the reason. We already know that you were the one who cursed Rika, but that's not what I mean. What I mean is that since you still haven't accepted Rika's death, her curse has yet to be unraveled completely. So, here's my idea..." Yuta blinked as Gojo disappeared from his senses and vision for a split second before reappearing right in front of him with his fist about to hit his stomach.
*BOOOOOOM* *COUGH*
The unbelievably strong punch landed and sent Yuta flying backward and made him spit up spit and blood.
*BOOM*
After a harsh landing and rolling a few feet away, Yuta forced himself to his feet, only to fall to his knees again.
'I feel like I'm about to vomit.' Yuta thought to himself in surprise mixed with horror. That feeling grew when he heard what Gojo said next.
"I'll just beat you up until you figure out how to figure out how to accept Rika's death!!" Gojo shouted out with a proud smile on his face, happy he could help his student.
Yuta, on the other hand, was about to shit his pants.
"New Shadow Style: Hazy Moon"
Yuta immediately covered his katana in the condensed 'Cursed Energy' of 'Hazy Moon.
*BOOOM*
Rika punched the ground while using 'Collapse' to kick up a bunch of rubble, creating cover for Yuta to rush Gojo. The man just smirks as he turns around and makes eye contact with Yuta as soon as he tries to swing his katana at him.
"Not enough." *BOOM* *COUGH*
Yuta heard Gojo's mocking words before the man turned around and punched him in the stomach, making him cough up blood and spit. Yuta was barely able to process the fact that all of the rubble Rika kicked up was stopped by Gojo's 'Infinity'.
"DDOOONNNTTTT HHUUURRRTTT YUTAAAAAA!!!!!!!"
Gojo grinned when he heard Rika charge at him, but he didn't take his eyes off Yuta.
*BOOOOM*
Rika used the 'Ratio Technique' to make her punch stronger, but it stopped a couple of inches from Gojo's head by his 'infinity'.
Gojo looked back at Rika from the corner of his eye before he spun around and kicked Rika as hard as he could.
*ZIZIZIZ*
"Black Flash!!!"
*BOOOOM*
Yuta's pupils dilated when he saw his sensei hit a 'Black Flash' on Rika-chan as he was getting back up from getting punched. Gojo grinned when he saw Yuta had healed the injury from his punch.
The white-haired man watched curiously as Yuta brought his katana above his head and the output 'Cursed Energy' covering the blade shot up.
"New Shadow Style: Heaven Piercing Sword!!!"
*FWOOOM*
A crescent moon-shaped slash of condensed 'Cursed Energy' flew out of the tip of Yuta's katana and towards Gojo at speeds even 'Grade 1' 'Jujutsu Sorcerers' would struggle to defend against, making the white-haired man smirk.
*SIGH*
Yuta let out a sigh when he saw his attack just hit Gojo's 'Infinity' and was defended against without Gojo even needing to think about doing it.
'This guy is such a cheat code. He isn't going to stop until Rika-chan is exorcised. I know I said it, but have I accepted Rika-chan's death? I guess I don't since she's still here.' Yuta thought to himself as he did his best to dodge as Gojo pushed his advantage.
*BOOM*
'Is he trying to kill me?!!' Yuta thought to himself in astonishment as Gojo's punch kicked up almost as much rubble as when Rika-chan used 'Collapse'.
That thought was confirmed when he saw how his sensei didn't follow up with his advance but instead pointed his index and middle fingers toward the sky. The grin on the man's face didn't make him feel any better.
"Yuta, you better figure that shit out quick!!!" Gojo shouted as it seemed like the world gained a red hue all of a sudden as 'Cursed Energy' surged around his two fingers. Yuta's pupils shrunk when he saw and sensed this.
"YUTAAAAAA"
Yuta smiled when Rika appeared behind him, showing even a 'Black Flash' from Satoru Gojo wasn't enough to keep her down. His smile turned sad when he realized he knew what he had to do.
'In exchange for not seeing each other again until we both die and promising to stay together forever when we reunite after death, Rika-chan will be able to surpass the limits of her 'Cursed Energy'.'
This was a 'Binding Vow' Yuta made at this moment to use up all of Rika's 'Cursed Energy' in one attack so she could be set free, accepting her death and letting her pass on in the process. Though, he didn't realize it at the time, this 'Binding Vow' would lead to unforeseen consequences shortly.
"LOVELOVELOVELOVE RRIIKKAAA LLOOVVEEESSS YUTAAAAAA!!!!!"
Gojo's grin turned into a massive smile as he pointed his 'Revseral: Red' at the two because of how Rika had an eye sprout from the middle of her head and how her 'Cursed Energy' at the moment seemed to be unlimited.
Mostly though, it was because of the peaceful yet determined look on Yuta's face and the concentrated 'Cursed Energy' gathering above Yuta's hand with his fingers straightened and palm facing himself.
"Reversal: Red"
"Pure Love Cannon!!!"
Just before the two attacks hit, Gojo used his 'Lapse: Blue' to appear right behind Yuta and Rika. He stuck Yuta to his right hand using the attraction of 'Lapse: Blue' and used it again to teleport them out of the blast zone.
*BOOOOOOM*
Yuta, who was dangling from Gojo's hand, watched in awe the massive destruction. After a second, Gojo took the two of them back down to see a massive cloud of smoke.
Yuta smiled sadly when he realized he no longer sensed Rika's 'Cursed Energy'. He turned to Gojo to see him smiling at him before the man pointed back at the smoke.
Yuta turned back to the cloud of smoke with a confused expression. That confusion turned to awe as the smoke cleared and he watched as the last bits of Rika's curse were unraveled, revealing Rika just as she was before she died, slowly fading away.
Yuta couldn't hold back his tears as he ran towards her and hugged her with all his might. She just smiled softly at him and hugged him back.
"I'm sorry, Rika-chan!! I'm sorry for making you live that horrible life!! I'm sorry for not being there to protect you!! I'm sorry for everything!!!" Yuta shouted as he cried uncontrollably, making Rika's smile grow while she rubbed his back.
"You don't have to apologize for anything. The time I've spent with you as a curse has been countless times better than my life as a human." Rika reassured Yuta, but that just made him cry harder.
"Please wait for me, Rika-chan!! I promise we'll be together forever once I see you again!!" Yuta promised from the bottom of his heart, making Rika's smile grow.
Yuta felt Rika's hands that were holding him disappear, which made him realize she was leaving again. He looked at her to see her smile and lean towards him.
*KISS*
He felt her kiss his cheek before she leaned back and smiled wide up at him.
"I left you a present that should help you a lot after I'm gone. I hope you enjoy it." She said before her smile turned soft again.
"I'll hold you to that promise, Yuta. I love you. Live a life doing what you want. It's alright to be a little selfish."
Yuta could only watch as the girl disappeared from within his arms. He dropped to his knees and covered his eyes, which were still flowing with tears.
After a minute, he felt a hand land on his shoulder. He knew it was his sensei's hand not because of him being the only other one there, but because of the unmistakable warmth that comes when others are worried about you and care about you that came with the hand.
*SNIFF*
"Thank you for everything you've done for me, Gojo-sensei." Yuta thanked him as he wiped his eyes. Gojo just lightly shook his head in response.
"No, thank you for letting me into your life, Yuta. Even if I had to survive a punch from Rika to do it." Satoru responded jokingly, getting a watery laugh in response.
"Hahahaha, yeah, I just wish I could talk to her one more time." Yuta lamented. Gojo patted his back to console him.
"DDOONNNTTT CRRYYY YUTAAAAA!!!!!"
They both paused and blinked when they heard a familiar voice. They both slowly turned around to see a cursed spirit with a white skull-shaped head with horizontal lines going down it, no eyes, and long teeth. Most of her body was made up of a black mass, but she also had two muscular, human-like arms.
After a couple of seconds of staring dumbfounded, Yuta's dumbfounded look suddenly changed to a horrified one.
"EHH? RIKA-CHAN?! YOU'RE BACK?!!" Yuta shouted out in horror, thinking he somehow cursed Rika again to bring her back.
"Hahahahaha!! Oh my god, this is hilarious!!"
Yuta was broken from his horrified stupor when he heard his sensei's hysterical laughter.
"It seems like this is the so-called 'present' Rika was talking about." Gojo said as he took the bandages that covered his 'Six-Eyes' off so he could get a better look. When he did so, he couldn't help but laugh again.
"Hahahaha!! It's a 'Rika' 'Shikigami'!! That's hilarious!!" Gojo laughed as he figured out what was going on before turning to his student, who had almost fainted at this point.
When Yuta had made the 'Binding Vow' to use up all of Rika's 'Cursed Energy' so she could pass on, it had the unintended consequence of Rika rejecting the idea of leaving Yuta alone and being unable to use his 'Copy' to its full potential, thus allowing for the creation of a 'Shikigami' in her likeness so Yuta won't have problems after she left.
*CLAP* *CLAP*
"Yuta." Gojo clapped his hands in front of Yuta's face to snap him out of the horrified stupor he was falling back into. After the kid blinked a couple of times, he looked questioningly at Gojo, to which he tilted his head in response.
"Yuta, can you still copy 'Cursed Techniques' with this 'Shikigami' version of Rika?" Gojo asks his student. Yuta blinked at the question before he looked back at 'Rika-chan' for a few seconds and answered.
"I think I can, but only when I fully manifest Rika-chan, unlike right now with her partially manifested. I can only fully manifest her for 10 minutes, and I need to figure out a 'Binding Vow' to change the condition to use 'Copy' since I can't just watch someone use their 'Cursed Technique' to copy it anymore. Well, I guess I can if I fully manifest Rika-chan." Yuta said after a few seconds of deliberation. Gojo blinked at the information. That's a lot better than he thought would happen.
"So, you can't copy 'Cursed Techniques' anymore by watching them?" Gojo asked with a confused tilt of his head, which made Yuta tilt his head back and forth before he shrugged.
"Yes and no. Think of it like having the keys to a car and the knowledge of how to drive a car, but you don't have the car itself. When I fully manifest Rika-chan for those 10 minutes, I get access to the car as well." Yuta tried to explain. Gojo tilted his head to the side with his hand on his chin as he tried to process that.
"So, let's say you're in a fight with some curse, and you wanna copy its 'Cursed Technique'. Can you still copy its 'Cursed Technique' and get the knowledge of how to use it just by watching it use it? But you also can't use that 'Cursed Technique' until you fully manifest Rika?" Gojo asked, making Yuta smile.
"Not quite. You're right in that I can copy a 'Cursed Technique' and get the knowledge of how to use it just by watching it be used, but I have to fully manifest Rika-chan to swap out one of the 4 'Cursed Techniques' I have stored in my body for the one I want to copy." Yuta explained to his sensei. He clarified further when he saw the confusion still on Gojo's face.
"Imagine it's a video game, and you have 4 attack slots that you can't change unless you use your special attack, which lets you use every attack you have. That's essentially me and Rika-chan now. I can 'load' any 4 'Cursed Techniques' into my body while she's fully manifested, and I can use those at any time, even when the 10-minute timer is up, and Rika-chan isn't fully manifested anymore." Yuta stopped to look at his sensei, continuing when he saw an understanding nod.
"You're right in that I still get the information of how the 'Cursed Technique' works by watching it be performed, but I have to fully manifest Rika-chan again to 'store' one of the 'Cursed Techniques' I had in one of my 4 'slots' to make room for the new 'Cursed Technique'. So I guess I can copy a 'Cursed Technique' by watching it, but I have to fully manifest Rika-chan to use it." Yuta finished explaining when he saw the understanding look on Gojo's face.
He blinked when his sensei suddenly looked confused again.
"Wait, what's this about a 10-minute time limit? You mean you can only use Rika 10 minutes a day?" Gojo asked in confusion. If that was true, that was a major restriction. His worries were put to rest when Yuta smiled at him before shaking his head.
"It's more that I can only manifest her for 10 minutes at a time. If she's manifested for 10 minutes, she has to de-manifest, but after she does that, I can just bring her back out for another 10 minutes, so the time limit doesn't change much. I think the only reason why I wouldn't be able to bring her back out would be if I was out of 'Cursed Energy'." Yuta explained, getting another understanding nod from Gojo before the man looked at him with an amused smile.
"Last question. How the hell do you know all that when you didn't even know this…" Gojo trailed off as he looked at the new Rika.
"Let's just stick with 'Rika' for now. How the hell did you know all that when you didn't even know about this 'Rika' being there?" Gojo asked as he pointed to her.
"GRRRRR"
*SMACK*
Gojo sweat-dropped when his finger was slapped away by Rika. Yuta couldn't help but laugh.
"Hahahaha!! I learned it when I saw her for the first time, like the 'Cursed Techniques'. I'm sure there are more specifics I'll have to figure out with trial and error, but it's not a bad start." Yuta explained as he put his hand on her head, making her squeal in happiness.
*SQUEAL*
"It seems like she retains some of Rika's original will," Gojo said as he watched the scene in amusement. Yuta nodded sadly when he heard that.
"She was just trying to make sure I would be alright until I see her again," Yuta said as the new Rika disappeared. Gojo walked over to him and put his hand on his shoulder.
"Now that that's out of the way, I can finally introduce you to the other two kids I'm taking care of," Gojo said, surprising Yuta as he never heard of this. Gojo smirked when he saw his face.
"Their names are Megumi and Tsumiki Fushiguro, and you're going to be living with them."