Jujutsu Dragon Emperor Chapter 3 - Boost!

*Crack*

The sound of two fists hitting each other kicked up the wind and blew dust and grass across the courtyard. Both figures then transition into a serious of punches and kicks that both blocked and deflected until one of them was hit in the stomach with a powerful kick that sent him tumbling across the ground and into a tree.

These two figures were none other than Naoto and Toji.

"Come on kid, shouldn't be hard beating a monkey like me," Toji said with a yawn. The infuriating man barely had a crease on his kimono and even after an hour of constant sparring Naoto was barely able to hit him; even though he was clearly holding back.

Naoto pushed up from the ground and surged his cursed energy inside him. He then pushed forward kicking up the ground and cocked back his fist. Toji stood there with a lazy smile as he didn't even prepare to block the punch. Though to his surprise Naoto launched it early and instead of hitting him he came up quite a bit short. However this was the plan, he followed through with the punch and threw himself into a roundhouse kick. Toji caught the kick, so he kicked off the man's knee with his other foot and aimed for his chin. The older man leaned back and threw Naoto up into the air quite a way.

Naoto twisted in the air, forcing himself to stay aware of Toji's position. The man hadn't even moved from his spot after tossing him, he just stood there watching with that same smug grin. Naoto grit his teeth. He couldn't keep trading blows straight-on. Toji was faster, stronger, and smarter in a fight. If he wanted even a chance, he had to set up something the older man wouldn't expect. He landed hard, his knees buckling for a second before he steadied himself. Dust sprayed up around his feet as he surged cursed energy into his muscles and forced his body forward again. Toji tilted his head slightly, still grinning, and raised his guard.

Naoto didn't rush in recklessly this time. He circled, feinting punches and tying to lure Toji into an overextension. Every fake strike was caught by those sharp eyes, he didn't fall for any of his tricks, Toji was always just half a beat ahead. Naoto felt his frustration boil, but he kept moving. If Toji always reacted faster, then the only way to land a hit was to force him into a bad reaction, he just needed to do it once.

He darted in with a jab at the ribs, then instantly pulled back and swung his elbow toward Toji's jaw. Toji caught the elbow with one hand, twisting it away, but Naoto had expected that. He stomped down with his heel, aiming for Toji's foot. The older man slipped his leg back just in time, but that half-step gave Naoto the space he needed. He dropped low, sweeping his leg across the ground. Toji jumped over it easily, but Naoto had already prepared for that, launching himself forward the moment Toji was airborne.

[Boost]

The cursed technique snapped through his body. Power flooded his limbs, strength doubling in an instant. His fist shot upward faster than before, catching Toji mid-air. The older man twisted, trying to parry, but Naoto's knuckles grazed his jaw, actually making contact this time. 'Damn it! Still not a clean hit!' Naoto cursed.

Toji landed lightly and touched his jaw, a wide smile forming on his face. "Hah. Not bad, brat."

Naoto's lungs already burned  from the Boost. He steadied his breathing and reset his stance. He only had one more before his body gave out. He needed to make it count.

Toji adjusted his stance now, no longer treating the spar like a joke. "Alright. Show me if that wasn't just luck."

Naoto's mind raced. He couldn't rely on trading punches. He had to force Toji to commit to a defense and then break through with the last Boost. He clenched his fists and rushed forward again, swinging a heavy punch to the body. Toji blocked with his forearm, twisting to counter. Naoto slipped under, throwing a flurry of strikes all aimed high. Toji blocked each with little effort.

But that was fine. Naoto wasn't aiming for the head.

His last strike ended lower, a sharp kick to the knee. Toji stepped back, deflecting it, but Naoto pressed in harder. He pushed all his cursed energy into his legs, feinting another strike to the head. Toji raised his guard slightly, and that was the opening.

"Boost!"

The surge exploded through him again, stronger this time, his muscles straining under the weight. He ignored the pain and drove his fist straight into Toji's stomach. The blow landed solid, forcing Toji back a full step, dust scattering from the impact. Naoto didn't stop. He followed with a hook to the ribs, then twisted into a kick at the chest, every strike hitting harder than his body could normally allow. Toji blocked the last one, but even then he slid another inch across the ground, the smirk never leaving his face.

Naoto stumbled as the second Boost collapsed. His breath came ragged, his arms heavy, every muscle screaming. His body could barely keep upright.

Toji looked down at him, rubbing his stomach lightly. "Kid... that almost tickled."

"This is getting fun, let's do this," Toji said as he stretched his shoulders and muscles. He moved. His foot pressed into the ground and he shot forward, faster than Naoto's eyes could follow. A straight punch slammed toward his face, and Naoto barely raised his guard in time, his forearm absorbing the blow. Pain shot up his arm, but Toji was already spinning, his elbow cutting in toward Naoto's ribs. Naoto twisted, trying to slip outside, but the elbow caught him anyway, the force lifting him off his feet and throwing him back several steps. He only stayed upright by digging his heels into the dirt.

"Too slow," Toji said flatly, and came again.

Naoto ducked under the next strike and lashed out with a quick jab, but Toji slapped it away like nothing and drove a knee into his side. Naoto's leg buckled, white-hot pain shooting through his hip. Toji followed with a kick to the chest that sent him skidding across the ground. He rolled back to his feet, gasping for air, and saw Toji already closing distance.

Naoto surged cursed energy through his body, forcing his legs to move faster, and rushed in with a wide swing meant to break through Toji's guard. Toji caught his wrist mid-punch, twisted it hard, and slammed his other fist into Naoto's stomach, he then laughed loudly as he punched him again and again. The impact stole his breath, spittle flying from his lips, before he could collapse Toji hurled him sideways, dumping him face-first into the dirt.

Naoto coughed and scrambled up just in time to block a kick aimed for his skull. Even blocking it nearly shattered his guard, the sheer weight behind Toji's strike forcing him onto his back.

Naoto forced himself up again, blood on his lip. He needed to do more than defend. He tightened his stance, cursed energy running through his arms, and charged. He opened with a feint but Toji didn't bite. He weaved through both strikes and answered with a brutal backhand across Naoto's face that spun him around. Naoto stumbled, saw another strike coming, and ducked, sweeping his leg at Toji's ankle.

Toji jumped the sweep, landed behind him, and shoved Naoto forward with a kick to the back. He stumbled into the courtyard wall, turned just in time to see Toji's fist flying toward him. He barely managed to sidestep, throwing a desperate counterpunch at Toji's ribs. His fist landed, but Toji didn't even flinch. He just looked down at Naoto, smirked, and cracked his forehead into the boy's nose. Blood poured instantly, Naoto stumbling back with a curse.

"And here I thought you were hardheaded," Toji said.

"Prick..." Naoto muttered.  He staggered, blood dripping down his chin, and clenched his fists again. His body screamed to quit, but his pride wouldn't let him. He forced his cursed energy into every muscle, tightening them to keep from collapsing. Then, under his breath, he muttered the word that could tip things.

"Boost."

The surge came instantly, strength doubling, energy coursing through him like fire, his body could theoretically take three boosts, but it wouldn't be for long and it would hurt. His body jolted forward faster, his fist smashing toward Toji's chest. This time Toji actually shifted his stance, catching the strike on his forearm. Naoto followed with a rapid chain of punches, hooks and straights flowing one after another, each one slamming hard enough to crack the air. Toji blocked most, deflected others, but one broke through and hit his jaw.

Naoto pressed harder, throwing a spinning kick that thudded against Toji's ribs. For the first time, Toji grunted. But then the man's grin widened.

"Better," he said.

He moved faster. His fist drove into Naoto's stomach like a hammer, folding him over. Before Naoto could even cough, Toji's elbow crashed into the back of his head, bouncing him off the dirt. He grabbed Naoto by the collar, dragged him upright, and threw him across the courtyard. Naoto smashed through a pile of wood before rolling to a stop, his body twitching from the force.

He spat blood, forced himself onto his knees, and glared at Toji through blurred vision. The man hadn't even broken a sweat.

Naoto wiped the blood from his lip with the back of his hand and let his shoulders sag like the last exchange had emptied him out, and he let his feet drag a little as he circled while keeping his eyes on Toji. He let the man see the shake in his knees on purpose so he would come in to finish it the way he always did when he looked ready to fold, and while he did that he backed toward the scuffed patch near the broken door where the dirt was loose and a few splintered slats still lay half-buried from when he'd smashed through them earlier.

Toji took the bait because there was no reason not to when you were that much stronger, and he stepped in with that relaxed stride that turned fast in a blink, his right shoulder rolling as he set for the same body punch that had folded Naoto before, and Naoto flicked out a lazy jab that wasn't meant to land, and Toji parried it with the back of his knuckles and reached to take Naoto by the collar for the throw he liked to use. That was the moment Naoto bent his knees and dragged his heel through the loose dirt so it kicked up a small sheet of dust between their faces while his left foot nudged a thin slat up from the ground and he snapped it forward with a low toe-punt straight at Toji's lead shin, and Toji shifted the leg back and that half step changed his base just enough that his hips weren't set for the throw anymore.

Naoto felt the window open and he didn't think about saving anything for later because there wasn't a later in a fight like this, and he muttered the word under his breath and let the surge hit, and Boost hammered through his legs and back so hard his vision tightened but he rode it anyway, and he planted his right foot on the wall behind him for a single step that turned into a short wall-run, and he pushed off hard with the boosted leg so his body popped up over Toji's guard as the man's hand closed on empty cloth, and Naoto tucked his hips and raised his left leg high and brought it straight down in a clean axe kick while Toji's head was still tracking the level he had been at a heartbeat earlier, and Toji got his forearm up because he was who he was but the angle and the drop beat him by a fraction, and Naoto's heel crashed onto the crown of his head and slid into the line above the forehead, and the impact drove Toji a half step down and then a full step back as his knee touched dirt to catch his balance while dust jumped around his feet.

Naoto landed heavy on both feet because the Boost ripped out of him the second the kick finished, and his legs shook like they were about to fold because the aftershock hit hard, but he kept his guard up even as his lungs dragged for air and his ribs screamed, and he watched Toji straighten with a small roll of his neck and a hand rubbing the spot where the heel had landed, and the man's grin came back slow and sharp as he nodded once like he was filing the result away, and he said nothing for a beat because the hit had actually gotten through, and Naoto took that quiet like the only praise he was going to get while he fought to stop his knees from dropping him into the dirt.

Toji rubbed the crown of his head one last time and the grin widened like he had decided playtime was over. He didn't even bother with a stance, he just walked forward with that loose swing of his shoulders, and Naoto knew he couldn't move fast enough to get out of range but his legs still set anyway because that was the only option he had. The first shot was a straight right to the ribs that crushed the air from his chest, and before he even bent Toji had hooked his wrist behind Naoto's neck and yanked him forward into a knee that snapped his head back hard, and while his vision still flashed white the man twisted his hips and smashed a short hook across his jaw that spun him sideways.

Naoto tried to raise his arms but they were swatted down with the back of Toji's hand like he was nothing, and then the storm started. Elbows drove into his chest, a rising knee stabbed into his gut, a shoulder check blasted him into the wall and when he bounced forward again Toji met him with a string of punches so quick he couldn't even tell where one ended and the next started. His body was folded, straightened, twisted, and bent again under the weight of those strikes. He caught a fist in the face, a kick in the side, and then a grab at the waist that hurled him across the yard and into the ground.

Naoto pushed up stubbornly, but Toji was already there crouching low, one hand grabbing him by the ankle before he could get up. The man ripped him straight off the ground and hurled him into the sky like he weighed nothing at all, his body spinning, he tried to right himself and gain control but his body was just too beaten. He barely had time to register the ground racing back up when he saw Toji beneath, one leg drawn back and ready to snap forward into what looked like a kick that would damn near snap him in half. 'Is this guy crazy!!!' Naoto thought as he could only cover himself.

The kick never came.

A blur cut the space, faster than anything he had seen so far, and then Mirajane was there, her fist glowing with cursed energy as it collided with Toji's chest. The impact cracked like thunder and Toji's body shot backward, his frame skipping across the dirt as if he were a stone skimming water. He smashed through the side of his decrepit house with an explosion of wood and dust, and then burst out the other end, rolling twice before he finally caught himself on his palms and knees.

Naoto felt arms wrap around him before he hit the ground, Mirajane pulling him close and cushioning his fall. She dropped to her knees with him cradled against her and her face bent close. "Naoto! Naoto, are you alright?" Her hands brushed across his face and chest, pressing against bruises and cuts, and she was muttering curses under her breath, furious and frantic all at once. "I told you not to keep letting him beat on you like this. You're not made of stone, no matter what you think."

Naoto coughed hard, but he still forced a grin. "Told you," he said hoarsely, "I'm fine."

Mirajane's arms stayed locked around him even after he tried to sit up, and when she pulled back enough to look him over her face was twisted with anger and worry. Her hands pressed gently against his ribs, sliding across the sides of his chest and stomach, and every touch made her frown deepen. "You've got at least a few broken bones," she said. Her fingers moved up to the back of his head and she winced. "And a concussion. I can feel the swelling." She bit her lip and her eyes watered with frustration. "Damn it, Naoto, you can't keep doing this. You'll end up killing yourself before you're even old enough to drink."

Naoto groaned but forced himself to grin anyway. "Relax, it's not that bad," he said, though every breath felt like glass grinding in his chest. "Bones heal. Heads heal. I've been through worse." He leaned his head back against her shoulder and gave her a lopsided look. "You look like you're the one hurt, not me. Calm down. I'm still here."

Mirajane scowled at him like she hated how casually he said it, then looked away, wiping her face with her sleeve. "Idiot. You think joking makes it better?" she muttered, but her arms stayed around him, like if she let go he'd fall apart.

A shadow fell across them, and Toji strolled back into the courtyard, scratching the back of his head like he'd just woken from a nap. "Did you have to hit me through my house?" he asked, half annoyed and half amused. He jabbed a thumb back toward the ruined building, broken beams still hanging from the frame. "The higher-ups aren't gonna fix that, you know. They'll just tell me to sleep in the dirt."

Mirajane turned her head, still holding Naoto against her chest, and stuck her tongue out at him. "Well maybe you shouldn't be such a massive bully," she shot back.

Toji's brow twitched, and he jabbed a finger at her. "Bully? He asked me to train him. What, you think I'm supposed to tickle him?"

Mirajane glared. "You don't have to beat him half to death every time! He's seven years old, not some sparring dummy!"

"Seven going on seventy," Toji said with a shrug. "Kid's tougher than half the idiots in this clan. If he can't handle this, he's not cut out for what's waiting out there."

"You're an ass," Mirajane snapped.

"Better than being a crybaby maid," Toji shot back without missing a beat.

Her jaw dropped. "Crybaby? You oversized slob!"

Toji smirked, leaning down to her level. "Slob's still better than pretending to be a mom when you're barely more than a kid yourself."

Mirajane's voice rose. "You're just a dog they keep around because you're dangerous, nothing more."

Toji's smirk vanished, his jaw tightening. "And you're a parasite. Living off this clan because you've got nowhere else to go."

Her eyes flared. "Coward."

He took a step closer. "Leech."

"Drunk."

"Whore."

"Failure."

"Bitch."

Naoto lay half-slumped in the grass while the two of them kept trading insults. He tuned them out, focusing on the steady rise and fall of his chest and the sharp pain that came with every breath. It had been a year since his cursed technique had finally awakened, and even with the aches running through his body, he couldn't help but feel satisfied with what he'd been given. Principle of Domination. Boost. The moment he first felt the cursed energy stack inside him, compounding and doubling like a tidal wave gathering behind a dam, he knew he'd gotten something far beyond what most sorcerers could dream of. How couldn't he be happy? He'd basically won the lottery and landed the Boosted Gear from Highschool DxD.

Every day since then had been dedicated to it. Push-ups until his arms gave out, sprints until his legs buckled, sparring until Toji broke a couple bones and got bored. The problem with his technique was the fact that he was still just a kid. No matter how much cursed energy he had, his muscles and bones weren't fully developed. He could only handle two boosts before his body felt like it was cracking apart, he'd stretched to four today which was progress but even now he felt like death would be a better alternative.

Naoto looked at the two people who could be considered his caretakers get ready to fight. 

It made him think about his training. Training with Toji had only been possible because the clan didn't care anymore. The day he turned five without unlocking a technique, they wrote him off. Even when he revealed it a year later, they didn't rush to celebrate. He made sure of that. He told his father that his cursed technique only doubled his speed and strength. Nothing more. A basic reinforcement skill dressed up as something minor. It was just enough for them to nod and then move on. The truth was much bigger, but he wasn't going to hand the clan another excuse to smother him. When the time came, it would be too late for them to control him anyway. For now, all he needed was Mirajane and Toji. One fought like a demon, the other actually cared about whether he lived through training. Between them, he had everything he needed.

His head rolled to the side, and he winced as another pulse of pain shot through his ribs. "Hey," he said, cutting through their argument. "A little help, maybe?"

Mirajane spun around immediately, guilt washing over her face as if she'd only just remembered he was lying there half-broken. "Sorry! Sorry, Naoto!" She darted to his side and slipped her arms under him, lifting him up. He groaned when her grip pressed against his ribs, and she winced right along with him. "I'm so stupid. I should've taken you to the doctor right away."

She didn't waste another second. With Naoto cradled against her, she hurried across the compound toward the medical hall, ignoring Toji's lazy chuckle behind them. The doctor was already waiting by the time they arrived. He didn't ask questions, just set Naoto down on the padded mat and placed his hands lightly over the boy's chest. A faint glow of reversed cursed energy spread through his body, knitting bone, mending muscle, and cooling the fire in his head.

Relief washed through Naoto as the pain dulled, though his body still felt wrung out. When it was done, he stood slowly, giving the doctor a short nod of thanks before heading back toward his room. He had barely settled back in when the door creaked open. Mirajane slipped in quietly, carrying a fresh bowl of water and a cloth, as if she didn't trust the doctor's work without checking for herself. She knelt at his side and pressed the back of her hand against his forehead before he could stop her.

"I'm fine," Naoto said, brushing her hand away with a tired sigh.

She frowned and dipped the cloth into the bowl, wringing it out. "You always say that."

"Because it's true," he replied flatly.

She leaned closer, scanning his face as if waiting for some sign of hidden pain. "You're pale. Maybe I should go back and call him again—"

"I said I'm fine," Naoto cut her off. "No broken bones. No headache. Nothing. You don't have to keep checking."

Mirajane didn't move at first. She just stared at him, lips pressed together, then finally let out a long sigh and set the cloth back into the bowl. "I'm sorry. I just... I can't help it."

Naoto tilted his head. "Help what?"

"Worrying about you," she admitted quietly. Her eyes softened in a way that caught him off guard. "I've been looking after you since the day you were born, Naoto. I care about you more than you realize."

Before he could even process it, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him. The hug was tight, almost desperate, and Naoto froze for a second, his mind blank. After a moment, he let out a slow breath and awkwardly raised his arms, hugging her back.

"I'll be fine, Mira," he said quietly against her shoulder. "Don't worry so much. One day I'm going to be so strong no one will be able to get in my way."

When she finally pulled back, there was a small smile on her face. "Good," she said. "I looking forward to seeing it."

Mirajane eventually left with the empty bowl in hand, throwing him one last look over her shoulder before sliding the door shut behind her. The room felt quiet again, the faint hum of cicadas outside and the dim flicker of the map by his desk the only noise. Naoto turned back to the stack of papers and charms spread out in front of him. He didn't want to think about how much seeking Mirajane sad had affected him. Instead he decided to throw himself into even more training.

The talismans he'd been working on were half-finished, crude sketches of barrier formulas and curse-binding seals that he had rewritten a dozen times already. He was trying to piece together something complex, something that would go beyond the usual one-use charms that burned out the moment they were activated. What he wanted was a shikigami that wasn't just temporary, but something that could endure—semi-permanent, almost like the ones created through Ten Shadows.

It was slow work, and he wasn't sure how far he could push it with only paper, ink, and cursed energy. But he was making progress. A year ago he could barely stabilize a simple warding seal without it crumbling. Now, some of the simpler prototypes could actually hold cursed energy for longer than a day. That gave him hope, even if this was years away from being usable. The reason he pushed so hard at it was simple. There was one ability hidden in his cursed technique, one he hadn't unlocked yet, but he knew it was there. He had felt it stirring in the background when he trained, as if his soul was itching to bring it out. If he could combine that ability with something like a shikigami, it would be overpowered. It was possible he could recreate the ten shadows or make a shikigami even stronger than Big Raga.

He dipped the brush again and started drawing another formula, when the sound of approaching footsteps pulled him out of his focus. He set the brush down and glanced at the door. A moment later it slid open.Toji stepped inside, scratching his head lazily, his kimono half-open. He stood there for a moment not saying anything, to the point that it started to get awkward.

Naoto raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Toji grunted. "How you feeling?"

Naoto narrowed his eyes, cautious. "Fine."

Toji gave a small nod. "Good." He paused, shifting his lm his feet, then said, "Sorry about earlier. Got a little carried away at the end there. You landed that axe kick and I started having fun."

Naoto shrugged. "It's training. Doesn't matter." And it didn't. He'd never held a grudge over what Toji did when he trained because in the end it made him better.

Toji lingered for a moment, eyes flicking toward the papers scattered across the desk before turning back to Naoto. He scratched the back of his neck again. "I should tell you something, I feel like I owe it to you since I've been training you... I'm not sticking around here much longer. Gonna leave the clan."

Naoto didn't react much. He'd been waiting for this. He knew Toji left sometime after his little run-in with kid Gojo. He had hoped the man would stay longer, but it wasn't surprising.

"I'm glad," Naoto said, a small smile on his face.

Toji raised an eyebrow. "You're glad?" He gave a short laugh. "I figured you'd give me shit about it. Thought you'd want me to stick around and keep training you."

Naoto shook his head. "You're not happy here. But you stayed anyway. That can only mean you finally found a reason to leave this all behind."

For a moment, Toji's eyes widened, just slightly. Then he let out a chuckle and shook his head. "You're something else, kid. Don't let this clan turn you into another prick." With that, he turned and slid the door open again, walking out without another word.

Naoto looked at Toji leave and sighed. He hoped that he enjoyed his life a bit more and stopped being so miserable. He hoped that the butterfly had flapped its wings and Toji never gets involved in this world again. If not he'd be killed by Gojo.

Or maybe he'd end up killing him.

(AN: So there's gonna be a big time skip next chapter I don't wanna hang around in the childhood for long. It's kinda boring for me and this is just my fun fic. So if the pacing is off it's cause I can't stand writing filler. Anyway hope you enjoyed.)