Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

This had all started because Junpei wanted a miracle.

An escape.

The ability to live without hate or fear.

And to obtain this miracle?

He trusted the Devil .

Junpei awoke to the smell of waffles.

Slowly, he sat up, letting his eyes adjust.

It was the first night he slept somewhere that wasn’t his own bed.

It was one of the guest bedrooms. When he arrived last night, he was too tired and upset to take a good look around.

Everything was neat and well-organized, not even a speck of dust could be found.

There wasn’t much furniture. There was a lamp on the desk beside him that Junpei could now feel hum with magic power, and an antique clock that gently ticked away.

The mirror on the dresser that only showed him a body he could no longer feel safe in.

The bed itself was very warm and comfortable. Junpei thought that maybe Yuji could convince them to let him stay under these quilted covers forever, not having to worry about beasts or humans ever again.

Junpei slapped himself.

No , He thought, You made a promise to Yuji .

He got out of bed. He no longer felt as he did last night, like his body was trying to kill him.

Mahito was right about one thing, his body did become easier to control when his soul had literally nowhere else to go.

He softly stepped down the stairs, listening to the sounds of gentle laughter and baking.

“Umm…” he walked into the kitchen, “Good morning….”

“Junpei!” Yuji’s hair had bits of batter stuck in it, “We’re making waffles!”

“Good morning Yoshino,” Nanami was pouring batter into a cast iron waffle maker, “We’ve finished a few already, Yu’s getting you a plate.”

“Thank you sir…” Junpei tried to smile, “...and I want to thank you for letting me stay here—“

“—After what happened in your town, it was the least we could do. Just focus on resting right now.”

Junpei nodded, and quickly sat down at the bar where Haibara was.

Haibara passed him a plate of waffles.

“They’re delicious!” Haibara said, his smile managing to be even brighter than Yuji’s.

“...I can see that.” Junpei eyed Haibara’s own plate, which had at least several waffles stacked on top of each other.

When he first met Haibara and Nanami, he was a little terrified.

Not only because of the traumatic event that was occurring, but also because they were, at the time, the most terrifying-looking witches he had ever seen.

Junpei was taught that witches had flawless bodies and eyes that glowed with magic.

Nanami was covered in burn scars and was even missing an eye, replaced with a deep blue jewel. Parts of Haibara’s skin from his waist to his neck had bark growing like scars, as if he was fused with a tree. Haibara also lacked a body from the waist down, replaced with plant-like appendages that could be clearly seen now that he was wearing shorts. 

Combine that with the beasts, blood and various deadly spells that were being flung around at the time, and Junpei was thankful that their true personalities were nowhere near as intense as they were that night.

Junpei bit into one of the waffles.

“They’re good!” He said.

“I told you,” Haibara watched as Yuji and Nanami came to join them.

Yuji’s plate was almost as tall as Haibara’s.

“It’s like there’s two of you now,” Nanami said, smiling as he pecked Haibara’s cheek before sitting down.

“Awww—you love it,” Haibara said, taking another bite from his breakfast, “That just means that you can make even more food. Ino would love that.”

“Ino needs to gain more friends his own age. He practically lives here.”

“ ‘Cuz he likes you.”

Nanami scoffed at the comment, taking a sip of his tea.

“So…” Yuji looked at Junpei, “How are you?”

“How...am I?”

“Like, since last night?”

“Oh…” Junpei shrugged, “Okay...I guess? I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Oh yeah, that makes sense. Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Junpei said reflexively, before wondering if he should have said that, even if Yuji meant well.

“Nanamin,” he heard Yuji ask, “When is Gojo coming back?”

“I suppose whenever he clears Yoshino’s enrollment with Yaga.”

“The first year class has grown hasn’t it?” Haibara commented as he ate, “Wasn’t like that when we were there.”

“It’s only going to get worse if we don’t capture that demon. To not only be able to grant a human soul witch-like powers, but to also be able to create a witch body to finish the transformation, is unheard of. It’ll make the world even more dangerous.”

“I’m sorry Nanamin…” Yuji gripped his fork with such incredible force Junpei thought it was going to snap in two, “If I hadn’t gotten distracted, I could’ve—“

“—You could’ve done no such thing,” Nanami’s look was stern, “You prioritized Junpei’s survival, which is exactly what you should’ve done. Don’t apologize for that.”

Nanami looked at Junpei, “And for you—“

Junpei squirmed under his gaze.

“—you are just a child. A desperate child who had no idea of what he was getting into. You are not to blame for what happened.”

“But—“

“No buts,” Haibara joined in, “Even if you weren’t being manipulated, you never could’ve pulled it off without his help.”

Seeing the guilt and worry on Junpei’s face, Haibara rubbed his shoulder.

“Don’t worry,” he said, “The Association will handle it.”

Nanami began to grumble, “The Association will handle it as long as he’s willing to give himself to them first.”

“Nanami—“

The doorbell rang.

“ Yoo~hoo~! ” They heard a familiar voice.

Nanami got up, “I’ll get it.”

Haibara sighed, turning his attention back to his food, finishing at an alarming speed before deciding to eat from Nanami’s plate.

“Mr.Haibara sir….?”

“Haibara is just fine.”

“Haibara,” Junpei repeated, trying to sound more confident, “What did Nanami mean by that?”

“Uh well….the Association’s main philosophy is ‘ You must learn to give what you can take ’. While it’s more than willing to help out it’s members—as long as you’re willing to agree to a few contract spells first but they’re more of a code of conduct—you have to be willing to serve in return.”

“So they won’t help me unless I can help them?”

“Exactly. The testimonies Nanami and I gave them have already given you a foot in the door—your new witch body helps too—but it’s important that you stay in their good graces if you want to find the demon who destroyed your body and killed your mother.”

Yuji placed a hand on Junpei’s knee.

“Don’t worry, Gojo will help. He helped me and like, a lot of other people.”

Junpei nodded, just as the three began to hear shouting from the living room.

“Nanami~! Please!”

“If you stay any longer they’re going to be late!” 

Haibara leaned back, “Oh dear….”

“I’m a demon, you know that right?”

Junpei nodded, trying to not let the rusty smell of blood and death overtake his senses.

He wondered what those bullies thought in their last moments.

“And I killed everyone else.”

Junpei nodded again, ignoring the blood seeping into his shoes.

 If they knew what kind of ritual they performed at the theater—

“So why aren’t you afraid?”

“I...I want to have power…” Junpei tried to make his voice sound confident, “I want to be able to protect myself.”

“Oh really?” The demon smiled, “I can do that.”

“Really?”

“Really,” It stepped closer, brushing Junpei’s hair out of his face, “But first, tell me your name.”

“So, you know who I am, right?”

Junpei nodded, “You’re Gojo Satoru, The Great Infinity Witch.”

“Mmmhm.” Gojo bit into the waffle he was holding with his bare hands, leaning forward against the back of Nanami’s chair.

“So from what I’ve been told, you made a contract with a demon to grant you witch-like powers, said demon then surprised you by creating a witch body and then transferred your soul into it. Which is why you look different.”

Junpei became hyper aware of his body. It now had mismatched eyes like the demon (though thankfully one of the eyes was the same dull muddy green color as his old ones, even if the other was now closer to silver). It’s skin felt too moist and supple, stretching in all the wrong places (especially when he didn’t want it to). It was a little too tall, moving in it felt like wading through water.

Yesterday, he thought this body was amazing.

Today, he thinks it’s a cage.

“And you said that the demon told you that it had been summoned before, around a year ago, by a witch?”

“Yes.”

“That does line up with when that mysterious witch curse started to appear…”

Nanami finally returned with Ino and Ijichi by his side. He frowned when he saw that Gojo had commandeered his chair, and shot an unhappy look at Haibara when he saw his breakfast had vanished.

Haibara just offered a sheepish smile in return.

“Is there any point in asking the kid about this?” Ino asked, “We wrote down everything in the report.”

“Just wanted to make sure,” Gojo waved him off, “Junpei, the good news is that the Association is very willing to work with you. You are a witch now after all.”

Junpei felt Yuji’s excited energy.

“The witch clans are interested as well. If witches can be created from other species, it could make the passing on of lineages and maintaining their knowledge a lot easier. Of course, since the demon didn’t use himself as a base for your power, that would require capturing the demon.”

“So, the Association wants me to capture the demon?”

“Technically, anyone could do it, especially members of the Association more familiar with demons and hunting them, but Nanami has already told me that you and Yuji have made a pact to deal with it yourselves.”

“He killed my mom, I can’t just sit here and accept that….” Junpei balled his fist, “I have this power...I’m going to make him regret it.”

Junpei couldn’t see much behind Gojo’s glasses, but it felt like the older man was peering into his soul.

“Okay…” he clapped his hands, startling Ijichi.

“Ijichi, the kid seems willing. So have him sign the contract and I’ll take him and Yuji back to the school.”

“Gojo,” Nanami interrupted, “Can I talk to you in private?”

“Hmm?” Gojo smiled at him, “Anything for you, sweetness.”

“I’d like to talk to you as well.” Haibara began to get up from his seat.

“The two of you all to myself, what could I have done to get such an honor?”

Gojo jumped out of his chair, letting himself be led into another room by the two.

Ijichi shifted the chair before placing his suitcase on the table. He carefully opened it, removing a small stack of papers.

“Before you sign,” Ijichi adjusted his glasses, “There’s some terms and conditions we need to go over first, just to make sure that you understand what’s happening….”

Haibara closed the door behind him. Runes imbued themselves into the doorknob, locking it shut.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Nanami barked.

“Hmmm?”

“We have no idea if that body will even last . At any moment, it could crumble and that boy’s soul will be caught adrift. And you’re fine with him hunting demons of all things?!”

Haibara leaned against the door, “Junpei’s soul hasn’t completely integrated with the new body. Even someone like me who doesn’t have the sight like you two can see it. Some part of him is still rejecting it. It’s not like Yuji’s, it’s not built to contain things against their will.”

Gojo’s face didn’t change. “I thought that you were fine with him joining the Association, Haibara?”

“Because I thought you were going to let him see a specialist first! He will die without treatment, what gives?!”

Gojo’s eyes drifted between Nanami and Haibara’s faces.

“Okay,” Gojo sighed, scratching his neck, “The thing is—“

“What did they say?” Nanami narrowed his eyes.

“The clans refused to offer any assistance, and the Association flat out refused to offer for their own mage specialists.”

“What?!”

“I wasn’t lying when I said the clans were interested. They are, but they want to test him. If he falls apart, they’re not gonna help because they want proof that an... artificial witch can be just as good as a natural one.”

“So they’re using him as a test subject?” Nanami grimaced.

Gojo nodded, “They want the Trials to be his Association Initiation Ceremony. His existence represents a big change for witch society. They were willing to skip the process for Yuji but they’re still as cold as they always are…”

”Wouldn’t the clans want to make sure that the Association won’t him get killed before they can pick him apart?”

“There’s barely a difference between the two these days. Neither want a witch that can’t prove it’s worth the trouble to support. And the Association, they’ve been gathering and recording all known witch bloodlines since Tengen handed them the three clans. They don’t like the idea of new lines popping up out of nowhere, or the clans growing too unruly. The clan’s’ lack of action on the whole thing makes them happy.”

“Your family is basically made of soul specialists,” Haibara pointed out, “Can’t you make them help? You’re their leader.”

“Unfortunately, a lot of them still hold a grudge for the ‘eloping with Suguru and not having biological kids ’ thing.”

“What about Okkotsu?”

“That’s actually part of my plan, see —”

They both shared a doubtful expression.

“The Trial Ceremony will begin once I get back. You two remember that right? That fun students only island vacation that totally wasn’t made to torture us in the name of magical knowledge?”

“Junpei is definitely not fit for the trials.” 

“Yes,” Gojo slung his arms around the two, “—but, if he does well, he’ll pass the Association Initiation as well and clans would see that he’s worth supporting. Yuuta being there can help reduce the chances of Junpei suddenly dropping dead, especially since he won’t have an adult witch monitoring him like in most initiations. And since the Trials are witch-run, the Association can’t stage any accidents during it to re-establish control. Not to mention that Nobara is also starting to specialize in soul magic,” he rubbed their backs, “And you see that kid, he’s determined to finish what he started, he won’t just give up, especially not with Yuji around, I have faith in them.”

Haibara’s expression began to relax, but Nanami's expression remained unchanged.

“Yuji is already balancing having to contain a decades old evil and the Association’s investigation, he shouldn’t also take up a quest against a monster.”

“You two have only known these kids for like a few days and you're already acting like concerned parents.”

“I’m a teacher,” Haibara said, “It’s only natural for me to be worried about their safety.”

“And we all know what it’s like to only exist for the sake of magic.” Nanami added.

“...Can’t deny that.” Gojo admitted, “...I’m not about to let any of my students face anything they can't handle, not yet if I can help it, but you need to trust me. None of us can guarantee their safety, but we can make sure that they’re more aware of what is happening to them than we were.”

“These days, witches don’t form contracts with demons as they used to.”

Junpei watched Mahito from the bottom of the sewer. Mahito had given him books on magic runes to study, but Junpei was progressing slower than he himself had hoped.

“I thought that was something the church made up?”

“Originally, it might have been,” Mahito’s hammock slowly swung back and forth, “but demons know how to capitalize on bad publicity. We gave them the ability to temporarily push their magic past their limits, while they gave us bits of themselves, and the souls of whatever human crossed their path. It was a good alliance.”

“..If it was such a good deal, then why did they stop?”

“It was that Grand Witch of theirs, Tengen. And the mages he created that foolish Magic Association with. He believed that witches were becoming too depraved because of us. And yet he basically forced them to put their trust in humans for survival. But still, I don’t think the Association is the enemy.”

“You don’t?”

“Witches are finally collaborating with each other after all. And the clans are no longer holed up in their little spaces. It makes things more fun.”

“Junpei,” Mahito looked down at him, “Those allied with the Magic Association. They wear these silver bands with rose heads on their fingers. If you're ever in danger, you can trust someone who wears that ring.”

“...and lastly,” Ijichi finished, “The contract spell bans any unwanted romantic fraternization between fellow Association members.”

Junpei blankly nodded, having spaced out a few pages ago.

“Sign here,” Ijichi handed Junpei the final piece of paper, “It’ll bind you to the Association.”

After looking over the writing a few times, Junpei signed his name at the bottom.

The paper lit up, shrinking and burning until it revealed the shape of a ring with a swirl crest.

“That is your signet ring,” he explained, “You will press the band down on any Association marked letters or packages in order to open them. Please try not to lose it.”

Junpei carefully fitted the ring on his finger, “Thank you.” He said, silently showing it off to Yuji.

“Congrats!”

Junpei jumped at the sudden sound of Gojo’s voice.

“You’re now an official member of the Magic Association! I’ll need to put in an order for your witch hat, so you’ll tell me what you want on the way to the island.”

“Island?” Junpei turned to Yuji, “You didn’t say that the school was on an island.”

“It...isn’t?” Yuji responded, confused, “Like, it wasn’t when I was there.”

“That’s because we’re doing a little event for the Metropolitan and Provincial workshops,” Gojo grabbed Yuji’s shoulder, “Actually, we should talk about how you should break the news to your friends—“

“—Junpei.”

Junpei turned to see Nanami and Haibara.

“We...know that the last few days have been hard on you, and that you’re still coming to terms with a lot of it.” Haibara began.

“If we had it our way, young witches like yourself would live lives like normal children,” Nanami continued, “But it isn’t our choice to make.”

“It—It’s okay—“

“No it’s not. You and Yuji could lose yourselves at any moment, and will be hunted and ostracized for things outside of your control. It’s a life no one should have to live, much less children.”

“So we want you to know that you can always come back here when things get too difficult, and that you will gain friends and allies you can trust.”

“T-thank you.”

“We’re simply doing our jobs as adults.” Nanami said.

“Junpei! Yu~Yu!” Gojo called out, “Time to go!”

Junpei nodded. Before they left, Haibara and Junpei gave Nanami a tight hug, with Haibara finishing his hug with a kiss on the cheek.

“What’s taking him so long?!” The woman paced around.

“Gojo said that he was bringing a gift for the kids after picking Haibara up.” 

“So you’re fine with him being late?!”

“Of course not! Utahime, sit down before you create a hole in the floor.”

Utahime huffed and sat down in the opposing chair.

“Yaga,” she groaned, “What did we do to get stuck with such a man?”

“Probably pissed off a god in a past life.”

The door swung open.

“ Hey ~!” Gojo had a large box floating in front of him, “How are my favorite witches doing?”

“You’re late.” They droned in unison.

“Fashionably late—Where’s Gakuganji?”

“He took Mei Mei and did a final check on the island.” Utahime sat up, “The kids are waiting for you, by the way.” She mouthed something at Haibara, eyeing the box. Haibara just smiled and placed a finger over his lips.

“Aww, I was worried that you’d give the speech without me. But before that—“ Gojo ignored her sneer and drifted over to Yaga.

“Yaga, I brought the new kid.”

Junpei stepped inside the room.

“Hi!” He did a quick bow in front of Yaga, “I’m Yoshino Junpei! I like movies and I’m kinda new to the whole witch thing…”

“That’s fine, Gojo already told me everything.”

Junpei couldn’t see anything behind Yaga’s shades.

“Junpei, what do you hope to get from an education here?”

“Hmm? But I thought—”

“For a witch like you, a workshop is mandatory. But even so, I like to know what makes each of my students tick. Most witches, despite their immense power, lack imagination. They simply want to continue living like they’ve always had, whether it is following their clan’s will or forcibly preserving the life they had before they discovered their powers. They rarely want to allow themselves to change or change the system they were born in. But there are some who break this trend.”

Junpei swallowed.

“I believe that neither path is the right one, just that one often suits one person more than another. So what motivates you?”

“I….” Junpei racked his brain, “I don’t have any clan to follow...or any family to go back to...but I am doing this to avenge my mom. And….I want to help Yuji…”

“You don’t want anything more for yourself?”

He remembered his mother’s burnt corpse. The feeling of her ashes in his lungs, touching her blackened bones and skin.

He remembered his bully crying his eyes out, his body all warped and twisted until it was unrecognizable, but forcibly kept alive. 

He remembered the feel of the demon’s hands as he helped guide Junpei’s poison into the body.

He felt something pool in his stomach.

“I—“

Haibara patted Yaga on the back.

“He’s had a rough few days,” he interrupted, “and it’s hardly the time for one of your tests. Actually, I have an idea.”

Haibara looked down at Junpei.

“Junpei, since you literally only gained your power a few days ago, and the knowledge you….inherited is kinda lacking compared to every other witch I know, you’re probably going to have some trouble with the trials. But —“ Haibara stressed, “—meeting some other witches and learning more about magic could help him figure out what motivates him.”

“....I guess that works,” Yaga said, “I’ll be waiting for an answer when you return, then.”

Junpei’s eyes jumped between Yaga’s stern face and Haibara’s optimistic look.

“Junpei!” He heard Gojo call his name.

“Gojo—“

“Hmm?”

“What will my classmates be like?”

“I think you’ll fit in well with the rest of the first years. And your upperclassmen will be there every step of the way.”

Gojo looked at Junpei out of the corner of his eye.

Seeing Junpei’s anxiety, he smiled.

“Don’t worry about it, they’re all good kids. A little rowdy though. And you’ll barely have time to worry. Yaga gave you your first assignment after all.”

Junpei nodded.

Getting closer to the boat, Junpei began to hear sounds of bickering.

Two groups of students were staring each other down.

To the left, the boys wore black sweater vests over their dress shirts and ties, with jackets to keep out the cold (save for the boy with the tired blue eyes and the one with bleached blonde hair and tan skin, their uniforms had the inverse colors of everyone else). The girls wore similar vests and save for the one with glasses, who wore shorts, they were all wearing black skirts (all of different length) with either socks or tights.

On the other side, the boys were wearing black jackets, ties (save for the boy with the closed eyes and a tie and cape the color of blood, and the normal-looking blonde one with the brooch), and white button down shirts. The girls on their side wore elegant short buttoned asymmetrical dresses that had personalized colors at the trim (save for the girl with short black hair who had an all black uniform). And underneath the dresses they wore similar dress shirts, but the girl with blue hair was the only one with a tie.

Both groups were wearing a variety of pointed hats, though the girl with glasses was wearing something that looked more like a large, black military cap.

Also, there was a Panda and someone who was obviously some kind of robot mixed in with the students.

“Hey kids!” Gojo interrupted them, “It’s a bit too early to claim territory, isn’t it?”

His voice was cheering but there was a seriousness to it.

“Where’s Utahime and Haibara?” asked the girl with two strange, upright pigtails that looked a lot like the brush end of broomsticks. Her uniform had pink and white trim on its ends.

“They’ll be down shortly to see you off. I’m just here to give you all some gifts!”

“Teachers aren’t supposed to be swaying the results of the trials.”

“It won’t, promise! And it’s a little something for the both of you.”

“For my darling Metropolitan students,” he grabbed Junpei’s shoulders, “A new student!”

Junpei felt everyone’s eyes on him.

“H…Hi…” he slowly raised his hand, “I’m Yoshino Junpei. I’m…new at this—“

“What kind witch are you?” The girl with the hat covered in roses was staring him down.

“What kind of witch…?” Junpei looked back at Gojo, who just smiled.

Junpei took a deep breath. Stretching his hands out, he felt the magic flow out of his soul and into the runes envisioned in his mind.

The runes manifested, quickly turning clear and melting into each other, taking the shape of two glowing, translucent jellyfish that began to float around aimlessly.

“I…can make these jellyfish,” he explained, “Don’t touch them!” he added just as the blonde girl reached out, “They’re…pretty poisonous.”

“I’m Megumi,” one of them introduced themselves, “What’s your ultoma?”

“It’s not anything special.” Junpei said, “and it’s…it’s covered by my hair—“

“Can I see it?”

Junpei thought about his currently mismatched eyes.

“I—“

“And now for the second surprise!”

Gojo floated the box in front of both groups.

It popped open, sending magical confetti everywhere.

“ Goood~ Morning Everybody-! ”

Jumping triumphantly out of the box was Yuji with a bright, dopey smile.

“Did you miss me?!” he asked.

Junpei smiled. The sight of a familiar face filled him with ease. He turned to his new classmates—

—and saw a wave of confusion and disgust on their faces.

Megumi and the girl with the rose hat in particular looked especially unhappy.

“Y-Yuji?” he stepped forward, “You...you’re okay?”

“Yep!” Yuji skipped towards them, going in for a hug only for Megumi to grab his arms.

“Since when?!”

“A few weeks ago, Sukuna just decided to give back control just like that! I was hiding in the school’s basement until Gojo got a black envelope! Can you believe it?! I got to go on a witch case—“

“You…and you didn’t tell us? You were alive for weeks and you never told us?!”

“Uh…well I—“

The sound of a camera flash.

“H-Hey!”

“Nanako! Keep him still!” The girl with the rose covered witch hat was walking towards Yuji with a war hammer.

“W-Wait Nobara! Nanako!” Yuji tried to move his body in vain.

“You think that you can just come back and act like nothing happened?!” Nobara yelled, her hammer getting dangerously close to Yuji’s face.

“Well I—“

“We thought you were dead! Gone! With Sukuna using your body as a meat puppet!”

“I told you, he just stopped—“

“—And you never went ‘ Hey maybe I should let my classmates know I’m alive? ’”

“You see, w-well,” Yuji’s eyes darted between Nobara and Megumi.

“Gojo said that I couldn’t tell anyone!”

The first years launched themselves at their teacher in a flurry of insults and attempts of murder.

Gojo brushed them off, as if there was some kind of invisible barrier between him and the first years.

He dug into the box, pulling out various glowing trinkets.

“Provincial kids, line up for your gifts!” He effortlessly spoke over the yelling.

The other group of kids politely lined up, entranced with the magical tools Gojo was handing them.

“They’re enchanted to act as floating lights,” Gojo explained, “for those late nights down dark hallways. I already cleared it with Utahime and Haibara.”

“Hey,” it was the older boy with tan skin, “Why don’t we get some of those fairy lights?”

“‘Cuz I already gave you guys your gifts; your lower classmen, make good use of the two.”

Junpei gulped as he felt their harsh eyes appraise him once again.

He looked at Yuji, who was completely oblivious to everything, begging Nanako to set him free.

“Gojo,” Yaga walked down the steps, followed by Haibara, Utahime, and two other people, “Don’t tell me that you’re harassing them already?”

“They were like this when I got here.” Gojo replied.

Yaga sighed, clapping his hands to get everyone’s attention.

“Today begins the two week long Witch Trials. First years, the Magic Association likes doing these yearly examinations in order to gauge each of your individual progress. This will decide where the Association will place you once you graduate, and for you clan witches, it’ll let your families know that you’ve been reaching the benchmarks expected of you.”

Gojo coughed near the end, making a disapproving noise which Yaga ignored.

The Provincial principal (who Junpei would later learn was Gakujanji), took over.

“These examinations will be conducted at one of the Kamo’s decommissioned research facilities, which they donated exactly for this cause. While most of your examinations will be done individually, some will require the help of your classmates.”

“To make this more entertaining for everyone,” Yaga took over again, “We decided that each of your performances during this test will be judged by a certain amount of points, and whichever school has the most by the end of the event will be rewarded with a selection of magic tools and privileges, courtesy of the Association for your cooperation.”

The tan kid spoke up again, “So we get a few trinkets and a hall pass for a bunch of stupid test?”

“Hakari,” Yaga sighed, “might I remind you that you are still on probation? Please don’t do anything stupid.”

Hakari huffed as the student with piercings patted his shoulder.

“I think we’ve talked enough,” Utahime began walking down the beach, “If the first years have questions they could just ask us or their upperclassmen. I’ll lead everyone to the boat.”

The Provincial students began to follow after her, with none sparing a glance at their counterparts. The rest of the adults followed suit, save for Gojo.

“Well kids!” he smiled at his students, “Gakuganji told me that you guys are doing your own competition with our other half?”

“Those stuck-up assholes need their asses kicked.” Nobara growled, getting murmurs of agreement from the rest of the kids.

“Well I’m not here to get in your way, I trust that what I’ve taught you can carry you to the end. But first we need to make sure Junpei is prepared.”

“What are you talking about?” Hakari asked roughly, “He’s a witch isn’t he? We just need to explain the fucking tests.”

Gojo tutted, “Junpei is a very special witch. He’s the first witch of his line.”

“What?!”

The kids looked shocked.

“You’re messing with us, aren’t you?” Megumi was the first to speak, “There’s no way—“

“—Lying isn’t funny Gojo,” the Panda said, “If I had a heart I would’ve died from shock.”

“Hey hey I’m not lying, see for yourselves.”

The kid wearing the other white uniform approached Junpei.

His sea blue eyes reminded Junpei of Gojo’s.

“Do you mind—I’m Yuuta by the way, I’ll be one of your upperclassmen—” there was a nervous yet gentle energy to how he spoke, “—Do you mind if I see your utoma?”

Junpei shook his head, lifting his bangs and letting the magic flow through him again.

Just above his  right eye, there was a small pattern of jellyfish on his skin.

Yuuta’s eyes began to glow slightly. On his forehead, a pattern in the shape of a vertical eye appeared.

If Gojo’s eyes peered into one’s soul, Yuuta’s tore their way into your heart.

“..Wow..” Yuuta’s voice was a hushed whisper, “He wasn’t lying…it’s like a blank slate.”

Everyone’s curious looks made Junpei shrink even more.

“Wait,” the student with piercings clicked their tongue, “Doesn’t that mean that he doesn’t know much about his magic ‘an shit?”

“ Excellent question Kirara,” Gojo snapped his fingers, “While Junpei has been trained by a particularly devious demon—“

Junpei felt the stares again.

“—he has never been privy to the secret world of magic like we have. So in short, he’s a bit of a gullible idiot.”

Junpei winced.

“But that’s what he has you guys for! To help him complete his transformation into a witch.”

“Gojo,” the girl with glasses crossed her arms, “We kinda have a whole rivalry thing going on. Just make Junpei sit out the trials and get tutored by you.”

“No can do!” Gojo said.

A pause carried through the air.

“Welp kids better get to that boat!” Gojo clapped his hands and began moving, leaving the kids dumbfounded.

He stopped and snapped his fingers.

“Junpei!”

Gojo stuck his hand into the box and pulled out a suitcase, tossing it in Junpei’s direction.

“It has your new uniform in it, minus the hat. Haibara was the one to decide what would make you the most comfortable. It’s water resistant too.”

“T...Thanks..”

Chapter Text

Junpei found a stall underneath the deck to change into his uniform. When he stepped out, he saw the rest of his newfound peers lounging around in a room closeby.

The girl with glasses lifted her head when she heard his footsteps, “Hey new kid. Name’s Maki. I’m one of your new upperclassmen. Second year. You already met Yuuta, but the other three are Panda, Inumaki and Rika. Should be easy to figure out which.”

Junpei looked at the waving panda and purple-eyed boy. Rika’s head was resting on Yuuta’s shoulder, not bothering to acknowledge him.

“Yuji has filled us in on most of the details,” Megumi spoke up. He was sitting on the ground with Yuji, who was holding up a funeral frame picture, “The other first years are Kugisaki and my sisters, Nanako and Mimiko.”

“That also means that you’re the new rookie.” Nobara said, sizing Junpei up.

“Rookie?”

“Next to Yuji, you’re the most inexperienced person here.” the long black haired-girl—Mimiko—spoke up, her voice nearly a whisper.

“Which makes you the new fresh meat.” Nanako looked up from her phone, smirking.

Yuji frowned, “Hey! None of you are allowed to bully him.”

Maki leaned back, “Why not? He looks soft —”

“—and there’s no such thing as a soft witch.” Nobara finished.

Hakari interrupted, “Can he even do anything other than making jellyfish?”

“Yeah ,” Junpei heard himself snap back, “I can do other stuff.”

Hakari stood up, “Show me.”

“Eh..? Here?”

“If we see your limits now, we can plan better for the trials,” Maki said, “Just, don’t scream too loudly.”

The others didn’t seem bothered by this. Panda, Inumanki and Kirara moved from the center of the room to the sides, giving Junpei and Hakari more space.

Hakari cracked his knuckles, “Come on newbie, try to get my blood pumping. If you don’t, I’ll burn you alive.”

Junpei nervously looked back at the others.

“He’s...joking right?”

Kiara shrugged.

Junpei summoned his jellyfish.

Hakari didn’t react, watching him with interest.

Junpei took a deep breath—

The jellyfish launched their tentacles at Hakari.

Junpei landed on the ground with a thud.

“I taught you better than this, you know?”

Mahito had turned into a muscular beast that lacked a face and had four arms. Junpei was supposed to learn how to use his poison to disarm his opponents, but Mahito always liked to mix it up and make it difficult for him.

“S..Sorry,” Junpei gasped, hands on his knees, “…you just won’t stay still.”

“Do you think those bullies will be sitting ducks?”

Seeing Junpei’s demoralized face, Mahito’s body shifted back into the form he was when he first met Junpei.

Mahito patted him on the shoulder, “You’re not the worst witch I’ve ever teached.”

“Thanks…”

Mahito clapped his hands.

“Let’s keep going, I’ll show you a new spell if you can poison me five times, promise.”

“You said that yesterday.”

“A demon always keeps their promises...it’s the one thing that binds us to this world.”

Junpei woke up in Yuuta’s lap.

He groaned, his head was pounding.

“Wha...what happened?” he managed to mutter.

“Um….well….Hakari knocked you out. Your head hit against the floor pretty hard…I’m the best at healing magic…so please try not to move.”

Junpei felt the pressure begin to dissipate from his skull.

“I..didn’t do well, did I?”

Yuuta froze for a moment, and Junpei didn’t know how he managed to make his already sad, stressed out looking face even sadder and more stressed,  “Maki said that she will train you physically...she trained me and I was killing high level beasts in less than a year…” Yuuta chuckled slightly, “But like...she can be pretty strict.”

Junpei felt himself being pulled up.

“Your head’s been on Yuuta’s lap for 10 minutes,” Rika’s voice was as cold as her hands, “Get up, ship’s docked.”

Rika shoved him out of the room, with Yuuta needing to grab him before he fell again.

“Be nice Rika,” Yuuta chided her again, “Sorry about Hakari, he can go a bit overboard...a lot of the time.”

“He’s a third year right?”

Yuuta nodded, “Him and Kirara are the only ones. Witches are rare and don’t really need school anyway. We used to have a third year teacher but they quit recently...Hakari got in trouble for that.”

Junpei followed along, not really having much to add as they trudged along the sand towards a series of old, decrepit buildings.

“Oi! Yuuta! Over here!”

Maki was sitting in front of what looked to be an old dorm.

She looked at Junpei, “How’s your head?”

“Better.”

“It’ll be the first thing I toughen up. How many laps can you run?”

“Uh...maybe one?”

“Tch .” Maki shook her head disapprovingly before the three went inside.

The inside of the building was being turned upside down by the others, scouring for any useful resource, creating a makeshift base.

Yuji and Megumi were helping Panda with rearranging the furniture, both using their inhuman strength to lift up dining tables and couches to block off certain areas.

“Oi! Yuuta!” Nanako’s head popped up from behind the corner, “Help us finish up the wards.”

Yuuta nodded and quickly began hopping up the creaky staircase. Rika moved to follow him, but he put his hands up.

“Go help Panda and the others.” He didn't react to Rika’s pouting face and continued up the stairs.

Junpei began to walk towards Yuuji, only to feel someone grab his shoulder.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Maki’s voice was curt. Her hand squeezed with a level of force that did not feel natural with her average-sized frame.

“I uh….wanted to help Yuji?”

“Not with your noodle arms you won’t,” She began to look around, “Hmm…probably shouldn't give you something complicated like wards….” she mumbled to herself before her eyes glinted with a spark.

She pushed Junpei towards Rika.

“Rika, go and help Kirara finish cleaning up outside. Junpei, you're gonna help them. It’ll let you work on your muscles and magic power. After everyone’s done we’ll go over the game plan.”

Before Junpei could even speak, Maki left, leaving him to be pulled out of the door by Rika.

They found Kirara levitating by a second floor window, leaves all around them like planets orbiting a solar system.

Their star-studded eyes fell on Rika “Ah! There’s my cutest undead!”

“Undead ?” Junpei stared at Rika.

“Kirara, I will eat you.”

Kirara just giggled, continuing to rotate around as if in space, “And you,” she pointed a finger at Junpei, “You’re the Jelly-witch….Sorry about ‘Kari….He’s in such a mood today. We totally didn’t want to come, but Gojo insisted.”

“Oh..really?”

“There’s no passion in this place, only ghosts. And the elders are like, massive shitheels.”

“It’s getting dark, just tell us what to do.” Rika huffed

Kirara glided down.

“I need a big, strong undead to watch for any of those mean, stupid Provinicial witches decide to snoop around. Jelly-boy—”

“Um, I’d rather just be called Junpei—”

“—you’re going to help me finish blocking out all of the windows. So float up here with me!”

Kiara began floating again, beckoning for Junpei to follow.

Junpei just stared, shifting from one foot to the next.

“Do you not know how to fly?” Kirara hovered around his head, “Do you like, need me to show you the runes?”

“N-No..” Junpei quickly responded, “I just…haven’t used a lot of magic since…”

“Since what?”

Junpei didn’t respond.

Kirara huffed at the lack of response, floating back up. 

Junpei looked around but found that Rika had disappeared.

Huffing a little, he knelt down and clapped his hands together.

He slowly opened them, forming small runes that began to gather the moisture from the air.

Kirara turned around to see Junpei struggling to balance as jellyfish that lifted him into the air.

“S-See?” He tried to appear confident, “I’m fine—“

Junpei felt himself slip.

Just as he was about to plummet to the ground, she grabbed his wrist.

“T-Thanks...” Junpei felt his cheeks burn.

Kirara let him go.

A yelp escaped his mouth, before he realized that he was floating like Kirara was.

“Like, stay close to me. I’ll show you how to print glamour spells onto the windows.”

Junpei nodded, struggling to move as effortlessly as Kirara made it look.

Where Kirara had grabbed him, there was a glowing pattern of a constellation.

“Is this your….?” he remembered how Mahito talked about there being different families of witches, all of which had their own unique powerful spell they had complete dominion over.

“My family’s thing is like with the position on the stars, so we do a lot of gravity stuff…we don’t cast like most families do.”

Instead of runes, her magic manifested as an array of stars, with Kirara’s finger creating lines connecting them in the form of various constellations.

“I like, know how to read runes and spell ‘em and shit, but the language of stars has always been more natural,” the constellations printed themselves onto the window pane, causing the glass to darken.

Kirara then turned to Junpei. This time, the constellations took the shape of runes, and Junpei tried his best to  mimic them.

“Place them on the glass over there—no not like that you have to infuse them,” Kirara sighed as they watched Junpei continue to press the runes against the glass in confusion.

“Wow,” she eventually said, “You really don’t know like, anything.”

Junpei’s cheeks burned.

“I’m like, not trying to be mean or anything. It’s just, I’ve never seen a witch as clueless as you.”

“Whatever.” Junpei turned away from Kirara to see Hakari walking with a boy Junpei recognized from the second group of witches.

It was the tall and lanky witch with pale skin and pointed ears. His eyes were closed and his mouth was pressed into a firm but frustrated line as he continued to listen to Hakari.

“What I’m saying—“ Hakari continued, “—is that it would be a good investment. Imagine, with your connections, what it would become, you’d be able to retire before you even create a heir—”

“ ‘Kari!”

Kirara flew down and practically dive-bombed Hakari, unforunately dragging Junpei along with them.

“Sweetness!” Hakari pecked her on the cheek, “I’m in the middle of a business deal.” He didn't acknowledge Junpei and turned immediately back to the witch.

Even close up, Junpei couldn’t see the witch’s eyes, “Kinji,” The witch carried on, “our purpose is not tied to monetary gain, I have more important things to worry about than this… uncouth venture, it would be unbecoming of a witch of my stature to publicly support such a thing. You promised that you’d get Megumi to see me if I listened to your business proposal. Witches don’t break promises.”

Hakari sighed, slumping his shoulders, “ Fine fine. I’ll set it up. God you’re such a killjoy.”

The witch nodded, remaining still faced as he turned his attention to Junpei.

“You’re the Metropolitan’s new witch.”

“Y-Yes…” Junpei looked at Hakari and Kirara, who seemed unhappy.

“...I’ve never heard of the Yoshino witch.”

The witch reached out to touch him.

“Not every family keeps their name.” Kirara butted in, getting in between the two.

“It’s a sign of respect for the burdens of our ancestors. Not all of them are as rebellious as you. As my family says, ‘ there is nothing more binding than blood ’.”

The witch left, not bothering to take another look at Junpei.

“Um…who was that?” Junpei asked.

“Noritoshi Kamo, his family built this entire island.” Hakari huffed.

Junpei’s brain rattled at the name, “Kamo…as in—”

“—as in one of the three great witch clans, yeah,” he sighed, “you cannot let them find out that you don’t come from a heritage.”

“Why?”

“Because the only way we keep our advantage is if they don’t know, that you don’t know shit.”

“Hey! You’re finally back.”

The three were welcomed by Yuuta, who had Rika by his side.

The others were crowded around the living room table.

Yuuji lit up when he saw Junpei. Junpei felt himself smile back and began to make his way to sit next to him, only to see Nobara sit down in his spot.

Yuji’s smile became apologetic, and Junpei tried to seem unbothered as he realized that the only open spot was sandwiched in between Hakari and Panda.

On the table was what looked to be a lifelike replica of the island.

“We’re all here, so let’s get started.” Maki nudged Yuuta, who created small versions of the entire group out of a silver substance.

“The theme of this year’s trial is potion making,” Maki began, “They want at least a dozen, from easy to complex, and the island will create trials related to the process based on the magical energy it is detecting from you all to make sure they are actually challenging. We need to make sure we’re all making the most of what we got.”

“Yuuta, Megumi and Hakari are our hardest hitters, so tomorrow you guys will start collecting ingredients in the forest starting tomorrow. Mimiko, Panda, Inumaki, Nobara will do the research lab, while Yuji, Nanako, Kirara and I will run both support and interference. We can go into more detail later, but does everyone understand what they’re supposed to be doing?”

“Junpei and Rika didn’t get roles.”

Junpei felt himself shrink at the sound of Yuji’s voice.

“I go where Yuuta goes.” Rika replied confidently.

Maki’s eyes narrowed, staring at everyone’s placements on the board.

“Junpei could join our group—“ Yuji tried to suggest

“Totally out of the question,” Maki said, “We can’t risk the other team figuring him out and I don’t need anything screwing us up. He’ll hide in the Research team.”

Yuji’s face scrunched up, but he didn’t object after seeing the pleading look in Junpei’s eyes.

“Since, there’s so many of us,” Nobara spoke up, “As long as we don’t do too badly, we’ll be fine, right? Since our scores are pooled together.”

“We have more people, but that won’t do us any good,” Maki said, “Inumaki, Yuji, Rika, Panda and I can’t use magic. And the trials will only ever demand magic. It will never try to accommodate any of us. That always drags down our overall score. Which is why we need to be perfect this year.”

“You worry too much, Maki,” Hakari yawned, “They’re a bunch of passionless chumps. We just go bigger and better and everything will even out.”

Maki sighed, “Whatever, I still think we should spend some time creating a list of what potions they might want us to make.”

Junpei wasn’t much help, mostly staying silent and trying not to suffocate as he was jostled between Panda and Hakari.

The group spent hours picking apart Maki’s strategy, throwing every single possibility at the wall and trying to account for every flaw they could think of.

When they were all finally exhausted, the meeting ended and everyone began to scatter to their own rooms.

“Junpei!” Yuji’s voice broke through the tiredness.

“Yuiji-hmpnh!”

Yuji’s hug was fierce and a bit too tight.

“I made sure that we could room together!” Yuji began dragging Junpei up the stairs and down the hall before stopping in front of a door.

Yuji pushed it open.

It was a simple repurposed bedroom. There was still dust on the dresser, the floorboards creaked with age, and Junpei wondered how the beds were still standing.

Yuji hadn’t bothered to unpack either of their suitcases, but he did make sure to put them by their respective beds.

“Come on! Let’s unpack!”

The beds appeared to be comfy, with grayed out quilted covers embroidered in blood red patterns.

Junpei walked over to his bed. Lifting the covers revealed a cloud of dust that sent him into a coughing fit.

“Ah, shit.” Yuji came over, “I guess we’ll have to clean everything first…maybe you could use magic?”

“Me?!”

“Yeah! ‘Cuz I can’t use magic and it’ll be faster.”

Junpei bit his lip, “I—I’m not sure—“

“Come on! You’ve barely used magic since you joined, I want to see it more.” Yuji pouted.

Junpei sighed, “Alright.” 

He summoned the jellyfish again, letting them hover over the bed.

Junpei scoured his brain for useful runes. He was tired, but he wanted to do something useful.

“What about…?”

The patterns sprung from his fingertips and into the jellyfish.

It hovered for a moment, before spinning rapidly and exploding.

On top of the dust, Junpei’s bed was now drenched.

“Shit no—!”

“Hey it’s okay,”Junpei felt Yuji’s hand on his shoulder, “You can take my bed for tonight, I’ll sleep on the couch. We'll clean everything tomorrow….Sorry”

“Fine. Whatever.” Junpei avoided his gaze.

Junpei only met the demon at night, giving him plenty of time during the day to practice the techniques Mahito showed him.

But without Mahito, he struggled to do anything more complicated than making a rock float, but he hasn’t given up yet.

Junpei ran his hands through the river. Whatever he wrote in it would just wash away before it could take effect.

“Come on…” he grimaced, teeth beginning to clatter from the cold water.

The runes began to spark, bubbling and popping.

Junpei watched, his eyes practically sparkling, as the bubbles began to glow a deep blue and float out of the river.

“Controlling something fluid is a bit trickier than something solid.” Mahito had told him, “It tends to shrug off any attempt to change its nature.”

Junpei cautiously prodded the bubble. Instead of popping, it stretched as if it was made of rubber, and he could feel the weight of the water inside it.

“Wow!”

The bubble exploded in Junpei’s face.

His head whipped around.

Even with the water in his eyes intensifying the sun’s glare, he could see the blob of pink hair.

“Wha-what?”

The blob was inches in front of his face now. A few rapid blinks revealed the face of a boy with bright brown eyes smiling at him.

“I knew it! You can do magic!”

Yuji Itadori, the boy who changed his life without a single spell.

Chapter Text

Yuji was impossible to get rid off.

Even after making it clear that he wasn’t a witch, the boy insisted on sticking near him.

It made it harder to see Mahito.

But everything felt brighter when Yuji was around.

Junpei groaned as he forced his eyes open.

His limbs felt way too soft, his skin felt slippery and oversized. His head was waterlogged and aching.

He trudged into the bathroom. Everything looked larger, but he didn’t care as he splashed his face with water.

He looked at his reflection.

Purple skin.

A stretched, deformed face.

Grotesquely squashed body.

He sprang back, stumbling to the ground.

Hesitantly, he approached the mirror again.

Everything was normal. As normal as things were since becoming a witch, anyway.

He heard knocking.

“Junpei!” Yuji’ voice could be heard from the other side, “Are you done yet?”

“A…almost.”

Yuji was running ahead of Junpei.

“I’ve got to meet Maki and the others, see you at lunch!”

“Yuji wait—” Junpei watched Yuji disappear into the distance.

Sighing, he dug into his pockets. Yuuta had given each of the first years an enchanted map. Only they could read it, and it would lead them anywhere they needed to go.

“So…I guess the laboratory then?”

Most of the area was in disarray. Plants grew wild, as if they were trying to swallow every piece of history on the island.

His thoughts were interrupted by sudden rustling.

A black brimmed hat poked out of the foliage.

It was one of the witches from the other school.

Junpei quickly turned around.

“Hey! Wait!”

Junpei kept walking, only to slam his face into something and stumble over.

Getting back to his feet, he checked to see nothing there.

“Hey, you.”

The boy had neat, dark brown hair that was parted in the middle. His dark, focused eyes were staring right at Junpei, and his mouth was pressed into a thin line.

“W-What do you want?” Junpei said.

“I saw that you have a map. Coincidentally, I am also a first year. Yuuki Kaito.”

“So?”

The boy sighed. “I’m lost.” he admitted, “And Rindo left me behind while Arata is getting dragged around by Todo somewhere.”

“Who?”

“My peers, whatever.” He offered his hand out, “Just help me reach the laboratory.”

Junpei’s eyes narrowed.

“If your upperclassmen had any sense, which I think they do despite Mai’s words, they told you to be wary of us.” Yuuki tried again, “But there’s only one functional laboratory. And we have a Kamo witch that inherited the memories of this island. There’s no point in picking your brain.”

“Ah…alright.” Junpei relented, “But you can’t walk near me!”

Junpei continued walking ahead, keeping his map close to his chest. Yuuki followed a few steps behind, never once taking his eyes off of him.

“You’re a recent recruit to the Metropolitan school, right?” Yuuki’s voice broke the silence.

“Yeah…”

“Did your family send you here? Or did the Association recruit you?”

“I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

Junpei continued walking.

“You wouldn’t be the first witch to come here due to others. Despite how my school looks, there are a few of us who were sent here because we didn’t match what we should be in our elder’s eyes.”

“Really?”

“Witch families are strict about these things. If a child doesn’t inherit the right things, they’re either useless or could put everyone at risk.”

“So what does that make you?”

Junpei didn’t need to see his face to know what Yuuki was feeling.

The laboratory didn’t look better than any of the other buildings.

The one word to describe it was: red.

Whether from rust or blood or paint, everything was one color.  Against the decaying structures and overgrown fauna, it stood out.

Like a wound.

At the entrance, Junpei could make out two figures leaning on opposite sides.

One was obviously Nobara, one of Yuji’s friends.

The other was a rough looking girl with dirty blonde hair.

“Yuuki!” the girl growled, “What the hell took you so long?”

“I wasn’t expecting to be abandoned—“

The girl grabbed him and dragged him inside.

Junpei shifted his feet under Nobara’s stare.

She finally spoke.

“…Did you say anything to him?”

“N-No!”

She turned around, “Come on then.”

The lab didn’t look much different from the science rooms he was used to from school. And unlike the outside of the building, the labs were a clinical, pristine white that showed no hint of age or decay after all of these decades.

Of the ones Maki assigned to the actual act of potion making, everyone was present besides Inumaki. The only person who did not belong was Yuuta, who was helping empty out some of the cupboards

“Newbie! You finally made it!” Panda waved at him from his desk.

Junpei gave a small wave, and tried to smile.

“The Provincial kids tried to poach him.” Nobara said, sitting down by a table covered in the beakers Yuuta was collecting, “He said he didn’t say anything though.”

“Really?” Mimiko said, “and you believe him?”

“If Yuji and Gojo trust him, I guess we should too.”

“You two are being overly cautious,” Panda clapped his…. paws together, “This is actually a great opportunity!”

He smiled at Junpei, “So, what did he say?”

“Uh…well, we didn’t talk that much…he…just wanted to know who my family was…like if I had one like yours…and stuff.”

“Of course those stick-in-the-muds care about lineage above all else,” Kirara grumbled as she furiously filed her nails, “For them everyone can be ranked by the ultoma on their skin and memories they inherited.”

“Yuuki did mention something like that…witches not inheriting the right things.”

“Witches were hunted all the time back in the day,” Yuuta began to explain, “We’d be driven out of our homes, our books would be burned and histories stamped out. In order to make sure that our knowledge wasn’t lost forever, our ancestors developed the trait of ‘inherited memories’. Every designated witch in their family line retains a certain amount of ancestral memories, especially those associated with magic or strong emotions.”

“Really?!” Junpei asked, curious, “That sounds pretty useful, already knowing how to use your powers like that….”

The door swung open.

“All it does is tie you up in pain and grudges that shouldn’t involve you.” Megumi grumbled. Grime and dirt covered his face and hands as he dragged a muddy sack inside, “We don’t get the luxury of freedom or failure like most.”

“Megumi…isn’t wrong,” Yuuta admitted, “And the memories are rarely consistent…and there are witches who inherit even more, gaining their predecessors’ personality or preferences…being a clean slate definitely has a lot of perks.”

Mimiko hovered around the sack, “Is that…?”

“Yeah, took forever to find one, especially because Nori— Kamo ,” he growled, “Won’t stop harassing me.”

Kirara nervously hummed, “Maybe…you could talk to him..? He probably wants—”

“—I don’t give a fuck about what he wants.” Megumi turned to Nobara, “Are you sure you know how to prepare those?”

“It’s like riding a bike.”

Megumi left without a word.

Junpei slowly moved closer to Nobara’s table. “So…how do we know what they want us to make?”

“There’s some old papers describing some diseases here that Panda found. Since the Kamo never returned to destroy them, that means that they were probably placed here by the Association. So we think we have to create something for each book.”

Nobara flipped the bag upside-down.

Palm sized vegetables tumbled out. Junpei leaned closer for a better look.

At first, he thought they were just a collection of weirdly large ginger, until he flipped one over.

The vegetables had a human face, contorted in unimaginable pain.

“Are these—”

“—mandrakes. Makes sense that the Blood Witches would be able to grow this kind of stuff. I wonder how Megumi was able to get so many so quickly…in near perfect condition too.” she smirked, “Maybe he used those bunnies of his to bear the brunt of the pain.”

Junpei swallowed. He had seen what mandrake’s screams did to someone, courtesy of his school’s informal safety videos—

—and Mahito’s own lessons.

Mimiko frowned, “Megumi loves his animals too much, he’d never do that.” She was holding a knife, wasting no time to grab a mandrake and start cutting it. 

The vegetable let out human-like moans of pain as she worked.

Nobara followed suit, while Panda and Kirara began busying themselves with a nearby cauldron.

Junpei fiddled around, looking for a nearby knife. Mimiko looked up and silently handed him one.

“Ah…thanks.”

He tried his best to copy her movements. Nobara and Mimiko cut quickly and efficiently, starting with the head before skinning and chopping the rest of the body.

Junpei cuts were sloppy in comparison, even occasionally knicking himself.

The work was done in utter silence, save for the bickering of Kirara and Panda over the cauldron’s temperature.

Junpei felt himself dozing off.

A sharp ringing noise began vibrating in his ear.

He looked down and saw a mandrake’s mouth warping and twisting.

Mimiko slammed her hand down on the mandrake, destroying it instantly.

“You didn’t cut off the head first,” she said, annoyed.

Junpei rubbed his eyes, looking at his hand, he saw streaks of red.

“O-oh…” he felt like throwing up.

“Hey, crisis averted.” Panda stepped in, “We’ve been at this for like…two hours now. Someone’s bound to make a mistake.”

“Two hours?!” Nobara stretched, “Wasn’t Inumaki supposed to be back by now?”

“Hmm, yeah.”  Panda lifted Junpei up, putting him on his feet, “You’ve been at this for a while, why don’t you take a break? We’ll have Yuuta check you out when he shows up again, but rest should be good enough. Inumaki was supposed to be getting us lunch but I guess he got distracted. Do you think you can find the mess hall?”

Junpei nodded, his head still pounding.

“Great!” Panda patted him roughly on the back, pushing him out of the lab.

“Try this!”

Mahito shoved a savory smelling cup in front of Junpei’s face.

“What is it?”

“Drink it! You can trust me!”

Junpei sighed, putting down the book as he grabbed the cup with both hands and took a long sip.

“It tastes good,” Junpei said, “What is it?”

“Aglaophotis.”

Junpei dropped the cup and began flailing, trying in vain to wipe the taste off of his tongue.

Mahito laughed. It sounded awful, like a goat dying.

“It’s not poisonous, I think,” he eventually said, “At least, if I did it correctly.”

Junpei stopped, his cheeks flushing.

“But, but I thought that—”

“My master told me that it can help limit magic output,” Mahito’s neck grew as he inspected Junpei, his head moving around him like a snake, “and from the looks of it…it worked!”

Junpei moved his body. In the past few days, Mahito had been making him practice magic non-stop in order to get ready for “The Big Change”. It has led to a few sleepless nights that he’s been struggling to hide from Yuji. Not to mention, the magic sensing bees Yuji had now wouldn’t leave him alone, as he constantly stank of it.

But now, he didn’t feel weighed down by magic at all.

“Can’t Aglo-whatever like….kill you?”

“It’s more like a parasite, it can’t directly kill you. It’ll just suck out all of your magic before attracting loads of magic beasts until they rip you apart and eat you, spreading it even more!”

Junpei swallowed as Mahito laughed again.

“Don’t worry, you’re my student! If any beast comes, I’ll eat them instead.” Mahito’s eyes shined, “Actually, why don’t we eat them together? I’d love to see what happens if I mix loads of magic energy in you.”

Junpei sighed, and went back to reading.

In the corner of his eye, he could see Mahito’s form continue to shift and expand and he watched him.

“…Junpei…”

“Hmmm?”

“Let’s do something else, let’s get some hands-on experience!”

“Are you saying that because you’re bored?”

“Come on! Let’s go! I found a bunch of other cool plants I want you to try!”

“After this, I promised Yuji to meet him for a movie today, maybe tomorrow?”

Mahito’s eyes turned pitch black.

“Really?” he said, in a shrill voice that made Junpei’s ears hurt.

“Um…well, I can always reschedule—”

“No, it’s fine,” Mahito’s face went back to normal, “We can do it tomorrow, just like you said. Bring back some popcorn for me.”

Junpei’s head eventually cleared as he walked through the hallways. However, being freed from whatever affect the mandrake’s voice had on his mind, he came to two realizations:

One, he was now consumed with guilt over his near colossal fuck-up.

Two, he left the map at the desk, so he was now very lost.

Without much in the way, he kept walking forward. Maybe if he kept walking, he’d run into someone. Whether Metropolitan or Provincial, anyone who could tell him where he was would be a godsend.

He heard coughing from a nearby room.

“Umm…hello?”

It was what remained of a library. The floorboards were coated in dust and ash, and there were very few shelves still left standing.

A boy with silver hair was picking through the ruins, carefully picking up the charred remains of books, collecting pages with delicate care.

Junpei cleared his throat.

“Umm…Inumaki…right?”

Inumaki’s violet eyes met his.

Inumaki’s witch hat had two hooks at both ends that draped a piece of intricately embroidered velvet fabric across it, obscuring his mouth from view.

Inumaki seemed happy to see him, stuffing the papers underneath his arm as his hands began moving at lightning speed.

“ Hi…..jellyfish witch….your…magic….cool…eyes— ”

“Sorry,” Junpei said, “I don’t actually know a lot of sign language…”

Inumaki stopped and pulled out his phone.

He showed him a message.

That’s fine , it read, I didn’t take my notepad with me tho, and don’t want battery to die.

Junpei nodded. “The others told me to find you, You were supposed to get food?”

Megumi wanted my help. We can go now.

Inumaki walked ahead of him, navigating the dilapidated corridors far better than Junpei was.

“What did Megumi need help with?”

Inumaki shrugged, turning another corner before stopping and grabbing Junpei’s arm.

The hallway had become a greenhouse, with rows upon rows of potted plants. Each stem was nearly identical.

Junpei turned around, and saw that the corridor behind them had become the greenhouse’s door. Pulling on it, he heard the lock on the other side.

“What…what is this?”

Inumaki’s phone only had a single word.

Exam.

Chapter Text

“Exam?”

Kamo’s Island has a mind of its own. It was made to help monitor every experiment the family conducted, and was trained to make sure that everyone knew protocol. The spell that keeps it alive is still running, so the witch elders use it to test witches. It doesn’t create Exams every year though, so they made trials just in case. It must have thought we needed to know this.

“So….we just need to figure out what it wants?”

We get points for it too. A lot of points.

Inumaki began walking through the greenhouse aisle. He inspected each plant carefully, and found an assortment of boxes.

When Junpei got closer, he could see that each box had an assortment of runes on them.

I think, it wants us to sort them.

Inumaki began to walk amongst the potted plants. He took careful note of the stems, and eventually picked one up and brought it to a nearby table.

After finding a knife, he began to dig into the pots. He inspected the plant before cutting off its stem.

When he placed the plant in a box, the runes flowed a soft green color.

“There’s…so many,” Junpei said as he picked up a pot, “…how do you know which box to put it in?”

Inumaki got up and found a piece of paper and pen after a few minutes of searching. He sat back down and hastily scrawled something on the paper before handing it to Junpei.

It was the runes on the boxes and their translations.

Neurological

Purification

Medicinal

Nutritive

“Oh! Thank you.”

Inumaki nodded and continued sorting. Junpei followed suit, digging his brain for his herb lessons in class and Mahito’s own teachings.

Junpei pushed open the door.

“Junpei!” he saw an elongated hand wave at him from down the hallway.

Junpei’s footsteps dragged across the dusty wood.

“How was your movie date—“ Mahito teased as his eyes looked down at Junpei.

“Wow, you look awful.”

Junpei coughed, smoke coming out of his lungs. Ashes clung to his body as his tears ran down his face.

“They…” he gasped, shaking, “They killed her!”

Mahito lifted a finger to Junpei’s face, wiping away a tear.

“Now, now, it isn’t very witch-like to cry.”

“Mahito! Please, give me the power to kill them.”

“I thought you didn’t want to bear that weight?”

“All humans are the same! She never did anything, but they blamed her anyway, because they thought I was….the fire…I shouldn’t have left.”

“Are you sure you want to do this? What about Yuji?”

“What about him?”

Mahito smiled at the sight of the dull rage in Junpei’s eyes.

“Come with me,” Mahito began dragging Junpei deeper inside, “I have something to show you.”

Mahito pushed aside a board revealing a cocoon made of some kind of hard gel.

Junpei looked back at a face that was not unlike his own, if not for the jellyfish pattern softly glowing on its forehead.

“It’s for you, a body suitable for handling witch-level magic.” Mahito said, “It just needs one final touch.”

“Which is?”

“What kind of magic do you want?”

Inumaki stretched as he stood up, having finished sorting all of his pots.

“S-Sorry,” Junpei admitted as he tried to finish identifying his final few, “I messed up while I was helping the others, it’s probably why we’re stuck here.”

Inumaki shrugged before pointing at the remaining unearthed plants.

“Oh, you want to help? Okay then.”

Inumaki began to drop off the appropriate boxes, far faster than Junpei was able to.

Following Inumaki’s motions, Junpei grabbed the last plant and threw it into a box.

Instead of green, the runes turned a deep blood red.

The room began to shake as the plants began to grow uncontrollably.

The box began to shake and vines exploded out of it.

Inumaki shoved Junpei out of the way.

The vines scooped him up. Inumaki kicked and tore at them, but they only grew tighter around his skin.

Junpei jumped over the desk, running to help him but the plants formed a barrier around Inumaki.

“Shit!” Junpei began to tear at the vines. Through a small crack, he could see the vines beginning to work their way under his skin as Inumaki silently thrashed around.

The vines taut.

Junpei pulled back before he could lose his fingers.

“Nononono—“

Junpei looked around.

Plants were quickly consuming everything in the room.

Junpei made a grab for the knife only for herb stems to come to life to bite at his hand.

He looked back at the vine cocoon that swallowed Inumaki.

Runes appeared on his finger.

“Pleasepleaseplease—“

The runes morphed into a giant jellyfish.

Its long and sharp tentacles plunged into the vines.

The vines returned the favor, spearing it as well, but the jellyfish did not react at all.

Junpei plunged his hands into the jellyfish as dark mist began to eject itself from his fist.

The jellyfish began to turn a dark blue. As it grew darker, the area around the location it plunged its tentacles in quickly began to wither.

The toxin quickly spread, and soon the plants were falling limply to the ground, becoming rotten and diseased.

Junpei tore through the dead vines until he found Inumaki.

He was unconscious, blood leaking out of his mouth, eyes and ears. He was missing some skin on his cheeks and was overall in a bad state and he coughed up plant bits.

“Don’t worry! We’ll find someone who can help!”

Inumaki began to shudder as Junpei helped him up. He realized that Inumaki was coughing, despite the lack of sound.

Junpei tore off the dead plants and vines from the door before shoving it open.

The two fell forward onto the cool tiles.

Behind them, the door shut and vanished.

“Ow…..”

Junpei heard the sound of something metallic falling near his head.

He lifted his head up, seeing bright blue hair.

Junpei’s eyes focused.

It was one of the girls from the day before. She looked frightened, staring at Inumaki’s unconscious body. The tray of food she must have been holding was on the floor.

“T-Todo?!” the girl tried to compose herself, “I-I think I need your help….”

A second person appeared, most likely Todo.

Todo was another witch that definitely went against the stereotypical idea of what theylooked like. Rugged features that were neither maiden-like or gentlemanly, and a scar on his left eye that tore his heart-shaped ultoma in half.

“Oh,” he spoke, rubbing his chin as he crouched down to get a better look at Junpei and Inumaki, “You must be Metropolitan’s new meat. Along with the Inumaki witch.”

“Please…” Junpei gasped, scrambling to his feet, “I don’t know how to heal him, can you….”

Miwa’s hand began to glow as she stepped towards Inumaki, but Todo stopped her.

“First, what if you answer a question,” Todo said, “If I like your answer, I’ll heal him.”

Miwa squeaked, “Is now really the time?”

“Nonsense, if he’s truly unable to heal him, then this is an ample opportunity to learn about our opposition.”

Miwa opened her mouth but quickly closed with a sigh. Her face became that of pity.

Junpei spook up, “Fine! I’ll tell you anything, just keep your promise.”

Todo smiled.

“What’s your type?”

Junpei blinked, “My…my what?”

“Your type, what kind of girl do you like?” Todo repeated, “Doesn’t have to be a girl”

“Shouldn’t you ask about—” Junpei shook himself, “Fine, whatever. I dunno…”

Todo’s hand slammed against the dining table nearby.

“ Don’t —” He warned, “—be boring. I hate boring people. I only agreed to take part in the trials to get a rush after some dull months. This is me being nice. Answer now, and I’ll do as I promised.”

“Uh well....A guy with a nice smile…I guess.” Junpei’s cheeks flushed a bit, “As long as they’re nice to me, I don’t care.”

Todo’s eyes went sharp.

“Boring !”

An image of Hakari in Junpei’s head.

Miwa’s hand went to her side, tightening her grip on her blade’s handle.

Junpei heard a sudden crash.

Two figures fell out of the sky—

—and one of them had their skull collide directly with Todo’s.

“Ow ow ow!” they said, rubbing their as they stood.

“Y-Yuji!”

Yuji turned around, “Junpei!” He smiled, “What are you doing here?” his eyes fell on Inumaki, What happened…”

Before Junpei could answer, the second figure spoke up.

“Hey Todo,” Maki stared him down, “Long-time no see. Hope you’re not harassing my friends”

“Maki! You might not have any magic power but your bloodlust could be felt from a mile away,” Junpei felt Todo’s magical power rapidly increased as the man’s expression became more and more elated.

Miwa stepped forward, “Ummn wait, can we pause for a second?” her hands made a time-out gesture as she cracked a nervous smile at Maki, “What are you guys doing here?”

“Getting lunch, obviously.” She replied, “But someone put a barrier over the door, so we had to try….other methods.”

“Oh yeah…that…Wait—“ Miwa’s eyes fell on Junpei, “Then how did you two summon that door?”

“I….we….I messed up and caused an—“

Maki’s spear end hit Junpei in the chin. His teeth clanged against one another as he lost his footing before Yuji steadied him.

“Who cared how they got in? That just means our first years are better than yours.”

Miwa frowned, moving her hand closer to her blade.

“So you must be the vessel, Itadori Yuji.” Todo sized him up, “I have a question for you. What’s your type?”

“Well…” Yuji rubbed his chin, deep in thought, “If it’s a girl…someone tall with a big butt. If it’s a guy…someone with dark hair, and maybe not too muscular. Both should also have a decent body though.”

“Same as last time,” Maki pointed her spear at Miwa, “As long as they’re strong, I’m down.”

She looked back at Junpei, “Go back to the lab. Shouldn’t be hard to find. Anyone can fix Toge up.”

Junpei slung Inumaki’s arm over his shoulder and backed up towards the door.

“Is fighting like, really a good idea?” Miwa’s blade nudged Maki’s spear out of her face, “The Association’s contract doesn’t let us hurt each other, right?”

“Now now, we all know you don’t get picked by the Association if you’re straight-laced.” Maki smirked, “And none of us could spar with each other if we couldn’t figure out how to raise a fist.”

“Then let’s cut to the chase” Todo’s grin matched Maki’s, “Come on brother !”

Yuji blinked, “Wait who—“

Yuji jumped back as Todo’s fist slammed on the ground in front of him.

Bright pink runes wrapped around Todo’s hands and in a moment, what was in front of Yuji was nothing but a single tray.

Todo’s knee connected with Yuji’s back and he went flying into the tables.

Miwa lunged forward in Junpei’s direction.

Maki’s spear met her blade, stopping it moments before it cut into the back of Junpei’s neck.

“What the hell did I tell you already?” Maki hissed as she kept up the pressure, “Get. Out. Of. Here!”

Junpei felt a kick that sent him and Inumaki flying out the door.

The door’s hinges swung back and forth.

Maki pushed forward, breaking Miwa’s stance.

She sighed.

“Now that that’s taken care of,” Maki said, readying her spear once more, “Can you focus on me and me alone? It’s kinda rude to ignore your opponents.”

“Oh sorry,” Miwa knocked her fist against her head, “Mai said that she wanted to be the one that faces you, I thought it would be rude to beat you down before that.”

Maki smiled, “Did she now…?”

“Don’t worry! I’ll make sure that you’re in one piece when she sees you again. I’ll have to be careful though, given that you’re not a witch.”

“And who said that?”

“Well, it’s in the name the Association gave you, right? The False Witch.”

“A stupid joke by a rotting drunk. I take it that you’re what? The Sword Witch or something?”

“Ah…mine isn’t important. Clan witches can’t all have the same title anyway, or things would get confusing.”

“Tell you what, if I beat you, tell me what it is, it can't be worse than mine.”

Miwa nodded and launched at Maki again.

Junpei trudged around the hallways, looking for anyone to help him.

Inumaki had stirred awake a few minutesago, so he was not quite as heavy as he was before, being able to support himself a little.

Eventually, he heard light footsteps.

“He…Hello?” he called out.

The footsteps got a little louder, and Junpei was soon staring at a black wolf.

The wolf opened its mouth.

“Junpei? ”

“Megumi?!”

The wolf trudged closer, circling around the two.

“ I’m just speaking through one of my familiars. What happened? ”

“We got stuck in an exam because I messed when helping cut mandrakes, and then Inumaki was almost torn apart by plants because I fucked up again, and he has been bleeding out because I can’t do anything besides make fucking shitty jellyfish, and Maki and Yuji had to—”

“ Stop worrying. An overwhelmed witch is a useless witch. Put him down and I’ll look at him. ”

Inumaki huffed weakly as he was slowly lowered to the ground. The wolf began to slowly sniff around him, checking under his vest and pants pockets.

“ ....the pages, where are they? ”

“What?”

“Not you. Inumaki, the notes I told you to get. Where did they go? ”

Inumaki shuddered in pain, as the wolf continued to search around for the notes.

“Megumi! Stop screwing around and just help him!” Junpei snapped.

“ Fine .” the wolf stuck its tongue out. It was covered in inky black runes that plastered over Inumaki’s injuries as it licked them.

Junpei watched as the wounds quickly began to stitch themselves back together.

“Um….Megumi…”

“Yeah? ”

“Should…I stay here?”

“What? You wanna go somewhere else? ”

“Everyone here is already good at everything…I don’t belong here, don’t I?”

“ Of course you don’t .”

“Thanks.” Junpei muttered.

“ But that doesn’t matter now. You're a witch and you signed the contract. Getting cold feet now would be pointless. ”

“So I just have to keep dragging everyone down?”

“ Yeah pretty much. ” The wolf watched him for a moment.

“ Look, I don’t mean to be an asshole. It’s just the way things work around here. Witches are valuable and you have to keep your promises, even if you realize you are out of your depth. Gojo told us we had to help you, so we will…and…Yuiji cares about you— ”

“—well he shouldn’t. I tried to kill him.”

“— So? The feelings of others don’t always make sense. I promised to protect Yuji’s right to live, no matter what happens. And I interpret that as not only making sure he doesn’t die, but that he can experience the good and bad of that decision. If you’re part of the good, I’ll protect you too. ”

“And if I’m not?”

“ You can already guess, but we’re getting off topic. ” The wolf flicked its head, indicating Junpei to get closer, “ Inumaki, can I show Junpei….you know? ”

Inumaki nodded. He seems to have mostly recovered, with very little trace of his injuries remaining, just a few bruises here and there. He stuck out his tongue.

One his tongue was the basic pattern of a mouth.

“ Do you know what that is? ”

“An…Ultoma…?”

The wolf shook its head, “ It's the mark of a witch’s curse. It is passed down from witch to witch in Inumaki’s family, barring them from even making a single noise. Inumaki’s family uses vocative magic, so they’ve been powerless for centuries. You could probably beat him in a fight of magic .”

“So..?”

“There are others here who technically suck worse than you when it comes to living up to the typical witch standards. But they’ve all become reliable witches all the same. You’re not in any worse of a state than they are .”

Junpei shrugged.

The wolf sighed, “ After dark, you’re going to sneak out after Maki’s done with you and join me in the library .”

“Can’t we just do it now?”

“I’m…busy. Inumaki was supposed to help speed things up but that’s a fucking bust. If you skip out, I’ll make sure you definitely regret coming here. ” the wolf turned around and jumped out of the nearby open window, dashing into the forest.

Junpei stood there with Inumaki.

His mind wandered as the room swayed and everything went black.

“Nice nice nice!”

Mahito’s body stretched and expanded, absorbing the corpses Junpei had the jellyfish assemble in the auditorium.

Junpei continued writing the runes with the blood, not noticing until Mahito wrapped his arms around him,

“It looks perfect!” Mahito giggled, his coarse, brittle hair rubbing against Junpei’s neck.

“This…will bring her back, right?” His fingers did not waver.

“Absolutely! One portal to hell and I can have you and Mama Yoshino dancing over their bodies.”

Junpei nodded and turned back to his work.

“Oh come on! I turned you into a witch, I gave you the magic to kill your bullies, don’t I deserve some love?”

“You’re the one that taught me to focus….did Sotomura bore you already?”

Mahito’s head bobbed up and down quickly.

“...Well, I guess I never wanted him to last long. Did he suffer?”

Mahito nodded like a puppy.

Junpei’s lip twitched, “Thank you.”

“Then give me a reward!”

“I think our roles are getting swapped—”

“Jun~pei~!” Mahito whined.

He sighed.

“Fine, what do you want?”

Mahito’s fingers traced Junpei’s chin, tilting his head upward to look at the demon’s beady gray and blue eyes through the curtain of his straw-like blue hair. Junpei felt his claws press against his ultoma and just below his eyes.

Mahito pinched his lips, watching it stretch and squash.

“Wow,” he said, “I did a really good job.”

Junpei pushed his hands away, “Is that all you wanted?” Junpei rubbed his mouth.

The auditorium’s door exploded off of its hinges.

“JUNPEI!”

Yuji’s voice echoed in the large space.

“Oh!” the ends of Mahito’s smile went all the way up to his eyes, “It’s you again! Is Mr.Salaryman here too?”

“Junpei! Get away from that thing!”

Junpei stood up, “Mahito, if I keep him distracted, can you finish the spell?”

“Aww, but I wanted to play too!”

“Mahito.”

The demon sighed and began to recede in on himself. As he did, the runes Junpei wrote began to turn black and fill the air with miasma.

“Hey Yuji,” Junpei summoned some jellyfish to his side, “Don’t you want to see what magic I can do now?”

Chapter Text

Yuji grabbed a table and flung it.

Todo rushed forward, clapping his hands, sparking ruins from his hands.

The table collided with the wall behind him, while Todo stood triumphantly in front of Yuji.

Yuji ducked and threw a quick punch.

Instead of teleporting, Todo grabbed it.

“You’re just as strong as they say, brother.”

“Why do you keep calling me that?!”

Yuji gritted his teeth. Todo’s grip was stronger than he expected.

“We’re brothers in arms, are we not?”

“Dude I just met you!”

Todo’s other hand swept Yuji up from his waist and tossed him into the air.

Yuji’s back hit against the wall with a thud.

He groaned as he slid down, landing on his head.

“Can’t you be a little more careful? I don’t want to become any dumber.”

Todo chuckled, rubbing his neck.

“Let’s reminisce about old times, brother.”

“What the hell are you on?!”

Miwa threw herself onto the ground.

Maki’s spear caught some of her hair, neatly cutting it off before it crashed into the wall behind her.

The force caused the wall to crack.

Miwa felt her hands tighten around her sword.

As Maki rushed her again, Miwa stepped forward and swung.

From the motion, multiple blades were produced and flew directly at Maki.

Maki’s body twisted, narrowly dodging each blade while refusing to slow down.

“How is she so fast?!”

Miwa leapt out of the way as Maki lunged at her, landing in the kitchen.

Swords barricaded all entrances.

Miwa tried to catch her breath.

Her whole body was shaking. Her fingertips struggled to hold onto her sword.

She sat in the darkness, waiting and listening.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Three minutes.

Four—

“Don’t you know that the darkness is a Zen’in’s home, Sword Witch ?”

Miwa screamed.

Every blade homed in on her location.

Each one stopped just before they could pierce Maki.

Maki sighed, and lightly pushed some of the blades out of the way.

“While fighting each other is one thing, the Association’s rule against killing each other is a lot more difficult to get around,” her spear flicked Miwa’s blade out of her hands. As Miwa reached out for the sword, she slammed it down near Miwa’s fingers, “I guess I should be glad that your family’s power isn’t that threatening when it can’t be lethal.”

Maki’s smile was cocky when she crouched down. Miwa saw her own panicked, tearing face in Maki’s glasses.

“So I guess this is my win.”

“Oh…okay then…” Miwa sniffled, “Useless….”

“Hmm?”

“My title…it’s… The Useless Witch.”

Maki’s lips pressed against each other and her brow furrowed, “They call you that?”

“What else could you call a Shinkage witch that can’t create a blade unless she’s holding one in her hand?”

“And you let them?”

Miwa rubbed her tears. “I lost to you of all people, didn’t I? So it fits me just fine. Oh god, Mai is going to be so mad at me…”

Miwa watched Maki’s mouth twist. Maki grumbled something underneath her breath and walked away.

Yuji’s fist connected with Todo’s face.

He felt his teeth grind against each other as Todo punched him in retaliation.

He dug his heels in, trying his best to not lose his balance.

Centering his body, he swung his arms around Todo’s waist.

With one big movement, he swept him up and threw him upside down into the ground.

Yuji collapsed onto his back, feeling the last of his energy drain from his body.

“Your physical skills are top-tier,” Todo stretched while he stood up.

Yuji gasped, “Thanks…” he tasted iron on his lips.

“But your magical knowledge can use some work.” Todo clapped his hands.

Runes melted out of Yuji’s skin, forming ropes that tied him down to the floor.

Yuji groaned as Todo slammed his foot down on his chest.

“Even a novice witch can embed spells through constant skin to skin contact. You should have had protections or counterspells if you want to fight close-up, yet you left yourself wide open.”

“I’m kinda…not allowed to learn magic.” Yuji hissed, “Has to do with the warlock living in my body.”

“So you never had someone do it for you?”

A spear slammed into the ground, near Yuji’s head.

Yuji strained his head, getting a view of Maki rolling her shoulder from a distance.

“TODO!”

Yuji felt the pressure lift from his chest.

“Don’t worry Maki.” Todo towered over her, “I was just imparting some knowledge on my brother.”

“...not…your brother!”

“I don’t care what you were doing with him. He’s my responsibility, I can’t risk you teleporting his insides to god knows where.”

“Ah come on, you know I’m better than that.”

A snort bubbled from her throat, which got a smirk out of Todo.

“How’s your eye?” he asked.

“Like it always is. Tell Yuki not to worry about me. You should go pick up that Sword witch. Set her straight too, I’ve never seen a Sword witch as cowardly as her.”

Todo sighed, “Now you see that type of witches at our school. Boring, most of them. Maybe if Tsukumo enrolled me at Metropolitan, my school years could be more memorable. Only light is your sister, my fellow warrior in arms.”

Maki scrunched up her face, but before she could ask anything, Todo clapped his hands and disappeared, leaving a lunch tray where he stood.

She shook her head before cutting the ropes and helping Yuji up.

“Feeling alright?”

“Think so…”

“Good, we should focus on finally getting something to eat. I’ll show you the trick to get the cafeteria working.”

Yuji kept his eyes on Maki’s spear.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“You..slammed your spear near my head…”

“..Yeah?”

“What if you had hit me?!”

“I don’t miss.”

Yuji kicked open the door, trays of wrapped hamburgers in his hands.

“Food is served!”

The others were crowded around a table.

Maki pounded  her spear against the floor.

“Oi. What’re you guys standing around for?”

Yuuta raised his head, “Um…well.”

“Spit it out.”

Yuji stepped forward, pushing ahead.

Junpei was lying flat on the table. His expression was calm and still, without a breath emerging from his lips.

“Inumaki said that he collapsed after talking to Megumi.”

Maki looked down at Junpei, adjusting her glasses, “He isn’t giving off any magical energy anymore either…weird.”

She snapped her fingers at Inumaki.

“Let’s go over the details. Toge, how did you and Junpei get into the cafeteria in the first place? You two were there before me and Yuji got there, which meant the wards Miwa mentioned were still in place.”

“We were trying to go to the cafeteria, but….we got caught in an exam— ”

“Exam?!”

“—and when we escaped it sent us to the cafeteria ”

“Go back,” Panda leaned in, “There was an exam?”

“It was about sorting plants…everything went well until Junpei made a mistake. ”

“Of course he did.” Mimiko grunted under her breath.

Yuji clicked his tongue, “Drop it .”

“I didn’t say anything.”

A quick glare from Maki stopped anything from escalating.

“We’ll deal with the exam results when he wakes up,” she said, sitting next to Yuuta, “Figured anything out yet?”

“It’s his soul…it’s not in his body.”

“You think one of the Prefectural kids removed it?”

“If they did, they could hide their trace from even a Gojo’s sight.”

Maki stretched her arms and leaned back.

“Guess we can’t rest just yet. Yuuta, can you at least track Junpei’s magical energy?”

He nodded.

“Then you already know the plan. We’ll send out a small party to track it down. Any takers?”

Yuji’s hand shot up, followed by Megumi.

“We shouldn’t need more than two, right?” Nobara asked.

“We might, we might not.” Maki answered, “It would be bad if we drew too much attention to ourselves, or took too much manpower away from our work, but Gojo did make him our responsibility, and there’s enough dangerous shit on this island that we can’t give them a free powerboost.”

“Rika and I will come with then.” Yuta said, “The four of us should be more than enough. I’m not good with potions anyway.”

Maki looked back at the group, “Any complaints? None? Good, let's get started then.”

The group began to tear into hamburgers and discuss the next few potions they would need done, and how to properly store their current ones.

The four chosen to find Junpei’s soul entered the hallway.

“I’ll use my wolves to track down his scent,” Megumi began pulling his familiars from his shadow, “After we find him I’m heading to the library though.”

Yuji nodded, “Sure thing, are you working on something for the trials?”

Megumi shrugged before melting into the darkness.

Yuji sighed, scratching his neck.

“Ah, dang, he’s still mad I guess.”

“Yuji, can I talk to you about something?”

“Sure thing Yuuta, what is it?”

“How…did Junpei become a witch?”

Yuji pressed his mouth into a line, “Ah…well…I don’t know if I should be the one to tell it—”

Rika popped up behind him, her cold breath hitting the back of his neck.

“Yuuta asked you a question.” she growled, “Answer it.”

“Eep! So cold! Fine, I’ll tell you a bit, but you’ll have to ask Junpei for the rest…”

Yuji was far faster than Junpei expected.

Yuji broke off a piece of the floorboards and flung it at Junpei.

A jellyfish rushed to his defense, absorbing the chunk of wood with an incredible ease.

“Junpei! You need to stop!”

“No,” Junpei began writing runes in the jellyfish, “You need to LEAVE!”

The Jellyfish launched itself at Yuji.

He tried to jump above it, but its bulbous head stretched to swallow him.

Yuji gasped, struggling against the salty tasting gelatinous liquid.

Junpei watched quietly.

“If you never showed up, I would never have discovered all of the magic your people are hiding, so I’ll have to thank you for that,” He said, “I didn’t want to kill you, but Mahito said that every once of magic matters when it comes to bringing back the dead.”

Yuji’s body went still. Junpei stepped closer.

Yuji’s hand busted out and pulled him in.

Junpei screamed and the jellyfish exploded.

Junpei landed on all fours, slowly breathing as he scrambled away.

“I—The poison! You should’ve—“

“Junpei,” Yuji stepped forward, jellyfish flesh still lingering on his body, “I don’t know what the demon told you, but it’s lying. This won’t bring her back.”

“No!” Junpei flung runes at Yuji. They dig into his clothes, animating what was left of the jellyfish to keep him in place.

“Mahito said that this is why necromancy was banned here. Did your fancy-pants Magic Association forget to tell you that?”

“I’ve met necromancers, I’ve seen their work. Junpei, the demon is lying. Bringing back the dead…it doesn’t…” he strained against the magic attempting to wire his mouth shut, “it doesn’t require all of this!”

“SHUT UP!”

Yuji leaped forward, crashing into Junpei, sending them both onto the hard floor.

Junpei gasped as the wind was knocked out of him.

He struggled and clawed as Yuji gripped Junpei’s wrists and pressed them against the ground.

He kicked and screamed until Yuji slammed his head into his, silencing him.

“Junpei! Junpei stop!”

He forced his eyes open.

Yuji’s light brown eyes were staring back at he’s.

Wet with tears but still shining despite everything.

“I’m—” Yuji stuttered, “I’m not lying to you! I promise you, whatever Mahito told you was a lie, this isn’t how it works at all. Please Junpei…don’t you trust me?”

“Why….”Junpei swallowed, “...Why can’t I have her back…?” he choked out his words, breaking down into sobs.

Junpei jolted up.

“Hey! It worked!”

Yuji clamped his arms around him for a bear hug.

“Ow..ow.” Junpei groaned.

His eyes felt weighed down by rocks while his body felt cold and unfamiliar, as if it might slide right off.

He blearily looked around, realizing that he was back in the laboratory. Yuuta and Rika where staring at him, Yuuta’s typical soft, anguished expression replaced with something much harder.

“Did…did I fall asleep?”

Yuji paused, blinking slowly, “Ah…well…”

“Yuji told me about your condition.” Yuuta said, “Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

Junpei blinked, “W-Well I—”

“Does Gojo know about this? Did he send anyone to check on your soul’s condition? Have you even seen a doctor?!”

“I…no..” he admitted,

Yuuta’s eyes glowed for a second before he sighed, unclenching his jaw.

“I’m sorry for coming at you with all of this at once,” Yuuta admitted, “It’s just…Gojo…” he let out a frustrated noise.

Yuji checked his phone, “Shit, it’s almost midnight, we should probably be getting back to our room.”

“Umm…I told Megumi that I was going to meet him in the library.”

Yuuta shook his head, “Junpei, your soul and body are almost completely out of sync, I don’t think it would be a good idea to walk around in a place like this. You’re lucky that I had a spirit lantern on me to help find it. This place is crawling with magical remnants and we don’t know how it interacts with that body the demon gave you. I think it would be better if you stayed in your room for the Trials. We already have enough members and it would make it easier for me to—”

“I’ll be fine ,” Junpei snapped, “No one needs to baby me.”

Rika stepped in front of Yuuta.

“I…I didn’t mean it like that.”

Just as Junpei opened his mouth, Yuji stood up.

“I can go with him.” he said, rubbing Junpei’s neck as he smiled at Yuuta, “He’s my roommate anyway, it wouldn’t be good if he got lost.”

Yuuta nodded and touched Rika’s shoulder. She glared at Junpei for a moment before backing down.

“That will work for tonight. I’ll go tell Maki about everything and we’ll figure out some kind of system—”

“I don’t need anyone’s help!” Junpei objected, “And no one needs to know about this!”

“I…I know everyone haven’t been…the best but that’s mostly just the competition getting to everyone’s heads—”

“ So ? I can handle this on my own.”

“I…okay.” Yuuta admitted defeat, “But if this happens again, I will tell everyone, okay?”

Yuji grabbed Junpei’s hand and led him out of the room. When they were alone walking through the dark hallways, Junpei shook him off.

“Junpei—”

“I don’t need you to pity me either.”

The sound of Yuji’s footsteps stopped.

“I’m not pitying you.”

“Yes. You. Are ,” Junpei glared back into the darkness, “Everyone either pities me or hates and you pity me because you can’t hate me—”

A hand shot out of the dark and grabbed his shoulder.

Junpei opened his mouth to scream, but the next hand slammed against his mouth.

“Shh,” Yuji whispered,  his eyes looking past Junpei.

Junpei strained his neck to see what Yuji had his eyes locked on.

Just past the nearest pillar was the opening to the courtyard. Despite the overgrown bushes and moss, Junpei could see a light making its way through.

Following the light was the mechanical being. The metal witch that was a member of the Provincial school that Junpei had seen a day prior.

The witch continued on, its body clanking and whirring as it silently moved deeper into the courtyard, until it completely disappeared.

Yuji’s grip loosened and he stepped back to give Junpei space.

The moonlight had broken through. Junpei could see Yuji’s face clearly, his eyes soft and almost glowing.

“Junpei,” Yuji began, “I don’t pity you. But I am worried about you. I just want to help you.”

“I…okay…” Junpei’s feet shifted, suddenly Yuji had become too bright for him, “I’m..sorry for getting mad at you. And…I’ll apologize to Yuuta when I see him again. But I still don’t want anyone to know about this.”

Yuji nodded, and the two continued walking.