A hundred lives for the life of one (is this the end?) | JJK

CHAPTER THIRTEEN | FROM WORD OF MOUTH

Nukumi enjoyed her lessons with Miyamoto-sensei. At first she was weary of the other. Not due to the amassment of scars on his face and more due to his rumored past connection with Jujutsu Society's Higher-ups. His cursed energy felt weird, frayed at the seams and flickering in and out of existence. It was like something was restricting him from using it. And, no matter how many times she wonders in varying degrees, he's yet to disclose why that is. The most she got out of her questions was the knowledge that he's a retired Sorcerer and has been for a decade or so by this point.

He's definitely a character; personality contrasting greatly with his grizzled, graying appearance. Miyamoto-sensei is wise, knowledgeable, and endlessly stressed. Despite being retired from exorcizing curses, he still aids Jujutsu Society by teaching the youths. He loved history the most, she's come to observe. The past of Sorcerers and non-Sorcerers providing lessons many should take into account. He often passed on points of wisdom to her, most of which she didn't properly understand. It was easy to brush off most as the blabbering of an old man. Something Miyamoto-sensei admitted himself to be on multiple occasions.

"Nukumi," Miyamoto-sensei began, his voice calm and steady, "the horrors you face as a sorcerer will test every part of your being. But remember, it is through these trials that we grow stronger. Do not fear the darkness, for it is within the shadows that we find our light."

Miyamoto-sensei rambled too much for her to drag a meaningful sentence from nonsensical nonsense. If he wasn't teaching her concrete topics, set in stone with no interpretation available to be exploited, he was easy to understand and follow. If he wasn't, he ran on and on about different portrayals of lessons or something of the sort. If she were younger mentally, she may have struggled with him as a sensei. Haibara complained about him enough for the man to gain her favor more than he already had. If someone other than her caused the brunet first-year trouble, then they were perfect in her books.

"Nukumi, life as a sorcerer is not just about defeating curses." The gentleman rumbles as he hurries to collect her graded papers that fell to the tatami floor. His green eyes focus on her once more once they are back in his hold, continuing to speak as if this conversation didn't start from him clumsily dropping some paper. "It's about understanding the balance of the world around us. Every action, every decision, ripples through the fabric of existence. Always consider the consequences of your power."

Even training under Kondo-sensei, she didn't think she was strong enough to affect anything in the grand scheme of things. Even when Miyamoto-sensei claimed that little things played as much a part in the play that was life. He told her she wouldn't, and would never, classify as a "little thing." The rambling he went on to do about "promise" was lost on her, as were most of his ramblings.

"Remember, Nukumi, every scar tells a story." He told her firmly after she stared at her legs for a moment too long, lost in thought. When she focused on him, and the way the corner of his disfigured lip curled into a smirk, she couldn't look away. "They are not just marks of battles fought, but lessons learned. Embrace your experiences, for they shape who you are and who you will become."

She could admit, though, that Miyamoto-sensei sometimes had strokes of genius where his words fell into place at the perfect point, forming a coherent thought that either tore someone down or built them back up. In the way he put conviction in his tone and the way he bit back any possible protests with a stern glare that must have intimidated many in his younger years. The way those soft green eyes darkened into an intimidating image akin to the way a forest glows eerily at night. If the man could stare at her like that, she wondered what it looked like when she stared at someone actually worth his ire.

"In the pursuit of knowledge, do not be afraid to question everything, even your own beliefs. Wisdom comes not from answers, but from the relentless pursuit of understanding."