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CHAPTER START---
"Teach me something new!" Taiyo rushes Yuki and spins into a kick, which she easily avoids.
She lowers her stance and aims an uppercut at his sternum while he's above her, but he pushes off the air and leaps aways from her.
Yuki doesn't hesitate to grab Garuda and whip it at Taiyo, shattering the ground as he barely avoids the attack and fires a heat beam at her.
From above, Mei Mei watches and records the fight, raising a hand to create a simple Mudra while focusing her Cursed Energy.
"Emerge from the darkness, blacker than darkness. Purify that which is impure…"
A massive Curtain forms around the area, hiding the conflict from any potential onlookers as the battle rages on.
Taiyo and Yuki pause for a moment after he grabs her arm and shoulder throws her across the battlefield, burning the skin and flesh to leave a deep handprint on her.
He looks up to see the Curtain, then glances at Mei Mei, who playfully waves at him. "She's enjoying this too much."
Yuki gets up and quickly heals her burns, smiling at him. "You really are a monster."
"Aren't all Cursed Energy Users?"
"No, you're worse." She wipes the blood from her mouth and begins marching over to him. "I should have killed you when we first met. Even back then, I knew what you were. I could feel it. But I was hesitant, seeing you as a boy."
"Mercy is a luxury only the strong can show."
"Are you saying I'm not strong?"
Taiyo shrugs. "Compared to most, sure. But…are you really even Special Grade?"
Yuki's grits her teeth and charges at him, mentally commanding Garuda to dive-bomb into him from above while she prepares to strike.
Taiyo senses the Shikigami and leaps away, allowing it to crater the ground before bursting out of the dust cloud and rocketing toward him.
'That Shikigami isn't much of a threat if she's not touching it. From what I understand, her Innate Technique's effect stays with it for only a second or two after she lets go. So right now…'
He skids to a halt and stands his ground as it reaches him, rearing back his fist and punching through its skull, shattering the Shikigami. It explodes into a cloud of Cursed Energy and black blood, blocking his vision and slowing his reaction to Yuki's attack.
His Simple Domain, All Combat, senses her flying through the course of her Shikigami as it dissipates, and Taiyo barely raises his arms across his chest in time to defend against her dropkick.
Yuki plants both her bare feet on his forearms, feeling the instance of pain as he immolates her flesh and nerves once more, but this time Taiyo rolls with the attack. He leans back and allows her to sail over him, raising his leg and kicking her from below.
His foot slams into her chest and sends her skyward before he spins to regain his footing and cranes his neck to stare at her.
While Yuki is tumbling through the air, he opens his mouth and releases another heat beam directly at her, but the woman summons a reformed Garuda before her, using the flying Shikigami to pull her out of the way as the beam chases them.
It shatters Mei Mei's Curtain, annoying the woman as it ascends high into the sky, giving chase to Yuki.
'He really doesn't care about subtlety,' Yuki thinks as she flips onto Garuda's back and surfs the Shikigami through the air, circling around Taiyo.
Seconds later he closes his mouth, halting the constant beam attack, and Yuki wrongly believes she has a reprieve.
Only to realise his arms had already fully recovered while attacking her.
'He can use RCT and regular Cursed Energy at once?!' Her eyes widen as he raises both hands, aiming his open palms at her.
Her instincts send a shiver through her, warning of the danger. And she immediately pushes Garuda to its top speed as a rain of Heat Bolts is sent at her.
Like a laser light-show, a sea of bolts firing from the two spheres of blood red Cursed Energy hovering in front of Taiyo's palms.
"Fine, let's see if you can handle a full frontal charge," Yuki flips off of Garuda and the Shikigami curls itself into a ball beside her.
She then spins and kicks it directly toward Taiyo with all her might. In addition to the virtual mass of her Innate Technique being added to the Shikigami, she also cloaked it in a substantial amount of Cursed Energy to reinforce it.
Taiyo senses this and smiles, enjoying the challenge. "Maybe you are my type after all!"
Mei Mei frowns as Taiyo smashes both Immolation Spheres together to make a larger source and releases an even stronger heat beam at Garuda.
The beam smashes into the Shikigami, immediately slowing it, but it continues to barrel through his attack and creep toward him.
Seeing this, Yuki kicks off the air toward Garuda multiple times, building as much speed as she can before flipping and dropkicking the Shikigami.
She adds her power to the attack, and they immediately overpower Taiyo's beam, descending upon him as if there were no resistance.
Taiyo's eyes widen as he cancels his attack just in time to avoid being crushed by the cannonball, leaping away and using Immolation to fly away from the dust cloud they kicked up.
Keeping his eyes on Yuki, he prepares for her to leap out of the cloud and aim to smash his skull again, but instead Garuda is launched directly at him.
Taiyo senses its trajectory the moment it enters All Combat's range and cloaks his right arm in Immolation, using absurd heat to click the curled up Shikigami is two. Both halves fly past him and dissipate behind him before reaching the newly reforming Curtain.
Then, out of the cloud, he sees Yuki smiling as she leaps toward him. He doesn't react, remaining in place, hovering above the battlefield, raising a hand to fire a single beam at her in response to an idiotic frontal assault.
Yuki kicks off the air to reach him, and smiles as everything perfectly lines up.
'That Simple Domain of his is such a pain, especially since it's invisible thanks to a limiting Binding Vow on it.' Yuki thinks. 'But that Binding Vow is clearly what limits its range. He was able to use it for a larger range against Gojo when it was visible, but here, Garuda and I get closer before his body moves unnaturally to respond.
That means there is a clear distinction between his conscious and automatic movements. Which is currently 3m -9ft-.'
Yuki arrives just at the edge of his range, avoiding a single shot of Immolation and rearing back her fist, telegraphing yet another strike aimed at his head.
Taiyo doesn't react out of the ordinary, however, with her fist reared back, she opens her hand and forms a Mudra with one hand.
Just outside the edge of his Simple Domain, she was close enough not to allow his automatic detection to notice, and also gave him the false confidence needed to stand against her.
"Domain Expansion!" Yuki's Domain Expansion Barrier begins forming around them.
Satoru Gojo, Taiyo Daburu, Yuki Tsukumo. Each a Special Grade with a Domain Expansion, the pinnacle of Jujutsu manifested into reality.
Against all living things but each other, this trump card is a guaranteed success, nothing short of absolute victory. However, this assumes the simple requirements are met.
Firstly, they must have enough Cursed Energy to cast a Domain Expansion.
Secondly, if their opponent does the same to contest them, they must win that clash, which more often than not, they will.
And lastly, their opponent must be within the Domain Expansion.
To fulfill these conditions ensures their opponents' Cursed Technique would be disabled, as is a condition set by each of their extremely refined Barriers, and that their Innate Technique would never miss.
Yuki Tsukumo had just enough Cursed Energy to comfortably cast her Domain Expansion.
Taiyo Daburu did not attempt to contest her, unwilling to use his Domain Expansion here, for even if he won the clash and killed her, his Innate Technique would need to cool down. And she doesn't know if she's operating alone to attack him.
However, the final condition was not met. In fact, it was her undoing.
Yuki Tsukumo's nature causes her to act alone, constantly travelling the world while conducting research on Souls. This lifestyle puts a lot of distance between her and Jujutsu Society, causing her skills to deteriorate over time.
This is not a factor against most, as only a scant few can survive even a casual strike from the monstrous woman. But here, against a superior Special Grade, he could clearly see her rust.
Her Domain Expansion Barrier took all of two seconds to close, too fast and too wide for most to escape.
However, by the time it was fully sealed, Taiyo had boosted himself away from her, now hovering even higher above and staring down at the floating black sphere.
Mei Mei sees this and giggles, expecting no less from her man as he aims a full-power Immolation Beam at the sphere.
He easily shatters it, breaking the Domain Expansion Barrier and deactivating it in one hit. Shards of the Barrier rain to the ground and dissipate before reaching the earth, and Yuki falls with them.
After a Domain Expansion, Cursed Energy is hard to control, diminishing her ability to enhance, reinforce, and at this moment, most importantly, use the air like a platform.
Taiyo seizes this moment and rockets down to her, stomping on her chest and aiming his palm into the sky, propelling them into the ground with enough force to shake the region on impact.
Mei Mei winces as a large dust cloud is formed, and by the time it clears, Taiyo is standing beside the barely conscious Yuki with a foot on her face.
He looks down on her, flashing a sinister, sickening smile. "So, how about a little Binding Vow?"
Yuki tries to move her head and resist, but he presses harder, squeezing her skull and wracking her with pain, all while the bottom of his foot melts the skin on her face.
"You forget about my relationship with Mei Mei, and give me a copy of your research, and I don't kill you…deal?"
Yuki glares at him, until the heat bursts her skin, evaporating her blood and causing her left eye to explode below his foot.
Her body convulses in pain as she releases a small surge of Cursed Energy, and Jujutsu accepts the Binding Vow.
---Minutes Later…
Taiyo places Yuki's Soul Research journal in his bag before looking at Mei Mei, who is already dressed for the walk back.
"We should come back here. I'd like to spend more time in the hot springs next time."
Taiyo walks over to her, surprising the woman as he towers over her.
"Wha—" He interrupts her with a passionate kiss, and she leans into his warmth.
They separate to allow him to get dressed, but he gives her one more kiss before doing so. "You have some explaining to do, but, thanks for the gift. I learned a lot from fighting her."
"I knew you'd enjoy it. We both won today."
"I do have to know one thing," he turns to her. "Did you know I'd win?"
Mei Mei gives him a knowing smile. "Yuki fights like a Jujutsu Sorcerer, which limits her. She is too kind and gentle to overcome someone as ruthless as you are."
"So you're saying she's a better person than me?"
Mei Mei nods. "Why do you think we work so well together?"
END CHAPTER---
Discord: discord .gg /eHuxNeZfyS [Come chat with me]
pat.reon: Keanu_Eugene [Read ahead & support me]
You.tube: @KeanuEugene [Giving away all my writing knowledge]