Chapter 13: Clearly Depressing, Not Healing
Hearing this compliment, Akako crossed her arms with a bit of pride, but the slight curve at the corner of her mouth gave away how much she enjoyed it.
"Hmph... isn't that only natural? I am the orthodox successor of Red Magic after all!"
However, after hesitating for a moment, she opened her mouth to ask curiously: "Uncle Gojo, that strange counterattack method just now—is that the power of a jujutsu sorcerer? If I learn it, can I ignore other people's attacks as easily as you do?"
In truth, what Gojo Satoru used earlier was merely the Limitless technique at its bare minimum input. Its principle relied on the strong gravitational pull of "Blue" to deflect the path of her attack, combined with precise cursed energy control so the flames wouldn't hurt Akako in return.
He was here to teach a class, not to bully a young girl.
"That, I'm afraid, is a bit tough," Gojo Satoru admitted honestly. "After all, that's my 'innate technique'—a power I was born with as a jujutsu sorcerer. Generally speaking, it's impossible to learn through training later in life."
Seeing a flash of disappointment in Akako's eyes, he shifted his tone: "However, everyone is different. If it's you, you might awaken an unknown power that even I can't predict."
"For example—'Domain Expansion'."
"'Domain Expansion'?" This unfamiliar concept immediately caught Akako's attention: "What is that?"
"To put it simply, it's a power that turns your inner world into reality," Gojo Satoru asked. "Does Little Akako have any wish she wants to fulfill?"
Koizumi Akako answered without a second thought: "To conquer everyone in the whole world, of course! To make all men, women, young, and old submit to a witch's charm!"
Gojo Satoru snapped his fingers: "There you go."
"Look, if you can master jujutsu, it means you hold two powerful magic systems. One more power means one more layer of insurance to realize your wish. Plus, as I just mentioned, once your training reaches a certain level, you might awaken your very own 'Domain'."
"Inside your own 'Domain', the user's will is brought out to its absolute limit, and plenty of unbelievable things become possible." Gojo Satoru painted a tempting picture, laying out a grand vision for Akako: "When that time comes, even if you want to... well, 'conquer' everyone in the world, it's theoretically not completely out of the question, you know?"
This idea clearly hit the bullseye for Akako.
The little witch's eyes grew brighter and brighter, as if she could already see herself being worshiped by thousands of people in the future.
Yet in the next second, she spoke in a reserved tone: "Conquering everyone... rather than calling it a wish, it's just something that's going to happen sooner or later."
"Even without a Domain, I can do it just the same."
Having said that, she took a tactical pause, and then spoke as if doing him a favor.
"Still, seeing as jujutsu counts as a... well, somewhat interesting power, it's not like I can't give it a try."
"So, how do I open a Domain?"
Gojo Satoru: "..."
Girl, where did your resolute willpower go, hey!
Instead of digging deeper into that topic, he raised an index finger, wagged it, and said: "That's not something we should be covering in our very first lesson. Taking steps too big will only make you trip and fall~"
Akako nodded, feeling no disappointment. "So, what are we actually going to learn in our first lesson?"
"Gojo... Teacher?"
That subtle shift in address alone showed a unspoken layer of acceptance.
From this moment on, Koizumi Akako was officially his student.
Gojo Satoru smiled: "The first step to becoming a jujutsu sorcerer, of course, is learning to sense and pull out the dormant 'cursed energy' inside your body."
He explained using plain and simple words: "The source of cursed energy lies in human vitality and negative emotions."
"This power is hidden inside everyone's body, but the vast majority of people live their entire lives without ever sensing or using it. People with special talent, like me, can actively generate and control it."
"Fear, anger, hatred, anxiety... all these negative emotions make the best 'fuel' to spark and boost cursed energy. The stronger the emotion, the more cursed energy you can extract and transform, and the stronger it becomes."
Gojo Satoru's Six Eyes could clearly sense that the vitality inside Akako was far larger and purer than that of ordinary people, likely thanks to her magician bloodline and her years of practice.
This showed that she truly possessed the talent to learn jujutsu.
"The key is whether you can realize this energy exists, and learn to extract and split it from your vitality so you can control it," Gojo Satoru summarized.
Akako sharply caught the main point: "So that means I already meet the vitality requirement, and all that's left is needing negative emotions?"
"Spot on."
Gojo Satoru asked her: "Have you ever felt strong negative emotions usually? Like things that made you feel scared or angry?"
Hearing this, Akako knit her brows and thought back carefully.
After a moment, she shook her head.
"I've never had those kinds of emotions. My only real trouble is probably receiving way too many love letters."
"Wait, you're still in elementary school, right?!"
Actually, Gojo Satoru wasn't surprised by this answer.
After all, Akako clearly grew up pampered as a young lady—living in luxury, surrounded by people catering to her. Lacking negative emotions was as normal as it gets.
Luckily, he came prepared.
As if pulling a trick, the white-haired youth pulled out a stack of DVDs from who knows where.
They were a collection of classic movies.
There were top-rated international blockbusters, as well as horror films with eerie covers.
"No worries, I have prepared a special 'textbook' for you."
Gojo Satoru waved the DVDs in front of Akako, showing a bright smile that looked a bit "up to no good" in her eyes: "Little Akako, let's watch a movie!"
"Huh?"
Surprisingly, this tried-and-true teaching trick was flatly rejected.
"I don't want to watch stuff full of fighting or scary ghost tricks, it's boring."
Akako understood that Gojo Satoru wanted to use movie plots to trigger her negative emotions, but those themes just couldn't spark her interest. "Teacher Gojo, is there anything else to watch?"
Gojo Satoru froze for a second, rubbing his chin.
Fair enough.
Making a twelve-year-old watch age-restricted horror or drama movies did seem like a bit much.
What do girls this age usually like?
Disney fairy tales? Princesses and princes?
"No no, those happy-ending stories can't spark negative emotions at all."
Suddenly, a stroke of genius hit him.
He quickly shuffled through the stack of DVDs, pulling out one with a fresh art style on the cover, featuring several cute girls and a mysterious creature.
"How about this one?"
Gojo Satoru showed the DVD to Akako, introducing it with a face full of sincerity: "Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a heartwarming anime about love and peace! It not only has pretty girls who use magic just like you, but also a cute mascot, and all kinds of pretty transformation dresses! Doesn't it suit you really well?"
Sure enough, the vibrant colors on the cover, the cute characters, and the keyword "magical girl" instantly grabbed Akako's eyes.
She rarely watched manga or anime normally, so it felt quite novel to her.
Still, she raised a doubt: "I remember these kinds of anime are usually for young kids, right? You're treating me like a naive child again!"
"Eh? Aren't you one?"
"...Teacher Gojo!"
Gojo Satoru said with a smile: "Rest assured, this story isn't as childish as you think."
"Alright then..."
Koizumi Akako finally nodded.
"I'll watch this one then."
Suddenly, a subtle feeling that something was off flashed by.
Since it's a heartwarming anime about love and peace, why would it make the audience feel negative emotions?
Akako didn't overthink the question, though, and started watching Madoka Magica together with Gojo Satoru.
And so, in a side hall filled with a classic vibe, the lights and shadows of modern anime began to flicker.
Gojo Satoru leaned back comfortably on the sofa, occasionally stealing glances at Akako's reaction beside him.
The story kicked off with the mysterious creature Kyubey asking the middle school student Madoka to form a contract and become a magical girl.
Madoka felt a bit lost and didn't agree right away.
At first, Akako watched Madoka and her friend Sayaka messing around with a mix of pickiness and curiosity. Seeing the appearance of the mysterious transfer student Homura Akemi, as well as Mami Tomoe's elegant posture when saving Madoka and the others from a witch, she even tossed out a few comments.
"That familiars named Kyubey looks pretty cute."
"Yeah, this transformation sequence design is pretty fancy, fits my taste quite well."
"Though, calling that kind of monster a witch is really annoying."
As time ticked by, Akako slowly got pulled into the story, her expression becoming more focused.
Even the slice-of-life storytelling of the first few episodes didn't make her feel bored.
However, as the plot took a sharp turn, the relaxed look on Akako's face began to fade away.
The sudden death of the upperclassman Mami Tomoe marked the start of the cruel truth behind magical girls being stripped bare—
Turns out, the enemies of those magical girls, those nameless monsters known as "witches," were what magical girls turned into after falling into despair.
Kyubey had been deceiving everyone all along.
She sat up straight, her wine-red eyes locked onto the screen, her small hands tightening unconsciously.
Seeing Sayaka Miki turn into a Mermaid Witch out of despair, Homura Akemi traveling through time again and again to save Madoka yet failing to change her tragic fate, and especially hearing Kyubey say things like "emotions were irrational to begin with" and "this helps slow down the universe's energy loss" in that completely flat voice...
"That bastard...!"
Akako gritted her teeth, her long crimson hair blowing without any wind from her anger: "How dare Kyubey... what right does it have to do this!?"
"What... did it actually treat a magical girl's life as?"
By the time the plot reached the later stages, her view of Kyubey had completely shifted from "cute" to pure, deep hatred.
That rage of being tricked, used, and treated as a tool, along with the sorrow of being powerless against a cruel fate, surged wildly inside Akako's heart.
Until she saw the story's ending—
Madoka became a god to save everyone, leaving only Homura Akemi to remember her existence.
All the "witches" vanished, and the magical girls from past to present had their souls purified under Madoka's embrace.
And Homura Akemi was left to fight on alone, carrying her memories of Madoka.
"..."
Even though the length was longer than a typical movie, time flew by for Akako, who was completely immersed in it.
When the anime ended, only silence remained.
Akako kept her head down, clearly still stuck in those heavy, lingering feelings.
Only after a long while did she speak up.
"Even though she saved the other magical girls, Madoka, forgotten by her own family, friends, and the whole world... can she really feel happy? Just imagining the feeling of being forgotten by my mother makes me feel terrible."
"And Homura... living in a world without Madoka must be painful too, right?"
"They're clearly around my age, yet they have to carry such a heavy fate."
"I just feel... so sad..."
Muttering these words, Koizumi Akako felt her eyes sting a bit.
Teacher Gojo was a big liar.
"What heartwarming anime? This is clearly depressing."
Still, she took a deep breath and quickly composed herself.
She couldn't cry. Because the price of a witch shedding tears was losing all her magic power.
Gojo Satoru, watching from the side, only then remembered this rule after the fact.
"Hiss~ Thank goodness I didn't make Little Akako cry."
From the looks of it, though...
Negative emotions had been successfully built up, right?
"How is it?" Gojo Satoru asked: "Do you feel a power flowing inside your body now that's different from magic—a more restless, unsettled energy?"
Akako closed her eyes and felt it carefully, her brows pulling together slightly.
"Seems... there is a little bit, very faint, warm, rushing around inside my body... but I can't catch it."
"Great, that's enough."
Gojo Satoru pulled out a doll he had prepared long ago: "Use this to practice your hands on."
To be exact, it was a cursed corpse crafted to look remarkably lifelike, identical to Kyubey!
"Hello, I am Kyubey."
Gojo Satoru handed the cursed corpse in front of Akako, even using a high-pitched voice to mimic Kyubey's tone on purpose: "Please form a contract with me and become a magical girl~"
The moment Akako saw this "top-tier villain's" innocent big red eyes, all the rage she built up while watching the anime exploded instantly.
"You bastard—!"
Without a second thought, her instinct kicked in and she threw a punch right at it!
Yet that Kyubey dodged with surprising agility, even using its long ears like a whip to strike back, landing a slap on the back of Akako's hand.
While it didn't hurt, it carried maximum disrespect!
"You terrible Kyubey!!"
Akako was thoroughly enraged by the cursed corpse.
She threw out all her ladylike composure and magician manners, pouncing right into a brawl with it, forgetting to use even her best magic.
"That's for lying! That's for making cold remarks! That's for hurting Madoka and the others!"
She shouted angrily as she landed hits.
That Kyubey cursed corpse had been programmed by Gojo Satoru long ago, constantly using its ears and nimble body to block and strike back.
Gojo Satoru watched comfortably from the side, even clapping and cheering now and then.
It was crystal clear that the energy born from negative emotions inside Akako—which was hard to catch at first—was growing more and more active, starting to flow into every part of her body following her will.
After who knows how long, with a straight punch packed with Akako's rage, the Kyubey cursed corpse finally fell to the ground, the light in its eyes going out as it went completely still.
"Phew... is it broken?"
Akako panted slightly, looking at the unmoving "doll" on the floor, slowly calming down.
She suddenly felt as if a strange, burning sense of power still lingered at her fingertips.
It was completely different from the magic she was familiar with.
"How does it feel?"
Gojo Satoru walked over to her side and asked with a smile.
Akako lifted her hand, seeming to realize something: "Just now... that power..."
"Congratulations, Little Akako. In your extreme rage, you successfully pulled out and made basic use of—cursed energy."
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