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.

The train reached a complete stop and Noriko waited patiently for the doors to open before she stepped onto the platform - taking in the sudden rush of noise and warm air. Kyoto was already much colder at this time of year, so an early autumn Tokyo was pleasantly warm. Taking a deep breath, she basked in the scents of station much different than the one she'd boarded at: electrical circuits and years of dust - a cough broke her out of her thoughts and she turned her head over her shoulder. Her gaze met a line of annoyed people, all waiting for her to move out of the way of the exit.

"Ah, sorry, sorry!" Noriko spluttered, a pink tinge crawling across her cheeks as she began to walk briskly down the platform, suitcase trailing behind her and her free hand tightly clasping her bag straps. She made sure to keep out of people's way and not take too long on the ticket gate.

Tokyo Station was huge and Noriko couldn't help admire the mid-1910s architecture as she moved from the eastern wing of the station towards the centre. She greedily took in the smells from the station's cafes and restaurants she passed - even the cigarette smoke lingering around the entrance to the designated smoking area.

Even though the Tokaido Shinkansen line from Kyoto to Tokyo only took two hours and a bit (Noriko was truly amazed by the experience of bullet trains), she felt her legs sore and heavy with being sat for so long. She supposed that was to be expected as she could barely last kneeling through a two hour prayer session. Shrugging off the discomfort, Noriko persevered through the large building, stopping occasionally to look up at signs.

Reaching a large circular hall, she slowly navigated her way out of the stream of commuters. It was the central station area where was meant to meet the teacher in charge of the First Years - who would then guide her back to the school. Satoru Gojo... possibly one of the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerers in existence, she hummed, rocking on the balls of her feet. What an honour to be instructed by someone like that.

Noriko began to trail her gaze around open expanse.

She felt it before she even spotted him. Taking a breath, she span on her heel, eyes locking on a tall figure leaning against one of the walls that her back had been facing.

While contained, she felt a heavy pressure behind her eyes as his cursed energy leaked through the space. It was immense, and she supposed, that was how he'd gotten to be so powerful. She couldn't move from her spot - until it began to recede and the man's blindfolded head turned in her direction. With the harsh relief of a sudden lightness behind her eyes, Noriko was almost worried she was going to be sick.

He moved first, long, navy-clad legs making quick strides towards her as he tucked his hands lazily into his pockets.

Ah, she lamented internally as she glanced down at her similar coloured uniform, you mean I'm going to have to wear this even after I graduate as a sorcerer? While her looks didn't exactly clash with the uniform (to her luck, black hair and brown eyes never really did clash with much), it was a bit dull for her taste.

"Noriko Kamo?" He asked, towering over her. She took a step back, not used to people being taller than her. She supposed all the shrine maiden were actually quite short.

"Oh - yes, that's me. You must be Satoru Gojo?" Noriko queried carefully, however found him quite different than she'd expected as he gave her a dopey grin. She couldn't help but wonder about the blindfold - how exactly was he seeing?

"That's me, your new sensei." He held out a hand for her suitcase, and she sheepishly obliged. Turning, he began to walk towards the street exit of the station, rather than the enterance to Tokyo metro. He must have caught onto her confusion, so he elaborated for her. "They've finished serving food in the dorms by now, would you like to grab some food before we head back?"

Noriko blinked.

"Plus, the other first years have already been given a introductory task to gauge their skill level, so this is killing two birds with one stone." Gojo continued, although Noriko was too busy watching his elaborate hand gestures. She supposed she was hungry - and this would give her a chance to see some of Tokyo! "And of course, get some food."

"Okay~!" She grinned (to Gojo's surprise, he really hadn't known what to expect when the Kamo head insisted on enrolling her in Tokyo). "It's my first time in Tokyo!"

"That's great then. You must've been kept in the shrine your whole life?" He mused, chuckling as the two of them stepped out onto the street and Noriko's eyes frantically began to move to whatever big, bright thing drew her attention. "This way~!"

She skipped after him, taking in the smell of street vendors while managing to duck around the oncoming pedestrian traffic. Restraining herself, she tore her eyes from a couple different book stores as she followed her teacher. They stopped briefly to pick up some Yakitori, which they both scarfed down quickly, and continued on their way.

"So, the other first years..." Noriko began once she was bored with sightseeing. They were approaching a less active area, which was reflected in the declining conditions of the surrounding buildings. The sky was beginning to wash a dark blue colour as the sunset merely peered over the horizon. Gojo let out a light hum as he turned down an alleyway. "What are they like?"

She'd only ever met a few Sorcerers before, and they were mainly from the head Kamo house - the main branch of the clan - who in all honesty weren't particularly fond of their lesser, more traditional counterparts, who were tasked with generations of taking care of the shrines and surrounding areas.

She supposed if you came from a renowned house of Sorcerers, you would be embarrassed of your 'normal' members: non-cursed energy users that Noriko was technically meant to be apart of. But, she wasn't really part of the family anyway. It hadn't been the head houses' decision to take her in: it had been the High Priestess at the time.

That had been the most recent gossip among the shrine maidens a week prior to her departure - whether Noriko was being sent away as a threat to the head family, or to 'spread Kamo influence and Shinto beliefs' like she'd been told.

Her mood dulled as she gave in to a bitter musing in her mind. It wasn't like she had much of a choice; becoming a sorcerer was the best way to guarantee some control over her own life.

"Hmm... well, all I can say is I think you'll all get along, there's four of you - which is quite a lot." Gojo shrugged, glancing down the dim side-street. Noriko swallowed as a wave of curse energy began to flow over her - cold and suffocating - but not as overwhelming as Gojo's had been. They came to a stop outside a tall, terraced house. The windows were smashed in and boarded up, and the rest of the street seemed in equal condition. "Your first mission~!"

Noriko stared up at the house, eyeing the dark aura. After taking a second to steel herself again, she dropped her handbag, before bending down to pull a thick leather item from the bag. A leather thigh holster, which she attached to her right thigh, containing a new ink cannister and an item Gojo recognised as Shikishi Naishinnō's* ink brush. A cursed energy tool Jujutsu sorcerers hadn't managed to evaluate yet as it'd always been kept under strict watch within the Kamo shrines.

"Did my Seinaruha** already arrive at the dorms?" She queried, adjusting the tool holster around her leg and making sure the straps were secure. Pulling off her uniform jacket, she carelessly stuffed it in her bag and began to roll up her shirt sleeves to her elbows.

"The cursed tool arrived yesterday and was brought to your room." Gojo explained, moving to a nearby ledge to perch - bringing Noriko's bags with him. He had to wonder if the head Kamo clan had any idea what kind of sorcerer they throwing away when they enrolled her at the Tokyo sister school - and two theoretically mid-to-high grade cursed tools? He couldn't hide the smirk that crawled across his face.

Of course, Gojo had his own personal theory. The clan was so obsessed with bloodlines that when the Association of Shinto Shrines* suggested Noriko as their 'envoy' to convey their beliefs and become a graduate sorcerer at the Tokyo shrines (where exorcisms and other services were more widely needed) he could imagine them now practically jumping at the opportunity to get rid of a threat to their accession line.

All for the sake of bloodline purity, he mused.

"I'll see you in ten, sensei~!"

Saiin or Itsuki no In (斎院) were female relatives of the royal line who served as High Priestesses in the Kamo shrines. Saiō also served at Ise Shrines. Saiin princesses were usually elected from royalty (內親王, naishinnō) or princess (女王, joō). In principle, Saiin remained unmarried, but there were exceptions. Some Saiin became consorts of the Emperor, called Nyōgo in Japanese. More modernly, the Saiin order of priestesses exist still and the women of the Kamo Clan who are instructed to tend to the shrines are still referred to as such.

Sacred Blade. A double-edged blade: a long wooden pole with curved blades (almost semi-circular) attached to each end. It became a cursed tool through absorbing the energy within the shrine.

Kamo Shrine (賀茂神社, Kamo-jinja) is a general term for an important sanctuary complex on both banks of the Kamo river in northeast Kyoto. It is centered on two shrines: Shimogamo and Kamigamo.

The Kamo clan is the clan that has served and maintained the shrines for generations. It is also an important and renown sorcerer family. Not much is known about the family, except for their obsession with bloodline purity and their Blood Manipulation Technique. There is a distinction between the head Kamo family and the separate 'lower' branches - one of which mainly consists of Saiin and caretakers of the temple.

(式子內親王 Shikishi Naishinnō) (1149 – March 1, 1201) was a Japanese classical poet. She was the third daughter of Emporer Go-Shirkawa (1127–1192, reigned 1155–1158). In 1159, Shikishi, who did not marry, went into service at the Kamo Shrine in Kyoto. She left the shrine after some time after becoming ill, and in her later years became a Buddhist nun. A lot of her poetry conveys aspects of saddened longing (attributed to a suggested unrequited love with another poet) and lamentation of her illnesses. In this book, her calligraphy brush which was used to write her poetry becames a cursed tool after being imbued with these very feelings and has been kept at the Kamo shrine to contain it.

The (神社本庁, Jinja Honchō) is a religious administrative organisation that oversees about 80,000 Shinto shrines in Japan.

Shinto is a polytheistic religion that was born in Japan and revolves around Kami ("gods" or "spirits"), supernatural entities believed to inhabit all things.