Jujutsu Kaisen: Wild West (IC/Accepting/PG-16)

[Mr. Hyde 204]

OOC

 

"This is the best we could do?"  A man scoffed, sitting in a rather void office.  After sighing, he took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one.  Taking a drag from it, he looked to the handful of manilla envelopes in front of him.  "Seriously..."  He took up one of the envelopes, a file of one of his newest recruits.  He didn't need to read it.  He had read through all of them already.  He was hesitant to accept a handful of them.  However...most of them came with shining recommendations from Jujutsu Sorcerers he knew.  "The JJA will be off to a rough start if these are all we can manage to recruit."

"Mr. Reach,"  A lady beside him spoke up, "I wouldn't lose hope so soon.  These are natural born sorcerers, right here in the United States.  They are the finest specimens we could ask for."  She picked up a stack of envelopes for herself, holding them close to her chest.  "I'd count ourselves lucky we were able to find so many."

"General Reach."  The man didn't even spare the woman a glance.  "They'll be molded into the best Jujutsu Sorcerers this world has ever seen.  Japan will be begging for our help in no time."  He smiled, smoke pouring from his mouth.  "Let's give them the first official Jujutsu Justice Association welcome, shall we?"

---

Garret sat in the passenger seat of his father's car, the road getting too bumpy to allow him to lean his head against the window.  The road to this place must've still needed the funding from the Government.  This building was located so deep in the forest, that the lights of the city had far since faded.  As he approached the place, he couldn't believe how unremarkable it was.

"Huh?!  You expect me to stay here, Joe!?  This place is lame as hell!!!"  The man driving couldn't help but laugh.

"You thought the building holding a top secret Jujutsu Sorcery Agency was going to scream 'cool'?" The man began to slow down, finding a makeshift parking space outside of the building.  "That wouldn't be too smart.  Nobody but the higher ups know we exist.  You're pretty much a ghost now."

After some thinking, Garret nodded his head in approval.

"I guess I do like the sound of that.  Some sort of Secret Agent.  Hell yeah."

"Literally."  Joe smiled.  The two of them exited the car, and made their way into the building.  Garret plugged his nose as they entered, it smelled like every other government building he had been shoved through his entire life.  Joe had placed his hand over Garret's shoulder, making the young man relax.  "You remember the last time we were in a place like this?"  Garret turned red in the face, brushing his father's arm off of him.

"Yeah whatever!  You're not my real dad, so quit saying mushy shit like that, alright?  I'm not a kid anymore!  You're lucky I don't sock you right now!"  Garret raised a rattling fist to the man, who could only let out a laugh at the display.

"Keep acting tough, Gare Bear!  Maybe you'll convince me one of these days."  The man stuck out a hand towards Garret.  "You're growing into quite the man.  I'm proud of you."  Garret jumped back at the hand.  Was this some sort of final test?  "We'll be going our separate ways for a while.  You be good to those Sorcerers in the next room."  Garret scratched the back of his head, before grasping Joe's firm hand.  The two of them shook, before Joe brought the red-headed Sorcerer in for a sneak hug.  Garret's life was almost squeezed from him, but he managed to slip away from the man's grasp.  That obnoxious laugh of his rang out through the halls, before he turned around to head the other way.  "Go get 'em Tiger!"

Garret rolled his eyes.  There was a tacky standing sign that directed his attention to the large doors on the right.  It read 'New JJA Recruits'.  He stuffed his hands into his pockets, walking through the doorway and into a large auditorium.  It looked like anything you'd see at a school or college.  A large stage towards the back in the room with rows of seating spread to the door.  A giant projector screen hung above the stage, with the JJA logo painted across it.  On the stage was only one individual.  The man had obviously been paying attention to Garret since he stepped through the door.

"Yoooo!  New recruit, right?  Take a seat!  We'll be waiting for the rest before we get this shindig started!"  What was that accent?  What was a surfer doing in the middle of the Pennsylvania woods???  Guess they had recruited all over the place.  

"Whatever."  Garret took the seat closest in the back, by the door.  "Let's see what you have in store for us."

[(o ×) 228]

It was an early morning in the extended stay inn at the outskirts of Erie Pennsylvania. The sun had not yet risen, but the room’s occupant had. Gwendolyn Hawthorne was shadow boxing in the corner of the cramped room, bouncing back and forth on her toes. Just a light workout to get her blood pumping before she started her day.

After a few minutes fighting enemies that weren’t there, Gwen removed her weighted gloves and moved on to a set of push-ups, squats, and upside down crunches hanging from a pull-up bar she had wedged in the bathroom doorway. 250 jumping jacks later, she stripped out of her workout clothes and plunger herself into the cramped hotel bathroom tub that she had filled with ice water. The cold nearly sent her into shock, but she stifled a shiver as she felt her blood vessels contract and her heart rate slow down. It wasn’t comfortable, but it was familiar, which was comfortable. Gwen sat in the water perfectly still, meditating for the day ahead of her.

Her meditation only lasted ten minutes, before the alarm on her phone went off, signaling to her that she had spent long enough freezing her ass off. Tying up her hair in a bun so that she wouldn't have to worry about it drying, Gwen quickly toweled herself down, slipping into a comfortable but form-fitting t-shirt, cargo pants, and tightly-laced outdoor boots. Slipping on a cheap hoodie, she grabbed her duffle bag and was out the door.

|→ - ←—→ - ←—→ - ←|

The car Gwen had parked was an old beat-up Subaru Outback, model year 1997. Or was it ‘95? The important part was that this tin can was a survivor, and as the Ontario license plate showed, it had lasted Gwen for quite a distance. Gwen tossed her bag into the fashionably spacious trunk, and after only a few tries, she managed to get the engine started. She adjusted the overhead mirror to look herself in the eye, admittedly a bit dramatically.

“You got this. Regular Tuesday morning for a high-caliber sorcerer like yourself.”

|→ - ←—→ - ←—→ - ←|

Some distance outside of Erie, a lone girl walked down a Pennsylvania backroad. She’d done a lot of that since taking off on her own quest, the more she thought about it. Walking. Down backroads, across sprawling urban landscapes, into the middle of the woods, through mud and snow - sometimes both at the same time - in sun, wind, rain, or otherwise. If there was one constant, it was walking. Which was fine by her. It was good for her, and this kind of walking - down the highway with no distractions of civilization, yet a literal paved path to her objective - was her favorite. Still, the trek up here had been nothing if not long and arduous, and Kiara was at this specific time getting a bit tired of walking.

It wasn’t long before the beat-up station wagon pulled up beside the girl. Leaning over, Gwen laboriously cranked down the passenger window, poking her head out,  “Need a lift into town? I’ve got somewhere to be but I could spare a bit of time.”

“If you’re offering.” Kiara opened the back door of the beat-up station wagon for just a moment to toss the large backpack slung over her back into the car, before getting in at the front and situating herself in the passenger seat. Gesturing down the road, she simply left it at “Thanks for the lift. I've got something to do out of town, so I'll just tell you where to drop me off.”

“Looks like we're headed the same direction. Just let me know when to pull over.” After a few tries, Gwen managed to get the engine going again, and after peeling out a bit in the roadside gravel, the two were off. “So where ya goin’? Visiting friends?”

“Job interview. Got a bit of an NDA though, so I can't say more than that.”

“Mysterious! Funny thing though, I've got an interview later as well. Nothing interesting though, 007.”

“Well, fancy that. Here's hoping we're both employed by tonight.”

Gwen scoffed, driving with a knee for a second as she brushed a few stray bangs away from her eyes, “What's the matter? Not a fan of bumming rides off of interesting strangers?”

“I just need the money.” Kiara cast a quick glance into the rearview mirror, and at the road ahead. “Didn't think they had this much nothing up north, to be honest.”

“Trust me, the further north you go the more nothing you find.” The car slowed down, as Gwen read a road sign. She sped back up, clearly not having found what she was hoping for. “You know, they say hitchhiking is pretty dangerous. I could be one of those murderer cannibals you see on YouTube.”

“They say picking up hitchhikers is also pretty dangerous. For all you know, I'm an escaped convict with a rap sheet a mile long.”

“That's more what I’m expecting from the rest of my day.” Gwen pulled over indicating with her hand toward an off-road, “that’s my turn, hopefully you can find another person so cheerful for your next stretch. Good luck on that interview.”

Kiara stared down the off-road. No doubt about it, that was the right way. “...that’s my turn, too.” Her gaze then moved over to the driver who so generously picked her up off the road. “One of us may have some explaining to do.”

“No foolin’?” With a little smirk, Gwen pulled back onto the road, immediately taking the turn, “So are you a strong one, or a weak one?”

Reciprocating the smirk, Kiara leaned back some in her seat. “I was taught not to brag about that sort of thing, but strong, definitely. You?”

“Oh no no, I’m super weak. Lucky to have lived this long, really.”

“Hopefully they don't throw you out on your ass, then.”

“Wouldn’t be too bad, with this beauty,” Gwen gave her dashboard a few slaps, “she's pretty cozy, all things considered…”

The two girls went for the remaining 20 or so minutes of the drive without exchanging words, but Gwen stole every glance she could at her passenger, trying her best to gauge what the girl might be really capable of. A strong one, huh?

When Gwen arrived at their destination, she pulled up in front of the entrance, like a parent on the first day of school. “Shit, I never got your name, 007.”

As Kiara got out of her seat, and grabbed her bag out of the back of the car, she responded, “Kiara. And I never got yours, either.”

“Gwen. Good luck Kiara, not that it seems you need it.”

“Same to you.”

With a sigh, Gwen drove away from the supposedly strong hitchhiker, finding a parking spot well out of the way so her prized auto wouldn’t get scratched by anyone trying to park too close. Grabbing the duffle bag from the trunk, she slung it over her back and jogged up to the building. Bursting through the doors with a fierce grin, she spoke loudly enough to deliberately draw attention to herself, “So, do we just line up at one of those Test Your Strength carnival games to see who’s special grade and who’s getting neuralyzed, or what?”
 

[yui 576]

A long road, a bunch of trees, and one girl walking down the road. The black hoodie and tracksuit pants were functional yet cozy, and the large backpack slung over her shoulder carried everything she had to her name, save for her phone, her wallet, and the latter's own contents. That wasn't to say she was destitute or anything, just that Kiara was the type to travel light and live an extremely minimalistic lifestyle. Maybe one day she'd settle down in one place and let herself buy extra bells and whistles, but she had more important things on the mind at present. Today most of all. She'd woken up at the crack of dawn in a cheap motel room at the edge of Erie, grabbed her bag, went to the nearest restaurant to get some food for the road, then started walking.

After all, she didn't want to be late for tryouts at some fancy government job did she?

The potential value of working for the JJA aside, Kiara just valued punctuality. If she could make it early to something, she preferred to do so, which was easier said than done when your only mode of transportation was your own two feet. She took a sense of pride in that, though. Not because it somehow made her better than people who made it early on a bike or a car, but because the amount of people who'd been all the places she'd been, and got there mostly by foot, must have been incredibly small. It was also good casual exercise. That said, she'd been going for some time, with very little in the way of actual breaks. She'd been in Tennessee when Kiara got the call about potentially working for the JJA, and while Memphis to Erie was very doable within a couple days by car, going on foot meant she basically had to get going as soon as the call ended, even employing her cursed technique to speed things along when possible, and hitchhiking every so often. Which brought her back to today's scene, as she absentmindedly grabbed a strip of bacon from inside the to-go box and idly munched on it, taking in the scenery around her.

Some distance outside of Erie, a lone girl walked down a Pennsylvania backroad. She’d done a lot of that since taking off on her own quest, the more she thought about it. Walking. Down backroads, across sprawling urban landscapes, into the middle of the woods, through mud and snow - sometimes both at the same time - in sun, wind, rain, or otherwise. If there was one constant, it was walking. Which was fine by her. It was good for her, and this kind of walking - down the highway with no distractions of civilization, yet a literal paved path to her objective - was her favorite. Still, the trek up here had been nothing if not long and arduous, and Kiara was at this specific time getting a bit tired of walking.

Eventually, a beat-up station wagon pulled up beside the girl. Leaning over, the driver laboriously cranked down the passenger window, poking her head out, “Need a lift into town? I’ve got somewhere to be but I could spare a bit of time.”

---

“Gwen. Good luck Kiara, not that it seems you need it.”

“Same to you.”

While Gwen drove off, presumably to find some parking, Kiara eyed up the building before her. Pretty fancy-looking for something out in the middle of the woods, to be sure. Not one to stand around considering what the inside might be like instead of just going in and finding out, Kiara went inside. It was very much in line with what she expected. Following the sign into the next room, Kiara took a seat at the back row and occupied one of the seats next to her with her bag, simply so she didn't have to walk as far before sitting and finally giving her legs a well-earned rest after the trek across nearly half the damn country. Some other sorcerers were already assembled here, though she did have to wonder just how many people the JJA could have possibly hired in one go. They clearly cast their net wide and didn't leave much in the way of unturned stones, if she of all people was attending this meetup.

She had to admit, this place wasn't half-bad.

After a bit, Gwen from earlier even made a rather loud entrance.

“So, do we just line up at one of those Test Your Strength carnival games to see who’s special grade and who’s getting neuralyzed, or what?”

"If a good punch is all it takes, I must be the strongest sorcerer in the room," Kiara laughed. "Long as they don't say some crap like "tell us your name and a fun fact about yourself," I'll play along."

[Chaos Sonic 443]

Erie, Pennsylvania...it was a quaint little place, a city on Lake Erie...it's obvious namesake. Of course, he never really saw many peninsula's back in Arizona, but it was a nice view for sure nevertheless. The beaches, the trails, the bay air...it was a definite change of scenery from what he was used to for sure. But even all this new view, Virgil Elliot was here on business: to join the JJA after being recruited.

He had a shot for sure to try and rid the world of Curses. A once in a life time shot.

---

It was the early morning and Virgil was about to leave the hotel premise to catch a bus at least to get to where he needed to go. However, as he walked outside, he was greeted by a familiar older woman who was taking a long hit from her cigarette. "Came to see me off, I reckon?" he asked.

"If the boot fits." the older woman gave a small smirk, finishing off her cigarette and putting the butt out on her boot. "More like making sure you remember everything I taught you, Elliot. And I'm not just talkin' about your powers and the training I put you through. I'm talkin' bout the weapons I tossed you." She moved closer towards Virgil, got to his eye level as she hunched slightly. Her glasses tilted downwards some as she stared down the young man. "You best maintain Lock & Key and keep their upkeep. If you don't, don't come crying to me to fix ya another pair."

Virgil gave the woman a sharp stare, before smirking. "Wouldn't dream of it. You know I can't see myself without my favorite pair. I'll keep their upkeep and treat em like they were my own family." he chuckled some. "...will you at least make sure my parents are taken care of while I'm gone, Jane ma'am?"

"Oh darling, I already am making sure they're taken care of." the woman, Jane by name, gave a smile before standing upright. "If any other Curses or Curse Users come in to try and get to em, I'll make it my personal business to take care of them. Anything for my star pupil." She then turned around before tossing something to Virgil, which caused the man to fumble and catch something: a set of keys. "It's in the garage. The red one you liked. Happy hunting, Virgil Elliot."

"Thank ya Jane...for everything." Virgil simply said, spinning the keys in his hand some.

---

BGM

Driving through the twists and turns of the directions that the JJA gave him to the facility, Virgil felt the breeze against him as the parting gift he was presented with was DEFINITELY something he was excited about. Through the wooded areas, the scenery was definitely different for sure. But at the same time, there was a different feeling to have everything going by at a fast speed. That wasn't the only thing racing, unfortunately...as his mind was sort of racing slightly. His mind had too many things going on...would his family be alright while he was gone? Would Jane be able to handle all this by herself? ...would Jess be alright with how things happened for him now?

He forcefully shook his head, knocking himself out of the stupor, his grip growing tighter on the motorcycle's handles. ...focus, Elliot...you can't just keep that going on. The what ifs aren't going to help right now. You need to focus on the moment and how you can make things better. he thought, accelerating a bit more.

It wasn't long before Virgil found the location he was told about...and his first thought was... ...why did they design this to look like some sort of community college in the middle of no-where? he shook his head slightly after parking the motorcycle.

Once he grabbed his bag and hoisted it over his shoulder, Virgil left the motorcycle in the parking spot and made his way into the building...apparently he was bringing up the rear...seeing about four other individuals in the room. He simply gave a two-fingered salute and a small smirk. "Howdy. I'm not late, I hope."

Edited March 23 by Chaos Sonic

[Mr. Hyde 204]

It didn't take long before the rest of the recruited sorcerers started filing in.  An average looking blonde girl showed up first.  A dreary girl, wrapped in rain gear was second.  In between them was a girl who was trying way too hard to look cool, and another with an eye-patch.  The last two to stride in was some Rock Howard cosplayer, and some kind of skunk wrapped in a Hawaiian shirt. None of them stood out to Garret in particular.  He did notice one of the sorcerers walked in with a pair of guns strapped to his waist.  Pretty bold to stride into a government building with those things.

After they had all taken a seat, the man from before nodded.

"Looks like the gang's all here!  We can go ahead and get this show on the road!"  

"HUH?!"  Garret sprung out his chair, gripping the one in front of his.  "This is the best you could do!?!?"  

"Schyeah brah.  You guys were totally like...the only handful of sorcerers who even know the smallest bit of Jujutsu in the entire U.S.of.A.!"  He looked to the corner of the room, tapping his bottom lip with a finger.  "Well...the only one's who like...wanted to join us anyways...".  He looked back to the crowd, and snapped back to attention.  "ANYWAYS!  Welcome to the Jujutsu Justice Society!  A Special Ops team designed specifically for eradicating high level Cursed Spirit threats across the country!"  His hand sprung into the air.  "My name is Bradley Williams!  First Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer!  Formal Job Designation: Chief Sorcerer Manager!"  He raised an eyebrow and served the room with a cocky smile.  "That means I'm in charge of you little rapscallions!  Pretty righteous, huh!?"  

Garret couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Now, if you read in your 'Welcome to the JJA' pamphlet, you will have read that Cursed Spirit activity has skyrocketed in the past few years here in the United States.  Recession...wars...and general well being of the populace are all possible reasons.  All that Cursed Energy has been swirling around like a hurricane since the 20th century.  The government has turned a blind eye to most of it during the years, but now it's really flying off the rails.  People are disappearing and dying mysteriously on the daily.  The general population doesn't know that a majority of these are due to Cursed Spirit attacks."  He stuck a thumb to his chest.  "But that's why we're here!  The first official organization of it's kind to save the public!  Off the book, and off the hook!"

"Right on."  The skunk opted to throw in a leisurely, but somehow enthusiastic, response.

"I just wanna get to the exorcising!  When do we start?!"

"Whoa whoa whoa, my hot-blooded, red-headed amigo.  You might've been accepted into the JJA, but that doesn't mean diddly squat.  Most of you came with shining recommendations from the top brass...others were scouted vigorously.  But before we can get you out into the field, we gotta grade your capableness as a sorcerer.  And to grade your capabilities, We gotta test ya!"

"Uhm...how are we gonna do that?"  The girl with the eyepatch asked with a quiet voice.  

"I don't think you're gonna like that answer, Bailey..." The try-hard patted her shoulder, shaking her head.

"Combat exercises!  What else!?!?  We're Sorcerers, baby!"

Garret's grin grew twenty times in size at the opportunity to show his stuff.

"Hell yeah!  Now we're talkin'!  We doin' this thing here, or what?!"  He stuffed one hand into his palm, grinding his knuckles against his hand in excitement.  His cursed energy began to spike in turn.  

"Again with the 'whoa whoa whoa's!  Save that enthusiasm for when you're getting thrashed here in a sec!"  That smug grin showed up again, pointed directly at Garret.  Garret's grip on the chair in front of him almost broke the thing.  "Now, if you'll all follow me to the Practical Exam rooms, we can get down to business!"  Bradley ushered the recruits to follow him, as the walked towards the back of the room and into the innards of the building.  After a couple of lefts and rights through some narrow hallways, and through a doorway, they had made it into the heart of the building.  A large gym, pool, and cafeteria could all be seen on the outer edges of the circular opening.  "State of the art facilities, courtesy of the American tax-payer!  Down this hallway," He pointed to a hallway that opened up to the right of the cafeteria, "Are the dormitories.  You'll each be assigned an individual dorm room with all the fixings!  Down this hallway," He shifted his pointing to a hallway to the left of the Gymnasium, "Are the Practical Exam rooms.  That's where we're headed now!"  After a bit more walking, they had made it to a dead end.  It split into two rooms, Practical Exam Room A and B.  Laying against the door in front of Exam Room B was another man.  "This is Co-Chief Sorcerer Manager, Avery Anderson."

The man waved.

"Yo."  He stood up properly to address them.  "Uhm...let's see here..."  It looked like he was wracking his brain for something, but couldn't find it.  Instead he looked towards the open palm of his hand.  "Bailey Friedman, Jessica Warhol, and....Skipper Kahele.  Please follow me into Exam Room B."  

"Oh goodness..."  Bailey stuttered, almost having to be forced into the room by Jessica.  

"Good luck to the rest of you.  Hopefully we'll see each other on the other side!"  Skipper smiled, as he strolled into the room.  Avery nodded to the rest before shutting the door.

"I guess that means the rest of you are with me!  Exam Room A, stat!"  He filed them into what an incredibly white room.  It was almost blinding.  Not a trace of ending or beginning could be seen in the room, besides a large red sign that seemed to be suspended in the air above the door labeled 'Exit'.  Once the only entrance had shut behind Bradley, no trace of it could be seen again.  "Welcome to Exam Room A.  This is where you'll be graded as a Jujutsu Sorcerer.  It will be a trial by combat.  Any and all cursed techniques and items are allowed.  You have to last at least 20 minutes fighting me.  Anyone who survives passes this exam, and will be labeled a Grade 2 Sorcerer.  Anyone who can land a blow on me will be labeled a Grade 1 Sorcerer."  His smug smile permeated throughout the room.  "And the first one who can incapacitate me will be labeled a Special Grade sorcerer.  All others in that scenario will be labeled Grade 1.  Good luck with that though."  He put his smile away before addressing them plainly.  "Now, before you come at me, at least introduce yourself properly!  And if you want, you can explain your Cursed Technique to me.  You'll need the boost!"  

"Garret McMann!"  Garret exploded at the word go.  His cursed energy spiked, as he cocked his fist back, throwing it at the Chief.  His hand was simply stopped by Bradley extending his leg up to throw the fist off it's course.  Their examiner's foot quickly found it's way back to the ground as he used his other leg to lodge itself into Garret's stomach.  

"Later brah!"  Bradley extended his leg further, launching Garret far past the group of others.  He didn't stop for a while, but he hadn't hit a wall either.  Instead, he rolled across the ground for a couple of seconds.  His breath was gone, and he was for sure he just fractured a rib or two.  This was a real fight.  Why hadn't Joe warned him about it?  Garret stood to his feet, making his way back to the fight that was no doubt already starting.  He wiped the spit from his mouth, readying himself for the fight of his life.  

With his leg still extended, Bradley smiled at the others. 

"Next!"  

[Chaos Sonic 443]

"ANYWAYS! Welcome to the Jujutsu Justice Society! A Special Ops team designed specifically for eradicating high level Cursed Spirit threats across the country! My name is Bradley Williams! First Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer! Formal Job Designation: Chief Sorcerer Manager! That means I'm in charge of you little rapscallions!  Pretty righteous, huh!? Now, if you read in your 'Welcome to the JJA' pamphlet, you will have read that Cursed Spirit activity has skyrocketed in the past few years here in the United States. Recession...wars...and general well being of the populace are all possible reasons. All that Cursed Energy has been swirling around like a hurricane since the 20th century. The government has turned a blind eye to most of it during the years, but now it's really flying off the rails. People are disappearing and dying mysteriously on the daily. The general population doesn't know that a majority of these are due to Cursed Spirit attacks. But that's why we're here! The first official organization of it's kind to save the public! Off the book, and off the hook!"

It was pretty explanatory stuff. Virgil heard most of this from Jane during his initial training with her in honing his Cursed Energy and Technique. Nevertheless, Virgil remained attentive to Bradley Williams' opening speech. Eventually, as expected, they were going to test them now. And of course, it was combat oriented. However, instead of taking the full group on to one exam room, they split them up. Three going with the co-chief, and the remaining four (in which he was a part of) was following Bradley.

"Welcome to Exam Room A. This is where you'll be graded as a Jujutsu Sorcerer. It will be a trial by combat. Any and all cursed techniques and items are allowed. You have to last at least 20 minutes fighting me. Anyone who survives passes this exam, and will be labeled a Grade 2 Sorcerer. Anyone who can land a blow on me will be labeled a Grade 1 Sorcerer. And the first one who can incapacitate me will be labeled a Special Grade sorcerer. All others in that scenario will be labeled Grade 1. Good luck with that though."

"So just hit you? Guess that's something..." he muttered to himself, crossing his arms for a moment. Only downside? His Technique wasn't exactly...combat oriented to an extent. Not like others. His Demon Eyes simply was another tool he had at his disposal to lock onto a target at which he would let the powers in his Cursed Tools, Lock and Key, be utilized. It was a checks and balances kind of situation between his Technique and tool. But regardless, he watched Bradley almost immediately thrash the loud one...apparently named Garrett, who was knocked back. This would be interesting for sure.

"I guess I'll try next." Virgil stepped up, giving a two fingered salute to Bradley. "Virgil Elliot, pleasure to meet ya. Now I do wanna ask..." The young man slowly unholstered Lock and flipped the chamber of the revolver out, looking at the ammunition. "...do I need to swap these bad boys out for rubber bullets? Don't wanna just shoot a live round at ya. Just bad manners."

Bradley returned to the salute with a smile. "It wouldn't be fun if you weren't using the real deal brah!" Bradley traced a circle around his chest. "Aim for the center of mass!”

"Iffin' you say so." Virgil chuckled, putting the chamber back and immediately spinning it before unholstering Key. "Like I mentioned, Virgil Elliot from Arizona. Now I may not be like hot-shot over there and brawl with you up close..." he motioned towards Garrett. "...but I reckon I can still work with this." His eyes were directed at Bradley, locking on to him as it were. "I do hope you won't be makin' this easy."

Virgil then immediately pulled the trigger on Lock and then followed up with Key about a few seconds afterwards. The bullet seemed to go heat seeking to an extent. Now where the bullet from Lock would land was anyone's guess.

"And I hope you don't bore me, dude!" Bradley threw up a Shaka sign, everyone in the room feeling his cursed energy rise. In a flash, a large manta ray-like entity appeared around Bradley, cloaking him tightly with its fins.

The bullets were blocked and deflected by the manta ray, which wasn't too thrilling for the gunslinger. He clicked his tongue slightly, trying his best to assess the situation, his gaze never once leaving Bradley. So he can summon a manta ray...that's going to be harder to negotiate...however... Virgil thought about the moment he struck at Garrett, which showed that Bradley here was definitely a close combat fighter, plus the manta, which probably would potentially act as a distance attack...aside from the obvious shield. He had a plan turning in his mind, but he just needed to implement it.

"Hmmm, well that doesn't bode well...still, that's interesting regardless." Virgil said, immediately firing two more shots from Lock, then another few seconds later, he fired another two shots from Key. "Unfortunately, I reckon my Cursed Technique isn't going to be too much help, not against a manta.”

"Giving up so soon?" With his manta ray still enveloping him, Bradley launched himself forward to close the distance between the two. The bullets landed again, as the manta made some noises in pain. In an instant Bradley had made it into Virgil's space, practically nose to nose. "What did I say about boring me?" He groaned before trying to land the same kick he had on Garret earlier.

He immediately took the bait...perfect. "Well, it's easier to do this when you get close..." Virgil flashed a small grin, pulling the trigger on Lock and shooting a bullet right into Bradley's leg. After that, the kick was delivered and he was practically sent back just like Garrett before him.

Bradley sighed looking at the bullet in his leg. "Well darn it."

"L-Looks that's a pass for me, I reckon..." Virgil chuckled, holstering both of his revolvers. "...let's just say...you're lucky you only got hit by Lock..."

[(o ×) 228]

Gwen narrowed her eyes as the gunslinger managed to get a point-blank shot in. It didn’t seem to be dealing meaningful damage, but it would count nonetheless. I suppose that there is to be a certain amount of technicality in the assignment of grades, regardless of actual talent.

“Surviving 20 minutes is a joke of a requirement. Anyone confident enough to set that kind of limit is someone we won't last that long against.” Gwen swung her bag forward, unzipping it and pulling out what appeared to be an antique censer, hanging from a thick silver chain, “landing a hit for half-marks is clearly within the realm of possibility for anyone with half-decent timing, but that’s quitter talk.” Gwen pulled a lighter from her pocket, flicking it open and lighting the censer as well as several incense sticks that she tucked into her waistband.

“You know what that means, right Kiara?”

“All too well,” Kiara grinned, cracking her knuckles and giving her limbs a quick pre-brawl stretch. “It means we're holding nothing back.”

“Not just that,” Gwen grinned, “it means the real competition is over which one of us two takes him out.”

Turning toward the administerer of the exam, she took a good look at the ray-like creature that enshrouded him with its fins. “So you use a shikigami to enhance your martial arts? Bit of a rare combo.” Gwen dangled her censer in front of her, smoke billowing upward. Reaching into the sweetly scented pillar, she pulled out a knife of a dull cloudy material, “My cursed technique is Smoke Transmutation. This allows me to solidify any smoke that my skin comes in contact with, creating objects that are as hard as carbon steel and infused with my cursed energy.” Gwen dashed toward the Grade 1 Sorcerer, immediately going in for a slash with her knife of smoke.

“Correctamundo!!” Bradley smiled. As she rushed in, the sorcerer prepared himself. “Shikigami users are notoriously adept martial artists!” He lowered his center of gravity to intercept the slash with a grapple. “Enemies think we're just helpless puppeteers! That ain't the case at all right?” Bradley tried to overpower the girl, obviously not using his full strength, as his manta ray came in to intercept Gwen with a tackle.

Gwen was impacted by the ray, getting launched backward and tumbling backward across the nondescript ground. The incense sticks that she had tucked into her waistband were now scattered on the floor all about, leaving her only with the censer. Pushing herself back up to her feet, she used her sleeve to wipe blood from her busted lip. “Notoriously, huh? Guess we roll in different circles, then.” Swinging her censer on its chain, the arcing smoke trail solidified into a wide blade that Gwen kicked forward toward her opponent.

“Lucky for me,” Bradley dashed to the side, his manta following right behind him, “That smoke of yours is easy to follow.” The antenna of his shikigami began to glow. Slowly emerging from between them were a myriad of bubbles in different sizes and shapes. They slowly drifted around Bradley. “These are pretty easy to track too.” He said, as he blew a gentle breath that launched the bubbles slowly towards Gwen.

Gwen’s eyes darted back and forth, tracking the bubbles as they drifted through the air. Jumping back to avoid them, she shouted to her new friend, “Kiara, now’s as good a time as any to show us how strong you are!”

[yui 576]

"Looks like the gang's all here!  We can go ahead and get this show on the road!"  

"HUH?!"  Garret sprung out his chair, gripping the one in front of his.  "This is the best you could do!?!?"  

"Schyeah brah.  You guys were totally like...the only handful of sorcerers who even know the smallest bit of Jujutsu in the entire U.S.of.A.! Well...the only one's who like...wanted to join us anyways..."

Well, that didn't exactly inspire confidence. Kiara was still more than happy to work with the JJA, but if so few people were willing to sign up, she could only imagine she'd have a rough career with a lot more workload than she expected ahead of her. As Bradley went into further detail on stuff that was in the pamphlet, Kiara tuned him out for a bit. She'd read it all several times over during her mostly-a-walk up to HQ, so the contents were about as memorized to her as one could reasonably hope. Then there was the following Bradley and the others to Exam Room A, beside the door of which she opted to leave her bag. It would only weigh her down in direct combat, and while "tracksuit & hoodie" wasn't her usual attire in the heat of it, she wasn't about to request a moment to change her clothes.

"Now, before you come at me, at least introduce yourself properly! And if you want, you can explain your Cursed Technique to me. You'll need the boost!"

She couldn't help but think about what she'd said before the welcome speech when Bradley said that.

"Long as they don't say some crap like "tell us your name and a fun fact about yourself," I'll play along."

Of course they would.

The rules were simple enough, though. Last twenty minutes in the ring, and ideally land a hit or - even better - incapacitate Bradley. That said, for Kiara and her Cursed Technique, twenty minutes was asking a lot...

“You know what that means, right Kiara?”

“All too well,” Kiara grinned, cracking her knuckles and giving her limbs a quick pre-brawl stretch. “It means we're holding nothing back.”

“Not just that,” Gwen grinned, “it means the real competition is over which one of us two takes him out.”

Guess I'm gunning for that Special Grade bonus!

Knowing she wouldn't be able to last as long as the others, Kiara waited first. She keept herself just out of the edge of the fray and only dodging out of the way when necessary, focused purely on evasion and analysis. She had to get a read on her target if she was going to take him out fast, and what she learned from the others attempting to get him was invaluable indeed. He was strong up-close, as she learned when Garrett charged him recklessly. She'd have to stay quick on her toes to not get flung like that. He had a manta ray shikigami to keep track of as well, capable of acting as a meat shield, as it did with Virgil's first shot. Not only that, but the manta could shoot bubbles, as she learned during Gwen's attempts.

And speaking of Gwen...

“Kiara, now’s as good a time as any to show us how strong you are!”

Deep breaths. In. Out. Just once.

"Copy that."

FLAME ON!

In an instant, Kiara's legs were set ablaze in what looked like an inferno, the fuel for which was her Cursed Energy. With speed like a human bullet, Kiara began dashing through the distance between herself and Bradley, turning on a dime every few steps to constantly shift the trajectory of her approach.

"WHOAH!"  Bradley's excited flinched, his smile turning to one of insane curiosity.  "Now you're a feisty one!  Flashy too!  Bring it on, compadre!"  Bradley's Manta had returned to him to play defense, shielding him with it's fins, spouting even more bubbles than before.

With the enhanced speed and agility Immolate provided her, weaving through bubbles wasn't terrible difficult. Breaking through that shield at the same time? Slightly more so. But if she could get one small crack, that would be good enough. Once she was within arm's length of the manta, the fire around her legs promptly died out. Instead, it was her right arm that was suddenly engulfed in flames, as she reared her fist back, and aimed it not at the manta, but straight through it with a literally infernal strength. It wasn't enough to punch straight through the manta like she'd initially hoped, but it was definitely enough to send the beast flying. That would work just as well! Rather than switch gears back to her legs and give Bradley that one extra instant to react, Kiara ran the last couple steps normally, swinging with a similarly-powerful strike as last time.

Meanwhile Gwen, who was still weaving between the projectile bubbles that Bradly had sent her way, saw the opening and took her chance. Diving forward into a roll, she landed in a kneeling position with one palm on the ground, clutching the chain of her cursed tool. She rose her empty left hand in front her, bending her index and ring fingers at the fist knuckle while her thumb and the rest of her fingers remained fully extended. Those in-the-know would recognize this as a Shukatunda Mudra, or hand seal.

"Expansion!!!"

The smoke that had been lazily rising from the incense sticks scattered across the blank white floor suddenly erupted, acting as individual rocket boosters fueled by cursed energy. The tiny rods of scented fuel zipped through the air, rerouting as-needed to avoid any kind of obstacle as they converged toward Bradley Williams. While their impacts wouldn't have much stopping power, they were nonetheless enforced by Gwen's cursed energy, and she hoped they would be enough to give Kiara the opening she needed.

The punch from hell found it's mark, drilling into the manta's wing.  It struggled to maintain it's hold around Bradley for a split second, but was quickly overpowered.  The shock from the accursed flame sent the Shikigami flying a fair distance away from him.  With Bradley's cover exposed, and Gwen making a cheeky move to attack him with incense rockets, he couldn't help but be impressed.

"Working as a team already!?  That's what I like to see in my sorcerers!"  He was helpless against the onslaught of projectiles, as they made contact with his body, and burst into clouds around him.

Through the smoke, Bradley chuckled.

"It's high time for High Tide!"  Just as fast as Kiara was approaching him, another Shikigami appeared from Gwen's attack, cutting like a razor through the thick smoke.  It's piercing eye locked onto Kiara, charging her fist with it's elongated head.

"I ain't got time for you! Immolate: Full Ignition!"

The fire that had engulfed her one arm quickly spread to the rest of her body, and once it did, she opened up her fist, and reached out with her other hand. Rather than punch the shark head-on, Kiara was now intent to grab it by the sides of its head. Once it was in her grasp, she made a couple brief spins to build momentum, made easier and faster with Full Ignition active, then threw the shark, right over Bradley and toward the manta shikigami.

Edited April 15 by yui