Utahime Iori was waiting for me beside a small pond, watching its surface in silence
She was a young woman with a straight posture and a calm presence.
Her black hair was tied back with a ribbon, and a scar ran across part of her face.
She wore a white kimono that made her look like a shrine maiden.
“You must be Shirokawa-kun,” she said when she saw me.
“Follow me.”
“Good morning to you too.”
In the distance, several students—and some adults—were training in a large open area.
Farther away, others were chatting casually while sitting on a set of wooden steps.
This place reminds me of the courtyard where Po trained in Kung Fu Panda.
Man, that was a good movie.
“I’m Utahime Iori,” she continued as we walked.
“Starting today, I’ll be the teacher responsible for you here in Kyoto.”
“Nice to meet you,” I replied.
“I’m very excited to be here, sensei.”
I’ll try to start off on the right foot,I don’t want things to end up like they did at my old school.
We entered a spacious room with tatami covering the floor.
At the back stood a low desk and several cabinets, Utahime sat down calmly and motioned for me to sit across from her.
“Good,” she said.
“Let’s start with the important stuff.”
She took out several documents and arranged them neatly on the table.
“I’m going to give you your own sorcerer license.”
She pulled out a card and handed it to me.
It looked pretty similar to a national ID card.
It had my full name, some personal information, and…
Is that a picture of me?
I looked about eight years old.
My hair was shorter and my face was way chubbier.
Where the hell did they even get this photo?
“This picture on the card…
can we change it to a more recent one?”
Utahime took the card from me and looked at the picture, I saw the corners of her mouth twitch upward as she tried to hold back a laugh.
Unbelievable.
“So what exactly is this for?”
“It serves as identification within jujutsu society and certifies that you’re authorized to use cursed energy and participate in missions.
Your rank is also listed on it.”
That caught my attention.
“I’m guessing ranks have something to do with strength, right?”
“Generally speaking, yes.
They represent a sorcerer’s estimated capabilities and, as a result, determine the level of missions they can be assigned.”
Utahime raised four fingers.
“The standard ranking system starts at Grade 4 and goes up to Grade 1.
Above that is Special Grade, which is reserved for exceptional cases.”
“Like Sukuna?”
“Sukuna is a curse.
We use a similar scale to classify curses, but you shouldn’t compare the two ranks directly.
A Grade 1 sorcerer should be capable of defeating a Grade 1 curse with relative safety.
Missions are assigned with a certain margin in order to minimize casualties.”
On the back of my license, printed in large letters, was:
GRADE 2
“What did they base my Grade 2 ranking on?”
“Normally, someone who has just entered the jujutsu world would start at Grade 4.”
Okay, like a military hierarchy.
“However,” she continued, “you possess an important amount of cursed energy.
You eliminated a considerable number of curses and managed to temporarily restrain a Semi-Grade 1 curse.”
She paused briefly.
“It’s an extraordinarily high rank for someone who has never received any kind of training.”
I smiled.
“Hehehe, stop flattering me, sensei, you’re going to make me blush.”
Utahime rolled her eyes, pulled out another sheet of paper, and slid it toward me along with a pen.
“Now, your cursed technique.
Write down everything you know about it: how it works, its limitations, and any other characteristics you consider relevant.” This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
That took a while…
“Your spheres will be registered as a temporal restriction technique.
And you requested that its official name be Chronostasis.”
I nodded slowly.
“It has a nice ring to it.”
“As for your ocular ability…
Shinkeigan.
Enhanced perception and vision, improved reflexes, the ability to read bodily signals, and several other functions.”
We spent quite a while longer discussing rules, schedules, classes, protocols, and a bunch of other things.
Eventually, Utahime put the documents away.
“That’s enough for now.
Come with me.
I’ll show you your room.”
The dormitories were located in a fairly quiet part of the grounds, somewhat removed from the main facilities.
“This one will be yours,” she said, handing me the keys.
It was simple, but surprisingly spacious.
There was a bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and a large window overlooking the forest.
I have a TV?Love this place.
“You’ll live here during the school year,” Utahime explained.
“The program includes physical training, cursed energy and technique control, jujutsu theory, regular subjects, and, of course, missions.”
I dropped onto the bed for a moment to test it, finding it really comfortable
“You can return home on weekends whenever your responsibilities allow it.
You’re not required to, though.
Some students stay here practically all year.”
“We need to deal with your parents.”
I sat back up.
“We can’t tell them the school’s true purpose,” she continued.
“Civilians aren’t supposed to know about jujutsu society.”
“We’ll make it look like an academic transfer that will help develop your abilities.
They need to agree to it as well.
I’ll go with you,” she said.
“I’ll do the talking.”
Later, we were in her car on the way to my house.
Utahime drove in silence, completely focused on the road.I spent a while staring before finally deciding to ask.
“Sensei…
is the jujutsu school publicly known?”
“To the non-sorcerer world, our school is a prestigious private institution whose students are primarily admitted through recommendation.”
“Technically, that isn’t a lie, is it?” I added with a laugh.
Utahime smiled slightly.
When the car stopped in front of my house, I took a deep breath.
” We’ve investigated you, and we already know about your talent for football.
We’ll use that,” Utahime said before getting out.
My mother was the first to open the door.
My father appeared behind her, looking somewhat tired, though much better than he had over the past few days.
“Nagi?” my mother asked.
“Who is…?”
Utahime stepped forward and gave them a respectful bow.
“Good evening.
I’m Utahime Iori, the teacher responsible for a special academic program.”
“A program?” Dad repeated as he straightened slightly.
“Your son has been selected to receive a full scholarship at our prestigious private institution.”
My mother’s eyes widened slightly.
“A scholarship?
Nagi?”
My father looked at me in surprise.
“Did you know about this?
Is it because of football?”
“Uh…” I scratched the back of my neck.
“More or less.”
Utahime stepped in before I had to improvise.
“Primarily, yes.
Our institution pays particular attention to young people with exceptional athletic ability. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
We have a high-performance physical development program and very small class sizes, which allows us to provide individualized training.”
My father seemed to understand immediately.
“So you’ve been following his matches.”
“We’re familiar with his career,” Utahime replied without missing a beat.
“His performance last season was one of the main reasons we became interested in him, what he did was outstanding.
I looked at Utahime.
She already knows a lot about me, they must have one hell of an intelligence service.
“We believe Nagi has exceptional physical abilities and athletic potential far above average,” she continued.
“Our goal would be to develop those abilities.”
My mother placed a hand over her chest.
“But is it far away?
Is it safe?”
“It’s here in Kyoto,” Utahime replied.
“He’ll live on campus during the week and can return home on weekends whenever he can and wants to.
The facilities are supervised at all times.”
My father crossed his arms thoughtfully.
“And he’d still study the normal subjects?”
“Of course.
He’ll continue receiving an education equivalent to that of any other high school.”
Utahime paused briefly.
“Several of our former students have gone on to achieve professional success in their respective disciplines.”
Even I’m starting to believe this, sensei.
Nice work…
“And everything is covered by the scholarship.”
My mother was the first to speak.
“Nagi…
they chose you for something like this?
We always knew you were good, but…”
My father let out a small laugh, this time sounding far more proud than surprised.
“Well, I guess it shouldn’t be that surprising.
You really are good.”
He looked back at Utahime.
“Could this actually help him become a professional?”
“That is precisely the purpose,” she replied.
“To give him every possible tool to reach the highest level he can.”
That finally convinced them.
My mother was the first to approach me.
“Nagi, if this is what you want…
then you should take the opportunity.”
“I want to try.”
Utahime inclined her head slightly.
“We’ll handle all the paperwork.
We’ll send you all the necessary information, along with our contact details.”
My father nodded.
“Thank you for coming all the way here to explain it to us personally.”
My mother stepped closer and straightened the collar of my shirt.
“Call me,” she said.
“And don’t forget to eat properly.”
We left the house a few minutes later.
Once we were outside, I took a deep breath.
“Sensei…
.
You sounded pretty convincing.”
“Never underestimate the power of words,” she replied.
Until very recently, I’d had a pretty clear idea of my future: money and an easy life built on my powers, now I had just used that exact future as an excuse to leave it behind.
Dad.
Mom…
I’m sorry I can’t tell you the truth.
Maybe accepting all of this had been a bad idea, but I am going to do it anyway.
Chronostasis and help more people find it!