Jujutsu Kaisen: The Forgotten Clan
Chapter 13- Warm Welcome
Knock, knock, knock! Knock, knock.
"Santa-Clara! Santa-Clara!"
"Satoru! There is no need to continuously shout out her name or bang on the door."
"Hey, you two in the black uniforms. Keep it down, some of us are trying to sleep!" One of my neighbors yelling at Satoru and Suguru.
"We do apologize, sir. Have a nice day. See I told you to keep it down." Suguru, being the responsible individual of the duo.
"Suguru, you told me it was not necessary to keep…hello sunshine! How are you this morning?"
I open the door to see my new classmates standing in front of me. My eyes are barely opened, my head is pounding and swimming with thoughts, and I look like a mess.
"Hello, please don't call me sunshine or other pet names. As I told Naoya last week, we are not dating or relatives. Come inside if you would like and make yourselves at home." I say this while rubbing my face and yawning.
Gojo and Geto follow me inside the apartment and take a seat at the small table in my 'dining' area. They are taking in the environment and figuring out what is out of place. Both men are in their school uniforms…crud, they must have come to bring to campus.
"Help yourselves to some food if you are hungry while I go put myself together." I saunter off into the bathroom. A hot shower sounds good after last night's festival of nightmares.
"Whoof. This is where she lives, huh? And where are you off too, dude?" Satoru quietly judging where I live.
"To the kitchen. While you are busy looking around, check out the bloodstains over here by the fridge and near the edge of the kitchen." Suguru is pointing to the place the creature had been squatting while walking into the kitchen. There are ten drops of blood on the floor.
"The blood next to the kitchen is Santa-Clara's. I noticed a small bruise on the back of her head after she let us in. Must have hit her head last night and sustained an injury. I am sure she has healed the injury by now…since she takes after Shoko."
"A Reverse-Curse user? Interesting, now we will have two people to go to when we need to be healed." Suguru says with a broad smile on his face and a short laugh in his throat. Then a thought hits him like a bag of bricks.
"Did you remember the green backpack, Satoru?"
"I have it right here. Don't worry, my mind has not been completely lost." Satoru, smiling at his friend.
While rinsing off and preparing for the day, I start building an image of the thing I saw last night. Crimsoned colored eyes with yellow edges, roughly 185cm in length, smelt of sulfur, sweat, and death. Its skin was cold, like a corpse and it looked terrified…to be honest, I am not sure what facial expression it held. I turn off the hot water, brush my teeth, and put on my school uniform. I am greeted by the smell of freshly brewed coffee and my classmates browsing their phones.
"Mind telling us what happened last night after you left campus?" Satoru asks while looking at his phone. Suguru raises an eyebrow at him and signals for Satoru not to start anything with me.
"I fell and hit my head while making dinner. No need to worry, I have healed the injury." I am walking into the kitchen to fix a cup of coffee and grab food.
"Then why are there two sets of bloodstains on the floor? The blood by the edge of the kitchen belongs to you, the blood by the fridge belongs to someone else. If you were attacked by…" I replace the coffee pot on the burner and finish Satoru's sentence.
"If you are worried that Naoya or another sorcerer broke into my house, then stop. I was alone most of the night and not disrupted by other sorcerers." I take a sip from my mug while looking at my classmates. Both want more information on what happened last night.
"Then tell us what attacked you. And here, you forgot this after your meeting." Satoru sounding a bit concerned and sarcastic. He throws me my backpack.
"Thank you and I don't know what attacked me. Scout's honor! I am not sure what they wanted and did not fight them. And thank you for fixing the coffee, Suguru, it is delicious." I gulp coffee to calm myself down.
Suguru perks up at my comment while Satoru looks hurt.
"And how do you know I am not the one who fixed the coffee? Hmm, Santa-Clara?" Satoru states with a playful tone in his voice.
"You seem like the type to put his needs and desires before others. This is not necessarily a bad characteristic." I smile at Satoru after saying this. Suguru starts laughing.
"And what is so funny, Suguru?" Satoru asks while peering over his dark sunglasses. "Continue with your explanation of how putting my needs and desires is not necessarily a bad characteristic, Santa-Clara."
"The reason why I am laughing is, Santa-Clara is spot on with you putting yourself first, Satoru. I wonder how that is possible."
"How about I answer both of your questions while we head to school? I assume that is why you two came to my residence." I look at my phone and notice the time is 7:45 am.
After grabbing an apple from the fridge, turning off the lights, and making sure I have both sets of house keys, the three of us walk out the door. Once we descend the stairs and reach the first floor, I find myself sandwiched between Satoru and Suguru. To say they are tall is an understatement. I am 170.18cm (5 ft, 7in), these two make me feel short.
"Start talking Santa-Clara." Satoru in a direct tone.
"Hey, give her some time to put her thoughts together." Suguru in a serious tone towards Satoru.
"How about you call me Blaze and not Santa-Clara. That is my preferred name. What would you like me to call both of you?" I say in a serious tone to both Satoru and Suguru.
"Why the name Blaze? I thought your name was, Lithuila Santa-Clara? For the record, you may call me Gojo or Satoru. Either name works for me." Satoru in a curious, nonchalant tone. Suguru has a puzzled look on his face too, he also nods in agreement with Satoru's statement regarding the name.
"Simple. Most people mispronounce my first name, I am not used to being called by my surname. Blaze is a variation of my first middle name, Balzertina. It is like Valentina, but with Balzer instead of Valen." I am smiling and feeling comfortable around these two despite my general disposition around sorcerers.
"Interesting. Do you mind answering our questions from before we left the apartment?" Suguru.
"In our line of work, it is not bad to put our personal needs before someone else. It sets a boundary for us as individuals and with other sorcerers. Plus, when out in the field, making sure our safety is met will, conversely, keep whoever we are working with safe. Ideally." I take a bite of my apple and chew softly. I continue talking after swallowing my bite.
"Based on the interactions the three of us have had, Satoru seems easy-going and less likely to think of others before himself. You, Suguru, seem more in tune with your emotions and the emotions of other people.
Take yesterday's meeting with the Elders: Satoru was comfortable enough telling the Elders he would prefer staying in the room during the interview. He did not ask if I wanted him to stay and support me during the interview. Also, Satoru was quick to call out Naoya's father after the interview."
Satoru smiles the entire time I am talking about him. Suguru looks exacerbated every time I mention Satoru's name. I continue with my analysis.
"Coming back to you Suguru, you remained quiet and observant when the Zen'Ins and Elders were dishing it out with Satoru. However, you grew defensive when Naoya's father mentioned how rude young female sorcerers were becoming. I assume you were also defensive when you stood up for me against Charlie and Arlo. You also bought me a tea yesterday and said it was a gesture to make me feel welcomed at Jujutsu Tech." Suguru's mouth falls open when I mention what happened back at Abitha. Satoru starts laughing at Suguru's reaction and I am feeling lighthearted.
"I appreciate both of you and thank you for making me feel welcomed at Jujutsu Tech. By the way, how much do I owe for the tea?" We have stopped walking and are waiting to cross the street.
"Nothing. It was a gift from both of us to welcome you into the fold of Jujutsu Tech." Satoru states with a hint of worry and sarcasm. He is moody and hard to read at times.
After five minutes of waiting, the walk signal beckons us forward.
"What information are you two hiding from me? Your tone, Satoru, when telling me I owe you nothing for the tea, sounded concerned. And my meeting from yesterday tells me the Elders have information on me that is not on record." I say this without sarcasm, contempt, or getting defensive.
Satoru and Suguru look at each other, then turn their eyes towards me. I raise my eyebrows expecting an answer from Satoru. Instead, we walk onto campus and head towards a classroom in silence. A few minutes later, Shoko Leiri and Kiyotaka Ijichi join us.
"Agh, you finally got the mysterious curly-haired tomboy to campus. How did you rope her into coming here Satoru and Suguru?" Shoko states with curiosity and a laid-back attitude.
"I came here on my own accord. Thank you for asking." I have started reading a book and look up from the pages while addressing Shoko.
"There is your answer. Our classmate came here on her own doing and was not forced, dragged, or bullied into coming with Suguru and myself." Satoru's over-the-top response to a simple question.
"It is nice to meet you, again. Miss Santa-Clara." Kiyotaka mumbles under his breath while bowing his head in my general direction.
"I appreciate the warm welcome. Would you prefer I call you by your first or last name, Ijichi? The same question goes for you Leiri." I have a gentle smile on my face while addressing Kiyotaka. He is nervous and unsure of what to do with himself. My guess is he has been bullied...by Satoru.
"Umm, ugh. I, I" Kiyotaka is interrupted by Satoru.
"The new kid asked you a question Kiyotaka. Why are you hesitant to answer?" Satoru walks over to Kiyotaka and puts an arm around the glasses-wearing sorcerer. There is a smug smile plastered on Satoru's face. This gesture makes Kiyotaka shrink into himself more and turn his gaze towards the floor.
"Satoru, we talked about leaving Kiyotaka alone and not bullying him. Remember?" Suguru states while Shoko nods her head in agreement. The dynamic between these four is humorous.
"Pft, I don't recall having an anti-bullying conversation with you Suguru."
"Then would you like to have an anti-bullying conversation with me? Kindly leave Kiyotaka alone." I am still looking at my book and calm as a summer breeze. This makes Satoru scoff under his breath and head over to me.
"And what gives you the authority to tell me what to do, newbie? And why are you concerned with how I treat others?" The laziness in Satoru's voice is potent and so is his carefreeness.
"It is clear to me you are strong as can be...in your own right. I have experienced bullying myself and don't appreciate witnessing others being bullied. Now, step away you are too close for my liking." My book is still open, I look up from the pages while saying this, and can tell I have ticked Satoru off. He has a half-grin on his face and trying to intimidate me through a stare-down. I continue talking.
"You can stare at me all you want, you are not the only person with special eyes in this room."
Suddenly, the classroom door slides open, and in walks three sorcerers. Masamichi Yaga and a tall sorcerer with blond hair, a pointed nose, and carrying an object in a black bag enter the room first. Behind the blond sorcerer is a shorter sorcerer with a bowl cut, dimples, and a smile. Masamichi is the first to speak.
"Satoru, what are you doing? Sit down. Santa-Clara, where...oh, you are here." Satoru stops looking at me and sits at a desk next to Suguru. I continue reading.
The blond sorcerer and his black-haired counterpart sit behind me. Shoko finds a seat to my right and Suguru has made himself comfortable in a seat to my left. Kiyotaka sits next to the blond dude. Masamichi stands at the front of the classroom. I close my book and place it in my bag.
"Welcome to Tuesday, students. As you can tell we have a transfer student who will be joining us from today. Would you care to stand up and introduce yourself to us, Santa-Clara?" Masamichi points in my direction with his palm left face up.
"Sure, what all would you like to know?" I say casually and politely.
"Whatever you feel like sharing, hurry up. We have important business to attend to." Yaga, with a sense of urgency in his voice.
"Greetings everyone, my name is Lithuila Santa-Clara, and you may call me Blaze. I am fluent in French, English, Japanese, enjoy drawing, and acting." I turn around and face Masamichi and the Elder when I say the name Blaze. I want them to know my preferred name and call me by it. I sit down after sharing my background.
"Thank you for sharing, Blaze."