"Ow ow ow ow ow owwwwie."
Cradling my right hand, I rapidly blow on the skin as if I can cool down the pain. Mostly, I do it just for show. It does hurt, of course, but it's not that bad.
But it's funny knowing Sukuna is being grossed out by the display of weakness.
We're inside the school's grounds today, relaxing in one of the many open spaces on the fringes of the wards. It's actually pretty rare for us to hang out at school these days; usually when we have time to meet up—which is still most days of course—it's elsewhere.
However, it seems that one of the other Special Grades has been going out in force to deal with the surge of Grade One and Special Grade Cursed Spirits being born. I imagine that we'd only have to go out if one of those Special Grades were at the level of the one Sukuna saw in the capital.
Unfortunately, they've just been the usual weak Special Grades, so we've been leaving the work to others and messing about by ourselves. Though I do try to take missions against Curse Users when I can.
I usually end up crying, because Curse Users are just horrible people almost to a fault and it is beautiful, but that is that and this is this.
With free time available, Sukuna wanted a demonstration of my new Spell System, and I wanted to add another Spell anyway, so here we are.
With the burning agony finally fading away, I look down at my hand and smile at the completed tattoo atop it.
We found a bear. A brown bear to be precise—which by the way, is not a simple thing to do.
Brown bears are only found in Ezochi, and for once I actually know something because I remember that landmass being called Hokkaido in the future. No clue why I know that, but I sure do.
Either way, it's called Ezochi nowadays and the northernmost island is a somewhat complicated topic. It's home to the Ainu people and isn't actually a part of the Imperial Family's empire. I mean, even northern Honshū is mostly under the Imperial Family's authority in the sense that the court down here has said that they are.
In reality, the Emishi people living there kind of just do their own thing, depending no how north you go. They're also really good with bows apparently.
I plan to travel north eventually, see the sights and everything, learn the language. I'm just not sure if I'll do it before or after Sukuna and I fight... Probably before actually, now that I put a second of thought into it.
Things should be calming down around here soonish and then I'll have two years to go with not much demanding my time. Plus, I can teleport.
Anyway, the more relevant fact about all of this for the present situation is that the Ainu people have their own Sorcery, and while their origin is more or less the same, they practise it differently. They don't have Onmyōji or Jujutsu Sorcerers or even a presence among the Principle Clans.
One large, significant part of their Sorcery is that they have this giant-ass Barrier surrounding the entire island. Sukuna and I only stayed long enough to find a brown bear and for me to befriend it before leaving, but still, the sight was impressive. Their Barrier is built into the very land itself, it's a work of art.
Theoretically, it's basically an Empty Domain, except instead of the user being a specific person, the 'user' of the Domain is 'people born in this land'. At the same time, the only applicable target is 'people foreign to this land'.
It's wild stuff, really. I have no idea how they did it, assuming they didn't just use sacrifices anyway. It'd be pretty easy with enough human sacrifices, but then that's true for anything in Sorcery. It's a real brute-force method.
Anyway, I'm good at being sneaky and Sukuna is good at copying me, so it wasn't too hard to sneak passed the Barrier and find a bear. It's not like it's actually an Empty Domain anyway, that's just a close approximation of its function.
Regardless, that brings us all the way back here.
Sukuna watched me go through every step of the process. He watched me befriend the bear and ask her to die for me, which she did only once I promised to take care of her cubs into adulthood, which is really no bother for me at all. A mother's love is a generous thing indeed.
I have exactly zero knowledge on what happens to an ecosystem when foreign species are introduced. However, bears are bears and we already have black bears down here. What's the worst that could happen?
Sukuna called me an idiot when I said that, but it's not like he knows the answer either. Asshole just wanted to call me an idiot for fun. What a bitch.
All of that is to say that I have a new tattoo now.
It is the top half of a bear's head, its neck starting at my wrist, eyes on my hand and teeth going down my knuckles with two longer fangs going a bit further along. It's basically like those bear cloaks cool people wear, just on my hand instead.
However, as I am admiring my new tattoo, Sukuna's hand abruptly enters my vision before he unkindly grabs my forearm and yanks it into the the air from where I was hunching over it, on account of the previous pain.
Obviously, he was getting tired of not being able to see the finished product properly and has no manners whatsoever. However, if he is going to be rude then I can be annoying.
So with Sukuna still basically holding me aloft by my arm and studying the tattoo with critical eyes, I force myself to blush and use my other hand to cover my mouth as I turn away and exclaim, "Aiyaa~!" Like a flustered maid.
Sukuna does not throw me away like a normal teenager might. Instead, he slowly turns away from the tattoo to stare flatly down at me.
"There is something wrong in your brain," he states, to which I puff up with mock outrage.
"There is nothing wrong with my brain! Don't you know I'm perfect?"
He eyes me sceptically for a moment before slowly nodding. "Must be some kind of worm."
The only brain worm I have is Ballroom Blitz by Sweet. I swear, that song never leaves my head for long.
Regardless, I chuckle but let the argument drop, moving to actually stand on my own feet, but leaving my arm out for him to see of course.
"Sorry sorry, nervous energy y'know? I'm gonna be meeting the Emperor in a couple days, it's exciting."
Sukuna rolls his eyes without turning his attention away from my tattoo. That alone about sums up the level of respect he has for the Imperial Family.
Honestly, what a supercilious guy.
"So what's it called?" Sukuna asks once he finishes studying, raising an exasperated brow as if he's expecting something dumb.
So naturally, I rise a haughty smirk and declare the name of my second Spell with pride.
"Her name is Aishintsume, but the Spell is called Kumōgeki!"
Sukuna absently nods his head, thinking through the name for only a moment before freezing and levelling me with a stare so dry it could desiccate the ocean.
"You are so lame."
I pout at his tone, and then smile as the thought strikes that his tone is akin to a teenager who is, like, so like done with like, everything, omagawsh.
"What did you just think?" Sukuna asks with narrowed eyes.
"Nothing~!" He doesn't believe my innocent whistle at all, no matter how innocent it is.
Still though, the name isn't lame. Written out, the 'Ku' part doesn't really translate, but with a bit of thought and knowledge of my brain, Sukuna can put two and two together.
Namely that 'mōgeki' translates more or less to 'ferocious attack'. From there, it's not much of a leap of logic that the 'Ku' is supposed to be written with the Kanji for 'Kuma'. Aka; bear.
The Spell is called 'Ferocious Bear Attack!'
Kami, I am so creative and cool and puns will forever be king.
As for the bear herself, Aishintsume is a name that pays respect to the mother for being willing to sacrifice herself for her children's sake. I think it's quite a beautiful name.
"Wanna see if it works?" I ask, and Sukuna easily accepts the change of subject with a nod of the head.
And then he pauses as my smile grows and all of his muscles tense as he glares at me.
"Don't you da—"
"KUMŌGEKI!!" I yell as I spring forward, swinging my fist at Sukuna, who leaps backwards to avoid the punch.
Unfortunately for him, as my fist swings through the air my tattoo rapidly starts to glow. Bright blue light leaking out through the skin until the moment before 'impact'.
Following my fist, a giant projection of blue light roars into place, larger than a man; a snarling, vicious bear's head made of pure Cursed Energy and enhanced by the spiritual essence of a mother's willing sacrifice.
It is pure ferocious violence and it crashes into Sukuna like a sledgehammer, hurling him away and leaving a cloud of blood in his place from where the Spell gored on his flesh.
Theoretically, this Spell should hit like a wrecking ball made out of chainsaws, and seeing the front of Sukuna's body with a solid few layers of flesh missing, I think I can call this a success!
Unlike Shikatsumi, this Spell is a lot more focused. With my deer, I let it be too vague and that resulted in the 'Spell' basically just being another Innate Technique. Just heeeellla weak.
This time, I made sure to make the Spell an actual Spell. There are no true variations to be made, nor any purpose to be given beyond what it was made for.
Kumōgeki is a Spell that specifically follows a punch to create a devastating projection that rips through anything in range—which is not very far, not without an absurd expenditure of energy anyway.
By limiting it this much, combined with the complexity of the initial Ritual, I have successfully invented a Spell that is combat viable and learnable by anyone! I can pump as much Cursed Energy as I want into this Spell and it will not shatter!
I was being pretty casual about it, but isn't this super awesome?
I really am the best at Sorcery.
"Oi."
Uh oh. I think I may perhaps be in danger.
"Yes, Sukuna," I respond, my smile saccharine sweet, "My dearest most dear bestest friend in the whole wide world?"
Sukuna does not share in my smiling nature. This is not a surprise.
The world splits in half and I laugh as I immediately turn and bolt away from the angry maniac behind me.
Tengen's gonna be mad again.
Maybe we shouldn't hang out at the school after all...
///
Fujiwara no Michinaga
///
Michinaga can feel his control on the levers of power slipping away.
Perhaps that is a dramatic interpretation of recent events, for he is still nominally the guiding hand behind the Empire.
However, he did not rise himself to this position by being unable to decipher the signs of the present to predict the swings of the future.
Tap tap tap goes his finger on his desk. A pause follows, his finger hovering in the air for a specific amount of time before—tap tap tap.
He has no ear for the exacting precision that a Sorcerer is capable of, but to his ear the beats of silence are each perfectly matching. It is very important to him that this remains the case.
Consistency.
It is the great enemy of entropy and has been his companion for decades of life. It is this consistency that brings his mind comfort as he thinks through the changes infecting his life's work.
The worst part of it all, he thinks, is that the current mess all seems to come back to the damn Sorcerers.
When it is just the foolish Nobility that he has to work around, Michinaga is a deft hand. Even if he weren't as competent as he is, there still exists honour even among the perfidy of Nobility.
As such, he, as the Sadaijin, is the ultimate authority within the Council of State. By right and by honour, none of the clans would openly rebuke his word. Only the Emperor himself possesses such a right, and he only interacts with the Council via the Imperial Regent, whom is already under Michinaga's sway.
Besides, the Emperor is oft to his indulgences and indolence. On a personal level, Michinaga does not approve of such a lackadaisical manner for a monarch. However, on a practical level he can admit the convenience of the Emperor's inattention.
However, all of this is irrelevant for the issues plaguing his mind are not sourced by simple Nobility. Instead, the Sorcerers who are historically so quiet on the political stage seem to have decided that now is the time they should be making themselves known.
It is no secret to anyone with a mind that the greatest military assets within the nation are the Sorcerers, followed distantly by those few elite Warriors capable of igniting their own fighting spirit.
This has never really mattered though, because the Sorcerers are very rarely required to get involved in matters of state. Their time is much better focused on their occupation of ensuring Cursed Spirits or Yōkai do not overtake the land, depending on which branch of Sorcerer.
However, it is hard for Sorcerers to remain in the background when one dies, resurrects, ascends to Godhood and then smites several high-ranked politicians, immediately followed by a different Sorcerers burning nearly the entire capital city down and another reshaping the maps further north.
The general Nobility have been reminded of their mortality and thus done as humans do and retreated to their homes and their luxuries so that they might remind themselves of their ego.
As such, the political lines are moving.
The general Nobility being more subdued has resulted in the clans with strong Sorcerers taking prominence in court. Namely his own Fujiwara, the Minamoto and Taira.
The formerly influential Sugawara clan has all but become obsolete while the formerly fading star of the Tachibana is on a small rise thanks to their Heir becoming such a formidable Sorcerer.
Even as overshadowed as he was by Narauko and the subsequent rebellion that interrupted his match, it remains clear that he is likely among the strongest of this generation of Special Grade Sorcerers. Except, of course, for Narauko and Sukuna.
He is likely equal to, or perhaps even superior to, the now-named Nanami no Shiki.
Michinaga will not claim to know the intricacies of what manner of Sorcery can best another. If he truly has need to know such things, then he can always summon his daughter and ask her.
Regardless, the changes in political climate would not be too great an obstacle for Michinaga were it not for one blatant fact.
The high Nobles are chafing under his nominal rule.
He of course knew this would be the case, but the recent events have forced him to re-evaluate the lengths they are willing to go to to express their discontent.
A rebellion has been brewing under his nose and he knew nothing of it until those damned butterflies came.
Tap tap tap goes his finger, the soothing metronome calming him. Tap tap tap.
So now, not only does he have to consider how likely it is for the major clans to make a proper attempt at overthrowing him instead of the half-hearted attempt by Masakado and that fool Sumitomo. He also has to consider how he would prevent such a thing from succeeding.
If one were to draw simple battle lines, then on his side he would of course have his own Fujiwara clan, and despite the rivalry between them, he is sure that he could convince the Kamo to stand on his side. Additionally, he should have no issue commanding the Onmyōji's support either.
Against him would be primarily the Minamoto and Taira. Likely the Tachibana would join them while the Abe could go either way.
Minor clans will vary, but ultimately they would barely effect the outcome anyway. Most will likely seek the Pear Chamber for stability and isolate themselves from any conflict between the major clans.
Normally, that calculus would be fairly even, just a touch in Michinaga's favour. However, in this era one must also perform the absurd act of countingSpecial Grades.
Even then, two are commoners that would be unlikely to take one side or the other, thus not holding any bearing on the calculus. There is the fact that one of these two, Sukuna, is supposedly close with Narauko, but his understanding of that man's character is that this relationship would not be enough to sway him into politics.
Beyond them, Nanami no Shiki clearly has no desire to do anything but huddle up where she is, so again, an irrelevant factor. Similarly, Abe no Seimei seems to be irreverently doing as he pleases without a care.
Two of the Pear Chamber are currently Special Grades—a fact which by itself is a concern for another day—and will thus likely remain neutral in such a conflict.
That leaves Tachibana no Nagayasu to stand on the side of the clans that would seek to overthrow him. Against that, Michinaga would have Yorimitsu loyal to himself and Narauko, who is likely by all accounts to support the Imperial Family over any other authority.
Additionally, with him, Narauko may be able to bring at least one fifth of the Pear Chamber on his side, perhaps even the entire polity. That would be enough to secure victory.
Really, the only chance that the major clans could have at removing him from power would have been if they had taken him by surprise. Unfortunately for them, someone must have gotten overzealous and they sprang their surprise early, resulting in it being crushed with ease in its infancy and their main trump card getting killed.
However.
There exists one fatal flaw within all of Michinaga's calculus.
If he were to count a Special Grade of Narauko's calibre as equal to an entire major clan—a comparison that just a year ago he would have decried as excessively generous, even with Michizane to consider—then roughly half of Michinaga's forces would not be serving him.
They would be serving the Emperor, and him simply as a result of that.
Without his position in the Council of State, half of the forces he would need to overcome the other major clans would disappear. Even then, what would be left would only be by half his own clan. He remains confident that his bloc would remain under his sway, of course, but such tight margins fill him with unease.
In normal times, he would not have even made this distinction. Michinaga has by all counts been the Emperor's will for decades now. The current Emperor does not care for governance after all, and so all of the Emperor's authority has fallen into the hands of Michinaga.
This is why it was so unnerving to him when he was summoned by the Emperor himself in order to discuss matters of state.
He had no idea what to expect from such a meeting, as that was the first time the Emperor had called on him to discuss such things.
His best assumption was that the Emperor, like the Nobility, had been reminded of his mortality and would demand something be done to increase security.
Instead, the Emperor had outright laughed when Michinaga brought up the subject of his personal safety, simply telling Michinaga that he did not care at all. According to him, the burning of the capital was a matter between Sorcerers, Spirits and Kami and that he did not care about it beyond finding the spectacle of the whole affair entertaining to witness.
Michinaga had no reply, and so the Emperor spoke again, informing him of why he was called.
Of all the unlikely things Michinaga might have considered, never once did it cross his mind that the Emperor would have received a message delivering the word of Amaterasu-Ōmikami herself.
That the attention of the Great Ruler of all the Kami of the Heavens Above would be drawn by mortal matters was by itself a surprise.
Learning then that the message was a simple command to see the Sorcerer Narauko rewarded for his efforts, and for the reward to be both generous and accommodating bordered on absurdity.
Times are changing, Michinaga solemnly thinks to himself.
The world of man is taking a backseat and the world of Sorcery is filling that space with the ferocious hunger of a starving beast.
Michinaga hates Sorcerers. He will not deny the boon that they can be, but just as their potential as a boon is greater than that of the average man, so too is their potential for destruction.
If the machinations of ambitious fools can already cause as much death and destruction as Michinaga has personally experienced for the failures of humanity, then he struggles to imagine what horrors will be wrought if the future were to fall in the hands of Sorcerers.
With the Emperor acting instead of remaining in his indulgence, even if only as a messenger, Michinaga is forced to consider the uncomfortable possibility that he might not truly be able to command a superior, or even an equal force to the major clans.
For what if they launch their attempt to oust him a second time and the Emperor then orders those loyal to his line to be elsewhere?
Michinaga would lose.
And so, he now has to consider unfortunate solutions.
His clan's rise to prominence happened in large part due to centuries of good marrying. So now that he is presented with a Sorcerer of unfortunate strength who is clearly favoured by the Kami in some way, Michinaga allows a moment to consider if there are any appropriate women in his clan to marry such a man.
Such a marriage would likely be even more effective than another match within the Imperial Family at linking the fates of the Imperial Family with his own clan, so it would certainly be convenient.
However, from what he knows of the boy and his relations, Michinaga questions if such a match is even possible.
Then again, Michinaga thinks, an idea striking. There are those Taira...
The Court was quite abuzz when word came of Narauko's strong stance in the defence of Masakado's progeny, especially as he is not doing so out of any marriage commitments.
Michinaga knows through his daughter that one should not expect a Sorcerer to think as a normal human does, so unlike many in the Court, he does not see the action in such a storied light.
Regardless, the fact remains that Narauko cares for at least one of Masakado's progeny. The fact also remains that none of said progeny have much left in the way of marriage prospects. They are children of a traitor; humiliated, dishonoured and mocked.
However, the Fujiwara clan has unwed men and women to spare.
Of course, he cannot offer anything that would match their previous worth as Nobles of such lineage, but he could at least ensure that they each marry well, if not great.
Additionally, he could foster marriages between his clan and the Kiyohara if at all possible. Perhaps he could find someone willing to bear the shame of marrying that Kamo's daughter, despite her condition doubtlessly making the bearing of an Heir impossible.
He might not be able to tie Narauko down with a marriage directly, but by building a web of marriages around the man well known to care deeply for those held in his confidence...
It is a possibility. A cage does not have to brand the skin to prevent escape.
Michinaga will not rely entirely on the success of this venture, but he will at least see to its viability. He an start by reviewing who he has that he could marry and which of them would be suitable for this task. He would have to pick men and women that he could trust to be caring partners, for obvious reasons.
Marrying someone cruel to one of Narauko's loved ones would be a sure-fire way to die, Michinaga believes.
He will also start by sending out feelers to try and learn exactly how grateful Narauko would be for the act of looking out for Masakado's progeny and then go from there.
Nodding to himself, Michinaga gets to work, hopeful for success but prepared for this path to prove too wasteful to even attempt. He loses nothing by simply seeding the ground, after all. It is only once he commits to this gambit that he will face any risk.
With the understanding that information on Narauko's temperament in these matters is paramount, Michinaga starts drafting out the first of many orders.
Next time they meet, he will have another mission for Yorimitsu.
He knows that Sorcerers do not tend to respect people weaker than themselves, so despite his personal distaste of them, it is times like this where Michinaga can admit the convenience of having a Special Grade Sorcerer loyal to him.
///
A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!
I couldn't find a way to write it that wouldn't feel too on the nose, so in case you missed it, it's implied in this chap that the reason Michinaga didn't know about the rebellion until the butterflies is because of Yorimitsu being a two-faced biach.
Poor guy tho, he lives in an age of honour and he still believes in it. For the most part, he's not even wrong to do so. People here are honourable generally, at least to an extent.
His only real mistake in putting faith in this honour is Yorimitsu, which you really have to understand, it is entirely reasonable to not be suspecting Yorimitsu. That dude's actions are so far beyond he pale of what is expected that I don't think I can put it into words without putting you through two decades of life under a different culture.
The reason for his mistake is that Yorimitsu is a fucking maudlin. He's a depressive romantic. Y'know, the kind of guy who's like "oh wow, my life sucks, i wish I could die. Isn't it pretty that I suffer?"
Irl, it's basically a coping mechanism for depression, to romanticise your own depression so that even if it doesn't feel better, at least you can bear it. The unfortunate result of this coping mechanism is that it is self aggrandising, meaning that since you're romanticising your depression, you'll go out of your way to make yourself suffer even more.
That's why Michinaga is never going to be able to see thrugh Yorimitsu's lie; because Yorimitsu took this task upon himself knowing exactly how dishonoruable it is. Knowing that no one will ever look at him kindly should they learn of it, not even the family whom he planned this with will truly be able to look at him with unconditional love.
But he's willing to sacrifice all of that and put himself through so much mental anguish and social suffering because he's already so damn depressed that he thinks it's his purpose to suffer for the sake of others. And if that is the case, then surely the more he suffers, the more his family benefits, right?
It's a fallacy of course, and it's very sad. But what can you do?