02.

a thousand screams

Akane hates using Mind Warping, no matter how trivial its usage is depending on the situation. She can do something as simple as reading someone's minds and altering memories but she is also well capable of manipulating people's minds without their awareness. Despite having control over her abilities, the discomfort has always been present.

Reluctantly, she agreed to Fushiguro's demands to use her Cursed Technique on the school receptionist in order to find more information on the pink haired boy. In her defense, Fushiguro's death glare almost got to her, and what kind of a jujutsu sorcerer is she anyway if she can't even use her own Cursed Technique?

So by using the Cursed Technique she hates, Akane finds out everything she can about the pink haired boy. Itadori Yuji has somehow gained possession of the Special Grade Object. He's a first year student at Miyagi Sugisawa Municipal High School and lived with his grandfather for most of his life who has now been hospitalized for a few months. Akane assumes the reason the pink haired boy was in a rush earlier was so he could meet his granddad. Still, his inhumane speed made her skeptical.

He is also a part of the school's Occult Club- that only confirmed the facts about Itadori's possession of Sukuna's finger.

"I'll go to the hospital, you stay here." Fushiguro says with his phone in hand. They'd just spoken to Gojo to give an update of the current situation. "You keep watch here and contact me if you find anything fishy. We can't take risks."

Akane nods her head, "Okay. Give me my Cursed Tool."

Fushiguro gives her a wary look, probably about to protest but with a shake of his head, he checks their surroundings to make sure there aren't any onlookers, and then summons Akane's trusted sword from his shadow.

Under the orange gleam of the setting sun, the Sword of the Crescent Moon shines with all its glory. Her katana is, indisputably, the only good thing her family has given her. The Sword is a Special Grade Cursed Tool that the Amano's have owned for a thousand years.

The Sword of the Crescent Moon is the strongest cursed weapon that the Amano clan possesses. In fact, the sword in Akane's hand is the same sword that her most famous ancestor who was just as cursed as her, Amano Mito, used in her battle against Ryomen Sukuna.

The katana is a rare Special Graded tool. When infused with cursed energy, it bears unbelievable power. Despite the loud exuberation in its title, the Mikazuki Katana is nothing but an ordinary sword. It was the wrath of the Amano's that made the sword powerful. The Sword has seen many generations and has been wielded by many different Amano's throughout the centuries, and each time the power of the sword varied. Sometimes it's too weak to even be considered a Cursed Tool, and sometimes- rather, just one time- it was strong enough to make the King of Curses bleed to an extent that his Reserved Cursed Technique failed.

The Sword has never become as deadly as it did when Mito possessed it. The Mikazuki Katana under Mito's ownership procured its own Cursed Energy, intense enough that it was even classified as a Curse rather than a Cursed Tool. Amano Mito was once the strongest being to exist, and she turned her own tool into a curse incarnate. Akane's family has always referred to Mito's sword as Onimaru. The demon that was Mito's sword left a scar on Sukuna's skin hasn't returned... yet.

There was just one reason why Amano Akito entrusted Akane with the sword- she firmly believed that Akane could bring out the sleeping oni once more. The demon sword reigned for the first time with Mito, and Akane must be the second to do it. As though there isn't already enough pressure on Akane, now she has to ensure her Cursed Tool transforms into a deadly curse so she can complete her life's one purpose. If she ends the Cursed Spirit that she is meant to with Onimaru, there wouldn't be a need to raise the devil for a third time.

But Akane doesn't mind the company of the sword, at least in that way she has an excuse to avoid Mind Warping during extreme situations.

Fushiguro leaves without another word and heads out to the hospital. Akane quickly veils herself in a dark corner near the school, somewhere between the trees where she won't be spotted easily. Despite being a jujutsu sorcerer, Akane was never the one to 'blend in' with the society.

Needless to say, she would capture too much attention. Akane hasn't been out in public often, mostly because she knows her appearance is abnormal compared to the normal non-jujutsu population. She's a girl with strange half-black-half-white hair and an even stranger shade of unnatural purple in her heterochromatic eyes- anyone would be suspicious of her.

She waits there for what seems like hours. The sun has set, allowing darkness to engulf the night and the silver light of the moon takes over. Black clouds have gathered above in a cluster, blocking the otherwise enigmatic moonlight. Still, the faded light was enough to reveal Akane's Curse. She watches the red thread with disgust, its road leading far away to nowhere. Like she did yesterday when Fushiguro saw it, she flicks her hand, dismissing the Curse immediately. Right now, Akane doesn't have the patience to tolerate it.

The night is silent with only the sounds of crickets accompanying her. If she wasn't a jujutsu sorcerer, Akane would have probably fallen asleep in this comfortable atmosphere, but she knows better. A sorcerer like her must stay alert at all times under any circumstances. Easy rest is never an option.

One moment she is seeking solace with the crickets and the next second, she is engulfed in a void abyss.

The sounds of crickets have died, all she hears are screams of a thousand souls, threatening to rip her ears off. They screech with madness right into her ears, echoing wildly in her mind and Akane would rather be deaf than listen to a thousand screams belonging to people dying.

She holds her head desperately, crouching on the ground. She tightly grabs her hair, tugging the strands with mad despair as though the voices would go silent then. She feels her eyes sting with tears, she feels the Cursed Energy in the left side of her body rattling and bombarding, as though trying to get out. The torture seems never-ending, and with little consciousness Akane starts whispering incoherent things to herself. Make it stop. Help. She can't get these words out of her.

"-mano? Amano! "

A pair of hands rip Akane's hands from her head and just like that, the screams stop. She hears nothing but pure silence, even the cricket's sounds have gone.

She looks up and finds Fushiguro's horror-stricken eyes. "Amano? Can you hear me?"

"Y-yes."

"What happened?!" He asks with urgency.

"I don't-" Akane looks around with bated breaths, half-expecting a faceless woman crawling towards her, covered in blood. "There were screaming a-and it hurt and-"

Fushiguro's hands clutch her shoulders tightly. "Amano. Get it together."

She nods, closing her eyes as she takes in a few deep breaths to calm down. Her face is back to her usual inexpressive and nonchalant demeanor, yet her heart is racing inside her chest.

When she opens her eyes again, she catches a blinding red light in her peripheral vision. Fushiguro is already looking at its source with his eyebrows scrunched, and Akane can't help but widen her eyes when she looks at it.

The blinding red light isn't a light, it's Akane's sacred Curse that is tied on her left finger. She furrows her mismatched brows, confusion clouding her mind. She clearly remembers dismissing it earlier, but somehow it has returned. But that isn't what's intriguing Akane- the thread that was normally the shade of scarlet red is now blazing violently, as if it is about to explode. It feels like how her Cursed Energy did during her... episode. Like a prisoner trying to get out of its cage, it seems like her Curse is trying to escape.

Akane shakes her head dismissively, and flicks it away again. This time, she is met with slight resistance from the Curse. She ignores the ominous fear that enters her mind, as though it's a premonition for something horrible.

Fushiguro awkwardly clears his throat. "Whatever's bothering you, it'll have to wait for later." He clenches his jaw as his midnight eyes bore into hers, the look on his face akin to distinct fear. "The Cursed Object has been activated."

"What?" The dread of what occurred earlier is immediately forgotten and replaced with an entirely different fear.

He doesn't repeat himself, Akane doesn't expect him to either. Wordlessly he motions her towards the school before running inside, "It's on the fourth floor." He shouts to her behind him.

The Cursed Energy emitting from inside the school is massive, almost repelling to enter. She wouldn't be able to even take a step in if she wasn't a jujutsu sorcerer. A screen of dark purple energy envelopes the school eerily, alerting her immediately of either a Grade 2 or a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit.

She doesn't waste another second to rush inside the building, sliding her sword out of its hilt.

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The first thing that she thinks when she reaches the fourth floor is, 'The breath of the Cursed Spirit is still strong.'

Akane isn't the type of person who wants to be hailed as a hero, nor does she want to be a villain. The only thing she wants to do other than accomplish the sole reason that she was born to do, is to make sure that people will remember her- not for her strange eyes and hair, or for the infamous Amano Curse- she wants to be remembered for something good that she did.

That is why she wants to try her best and save people, it is that will that drives her to be a better jujutsu sorcerer than she was in any previous day. Akane doesn't wish to be powerful like her family wants, nor does she care about it. All Akane cares about is being good and staying good.

The first thing that she sees when she reaches the fourth floor is the hideous puss-coloured Cursed Spirit with eyes all over its body, a disgusting grin covering half of its face and two unconscious teenagers in its grip, half of their bodies in the curse's mouth. The scene horrors her, her heart galloping with wild fear. It's gonna eat them, it's gonna eat them it's gonna eat them it's gonna-

Akane lashes out towards the Cursed Spirit without thinking, the Mikazuki Katana pointed at one of its eyes. Her gaze is on the teenagers, her heart and mind racing. They were around the same age as her, she can't let them die like this!

The first thing that she hears when she reaches the fourth floor is Fushiguro's panic-stricken shout. "STOP! It's too late!"

She pretends she didn't hear him.

Radiating her Cursed Energy into her sword, she leaps towards the Cursed Spirit, swiping her weapon towards the red eye that's staring directly at her. Purple blood spurts out as the blade stabs the Cursed Spirit's eye, a horrible shriek echoing in the empty corridor. All the remaining of the Spirit's eyes turn to her now, twisting in anger. She wastes no time to reach down for the teenage boy's legs that dangle out of its mouth, but just before she could get a hold of him, there is a loud crash.

As cliche as it sounds, the world around Akane feels like it has stopped during that moment. Even the Cursed Spirit seems to have forgotten all about her, its dozen eyes turning to the breaking window next to it. Glass shatters, a shard piercing Akane's forearm but her attention is hardly there. A figure in yellow with unforgettable pink hair kicks down the glass window, lurching above them as if he used a trampoline, brown eyes with such intense courage that Akane knows a non-jujutsu sorcerer shouldn't have.

"Itadori!" Fushiguro shouts in despair.

Itadori balls his hand into a fist, going down with gravity, with a sudden doleful expression as he lands a powerful punch on the Cursed Spirit, plunging a dent into its body.

With the unexpected pressure of the boy's punch, the Cursed Spirit's grip on the two teenagers loosens and Akane stumbles as she tries to hold the unconscious boy's legs, but Itadori beats her to it. He swiftly pulls the male out of the Cursed Spirits mouth, the girl already over his shoulder.

That's when Itadori takes notice of Akane, and his brown eyes widen when he takes in her appearance. He looks at her with so much innocence, Akane wouldn't have believed that this guy single handedly took down a second grade curse if she didn't see it herself. She ignores the little pang that hits her chest, realising that he must want nothing but to get away from her, seeing as to how inhuman she looked.

She narrows her eyes at him. "I'll handle this, get bac-"

"Pretty..."

She looks at him dumbfounded for two seconds, and suddenly feels her cheeks heat up. "Eh?!"

Itadori's eyes widen as though he just realised what he said. "Wha- what?"

"Amano! The finger is in the girl's pocket!" Fushiguro shouts again, sending his Divine Dogs towards the Cursed Spirit. The white wolf lurches at the Cursed Spirit Itadori just punched, and the black wolf feeds off the Curse that Fushiguro had taken down. She didn't even realise there were more than one Spirits.

She moves quickly, looking at a flustered Itadori. "Put them down."

"Oh, right." He does as he was told, carefully placing the teenagers on the ground. "So that's a curse? That wasn't what I was expecting."

Akane raises her brow. "You can see them."

Itadori grins like it's a good thing, nodding in agreement as he sheepishly scratches the back of his head.

"You..." Fushiguro sighs, walking towards Itadori. "I'd like to ask why you came here, but good job."

"Why so haughty?" Itadori tilts his head, a confused look on his face. "By the way, what are those things munching on the curses?"

"Those are my shikigami. You can see them, huh?" He nudges to the wolves before looking back at the pink haired boy. "Normally a curse can't be seen. Not unless you're on the verge of death or in special places like this."

"Wow... I see." His eyes widen with realisation. "That makes sense, I've never seen a ghost or anything before tonight."

Akane studies the boy next to her, the same boy who she was sure wouldn't get pulled into the world of jujutsu. But now that Itadori's here, his reaction to the fact that curses are real makes her feel unsettled. It's as though he's just heard some casual news. Akane keeps her mask of nonchalance lest he sees her surprise. "You're unfazed." She notes, causing Itadori to look at her. "Are you sure you haven't seen curses before?"

The pink head shakes his head. "Like I said, this is the first time I'm seeing something like this." He suddenly grins, coming closer to Akane. "Hey, what's your name? I'm Itadori Yuuji!"

"I know who you are." Akane deadpans. "I'm Amano Akane. Grade one jujutsu sorcerer." (Fushiguro grunts a low "Show off" at her statement).

Itadori passes her a toothy grin, extending his hand to her. "Nice to meet you, Amano Akane-san!"

"Itadori," Fushiguro calls after Akane reluctantly shakes the pink head's hand. His usual stern eyes are slightly widened. "You're really not scared of all this?"

"I was scared," Itadori says, the smile on his face fading. Despite his claims, Akane sees no ounce of fear in his eyes. "But you know, humans will really die."

Fushiguro raises an eyebrow, "Huh?"

Itadori sighs, looking solemnly at the unconscious girl sitting against the wall. "The least I can do is make sure the people I know get the right death."

Akane tilts her neck confusedly. "'Right death'?"

"I don't get it either." The pink head lets out a deep sigh before standing up, retrieving the Cursed Object from the girl's pocket. "Woah, is this it?"

"Yeah," Fushiguro confirms. "It's a Special Grade Curse, Ryomen Sukuna."

Akane fails to suppress the shivers that run down her spine by hearing his name alone, but thankfully none of the boys notice it. "If it weren't for you, your friends would have gotten eaten with it." She says instead, holding her hand as she silently asks him to return the finger.

Itadori however is too busy studying at the finger to notice her hand. "Why would anyone eat it? Is it that delicious?"

"Don't be stupid!" Fushiguro grunts, a disgusted look on his face. "It is to level up your Cursed Energy."

"Ooh..." Itadori hums, inspecting the finger further. Akane cannot understand why he's so invested in Sukuna's Finger- it's probably the most disgusting thing she's ever seen. Red as though a blood clot had formed in it for over a thousand years, wrinkles deeper than what she has seen on any old aged person, and sharp black nails like talons. It looked like it could pierce through anything.

Even the idea of holding it sent bile in her throat, but it had to be done.

"Itadori-san, that is dangerous so please hand it over immediately." Akane calls out, her bored face shifted into a slightly annoyed one. Itadori shrugs, finally taking notice of Akane's extended hand. "Okay..." He makes his way to pass it to her.

But Akane is pushed out of the way before the Cursed Object could reach her hand, and Itadori clings to his senpais as they are thrown out by Fushiguro. "Run!" The dark haired boy shouts, joining his fingers to form a bird as a Curse that came from the roof grasps him in its hand. "Nue!"

Upon his call, the eagle shikigami emerges from the shadows and wastes no time to attack the curse. Fushiguro's Divine Dogs stand on guard in front of Itadori and Akane, growling angrily at the spirit attacking their masters. Nue's attack on the curse is fruitless, but the disheveled being lands a hit on Fushiguro's face, spilling blood from his mouth. Akane watches in horror as Nue and the Divine Dogs melt into shadows, indicating Fushiguro's incapacity to fight anymore.

Akane reaches to sheath her sword but realises that her katana isn't there. She mentally curses herself- she should have taken it back after taking care of the other Cursed Spirit. She grits her teeth and clenches her jaw to suppress her frustration, now she has no choice but to use her dreaded last resort.

But this Cursed Spirit seems to be unintellectual, so using Mind Warping on it might be impossible. Akane has to use her Cursed Technique on inanimate objects in order to take care of it and save Fushiguro. Akane internally sighs, that is still a better option than using her technique on beings with a soul.

She turns to look at a shaken Itadori. "Keep the finger safe with you and stay close, I will deal with this."

"What are you gonna do?" Itadori asks with wide eyes and Akane could sense some excitement in his voice. She doesn't care to respond and sprints towards the Cursed Spirit, channeling all her cursed energy to her index finger. The curse takes notice of her and throws Fushiguro to the side, the force breaking down the wall. Fushiguro is sprawled like a ragdoll bleeding profusely.

"Fushiguro!" Akane calls out, mostly to make sure that he is still conscious. A low grunt from him helps her confirm it.

After a quick survey, Akane spots her sword behind the curse. Somehow she has to seal the curse and get her sword to exorcise it before it can attack her or Itadori. "Amano-san, look out!" She hears the pink head's panicked voice, turning around to find the curse's extended skin closing on her. She has to swallow back her distaste at the disgusting stench emitting from it. But thankfully, the curse trying to attack Akane makes her job much easier.

Mind Warping on inanimate objects requires sealing- which her family has been experts at for generations. After Amano Mito died and the clan was left alone to struggle with their lack of Cursed Energy, they found another way to gain the upper hand and that was using the Sealing & Barriers method. This massively helped them get stronger when their Cursed Techniques were feeble.

Sealing & Barriers were initially used as a catalyst for Cursed Techniques and as a substitute for Cursed Energy, but Akane is someone who is powerful in both aspects.

Akane's Sealing & Barriers technique is the strongest the Amano clan has ever seen.

Wasting no time, she grabs the curse's arm that tries to attack her and jabs her finger that's blaring with Cursed Energy into its skin. The curse shrieks, giving a horrible sound, but watching the purple mark that appears on the spot she prodded in, Akane can't help a smirk.

"Amano-san!" She hears a panicked voice shout and when she turns towards the source, Itadori is running towards the curse glaring at her, throwing a powerful punch on its head.

The curse is enraged, but also distracted. Akane quickly scurries to take her sword that's neglected on the floor and moves towards the curse's back, jabbing another finger filled with Cursed Energy into its skin. It screams in pain, anger seeping through its distorted voice and as it turns around to attack her, Itadori comes to the rescue again, kicking the curse straight in its eye as a distraction.

'He's not half bad.' Akane thinks to herself, internally thanking him. She rushes to the wall behind her, and then the wall on the opposite where Fushiguro is lying on the verge of consciousness and marks the spots the same way with her cursed energy.

Barrier Technique: Coercive Sealing- Complete

Step one, done!

Akane joins her hands together, folding all the fingers except the index and middle fingers. "Now for step two... ITADORI!" She shouts to the boy on the other side of the wall, busy deflecting the curse's venomous attacks. "That's enough! Get back unless you wanna get caught in the barrier along with that shit."

"Woah, I didn't think you were the swearing type!" Itadori shouts back, somersaulting away from the curse with ease as he heeds her... maybe he should have stuck to just walking away, because he just made a big mistake.

Three things happen at once:

One- When Itadori somersaulted away from the curse, the defying gravity made the Cursed Object in his pocket tumble out. Akane doesn't notice this- the curse does.

Two- Akane mutters Barrier Technique: Paralysing Curtain- Activate, and the spots she'd marked with cursed energy, including the two on the curse glow in an ominous purple hue.

Three- The curse screams in pain, but ignores it and moves forward to collect something and Itadori lunges for the finger.

Akane finally notices what is happening but it is too late.

Itadori manages to get to the Object before the curse, but it grabs the pink head before he could deflect, dragging him in just seconds before the Barrier activates. From the marked spots, translucent purple emerges and joins together, forming an unbreakable solid surrounding the curse.

Akane's eyes widen, heart palpitating with anxiety. "ITADORI!" She doesn't know what else to say. The Amano clan's Sealing & Barrier Technique is different from the usual Curtain Barriers in one major aspect- it never breaks. The Paralysing Curtain acts as an indestructible prison that deactivates only when the prisoner dies.

There is another way. Akane can deactivate the barrier. The Amano's have warned her to never do so, that whoever has been caught in the barrier should breathe their last inside the barrier, because a prisoner is always guilty.

But Itadori is not! He was supposed to live a life unaware like the rest of the non-shamans... he just got unnecessarily dragged into this mess. I'll save him, she decided, I'll save him and use Mind Warping to erase his memories, that's the only way.

Akane chooses to ignore the gnawing guilt in her chest. She's choosing to break one of her clan laws for a boy she barely knew, when she should be justifying her actions for the Special Grade Object that was once the most feared man who destroyed her family.

The curse cackles, unbothered by Akane's barrier. Itadori is squirming in its hold as it struggles to get out. She jumps when she feels a hand on her shoulder and turns to find a limping Fushiguro, blood dripping from his head and mouth. He wears his ever present frown but his eyebrows are pinched together with disbelief and urgency. "Is... is it too late?" He manages a grunt, hissing as he holds his stomach.

Akane shakes her head, "I'll deactivate it." She says before joining her hands in the sign for the technique. "Stay put, Itadori, I'll-"

She isn't allowed to complete herself. By brute force she's hurled away to the other side of the hall. Akane grunts in pain, looking at the source who just happened to be another curse, but it had to be a Grade 1 or Semi-Grade 1 at least. It tries to head towards the Cursed Object, but when it realises that there is no way inside the barrier, it makes its way to her, hissing angrily.

Akane regains her stance, unsheathing her katana. She doesn't have time to deal with this!

"I told you to run!" Fushiguro shouts to Itadori, standing helplessly with no way to get rid of the barriers.

"But you guys could die!" Itadori shouts back, finally managing to free the curse's grip. He tries to escape it but the barrier causes pink head to fall back, right into the curse's disgustingly squishy skin. "What the-"

"You idiot!" Fushiguro shouts, throwing a punch on the barrier even though he knows it's futile. He flinches at the sharp pain in his knuckles, but he shakes it off, looking at Itadori with wide pleading eyes. "You can't defeat it! Only a curse can defeat a curse!"

Akane slashes her sword at the Cursed Spirit in front of her, but it easily deflects. It grabs hold of her wrist and twists it, causing Akane to scream. Being an intellectual curse, it sneers at the blood dripping from her arm. Shards of glass are still pierced in her skin. The curse digs it claws into her wound and it hurts like hell. She screams louder than she ever did before, her own painful scream echoing in her ears and she's momentarily reminiscent of the screams in her head from earlier. Were they in pain like this too?

Tears sting her eyes, her throat feels clogged. She can't find the oxygen to breathe and just screams and screams, wishing she could just rip that snarl off of the curse's head.

"Amano!" Fushiguro shouts, rushing towards her as fast as his legs allow him to. His head is spinning, his vision cloudy, but he can't just stay put when his friend is hurting.

"Only a curse can defeat a curse, huh..." Itadori says mostly to himself, looking at the finger in his hand. The Cursed Spirit tightens its grip on Itadori, slowly pulling him into its mouth. He looks up dolefully at the duo he only just met, both bleeding profusely, and the dual tone haired girl screaming with unbearable pain.

You have the power to save people.

"There is a way to save everyone! I'll save you guys!" He promises, and before Fushiguro can process what he meant, he sees Itadori dunk the finger into his mouth, swallowing it without an ounce of hesitation.

The world seems to stop again. The Cursed Spirit lets go of Akane and turns towards Itadori, causing her to fall down. Her legs feel numb... she feels torn apart. But what just happened?

She looks at Fushiguro who stands in front of her, dark eyes wide with horror. "Fushiguro... what..."

There's a slosh and suddenly purple liquid is sprayed on her face. She widens her eyes, looking at the Cursed Spirit who had been hurting her... now torn apart into shreds.

The Cursed Spirit that held Itadori has been killed too. What is happening? Where is Itadori? She doesn't understand.

But she hears her own heartbeat when she sees that her barrier has been ripped to shreds too. The curse's demise shouldn't do that, normally the barrier just deactivates without a trace. This.. whatever this is, it isn't normal.

"Fushiguro..." She feebly calls again, trying to get into a sitting position. "Itadori, where?"

A deep voice emerges. "Huh, this Cursed Energy... I thought I crushed Mito to death."

That's when she sees Itadori... but he looks different. Akane furrows her eyebrows. For whatever reasons, he is shirtless, with black markings running throughout his body. 'Don't tell me he's showing off his tattoos.'

Then she sees the marks on his face too. Then realises that his soft brown eyes are deadly red. Then notices another pair of eyes underneath the original.

Akane's heart is galloping, she doesn't know who or what she's looking at. "...Itadori?"

His head snaps towards her, looking at her with a malicious, hungry grin, and his cackles echoes throughout the hollow air. "What a wonderful era this is! Women and children crawling like maggots! Marvelous! It will be a massacre!"

If possible, his snarl grows. He points a finger to her, and that's when Akane notices the sharp black talon-like nails. Her eyes widen with recognition. No...

"I will kill every woman and child. Starting with you... Amano."

Out of every reincarnated Special Grade Curse she could meet, it had to be Ryomen Sukuna.

A/N : BACK AFTER A MONTH WITH ANOTHER UPDATE!! I'm sorry this took so long, but there was so much lore in this chapter and it did take some time, even though most of it was pre written.

About the 'Sealing & Barrier' technique- it's not a cursed technique, that would be Akane's Mind Warping but think of this more like curtain barrier?? I realise this makes Akane seem like a bit too powerful but in my defense SHE'S AN AMANO!! Since this update took so long and most of you probably forgot the history of Amano's lmao so please just read the prologue once again since that explains a lot of things about Akane and her clan! It may also clear some things mentioned in this chapter. ALSO Akane's sword will mostly be referred to as the Mikazuki Katana snce it's easier for me to type that lmao

Hopefully the next update won't take so long... I would love to hear what you all thought of this chapter!! <3