Imaginary Vengeful Spirit

The warm sun shone down onto the school grounds. Fighting the cold spring air, bringing warmth with it that helped people relax. And relax he did.

It had been a few days since he had his enlightenment and he had spent the time getting used to the overwhelming energy that crashed around his body. He was starting to see different dimensions, fractures in space that he knew only he could see. Glimpses into other planes that simply put he couldn't make sense of. To him, they just looked like reflections of the one he was on. Just without anyone else on them, ghost realities.

Feeling the warm tiles against his back he let out a sigh, damn the sun was nice. Sitting up he looked down into the yard that some students were training in. His year mates, he hadn't actually talked to them much. They were nice but hesitant to get involved with him. After all, he had a lot of rumours going around about him. It was interesting, to say the least.

Smirking he couldn't help but let out a small chuckle as Marcus got a foot slammed into his chest and was sent tumbling across the ground by Torio, the other first-year.

Tilting his head to the side he watched the giant bird like shikigami. Its beak was massive and filled with razor-sharp teeth, two sets of eyes blinking out of time in a concerning way.

Watching Torio wave his hand making a blast of air pull Marcus to his feet he looked away from the pair. They didn't hold any interest to him and since they were never mentioned in the Anime or Manga they probably just became nameless side characters if they were even ever shown. That and he didn't really like them much, Gojo and Geto were far more interesting.

Walking to the top of the roof he stepped into a dimensional crack and when he stepped back into his native plane he was in an entirely other location. In the quarry… looking at the shattered walls he couldn't help but grin. It had been a while since he had fought Toji… and he was feeling pretty good about himself right now.

---

Spitting to the side Atlas cracked his neck, the feeling of his spine popping back into alignment was concerning and relieving in equal parts. "God you weren't holding back were you," Atlas said, smirking as the giant cut down his side mended in an instant. The flesh webbed and stuck back together as he made his way towards the fallen form of Toji that lay halfway crumpled in a crater.

He had suffered one of the worst blows he had ever been inflicted with in this fight, even with his enlightenment Toji was able to hit him in the flashes of moments that he was not hiding his body in another plane. It was exhilarating.

"Damn monster, what the fuck is this? Since when could you just not exist in this plane?" Toji asked as he was pulled back to his feet, looking over his wounds with a sigh, the cracks over his skin showing where the energy had hit him over and over again, splitting flesh and shattering bone.

"Since I started to get beaten by your brother or cousin or whoever he was. Oh right, I haven't told you about that have I?" Atlas responded, suddenly remembering who attacked and almost killed him.

"The fuck? You were attacked by a Zenin?" He said, his eyebrow-raising in confusion… oh, that must have been where Eiko had gone… he hadn't been home for a few days and he had been talking to an odd man who came in every now and again with a scar crown.

"Yeah, dude could change momentum or something, it was actually really neat. But I won, had a mid-fight 'oh shit' moment and now I can access energy in other planes." His voice was far too casual for such a massive power-up.

"Damn… I need to get stronger then if I want to keep up with you." He said, rubbing the back of his head.

"I feel you are focused on the wrong thing?" Atlas said, almost asking as he tilted his head to the side.

"What? No, I fully expected you to get attacked for being my friend, my family hates my guts. But I figured you were strong enough to handle yourself. Hell, you are strong enough to me only some of the elders could even threaten you. Now they can't even do that." Toji stated as he waved his hand dismissively.

"Makes sense… could have given me a warning, what if I had died?" Atlas said, feigning hurt as he started to flood Toji's body with positive energy healing the wounds he had.

"Nah, you handled it. And you didn't so no point thinking about things that never will happen." Toji stated, although his face had fallen into thought.

"Well, I should get back now then, good luck!" Atlas suddenly said as he backed into a crack in space, leaving Toji confused and looking at the place the boy had once been standing. Huh? Good luck? With what?

---

Getting back to the estate Toji sighed, not wanting to deal with his family. He hadn't even got inside yet and he was being looked at like he was a waste of air. Shaking his head he ignored the glares and fear that was directed towards him.

He wanted to leave this god-forsaken place… He should just do so already. Atlas had already had a talk with him about it, and it made sense.

He had no reason to stay here and was starting to have more than one to leave.

Thinking back to her he couldn't help but smile despite the oppressive memories of where he was. It was nice to feel like he was wanted. He would go see her, that would be a good use of the rest of his day. He had to clean up first, however.

Making his way to his room he heard footsteps approaching behind him.

"Toji…" The old croaky voice behind him muttered. Barely above a whisper, expecting to be listened to. Expecting obedience. One of the elders… wasn't the family head, however.

Turning around he glared at the old man, his face falling.

"What do you want. Michiya…" Toji said, turning around, finding his hand going to his hip straight away. His fingers brushed against the hilt of his sword.

"You are friends with a boy called Atlas Hoshi correct." The man stated more so than questioned. The members of the Hei gathered around him suddenly as he held his tongue.

Standing in silence Toji simply gripped the hilt of his sword, breathing deeply as he felt the world around him. Focusing on the sound of breathing, the sound of their feet shifting against the ground. He wouldn't say anything, it didn't matter what he answered with anyway. They were here to kill him because he was friends with Eiko's killer.

That had been the final straw, they were done with him. And it was clear they were going to do their best to kill him now.

"Your silence is answer enough. Kill him." Michiya said. His eyes narrowed as he drew his own sword.

The only response to their oncoming assault… was the whisper of metal as a blade was drawn.

---

Atlas walked into the large grass field and watched as the first years practised amongst themselves. Ieiri meditated to the side, Geto and Gojo facing each other head-on in the middle of the grass field. Sitting down on the stone steps Atlas followed their movements. His eyes eventually settled on Geto.

The special grade spirit that he was currently in possession of wasn't… normal. It was normal no, it just didn't feel like it should have existed. He had fought with 2 special grades since he came to this world but he felt that they were not meant to be this common.

He was starting to suspect that they had been put in his path. But then again, he might just be imagining things… who knows. He knew that cursed spirits became stronger and fewer curse users were active after Gojo's enlightenment which should happen next year.

If events happened as they did originally he didn't see why they wouldn't. After all, he was still more than interested in hunting sorcerers for money. Nothing had changed that and his reputation was going to go up still so he would still be hired.

Of course, Atlas wasn't going to let Gojo kill him this time, he would interfere if he had to. That just meant that he had to be stronger than Gojo post-enlightenment…

He still had a long way to go, but not that long. He needed to find his fucking technique whatever it was. He was stronger yes, but not strong enough. With a sigh, he pushed himself up and turned around. He might see if he could accept a long-term mission some distance away. He only needed to be here full-time starting next year so that he could follow events that were going to happen.

Making his way to the principal's office he cracked his neck, he should talk with Frank before he left, however. It was rude to leave without saying anything. He shouldn't get ahead of himself, he needed to see if there was a mission like he wanted available.

---

"Cursed spirits form from humanity's negative emotions to certain concepts. Such as humanity's fear of folklore and sickness giving form to different cursed spirits that are much stronger than normal ones. When fear is collectively driven towards something can form into a cursed spirit manifesting as such monster." The principal said as he took out a sheet of paper.

"A classification we have for spirits that are formed from the cumulative fear directed towards yokai or ghosts is Imaginary Vengeful Spirits. Stories such as the Nine-Tailed Fox or Imaginary Demon God. Fear towards them grew turning stories into spirits. I think that you are ready for a tough mission… but you do not need to complete it." The principal continued to explain as he turned a piece of paper around on the desk so Atlas could read it.

"The spirit is believed to be living in the Oeyama mountain range in the Kyoto Prefecture. The school there has requested assistance from one of our strongest members to take care of the vengeful spirit." The principal finished as he leaned back and looked at Atlas, waiting for his response.

Reading the name of the spirit he chuckled, even he had heard about this one…

Nodding his head he said slowly. "Sure… I can handle this much at least." Although the description was terrifying and the summary of the spirit from the folk-law didn't at all make it seem easy to take down he knew that he would be able to do it. After all, he couldn't be hit by almost any attack now.

He was perfectly suited for something like this…

"I can do this," Atlas repeated as he rolled the paper up. Looks like it was time to go to Kyoto.

---

Mount Oe was in the North-West of Kyoto. The sprawling mountain range was known for its monster-slaying legends and was possibly one of the most spirit-ridden areas in Japan despite it being a bit of a distance from a major population. The tourism and the cultural museum brought people there for just the right reason, however. Flooding the people with fear.

The disappearances of people in the woods fueled the fire and dragged more foolish teenagers and curious couples to what one could only assume was… there death.

Standing at the peak of one of the mountain areas Atlas looked out over the forest, the large trees and the lush vibrant atmosphere were amazing. It was possibly one of the best places he had been in both his lives. Once he was done exterminating the spirit he was hunting, one that seemed to possess more cunning than the legends around it said it had. He would take some time to roam these mountains and see the sights they offered.

Most of the leads he was following came from both Yosano and Miyazu. Which wasn't surprising considering the mountain that the spirit was said to live at.

Looking at the small cities from the peak he crouched on top of he stood up straight before picturing himself there. Where he wanted to be walking on the back streets. With his eyes suddenly focusing on another dimension, alternate planes of the third dimension and closing the distance between the two spaces through multiple leaps of planes all he did was take one step forward. Stepping through thousands of planes that each moved him only about a meter but together it was as if he stepped instantly into folding mirrors before stepping back out of the folding space 10 kilometres from where he originally was.

Thousands of meters travelled in a single step. It required a lot of concentration and even more cursed energy but he had plenty of the latter and with practice, it should require less of the former. Hopefully, he could make it instinctual. But he would have to practice.

Looking at the sky he saw that the sun was still relatively high. He had some time before he would be able to start tracking the spirit. It only moved at night like most of them and targeted young women closer to its home. Mostly in these two cities, he would have to get really lucky or scour the area for traces of its cursed energy, if it even left any. There were too many variables to finding this spirit.

Luckily he did have some information. Most of the kidnappings happened from the same areas targeting a group of friends until the entire group disappeared. The last group that disappeared had lived in the southern parts of Miyazu. So he was now in Yosano, the South East area. Walking towards a house, a house that one of the members of a friend group that had started to disappear lived at, the last one of that group.

If the spirit continued its trend. She would be targeted tonight, he just needed to talk to her to make sure he could confirm something. Had she done anything relating to the spirit he was hunting…

=======

Try guess the spirit hehe

Its probably not that hard to guess.