runir | caelum inbox.

yeah? ok, i'll head there now

see you there shortly

[A bit later, and Rowan will be waiting for him near the elevators on floor 41.

It's a floor of lush forests and giant, bouncy mushrooms. It's quite beautiful, and utterly whimsical, despite the rather solemn and large statue of a girl crying in the background.]

[ Yuji didn't know what he was expecting, but it wasn't... This?

His eyes are big as he drinks it in, staring, before he turns to look over at Rowan. ]

Woah!!

Indeed.

[Woah.]

Quite a sight, isn't it? To think that something like this could be stationed indoors... This "hotel" must be imbued with impossibly strong magic.

I already thought it was pretty impressive, but this is really cool.

[ He kind of wants to go over and touch it... Is he allowed? ]

The owners must be crazy strong.

[He can wander over and touch whatever he likes! Nothing is harmful, though if he jumps onto a mushroom it might send him flying like it's spring-loaded, or something.]

I thought so, too. And to think they only use this power to provide... hospitality. Strange, all considered.

[ Been there... ]

Do you think there's some kind of motive?

[ Like... A bait and switch? ]

I certainly hope not. One might say this is too marvelous to be true, but surely there are entities out there that only wish to... provide good to others, regardless of the shape it takes.

[He is hopeful, anyway. In his world, demigods and greater wills were questionable at best, as was their influence on the land. But there's a good egg in there, from time to time.]

Best to stay optimistically cautious until we have reason to believe otherwise, hm?

Do you think so? That would be pretty cool, if it's true.

[ Yuji might have believed that people could be just that kind once, but these days... That's a tougher ask. ]

If anything happens, I think there's enough of us here that we could handle it.

Though I'm still a newcomer, I'm inclined to agree. There seems to be many here familiar with both magics and battle alike... Ah, speaking of.

You were going to show me a bit of yours, weren't you?

My magic? Sure!

[ Yuji shifts, adjusting his weight a little and grinning. }

You want me to just go for it?

Sure, may as well.

[Famous last words? Stay tuned to find out.]

Plenty of mushrooms here to use as target practice, if you need it.

Okay! Feel free to be impressed!

[ Yuji adjusts his weight, drawing on his cursed energy as he heads over to a mushroom and just punches it, as hard as he can.

The mushroom explodes, covering his face in fungi. ]

[Oh. A bit of stray mushroom flies over and threatens to land on Rowan's leathers, and he blocks it with a raised forearm.]

...I've never seen a mushroom explode so spectacularly.

[He does sound impressed.]

Nor was that what I had in mind when you said you had magic.

[HE JUST PUNCHED IT REALLY HARD help]

[ Yuji is pouting, picking bits of mushroom out of his hair. ]

... It's cursed energy? It's a kind of magic, I guess, but I've always been strong, so...

[ At least he has the decency to look a little bit sheepish. ]

[No judgment here. The mushroom bits are... funny, yes, but in terms of messes? Rowan's been covered in a lot worse, so he hardly seems put out by the whole exploding mushroom ordeal.]

Cursed energy that you utilize to fight other curses, you said. By punching their heads off, I presume.

[He's joking, but also not. That's definitely quite a punch. He'd reckon this young man could hit like a demigod if he really tried.]

Remind me not to get on your bad side, friend.

Yeah, exactly. Though, sometimes I punch other things too.

[ He doesn't mean literally, Yuji... ]

I can do a Black Flash sometimes too, but I can't just do it whenever I want.

[He meant it a little literally. It's not a bad strategy, all things considered.]

Black Flash? And what's that?

It's kind of like a critical hit? You use cursed energy at a super precise way, and it's way more powerful than a normal hit. It's hard to do whenever you want, though.

[ Unless you're Yuji, who does seem to be able to use it at will. ]

It's more of a luck thing.

So a strike that requires ample focus to hit an enemy's weak point?

[Huh. Rowan was never a man who did well with fisticuffs, preferring magic or the cut of a blade, but he can appreciate those who use their fists as weapons, too.]

You would have gotten along with a... ah. A man I knew. Or at least you'd have been able to talk shop with him well enough. He was so strong he could shatter the earth beneath his own feet with his fists.

Yeah! It's like being in the zone, right? You're so focussed on the fight that you just go for it!

[ It's definitely way more complicated and specific than that, but getting Itadori Yuji to explain the application of cursed energy within one-millionth of a second is an impossible feat. ]

That sounds so cool! I'd love to be strong like that!

With time, and practice, even someone of no renown can become impossibly strong, to fell enemies you never would have dreamed of.

[A beat.]

How long have you been fighting curses, anyhow?

[ He gives himself a moment to think, then... ]

I guess it's been months, now?

Just a few months. You're rather new to it all, then.

It doesn't feel that way any more. [ A lot can happen in a few months. ] But I'm getting stronger.

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