Chapter Text
"Do you hate non-sorcerers, Geto-kun?"
"I don't know. I used to think jujutsu sorcerers existed to protect non-sorcerers. But recently, I've been doubting whether non-sorcerers are worth fighting for. The preciousness of the weak...the ugliness of the weak...I can no longer tell the difference. The part of me that looks down on non-sorcerers...the part of me that tries to resist that feeling...
If being a jujutsu sorcerer is like running a marathon, then the finish line is too unclear. I don't know how I really feel."
"Me neither. You're not at that stage yet. Looking down on non-sorcerers, resisting that feeling, those are just possibilities you've thought of. Whatever your true feeling is, you still have to deci-"
"Geto-senpai, are you still here?"
Suguru lowered his hand from his face and raised his head to see a familiar, bright-eyed girl coming around the corner. A smile lit up her expression at the sight of him, and, as tired as he was, his own lips couldn't help but to quirk up in return. She really was a lot like Haibara in that way, he mused, with that almost perpetual infectious cheer that surrounded them in a way at the very least was impossible to completely ignore.
No, no, that wasn't quite right. He of all people would know, even if he hadn't seen her for awhile. Haibara's aura was an impressive force of pure personality, and, while she was just as genuinely kind as her classmate, there was that touch of something tangible in hers that he could literally taste-
The girl stopped in front of him, then noticed with a start the woman sitting next to him on the bench. "Oh! Yuu-kun didn't mention someone was with you!"
She clasped her hands in front of her and gave a short, polite bow, causing a few strands of her long black hair to fall past her shoulders. "My name is Higurashi Kagome, a second year student here at Jujutsu Tech."
Tsukumo gave a short bark of laughter. "You're a lucky guy, Geto-kun. How are all your kouhai so cute?"
Suguru chuckled in return at the thought of Nanami's permanently dour face, and Higurashi, clearing imagining the same thing, couldn't help a sheepish giggle either.
"You haven't met the last second-year. He would definitely take offense to being called cute."
Tsukumo laughed harder, wheezing even, clapping a hand to her knee. Suguru leaned back against the wall, still chuckling as his shoulders relaxed slightly. The atmosphere already lightened considerably, and, for a moment, so did the darkness in his mind. Even the conversation he just had with Tsukumo, as heavy as it was, wasn't currently in the forefront.
Having calmed down, the older woman winked and blew his sole female kouhai a flirtatious kiss. "I'm Tsukumo Yuki, a special grade sorcerer, and what kind of-
"Do you ask everyone you meet that question?" Suguru interrupted her, raising an exasperated eyebrow. Higurashi tilted her head to the side in confusion.
"Hey, it's a very reliable way to learn what a person's character is like!" Tsukumo protested.
Suguru rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to his kouhai. "Higurashi, why are you looking for me? Haibara just let me know that the second years were assigned a mission for tomorrow. He's so excited about how this is your first real field mission, and an overnight one too. Shouldn't you be getting ready?"
Tsukumo let out a very exaggerated, interested-sounding hum.
Higurashi suddenly looked a bit uncomfortable, fiddling with her fingers and glancing at the older woman, as if she wasn't sure she should speak in current company.
"Don't mind her," Suguru said encouragingly while waving a dismissive hand. Tsukumo squawked in indignation.
Higurashi's voice came out quiet and apologetic. "This entire summer, you've had back-to-back missions. I know it's not your fault, but I keep just missing you. I don't think we've had a single session this whole time, so I was hoping I could give you a cleansing before I leave tomorrow."
Ah.
The entire summer's worth of curses, the build-up of vomit and shit, suddenly seemed to burn extra bitter in his mouth. Now all he could think about was how he couldn't stand another second of it. His hands flashed out and grasped hers tightly.
Higurashi's cheeks flushed pink. "Eh?"
Oh. He'd never been that forward before. Then again, he hadn't had a cleansing from her in weeks.
"I...I wouldn't mind if you could do it now," he croaked out. She paused for a moment before nodding, her eyes softening with something he was almost afraid to identify.
He didn't let go of her as one small, slender hand gently went around his throat while the other cupped his cheek. His lips parted, and her thumb slowly slid down before its tip carefully slipped past them and his teeth.
The relief was immediate. Eyes screwed tightly shut, there was no stopping the almost violent shudder that racked his whole body as the thick, cloying phlegm coating his tongue and throat dissolved into nothingness. The aftertaste vanished, leaving his mouth clearer and cleaner than it had been in ages. Hell, even the fog in his head completely cleared as well, invigorating him as if he just took the most refreshing afternoon nap of his life.
Gods, how he had missed this sensation.
He was heaving heavily as her hand removed itself from his neck and her thumb from his mouth, but he didn't let go of the one on his face, keeping it there. He didn't open his eyes as he all but nuzzled into her smooth palm, the corner of his lips touching her skin, and drank in everything of her he could like a man dying of thirst. Her warmth, her scent, her power. Something akin to the positive energy of Shoko's Reverse Cursed Technique, but so, so much more, something softer, sweeter.
("Hey, are you even a jujutsu sorcerer? I don't sense any cursed energy from you."
"Um, I don't really know anything about jujutsu, but I don't think I have that? I have something else."
"Wait, what?"
"It's true that Higurashi here technically isn't a jujutsu sorcerer. She's the first recorded person with innate holy spiritual powers since the Meiji era."
"I'm what?!")
Higurashi didn't try to tug her trapped hand back. He heard a quiet sigh as her free one tenderly swept back his bangs. He imagined she was taking in his sorry state, with his heavy bags and sallow cheeks. Suguru didn't know how every aspect of her powers worked (he knew she didn't either, how could she, being what she was) and she never clarified, but he was sure that at the very least, she had some unnatural level of empathic ability that let her accurately read negative feelings and emotions.
("Senpai, are you alright? I don't know if this is my place or not, but I'll be happy to lend you an ear if you need it.")
He had always made sure never to linger too long with her, but right now, he couldn't bring himself to care that he was being this openly vulnerable, even with Tsukumo present. Higurashi and her power just felt so good. After the weeks of swallowing non-stop curses, nothing could compare.
How had he lasted this long without this?
And how long might it be until he could feel it again?
"What was that?!"
Suguru and Higurashi turned to see Tsukumo leaning just a little too close to them. Cursed energy flared black and blue on Tsukumo's index finger, which she held out. When the finger was was just an inch away from the younger girl's hand, the one still on Suguru's face and covered with his own, the energy flickered as if it was struggling against a strong wind before getting extinguished.
"Amazing. That's not a cursed technique, is it? It's like your mere presence cancels out cursed energy," she breathed out, her eyes absolutely shining with excitement, with hunger. He could feel Higurashi's hand tensing underneath his own, and his lip curled as his free one clenched into a fist at his side.
The sweet warmth was cut off as Higurashi took an instinctive step back, and then another, but Tsukumo jumped to her feet and grabbed her by the shoulders.
"How did I not notice when I first saw you? I don't sense any cursed energy coming from you. Are you cancelling out your own, or are you not producing any at all like a Heavenly Restriction? Wait, no, could it be that-"
A cheery melody cut her off. Tsukumo's grip loosened enough for Higurashi to shake free from her hold before pulling out a pink flip phone from her pocket.
"Ah! Kento-kun, I'm sorry for keeping you and Yuu-kun waiting! Yes, I'm done here, so I'll be right there!"
Higurashi quickly closed her phone shut and bowed, though Suguru didn't miss the relief that flashed across her face.
"I'm sorry, but I really have to go now! Yuu-kun and I made dinner last night! Geto-senpai, if you don't mind leftovers, there's plenty left in the communal fridge!"
She turned on her heel and promptly rushed away.
"Wait, at least give me your number!" Tsukumo cried out, but it was too late. Suguru looked out the window to see Higurashi already out the door.
Tsukumo groaned as she fell back on the bench, throwing her head back in frustration. "Shit, I would've come by a lot sooner if I knew that Jujutsu Tech actually managed to get their hands on someone with that kind of power. Already a second year and-"
Suguru was silent, watching her still staring up at the ceiling, her brow furrowed as she connected unknown dots together.
"That's right. I thought it was weird that a second year student was going on her first mission, this late in the year..."
Tsukumo hunched over, resting her elbows on her knees and steepling her fingers. "Geto-kun, when exactly did Kagome-chan start attending Jujutsu Tech?"
"Early last winter," Suguru replied slowly, warily. What was she getting at?
"Huh. That makes sense. The timing matches up. I was wondering how Tengen stabilized themselves without a Star Plasma vessel to transfer into."
Suguru froze.