Chapter Text
Kyushu was the third largest island out belonging to Japan, being one of the five main lands of the country, the island is home to the nation's largest volcano: Mount Aso, standing at a proud height of about 1,591 meters. Not only is Kyushu filled with volcanic and tectonic activity, but found across the mineral-filled land are numerous hot springs, the sound of water acting as its own siren song as the steam emitted from the hot water blur your eyes from thinking of anything else other than a dip. Not only is Kyushu blessed with the care and love of Mother Nature, but the land is too filled with historical events waiting to be retold and culture dying to put on another show to impress thousands of faceless strangers each day. The world orbits the sun fast, it made many wonder what the angels thought when the first civilisations they witness were now buried down in the ground, fossilised till they were eventually discovered.
There was another reason that a person would visit Kyushu, specifically, Karatsu city located at the Saga prefecture. Especially those who favour the cold and ice over the heat with the lick of flames. Inside of a large building dedicated for ice skating, before entering the ice did a teenager start stretching her body; following her normal routine quietly without much of an expression on her face. She released her breath, stabilising her breathing as she took the first step onto the beautiful pristine ice rink. Her eyes were downcast, focusing only on her shoes before the vast space before her.
"And just like that! At the age of fourteen, Rize Tsukuyomi becomes the first ice skater to perfectly execute a QUAD AXEL!"
Despite almost losing her breath control, her eyes widening at such a feat she had done in the world of figure skating. She continued to slice through the ice with the grace that rivalled Odette from swan lake. The dance of the swans, in that moment she couldn't help but think of herself as queen of the world. Her coach yelled at her in praise over such an astounding achievement, having expected a triple instead of a quad like the countless times he had seen her practice.
When it was time to celebrate, Rize's smile seemed to be stuck on her face as countless people swarmed her for hours. Their words speaking only praise for her, her skills, her future, her everything. Why wouldn't they?
Her body, long morphed into one at such an age to bear the talent she possessed. For every figure skater, all those jumps, spins and tricks must be compensated greatly to break even and bring them higher than their rivals. Every learned, seen and performed move that the audience see as almost effortless need balance and immense core strength. Especially when performing double and triple Axels to keep their bodies perfectly aligned. The constant state of contraction in performing a figure skating move must be in-mind constantly, especially to not wear the body sooner than desired.
"How did you do it? How did you do such a move at your age?" Rize's eye twitched when she was asked about her already legendary performance hours before, though she disliked the way the person talking gestured towards her lower abdomen. It made her feel uncomfortable.
"I was simply blessed at birth."
She made a sharp left turn, body slowly raising as her mind lingered on her ankles. Though greatly supported, the worst nightmare of any athlete would be an injury in a part of their body where their sport prioritised. For her it was her legs, especially her ankles that usually are at risk for injury most of the time she was on the ice. She could compete with a sprained neck or arm, but an injured ankle was something else. It would make her routine less than ideal for her, risking her score and then ruin her chance at scoring a gold medal.
"With the end of the season coming, Rize Tsukuyomi has successfully bagged another gold medal back home! We can't wait to see her next season, hopefully in the senior division of the Grand Prix!"
With a sigh, Rize broke her perfect posture after having had her spine turned to stone for hours. Her head leaned back into the car's head rest, now concentrated on her inhales and exhales as the car engine gently groaned to life at having to finally move.
Bringing her medal up to her face, she smiled victoriously at the sight of her golden reflection.
"Who is that girl I see? Staring straight back at me..."
She closed her eyes, enjoying the sound of Disney's Mulan most popular original soundtrack.
The age requirement to compete in the Grand Prix was fifteen, her birthday had not even been a quarter of a year prior before she once again was preparing a new routine for her senior debut and soon victory over next season's Grand Prix. Her coach as always hounded her to practice, everyday if she could. Though to others that was preposterous, that was merely the life Rize had been living since she seized her first gold in the Japanese Younger Age Championships. The cold never bothered her, wether it be the unforgiving winters of Kyushu or the unforgiving howls of snowstorms of Russia. Everything she did was for her dream, her mother said it was just in their family's blood. To conquer whatever it was their vision was set upon, what object of desires cloud their mind for almost their entire lives. Though there were short to long impulses of other desires, their main goal will never truly be deterred.
Rize had been an unstoppable force, marking her history in competitive figure skating as if the pen she was writing with was on fire. The flames acted as ink, burning away the old and the past to make way for the new. She did a lutz as she started to gain more speed and power, her body prepared to take on the challenge. Her rise and jump was perfectly executed, beautiful, but it was the fall that ruined it all.
To fall, to falter was the nightmare of many athletes and heroes.
She had faltered, sending her body down into the darkness like how her mind had been when the doctors finished examining her. The skater was left in disbelief, in-denial over being defeated by a trick performed by thousands who shared the same passion as her. The ice rink was quiet, no peep from anywhere as Rize focused on her own breathing; replaying the words exchanged by her doctor, coach and others inside of her coach's office in the same rink. Just like that, the adults that have been with her since she was just a young preteen had abandoned her. Like starving fish for thrown pellets into the surface of the water, they swarmed and crowded the spot where the next hotshot ice skater was. For a sport that made their athletes sparkle under spotlights like movie stars, it was a dirty career. Every now and then would a dark scandal be exposed that had led to a rival's downfall to death or madness.
"Traitor." Rize closed her eyes, saying only one word after almost a month of complete silence. The cool temperature of the ice below her did not bother her, nor did the ache in her left leg from the impact of such a fall.
She fixed her body up, slowly getting up from the ice to call it a day despite having been in the rink for less than half an hour. Once, there would be times she would spent a few hours to half a day merely training. Now, she was just a dormant version of herself. Like a volcano that had lost its lava. The streets weren't so busy, a detail Rize appreciated as she hadn't been in the mood to talk to anyone these days.
Rize halted in her steps, turning her head to see multiple televisions on display of an electronics store playing all the news. More cases of disappearances and unsolved crimes happening in the country, specifically in Tokyo all the way in the island of Honshu. Rize scrunched up her face a little, the words in her mind making it sound as if it would take hours to get from Honshu from Kyushu. No, one of the many stereotypes of her country was that they were technologically advanced. And they were, with companies like Panasonic and Sony in the frontlines.
'All the time and effort placed in such large companies competing with others across the globe.' Rize took a deep breath, releasing the air from her nostrils just so she wouldn't feel once again the sour emotions running high inside of her stomach as if they were drowning themselves on Marijuana. She shouldn't think about it, but she did just because she can. Sacrificing her education and childhood for a dream that was robbed from her, adults, truly selfish greedy bastards that made the girl wonder if their greed rivalled that of Mammon's.
Her hair was swept by the wind as she winced at the sight of the graphic art on the television screens, with a calm face was the anchorman describing the mangled bodies found in public areas. It was strange how the man worded the news, as if he was implying that the murders happened in public.
"Wasn't there only two bodies found?" Rize muttered, doubting once again her math skills. She could handle self-jabs at herself, but when it comes from others, the girl can be rather petty especially with her words and actions to the person who jabbed at her. She was a teenager, most of the time they're still allowed to be petty because they were deemed as still 'growing' It was widely less accepted when teenagers eventually become adults, pettiness being a negative trait that affects a lot of relationships. From platonic to romantic.
She halted in her thoughts, reminding herself that she was getting out of subject like her teacher's commented during her essay writing periods.
She never did take that maths test the teacher constantly told her to be present for in elementary. She thought it wasn't fair, having been gone for two whole weeks just to come back to an overload of school work to catch up on.
The former figure skater felt remorseful, remembering all the projects done in school talking about different careers. Constantly, would her classmates talk of the different jobs available for them to choose from when Rize only had one in mind. Even if many teachers and the school guidance counsellor themselves told her that such an achievement would be near impossible; it was a dream that not even adults who trained for years on end can easily achieve.
"You have to be gifted to have such a dream."
Rize ignored the sight of her hunched teacher in front of her, more focused on the sight of a cursed spirit, a rather large one in the corner of the room. She ignored the sight of it, as she had always done since she could remember. No longer crying to mommy or daddy at seeing such a thing.
"What makes me not gifted?" Rize said in a small voice, challenging her teacher.
An Olympic gold medal. To become an ice skater capable of earning such an award even once-No, she had always wanted to earn it more than once. At least twice or three times in a row like Sonja Henie or Katerina Witt. After that, she would eventually retire and perhaps start training those who were just like her when she was younger. Looking back proudly at her glory days replayed by the beautiful execution of choreography performed by her own students. The next generation of great ice skaters from Japan. It was sort of funny to an outsider, at least, that's what her classmate messaged her to try and maybe amuse her. How depending on the career path you choose, your mid-twenties were your thirties and your thirties were suddenly your middle age. They weren't wrong, some careers value youth and young ages as they were the easiest to exploit and make money out of.
She wonders who will win this year's Gold Prix or the next Four Continents Figure Skating Championships if it wasn't her. Most likely the Russians, when it comes to sports especially figure skating or ballet. They can be really competitive.
Rize had realised that the hard way.
"Tadaima." Rize had said to the empty estate, empty of any other life apart from hers since her older siblings had all left for Tokyo. Her father was once a Jujutsu sorcerer just like his father and his father's father, her mother too had been a Jujutsu sorcerer before quitting early to start a family and now, both of her siblings followed in their footsteps.
Like father, like son. Their father died when they were young, Hayato too; just having barely passed the international age of adulthood when he was sent on a solo mission that caused him his life. Thankfully, Minako was still alive. Hard to contact but alive. Whenever she needed money, Minako would transfer her enough to last a month, sometimes transferring more than enough in a week so Rize could buy herself nice things. Since her accident, Minako had been sending her more and more with little notes; something that made Rize a bit worried considering she doesn't make as much as their late brother. Though her ice skating career was gone, the young teen was still relevant with a lively fanbase that made her sponsorships with brands refuse to drop her for; deciding to continue working with her until her fame starts to decrease.
Rize hummed, pausing her walk to observe the portrait of her family she had set up in the halls. Now that no one else had any ability to oppose of her actions, she had decorated their memorial desk the way she wanted to. Decorating their individual frames with the things they love while leaving the family picture as it had always been. She looked at the clock on the wall, remembering the times she would stare at it whenever her mother complained of her lack of prayers during specific times of the day. She would be especially angry if it was during every full moon.
"A tradition of our clan, your grandfather did it, your ancestors did it, even your ancestors before they arrived in Japan." Her mother would tell her in her miko outfit consisting of a pair of red hakama, a white kosode and a mix of red and white hair ribbons decorating her hair. Her hair would look shiny and smell great, the older woman constantly washing her hair and bathing herself seriously two hours before the ceremony begins.
"I don't think mom would mind right if I did my prayers earlier, right? I'm not in the mood to stay up in the mountains in the middle of the night." Rize asked herself out loud, deciding to relax on the sofa in the living room. She stretched her hand out to grab the remote on the coffee table, turning on the TV with the press of a button. Minutes later, the sound of a door creaking open made Rize raise her head. She frowned, flinching when the door slammed shut with the force of an emo teenager complaining that their parents were ruining their lives after being denied something.
"Geez fine, fine. I'm going..." Rize muttered, heading to grab the usual objects required for the ritual. The girl opened a drawer and took out a pair of round sunglasses, the lenses resembling that of an aurora borealis with the colours pink, yellow, dark blue, light blue and white. Though it was strange to put on such glasses at night, it was a gift given to her when she was just a young child. The sight of curses always haunted her then, grotesque creatures that make equally disgusting sounds. It was strange to her how a single pair of glasses made her unable to see curses; but she simply accepted it. Even asking for another pair with normal lenses just so she could live every day life as a normal human.
Curses never lingered long near her anyways.
Rize would wince, remembering the times she would shiver at the sight of liquid splattering against the walls. It was horrifying, but for the others around her. They either saw nothing, or completely bypassed the horror within the same walls as them.
The lights flickering as Rize traveled to the location of the hidden shrine was the same as the lights surrounding a few faculty members from Tokyo Jujutsu High. Gojo Satoru held up a peacock feather white in colour. He grinned a little when the feather turned to dust, something that made Ijichi feel even more nervous than he usually was around the strongest sorcerer. To both of them, it was like the feather was purposely left behind, once picked up did it filled its purpose, simply getting the interest of Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College.
"So a cursed spirit killed one of Suguru's allies, man, I can only imagine how royally pissed he is." Gojo looked at Ijichi, making him nervous despite the other being blindfolded. Nanami walked towards them, having been with Ino when they discovered more than just cursed energy residuals. "
"A cursed spirit?" Ijichi unsurely asked, wondering how Gojo had come to that conclusion.
"Exactly since when did humans have feathers sprouting out their ass?" Gojo asked nicely, trying to hold in a short laugh. "!" Ijichi said nothing, the expression on his face being a good enough answer for Gojo. Usually, when any mission or task has a link to Geto would he be more serious and quiet, but now, it seems that a switch had been changed inside of him.
"It's a whole massacre, they all looked as if a beast had just torn into them," The blond sorcerer took off his glasses, taking out a handkerchief to clean it a little as he recalled the bodies he saw. "This cursed energy, it feels different from normal cursed energy. May be a recently manifested unregistered special grade."
"I would disagree with you there." Gojo disagreed, "It feels more primordial, from a different time period."
Ino looked as if he was ready to vomit a little, looking uneasy. "A beast that can also deal really clean cuts, like you should see the different cuts across the body. Some were just to pain the victim, some purposed to seep out great amounts of blood in a moment and..." He took a deep breath, choosing to look away. "Why would a cursed spirit go after normal humans and then a curse user like Larue?" Ino changed what he was going to say, asking the others present a question.
"Someone who shares the same mindsets like those higher-ups, homophobic much." Gojo let out a small whistle, eyeing Larue's corpse now in a body bag. "Like we all saw how his dick was ri-
-It must have been someone's shikigami." Nanami cut off the white-haired sorcerer from completing his rather distasteful comment, leading them to where he found a trail. He eyed the walls, noticing three marks like claws occasionally, as if the murderer had used the walls to his advantage.
There was a pregnant pause between the sorcerers, most of them still unsure of what to consider the killer as. Special grade curses can come in different shapes, sizes and even different mindsets. To consider a shikigami to be the attacker could be a good answer, but it wouldn't be the first or second thought of sorcerers just because of how rampant cursed spirits had been in more recent and soon coming years.
"Well," Gojo clapped his hands. "Now that we know that it's a shikigami,I have to go to Kyushu." Ijichi blinked, surprised that both Nanami and Gojo believed the killer to be a shikigami of all to consider and find out. The white-haired sorcerer was about a few steps away with his hand raised to say goodbye when he stopped, as if he had just had an idea as he slowly turned his body again.
Nanami raised an eyebrow, knowing well that Gojo was withholding information from the other sorcerers here. "You're implying that you know who's responsible for such an attack? You know the owner of such a shikigami or perhaps cursed spirit."
"Nahhh man, why would you know who kill his own family member?" Ino asked, scratching his head, getting more confused. Ijcihi pushed up his glasses "Well it's more common than you think..."
"Well I wouldn't say she's directly responsible for such an attack," Gojo dragged his words, deciding to toy a little with the others. Ino looked between Gojo and Nanami back and forth, still confused. "I think it's finally time we paid the Tsukuyomi estate a visit." He stated, making Ino and Ijichi look at each other.
"I thought Minako lived in an apartment?" Though his eyes were covered, the two of them knew Gojo had given them a deadpanned look.
"I mean it's time we visit Kyushu's little sister."
"Umm...Shikoku island?"
"Huh...smaller than I imagined for a once prestigious clan." Ino commented, looking the home up and down. "I thought they were infamous for their obsession over profits and money rather than their own cursed technique, having been rich merchants in China before moving to Japan to help the land prosper after word sent back to their home telling of the other clan's desire to have their technique."
Though the estate was not what he had expected, he could tell a lot of care and effort had been poured into building a home for the family. A three-floor house styled in a way that mixed Japanese and Chinese architecture together. Despite being not in season and having a relatively short bloom period, Ino noted the bright pink sakura blooming in a pot near the side of the house, bamboo shoots on the other side, vines sprouting red flowers covering the gateway to the house and different coloured trees. Everything was so bright for a home for a single person. One who wasn't an adult no less.
How did they keep such flora alive throughout the four seasons of Japan?
Ijichi nodded his head, confirming Ino's words. "They chose a clan that offered the most, but didn't benefit much in the long run due to their difference in ideologies. All Tsukuyomi members who married or had children with said clan were eventually killed, then the clan dispersed to look and make money in different parts of the world... the last members of the clan reside in Kyushu and Honshu."
"Not even fifty years ago, the ones living in the island of Honshu migrated to Kyushu due to internal racism and excommunication." Gojo looked back at Ino and Ijichi. "They were never really prosperous when it came to social matters."
"That's dark."
"How far are you willing to go for your goals?" Gojo asked Ino, the grade 2 sorcerer deciding not to answer what he thinks is a rhetorical question. "These people, they can rather be better at execution rather than communication at times. So you see, miscommunication happens rather often."
"You used three words that end with -ion at the same time and I wonder if you did that to irk me."
"You get me Nanamin~"
"Do not call me that."
Rize opened the door, squinting and looking up to see the face of a blindfolded man. His hands inside of his pockets, wearing something that honestly was a little under average for such a time of day. There was a smile on his face, something Rize couldn't return because she was damn tired. Behind him were other men in strange outfits, unlike him, they were just as confused as her; perhaps even more at the sight of a teenager with unbrushed hair wearing shorts and an oversized shirt that was clearly merchandise from the Smithsonian museum.
"What in the safe for work sexy jutsu..." Rize muttered, Ino letting out a snort at her words before immediately covering his mouth with his hand.
"If it isn't little Rize Tsukuyomi." Gojo bent down to meet the former figure skater's eyes, despite having had a growth spurt from the last time they met, the girl remained petite and small. Only having lost little muscle due to the absence of her usual rigorous training. Someone had been indulging in sweets more than they were supposed to, Nanami held back the urge to snide at how creepy Gojo looked at the moment. Rize squinted her eyes, her hand moving up to snap the man's blindfold to hit his eyes; just mere centimetres away, her attempt was blocked by Gojo Satoru's infinity. "Less of an eyesore than I remember." Nanami glanced at Gojo, finding his words much softer and more of fondness instead of his usual playful tone. He looked at Rize, who recognised his words and just nodded his head.
"Hayato." Nanami thought, remembering the late Tsukuyomi heir.
"I think she knows we're sorcerers." Ino whispered, trying to make the situation lighter by whispering but purposely loud enough so everyone could hear. The others turned their head towards Ino, Rize wondering if he was actually serious. Ino cursed a little under his breath, reminding him not to get on the girl's bad side if she was the possessor of a powerful shikigami that could castrate him.
"How are you not feeling the pools of cursed energy coming from her?" Ijichi whispered, shivering as the hair on his arms started to rise. Ino glanced at Rize, finally feeling the ice dig and puncture into him. He too shivered, its ominous presence was refined to be more glacial compared to the ominous feeling both of them once felt around the clan head of the Gojo clan. "I don't know, I wasn't focused on that aspect." Ino whispered back.
'Her cursed energy is different from that belonging to the feather found at the scene of the crime.' Gojo Satoru knew that before they have even arrived, yet here they were still.
"I think sleep deprivation is getting to you, trying getting more sleep at night." Nanami stated, making Ino want to retort about the blond's sleep schedule. "Every member of the Tsukuyomi family was once or is currently a sorcerer, with the three children having rather large age gaps, it might be a surprise to many who aren't close with Hayato to know he has a younger sister twelve years younger than him. Different from her family, Miss Tsukuyomi had always pursued a different career path, competitive figure skating thus the moniker Kyushu's little princess once mentioned due to her influence and high skill in the art of figure skating. It should be known that she has remained to be the first and only figure skater in history to ever perform a quad Axel."
Gojo grinned, remembering how Nanami too used to speak that way when they were still in high school. Back then, his hair looked as if he constantly gelled and combed the blond strands hourly. This was the reason he decided to bring the other three sorcerers, though Rize had long learned to accept the death of her family members. Nostalgia, longing and stories of the past always tug at the heart strings of the siblings.
'I didn't know we were going to emotionally manipulate a teenager, this feels so wrong.' was the thought that summarised what was inside Nanami, Ino and Ijichi's minds. Especially Ino who couldn't look at Rize's eyes for more than seconds at a time.
Rize pointed towards Nanami, "Nice voice you got there, why can't you be my google assistant?" She asked nonchalantly, trying not to just straightforwardly asked why such sorcerers were here. A sound was made behind her, Rize's eyes darted between the for of them for a moment. "Ignore that, it happens from time to time."
"To put it simply?" Ino leaned towards Ijichi still trying to process what Nanami had said in one breath, Ijichi pushed up his glasses, the lenses turning a bright white.
"She chose to make money by being a famous ice skater, she was on her way to becoming one of the greatest figure skaters in history with a gold streak in just her juniors up until she suffered an injury and is now...(looks at Rize who looked back at him) uhh, on hiatus."
"OH SO THAT WAS WHERE THE KYUSHU REFERENCE CAME FROM!" The sound of something shattering inside of the house made Rize glare at Ino who was responsible for raising his voice.
"Calm down, you're going to anger the spirits. Around this place, for centuries has this area been used as burying grounds. I live her under their permission, I adhere to their rules." She hissed, crossing her arms. Her fingers raised slightly to move about, perhaps a way to tell them all about the beautiful flowers and plants that surround her home. Ino nodded his head, giving her a thumbs up of approval.
Believing enough small talk and ice breaking was made, Gojo opened his mouth once again. "So, can we see that murderous shikigami of yours that castrated my considered brother's brother?" Gojo grinned. Ino paused, trying to comprehend what Gojo had said. Wait so if Gojo considered Geto his brother, and then Geto considers Hayato to be his brother...Ah, Nanami help me!
"Oh right. You're the one affiliated with my brother's killer." Rize stated, a blank look on her face as she tilted her head to point towards the spot dedicated to her late family members.
'So straightforward!' Ijichi thought, more unease at staying around the place.
"I'm surprised you're all convinced it was my shikigami that was responsible for the murders occurring in Tokyo, I have never heard of shikigami travelling far from their sorcerer nor one that can manifest without the proper technique required." Rize began, pouring out tea into each cup provided for the four sorcerers. Gojo looked at his filled cup, drinking a little to quickly recognise the flavour of gyokuro tea. It's different from sencha, a classic green tea commonly served to guests that has become a standard to this day. Unlike other green teas, gyokuro is grown in the shade rather than the sun. Its name translates to its colour, that could be called 'jewel dew' but 'jade dew' was more preferred. He nodded his head before bring the cup closer to drink, rather good despite being made in a short period of time. He certainly didn't expect such treatment from someone who had shut out the world for a rather long period of time.
"Well, it has been known that cursed techniques are possible in challenging the heavenly principles of the world. It is possible for a sorcerer with more than enough cursed energy to summon a strong shikigami and allow it to run rampage before its eventual return." Gojo stated, the other three men choosing to remain silent. Ijichi continued drinking his tea, flinching a little when Rize refilled his cup without word. She was quiet for a while, slowly setting down the tea pot before reaching out for her phone placed right beside her.
The girl opened her phone, typing to see the distance between Karatsu and Tokyo.
"How exactly do you cover a distance of more than a thousand and a hundred kilometres in less than a night, a shikigami no less." Rize demanded in a neutral tone, "That would be almost impossible and take immense amount of cursed energy to travel at a speed faster than that of a Shinkansen train."Yes she almost barely passed middle school, that did not mean she did lack common sense.
"You fly~" There was a pregnant pause, the look on Ijichi and Ino's face priceless as annoyance leaked through Nanami's face. Rize took a deep breath, her shoulders raised before slumping them down.
"With all due respects, I do not possess a shikigami powerful enough to act on its own. A shikigami with such defiance is only known in that of the Zenin clan in which I do not possess the genes of within my body. Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga," Rize said what has been in her mind for a while. "Yeah, I like history, I read when I can." she added, taking a sip of her tea as she crossed her legs. Feeling the need to imply that she wasn't that academically challenged for some reason. This is why she barely thinks about school, it always shifts her mood a certain way. "I am a figure skater first and foremost followed by ballerina, it's clear from my past history that joining Jujutsu society wholeheartedly will never truly be my main objective in life."
"A figure skater huh?" Gojo raised his blindfold, revealing to Rize one of his eyes. "Last time I checked, you're now just a retired injured athlete with your highest academic achievement being a certificate of completion."
Rize set down her cup of tea, the opened doors and windows to the living room falling shut causing Ijichi and Ino to quickly straighten up, Nanami and Gojo remained calm. There was even a small smile on Gojo's face as he recognised the long body of a fish manifesting from behind him and now swimming through the air. Its body was long and thin but covered in white armour, where each platelet of armour ended on both sides of the fish were long thin white spikes. Its tail too was spiked, resembling of a long thin arrow.
"Ijichi, Ino, meet the fossil fish shikigami." Gojo began, hand reaching out to briefly touch its body. The shikigami quickly moved, slamming against the sorcerer's infinity in such a forceful way it made the manager flinch. "You wouldn't want to be bitten by any of these fellas, especially in a domain expansion or enclosed room."
"Ah, you're familiar with this shikigami." Rize sighed, allowing the fish to wrap around her neck like a scarf. "Then you are also aware of the fact that the effects of the injuries created by these shikigami only begin once we're no longer in a closed off area." She said calmly, looking up as two more manifested behind her. The windows start to slowly open, Rize taking that as a signal to de-materialise her shikigami. "Rather chilling don't you agree? Having full control of a person's life, their soul's ability to move on from one plane to another for how long you wish being a yes or no decision inside of your head."
"Have you never tested the waters of your cursed energy and technique before?" Gojo asked. "It's such a shame when someone is given a gift by the almighty man in the sky to only never fully take advantage of it. I expect more from someone whose two first name characters mean 'benefit, advantage' and 'world'."
Rize laughed a little, "My rite of passage death ceremony will not take place anytime soon. I haven't even prepared nor list the necessary requirements for a successful ceremony to prevent my spirit from coming back." She had no intention to fight them in the first place, the manifestation of her shikigami merely for show. Then again, there were three strong sorcerers right before her. One being the strongest of all sorcerers of this era at that. She didn't even know how to negate his cursed technique because it was just impossible.
"To track back on what you said about testing the waters, I won't lie and say I'm not afraid. The risk the more I think about it, sometimes causes me to think the reward isn't worth it." Rize added, thinking back of all her shikigami. If placed in a juxtaposition with Hayato's shikigamis, no one would spare her a second look. In the world of Jujutsu, she doubts she would ever escape her older brother's shadow. And she didn't like that. In figure skating, no one could ever trust outshine her, especially now.
She was solidified in history. Name carved into the stone for the memories of her feats to be recalled by future generations.
A new thought entered her mind, finding a way to injure a person whose cursed technique prevented anything they wanted from touching them. She rubbed her arms, feeling rather ticklish as goosebumps appeared on her arms. Gojo looked at her, in a way that made her feel as if she was caught red-handed. Yet, he merely smiled. As if not caring that the teen had thought of hurting him.
'You would be dead by now if he loves to act out of impulse, he isn't like you.'
"That ability..." Gojo leaned forward. "Tell me Rize, what do you think of becoming a student at Tokyo Jujutsu High, the new school year is starting soon anyways. And so far, we only have three confirmed first years. Being a student is easier than constantly having a bounty for you and your special grade hidden shikigami."
"And die like my father and brother?" She asked, leaning back onto the sofa exasperated, wanting to curl up on her bed and sleep till noon or more.
"Your sister is still alive." The white-haired man pointed out causing Rize to sigh.
"If it makes you feel better, he'll be your teacher." Ino made an explosive sound following his interruption. "How often do you get the chance to become the student of a six-eyes user? It's been centuries since one was last born."
'Caught in the net.' The four adults thought when they saw a shimmer in Rize's eyes. To miss such an opportunity would bring dishonour to the Tsukuyomi clan, though they loved their money, missed opportunities soured the feeling of relishing in notes of different colours. There was the sound of creaking, yet Rize didn't react nor say anything this time. Mind still in-thought over such a decision.
Considering that she was still 'in-hiatus', finding another way to make money...
"If it'll convince you that I am not cursed nor in possession of a murderous unregistered cursed spirit..." Rize relented, knowing that either way she's going to be dragged to Tokyo. Perhaps even possibly executed some time eventually.
"How much am I getting out of this? I know salaries between grades vary." She asked, tilting her head as she thought about monthly income, annual income, bonuses and other things when considering a new job. One of her legs moved up and down repeatedly without much noise, one could compare it to that of an excited dog wagging its tail or a cat purring out of satisfaction.
Gojo intertwined his hands clearly happy with his victory royale, "Depends, when do you exactly want to admit that that shikigami we discussed about is yours?"