"You're not talented at Barrier Techniques, Megumi-chan," Gojo tapped his finger at a portion of his brain, something that the other party couldn't understand exactly 'why' he had done such a thing. "I'm sure we both can establish that from what we've seen so far."
"Hah~," Megumi placed a hand over his forehead, grunting. "If I don't have a talent for Barrier Techniques, then I'll never be able to create a Domain Expansion, isn't that right?" It was a hard pill to swallow.
"We can't be sure," Gojo shrugged, "I mean, maybe you can find some sort of... uhh, passion? Motivation? Spark? I dunno what it's called, but something like a revelation on how to create a barrier."
"That's not how life works, Gojo-sensei," Megumi gave him a tired look while leaning back on his chair.
"Well, it worked out for me," the white haired Sorcerer huffed and crossed his arms, shooting a faux angry glare towards his student. "You just gotta be stabbed through the throat, I'm tellin' ya' that's how it works!"
"...You're insane," Megumi closed his eyes and placed a finger towards his own forehead, "most definitely, yes. I don't know how I hadn't realized something like that."
"Huh?" Gojo tilted his head in confusion, his delicate sunglasses slightly shifting with his abrupt movement. "I thought you already knew something like that? I mean, practically everybody knows that," he shrugged with a comedic hint in his tone.
The mentor of Megumi crossed his legs after placing his elbow on the armrest of his chair. "You know, you don't have to be a professional in Barrier Techniques to be 'required' to form a Domain Expansion, right? You'll get there eventually, I know that for a fact."
Megumi took in the atmosphere of the room while hearing Gojo's words. The air was thin, filled with some sort of aroma by multiple lit Japanese candles. He didn't understand why such objects were needed in this room, but he wasn't going to question it.
Such things didn't matter much, considering how he needed to focus on his teacher's words. Usually, when the white haired man got serious, there was this sort of thick layer in the air that almost made it hard to breathe—something that Megumi had taken as a cue to start taking him seriously in turn.
"What you should focus on right now, is what you're talented at," Gojo crossed his arms and leaned back, while Megumi opted to do the contrast to his movements, leaning in instead. The Strongest Sorcerer continued on, "your physical strength is lacking, what can the Ten Shadows do? Allow you to jump your opponent, making up for your lackluster physical prowess. What about Barrier Techniques? They don't matter, since you already have a good grasp of your Cursed Technique."
Gojo moved his finger upwards to fix his sunglasses into place, a slight shift in the air resounding along with the pause in his words. "You'll unlock your full Domain Expansion once you master your Cursed Technique, it's only natural something like that happens. Just look at me~," the atmosphere instantly changed at that moment, as he pointed to himself with a sly grin.
"You're Gojo Satoru," Megumi hesitantly pointed out, "I don't think anyone or anything for a matter of fact should be compared to you." The black haired man looked on as the other person blinked once in slight surprise, an uncharacteristic action he hadn't seen from his teacher.
"Oh, really, haha~?" Gojo scratched the back of his neck, "you know, it's strange hearing that from my student. I get a lot~ of compliments from like, a thousand different people—this just feels different. Hard to explain."
"...Did I say something wrong?" Megumi questioned out, tapping the floor with an impatient rhythm, "this response isn't like you, Gojo-sensei, something is obviously wrong with what I had said." He was being as truthful as he could be in front of a man like this.
"No, I said it's just hard to explain," Gojo waved his hands in the air with an expression that said 'it's whatever,' "we're getting off topic anyways. What was I going to say again...? Ah, I remember!" The man snapped his fingers, closed his eyes and lowered his head in an 'aha! I figured it out!' kind of energy, "you have other talents you could specialize in, rather than Barrier Techniques. That's what I wanted to say."
"Understood..." Megumi cupped his mouth, moving his eyes to stare at a different corner of the room rather than Gojo Satoru. He needed a bit of time to think and mull his sensei's words over... What could he specialize in? What was he actually talented in? Even the black haired man had a few confusions ladened in those thoughts.
Maybe kamikaze was what he had talent in. If Megumi were in Imperial Japan's military, his grave would be decorated with multiple honorary medals with how many times the Sorcerer had resorted to such a thing—an amusing yet downtrodden thought that had come to him.
"Oh! Right, I forgot!" Gojo stood up and glanced down at Megumi, "how's the jet-black blade going on? Imbued a Cursed Technique in the Cursed Tool yet?" The man inquired about the progress of the weapon they had 'borrowed' from Jujutsu Tech's armory.
"...It got destroyed," Megumi admitted.
"Huh?!" Gojo lowered his shades, bearing a flabbergasted look. "Really?" He glanced at the neutral expression of Megumi. Even if his student showed any other expression, the white haired man was sure he wasn't the type of person to lie about these things. "Wow... well, I'm just saying~ if it were me, something like that would not happen."
"You're not making me feel any better," Megumi wanted to smack that man upside the head at the moment, but refrained from doing so. Yes, he remembered the blue-infused punch he had to take during a training he asked for, a big regret of his. The second reason for not doing so was also obvious, it's just that he really couldn't lay a single finger on Gojo Satoru.
"Alright, alright," Gojo waved his hands with a small huff, "if you wanna feel better, wanna go to a sweets shop or something? Heard a street nearby got a new kikufuku mochi shop installed. Family business too, so there's a high chance it'll be really~ good!"
"There's still a small chance it won't match up to your expectations," Megumi decided to play Devil's advocate. "Although family businesses usually have more passion than company-run businesses, there isn't always a guarantee—"
"Blah, blah, blah~!" Gojo moved his hands and fingers in a 'popping' motion from his forehead and spread it outwards, "something something 'I'm an emo,' we don't need to hear all of that, Megumi-chan."
"Gojo-sensei," Megumi pinched the bridge of his nose, "you were the one who couldn't read 'signs' yesterday, do I need to remind you of that?"
"Heh~? What do you mean?" Gojo actually looked offended, an almost surprising revelation to Megumi, "hey, you know I can't go around seducing every woman around, so I gotta save some for the other guys, you know?" He held a dramatic posture, placing his wrist on his forehead and falling back on the chair behind him. "Ah~, aren't I such a saint?"
"...Nevermind, there's no winning against you," Megumi had realized this fact years ago, but only today did it truly become set in stone in his mind. "...Where is the kikufuku mochi shop?" There was nothing better for him to do, considering all missions have been cleared out already.
"Mhm~! That's more like it!"
***
Sublime and visceral all at once, the golden emission that came off of such a divine armament bespoke of great power and wisdom. There were very brief sparks of white electricity laced with a golden after-glow, twitching in and out of existence as if the tool was alive itself. Dancing, fading, and crossing across the object in a majestic pirouette.
The instability gave the Cursed Tool a daring look, one that seemed to ward off all evils with its crackling laughter of scorn. Each bout of flying sparks encompassed a certain Ten Shadows user's hand, even if they laid on a bed completely unconscious. A radial electromagnetic sphere that worked as both defense and offense.
The hand grasping the Vajra was burnt, charred a flaking near-vantablack color. It was as if it had been put in an oven and left to cook for hours upon hours on end. Overall, the condition didn't look like it could be treated at all, something that worried a certain man who was analyzing the man's condition.
"The hell, Fushiguro?" The Liberi man impatiently tapped his foot while sitting on a chair. Taking a glance outside the window, the intense rain continued its ungodly downpour on the decadent city of Primavera. "Tch, don't have any medical supplies here, Penal Battalion is active outside—probably executed a curfew, and the rain would make everything a wet hell to get through."
Did this city even have any ointment or medical supplies that could treat burn wounds? Even if they did, the injury on Fushiguro Megumi's hand looked too severe for them to be able to do anything. Antonio was sure that it would require some high level of healing Arts to even stabilize the condition.
Even the smell was horrendous, leaving a pungent smell of... surprisingly 'pork,' but pork in the sense that it had been sizzling in boiling blood and human skin. Oh wait, that was exactly what had happened! "How the hell are you even still gripping that tool?" Antonio knew that the object was a masterpiece—perhaps even surpassing all masterpieces he had seen before—but to hold onto it after destroying your own hand?
"Unbelievable, kids these days," the Liberi man groaned to himself, already feeling like an old man. It didn't really matter though, he was going to become an old man sooner or later, considering he was already in his late middle-ages and developing graying hair.
The occurrences that had happened today were too much for him to process. Antonio was already getting used to the lethargic and uneventful passings of Primavera, already knowing that being trapped within this city would lead him to a boring life. However, who would have known that some black haired 18 year-old would barge into town and do the most batshit things he'd ever seen?
It had to do something with that wheel of his.
Taking a glance towards Fushiguro Megumi, Antonio noted how the object wasn't floating above his head anymore. When he had fainted from exhaustion, the Liberi saw the object turn a murky black and then dissipate when it touched the ground.
That wasn't the only strange or mysterious thing about the monstrous man, but also the strange process he used to create that Arts Unit. Although he wasn't a professional in how Arts Units were produced, Antonio was sure it didn't involve imbuing some sort of golden energy into it, they usually were made using refined Originium installed inside.
Then, the Arts Unit could enhance the Arts of the user without having to worsen or develop Oripathy, as simple as that. What Fushiguro Megumi had done looked to be using his own body as a medium for Arts to make the Arts Unit... but then again, wouldn't that mean he should be developing Oripathy by using his body as a medium?
That didn't answer the question on how or why he was using his Arts to create the Vajra. Did his Arts pertain to creating tools or smithing? Or enhancing an object with a special ability? Or was he using that wheel of his as an Arts Unit? Then again, how did it just disappear and poof from—
—Damn! This was too much of a headache to process completely, and Antonio was starting to find that he was developing a migraine all across his brain's hemispheres.
A grunt was heard beside him, signifying the arrival of something that the Liberi man had possessed bated breaths over. Focusing his full attention on the man who had drained himself completely, Antonio was ready to give him an earful of questions, but paused. Was he even obligated to answer him?
"Agh," Megumi's hand still clenched the Special Grade Cursed Tool in his right hand, his left moving to rub his forehead just as his eyes fluttered open. It was on instinct, "how long... how long was I out...?"
"Not for long, if you consider 30 minutes to not be long," Antonio crossed his arms and fell back on his chair further, taking a glance at the ticking clock. "The heat has been turned down, the room's been heating way too damn much with how long we've spent smithing." Indeed, even for him, the high temperatures had been a bother. "Without all the hard rain outside, you probably would have cooked yourself alive in this room."
"...Ugh," Megumi let out another grunt, "you're the one who had to... bail out, not me," the Sorcerer retrieved his left hand and raised his right one. He analyzed them, taking note of how burnt they were, as his nerves screamed at him with barely audible sizzling sounds. Or was that just a fabrication of his unstable mind?
Perhaps it was the fumes coming off from the amount of ores they had melted, and all the coal that had been spent. The graying smoke that lingered like clouds and slithering snakes had already completely passed, but the effects seem somewhat apparent to Megumi's exposed form—having no Cursed Energy reinforcement while unconscious.
"Tsk, this kid," Antonio shook his head, "caught me red handed, yeah. Thought you'd lose your memories when you fainted," the man half mused out, and half told the truth. Honestly, it hurt his pride with how an 18 year-old who had no experience in smithing had completely outclassed him in every way possible.
...Speaking that notion once more in his mind only made it worse, like pouring saltwater on an open wound. With how Primavera was, Antonio thought that was a good analogy to use, extra points if it were Sal Viento.
"It'd take a lot to make me lose my memories," Megumi remarked, cycling Reverse Cursed Technique's Positive Cursed Energy through his hands to stabilize his injuries. He could have used Shadow Extension with Chimera Beast Agito, but the Sorcerer needed to get better at using it for himself. "To reiterate, you don't want any compensation?"
The black haired man had used up quite a few materials when creating the first three Vajra failures.
"Pah! How many times do I have to repeat this?" Antonio sighed heavily, placing his hands on his forehead and massaging them. The creases started to become more defined on his face, "you already know what you've done for me. Besides, you even let me keep that one—" Antonio pointed his thumb towards the third Vajra sitting on a desk "—far different from the previous failures you made. It's at least something."
"Ah, thank you sir."
"Don't thank me, dumbass, focus on your injuries," Antonio went back to his normal sitting posture, motioning with his chin towards Megumi while speaking. "You could get permanent damage or scars from that... h-hold on, what's that...?" The Liberi man's constrained expression turned into surprise for the millionth time today.
A viridescent condensing steam was emitting from the charred skin of Megumi. It was far different from when his hands were fuming and being ripped apart by the lightning of the Vajra tool.
Megumi didn't give him much of a response, or even a response at all. He was far too focused on keeping his Cursed Energy reserves intact while cycling Positive Energy, considering it had all been nearly burnt away from creating the Vajra.
A dry air remained in the room, a deafening silence filled only with the sound of flesh repairing itself of its smoldered skin. Unnaturally, there was an optimistic and hopeful atmosphere developing when in presence of the green aura surrounding the hand.
"Healing Arts," Megumi replied without much passion. It was a natural lie, something the black haired man was finding that he was getting really good at doing, "I've... learnt a lot of different Arts applications."
"Different applications? Of course. What'd they call you back in school? A genius?" Antonio continued to be gobsmacked by how many abilities this single young adult held. "I'm assuming you went to school, you like the sort of... guy to do so." The black haori on his body looked expensive after all.
"There were greater geniuses than me back at school," Megumi shook his head, concentrating on his flow of Cursed Energy. "At most, I'd say I was the 'fourth' most genius out of all of them." Before he had been influenced like hell by Ryomen Sukuna, obviously. Right now, the black haired man wasn't completely sure where he stood.
"...What?" Antonio moved his hands to rub his eyes, having completely lost all interest in the flaming aura around Megumi's hands. "Better geniuses than you? Don't tell me there are more people out there who can... learn how to smith in mere seconds?" With how Fushiguro Megumi had created a 'masterpiece' in only a few hours...
"Probably?" Megumi responded, 'Gojo-sensei could probably do it if he put enough effort into it.' The black haired remembered how the white haired man had skimmed through a book in 5 seconds and remembered every single content within. How he had learnt a Barrier Technique instantly when exposed to it.
However, something about the student of the Strongest Sorcerer of the Modern Era was that he didn't really put much effort into learning new things. If anything, Gojo Satoru seemed to be... how should he say it? Bored? Or did he just lack motivation to explore other means of Jujutsu Sorcery?
Last time he checked, his sensei wasn't too proficient in transferring Positive Cursed Energy into other people with Reverse Cursed Technique. But when applying it to himself, the white haired man was one of the most proficient users of such a masterful art, almost comparable to even a Hakari high on Jackpot.
He just hadn't decided to put in any effort to apply it to others, that was what Megumi had remembered his sensei telling him. Although, that sort of seemed like a half-assed reason with how useful it would be for saving lives, something being a Jujutsu Sorcerer should at least amount to.
"...Hah~," Antonio breathed out frustratedly, "there's always a bigger fish out there, huh? Is that how it goes?" The Iberian man remembered something like that being told to him by his father. The person who created and designed the Stultifera Navis was already proof enough of that, even if their name has been slandered in recent courses of history.
"Yes, there is always a bigger fish," Megumi remarked while narrowing his eyes in further concentration. The small sweat developing on his pores were proof of that, "this tool... it's well-made, but I don't think it can be considered the 'best,' all others have their own versatile use."
"We don't even know the capabilities of it," Antonio shook his shoulders, "from what I'm seeing, it's an electricity-type of Arts enhancer, isn't it? Didn't take you for somebody who can use electricity Arts."
"Like I said, I've dabbled in a lot of different applications," he replied back. The eviscerated skin and flesh molded onto his hands have been relieved to vein-like singe marks.
"Yeah, I know, I know," Antonio replied. "Aside from that, where's your wheel? Thing just poofed into a bunch of black water after you flopped over and everything."
"Dispelled," Megumi said, "it's a... a special Arts Unit that needs my mind to... focus on to be active. That's how it works, yes, and it turns based on how my brain responds to it." This sort of explanation was the best he could come up with at that very moment. Hopefully, it sufficed.
"Who created it?" Antonio slumped back further on his chair with a huff. "I'm just curious, somebody who made something as...l how do I explain it? Well, I can't really put it into words, but it's definitely more of a marvelous showpiece than that 'Vajra' of yours." He kept note of how the black haired man's hand had nearly completely healed at this point.
"I have no idea," for once, the Ten Shadows user could be completely honest with his words. "I have completely zero clue on how this was created. How should I explain it? I received it after completing a great task." But that didn't mean Megumi couldn't be as vague as possible in other regards.
"Some fairy tale you're brewing up?" The late middle-aged man creased his brows, "nevermind, I don't want to hear it." The man waved with his right hand slowly in the air, in a clockwise position. "What are you going to name that weapon of yours?" He then pointed his finger after finishing the previous motion.
"Huh?" Megumi glanced away from his hands, his right still clenching the object. "What do you mean by that?" The black haired man took in the sight of Antonio's disappointed look, as if the point had completely blown over the Sorcerer's head.
"Name," Antonio raised a finger and pointed it upwards, stating what was a 'fact' in his worldview. "A name is important, it gives something power, it gives something purpose—what would you think of yourself if you had no name?"
"...A nobody," Megumi replied. The reason why Ryomen Sukuna was so feared, and why the mythology of 'Ryomen Sukuna' even existed was because of the King of Curses. If nobody ever named him, the dreaded prospect of Jujutsu's most fearsome monster would have never existed.
"Exactly," Antonio placed a hand on his short beard, rubbing it to think over his next words. "So at this moment, that Vajra of yours is nameless and a nobody, are you gonna let a masterpiece be known as that?"
Megumi didn't really care about whether his Cursed Tools had names or not, but it did go a good way in addressing which was which. The black haired man never cared for things such as notoriety or fame, so naming the Vajra was the last thing that ever came up in his mind. Wanting to be known within the annals of history wasn't his end goal after all.
However, when Antonio brought up such a thing as naming the Cursed Tool, it wouldn't be so bad, right...?
"...Let me think it over."
***
In some mythologies, the Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga could be seen as a 'honji,' a manifestation of a Buddhist Deity, wherein the Buddhist Deity was their 'original ground.' For instance, the Divine General now manifested as the God of Shikigami represented Yamantaka, the Conqueror of Death—or—the Destroyer of Death.
They were known to be the one capable of stopping the King of Hell themselves, the 'Yama.' Quite literally, Yamantaka was its complete antithesis and rival, having vanquished the being in a grueling battle.
In the mythology that the story was created, Megumi wasn't sure if it held any merit in actual Jujutsu Society or reality.
So, Daiitoku, the Heavenly Thunderbolt Scripture, that sounded like a good name and title for this Cursed Tool—forged by the essence of Mahoraga along with Nue, but mainly Mahoraga. In Japanese romaji, the name of Yamantaka would be Daiitoku, so the black haired man was going to use that instead of Sanskrit.
Aside from all that, it was beautiful... Honestly, Fushiguro Megumi could stare at this object for hours on end and continue to admire it with the same passion as he was now.
It was the contrast to Kamutoke, the Supreme Martial Solution. Even if it was incomparable to the firepower the other Special Grade Cursed Tool provided, Daiitoku would most likely be superior in a battle of attrition thanks to the Cursed Techniques imbued.
The Jujutsu Sorcerer wasn't even entirely sure how he created it, it just came to him in a flash of inspiration. The Dharmachakra was truly the essence of adaptation itself, a 'simple' tool that could even grant him the nirvanic state which many would covet. One that required a journey of decades or perhaps even centuries to accomplish.
On other matters...
Mahoraga wasn't even the correct name of the Divine General sent to protect the Buddha of Healing. It was Makora in romaji and Mahala being the Sanskrit translation. There was no iteration that stated his name to be Mahoraga, which was a Sanskrit word of a different deity entirely.
Megumi wasn't sure, but it was most likely Jujutsu Society and mythology was far more complex than he had taken it for, and that the concept of Mahoraga and Makora/Mahala was mixed together, the race of Deities that protected the Law of Dharma; and the Divine General which protected the Buddha of Healing.
That seemed the most reasonable, why else would his mind process the name of this Shikigami as Mahoraga, then? Not everything was set in stone when written within scriptures or scrolls, that much he had decided to lean on and believe in at the moment.
'I should have asked Gojo-sensei more about these things,' having heard his sensei ramble on about the Ame no Sakahoko during class one day was a passing memory. Even then, although Megumi was confident in his understanding of Shinto Mythology, he wasn't so much in Buddhist Mythology.
"I've decided a name," Megumi spoke up to Antonio, putting pressure into his legs to lift him up from where he laid. Watching as the Liberi man perked up at his words, he continued, "Daiitoku, I'll call this Vajra Daiitoku." Lifting it upwards, the object steadily gleamed under the lights of the ceiling.
His hands have been completely healed, only small flakes of dead skin cells lingering, but it wasn't anything too serious to be worried about. Natural recovery would just deal with it in a few hours, tops.
"Zero clue what that means," Antonio replied with a mixture of both confusion and disinterest. "Something Higashinese or Yanese, huh? By the way, you speak Iberian far too well for somebody who looks like they haven't ever set foot in these places."
"I read a lot of books," Megumi said.
"Can't say much for the residents here after... Nevermind, forget it." The Liberi man tapped his finger on his chair's armrest. "You should probably head back home, with how much rain there is—no doubt it would start flooding the streets." Closing his eyes, Antonio needed time alone to fully process what had happened today. His gaze was focused on the window, blurred and pecked with hundreds of rain droplets.
"...Yes, thank you sir." Megumi gave him one last glance, before turning back to the Vajra held in his hands.
Taking a step towards the door, the black haired man would receive no response from the other jaded man.
***
Even the rooftops weren't safe with the flooding water obstructing every path within its wake. The sewer systems might not be working, that much Megumi could tell when turning a glance at the concrete streets.
Unless this was an unexpected event that couldn't be dealt with the sewage system—especially with how the city had been—then he could accept that this was an inevitably that would happen during a downpour such as this.
'What is the Penal Battalion doing?' Megumi grunted to himself while moving through the shadows once more. He didn't want to step into the flooded streets, considering it would get him completely wet if that were the case.
Being pelted by the cerulean droplets from the rooftops was a much better experience compared to that, and would make drying himself off much more of an easier task.
'I don't see any soldiers, did they also take cover?' Megumi knew that Antonio had said he had been unconscious for about 30 minutes, but to see the results become like this? Worrying, 'I'm glad Mr. Antonio's blacksmith had a way of dealing with these floods.' The place of previous residency had been higher elevation after all.
The silence was something that the Sorcerer preferred over all else. Loud noises and crowds were never his thing, but this kind of eeriness that came with an empty and flooded street—accompanied with the vulgarity of violent rain—wasn't comforting in the slightest.
'I'll visit the tailor some other time,' Megumi remembered the outfit sketch that he had given him. 'Maybe tomorrow? I wonder if he'll have it done quickly, like last time.' It still perplexed him on how that could have happened, but then again... this world was filled with mystical abilities. There was no need to delve into it for too long.
Despite the annoyance of the rain, he could at least say that it was helpful in regards to keeping him hidden. Can't be spotted if there was nobody to see him, especially if they couldn't stand this terrible weather.
From the looks of it, the Penal Battalion indeed, couldn't stand this kind of weather.
'Get back to Laurentina first,' that was his first priority. Considering the apartment room he had rented out was on higher altitudes than other buildings, then it should be safe from the flood that was happening.
...For some reason, a further sense of unease crawled up his spine. It had been a common feeling Megumi had been getting, and the Sorcerer took a moment to pause his advance towards the apartment.
Something was going to happen, just as it did back in Lungmen.
He was sure of it.
***
Water fell from the outside, the only thing separating Laurentina from the cold and brittle outside world. There was restlessness and agitation in her form, despite resting her chin on her palm and holding an expressionless face. If one had to compare, it would be akin to that of a chiseled sculpture.
Why was that the case?
The Abyssal Hunter glanced downwards, where the white Divine Dog should have been. Key word, should have been. For some reason, it just dispersed into black liquid and fell to the floor, its presence completely vanishing along with that.
This meant two things. One, Fushiguro Megumi had dispelled it of his own accord, or two—he had lost consciousness.
Now, she didn't possess a PhD on how his abilities worked, but the Aegir could assume as much. The first prospect wasn't too bad, Laurentina knew the black haired man could handle himself.
The second? Well, let's just say it was far more worrying.
Glancing to the side and away from the blurred window, Laurentina pondered whether she should go outside with her buzzsaw and find him. With the crazy landscape made by the flooding of rain, then maneuvering through it would be a cakewalk.
Bonus being that the Penal Battalion would also be seeking cover from nature's current course of battering this city. Amusedly, the shark lady would find it funny if it turned into an aquatic city with the current rising water, but the technology held here would only be capable of that in about... what? 2 decades? If she was being lenient.
Her fingers rapped against the desk, eyes closing. Laurentina knew she shouldn't be too worried in a situation such as this, but the last time the 'princess' had done something like this, he went in with a gaping hole by his side.
The sensation and smell of his blood was still present in her mind, constantly reminding the woman that he was as frail as any land-dweller would be to the vast sea. Although skilled and prodigal to an extent, the black haired man definitely had a lot of room to grow, just as she had before.
Taking another mental look at her internal clock, Laurentina thinned her lips. She had been humming to herself a tune that reminded her of home to keep herself calm, but certainly her patience was ticking away.
Thirty minutes? Had it been thirty minutes since his little wolves had disappeared? If he had been knocked out, then there would be extreme implications that came with it.
Her fingers stopped pressing against the desk, the woman's eyes opening to take another stare outside the window. Having to wait was definitely becoming a bother, and Laurentina made sure Fushiguro Megumi would bring her outside with him next time.
Click
Speak of the Devil, it was as if he had arrived just on time when she thought of him. At this point, she'd have two nickels.
Turning towards the door with a tired expression, Laurentina sniffled the air when a burning scent came to her nose. It was as if blood had been boiled and skin had been burnt off, that was she was able to pick up.
"Again?" Laurentina exasperated out loud, tilting her head forward when assessing Megumi's condition. "What was it this time? Penal Battalion?" The white haired woman bore sight to the skin of his hands reaching up to his arms flaking off, with barely visible black burn marks.
"No, nothing like that," Megumi replied, taking in the sight of the familiar room. His gaze then settled on Laurentina, "I just got into a little accident while... creating something. Nothing serious," the black haired man gave her an assured look.
"I can't tell if you're lying or not," Laurentina narrowed her eyes with a scrutinizing look, "I'll trust your words this time, though." She sighed right after, meeting the stoic temperament of the other person, "what was this 'item' you created that had you calling back your little wolf, princess?"
Not wanting to explain how he fainted during the process of creating the item, Megumi simply reached his hand out and called for the Vajra. "It's this," with a casual movement, a small black puddle appeared where his arm was, with the object materializing in his hand.
It was the same as he had seen it before, gleaming in ethereal gold with decorated prongs aligning both ends—along with a dagger coming out of the center of the circle of curved prongs. Small sparkles of electricity were emitted when Megumi infused the barest of Cursed Energy into it.
The thing about Cursed Tools was that they didn't require Cursed Energy to activate, just to enhance. So the Vajra could still emit electricity even without Cursed Energy being inputted, it would just be powerful to a greater degree, like how Playful Cloud's function can still be activated without Cursed Energy.
"Hm?" Laurentina gazed more intently at the object that had appeared in his hands. "Golden, just like that wheel above your head," the Aegir woman started monologuing, shooting a glance at the wheel above Megumi's head.
The black haired man had reactivated it before arriving in the room, but it certainly didn't feel good with his current impacted reserves.
"Electricity... just like those birds of yours, but different in color. You said you created it, princess?" Laurentina questioned him, placing a finger on her lips. "I can't judge what sort of weapon it is, it seems to be a fancy dagger meant for ornamental purposes, if anything." She playfully remarked, "but hey, I might be wrong, care to explain it for me?"
"It's a Vajra," Megumi didn't know if she knew the concept of one—most likely not—but he was still going to explain its abilities anyway. "You guessed it, it can discharge electricity, made as an Arts Unit for myself." The black haired man twirled it between his fingers without much difficulty, watching as it turned into a fast and gleaming blur.
The resonation of divine electricity being tampered outwards was heard.
"Ho~?" Laurentina grinned, "you have a lot of fancy tools with you, I'm starting to ponder whether you are turning into a walking armory or not?" What's next, was he going to get an entire artillery unit in his spatial inventory? Amusing.
"Well," Megumi dispelled the Cursed Tool back into his inventory, knowing that he'll eventually get the chance to test it out. "I used to carry items for my teammates during missions, but..." his voice started drawing out while he glanced elsewhere—lips thinning when he realized what he had said. For some reason, just thinking about home made his mood sour.
"But...?" Laurentina raised her brows, anticipating what he would say next.
"...Nevermind," Megumi fully turned his head away, a slight despondency within his gaze and voice. "I forgot."
"You forgot," Laurentina dryly restated what he had just said. "While I see that is not the case, I won't pry into your private matters, princess~," she was slightly disappointed not to know more, especially about his previous life before Primavera.
"Yes," Megumi didn't even try to hide it, there were still many things he didn't wish to say. He seriously doubted he could explain to anybody that he was from a different world, and what he had gone through. It was too much to ask for anybody to even understand or comprehend with a hint of believability.
Laurentina let out a faux hurt sound, placing a hand over her chest somewhat dramatically, "my, I do not know whether I should take it as a hurtful comment or not. Decisions, decisions..." the Aegir woman briefly chuckled to herself after, slyly glancing at Megumi's further deadpanning look.
"...I'll go cook something," Megumi diverted the subject by taking off his black haori, leaving him with his white martial arts gi. "After I wash up... I smell terrible, don't I?" He commented out loud.
"Indeed, you do reek of a burning and floundering skin dripping from the flesh," Laurentina waved the air in front of her nose to playfully emphasize such a statement.
Megumi silently tossed his black haori on the clothes stand, ignoring the woman's words—despite it bothering him to a... small extent. Taking a glance behind the woman towards the pouring rain, and then turning a discreet look to the specific files laying on the wooden desk, he entered the shower room without a word.
Laurentina stared at his back before crossing her legs in a more comfortable position. "Hm, so many mysteries," she wondered if Megumi also held the same view about her. But that uncaring gaze he always had was difficult to see through, "going for the kitchen again? Well, I can't say your cooking skills are anything great."
Seriously, the Abyssal Hunter had to wonder why his cooking was so bland. She didn't have much experience in such a thing, but even the Aegir was sure she could do a better job than he could.
It's almost as if he can't understand taste at all.
***
"There's something I enjoy with eating a meal, I don't know what." Megumi listlessly said, fishing a piece of sushi and popping it in his mouth with chopsticks. His words seemed to attract the attention of Laurentina, who was trying the food on her tongue, "maybe because it's mundane. It reminds me of a normal life."
A normal life, something so far out of reach that the black haired man wished he had been born ordinary. The phrase, 'ignorance is bliss' rang true the moment the pressures of Jujutsu Society had been set on him; the Zen'in Clan, the Cursed Spirits, Ryomen Sukuna, and all the mess that came with it.
Now the question came, would he be better off as just a normal person?
"A normal life?" Laurentina settled down her fork, placing on a thoughtful look. "Placating into a normal life would be impossible for the both of us, wouldn't it?" The woman picked up her silverware once more, the food Megumi had made was once again... bland. Why was this the case? Does he not know how to improve?
"I always wonder where I'd be if I were born into a normal life in the first place," Megumi didn't have an appetite at the current moment, so he was content with just setting down his utensils and glancing off elsewhere. "Nothing to bother me, nothing to be fearful over."
To watch the sun rise without a care in the world, to see Tsumiki wake up and enjoy the meals he had made—with somebody worthy as her husband. What a dream it was, something he could never get out of his mind, something he had always fallen back on. It was his escape, his fantasy.
But a fantasy would always be a fantasy.
"If there is nothing to be fretful over, then it's mere ignorance," Laurentina twiddled with the fork in her stands, placing her elbows on the dining table. "To sacrifice all of which you have forged yourself into in exchange to escape your fears, would simply have the fears prey on your life with boundless ease," she flipped and then balanced the object on her finger tips.
Her crimson eyes were keen, piercing through the silver object with great focus. There was nothing that spoke of mercy within them, there was nothing that was sugar coated beneath, and there certainly was no rose tints present.
"You would prefer that for your 'humble abode?' Pardon me, but I believe a life of bliss such as that—which can topple like even the most lofty of structures—holds no meaning which I can admire." Laurentina lightly flicked her finger, watching as the fork she was holding fell down and pierced the sushi on her plate.
The soft and fluffy white rice were indented, the ingredients of vegetables, green dried seaweed, and all the like were stabbed through with no resistance. Such is the sharp object, a weapon forged from the hands of man against such a pliant concept.
Coldness against warmth.
"Is that what you wish to live in? I see no value in such a proposition. Sorry, not sorry," Laurentina placed her index, thumb, and middle finger against the side of her cheek to prop it up, while the rest stayed curled. "Let me grant you a question of my own, can you see yourself in such a place?"
Time and time again Megumi always saw himself in such a scenario. The bleeding lights of the sun had always bore deep into his brain, casting away the shadows which had clung to his life. The shadows which had clung to his very soul itself, the twindles of fate chaining him to those dark values.
"See myself in such a place?" Megumi truly could, but at the same time, he couldn't. To imagine himself basking in the warmth of the decreed by the world itself. But the world had no warmth to give him, "haha, you're right," the Sorcerer softly laughed to himself, a small smile breaking open from the cracks of his lips.
"Right about what?" Laurentina was curious.
"You're implying you, yourself, can't see me in that sort of life, correct?" Megumi's face was soft yet resigned, staring blankly at the table beneath him. There was no sense of despair or any sense of relief, just... "truth. That's the truth. Your words are the truth." The black haired man smiled, hearing as the pummeling rain from past the transparent panes started to halt.
Yet as the horrific sounds of the corrupted waters of the skies ceased to be in the world once more, the sunken skies of pale monotony still remained—casting its unbearable and lording stare. Eventually the waters would start to vapor into a misty fog, encompassing the entire city, but now was not such a time for such an occurrence.
He couldn't cling into a life such as that, it would only pose to drag him deeper into the grand chasm of an abyss. Bound by those depths of his existence, Megumi had reaffirmed to himself once more a clear-cut notion; there was something else in which he needed to cling to. To stabilize himself amongst this turmoil which wrought his mental state around like a paper shred amongst a typhoon...
...It was...
***
The rain had stopped ages ago, that much was seeable from the fogged yet cleared skies, along with the gray reflective morning dew lingering in the air. However, the aftermath was palpable in showing itself as clearly as it could, painting a more sorrowful scene in Primavera's grounds than ever before.
"Isn't it depressing?" Laurentina took in the scenery while walking alongside Megumi, the moisture in the air clinging onto their skins and clothes. "I hardly see any residents mingling outside anymore, only faint traces of the Penal Battalion."
"This looks worrying," Megumi pressed his hand against the back of his neck to get the soreness out of it. For some reason, last night was more uncomfortable on his neck than usual. "Might as well say it, but I believe in superstition to an extent."
"I wouldn't have expected that from you of all people," Laurentina remembered the path they were taking, it was the one to the tailor. "What makes you believe such a thing? 'Logic' seems to fit you more."
"Past experiences," Megumi released the hand on the back of his neck, having circulated enough Cursed Energy to relieve the cramping and stress at the location. "Required me to believe in those kinds of things."
"Fascinating," Laurentina sarcastically said, knowing that he wouldn't elaborate on it past that point.
Their footsteps continued to produce a melodious vibration upon the wet concrete ground. It was sickly in nature, adding on to the ambience of uncanniness of this dying valley, one far past its beauty.
"Why did you sketch a tailored suit for me anyways?" Megumi decided to remove the silence of human life from the scenery.
"Is there a problem?" Laurentina tilted her head, taking a side glance towards the black haired man. "It would be nice to have something formal to wear. Your current clothes already look lavish, but another one wouldn't be too bad, am I right?"
"Then I could have just bought normal clothes?" Megumi genuinely asked out in confusion.
"...Ah," Laurentina turned to stare forward. "I see, you have no sense in the art of fashion," nodding to herself with closed eyes, that was the conclusion the Aegir had come to. "A miserable way to live, in my opinion."
'I can't really care for things like that with how miserable my life has already been,' Megumi mentally retorted back.
"Troubled?" Laurentina chirped towards him.
"Don't know," he earnestly replied.
"Maybe the new attire will lighten up your dreary mood," she replied back with the same energy... albeit more genuine.
***
Playful Cloud locked around the long handle of Laurentina's buzzsaw, but Megumi found it a useless endeavor when he was immediately pushed downwards when attempting to grapple with her weapon.
He ditched his attempt and let the Cursed Tool unravel while spinning around, causing the white haired woman's weapon to slam onto the floor. The entire cliff they were at shook as a result.
When attempting to round a flail against Laurentina's exposed head after finishing his rotational movement, Megumi felt it passing through empty air.
She had already ducked down and started flourishing her buzzsaw in a dazzling flair, the heated saw sending off sparks all across.
The Sorcerer grabbed both ends of Playful Cloud in a vertical shield before being launched backwards from his opponent's powerful strike.
Travelling a slight distance before recovering, Megumi rebounded Playful Cloud and struck at the air behind him, sending off an equal force that repelled the frontal one.
Relying on precognition, he instinctively started barraging the air with skillful three-section martial arts strikes, seeing the blurring form of Laurentina's smiling face and body going for wide arcing slashes towards him.
They moved across the landscape, the Ten Shadows user gritting his teeth and creasing his brows while walking backwards. Stamping his right foot to the right of his body, he narrowly side—stepped a vertical saw strike, before blocking Laurentina's immediate horizontal blow; the attack making him bend his body to its will.
Ditching Playful Cloud, Megumi barely ducked under her slash and placed his right hand on the ground, going for a 360 sweeping strike with his legs. The Cursed Tool was sent launching to the other side due to his risky movement.
Laurentina jumped over it, lifting her hands upwards and spinning her buzzsaw before slamming it towards Megumi's position once more.
Launching himself to the side and spinning sideways in the air, the Sorcerer felt a slight cloth of haori ripping off, but ignored it and placed his hands on the ground—front body facing the ground. Springing his legs upwards, Megumi then sent a backwards spring kick with both his legs.
The Abyssal Hunter in response hummed and moved her left hand to redirect their course, and then clenched her fingers and twisted her body. The action caused Megumi to be launched behind her, forcing him to backflip in the air and land back on his feet.
Calling for the Inverted Spear of Heaven with the formation of a shadow puddle, Megumi dashed forward with the wind pushing his hair completely back.
Laurentina was stationary, holding her buzzsaw by her side. It was quite strange, she was sure she saw somebody completely different at that moment. Right as Megumi was about to approach her, the shark lady watched him redirect his course and flank her left.
"Good distraction," she commented, shifted her body so the buzzsaw at the right of her body could block a black blur slashing his reverse-grip dagger at her. "The right side of my body holds the weapon—" Laurentina redirected a few more blows from Megumi's quick dagger "—so it only makes sense for you to go towards my left."
KLNK
Megumi tossed his dagger in the air and avoided a dance-like counter strike from Laurentina, the woman having jabbed her saw forward and tapped forward gracefully with her steps. Grabbing the mid-air dagger with his other hand—his left one—Megumi then jabbed it downwards, twisting the wind with its trajectory.
Laurentina vanished from her spot completely, leaving nothing but a trail of gale in her wake.
Clicking his tongue in annoyance, the black haired man was forced to precog another strike from Laurentina, just Dharmachakra adaptation having provided those feelings for him. Megumi's body spun as a result, barely being able to reinforce his right palm to the maximum and swat away an attack from behind.
CLEAVE
It bled as a result, the last second Cleave barely being able to counteract the superheated saw of Laurentina from slicing his palm. Black markings appeared on his face and arms.
"You're certainly doing better," Laurentina watched as Megumi tossed the Inverted Spear of Heaven back to his right hand, the one that was bleeding. "You know~," the Abyssal Hunter sidestepped a few thrusts from his large dagger. "That could fool anyone into thinking it is a dagger..."
Grabbing his wrist at the fourth jab, she pulled it closer in so she could observe the weapon, "but it looks like the bladed end of a spear," Laurentina finished her observation. Indeed, it was more comparable to a shortsword with how large the bladed portion was, along with the length of the handle.
Megumi's left hand was still clear, so he called upon Dragon-Bone and went for a 'discreet' vertical upwards strike. The Cursed Tool's engines fired up as it scraped against the ground, causing a large gash to be formed on the cliff, mixing in with all the other damages it had sustained.
Shadow Extension - Divine Dog: Totality
For extra measure, Megumi decided to stack on a Shadow Extension to increase his physical prowess and speed, a black shadowy cloak forming wolf tail and wolf ears on his body.
"Ha~?" Laurentina slightly widened her eyes in amusement, tossing the wrist she was holding aside while Dragon-Bone ripped just past her dodging form. "Aw~, those ears look adorable!" The woman playfully taunted, placing a left hand over her mouth. "You mix in well with the rest of the land-dwellers, might as well call you 'little wolf,' no?"
"Don't." That nickname made Megumi become sour, flourishing both of his weapons into the proper position. With Dragon-Bone on his left, and the Inverted Spear of Heaven on his right, the black haired man charged forward.
There was about fourteen seconds left before he lost Mahoraga's adaptations, due to the Shadow Extension for the Divine General being turned off briefly.
...Or that was what could have been, if Megumi hadn't made a Binding Vow to use two Shadow Extensions at once. The cost of it was that the second Shadow Extension added upon the first would cost 50% more Cursed Energy than normal.
KLNK
With a barrage of slashes that turned into a short dance, Megumi attempted to replicate the flowy movements of Laurentina, both as a fighting style and a counter to her own. Everytime his two weapons arc, they follow the path of Laurentina's movements, as if the paths were making itself clear into his mind every time.
"Dual wielding has some merits," Laurentina decided to let the man have his fun and learn from this experience by going on the defensive. "It looks like you're using that large dagger as a parrying tool, and the large one as the main striking force," she weaved right and left, keeping note of the way his weapons seem to be tailing her—instead of where she was before.
"But overall," the white haired woman raised her buzzsaw horizontally, slightly tilting it upwards and downwards to block multiple strikes, "it trades off capacity of strength for swiftness of movement."
While backing away and letting Megumi's body lean in a bit further... Laurentina spun her weapon while it was faced vertically, as if it were a polearm. That threw off the course of Megumi's relentless slashes, before the white haired woman tilted her head back and crossed her right foot over her left.
"The way your tail moves," Laurentina pointed out with mirth, before pushing her weapon forward and forcing Megumi to clash against her handle. "It's hilarious to look at," the Abyssal Hunter amusedly watched the flame-like wolf ears on Megumi's head twitch in annoyance.
KLNK
Having had enough of her taunts, Megumi pushed forward with greater strength, feeling his Cursed Energy reserves starting to burn from upholding two Shadow Extensions at once—along with Cursed Energy reinforcement.
That served to barely push Laurentina back, but that served the purpose of him being able to drop both of his Cursed Tools back into his shadows and jump back.
The Aegir's buzzsaw ripped through the air, sending off a slash shock-wave which was felt on Megumi's backstepping form.
Swinging it back to her side while being graced by the light of the late morning sun, Laurentina pressed against the rocky floor and charged towards Megumi.
Daiitoku appeared in Megumi's right hand, pulsating with golden-white electricity that spread across his body. Divine Dog: Totality's black cloak had been illuminated by the light, but he had immediately dispelled it as it proved useless for what he was about to do next.
"Oh?" Laurentina felt the power coming off from the weapon, watching as Megumi swung his right arm in a leftward arc, coursing an unstable slash of electricity that tore through the horizon. "Didn't you say—" the Abyssal Hunter redirected her course and dashed to the side "—we're here to train close quarters?!"
The woman grinned, a bleeding gleam flashing across her pupils.
Megumi's attack couldn't have been avoided fully from his perspective, watching as Laurentina was forced to shield and bear a small brunt of the thundering force. "A fight isn't always close quarters combat!" He yelled back at her.
Sliding her feet on the floor, she gave him a joyous look in response, "aha~! Then that means I can toy with you for longer, right?" It was as if the ocean waves were forming around Laurentina, her knees bent into an immediate ready position, weapon pulled back in a preparatory pose.
Megumi raised his arms upwards, Daiitoku forming multiple thunderstrikes that charged at where the Abyssal Hunter's position was, causing a bright glow to form amongst their environment.
With the cracking of lightning, so did their actual battle begin.
***
"Shit—!" Megumi grunted out in pain, feeling the stitches being applied to the side of his body.
Laurentina sat on a chair beside the black haired man, singing a small tune to herself while she happily mended his injuries.
Too happily in Megumi's opinion, and her rough movements seemed to be purposeful, "could you...?" Another jolt of pain entered his body when another stitch rounded around his exposed flesh. Although he could have used Reverse Cursed Technique, he had already strained his reserves sparring with this violent shark.
"Agh—! Be a bit gentler?!" The black haired man was starting to miss when Shoko treated his wounds, rather than this insane woman!
"I think this is the best reaction I've ever gotten out of you," Laurentina turned towards him with an amused look, doing his stitches without even looking. "But you had it coming when you pulled out that utterly annoying weapon of yours." The white haired woman had a shadow cast over her eyes, lips curving upwards.
"...It—" Megumi was cut off again, perhaps Laurentina had been prepared for him to speak to intercept his words with another painful round of applied stitches. "—That was on purpose!" The Sorcerer felt his brows twitching. The adrenaline has long since left his body.
"Think of it as a form of punishment," Laurentina softly closed her eyes and continued with her medical 'aid.' "With how much you love to abuse the speed of lightning, I believe this is appropriate." The amount of times those attacks coming from his golden 'ornamental' dagger-like object scathed against her skin... it quickly became an annoyance.
They even felt as if it were becoming more potent in strength each time they grazed her body.
Megumi was about to open his mouth again, but passed when seeing the look in Laurentina's 'happy' eyes, opting to close them instead. Invoking the wrath of the woman who had 'accidently' tore a wound on his side with her savage weapon wasn't a good idea.
"Good choice." Laurentina began humming to herself once more.
The Jujutsu Sorcerer pressed his lips together, letting the shark lady do her thing. He was sure the woman would have been a thousand times more aggressive with her 'treatment' of his wounds if he had pulled out Shikigamis instead.
'Better to let this moment just pass me by,' Megumi sardonically echoed in his mind.
Turning his head to glance at the window for anything interesting to distract himself with, the black haired man narrowed his eyes. They weren't quite a glare yet, but it definitely held a deep tint of wariness and hesitance.
...But why hesitance? There was a present danger that would soon approach, that much the Sorcerer could tell. The strange weather patterns and shadow that bore over Primavera grated at his instincts—making him want to act with the utmost prepared mind he could.
But there was hesitance within his body, telling the Sorcerer to just leave this city as soon as possible. To leave it behind just as he did with Lungmen and avert the impending doom that would encompass this city.
There was a lingering silence, one different from all the other times he had experienced it. The bustling crowds of people stomping their feet outside the apartment and moving across the city were gone, and so was the hail of rain.
Not even the billowing wind could be heard gracing the air with its unheeding zephyr, the power having been drowned out by... by an external force. That was the only way Megumi could describe it, an external force acting upon this city like an invisible hand pressing down.
He hated it, absolutely hated it. No different from the constant anxiety back in Lungmen, something that Megumi was starting to feel he wouldn't be able to escape.
"...Laurentina," Megumi let the words slowly break from his lips, his body not even registering the bandages she was wrapping over him.
"Yes?" Larentina looked upwards, wondering what Megumi was going to talk about now. She was about to quip a response back to him, but stopped when seeing the intensity of his gaze. "...You're looking focused, what has caught your attention this time?"
"It feels weird, outside that is." Megumi placed a hand over his mouth, creasing his brows while looking at the fog outside. There had always been a fog, but still observable due to its relatively small thickness.
This time, it was concentrated and abundant, surely capable of making any normal person have to squint their eyes and watch their step. "Something's wrong, and I'm not sure if you feel the same way."
"...No," Laurentina denied the second half of his words. She did in fact also feel the same way, "something is wrong with the way the weather is outside. The battering waves have gotten more aggressive when we had our second dance back there..." The woman was more pensive.
"Let's prepare then," Megumi resolutely spoke, feeling his glare become more intense.
What an uneasy feeling.
***
"The files are all useless, you've already read all of them, right?" Megumi tossed them to the side.
"I have, especially of a certain Liberi's reports," Laurentina sat on a chair with her legs crossed, gaze sometimes turning towards the window. "Gran Faro, should we head there next? I hear that is where that damned woman should be."
"...I suggest you gather your allies first," Megumi said. Taking another look at the rest of the files, he pushed them aside. "They probably have another full Church back at that place, and far greater than Primavera if the reports are anything to go by."
"Same goes for Sal Viento," Laurentina clenched her fingers around the end of the chair's armrest, "I can't rest well knowing that woman is out there somewhere. Especially with what that two-faced woman had done."
"You'd do it much faster if you search for your allies, a group is always better than a single person." Megumi grabbed a map, one that had a general layout of Terra that he found in the lab. This one he would definitely keep.
Laurentina sighed, "you're adamant about this, aren't you?"
"Of course I am," Megumi replied, "it would be worrying if you go into there without knowing much about Gran Faro. Allies would guarantee the best case scenario, rather than a worst one."
"Eh, I should be the one telling you that sort of thing, princess." Laurentina shifted from her seat. "Fine, fine, I'll listen to your words." Amaia could wait for another time, even if she much prefers to end her miserable life at this moment. It would be much more worth it if she despaired under the might of an entire Abyssal Hunter squad, wouldn't it?
It would definitely be a sight to see. "What shall we do now, then?" Laurentina impatient rested cheek on her fingers, "where shall our great journey take us upon this land of Terra? Oh, so~ exciting," the woman dryly laughed to herself.
"I don't know much about Ursus, but we're heading there," the black haired man replied. "I hadn't ever planned on going to Primavera, but I somehow made it here. So I'll finish my course to Ursus, then go to some other place not long after."
It would be good for stalling the lengthy time of his depleted reserves. After all, there was about 16-17 days left, if he had been counting correctly in his head.
Ironically enough, the hampering effect on his reserves also served to make him refine his output and input to greater levels, like training weights.
"Ursus? Never heard of it," Laurentina tapped her foot on the ground rhythmically, "sounds like a terrible place, though."
"...But you've never...?" Megumi paused his words when staring at the woman's coy face. "Nevermind." There was no use probing.
Laurentina turned away from him after, trying the word of the country on her tongue once more, "Ursus... Ursus..." the words lingered in the air. "Well, shall we see what that place is like, then?" Her gaze turned to the window—the fog had increased in density.
Further away from home, huh?
***
Megumi tugged at the collars of the suit that Laurentina had tailored for him. It was her suggestion to wear them and take them out for a spin, to get a better feel of it and all that. He was finding it to be... alright, no different from wearing any other clothes.
Really, he was starting to wonder how the tailor was able to make clothes such as this while their brain didn't seem to function in the right way. Nor did he understand how they took care of themselves with sustenance like food.
The tailor was a mystery that the black haired man should start getting used to.
"Wait, now that I think about it..." He let his fingers run across the collar of his black dress shirt. "Laurentina, how did you know my... measurements?" Megumi nervously spoke out.
"Hm?" Laurentina turned her head back as she made her advance down the streets, "that's a secret." She placed her outstretched index finger by her nose, showing her shark-like teeth.
"...Uh?" Megumi blinked a few times. "What do you...?"
"Oh please, you have such perverted thoughts," the shark lady rolled her eyes in amusement, "I can tell what sizes fit you from a good glance. That's it. Never a good idea to underestimate how keen an Abyssal Hunter can be, princess."
Megumi placed his hands in his pockets silently and glanced away. He walked right into that, didn't he?
"Well, how are those clothes suiting you so far?" The Abyssal Hunter halted in her steps to frame him between her two fingers, watching as he slowed his steps in response to the woman's actions. "I believe I did a good job."
"Your sketch was good, yeah." Megumi met her gaze peering through her fingers forming a picture frame, "...thank you, Laurentina."
"Hehe~," she giggled to herself, "although you may be so unresponsive and blank at times, your thanks are genuine in all senses of the word." Nodding to herself, Laurentina turned around and started moving once more.
Megumi kept silent, opting to follow alongside her.
"I'm just saying~," Laurentina placed her hands behind her back, whistling to herself. "We both could definitely breach the line of the Penal Battalion stationed at the border of this city. It would be as easy as tossing a toddler back into their cradle."
Megumi watched the way her skirt carelessly fluttered through the thick fog, just as her attitude was at the moment. "We don't want to cause any problems or be put on a wanted poster of an entire country. It's just not worth it," they had scoured the edges of the city, attempting to look for better openings.
It wasn't doing them any good so far.
"But wouldn't it just be so nice to get back at them for all the troubles they've caused you?" Laurentina didn't meet his gaze while saying such words, being the metaphorical devil on Megumi's shoulder.
"Too much of a bother," the Sorcerer replied back. He just wanted to leave quietly and peacefully, anything else in-between and added on would be a waste of time.
"You didn't deny it," Laurentina looked across the street they were at. Empty as usual, but it led to one of the outskirts of Primavera that didn't lead towards the ocean. Unfortunately, there was a large patrol unit of the Penal Battalion walking around.
Suddenly, a horde of footsteps could be heard.
"...Laurentina, calm down," Megumi looked at the eyes of the woman for a brief second, before grabbing her shoulders. Dragging her to a small alleyway, he decided to elaborate further, "you look like you want to crash through them."
The shark lady tilted her head in confusion, grabbing Megumi's shoulders in response, "why do you think so? I would never~," the woman smiled and overtook his strength, making the black haired man crease his brows.
Moving around, Laurentina pushed the black haired man slightly to the side, tippy-toeing and glancing over from his shoulder. "That's quite a bit of them, eh, not much of a problem anyways."
They were uniform in nature, marching through the streets despite the horrendous fog blocking their view. In spite of that, they were soldiers tasked with a mission, and that was to find out the strange occurrences happening in Primavera.
"Isn't it strange?" Laurentina felt Megumi's resistance stop, so she whispered into his ears. "How those dregs from the Church of the Deep had completely disappeared after we destroyed their high church? Despite all of them not having attended the mass gathering?"
"What does that imply?" Megumi slightly winced at her tight grip, but ignored it. The injury by his side had already recovered to a decent extent for battle, but his reserves weren't fully recovered.
"They've done something," Laurentina replied. "If they had been cleared out by the Penal Battalion—a feat I don't expect from those buffoons—then there wouldn't be such a large mass of soldiers moving about."
"...Couldn't they just be double-checking? Being extra sure?" Megumi tried to reason.
"Odd, isn't it? When was the last time you had seen a priest, or even an associate of the Church walking around?" She ignored his words and asked.
"I haven't," he replied. Indeed, the Sorcerer hadn't seen so much as a hint of a priest walking around the streets leading to the blacksmith or tailor, but wasn't that to be expected? What if there were some of them walking around elsewhere?
"They won't just vanish like that, having church buildings being their main place of stay would be far too obvious." Laurentina moved her right hand and placed it on Megumi's lips, halting whatever he was about to say. "The fog, ocean, the waves, and all these prickling sensations on our instincts... you recognize them, don't you? We already talked about this."
Her eyes were serious and bright, meeting Megumi's own worried and dulled orbs.
"They must be planning for something big, and we've just been sitting around twiddling our thumbs while they plan one last hurrah, how disgusting of them." Laurentina's tone was as sharp as a blade ready to cut down their opponent. "I wonder, do they feel smug about this? Do they feel as if they're righteous? Calling upon those water-hoarding beasts?"
"The Bishop was nothing, compared to the files I have read, he must have been the weakest of the bunch," Laurentina continued on. "Probably because he communicates well with those mindless sea critters, but that sort of title doesn't fit his level of strength."
"Those inarticulate worshippers probably have some method of calling those Seaborn, if the Bishop's method of calling them for help is anything to go by." Laurentina finally released her finger from Megumi's lips, "so, I shall do as my body has been carved and conditioned to do."
A duty? An obligation? Megumi couldn't truly tell what he saw through her eyes. What he knew for sure, was that there was a serene hatred for those Sea Terrors as bespoke of her voice against them and their worshippers.
She walked past him and then stopped her steps after, "tell me, what do you want to do?" Laurentina tilted her head. There was no usual smile graced on her lips, just a neutral expression regarding the black haired man.
...Those times, when the Sorcerer had dreamed of a simpler life, a simpler way of going past the years a human body can withstand. The sun was no longer above the sky, and there was no reason for him to go seeking such a thing anymore—that much should have been obvious to him.
Megumi had already made up his mind ages ago, yet why? Why was he so hesitant to act upon them? It must have been a lingering doubt. That was for sure.
The purpose of a Jujutsu Sorcerer, never one of a hero but a pragmatist. That was the very first argument he had ever had with Yuji, the brightest star up in the desolate emptiness of space, where all other stars dimmed amongst the darkness.
He wasn't Itadori Yuji, he wasn't someone who could share his views. Fushiguro Megumi saved those who he wished selfishly, and reasoned to himself his actions selfishly. So, should he just walk away from a disaster bound to happen?
"...Laurentina," Megumi pressed his back against the wall, one hand massaging his forehead while the other entered his pocket.
"What is it? Did you make your decision?" The Abyssal Hunter couldn't see his eyes, because the shade covered them along with the built-up fog in the alleyway.
His next words were quite a shocker.
"...Just try to keep up with me, alright?"
Laurentina blinked once, taking in the sight of the shadows dispelling. Upon the face of the Sorcerer in front of her, she saw something far different from his demeanors. There was no reason, there was no logic, but there was a bout... a bout of pure confidence and resolve etched deep within.
That small smile on his lips...
The Abyssal Hunter found it a surprise, but definitely a welcome one. Grinning once more, she placed a hand over her mouth, a near-provocative voice ladened within, "how feisty~, and I believed I was supposed to say that."
A smile of wide berth made itself known across her face, like a grinning shark.
***
A Penal Battalion soldier walked along the beaches of Primavera. There was something bizarre about the current occurrences happening around the city, yet he didn't understand why such a thing was happening. He had attributed it to the strange happenings with the Church and all, but they had been utterly crushed by an unknown force.
There was also that one apartment which was reported to have an Aegir within, so maybe they were a hidden member of the Church which had been infecting the city? The man hardly knew, so he simply placed a hand on his head and ruffled it.
Having been stationed in a place like this, while his squadmates went dilly dallying across the other side of the beach and enjoying their jolly time made him angry. Even then, he had a duty to follow the orders of his superiors in the Penal Battalion, unless he wished to be demoted.
There were a lot of people giving up in their efforts to defend Iberia within the lower echelons of its military. Yet despite all of that, the man wasn't going to stoop so low as to follow their example. It was always a good idea to be better safe than sorry.
...Well, the waves weren't too bad to look at. The way it splashed onto the beach and sunk into the sand was a sight to look at, but the incessant and annoying blockade of fog which hampered his vision wasn't.
It had been building up as the passing of time went by. However, the soldier was sure that it would cease to be at some point, such as every other phenomena of nature. Just as the towering and the calamities known as the Catastrophes, a little fog was nothing compared to it.
His steps came to a complete cessation, the soldier's gaze turning all across the beach. The landscape had completely altered and changed, unrecognizable to what it was before. Taking a glance towards the horizon, and then back to the city...
It should be fine, right? Just a few more minutes of being stationed here and...
...
...Seriously, where did the horizon go? Where did his allies move off to? Where was...
Where was the city?
Frantically, the soldier placed a hand on their sheathed sword, jolting his head left, right, and even upwards to see where he was. There was still nothing he could see, not even the hint of the lights of the buildings off in the distance of where Primavera should be.
Not even looking down at the ground could bring him back to the familiarity of the world of Terra that he should be in, and only the wet sand could be seen. Echoes of the waves became louder and louder, the creeping water making itself closer to his feet.
Maybe, maybe he could use the path of the water edging closer to him as a way to get back to the city, right?! But why...? Why did it feel as if it were coming in from all directions? Whenever he turned his head around, the waves dying the sand with its properties were from everywhere.
The rancid smell of salt became more prominent, to an irregular degree. Salt shouldn't be this intense on a beach, it shouldn't be forcing him to cover his nose. Now that he thought about it, didn't that one doctor he visited say his nose was born sensitive? But then why hasn't something such as this ever happened before when he visited those other beaches?
Sounds...
Sounds of something... walking? Was it walking? What were those slithering sounds of something slimy moving across the sand? This wasn't something he was used to, an alien reverberation moving across the air and into his ears.
It pounded in his head, making him frantically turn his feet over and over again, attempting to find any familiar sight that brought him back to his normal world. Yet once again, everything was proven fruitless—making the soldier nearly trip over his steps.
They were becoming louder and louder, whatever was creeping up to him. The slithers, the slime, the tentacles... the... tentacles? There were so many of them, amounting into what he could only count to be in the hundreds, maybe even thousands!
"Ah... ah!" The soldier didn't feel like a soldier at all. He wasn't an esteemed member of the Penal Battalion meant to protect the shores of Iberia from any and all threat, the man was merely a human facing down horror itself.
Shakily, the sword left its sheath, flailing about in the air in an attempt to fend off those approaching tentacles.
It reached nothing, cut through nothing, and brought him nothing to help save his life. The Penal Battalion member—no, he couldn't even be called one right now, neither could he even see the reflection of light from his refined steel blade.
It got closer and closer, to the point he could almost taste it in his mouth, where he could feel it digging into his skin—
BANG
—His sights cleared.
The fog dimmed.
There was something in front of him, dressed in an all black formal attire, a black haired man standing with his right hand in his pocket, and left hand raised upwards in a half-guard. Against his wrist, a gigantic and squirming mass of black aquatic tendrils had been halted.
At the top of his head, a wheel glowed bright, revealing everything within the fog that had been covered up. The light was unimpeachable, nothing in the surroundings could ever halt its incandescent radiance or tamper with its grand divinity.
He was at a loss of words, watching as the man's eyes turned towards him.
"Laurentina, get him out of here," Megumi called out to his companion.
"Will do!"
Suddenly, the soldier felt something grab the back of his collar while he was stunned, and before he could react, he was thrown back and screaming while being sent through the air!
Laurentina immediately charged forward after finishing her action, kicking up a large dust of sand behind her and made it to Megumi's side in a flash.
Her buzzsaw immediately ripped through the mass of tendrils, sending off inhuman blood splattering all across, an exorbitant smile coming across her face, "look at you, trying to look all cool with a hand in your pocket." The woman turned towards Megumi while landing on the ground.
A screeching sound was heard, before the two turned towards the beach.
"Save that for when this is over," Megumi didn't like the rain of blood that was caused by the Abyssal Hunter, but it didn't matter at this moment. "There's a lot of them, I'm guessing about thousands... perhaps more than that?"
To be honest, he was slightly nervous when staring down what could only be described as an endless horde of Sea Terrors rising from the sea. If the Penal Battalion had to face something like this down, the Sorcerer was sure the city would be devastated.
It almost looked helpless.
Megumi looked on as Laurentina held a dauntless posture, her eyes scanning every single Seaborn encroaching on the beach. There was nothing that seemed to be capable of making her halt her steps, so the Sorcerer would make sure to keep up with her tempo—by not heeding to his desire to leave this city as soon as possible.
He would stay, albeit only for an hour at most, to clear out these sea monsters.
"A second dance, what do you say?" Laurentina reached her hands behind her and towards Megumi by turning her body sideways. "One different from our practice sessions." Her eyes always gleamed when there was bloodlust present within them, and the black haired man was witnessing it in all its glory.
"...Well, we're dressed for the occasion," Megumi didn't give the Seaborns' advance a glance, being far too focused on the Aegir lady in front of him. Reaching outwards to the woman laughing at his attempt in humor, he could at least say that it succeeded.
"Haha~! Onwards to our voyage, then, shall we?" She made a note to suggest to the black haired man to attempt more dry humor, "keep up with my ballad, Megumi~!"
Their hands clasped together for the second time.