Echelon: A Multiverse Story

The Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School, or simply Tokyo Jujutsu High, was a large campus. Quinn was already familiar with that fact, having suddenly appeared here a day prior; though he'd failed to truly grasp at how grand the complex was. 

Beauty, elegance, stillness. 

His chosen words described were as accurate as more or less meant, according to Kusakabe. The man didn't seem entirely pleased with all the paperwork he'd have to be dealing with, but then Principal Yaga had apparently been open to accepting another second-year, despite the incident that occurred some months prior with Geto Suguru. 

I'm just glad I didn't have to do one of those weird interviews Yaga had Yuji undergo, Quinn thought, idly tapping his foot on the ground. Weirdly, the wooden-door he was staring at felt strangely reminiscent. It was centimeters away from his face, though it didn't feel foreign to him but unusually friendly. Wooden doors shouldn't be friendly!

He could hear voices echoing silently behind the door. One was distinct and familiar, while some others were a little distorted and quiet. A girl's voice was distinct beyond belief, though that was likely due to how deep one person's voice was and how limited another's vocabulary was. 

"You can come on in!" Kusakabe's voice shouted, tone a little dry. 

Gulping, Quinn slid the paneled door open and strode in. 

Weirdly, the sound of metal clanging and floorboards creaking reverberated throughout the room as three bodies suddenly flung themselves away from Quinn. A polearm clattered to the floor just beneath him as he strode in, and an enormous body slumped down beside him, a pair of beady eyes glancing up as if to beg for help. 

"Uh," Quinn mumbled, confused by the scene before him. A single table remained where it was, with a lone boy sitting uncomfortably behind it. The three remaining tables had been scattered, with their chairs and occupants equally scattered around the room. "I'm…sorry about that." 

With his technique active, what had been likely originally some sort of ambush on Quinn had been flipped on its head, both literally and figuratively as his technique disrupted their intentions. 

"That's what you get for trying to get the jump on him," Kusakabe scolded, chuckling silently to himself. "Meet the new second-year student at Jujutsu High, Quinn Verner. Be nice to him." 

The room seemed to shift slightly as Kusakabe spoke, moving in such a way that seemed to disorientate Quinn. It wasn't that watching these people—and former characters—move was unsettling, but that they were actively reacting to him in particular. 

"It's…nice to meet you," Quinn said, bowing. It was another thing that felt foreign and natural at the same time, though he'd become rather comfortable with speaking Japanese with these people now. "As...he said, my name is Quinn." 

Still adjusting their tables, everyone other than one student was too busy to pay him any interest. Directly in the centre of the row of tables, a few metres away from Quinn, that lone student got up and bowed back, a smile plastered across his face. "It's nice to meet you, Quinn. I'm…Okkotsu Yuta." 

The boy seemed frail and alone, but he was anything but that. Quinn recognised his strength and, even despite his understanding of what he could do, he could still feel his presence in the room. He could understand how some of these characters felt being in a room with him; they weren't just in a room with Yuta, but they were sharing it with something else, something abhorrent. 

His cursed energy is almost suffocating. 

Across the room to his right, a familiar looking girl clicked her tongue as she picked her polearm up from the floor. "What's this supposed to be, Kusakabe?" 

The man shrugged, now occupied playing with a lighter. "That nutjob found him wandering around a day or two ago; figured he might make a decent sorcerer, so now he's here." 

Maki seemed to growl. "Which nutjob? There's a couple here I could name!" 

"Tsukumo Yuki," he said reluctantly, sliding the lighter into his pocket. "Now, if you don't mind, can you push your grievances aside and get friendly? We don't need you three bashing another student for being new again, do we?" 

"Kelp," Inumaki said, bowing. 

Quinn eyed Kusakabe reluctantly, knowing he'd have to at least acknowledge such an oddity, even if he already understood it. 

"He's a cursed speech user," Panda chimed in, pulling Quinn's attention towards him. "His technique is volatile, so he limits his communication to rice ball ingredients." 

Quinn eyed Kusakabe again, adding to the oddities he'd have to acknowledge despite understanding them. He needed to appear as though he really was a victim of amnesia and someone that wouldn't understand such things, all while adhering to the story. It was tedious, but it was something he had to accept to satisfy his goal. 

"You're…a panda," Quinn muttered. "She's not some assassin, is she?" 

Maki eyed him. "You…should be able to sense what's wrong with me." 

Kusakabe spoke out before Quinn could respond. "He suffers from severe amnesia," he explained, walking out to stand beside him. "He only recently rediscovered what his technique did…and readjusted it appropriately in order to keep you all safe. Treat him like you treat each other; he's just as much of a student here as the rest of you. Got it?" 

They all seemed to nod in agreement, though Inukami was quick to respond with a brisk salmon.

Eventually, a few assistants found a spare desk and chair and found Quinn a spot in their way, sandwiched between Panda and Yuta. It was weird being in a classroom again—especially with a panda—though Quinn welcomed the sensation. 

It's like I'm back home.

After some not-so-kind words and a little advice, Kusakabe excused himself and made way for a nearby building. He didn't explain what he was doing, though Panda seemed certain he was disappearing to go slack off. 

With a little silence and the rest of the day off, Quinn found himself the victim of a particularly harmless crime. It wasn't something he'd expected, nor was it something he wholeheartedly hated—though it may have been something he could have done without. 

"So?" Maki muttered, leaning in a little closer than necessary. "What's your technique?" 

Panda seemed intent on finding out, seeing as he was jumping up and down slightly behind Maki. Inumaki was engrossed in conversation, if you could call it that, with Yuta at his desk, apparently giving Maki the freedom to...enforce her will on the class. Whatever the case, Quinn was alone in this for the time being. 

"It's…called Axis," Quinn started, "It bridges the gap between logic and chaos. The barrier prevents certain actions from recognizing and enforcing certain effects on me. It's similar to Gojo Satoru's infinity." 

Before Quinn could react, Maki had thrust her spear forward towards him and had it flung from her hands within the span of a second. Maki stood where she'd been beforehand, though her hands were now empty and her polearm was on the other side of the room again. 

"Huh," she muttered, glancing around as she looked for her weapon. "Anything similar to that damned man is dangerous." 

If my technique wasn't active when she did that...I'd probably be dead.

Quinn was quick to clarify that he had to manually activate it, unlike Gojo's, which seemed to have them at ease. That said, both Yuta and Inumaki seemed intrigued by Maki's sudden attack and moved over to his desk. 

"What does it mean specifically?" Panda asked, sitting himself down on the floor. "Chaos can mean a lot of things, right? Does it just apply to harmful actions, or does it sift through certain actions that might be considered harmful?" 

Quinn shook his head. "It prevents the world from enforcing harmful interactions with me. Just as Zen'in tried doing…the harm was redirected." 

"But since it's chaos," Panda mumbled, "doesn't that imply it won't always redirect?"

"I'm still not certain how it works, which is why I made the binding vow in the first place." 

Maki sighed, leaning in towards him again, using her spear as leverage. "What did it do beforehand, then? From the way Kusakabe put it, sounds like you've got yourself into some trouble." 

Despite her wording, Quinn immediately grasped the intent behind them. Instinctively, Quinn turned on his side slightly and eyed Yuta, who seemed to have come to the same conclusion as he had. 

"If immeasurable strength is something you restricted with a binding vow," Panda muttered, his tone shaken, "what did you receive in conjunction?" 

[Reverse Cursed Technique] 

As if lighting a bonfire, cursed energy lit up around Quinn as he turned the chaotic nature of his cursed energy in on itself, creating a sort of feedback loop. By slamming negative energy into itself repeatedly, a sort of…wave was produced, which came in the form of reverse cursed technique, appearing around Quinn's arm in the form of a subtle, translucent aura. 

"Was that such a smart thing to do?" Maki seemed to say, her tone coming across as condescending. It was strange, though Quinn didn't find it accusatory or rude. 

"I'm not comfortable knowing there's immeasurable strength at the tip of my fingers. How would you feel if you knew a bomb might go off if you accidently clenched your fist too hard or blinked a little fast?" 

Yuta wandered over shortly after Quinn's little speech, a faint smile on him. "I know how you feel." He seemed to intentionally look at Maki as he continued, a little hesitation hidden behind his tone. "Sacrificing something like that doesn't come with ease, Maki." 

Maki, apparently indifferent, moved away and occupied her desk once more, polearm in hand. Quinn understood, on a shallow level, what kind of person she was, so he didn't find her attitude completely overwhelming. 

"Spicy cod roe," Inumaki muttered. Whether he said so in agreement or with some other hidden intent was beyond Quinn, though his tone didn't seem to betray the friendly look in his eyes.

Yuta smiled. "You get used to it, don't worry." 

Shouldn't he be in Africa by now? 

There were a number of things that weren't adding up, though for the time being Quinn wasn't too concerned. Having someone like Yuta around didn't seem like something he wanted vanishing anytime soon, so welcomed the prospect. 

But, like all things, there were a number of other things that wanted to lash out and ruin the flow of everything. Before Quinn could ask for some advice on handling his technique, a sudden bang emanated through the room. 

To his left, Maki had gotten up and slammed her fists into the desk. "I don't like this; it's wrong! Twice now…you shouldn't be allowed to just waltz in here!" 

"Maki…" Panda mumbled, backing away slightly. It didn't seem to be out of fear, but something else; something Quinn didn't recognise.

The girl shot up from her seat and grabbed Quinn by the collar of his jacket, indifferent to the potential his technique might have. "Outside—now!" 

For the first time since arriving here, Quinn felt a tinge of sadness stroke his heart. It wasn't overwhelming, nor was it distracting. It was just there; a fleeting, shallow sensation. Maki was someone who wanted to prove herself. Not as a means of seeking validation from others but to simply prove it to herself; she needed to become strong despite herself. 

Quinn was a distraction, not just by simply existing but also due to the nature of his presence. Alone he might not be so bad, but the knowledge of his technique and the binding vow likely left a lasting impression on Maki that wouldn't simply wash away. He'd cast aside something she might consider valuable all in the hopes of protecting her who, at the time, was a complete nobody to Quinn. 

The unintentional demeaning wasn't something Quinn had accounted for; nor was it something likely expected of him, though it was a problem he knew needed rectifying. 

Gathering himself, Quinn stood up and faced Maki directly. Putting on a show for the sake of someone else was a suitable sacrifice, even if he did so in spite of his own feelings. "I'll face you with my full strength, Zen'in!"