The air was still, charged with that strange electricity that only came before something real. A group had gathered near the training yard. The sun hung low, casting a golden glow over the cracked stone and grass. Gojo leaned lazily against a tree, sipping from a can. Nobara and Megumi stood nearby, watching. No one said anything unnecessary.
Yuji and Alex faced each other in the centre.
"Ready?" Gojo called.
Yuji nodded, cracking his neck.
Alex didn't answer. He just lowered his stance slightly.
Yuji shot forward like a fired arrow. A blur of movement and strength. His first punch came in high. Alex shifted subtly, his hand brushing the fist and tilting its path — a gentle nudge, but the whole punch veered wide.
Yuji followed with a low kick. Again, Alex moved with little waste. He didn't block or dodge in the traditional sense. He adjusted the vectors, stole the force, and repurposed it. Like gravity chose different directions around him.
"Is he redirecting momentum?" Megumi asked quietly.
Gojo smiled without looking away. "Yep."
Yuji grinned now, already sweating. He was having fun.
"Alright then," Yuji muttered, "let's go harder."
He pushed his cursed energy outward, skin crackling faintly with streaks of deep blue and black. He rushed again — faster, stronger. He threw jabs and feints, a hook that screamed through the air.
Alex shifted back, spun, and tapped the side of Yuji's wrist mid-punch, sending it flying off-line again. Yuji stumbled.
Then Alex jumped, floating unnaturally, flipping mid-air — not from athleticism, but from altered vectors. He landed behind Yuji with no sound.
Yuji spun around, surprised.
"Come on," Alex said, his tone light. "That all you got?"
Yuji didn't answer. He bent low and surged forward, grabbing Alex by the waist. Grappling wasn't just brute force — it was pressure, leverage, instinct. Yuji had trained for it.
But Alex didn't move like a martial artist. He moved like a soldier. His elbow rammed into Yuji's side. A knee followed. He twisted and redirected his own centre of mass with a subtle burst of vector force, and Yuji was thrown off balance.
Alex didn't finish the takedown, though. He wanted to see more.
That's when it started.
The cursed energy around Alex thickened. Not loud, not showy — but deep. Heavy.
Megumi felt it first that tightening of the chest.
Nobara took a half-step back, the heart suddenly racing.
It wasn't like killing intent. It was older. Something carved into the nervous system itself.
Primal.
Yuji slowed for a second. Just one heartbeat.
Alex's eyes narrowed. Not glowing, but dark, like twin voids. There was something deeply wrong in how calm he looked — not rage, not fury, just cold purpose like something inhuman wearing a man's shape.
Then Yuji screamed and launched forward with a full-force cursed punch straight at Alex's face.
Alex didn't dodge.
He stepped into the strike.
Time froze for just a moment.
Alex's fist met Yuji's, but he pushed his vector control into the contact. He didn't absorb the energy. He reversed it. Not just the momentum, but the cursed energy flow too — compressed, redirected, and unleashed.
CRACK.
Yuji's fist buckled. Bones shattered audibly. He recoiled with a pained yell, stumbling.
The shock blew dust and cracked the stone beneath their feet.
But Alex wasn't done.
He stepped forward, seized Yuji's waist, and threw his full body weight backwards.
Vector-accelerated suplex.
The ground shattered.
A concussive force rippled outward. Five meters of earth buckled, split, and fractured. Dust mushroomed into the air. The crowd shielded their faces.
When it cleared, Yuji was on his back in a small crater, unconscious.
Silence.
Nobara stared.
Megumi blinked.
Gojo whistled. "Damn."
Alex stood, brushing dust off his shirt. He looked down at Yuji's limp body, then turned to Gojo.
"He'll be fine. Broke the fall halfway."
Gojo tilted his head. "That was halfway?"
Alex didn't answer. He reached into his jacket, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it.
Nobara crossed her arms. "Is he even human?"
Alex took a drag and looked at her. "Depends on your definition."
Megumi just stared at the crater.
Yuji groaned softly.
Gojo finally walked forward. "Well, I guess we can skip the evaluation. Welcome to the squad."
Alex nodded once. "Thanks."
The sun dipped further.
Cigarette in mouth, Alex walked away slowly, leaving footprints in the cracked dirt.