"Woah, this place is pretty huge, I've never been somewhere that's so... spiritual."
Gojo raised an eyebrow at me as we walked through the red tori gates into the Jujutsu High school building proper. For a school with less than 50 students, it was a massive marvel of traditional architecture.
A gigantic sprawling compound that had a dozen buildings inside and even a running track, not only that but the buildings were entirely wood and stone as far as I saw, blending in perfectly with the surroundings.
I may be biased, but I much preferred this architecture to the lame grays, blacks and whites of Night City. Everything there was either neon puke or brutal monochrome. Though that may be the shit colored lenses I am viewing that place through.
"Don't you literally have a book about prayers and miracles that actually work? Doesn't get more spiritual than that."
I shrugged my shoulders.
"That's from my ability, that does not count, I haven't been to Lordran just yet. And if I can help it, I'll never end up there."
"Sounds like a fun place."
"Yeah, if you like a dying world where practically everyone is an undying curse it sure is. Worlds tend to get... fucky."
Gojo hummed, and we stopped in front of a large building. I could feel a weird vibe emanating from the building. My currently slotted abilities were Seraph Tracers and Infernal Chains for a balanced combo since I doubted I had a reason to have Precognition slotted in without the constant mortal peril that came with Night City.
"We can keep talking about that later, you're about to see the principal now, I already told him about you, but it's up to him whether you get in or not, so... try your best buddy! Don't worry, he is trustworthy, so you can show off without worry. Take this seriously, there is a real chance you won't get in."
I rolled my shoulders as he opened the doors.
"Yeah, let's do this."
The doors to the building opened, and the inside was pretty creepy, the entire building was lit up only by candles, and there were dozens of reinforced wood pillars around inside. Far inside was a man sitting on a cushion surrounded by dozens of ugly dolls and was in the process of knitting another one before he turned his gaze to the both of us.
He was even taller than Gojo, he looked like a serious middle-aged man with slightly darker skin and a beard and mustache combo. I couldn't see through his sunglasses, but I could feel that he was somewhat irritated at the moment.
"You are late, Satoru. I have told you numerous times to fix this bad habit of yours."
I shot Gojo a pointed look, but he seemed to have a distinct lack of care about the entire situation.
"Eh, I'll get to it eventually. Anyway, here is the boy I was talking about, Grimm-kun, and he is just dying to study! Can you say no to this face?"
He patted me on the back roughly and Yaga raised his gaze from his plushie and looked at me, his eyes scrutinizing even through the sunglasses.
"Another boy you picked up. You are quite lucky, aren't you Satoru?" He put down his doll and faced me fully. "What did you come here for?"
I rubbed my chin.
"To learn Jujutsu, I have my abilities, but I'm honestly not great at using them. So I hoped I'd be able to get proper training and control here."
A thick silence stretched on as the principal narrowed his eyes.
"And beyond that? Why do you want to learn Jujutsu? What do you need it for? What reason do you have to use it?"
My goals were quite hard to explain to people, and I really did not want to talk about my multiversal journey to entertain an omnipotent entity beyond all forms of comprehension. So a half-truth was in order.
"Because I want to protect myself, and my life. The world is pretty dangerous, and I will continue facing a lot of danger. So I want to learn whatever I can to ensure my own safety."
"Is that so? You fail."
I blinked.
"What? Just like that? What, is wanting to protect myself a bad reasoning? I'm sure plenty of Sorcerers have worse reasons."
The large man got up from his seat and stood up to his full intimidating height and stared me down.
"You clearly are not taking this seriously. I want a real answer from you, and I believe people really reveal their true colors when they are in a crisis. I'll keep attacking you until I get a proper answer."
On cue, two dolls next to him got up, a green ugly one, and a yellow ugly one and both charged at me at insane speeds, far faster than they looked like they should move. But my reflexes were more than enough to respond as I summoned some chains to bind the first one before unleashing my wings and slapping the other one through a pillar with it.
"Do I seem like I am lying to you? It's the truth, I need it to protect myself, I'll be going to dangerous places, so I want to learn Jujutsu."
Looking at the bound doll and the one that was slapped through a pillar, Yaga removed his jacket, revealing his sturdy and muscular body. He looked awfully unsurprised by my two abilities, or if he was surprised he was very good at not showing it.
"No, you aren't lying to me, you are lying to yourself. You are approaching this whole ordeal like a game, you are here just because, aren't you? Are you going to approach everything in such a half-assed way? That way you will die before you can blink, and then you will curse, you will curse your own foolishness, and how you didn't take it seriously."
In the blink of eye, the huge man disappeared from my view before appearing in front of me with his fist raised, I hurriedly crossed my wings in front of me, and abandoned Chains for Superhuman.
Crunch!
Agony ripped through my shoulders as my wings made a sound like a metal can crunching, and I was launched through a pillar. My back felt like it battered pillars and I could barely see Yaga step through the cloud of wood dust.
"What the fuck are you talking about...!? Want me to give you my entire life story? That it?"
He cracked his neck and looked completely unphased, like a walking statue.
"No, that's not what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a real reason why you are here."
I was being real! I needed jujutsu in my pocket if I wanted to survive a world like Berserk! That was a reason as good as any.
"And I'm telling you-!" I summoned 8 Black Knights around myself "-what my reasons are!"
My wings hurt like hell, and this guy was not listening to reason. He rushed forward and grabbed two black knights by the skulls before slamming them into the floor. Another one tried to cut his side, but the blade bounced off like hitting an iron wall.
Getting rid of the wings since they were crumpled, I switched to Precognition and rushed forward. I may have no change against him, but he was the one who wanted me to struggle for my life, so I would.
Woosh! Thud!
I weaved under a straight and landed a hook on the principal's side, but all that netted me were bruised knuckles. His body felt harder than borg armor plating. It was like punching a mountain.
"You are making excuses for yourself. Deluding your real intent. You cannot be a sorcerer like that."
Bracing myself, I ate a right hook from the principal, I felt my flesh become bruised, and my bones creak under the weight. I saw the hit with Precognition, but he was too fast to dodge. But for some reason...
It felt weirdly good.
My arm flared up with pain, but despite the pain, I felt my Adrenaline and Endorphins flood my brain. I lashed out with a kick that did nothing to his leg, but I did not stop and landed an elbow to his sternum. Of course, it hurt me more than it hurt him, but it was the principal that counted.
"Why are you so stubborn?"
"Why are you!?"
What kind of answer was he expecting from me? I didn't have any of the altruistic drive that Yuji could give. Why did I want to learn Jujutsu other than my safety and more power? What was I trying to hide.
As I saw the fist of Yaga coming towards my face, I felt something, a mental trigger. My body felt lighter and far more powerful, as if I was using all its strength properly for the first time. I could feel all the muscles in my body. I drew my fist back and drove Superhuman to its utmost.
Instinctively, I knew what I was using was.
'Kure Clan's Secret Technique - Removal.'
With all my strength, I punched Yaga in the face, and hit hard enough to actually make his nose bleed and make him stagger for a bit. In the end there was just one conclusion I could come to.
"You see, old timer, I already stared death in the eyes more times than I can count. I know I can die any day, and I accepted that. You won't find any idealistic drivel from me. You want an honest answer?"
I stared him in the eyes.
"I want to learn Jujutsu simply because I want to. I found an opportunity to make myself stronger and experience more of the world, and I want to take it. Any other reason is a part of that. I just want to learn it. You got a problem with that?"
My broken fingers dangled uselessly, but I still drew my other hand back ready to punch him again. His eyes met my own unfaltering ones as he wiped the blood from his nose.
"I see. You pass."
He simply said that and picked his jacket up from the floor as if nothing had happened. Making my arms sag in disbelief. The Kure part of him almost still wanted him to keep fighting me, but the encroaching pain from the fading adrenaline said otherwise.
"Really? Just like that?" THAT is the reasoning that convinced you?"
Yaga gave me a look and tilted his glasses.
"It is as good a reason as any to become a sorcerer. Those who become sorcerers out of selfishness are almost always the ones who last the longest. It is those who act because they are forced to or out of sentimentality that die first. I am not here to judge your character; I'm here to see if you are fit to be a sorcerer. You pass. Satoru, take him to Shoko. I may have gone a bit too hard on him."
Feeling the exertion of 'Removal' recede looked at my mangled hand and the bruises on my body before shooting Yaga a look of 'you think?'. But he simply looked at me with an almost imperceptible smile.
"Welcome to Jujutsu High."
...What a fucking welcoming party and a half.
Feat Achieved! Pass Yaga's Test
+1x Gold Trait Gacha Ticket
I was almost knocked on my ass by Gojo patting me on the back and wrapping his arm around my neck.
"You did it Grimm-kun! Congrats, you are my student now, you can call me Gojo-sensei now."
My eye twitched, and I dangled my broken fingers in front of his face.
"Take, me, to, the, infirmary."
Now that the adrenaline was out of my system, it was taking all I had to not writhe on the ground in pain right now. Seeing this, Gojo scratched the back of his neck and sweatdropped.
"Ah, right. Alright let's go see Shoko, if she asks to dissect you, just refuse, alright?"
...What kinda school was this?
A/N: Yaga is a tough cookie, especially with Grimm's usual devil may care attitude. This was less a morality check and more of a 'get your head out of your ass' check from Yaga. A sorcerer needs to be honest to themselves, and Grimm was fooling himself to thinking he was more rational than he was. But yeah, he really just wants to explore the Multiverse.
Grimm finally joins the wildhouse that is the Jujutsu high, there will be plenty of chaos ahead. I hope you guys look forward to it. What did you guys think about Grimm's entrance exam and use of Removal? I'd love to know.