Chapter 9: Transfer Student

"Do you think they'll be friendly?" Kitani asks, his hands nervously stuffed in his pockets.

"Friendly or not, they'll have to deal with us," Kurogane said, cracking his knuckles. "Besides, this is our chance to show them what we've got."We arrived at the large training hall where our senior teammates were waiting. The hall was filled with an intense aura, a testament to the power of the sorcerers within. I took a deep breath, steeling myself for the encounter.

A tall woman and a slightly taller man are in an intense sparring match. She wields an odd sword with an accented tip that elegantly cuts through the thick atmosphere. Her movements are as fluid as water and her strikes, are graceful but devastating. Her short blue hair fluctuates in the air as she dances around her opponent. He on the other hand is like a tank, enduring each strike with an even more powerful counterattack. His arms are covered in thick veins that pulsate with each strike.They stop the match as we approach them.

"No way, Big bro Haruki?" Kurogane goes to bow before him. Kitani looks at me in disbelief and I can't help but do the same.

"How are you Daiki," The tall man bows before Kurogane now.

"I had no idea you were going to be partaking in this year's festivities," Kurogane ascends, standing far more confident than ever before.

"My Sensei advised me to do so," he says as he places his firm hand on his hip.

"Does that mean my father will be in attendance?" Kurogane mutters. The boy shakes his head, Kurogane wilts over.

"Wait a sec, your dad is a teacher here?" Kitani cuts through. "What gives man we're a team and you didn't tell us?"

"Well, it's not like we'd ever run into him," Kurogane faintly smiles. "He's usually on missions with his students or overseeing international affairs."

"Well Kurogane, you should introduce us to your brother," I wave my hand out to the two strangers before me.

"Oh, of course," Kurogane jolts. "This is Shun Kitani and Armani, my roommates, as well as squad mates." Kitani and I bow.

"My name is Haruki Watanabe," he announces with a deep bow. "And this is my squad mate-" Watanabe begins.

"We're dating too by the way," She playfully pushes him away. "My name is Aiko Mizuno, it's good to see you all here." She gleefully falls into a bow.

"Aiko come on, time and place," Watanabe whines at her.

"Lighten up Haruki," she kisses his cheek and his face goes up in flames.

"This is gonna be great," Kitani wheezes as tears fall from his eyes. "Kurogane is kissing ass, and the guy he's so obsessed with is a total square."

Suddenly a draft fills the room, another strong presence fills the room. I jerk my head back, the chill that ran down my spine wasn't human. A silhouette of a woman.

"Oh, hello Yin Kong, I wasn't expecting you until later," Mizuno says as she helps Watanabe up.

"This is Yin Kong," Watanabe groans. "She's the final member of the Tokyo Squad."

"Kong?" Kurogane begins. "That's a Chinese surname, I thought it was each school against each other?"

"Well originally yes," Watanabe explains. "But to further promote intercultural Jujutsu practices they've allowed at least one student from a foreign school to represent themselves. So although they would have the possibility of fighting against their home country, it's still a great opportunity to make a name for themselves. Either way it's a win-win."

"I wonder though," Kurogane steps to face the girl. "Beijing China has a phenomenal school for sorcery, why try and uneven the odds and join another powerhouse."

As usual, he raises a good question. It wouldn't make sense to leave a powerful institution to join another powerful one. It's almost like she intends to fight her own school.

"Well that's simple," her voice is raspy. "I got a bone to pick with a member from my school. I'm hoping I'll get the chance to annihilate him." She slams her staff on the ground and a wave of wind washes over us. Her jet black hair waving wildly in the air.

"We'll need to test if your heart's really for the cause," Kurogane says with a wide grin. There's the Kurogane I'm used to seeing, I look at Watanabe's stern expression. Mizuno smiles and nudges him.

"Your funeral shorty," She laughs, spinning her staff. "I'm always down for a fight!"

A smear of black and purple flash before my eyes. She appears before Kurogane reeling back her staff.

"Wha-" Kurogane says before being slammed into the oak wall that wobbled upon impact.

As she rushes toward Kurogane, she drags her metallic staff on the ground, purple sparks ignite from the ground as she closes in.

She scoops up the wood floor with an electric blast that slithers its way through the ground and erupts beneath Kurogane. She tosses the staff into the air and delivers a devastating kick to Kurogane's side.

He swipes his hand to the side, a blue streak of cursed energy ripping through the air. He pulls a pair of tonfas out from the ripple.

"Duality Shield?" Watanabe murmurs to himself. "Why is he using that weapon? He'll only be an easier target for her." Come to think of it, I never really sat down and asked Kurogane about his Cursed Technique, I guess I always thought he'd tell me when he saw fit.

"Excuse me Watanabe," I respectfully tap his shoulder. "I never got the chance to ask but, what exactly is Kurogane's cursed technique?"

"He never told you?" Watanabe chuckles. "He has an arsenal of Cursed Tools that he can craft from corpses of enemies he's exorcized. It's called Spirit Craft."

Kurogane clashes with her, their metal crackling with sparks of Cursed Energy. He pushes her away with sheer force. He pivots his foot and uses all of his momentum to deliver a lightning fast jab to her stomach. An explosion of dust sprays across the hall.

"Not bad, I'd expect you to be a pushover," Yin Kong says as she emerges from the dust cloud, her eyes a violent shade of indigo.

Kurogane amounts a large sum of cursed energy and feeds it into his tonfas. She slams her foot into the tonfas, her body jerks suddenly. It was like she hit an immovable object.

"Good strategy little brother," Watanabe smirks and leans over to me. "This specific weapon works like a sponge. The less cursed energy you put inside of it, the faster and the more devastating it is. But the more you pour into it, the more it can handle, but its striking power suffers as a result."

"A sacrificial weapon I see," Yin Kong smirks as she looks at us. "The Gojo clan isn't the only clan blessed with sensory abilities." She flips off of Kurogane's body and lands on one foot. She pulls out a yellow tag from her belt.

"Light," She shouts as she throws the slip at Kurogane. "Explode!" The slip floods the room with a bright nova of light.

Once the light cast was over, she had disappeared from sight. "Blighting Clones!" I look above to see her perched on the ceiling. Suddenly multiple versions of her push off the ceiling, leaving a dust cloud above us. They slam into his iron defense one by one, to no avail.

"Don't you get it-" Kurogane begins before the clones begin to gleam an ominous purple light. They explode and leave a purple haze surrounding Kurogane's body. Finally, she dives into the cloud delivering one final devastating blow.

As the dust settles, she stands triumphantly over Kurogane's exhausted body, a playful smirk on her face. She teasingly rubs her foot against his cheek.

"Looks like I win," she snickers as she leaps towards me. "Do I have the heart you guys are looking for?"

"I think you did great," I reply, my legs shaking with every stride she makes. Her head inches toward me, nearly knocking me backward, but her hand ensnares my chest. She begins sniffing my neck, a tingling sensation rushes through my body and I erupt into laughter.

"What are you doing?!" I plead as I try to pry her solid grip off.

"You smell strong," she smirks, lifting me as effortlessly as a lioness with her cub.. "You should fight me next!" My face droops to a frown, it's just Kurogane but a woman. Her expression buckles as she cracks up, she drops me as she hunches over trying to contain herself.

"You're funny," she makes out, still wheezing. "What's your name." I smile and face her.

"Armani, but if you want, you can call me Mani," I extend my hand. She takes it with a friendly shake.

"I'm looking forward to fighting with you Mani," she looks over at Kurogane's body. "You too, shorty." He groans.