A Magician

'The Jujutsu society is flawed.'

Jujutsu is a ritualistic measure of one's negative emotions that has been going on from time immemorial. Possibly being started upon the start of Japan itself.

Jujutsu, constitutes subtraction. To attain the maximum efficiency, the maximum output, the maximum power, the maximum speed in the least amount of effort made.

Jujutsu, in essence, is the reflection of one's soul. An empty canvas that slowly becomes colorful, exuding out its malevolent colors onto the physical world.

Jujutsu is a practice of honing ones' mind. To practice sorcery is to have complete control over one's own self.

Jujutsu as a practice, is the art of self discovery and embodiment of one's core beliefs.

Jujutsu is the downfall of man. Submitting oneself to the malevolent force of curses and actively using it for benefit.

Jujutsu is madness, insanity. To give away one's everything, solely for the task of adhering to our ideals to attain the peak of power.

Jujutsu is a practice of letting go. It is to disregard anything, and in the end, submitting to ones' nature.

Jujutsu sorcery is a lonesome path. Treaded only by the ones that hold the courage to plunge into the depths of the mystic.

Jujutsu is mysticism. Something that changes one for the worse. A primal force of nature that permeates the world. In the hands of people, it causes chaos.

Jujutsu is a gift.

Jujutsu is a discipline.

Jujutsu is madness.

Jujutsu is a disease.

Jujutsu is a blessing.

...

Jujutsu is...

'Shit...' Shuichi thought as he looked over the entirety of the Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College grounds. The entire compound was built like old age Japan, with various shrines and temples all around the sight.

In the end, he had been able to strike out a deal with Masamichi Yaga. It was a simple contract that contained 3 points.

1. He was free to choose any type of mission that he wanted to go to. The higher ups would not pressurize him to go to any mission; unless it involves a cursed spirit that can cause heavy casualties, i.e. at least a grade 1 curse (But even then, he should have the complete freedom to decline).

2. He would make cursed tools on special requests, only if the suitable compensatory amount was paid. (The same amount of money a cursed tool would cost in the black market)

3. The cursed tools he would create are to be strictly monitored and given out only after a final confirmation from him. The cursed tools that would be made for specific individuals are an exception.

With Yaga having accepted the terms with surprising ease, the binding vow was made and the contract was done.

Shuichi looked ahead, the multitude of temples hummed and buzzed in a constant bedlam of prayers, resonating across the vicinity in a soft background noise. Something that Shuichi didn't think was common for the jujutsu society.

Looking around the compound, he could see people of varying attires going about; which was a bit confusing since jujutsu sorcerers were always short staffed and needed new recruits. Perhaps the excess of people was the curse users that had willingly converted into being a sorcerer to avoid imprisonment.

Well, he wouldn't blame them. He was the same. It was funny how a person could be forced to do something, even participate in life and death experiences, solely due to not having enough power to resist.

In the face of the jujutsu society and the elder council, the normal magician would not be able to do anything. The higher ups commanded the bulk of the jujutsu society after all; with the rest of it in the hands of the big three families.

'Overwhelming power is needed to not have anyone mess with you.' Shuichi thought with a resolute expression. Previously, he had the thought of becoming stronger not only to protect himself and have a certain standing in the magic world, it was also to quench the remnant flames of desire the memories of his predecessor had produced within him.

But now, that was replaced with a more potent, a stronger feeling.

'In this world, the only way to stop being pushed around is to stand on the pinnacle of the power pyramid.' Whether that would continue to be his goal in the future, he wasn't so sure of it. But as of right now, the only thought in his head was to put the higher ups, the Zenin clan and the wonder child of the Gojo family in their place.

Something that he had no doubt he would be able to accomplish with his speed of progress.

Closing his eyes for a brief moment, he reveled in the newfound feeling of power. The 'flow' of cursed energy, jutting out into the world and receding back into his body; extending out into the existence itself was… beautiful.

It was something that he had failed to notice upon experiencing black flash. The sheer 'freedom' that he could feel in the moment itself as he made to get lost in his cursed energy was something that could not be put into words.

It was beyond anything that was the scope of any language, expression or primal instincts; it was something that could only be known through experience.

With this newfound feeling, came another pleasant surprise. His cursed energy efficiency which he could not gauge properly before could be accurately judged now. And it would not be a stretch to say that it had reached a staggering 92% efficiency!

'What a great training chamber.' Shuichi mused. 'Now that I think about it, I probably should have stayed in there for a couple of days. Just to max out my attributes…'

Alas, what was done was done.

As of right now, he was still in the jujutsu college to take back his necklace, the only permanent cursed tool that he had been keeping with him since creating his cursed technique.

Having been refining the necklace ever since he acquired it, Shuichi had developed some bonds with it. In fact, the entire technique was created solely for something that would function similarly to the necklace.

And what was the necklace's ability? It was information.

Imbued with a curse that makes it able to accurately gauge information about any and all unconcealed phenomenon. Be it cursed techniques, barriers, cursed energy types, biological analysis, etc.

As long as it was something that was under the scope of observation for the necklace, or otherwise something that was directly affecting its wielder, that necklace would be able to gather information about it.

In his fight against Gojo Satoru, the necklace had been sent into overdrive by Shuichi, gathering information about the entirety of the technique 'Limitless'. Though it was hardly perfect. The speed of information gathering is inversely proportional to the complexity of the phenomenon under study.

But if he continued to refine it beyond its limits, the necklace would eventually be able to immediately analyze any curse it encounters.

And then, the next to shine would be his technique, Hundred Armament Refining. With an innate ability to understand and perform cursed phenomenon as long as he had the information about it, such a cursed tool would be god sent.

Of course, it was not like he could completely copy cursed techniques. His cursed technique itself made for the manipulation of only cursed phenomenon, meaning things that can be performed with pure cursed energy control and efficiency.

However, who's to say his necklace(upon suffering through enough enhancements) wouldn't be able to brute force such things with sheer force of information.

A small noise of footsteps echoed behind him as Yaga walked out of the door to meet Shuichi. They were standing in the middle of a wooden bridge that connected the middle parts of two temples.

Walking to him, Yaga handed him a small card. "Here is your license."

Taking the card, Shuichi studied the writing that depicted his official rise as a sorcerer. It was his sorcerer license. Written on the side of the card in big bold letters were the words: 'Grade 1 Sorcerer.'

"Grade 1 off the bat? Doesn't one need a recommendation from three grade 1's before being promoted to be one?" Shuichi asked in confusion.

"Normally that is the case yes. But it is not a hard and fast rule. There are always exceptions to these rules in the Jujutsu community." Yaga began to walk along, motioning for Shuichi to follow.

"The Grade of a sorcerer determines their overall position in the society. It is a delicate thing that defines how much of a say a sorcerer gets in the matters of the entire society.

It is the reason for such systems to exist. Only through careful consideration, is the grade of a sorcerer assigned." Yaga began to explain as Shuichi walked along quietly. "But in the end, the only thing that matters the most in determining the grade is the personal strength of the person. One cannot just organize a competent sorcerer as a grade 4."

"That hardly seems true; especially when the word of the jujutsu elders is held as supreme law." Shuichi rolled his eyes, speaking out disdainfully.

"That is also correct." Yaga said with narrowed eyes. "At first, I was expecting some resistance from the Zenin clan elders. But they have been lenient so far."

"Surprising." Shuichi muttered.

"Not so much surprising, as it is calculated." Yaga said.

"Yeah yeah, manipulation and stuff."

Both Yaga and Shuichi descended down the stairs of the temple, going towards an unknown location.

"Though, I would rather still have you reconsider the offer to join Jujutsu high. I don't think it is a bad offer." Yaga said

"Not a bad offer in the hindsight. It just limits my freedom."

"Does it not interest you to have some form of a normal highschool experience?" He inquired.

Taking a short pause, Shuichi answered.

"The opportunity to have a 'normal' life experience in any shape or form is lost the moment one becomes a sorcerer." He continued "That is especially the case with someone from the big three clans. All forms of normal excersises that would be essential for a person's development are shunned upon."

Stopping for a moment, Shuichi looked straight into Yaga's eyes.

"For magicians like us, why would you assume the lifestyle of a normal person is beneficial? Such things breed weakness in sorcerers. We walk between the lines of life and death on a daily basis. Adopting a more radical mindset, different from the norm is not something that would be bad. Rather, it is essential."

Yaga quieted down for a moment, likely contemplating Shuichi's words.

"That might be the case... However, I still hold the belief that no one should hold the right to rob a person of their youth." He replied.

"As I said, a child born in the big three families has no youth. Someone like your Gojo Satoru is an exception... A bad exception. Someone that is desperately trying to hold onto the few connections he's made."

"What do you mean?"

"Both Satoru and Suguru are well above strong enough to become fully fledged sorcerers. Why do they not graduate early? Is there any reason they still stay here even though there is nothing more you could possibly teach them?" Shuichi held up his finger, as if speaking about a very important topic.

"It is connections. Solely because of the fact that they've grown accustomed to their supposedly 'normal' life here. The small things that happen here and there, the reckless fun they have with the other students, it has grown on them."

"And why should that be a bad thing?" Yaga asked.

"It is not bad in the literal sense. Making bonds is a good thing. It's just that it might lead to stagnation. Becoming stronger as a sorcerer leads to a rift forming between people. Would they be able to handle it?"

As Shuichi finished, he resumed his walk.

And unsurprisingly, Yaga followed up, once again taking the lead. This time though, he did not speak anything.

Just like that, they exited the temple and made their way to another smaller building, situated roughly on the inner side of the complex.

Reaching the building, Yaga told Shuichi to wait outside for a bit and went inside to retrieve his necklace.

Imagine Shuichi's surprise when Yaga came out not only empty handed but with a noticeable tick mark marring his face. His eyes adopted a fierce expression that spoke volumes of his annoyance. In his hand, a peculiar little piece of paper could be seen, upon which the small caricature of a chibby white haired individual with glasses could be seen flailing out his tongue to the reader.

"I apologize for the inconvenience but… it would seem that my student has done something troublesome again."

~~~

A/N: Random quote of the day:

"To Live is to suffer, to survive is to find meaning in the suffering."

Do tell about your thoughts. Do you think his 'recruitment' could be done in any other way? And do you think the story is going in a good direction? Tell me in the comments.

Also, drop a review!