19 Love and Hate

A/N: I'm not dead, sorry for the delay, I'm just moving house rn, and the new place is up 6 flights of stairs and we don't have any movers and I'm not exactly a beefcake. My everything hurts, washing machines are heavy cuz they have concrete in em, so are beds and fridges and sofas and draws and so on. (/._.\)

Anyway. I have been struggling to find the time and energy to write anything with that going on, and we've still got some more stuff to go, sadly. :(

Once again, sorry for being so late with this chapter, not that I had a schedule anyway lol.

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Even though it's only the evening, no glimpse of the sun can be seen in the sky, shading the entire world as if night came early. Up above, instead of seeing the blue of the sky or the light of the stars, only an endless expanse of dark clouds roll overhead.

The darkness is only interrupted by the frequent flashes of lightning, briefly illuminating the world again and again in endless repetition while thunderous cracks ring out over and over as if the world itself is screaming its rage down on them all.

But even above the near constant boom-crackle of thunder, it is the sound of the heavy rainfall and violent wind that drowns out all noise, making it difficult to even hear yourself think from the constant white noise.

Sitting on the clean-cut stump of a fallen tree atop a sharp cliff, a man dressed in loose black clothes that is tied tightly by black bandages at the wrists and ankles, looks out over the view before him.

His face is covered by a full face mask of a solid off-white colour with a stylised design of a butterfly painted on in a dull red, but regardless, it is clear where his focus lands.

Across a long field of grass, cut in half by a simple dirt path, there is a medium sized compound of three walled in mansions standing alone as the sole evidence of human habitation as far as the eye can see.

From this alone, it would seem as though the man is staring at nothing, just the still front wall of the compound, unshaken by the turbulent weather.

However, he can see with more than just his eyes, and his attention is on what is going on inside of the compound.

There he can feel a dozen rapidly dwindling presences standing against one phenomenally large one, cutting them down one after another.

Behind his mask, he smiles to himself. Pleased with a job well done and amused by the consequences.

However, he abruptly jolts as another presence makes itself known, rapidly closing in on him and making his cold heart beat rapidly in his chest from the overwhelming sense of evil, even greater than the Vengeful Curse ahead of him.

He knew he should have left immediately after accomplishing his mission, but he just really wanted to see what would come of the 'Strongest Sorcerer'.

He doesn't really regret it, but it's still going to be a pain for him later.

Behind him, an enormous bird lands on the plateau a short distance away, and he quickly notices and corrects himself that it is a Shikigami, not an actual bird.

From the back of the bird, a boy with short pink hair and wearing an almost-black kimono jumps down, landing a few paces away from the man and looking at him curiously.

The man can tell that this boy is the source of that overwhelmingly evil aura, and he smiles when they look at him, knowing that a fight could mean his death and excited by the prospect.

And then a second person jumps down, a black-haired boy wearing the same outfit fluttering in the strong wind, and the man's smile turns into a pout. This boy doesn't have an aura even fractionally close to that of his companions', but the man knows strength when he sees it.

"Hello there!" The black-haired boy greets with a polite smile, almost yelling to be heard over the rain, his eyes flickering to the compound ahead and back to the man. "I am Narauko, and this is Sukuna! Who are you!?"

The man doesn't get up from the stump he is seated on, though he does turn to be facing them, as he brings a hand up to scratch at his cheek. The sound of his nail scratching against his mask is lost under the endless downpour.

This is awkward for him.

"I wasn't supposed to leave any witnesses," He says, more to himself than them, but to his surprise, they both seem to hear him, even over the deafening sound of crackling thunder. "Oops. Guess I should have expected that."

Both of the, he assumes Sorcerers, squint at him for a moment before the one named Narauko waves his hand through the air in front of him, Cursed Energy leaving a trail behind his hand that rapidly forms a set of symbols that the man almost recognises.

Sealing Techniques? He thinks to himself when in the next moment, an invisible dome forms around the three of them, blocking out not just the rain but the noise as well, almost making him fall over from the disorientation of the sudden decrease in volume.

"Neat trick," he comments, recognising the difference between what he just saw and the Sealing Techniques that he knows.

"You're the one that killed Sugawara no Michizane, aren't you?" Narauko accuses, making him slouch and let out a pathetic whine.

"I'm gonna get yelled at again," he moans to himself, continuing with a whisper. "If there was just one then it'd be fine, but of course there's two. Killing both of them would be way too much trouble, I might actually die y'know? Eh, fuck it. I've been yelled at before. I probably won't get executed for this right? ..Right?"

A sense of danger abruptly flares in the man's mind, and he throws himself to the side right before the stump he was sitting on is rent in half, alongside a chunk of earth behind it, sending a small avalanche of dirt down the cliffside.

"You speak awfully casually, Shinobi," the one named Sukuna says, glaring at him while he simply gets back up and sits back on the stump, casually patting himself down.

"You know you're not gonna get any ladies with an attitude like that, right? You should be more gentle~," the man says, his tone teasing.

However, right before Sukuna can respond, all three of them abruptly snap their attention towards the compound in the distance, and not a moment later does an absolutely titanic bolt of lightning strike down on the centre building.

The boom of thunder that follows is lounder than any other, strong enough even that it shatters Narauko's barrier and shakes the earth beneath them. The shockwave is enough that it surely would have knocked them all over, perhaps even brought about their deaths, if they were just ordinary humans.

Then the explosion follows. A gigantic cloud of dust is knocked up, covering the entire compound and practically glowing with remnant sparks of electricity.

With the, frankly insane, amount of Cursed Energy that was in that strike, the two boys fail to notice what the man senses, that being how almost every presence other than the obvious culprit just disappeared.

There goes the Sugawara clan, he callously thinks to himself as they watch the cloud of dust slowly settle.

When it does, they are greeted to a sight of complete annihilation. The centre building of the compound, as well as much of the other two, are simply gone, only a vast scorched crater left in their wake. What is left of the remaining buildings is reduced to a pile of rubble blown away by the force of the explosion.

And right in the middle of it all, floating in mid air, is Sugawara no Michizane.

Or at least what has become of the once great man.

Even from this distance and through the fog of endless rain, they are all able to see him clearly enough.

He is wearing a three layered kimono, the innermost layer being white, followed by red while the outer layer is a dark grey not unlike that of the rolling thunderclouds above, decorated sporadically with his clan's symbol, the Umebachi, a five petaled flower.

A white belt, the obi, decorated with red circles holds the kimono closed and hangs down his front. On his head, he is wearing a traditional hat fitting of his former station, being a cap with a long protrusion pointing further to the skies.

From so far away, his face is difficult to discern, but it is clear that he is an old man, wrinkles covering his face. He has a trimmed beard covering his chin and a moustache that has been shaved below the nose, leaving two spikes of hair shooting up from the corners of his lips like a pair of lightning bolts.

Even his hair below his hat and his eyebrows are spiky and erect, pointing sharply up in defiance of gravity. His eyes both glow a deep blue, small sparks of lightning dancing from the orbs as if struggling to contain his own power. Similarly dancing with blue sparks is a tokkosho, a single bladed vajra, held in one hand.

But more than anything else, what they cannot ignore is the sheer, overwhelming weight of his aura engulfing them and pressing down on them all as if the very sky itself is his to command, and he is commanding it to fall.

///

Narauko

///

My entire skin crawls with goosebumps as the immense well of Cursed Energy wraps around me like the air itself is alive, pinpricks stabbing into my skin like a million little needles, as if I'm standing in a pool of weak acid.

Looking at the Vengeful Spirit formerly known as Sugawara no Michizane, I am so completely in awe that I can hardly think of anything else.

"So strong." The whisper leaves me without conscious thought, and I notice Sukuna glance at me from the corner of my eye, prompting me to look back at him, and even under the pressure of Michizane's aura, I give him a happy smile. "Stronger than us."

Sukuna scoffs, but he doesn't deny it. He can't deny it. Right at this very moment, Sugawara no Michizane is stronger than us. It's intimidating, which only makes it more exciting.

As I think that, I see Sukuna's lips curl into a smirk as he looks down at me. "You scared~?" He mocks, making me laugh out loud.

Hardly, I think to myself. You're here too, after all.

"Well then, I think I've overstayed my welcome," the mysterious Shinobi abruptly states, slapping his thighs and rising to his feet as I turn my attention back to him in time for him to give us both a thumbs up. "Good luck!"

Before even waiting for a response, the Shinobi promptly disappears, his figure blurring until it is no longer there.

Fast! I think as I try to follow his movements with my eyes, barely even managing to see his shadow and completely unable to sense his presence.

Thinking quickly, I slam my hands together, "Divine Dog! Follow him!" With my words, my fastest Shikigami emerges from my shadow and immediately disappears after the Shinobi.

Sukuna raises a brow at me, clearly having already dismissed the Shinobi from his mind, even though the guy was definitely strong and I know he knows that too.

Arrogant asshole.

"You don't want to visit a ninja village?" I ask him, only somewhat incredulous.

"Cowards who run and hide do not interest me."

"It was a tactical retreat, totally different."

"Because he knew he would lose."

"You're impossible, you know that?" I let out a sigh before turning my attention back to the floating Michizane.

Belatedly, I notice that there are some survivors around him, which I didn't really expect. Only two though, and both of them are running for their lives.

Glancing back up at Michizane, I see that he has noticed them, and from the sadistic feeling to his Cursed Energy, I figure that he's not exactly planning on letting them go.

Stepping forward, I slap Sukuna on the chest with the back of my hand. "Let's go."

"No."

"Come oooonn man!" I whine as I whirl back on him, my cool moment ruined. "We've gotta hurry or the Sugawara clan will end up completely wiped out."

"So?" He answers, voice cold and glare heated. "Their deaths will allow us to observe its techniques."

"Tch, you're such an asshole," I mutter before abruptly having to duck under a Dismantle. "Time and place, Sukuna! There is a time and a place!"

Shaking my head at his unapologetic glare, I turn back to the fleeing Sugawara and mentally command Nue to fly, causing the Shikigami to flap its mighty wings and launch forward with incredible speed, grabbing my shoulders with its talons as it does so.

I'm not so callous as to simply watch people die for fun like Sukuna, and even though I am capable of doing so without intervening like some neurotic Shonen protagonist, it would just be such a shame for an entire clan to be wiped out today.

I mean, obviously most of the clan is still alive elsewhere, but if they lose every single Sorcerer of decent power, then it won't take long until the rest are either consumed or burned.

At least if these two survive, the Sugawara clan might be able to get by long enough to build itself back up.

Or maybe they will lose themselves in the annals of history, there's no way for me to know, but at the very least I intend to do what I can now to prevent that tragedy.

Plus, I'm sure they have at least somewhat interesting Inherited Techniques that would be lost with their deaths. Sukuna really has no forethought. All that asshole cares about is his immediate gratification.

I'm rather forcefully pulled out of my thoughts when I feel a concerning amount of Cursed Energy gathering in the sky above the two fleeing Sorcerers, and some instinctual part of my mind tells me to turn around and run.

The Vengeful Spirit of Michizane is stronger than me after all. Like, a lot stronger. Maybe even stronger than Sukuna and I combined.

Naturally, I ignore that part of my mind. After all, we're still The Strongest. If Michizane is more powerful than us, then we just have to become more powerful versions of ourselves. It's not complicated.

So instead of doing the safe thing, I instead chose to do the stupid thing, which amounts to leaping ahead of Nue and into the air above the escapees.

A laugh leaves my throat at the absurdity of the current situation. "I'm gonna punch a motherfucking lightning bolt!!" I all but scream to the heavens, the constant rainfall drowning out all noise as I throw a punch into the air, following instinct alone as I obviously can't move as fast as a lightning bolt.

Right as my fist reaches the zenith of its trajectory, the sky above lights up and my world turns white.

I think I passed out for a second, because the next thing I know, I'm groggily blinking my eyes open, my back on the earth and my entire body singing sweet agony as white noise rings in my ears.

Wha-? I blearily think to myself before managing to remember my own abilities. Reverse Cursed Energy flows through my body in a soothing wave, massaging away the all encompassing ache and regrowing the arm I didn't even realise I lost.

"Owww."

The crunch of feet on earth is lost to the ever present sound of downpour, but it's impossible not to notice when Sukuna is near you, so I push myself into a seating position and turn to look at him regardless.

"You are an idiot," is what he says, making me pout.

"I really thought that would work." My defence of myself only makes his flat, mocking stare intensify.

"Why?" He asks, seeming genuinely baffled, which confuses me in turn.

It takes a second, but I think I figure out what the issue here is.

It's my past life's media fucking me over again. So much superpowered media, from movies and comics to fucking fanfiction, has superpowered people tanking and slapping aside lightning attacks that it's become so engraved in my mind as something that is just possible with superpowers.

But with the benefit of hindsight, that's pretty stupid, and obviously Sukuna hasn't been exposed to the same fiction that I have, so the idea of punching a lightning bolt probably never even crossed his minds.

"I'unno," I shrug at him, making a 'what can you do' kind of expression at him with both my arms held up and my tongue sticking out. His eye twitches, a win for me. "I was curious what it felt like to get struck by lightning anyway, so it's not so bad~."

"You're an idiot," he reiterates in a tone that makes it sound like he's agreeing with me. How rude~.

I hold myself back from insulting him back, knowing that he'll try to kill me again if I do, and now really isn't the time for that. Instead, I glance behind us and spy Nue flying away with a survivor in each talon.

Dang, I didn't get the chance to see what their techniques were.

Okay, maybe punching a lightning bolt was not a very good idea. Whatever. I'll try again when I'm stronger. It'd be pretty lame to be outdone by rubber.

Clearing those thoughts from my mind, I turn around while grabbing the torn remnants of my kimono and simply ripping the upper half off. It's so soaked with rain that it was hindering my movements even before it got torn to shit.

Michizane is exactly where he was when we arrived. Floating in the sky above the remnants of his compound. The only difference is that now, he is staring right at us with unnerving intensity. It feels like he is looking through me, like all my secrets are laid bare before his eyes.

That must be the Six Eyes, I think to myself, remembering what I was told about the one of three Cursed Eyes present in the current era. A part of me honestly thought that he would have lost the eyes during his evolution, but I guess not.

"So, how do you wanna do this?" I ask Sukuna, knowing that our usual routine of taking turns isn't going to cut it here.

However, right as Sukuna opens his mouth to answer, he and I both freeze.

Standing there, right between the two of us, is Michizane. I barely even noticed him moving. First the Shinobi and now Michizane. I'm starting to feel like I'm not really all that fast.

"You." Michizane states, his Cursed Energy overwhelming even as it is inert, lacking intent. "Special Grades. It's your fault. Die."

The moment that overwhelming Cursed Energy shifts I feel such an intense feeling of imminent danger that I don't hesitate to leap away, waving my hands between us and pulling their shadows out to form a wall from which I summon the shell of Reflective Tortoise.

An omnidirectional burst of Cursed Energy erupts from Michizane's position, shattering the ground beneath him and creating a momentary sphere of space devoid of any rain.

The attack hits Reflective Tortoise and I watch as it bounces back and crashes into Sukuna, who had already just been hit by his side of the attack, causing his already cracked skin to explode into gore, exposing his organs for just a moment before his own Reverse Cursed Technique patches the hole.

I can't help the startled laugh that leaves me at that, though I feel bad about it right after, however I have no more time to think about Sukuna when my instincts scream at me from behind.

Moving as fast as I can, I drop low under a grab from Michizane's hand and spin to deliver a rising roundhouse kick at his side, however my foot stops short, impacting an invisible barrier of some sort.

Acting quickly, I use the barrier as a foothold to push myself away, only for it to disperse the moment I try, causing me to lose my balance and fall forward instead. 

Michizane's hand grabs hold of my ankle and my world turns into a blur as he swings me behind him and lets go, launching me through the air.

I'm too disoriented to control my flight, but I don't fail to feel when my legs disconnect from my body and the rest of me crashes into Sukuna's chest, sending us both tumbling across a solid few hundred metres of ground.

"Get off me," Sukuna grunts as he shoves me off of him and into the dirt, the asshole.

Not saying anything, I climb back to my new feet, groaning at the feeling of some more full body pains being washed away under my Reversed Cursed Energy.

I think I underestimated the Six Eyes, because I assume that Sukuna wasn't just attacking me for fun, and that Michizane just used me as a shield and spear in one move.

Glancing down at myself, I realise that I'm basically naked at this point, which is a little bit embarrassing, but by bringing my shadow up and coating my entire body with it, I am able to bring out a spare uniform without having to put it on, like equipping an item in a video game.

Okay. I need to take stock of the situation really quick.

Since video games are already on my mind, let's go with that. On my side is Sukuna and myself. Sukuna can cut things and we're both very physically strong. Michizane can apparently move faster than us, but I felt his grip on my ankle was pretty weak, so he's likely not actually physically stronger than us.

His speed is likely the result of a Cursed Technique rather than a strong body, that also gives us the advantage of natural durability.

As for me, I have nine shadows available to me. That's four more than when Sukuna and I first fought. Since then, I have gained Nue, Max Elephant, Ice Bear and Great Serpent.

Nine Shikigami, and I can have four or five of them out at the time. I can also manipulate my shadow for various effects. Lastly, both of us have our Domains available, even if I don't really want to use mine.

Then there's Michizane, what does he have? Takiyasha said his technique is Natural Order Manipulation, which is honestly too vague to really be helpful, so I'll just focus on what I've observed.

First is his speed. I don't think it's a constant effect, it's more likely that he is capable of incredible speeds in short bursts but is actually slower than us for more intricate movements, which makes close quarters an attractive concept.

There is also that barrier technique of his. I don't know what it was, but it felt unnaturally sturdy, so it will probably be better to focus on avoiding it rather than smashing through it, though that depends on if it was just because my attack was blunt. Maybe Sukuna's slashes can cut through it.

Then there's his Six Eyes, which is probably the most troublesome aspect. He definitely has us beat on observation, so it would be fair to assume we won't catch him off guard, at least not easily anyway.

Lastly there is his own Domain Expansion. If he activates it, he will probably overwhelm our Domains, so using Hollow Wicker Basket is likely a better defence than entering a contest of Domains.

That said, I highly doubt his own Domain can withstand the pressure of both of ours, so we can try something there.

But even with all of that, there is also his Cursed Energy to consider. Not only does he simply have more than me, but it feels like it hasn't gone down at all yet, almost as if he doesn't even need to use Cursed Energy for his techniques.

Oh, and since he's a Cursed Spirit now, he won't even need to use Reverse Cursed Energy to heal himself, just regular Cursed Energy will work, and since his doesn't seem to be running out, that means we need to aim for the head and get an instant kill.

"Man, I feel like I fell into the boss room without even picking up any loot first," I complain to myself as I wipe my soaked hair out of my eyes.

Belatedly I notice Sukuna giving me a strange look. Ah, right, I shouldn't have said that out loud. 

Oh well, I don't think his opinion of me can really get lower.

"Aim for the head," I say instead of voicing those thoughts, making Sukuna click his tongue.

"You think I don't know that?"

"Better safe than sorry, you should always wear prote-"

My words are interrupted when Cursed Energy explodes out of Michizane, bathing the world as far as I can sense with his aura, and the effect is immediately noticeable as everything starts to rot away and decay.

Every tree, every rock, every blade of grass, all of it rots into dust in mere seconds as far as the eye can see, horizon to horizon. Even my own skin starts to crack and dry up until I reinforce it with some more Cursed Energy.

"Now that just seems excessive," I mutter, looking at the barren wasteland around us.

By my side, I feel Sukuna's Cursed Energy start to soar, like a pillar of light dispelling Michizane's darkness, and when I glance over at him, I see him wearing a wide, maniacal smile, staring at Michizane with pure bloodlust.

The sight makes me sigh, but it does also bring a smile to my own face as I follow his lead and release any limiters on my own Cursed Energy, our combined auras pushing against and surpassing Michizane's.

A pillar of Love and Hate towering over the single greatest Cursed Spirit to ever grace the realm.

"You think too much," Sukuna whispers. "Just fight."

"Hah," I chuckle, my smile turning wry. "I guess so. Let's exorcise this old relic."

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A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

This fight kicked my ass to write btw, but the whole next chap is about 7k words of pure combat lmao. I kinda got into it after this point :P

Plus an extra 2k that finally introduces an important guest for a brief cameo :P