Jujutsu Kaisen: The Forgotten Clan
Chapter 7- New Beginnings Part 3
"We do apologize ma'am. Happy New Year's Eve." Ema, the woman with a green sweater like mine, walks away with a disgruntled look on her face. The white-haired sorcerer laughs at himself and turns back towards his friends.
"How did you lose track of our target, Satoru? Ema looks nothing like the woman I saw in the bakery. Is your technique not working or are you being lazy since it is a holiday?" Suguru is losing his temper and eager to get a straight answer from his classmate. Shoko has not said a word and wants to smoke.
"Don't you mean the woman you ran into at the bakery, Suguru? Hehe. Man, you are right. I am feeling lazy and since we are working on New Year's Eve, I decided to not rely on my Six-Eyes. Plus, both Ema and our target have similar profiles when you look at them from behind."
"You could have traced our target based on her residuals. We learned this two weeks ago, remember?" Shoko pipes up and smiles at her classmate.
"I don't appreciate you making fun of me or creating excuses for slacking on the job." The black-haired dude looks down at his phone and sees a new message. He tells his counterparts, "Look, we need to get going. Yaga wants a report on what we have found, and the Elders want us to investigate a recent finding taking place on the subway."
"Grand. Happy New Year to us! You two go on and report to Yaga. I will head over to the subway and see what is up." Shoko says this while placing a fresh cigarette to her lips.
I am at a loss for words after today's events; being stocked by two sorcerers and rendering them unconscious, following two prominent sorcerers and their pup of a civilian, and running into a group of teenagers. My head is pounding, my chest is heavy, and I feel uneasy. Going home tonight is not an option; the two sorcerers and the civilian took my identification and know where I live. I am not putting myself in a position where I can get attacked...I am not reliving that memory tonight.
While sitting on the train replaying the day in my head, I am snapped back to reality when the train makes an emergency stop. An announcement is made over the sound system:
"Attention ridders, we apologize for the emergency stop. There is an unidentified object on the tracks and the proper authorities have been contacted. Please remain seated until further instructions are made. Thank you." I am losing my temper and start mumbling to myself.
"Great! Some curse has started manifesting due to the holiday. Most likely the result of excessive drinking and partying too hard." I close my eyes again and gather as much information as I can from my surroundings.
Three baby curses have manifested less than a kilometer ahead. They are sitting on the track: one of the curses is a semi-grade three and the other curses are grade-four. I get up, walk towards the front compartment of the train and get the conductor's attention.
"Hi, Miss. How may I help you?" There is a door with plexiglass windows separating us. The conductor sounds nervous and unsure why I am talking with him.
"Good evening. Would you be able to let me out of the train? I am in a hurry to get to the hospital and visit my friend. We are celebrating the New Year together and this is the closest stop that is walking distance to the hospital." I am lying through my teeth to get off the train, exorcise the curses, and leave before other sorcerers arrive.
"I do apologize Miss. We are not able to let passengers off or on the train at this time. There has been an accident up ahead and we are waiting for the authorities to arrive. Please go back to your seat. Your friend will have to wait." He waves the back of his hand towards me and turns around. I take a deep breath in, and out before returning to my seat.
After five minutes of waiting, I get up and walk to the back of the train. There are not many passengers aboard, so, I sneak off to the emergency exit. Picking the lock is not difficult and I use a little cursed energy to disable the alarm. Within a minute, I am walking alongside the train tracks and heading towards the curses.
To my surprise, the curses are unaware of my presence. They remain seated, look in my general direction for a few seconds, and start wandering down the tracks. I take in how narrow the subway tube is, keep my eyes on the curses as they head away from the train, and I walk a few steps behind the curses. Ten minutes pass by when we reach the Shibuya stop: an area with a lot of activity during the night. The sounds of footsteps and laughter tell me the New Year's festivities are getting started.
I have lost sight of the curses. Crud! Using my senses, I get off the tracks and onto the platform. One of the curses has stopped on the staircase leading to the street level. Time for some fun. I make my way over to the stairs, ducking behind a pillar before the curse can see me. Once I am behind the curse, it turns around and tries attacking me by jumping off the stairs and onto the platform. I avoid the attack by stepping backward three times. This semi-grade three curse and I are in a face-off. It has a round face with eight eyes, hands for feet, and feet for hands.
"You going to celebrate the New Year, curse? How about we cut a deal?" I want the curse to leave and take the other curses with it. The less cursed energy I use, the harder it will be to track me. Two sorcerers and a handful of civilians are making their way to the stairs. A snap of my fingers causes the curse to charge forward, the two grade-four curses attack me from behind. A flash of light sends a gust of wind up the stairs.
"Oh, it is chilly down here. Put your jacket on babe." Some civilian couple as they make their way down the stairs.
"I know where the curses are." Shoko putting her cigarette out while waiting outside.
I grab my bag, readjust my hair and head up a different set of stairs. Time for me to leave...
Meanwhile….
"What is the meaning of showing up late for the clan meeting?" The current Zen'In head yells at the blond sorcerer and his accomplices.
"We ran into some trouble. Hehe. The kind of trouble created to obey men." This coming from the blond sorcerer around my age.
"You are late to the meeting because of a woman? Sit down and shut your trap." After saying this, the clan head gulps alcohol.
"She is not just a woman; she is my life partner. Would you not agree? How is the plaid shirt treating you?"
"Enough of your musings, now sit. What are you two looking at? Go back to fixing dinner." The Zen'In clan leader spots identical twin girls watching the meeting. He is not happy with their spying at all.
The two young girls realize they have been caught, grab each other's hands, and run away. They want to avoid unnecessary punishment and keep the peace. The only persons invited to the clan meeting are men.
I make it to the street level of Shibuya and catch Shoko out the corner of my eye. We are on opposite sides of the street. She is standing alone, not smoking and waiting for someone else. Within a few seconds, her friends join her. I can see they are talking with each other.
"If you two hurry downstairs, you should be able to catch up with her." Shoko states with a flat affect.
"Are you not coming with us? Besides, she is standing right over there." Suguru is pointing to the place I was just standing.
"Across the street? I don't see or sense anyone dude. Yes, this time, I am using the Six-Eyes…there is nothing there. Come on, we need to clean up the curses, talk with the train conductor, and get back to campus." Satoru states with a mixed expression of excitement and curiosity.
December 31, 2007: 9:00 pm; The outskirts of Kyoto
I make it safely to my second hideout/training ground. A five-story care facility located in Kyoto. With the commotion of New Year's Eve underway, nobody is aware of my presence. I walk through the back gate of the building unnoticed. I am guessing the time is nine at night…perfect. Making my way up the stairs, I carefully build a time-release barrier while erasing my residuals.
After unpacking my bag, placing the food on a table, and opening Miss Apple's gift, I let my guard down. My purple eyes are not sensing danger or curses. I decide on a quick shower and cup of tea with an apple to help me settle in for the night. Before reading the first page of the anatomy book, I fall asleep. The day was long, and I need to rest.