The Priestesses' Voice | a Jujutsu Kaisen fanfiction

01

Tokyo, 2018

Noriko Kamo slipped her sketchbook into her handbag, brushing various pencils and stationary off the train table into the same bag. Organisation wasn't her strong point, and she almost winced envisioning the scolding she'd have received if she was back at the shrine. The gold bangles on her pale wrist clinked together as she then dumped the heavy bag onto the unoccupied seat next to her and lent back to enjoy the view. 

Staring her down, the woman in the seat across from her wrinkled her nose in distaste and eyed her flashy gold jewellery. Noriko figured if her style was frowned on in Kyoto, Tokyo would be more open, but apparently, that wasn't the case. She shot her back a dirty look.

Her attention was drawn away from the other passengers as the light that filtered in from the train window began to flicker, casting brief shadows across her face. As they approached Tokyo, the buildings began to get taller, thinner, more imposing - until the only light that touched the train came from between thin slits between the skyscrapers. Like a battlement, she mused, eyeing the grey landscape. It was much different from Kyoto - or the areas of Kyoto she'd actually seen which mostly consisted of the wooded shrine grounds.

Noriko pulled her hair forward over her shoulders, playing absentmindedly with the two low pigtails. She happened to be facing the opposite direction of travel, which was already giving her a headache and she didn't want to exasperate it by staring at the screen of her phone. Her phone that she'd only just received yesterday with much excitement (shrine maidens weren't exactly allowed a very 'modern' lifestyle). Her first phone at the age of sixteen was a little embarrassing, but she had one now and was ready to live her life as a semi-normal-but-still-more-normal-than-a-shrine-maiden teenage life.

It was nearing evening now, and the slivers of light that spattered across her face were turning a deep golden. The city was basked in a gold light, and while it created a glow off the windows, it only served to stretch and feed the shadows. Even though it was beginning to get dim, she could still see the dark glow of cursed energy as the train reached a break in the skyscrapers. The older Saiin* at the temples had instructed her before her trip not to be shocked by this, and that cursed energy gathered more easily in the capital than Kyoto - less greenspace, higher rents, something like that.

Well, Noriko disagreed. She was much more sensitive to it than others - including the Saiin at the temple (who were often tasked to do 'cleansings' pre-emptively on tainted areas) - and found the shrine grounds crawling with all manner of curses and energy residue - specifically 'imaginary curses', which she couldn't decide whether they were residue of the people's fear of their gods, or the Kami themselves.

"The train is now approaching Tokyo," Noriko glanced up to the overhead speakers, "Please collect all items and prepare for arrival."

She checked she had all her items for the third time. Bag: check. Jacket: she hastily pulled her uniform jacket on, check. Phone: she reached into her pocket and felt around, check. Pulling her phone out of said pocket, she used her reflection to straighten her black bangs. Noriko touched up her makeup, which was incredibly light but gave her the same satisfaction of rebellion.

The train began to pull into the station and Noriko slowly got up, reaching up to the overhead compartment to lift her small suitcase down. She really didn't have much, being a Saiin meant she wasn't allowed to have many possessions, and anything larger had already been sent ahead to the Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College. All of that would change soon, Noriko hummed gleefully, as she collected her bags and began to move to one of the exits on the train. 

Now she could buy as many romance novels as she wanted.

Since she was attending school in Tokyo on 'clan business', she was provided with a monthly allowance as long as she was in attendance at the college. A smile pulled at her lips as she thought about her fellow maidens' horror at her materialistic thoughts - and how they'd die at the sight of her already in an above-knee length skirt and tinted lip gloss. Maybe she'd even get a boyfriend, she internally squealed at the thought.