Jujutsu Kaisen: Purple

Chapter 9: Distress

The monotonous glow of white fluorescent lights pervaded the rectangular tunnel. Numerous cables crawled along the dark grey walls, accompanying a pair of subway tracks hugging the concrete floor beneath overhead rails. A tall man possessing black shoulder-length hair and murky green eyes wandered through a narrow pathway in the middle, his gaze fixed on the distant humanoid figure facing away from him.

"I take it you're responsible for the recent disturbances regarding subway personnel," stated Shinji. He paused, clenching his fists.

The entity turned around; an apparition with light red skin, white scleras and eight randomly dispersed orange eyes stared back. Its long, yellowish hair was composed of intertwining nerve fibres, creeping across the face and down to the shoulders in a perfectly symmetrical fashion. Moreover, the cursed spirit's outfit consisted of a baggy burgundy dress reaching its knees, as well as sandals retaining the same colour worn over white socks.

"It's not my fault they had a panic attack. Humans are anxious by nature."

The sorcerer frowned. "That doesn't justify inflicting suffering upon others, although I wouldn't expect a cursed spirit to understand."

Its speech is remarkable. As I suspected, this is likely an unregistered special-grade curse.

Electrical sparks flickered from the apparition's hair — their hisses echoing throughout the entire tunnel.

"I have a name, human! It's Shousa."

"Compelling," sneered the man. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

Curses are the embodiment of humanity's negative emotions, meaning their nature is determined by a shared image of loathing. As such, their strength and intelligence are directly proportional to the intensity of the feelings directed towards a certain concept...

The veins on Shousa's forehead swelled from underneath the skin; her hair's scintillations amplified.

"I'll fry those insolent vocal cords!"

The apparition rushed in Shinji's direction, closing the distance within seconds. Sparkling nerve fibres extended from her head, clinging to the ground like vines and slithering along the tracks. The sorcerer leapt backwards. He clicked his fingers, materialising five needles of dark green light before firing them at the cursed spirit. Shousa flung the fibres upwards — scorching the projectiles — and propelled them towards the man.

Shinji sprang to the left, eluding the airborne wires. He dashed forward and swung his arm. Three whip-like blades with the colour of chives erupted from the sorcerer's palm, severing the nerves while flying at the apparition's head. She ducked — quickly creating distance between them.

"Your technique is interesting..." declared the man, maintaining his vision on the cursed spirit.

This environment isn't ideal for combat. Perhaps I can gain an advantage by tricking the curse into revealing how its technique functions.

"...It's surprisingly weak for a special-grade."

Shousa twitched. She bit her fingernails, ripping them off.

Extension Technique: Anxious Mockery Mouths!

A yellow shimmer caught Shinji's attention. He glanced at his boots before jumping back to evade the snapping jaws of a gigantic mouth embedded within the floor. Laughter sounded from the walls and ceiling as human mouths manifested from their surfaces. The man looked back at the apparition — whose hand had appeared before his face. An abrupt mint-coloured flash filled the cursed spirit's sight. She swerved sideways, her flickering fist sweeping past Shinji's head and slamming into the wall. The sorcerer attempted to slash Shousa using the herbal blades. She dodged, sprinting away yet again.

"This is starting to get exasperating," asserted the man. His blades vanished, and the mouths did soon after.

Its technique isn't limited to the electric strands. I must stay vigilant.

The apparition grinned. "That'll be the least of your problems."

Countless hand-sized eyeballs sprouted from the walls.

Extension Technique: Obsessive-Compulsive Eyes!

Anxiety swarmed the sorcerer's mind as he stared into a crowd of orange irises, seemingly helpless against their unbreakable gaze.

What's happening...?!

Bundles of nerve fibres snaked along the ground. The man jolted and hopped out of their path, spotting the cursed spirit lunging at him. Shinji jerked to the side; Shousa veered in his direction. The buzzing vines neared the sorcerer's eyes. He lurched backwards and stumbled over a subway track, his ankles consequently grazed by a set of nerve fibres sliding across the concrete.

The man gasped. His body spasmed — reflexively recoiling away from the shocking strands. He sprinted several metres down the tunnel and turned around, facing the apparition from afar. She chuckled, watching as Shinji trembled.

"It's a miracle you're still alive, human! My bioelectricity should've seared your internal organs."

The sorcerer took a deep breath and exhaled.

I would've most certainly died had I not coated my body in cursed energy... Those eyes are rendering it difficult to focus.

"Seeing the eyes triggers obsessive thoughts alongside a compulsion to keep looking into them, correct?" asked the man.

Despite my rank as a first-grade sorcerer, exorcising this cursed spirit is going to be troublesome.

Shousa scowled. She scratched her arms, purple blood spilling from the skin. "Do I look stupid? I'm not going to explain my technique!"

"That's unfortunate," responded Shinji. "Your last ability resonated with me."

Given its name, as well as the circumstances, I believe this special-grade curse is the manifestation of society's collective anxiety.

The sorcerer sighed and raised his voice.

"My inherited family technique is called Apothecary. It allows me to manipulate cursed energy in various ways by expending herbs and spices that are in direct contact with my cursed energy — assuming they are not excessively damaged beforehand. However, these ingredients are destroyed in the process."

Binding Vow: Revealing One's Hand.

The apparition's eyes widened.

He's giving away his technique?

"Additionally, my biggest weakness is that I cannot activate the technique without access to any herbs or spices, which is why I wear an apron. Nevertheless..."

Binding Vow: Achilles' Heel.

An influx of transparent, dark green light engulfed the man. He grabbed the wooden plague doctor mask fastened to his left hip and slowly brought it to his face.

"...You have my condolences."

As if they were alive, the black ribbons attached to the mask wrapped around Shinji's head. Cursed energy surged throughout the sorcerer's body as he observed Shousa — the mask's murky green panes covering his eyes.

Custom Binding Vow: Obstructive Masquerade.