Jujutsu Kaisen: The Forgotten Clan
Chapter 27: Sister-Exchange Event, Day 2, Part 1
"What are you doing here? Oh, put him on the bed closest to the window."
I lay the sack of potatoes on the bed next to Ijichi. His chest rises and falls in a steady rhythm. His face twitches involuntarily every few seconds and his blond hair drapes over his flushed cheeks. I give him at least twelve hours before waking up. I turn my attention to my other classmate.
"How are you holding up Ijichi?"
"Oh, umm, I did not last very long on the field. And my leg will be in a cast for a few months." Ijichi's face turns light pink while he bows his head towards me.
"Should I heal you up, Blaze? You are looking rough around the edges."
My mind and body feel out of synch: I am physically present in the infirmary but, my brain feels fuzzy. It is as if a fog is clouding my frontal lobe. Suddenly, the corners of my lips point towards the ground, the room starts spinning, and I hear a crash sound.
A bright light flashes into my orbs while a pair of cold fingers touches my forehead. I blink three times before tears stream down my face. I curl up into the fetal position and cover my face.
"I will come back later. Get some rest."
The smell of iodine, the sounds of a person's shoes clicking on the cold floor, and voices in the distance send me off to sleep.
6:00 pm of Day 1- Eighteen Hours Before Team Event Begins
Swish, snore, snore. Beep, beep. Drip. Grumble.
My mouth feels like I have eaten a bag of cotton and chased it down with rubbing alcohol. Darkness blankets the room, the buzzing and dripping sounds make me shiver in my skin, and I feel my face heating up. Every bone in my body is sore.
"You finally woke up."
"Who is there?! What do you want?!"
I bare my teeth towards a voice without a face and squirm in my bed. It is hard for me to sit still. Suddenly, two figures appear at the foot of my bed: one person looks like a young grandparent with pepper-colored hair, and the second person has fangs.
"Miss Santa-Clara, my name is..."
"I don't care who you are! What are your intentions?"
I ball my fists up, arch my back, and stare the individuals down.
A female walks over to my bed and starts talking with the two male figures. All three of them look at me, turn their backs towards me, and walk away so I can't hear them talking. While they are gone, I see a blond individual in the bed across the aisle from me. I am snapped back to reality just as the female returns to my bedside.
Shoko takes my vitals, determines I am sane enough for discharge, and informs me the two people who came to visit me are trustworthy. I get out of the bed, put my shoes back on, and head towards my dorm. There is time for me to grab a shower before dinner.
6:30 pm-Inside My Temporary Dorm Room at Kyoto Technical College
(Get a hold of yourself, Blaze! Passing out after a battle, biting someone's head off, and making a fool of yourself, you should feel proud. Proud of making an arse of yourself. Proud of putting yourself into a hospital and proud for being rude towards strangers! You hate hospitals with a burning passion! Your parents raised you to be kind towards others.
Stop! Show yourself some kindness. You would not talk this way to someone you care about. Breath.)
A stream of water flows down my face, cooling the inferno on my cheeks. My nostrils splay open, releasing the pressure built in my nasal cavity. Ding! Time to get ready for dinner.
7:00 pm- Dining Hall at Kyoto Technical College, Seventeen Hours Before Team Event Begins
"Any sign of her, Nanami?"
"Gojo, kindly refrain from bothering me. I said I would inform you when Miss Blaze makes an appearance."
"Pft, you can never be too careful."
I sense out Nanami and Gojo before walking into the dining hall. Geto and Haibara are not with them. Once I open the doors, I take a quick inventory of the environment: most of the Kyoto participants are present, the principal of both schools is seated at the front of the hall, and five spectators are spread throughout the area.
"We are glad you made it in time for dinner, Miss Blaze. You may take my seat if you wish."
"Thank you, Nanami. There is no need to get up, I will sit on your left-hand side. And good evening, Six-Eyes."
"Stop calling me Six-Eyes, kid. It isn't nice to pick on your upperclassmen, don't you know?"
The look Nanami is giving to Gojo could raise the dead. I help myself to the pitcher of water on our table, blatantly ignoring Gojo's plea. Haibara and Geto have made an appearance. Both men make a beeline for our table and sit down immediately. I finish my sip of water and raise a single eyebrow towards Gojo.
"And how may we help you?"
I turn around in my seat and come face-to-face with the same woman who asked about the individual battles this morning. Her eyes dart from person to person and land on the floor. She starts talking without breaking eye contact with the wood floorboards.
"Do you mind if we talk in private?"
I cock my head to the left, trying to sus her vibe. She balls her left hand into a fist and repeats herself.
"Do you mind if we talk in private? Outside of the dining hall?"
I purse my lips, close my eyes, and inhale. I excuse myself from the table and gesture the young woman to walk ahead of me. We make it outside: the frigid air kisses my exposed forearms and dances with the few curls that escaped my low bun.
"How may I assist you?"
"I don't want to participate in tomorrow's team event."
"Why are you telling me this? Gakuganji is the person you should talk with, not me."
"You took out one of our teammates, and..."
"Ducking out of tomorrow's event is not why you reached out to me. Would walking and talking make you feel more comfortable?"
Before she starts crying, the woman and I move away from the doors. We walk around the nearly deserted campus in dead silence. We return to the dining area just in time for evening announcements.
9:30 pm: Temporary Dorm Room
The twenty-minute strategizing meeting closed out my day. My head is pounding and swimming with new thoughts, my heart is heavy, and my soul has felt better. A few seconds later, I slip off into dreamland: salt and sweat linger in the air. A delicate wind blows through my bones, and sand warms my feet. My subconscious lingers in this space for a few hours.
5:00 am- Seven Hours Before Team Event Begins
Pressure builds up in my lower abdominal region and the sound of the ocean does not help. The blue sky disappears, darkness comes into view. Odd, my mattress feels like a cloud and not a brick. The oversized cotton t-shirt smells of Old Spice, fresh linen, and body odor. Time to relieve this pressure. Raising myself from the bed, slipping into house slippers, and five steps later, the porcelain throne comes into view.
I turn my gaze to the watch on my right wrist and notice it is 5:45 am: time to get ready for school. A cold splash of water to the face, draws my attention to five-o-clock-shadow. Since when did my peach fuzz grow this much? Batting my brown-eyes open, I see a face of freckles, fire-colored hair, and a bare-chested individual looking at me with a star dazed look.
6:00 am- Six Hours Before Team Event Begins
Thump, thump, thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Huff, huff.
Ok, it was just a dream. Where are my clothes? Crack! Good lord, my bones are stiff, and I shrunk a few centimeters.
"Knock, knock. Hey kid, are you getting up or not?"
"Huh? Yes, dad. I will be downstairs in a minute."
"Dad? Did Naoya hit you that hard in the face yesterday? You are too funny. We are meeting in the same place as last night to strategize. See you there."
(Meeting in the same place as last night? Wait a second…click.)
(Agh! Where did my stuff go? And what is this sensation swirling around in my body? And…my hair is curly)
6:00 am
"You have got to be kidding me! Gosh dang it!"
Knock, knock, knock.
"Simon, breakfast is ready. Hurry up so your father can drop you off at school on his way to work."
"Alright mom, I will be there in a minute."
(Oh snap. This is not good! This is not good at all. Black slack, tie, dress shoes, and other uniform stuff. A planner and pictures...)
The first frame is Simon and me on picture day when we first met: his left arm is draped over my shoulders, and my right arm is draped over his shoulders. Both of us are grinning ear-to-ear. The second frame makes my jaw drop and eyes bulge. Right, I need to get ready for school!
"There you are dear…oh. It is dress uniform day? I thought it was free-dress today?"
"I can change when I get to school."
Simon's mother looks at me like I have three heads. I shrug my shoulders and walk over to the table.
"Good morning son! Grab a seat."
I sit down at a table set for three. My mouth salivates, my eyes grow larger than the sun, and grumble…my stomach sounds like a symphony orchestra. Ding!
"Simon. Please refrain from using the phone at the table."
"Of course, mother."
Simon's parents look at each other, then they look at me. Something important is being brought up over breakfast.
"When do you plan on bringing your friend, Lithuila, over for dinner? You have introduced us to your partner already, and we would like to catch up with Lithuila and her parents."
Clack. The fork jumps from my hand when Simon's father stops talking.
6:30 am- Kyoto Campus
"Oh good, you finally made it. What is with the dazed look Miss Blaze?"
"Umm, I am not feeling like myself this morning. I have not eaten yet nor have I gone on a run."
(Who are these people? I recognize the individual with the snowy hair and sunglasses from my date with Lithuila. The individual with the black hair was lurking around during our date too.)
"Well, you better find yourself before noon today. Gakuganji just announced our special guests will be staying to watch the team event. Now, Kiyotaka is not participating, Naoya just woke up: we are short a team member."
"And how does this impact me?"
"Hehe, well your dad can explain everything again if you wish."
(Oh no. My face feels warm and…)
"Excuse me please. Continue the meeting without me."
7:15 am- Simon's High School: His Locker
(I have forty-five minutes before classes commence.)
"Well, well. Looks like the transfer student has made an appearance today. Did you finish my French homework, pizza face?"
"Pizza face? My name is Simon."
I turn around and see a tall male with broad shoulders, short brown hair, and dark brown eyes. Thump! My back contacts the locker, forcing me to drop my books.
"Let go of me this instant!"
"You are feeling bold today, I see. In that case, I expect my French homework by noon today. Also, feel free to complete my math homework for the remainder of this week. And here is my parting gift for you…"
Crunch.
Back at Kyoto
"Just the individual I was looking for."
"Now how may I assist you today….?"
"Hehe, that is the attitude I am looking for from you. I guess it took a proper beating across the…."
"How about you leave her alone and save your energy for this afternoon."
(My face is warm again and I really need to be by myself.)
"Why don't you make me, curse user?"
"It is not very nice to call people names, sniff."
"Shut your trap you insular freak! Nobody asked for your opinions on treating others with respect. You are the one who has said respect is earned. Good luck to you in the arena, sweetheart."
"Excuse me, I need to take care of some personal things. And please refer to me as Blaze."
Simon walks off to the dorm, making efforts to suppress the tears building up behind his eyes. He throws himself onto the bed, buries his face into the pillow, and sobs. It is too early for his brain to comprehend what is going on.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Blaze, are you in there?"
"I am in here and would like to be left alone. Give me some space."
"If I may say something first, I will let you be."
"Start talking…sniff."
"We are partnering up for the team event. After you left, we figured it would not be wise for us to navigate the forest alone….
(Navigating a forest? What kind of school is this place? And how could anyone be that cruel to Lithuila, crud, Blaze?")
What do you say?"
"Hmm. Fine, partnering up sounds, ideal. Now leave. I will be out in an hour."
Having caught half of Suguru's pitch, Simon retreats into his own mind. Suguru smiles and leaves. Whatever has changed in his body, the swirling sensation in his body, is found in the bodies of those he has encountered so far.