Jujutsu Kaisen: The Forgotten Clan
Chapter 23: One Fire, Two Spirits Part 1
The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and it is Friday...one more day till the weekend. I look at the baby picture while walking to class. My parents' faces hold a mix of excitement and fear, while my brothers look happy(ish). Of course, my eyes are closed, I am a newborn infant. I arrive at class three minutes early and write up my report from last night.
Something else comes to mind and I take out my cell phone. I scroll through my contact list and find Simon's number. A quick text message is all I can send before Yaga, Nanami, and Haibara enter the classroom. Hopefully, he gets back to me.
A few hours later, I am back inside my dorm room, looking through my memory box. It has been a few years since I took a walk down memory lane. I check my phone, notice it is eleven-thirty and head out the door. Sakura left a sandwich and water for me; I grab both items and head to her room.
Knock, knock, knock. Sakura opens the door and lets me inside.
"Thank you for finding me food. Here I will leave this on your desk."
She smiles at me.
"How long was I out for last night? And who carried me back to campus?"
"You were asleep for eight hours, and you can guess who carried you back to campus."
We both laugh at Sakura's statement. I am bonding with my new classmates, and my counselor would be proud of me.
"Are you feeling safe?"
Sakura nods her head and starts fidgeting with her tee-shirt. She turns her back to me and lets out a sigh.
"I tracked down my brother earlier today and found him in a hospital not too far from campus."
She turns and faces me. Tears are welling up inside her eyes. I hold my arms out and she curls herself into my embrace.
"Were you able to visit him?"
She shakes her head no.
"You wanted to see him face-to-face, what stopped you from visiting?"
"Fear of hurting him and scaring him off. I am not sure if vampires are allowed in hospitals or not. Aren't rules in place prohibiting vampires from entering sacred grounds or something?"
"I don't know."
Ding. A new text message has arrived from Satoru,
Message: Hey, where are you? Yaga wants us to report to the classroom, now
Response: On my way
Inside the Classroom
Yaga is sitting at the front of the classroom, arms folded across his chest. Satoru is leaning back in a chair, feet on the desk in front of him. Suguru is sitting at a desk, chin resting on his hands, eyes closed and mouth smiling. I sit at an empty desk and prop my head up with my right knuckles. Yaga stands up, moves behind his desk, and starts talking.
"Thank you everyone for being here on short notice. I have assignments for you three. Gojo and Geto, these are for you."
It appears I will be flying solo on this mission.
"And Santa-Clara, here are your debrief papers."
"Who authorized these missions?" I say this while looking over the sheets of paper in my hands.
"That I am not going to disclose. Good luck to the three of you."
(Suit yourself)
"Is it normal for us to get this my missions, back-to-back?"
Satoru and Suguru look at me like I should know the answer. If I had the answer, I would not have asked the question. Then they smile at each other before I get an answer.
"It depends on the time of year, summer and winter are our busiest seasons. Other factors come into play as well. By the way, clear your calendar for the next two weeks!"
I feel there is more to Satoru's answer than he is letting on.
"What for? I might be placed on another assignment and can't make a guarantee my calendar will be clear." I smile and wave to my classmates as we part ways.
A Two-Hour Car Ride Latter
I find myself standing outside a two-story house. The front yard is green, with rows of red/yellow/blue roses, jasmine vines, and perennials lining the driveway. I notice a red ball sitting in the front yard, a swing hanging from a tree tucked into a corner, and a jump rope laying on the sidewalk.
The Axillary Manager waves goodbye before driving off. I walk towards the front door, taking mental notes of the surroundings. Before my hand reaches the door, it opens. A woman who is shorter than me with brunette hair, a well-chiseled jawline, and brown eyes, stands before me.
"May I see some identification, please?"
I show the woman my Jujutsu Tech student identification and the papers Yaga gave to me. She closes the door and leaves me standing outside.
Five minutes later, the woman returns and gestures for me to come inside. A young child runs up to me and hugs my leg while yelling...
"New!"
Then they run off as though nothing happened. Once inside the kitchen, the woman offers me a seat and disappears into another room of the house. She returns with two adults walking behind her...the child from earlier runs up to me again. I stand up as the adults enter the room. The three of us bow to each other before sitting down. A tray of tea is brought out by the woman with round eyes.
"You must be the person Jujutsu Tech sent over. If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?" This coming from a person, I assume is a man, with short, peach-colored hair, dark brown eyes with hints of yellow in them, and a tall, muscular frame.
"Sixteen."
"So young for this type of work." He mumbles under his breath.
"Please excuse my husband, we have been experiencing a few, instances the last two months. My name is Ano, Katsuto and this is my husband, Ano Toru."
Miss Ano is quite stunning with fire-red hair that extends to her hips, light-grey or light-brown eyes (they change color depending on how the light hits her orbs), and a pair of fangs tucked behind her plump lips. Her husband is good-looking in his ways too: muscular and overweight, hair the length of Geto's that is greying in color, and a civilian.
"New! New!" The child is trying to get my attention by waving her pudgy fingers at me and jumping up and down.
"Ayami. Sweetheart, mommy, and daddy are having a serious conversation with Miss Santa-Clara and would appreciate you leaving us alone."
It is evident Miss Ano has not been sleeping much: deep bags formed under her eyes, she looks out the kitchen door every thirty seconds, and wringing her hands under the table. I try lightening the mood.
"May I hold Ayami?"
Ayami's parents look at each other before I get an answer.
"Sure. She does not warm up to others this quickly and seems pretty attached to you."
I scoop Ayami into my arms and sit her on my lap. Two years of babysitting are paying off.
"Do you mind explaining to me what has happened with you and your family?" My voice is gentle and non-judgmental. Ayami is slapping my palm while I am talking with her parents. Katsuko talks first.
"Three months ago, our eldest daughter notice something crawling around in her bedroom. My husband and I did not notice anything strange until she stopped sleeping in her room. Eventually, she stopped sleeping throughout the night and sustained a few injuries.
We alerted the police who could not find anything, and eventually, our daughter started sleeping in her room again."
Mr. Ano picks up the story after his wife stops talking.
"The same cycle started happening again a month and a half ago: our daughter is currently at school and unable to attest to what we are sharing. She spends the night outside because it makes her feel safe, but she is still bothered by something. When we contacted the police again, they suggested we reach out to Jujutsu Technical College.
Oh, and part of our house caught on fire two weeks ago. Thankfully none of us were injured."
We hear the front door open and close. A girl around ten years walks into the kitchen.
"Have you told this person about the fire?"
Miss and Mr. Ano shake their heads yes. Their eldest daughter storms back outside. Mr. Ano excuses himself from the table while Ayami gives me a toothless grin. Miss Ano breaks the silence.
"You are good with kids. The last sorcerer who came to visit brought out Ayami's temper. What is your secrete?"
Miss Ano's words are heavy, but her eyes are light.
"Thank you. Parenting myself and babysitting. Are you comfortable telling me more about the fire and the sorcerer?"
Mr. Ano makes it back to the table. He hugs his wife and answers me.
"With all due respect, we are not disclosing the identity of the sorcerer. Follow us and we will show you where the fire occurred."
While walking through the house, I activate my technique. The only cursed energy I am picking up comes from Mr. Ano, trace amounts from Miss Ano, and their infant. We have made it to the backyard.
"As you can see, there are burn marks around the pond, two cherry blossom trees are beyond saving, and the entrance to our eldest daughter's room was replaced."
I am taking note of what is being shared. I notice, too, how much residual cursed energy is scattered around the yard. There are at least one curse and a sorcerer involved with the fire.
"Thank you for sharing this information with me."
My phone starts ringing. I hand Ayami to her mother and excuse myself to the front yard. Mr. and Miss Ano start talking with each other.
In the Front Yard
"This is Santa-Clara, how may I assist you?"
"Glad I get to hear your voice this time around. after we exchanged texts last night, I started to worry you were ignoring me."
"Who are you and what do you want?"
"Hehehe. You remind me of your father, trying to figure out who I am. Not going to tell you. How is your experiment with the vampire coming along?"
"Not telling you. Goodbye!"
I hang up the phone and see Miss and Mr. Anos waiting for me by the front door.