The night of June 20, 2002, arrived in Sendai with a low, heavy rumble. The thunder didn't just strike, it groaned from the deep, an on of sothing waking up. Bruised purple flashes illuminated the forest, casting long, flickering shadows across the mountain.
A woman stood alone among the trees. She was dressed simply in a black short-sleeved top and white trousers, her silhouette sharp against the gloom. The wind pulled at her hair, revealing the thin, jagged seam that ran across her forehead from temple to temple.
Kaori Itadori. Or more accurately, Kenjaku.
She looked up at the boiling clouds and smiled. "How fitting."
She had spent years searching for a vessel capable of housing Kashimo's soul. Most bodies were too fragile to contain that volu of cursed energy. After filtering through countless candidates across the country, she had finally settled on a local sorcerer. The man was a drifter with a solid foundation and high tolerance. He was perfect.
The vessel sat slumped against a tree, eyes closed and skin pale. He looked decent enough, his clothes worn but clean, as if he had been prepared for a formal occasion. Kenjaku reached into her pocket and produced the cursed object, Kashimo's mummified finger. It was a heavy, ancient thing, housing a soul that had been dormant for four centuries.
She knelt beside him. Her movents weren't gentle, but they were precise. A flash of purple lightning lit up the forest, catching the glint of amusent in her eyes.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," she whispered.
She forced the finger into his mouth and made sure he swallowed. The cursed object slid down his throat, settling like a lead weight in his gut. For a mont, there was only silence. Then, the body began to scream.
Purple markings erupted across his face, tracing paths from his eyes to his temples like jagged vines. His fra began to expand, bone and muscle densifying under his clothes with a series of wet, snapping sounds. He grew taller, his posture straightening as his vitality returned. His hair shifted from a dull gray to a vibrant, electric teal, fluttering in the rising mountain wind. The color returned to his skin, erasing decades of wear in seconds.
A thunderclap shook the forest as a bolt of purple lightning tore through the sky, bleaching the world white.
Kashimo opened his eyes.
They were a deep, piercing blue, like a storm cloud that had been building for years. His gaze was calm, but it carried a weight that made the air feel thin. He was the strongest of his era, a combat spirit that had finally bridged the gap of ti to reach the modern world.
Kashimo cracked his neck, the sound echoing in the quiet clearing as he tested the new joints. He stood up, towering over Kenjaku, and stared at her without saying a word. The wind swirled between them, kicking up dead leaves.
Kenjaku looked up into those blue eyes and let her smile widen. It didn't last long.
Kashimo stared at her face for three seconds before his mouth began to twitch.
"Pfft... haha!"
The laughter exploded out of him. It was a wild sound that echoed through the forest, drowning out the thunder. He laughed until he was doubled over, clutching his stomach like a man who had just seen the funniest thing in history. There was no dignity in it, no aura of a legendary sorcerer. He looked like a street punk who had just seen a spectacular pratfall.
"Brain-at!" He pointed a shaking finger at her. "What the hell is this? You're a woman? Hahahaha!"
He laughed so hard that tears began to track down his face. He wiped them away with the back of his hand, his face twisted into a mocking, obnoxious grin. He had expected sothing strange, but seeing Kenjaku in this specific body was more than he could handle.
"Think about it," Kashimo wheezed, leaning against a tree for support while his shoulders shook. "Did the guy kissing you know there was a seam in your skull? Did he think you were just special? Hahaha!"
The birds in the trees took flight, fleeing toward the clouds as his laughter filled the woods.
Kenjaku stood perfectly still, her face a mask of calm, though her eye twitched ever so slightly. She kept her hands in her jacket pockets and waited for the fit to pass.
"Are you finished?" she asked. Her voice was flat, but a flicker of genuine annoyance crossed her eyes.
Kashimo took a few more seconds to catch his breath, wiping his eyes and slowly straightening his posture. He let out one last, lingering chuckle before forcing himself to be serious.
"Alright, alright," he said, waving a hand. "I'm done. I'm done."
His lips were still curling at the corners.
"I don't have ti for your gas," Kenjaku said, her composure returning. She looked away, her tone becoming clinical. "I'm using this body to facilitate the creation of a vessel for Sukuna. It's part of a much larger design."
She glanced at him, her eyes asking if he was finally ready to be a professional.
"Right. Sure." Kashimo's voice trailed off, his grin fading into a look of focused intent. He stretched his shoulders, feeling out the new muscle.
He suddenly held out his hand toward her.
"What?" Kenjaku tilted her head and blinked, looking innocent. On Kaori's face, the expression was eerily pure, a sharp contrast to the seam on her head.
"The things I gave you to keep," Kashimo said. He spoke each word slowly, his tone making it clear he wasn't in the mood for excuses. "Where are they?"
Kenjaku's expression shifted.
A mischievous guilt flickered across her face. She pulled her hands from her pockets and began to tap her index fingers together, looking down at the dirt. She looked like a child being asked about a broken vase, her eyes darting toward the trees and then up at the clouds. Anywhere but at Kashimo.
"Well... about that..."
She stuttered, her usual silver tongue suddenly failing her. She looked at the ground, then at a nearby branch, then back at the clouds.
Kashimo kept his hand extended. He narrowed his blue eyes, the last of his amusent vanishing as his gaze turned dangerously cold.
"Kenjaku."
His voice was a low, terrifying growl.
"Where the hell is my gear?!"
***
For early access to 15 chapters ahead: p@tre~~/Demonic_Fiction (Link is in the synopsis and my profile).
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