Hikaru walked through the Zenin compound with the calm of a silent predator, sinking into the depths of the shadows, but what was Hikaru doing that he didn't want to be seen? Well, the answer lay in the path he was taking, every movement he made was designed to be as quiet as possible, he arrived at a tatami house isolated from the others, but as he was about to enter, a bokken ricocheted off his head, he moved his hands, clutching the affected area.
- Was it necessary to hit me, Maki-neesan?-
Maki smiled, seeing Hikaru wince in pain, the black-haired boy shifted in place, Mai appeared shortly after, carrying a bow, one given to him by Hikaru, Mai's smile was warmer and more patient compared to Maki's, which was challenging and mocking, but deep down, it concealed concern and affection, something that the tsundere Zenin Maki wouldn't allow to be seen, why? Typical tsundere stuff, I guess.
- You're too thin, eat more and maybe you'll build some muscle.-
- Maki, Hikaru is just a kid, it's too soon for him to be a bodybuilder.-
Maki resisted the urge to punch her twin sister too, even though Hikaru was eight, it didn't mean he should neglect his training, at the very least, the kid wasn't being manipulated into becoming a temach in the world of jujutsu, when Maki and Mai left, Hikaru followed them with his usual energy, gathering information on how Mai's techniques worked and what her preferred fighting style was, in Maki's eyes, they continued until they reached a secluded training field, no one used that field, so the three of them used it as a place for training and relaxation.
- Hmm... Tell me, Hikaru, how many shikigami have you tamed?-
Hikaru looked up from his book of soul theories, eyeing Mai curiously, he began to think, recalling all the shadows in his possession.
- I have five shikigami, not counting the divine dogs, so four.-
Mai pondered, the divine dogs were already under their tamer's control from the moment they were summoned, they were the first shikigami to be controlled within the Ten Shadows, a notable difference was the Divine General of the Eight Divergent Leaves of Sila: Demon Mahoraga, just thinking of his name sent a shiver down Mai's spine, he was undoubtedly the strongest shikigami ever seen in the history of jujutsu, but would Hikaru have the potential to tame such a beast?
The hours passed in the blink of an eye, night had fallen, and Hikaru rested on his futon, but his mind was on the possible combinations and capabilities of the Ten Shadows, entering his innate domain, he approached the first fruit, its appearance was certainly peculiar: one side was black, and the other white, forming patterns that confused his mind in a way he didn't understand.
Hikaru moved the fruit, then saw two symbols, they were strange: instead of inverted triangles, as Hikaru had expected, given that the fruit was related to the Divine Dogs, they weren't, they were inverted, yes, but they weren't triangles. It was difficult to describe.
Radiance observed everything from a distance, he could sense the power emanating from that fruit, shaking his head, Radiance watched as the fruit slipped from Hikaru's hands, sending the boy into a pánico, he tried in vain to pull the fruit out of the darkness, but couldn't even touch it, fearing the worst, he left, unaware that he had unlocked a new ability for his arsenal.
The next morning, Hikaru woke abruptly to a bucket of cold water, his body chilled instantly, he lifted his head and saw it: a bucket on his roof, something he had done to wake up earlier and fully alerta, getting up, he prepared for another day like any other, but this one wouldn't be the same, when he reached the door, he opened it, but standing before him was Naobito, with a bottle of liquor in his hand, it would be a miracle not to see him with one.
- Hmm... Well, it only took you a minute to open up, today you have your first mission to exorcise a curse.-
Naobito turned around, and Hikaru silently followed, his mind already racing with what new things he would see, arriving at a specific location, he got into one of the many cars belonging to the Zenin family, hikaru watched as the entire area blurred, transforming from a distant forest into a beautiful city, which faded before the curious eyes of our protagonist.
- Listen, kid, this is a first-degree curse, it won't be easy, you're just a kid, but you hold the clan's trump card, so I have high hopes for you.-
- Hmmm... Does that curse have any interesting abilities besides simply expelling its cursed energy in an attack?-
Naobito laughed loudly, hikaru had already faced these kinds of curses—the ones that lacked ritual techniques, that only used their cursed energy to attack, weak but dangerous if ignored.
- Well, it has a ritual technique that affects perception, it can make you dizzy if you don't adapt quickly.-
Hikaru thought for a moment, it was quite a problematic technique, he didn't like having his world turned upside down; it wasn't pretty.
Hikaru didn't like it.
- I understand. I'll exorcise the curse as quickly as possible.-
The car slowed down until it stopped, arriving at a shopping mall, Hikaru looked around curiously, a curtain hung in the doorway, stepping inside, the place changed in a way that left him dizzy, he sighed and moved forward, but as soon as he took his first step, the place changed again.
- This is going to be more troublesome than I thought.-
Hikaru sighed silently, moving towards the center of the mall, he saw it: a curse with more than eight limbs, five pairs of eyes, three mouths on its sides, and quite large, perhaps 5 meters tall, the jade dogs were already outside, preparing to fight.
The first attack came from the white dog, which tore off one of the limbs, the black dog sank its claws into three of the curse's five eyes, Hikaru, pulling a cursed tool from his shadow, advanced, creating a cut on the curse's side, but, through carelessness, received two blows to his solar plexus.
- What? The old man lied to me, this curse doesn't have a ritual technique that affects perception.-
Outside the shopping center, Naobito was drinking his sake, while a lower-ranking member of the Zenin clan stood nearby.
- Excuse me for questioning, Naobito-sama, but don't you think lying to Hikaru-san about the other curse here is a good idea? The curse Hikaru-san is facing is possibly of a special grade, and a curse with the ability to affect perception will be more difficult to overcome if he's injured.-
The member lowered his head, not wanting to offend Naobito.
- Well, you're right, but putting that child in danger is necessary; otherwise, he won't evolve to improve, i lied to him so he'd improve along the way.-
Naobito took a sip of his sake, then felt the cursed energy of the first-grade and special category.
At the mall.
Hikaru already had a wound on one of his sides, he tensed his jaw and looked away at the wall, his soul was still standing, but his body was too tired, his mind, the bridge between his soul and body, was now very worn the divine white dog had fallen, and Hikaru, not risking losing the other, withdrew the summoning.
- No, if I keep going like this, I'll lose, i can't.-
Hikaru gripped his sword tightly; the curse seemed to mock him.
- Hikaru isn't normal, Mai, he's something that breaks the rules of jujutsu, a being who... simply defies everything.- (maki)
- If Hikaru truly concentrates, perhaps he can tame several shikigami from the Ten Shadows.- (Naobito)
Long ago.
Hikaru watched Mai practice her aim and Maki train in hand-to-hand combat, but every movement of the sisters was observed by the former vessel, with a thought in mind, he began to investigate how to cross the bridge that divides the body from the soul, but he never succeeded.
Present day.
Hikaru saw the curse; his mind had reached its limit, but , unbeknownst to him, he had already succeeded, in that battle, Hikaru Zenin was able to pass from the physical realm to the spiritual realm, hikaru moved, charged his fist with cursed energy, and advanced.
- Hikaru alone is capable of exorcising first-level curses with ease; a special-level curse would be a difficult challenge for him to overcome.-
Naobito drank more sake until he felt it, he opened his eyes, and a smile formed on his face.
- Hmm... Not bad, kid, not bad.-
- Black Flash.-
Black lightning with red edges appeared in Hikaru's hand.
- When a sorcerer makes an impact with cursed energy within 0.000001 seconds of the physical strike, space distorts and the cursed power flashes black, once the technique is mastered, the power increases to approximately 2.5 times.-
When Hikaru remembered Naobito's teaching, his mind cleared, although he could already cross the bridge, he could only go so far, but with the black flash, he was now able to cross completely, and so, Hikaru Zenin was able to visualize his soul, something that had taken him two years to accomplish, he had achieved it, now, Hikaru is one of the few who can distinguish his soul from others.
With a grunt of exertion, Hikaru struck the curse with another kokusen, Hikaru's perception of the cursed energy was through the roof; now, he could see it, how the curse tensed every muscle, how it prepared to attack, but Hikaru wasn't going to allow it.
- Divine Dog: Totality.-
Using the fusion of shikigami, Hikaru was able to summon an enhanced version of the jade dogs, after the white twin died, Hikaru fused the power of the white dog with its twin, the black dog, thus giving birth to the Divine Dog: Totality.
- Destroy it...-
Hikaru's order was simple, yet direct, and Kabal, as we'll call this shikigami, obeyed his master's command, using the same method he used to fuse the power of the divine dogs, Hikaru managed to fuse Gama and Nue, the frogs, the size of German Shepherds, stuck out their tongues, holding the curse, kabal was able to pierce through the curse, and Hikaru delivered the final blow.
- Kokusen.-
And another black flash landed, the curse was split in half, and just then, the first-class curse appeared to try to kill Hikaru, but the curse hadn't expected Kabal to be faster, Hikaru Zenin, with the help of his shikigami, was able to exorcise both a special-category curse and a first-class curse.
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I haven't been doing this for very long, less than half a year, but I truly enjoy it, i've seen many amazing fics (MHA: Hero Time) and many more. It frustrates me a little to know the ending of those stories, but that's life, if you can't handle it, then you simply ignore this world, that's how it is, and for those who can do that, my congratulations, few are those who accept and leave behind a story that is truly impressive, that draws you completely into the characters' lives, so, if you're reading this, thank you, thank you very much.