Ten Shadows in the Heian Era

Inside of a traditional classroom, four teenagers sit together in their school uniforms, dark blue, almost black kimonos that almost turn purple in the light, a similarly coloured sash tying it together at their waists. 

The room has plenty of space for more people, leaving it feeling a little bit empty, but none seem to mind it.

There is only one row of seating, six chairs each with a personal desk, all made out of wood alone with expert craftsmanship. With the space available, two rows would be more efficient, but none of them trust each other behind them, so that idea was scrapped for the sake of keeping the peace.

Despite not trusting each other not to stab them in the back, the four of them manage to talk amicably enough. After all, it's not like they don't trust each other out of maliciousness or any such thing. It is simply the way things are.

None of them would hesitate to kill each other if it benefitted them. Such is the nature of Jujutsu in this era, so they don't hold any hard feelings about it either.

On the side closest to the door is a figure with long black hair tied in a ponytail and a slender figure with soft, feminine features and expressive eyes.

"I heard they're another Special Grade, Ise-chan," they say, continuing a conversation, their voice as soft and demure as their figure.

"Really Minamoto-chan? I heard it's a boy from the countryside who is super sheltered. Apparently he's somehow related to a friend of my grandfathers," the person next to him replies.

She is a girl who looks mature for her age, sitting a little taller than the rest in the room with a straight and proper posture. Her figure is notably more womanly with a wide, but naturally healthy, hourglass figure and forest green hair tied up into a pair of buns.

"Do you think that Cursed Energy earlier was him?" The farthest person from the door asks in a slightly crass tone, though it would only be considered casual in one thousand years, as she sits casually on her desk with one foot resting on the desk between her and Ise.

She has her brown hair in a short wolf cut that only reaches her shoulders at the back. The sleeves to her kimono have been ripped off, showing her toned and scarred arms off in a way that, combined with a small scar on her upper lip, general attitude and the sword at her side, makes her seem somewhat like a delinquent.

"If they really are a Special Grade, then maybe, Taira-chan." Minamoto answers, face pensive. "What do you think, Kamo-chan?"

Their attention turns to the final person present, who is less a person and more a floating red oval about the size of a person, if a little bigger, hovering above a chair.

The surface of the oval glistens like it is a liquid, but it is completely still without ripple. That is, until Minamoto addresses it, when the surface then ripples and makes the shape of an expression.

"╮(╯-╰)╭," the oval responds, and the other three simply accept the answer with a nod as if nothing about the scenario is strange.

"I would have doubted it a month ago..." Ise states, trailing off instead of finishing her sentence, but they all know what she means.

The arrival of their last classmate shattered any expectations they might have had about the limits a Jujutsu Sorcerer could achieve.

One of the first things he did after arriving was beat them all half to death, so they are all intimately familiar with the depths of his Cursed Energy and how greatly it eclipses their own reserves.

"(☆.☆)," Kamo 'says', and Taira nods slowly with a steadily growing grin.

"You're right, Kamo-chan. Maybe this new guy will be able to teach that guy some humility."

"Don't get your hopes up," Ise cuts in. "We don't even know what they're Cursed Technique is yet, raw output isn't everything, or Sugawara-senpai would be the strongest. He's only held back because he has no talent. Besides, what if this new guy has a just as bad, or even worse personality?"

"(.﹏.*)," Kamo accurately reflects their opinions on the matter.

"I think it'll be fine," Minamoto says, optimistically. "I mean, you all felt it, right? His presence, if that was him, was completely lacking in all the malice of that guy's."

"Hm," Taira grunts. "I guess. Still, it's not like the bar is high. He can't really be worse than-"

The slamming sound of the classroom door opening with too much force interrupts her and they all freeze as the unmistakable presence casually strolls into the room.

Walking with an air of apathy around him, Sukuna strolls past his classmates without even glancing in their direction, completely ignoring their presence and the way they all shuffle away from him slightly as he passes entirely.

When he passes her, Taira moves away and back into her chair, not willing to face the others directly if it means exposing her back to him.

Sukuna notices this and he smirks at her as he takes his seat on the farthest chair, leaning back with an elbow resting on the window sill.

"Don't worry," he says without looking at them, his voice casual, dangerous, but most of all, bored. "Trash like you isn't worth killing in the first place. Maybe you should just give up on Sorcery, Woman. I imagine even you could manage to at least be a woman, you certainly lack the ability for anything grander than bearing children."

Taira bristles at the insult to her pride, to her ability, to her everything, but at the end of the day, what can she do?

It's that simple fact that stops her from reacting, no matter how much it burns to leave such insults standing. She wants to kill him. She wants it more than she has ever wanted anything in her life.

But the moment she tries, she's dead.

So she doesn't react.

"I thought your mission was going to last longer, Sukuna-sama," she says instead, almost doing a perfect job of hiding the venom in her words.

"The Curse was only Grade One, but it could fly, so I made it give me a ride back before killing it. Did you miss me?" He asks rhetorically, not really caring if he receives an answer.

"Of course, Sukuna-sama," Taira responds through gritted teeth, "How could we not?"

She almost said something sarcastically insulting, but she knows he isn't stupid enough to not see through doubletalk, so she corrected herself.

Sukuna rolls his eyes at her answer, annoyed at how boring she is.

"Pathetic," he mutters to himself, not caring if they hear or don't.

With the addition of their final classmate, the room, previously full of conversation, falls into a tense silence as none of them want to disturb and annoy Sukuna.

He told them not to talk to each other when he is around because he finds the noise annoying, but in truth, what he finds annoying the most is that they listen to him.

It's so pathetic. So boring.

When that annoying scar face old man came to him and showed him the world of Jujutsu, he thought that he might finally have something in his life he can enjoy.

And he did, at first. 

It was fun. Learning new things, fighting strong opponents.

He especially enjoyed learning about Cursed Energy and its applications. Cursed Techniques too. There are so many of them, with so much variety and variation. Each technique is like a puzzle, but if you can't solve it in time you die, and if you do solve it, they die.

It's fun.

Then he got older. He mastered his Cursed Energy, and then his Cursed Technique, and now...

Briefly, he glances at his so called 'peers', using only a moment to take in their stiff postures and the slight perspiration on their skin.

So boring, he thinks to himself.

The worst part is how restricted he is.

At the start, he was only improving. Learning and growing.

But now he's starting to stagnate, and he can't even enjoy himself properly.

Scar face showed him that much.

After all, he lacks a Domain.

Without achieving the peak of Jujutsu Sorcery, he can not truly act as he pleases. Because the right Domain could kill him immediately, he is not blind to this fact.

It's the only reason he holds back from killing those maggots that annoy him. The only reason he even bothers to kill Curses, or do any jobs assigned by the higher ups.

Because he is not an idiot. He is capable of biding his time.

The moment he masters Domain Expansion is the moment he stops ever having to listen to anyone else.

Don't get it wrong, he doesn't fear putting his life on the line, that alone wouldn't make him hesitate. There are still plenty of powerful people out there he has no problem fighting. It's just that the right Domain against someone who can't counter it can simply be an instant win. 

There's no challenge there, no obstacle he can overcome. It would just be game over, and if he's going to die, he wants to at the very least die at the hands of someone who he can truly consider an equal.

There is another option though. If he could learn Hollow Wicker Basket, the Anti-Domain Technique, then that would also serve the same purpose.

Unfortunately, no one seems to be willing to teach him, even under threat of death, and he hasn't found a Curse User yet who knows it.

The higher ups don't want him to be able to counter Domains. He doesn't blame them, but he's still going to kill them all first thing once he crosses that final hurdle.

Then, even if his fellow Sorcerers continue to disappoint him, at least he will be able to entertain himself by doing whatever he wants. It's not like all of them are even that weak. Taira is pretty strong, not as strong as him obviously, but strong enough to fight him.

She just lacks the mindset. Too cowardly. Too pathetic.

After a short, but uncomfortable silence for all but Sukuna, the door slides open for a second time, and this time it is an adult that walks in, closing the door behind him.

With long black hair tied in a bun at the top of his head but with more hair flowing down his back anyway, he has a long scar just below his hairline and an angular face set into a cheerful smile as he practically skips up to the podium at the front of the room.

"Good Morning~! Dear students of mine~!" He cheerfully greets them, receiving nothing but silence in response. "Ouch~! Such a lacklustre response will hurt my feelings you know~?"

"\^o^/!" Kamo 'says', and he snaps his fingers and points at her.

"Thank you!" He exclaims, before turning to the others with a reproachful look. "Now why can't the rest of you be more like my cute granddaughter~? Is it true that we can only rely on family~!?"

"Kamo-Sensei," Taira drawls, sending him an annoyed glare, "You're an embarrassment to adults."

Kamo reacts as if struck, clutching his chest. "Your words wound me, Taira-chan~! Don't you love your Sensei? Isn't he a strong, knowledgeable and respectable person?! It's okay if you're shy, but if you never state your honest feelings then you will die alone you know! But don't worry, I'm sure there are men who prefer dumplings over flowers~!"

"I can get a husband whenever I want!" Taira snaps at him, "And just because I'm not a useless leech doesn't mean I'm not a woman!"

"I believe in you~!"

"Don't talk as if I'm dreaming! I'm not ugly!"

"Anything repeated enough eventually becomes true," Kamo agrees, nodding his head sagely, casually tilting to the side as Taira's desk flies past him and embeds itself into the wall with a crash.

"Anyway!" Kamo claps his hands with a smile to make them focus. "I'm sure you've heard, but we have a new student joining us today~! Everyone say yaaay~!"

No one says yaaay.

Kamo doesn't mind. Instead, he walks back over to the door and holds the handle dramatically.

"Without further ado, a big round of applause for your newest classmate~! One big cheer for Narauko-kun~!!!"

With his words, Kamo slides the door open with matching panache, and the moment he does, a dark blur slides into the room and comes to a stop in the centre of the class, revealing Narauko, who slid in on one knee, striking a pose with his head in his hand.

Matching their Sensei's exaggerated demeanour, he slowly turns to look up at his classmates and brushes his hand up through his hair, flicking his bangs as he gives them a model's smile.

"I have arrived~!" He exclaims, keeping the pose as he stares at them and they stare back.

///

Earlier

///

"It's going to take a bit before your identification is properly finished, but you're going to get Special Grade for sure, so it doesn't really matter."

Nodding along with Kamo-san's, or is it Sensei now? Words as we walk down a corridor, I tilt my head as his words register in my mind.

"Wait, Special Grade?" I ask. "I thought that was the highest one? Shouldn't I be Grade Two or something?"

Kamo-Sensei gives me a funny look at that. "Narauko-kun, you must not have noticed since you've lived an isolated life, but you actually have quite a lot of Cursed Energy."

"To be perfectly honest, it was only the other day that I even realised Cursed Energy ran out, I thought it was just a matter of having enough concentration to keep using it," I say, and for some reason Kamo-Sensei bursts out laughing.

"That alone is enough proof of how much of a well you are, Narauko-kun. I don't think there has ever been a Sorcerer to not even realise their Cursed Energy has a limit."

"To be fair, I hadn't met anyone that wasn't really weak until recently." 

Kamo laughs again. "Whether they were too weak or you were too strong is the question, Narauko-kun. With the exception of one person, a classmate of yours by coincidence, no one alive can match you in Cursed Energy reserves, so don't go comparing people to you and thinking they're weak. You have more energy than me, and I'm pretty strong you know~?"

"Ah, my bad, I don't mean to insult anyone," I quickly say, "I'm aware that just having more energy doesn't mean I'm the strongest, especially when I am so inexperienced."

"Hmmm~, well, you're a pretty modest person, aren't you?" He asks, and I smile wryly.

"I'm not really modest. I actually have quite a lot of pride, and knowing that my reserves are apparently super impressive is certainly appealing. It is just that my pride does not extend to arrogance, and I don't really look down on people."

"You see a differentiation between arrogance and pride? Most consider them the same, I'm curious what your thought process is to see a difference?"

Turning to meet Kamo-Sensei's eyes, I notice something in him, something familiar, and it makes me smile.

He's like me. Curious for the sake of curiosity.

Knowing that, how could I do anything but give a comprehensive answer.

"It's about fragility," I say. "Arrogance is fragile, pride is not. If you insult an arrogant person, they will shatter and lash out. However, if you insult a prideful person, well, they might still lash out, but it won't be because they're upset, it'd just be a matter of principle. A prideful person's feelings won't get hurt by something as meaningless as words. Only arrogant people are pathetic enough that something as minor as an insult could effect them in any way. Arrogance is hollow, so if you throw a rock at it, it will shatter. Pride is the opposite, any rock thrown will just bounce off or shatter against it."

"Hmmm~." Kamo-Sensei holds his chin and looks up at the ceiling as we walk. "I've encountered the kind of thing you're describing before, but I don't think I've heard it put into words so aptly, so thank you for that perspective."

"No problem, Kamo-Sensei. By the way, do you know anything about Positive Energy?" I ask, returning his curiosity with my own, and I can see that by his smile that when he looks me in the eye, he sees the exact same thing I saw in his.

"It's the opposite of Cursed Energy, why do you ask?" He says, and in response I produce some Positive Energy on my hand and show him.

The way his eyes light up at that makes me feel like I'm looking at a mirror. "I figured out how to produce it," I say, "But I'm not sure of all the mechanics behind it, so I can't explain it properly, beyond calling it a double negative."

"You figured it out all by yourself?" He asks, smiling when I nod. "Impressive. What you're doing is a process called Reverse Cursed Technique, turning Negative Energy into Positive to invert its properties. You can do more than just heal with it. If you apply Reverse Cursed Technique to any other technique it can invert. For example, a technique that launches people up used with Reverse Cursed Technique could press them down instead."

Oh, I never even thought to apply Positive Energy to my technique. Well, I did briefly think about it, but it didn't seem like something that would work.

Guess I just didn't try hard enough.

"What if a technique doesn't have an obvious opposite?" I ask, and Kamo-Sensei just smiles.

"That, is where it gets interesting. The less clear the answer, the harder it is to inverse, generally. For example, my Cursed Technique is Blood Manipulation. I haven't figured out a way to use it with Reverse Cursed Technique yet, in part because I can't really visualise what it's inverse would be, and Jujutsu is a world of visualisation."

I put a finger to my chin as I think. What would the inverse of blood manipulation be? "Absorption or something?" I mutter. "If you can only manipulate your own blood, then maybe the reverse would let you manipulate others? Or drain them?"

"All theories I have considered," Kamo-Sensei says, still smiling. "It is possible that I simply lack the ability or inspiration. Jujutsu isn't so simple that merely figuring something out means one can do it. The process of creating Reverse Cursed Energy is rather simple to explain, but very few manage to learn it. Not that we have had a lot of time to practice it collectively. It was only Sugawara no Michizane that properly figured out how to explain it by himself to others. It's impressive that you could do the same."

I suppose it would be silly if I could think of a new application of his own technique in two minutes that he wouldn't have thought of in however many years he's been using it.

I don't know who Sugawara no Michizane is though.

"Thank you, but I shouldn't get all the credit," I say, "I don't know who Sugawara no Michizane is, but I doubt I'm as good as him. It is just that one of my Shikigami naturally produces Positive Energy, so I had a template to reverse engineer it from."

"'Engineer'?" Kamo-Sensei asks, and it takes a moment for me to realise why before my mind screeches to a halt.

Crap. Do engineers not exist yet?

"Reverse engineer is a term I heard for working a problem backwards using the finished product to figure out the materials and process and stuff." I make sure not to panic and just give a normal explanation, and I do a pretty good job of it, because Kamo-Sensei just nods his head and accepts the answer.

I have some practice keeping calm like this, so I'm pretty good at it.

After all, I am a reincarnated person, and at first I was a little bit worried about giving something away, but over the years it's really solidified in my mind that no one is going to figure it out.

Unless I explicitly say it, no one is going to assume I've reincarnated form the future, that would be absurd. They'd be more likely to assume I'm a seer than anything else really. So basically, just don't freak out as if people can see into my mind, and they won't think too deeply about any abnormal knowledge or phrases.

In real life, if someone says something you don't understand, and then explains it, you just assume you've learnt something you didn't know. No one just goes 'Ah! He's a reincarnated person!' That would be absurd.

"Could I see this Shikigami of yours?" He asks after a moment.

"Sure," I shrug, and make the shadowgraphic hand sign, summoning my deer out of my shadow in front of me, causing us to stop walking for a moment.

"Interesting," Kamo-Sensei mutters as he pokes and looks over my deer. After a moment, he turns back to me. "Would you mind letting me study this Shikigami at some point? Cursed Energy originates from the gut, but Reverse Cursed Technique originates from the brain. Though Shikigami aren't human, they are still fully biological when done right, so I might be able to learn something studying this one's brain."

An interested hum leaves me at his explanation. "I don't mind, but only if you are willing to accept two conditions of mine."

"Them being?"

"Generous Deer is my favourite and most valuable Shikigami, but if it dies then it's gone forever, so you can't kill it, and I want you to share whatever you learn with me."

"Haha, that's more than reasonable enough," Kamo-Sensei cheerfully agrees, and I dismiss the deer for now. "People always underestimate how sturdy brains are, but you'd be surprised at how easy it is to poke around at one without killing it~."

What an ominous thing to says so cheerfully.

"I look forward to listening to your discoveries then, Kamo-Sensei," I say with a light bow to my peppy new teacher.

"Me too~, me too~," he says and we continue walking in silence for a short while, turning the occasional corner, because this complex is apparently pretty large.

"Where do Shikigami come from?" I ask something that has been bothering me for a while after a moment. I've asked the old man before, obviously, but it's important to verify. 'Trust, but verify', as the saying goes.

"Shikigami don't come from anywhere, they are not summons," Kamo-Sensei answers. "They are conjured from one's Cursed Energy. In a way, you could consider the creation of Shikigami as the creation of artificial souls, even if they don't quite reach the same level of sophistication."

"Is it possible to create Shikigami in whatever form you desire then? Like a rope Shikigami?" 

"Of course, though there is little point. It is much more efficient to simply use a Cursed Tool for something like that. The benefit of a Shikigami is its ability to act independently."

Hmm, true enough. Though, maybe the rope Shikigami would be able to float and tie people up by itself? Then again, you could probably just get a Cursed Tool rope that can be controlled by your mind that'd be better to use.

It's not like I'm going to be using inanimate Shikigami. Not only can I not sense any available to summon for me, but I just think independently acting Shikigami is better, like Kamo-Sensei said. I was just curious.

"Hey, Narauko-kun?" Kamo-Sensei asks, and when I turn to him I notice a mischievous smile on his face.

"Yes?"

"Do you want to make a good first impression on your classmates~?"

"I wouldn't want to make a bad impression," I answer.

"Good good," he says, "Well, you should know that all Jujutsu Sorcerers are somewhat eccentric, it comes with the trade, and since you are all so young, it results in some pretty excitable students~. So if you make them laugh on your first meeting, I think that would be a good impression, no~?"

"I guess..." I say. I think I'd probably rather just introduce myself normally and properly, like the old man taught me to, but he's their teacher, so I'd assume he knows best here.

"Wonderful~! In that case, I have an idea~!"

///

Present

///

"I have arrived~!" I exclaim into the room, flipping my hair like I remember seeing in some commercials.

...What's with this lacklustre response?

Looking at my new classmates, the first thing I notice is that there is only five of them. Why is there a class for only five people? I don't know, I guess this isn't a subject that can be taught without personal attention, so it kind of makes sense.

The second thing I notice, is that one of my classmates is apparently a big red orb. Why do I have an orb classmate? I have no idea.

The third thing I notice is that one of the desks is embedded into the wall, which I guess was the cause of that bang earlier.

The fourth thing I notice, is that with the exception of Pinkie, they are all staring at me with flat, unimpressed looks. Even the orb is making a flat expression.

Where are the cheers? The laughs? The equally over the top responses?

Robotically, I turn my head from where I kneel to look up at Kamo-Sensei, who is holding a hand up to cover his mouth.

"Sensei..." I moan pitifully, a tear in my eye. 

He just stops hiding his laughter.

"Betrayal," I whisper to myself before straightening up and turning to face the class properly.

I can feel my face burning, and I ignore my new Sensei's laughter as I face the crowd, probably feeling more embarrassed than I ever have before in this life.

Coughing into a fist, I straighten my back, put my hands back in my sleeves and bow slightly to the others.

"Hello, my name is Narauko, nice to meet you," I say, doing my best to just pretend that embarrassing event didn't happen.

That said, I am still smiling. 

Just because I am the victim of the prank, doesn't mean I can't laugh along too. Plus, this is a new experience, I've never really been pranked like this before, so I don't really mind, and I can feel the shame rapidly draining from my face.

"Nice to meet you, Narauko-kun," the one with long black hair says, seemingly content to also pretend that didn't just happen. "I apologise for our Sensei's sense of humour."

"Hey!" Kamo-Sensei interrupts, stepping forward enough to clasp me on the shoulder, "My sense of humour is very refined, after all, I laughed a lot, didn't I~?"

"You're the only person who ever laughs at your jokes, Sensei," the sexy tomboy says, and I get the feeling she doesn't have the best opinion of Kamo-Sensei.

"Mah~ mah~, so judgemental~, no wonder you don't have a husband~." 

"That's not the reason!" The tomboy yells as she grabs her neighbours desk and throws it at our teacher with impressive force. "I will get a husband when I want one!"

"Sure~ sure~," Kamo-Sensei says before clapping his hands and then patting me on the shoulder. "Now, it's time for introductions~!"

Why is this so informal? I feel like I'm getting stun locked. I was expecting to have to speak properly, address people properly and study in an actually traditional manner, what the hell is even going on.

Is this what he meant when he said all Jujutsu Sorcerers are eccentric? I guess it would be difficult to have a normal classroom if everyone has such strong personalities, even the teacher.

"Starting from the left," Kamo-Sensei says as he directs my attention to the cute black haired girl, "Is Minamoto no Yoshiie-chan, he's the current heir to the Minamoto clan and the wielder of their famed Inherited Technique: Kindred Link!"

Wait a minute, 'he'? What?

I go to ask but Kamo-Sensei cuts me off before I can.

"Next is Ise no Tayū-chan! She's the granddaughter of Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu, one of the renown Five Men of the Pear Chamber, and she possesses his Inherited Technique: Wakawaka~!"

Wait a second, go back one! What do you mean 'he'?! Are there really traps in this world!

"Next in line is Kamo no Sabishī! She's my granddaughter," there's a brief pause where I wait for elaboration, but none comes. "After her is Taira no Takiyasha, she is the daughter of the Special Grade Sorcerer Taira no Masakado and is also already Grade One herself!"

"Wait wait!" I interrupt, "Please elaborate! Why is your granddaughter an orb!"

"Last in line," Kamo-Sensei says, ignoring me completely, "Is-"

He cuts himself off and at the same time, some instinct screams at me and I lean backwards enough to plant a hand on the floor at the same time that Kamo-Sensei leans to the side without losing his smile.

The next moment, a massive gash appears on the wall behind us, like a valley opening up.

The fuck? Did I just almost die? Never mind dying on the first day, I haven't even gotten past the introductions yet!

This is so much fun already! I can already tell I'll have a blast here.

"Don't introduce me to trash," the final guy says, a dude with pink hair that honestly looks really good on him.

I feel my smile grow a little wider as my hand dips into the ground through my shadow, and the next moment, my shadow shoots forward and connects to the shadow of his desk before a giant inky black spike rises out of it, piercing into the ceiling, all in less than two seconds.

However, despite my own speed with my shadows, Pinkie moves fast enough to backflip over his chair with only one hand as leverage, and avoid the fate of his desk being reduced to splinters.

"It's rude to call people trash you know?" I say as I straighten up and meet his eyes with a smile that only grows when a heavy feeling of being under the eyes of a predator suddenly engulfs me.

It feels like I'm staring at malice made manifest, like by merely proximity I'm going to become a worse person, like he will tear me apart slowly just so he can hear me scream.

It's so exciting~.

"Did your parents not socialise you, Pinkie? You are supposed to start with a 'Hello, how are you?'"

I know I shouldn't rile up someone who is so clearly quick to violence, but I am honest enough with myself to admit that I just really want to fight another Jujutsu Sorcerer.

I can't get that fight with Tamamo out of my head. I just want to experience that again, and this guy feels even more dangerous than her.

"Why are you hiding your Cursed Energy?" He asks after a moment, surprising me both with his calmness and with the question, especially since he shouldn't have been able to tell how much I have, my energy is too sneaky for that.

"I'm not," I say with a shrug. "It just does that."

I notice my other classmates all moving to the side of the room, but I don't take my eyes off of Pinkie, and that proved to be the right decision as I manage to catch his hand twitching just moments before that feeling of invisible danger returned.

I can vaguely sense something tiny rapidly approaching, and it's only thanks to having to deal with Tamamo's invisibility that I can notice that much.

Still, I was actually expecting it this time, so I am quick enough to put my hands in a shadowgraphic of a tortoise, and my shadow raises in front of me like a wall.

Since the Shikigami is bigger than the room, I only let a portion of his shell manifest outside of my shadow, but that is enough.

Pinkie's slashing attack, at least I assume it's a slash of some sort, hits Reflective Tortoise's shell and the attack is reflected back, but Pinkie leans out of the way easily enough, ignoring the new gash in the opposite wall.

I don't have to pay for repairs, right?

"Okay~! That's enough you two~!" Kamo-Sensei interrupts, stepping between us and clapping his hands in a very teacher-like fashion.

Cautiously dismissing my Shikigami, I watch as Pinkie scowls for a moment before he relaxes and turns back to me with a mild expression of interest.

"What's your name," he says.

"I literally just introduced myself."

"I wasn't listening."

I snort at his honesty. I can't really blame him for ignoring people he thinks are boring. I'm assuming I'm interesting enough because I survived. Maybe this is like a baptism rite kind of thing to be accepted by the class?

"My name's Narauko, nice to meet you, Pinkie."

Another slash is sent my way, but it's easier to dodge this time.

"My name is Sukuna. Don't forget it."

"Oh, I don't think that will be a problem," I say with a grin. This whole interaction has just been too interesting to forget, but after the briefest of pauses, I continue my sentence, "Pinkie."

///

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

Narauko is in school! Tell me what you think of my Sukuna characterisation!

I don't want to mess him up, cuz he's the JJK character I empathise the most with and I like him (really says a lot about me(Todo is 2nd best))

Keep in mind though that this is Young!Sukuna, he hasn't fully come into his power yet, doesn't even have a domain expansion, which I am using as an excuse for why he would bother to attend a school.

Also, all the characters in this chap bar Sukuna and Narauko are real life people you can google if you want. (Idk why I made Yoshiie a trap, I was just getting annoyed at the fact that everyone in japan has basically the exact same hair, especially a thousand years ago, I needed differentiation, and this is funnier than what I originally planned for Yoshiie :))