Jujutsu Kaisen: The Forgotten Clan
Chapter 16- Scariest Place on Earth, Day 2 Part A
1:00 am- Haunted Mansion Exit
"That is three civilians, including the individual we found in the dining room, Satoru. Are you able to sense out more?"
"I am not sensing anyone else, Suguru. Have the others reached out yet?"
While Satoru and Suguru talk with each other, a young man around twenty-two approaches them.
"Excuse me. May I ask what is going to happen with us? Are we going to be arrested? Eaten?" He is tired, terrified, and wondering where the night is headed. Satoru and Suguru look at each other before Suguru answers the young man.
"We are trying to figure that out right now. We have four more people looking through the rest of the rides for anything out of the ordinary.
The young man who was tackled to the ground in the dining hall pipes up.
"If anyone is looking in Space Mountain, that is where my sister and I were last seen together. I don't know what happened to her the day we were taken, hostage." He starts crying.
1:00 am- Osamu's Office
"Sir, come look at the security footage in Haunted Mansion." He is part of Sir Shingo's fleet of personal security and not a sorcerer.
"What is it, Chihito?" Osamu is tired and worried about what is in store. When he gets to the monitor, his mouth drops open and his eyes bug out of his head.
"Are those, are those? Those are three of the individuals who have gone missing! Add to the list the two individuals Nanami and Haibara brought to us, and we are at five individuals. What is going on in Space Mountain?"
"Let me zoom in, for you. It looks like Kiyotaka is standing by himself, but his eyes are focused on something. I can't find Santa-Clara on the camera sir, but I assume she is with Kiyotaka. You said she is the type of person to take matters into her own hands." Chihito says this with a small laugh.
"Don't get me started, Chihito. She was right about the dead body. Unfortunately, the dead body does not belong to any of the persons who were reported missing. And keep this between us, we are not reporting the body to Sir Shingo" Osamu stares at Chihito when he says this.
"My lips are sealed. We should head back out front and greet the rest of the students."
1:20 am- Space Mountain
"Santa-Clara, are you able to move? Should I call Gojo or Geto to come and help us?"
"I can move, just very slowly. Have Gojo or Geto responded to my messages?"
"Let me see. Oh, Gojo says they found three people at Haunted Mansion and for us to start heading over to the front gate."
I let out a sigh and start laughing to myself. We are far from finished with our mission: securing the missing individuals is partially complete, exorcising the curses has not been done. How the heck are we going to transport a vampire to Jujutsu Tech?
"What do you need me to do Santa-Clara?"
"Help me stand up and carry my bag." I hand my green backpack to Kiyotaka and allow him to help me up.
"Impressive, for such a young sorceress, you were able to subdue me. I can tell from the way you are carrying yourself and asking for help, your technique is taking a toll on your body. It is only a matter of time before you need to release your technique. And when that happens, I am going to savor every drop of your blood."
The way the vampire is talking and smiling with his fangs gives me the creeps. It is made even worse when he licks his lips while describing how he will enjoy eating me.
"Get up!" I jerk my arm forward and force the vampire to stand up.
1:35 am- Front Gates to the Park
"Where are those two? Five minutes late is not acceptable." Nanami, looking at his watch every two seconds.
"I am sure there is a good reason Santa-Clara and Ijichi are late." Suguru with uncertainty in his voice.
Chihito took the three civilians to the holding cells by Osamu's office: waiting outside the front gates are Osamu, Gojo, Geto, Nanami, and Haibara.
"Look. There they are. Who is that walking behind Santa-Clara?" Haibara shouts.
"Stop trying to escape! It is useless and you will make things worse for both of us." I bark at the vampire.
Once my counterpart and I make it to the rest of the group, everyone's faces look worried and shocked. At least they can see the vampire, unlike the security cameras.
"Do you mind explaining to us what happened to you and what that thing is walking behind you, Santa-Clara?" Osamu says in a low, serious voice.
"A vampire found at Space Mountain. There is another one at the same location who is dead."
I am exhausted and trying not to yell at Osamu. The vampire decides to talk with the group.
"Good evening gentlemen. To whom do I owe the pleasure of meeting such a strapping group of sorcerers? I am guessing you all attend Jujutsu Tech."
My classmates look at each other, then they look at the vampire, and finally, they all look at me. My face is swelling up from being punched, my neck is red and throbbing, and my clothing is covered in black-blue ooze from the other vampire. I address the group.
"Someone, call the school and have them bring the civilians and vampire back to campus!"
Within thirty minutes of making a call, a van pulls up in front of my group. Yaga, an auxiliary manager, and an Elder get out of the van.
"What is the meaning of this? Calling us to your mission in the middle of the night?" The Elder says out loud.
"I assure you my students have a valid reason for calling us here." Yaga, trying to keep the peace. "Where is the head of security?"
Osamu waves his hand and approaches Yaga. He explains what has happened with the little information he has received. Before the phone call was made, the civilians were brought back out to join our group.
I still have the vampire under my control and finding it hard to stay awake. I nearly miss someone calling my name.
"Santa-Clara, show yourself." Yaga, trying to be professional and not cause more of a disturbance.
"I am right here, by the light." I moved under a lighted area thinking it would keep the vampire under control. It worked to an extent.
"What is…" Once Yaga's face comes into view, he sees me and stops walking.
"Don't worry about me, worry about the vampire. I asked Satoru to call one of the Elders. I am hoping they know how to handle a vampire."
I am reaching my one-hour mark. My body is starting to shut down from fatigue and I want food.
After a ten-minute back and forth between myself, Yaga, and the Elder, the civilians and the living vampire are taken back to Jujutsu Tech. I keep the vampire under my control until seven seals are placed on his arms. Once the technique is released, I sit down to keep myself from passing out.
My classmates and I are shuttled back to the hotel. Not a word is spoken between the six of us: we are all exhausted, on edge, and wondering how much longer this mission will last.
Room-707, Hilton Tokyo Bay
By the time I make it into my room, it is 2:30 am. I decide on a shower and take my time getting ready for bed. The hot water coupled with Reverse-Curse soothes my muscles and heals most of my injuries. I will investigate the scaring after the mission.
Once inside the covers, I sit up and look at the tray on my nightstand. I lift the lid and see a note tucked under a to-go-box of food. The note says, eat up and enjoy the food, with a smiley face in the top right corner. After devouring the room temperature pizza and chocolate chip cookie, I fall asleep.
A Few Hours Later….
"Miss Santa-Clara! It is time to get up. We need to leave for our meeting." Nanami, keeping his voice at a reasonable decibel.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Step aside, let me try getting her attention. New kid, you have less than five minutes to…." We can all guess who says this.
I open the door, fully dressed and half-awake. Three of my classmates are standing outside my door. Haibara and Kiyotaka are not in sight.
"Don't worry about the other two, they are on the tenth floor waiting for us. Are you ready to go Miss Santa-Clara?" Nanami, being a gentleman.
"Why are we going to the tenth floor? What time is it? I just fell asleep."
"It is five-o-clock on the nose. Sir Shingo called a last-minute meeting, and we are late. Let's go before we make him upset." Suguru, who has started walking towards the elevators. Nanami, Satoru, and I catch up with him as the elevator door opens.
"Ladies first, go on Blaze." Suguru holds the door open and lets me in first. I press the button for the tenth floor and shake myself awake.
Secret Meeting Room-10th Floor of the Hotel
"Where are the rest of the Jujutsu Technical College Students? I told them our meeting started at 4:50 am and they are late." Sir Shingo
"My dear, we have two of the students in front of us. Perhaps the others are still asleep. They worked hard last night and…."
"I don't want excuses for their tardiness! Based on the report Osamu gave us, there are serious issues that need to be addressed. That Santa-Clara…. I swear she is responsible for what happened."
Madam Shingo remains quiet to avoid ticking her husband off further.
"With all due respect, if it was not for Santa-Clara, I may not be here, Sir, S.," Kiyotaka says while looking at the ground.
"And with all due respect my boy, you seem like the last person who should be working as a sorcerer. You can't look me in the eyes while making your statement. Grow a backbone!" Sir Shingo barks, causing Kiyotaka to shut his mouth. Haibara gives Kiyotaka a supportive look.
A knock on the door draws the four individuals to the security guard. He informs the group the rest of the Jujutsu Tech students have arrived. Shortly after the announcement, Satoru, Suguru, Nanami, and I walk inside the room. The door closes behind me.
"Take your time sitting down. It's like you are late, to begin with." Sir Shingo being impatient.
"Hun, let the students put themselves together. It is early in the morning after all. Please help yourselves to coffee, tea, and anything else you see in front of you." Madam Shingo
I look around the room, grab a coffee and a banana before sitting down. Sir Shingo starts the meeting.
"I have been informed there was significant damage, and a corpse found in Space Mountain. In addition, a vampire and five civilians were recovered. Someone, start talking!"
Nothing but silence fills the room after Sir Shingo yells at us. I swallow the last bite of my banana, gulp the last of my coffee, and start talking. Suguru begins speaking before I do.
"What you have said is all true, Sir. Gojo and I found three civilians in Haunted Mansion, Haibara and Nanami found two civilians along Main Street, and the vampire was in Space Mountain." He is calm and collected.
"Then the security cameras would have picked up on the vampire. Osamu looked through the footage of last night and could see the civilians, Gojo, and Geto inside Haunted Mansion. He could see four-eyes on the security camera too, but not the vampire."
Sir Shingo looks over at Kiyotaka and me wanting us to explain what happened inside Space Mountain. I clear my throat before answering.
"The corpse found at Space Mountain is a vampire: I managed to stab its jugular vein after an intense battle. All the damage done to Space Mountain could not be helped, and I take full responsibility for…."
"You were instructed not kill! Are you hard of hearing or something, young lady? And what happened to your neck and face?"
I do not flinch while Sir Shingo yells at me, and I respond to his questions without yelling.
"I fought off two vampires: the dead one at Space Mountain, and a living one who is at Jujutsu Technical College. The vampire who is in custody bit me before I was able to use a technique. If I had not acted accordingly, my partner and I may have been killed. My Reverse-Curse healed the more severe injuries a few hours ago. What you see now is scarring."
My face is less swollen than before. The flesh around my neck is soft and delicate to the touch. If one looks closely, one can see the exact place where the vampire ripped into my carotid artery. Sir Shingo narrows his eyes.
"Why didn't the vampires show up the security footage, young lady?"
"I don't know. This is the first time I have fought off a vampire. Why don't you ask the sorcerers in your security fleet? They might have an answer to your question."
At this point, Sir Shingo and I have locked eyes. Neither of us budges, neither of us talks, and it takes Madam Shingo to break the tension.
"We can keep Space Mountain closed. After all, it experienced mechanical issues yesterday. Why don't we allow these young people to take part of the day off, and finish their mission tonight?"
"Fine by me. The six of you will have until closing time today to put together a plan and find the rest of the civilians. You are to find them and exorcise any curses you encounter after the park closes. And I will be reporting your mishandlings to your superiors, young lady. Good day!"
Sir Shingo and his wife leave the conference room. I smile to myself and shrug off Sir Shingo's threat.
My classmates and I stay inside the conference room and devise a plan: switch up the groups, have each group take a new area of the park, exorcise curses at the respective area, and report to Osamu. We are meeting in the hotel lobby at sunset. We head back to the elevator: I get off at the seventh floor, my classmates head downstairs for breakfast.
"Are you sure you don't want to join us, Blaze?" Haibara asks with a look of disappointment and guilt on his face.
"Not right now, I am exhausted and want to heal myself some more. When I am done, I will catch up with you all. I promise." I flash a toothy smile that puts Haibara's mind at ease.
"I will hold you accountable then," Haibara says with a smile before the elevator closes.
Back inside my room, my first order of business is light reading. I start with the manilla folder with the words 'Family Tree' faintly etched onto it.
There are twenty pages of text written on various forms of parchment, three photos of women I have never met, and two photos of men I have never met within the folder. The photos are in black-and-white, fading, and give me goosebumps. One of the women bears some resemblance to one of my parents. Looking at one of the photos of the men, I see the spitting image of Satoru…if he had jet black hair and fuller cheeks.
One parchment is written in two languages: French, and an unknown second language. By the looks of it, the parchment is a letter of sorts. A love letter or a letter of warning? I spend a good twenty minutes studying the folder and decide it is time to eat.
I check my phone and see a message from Haibara. He asked if I am joining the others or not…they went for a walk after we parted ways and are now sitting down for breakfast. I send a message telling him I am on my way.