There was something Fushiguro Megumi found weird when looking at the vat tank. Why is it that this person was the only survivor amongst all the other dead ones? From what he could tell, all others were in such a wretched state that they couldn't even be called alive. At most, their dried up and decaying skin bore the resemblance of something straight out of a horror film.
Taking another look at all of the people he had to... mercy kill... Megumi felt his eyes squint. There was nothing special about them, not in terms of Originium or powerful presence. But then at the same time, there was nothing—
—Nevermind!
When Megumi focused more on the woman with white hair entrapped within what was basically a cage, he finally realized why they were so different from all the other people. The enormous amount of Originium concentration he sensed from within her was of such staggering proportions, that he wondered just how she wasn't a corpse yet. Compared to everybody else, the woman was definitely something out of the norm.
Yet for some reason, the Sorcerer couldn't make heads or tails why. There was nothing that he sensed from her that made her seem special, like how he detected the unnatural and vast energy from the red blade Ch'en utilized. Nor did he see anything on the outside—other than her naked body—that implied 'specialty.'
Shaking his head, Megumi decided that this wasn't a matter he should delve on for too long. There was a bloodied and destroyed lab in which he resided, caused by the hands of the Divine General and himself. By the time reinforcements arrive, or what happened was discovered; Megumi was sure it would not end well with what sight laid bare.
Heaving a long-winded sigh, the Cursed Energy reserves felt as if they had taken a big hit, so Megumi hadn't had much qualms for leaving this place anyways. Having to summon Mahoraga was a bit costly, but leaving him stationary didn't cost too much Cursed Energy. This coupled with the fact that Shadow Extension was on constantly—all combined as one factor to impact him to a considerable degree.
Mahoraga had already been recalled, Megumi looking upwards to see the wheel floating above his noggin once more. It was a symbol, a golden symbol of both power and divinity combined into one. Even after having tamed the beast, the Ten Shadows user was finding it a bit of a surprise every time he sensed the eminence it gave off.
'Let's get this one out of here,' Megumi finished his current musings, before placing a hand on the vat tank's glass. 'Nothing too strong, nor does it have anything special placed on it. If I have to compare, it's only marginally stronger than bullet-proof glass.' The materials in this laboratory run by a cover-up church—or what he assumes to be a cover-up church—were extremely well-made.
Whatever connections they had, Megumi knew it was nothing to scoff at if they were able to get things as high-quality as these. This revelation made the black haired man want to leave this laboratory even faster, and then let down Shadow Extension of Mahoraga and its stationary summoning. That would serve to let him rest and restore his Cursed Energy.
Applying greater pressure to the glass separating himself from the woman, Megumi concentrated his eyes. He didn't want to accidentally cause harm to them by shattering an extremely tough glass, because it could leave her badly cut up as a result. The notion became further apparent with the weakened state she was in, with Originium ravaging a good portion of her body.
Shadow Extension: Tiger Funeral
The glass started heating up, an emission resonating from the palm Megumi was keeping placed on the object. By heating it up, the material composing the bullet-proof glass could weaken considerably, and then start to melt. However, instead of reaching the goal of having the glass melt, Megumi was instead attempting to make it flexible enough where he could bend it easily.
That way, he wouldn't have to worry about hurting the woman. Even if the heat could make the water boil, an application of Cursed Energy to circumvent the heat back into a concentrated point—to not spread to the water—was in place. This sort of thing was akin to why Gojo Satoru's Hollow Purple didn't evaporate an entire city, because of extremely precise control over Cursed Energy.
Soon, Megumi saw the signs of the glass starting to turn orange. Melted glass came naturally out, the glue-like liquid dripping down onto his palm. While the feeling was irritating, the Sorcerer reinforced his hand with Cursed Energy, rendering whatever damages it could cause completely useless. Taking another short breath, the Ten Shadows user began concentrating once more.
He had to do it with great precision and speed, along with also having to time it perfectly to prevent any complications from occurring. Megumi felt the temperature continue to rise, the person within the confined space still sleeping as serenely as a fish flowing through a river's currents.
'Continue to breathe, let relaxation eventually overcome your muscles.' This was a calculated and proven exercise to have Sorcerers be able to focus on their Cursed Energy even further. What Megumi was doing at this point could be considered training, especially if he wishes to maintain Mahoraga's Dharmachakra along with Tiger Funeral's Shadow Extension. The training was more focused and center-pointed towards refinement, which was exactly what he believed himself to be lacking in.
The flow of Cursed Energy, as malleable and flexible as the Sorcerer controlling it could be. However, even the imagination of somebody needed to be trained well enough to put it into physical practice—which was making good use of Cursed Energy. It came in all sorts of applications, from Domain Expansion forming to Cursed Technique activation, the backbone of everything Sorcery was.
Even if imagination and creativity was what made the paint brush move to form whatever the painter wanted, then the paint was the Cursed Energy. Neither would be able to exist without each other, and some of the more articulate and sophisticated Sorcerers from the Heian Era would always preach something akin to this.
Even in the Heisei Era, the modern age of Jujutsu Sorcery, a few Sorcerers made some comparisons such as this. Megumi had the opportunity to read many 'advanced level' books such as those, filled with—in his opinion—needless prose and big words that made it stupidly hard to understand.
However, these musings were not needed at the moment.
Opening his eyes slowly, his eyelashes fluttered in the air. Having gained sight of the orange turned glass dripping all over his hand, Megumi thinned his lips. The perfect opportunity was now, and he had to make sure none of the destructive and super-heated substances were to touch the woman known as Laurentina.
His control was still at a good level, so all he had to do was...
...Push his hand deeper in, and then pull it back the moment the heated glass bent forward. Slightly curling his fingers, Megumi kept his eyes focused to a single point, and then moved it backwards at high speeds. The sound of water evaporating was heard, the liquid spilling out of the vat along with the opening he had made, the heat dispersing throughout the rest of the glass.
Right after, the entire thing popped open like a door. Even if the melted glass was very flexible, Megumi knew that was the best comparison he could make—to a door.
Moving his hand to the side, Megumi immediately tossed the useless object onto the floor as he continued to be battered by the flooding of water. The Sorcerer's clothes were becoming wet as a result, but it didn't matter much to him. Instead, he canceled Shadow Extension and reached outwards to the water, to grab the woman who fell forward.
Reaching her shoulders, Megumi felt the rest of the water pass by his body and fall to the floor. It continued to flow until it could no longer, making the dried blood of the laboratory floor wet, clearing off the coagulated blood. However, it also served to make the room stink even more as signified by the black haired man scrunching up his nose.
Aside from that, he could rest easy once he went back home and let his Cursed Energy recover.
...Wait, he doesn't even have a house...
'Damn it.'
In his small bid of frustration, Megumi decided to calm himself down by thinking of what Binding Vows he could make next.
A few ones came to him in this small stupor.
***
Under this Binding Vow:
Condition 1: Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga has a separate 30 second cooldown usage for every 'technique' it adapts to and copies.
Condition 2: Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga has to have one more rotation before fully 'copying' a technique via 'adaptation.'
Result: Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General keeps all techniques it has copied every time it is de-summoned and resummoned.
***
Under this Binding Vow:
Condition: Rabbit Escape's total population based on Cursed Energy output has been cut in half, PERMANENTLY, with the condition being UNCHANGEABLE and UNBREAKABLE.
Result: The main body of Rabbit Escape can speak the human language and is able to act as a conduit for chants.
***
Really, the Sorcerer couldn't help but smirk to himself. Making these sorts of Binding Vows were starting to become some sort of addiction for him, feeling the incredible rush of cleverness fill him every time he completed one.
The first one was to keep all the techniques Mahoraga could replicate. Megumi was only able to deduce such a thing when he witnessed the Divine General copy Ch'en's red slash—or whatever it was actually called. From what he knew, Mahoraga's Cursed Energy could change in nature, and that was how he was able to replicate her sword draw.
Just with his own flair.
If he kept every technique copied permanently, and with only a short cooldown—then it would be perfect for setting up a one-man-army that can rotate through all skills copied. By the time Mahoraga did finish all of them, the cooldown period should have already passed.
Too bad it made it so that the Shikigami would have to do one more rotation of its wheel to fully adapt.
The second Binding Vow was to alleviate the fact that he'd have to cut off his oxygen supply during fights to chant—so by reducing the amount of Rabbit Escape by a considerable amount—Megumi could boost every Shikigami he summoned (unstable or full form) without having to distract himself.
However, compared to Gashadokuro, Rabbit Escape can only do one chant at a time. It was only the main body of the Shikigami that could do the processes, after all, wherein the Rattling Skeleton had three whole heads it could chant out from.
It was slightly inspired by the King of Curses' second mouth, how it could do chants for him.
The black haired man wondered why Gojo Satoru hadn't abused these sorts of Binding Vows to an unhealthy degree. It would have really helped with the fight against Ryomen Sukuna...
'Forget it.'
With Laurentina in tow, he finally made his departure from the lab.
***
Megumi wondered if the people around found it weird that he was carrying a white haired—admittedly beautiful woman—across the streets with nothing but a towel wrapped over her pale body. It would definitely catch many gazes back in Japan, with many people wondering if he were a perverted bastard taking advantage of a woman.
However, here? The people didn't seem too bothered. At most, all the Sorcerer received a few glances before they turned their heads away, going about with whatever other business that they had. Megumi wasn't even sure if questions rang in their mind about the situation or not... it was as if this was a normal occurrence for them.
What he needed to be wary about were if any people from the Church were to see him carrying Laurentina. If they spotted him in possession of one of their test subjects, one that Megumi deemed must be very important to them—then it would only cause more problems in the future. Problems that he wished to leave behind as history back in Lungmen, as he had already learnt from his mistakes.
Otherwise, he might need to raid every single church in Primavera and clear them out. Just as he did against the Blood Hounds' leaders, along with the other Siracusan people who were digging deep into Lungmen's system.
His current goals at the moment are to find some sort of hotel or place of residency in which he could spend a day in. Although LMD wasn't an accepted currency here, the black haired man made sure to steal a bit of money back in the laboratory he had raided. Thankfully, the mess caused didn't stain the important things he needed, something Megumi was relieved about.
A map, he had found a map of Terra from amongst all of the useless scientific tools and technology that he didn't know how to operate. Right after though, Megumi had destroyed everything he didn't need in Tiger Funeral flames—storing the ones he needed into his shadow. Like the map.
While keeping half an eye out for any dangers or Church members, Megumi kept his thoughts stuck on the children he had saved. He didn't mind letting them go, considering they had families to return back to when he had dropped them off Divine Dog: Totality. However, this white haired woman that he was carrying had nobody to return to.
Or maybe she did, and the Sorcerer was ignorant on what her specific matter was.
There was no hospital to drop her off either, because of how crappy all of them were. If the Sorcerer were to visit any of them for treatment, he was worried that his body would walk out with a hundred more different diseases. Yes, that was how bad Primavera's condition was.
So Megumi had already decided to take care of her Oripathy condition with Round Deer and let her do whatever she wanted from then on. That was the much he could do in his failure to save literally everybody else within the lab—admittedly a small guilt that he felt.
Although Megumi didn't like self-loathing, the Sorcerer knew that he always dug into his own skin over many matters subconsciously.
It was still a problem he knew afflicted himself. Even if it had been relieved recently, Megumi just couldn't help but intrinsically form those thoughts.
Whatever, it just made things worse when he had focused on his self-loathing, so it was in his best interest to ignore them completely. Like throwing trash into a bin, that was what the Ten Shadows user should be doing with intrusive and useless thoughts such as those.
Pausing his leg movements, Megumi's muscles straightened and stopped their motor functions when he came to the sight of a tall building. Although it didn't match a skyscraper in their towering heights that scratched the clouds, it was still something that stuck out compared to all other buildings outside. The structure was also close to the beach, something that he wouldn't mind looking outside from time to time to see the view of the ocean.
Better yet, it was advertised as a hotel from what he was seeing from the 'decently' well maintained structure. If that meant anything, then the people living here and running this sort of business were doing well, something Megumi attributed to mercenaries or bounty hunters commonly taking residency here.
Well, time to head in.
***
Her dreams were as clear as day to herself, and an utter repeat of what happened in the real world. Those needles prickling her skin along with strange chemicals invading her body. They served to leave the functions of movement and consciousness constantly in a state of limbo where they never worked properly—yet also not completely shut down. It was a strange and unpleasant feeling, something that continued to plague her mind constantly.
Laurentina should have listened to her instincts more. Such a nice lady approaching her from the beach with nothing but a smile and offer of help was a big red sign. But with the state her body was in at that moment, the Abyssal Hunter had not much of a choice in that matter. If anything could be changed with that encounter, the shark lady would have definitely sunk her saw into that damned smiling face the moment she laid eyes upon it.
Alas, there was no use delving on the past as it were. In her state of helplessness—as much as Laurentina hated it—there was absolutely nothing she could do. With having completed such a grandiose feat from before, it was ironic that this was the fate that had been settled for her, under the cruel skies of this world, and in unfamiliar land. With the constant pain coursing through her nerves every second, it almost came to an unbearable degree.
However, the woman was sure she had gone through worse far before these experiences. Mainly, that was also the reason why she was able to persevere for so long, despite all of the 'treatment' they were giving her. Gritting her teeth—the only part of her body that even moved at her commands—helped reduce the pain, the only way to contract her muscles and tense up against the prickling sensations. No, they couldn't even be called prickling... it was more akin to 'stabbing.'
Over and over again, the white haired Abyssal Hunter would constantly see different scientists conducting experiments on her, injecting some sort of weird liquid into her spine. It was disgraceful and dirty, something that Laurentina had wondered what drove such decrepit people to do what they did. But no answer would be needed from them, as she knew she would eventually kill them someday.
Especially that black haired bird woman, who kept putting up that facade of being a 'nice person.' That mask plastered on her face may fool anybody else, but it was like the woman had face-painted herself with clown markings in front of Laurentina. The first person she would definitely lay waste to the moment she woke up—
—What was that light shining down on her face? Was she on the test table again? Irritating, it would be the same results as all other times. Considering how these 'Church' fellows operated, then Laurentina was already prepared for whatever they were going to do.
But... It was strange? Where was the chattering that she would hear? Where was the incandescent light that continued to pierce through even her eyelids? From what the Aegir shark could feel, the photons shining on her face were far too light and dimmed. In fact, it didn't fit any sort of medical or scientific environment in the slightest.
Laurentina found her body was in some slight pain—to an incredibly reduced degree! An even stranger notion that made her currently subconscious mind wonder if she was stuck in some hallucination. Or maybe her pain tolerance had increased with the amount of pain she had been subjected to everyday.
Her eyelids continued to flutter, the white and artificial luster continuing to batter and leak through them. It was to a point of near irritation, but Laurentina knew that the body she possessed was starting to regain feeling, along with her consciousness. No longer was it muddy and foggy—an opportunity to potentially act back against those people.
Fingers started curling, gripping the strange fabric that covered her body. The lost Abyssal Hunter found out that her back was in contact with a soft bed, while her body continued to shift. Overall, it was a completely different feel from the cold and hard metal of the lab tables, or the grimy chemical of their vat tanks.
They came open.
Laurentina's eyes bore witness to the material world once more, both familiar and unfamiliar sights making themselves known. First of all, what she could recognize as a 'decent' bed at best was the object which she laid on—draped over with a blanket that could be described as the same quality.
She definitely wasn't dreaming, due to the pain that still lingered on practically every part of her body. But that wasn't it, her mind was fully functioning and was not tainted by any lethargic influences. Turning her head with a wary and swift look, Laurentina widened her eyes in a defensive manner.
Pulling the sheets closer to herself, the woman saw a... black robed man sitting on a wooden chair, head leaning a bit forward. His eyes were closed, painting a kind of serene statue that was unaware of what was happening in the world around him. Despite his two orbs being concealed, Laurentina could barely perceive a wearied soul beneath.
While his outfit was certainly eye-catching along with his demeanor, what truly caught the Aegir woman's attention was the wheel floating above his head. Aureate in color and gleaming over the barely opened window curtain, it looked almost celestial—no, it was celestial in an unknown nature. The only comparison Laurentina could make was what it was like staring at a magnificent piece of artwork.
Even though her body was as tense as ever due to potential dangers, that singular sight that drew her eye made the shark lady pause. All thoughts of formulating plans of subduing this person while they were vulnerable had completely subsided, replaced with curiosity—
—What was she doing? This could screw her over just as much as trusting that Liberi's words. Analyzing him with a more critical eye, Laurentina could tell that his physical stature was nothing impressive. In comparison to the Abyssal Hunter, she could safely say that he was practically a twink. However, most of these people on land possessed an ability called 'Arts' which she had only borne witness to a few times.
From what she could tell from that divine wheel, the man was most likely one of these Arts users.
Shifting in the bed, the woman made sure her movements were undetected and eerily silent. The blanket could be used to wrap around his neck and choke him, which could work well due to her weakened state.
However, Laurentina didn't know if she should do something like that or not. Despite being on edge, the woman still hadn't gotten much of a clue what was going on. While preparing to restrain the black haired man with the blanket, she glanced around to get a better look of the room.
It was painfully ordinary, nothing of note at all. If anything, it seemed to be some rented hotel that people would stay in—hardly matching Aegir's in any sort of capacity. Shaking her head, the Aegir turned back to the sleeping man.
'...Should I?' Laurentina didn't know her situation, one that bled into her hesitance. What if it was a one in a billion chance that somebody had actually rescued her from that blasted laboratory? 'Decisions...' She didn't have much thought to think about it, considering this may be an experimental ploy—
—The man's body slightly shifted, a small breath leaving his mouth. Drowsy and despondent, that was what his movements indicated, the articles of clothing also rustling along with them.
***
Megumi opened his eyes, starting to feel the exhaustion from expanding Round Deer's existence and output. The amount of Originium in his 'patient's' body was so high that the Sorcerer had to continuously question how they were even still alive. Her condition hadn't even been cured with the amount of Positive Energy he poured out.
Speaking of that person... He turned his attention towards—
'—Oh, she's awake...' and... staring at him with a very predatory gaze. It was to the point where the black haired man had to blink a few times to register the sheer danger that was emanating from her. If anything, Megumi felt like a small fish against a shark.
"..." Megumi didn't know what to say at that moment, being under the gaze of gleaming crimson eyes. It resembled blood, and he was sure that those eyes had seen a lot of blood in its lifetime.
There was only one thing that the Sorcerer knew to do in response, that was to be as gentle as possible. "...Good mor—?"
Pupils shrunk and her body tensing up in an instant flare, Laurentina immediately dashed forward and ignored the aching cries of her body. The blanket was in her hands, flowing as naturally as a river when she opened it out and thinned it to a size that would work as a rope.
"Hold on—," Megumi tried to call out to her, his pupils also dilating in response to her actions. Kicking on the ground lightly, the chair he was sitting on leaned backwards as the white haired woman crashed into him.
It was a familiar feeling for Megumi, having to deal with a crazed white haired woman.
***
"...Are you done?" Megumi massaged his right wrist, having to run through his mind how monstrously strong this woman was. Glancing upwards with a wary gaze, he saw Laurentina covering herself again with the blanket, the woman still bearing a distrustful expression. "Listen..."
"Who are you?" The Abyssal Hunter kept the blanket covering her body, considering that she was still naked. Having woken up barely knowing where she was and still disoriented made her forget about that fact... and when she found out after charging the man...
...The rest was best not to delve on such matters. "You didn't do anything to my body... Did you?" Laurentina would definitely kill this man if he did.
"First of all," Megumi covered his face before shaking his head, "I didn't. I found you in a laboratory run by those 'church people,' who lured children in there for reasons you probably know." he ran the hand down before meeting Laurentina's gaze again. She seemed more understanding, "they have parents, you don't. I don't know who to return you to, so I waited for you to recover before asking."
"...Ah," Laurentina blinked in realization. It seems a one in a billion chance really did occur, where she was saved by... "by a random passerby?" It was honestly hard to believe. But despite that, no lies were detectable from the man's words.
"I guess you could say that," Megumi shrugged, slightly alleviated that this gorilla strengthened woman had stopped assaulting him. "Your infection, it looks serious enough where I'm confused on how you're still walking," moving onto other matters, the black haired man pointed out another thing. "I don't know what they did to you in that lab, but I was at least able to heal it to an extent."
"You were able to heal it?" Laurentina gave a confused look, eyes traveling around the room one more time. Just in case there were other people here, she'd be prepared, "those scientists said it was incurable," even her advanced body sculpted by Aegir's biological engineering couldn't fight it off entirely.
"That's besides the point," Megumi only wished to reveal such a thing so that it would incur a bit of trust, "I need to know if you have any other family members or friends. I'm sure you'd want to return to them."
"...Apologies, but I believe I should introduce myself first," Laurentina breathed a small sigh, subverting away from Megumi's question. "My name is Laurentina—though I believe you've already read it from the sign, have you not?"
"...I have, yes," Megumi nodded, wondering where she was getting at with this.
"Hmm," the woman placed a finger under her lower lip, "once again, I wish to apologize for my unruly behavior—"
"I frankly don't care," the stoic man responded with a mirthless look, "you were panicking, yes, I can understand that. You don't need to feel indebted to me either, anybody would have done what I did." Megumi was sure that a decent human being would rescue those kids and the woman if they had the same capabilities as he had. "So if you have any place to return to, just notify me."
Honestly, seeing the woman in a curled up and fetal position within the vat tank brought up unpleasant memories for him... during that time his body was no longer in control of itself. There was nothing he could do within that hellscape, neither assisting his teacher nor his friends when they fell one by one against Ryomen Sukuna.
Laurentina once again found herself almost perplexed by his bluntness—then at the same time, relieved. A small smile left her lips, there she realized when looking into the other party's eyes that her worries were unfounded—to a certain degree. "I see...then I shall be honest with you, too—I have nowhere to return to."
Megumi was getting some sort of deja vu, "could you elaborate?"
"My home is now lost to my memories, I do not know wherein the path lies to it," Laurentina met the man's, Fushiguro Megumi's, eyes. "I do remember the array of lights streaking across the skies, the structures which make it up, but from where I am at—I do not know if I can head back anymore."
"...Go on," Megumi tilted his head, his wheel slightly moving with it. He also noticed how the white haired woman would occasionally give it a curious glance.
"What I mean to say is, I thank you for your help, it is invaluable," Laurentina wasn't too used to speaking respectfully; but this sort of situation warranted that.
"...That's one elaborate thanks," Megumi dryly remarked, crossing his arms. "What else—"
—Laurentina flinched, moving her hand to grip her chest while she coughed and keeled over. Sligh trails of blood left her mouth, excess of the Oripathy infection from what anybody could tell.
Megumi was quick to react and think of what happened—the woman's growing Originium shards had stabbed into something, progressively getting worse by him withholding his treatment after his Cursed Energy fell low enough. He didn't know how long her body would hold up against those shards, but he wasn't going to take risks.
"There's... no need to worry—," Laurentina raised her hand, wincing her eyes. Although the infection was bad, the Abyssal Hunter's body would definitely fight it off in time and return her to stable condition.
"Don't need to hear it," Megumi thinned his lips, bringing his hands together to form a 'deer' shadow puppet.
"Round Deer."
Although this would expend his Cursed Energy, which was still recovering, Megumi didn't mind at all. They were in a rather safe place, and he could always bring out his trump card if any of those Church bastards were to go in.
Laurentina watched on as a small shadowy puddle appeared on the round, a gigantic deer coming out of it. Now, seeing such a sight and spike of energy would have her immediately lashing towards it due to her instincts—if it didn't feel so positive.
From what her body was telling her, it was almost as if it were saying the towering four-eyed deer in front of the woman was nothing to worry about. In fact, Laurentina wasn't even sure if she could ever feel hostile towards the animal, "what is...?"
"Touch its nose," Megumi breathed out slowly, feeling his Cursed Energy reserves take a hit. For some reason, it was far harder to cope with the loss of Cursed Energy at half capacity than full capacity, making the temporary loss of his reserves far worse. "Trust me." His words were far more tired than usual, but this much Megumi could do.
Laurentina sent a gaze his way, before relenting and holding out her shaky hand from the blanket. She hated this sort of weakness coming from her, but felt all those thoughts leave her mind the moment it made contact. The animal simply leaned its head in and closed its eyes, a green flash appearing on its nose.
It felt amazing, as if all the pain in her body had temporarily subsided. Laurentina could feel her eyes slightly widen, an eventual silence pervading the room. All could be heard was the faint breathing sounds of Megumi and her own breath, stuck in a trance at the... 'Round Deer's' exotic healing abilities.
'Originium Arts... can they do something like this?' Laurentina tilted her head curiously, only having a vague sense of these land-dwellers 'magical' powers' capabilities. 'Oh my, isn't this quite interesting?' The feeling was unnatural yet calming. "I wouldn't have expected to—"
Plop
Laurentina turned towards the sound, watching as the black haired man had his face planted on the side of her bed. "...Hello? Are you awake?" The woman couldn't even feel fretful of their presence anymore, considering the scene in front of her. "Hah~? Isn't this quite a sight?" The Aegir shark kept her hand on the deer, giving it a slight glance before turning back to Megumi.
Laurentina turned her body closer.
There was no way he actually fell unconscious, right? Maybe it was from overexertion? But who would be stupid enough to fall unconscious in front of a potential danger. 'This person.. it seems?' Honestly, all sense of danger had left her the moment the man went and flopped over.
Taking a glance at Round Deer, Laurentina noted how it didn't seem to do anything in response to its... summoner falling over. From what the woman could tell, these creatures could act somewhat independently from their owner, so maybe that was why he decided it was fine to burn himself up in exhaustion.
"How amusing..." Laurentina couldn't help but smile, leaning over to take a better look at him. "Anybody there~?" The woman called out to him, seeing no response in his body. All there was was a slight heave on his back, clear-cut signs of breathing.
Goodnes, now she was feeling far more devious seeing the man in such a state. It would be unruly of her to act in such a way to her benefactor, so Laurentina decided to stomach it, "it's dangerous to fall asleep in front of a potential danger, no?" She reached out a finger, poking at his head.
Two taps, it caused it to slightly shift on impact. However, the black haired man continued to be unresponsive to it.
The feeling of Originium shards developing in her body had completely stopped, perhaps even reverting when the woman made contact with his summoned creature. Most of her body was working overtime to counteract it, too, so at that point...
"Curious..." Laurentina glanced at Round Deer, the creature falling into a puddle of shadows after turning into black liquid itself. Whatever was sustaining it had been completely cut off, as if an invisible flow of energy had been cut off.
From her point of view, it didn't seem like Megumi was going to wake up at any time. If anything, it must have been because he had been dealing with her infection before she even woke up, evident by his sleeping posture from before. "Not indebted... hm?" Laurentina mulled over those words he gave to her, glancing at the ceiling while tapping his head.
Honestly, it was hard not to feel indebted, considering the lengths he must have gone through. Maybe he was a fool, somebody who wished to play hero, but that didn't reflect in his lightless eyes at all. Having to deal with the entire laboratory—which Laurentina could tell he had done—would definitely incur their ire.
"Such a hard bargain, you," the woman poked him with more strength, "if you don't wish for people to feel so indebted to you—then maybe don't act like a knight in shining armor." The woman playfully rolled her eyes.
In actuality, a knight in dull black armor would be more fitting, Laurentina couldn't help but muse to herself.
Turning upwards, Laurentina paused her incessant poking, finding herself once more in the sight of that floating gold object. There wasn't much imagery or symbolism related to that sort of wheel, and neither could Laurentina say she was a professional on land arts...
"...Eight points? Is it some sort of divulging path?" From an artistic perspective, the Abyssal Hunter could feel that much of an implication from it. That was even barring the strange feeling it gave off, "you'd do well as a sculpture, wouldn't you?" Laurentina moved her hands to touch the wheel, the luminescent and golden object.
There was nothing excessively extravagant about it other than the feeling it gave off, seeing how it decided to go for a more simplistic design—whoever made it. Yet at the same time, Laurentina couldn't help but be drawn in by its great beauty, something that seemed to speak of a thousand stories.
Her hand reached it, caressing the shiny and smooth object within her hands. It was masterfully crafted, something that could only be truly understood from physical contact. Tracing them alongside the object, Laurentina found herself once more in a trance.
KLNK
"Ah?" Laurentina paused for a moment, catching sight of the wheel making a turn when she ran her hands across one of its bouble-shaped ends. "Oh?" the woman touched it again, repeating the same process as she did.
KLNK
"...Heh," Laurentina couldn't help but let out an amused sound. Everytime it turned, this satisfying sound came out of it, one as serene as the accessory holder's sleeping state. "How entertaining,"
She spent the rest of her time touching the wheel.
***
"Gojo-sensei," Megumi wasn't one to ask his mentor questions, but at this point—he couldn't help it. "How do you keep that barrier up 24/7? I never see you with it down." The weather was rainy, the droplets of water trickling down and impacting the cold concrete floor.
Right now, the two were under the roof of a small shop, having gone there to spend the rest of the day after a mission. Well, Megumi was—Gojo Satoru wasn't.
"Good question," Gojo turned towards his student, standing in the middle of the rain. However, the droplets merely halted at where his barrier was. Despite how excessive and battering the water was, it wouldn't ever touch him, "let's start at the bottom, what do you think happens if you expend a Cursed Technique for too long?"
"You lose Cursed Energy," Megumi remembered, the most basic question even a toddler would be able to answer. "Is it because of your control over Cursed Energy? Refinement then?" That was one of the most clear parts of his teacher after all.
"Not really refinement, no." Gojo shook his head, "even if I have infinite Cursed Energy, or refinement to the point where I take an infinitesimal amount of Cursed Energy to hold up my barrier, one thing remains apparent—physical exhaustion." He raised a finger and pressed it against his head. "The Prefrontal Cortex controls Cursed Techniques, and it can get exhausted to the point where it'd be hard to stay conscious and continue using it."
"Then... how would you alleviate it? Rest?" Megumi tilted his head and crossed his arms with a thoughtful expression.
"Yeah that's one of them." Gojo nodded with a small smile, "but then you also have a pretty special way to heal it... exclusive to the one and only~," the man sounded far cheekier at that moment. "You can use Reverse Cursed Technique to refresh your brain, thus negating the physical exhaustion you get from overusing a Cursed Technique."
"...That again," Megumi said while placing a hand over his mouth. His eyes gazed to the ground, "you always talk about that and Positive Cursed Energy... is it that important?"
"Yes," Gojo replied, placing his hands in his pockets. "It's the bread and butter for what should be passing a ceiling, such as how Domain Expansion should be the Supreme Technique that breaks through the highest ceiling."
"It's different from burnout, right?" Megumi turned upwards, "because you're refreshing your brain, it doesn't exactly cool it down from a domain burnout."
"Damn," Gojo lowered his sunglasses, "you actually paid attention?" He remembered lecturing this deadpan and stoic teenager who was in his angst phase—but never would the Sorcerer thought he would have actually listened. "Damn straight, burnout and exhaustion are two different things, the former being far more complex to restore with Reverse Cursed Technique than the latter."
"I see..." Megumi nodded his head, "then if I learn a way to refresh my exhausted brain, then I could have a Shikigami held out 24/7, too?"
"Your Shikigamis already take, like, barely any Cursed Energy to maintain, especially with the rate of your refinement." Gojo shrugged, "so I guess if you learn Reverse Cursed Technique, you could do something like me? Though, it might be more difficult because creating all that Positive Energy without my beautiful eyes would drain you much faster than me."
"A pity," Megumi exited his posture. "Also, there are people looking at you." The black haired man's finger raised, pointing past Gojo.
"Eh?" Gojo turned away from Megumi, to look around himself. Much to his surprise, there was an entire crowd of people with their phones out, flashing pictures and recording videos of him. "O-oh! Hey~!" The white haired man was perplexed at first, but immediately recovered by striking a pose. "New technology goes crazy, huh? It's really amazing how—"
Megumi watched the scene, a smile almost breaking out. His teacher was always in control of the situation, and seeing the brief moment of panic at the civilians seeing all the water droplets around him—was euphoric.
Now? The Strongest Sorcerer was trying to throw as many deflections as possible in regards to what was happening around him. But Megumi didn't worry too much, considering all of those civilians would probably eat up his words rather than amount it to anything supernatural.
Reverse Cursed Technique... Maybe if he wanted to keep a Shikigami out for as long as he wanted in daily life, he'd need to learn how to do it.
How hard could it possibly be?
***
"N-ngh," Megumi groaned, waking up to the sight of Mahoraga's wheel above his head, and feeling an unfamiliar weight on his body. "...Did I...?" He turned upwards, feeling a blanket over his body. 'I fell unconscious?' The Ten Shadows user felt moderately off put by that, but knew it was bound to happen.
Keeping out the Dharmachakra didn't take much Cursed Energy, and using Mahoraga's Shadow Extension was reduced by a Binding Vow—so there shouldn't be any problems with that. What really caused him trouble was the physical exhaustion that came with it, specifically in his Prefrontal Cortex.
Maybe that was why his brain had shut off after releasing Round Deer, clearing out a lab with halved reserves and using the Shikigami at max output to cure a disease would be... very tiring.
"You're finally~ awake."
An exasperated female's voice came to Megumi's right, making him turn his head towards her. "...Yes?" The man blinked a few times, finding that the white haired woman was still here, and sitting on a chair—his chair that he previously sat on.
"Honestly, I was starting to believe you'd be a sleeping princess for the rest of the day," Laurentina pressed her elbow on her thigh, along with her chin resting on the palm of her hand. "It's good to know you won't be one, though." Her tone of voice held mirth.
"I didn't need to hear that," Megumi turned to her with a deadpan. From his sight, Laurentina was wearing the clothes he had picked off from the laboratory, a rather run down fabric dress-like outfit that looked like... it lacked a few decorations?
...Also, that gigantic buzzsaw that he remembered being in a case, putting it into his shadow to bring along with him. Megumi had taken it out and placed it in the other room to alleviate the weight, so the Sorcerer should have at least expected them to belong to this woman.
What a strange weapon, but he wouldn't comment on it, considering there were even weirder weapons in the world of Jujutsu Society.
"Oh, really? I think you did," Laurentina tilted her head with a smirk. The woman's prized weapon rested on her lap, creating an intimidating sight that would terrify any land-dweller. "Aside from that... how do I look?"
"Why are you asking me this?" Megumi raised an eyebrow, "that's for you to decide. Besides, why haven't you left yet...?"
"Rude," Laurentina huffed out, "and it's undisciplined of you to change subjects in front of a woman." Her fingers lightly tapped on the stick holding her buzzsaw. From what she analyzed of it, the weapon had been in a disheveled state from collecting dust in the corner. It was whatever, since she could clean it anytime.
"Please, just answer the question," Megumi raised a hand from under the blanket to place it over his head. Right now, he didn't feel as if reserves were empty, in fact—they were filled to the brim. How could this be the case?
His body was still exhausted, but still well-rested enough from burning himself out with maintaining the wheel. However, his reserves should still be relatively empty, as the amount of time he slept couldn't have been that long...
....That was when it hit him.
The wheel had adapted to his low Cursed Energy reserves. It took a small pause for him to realize it, but the process clicked in his brain. Mahoraga didn't adapt if whatever affected it wasn't negative, and it had to choose what it wished to adapt to. Subconsciously, his body wanted to adapt to the loss of Cursed Energy—and the perceived negative effect was physical exhaustion.
Although because he could only use Mahoraga's adaptation to 50% effectiveness, then the process only restored his Cursed Energy instead of fully boosting it. If it were the actual Shikigami, then the Divine General would have its Cursed Energy reserves increased.
But then again, why would it even need a Cursed Energy reserve? Considering that it was entirely dependent on the user, tethered to their master's very existence. Wait, no—then how did the ritual version of the Shikigami—
—Too many questions, too few answers...
"...Are you not going to answer?" Megumi turned to the right again. He had been stuck in his thoughts for a long time, yet Laurentina hadn't answered his previous question.
However, at that moment, the black haired man was presented with the sight of the woman's face being far too close to him. Pushing himself slightly back, Megumi's eyes widened at the unexpected action of the woman.
"Mmh~," Laurentina placed a hand over her mouth while pulling back, "if you want an answer~, then it's pretty simple." Rolling her eyes after proceeding with her action, the woman began explaining. "I don't care if you say I'm not 'indebted' to your 'gracious' acts, I simply wish to repay it—think of it as my conscience not letting this matter go."
Megumi opened his mouth to attempt to refute, but found his words dying in his throat. Looking at this woman, with her unheeding and peerless crimson gaze, the black haired man couldn't help but be reminded of a... certain like-minded individual.
"Besides," Laurentina took it as a cue to continue on, "you've alleviated the ailment afflicting me, one that possesses 'no cure,' it would only be uncourteous of me to ignore such a blatant fact, wouldn't it?"
...This woman, why did she always sound so sarcastic? Megumi was having a hard time understanding if she were being rhetorical or not at times—just like how he couldn't tell if Gojo Satoru was joking or not.
"Oh my, did you fall unconscious again?" Laurentina reached out her hands and poked at Megumi, who had once again delved far too long in his thoughts without responding, "honestly, I'd think you were a finely-carved sculpture with how lackadaisical you have been."
"Sorry," Megumi squinted his eyes when the finger made contact, "I won't be able to convince you, will I?"
"You're stating the obvious here," Laurentina heaved a sigh, flabbergasted at his 'insistence,' "you're not changing my mind, princess."
"Princess, seriously?" Megumi wasn't one to get angry, but that word had definitely reminded him of that time Nobara compared him to a 'Disney Princess.'
"Well~," Laurentina retracted her finger after having it pushed away, holding a devious grin that bore all of her shark-like teeth. "You have quite the frail body, passing out like a Sleeping Beauty when you were so—"
"Forget it, I don't want to hear that," Megumi pushed the blanket off himself, his head laying under his wheel after sitting up. "Repay your debt or whatever, I don't really care." The black haired man glanced at his arms, finding that his black haori had been taken off.
"Right here," Laurentina lifted up a folded article of clothing from under the chair, tossing it towards the man. "It smells quite bad, so I recommend you wash it up."
"You—" Megumi had to reiterate the fact that he came out of slaughtering an entire laboratory, spilling guts and blood across the hallways "—you probably smell bad, too."
"Oh pardon me? Need I remind you who has taken a shower and who hasn't?" Laurentina smirked.
...Of course she had already taken a shower.
***
Laurentina kept her gaze on the black haired man, watching as he did whatever he did over at the kitchen. It had been a slight last minute decision, but she decided it wouldn't be too bad to stay in this apartment—even if it lacked a lot of quality Aegir's own housings had. Seriously, if Aegir's apartments were 5 stars then this one would be 0.01 stars.
Ah, and that debt too.
"What are you making?" Laurentina peered from the chair she was sitting at, curiosity gleaming across her line of sight, "I wouldn't have predicted you to be a half decent cook, but here we are."
"Isn't this too early for assumptions?" Megumi blandly replied, "if you're going to stay here to repay that 'debt,' then I don't care about making a larger portion." He remembered talking to Yuji about habitually cooking food in his ideal world... waiting for him or Tsumiki to wake up... okay, it wasn't good to daydream right now.
An ideal world such as that wasn't possible, even if he secretly trained his cooking skills in the background—a desperate attempt to at least see a portion of it coming true.
"You know—you remind me so much of Orca," Laurentina swung her legs slightly, "I don't expect you to know who that is, either."
"A friend of yours," Megumi assumed, "I wouldn't have thought you'd share this sort of information." His hands moved to drop the freshly cut vegetables into the pot.
"What harm could it do?" Laurentina stopped swinging her legs, to take another glance at the man, "if you have no context, then there is no reason to be afraid. It's just that you—and her, have somewhat of the same tempo."
"Okay," Megumi opened the sink, having been somewhat excited that it had clean water as compared to all other places in this city. "What do you even plan on doing from now? Aside from repaying that debt...? Finding your allies...?"
"Well," Laurentina, "your occupation doesn't seem to be a normal one. Is it?" The woman could tell from his skills that he didn't seem to be somebody who'd hold a 'job' that didn't rely on bloodshed. "A mercenary, are you?"
"No," Megumi replied, "I don't need a job here anyways. Already robbed that lab clean."
"Mhm~?" Laurentina felt a small bit of air leave her cheeks, "ah, what a delightful thing to be reminded of."
"I'm just glad you're not trying to kill me," Megumi dryly responded.
"I know you wouldn't appreciate such a thing after the first time."
"...That's implying you were going to attempt it again."
"Oh please, it's a mere jest," Laurentina waved her hands in the air. "I wouldn't want to break the body of such a frail princess—I'd much prefer if it were of soulless monsters."
Megumi listened to her words while watching the temperature of the boiling ingredients. "Like those... sea monsters from in the lab?" He wondered if the woman knew anything about them.
"So, you have encountered them?" Laurentina walked upwards from her seat, approaching behind Megumi's back. "I see, I should have expected as much." Once she arrived, she peered over from his back curiously to look at the pot.
Megumi felt her pressing against his back while tippy-toeing, but ignored it, "yes. I did."
"Then should I ask you a question of my own?" Laurentina reached a hand upwards and touched his wheel again, "I wonder what extravagant purpose this object holds, it certainly is nothing ordinary."
"...An exchange of questions, then?"
"You could say so," Laurentina tapped it a few more times before letting go of it.
"If you want to build trust that way, then sure," Megumi continued watching the ingredients boil. Honestly, it would have been much better if Yuji or Tsumiki were here, asleep in the other rooms—waiting for the morning air to wake them up. "It's an Arts ability of mine."
Laurentina continued observing it, indeed, it was one of the most beautiful things she had laid her eyes upon. "...Did you know?"
"Yes?" Megumi was wondering what she was starting to get at now.
"If I could, I would have loved to sculpt an object of such magnificent gold as yours," Laurentina raised her fingers into a picture-esque frame position, aligning Megumi's stone-faced expression, black haori, and Dharmachakra in it. "Has anybody told you—that you are quite beautiful?" The woman smirked.
"Huh...?" Megumi repeated the words in his mind.
"As beautiful as your name...and here I'm starting to believe you're a woman in disguise," Laurentina peered her head aside from her hands, as if she actually had been holding a picture frame. "Despite our differing cultures, anybody can tell your name is not quite... masculine."
"I'm a male," Megumi mirthlessly replied. He was starting to wonder if she talked more than Gojo-sensei, completely forgetting the question he had wanted to ask her in exchange.
"I'll keep that in mind, princess~," Laurentina replied, showing her teeth with a smile.
***
Laurentina felt her palms, once, twice, and thrice. It was amazing, truly, how her body was functioning as she wished it to. If it were only—what? A few hours ago, then she would be a literal fish dehydrating on land with how ravaging the disease was.
Of course, it was obvious who had treated it. The man in question was sitting on a chair, unfolding various files and papers, scrutinizing them with a focused gaze. Fushiguro Megumi had been wary a few times of Laurentina, but the woman could tell he had been slightly alleviated of any potential malice she may possess.
Although her body hadn't been in complete restoration of its physical strength, the Abyssal Hunter was sure she'd still be able to be active in any combat scenario. Laurentina wasn't sure of Fushiguro Megumi's skills, but clearing out an entire lab of those monster worshippers was still quite a feat.
Especially that wheel that continued to give off an immense presence, making Laurentina wonder what it was even used for. Definitely a weapon or tool, something the Abyssal Hunter assumes is an item that could enhance Arts to a certain degree.
"What's captivated your attention now?" The woman placed her hands behind her back while walking up to him, glancing over his shoulder. Megumi was usually silent, keeping to himself, but Laurentina made sure to inquire to him about every little detail—so as to not be confused about his next actions.
"It's the Church," Megumi gave her a brief glance, "all of the files are useless, except for these ones, a good general location for their hidden spots." The black haired man knew that they would most likely be looking for the perpetrator who had destroyed one of their labs, so it's best to be prepared.
Also because he wished to crush all of their hidden laboratories, after finding out about their atrocities.
"Files...? Have you seen mine, then?" Laurentina asked with a neutral expression, already aware that they must have recorded many things about her.
"I burnt the files about you," Megumi replied, "did you want them?"
"That's a surprise," Laurentina couldn't tell if that was an action that could be considered considerate, or inconsiderate. "It's almost as if you've read my mind. Did you already have a look at them? And no, I don't care much for them."
"No, I didn't," Megumi didn't even have to tell a half-truth, "those sort of things don't interest me." He continued looking at the other files. "Especially not from the mad ravings of lunatics."
"Lunatics? Fitting." Laurentina placed a hand over her mouth amusedly, "do you take it as an obligation to take care of them?"
"I just feel like it, so probably?" Megumi flipped to another file, squinting his eyes at the information. They were encrypted in a mysterious message, but the language ability he had gained since entering this world had also applied to these too.
"Oh? You do know of the danger, don't you, princess?" Laurentina leaned over, placing her elbow on the backrest of the chair. "If you don't watch your step—those cruel waves may swallow you in their maws." Her voice was a whisper, a cautionary tone towards him.
Megumi had already gotten used to this... eccentric woman calling him 'princess,' "you don't have to worry about me."
"I know you've cleared those little rats dwelling in their caves, but I'm sure those little critters were only a mere drop in the wide ocean," Laurentina slowly placed a finger on his neck, tone lowering. "It would be as simple as a well placed claw to alleviate your frail body of its coil."
"I'll keep that in mind," Megumi tilted his neck barely to the side, placing down the file he had looked at and picking up another one. "Oh, it's a map of their locations... perfect."
"Hmph," Laurentina looked at his face again, seeing the same indifferent response. "Infallible now, aren't you?"
"I wouldn't say so."
"What would you say, then?"
"There's many things I take into consideration," Megumi tapped the file a few times, before unfolding it. "Errors are one of them."
"Ah, then you should also take into consideration that you've seen my exposed body?"
"Then I'll take responsi—" Megumi blinked rapidly, almost dropping the file in his hands. There was no way he had said something like that while in a concentrated stupor—
"Pfft~," Laurentina's eyes were filled with a playful and amused glint, "I didn't know you were such a gentleman, Fushiguro Megumi~?"
...Damn it, Megumi wondered how he could fumble with his words that badly. There was no way he would have done it with anybody else back in his world... right?
"Ah, but what if I'm not ready~?" Laurentina faux hugged him from the back, making the black haired man jolt. "A maiden like me having their body exposed to another man... how could I ever..."
"Please... Laurentina," Megumi wondered how this woman could say such things abashedly. "You should know the implications of your words."
"I know, I know, I'm kidding," Laurentina broke off from the contact with a smirk, "though, seeing that cold exterior of yours break is certainly a sight."
"...You should rest, I don't know how much more activity your body can take after your infection was only remedied to a small extent," Megumi rapped his finger over the file, turning the page and looking at the next section.
"You shouldn't underestimate an Abyssal Hunter," Laurentina leaned in again, whispering in his ear. "That's one thing I truly mind in regards to how you view me, keep that noted."
"...Sure?" Megumi thinned his lips, wondering what had caused this sudden change in her voice. The words 'Abyssal Hunter' seemed to be some sort of title or occupation, but he would save that question for another time.
"Ah, apologies once more, I find it hard to keep my trap shut after being free for so long," Laurentina rested her chin on the backrest. "I'm sure you could understand what it feels to be trapped?" Her question was fully rhetorical, not expecting much of a response.
"I do," Megumi automatically responded with a despondent voice, reminiscing of a certain time.
"Truly?" Laurentina's eyes opened wider with a brighter shine, "to lose all control of your senses? To be helpless under the cruel grasp of others?" The woman turned her head to glance at Megumi's eyes. The black haired man had halted dead in his tracks, as if something had been processing within.
"...Forget it," Megumi narrowed his eyes and shook his head, "I wouldn't want to sour the mood."
"You're quite affluent in deflection, aren't you?" The Abyssal Hunter sighed, "I would have expected my words to be the one to 'sour' the mood, but if you say otherwise..." she let her words draw, taking another peer into his eyes.
Empty, devoid of any life. If she had to describe it in one word, it would be an abyss. A deep chasm where one would fall infinitely, never to grasp onto a single thread of feeling nor sense ever again. Eventually, such an empty and boundless fall would make anybody insane, lost in its dreadful grasp.
"I ask of you—do tell me." Laurentina grabbed his chin and forced it to turn towards her, much to the other party's surprise. "There is nothing I can see in those crestfallen eyes of yours, it's almost as if your soul has sunken deep below the sea—to never be seen again."
"You're thinking too deeply," Megumi placed his hand on Laurentina's own, meeting her gaze in the process. It made him pause, taking in those bright and wide crimson eyes; which reflected his form within its sights.
...For whatever reason, he just felt the need to say something, "...if you want to know about it so much, then let go of me."
Laurentina pulled her head back in slight shock, "I wouldn't have expected that to work. Now what was it, my beautiful eyes? Or was it the sincerity in which I asked of you?"
"The latter," Megumi humored her question.
"My, I feel praised." Laurentina responded in kind.
Right after, Megumi reached his hand outwards, a coalescence of black shadows immediately forming on it. When it fully formed, it was a folder with a white piece of paper in it—black ink combining together to create an image.
His control over it had improved, being able to form it in his hand without having to reach into a puddle.
Laurentina watched with vested interest, the object appearing in such an unnatural way, "I would have never expected something like that. Is this a parlor trick of yours?"
"Parlor trick? Sure," Megumi didn't even bat an eye for her back-handed compliment, "just take a look at it, and it should answer your questions." He opened the folder, setting it on the table with all the other ones he found in the Church's hidden laboratory.
The Abyssal Hunter turned to the image, picking it up with her delicate fingers. "Brain scans?" She glossed it over once, and then twice. What she was seeing... "scarred tissue, a lot of them." The white haired woman wasn't too well-versed in the brain, but she knew at least that much. From what she was seeing, every single part of the brain was... just scarred tissue.
How was he even alive?
"To answer your question," Megumi picked up another file without much interest, going back to his research. "I guess I can relate to what you've experienced. However, everybody goes through their own thing, and I can't just say with certainty that I understand you." The black and endless abyss of his soul was something that had always kept him entrapped—a tether to his past that the Ten Shadows user wished to move on from.
Although Megumi could say he had moved on from them to an extent, there were just some scars that he didn't believe could be fully recovered. All he could was struggle and push, hopefully to meet the ends which he had been looking for so long.
***
The lights were dimmed, only in the apartment's living room. There was only one bedroom, and all other lightbulbs were currently turned off. It signified the beckoning of the irradiant moon, the ebb of the night creeping through from the decadent and fogged windows.
Files laid strewn about haphazardly, as if the handler of such precious folders did not care for them. Indeed, Fushiguro Megumi didn't care much about their state of repair or disrepair, considering they belonged to some of the scummiest people he had ever had the displeasure of witnessing.
After analyzing and studying them, the Sorcerer was going to burn them along with whoever he was about to pillage next with his small shadow army—led by a vicious general Heaven had ever seen. But right now...? A little bit of rest wouldn't hurt, considering just how tiring keeping up the wheel was.
Pinching his eyelids, Megumi felt a gaze continue to bore into him. Taking a glance behind him, the black haired man gave a restrained look when he saw two scarlet red eyes peering through from the opening of the bedroom door. The sensation the Sorcerer felt from it was always unnatural, but bearable to a certain degree.
...How long had she been watching him for, though?
There was no need to keep this moment stalled much longer, "Laurentina, what is it?" Megumi didn't say he understood the woman that much, considering he had only known her for a few hours. For some indiscernible reason, the woman wanted to repay a non-existent debt she held for him.
"Will you not heed your body's function of rest?" The woman opened the door wider, her full body coming into view. "Or does sticking your nose amongst those hundreds of files suit your temperament better?"
"There's no need to say something like that," Megumi waved his hand in the air, "I'll get enough rest anyways."
"You know..." Laurentina spoke out, walking towards him, "you land-dwellers have such fragile bodies, and here I wonder how such a delicate organ such as your brain still functions amongst the fissures tearing it apart." The woman reached him, and marginally bent her knees to meet his eyes once more.
"...Land-dwellers, what do you mean by that?" Megumi bore a confused expression at her choice of words.
"Ah, did I forget to mention?" The Abyssal Hunter stood back up again, placing a hand on her temple. "Then I shall be brief, I am an Aegir, I hail from the structures built below the sea." Laurentina shifted her hands, placing it on her chest. "One far different from your own."
"How different?" Megumi knew this world had entire Nomadic Cities, so hearing of underwater cities wasn't too much of a revelation.
"How should I put this, then?" Laurentina looked thoughtful, "technology beyond even your wildest dreams, art and culture rich in the greatest flavor—beauty. I doubt I would perceive such a thing on land, and certainly neither in a decrepit room such as this." The woman mulled over her words for a moment, "no offense."
"No offense taken," Megumi said. From what he could tell, Laurentina had some sort of passion for her city—bathing it in a valuable light. "Your city must have been nice, then."
"Words can't truly describe it," Laurentina smiled, "but that's besides the point. Your body is fragile—as I have pointed out a million times, and so I believe it is upon my duty as an 'Abyssal Hunter' to protect you from those dreaded Sea Terrors."
"...That's... new?" Megumi pondered why she was revealing this to him.
"Of course, I am only saying this because our goals align. I can't have a princess such as you—inexperienced in dealing with the matter of the Seaborn—charge in so headstrong." Laurentina placed a finger between them. "Think of this as the repayment, nothing more—nothing less."
It was then the Aegir shark spoke what had been in her chest for the longest time since she had heard the man freed her from the lab.
"I can get behind that," Megumi placed a hand over his mouth, giving it a few more thoughts. "No objections, then."
The white haired woman watched his swerve on his seat, placing his elbow on the desk and picking up yet another file. Honestly, Laurentina was wondering if this was some wall he put in front of himself and others... one that she really wanted to break down.
Perhaps, was it to see that endless abyss of his soul once more? One that felt so... so confidable? Ah, emotions are such a fickle thing.
"Your brain," Laurentina walked around, placing a hand on the top of his head, and making sure her pale hand didn't touch his floating wheel. "I don't believe it is healthy to exert it so much," maybe that was why the black haired man had fallen unconscious when summoning that 'pure' creature. "I am no expert neurologist, but scarred tissue like yours is always something that should be tenderly dealt with."
"I've had it for an entire week now, it won't change just because I exert myself a little more," Megumi responded with slight resistance. "Besides, you know my healing abilities—I can just restore my exhaustive state."
"Then why hadn't you done so before?" Laurentina grinned, having hit the mark dead-on.
"Because it was focused on somebody else," Megumi responded in kind.
"Aha~, well I believe I can't refute it, now can I?" Laurentina had other plans though. Moving herself to another side of the room that had an extra chair, she dragged it towards where the black haired man was sitting.
Megumi watched in silence.
"Then I believe these matters should pertain to me also, might as well read these over while I recover," Laurentina said. After having settled the chair close to Megumi's own, she plopped down and grabbed a file of her own, "so, where do we begin?" She gave a glance towards the 'expert.'
"Their locations." Megumi pointed to a specific spot on the table, "this file has them. You'll want to take a look at it first."
"With pleasure."
***
Megumi groaned, lifting his head from the desk. The basking presence of the morning sun was bleeding through his window, half-lidded eyes opening to meet them. There was this lethargic feeling overtaking him, one that could be reverted by flowing Positive Energy from a certain technique through his veins.
However, that wasn't needed at the moment, and there was something else that could alleviate him.
KLNK
The wheel turned, and gave Megumi a brief flow of respite that amounted to a 2 hour nap in a single motion. Although the Dharmachakra had a few limits on what it could adapt to when using Shadow Extension, the Sorcerer didn't mind much.
It was more a quality of life sort of thing, and an added benefit whenever he was bearing the burden of Mahoraga's adaptation. Most of his self-afflicted adaptations were temporary as compared to the Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General, so it was best to make them the restoration of physical depravations.
Stretching his arms with a sigh, Megumi lightly stamped his feet on the ground and stood up—
"Had a good night's sleep?"
The Sorcerer turned to his right, finding that Laurentina was sitting on a nearby chair, legs crossed over as she glanced over a file. "...Did you not sleep?" That was a confusing and jarring sight after having immediately just woken up.
"I have," Laurentina placed the item she was holding back onto the table. "I went to sleep first, remember? Too bad somebody else had been so adamant to take a rest, I even suggested a spot for you in that lonely room."
"Don't say such things casually," Megumi didn't like scrounging his brain to know whether she was joking or not. He couldn't really find out, reading other people was at times, very difficult when it came to the implications of what she had just said.
"No, it really was isolating," Laurentina held her hand close to her mouth while her elbow rested on the armchair, "I'd much prefer having stepped outside, to view the boundless skies and endless lands once more." Perhaps even returning to Aegir... but with her resources at the current moment—attempting to search for it would be suicide.
"You're not in the best to do so," Megumi stood up, "you should stay and rest for the moment, I'll go outside to get a few things done. Besides, those Church people might recognize you and want to take you back."
"You're asking a hard bargain," Laurentina gave a droll look, "have I not just told you I wish to see the outside world."
"It'll only take 2 hours." Megumi fixed his black haori, letting it properly remain flowy, "I think that should be enough time before you're well enough to head out."
"Oh? Then I can spend that time reviewing these... boring files," Laurentina sighed. "If you don't return within that time length, and bring me outside too—I might as well break your legs."
"...I'll take that to heart," Megumi walked towards the door. "If you need any food, there should be left overs in the fridge."
"Oh, and one more thing, princess~," Laurentina called out to the man before he could fully make his way. "My outfit is in a state of disrepair, as you can see. Take this small drawing and present it to a tailor, I'd make sure to repay this." The woman walked upwards to him, placing a note in his open hand.
"I'll..." Megumi took a look at it, "...when did you draw this?"
"While I was reminiscing within my room," Laurentina replied, "I believe new clothes, ones that match my features should be in place, no? So I took my sweet time drawing its concept."
"...It looks good," Megumi placed it in his pocket, not even needing to place it within his shadow. "I'll ask a tailor to make it, then." Nodding to himself, he marched towards the door again.
"Mhm," Laurentina walked back to the desk and picked up another file, giving one last glance towards Megumi's departing back. The sound of the door opening and then closing echoed in her ears, making the Aegir lady heave another breath. "Truly... I wish there were a boulder right now," one that she could draw life and substance out of—to chisel that beautiful wheel.
Hopefully that man would stay out of danger.
"Did I forget to ask him something...?" Laurentina went through her mind, "ah, right... that woman. Amaia, was it?" Just speaking that name made her nerves thin in anger, "I never asked if he slaughtered her or not."
***
There was no need for Megumi to take a look at the familiar streets. The section of the city which he stayed in had already engraved itself into his mind, giving him all the locations of the shadows in which he could creep through.
One thing such an action felt like was swimming, the liquid shadows passing through his body. However, they never possessed a wet feeling, and it was hard to describe what it truly was like. Maybe like swimming through air, that was the best description Megumi could give.
His current plans right now was to not get spotted by the Church people, considering they might know what he looked like—and scout their outposts or prayer buildings. However, before that, Megumi was planning to get the outfit tailored for Laurentina first... if there were even any skilled tailors around these parts.
Well, there was one shop or store he remembered spotting while first traveling through. So maybe the tailor there could possess the necessary skill to create what Laurentina had sketched down...
...Could it even be called a sketch? In actuality, it looked like an extremely detailed drawing with graphite pencil. Every single spec that was scraped onto the piece of paper detailed everything the outfit wished to be created—one that was not too different from Laurentina's current outfit—but different enough.
A long skirt with three parting tails, and a few blue strands that come along with it. There was also that hat, making Megumi wonder if he should have just had Laurentina bring in her original clothes to have a do-over.
Shaking his head, Megumi decided to kick up his speed, remembering the routes between alleyways that led to the place he had remembered seeing.
***
Megumi walked into the store, pausing his steps as the door continued swaying from his movements. The place wasn't... too bad? It could have been in better condition, but looked presentable enough.
There were no clothes displayed to give ethos to the store, so the Jujutsu Sorcerer was practically blind in regards to if the the owner of this shop could even create a set of clothing as detailed as Laurentina had drawn.
Could they even tailor clothes at all...?
Might as well give it a try, "hello? Is anybody here?" Megumi called out, letting his voice echo across the store. Taking a glance around him, the Sorcerer made sure that there were no members of the Church—or the Penal Battalion for that matter—behind him.
Once that was over with, he turned around and—
—There was an old man standing in front of his face, making the black haired man pause in his steps. It hadn't given nearly as much of a heart attack if he were a Cursed Spirit, but it was still definitely a shock.
"...Sir?" Megumi called out to the listless man, taking in the wrinkles of his face and the like. "Are you able to tailor clothes?" Was the old man interested in his wheel? That couldn't be right, he wasn't even taking any glances towards it.
"Tailor... tailor?" The old man looked upwards in a daze, as if attempting to recall something. "Tailor, yes, I can tailor..."
Those words definitely, 100% gave Fushiguro Megumi the confidence to trust them. "Then..." It was a tough decision whether he could try this one—or search for other tailors out in Primavera. But then again, could he get any more fortunate than... this? "Could you tailor something from this drawing?"
When Megumi handed the note hesitantly to the man, the Sorcerer swore he saw a glint in the other person's eyes, right before he snapped the object right out of his hands. The movement was fast, but slow to his trained eye.
Repeatedly, the old man's eyes looked to be bulging and going across every single detail of the note. They brought it close to their eyes, then farther away—before it moved close to their optical viewers once more. Over and over again, their eyes also scanned left and right in a swift movement.
Megumi stood there silently, having to re-contemplate what actions had led the black haired man to go over here. First, it was Laurentina's request... and then his obligatory inner sense to get it fulfilled. Then again, it was just clothes—the woman already had a set that was functional enough.
"I can make it..." the old man clenched the note, before shakily pocketing it. "Dress... yes, I remember, dress for my..." The tailor continued to look upwards, some sort of glint in his eyes as he continued to ramble on.
"I'll... come back in about a few hours to see the progress..." Megumi gave a small wave to the sanity-depraved old man, before turning around and exiting the shop.
There was no way this would end well, would it? 'Sorry, Laurentina.'