Masamichi stayed silent for a few moments after Sora finished speaking.
Then he leaned back further into his chair and let out a long sigh.
The sound seemed heavier than it should have been.
Sora felt his shoulders tense slightly.
That reaction was difficult to read.
A sigh could mean disappointment.
It could also mean annoyance.
It could mean he had failed somehow without realizing it.
Masamichi rubbed his forehead.
"To be honest..."
"I did not expect much from you."
Sora remained quiet.
"You are a self-taught sorcerer."
Masamichi glanced toward the dolls scattered around the room.
"Most self-taught sorcerers are unstable."
"They survive a few encounters, get stronger than average, and start believing they understand everything."
His eyes shifted back to Sora.
"They become conceited. Thinking they have become a different species entirely."
"They mistake their survival for talent."
Sora listened without interrupting.
Masamichi folded his arms again.
"You are a strange case."
The principal's voice lowered slightly.
"Your actions matched with someone I once knew."
Sora's eyes narrowed slightly.
Masamichi continued.
"Suguru Geto."
The name settled into the room like dust.
Sora had heard it before.
The curse user who controlled curses.
The man who had once been close to Gojo.
Masamichi looked at the doll on his desk.
"He was talented. Far more talented than you."
"He was kind too."
"Too kind actually."
The principal's gaze hardened slightly.
"And because of that, he ended up walking down the wrong path."
The room fell quiet again.
Masamichi stopped speaking.
It looked like he was relieving certain memories.
Sora looked at him for a moment.
Then he asked quietly,
"...Then did I pass?"
Masamichi blinked once.
Then a low chuckle escaped him.
It rumbled through the office like distant thunder.
"...With flying colours."
He picked the doll back up from the desk.
"But do not look so relieved."
The needle slipped back through the fabric.
"You still have terrible habits."
"And your mentality is one bad day away from becoming dramatic enough to rival Gojo's friend."
Sora stayed silent.
Masamichi glanced up once more.
"But your heart is in the right place."
"For now, that is enough."
Masamichi then fixed his position on the chair.
"Now. What do you want to know about cursed dolls?"
Sora finally found relief.
"I wanted to know about the way the dolls are made."
"Hmm..."
Masamichi then picked a complete looking doll.
"The most important thing about making cursed dolls or corpses is that they must possess a core."
"A core is the source of cursed energy in the vessel."
Masamichi paused for a moment. Letting Sora digest what he just said.
"There are different ways a core can function. It could either work as a connection to your own reserves or..."
"It could directly provide energy independent of your reserves."
Masamichi finished his explanation.
"Any problem?"
Sora was deep in thought.
He could create curse dolls.
All he needed to do was infuse a curse, create a core and control it.
But the former way of controlling was not suitable.
If the curse was directly tied to his reserves then he couldn't fight freely.
In fight every drop of energy was crucial.
The latter was his go to.
"Masamichi-San. Take a look at these."
Sora retrieved the the curses he had caught.
He gave two of them.
Masamichi saw Sora bring out small matallic sphere of curse energy.
Taking two of them in hand he inspected them.
!!!
"Hagane. Are these the curses you had caught?"
Masamichi spoke in a grave tone.
"Yes, Masamichi-San. I wanted to ask if it was possible to create cursed dolls using them as core. The object for infusion can be created through my liquid metal."
Sora made a small statue of human to showcase his corpse making skill.
Masamichi stared at the metallic fugure in his palm.
The room became very quiet.
Even the sound of stitching stopped.
Sora stood still.
The small liquid metal figure in his hand slowly shifted shape, turning from a rough human outline into a doll-like body with stubby arms and legs.
Masamichi's eyes remained fixed on the spheres.
Then he looked at the tiny metal doll.
Then back at Sora.
"You caught curses alive."
Sora nodded.
Masamichi exhaled slowly through his nose.
"How many?"
"20 of them. 10 grade four, 6 grade three and 4 grade two."
The principal's eyebrows twitched slightly.
"You have these many?"
"Yes."
For a few moments, Masamichi said nothing.
He placed the two metallic spheres down on the desk with surprising care.
Like he was setting down unstable explosives.
"You are quite somthing."
Sora blinked once.
Masamichi pointed at the spheres.
"Do you know how absurd this is?"
His voice had lost its earlier calmness.
"Most sorcerers exorcise curses."
"Some people use cursed tools."
"A few rare lunatics try to study curses."
He pointed at Sora now.
"And then there is you."
"You looked at living curses and thought: perhaps I should put them inside a doll."
Sora stayed silent.
When Masamichi said it like that, it did sound a little strange.
The principal rubbed his forehead.
"This is exactly why I said your mentality is dangerous."
Sora quietly looked away.
Masamichi let out another sigh.
Then he picked one of the spheres back up.
The cursed energy inside it shifted faintly beneath the metallic shell.
A tiny prison.
Small enough to fit in his palm.
"Using curses as cores is possible."
Sora immediately looked back at him.
Masamichi continued before he could speak.
"But it is dangerous."
He held the sphere up between two fingers.
"A normal cursed corpse has a stable core."
"Cursed energy flows through a system that is built to obey."
"But this..."
He lightly shook the sphere.
"This is a living curse."
"It thinks."
"It can resist."
"More importantly, it can grow.."
His gaze sharpened.
"If the curse inside becomes stronger than the vessel containing it, it could break free."
Sora looked at the metal doll in his hand.
Then he looked back at the spheres.
"So the vessel has to be stronger."
"Not just stronger," Masamichi corrected.
"Stable."
He placed the sphere back down.
"You would need a durable body, proper cursed energy pathways, and restrictions."
"Chains."
"Binding vows"
"Fail-safes."
His eyes moved toward the little metal figure Sora had created.
"The fact that your technique can create the body already solves half the problem."
Sora looked down at the tiny doll in his hand.
The liquid metal shifted slowly along its surface like mercury breathing beneath skin.
Or perhaps a weapon.
Masamichi leaned back again.
"I still do not recommend it."
Sora glanced up.
"It would be easier to improve your direct combat ability instead."
"But..."
The principal looked at him carefully.
"You are clearly not interested in easy paths."
Sora stayed silent.
That was true.
Easy paths rarely existed for people like him.
Masamichi picked up one of his own dolls from the desk and tossed it toward Sora.
Sora caught it instinctively.
The doll was heavier than it looked.
"If you want to experiment, start small."
Masamichi pointed toward the doll.
"Learn how the cursed energy moves through the body."
"Learn how the core reacts."
"Lastly. Try to identify how the structure should be framed."
The morning sunlight continued to spill through the office window.
Across the desk sat the principal of Tokyo Jujutsu High.
In Sora's hand sat a doll.
And on the table between them rested the first pieces of something that could either become his greatest weapon...
Or his first real mistake.