❥﹒In a world where the fearsome sorcerer Nishimura Riki is known for his dark and dreaded cursed techniques, everything changes when a voice from the past calls out his name.
But this is no ordinary voice - it belongs to his long-lost first love, s...
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𓆝 𓆟 𓆞
𝙅𝙐𝙅𝙐𝙏𝙎𝙐 𝙃𝙄𝙂𝙃 - 2021
"One of you three said they would cast the veil themselves and left your assistant supervisor behind, didn't you?"
Park Sunghoon, Nishimura Riki, and Yang Haru knelt before their teacher, Park Jay, who wore an expression of profound distress. He stared at the floor, refusing to meet their gaze, his disappointment palpable.
"And then, you forgot the veil," Jay looks up and sighs. "Come forward."
The three slowly look up to their scary teacher, all of them gulping. Soon, Niki looked at his sides, seeing how the two others ratted him out pointing their fingers at him. He tries to hide by slouching, chewing on his lips as another disappointed sight leaves their teacher's mouth.
The blond panics. "Sir! Why don't we stop this hunt for the culprit?!"
"So it was you, Riki." The teacher's voice was deep and cold, and he was soon dragged out of the classroom by the ear as Sunghoon and Haru giggled in amusement.
"Is a veil really that necessary, anyway?" Riki tossed the basketball into the air as he scoffed, a throbbing pain in his ear. Memories he'd purposefully suppressed from 2033 resurfaced once more, reminding him of the harsh assault he usually endured in his younger days.
"It's not like it matters if normies see or not, right?"
He pouted, slamming the ball to the ground and preparing for a shot. "They can't see cursed spirits or cursed techniques, anyway." Riki couldn't help but notice that the small talk remained immutable; his mouth moved of its own accord, uttering the same words as before.
Whether this held any significance was a question he'd ponder as time marched on.
He shot the ball and flopped backward dramatically, seemingly surrendering to life's tribulations. Haru chuckled, leaping to catch the ball. Her hair flowed freely, cascading like a river over her shoulders as she spun the ball on her fingers, her gaze fixed on the fatigued boy.
"Of course, it's not good for them to see. The strongest deterrent against the outbreak of a cursed spirit is the mental calm of the populace," with a casual flick, she pushed her bangs away from her face before she began dribbling the ball
"That's exactly why we have to conceal the threats they can't even see, as much as possible," she continued, making her way toward him. "And that's why—"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Riki interjected, halting her from launching into her philosophical motherly lectures. He dashed up to her, swiped the ball, and dribbled past her, and she looked on with a smile as he dunked it in, flipping his hair back in a failed attempt to appear cool.
"Looking out for the weak is so exhausting, honestly," Riki complained, adjusting his glasses before he grabbed the ball and sent it hurtling toward Haru with a speed that could have left non-sorcerers bewildered.
However, in the world of these two, it was just business as usual, and she effortlessly caught it.
"Survival of the weakest," she quipped, rolling her eyes and fixing her hair before preparing to shoot. "That's how a society should be. The weak help each other and discourage anyone who's too strong."
As she dribbled, slowly closing the gap between them, she emphasized her point. "Listen, Niki. Jujutsu exists to protect non-jujutsu sorcerers." Realizing she couldn't dribble around the nimble boy, she took a shot.
Niki responded with a sly grin, relishing the moment once again. "Is that your moral argument?" he taunted as the ball hit the net too forcefully, bouncing away.
"I hate moral arguments."
Haru gazed at him, disbelief clouding her features. "What?"
"Assigning reasons and responsibility to strength is what those who are weak do," Niki declared as he launched the ball again, the swift projectile parting the strands of Haru's hair with a graceful gust of wind. Her eyes remained stern, her disbelief unyielding.
This was young Niki's mindset and perspective from that time, and though he had evolved over the years, being sent back to this specific point prevented him from veering from his old thought patterns.
His lips twitched into a mischievous smile as Haru continued to glare at him. "Quit making yourself feel better by spouting nonsense," he teased, goading the girl.
Meanwhile, in the corner of the gym hall, Sunghoon pushed himself off the wall, heading for the exit. "Oh no, they're about to fight again."
Dark smoke materialized just behind the girl, heralding the arrival of a curse with a single eerie red eye peering through the darkness. Haru efficiently gathered her locks into a ponytail, ensuring they wouldn't hinder her during the impending battle. "Want to take this outside, Nishimura?"
Riki responded with a playful smirk, shoving his glasses downward, revealing his magical blue eyes hidden behind the shades and messy bangs. "Feeling lonely?" he teased. "Go by yourself."
The door swung open abruptly, a thunderous voice reverberating through the expansive hall. "How long are you going to keep fooling around?"
The stern interruption jolted the pair, abruptly making them aware of their close proximity. Their breaths seemed to dance across each other's faces, and Riki found himself captivated by the intricate details within the girl's dark brown orbs.
A flutter of unfamiliar sensations churned in their stomachs, prompting both to hastily scoot away from each other as if they had merely been preparing for some obscure, undefined encounter.
"Where did Sunghoon go?" Jay inquired as he entered, his gaze flickering between the two, suspicion tinged with disinterest masking any true curiosity about their actions.
Niki, once again speaking without conscious thought, offered a casual shrug. "Who knows? Probably the bathroom."
The teacher sighed and shook his head. "Whatever. This mission is now assigned to you two."
The mention of the word "mission" weighed heavily on the duo, and Haru couldn't help but roll her eyes in exasperation while Niki slouched and wore a discontented pout.
Their teacher, keenly observant, furrowed his brow. "What are those expressions for?"
Without making eye contact with each other or their elder, the two maintained their unhappy countenances. "Nothing," they chorused in perfect sync as Jay shook his head and took them both by the ear.
