"Miss. Tsukumo…"
Whoever this sorcerer was, they clearly weren't right impressed with what was going on. She seemed familiar, though there was something inherently different about her that Quinn couldn't quite place. He'd seen her face before, somehow, yet couldn't recognise her at all.
Yuki waved her hand in front of the woman indifferently. "Now, now. Don't be like that!"
"This…individual appeared out of nowhere…despite what you claim to be true, it quite clearly isn't!"
"That's not what's important right now," Yuki retorted. "I'm claiming him. What you and the higher-ups here claim to be true isn't important, either. As far as I'm concerned, I'm the authority here."
When she needed to be, Yuki could be a fairly intimidating person. Aside from her beauty and atmosphere, she was a dangerous person. Special-grade sorcerers were just that for a reason, though Quinn had a hard time picturing this woman doing anything other than trying to impress people. She seemed like the kind of person that would go out of their way to do some roundabout tactic because it was more enjoyable than whatever was considered the norm. Whatever the case, she was standing her ground; and all for Quinn.
She must have ulterior motives…I don't see why someone would do something like this unless they had a genuine reason. Since she doesn't know who I am…well, I don't know why she would! Fuck this is annoying!
He was simply out of his league here. It wasn't like Quinn was some specifically written character with goals and ideals—he was just a guy. He wasn't even sure of himself yet, he hadn't had the time to properly even decide who he wanted to be, and yet he'd suddenly been thrust into such a strange and dangerous situation that he had to try and adapt—and fast.
If I want to live…which I suppose is the main goal with this tournament. You don't revive a bunch of dead people and pit them against each other unless you're offering something like a ticket back home at the end. That makes the most sense, and if it's what I'm working towards…I need to take it seriously.
This wasn't like studying for school, though. This was real life—and fictional aspect aside, he was experiencing it as reality. For the purpose of the tournament, this world—Jujutsu Kaisen—was as real as home had ever been, if not more so.
Tempering himself, Quinn adjusted his posture and observed from the side as Garuda swam between him and Yuki. She'd strode over to the group of sorcerers a moment prior, though her cursed spirit seemed intent on serving its goal. None of them dared move from where they stood while it hovered about and, strangely, Quinn was comfortable.
Any one of those people could probably kill me immediately, but Yuki simply standing there is stopping them. Just by existing, I'm being allowed to live. That's…a little off-putting, when you put it like that…
Since Yuki was a special-grade sorcerer, it likely didn't matter at all what these people wanted to do—or what intentions the higher-ups here had with Quinn. Considering he'd not long appeared here, it was unlikely they were at all aware of his presence yet; though that wasn't to say they wouldn't know soon. Establishing a connection with Yuki was key if he wanted to continue living.
"Even so," the not-so-familiar woman started, "you must admit how strange this is."
Yuki shrugged. "He's…my nephew—from overseas!"
"Your nephew," the woman repeated. "And…your nephew appeared out of thin air. Is that an innate technique of his, or do your family members tend to appear out of the blue?!"
"You're getting hung up on the small things, Akari," Yuki said, waving her hand in defense. "When you get right down to it, it doesn't matter at all. Since I plan on leaving here with him, what's there to discuss?"
Akari…she's the blonde-haired woman, right? I'm guessing the main series must happen some time in the future, then.
Quinn wasn't certain what to make of that. On one hand, it guaranteed Yuki's presence for the month, since she was unlikely to suddenly go off and die; not to mention it guaranteed his safety when in regards to anything concerning the plot. So long as he was careful, he wouldn't get dragged into anything unsavoury.
Eventually, Yuki seemed to reach a consensus with the group and they retreated back into the building, though not without a little hesitance. Quinn could see it in their faces that they were scared—and clearly not of him.
Someone's about to get fired…Sorry!
"You'll probably be fine so long as you don't step into one of Tengen's barriers again," Yuki said. "Though, I'd still steer clear of any official establishments just in case. They can get pretty meticulous about these sorts of things when they need to."
Quinn nodded. "What…now, then?"
Yuki glanced over her shoulder again, eying him. "Any clue on who might've taken your memories?"
"A…cursed spirit, I suppose—or maybe a curse user. I don't think it's farfetched to assume someone might have a technique like that, right?"
Yuki shrugged. "Can't say I've heard of such a technique, though it's not completely impossible. Considering your current circumstances, I'd wager you're probably not going to find them any time soon!"
Quinn wasn't sure whether to be upset or mad at her. The fact he hadn't lost his memories at all should have been reason enough not to harbor any ill-will, but then the way this woman had worded her response only left him feeling irritated by her.
"Don't be like that!" she muttered, pushing him along. "Think of it this way: the less you stress about your circumstances, the better your odds are at surviving!"
Quinn eyed her carefully. "What do you mean?"
He had a fairly strong feeling.
Curses were naturally drawn to negative emotions—it was how they formed in the first place. Stress and anxiety was a source of nourishment for them, and so for someone who had, as she'd so kindly put it, strange cursed energy, that was unlikely to be good.
"You should at least be able to defend yourself from losers like that," she muttered, sticking her finger over back as if to point at the sorcerers from before. "I'll show you a thing or two; you should know, I'm quite the teacher!"
---
"To begin," Yuki said, "let's go through what you already know." It'd taken an hour or so on the back of her bike, but they'd eventually found themselves at a suitable spot: an unusually quiet forest.
As if to show off, a bright light erupted around Yuki, outlining her with a golden hue. That same outline was then outlined by a smooth, almost soft darkness that jittered in and out as she waved her arms about. "You should at least be capable of this. We can deal with cursed energy manipulation another time; the ability to actually apply your cursed energy is what's most important when beginning."
Quinn nodded slowly, half simply to continue the flow of conversation and half because he actually didn't know. He'd read the story from start to finish, though he wasn't so comfortable with the story that he knew it back to front. There were things he'd miss, details he'd forgotten, and elements he'd likely had fly over his head. He had a basic idea as to how cursed energy worked in the story, but actually trying to use it was different.
"It's less about manipulating it and more about letting it flow," Yuki explained. "At either of those technical schools, they'd likely ram their lessons about guiding it and letting it flow naturally down your throat. They're not necessarily wrong, but then they're not correct either."
"What's the difference between letting it flow and letting it flow naturally?"
Yuki smiled. "Imagine a river. It flows in a certain direction with a current, dragging fish and branches down its path until, eventually, it meets an open source of water. In most cases, you'd be taught to think of yourself as that body of water, but that's not quite right." With a swift motion, her cursed energy suddenly darted from around her and centred on her leg, focusing directly around her thigh. "It's more efficient to think of each applicable body part as the body of water, as opposed to lumping them all together. This way, each individual potential host for your cursed energy recognises the stream of water, or the flow of cursed energy."
In essence, Quinn understood what she was saying. Rather than distributing cursed energy from a body of water down a river, it was better to think of it as passing water from one body of water to another. "Doesn't that mean you have to constantly distribute your cursed energy?"
She shook her head. "By instinct, most sorcerers keep a lid on their cursed energy. It's pretty much breathing to them, and releasing it and distributing it is sort of like flipping a tap on."
"So…what you do is essentially the same, only the method is different. Instead of simply flipping a tap on and off at the centre of your body, you already have…localized pools of cursed energy to distribute."
With a thumbs up, she shot Quinn an alluring look. "Very good! Now, give it a try!"
Quinn dropped to his knees. "Master!"
"What is it?"
Gulping, Quinn confessed. "I don't know how to release my cursed energy!"
"Ah~" she hummed to herself. Quinn found himself dragged back to his feet a moment later, Garuda carrying him off his feet slightly. "That's an easy one!" With a smile, Yuki placed the tip of her index and ring finger on Quinn's forehead and pushed.
Quinn felt something.
It wasn't as though a water valve had been released, but more that the sky had suddenly opened up. Like a blind man finally being able to see, Quinn felt as though an entire new world had appeared before him.
With a smile, Yuki hopped backwards and let Quinn's cursed energy flow out of him, engulfing the forest in a hazy atmosphere. Unlike Yuki's, his energy was not calm, though it wasn't sporadic either. It seemed to straddle the line between the two, shaking and jittering in places, while also remaining calm and soft in others.
"Is it supposed to be red?"
Yuki cocked her head. "Some sorcerers have strange cursed energy with a unique trait. You could think of it as applying deodorant to yourself. Some people have a sort of smell, like producing fire passively with their cursed energy as opposed to the generic stuff."
Quinn watched it for a moment as it surrounded him. It was strangely satisfying with how it moved, almost as if it was alive, responding to the phenomenon around him. It seemed to convulse when a breeze trickled across his skin or when Garuda swirled around him, jotting out with spikes as if to defend him.
"Since we've slid the cap off," Yuki muttered, "I'd say it's about time we put you up to the test! Give me a shout if you're in trouble!" Without warning, Yuki vanished from where she'd been standing.
Quinn shook his head in confusion, though quickly grasped the situation as a strange, almost sickly sound emanated from behind him. As if to reaffirm his suspensions, a spindly creature appeared from behind a tree, peeping around it with strange appendages and deformed head.
"Great," he whispered to himself, fists raised.