Chapter 7, 2nd Years

Inhaling slowly, Nishi's eyes narrowed on the trio, a predatory gleam to his gaze that iced over the air like a miasma. A slow exhale flowed out from him.

"Toge, what's the situation?" The girl with green hair spoke, her hands tightening on the naginata as she maintained a defensive stance.

With a rough voice, Toge's eyes focused on Nishi, "Tuna, Mustard Leaf, Spicy Cod Roe..."

The panda spoke quickly, "He attacked you?" He said as he eyed Toge for but a moment, his gaze settling back on Nishi as he put his fists up, "Do you think he's one of those curse users from last year?"

The green-haired girl spoke briefly, an irritation to her voice clearly aimed at Nishi, "Not likely, those guys all worked under some motive, this one's different."

Toge chimed in, "Salmon," He said with a curt nod.

Nishi stood silently, appraising the trio as his gaze settled on each of them, maintaining his distance on this narrow street, "Y'know, it's rude to not introduce yourselves when fighting."

They seemed to be taken aback by this comment, the panda being the first to speak, "Just call me Panda."

Staring at him bluntly for a moment, Nishi scoffed, "Seriously?"

Cutting in, "Names don't matter right now," the green-haired girl spoke sharply, the blade slowly pointing to Nishi.

Panda seemed to puff for a moment as he answered for her, "This is Maki."

Turning her head to Panda for a moment, her eyes widened in annoyance, "Don't entertain him, you idiot!"

Laughing to himself, Nishi covered his mouth as he smiled, laughing for several moments as his laughter gradually died down, pulling his hand away as a murmuring chuckle remained, "You three are a good laugh."

Toge spoke aloud with certainty, drinking down a bottle of throat medicine as he wiped his lips, "Tuna."

What did he just drink? Nishi thought with a smirk, glancing at the bottle slightly.

Throat medicine? He thought as he tightened his grip.

Everything came to a standstill, Nishi's unblinking eyes, Panda's clenching fists, Maki's gleaming blade, and Toge's certain gaze.

The air was thick with intent just waiting to erupt as they stood at a standstill.

Nishi couldn't hold back a smile as he stood intently.

This is just like all those years ago, so many hated me, cursed me, loathed me, they tried to sharpen their fangs and take me down but failed... Nishi thought as he shuddered in excitement.

A twitch of a finger was all it took.

Maki was the first to react, darting at Nishi with an aggressive twirl of her naginata, slicing the ends of his hairs narrowly as he dipped backward. Toge and Panda reacted in unison next, darting to either side of Nishi, Toge uttering aloud, "Freeze!"

Nishi's eyes widened as he prepared to protect his brain, instead a punch clocked him straight in the side as he slid toward Toge, Panda hitting him dead on. A grunt of pain irked out from Nishi as he gasped, catching a devastating slice across the chest from Maki's twirling naginata, the blade slashing his flesh easily.

Inhaling briefly, Nishi was frozen solid as cursed speech took root, his body locking up like steel.

S-shit, their synergy is startlingly good! Nishi's mind raced at the volley.

Toge's fist pummeled square into Nishi's face as Panda kicked his back, launching him into Maki who flowed past him, slashing across his back.

Tumbling through the street, Nishi slid to a halt, his shoes grinding against the asphalt as he spat blood out, "Didn't give me a chance huh? I commend that, sorcerers of my era fought the same way," Nishi said as he groaned, popping his neck as he pulled his kimono off, hurling it to the ground, "That volley was quite effective, you three deserve respect."

Nishi's red heat filtered out across his body, eating away at the empty air as it flowed around him, "Let's kick up the tempo as they say!" Nishi roared as Toge's eyes widened, tapping Panda and Maki's shoulders.

"Dodge!" He shouted, Maki and Panda's bodies moving before they even registered it.

Nishi flashed forward, a shockwave cracking the ground beneath his feet as he leaped forward, his fist narrowly grazing Toge's shoulder as he slid to a halt on the other side of them, digging his hands into the asphalt to slow himself down, looking toward Toge as his eyes focused on him, "You're the heart, so if I gouge it out the arms and legs fail!"

Panda rushed forward alongside Maki, Toge right behind them as Nishi pulled his arms behind his back, "Are you all familiar with kinetic energy?" Nishi announced as his heat built up even more, watching on as the trio raced towards Nishi.

"Panda!" Maki shouted as she jumped, Panda cocking his arm back as he punched into the bottom of her feet, hurling her forward like a cannon.

Fast, but not fast enough! Nishi thought as he grinned, protecting his brain with cursed energy, clashing with Maki's impact as Toge slid out from behind Panda.

"Twist!" Toge shouted.

Maki suddenly coiled her body around Nishi's arm, Panda rushing up as he gut-checked Nishi, looking on in shock as Nishi's stomach fumed with red heat, a driblet of blood dripping from his mouth, "Not bad. Panda!"

Twirling his body rapidly, Maki was sent flying into the rocky wall, Panda catching a punch into both of his hands as he slid backward from the impact, Toge catching him and halting his advance.

Prying herself slowly out of the wall, Maki commented, "What sort of strength is that? It feels like each of his motions is a truck slamming into me."

Panda blew on both of his palms as Toge eyed Nishi, Panda commenting, "HOT HOT HOT!"

Nishi laughed as he wiped his cheek of blood, "That's my cursed energy, it's that of what you call kinetic energy, pure motion," he said with a chuckle.

Clenching his fist, his red heat swirled tempestuously around his fist, rasping upwards like an actual flame, "The more cursed energy I pump into my fist, the more motion I imbibe into my strikes..." Nishi released his clenched fist as he flexed his muscles, his eyes settling on the three, Maki finally pried herself out of the wall as she scowled.

"...The same goes for physical mo-" Nishi was promptly interrupted.

"Quit revealing your technique," Maki interrupted, dirt and damage covering her.

Snickering lightly, Nishi sighed, "So sorcerers still employ such binding vows? I'm glad," Nishi commented as he raised a hand, "After all, what's a fight if not a conversation of the soul."

The three of them looked on hesitantly, Toge commenting, "Bonito flakes."

Panda agreed promptly, "I agree with Toge, jujutsu sorcery is a means to protect," he said with a curt nod.

"Where'd a guy like you learn such a dated way of thinking?" Maki added as she maneuvered closer to Toge and Panda.

Nishi's ears perked up at their responses, a look of annoyance flashing across his face, "For every step forward, there are ten steps back it seems," he said with his annoyance vanishing and disappointment taking its place, scoffing as he pinched the bridge of his nose, pulling his hands away as he held them out, continuing, "Jujutsu sorcery is a tool, a method of enacting your desires upon the world, that's all it is, don't dress up something so abhorrent as a tool meant to bring order and protect the weak, the bunch of posers."

Gritting his teeth, Nishi added with a shout, "You should kill who you hate, save who you like, and everyone in between are just background characters in your world!"

Red heat fumed from his body, puffing out like steam, "I'll show you what happens when you live true to your human instincts..."

Slamming his hands together, Nishi's cursed energy swelled, a wave of pressure and heat billowing from him as the three sorcerers covered their eyes, shielding themselves from the violent tide assaulting them.

"You've done an extensive amount of damage to me, unluckily for you, I make sure to keep my cards close to my chest..." Nishi laughed as his cursed energy seemed to keep rising.

I can do it now... I've taken on enough...

A visage of a predator seemed to appear behind Nishi, swallowing up everything in its wake as the trio sweated at the monstrous volume of cursed energy pouring out from Nishi.

Panda commented with a growl, "I-It's more than even Yuta!"

With shaking hands, Toge downed a vial of throat medicine, a gravely and scratchy voice, "Mustard leaf..."

Sweating, Maki clenched her weapon tightly, "I know! Even I can feel something is wrong... We should retreat, there isn't a sorcerer that can make it here in time," she said through clenched teeth.

The pressure vanished in an instant, seemingly withering and evaporating away to nothing as the last gust of wind blew past Nishi's face, his tousled hair gently swaying.

Looking at his hands, Nishi clenched them tightly, eyeing them with a straight face for a moment, before finally smirking, "Took you long enough," he muttered as he glanced back up at them.

Clenching his fist tightly, rippling blue energy almost blazed out from around his fists, light blue like a gentle ocean current, unsettlingly calm for someone like Nishi.

Looking to the trio, Nishi stretched, looking to them as he spoke, "I've reclaimed my cursed technique finally, took long enough."

They seemed shocked, Panda commenting aloud, "Y-you mean that kinetic energy stuff wasn't your cursed technique?!" He said in utter disbelief.

Looking on, Nishi waved his hand, "No, not at all, my cursed energy has always been like that," Nishi said smiling, and finished stretching.

"He's like Hakari..." Panda muttered as Toge and Maki glanced at Panda in shock.

"Mustard leaf?!" Toge said with genuine shock.

Nishi looked at his hand, the color flowing freely, "My cursed technique is simple, it allows me to endow a target who lacks cursed energy, cursed energy of their own..."

The trio looked on shocked Nishi continued, "...Through supplicated and fine-tuned control of my cursed technique in my past life, I learned how to channel what was normally a ritual into a single strike, my reason for this?" Nishi muttered as he smiled.

Suddenly appearing in front of Maki, he punched he straight in the stomach as she went flying with a shockwave, sparks of blue flickering out from the site of the strike, Toge and Panda's eyes shooting to Nishi who now stood between them, their body's finally reacting as Panda was the first to speak.

"MAK-" Jumping up with a kick to the face, Panda's entire body was grabbed with full force by his foot and sent flying down the street.

"BLAST AW-" Seemingly flickering in the air, Nishi shoved a hand into Toge's mouth, hurling him over his head as he slammed him into the ground, the asphalt shattering under the impact as Toge gasped in shock from the impact.

Wiping his hand off, Nishi looked at the now scattered trio, Maki laid out in a pile of trash, Panda headfirst into a wall, and Toge blasted into the crater beneath him.

Crouching down, he gently patted Toge's face, "Good fight, I appreciate you calling your friends," smiling, he added, "You wouldn't have been enough alone to rattle these annoying chains."

Standing, he groaned as he walked with his arms behind his head, "I'm almost back to 100%, all I need is my reverse cursed technique, after that..."

Nishi chuckled happily as he waltzed down the street, "...After that, I'll certainly be ready."

Tapping his chin lightly, Nishi thought to himself.

Now I can finally do it... The Obara clan can return.

Whistling as he walked, Nishi walked into the dead of night, beginning his long trek to his vessel's home village...

What an era indeed...