Todo froze his arm already halfway cocked back, prepared to throw the rock clenched in between his fingers, 'What is this feeling?'
Todo felt a bead of sweat run down his back while his heart pounded in his chest as the lingering sensation refused to go away, 'Something's changed…but how? Did I misinterpret the requirements of Kiniro's technique? Without line of sight and my hostile intent, he shouldn't have any way to target me, but it's always possible that he omitted some details when revealing his hand.'
Todo's jaw clenched as he realized that for all his strategy, it was likely he hadn't uncovered Kiniro's true capabilities, 'I need to reposition, before he's able to somehow-'
In an instant, all of Todo's thoughts died as a feverish pink fire suddenly flared into existence, drawing Todo's eyes like a magnet. Despite the thick dust still lingering in the air, the fire was perfectly visible, and after a second, Todo realized that he wasn't truly looking at the fire, at least not in the traditional sense.
'My eyes can't see it, there's no light being emitted, but I can see it all the same,' Frozen in a mix of awe and terror, Todo stared into the flame's center, where a single pupil sat within the inferno. Even though the circle with a line on the top and bottom looked nothing like an eye, Todo knew that beyond a doubt that the geometric shape possessed an intelligence.
'Then maybe not an eye…but a window,' The moment the thought crossed Todo's mind, he felt an irresistible pull as the infernal window opened and drew him in, warping reality.
For a moment, Todo was aware of nothing as he lost sight of the world around him, and in that moment, Todo felt his sense of self begin to slip. But before his identity could be stripped away to join the nothingness that surrounded him, a far greater presence suddenly flared into existence, imposing itself onto the void and thus taking form.
Todo blinked as he realized he was suddenly standing on solid ground, and he looked down to find a smooth, obsidian-like stone reflecting a feverish pink light that flickered and danced.
Picking his head up, Todo instantly found the light source, as the same flames he had seen moments before his sudden appearance in the space licked the steep walls of the deep circular fissure he stood in.
Despite the raging inferno, there wasn't any heat, though that didn't relieve the unease Todo was feeling as he realized where he was and that his fight was over, 'I underestimated him…from the very beginning, he had the option to end it and was just entertaining me.'
"Well, I'm glad you're not too prideful to admit it."
Todo flinched as his inner thoughts were suddenly responded to, and he looked down to find Kiniro standing less than a foot away from him despite not having been there just a moment before.
Todo didn't even flinch as he knew there was no point in reacting, "So this is your Innate Domain…I must say it fits you."
"I would hope so, it is the foundation of my technique after all," Kiniro replied calmly as he looked around like it was his first time seeing the domain as well, "Though I'm glad you think so, you're only the second person I've had in here. Well, actually the first I've brought into my domain without manifesting it within reality."
Todo blinked as he realized what Kiniro was alluding to, "This isn't a domain expansion?"
"Nope, I've just managed to establish a direct connection between our souls, and since I have a better understanding of how souls work, I was able to overpower yours and bring you into mine," Kiniro explained calmly as if it was no big deal, "Which I have to stress would be an incredibly dangerous thing to do if I didn't have absolute confidence that I could squash you in an instant if you tried anything."
"So if we're standing within your soul," Todo repeated as he continued to look around the domain, "Where are our bodies? Are they just standing around unguarded?"
"Technically yes, but right now you can consider us standing outside the normal flow of time. All of this continuum is happening within a paradoxical single instant of time, that is wholly nondivisible by any smaller fraction."
Todo frowned as he reached up and touched his chin in thought, "You mean to say that souls operate outside of the laws of reality. Otherwise, there would be no way to stop time completely, and instead it would just be at such a minute scale that it only seems that time has stopped."
"Exactly, I'm glad you grasped that so easily," Kiniro grinned, "It seems that Yuki was right to demand that you would benefit from this experience."
Todo's eyes widened, "How do-"
"Who do you think was the first person I used my innate domain on?" Kiniro muttered as his expression soured briefly, his lips pursing, "That sensei of yours is batshit crazy; she tracked me down on a mission after hearing of my capabilities. We ended up fighting, and I got my ass handed to me, she even forced me to expand my domain when I had only manifested five eyes."
"Five eyes?" Todo muttered, only for Kiniro to wordlessly point up above them, and when Todo looked, he found an impossibly large pupil staring down at him, the size of a small city. The pupil shared the same symbol as the one that had drawn Todo in, but even more terrifying was the fact that Todo could see six other eyes that were thankfully closed shut.
"So that's how your technique works," Todo inferred as he gained an immense amount of insight into Kiniro's technique, which made him frown. "Why are you telling me all of this?"
Kiniro shrugged, "You seem like a trustworthy guy. Besides, you won't remember this anyway, at least consciously. This can be considered a somewhat traumatic event, so your soul will suppress it to protect your psyche."
"But you brought me in here for a reason," Todo stated with certainty, knowing that behind Kiniro's mask of impulsiveness was a frighteningly calculating mind.
"Even if you don't remember, this brief chat will have a profound effect on your jujutsu. You'll start to see things that you don't recognize but yet feel unshakeably familiar." Kiniro explained, "Eventually you'll recover your memories and thank me."
Instead of being upset, Todo grinned as he held out his hands, "I think after today I can confidently call you a friend."
"Likewise," Kiniro replied as he reached out and shook Todo's hand, though the moment they touched, Todo felt his awareness slip away as everything went black.
---
"I see them! They're in the sand garden…no, they're not fighting…It looks like Todo is taking a nap?"
Momo stared down from above and reported what she saw, not bothering to hide her confusion, "I don't know what happened, I just got here and saw them like this."
"Alright, we're closing in."
Picking up his head, Kiniro looked up as Kasumi, Noritoshi, and Mechamaru all approached him, not bothering to hide their presence, "Please tell me we can put an end to all of this. You guys are getting dangerously close to irritating me, and I might just kill you out of annoyance."
Mechamaru's eyes narrowed, "You expect us to just stand by despite the danger you pose?"
Kiniro clicked his teeth in disappointment, "Don't think just because you're not here in person that it doesn't mean I can't track you down, but if you insist. I swear on my soul that I will not harm or take any hostile actions against any member of the Kyoto Metropolitan Curse Technical College unless they act against me first."
The three Kyoto students failed to hide the look of surprise that flashed across their faces as Kiniro so easily swore a binding vow, before standing up with a groan, "Now can we please call this Goodwill even a draw and can someone show me where I can take a fat nap."
"You want to take a nap here?" Kasumi muttered in disbelief, "After when we tried to-"
"Oh please," Kiniro muttered as he cracked his neck, "Getting mad about you guys trying to kill me is like getting upset at a toddler for throwing a temper tantrum. It's rude, irritating, and a pain to deal with, but you guys don't know any better, and it's ultimately harmless."
Noritoshi's fingers twitched as he couldn't help but wonder if Kiniro could dodge another Piercing Blood at this close of a distance, only for Kiniro to look directly at him as the thought crossed his mind, "If what I said bothers you so much, then start thinking for yourself and get stronger. Seriously, you're probably the most disappointing one out of the whole bunch. Even Kasumi managed to sever my arm and create a special-grade cursed tool, though most of that accomplishment can be attributed to me."
Another look of shock crossed their faces as Kasumi glanced down at the transformed sword hanging at her hip. "S-special grade?!"
"Yeah, you're welcome, by the way," Kiniro muttered before letting out a tired sigh, "Now, can we please stop this standoff and somehow show me to your dormitories, which I've been asking for ever since I set foot on your campus!"