Walking through a lush forest near the northern border of the Owari province, Ise no Tayū keeps her senses sharp even as her pace remains sedate.
Shortly after Narauko and the upper years left, she and the rest all got assigned various missions. It wasn't unsurprising—less manpower means more work for everyone else—but this time of the year is hardly the most active, so it isn't a big deal really.
Right now, she is just doing a routine exorcism. Normally this duty would be assigned to someone with more experience than her, but she is not untalented. She might not be among the true geniuses of her generation, but she is already better than the average Sorcerer, and far better than her level of experience would typically suggest.
She is sure that local familiarity also played a part in her assignment. Owari is North-East of the Ise province that she was born in after all, she has been here plenty of times. More relevantly, she once followed her grandfather when he came here for the exact same purpose ten years ago.
A twig breaks off above and lands in one of her hair buns, untangling it and causing some forest green hair to fall over her eyes.
Sighing at the annoyance, Tayū absently sets about fixing her hair once more while her mind drifts back to the story her grandfather told her ten years ago, while walking down this exact path.
As the story goes, there once was a Kami named Ohokuninushi-no-Kami. He was the original ruler of Ashihara no Nakatsukuni, the land between Takamagahara and Yomi. Heaven and Hell. Also known as the Human Realm.
One day, while Ohokuninushi-no-Kami was building the Izumo province straight West of where she stands, he noticed a small boat of bark riding the white waves of Miho bay. Curious, he collected the boat and found within it a small dwarf, no bigger than a thumb.
The small being then bit Ohokuninushi on the cheek and refused to tell him its name. However, Ohokuninushi eventually summoned Kuebiko, for the scarecrow Kami knows and sees all within the realm.
Kuebiko then revealed that the dwarf was in fact Sukuna-biko-na, the son of Kamimusubi, who is herself one third of the Kotoamatsukami—the first three Kami to come into existence at the beginning of time.
Tayū can admit to having been tempted to inform Sukuna of this tale and to make the natural comparisons available. Alas, she values her life more than the momentary satisfaction she would feel before her head left her body.
After seeking her out, Kamimusubi confirmed that he was her son and that he had slipped through her fingers and fallen into the mortal realm. However, instead of demanding his return, she instead decreed that Sukuna-biko-na would join Ohokuninushi and that they would work together to build the land of Izumo.
The two would go on to do so, becoming fast and strong friends in the process. In order to help his friend build up the land he rules, Sukuna-biko-na would invent medicines and healing rituals to spread through the land. He supposedly also invented saké and blessed various hot springs.
Eventually however, the job was done and Sukuna-biko-na had to leave. To do so he climbed up a grain of millet on Awaji Island, causing it to dip from his limited weight and rebound, launching the small Kami all the way to Kakuriyo, the Hidden World, also known as the Reverse World where Yōkai reside.
Some time later, Ohokuninushi made a deal with the Heavenly Kami and relinquished his rule over the mortal plane to Amaterasu's descendants before retreating into the Kakuriyo, which he was given to rule in exchange.
However, that is only how the story goes. The truth of the matter isn't so simple. It never is, not if it is a tale that ends in the involvement of Jujutsu Sorcerers.
The truth of the matter is that Sukuna-biko-na never chose to leave. He never would have if it was his choice. After all, the two of them were lovers. Not in the human sense, the proportions would certainly complicate matters. But Kami do not need to abide by the, ah, 'traditional' mating process.
Regardless, the two were lovers, and Sukuna-biko-na did not choose to leave.
Instead, he died.
She does not know exactly how his death came about, only that it did. However, Kami are not such simple things to kill.
Through means that she is far too mortal to understand, Sukuna-biko-na split his 'Death' off from his 'Self' in a desperate bid to survive. As a result of this, he became something that is neither dead nor alive and could not continue to exist in this world.
Because of this, Sukuna-biko-na's main consciousness had no choice but to retreat into the Kakuriyo if he wanted to continue to exist.
The story speaks of how the Heavenly Kami forced Ohokuninushi to relinquish his rule of the realm in exchange for rule over Kakuriyo. However, the truth is that when Ohokuninushi learnt of his lover's death, it was actually he who went to the Heavenly Kami and asked that he be given Kakuriyo, willing to give up everything he had in exchange. All so that he may be with the man he loved once more.
The Heavenly Kami accepted and Ohokuninushi left to be with his lover while the realm of humanity was left under the rule of the Imperial Family and everyone lived happily ever after, right?
Wrong.
The lives of Kami exist beyond human ken, and most Kami rarely deign to interact with the lives and world of mere mortals. Even Ohokuninushi, who once ruled these lands, left without looking back.
And while the Kami turned their backs, contented that their story is over, it is humanity, Jujutsu Sorcerers, who were left to deal with the aftermath.
For while Sukuna-biko-na did leave, he also left behind his 'Death' which fell here, in the province of Owari.
Because of this, every ten years a Curse is born, and it is up to the Jujutsu Sorcerers to deal with it.
Eventually, a Shrine was built here to help suppress Sukuna-biko-na's Death. Over time this has resulted in the deca-annually born Curse getting weaker and weaker over time. What was once a powerful recurring Special Grade became weaker and weaker until now it can only be called Grade One.
Perhaps at some point in the future, a time may come where it is weakened enough to finally disappear for good. Alas, that time is not now.
Regardless, this mission has been done so many times that the process is rote. The annual festival is still ongoing in the Shrine in the distance. Grand rituals taking place to spread Positive Energy through the land where the Curse will potentially be born.
With so many preparations, the mission is not all that dangerous to her, giving her mind space to wonder, though she still doesn't let her guard down. She isn't stupid.
To tell the truth, she would rather be taking part in the festivities at the Shrine, but she is a Jujutsu Sorcerer, and her duty will often dictate that she continue to face horrors while others celebrate. It is a fate she has long resigned herself to, as all Jujutsu Sorcerers should.
Still, being here, she takes note to remember to invite her friends to the Hadaka Matsuri next year. She has only attended the Naked Festival once, but other than making for an enjoyable sight, she found the whole thing rather boring.
After all, it is not a festival for women, so she had nothing to participate in. Now however, she has more friends than just Nagiko, so her interest has been reignited.
She knows that her closest friend doesn't have a particularly high opinion of Narauko thanks to a rather poor first impression, but she trusts that he is friendly enough for that gap to be bridged easily enough. Plus, Tayū thinks that seeing Narauko participating in the festivities will likely help ease her dislike of him.
Tayū herself is not particularly interested, not like Takiyasha clearly is, but she isn't going to deny that he is attractive, so why not enjoy a show?
Additionally, she has absolutely zero doubt that it will be the funniest thing watching how everyone there reacts to Yoshiie's presence. With his looks, he attracts more men than women, and she loves seeing people be confused by his body. It's hilarious.
The only problem really is finding a way to exclude Sukuna without Narauko noticing. That's a challenging balancing act, but frankly no one other than Narauko would ever willingly want to spend time with that bastard.
Except for Kamo-Sensei, she supposes, but he doesn't count as a person in her mind so maybe not.
Abruptly, Tayū leaps into the air, grabs a low hanging branch and uses it to orient her feet to the tree's trunk so that she may push herself off of it. As she sails through the air, a sudden burst of vines explode from he floor where she once stood, chasing close behind her movements.
Focusing her mind away from random thoughts now that the objective of her mission is here, Tayū watches from a safe distance as it emerges.
The vines that tried to ambush her a moment ago continue to rise, increasing in number but not spreading about. Instead, the converge together, vines and grass and dirt and stone. All writhing and compressing and shattering and melting together into one large blob that rapidly transforms into the shape of a deformed humanoid.
With bones of stone, flesh of mud, muscle of vine and skin of stone, the Cursed Spirit regards her with a detached sense of desperation. The emotional cocktail is confusing to experience, but having felt it before with her grandfather when she was but young, she doesn't let it bother her.
"So you are a golem this time," Tayū absently mutters to herself.
When her grandfather exorcised it, it took the form of a half mangled drowned corpse. It was rather disturbing, though that is par for the course with Cursed Spirits.
Even this one has its deformities. One arm is large and hulking, dragging grotesquely across the ground while black blood leaks down from where it barely hangs onto the shoulder by a few strands of sinuous vine.
It obviously isn't wearing any clothes, but it could hardly be called indecent as its entire front is ripped open as if gored upon by a wild boar. Entrails of mud and vine, looking as uncomfortably realistic imitations of the human organs, all while leaking enough black blood to rapidly start pooling at its feet, seemingly never ending.
However, there is one part that never changes, no matter the incarnation, and that is the corpse on its neck.
Instead of having a head, this Curse only has a tiny corpse lying at the end of its neck, melded into the flesh as if it is being absorbed. It has no arms or legs, only a tiny torso and a matching head that has no features bar a mouth wreathed in a silent scream of agony and a pair of hollow eyes that leak yet more black ichor.
The corpse of Sukuna-biko-na's Death.
The Cursed Spirit doesn't respond to her, obviously. Instead, it takes a deep breath—she can see the imitation organs swell through its open chest—and it roars.
The sound that leaves the tiny corpse's mouth does not match it's appearance at all, sounding instead as some strange mix between a crow and a lion both screaming in agony.
It is not a pleasant sound.
Tayū does not loose her calm. Instead, she simply examines the Curse and judges where she stands with it and what form she should use.
From the pressure it is giving of, she would normally say that a Katauta—the shortest waka—would be good enough. However, she knows this Curse's tricks.
Sukuna-biko-na was a Kami of healing, so even as only a mere fraction of the Kami, this corpse has a rather strong regenerative capability. The only method to really exorcise it is to destroy the main body, which would be the Kami's corpse.
That is not such an easy thing to do, so while she does not feel that she needs to go so far as to use a Bussokusekika, she decides to play it safe with a Tanka. Five-seven-five-seven-seven.
Thirty-one total syllables, meaning she needs to land thirty-one hits before she can win. Should be easy enough.
Tayū claps her hands together twice, holding them in prayer the second time, and bows briefly to the Curse.
"We meet again, Sukuna-biko-na-no-kami-sama. I will be granting you your temporary peace today. Please forgive me."
This corpse may be a source of trouble, but it is undeniably a part of Sukuna-biko-na, who once did much in the aid of humanity. No matter what has become of him, he still deserves to be respected as the revered Kami that he once was.
The Cursed Spirit naturally still fails to respond, only choosing to charge her down with the sort of mindless hunger that most Curses tend to exhibit.
Tayū's expression does not change from the same placid face she has been wearing until now, even with this creature barrelling down at her. A mental flip locks her Technique in its Tanka form.
Swaying to the left, Tayū then quickly reverses course and pulls herself to the right, twisting just so. Barely avoiding the Curse as it flies past her close enough that her clothes ruffle from the displaced air.
As it passes, both of her hands snap out, not with any real force, just enough to lightly graze the Curse as it passes. Two hits down.
The Curse trips, unable to properly control its speed now that it missed its target and crashes through a tree before carving up a trench through the ground.
Tayū doesn't chase it despite its supposedly vulnerable state. Instead, she backs father away from the path it took, only briefly glancing at the trail of black tar that followed in its wake.
The main tactic when dealing with this Curse is to simply keep on the move. Staying in one place for too long invites defeat, as the Curse will continue to leave a trail of ichor everywhere it goes, and touching that is not a particularly good idea.
A moment later, the Curse rises once more and takes another step in her direction, causing a splash of the disgusting black ichor pooling around him, proving her caution worthwhile.
The Curse doesn't approach so foolhardy this time. Instead, it takes a slow step in her direction, cautious. She matches it with another step back, following the standard procedure of engagement.
Being as beastly as it is, the Curse takes her retreat as a sign of weakness and with another roar, charges her a second time.
She watches it approach, moving with a base speed that surpasses her for now, even if its agility is rather lacking in comparison.
She can feel its every step reverberating through the ground, yet her heart remains calm even as it grows within her vision.
Once it closes the distance between them, roots grow out of its legs and into the earth, bringing its momentum to a complete halt right in front of her. At the same time, its hulking arm swings down, rotating with ease despite barely being attached at the shoulder.
A simple side-step avoids the downward swing by a hair's breadth, and as she dodges, she holds her hands slightly in front of her, enough for the Curse's arm to graze her fingers.
She feels her finger bones fracture and start to bruise immediately, but still her expression does not change. She is far too used to pain to be bothered by something so inane. Instead of crying out, Tayū hops lightly into the air right as the fist crashes down.
The next instant, spikes of earth and wood explode out of the floor spherically around the impact of the monster's gargantuan fist, however none hit her as she gently lands on top of said fist, neatly avoiding them.
She feels a surge of violent, cruel, satisfaction in the air as the Curse's massive arm morphs beneath her, grass and roots twisting and coiling around her ankles.
'Trapped,' she can only watch as the Curse's smaller arm thrusts at her like it wants to punch a hole through her chest.
Watching the fist approach under her detached gaze, Tayū twists her body back and to the side. One of her hands snaps up to grab the attacking wrist as it passes by where she was a moment ago. The other makes use of the leverage granted to thrust into the Curse's chest, spearing where its heart should be.
The moment her attack lands, her Technique activates. With her fifth hit landing, the first 'verse' is complete and her body immediately surges with Reverse Cursed Technique.
The Curse howls in pain as her hand melts a hole in its chest and she doesn't hesitate to leap away, unhindered by the boiling roots that once coiled around her ankles.
Tayū watches the Curse howl and rage like a child throwing a tantrum without batting an eye. She simply flexes her healed fingers before bringing her hands together and interlocking them.
A moment later, the Curse abruptly stills. Not in the sense of making little movement, but in the sense that it went from flailing around hectically to completely, exactly, still. Unnervingly so. No subtle sway, no proof of inhalation, even the black ichor leaking from its open chest doesn't visibly move despite the fact that the pool beneath its feet continues to grow.
It is unnerving. Unnatural. Even just the way it ignored inertia to stop has some human part of her brain ticking wrong. But still, Tayū is not moved. It is just another day in the life of a Jujutsu Sorcerer.
A moment later, there is movement once more. As Tayū has no intention of interfering, she simply watches as the same scene plays out that she once saw ten years ago.
The 'flesh' at its decapitated neck starts to wriggle and writhe until the tiny corpse is swallowed by its gruesome throne. Absorbed into the flesh like a rock dropped in tar.
Tayū watches with the clinical detachment of one desensitised to such scenes as the corpse is 'swallowed.' She watches through the open cavity of its torso as the corpse falls below the neckline and slowly travels down, as if being carried by a gentle current, until coming to a stop in place of its sternum.
The barren flesh at its decapitated neck starts to bubble before a flower pod the size of her fist rises, leaking black blood as if it were a newborn. Almost immediately, far faster than she would have been able to react, the pod blooms.
"Hollow Wicker Basket," Tayū dully intones, unflinching as the world around her flashes, a geyser of rotten black ichor exploding from beneath the Curse's feet only to immediately fade away as its fragile Domain shatters.
This Curse has been exorcised over a hundred times throughout history. Every ten years for over a thousand.
What threat could it possibly pose, when faced with that level of accumulation?
Tayū doesn't let herself get distracted. She is immediately on the move the moment its Domain breaks.
The Curse staggers from the backlash and she capitalises by leaping at it, careful to avoid the puddle of tar where it stands.
Her hands land on its shoulders and she flips herself over and onto its back, knees first. Two hits. The impact sends them down together and she sticks to its back to avoid the ichor on the floor and on its front.
She releases its shoulders, the action not counting as a 'hit' to her Technique, and immediately starts pummelling its back. She isn't aiming to do any damage, just land hits.
It takes only a moment for her to complete the second 'verse' but she doesn't stop striking it, even as her blows come faster from the minor boost each verse gives.
The burst of Positive Energy that washes over her causes more damage to accumulate on the Curse, slowing down its recovery enough for her to complete the second and last five syllable verse, but she only gets four hits into the next seven before she feels the Curse's attention return to focus through the sharpening of its Cursed Energy.
Immediately abandoning her offence, Tayū pushes herself back and straightens her legs up, leaping backwards without hesitation or shame in retreat.
The moment she is clear, as if choreographed, the Curse's back explodes violent spikes, full of hooks and serrated edges. Clearly designed for maximum suffering rather than any amount of efficiency.
Tayū calmly starts walking away, keeping the Curse in sight but moving to get some more distance from the ichor coating the ground here. She watches the Curse rise again, unharmed from her assault.
A Kami of healing indeed.
It watches her walk away, steps slow and precise, and her eyes narrow marginally, the first display of emotion she has shown so far.
This is where it gets tricky, she thinks to herself.
The exorcism of this Curse can generally be compressed into three 'phases'.
The first has it charging mindlessly. Acting little different to a starved animal acting with fervour.
The second 'phase' would be the easiest, as it is when the Curse will get angry and open its Domain. All one needs is to know how to cast Hollow Wicker Basket and to be ready with it before the Domain arrives, as even a second trapped inside of it will be dangerous.
Now is the actually challenging part. For after its Domain fails to achieve victory is when the fragment of Sukuna-biko-na's mind inside of the beast awakens. Giving a limited degree of intelligence to the Curse.
Which means that there is little that can be strategized beforehand for this stage, as the Curse will adapt to whoever is fighting it. That much is clear enough from the blatant intelligence behind its scrutiny of her.
It doesn't approach immediately, knowing that it has the advantage in the current terrain. However, its nature as a Curse is greater than its ability to remain patient, so she only has to wait a little while before its natural aggressiveness goads it into abandoning favourable terrain in favour of not letting her escape.
Its body shifts before her eyes, mass redistributing itself to make a more equally proportional body. Its loosely connected 'flesh' compresses into proper limbs, though its torso remains open to the air, leaking black blood alongside the half bloomed flower above its neck.
"Death does not suit you, Kami-sama." Whether it heard her muttered words or not she does not know, but it acts then regardless.
In one lunge it crosses half the distance between them, moving even faster than she can right now, even with three verses boosting her physique.
One of her hands flies into her opposite sleeve right as the Curse makes its second lunge, and her hand snaps back out as soon as it is in motion.
A paper talisman flies from between her fingers and almost immediately lights up, transforming into a pool of golden light that beams into the Kami's corpse in the Curse's chest. The Curse stutters a stop as the light transforms into a series of rope bindings that could around the tiny Kami.
Tayū takes advantage of the momentary pause to step into the Curse's guard and slightly to the side where she can throw a punch without worrying about either disrupting the talisman's effects or getting her hand stuck in the mush of its internals.
However she doesn't just punch it. Instead, she tries out an idea Narauko gave her and throws a specific punch where she first impacts with the first joints of her fingers and then quickly pulls down to hit again with her knuckles.
She doesn't grin, but her lips to gain a minute upward tilt as the feedback from her Technique counts two extra hits instead of one.
She doesn't get to do more before the Curse recovers and swings a backhand seeking to remove her head from her shoulders.
The talisman doesn't guarantee a victory or paralyse the Curse or anything so grandiose, it only weakens the connection between the Kami's fragmented mind and its body slightly, reducing its reaction time.
Which is rather perfect for her, as agility is her strength.
A simple half step back and light tilting is enough to watch the fist sail by her face, followed by a spray of ichor that follows the jarring twist of its torso.
However, Tayū ignores the spray in favour of springing back forward, retaking her step into its guard. One of her hands is thrown forward to block its other fist before it can get enough momentum to be truly harmful.
It still fractures her arm, but she ignores that as her other hand spears into its neck. As the seventh hit, another verse is complete and Positive Energy surges through her again, fixing her arm, allowing it to continue blocking the Curses without giving way, and allowing her other hand to melt through the 'stem' growing from its neck.
The spray of ichor reaches her as she is ripping the Curse's 'head' clean from its neck, but right before it touches her, the obi tied around her waist lights up with glowing Script and the ichor fizzes and burns away on a barrier that only appears wherever it lands.
Unphased, Tayū continues to act, pulling her hand back, discarding the 'head' as she does, before throwing a punch at the joint of the arm being held back. However, before it can land she diverts her attack to bring her arm in front of her face, just in time for it to be speared through by a wooden spike rapidly grown from the Curse's shoulder.
Her other hand pushes away from its lock to sever the spear at the same instant that the Curse's knee lurches into her gut, sending her flying away with only a slight gasp as the air leaves her lungs.
She only reacts to the pain when she bounces across the ground and the spear lodged through her arm is yanked and twisted in all manner of ways, tearing free chunks of flesh from the hooks and barbs covering the damn thing.
Scowling slightly from the agony burning through her right side, Tayū uses her momentum to rise from an uncontrolled roll and back to her feet. She immediately hops back, a choice proven to be the correct one when a plethora of vines burst from the ground, flailing wildly where she just was.
Without the slightest bit of hesitation, Tayū yanks the wooden spike out of her arm and starts channelling Reverse Cursed Technique through it, even as white hot agony lances through her nervous system.
She isn't as gifted as Narauko or Nagiko are, but with her Technique being what it is, she is no slouch at Reverse Cursed Technique, so the wound closes at a rapid pace.
In the meantime, she observes the Curse across from her with cold calculation. She has no need to rush. As things stand right now, she has little to no chance of winning. It is faster, stronger and far more durable with many more options than her.
However, not only does she have the weight of accumulation behind her, but she also only needs to land six more hits to complete her Waka. Once she does, the battle will be over. After all, the boost she gets for each verse is only linear until the final one, whereupon it becomes exponential.
So she just needs to not die before landing six more hits.
Some part of her brain absently recalls a familiar feeling of amusement from the fact that the 'revealing one's hand' Vow is purely a detriment to her.
Her Technique is pretty useless against people who know what it is after all. Which is what makes it all the more effective against Curses. Because they will never know what it is and will never prepare for it.
That much is proven when the Curse throws a punch to the floor in front of it, only its fist extends instead of stopping and tunnels into the ground, rapidly transforming into a wave of roots that charges at her.
She hops to the side once they arrive, avoiding them as they burst out of the ground as a wall of spears.
It thinks that keeping a distance from her gives it the advantage because she has hurt it multiple times with the completion of her verses and it obviously doesn't understand the mechanism behind it.
However, that just makes it easier for her.
Both of her fists snap out in a quick burst, each hitting twice at once, pushing her Technique forward four hits in the span of a second. However, it doesn't come free, as the spikes continue to extend in her direction like a growing lattice.
One spike pierces her right thigh while another cuts a line on her left calf as she barely moves it enough to avoid worse and a third pierces through her stomach. Her punches broke the roots higher up, so she doesn't suffer anymore, but neither does she really care, as being impaled twice is actually in line with her goals.
After all, she only needed two more hits.
She only feels the slightest amount of pride when the two roots shatter under her blows. After all, she never had any doubt about her victory here.
Positive Energy immediately surges through her body like a raging tide, washing away every injury, simply disintegrating the Curse-born roots speared through her flesh before knitting everything back together. The Curse pauses, clearly noticing as her strength drastically increases.
Tayū sucks in a deep breath, holds it for a moment while enjoying the familiar sensation of rejuvenation. It brings about a faux feeling of invincibility. As if she could take on the world. She knows that such arrogance is unearned, but it is hard to ignore when one feels so dramatically more powerful than five seconds ago.
A long breath leaves her a moment later as the burst of Positive Energy fades away, leaving only temporary strength behind.
Returning her attention to the Curse, she watches it prepare to continue their fight, but as she has already said, now that her Technique is active-
Tayū's figure blurs the gap between them and further beyond, stopping five paces behind the Curse's husk, not looking back as it crumbles to dust. She only looks down at the tiny corpse in her palm, unable to fight back without a body to control.
-She has already won.
Her placid eyes betray no hint satisfaction as she holds victory in her hand. She simply gathers her Cursed Energy and prepares to crush it.
The corpse turns its empty eye sockets up to her, but there is nothing to its gaze, no emotion in its Cursed Energy. It feels no rage or hate. There is no remnant of the Kami's mind that feels release or gratitude.
It is 'Death' after all. Just a mere fragment of a concept cut loose from its whole. All she feels from it is a detached sense of observation. As if it is merely watching her out of a lack of anything else to do, uncaring of the result or the cause of their dispute.
Tayū's lip twitches upwards as her Cursed Energy finishes gathering and Narauko's image flashes through her mind, inciting her parting words.
"Later, Kami-sama," she says, knowing that she will be back in a decade.
Then she simply closes her hand into a fist, bringing an end to the threat for now.
"Oy. Human."
Tayū flinches as a voice surprises her and immediately spins around off of instinct alone, only to freeze in place as her eyes meet a single glaring orb and an overwhelming pressure fills the air, igniting ancient instincts of fear so strongly that for a second she forgets to even breathe.
Special Grade, Tayū immediately realises, her heart beating rapidly against her chest. However, her position only gets worse when she notes the figure standing calmly besides the Curse.
A Yōkai.
Shit.
The Yōkai wears the form of a beautiful woman. Pale skin, dark hair in a messy bun, black markings on her eyes and above her brows, black lips and a black kimono over white. She is holding a pale red wagasa, though Tayū has no way to know if she carries the parasol because the sun is harmful to her or simply out of preference.
The Curse is almost her exact opposite. Where she stands even tempered and unmoving, looking into the middle distance and slightly down as if she is a statue unaffected by the world around her, the Curse is glaring out of its lone eye and radiating a sense of hostility so intense that it brings Sukuna to mind.
The Curse is clearly related to fire in some manner as its head is shaped like a volcano that is actively leaking magma and she can feel herself starting to sweat from the rising heat. At the same time, she watches the grass and leaves and everything green around them start to wither away, burning to ash without a single flame.
In the face of the Curses expectant glare and the Yōkai that seems to be ignoring her existence, it takes Tayū's brain a moment to reboot enough to realise that it is waiting for her to respond.
An intelligent Curse?
Her eyes flicker suspiciously to the tiny corpse in her hand, wondering if killing even a fragment of a Kami has brought her bad luck or something.
Sensing a growing impatience in the Curse's fluctuating Cursed Energy, Tayū hastily remembers to respond.
"Yes?" Her answer doesn't come out as confident as she would have liked, in part because she is afraid and in part because she is talking to a Curse.
At the same time, she doesn't forget her mission. She is fairly sure that she is already dead anyway, so she wants to at least accomplish her mission before dying. Not to say that she has given up, nor will she, but she can be realistic to herself about her odds.
So, hoping that it will be distracted somewhat by coming up with its response to continue the conversation, Tayū continues the action she was interrupted from and squeezes her hand into a fist.
A gust of wind forces her to squint her eyes and she opens them to see the Yōkai standing alone while the Curse is now standing ten paces away to her side.
She also notices how distinctly empty her fist feels, and she looks over to confirm what she already knows to be true.
A sigh leaves her when she sees Sukuna-biko-na's tiny corpse in the Curse's hand.
What is it he says? Double shit? Feels appropriate, she muses to herself, finding that her fear has circled all the way back to calm.
Probably because I am so used to being around Narauko and Sukuna, she muses some more. I have become inured to facing overwhelming strength. Lucky me.
"Too slow," the Curse comments, snapping her out of her self-pitying reverie. Which is a shame really, because she prefers such reverie to the reality in front of her.
Hais~, I am going to die~.
"I suppose that being 'fast' is less shameful as a Curse," Tayū comments mildly, figuring that she may as well be a bitch and try for some emotional damage since she's so clearly outmatched. "I would still be hesitant to tout my lacking ability to last if I were you, but that is just me."
Unfortunately, the Curse only looks at her strangely, seemingly not even understanding her insults at all. She probably should have expected that really.
Tsk. What a waste of breath.
The Curse ignores her and simply tosses the Kami's corpse over to the Yōkai, who catches it without looking or changing expression in anyway.
"Human. Tell me, do you know Domain Expansion?" The Curse asks her, pulling her attention from the Yōkai.
Now why would you ask that? She ponders, feeling rather concerned. Curses are not supposed to be this sapient.
After thinking for a moment, she decides to lie.
"Yes."
The Curse immediately grins savagely at her, seeming incredibly pleased by her answer, which was not the reaction she was betting on, so she quickly backpedals.
"My apologies, I lied. Domain Expansion continues to elude me."
Her words this time bring about the reaction she was expecting beforehand, that of disappointment and disinterest. However, feeling such things in the face of her second response is only more worrying. Did it want her to use her Domain? Why would it want that?
"Tsk." The Curse turns its grouchy attention to the Yōkai, and she considers running only briefly before recalling its speed. She still has her Tanka form boost active as her fight hasn't ended, but she doesn't think that it is enough.
"Why did you bring me here if this shitty human cannot even open their Domain?" The Curse angrily inquires of the Yōkai, while Tayū resists the urge to interject on her own behalf at the insults.
The Yōkai however barely responds to the Curse's hostility. Most of her attention focused on the tiny corpse she is holding in front of her still eyes.
"It is not easy to find Sorcerers both isolated enough to not garner attention and competent enough to have access to their Domain." The Yōkai's voice is entirely without inflection, like a still lake. Tayū can feel the Curse's irritation at the total disregard with which she treats him. "It is not why I am here besides. Nurarihyon-sama merely instructed I bring you because of the possibility that the Sorcerer would be capable enough to satisfy you."
Rude. Tayū is being insulted again.
The Curse grinds its teeth, seething, but despite clearly wanting to, it does not respond to her. However, the temperature continues to rise with its agitation, enough that Tayū starts to have difficulty getting full breaths of air that don't burn her lungs.
This sucks.
"Whatever," the Curse grumbles, though her attention is still on the Yōkai as it reaches its free hand into its kimono. "Human. I noticed you got stronger during your fight. You better have more of that. Since you don't have a Domain, I want to at least be able to test out my Maximum."
Hah? Tayū's attention snaps back to the Curse the moment it finishes its incredibly worrying words. What the fuck is going on here?
Before anything else can happen to defy her view of the world, all three of them pause in place as a ripple of Cursed Energy comes into being behind her.
She turns around to watch as a Black Butterfly emerges from her shadow, feeling rather bitter at its appearance.
She was already planning to wait for an opportune moment to send off a butterfly with whatever information she can gather today, but now that that plan is over, many things happen at once.
On her end, she immediately snaps into action, moving to form a Black Butterfly and quickly fill it with relevant information. On the Curse's end, she feels it spring into action, coiling like a spring and certain to reach her before she can send off the butterfly.
However, the Yōkai's presence bursts out in the same moment, halting the Curse' action.
The Curse naturally turns to glare at her immediately. "What now!?"
"She is already dead," the Yōkai responds, unbothered by the outburst, "And I have already blocked her off. She is not an animal. Allow her the dignity of listening to her message before dying."
Tayū finishes and sends off her Black Butterfly as the Yōkai speaks, and as they say, she watches as it flaps into her shadow and bounces back up as if hitting a barrier.
Tayū stares at the flailing butterfly with a blank look of disappointment. Should I say triple shit or is there a limit to how many times that need be repeated? I feel like triple shit.
"Do not command me, Insect," the Curse growls at the Yōkai, who still does not look up nor react.
"You agreed to follow Nurarihyon-sama's orders. Without his presence, I speak with Nurarihyon-sama's voice. I will command you as I please." The Yōkai finally moves her eyes, slowly meeting her own. "Listen to your message. It is your final chance to hear the words of a loved one."
"I would be more thankful if you were not still intending to kill me," Tayū responds, though the Yōkai does not respond. It simply returns its attention to the Kami in its hand while its other hand pulls free from its kimono, carrying a strange red cube.
Tayū watches in mild interest as a number of eyes abruptly snap open on the cube as the Yōkai does something to it. Then she brings the Kami-corpse and the weird eye cube thing together, making the two of them begin to fuse together somehow and for some reason.
Seemingly satisfied after staring at the cube for a moment, the Yōkai tucks it back away into her robe and returns to staring indifferently at the middle distance.
Sighing at the inevitability of it all, Tayū turns her attention elsewhere and holds out a hand, watching as the butterfly lands on her finger.
Familiar Cursed Energy immediately flows through her and into her mind, making her smile, bittersweet.
Hello, Nagiko, she thinks, and the butterfly responds as if to her thoughts.
Hey Tayū!
I did not think I would have a reason to contact you, certainly not so soon, however I am bored and have little better to do than gossip.
I picked a fight with your friend Narauko a few days ago and he actually beat me. It was unexpected, but worthwhile. To spare you the minor details, we had a conversation afterwards and I have decided that he will be my husband.
That is nowhere near enough details, Nagiko. You spared too many. What do you mean husband?!
He is proving somewhat reticent, but not opposed to the idea, only strangely adverse to 'rushing into a marriage'. We have had many conversations since then, and I am finding myself fancying him more and more each time, which is rather convenient, as I believe I will be able to love him in time. Much better than you, who can only hope for a marriage arrangement that will not drive you to suicide~.
Regardless, I just wanted to share what a wonderful time I am having. No need to respond, I am sure there is nothing interesting for you to talk about.
I will see you when I return. I am confident I will have bedded Narauko by then. I can brag to you of the experience over tea... Or complain, on the off chance that he is surprisingly poor in the bedchamber. You never know~.
As my husband-to-be likes to say;
See you later, Tayū.
Tayū huffs a faint laugh, feeling her eyes prickle slightly as she is almost overwhelmed by the sense of bittersweetness within her.
Another sigh leaves her as the butterfly on her finger fades away and her attention has no choice but to return to the Curse glaring murderously at her.
Clearly it does not intend to continue talking, so she simply focuses inwards on her Technique. She can feel that her complete Tanka is still active, meaning that whatever the Yōkai is doing with the corpse of Death and the weird eye cube thing hasn't killed it.
However, that does not really help her with the speed this Special Grade Curse has shown, so she decisively cuts the connection off, resetting her Technique to its base.
The feeling of strength leaving her is as uncomfortable as ever and especially daunting given current circumstance.
Alas, she has little choice. She can only see one possible avenue of survival, so she has no choice but to take it.
"Oy, you just got weaker," the Curse comments, accusatory. Clearly, it is not happy about that, which might be able to work in her favour actually. One can hope. She has little else at the moment. "Did you give up?"
"No," Tayū responds quickly, her voice bearing with it the calm of one who has accepted their inevitable fate. Even if the truth is that she very much has not accepted any such thing. "My Technique builds up over time. Unless I am lying again, of course. Though which statement would be a lie is a question unto itself."
In her mind, Tayū locks in a Katauta. The shortest waka form, and her only chance to cheat death.
"Hmph, it matters not," the Curse's glare flickers to the Yōkai. "Are you going to get in my way again?"
"No," the Yōkai remains unbothered. In fact, she actually turns around and starts to leave. "The humans will not be able to notice anything short of your Maximum. Do not take too long."
As the Yōkai disappears into the treeline, Tayū is left alone with the violent and angry Special Grade Cursed Spirit. She can only sigh and lament her luck.
The Curse moves, and Tayū spares one final thought before she burns.
Later, Nagiko.
///
A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!
Dun! Dun! Duuuuuuun!!!
Did I put a metric fuck load of thought into Tayu's Wakawaka Technique only to kill her off immediately in her first fight? Maybe. She might have survived, you never know.
And I did put a lot of thought into it too, maybe even more effort than Narauko's lmao. She has a bunch of extension techniques that she didn't get to show off lmao, I'm kinda mad tbh, but someone needed to be in her position and it needed to be someone in her class and process of elimination left her as the only one who was both suitable (cuz Yoshiie wouldn't ever be sent on a mission like that) and not connected to future plot I wanna explore (Like Sabishī who hasn't had her Panda-style lore dump yet).
So RIP to a real one I guess. Kinda makes me feel like I should have added some fodder characters to be sacrificed without having to worry about it, but it wouldn't be the same if there weren't consequences.
I know I should be doing capital stuff, but I'm procrastinating that cuz there is so much shit going on at the same time and I have no idea what to write lmao, so I just did another side-quest instead. I did say that this fic is going to have a lot of side-quests, they won't always feature Narauko :P.