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For a single moment, genuine surprise is all that filters through the forefront of Shiki's mind.

How is he still alive?

… The lines. She'd definitely cut the lines. Shiki had been certain that he was dead.

Except, the undeniable reality of the situation is that Araya is somehow still here. The man is alive and well, and his fingers are currently clamped down tightly over Shiki's throat.

How?

The way that Shiki's abilities work… whatever she cuts the lines of, dies. There's never been an exception to this. Until now.

But there's nothing that explains this, not unless…

Another memory rises in her mind, unbidden. When Satoru-niichan had rescued her from the Kamo clan compound… Araya had 'died' then as well. In fact, his entire body turned into a bloody paste beneath the overwhelming force of her cousin's Red.

Clearly, then, he was capable of circumventing the physical death of his body. Shiki and her cousin had both suspected as much, in the aftermath of her kidnapping. But it should've been different when she'd cut his lines–

Unless…

… The lines that she'd cut. Were they only the lines that represented the death of Araya Souren's vessel, and not Araya Souren's soul?

Could a human soul even be separated and detached like that?

No, the 'how' was not something that mattered at the moment. Likely the results of thorough experimentation into the forbidden art of human puppetry, is Shiki's guess. But no matter how Araya was able to accomplish this feat, if he was able to allow for his body to be destroyed with no damage to his soul, and could even transfer his soul between different vessels, then…

How could Shiki kill something like this?

There is no doubt in her mind that it's possible. The knowledge rests inside her blood, sits upon the marrow of her bones. Crystallizes within the core of her very being.

The truth of the matter is: Araya is alive. And to live –is to exist, accompanied by the specter of death. If existence is to be likened to a 'line,' then one must observe that all lines naturally have a 'start' and 'finish.'

Beginning and end.

Your ability allows you to 'kill' things that don't have a physical form.

Yes. It's possible for her to see the true death of 'Araya Souren.'

The fragmented thoughts flash through Shiki's mind swiftly, even as her body continues to move reflexively on its own to break out of Araya's hold in the meantime. There is a sharp pain in her wrist, but it's not enough for Shiki to lose her grip on her sword. She twists and cuts, slicing through the man's forearm and removing the limb entirely before he can draw it back, amid the startled cries of her classmates–

Her classmates. Fellow Jujutsu High students.

… None of whom were strong enough to face an enemy of Araya Souren's caliber, and they were also injured, Kirara worst of all. Shiki had applied White to him in order to stabilize his condition. The loss of the defensive technique protecting her own person was what had given Araya an opportunity to catch her off-guard, and…

All things considered, it's vanishingly unlikely that it was only due to a coincidence. Shiki hadn't shown any gaps in her defenses in her earlier fight against the man, but if he was keenly aware of the limitations to her cursed technique lapse all the same, then… it implied that he had specifically been waiting for an opportunity like this one. For Shiki to use White on someone else, and leave herself vulnerable in the process.

This certainly added another disquieting layer to Araya's previously-chosen strategy of targeting Ichinose-san during their altercation. Because if it was deliberate on his part, then clearly he knew how her abilities worked, despite the information being closely-guarded by the Gojo Clan.

In contrast, Shiki was far less knowledgeable on the extent of Araya Souren's abilities.

… But it won't prevent him from dying at her hands.

"Are you alright?" Ichinose-san's voice is tense and concerned. Which makes sense. Of course he would be worried; if Shiki is rendered incapable of fighting, then… it's unlikely that things will end well for any of them. "Is there anything that we can do to be of assistance…?"

The older boy's voice trails off towards the end, seemingly knowing the answer himself even before Shiki shakes her head in the negative.

"Protect yourselves as best as you can." That would be the single greatest form of help that Ichinose-san and the other students would be able to provide for her in this moment. Although… if Araya was still intent on targeting them regardless…

Shiki tightens her grip on the sword in her hand.

There's something in her right wrist that lances with pain from the motion. Shiki ignores it, just as she ignores the fiery pain in her neck, as she steadfastly ignores the fatigue that has been insidiously accumulating in her body.

Across the hallway, unlike her, Araya does not appear to be affected by exhaustion from what she can observe. Unsurprising. Humans tire; puppets don't.

Araya… somehow, the man possesses the capability to avert his own death by switching between puppet bodies, even if Shiki cuts his lines. But a technique like this definitely isn't one that comes without cost. Either in terms of preparation or materials, or cursed energy expenditure; or perhaps, even with the stress that it would undoubtedly place upon one's soul…

After all, the art of sorcery is one that balances give and take. No exchange is ever free, and there is always a cost for power.

In that case…

Then, the brute-force solution to the current dilemma would be to engage Araya Souren in battle again, and repeatedly 'kill' him. However many times he returned with another puppet body, Shiki would just have to kill him. Again and again and again, as many times as it took for the other sorcerer's death to become permanent,turning it into a battle of attrition between the two of them –either until Araya was finally unable to keep the cycle going, until Shiki's eyes adjusted enough to identify the lines that would lead to Araya's true death, or until reinforcements arrived.

… There were risks to this plan. The inherent limitations of Shiki's human body and her cursed energy reserves, as well as taking into account the inconvenient fact that she would undoubtedly need to be careful of the other students in here with her…

But there was no time to search for a perfect solution, if one even existed. Not when Araya just made a sharp gesture with his sole remaining hand, and ribbons of white-black light burst forward towards them–

Kinji swears, grabbing Kirara in his arms and immediately taking cover; a heartbeat later, Ichinose-san dives for Aikawa-senpai and does the same. Shiki sets her stance and parries the tendrils that come for her head-on, and promptly slices through them after knocking them aside.

The destroyed ropes of light are immediately replaced by another writhing cluster.

She clicks her tongue. It's obvious what Araya is aiming to do here. Keep her occupied and at range, so her sword won't reach him. Harass her classmates, and wait for Shiki to reveal more openings to him by placing them in danger. Without the protection of her lapse technique, all strikes had a chance of creating new injuries on her, but–

"Did you really think that I would be so easily cornered without White?"

The lines on Araya's barrier of glowing, concentric circles are easy for Shiki to see by this point. A knife slips into her hand, and she throws it without pause. There is the sharp sound of something breaking in the air as the spinning blade tears through the layers of Araya's barrier without pause. The shattering sound repeats itself once, twice, thrice–

Araya dodges; the knife lodges itself firmly into the wall behind him, still quivering.

And Shiki is in front of him.

He ducks under the swing of her sword, but it's a feint. There is another knife that Shiki grips in her left hand, hidden beneath her initial strike. In the moment that Araya's attention is diverted by the threat that Kuji Kanesada presents, she drives her knife into the center of his chest. Something within the puppet's core breaks, and with that accomplished, Shiki proceeds to pull out the knife in a bloody arc and follows up by stabbing into the man's neck.

There is a loud, wet crunch as the knife digs deep. Shiki puts more strength behind the knife, gouging in so she can cut through his neck entirely, even as she raises Kuji Kanesada to–

Araya's hand suddenly snaps up and closes over her face.

"Shuku!"

There is an invisible force that abruptly strikes her, with such strength that Shiki is sent bodily flying backwards. Cursed energy fortifies her body and dampens the damage that she takes when she's slammed into the wall at the other end of the hallway, but there is a jolt of red-hot pain that lances through her back all the same upon impact.

Shiki coughs, covering her mouth. There's something that tastes faintly metallic upon her tongue, and there is a red splotch blooming in the center of her palm when she moves her hand away.

Internal injury?

… On the other end of the hall, Araya's body lies collapsed on the ground. So she'd done enough damage to that puppet body, then, although she can't exactly say that the trade-off was worth it. She hadn't been expecting Araya to still have a trick like this hidden up his sleeve, an attack that was akin to a bastardized version of Satoru-niichan's Red.

Her mistake.

It honestly wouldn't have been a problem if she'd still had White applied to herself, but… Kirara needs it more than she does. She'll have to just make do. But, Shiki is not in a situation where she can afford to continue making mistakes of this kind.

You need to be better than this.

"I-is he finally dead?" Aikawa-senpai's voice is tremulous, even as she cautiously stands up from her hiding spot. Her gaze lands upon Shiki, and her eyes widen. "… You can actually get hurt?"

… It isn't even worth responding to that question, is it.

"Aikawa!" Ichinose-san hisses sharply, and reaches up to forcibly drag the dazed-looking girl back down again. "This is not the time, what the hell are you even thinking–"

"What do you mean? Isn't it fine already, the guy just–"

"He's not dead!"

The lines on the wall beside the two bickering upperclassmen sudden distort and change, and–

Without thinking, Shiki immediately throws another knife towards it. There are twin yelps of startled surprise, one distinctly more terrified than the other –Aikawa-senpai and Ichinose-san, respectively– but whereas Aikawa-senpai immediately sucks in a breath with a look of indignation as if she's about to yell at Shiki, Ichinose-san throws up a talisman of protection into the air and starts running without another word, yanking Aikawa-senpai along with him.

At least one of them had a sensible head on their shoulders.

Araya Souren slowly emerges once more from the very walls of the building around them. There is a knife stuck in his shoulder, one that he seems largely unbothered by.

"You have a remarkable sense of responsibility," he says.

Shiki is not foolish enough to take that as a compliment. "Isn't that to your benefit?"

The man dips his head. "It's impressive, for a hollow vessel."

Vessel.

… Shiki had always been aware that Araya's attention on her was for some nefarious purpose, and she'd assumed that it would be something along the lines of human experimentation for the abilities that she possessed. Vessel, however, indicated that Araya intended to treat her as one of his puppets.

He intended to kill her, then, and inhabit her body as his own.

…

That was fine. It wasn't as if Shiki had been planning to let Araya live, either.

Shiki wipes away the blood on her lips with the back of her hand, rising from the rubble. There is a burst of pain from the very motion of standing, but she does not allow herself to waver.

"Is that always what you've planned for me?" Kill Araya. Stall for time. The two are not necessarily incompatible with each other. "Ever since I was born, you intended to have me become your vessel someday? … Even long before I was ever a sorcerer?"

There are multiple sharp intakes of breath and sounds of surprise from the other students. Shiki resists the urge to put her hand to her forehead. Don't they know better than to draw attention to themselves in a situation like this?

… Fortunately, it does not appear as if Araya's attention has been drawn towards them, although Shiki has no doubt that he is acutely aware of the others in this hallway, just as she herself is.

"You were always a sorcerer," Araya shakes his head. "It's in your blood. You are the result of many, many generations' worth of work. As a clan sorcerer, you should be aware of the emphasis that's based on bloodlines and lineages. Did you really think that abilities like yours came from nowhere? That it's only mere luck of genetics at work here?"

What he hints at is not a particularly nice prospect to consider. Because if what Araya was implying was really true, if even Shiki's birth was a part of his long-reaching plans–

"I had almost thought that my planning resulted in failure, at first," the man continues sedately in wake of Shiki's silence. "When you were born… you showed signs of having exactly the right abilities that I needed, but you were empty. That wasn't what I desired. A soulless husk is incapable of developing the inherent potential within the body."

Shiki is careful to keep her expression still and unchanging.

"Have you never wondered why you are different from others around you? Why the thought processes of other people seem almost alien, at times?" Araya asks conversationally. "It's because the root of what you are is inhuman. 'Shiki.' This name was specifically chosen for you, to help facilitate the process of inducing 'consciousness' and 'mind' in a vessel that possesses none. You are only an artificial personality that was specifically developed for the purpose of cultivating the abilities in this body."

… She thinks that she sees why Araya is perfectly willing to prolong this dialogue with her now. Whether or not she truly believes his words is irrelevant. Merely planting the seed of suspicion, and presenting it as a very real possibility would be enough to shake a person's sense of self, their mentality. Which is something that would only be to Araya's benefit, if Shiki allows herself to fall prey to his tactics.

She refuses to give him the satisfaction of such a thing.

"Is that why you killed my parents?" Shiki asks evenly instead, instead of attempting to argue with him and fall deeper into the negligible question of 'identity.' "Because I wasn't developing my abilities?"

"It was necessary," Araya answers easily, a tacit admission of guilt. His expression, however, shows that he does not feel any remorse for the action. Before this, Shiki hadn't been completely certain of Araya's involvement in her parents' death, but… there is no more ambiguity on this front, now. "Your eyes should be proof enough of that. Eyes that are connected to the very nature of this cold, cruel world itself…"

Aikawa-senpai makes a sudden sound that's somewhere between a cough and a laugh, inappropriate as it is in this sort of situation and with this sort of awful timing. Kinji and Ichinose-san both reach out a hand and smack her over the head simultaneously.

"You disagree?" Araya casts a glance in her direction. Aikawa-senpai's face promptly pales, fear finally seeming to register in the girl's mind now that the curse user's attention is upon her. "But this world that we live in is indeed a cold and cruel one. There exist wrongs that are never righted, transgressions that never meet justice, suffering that is never alleviated… only forever repeated, in increasingly abominable patterns."

A brief silence ensues, and then the man turns away from her. Aikawa-senpai's legs give out beneath her.

"… But I digress. At the very least, one does not need to look further than the endless numbers of cursed spirits that spread malice and agony tirelessly across this world, compounding its existing problems… and creating new ones, as well."

There is something in Araya's tone that sounds ancient and tired in this moment. But it's not enough to elicit any sympathy from Shiki.

No matter the man's opinions on the state of the imperfect world that they happen to live in, whether or not it is justified… it does not change the fact that they are enemies, here and now. Araya wishes to kill Shiki and use her body as a puppet vessel; Shiki also wants to kill him in turn.

(Regardless of whether or not he is the reason for the existence of 'Shiki.')

"There is no point in continuing to struggle," Araya says. "You know that you cannot kill me by destroying these disposable bodies of mine. If you hope to outlast me this way… then know that it is a pointless effort. This building itself –through a combination of barriers and sealing techniques, it can be considered an extension of my own body. My domain, if you will."

A domain? But that was–

Domains were supposed to be the manifestation of a sorcerer's cursed technique, formed within the barrier of a separate space, instead of something that was directly imposed upon the physical world –an impossibility, as far as Shiki was aware of before this point. This building, it didn't… it felt more like a building than something like a domain, but… perhaps that was the point. If Araya was capable of hiding something of this level, then he was much more dangerous than Shiki had ever thought.

Even so–

"You still intend to fight?" Despite the question, Araya doesn't sound surprised in the least by Shiki's choice to point her sword towards him once more. "It's meaningless."

"That isn't for you to decide," Shiki disagrees.

"What of your fellow classmates, then?"

… This irritating curse user–!

Shiki whirls around, just as Aikawa-senpai lets out a shrill scream –there is a familiar white-black rope of light lodged into her left leg, one that she tugs at desperately– but is swiftly forced to return her attention to Araya, who takes the opportunity of her brief inattention to strike. He no longer bothers to keep up the guise of wanting to maintain distance and range; Shiki literally slices his body into pieces, but not before the man uses the suicidal charge to score a bruising hit on her side with the sound of a distinct crack.

From the accompanying burst of pain, it's probably Shiki's bones.

… It hurts, but not to the point of being debilitating. Not yet, at least, and Shiki looks up from the newly-created bloody mess at her feet towards her classmates. Araya had made it clear he would be targeting them, and if he chose to reappear in their midst, then she needed to–

Pain blooms in her back, and Shiki realizes that she'd misread the other sorcerer again. He was still focused on her, only using the other students to create a distraction, which she'd foolishly fallen for.

Araya's blows rain down viciously as he emerges from the walls in another new puppet body. But Shiki is equally vicious with her sword. She cuts the man in two, and stabs him through the chest, pinning him to the wall. There's a certain sort of frustration born from the knowledge of being aware that this isn't enough to kill–

Pain bursts through her shoulder from behind, sudden and overwhelming in all its unexpectedness. It's accompanied by the sound of a wet rip, tearing flesh, and there is the sensation of something moving and digging in, as if it's alive.

Shiki stumbles, as her grip on Kuji Kanesada loosens involuntarily as her right arm is rendered useless. But this does not stop her from reaching up with her left hand instead to take up the blade, and Shiki does not hesitate to turn her blade on herself and stab directly through her own shoulder. She'll force it out of her body, whatever it was that just attacked her–

–a hand?

… It's a hand that just tore a hole into her right shoulder. A… disembodied hand. One that's vaguely recognizable as of the limbs that she'd cut off of Araya's puppet bodies earlier–!

The man is still capable of controlling his dismembered limbs?

No, as long as she cuts the lines properly, then he won't be able to continue–

Around her, fleshy red tendrils suddenly rise up from the ground, grabbing at Shiki's body. It's hard to tell if it's solely from the curse user's puppet-flesh, or if it's something that rises from the very building itself. Everything seems to mix together, the viscera dripping with blood and the concrete walls turning into a gaping red maw beneath Shiki's feet.

Even with a bloody hole in his chest, Araya reaches out with both hands before Shiki can extricate herself from this mess. Pain blooms sharply as he breaks her left arm, and her fingers loosen on the hilt of her sword despite her will.

Kuji Kanesada clatters onto the ground.

"The end I seek," Araya murmurs softly. "… This unavoidable finality that is the ultimate fate of the living, I have long decided that I will bear witness to it all. And you… shall serve as my path towards it."

Before Shiki can do anything else or even open her mouth to respond, the fleshy tendrils binding her promptly yank down–

And everything is submerged in darkness.

…

…

…

… But she's not unconscious. In fact, Shiki is very much conscious and acutely aware of the incessant pain from her injuries, the rise and fall of her own chest in beat to her own rapid heart rate from the exertion of battle. Exhaustion is a familiar companion, and an unwanted one. But that is not up for Shiki to decide, unfortunately.

The silence of the all-consuming darkness that surrounds her is deafening.

… Movement is difficult. She is still being restrained by the fleshy material that Araya had used to bind her and drag her down to… wherever this is. It does not appear that she is still inside the building anymore, and Shiki tentatively concludes that this is the result of Araya's barrier work. Another layer to the barrier laid upon the building, perhaps?

She needs to get out.

Swiftly, preferably as soon as possible. Shiki does not have confidence in her classmates' abilities to remain safe in face of a threat like Araya, and it would be preferable for them to remain alive.

But escape is easier said than done, especially with Shiki's current state. Injured and exhausted, with dwindling cursed energy reserves… it's a miracle that she's still able to keep White active on Kirara in this moment. And, even if she were to return immediately, in her current state…

How much of a fight would she be able to put up against Araya Souren?

Cursed energy can be used to reinforce the body's strength and constitution, but there's a limit to it, and Shiki has passed that limit long ago in this battle. The damage that her body has accrued is… not ideal. Shiki is aware that the best option for fighting against Araya would've been to keep White active on herself, but she is also equally aware that doing so would've meant Kirara's death.

Is it better for you to die yourself, then? You know that once you die, the chances of the other students making it out alive are minuscule, anyways.

… She understands the clear-cut logic. But somehow, even now… this feeling that burns inside her chest isn't 'regret.'

Shiki closes her eyes.

…

Reverse cursed technique. The ability to heal oneself using positive energy. If she could just use reverse cursed technique, then it wouldn't matter if Araya was capable of landing debilitating blows on her –because nothing would actually be debilitating, short of a mortal blow. She'd be able to fix her body and fight properly again–

But operating reverse cursed technique requires positive energy. And Shiki has never successfully generated any positive energy before, despite multiple attempts over the years.

It's just multiplying 'negative' and 'negative' to get 'positive,' was what Satoru-niichan had to say about it whenever she asked him about the topic. Which wasn't exactly helpful. Multiplication in mathematics was easy enough to visualize, but the negative nature of cursed energy? And multiplying that?

… Shiki doesn't even know where to begin with it. But there's no other option, at the moment. Her body is injured, and bound. The only way for her to escape and return to her classmates is if she is able to heal herself and fight her way out. Even if she were to immediately cease using White on Kirara and apply it to herself instead, it wouldn't actually do anything to heal herself. Merely prevent her from incurring further injury, instead of changing the situation or providing a method of escape.

And so, Shiki concentrates on her cursed energy. Focuses on how the energy circulates, and…

Positive energy isn't about reversing the flow, literally. There are many scrolls recording the catastrophic results of attempting such a thing. It's the very nature of cursed energy that needs to be reversed, if one wishes to create positive energy and manipulate it.

Like this…?

… No. That's not right.

Reversing… no, not quite like this, either…

…

Deeper.

You need to delve deeper, into the very core of cursed energy itself.

"You're on the right track." A hand suddenly rests on the small of her back, accompanied by a gentle voice. The sound of a voice that is familiar, but should be impossible– "Focus, Shiki."

Deeper.

Deeper.

Grasp the core–

"Don't control it so tightly." The voice remains calm, steady. "Not like that, at least. You're not forcing your cursed energy to become something else entirely. Positive energy is still cursed energy, just in a different form. Let it flow. The process should be natural."

Relinquish.

Listen.

Flow.

… It's not working.

"Impatience is unlike you." Slightly chiding, but not quite reprimanding. The tone softens, "Focus, now. This isn't beyond your ability to grasp. Positive energy is opposite of regular cursed energy, an inversion of–"

Inversion.

…

It's hard to say just what it is, exactly, that clicks in Shiki's mind in this moment. Perhaps it's something about the word itself, inversion, that serves as the final piece forming a cohesive whole. Or perhaps it's simply due to the cursed energy that has finally been fully unraveled to Shiki's perception, and everything suddenly becomes clear–

What follows feels as easy as breathing, afterwards. Instinctive.

The broken bones in her body realign themselves, and muscles knit themselves together. It also becomes easier to breathe, as her torso ceases to ache and every new intake of breath is no longer accompanied by a twinge of pain.

Shiki opens her eyes.

… She's no longer restricted by Araya's bindings. In front of her, the figure of a familiar man finishes the movement of sheathing a sword, and looks up towards her with a small smile.

Shiki, however, cannot find it in herself to return the expression. Because what stands in front of her –is a puppet wearing Gojo Jihei's face.

She thinks that she might relate a little more to Ichinose-san now, though.

"It's good to see you again," Not-Jihei's smile gains a slightly rueful edge, "But I hope you won't be offended if I say that I genuinely hoped I wouldn't see you here."

His behavior and mannerisms… it's similar to the case with Isoda-san. Like Ichinose-san, no immediately noticeable discrepancies stand out to Shiki's eyes as she surveys the puppet in front of her.

But no matter how convincing surface appearances might seem, there's no doubt that this isn't Jihei-san who stands before her.

"… You've grown so tall now." Briefly, Not-Jihei falls silent. Then, "How long have I been dead?"

"Roughly four years."

"Four years…" The puppet stares at Shiki, as if attempting to engrave her appearance into its memory. "Have you… been well, during this time?"

"There's no point in this line of conversation." Despite being an extremely convincing simulacrum of one of the people who raised her, this doesn't change the fact that this isn't Gojo Jihei. Even if it possessed his memories, recognizing and helping Shiki like this despite being one of Araya Souren's creations.

"I suppose there isn't," the puppet chuckles. "… You haven't changed, I see."

Shiki's fingers twitch. Her hands feel empty without Kuji Kanesada… the sword that has been by her side these past years, a gift from the dead man in front of her.

Araya is going to wish he's dead, if he does anything to destroy it.

"What is this place?"

"A place where the same cycle is constantly repeated, over and over," Not-Jihei responds. "There are others like me here. People who have been killed by Araya, presumably, and have their memories extracted and placed into puppet bodies, repeating the last day of their lives."

… Repeating the last day of their lives? What purpose was there in something like that?

"I don't know the reason for it. Presumably, it's some sort of ritual to power his unusual techniques…" Not-Jihei shakes its head. "Luckily, it appears that the 'purification' aspect to my abilities grants some measure of defense against this. Even so, it took quite a long time for me to become aware that I was trapped in this endless, inescapable loop."

The puppet pats the sword at its side and sighs.

"I've picked up a few things here and there," it says. "But despite my best efforts, there are still missing gaps in my memories. And… nothing ever changes. The one time something was different was when a living boy somehow stumbled in here, but I couldn't–"

"Kirara?"

"… He introduced himself as 'Hoshi Kirara,' yes," the puppet blinks, surprised. "You're acquainted with each other?"

"Kirara is one of my classmates," Shiki answers. "He mentioned that he found himself in a strange, dark space when things went awry during Obon… and he met someone with a water-based cursed technique who helped him escape."

Not-Jihei makes a sound of realization, "That would be me. Unfortunately, Araya has closed the opening in it since, but… that's not an issue for you, is it?"

No. It isn't.

Similarly to the fire-barrier that she'd broken during Obon… now that her eyes have adjusted to this darkness, it's really not so different, the space that Araya had trapped her in. Shiki suspects that Araya is either unaware of this fact, or confident that Shiki won't be able to act anyways, not when she was heavily injured and immobilized. If she couldn't move to cut anything, then did it even matter if she was capable of seeing the lines or not?

It was Araya's oversight, in this case. Not that Shiki was about to complain about it.

"Here." Not-Jihei removes the sword at his hip, and holds it out to her. There's nothing in particular that's special about the sword –it's not even a proper cursed tool– but in Shiki's hands, it makes no difference. "Do what you need to."

Shiki accepts the weapon, and is silent for a moment. "… You're a puppet. Why are you assisting me? Does Araya not control your actions?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Not-Jihei admits. "But right now, I'd say that my actions are my own."

Shiki studies the puppet a moment longer. "Your lines are… connected to those of this barrier. Helping to maintain it. When I destroy the barrier, you will die."

Not-Jihei smiles ruefully. "I'm already dead, Shiki."

She doesn't need him to remind her of the fact. But even so, there's still something about Jihei-san's face saying those words to her that makes Shiki a little… unhappy.

"… I know. You're not him," she says quietly, unsheathing the sword. A perfectly ordinary blade, one that's even slightly chipped and dark with rust.

"Precisely. I am but an echo," Not-Jihei says. "One that should've been laid to rest a long time ago, instead of being bound against my will like this, tethered with so many other souls to this space in service of our killer. Set us free, ojou-sama."

… Time is of the essence. Her fellow students are facing Araya on their own right now, and Shiki doesn't trust Araya not to kill them all –save for Kirara, but that's only because she can still feel the continuous drain on her cursed energy from the active technique.

Shiki levels the sword in front of her.

"… Any last words?"

"I'll see you later, Shiki," he smiles. "Or rather… the real 'me' will, I suppose. But not for a long time, I should hope."

He bows to her. Perfunctory and respectful, the way he always used to, back within the walls of the Gojo compound. The way that Shiki hadn't even realized that she still remembered so clearly up until this moment, and… it makes her a little wistful, almost.

But the one who stands before her in this moment is not Jihei-san. She knows this, can see the truth of it with her very own eyes.

At the same time… even though the puppet does not possess a soul, it still holds the vast majority of Jihei-san's memories. And it can be argued that a person is also defined by the summation of their experiences. In that sense, this puppet is the closest entity to 'Gojo Jihei' that still remains in this world.

But only for an ephemeral moment.

Whether loved and cherished or hated and despised, it is only inevitable that all things come to an eventual end with the inexorable passage of time.

Forever and fleeting.

…

So without hesitation, Shiki swings the sword in her hand.

Beneath the tip of the blade, everything instantly splits apart as she drags it upwards. The puppet, the darkness, the very space itself –all of it falls apart, smoothly severed along glowing red lines. All around her, there is a clear note that rings through the air, the sound of something shattering into a thousand pieces as the illusion is broken–

And then the world is awash in light.

.

.

Extra.

.

The moment that Shiki's sword clattered onto the ground from nerveless fingers, Kinji was struck by the thought of, Oh fuck. This was not helped by how the girl was then dragged into the walls of the building in the immediate span of the next few seconds.

Holy shit.

"Holy shit," Kirara mutters faintly from next to him, mirroring Kinji's own thoughts to the unexpected turn of events. It wasn't something that Kinji thought he would ever see, Shiki of all people being bested in battle like this–

But she's not invincible. Kinji knows that. Shiki is just very good at making it seem like she is, as unintentional as it might be on her part.

…

As the curse user –Araya Souren– straightens, Kinji is very aware of how they're going to be next, oh boy. Even the pain in his currently-blinded eye seems to dull in anticipation, as Kinji's focus narrows on the imminent danger.

The man doesn't even bother looking in their direction, before more light-ropes leap up from the weird circles glowing beneath his feet.

(Like, honest-to-goodness ropes. What gives? Why ropes?! Kinky, sure, but not really Kinji's sort of thing–)

Kirara's breath hitches when Kinji scoops him up in his arms and starts running. But it's a lot harder to dodge properly when half his field of vision is gone and Shiki isn't around to run interference for them anymore–

Whoa, that was a pretty close call just now–

"Watch out!" In a sudden burst of strength, Kirara suddenly leans forward and reaches out with a hand towards something behind his shoulder. Kinji spins around and gets the dubious honor of a front-row perspective of himself nearly being impaled through the head by a crazy curse user's kinky jujutsu bullshit.

But Kirara's hand is outstretched in front of him, stopping the weird glowing rope-thing in its tracks–

… White. It's Shiki's 'White' that's keeping Kirara's hand from being run through, thereby preventing the both of them from being skewered like a shish kebab.

Kirara's cursed energy sparks, and suddenly the ropes are literally thrown back from them in a way that… kind of inspires a weird sort of déjà vu in Kinji, actually.

He squints, then looks down at the boy in his arms. "Yo, was that your cursed technique just now?"

"Yeah." Kirara's face is pale, but there's a determined set to his expression even despite the pain that he's in.

Kinji frowns, "… Are you still holding up okay?"

"I could ask the same of you," the other boy laughs, a light tremble in his frame that Kinji feels against his chest. "I'm okay. It hurts, but it's not like I can get any more hurt, can I?"

Right, because White 'ensures that nothing affects the target,' ergo Kirara can't do anything about actually healing the hole in his side, but hey. It's not like he can get any worse no matter what he's hit with, which is a good thing, isn't it?

"You can keep those things away from us?" Ichinose asks tersely. The third year whips out another talisman –where does even keep pulling those things out from?– and manages to knock away another coil of light striking at them like a snake's tail.

"Sort of," Kirara responds, reaching for the upperclassman's arm to mark him with his cursed energy. "My cursed technique is a little more complicated than just 'keeping things away,' but… effectively, yes."

"Time limit?"

"Until I run out of cursed energy," Kirara hastily repeats the process with Aikawa. "My range isn't too large, though, so don't–"

"She's not dead, is she?"

Kirara startles at the unexpected interruption, and stares agape at the other girl. "… I'm sorry?"

"She can't be dead," Aikawa repeats, pale-faced. Her eyes are wide and unseeing. "She's supposed to be really strong, right? The second coming of Gojo Satoru? That's why she can't be bothered with any of us. So she can't just be dead, too, not like–"

Kinji punches her in the face.

"Are you fucking kidding me," he grits out. "Did you somehow completely miss the fact that she was fighting at a disadvantage the entire goddamned time because she was trying to keep us alive?"

Never mind that the only reason why she was even vulnerable to injuries in the first place was because she stubbornly kept White active on Kirara the entire time instead of herself.

"… I didn't mean it that way," Aikawa whispers nasally, holding onto her bloody nose.

Kinji gives her the scathing look that deserves, then firmly proceeds to ignore the idiot.

"Shiki is fine," Kirara says slowly. "… She has to be. I still have White active on me, so it means that she's maintaining the technique, and she can't do that if she's… if she's indisposed."

"And with her cursed energy reserves as low as they are, how long do you think she would continue to do so?"

The enemy sorcerer finally begins walking towards them.

There's a crack that accompanies his first steps; he deliberately steps on Shiki's beloved sword, and breaks the blade in half underfoot. Oof. Shiki is definitely not going to be happy about that when she finds out about it–

The next few steps slow slightly, as if meeting invisible resistance. Kirara's cursed technique, probably. But somehow, the sorcerer raises a hand into the air and just –shoves through it, somehow? Kirara gasps, and then–

And then he's standing directly in front of them.

Kinji automatically adjusts his grip and Kirara and moves to kick out at the other sorcerer, but he's not fast enough. The other man's fist slams into his midsection in the blink of an eye, and Kinji is flung through the air at speed, crashing painfully into a crater of his own making on the opposing wall.

A jagged spike of coldness lances through his chest when he realizes that his arms are empty.

Kirara–!

Kinji's head snaps up. Both Ichinose and Aikawa are down as well. Kirara, on the other hand, is being haplessly dangled in the curse user's grip.

… Goddamn, it certainly hadn't seemed like the man hit like a wrecking ball when Shiki had been fighting him 's even still a bloody hole in his chest from where she'd run him through with her sword, and Kinji had barely even lasted a second against this man!

But being outmatched is no reason to surrender.

Kinji spits out a mouthful of blood, staggering to his feet.

"You're a sturdy one," the curse user notes. "But your struggle is futile, as was hers."

"I'm not gonna just roll over and die," Kinji bares his teeth in a bloody grin.

… He's probably knocked his head against something. There are a lot of black spots dancing around in front of his eyes and he's feeling oddly lightheaded. Like he's about to float, or start flying, except at the same time, Kinji has never been so sure of being perfectly grounded.

"I'm just starting to get fired up," he says. His body moves on its own, hands rising in front of his navel in a weird sort of gesture that somehow feels right, just like the words that rise unbidden on his tongue.

Domain Ex–

A tremor suddenly runs through the building.

Kinji blinks, pausing as he's suddenly pulled out of his stupor. "… What the hell?"

There's something… ringing in the air, enough to make his head hurt even more than it already does. It's such a strange sound, too, like there's something that just broke. Like a glass window being shattered into pieces, except not actually a window, and more like… like something in the very air itself–

The other sorcerer staggers, swaying on his feet, and suddenly spits out a mouthful of blood.

"What is the meaning of…?" The man trails off, staring at the blood on his hand, and slowly curls it into a fist. "What have you done, Gojo Shiki?"

…

Almost as if in response to the words that ring out, a glowing line appears on the walls of the building. Then, it's immediately followed by a powerful cutting force that blows away everything in its path.

By all means, it should be terrifying.

… But on his part, Kinji can't help but laugh at the sight. A familiar white-haired girl steps through the tear with preternatural grace, and Kinji finds himself grinning.

"Knew you wouldn't go down so easily, Shiki."

.

.

…

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