Jujutsu Kaisen: The Forgotten Clan
Chapter 2
Mum and I make it inside the dojo and grab a seat three minutes before the belt tests commence. On the outside, I appear mellow and alert. Inside, my stomach is turning a mile a minute while my mind seeks answers to who was watching my mother and me. What are their intentions, and where they are from? Zyler, Zink, and the rest of the students walk into the middle of the floor; I give my brothers a sheepish wave while my mum claps alongside the other parental units. I can't stop thinking about the mysterious figure.
Saturday, March 13th, in Tokyo Japan, a conversation is underway between the Jujutsu Elders
"Why the last-minute meeting Gakuganji? What is the utmost importance that you called the Zen'In, and Kamo clan heads, and me from our tasks?"
"I just got word from one of my sources that the Santa-Clara family has been located."
Dead silence falls between the four men who are gathered in a room at Gakuganji's residence. A suspicious look fills the Zen'In leader's eyes, while Kamo's facial expression is unchanged.
"Are we sure it is them? It was difficult finding Sharah and Jorgen after they graduated from Jujutsu Technical College, then they up and left Japan all together a year ago. What proof do you have Gakuganji?" The Zen'In member barks, his eyes light up with hunger and envy.
"A woman around thirty years old with long, wavey brown hair, grey eyes, and two boys who are the spitting image of each other. All three were spotted at a middle-school basketball game three months ago. The same woman with one of the boys and a man spotted going to a martial arts exhibition two weeks ago."
"What description do we have regarding the man in question?" Kamo has decided to chime into the conversation. His facial expression still has not changed.
Gakuganji, a man in his early fifties, with graying hair and receding hairline, sits up straight in his chair. Keeping the peace between the leaders of the clans and representing the Elders at today's meeting, is taking its toll on him.
"Brown hair with a buzzed cut, 180cm give or take, and jade green-eyes that are hard to miss. My source suspects he and the woman in question are both Grade-1 and married to each other. The boys are civilians." Gakuganji spits out his answer and gains control of the room once again. Then Kamo asks a question unrelated to the information that has been shared.
"Where is Gojo?"
"Who cares, not as though we need him here. We have enough resources to handle the Santa-Clara family without THAT clan's interference. Besides, they have their hands full with a brat of their own." Zenin laughs while answering Kamo's off-the-wall question. He continues berating Gakuganji with questions. "When were the two adults and two children last seen? Can your sources get another visual and send it to us for confirmation?"
Gakuganji produces four pictures: each photo contains a snapshot of Zink, Zyler, mum, and dad together in some form or another. These pictures were taken at different points over the course of three months. The only member of the Santa-Clara clan who is missing from the pictures is me.
Back in Canada, my brothers have finished their belt tests. Zink moved up a level while Zyler has not.
My mother starts talking with some of the other parents, Zink and Zyler are conversing with their friends. My curiosity gets the best of me, and I head outside. The sun has started setting, but there is enough sunlight for me to see clearly. Once outside, I walk past the parking lot, towards the spot where the mysterious figure was standing. My train of thought is to get a visual of what the stalker had seen. A few seconds after I get to the spot, my gut starts feeling queasy and I put myself on high alert.
Looking around, I see nothing out of the ordinary. No animals running away, no random sounds coming from the bushes, and no mysterious figures. The only noises I hear are children a few meters to my right walking down the sidewalk, and the cars passing by on the street in front of me. After five minutes of standing in plain sight, I walk back into the dojo, unnoticed by the occupants in the small space. My mother and brothers walked over to me, signaling our departure.
Whilst going back to the car, I see a low-level curse out of the corner of my left eye. It is nothing to fuss over, so I let it be. Besides, there are more civilians out and about, enjoying their Saturday evening. Using jujutsu would cause more harm than good. My mother starts talking to me, bringing me back to the present moment.
"Lithuila, what would you like for dinner tonight?"
"Huh?"
"Come on kid, mum asked you a question. What do you want for dinner? Zink and I are in the mood for pizza."
"Pizza then. I don't care, you two tested for your belts today." I am half-listening to the conversation regarding dinner plans. Seeing a low-level curse and a sorcerer in one day is out of the ordinary. Could they be working together? The queasiness finds its way back inside my stomach. The car stops outside our family home. Nothing out of the ordinary is seen, but I am still on edge.
My mother opens the front door, and I see my father standing beyond the front door waiting for our arrival. He was on a mission the last few days, the details of the said mission are a mystery. There is a sense of uneasiness radiating from my father's aura; usually, he holds himself in a calm, self-assured manner. His face is smiling, his eyes tell me something is wrong. My brothers rush forward and greet him...in unison of course.
"Dad! We are glad you are back. Lithuila kicked mum's butt this morning! Right kid?"
"I made some progress in my training, yes. Mum sustained a level of injury." My face turns warm, and I give my father a sheepish smile. Leave it to my brothers to pick on me and make a mountain out of nothing. Mum chips into the conversation with her two cents.
"Zink and Zyler, go wash up for dinner. I am glad you made it home safely my dear." She walks over to my father and gives him a long hug. The amount of love my parents have for each other amazes me. They can be separated for months on end without complaint and treat each other like best friends when reunited. My parents show a lot of respect towards each other as well.
"Are you lost in thought there, Lith?" My dad asks this with a smile in his eyes. Behind the smile, lurks the uneasiness.
"No, I am going on a walk in the woods for a few minutes. Got to stretch my legs and give you two some privacy. Welcome home." I turn round and head out the front door. My family home butts up to a forested area with ample room between our home and our neighbors. This space allows my parents and me to practice Jujutsu without interference. Occasionally, my mum or dad takes me into the woods to exorcise curses.
Ferns, evergreens, oak trees, and redwoods occupy the wooded area. The underbrush blooms with an assortment of flowers during the spring and summer months: roses of red and white, purple daffodils, and ivy are a few flowers that bloom. My destination is the lake, located in the middle of the forest. Seven weeping-willow trees surround parts of the lake.
As the water comes into view, the sun finishes its descent. The last bits of orange, red and pink reflect on the lake's surface creating a calming atmosphere. I sit on a rickety, launching dock while dangling my feet off its edge. Two curses are four meters behind me. One to my left, the other to my right. They are not very strong, but I pay attention to their movements just in case.
Once the sun has completely set and the moon has risen, I get up from my seat and start walking back towards the house. The moment my feet touch the beachfront, I freeze in place. Someone is watching me, and I need to get a visual on them straight away. I move my head slowly to the right, focus my eyes on a weeping willow seven meters from where I am standing. Their presence is unnerving, their back is turned towards me, and their strength is incredible. The sorcerer scans the waterfront. I presume they are looking for me.
Sure enough, their eyes slowly hone on to where I was just sitting. I bolt for the forest without a second thought and hear them move from their spot simultaneously. A low whistling sound rings through my ears, causing me to turn around to find the source of the noise. The two curses from earlier have moved and are chasing me. They are not my priority in this situation, the sorcerer chasing me is the opponent I need to take care of first.
Once inside the forest, I rely on my keen eyesight to guide me towards a hiking path opposite the one I took to get to the lake. Redirecting my opponent to the family house is stupid and dangerous. I am familiar with most of the trails in this forest, small enough to scale a tree with ease and spot an oak tree up ahead. I swing my right foot onto the tree trunk, push my body weight up towards the treetop, and meet the ground in a split second.
The sorcerer has caught up to me and thrown me to the ground. My face meets their left fist, only the right cheek sustains an injury. I protect my face by putting my palms out, my opponent tries punching me again, but I grab hold of their fist and stand up. I twist my opponent's fist towards me, hearing their knuckles crack in the process, scan the area in front of me, find their torso, and kick their stomach.
"Gagh! Why you little brat."
While my opponent tries recovering, I head back towards the water. I pass by the curses and lock eyes with them.
"Curse-Technique, Dispel." My fingers release a flash of yellow light, and the curses are exorcised. I see the lake out in front of me. My adrenaline pulsing through my veins, my heart pounding out of my chest, and my lungs trying hard to send enough oxygen through my body so I will not pass out.
Suddenly, another figure appears on the beach, in my path towards the lake. I take a sharp right and notice the figure from earlier exiting the woods. I am caught between the two of them and realize they are trying to corral me. My mind jumps to one logical conclusion…head towards the water!
I bolt away from my opponents, running towards the water's edge. I spot another launch spot ten meters from my current position and bolt towards it. A wave of curse energy grazes my back, spinning my body in a 360-degree turn, causing me to lose my balance. My butt hits the rocky beach first, then I roll onto my right-hand side. I crush my wrist under my body weight and get up quickly. Another wave of cursed energy is heading towards me, and I block most of it by crossing my hands over my torso and face!
I go flying backward and hit the back of my head on the rocks. The next thing I know, someone grabs the front of my shirt and throws me in the air. I land in the shallow water and notice blood pooling around me. Rather than climbing out of the water, I turn away from the beach and crawl further into the lake. The part of the water I had landed in was not deep at all…I can hear my opponents closing in on me.
"Do not let her get away. Grab her by the ankles if you need to!"
"Quit bossing me around, will you."
Whilst the two boneheads are arguing with each other, my vision starts going in and out! All I see in front of me is darkness. All I hear, aside from my opponents, is the low whish-wash sounds of the lake. Within a nanosecond, I reach deeper waters and start swimming away from the shore. Taking a gulp of air and preparing to dive, the last thing I hear is…
"Idiot, grab her feet, grab her feet!"
Too late, as my opponent reaches for me, I kick their hand away and disappear underwater. I make a beeline towards the middle of the lake, trying to keep myself away from the water's surface. The water is freezing cold, but my adrenaline levels keep me warm and pushing forward. I break the water's surface after five minutes.
My ears start popping, my lungs gasp for fresh oxygen, and I am disoriented. I hit my head hard, back at the beach. I close my eyes, float on my back, and try to calm myself down. I am some distance from the shore, but I can hear two people talking with each other.
"What are we going to do if we are unable to bring the kid back with us?"
"Why are you asking me this, Jane? You had the kid within your reach and let her slip away! Besides, the water's temperature is freezing, the brat will die from hypothermia before dawn."
"Are you suggesting we wait for the sun to rise and retrieve her corps, Andy?"
"Unless you want to swim out in the lake and search for her, yes, that is precisely what I am suggesting!" There is heavy sarcasm and fear coming from Andy's voice. He is terrified and so is Jane. Eventually, Jane and Andy stop bickering but remain on the beach.
I start using a Reverse-Curse to heal my injuries. As my mum told me during our training session, I need to treat each match as a life and death situation. Right now, the only things standing between me and going home are Andy and Jane.