Chapter Nine.
The Chase.
Morocco.
"Brother, over here, over here!" a young boy waves his hands in the air, eagerly signalling to his older brother to pass the soccer ball to him, the game they were originally playing with some other kids for fun now becoming one of intense competition.
Taking in a deep breath, the older boy focuses on dribbling the ball, maneuvering his way around his opponents while preparing to pass the ball to his brother. Powerfully swinging his foot, the ball makes contact with his foot for a final time, everyone stopping and staring in awe for the ball was now well up into the air.
"Oh no," the younger boy mumbles under his breath, the ball now rapidly spinning, it's destination being the outdoor tables of a restaurant that was not too far from where they were playing. Running as fast as he can, he tries to catch up to the ball, aware that if he doesn't that it was going to hit one of the dining guests. Not to mention that the owner of the restaurant had already warned them in the past about their antics, threatening to call the police for vandalism each and every time.
Beginning to take heavier breaths, he realizes that he's beginning to slow down, panic now flowing in his veins as he notices that the ball was heading towards a woman who had her back faced against the streets of Morocco, unaware of the item coming her way as she continued to eat from her meal.
Reaching his hands out, he tries to call out to her, "Watch out!" he yells, but unbeknownst to him, the woman had long detected the ball that was coming her way, secretly making a small motion with her fingers.
Suddenly, the ball comes to a halt in mid air, slowly landing on the floor and then rolling to her. The boy's mouth gapes in shock as he comes to a stop.
Grabbing the ball in front of her, the woman in the crimson colored head scarf turns to him, staring at the boy with an expression so serious, he was sure he felt a shiver run down his spine. Turns out the woman was indeed very beautiful, but sadly in this case it only made her stare even more intimidating.
Gulping, he struggles to form any words, "H-how did you—"
A group of boys now arrive, panting for breath as they stop behind him, unaware of the phenomenon the boy had just seen with his very own eyes.
The sound of soft laughter fills their ears, a small smile now on the woman's face as her features begin to relax, emphasizing her beauty, "Magic," she whispers, handing the ball to the boy while ruffling his hair.
An awestruck smile hesitantly appears on his face as he watches her get up from her seat and begin to walk away, his brother nudging him in the stomach, "What was that all about?" he asks him, confused as to why his brother looked so endeared.
Shaking his head, he hands him the ball, "It's—" he looks back at the street, the woman now gone, "It's nothing," he says, the group of friends then continuing with their game, unaware of the famous shaman who had just been in their presence.
Climbing up the blue stairs of Chefchaouen, Morocco, Asami enjoys the vibrant view of the city, in love with the culture of the beautiful country. Not to mention the people here were so generous and welcoming, one of the street vendors even wrapping a head scarf around her head for free, talking about how much it matched both her unique hair color and chiffon dress.
Smiling at the memory, she walks into a local bar, deciding she wanted a nice drink before going back to her hotel room, "Hello," she politely greets the middle-aged bartender, accidently bowing to him as she was still used to the greeting etiquette of Japan.
Chuckling, he bows in return, understanding that culture and identity more often than not went hand in hand with each other,"What can I get you started with today, Asami?" he asks her, surprisingly remembering her name from the last time she visited, something that doesn't go unnoticed by Asami.
Looking at the small menu she studies the different available options, debating whether to get herself a glass of whiskey or play it "classy" and order a mango margarita. Tapping her fingers against the menu, she smiles once she's made a decision, "Surprise me," she says, and he nods.
"So, how long have you been working here?" she attempts to make conversation with him as he prepares her drink, the background noise of other customers indulged in their own conversations quite prominent.
"For about 20 years now," he responds, beginning to shake the cocktail shaker in his hands. Asami raises a brow at his answer.
"That's quite a while," she says, carefully eyeing the bottles of wine behind him, almost as if staring at their reflections, "Must mean you've seen some quite interesting things in your time," she fakes a laugh and he nods, agreeing with her.
"You'd be surprised at the stories I have to tell," he chuckles, sliding her the drink.
"I can only imagine," she begins to stir the drink with her straw, noticing just how intensely the man was staring at her, as if anxiously waiting for her to take a sip of his concoction, "Tell me," she glances at his name badge, "Anis, how much did they pay you?"
And as if he'd seen a ghost, his face pales, "W-What," he gulps, "What do you mean?"
Flashing him the knife under her sleeve, she narrows her eyes at the man, "Do not make any sudden moves or sounds," she grits her teeth, his eyes widening, "You think I didn't notice how tense you got when I entered," she harshly whispers at him, "Or how you managed to remember my name despite having worked here for so long. 20 years in the game and you suddenly decide to remember some random tourist's name."
He remains silent, nervously looking around the bar, "They threatened to kill my family," his lips quiver, a sign that he was telling the truth.
Scoffing, she shakes her head, "And what? You think because you have a family back at home pitifully waiting for you that I won't stick this knife into your heart?"
Sweat begins to trickle down his forehead, "T-They said you don't kill c-civilians…"
Chills run down his spine as he hears the sound of her laughter, his hand slowly reaching for something under the bar. Staring at him dead in the eye, she smirks, "I don't know who the hell told you that, but clearly they've set you up..." his eyes widen, "Because what I don't kill is children."
And in the blink of an eye, the man pulls out a gun, Asami quickly disarming him and placing a bullet through his head, chunks of his brain splatting onto the racks of alcohol behind him. Turning around, she can't say she's surprised when she finds several guns pointed at her, each one of the so-called "customers" decorated masks now covering their faces.
With the dead man's gun in her hands, she points the barrel of the gun to the person standing in the center, assuming that he must've been the leader, "Who the fuck are you?" she tightens her grip on the trigger of the gun, narrowing her eyes for precision.
He remains silent, only aggravating her more, "I said who the fuck are you?" she repeats, her voice booming across the walls of the bar.
She notices how the masked figures all gulp, one of the figures holding a gun even shaking. Turning her attention to the cowardly person, she places the muzzle of the gun onto the side of their head, a sinister smile on her face, "Ah I get it," she softly chuckles, "You're all just the henchmen, stuck with guns you can't even pull," she shakes her head, mocking them all, "Had that man actually killed me and your heads would've been on a stick," she fakes a frown, continuing to playfully tap the muzzle on their head,"Tsk tsk tsk, that's why it's dangerous to involve civilians in things that don't concern them, unlikes shamanas, they're just too…."
Click.
The bullet goes through the skull of the masked figure, blood splatting onto Asami as she watches the body hit the ground, "...unpredictable."
"Now as you guys must already know, I'm more of a knife person," she begins to flimsily play with the gun in her hands, "I tend to find guns as more of a coward's way out," she points the muzzle to another figure, "But I need answers, so I suggest someone starts talki—"
"We're here to capture you!" a shaky voice interrupts, slowly taking off their mask.
"Zara, don't!" another voice yells, but by then it was too late.
Tilting her head, Asami studies the unmasked woman's appearance, noting the tears that were brimming the corners of her eyes as well as how young she looked. She had to be no older than 20.
Changing her aim to the woman named Zara, Asami begins to slowly walk her way towards her, heels clicking against the floor of the bar, "Come on, you can speak," she fakes a smile, "I won't kill you … not yet at least."
Rapidly blinking her eyelids, the woman tries to collect her thoughts, "W-We're all criminals who've been given sentences of 15 and plus years. T-The person who h-hired us told us that if we managed to capture you alive then we'd get our records expunged, but they also said that there'd be a possibility we'd d-die…"
Asami furrows her brows, "So then why are you shaking like a dog? You knew what you were signing up for, didn't you?"
Her tears begin to fall, hysterical sobs filling the room, "B-Because I don't want to die," she falls to her knees, begging to the woman she was meant to capture.
"I don't want to die!" the words echo in Asami's mind, reminding her of a certain pink-haired boy.
Staring at the pathetic woman with a dead expression in her eyes, Asami wants nothing more than to be able to pull the trigger, to continue being the monster she knew she was, the one who had no regard for human life other than her own. But she just can't. For this young, not to mention stupid, woman wanted to live.
Pulling the trigger, the bullet grazes the woman's shoulder, ultimately landing on a wooden chair behind her, followed by several more shots. Reloading the gun, Asami sighs, "There's people outside waiting for me to run out of here, isn't there? Probably your comrades who are waiting to aimlessly shoot at me, knowing they're most likely going to die, all because whoever hired you is too much of a coward to face me at full strength."
Zara hesitantly nods, surprised to see Asami lower her gun, "Their guns have small tranquilizers that are disguised as bullets, they were made specially for you. If they were to hit anyone else, it'd penetrate like any other regular bullet, it's only now that I realize we were nothing m-more than b-b.."
"Bait," Asami completes for her, shaking her head in dismay, "Clearly this person doesn't have many morals…." she mumbles, 'Perhaps a curse user…'
"W-We're not shamans either! It's just our guns that are imbued with that energy thing you guys use," Zara adds, Asami now tilting her head in confusion, "I think they wanted you to think we were shamans..."
Raising a brow, Asami recounts the number of people in the room, "Pass me that," she signals to Zara to give her the gun in her hands. Following her orders, Zara quickly hands her the pistol, Asami then thoroughly inspecting it.
"20 guns, all imbued with cursed energy," she mutters to herself, "It'd mean that you'd have had to collect these from different shamans over a long period of time or…" she shakes her head at the other thought, "That's impossible…"
'You'd have to have an almost seemingly endless amount of cursed energy… ' she thinks to herself, wondering who in the hell this person that hired them was. It's only then that she realizes that she was playing a game of chess and not checkers.
Tapping her fingers on the gun, she tries to think of her next move, unsure if she was doing exactly what they wanted her to do or if she was indeed messing with their plans, "I need you all to take off your masks," she commands at the rest of them, carelessly waving her gun around, "Come on, I don't have all day!"
Hesitantly they follow her orders, each one of them revealing their faces, looks of fear on every one of them, "And you all better thank this Zara woman, if it weren't for her and her whiny begging, you'd all be dead by my hands right now," she glances at the timid woman, giving her a look of approval, "Now I need you all to listen up if you want the best chances of making it out of this alive," she scowls at them, all of them obediently nodding like dogs, "We're going to…." her voice becomes that of a whisper, a plan then being set into place.
"Miguel-sensei, are you sure this is going to work?" a nervous Okkotsu Yuuta asks his current mentor, feeling guilty about the people who were being put at … risk.
Sensing his guilt, Miguel rolls his eyes behind his sunglasses and makes a pestering motion with his hand, "Everyone in there had a death sentence coming to em' , even the bartender who'd been a runaway felon for the past 20 years, did you know he was a famous bank robber who once murdered a clerk in a chase gone wrong."
Gulping, Yuuta nods, eyes focused on the entrance of the bar, flinching at every gunshot he heard.
"Remember once she runs out, allow the rest of the con men to tire her out with the chase," Miguel reminds the boy, "from there it'll just be you and her little boy. It's a good thing we set that curtain up already, cause things are about to get messy."
"And you said she's a special grade right?"
Miguel laughs, "She should be, but rumor has it she's not as good as she used to be, so if you play your cards right then it'll be a piece of cake. Of course that doesn't mean you should underestimate her, she's supposed to be deadly with those knives of hers."
"So you have fought her before?" Yuuta asks, and Miguel quickly nods his head no.
"She used to be Geto's classmate, he told me along with the rest of the commanders everything we needed to know about her before the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons commenced. She just ended up being a no-show," Miguel explains, "Surprised you haven't heard about her or her cursed technique."
Letting out a faint laugh, Yuuta smiles as he recalls a certain memory with his friends back home, "One time we caught Gojou-sensei mumbling out her name while he was taking a nap," he says, "When we tried asking him about it, he just kept blushing and saying it was nothing. I think it was the first time I'd ever seen him get so embarrassed," he smiles, missing his group of friends back home.
Miguel scoffs, "Two special grade shamans falling in love, what a match made in…" Miguel pauses, "...hell," he says, catching Yuuta by surprise.
"A-A little harsh don't you think?" he stammers, but Miguel only shrugs, standing by his statement.
"I only speak the truth. With a cursed technique like hers, I'm surprised she's still standing sane…" Miguel says, "and don't get me started on him."
Yuuta nervously laughs, remembering why Miguel had such disdain for Gojou, "I mean we need her alive, don't we? It'll help us find that black rope of yours…"
Miguel nods, agreeing, "Sadly, if not I'd finish the job myself. Now less talking, and more paying attention. She should be running out any second now. "
Sighing, Yuuta frowns, "Okada Asami," he mumbles the name to himself, unaware of just how dangerous the red headed woman was.
Boom!
The entrance of the bar breaks open, a woman wearing a crimson head scarf that covers most of her face running out with some of the hired criminals chasing behind her, in her hands holding a dead body which she was currently using as a shield against the wave of bullets coming her way.
Dropping the body onto the dirt pavement, Yuuta watches as she begins to hop off building walls, frantically looking for an escape. Following closely behind, he momentarily wonders why she isn't throwing her knives, the woman instead opting for only running and even then, she wasn't dodging attacks like a shaman…
Hell, if anything she was acting like a … civilian …
Continuing to run, she pushes and shoves her away around people who are now looking for cover, customers and street vendors alike beginning to hide inside buildings, not trying to be fatal casualties in this chase.
The masked criminals continue shooting at her, a majority of them having quite the horrendous aim, almost as if they were purposely shooting at the walls. 'Something is off…' Yuuta thinks to himself. Wasn't Asami supposed to be some acclaimed acrobat? So then why wasn't she jumping on walls and backflipping across roofs? Not to mention that not once has she gone on the offense…
Shaking off his concerns, Yuuta continues to follow closely behind, Asami making turn after turn, acting as if she knew where she was going.
But then almost as if out of nowhere, Asami suddenly trips on her long dress, harshly landing on the dirt road, the "chase" now coming to its end. Furrowing his brows, Yuuta struggles to get rid of the turning feeling in his stomach, his senses telling him that something wasn't right.
Noticing how the henchmen suddenly disappear out of sight, he tries to reason with himself that they were doing as they'd been told. "Don't get in Yuuta's way later on, once she's down you're all free to leave." is what Miguel instructed them.
Carefully approaching her body, the woman struggles to get up from the ground, the impact of the fall temporarily rendering her immobile. Pulling out his katana, Yuuta's unsure of what to say, "Hey sorry about the whole ambush, we just couldn't afford you killing us." No, that'd be a shallow thing to say….
"Y-You're Asami, right?" he hovers over her, the woman then beginning to cough. But it's only then that he notices the tattoo on her wrist…
A tattoo of a 4 digit number … a tattoo that only the criminals they hired were branded with…
Finally turning around, he immediately recognizes the woman, but by then it's too late, for his body was already being kicked into the brick building across from him, turning it into nothing but rubble.
Groaning in pain, he rubs his eyes, his vision blurry from all the dirt in the air. Trying to catch his breath, he watches as the curvy figure dressed in all black begins to slowly approach him, the sound of their heels clicking against the pavement almost relaxing in a sense.
With his eyes only half way open, Yuuta tries to focus his vision a little more, only then noticing that the person was wearing one of the masks that the criminals were assigned to wear, "You know, I sorta thought you'd be able to sniff me out from the crowd…" the person chuckles, "That tells me you're not good at reading cursed energy yet," they say, making a repetitive "tsk" sound with their mouth, purposely mocking him.
And with his vision finally clearing, he sees the masked figure begin to untie their mask, locks of crimson colored hair falling down, the face of a beautiful woman being revealed.
"O-Okada A-Asami," Yuuta quietly mumbles before beginning to hysterically cough, confident that there must've been dirt in his lungs by now.
He hears her laugh, Asami then crouching down to face him, "That'd be me."
30 Minutes Earlier.
Cracking her neck from side to side, Asami scowls as she realizes that her vacation has gone to complete shit, "Tch, I can never get a fucking break, can I?" she mumbles to herself, watching as Zara begins to wrap her crimson head scarf around her head, the two having switched clothing.
"A zebra, huh?" she bitterly laughs at the painted mask in her hands, "Always the prey, never the predator," she sighs, feeling her hands become clammy, "But I guess that's about to change," she smirks.
"I-I'm ready," Zara says, the fearful look she had in her eyes earlier still ever the more present.
"I never promised that you'd live," Asami reminds the young woman, fixing her headscarf so that it'd cover more of her face, "You're just not dying from my hands today, but whatever happens out there is all up to you and whatever higher up you believe in. All I'm giving you is a second chance," she monotonously states, "But if you really want to live that bad, then you'll find a way to make it out of this alive."
A single teardrop falls from the woman's face, aware that these might be her final moments before death, "I'm—" she hesitates to continue, "I'm scared."
Asami softly chuckles, "I don't blame you, for people like you, life is a precious thing isn't it? I mean the only reason why you bursted out with an answer earlier was because of your selfish need to live, right? At the end of the day you weren't doing it for your comrades nor for some self-righteous reason … you were simply doing it for yourself. Because as long as you walked out that door alive it just didn't matter…"
Zara shamefully nods, feeling disgusted with herself.
"I guess in that sense me and you are alike….selfish beings who are too afraid of dying..."
Looking at the woman in front of her in shock, Zara feels at a loss for words.
"I have to admit though you took one hell of a gamble," Asami laughs, tucking a loose strand of hair into the scarf, "Though I killed the bartender out of self-defense, I also killed one of your comrades for the sake of instilling fear. So I must ask, how were you so sure I wouldn't put a bullet," she roughly places her index finger onto Zara's forehead, "through that head of yours after giving me the answers I seeked?"
Gulping, Zara feels a sudden urge to pee, "I-I don't know," she nervously avoids eye contact, Asami's scrutinizing stare running a chill down her spine, "When we were assigned the task of capturing you, w-we were told a bit about your past," she hesitates to continue after seeing Asami's change in expression, continuing nonetheless, "And though most of my comrades believed you to be a…"
"Monster," Asami says for her, not a hint of emotion in her voice.
"Right…" Zara continues, "I guess in a way I understood you, and maybe it does have to do with how we're selfish beings," she chuckles softly, "but," she smiles, "if we really are anything like each other then," she pauses, reaffirming her thoughts with the next choice of words, "then it means you still have a bit of human left in you."
Scowling, Asami flicks the woman's forehead, "I've heard many corny things in my lifetime, but that one has to take the cake," she scoffs, "Come on, let's get going."
"Then it means you still have a bit of human left in you."
Frowning, the words echo in Asami's head, 'Tch, what a load of bullshit.'
Cocking her pistol, Yuuta feels the barrel of the gun get placed onto the side of his head, "Now I have to say, you seem quite young, but if you're willing to do all this then it means you must be quite the man," she chuckles, "Means I can't promise you that I won't be putting a bullet through that skull of yours right now," she hisses, exhuming an aura of deadly intent.
'Think Yuuta, think,' Yuuta tries to lift his body up, but the immense pressure he felt in his chest was just too much, her roundhouse kick making him feel as if he'd been hit by a semi, "Rika has to be a last resort," is what Miguel told him, Yuuta sensing that she was trying to come out, his energy currently being used on repressing her.
"So who the hell are you kid?" she asks him, her patience beginning to run thin.
'Where the hell is Miguel?' he thinks to himself. Couldn't the man see that he was in danger? If he let Rika roam free, she'd only kill Asami.
Asami stares at the young boy, noticing how his gaze was fixed on something behind her. Turning around, she notices the reflection of something shiny, "Ah," she chuckles, slowly walking over to the object that he was eyeing, gently picking it up, "A katana user," she gently slides her finger over the blade, placing the silver edge onto the boy's neck, "Well since you're not talking, I guess I have no choice…"
Sighing, she shakes her head, "What a shame, I always have liked fighting katana users," she says before pulling the knife back and preparing to make the final swinging motion, "Maybe in your next life…"
Feeling the wind of the katana coming his way, Yuuta cowardly shuts his eyes, preparing for the inevitable. So when he hears the sound of his katana hitting the ground, he's shocked to say the least to see Asami being kicked into a building just like how she had done to him earlier.
"Damn it kid, the last thing I wanted to do was be a part of this fight!" he turns to find a scowling Miguel, "Hurry up and get up! I'll try to … distract … her as much as I can," Miguel pulls out a morning star whip that has sharp edges, a whip like tool that he could use similarly to that of his black rope.
Getting up from the body of rubble, Asami smirks at the man in front of her, "Ah, so you must be the boy's leader," she shakes her head, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, looks like I was wrong," with the gun now being God knows where, Asami pulls out her two Sai knives from behind her back, quickly getting into a defensive position.
Slowly, the two adults begin to walk slow circles around one another, almost as if testing the waters, "So you're the famous Okada Asami," Miguel says, beginning to swing his tool around.
She scoffs while rolling her eyes, "Am I supposed to know who you are? Or are you just another fan," she taunts him, "Come on you can strike first," she smiles, "I won't bite, I promise."
He laughs, "I have to say that switch-a-roo you pulled on us was good, means you can think quick on your feet," he says, "It's what I've been trying to teach this brat over here, but I guess he's still a work in progress," the two glance at the boy who was still struggling to get up, "That kick of yours really did a wonder on him."
She shrugs, an uncaring look on her face, "I've been taught well."
"I can only imagine, you are Gojou Satoru's ex after all."
And it's at those words that Asami's smug expression becomes that of anger, a formidable scowl appearing on her face before returning back to one of confidence, "Bringing up that man," she laughs, "What a cheap shot," she growls, making the first attempted strike, Miguel quickly blocking her the stick of his morning star.
As a result, it gives him the opportunity to swing the sharp object at her, Asami quickly ducking when she sees it coming her way, realizing that had she been any slower and it would've been game over.
"Oh you're good," she compliments him, several knives being thrown in his direction all at once.
Barely managing to block each one, he panics when he sees her already coming his way, the wicked smile on her face telling him that she was enjoying this, "It's been quite a while seen I've fought a curse user," he sees that she's now out of sight, her voice being the only thing signalling that she was still here, "Please tell me, what is your name," her voice echoes.
"You can call me Miguel," he answers, turning his head to the sky when he notices a shadow dropping down from the building above him, 'Damn it I can't swing it up or else it'll—Got it!'
Quickly swinging the morning star above his head, Miguel forms a shield above him with the sheer speed in which he was swinging the sharp tool.
Cursing to herself, Asami grabs onto a wire before falling into his trap, swinging off the thin line and landing back in front of him, throwing another pair of knives, Miguel then changing the course of his weapon from above his head to in front of body, he continues to treat his morning star like a fan.
'I have to get rid of that weapon if I want any chance of winning this,' she thinks to herself, formulating the different chain of events that were needed in order for that to occur, 'I can always use one of my cursed techniques on him, but…' she shakes her head, 'I want to win this the old fashion way,' she smiles to herself, a plan having been made.
Lunging at him, the two continue to fight, striking and dodging each other's attacks, Asami's Sai knives continuing to clash with the spiked ball of Miguel's weapon, the sharp weapon occasionally grazing her legs and arms… but she didn't mind as it was all part of the bigger plan she had in mind.
"You look like you're getting tired," Miguel taunts her, continuing to swing his tool around, unaware that the spiked ball was barely holding onto a thread, "Thinking of using that cursed technique of yours?"
Wiping the blood on her face, Asami lets out a scornful laugh, pointing at the man's tool.
Raising a brow, his mouth gapes open when Asami makes a snapping motion with her fingers.
Snap!
Suddenly, the spiked ball of his weapon along with the whip are cut down , falling to the floor and leaving him with nothing more than a stick.
"You're mine," she growls, immediately lunging at him and making slashing motions with her knives. Flailing his stick around, he barely manages to dodge the attacks, her speed being completely unremarkable. The woman was clearly in her element.
Attempting to slash him in the legs, Miguel jumps into the air, Asami getting him in the exact position she wanted. Raising a leg, she sends him a flying kick to the face, Miguel then landing on the dirt floor, a knife being held against his neck.
Preparing to finish the job, Asami scowls when she feels a presence behind her, "So you're finally up," she turns around to face the black haired boy.
"Tch, took you long enough," Miguel scolds the boy from his position on the floor, quickly getting up and beginning to run away, "I expect you to get the job done!" he yells as he looks for a spot to watch this upcoming fight from, for things had just gotten interesting.
"You've even got your katana," she points her sai knives at him, an immense amount of cursed energy surrounding him and his weapon, "Ah so you are the one who imbued those guns," she looks at him in curiosity, "That's quite a power you have, but it won't be enough," she smirks, her own cursed energy beginning to flow out of her body, rivalling that of his own.
"I don't want to hurt you," the boy finally speaks, a wary look in his eyes as he begins to come closer to her.
"Hurt me?" she scoffs, "Now I know I'm a little rusty and I have my set of limitations but…." she shakes her head, "I don't think you know who you're messing with," she whispers, the knives in her hands reflecting off the sun, a certain glint to them that reflected confidence.
Gulping, he tries to remember everything Miguel had told him about her.
Weeks Earlier.
Slamming a stack of papers onto the small dinner table where Yuuta was currently eating breakfast, Miguel grabs the boy's attention by his sudden actions.
Yuuta raises a brow, "Come on, start reading them," Miguel instructs him, pointing at the papers in front of him.
"What is it?" Yuuta asks, placing his spoon down.
"It's information about a sorceress who just arrived in Africa," Miguel explains, Yuuta compares the blurry airport photo of her along with the drawing of a woman Miguel had shown to him weeks earlier, "What does this have to do with the drawing?"
"The elders in my village drew this after performing a sacred ritual in an attempt to create more black rope, but were ultimately only left with the fire creating this drawing. I guess you can think of it as a premonition. They told me that whoever this woman was would be the key to a lot of things, including creating and finding more black rope. I just didn't think she'd end up being …"
"Okada Asami," Yutta mumbles her name outloud, "Why does the name sound so familiar?" he pauses to think, "Okada Asmai," he repeats her name, desperately trying to remember where he'd heard that name.
"Maki you can't just barge into his office!" Yuuta frantically whispers to his classmate, Panda and Inumaki right behind him, watching the scene unfold.
Maki scowls, "Why not?! The man is always pulling pranks on us, and anyways, I want my cursed tool back!" she begins to slide the door, not caring if she was being rude. That was until she heard the soft snores of a certain white haired man.
"Tuna tuna," Inumaki quietly says, pointing at Gojou.
The students stare in silent surprise, their sensei napping with a faint blush on his face, looking as if he was in a state of complete bliss. Getting closer to him, the students observe their sensei's warm expression.
"He must be dreaming," Panda whispers, stating the complete obvious.
Frowning, Maki prepares to wake him up, her mouth already opening up to scream something out loud, until out of nowhere she feels a hand get placed over her mouth.
Preparing to smack the hand away, her actions are put to a halt when she suddenly hears Gojou mumble something out loud…
"Asami," he mumbles, a small smile forming on his face.
What the?
Removing his hand from Maki's mouth, Yuuta is met with a small smack to the head, Maki glaring at him but choosing to remain silent, for she also wanted to know who this Asami person was.
"I—" he softly groans, changing the position he was, "miss you," he murmurs, a child like google escaping from his lips.
"Whoever this Asami person is he must really—" Panda suddenly feels something tickle his nose, his three classmates beginning to panic as they know what's coming, "ACHOO!" Panda jumps in the air, shaking the floor once he lands back down.
Quickly getting into a fighting stance, the students are met with a surprised looking Gojou, "How did you guys—"
But before Gojou can even finish his sentence, Maki is quick to jump him with a question of her own, "Who's Asami?"
Knitting his brows, Gojou frowns, "Asami?"
"Yeah, the name you were mumbling now in your sleep just now, looking all loved up," Maki says, "Clearly you know someone with that name."
Cheeks reddening, Gojou shakes his head in denial, his students shocked to see their sensei so … flustered, "You must've heard wrong," he begins to push them out the door, only making Maki get more defensive.
"Like hell I did! Hey—" he continues pushing them out, "I want my cursed tool back!" Maki yells, the memory coming to an end.
"I—" Yuuta hesitates, "I think I've heard Gojou-sensei mention that name before…"
Miguel rolls his eyes, "Because she's his ex," he firmly states, taking Yuuta by surprise.
"His ex?!"
Nodding, Miguel flips through the papers, "You can ask him about it when you get back to Japan, for now I need to explain to you the to do's and not to do's when fighting her."
"I-I'm fighting her?! W-Why?! Also shouldn't we tell Gojou-sensei about her being here, I'm sure he'll know what to do."
Miguel shakes his head, "We can't because long story short, the village elders need her captured and delivered to them. If I tell Gojou he'll go all ballistic on me for putting his precious woman in harm's way, might even come get her himself and take her back to Japan, which we can't have happening... But like hell I'm fighting her, not without my black rope at least," Miguel says.
"And what makes you think I can fight her?!" Yuuta asks, trying not to raise his voice too much as Miguel was still his sensei.
"You defeated Geto, didn't you?"
Yuuta hesitantly nods, despite it being over a year since his fight with the man, the boy still had somewhat mixed feelings about the whole ordeal.
"Then you should be able to capture Asami… I think," Miguel nervously laughs, not exactly helping diminish Yuuta's worries, "Just make sure, you do NOT let her touch the sides of your forehead. If you do, then you're a dead man."
"Why not?"
"Because…" Miguel pauses, trying to find the best way to explain certain things, "From what I know of Asami's cursed technique, it's that it plays … mind games, I guess you can say. Shamans are often given techniques that have to do with what we see, meaning real life objects and actions in front of us. So to have techniques that instead play with the imagination, techniques that manipulate and take advantage of the mind …" Miguel gulps, "is a force not to be reckoned with."
Present Day.
Steel clashing with steel, the two shamans use all of their strength to fight for dominance, "You're strong," Yuuta mutters, making Asami smirk.
"Tell me about it," she attempts to slash him from under, using her free hand to her advantage, capable of holding his katana off with only one hand. Quickly stepping back, Yuuta manages to avoid her attack, going in for one of his own.
Jumping off the ground, Asami twists her body in a way that she can avoid his jousting move, seeing her reflection in the katana that was merely inches under her. Beginning to tire out, Asami decides that it was time to use a cursed technique. Reaching her hands out, she aims to place her hands on his forehead.
Yuuta, in the nick of time, notices what she was going for, quickly pushing her hands off before she could reach her intended destination.
'Focus Yuuta, focus,' he tells himself, realizing that right now wasn't the time to be making rookie mistakes, his luck having saved him just now, 'You gotta think of a plan…'
Blocking her knives with his katana, a lightbulb suddenly goes off in his head, 'Got it!'
Asami tilts her head in confusion when she suddenly sees the boy begin to run away. Debating whether to chase after him, she finds herself hesitating, one hundred percent sure that the boy most likely had a trick up his sleeve.
Ultimately deciding to follow him, she makes a mental note to run with caution, remembering that this was a game of chess not checkers. Using her legs to push herself off a wall, she climbs up one of the many blue buildings in Chefchaouen, Morocco, jumping from roof to roof after the boy.
'She's fast!' Yuuta looks behind his shoulder to find Asami nearing him with every step she takes. Sliding down the building he was currently on, he lands back onto ground level, Asami copying his exact actions, the brick roof she was sliding down breaking one by one.
The only thing was that instead of landing on the ground, she lands on a street vendor's umbrella, bouncing off the fabric and then grabbing onto a cable wire. Pulling herself up, she begins to run on the thin line, making sure to remain above him. Panicking, Yuuta realizes that his plan of getting her into a dead end might not work, the sound of her pulling out a throwing knife catching his attention.
Closing a single eye, Asami prepares to land the final blow, infusing her throwing knife with an extra amount of cursed energy, meaning even if she did manage to miss, whatever the knife was thrown to would automatically explode out of sheer strength.
'Damn it, damn it, I'm not going to make it!' Yuuta sees that the street with the dead end was still very far away. And then suddenly out of nowhere, he feels Rika's presence, eyes widening when he realizes what he's accidently let out in his state of panic.
"RIKA NO!"
The boy suddenly stops running and Asami quickly turns around, only to find a massive cursed spirit coming her way. Feeling her heart drop, Asami clenches her teeth, slashing at the grotesque looking thing, barely managing to push it off.
"RIKA HATES YOU!" the cursed spirit yells at Asami, lunging at the sorceress for a second time.
Jumping off the cable she was standing on, Asami flows her cursed energy into her feet, exploding onto the ground below her, any buildings around her completely falling down.
'Rika? Where the hell have I heard that name before?' Asami pants for breath, 'Rika ….'
Scrunching her nose, Asami becomes frustrated at her lack of remembrance, but before she can dwell on it, she's met once again with another attack. This time from the boy.
"Please, stand down!" he pleads to her, Rika well on her way back.
Slowly getting up from the ground, Asami glares at the boy, preparing to launch another attack.
"RIKA WILL SAVE YUUTA!"
'Yuuta?' Asami stops dead in her track, feeling her stomach drop at the name, recollecting a conversation she had with a certain someone back home.
"I guess I can't complain too much, at least it's not that damn blindfold of yours… but anyways, where are you even going?"
"Monthly check in for an overseas student, and since it's about to be July, I wanna get it done as soon as possible. From there I can focus on the more … bigger … problem on our hands."
"Who's the student?" Asami asks, taking another munch out of her slice of cake.
"Okkotsu Yuuta."
"Am I supposed to know who that is?" she bluntly asks, the question coming out ruder than intended.
"He's the one who defeated Suguru," Satoru utters the name that Asami felt like she hadn't heard in years, "The one who ultimately helped me in—"
"That's enough," Asami interrupts him before he could continue, "So the kid's a special grade then, I assume…"
Satoru nods, confirming her assumption.
Yawning, Asami then rubs her eyes, "Well I'm tired, so maybe you can tell me the complete story another day, for now I just want to go home."
Getting thrown to the wall once more, Asami can't help but laugh at her predicament, 'I asked for everyone's name today, except his,' she smiles at the irony.
"Rika stop!" the boy yells at the vengeful curse, the thing coming to a complete halt before it could land the final blow.
"I'M SORRY! DON'T HATE ME!"
Laughing, Yuuta pats the vengeful curse on the head, "It's okay Rika, but this woman had every right to be mad," he chuckles, "plus we need her alive."
Getting up from the floor, Asami coughs out blood before facing the young man who currently had an apologetic look on his face.
"I'm sorry," he whispers, the sound of a gun cocking back grabbing Asami's attention. And though she could've put up a fight and easily dodge the incoming bullet that was coming from Miguel's tranquilizing gun, Asami decides to ultimately stay in her position, realizing she'd been checkmated.
Softly smiling at the boy, she manages to faintly mumble something before the tranquilizer takes effect, "Okkotsu Yuuta. The boy—" she slowly begins to lose her balance, "The boy who defeated Suguru," she whispers.
Thud!
Her body hits the ground.
The chase finally coming to its end.
A/N: And so Asami is in Africa! If anyone doesn't know what Chefchaouen is or how it looks like, it's basically a city in Morocco that's known for the striking blue-washed buildings. If you search it up along with "jujutsu kaisen" following after, you will find that it was one of the places in Africa that Yuuta indeed visited! Also in chapter 145 (SPOILER BELOW!) it's confirmed that Yuuta was in Africa with Miguel to not only train but to search for more black rope so everything seems to be flowing as I hoped it would haha !
If anyone doesn't know what a morning star is, it's that tool from mid evil times with the spiky ball or as I know it from, Gogo Yubari's tool in Kill Bill! Though Miguel (or anyone for that matter) doesn't use this tool in the manga, I thought it'd be cool to incorporate lol.
Also as you can see when Asami's in her element / not having to look after a student, she is definitely a ruthless fighter and is/was once a special grade for a reason. I mean she didn't even have to use a cursed technique to stand her ground! In this chapter we see that Asami is different from Gojou in the sense that she has no problems killing humans with her own hands (but draws that line at people she sees as children), while Gojou can only sacrifice people through curses, which is something that will be further delved into in the future. I guess you can also say her current ruthlessness stems from everything that's happened in the last couple of chapters and her truly believing she's a monster along with the grumpiness of having her trip ruined LOL.
I swear whenever I answer something, I make 20 more questions arise but everything will be explained soon! See you all next update and please feel free to leave a review whether big or small as anything is appreciated :) .