Cursed Gamer

"Ladies and gentlemen, please stay seated while the plane is landing. We will announce when you can begin to disembark." A boy with snow-white hair slid off his headphones before glaring at the intercom strapped to the end of the cabin.

He huffed in annoyance before sliding the devices back on. " They ruined my nap, " he murmured as he shifted into a more comfortable position in his plane seat.

Barely a moment later he interrupted by another announcement over the intercom. "We have now landed, please take your baggage and exit the plane in an orderly manner." The pilot's staticky voice rebounded around the cabin, leaving mayhem in its wake.

People rushed for their things, some even hopping over others to grab their luggage from the overhead space. The white-haired boy groaned in annoyance when a baby began to cry from all of the sudden noise. 

After a few people left the cabin he straightened out his black shirt, being careful not to tug out the silver buttons lining the middle; too many sleepless nights of fixing his clothes had taught him the hard way. A scowl crawled onto his face as he felt resistance upon tugging at his maroon trench coat. "Come on, dammit." He snatched it from its prison between the seat's cushions with a rough tug and stood up. Despite his new freedom, he chose to wait for the rest of the rif-raf to exit the plan before he began to collect his luggage.

When the last passenger left the plane, the boy flicked open his overhead cabinet and retrieved a large black golf bag with a sunset-coloured spearhead poking through the zipper. He ignored the shocked stares of the flight crew as he surveyed the tool's condition.

Two curved prongs curled inwards on either side of the blade, perfectly sharp and durable enough to prevent potential victims from pulling themselves towards the wielder without suffering grievous harm.

He quickly repositioned the bag onto his shoulder before power-walking out of the cabin with a scowl, eager to dodge any more frightened looks he was receiving. Oh how he wished the plane would just turn around and return him to his home, alas, that was a reality that would never occur.

A quick flash of his passport and the necessary documents later he was free to roam the airport as he pleased. Despite the opportunity, he walked straight to the lobby to find his driver.

He soon found the man in question, a lanky-looking person wearing a black suit with square-rimmed glasses sitting on his nose. His jet-black hair was combed tightly to the side of his head, having also been plastered with enough gel that it made his head reflective.

The sign he was holding had the boy's name scribbled onto it in faded black marker, something that certainly didn't help the fact that the man's English skills were clearly lacking. "I heard a sorcerer was picking me up, you seem like more of a salaryman." The boy scoffed in English.

"I'm assuming you're Adam Revine then? I was told that you speak Japanese relatively well." He shifted the sign under his arm and held out a hand. "Ijichi Kiyotaka; and yes, I am a sorcerer. As well as an auxiliary manager at your new school." Adam wasn't sure whether to pity or respect the man for how he took the insult in stride, so he chose to stay silent and nod.

The pair stood in awkward silence for several moments before Ijichi coughed into his hand and turned away. "Well then, shall we be off? Your classmate is already setting up his dorm room now, so I may not be able to introduce you to him if we waste time here."

Adam followed the man through the airport's exit with a soft scowl on his face. He massaged his throat for a few moments before mouthing out a few of the symbols in the Japanese alphabet; they came out harsh, unrefined, and more than heavily affected by his natural English accent.

"Unpracticed?" Ijichi asked politely. "Your accent is pretty harsh." Adam's face became slightly red with embarrassment as the man continued to speak. "If you need some help with the language, I can guide you during the drive."

"I'll be fine." Adam gritted out. "Is this your car?" He gestured to the black sedan sitting in one of the many parking bays in the area. Ijichi nodded with a soft smile.

"My pride and joy." He replied. "You can put your bags in the boot while I get the car running." The man retrieved a key fob from his pocket and pressed a button to open the boot.

Adam took a moment to breathe as he stared down the car. 'From here, there's no turning back. If I get in this car…' He gritted his teeth and reached for his golf bag. 'I won't be able to return home.' The boy's eye twitched as he noticed the blue panel floating in the corner of his vision. 'And it's that thing's fault.' With a growl, he flicked the bag off of his back and placed it in the boot before closing the door.

He tried his best to be polite when doing so, it wasn't Ijichi's fault he was here, and the man seemed attached to his car. With a soft click, he unlocked the back passenger door to the vehicle and slid inside.

Ijichi glanced at him through the driver's mirror. "Not that I mind, but the front seat is free if you want it."

Adam turned away with a huff. "No thank you." He didn't notice Ijichi shrug before the man started the car and drove from the airport.

The silence in the car was interrupted for several minutes before Ijichi became antsy. "So, how is England? I haven't been there personally myself."

"I wouldn't know," Adam said angrily. He took a deep breath in an attempt to quell his anger. "I was sheltered, so I'm not the best person to ask."

"Sorry to bring up the past then," Ijichi replied politely. "Are there any other subjects you want to stay away from?" Despite his extremely accommodating attitude, Adam couldn't help but be annoyed at the man's questions.

He was already in a bad mood, having been shipped across the world for being an embarrassment or whatever, so he truly wasn't in any mood to talk; and by extension, he didn't think he could control himself if he tried to do so.

The boy turned away with a huff, content to watch the ocean as they drove along the freeway. Ijichi quickly took the hint and decided to occupy himself with driving instead, leaving the ride to be a very silent endeavour for the remainder of its 45-minute lifespan.

Ijichi stopped the car in the middle of nowhere around 50 minutes into their trip. Adam barely paid any attention to their wooded surroundings as the forest in front of them began to shimmer with light. "This is one of Master Tengen's barriers, he uses them to hide entrances into the campus from intruders."

What once was a dense forest is replaced by a gravel road leading up to some sort of Buddhist temple. "Your classmate should be set up by now, so make sure you get along with him, okay?" Ijichi shifted his clutch into drive and pressed on through the road, ignorant of Adam's wondrous expression.

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Adam wasn't sure what he expected Jujutsu Tech to look like, but it certainly wasn't an ornate Buddhist temple with dozens of traditional Japanese buildings dotted around. Maybe a pompous academy for some breed of snobby rich douche would've been closer to his imagination instead.

Alas, he felt his eyes widen to an astounding degree as Ijichi stopped his car and shuffled out. "Welcome to the Tokyo campus." He said cheerfully. 

His passenger nodded dumbly as he exited the car and retrieved his tools.

The boy closed the boot silently and almost tripped when he made to move from his spot. Ijichi quickly sprung a hand out to catch him and chuckled. "Not used to the tiles, huh?" Adam looked down and was not surprised to find a type of flooring completely alien to him.

Grey tiles of stone stared straight back at him, their shiny surface distorting his reflection slightly due to their weathered surface. "The key is to walk in the centre of them, I learned that the hard way," Ijichi explained. "One too many sprained ankles for my lifetime, that's for sure."

The man finally let go of Adam's chest and took a few steps back to allow Adam to move. "Thanks…" Adam mumbled with a blush. He was sure the man was laughing at him because he knew for a fact he looked like a baby penguin waddling for the first time over the strange tiles lying under his feet.

Once he finally caught his balance, Ijichi guided Adam through the campus while pointing out different things in the area. Most buildings looked the same aesthetically, with charcoal-black tiles topping pale concrete walls to simulate a traditional style. The only exclusion to that rule was the giant pagoda in the middle of the campus, which Ijichi explained was where he would meet the principal and report missions.

A gust of wind blew the boy's hair across his face. "I get that we're high in the mountains, but is it always so windy around here?"

Ijichi ran a hand through his hair to return it to its natural form. "You'd be surprised. We rarely receive these sorts of things around here unless Master Tengen's mood shifts, unlike the scheduled rainfall we have once a fortnight. He's also responsible for keeping the public away and that trick we used to get here." He guided the boy towards a building with thin paper doors. "Please leave your shoes at the front, we have several pairs of indoor slippers for students.

Adam shrugged in response as he opened the doors and kicked off his boots. After sliding into the pair of shoes offered by Ijichi, he hummed in satisfaction. "These things actually aren't bad." He murmured.

"Right?" Unlike Adam, Ijichi didn't change into slippers and walked into the building properly. "This is the dorm building where you'll be living; some of your classmates may choose to live outside of here, but a majority will live on campus in a room down the hall to our left." He gestured to the right. "On our right is the kitchen and living room, along with a second entrance." He gestured further down the hall. "Down there and to the left are the bathrooms, which are separated by gender."

The manager turned down the hall to their left and began to walk towards the dorm rooms. "Your classmate has set up in the last room on the right, any of the other seven are open to you." He led the boy toward the room he had talked about, where his new classmate would be lodging, and opened the door. "Fushigoro, your new classmate is here."

Adam stepped out from behind the manager with a polite smile. "A new classmate? Gojo said I was the only one who would be here before that Kugisaki girl arrives in June."

The boy had medium-length spiked black hair and sharp features that seemed to rest in a permanent scowl. He was tall, sitting almost an entire head above Adam, and his thin build didn't betray the strong musculature he held hidden below his uniform.

Fushigoro zipped closed the bag he was holding and stood to his full height. He scanned Adam's features for a moment before his scowl tightened even further. "Who're you?"

Adam held out his hand. "Adam Revine, or Revine Adam, I'm from England." His hand stayed in the air for a few moments before it dropped back to his side.

"Come on, Ravine, we should get you set up before your meeting with the principal." He ushered Adam out of the room with a polite smile and allowed the boy to scour the other rooms in the hall so he could make a choice. 

They were all the same, with tatami mat floors, a single bed, a dresser, and a power point in the corner. "I have a pair of weapon racks waiting for you inside of the living room," Ijichi announced. "Please don't burrow through the entire wall, I will be the one that has to repair it."

Adam nodded along with the man's words before he chose the room furthest away from Broodgoro. "I'll take this one." He tossed his golf bag onto the prepared bed and retrieved his weapons while Ijichi grabbed the racks.

Laying below the spear was an English-style short sword with a circular pommel and curved guard. For the first time that day, he allowed a real smile to grace his face as his reflection sparkled in the blade's shine. That smile immediately dropped when the blade tilted upwards to reflect the panel that had been following him since he was 4.

-STATUS-

Name: Adam Revine

Age: 15

Level: 17

Occupation: Student

Health: 190/190

Cursed Energy: 10/10

Stamina: 90/140

-Stats-

Health: 9

Strength: 4

Cursed Energy: 0

Endurance: 4

Charisma: 6

Unspent points: 85

-Skills-

-Inventory-

He flicked his wrist upwards to try and slash the panel in two, but it merely phased through like it was being swung through the air. Adam snarled in annoyance as he tried to swing at it again, only for the same outcome to occur. 'If it wasn't for this thing, I could still be home! Why, why couldn't I just get those stupid flames!?' He was about to swing once again before Ijichi interrupted him by appearing in the doorway.

"I brought the racks, " the man announced as he lifted the room features for Adam to see. They were simple, just curved wooden racks that could be installed on the wall through a nail or some strong adhesive, but Adam still appreciated the gesture.

"Thanks, do you have anything I can install them with?" Ijichi walked over to the wall opposite Adam's bed and held up the racks.

"Don't worry, it's unfair for me to place expectations on you without me being able to do the job myself." He reached into his suit and pulled out a small hammer and nail.

"Expectations? All you asked me to do was not tear through the wall." Adam appreciated the man's politeness, but it almost felt like he was doing it to demean himself rather than be nice.

Ijichi quickly finished the job and tucked the hammer back into his suit. "I've learned it's better to do things yourself when you can, " he replied. Now, we have a meeting with the principal scheduled soon. Shall we head there early?"

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The principal was both a quirky and frightening man, Adam decided.

When he had entered the pagoda's bottom story originally, the man had been glaring intently at a lime green doll in his hand. It wasn't until Ijichi made their presence known that the stern expression he had been wearing was directed towards the newest student on his campus; an expression caused Adam to shiver.

The man had probably realized his effect on the boy immediately with how he instantly snapped back to stitching up his doll. "Adam Revine, correct?" His English was perfect, with not even an inkling of an accent being present.

"Yes, sir." Adam bowed in respect to the man, something the principal huffed at.

"As you know, your enrollment status is entirely my decision." The man continued to stitch his doll, seemingly unaware of the conflicted expression on Adam's face. "Whether or not you are allowed to stay here, is all up to me." He applied the last few stitches to the doll's back before setting it on its feet.

Beady black eyes stared into fiery red ones as Adam glared at the doll. Its face was split into a wide grin, with the edges of its mouth reaching high enough to be hidden behind the kappa-esque hair hanging down its forehead.

Adam watched the doll purr as the principal placed a gentle hand on its head. "I'll be screening you now, to see if you're even worth my staff's time. If you aren't…" A strained smile appeared on the older man's face. "How willing do you think your family will be to pay for a plane ticket back?"

The white-haired boy glared at the principal with all of the hatred he could muster. 'I want to go back…' He glanced at Ijichi, who was watching the conversation with a worried frown, 'But that was never really an option, was it?' He gritted his teeth and clenched his hands into fists. 'I want to so badly…'

"What's this screening of yours?" The boy replied. 'If I become a strong jujutsu sorcerer here, there might just be a chance they'll call me back.' He turned his head back to stare at the man.

"First of all, I should introduce myself." The principal massaged his doll's head a final time before he placed it by his side. "I am Masamichi Yaga, the principal of this campus. I'm the one who organizes missions through the managers for sorcerers in the area and students to complete." He took a slow breath and levelled Adam with a steady gaze from behind his sunglasses. "My test for you is just a single question; why do you want to be a jujutsu sorcerer?"

"Huh?" Adam looked at the man in confusion before he sighed. "I don't want to be a jujutsu sorcerer."

Ijichi looked at the boy in shock, while Yaga chuckled darkly. "R-Revine, don't you think you should say something else?" The manager pleaded. Usually, he would stay out of anything important to save his hide, but even he couldn't stomach watching a kid be pushed into homelessness over one bad question.

Even if the man trusted the principal's humanity, Ijichi wasn't quite sure he would go out of his way to board a freeloader he wouldn't even accept as a student.

"That's a rather interesting answer," Yaga replied coldly. "A prospective student at a sorcerer school that doesn't want to become a sorcerer? In my 6 years in this position, I've never once received an answer like that." He reached behind his back and pulled out another doll. "Sit, I'd like to discuss your answer. Cathy, would you please fetch Revine a pillow?"

The green doll that he had been stitching up previously flexed its muscular arms before it walked into the darkness and returned with a crimson-coloured pillow. Adam watched in confusion as the doll placed the pillow down in front of Yaga and tapped it twice.

"Oh…thanks?" The boy stumbled forward before he took a seat on the placed object. 'Cathy' preened under the attention and flexed its muscles with a grin, which caused Adam to sputter with laughter. Yaga chuckled at the display before he gestured for the green doll to return to his side.

"Seems like she enjoys your company." Yaga reached out a hand and began to pet the cursed doll once again. "Sorcerers aren't so simple-minded that they all exist for the same purpose." He started coolly. "Some do it for money, some for love, some for family, some for honour, some for pride; we're a mixed bunch, you see." The man gestured behind him to the mountain of inanimate dolls. "Personally, becoming a sorcerer was the easiest path for me to create a family of my own. I discovered my technique when I was 7, and I've been practising ever since to make my dream come true."

Adam stared at the mountain of dolls with only the slightest amount of envy. 'A family?' The dolls moved to hug their creator in a gesture of love, one that sent shivers up Adam's spine. 'But my curse isn't so handy for that.'

"I've succeeded so far, don't you think?." He didn't wait for an answer before he continued. "Exorcizing cursed is more of a means to an end nowadays, there is much less negativity now than there was 400-odd years ago."

The principal continued to pet his doll as Adam stared to his right. From his perspective, it was empty air, but he knew the boy was seeing something he couldn't. "So tell me, what do you want?"

Adam glared at his curse before he sighed. 'I don't want to be a sorcerer, but I have to be for my goal. I want a family, my family. Is that something I can get through sorcery? Is it worth fighting curses for the rest of my life?' He looked at Yaga, who was still being hugged by his plush family. Despite the serious meeting in progress, the cursed dolls didn't seem to have the slightest amount of hesitation or shame in showing their affection for their creator. In turn, Yaga showered each of them with pets and hugs while still managing to keep his attention on the boy in front of him.

"I…don't know." The boy eventually answered. 'I don't know if it's worth it.' Ridicule, teasing, hatred, the boy looked at Yaga's plush family again and gritted his teeth. Even just one look at the pile made him green with envy, why couldn't his family be like that?

Yaga scanned the boy's body for a moment. "When you graduate, I want you to tell me." Adam stared at the man in shock as he spoke his next words. "Welcome to Jujutsu Tech, Revine Adam, I hope you enjoy your stay. Classes begin tomorrow, so please get some rest." The boy was broken out of his shock immediately as he stood up and bowed. Barely a moment passed before he was out the door.

"Kiyotaka, you can leave your report on my desk, thank you for your work." The manager bowed deeply before he turned away and walked into the darkness of the room. When the suited man's presence disappeared, Yaga flipped Cathy over and continued to stitch. "What is it, Satoru? If you're wondering when the next faculty meeting is, it is on Thursday at 4pm, the same as every week."

"Peh, you know I'm not showing up for that." From the darkness, a tall man with stark white hair and a blindfold over his eyes appeared. "And I just came here to see how my new student is doing."

"And?" Yaga asked patiently. He was used to his student's dramatics; the man could never just say what he wanted to in one go, there always had to be a pause for suspense.

"He's weak…right now. I think a grade 3 curse could get the better of him." The man replied. "His cursed technique is rather interesting though, or at least the prospect."

Yaga paused in his stitching for a moment. "Status increase? The email we received makes it seem rather unimpressive. 'Displays the user's status and abilities'." He recounted.

"When you put it like that, it does sound unimpressive." Satoru agreed. "But my eyes tell me something different." The teacher threw his hands in the air. "Welp! Guess we'll just have to find out!" He clapped his hands, and the position he was previously occupying was replaced by empty space.

Yaga stared at where his student had been standing and sighed. "I'm worried about that kid…" He murmured, which earned him a comforting purr from Cathy.

"I heard what you said in there." Adam turned to see his classmate standing to the left of the entrance. Fushigoro had a serious expression on his face, and a hate-filled glare aimed straight at his new classmate.

The white-haired boy glared back. "And? You got a problem or something?"

Fushigoro stepped forward. "Yes, I do. Cushy, silver-spooned clan kids like you shouldn't be putting others in danger by trying to become sorcerers. There are dozens of potential students out there who have lost their chance at being a sorcerer because of your enrollment, and you're saying you don't even want to become a sorcerer?" The black-haired boy pushed a finger into his classmate's chest. "We're going to fight, and if you lose, you'll rescind your enrollment and return to your clan."

Adam slapped the boy's finger away and turned around. "Whatever, lead me to the battlefield or whatever." Fushigoro brushed past the boy with a scowl and began to lead him away from the pagoda.

"We don't need liabilities on the field, people like you don't belong here." He commented.

"Stop your monologuing and lead me to wherever we're fighting," Adam replied angrily. Fushigoro turned down a tiled road that led to a large track field.

"On the grass." He said coldly. The boy sped up for a moment and broke off to the left, an action Adam mirrored as he stationed himself on the right side of the grass.

Adam slid into a basic combat stance, something he wasn't used to. Usually, he'd have his weapons on him, but they were still in the dorm. He watched in confusion as Fushigoro stood in a stance he didn't recognize.

His feet were shoulder-width apart, and he was hunched over slightly with his hands raised in front of his torso. His fingers wrapped around each other tightly as he made a shadow puppet of some kind with his left hand being covered by his right.

'Maybe it's a requirement for his cursed technique? Some sort of shikigami then, probably, unless it's a projectile.' His thoughts were broken when his classmate's shadow pulsed and rippled. 'Shadow control?' 

The boy was caught off guard when two monochrome-coloured wolves leapt from the depths of Fushigoro's shadow and tackled him to the ground. He winced his frustration as they tightened their jaws around his limbs and pulled. Thankfully, Fushigoro wasn't brutal enough to cause any real injuries, but the same thing couldn't be said for Adam's trenchcoat and clothes.

Every article on his body sported dozens of teeth marks or tears as Fushigoro's divine dogs ended their rampage.

The black-haired boy surveyed the damage for a moment before he scoffed. "You're pathetic, go back to your clan compound and let somebody more qualified have your position." He stalked off of the field with a deep scowl on his face.

Adam watched him leave with an equally deep scowl. "What a dick." He murmured. "Do I really have to deal with him for the next 4 years?" His vision was blocked when a white-haired man leaned over him.

"I guess that means you're not giving up?" The man helped the boy up to his feet with a single hand. 

"Not like I have a choice," Adam grumbled in reply. "Who are you?"

"Gojo Satoru, your new teacher!" He gave the boy a bright smile and a thumbs up.

"Great, I already don't like you." Gojo's face switched into a pout almost immediately.

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