Jujutsu kaisen : Mystic Eyes of Death Perception

Darkness.

Darkness surrounded me, an endless expanse of emptiness that seemed to stretch on forever. It felt suffocating, like being submerged in a sea of nothingness.

Floating in the void, I felt this weird sense of déjà vu, like I'd been here before, lost in this abyss of darkness. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't quite put together the memories that were just out of my reach.

Then, a single bright light pierced the darkness, forming a swirling spiral of chaos. I couldn't help but stare, feeling as if I'd seen this before, or perhaps even been a part of it, though I couldn't place where or when, it's just felt familiar.

I just stared at swirling vortex of light completely stunned. But then, out of nowhere, searing pain tore through my brain, as if a hot crowbar had been driven through my skull, splitting it open and tearing my mind apart.

"AAAAAGH!! IT HURTS!" I screamed, the pain just too much to handle.

The influx of unfamiliar images flooded my mind, one after another. Faces I didn't recognize, scenes I couldn't place—all forcefully thrust into my brain.

I grabbed onto my head, fingers digging into my temples, desperately trying to ease the excruciating pain pulsating through me. But no matter how hard I pressed, the relentless torment tearing through my mind wouldn't let up.

As the intense pain wracked my head, my body curled up on its own, as if trying to shield itself from the non-existent pain. But before I could understand what was going on, an even stronger wave of pain hit me. It was so overwhelming that my body curled in pain before my mind could even register the pain. It felt like my insides were ravaged and my every nerve was on fire, I was completely paralyzed by the intense suffering.

"MAKE IT STOP!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, even though deep down, I knew it was useless.

'I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA 'I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE '

The constant idea of my impending death echoed in my mind, repeating like a never-ending chant of despair. Each time it repeated, my fear tightened, making my heart race faster. The more it repeated, the louder it got, until it made it hard to think straight.

Suddenly, as if sensing that my mind was going to break, I felt like something just pulled me back from the brink, my consciousness was violently pulled from the depths of despair, shocking me awake. Disoriented and gasping for air.

"Huff, Huff, Huff"

'What was that? ' My memory was hazy, all I could remember was darkness, floating in emptiness. I felt like there was more to it, but I couldn't quite grasp it. Even as I tried to shake off the feeling, a chill ran through me, making my body tremble.

"Is that what death feels like?" I murmured under my breath, my body still trembling.

"Huuuu ~ " It took several minutes, but I managed to take a deep breath, trying to calm myself.

Looking at my surrounding, I realize I'm was not in the hospital anymore. I'm laying in bed in an unfamiliar room. Everything looked normal, aside from the "lines" they were still there, standing out against the room. They were twisting and turning, making these weird patterns that wouldn't go away no matter how much I blinked or shook my head. They just kept on haunting my vision.

"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered incredulously, my mind reeling from the disorienting experience. Is it just me, or are the "lines" becoming clearer? It's like they're becoming more distinct and my my eyes seem more potent in seeing them.

I clung to a faint hope that upon waking up, these "lines" would vanish as mysteriously as they appeared. However, it quickly became apparent that this hope was in vain. In fact, I think they're becoming stronger.

"Sigh..."

At this point, Shiki had already given up on trying to rid herself of these cursed eyes of her.

"For now, I'll just try to ignore the lines," said Shiki, as if trying to convince herself.

Taking another deep breath to calm myself, I surveyed my surroundings. The room was moderately sized, with enough space for essential furniture and personal belongings. There was only a single bed, its layout and design standard and unremarkable.

"Well, it's decent, I guess," she murmured, her voice echoing softly in the quiet room.

Shiki then got up from bed, feeling strangely light as she moved. Curious, she walked over to the mirror in the room, her footsteps echoing softly on the wooden floor.

As she inspected herself in the mirror, her suspicions were confirmed. There wasn't a single injury on her body. She ran her hands over her skin, feeling the smoothness beneath her fingertips. It was like the pain and bruises from that night had disappeared completely.

"No injuries... I should've been pretty beat up but I feel fine now. Like it never happened."

As she tried to make sense of her miraculously healed body, she then realized she was still in her patient gown, stained with blood from her last fight. With a grimace, she decided to change and slowly opened the wardrobe door, half-expecting it to be empty.

As expected, the wardrobe held no personal belongings. But she spotted a neatly folded deep blue almost yukata inside. she reached for it, feeling its smooth fabric, without hesitation, she exchanged her blood-stained gown for the fresh yukata.

After checking myself out in the mirror and deciding that my appearance was acceptable, aside from the lines covering my body, I'd say I look pretty good in this.

I headed to the door, opening it slowly and leaving the empty room behind. Walking through the empty corridor, a feeling of emptiness hung in the air. Despite the many rooms, they feel abandoned. After passing a few more empty rooms, I finally found the exit and went towards it.

The first thing that caught my eye was a green forest... is what I would've loved to say if not for these eyes of mine. Even from this distance, I could still perceive the lines embedded on those trees and leaves. The forest in the far distance appeared like a sea of blood, a sight that would have been less unsettling if not for my heightend perception. I made a conscious effort to ignore the forest as much as possible. As I continued walking, I encountered several buildings. They were pagodas, traditional structures that stood out against the natural landscape.

I took a closer look at my surroundings. The buildings around me were more impressive than I had initially thought, they were constructed in a traditional Japanese architectural style. But this place is empty.

"This place feels more desolate than I intialy thought," I mused to myself as I continued along the path.

As I walked further, I encountered a set of stairs leading up into the mountains. I was a little hesitant, but I went ahead anyway. Despite feeling a bit hesitant, I pressed on. The ascent felt akin to hiking, although I knew it wouldn't tire me out. With each passing moment, the buildings became fewer and fewer until eventually, I found myself surrounded by nothing but forest. It was quite repulsing.

"This is worse than I anticipated."

Continuing along the stairs, I noticed several statues of deities, shrines, and torii gates scattered throughout the forest. But suddenly I felt a presence nearby. I hurriedly hid beneath a nearby tree, trying to avoid whoever or whatever was approaching from the other side.

"Christ, damn rude geezers. I don't ever want to become like them. I'll have to be careful too," he grumbled.

"Besides, no one's allowed to take youth away from young people, isn't that right, Ryougi Shiki-kun?" The man's voice rang out, directed towards the tree behind which I had taken cover.

Feeling exposed, I hesitated for a moment before deciding to come out of my hiding place. There was no longer any point in staying hidden as he knew that I was there. With cautious steps, I step out from my hiding place to confront him.

I closely inspect his appearance. 'He's a pretty tall man compared to my height, and his most notable feature that most people would notice undoubtedly is probably his white snow hair and the blindfold that cover his eyes. ...But as expected, his body is also full of "lines." '

"How are your injuries?" The man asked me casually,

"Where are we?" Instead of answering him, I responded with a question of my own. My attention shifted to our surroundings, choosing to focus on that rather than addressing my already non-existent injuries right away.

"Welcome to Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School, or you can just call it Tokyo Jujutsu High, a dedicated school in fostering the next generation of jujutsu sorcerers." The man announced with high enthusiasm,

His enthusiasm made him seem like a bit of an idiot, but I chose not to dwell on that thought.

"You're Gojo Satoru, right?" Despite my injuries that night, and even though I was on the verge of fainting, my mind remained sharp as ever. I remember his name, and the other one too.

"Ooh! I'm surprised you remember, and here I thought that I would have to introduce myself again," Gojo exclaimed, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Well, it makes a lot of things easier," Gojo continued, his tone casual as he delved into the details of my past. "Ryougi Shiki, a victim of an unknown cursed spirit attack three years ago. Her father, Kawahira Ryougi, and her mother, Akemi Ryougi, died as a result of the attack. She then fell into a coma for three yea-"

Before he could finish his sentence, I launched myself forward with all the strength in my legs, intent on attacking him. My eyes were fixated on the lines engraved on his body, and I didn't care if my hands got hurt. I swung my arms, aiming for the lines around his shoulders.

"Wha-"

But before I could even make contact, my body stopped abruptly in mid-air, right in front of him. He looked at me with a smile.

"How much do you know?" I asked, my eyes were suspicion.

he mentioned my past, a past I couldn't remember. How much does he know? And what about that guy? does he know about him too?

"I said how much do you know!?" I demanded again, now my eyes burning with blood lust as I stared at him.

"Alright, alright, geez, you need to calm down first," Gojo replied calmly, unfazed by my aggressive demeanor. "Why don't you follow me while we talk?"

"And why should I?" I asked back, my skepticism evident in my voice.

"You want to know, don't you?" Gojo replied with an understanding smile.

"Tsk, fine," I agreed reluctantly, my frustration evident in my response as I reluctantly followed him.

As I followed him, silence weighed heavily between us, my mind racing. But despite the turmoil within, I kept quiet, my lips sealed tightly.

While we walked, he suddenly broke the silence with an unexpected question. "By the way, how old are you?"

His sudden question made me feel skeptical, a frown forming between my eyebrows as I looked at him suspiciously. "What's with the sudden question?"

"It's not really important. Just curious. So, how old are you?" he persisted, he stared at me as he waited for my answer.

"Sixteen. Probably." I answered hesitantly.

"Probably? Well, good enough, I guess," he said casually.

"Huh? What do you mean, 'good enough'?" he ignored my question, continuing to walk forward without looking back.

"Hey! Answer me!" I tried to reach out to her, but like before, my hand was stopped by an invisible barrier around her, preventing me from touching her.

"Hey, Gojo!" When I called his name for the first time, he finally looked back at me. "What the hell is this thing?" I asked, frustration lacing my words as I attempted to touch him, only to find my hand halted just before contact, despite my efforts to push through with all my strength.

He chuckled softly. "Hehe, you're very curious, aren't you?" His dumb smile adorned his entire face. "Well, you just need to keep following then."

"..."

At this point, I realized that even if I spent half a day attempting to coax answers out of him, he wouldn't budge unless I followed him. What a troublesome man he was turning out to be.

"Fine, I'll play your game," I said, resigning myself to his whims.

"Hmm~ Hmm~ Hmm~" Gojo hummed nonchalantly, seemingly without a care in the world.

============

I followed him for a few minutes until we came to a certain building.

"Here we are," Gojo announced, glancing at the building.

The exterior was similar to a small rural school-not grand nor small

'Hmmm? How do I know what a school in a small village looks like? I've never even been to a village or anything like that.' I pondered, momentarily puzzled by the familiarity. However, the thought quickly slipped from my mind. "Well, it's probably from a book I read in the past."

He walked through the front entrance, and I followed closely behind him. Despite the building's outward appearance resembling that of a school, the interior was anything but. I had expected to see at least a few students running around or chatting inside, but instead, it seemed almost abandoned. The eerie silence that greeted us would have led me to believe so if not for the surprisingly clean condition of the interior.

We just keep walking through the empty corridor. I already said this, but this place is really desolate.

He finally stopped at a certain sliding door and turned his body to look at me.

"Wait here," he said before swiftly turning back into the door with a deep breath. He rushed inside in a comedic manner, and the door opened and closed before I could even see what he was doing. I could only hear his voice.

"Heya, it's your favorite, the one and only Gojo sensei! Today, I'll be introducing you to Ryougi Shiki-kun! Everyone, get excited!!"

I stood there in silence, at a loss for words.

"Sigh. Well, I thought so. Well, whatever. Come on in," I heard him say, beckoning me inside.

I slowly opened the door and entered. The classroom was quite small. As I walked in, I froze. There were only four table in the room, but that wasn't what caught my attention.

"Ah. Panda." It was a panda literally sitting down. It seemed like he heard my voice and raised his hand as if he was greeting me.

"Now let me introduce to you a new transfer student, Ryougi Shiki-kun will now be joining us as a new Jujutsu Mage candidate! A round of applause!"

"..."

Silence filled the room.

"HUH! wait a minute, I didn't hear anything about this!" I exclaimed, surprised. I just woke up today, and now I'm suddenly the new transfer student here!??

"Sensei! Where did you kidnap this innocent girl?" I heard a deep voice and tried to figure out where it was coming from. I saw the panda speaking while raising his hand

"Woah! The panda talks," I said.

I had been many weird things recently that nothing surprised me anymore. Even my daily vision had become abnormal, so the idea of a talking panda wouldn't be enough to surprise me.

But setting that aside, let's address the core issue: how on earth had I become the new transfer student here?

"Hey, hey, it's not like I kidnapped her. In fact, I saved her life after fighting a cursed spirit at the hospital and brought her directly to Shouko right... after..." His words trailed off as a realization dawned upon him.

That's right. This idiot took me away from the hospital without proper notification, which could potentially be interpreted as a kidnapping case if the hospital is unaware.

"Well, whatever. I'll probably just have to deal with some legal paperwork," I marveled at how easily he brushed it off.

I turned my gaze back to Gojo, a skeptical expression etched on my face "Give me a compelling reason why I should even entertain the idea of joining this school."

Gojo met my gaze with a knowing smile. "Ah, it seems we're having this conversation again," he remarked casually. Then, his expression turned serious. "But let me remind you, this is your only chance to uncover something about your past. Wouldn't you want to know?"

His words struck me like lightning. I was indeed deeply interested in uncovering my own past, eager to unravel the mysteries of who I was before. But that wasn't the main reason. Ever since I woke up from the coma, my fixation had been on that mysterious man. Whenever I thought of him, the only emotion I felt was a burning desire for vengeance. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to make him suffer. There was nothing else.

Even if I dedicated half of my life to hunting that man down, I didn't care. I just wanted to erase his existence from the face of this earth. But I didn't have any leads. I glanced at the man named Gojo before me, his smile only adding to my frustration.

With no other choice, I reluctantly accepted his offer.

"Tsk," I clicked my tongue in frustration my fists clenching involuntarily at my sides. "Fine, I'll do what you want." I relented, a heavy sigh escaping my lips

"Gojo-sensei, that was blackmail" said the black-haired boy in the room.

"Salmon, salmon" the boy with platinum blonde color responded. Why is he talking about salmon all of sudden?

"Eeeh? It's not like I was forcing her, you know," he continued, unfazed. "But enough of that, let's continue with the introduction," Once again, I marveled at how easily he brushed it off.

The class is once again filled with silence.

"This is Inumaki Toge. His only known language is the ingredients of Japanese rice balls. Good luck," Gojo introduced.

"Kelp," Inumaki responded simply

'Kelp?'

"Meet Zenin Maki, the most proficient cursed tool user of the first year, although we are the only first years in this entire school," Gojo continued, gesturing towards Maki.

"Hmph, nice to meet you," Maki replied curtly

"You probably remember him, but this is Okkotsu Yuta, a cursed human. Well, basically he's been possessed by an obsessive cursed spirit," Gojo explained

'Ah, he was the boy beside Gojo that night,' Shiki thought, a flicker of recognition crossing her mind as she recalled his face.

"Nice to meet you, Ryougi-san," Yuta greeted politely

"And that's Panda,"

"Hello, I'm Panda." Panda simply replied.

"..."

'Is that it?'

The thing that makes me most curious ends just like that, leaving me without any explanation.

"Well, let's leave it at that," Gojo continued. "For this afternoon's class, you're free to practice on your own. There's no mission."

"Huh? Then why do you even call us here?" questioned the maki girl.

"I just want to introduce you to Ryougi, hahaha," Gojo replied, laughing.

The others erupted in anger, especially the woman. It was no surprise since Gojo probably called them just to waste their time.

"Huh! Stop joking around, you're completely wasting my time here," Maki erupted in anger.

"Fish flakes!" Inumaki exclaimed, making a sound that didn't quite make sense, but it felt like he was agreeing with the girl.

"I'm with Maki on this one," Panda said casually.

"I'm Leaving" Then, without waiting for Gojo's response, Maki quickly left the room, her frustration evident. The others, including Panda, followed her out.

"Okkotsu, you don't get to leave," Gojo called out to the black-haired boy.

"Yes?" Okkotsu turned his head, meeting Gojo's gaze.

"You will be coming with me, and Shiki, wait here for a moment," Gojo said casually as he left the room, dragging the boy by his collar.

"Well, I'm okay with that," I said to him, watching them leave.

Since, I've got nothing but time.

============

After waiting for several minutes, the door was slide open and gojo step in brining what look like a katana in his hand.

"Get on with it," I urged, impatience seeping into my voice.

"Geez, you really don't have any patience, do you?" Gojo retorted, adopting the demeanor of a teacher. "Well then, shall we start?"

"Let me explain some of the basics first," he continued.

"Cursed energy is a power source aligned with negative emotions used by sorcerers. Emotions such as grief, anger, and despair are the foundation of cursed energy. These emotions exist to some degree within most humans, and as a result, the vast majority of human beings possess cursed energy. However, if this amount exceeds a certain threshold, it grants the person the ability to see cursed spirits."

"Jujutsu Sorcerer, to put it simply, is people like me," he pointed at himself, continuing, "The only difference between us and normal people lies in basic human biology. Sorcerers have brains that differ from non-sorcerers, allowing for their capacity to use and manipulate cursed energy."

"I see..." I nodded in understading. To put it simply, normal people do have cursed energy but cannot manipulate it and can't become jujutsu sorcerers because their brains don't have a unique function that allows them to access their cursed energy.

As Shiki listened to the explanation of cursed energy, she started to grasp how it worked. Then, she remembered the monstrous creature she had faced, he mentioned something about "curses."

"Then how exactly do this 'curses' enter into this equation?" As I ask the question, my mind wandered, trying to understand the concept of negative emotions and their role in the manifestation of curses.

"You see," Gojo continued, "cursed spirits are created when people who aren't sorcerers leak out negative emotions. Cursed energy gathers in one spot, building up over time until it forms a cursed spirit. Places like schools and hospitals, where there are lots of emotions, are common spots for curses to form."

To summarize, cursed energy originates from negative human emotions, while curses are formed when these emotions gather in one place and manifest into cursed spirit. As Gojo continued his explanation, things started to make a little more sense.

Gojo continued his explanation.

"This is my personal theory but in order to become a jujutsu sorcerer you need to be blessed in three components, and that is Mind, Body, and soul." he explained, while sketching a human silhouette on the board.

"Mind or brain refers to the trigger that creates cursed energy. Every single person has cursed energy which manifests from the negative emotions attributed to something from within a person mind. Ones own mind can ignite or disrupt cursed energy depending on their ability to understand and control one's own thoughts and emotions at all time.

Body is vessel of a person that houses both the mind and soul of an individual. The body is the network that channels and contains the cursed energy that the mind creates. The body is also what holds an individual's cursed technique.

Lastly Soul, The essence and core of a person existence. Ones instincts and sense of self is derived from an Individuals soul. The strength of a person's soul allows them to persist and stay true to their instincts, beliefs, and sense of self."

"Since the soul is the core of existence and the essence of an individuals being, any alteration to the soul can also shape and the change the mind or body of the individual." He continued "This is what probably happend in the case of your parent. someone is forcibly changing the shape of their soul resulting in their death."

"..." I clenched my fists tightly, but I held them back, my expression stoic as I processed Gojo's words.

"These three components create one whole being. The Mind, Body, and Soul are the three pillars that make up an individual. In order to become a Jujutsu Sorcerer, one must be strong and blessed within all three foundations, unless the Heavens intervene. And that's you," Gojo stated, pointing directly at me. "You were born with Heavenly Restriction."

"Me? Heavenly Restriction"

"Yes, you," Gojo confirmed, pointing directly at me. "You were born with Heavenly Restriction."

"As I mentioned earlier, cursed energy is a power source aligned with negative emotions, utilized by sorcerers. The vast majority of human beings possess cursed energy, even if it's just a tiny amount. However, there are exceptions—individuals born with slightly unique constitutions."

"Heavenly Restriction is a type of cursed restriction placed on an individual at birth that affects their cursed energy, offering limitations or improvements on their body. In your case, however, the Heavenly Restriction completely eliminated cursed energy from your body. In other words, your body is devoid of any cursed energy whatsoever." Gojo clarified, "So, despite having your own negative thoughts and emotions, your mind was not able to generate and cultivate any cursed energy from them."

"So, I don't have any cursed energy?" I repeated. But then, question popped into my mind. "If I don't possess any cursed energy, then how can I see cursed spirits in the first place?"

"The trade-off for your complete lack of cursed energy is your immense physical prowess," Gojo explained. "While it has been noted that several people have had Heavenly Restrictions that bring their cursed energy to an enormous amount or bring their cursed energy to below-average levels, yours is the second-only case where it has erased the person's cursed energy completely. By eliminating all of your cursed energy, your body became sharpened to a point where all of your five senses reached the pinnacle, and you could freely interact with curses."

"Ah, I see," i murmured quietly.

'So that's how it is. The abnormality of my body is the trade-off for having no cursed energy. My body was gifted with incredible superhuman physical ability and superhuman senses that allowed me to perceive curses despite my nonexistent cursed energy.'

"But this doesn't answer any questions about my past," I protested, frustration evident in my voice.

"I also don't know what exactly happened in your past, since I wasn't there. But I can say this with 100 percent certainty: your past tragedy is the work of cursed spirits. And this school deals with them on a daily basis," Gojo explained "So slowly work your way into this side of the world until you can find a clue about him."

His words sank in, the gravity of the situation settling heavily upon me. It seemed that getting involved in this world of curses was now my only path forward until I could find a lead about that man from my past.

With that acceptance settling in, my mind found clarity and resolve.

"Then what should we do now?" I ask him.

"Now we just have to train you. Fortunately, your physical abilities are at their peak, so we don't have to focus on that right now. For now..." He threw the sword on his hand at me. "We'll start by honing your skills with the sword," Gojo replied, his expression serious. "We'll work on your technique, speed, and precision until you're able to handle the sword with ease. But for now, let's focus on mastering the basics, let's polish you into a diamond," he said with a grin."

And that's how my first day in this school went.

[END]

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