Jujutsu Kaisen: Purple

Chapter 16: Resurgence

A young boy with dark blue hair and eyes of the same colour sat on a dingy living room floor, various playing cards strewn around him. Light emanated from the kitchen, as did the frantic melody of cupboards opening and closing violently — its composer a haggard man who retained a similar appearance to the boy. An empty syringe rested on the table, a lighter and a metal spoon beside it.

The boy attempted to shuffle the playing cards; silence stole his attention. He paused and transferred his gaze to the kitchen, curious. A human silhouette struck the ground. The boy blinked, staring at the motionless man lying on the kitchen floor. His face started to quiver.

"Dad...?"

The man gave no response.

My father overdosed on heroin when I was five years old. He was a famous magician who had been struggling with addiction since before I was born.

It didn't take long for the incident to reach national headlines.

My mother died when I was still an infant, and because I had no living relatives, I was enrolled into foster care. Soon after, my innate technique began to manifest.

Over the next few years, my classmates — many of whom I never even knew — made my life a living hell.

"Look, it's Mizuki Hishiya! Are you gonna follow in your father's footsteps?!"

The bullying persisted until I was fifteen years old, when I met Hinotori by chance. I've been at Jujutsu High ever since that day.

But...

Being made to feel worthless.

Being made to feel like you don't have the right to exist.

I felt as if my mere existence was an insult to the world... and that feeling never truly went away.

Mizuki glanced at his teammates, his vision blurred by a tearful screen.

Emotional attachments to objects involved in the use of a cursed technique can produce temporary spikes in cursed energy.

A blue shimmer perfused one of the cards scattered near Kezume's feet.

So... for this mission...

The sorcerer dug his fingernail into his thumb.

I brought my father's deck of playing cards!

A card burst through the apparition's right ankle — black sparks spraying from the zone of impact.

Extension Technique: Resurgence!

The cursed spirit grimaced and lost his balance; Mizuki bolted towards his teammates.

"Now!"

Kezume gasped as a shadow hand hurled a black backpack in his direction.

"Cover your ears!" shouted Hinotori before cracking his knuckles.

A dazzling display coloured the corridor — its thunderous shrieks reverberating throughout the entire building. Dust devoured everything. The spectacle ceased, leaving behind a nebulous smokescreen as well as an uncanny, cough-filled silence.

Yukari opened his eyes.

Piles of burnt, purple-blood-stained rubble covered the ground. Dense fumes radiated from a charred crater located between two large holes in the corridor walls, an adjacent room visible through each one. The hospital's crimson lighting faded away along with the graffiti and medical needles, yet the acrid stench of smoke continued to linger.