Hi everyone! I really wanted to update earlier, but so many things were going on in my life and I realized that I'll probably be busy until October. I also needed more information about the Jujutsu Kaisen world, so I was waiting for those chapters to come out in the manga. Because of the lack of information on the JJK world, I might slowly update, but it also means that I won't make careless decisions when writing out each chapter. So I hope you will be patient with me.
This chapter might be edited later on, but I wanted to release it for everyone as fast as possible. So I hope you enjoy it!
Italics = Thoughts/Dream/Memories
"words" = Speech
Disclaimer: I do not own Jujutsu Kaisen.
Chapter 10: Her Past - Loss and Grief (6 Years Old)
Momoe sat listlessly on the hospital bed. The white walls, the white floor, and the white curtains created an empty world for her. Nothing looked out of place - except for that person.
A young male with black short hair and thin dark eyes sat next to her with an unnaturally bright smile. His dark blue uniform subtly nudged at her memories.
"So that monster… No, curse. That curse targeted single parents and their children…" She repeated his words in a small whisper.
"Yep, and you just happened to live in the wrong neighborhood!" His smile made her shaking hands curl into tight fists. Such carefree detachment to the world - she envied that side of him.
She bit her bottom lip. "...Wrong neighborhood?"
"Well, the curse only attacked those who lived there." He paused, tapping his knee thoughtfully. "But it's weird. Usually, they stay in one place, rather than an area. I mean it's pretty cool that I - I mean, rare that such a thing would happen." He sheepishly laughed as he scratched the back of his head.
"...But there were plenty of other families with single mothers who lived there. So why were we next?" Momoe muttered bitterly, gritting her teeth.
"How am I supposed to know that?" Exasperation colored his voice. "Look, girl. Do you know how many curses are out there in this world? A shit ton. So it's difficult to find an answer to yours and any other one!" He threw his hands up in the air before standing up.
"I… see." She held back the string of bad words she wanted to spat at this man. Instead, she swallowed her anger and spoke calmly. "Thank you for saving me."
"Yeah, yeah, no problem." He waved off her words. "Anyway, I'm sure you want some sleep so I'll come back tomorrow." Momoe then watched him casually walk off with an empty gaze.
The door finally closed shut behind him.
And again, the deep silence drowned the room without end until she remembered.
"Ah, I forgot to ask what his name was..."
So she decided to just wait - for the weird man to come back.
But he never did.
"Darling, please come out of the house." A soft voice carried across through the entrance door, but Momoe remained sitting on the sofa with a solemn expression, hugging the urn of her mother's ashes tightly.
"Do you really think that she's going to listen to you?!" A snarl ripped apart the silence she wanted. "Satomi's daughter is going to be adopted by us! So back off, you old hag!"
Shuffling noises and shouts began to mix, making her even more suffocated than before.
"My house-"
"-inheritance."
"Dead!"
Stop…
Momoe bit her bottom lip and rubbed her forehead against the top of the urn.
"Satomi-"
"-Hiroki"
"-daughter is-"
Stop.
A vase that used to sit at the entrance outside shattered into millions of pieces.
"You crazy!"
"Why don't you just drop d-"
"Don't act like you're-"
Momoe screamed her lungs out, "STOP!" She breathed heavily, her heart squirming with discomfort. "Stop. Stop, STOP! Why can't all of you just shut up?!"
"...See? I told you that you're making too much noise." A female voice quipped. The sharp sound of a slap echoed the next second.
"This is why Satomi never wanted to come home," a male angrily replied, "-because of all you crazy people!"
"And you think that you can take care of her? Someone who doesn't even have a job? I bet you just want her house and have someone to take care of you! Why else do you think Satomi stopped sending you money?!" A different female argued back.
"That's because Hiroki-" The male slammed his fist against the wall.
"Uh, excuse me?" A young, familiar voice interrupted the tension in front of her house. "I'm here to meet Chuuya Momoe."
"Who the hell do you think you are?!" The male snarled.
"Hmmm, someone better than all of you combined?" The younger male laughed and pushed through the crowd of people. "Now then… Momoe-chan, sorry that it took me a while to come back, but I'm here. Can we talk?"
Momoe stood up and placed the urn carefully on top of the dining table. She then walked over to the entrance door. "Who are you and what do you want?"
"Buji. My name is Buji and I'm here to take you away from here." His voice remained calm, despite the ruckus behind him as they snapped, the moment they heard his words.
"And why would I let you do that?" Her voice lowered as her eyebrows furrowed together.
"It's either you come with me or you go to the orphanage. I mean let's be honest. I doubt you would stay with your relatives, considering how pathetic - I mean loud they are." He snickered to himself.
"P-pathetic?!" A female screeched. "How dare you say such a thing to someone older than you?!"
Momoe then opened the door, immediately silencing the group. She looked up at the young male who she waited for ever since she sat at the hospital bed weeks ago.
He waved his hand at her energetically with that irritating smile of his.
"Come in and we'll talk more." She murmured to him, motioning him to follow, but the moment her relatives were about to come in, her gaze sharpened. "-without any of you in here." She slammed the door shut on their faces.
"Ah… Isn't that a bit harsh? It seemed like the guy was sorta decent." Buji sat down on the sofa, looking super relaxed.
"Decent?" She scoffed at his words and sat down again on the sofa next to him. "What a bad joke. They're all snakes. Pretending to be good people. Now I know why okaa-chan never mentioned any of them to me."
"Is that so?" Buji shrugged. "Well, I don't really care about them since it's better for me if you follow me."
"What does it mean to go with you?" Momoe glanced at the urn with soft eyes. "Explain so I can consider your offer carefully."
He scratched the back of his head. "You really don't act like a kid, huh."
"Does it matter at this point?" Her eyes sharpened towards him. "Explain or I'll kick you out."
"Become a sorcerer." He answered before tapping on his thigh. "I mean… My clan will take you in as your guardian, keep your inheritance safe with the help of a lawyer, and train you as a sorcerer while helping you understand your cursed technique. Oh, and what we also mean by keeping your inheritance safe is that we'll have a housekeeper come by every month to keep this place clean, updated, and safe. So you don't have to worry, especially when you end up joining our high school later on."
"High school?" She repeated.
"Yeah, you'll join Tokyo Jujutsu High!" His eyes sparkled, pride flickering in them.
"Tokyo… Jujutsu High." Momoe held her breath. "Ah…" She finally remembered what nudged at her memory so much back at the hospital. A bitter smile lingered on her lips. "Okay."
Jujutsu…
Jujutsu Kaisen. She was in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen.
Immense dread creeped up inside of her.
"Yeah, I managed to convince the head that it's better if you attend the Tokyo branch school since it's closer to your inheritance - I mean, this house. Thought that it might be good for you." He continued. "And once you're of age, we'll give you your inheritance rights back. Everything's written in the contract though so be sure to confirm everything with an adult or something."
I…
She swallowed hard.
I don't remember much about Jujutsu Kaisen.
All I remember is the name, Itadori Yuji - someone who I don't want to get entangled with… and some other basic information.
She mourned to herself inwardly.
Why wasn't I obsessed with it before?
If I was, then maybe...
"I see." That was all she could get herself to say. "I'll take a look at it tonight. So please leave right now. You can come back tomorrow for my answer."
"Alright, I'll get those adults out of here then." He grinned. "Since I'm doing that for you, think very, very hard for me, okay?"
The door shut behind him and she sat lifelessly on the couch, carefully reading through the contract as he told her to. A small sigh escaped from her. Everything written in the contract was just as he said - pretty fair from an adult - her perspective.
So what do I do now?
What can I even do in this world anyway?
Wouldn't it be better to avoid it completely-
The moment she thought that, she noticed the urn from the corner of her eye. She winced and looked away again.
If I do that… I would be making the same mistake as I did before.
Do I want another person to die just because I never learned how to protect myself or others?
Plus, it's not like it's 100% that I would bump into Itadori when I enter high school. There's still a slight chance that nothing will happen in my lifetime.
So isn't it better to take a chance and go with him? That's better than going to an orphanage or living with one of those snakes…
Momoe gathered up the courage to hug the urn again, this time, sitting at the dining table. "Okaa-chan, I… I will do my best to learn how to protect myself, so please… stay comfortable and happy with otou-chan in this house, okay?" She bit her bottom lip. "...And when I come back… I'll properly pay my respects to both of you then."
Droplets of tears stained the urn - one by one. "So w-when that happens… Please forgive your stupid daughter who couldn't protect you or even die with you." She leaned her forehead against the top of the urn, letting the tears fall and muffling her cries as much as possible to not disturb her neighbors.
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