A week has passed since Nishi's brief meeting with his first modern sorcerer, over the duration, Nishi has spent each day hunting for strong foes, comprised of the pitiful curses that linger over the wider area of Tokyo.
With an unsettling stomp, a curse's head splattered across a rocky edge, a cliff overlooking the nearby area as purple blood dripped down the sheer drop.
Dusting his hands off, Nishi rotated his left arm a few times, sighing, "These curses aren't getting any stronger, however, I am recovering my strength so likely it's the inverse," Nishi commented with a grumble, his eyes drifting over to meet another presence.
That one... it's shivering, odd, Nishi thought as he erupted from where he stood, springing in the direction of the presence like a shadow across the ground.
I've always had a good sense of the direction of curse, but, intriguingly, this one feels like it's almost hiding?
Sliding to a halt on asphalt Nishi stood in a street directly outside of a closed-off shrine, its clearly dilapidated and neglected form staring back at him as he tilted his head to the side, "Perhaps Japanese superstition led to its neglect," Nishi said with a smirk, "Japanese after all are so superstitious."
Pushing a rope barrier upward as he walked forward, Nishi walked up the steps to the shrine, his senses tingling with curse.
This area is simply overflowing with curse?! Did someone die here? Nishi thought in astonishment.
Stepping into an open court, he looked on at the full broken form of the building. Shattered windows, broken floorboards, ornaments torn down and scattered to the winds, offerings desecrated, and the divine providence of the shrine- utterly corrupted, an air of hostility and most of all curse lingering like a taint on the shrine.
Taking a deep breath, Nishi beamed as his gaze darkened on the shrine, "How sublime, whatever occurred here must've been exquisite," Nishi muttered as he approached the shrine, stepping up the creaky steps one foot at a time, an unsettling noise lacing the air with each step.
Pushing open the rickety shrine doors, both swung open with agonizing slowness as Nishi stepped into the destroyed interior, faint rays of light shooting in from cracks, dust fluttering in the stall air that seemingly coated every surface.
Walking along, Nishi bathed in the atmosphere, commenting aloud, "There is an exceptional curse hiding here, I sense a familiarity with it though."
Closing his eyes, Nishi's vision faltered, as another sense honed itself.
There? No... Perhaps over here, no, not there either... Nishi thought to himself as his eyes twitched under closed lids.
His eyes slowly opened as he glanced to the center of the room, approaching as the creaking sound of the old floorboards echoed throughout the room, glancing down as he crouched and wiped away years of neglect.
An engraving caked in dust was freed, a single kanji, "悪" Nishi muttered as he saw the character, "So evil is harbored in this shrine?"
Nishi jerked his head to a flickering presence, a small lizard-like curse darting out of sight, "I could've told you that," Nishi whispered as he looked back to the floorboard.
Grabbing the edge of the floorboard, Nishi ripped it up, sending the board flying with a plume of dust.
Nishi grinned as his eyes settled on it, a small box nestled in a pile of tiny bones.
"They must've tried desperately to suppress him," he said as he chuckled heartily, prying the box out from the bones as he held it in his hand.
"This will help me nicely," he said, prying the box open to see a talisman-wrapped object nestled in velvety cushions.
Unwrapping it slowly, the air thickened as Nishi held it in his hands, eyeing it as he held it up to a ray of dusty light, "Hello... Ryomen Sukuna, it's been a thousand years," Nishi smiled as he spoke, the air growling in reply.
Curses began to crawl, rippling through floorboards like a vile tide, Nishi stuffed the finger into his pocket, "Perfect, this is a fortunate find..." Nishi commented with a silenced chuckle.
Nishi clasped his hands together, his red heat flickering across his form as his eyes gleamed with focus, "Let's dance."
Less a curse and more an almost flood of them rushed towards Nishi, a cacophony of noises as their attraction to the now freed finger of Ryomen Sukuna pulled them in like moths to a flame.
Embracing the flood, Nishi like a spearhead dove through the crowd, dispersing them as their forms flickering to dust. From above, the ceiling caved in, a giant almost mammoth-like curse roaring its trunk like a trumpet loudly.
"That's more like it!" Nishi gleamed with a wide and aggressive smile, diving to the side as the floor where he was just standing was reduced to fragments of wood, dust racing up into the air.
The building groaned loudly as it began to collapse, Nishi ignoring it as he dove forward, his arm cocked backward as he planted a single punch into the side of the curse, its body absorbing the impact as if it were nothing.
Held it back too much, that's good! Nishi thought as the trunk of the curse came flying from his left side, smacking him out of the building like a wrecking ball.
Tumbling across the ground, Nishi narrowly managed to right himself midair, putting his leg back to halt his advance, sliding to a halt right at the top of the stairs to the shrine, "Explosive power, it must really want this finger," Nishi said with an excited smile, suddenly the wall he was just launched out of exploded, wood planks flying through the air as the mammoth-like curse roared loudly, its trunk coiling in the air like a snake.
Taking a deep breath, Nishi's muscles flexed as his red heat coursed across the surface of his body, "Finding curses like this used to be rare, so I'm thankful to be reborn into an era where they are so commonplace!"
Darting into the curse, Nishi slid between its giant front legs, dodging its trunk as he kicked powerfully into its back right leg, hearing it groan in pain from the impact as it simultaneously fell forward, crashing into the giant and degraded Torii that enshrined the entrance to the once prosperous shrine.
The weight of the curse shattered them, finally failing as the curse slid down the steps, Nishi hurled himself over the curse and smashed down into the ground at the bottom of the steps, cocking his arm behind his back as he shouted out, "Behind you!"[1]
The curse desperately tried to right itself, merely twisting its body up as it suddenly began to roll down the steps instead of slide.
"Think that's what they call checkmate in the modern era!" Nishi chuckled aloud, hurling his fist forward as the mammoth slammed into him, Nishi with a loud shockwave cracking his fist square into its back, ripping through its body as the mammoth was split in two, a literal tide of purple blood spilled out, and all over him as he held his position for just a moment, flicking his hand free of blood.
"When you're that big, makes it easy to work it against you," Nishi said with a smirk, the blood covering him dissolving away into dust.
Sighing as he smiled to himself with an almost euphoric glow, Nishi adjusted his shirt, pulling the finger out of his pocket as he held it up to the setting sun, "I'm gonna' get into lotssss of trouble with you, ain't I, Ryomen Sukuna?"
With only a brief chuckle, he stuffed it back into his pocket as he looked around, strutting off as he scratched the back of his head, "I want to fight that Satoru Gojo, but who knows where he is," Nishi commented, "Any sorcerer will do for now though," he added with a content sigh, his eyes closed in equal bliss.
Glancing forward, Nishi looked on at a young man, he had straight cream-colored hair and brown eyes.
The man stared on at Nishi, unzipping his collar with wide eyes, his mouth bearing a snake and fangs, Nishi's eyes widening instantly as he coated his ears in cursed energy.
Cursed speech, in this era?! Nishi thought with genuine shock and awe.
"Kelp, Mustard leaf?" The young man muttered, his hand remaining on his collar.
Nishi put his hands outward, concentrating on his ears as his eyes narrowed on the sorcerer.
Cursed speech users are generally poor in close-range combat, but the good ones I've encountered supplement that with cursed tools or intentional training.
The sorcerer seemed to recognize what Nishi was gearing up to do, his eyes narrowing, "Bonito flakes..."
"Sorry kid, I don't know what you're saying, never bothered to learn what you freaks were mumbling about," Nishi said with clear excitement.
This is a seriously sweet treat, right after that mammoth too, the modern era fucking rocks! Nishi thought as he vibrated.
The sorcerer sweated as he put his hands up, squinting, "Ikura," he said with a clear venom to his voice as if cursing Nishi.
"I hope you're at least Semi-Grade 1 if you are..." Nishi mumbled as his red heat fluttered around his body, his eyes widening, "I can definitely reclaim my cursed technique."
The sorcerer's eyes widened as Nishi was suddenly in front of him, ducking his head as he narrowly avoided a strike, the sorcerer irking out, "M-MUSTARD LEAF?!"
Nishi grinned as the sorcerer punched him in the side, Nishi narrowly grabbing ahold of his hair as the sorcerer hurled himself backward and slid to a halt, Nishi suddenly noticing a phone in his hand.
His eyes widened slightly as he assumed a lower stance, "Oh, calling for reinforcements huh?" Nishi muttered happily.
Red heat ramped up in his body as he darted forward, grabbing the sorcerer by the wrist and pulling him close, "You better be good at hand-to-hand combat," Nishi said as he punched straight into the sorcerer's stomach, watching as his eyes bulge out of his head, a cough taking him for but a moment.
Nishi released his grip as the sorcerer clipped his chin with his other fist, replying with a quick kick into the chest, knocking the wind out of him as the sorcerer slid backward, cursed energy concentrated in his chest region.
Nishi's eyes widened slightly when he saw this, nodding lightly, "That's good... Keep on improving, hone yourself to a razor's edge and cut me," Nishi muttered as he zig-zagged toward the sorcerer.
The sorcerer lunged backward, narrowly dodging a kick to the side, watching it rush into his loose jacket and ripping it open. Responding quickly, the sorcerer jabbed Nishi in the nose, before grabbing his hair and kneeing Nishi square in the nose.
Through teary eyes, Nishi tracked the sorcerer's movements, watching him weave to the side as Nishi hurled out a punch that caved the air in, breezing right past his target as he turned his head to the side, narrowly avoiding a punch to the face again, "My eyes are already clearing up, Inumaki!"[2]
Flinching at the comment for only a single second, that was all Nishi needed, grabbing ahold of his collar as he ripped him forward.
A lack of resistance and a lack of the sorcerer caught Nishi by equal surprise, only clenched in his fist was a jacket, suddenly being swept at the feet, falling onto his back as the sorcerer pinned Nishi's hands with his knees, pushing his forearm into Nishi's throat.
"Tuna mayo!" The sorcerer uttered quickly, a bit unnerved at Nishi's seeming compliance.
He's not bad, in terms of martial arts he certainly is on par with me, either I've gotten rusty or sorcerers are even better now... Nishi thought to himself as he looked up into his opponent's eyes.
While he has me tied in martial arts, he's weaker than me.
The sorcerer suddenly was hurled over Nishi, landing on the ground behind him, but much to Nishi's shock, managed to right himself midair, landing on his feet as he flipped backward, his hands extended towards Nishi.
Agile too, he's good... Nishi thought with a smile, flipping himself to his feet as he spun around to face the sorcerer, wiping his forehead of sweat.
Pointing his hand to the sorcerer with a smirk, Nishi commented, "So, where are thos-"
A giant fist pounded right into Nishi's face, sending him hurtling into a rocky wall, all left of him being a twitching arm and leg as he remained embedded in the wall for a moment.
As Nishi pried himself from the wall, he shook his head, smiling with blood trickling from his head, "Now who coul-" Freezing, he had a dumb look on his face of stunned silence.
Before Nishi stood a panda and a girl with dark green hair, in her hand held a naginata while the panda bore strange... panda-themed brass knuckles.
"This era is..." Nishi paused as he looked at the now trio, each standing at the ready, "...This era is odd," Nishi said with a chuckle and a smile, his eyes flickering with suppressed joy.
"This'll be enough..." Nishi muttered, his eyes narrowing with a predatory glare.
I'll use these stepping stones to reach up and reclaim my cursed technique...[3]
[1] Fun Fact!
Nishi used the same binding vow here that he used on the goldfish curse.
[2] Fun Fact!
This binding vow is similar to the others he has used, as he is essentially throwing away his disadvantage, telling Inumaki that he can see again.
[3] Fun Fact!
He needs a condition like these because as his risk goes up, the sorcery value of reclaiming his CT becomes easier to meet, it's essentially a binding vow stating, "I won't run from this disadvantageous fight, in return, give me back what I've lost."