Jujutsu Kaisen: Purple

Chapter 6: Residuals

The dissonant melody of raindrops tapping on windows haunted the deserted high school hallways. Dull, grey light shone through misty glass panes, inadequately illuminating the building. An abrupt red glow lit up the area as a deafening boom thundered throughout the high school. Hinotori stood in the hallway, watching as three reptilian monsters with grey flesh, colourless eyes and tails reminiscent of those belonging to scorpions dashed towards him. A vivid, crimson radiance enveloped the small cluster of firecrackers in the sorcerer's right hand.

"Innate Technique..."

Hinotori's sharp teeth formed an exhilarated smile. He chucked the pyrotechnics into the air before cracking his knuckles and covering his ears.

"Pyrotechnical Detonation!"

A myriad of miniature explosions consumed the cursed spirits. Smoke shrouded the zone of impact, followed by an unsettling silence. The sorcerer remained stationary, seemingly oblivious to the faint fumes radiating from his scars. Seconds passed. Nothing. Hinotori tilted his head to the left and grinned.

That was easy.

A set of mandibles emerged from the smoke. The sorcerer's cursed-energy-infused fist slammed into the monster's jaw. Its entire body struck a nearby wall, disintegrating in a matter of milliseconds. Hinotori stared at the spot where the cursed spirit had perished, left with wide eyes and an awkward smile.

That was... close.

The sorcerer turned around and spotted his ally, who was standing at the other end of the hallway. He smirked before calling out to her in a playful tone.

"Hey, Kana! I almost died."

Kana's hair was a dark shade of purple and slightly wavy, reaching the middle of her back. She had wisteria-coloured eyes and was around 170 centimetres tall. Moreover, the woman wore a purple Jujutsu High uniform which had been customised to resemble a kimono — with pink, indigo and magenta flame-like patterns printed on it as well as a golden Jujutsu Sorcerer badge clipped on the left, just beneath the collar. Her shoes were black, matching the stylish handbag on the floor beside her. Overall, she looked about the same age as Shinji.

Four unlit, white candles were arranged in a horizontal line on the ground in front of Kana, evenly spaced out across the hallway. She faced away from Hinotori, observing the swarm of mosquito-like curses flying in her direction.

"Inherited Family Technique..."

The woman stretched her arms out on both sides, with the palms facing downwards. The candle wicks instantly ignited, producing mysterious purple flames.

"Cursed Candles."

Kana rotated her palms upwards. A spectral purple blaze erupted from each candle, enveloping the wax wholly and burning uncontrollably. The flames were almost a metre tall, yet generated no smoke. The woman flicked her wrists towards the ceiling.

"Extension Technique: Scorching Screen."

The inferno augmented exponentially, forming a flaming wall before Kana's shimmering eyes. A stream of silhouettes materialised behind the flames, subsequently dissipating within a fraction of a second. The woman brought her hands together, causing the blaze to dissolve and disappear from existence — leaving the candles and environment unscathed. She turned to face her teammate.

"Did you say something, Hinotori?"

The sharp-toothed sorcerer scratched the back of his head. "Uh, don't worry about it."

Kana glanced around the area. Her ice-cold demeanour quickly shifted from calm to concerned, and her tone did the same. "Where's Yukari?"

A teenage boy wearing a purple scarf stood in the school cafeteria, staring at a horrifying creature resembling an arachnid. Its endoskeleton was black and covered in human teeth. The monster's face consisted of a colossal mouth filled to the brim with fractured fangs, as well as jagged segments of metal wire akin to braces. Its size was almost comparable to that of a car. A distorted, disdainful voice resonated from the apparition's maw.