Chapter 35

Meanwhile…

CRACK!

He felt that one.

Suguru was reduced to his knees once more, however, he didn't cough up blood. His reverse technique has improved ten folds in the past week. He still feels her strikes, but they are not deadly to him.

"I'm rather impressed, not a drop of blood… well done, Suguru you are nearly ready…"

He snorted a laugh. "I doubt Yua is going to be accepting me any time soon…" he said offhandedly.

However, that look on her face… she wasn't referring to that… which meant…

His smile dropped. "I am not ready to train with Sukuna…"

Her look didn't alter. "Who said anything about either or?" she questioned. "Take a moment, let's talk."

He lowered his guard as she stood before him oddly, today, her weapon of choice was a staff. Despite it being made of wood, she could still cut him with it and the welts it left were nothing to sneeze at. "What do you mean? What am I going to be ready for?" he asked.

Her smile grew. "Your chance at redemption… I can fast track it." She explained and smiled rather proudly to this notion. "Sadly, I can't do this for Ryomen since so many people were killed in his madness. You, however… did kill that many. You still took innocent lives and there must be a payment in place of that before you come into this family. And I think your reverse jujutsu has reached the point you can handle it…"

He froze to this.

Redemption? She can fast track him making amends for all he has done?!

"I doubt you could do that, as far as I am concerned, I cannot redeem myself for what I have done… Chusi… are you aware I…"

"Destroyed a village out of rage for how they treated two children who were sorcerers and yet lacked the understanding of them? The fact that when you snapped that day, you wrote off humanity as a cause worth saving? To distance yourself from humans, you killed your parents where were not sorcerers, therefore didn't belong in your world?... Do you want me to continue?"

He… couldn't bring himself to move.

"You…"

"I know everything about you," she decreed rather bluntly. "In the time we have sparred, you have unleashed emotions you kept bottled up within you, to keep silent as you try to figure out what to do next. It's the whole reason why I kick your ass day in and out. I take advantage of your distracted mind and make sure you pay for it with your body… make sense?" she asked.

He shook his head.

Chusi smiled as she began to circle him, she spoke as if she were the devil's advocate herself!

"You have been seriously thinking about my sister, but you, yourself are aware of the reason why she would never accept you until you make amends. In your sparring sessions with me, I can sense it in your strikes, movements and actions. You fight blind, Suguru!" she scolded and gave him a little bonk on the head with her staff.

"OW!"

"A distracted mind in the past stays in the past. Those thoughts will bubble up every so often. If that happens are you are trying to protect my sister, you will not save her in time."

He felt part of him die once more… Suguru is actually surprised he is alive at this point with all this blunt truths being thrown at him and yet… it all makes sense.

"Then, what is…"

"The redemption? Oh, that's something you are going to have to go through. Quite frankly, it's not a simple thing. You will be struck, attacked if you will by all who died at your hands, and from the orders you gave others. As they say, your actions have consequences. And it's about time you face them."

Confusion came over him. "Those who died at my hands… are going to attack me? HOW?!" he demanded and nearly smirked at the notion. "You can't even raise the dead now, can you?"

She merely smirked, she leaned against her staff and laughed a little.

"Ah…" Then, her face suddenly darkened. ""Domain expansion…"

That… came out of nowhere! She made no gesture, no symbol… not even her curse energy spiked when she called upon the domain.

Yet, the moment it went up. Suguru was in a dark room. Chusi lingered by as she nodded to the shadows.

They began to appear.

The faces of the lives he took, and complete strangers who died by his actions. Suguru… was surrounded.

"This is a special domain that I can make for instances like this. It's how we helped those who were like you, find their way again. At least one Tooru in the family could do this in order to help those who seek it. This wasn't just limited to me, however… those who had me make this domain… suffered greatly for their actions."

He turned and saw the village elder that he killed.

The man's face said it all.

He was devastated, angry, and yet…

"We didn't know any better…" he said bitterly. "And yet, we were killed for our ignorance?"

Suguru paused. His lip curled as he turned to the elder.

"IGNORANCE?!" He roared. "You passed judgment on two little girls who didn't do any harm and yet since they were there, YOU BLAMED THEM FOR THE DEATHS THAT THEY WERE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR!"

The room was silent.

The villagers he killed, all 112 stood before him. "It… was wrong for me to take your lives… I was angry and upset but it's no excuse. At the same time… you were willing to kill two children just so you had something visible to see dead before you and believe all your troubles went along with their lives… You didn't even listen to me… you didn't listen to them… those who died even if it wasn't the curse who did that… were blamed on them." He said defiantly.

"Is that fair?" one child asked. He came out through the masses and confronted Suguru. "The two children who were unjustly punished, and those of the village who didn't know what was happening… are killed…"

It made him pause, and yet, the more he looked at the villagers, the more he felt his anger return. "What would you have done differently?" asked Chusi.

Suguru sighed. "First, I would have taken the girls with me, then, I would have left the curse there to show them it was not the girls who were killing the people of the village. I would have done that."

Chusi turned to the villagers. "What would you have done differently?" she asked of them.

He was surprised that many peered away.

They wouldn't have changed a thing.

"We would still blame the two children he took away, thinking it was their way of cursing our village for their ill treatment." The elder stated.

Chusi came forward, she stood between Suguru and the villagers. She sighed aloud. "The children who were killed by Suguru, step forward and take your vengeance" she said.

"What?" Suguru whispered.

"The domain allows your victims to inflict physical punishment upon you for your actions. Yet, after hearing this, looking at this village. I see there is much blood on their hands too. For the two children you saved… the village had killed their parents before hand when they were infants."

"THEY WERE MONSTERS!" one elder shouted. "After their deaths, so many more of our people perished! They cursed us!"

"Your people died out of ignorance, for the two you killed were sorcerers… they were the ones defending your village from the curses you became plagued with after their demise. That is on you," she said gently. "All those who stand before me are not innocent of their crimes, even some of the children here are not either. However, in the Tooru family, children need to be educated and therefore their actions are not always their fault, for they were taught that way by their parents… sound familiar, Suguru?" she asked.

He froze, she was right!

He started hating humans, the girls he adopted did as well. They believed him for he saved their lives, and yet… he put them on a path that would take them from this world.

Suguru dropped to his knees. "I'm ready for punishment…"

He waited for the strikes to happen, and yet he didn't find a single soul stepping forward from the village. Even the children were reluctant to do so.

"Am I to accept the notion that his punishment will be dealt another way? If you desire such, I will do so myself." Chusi decreed.

"He should die," one elder hissed bitterly.

"Then he already paid your price,"

With a wave of her hand, the villager vanished. Suguru was stunned.

"What… what just happened?"

"An override. Both parties are at fault for what has happened, at the same time, in our family, taking the life of a child is a server crime. There were only fifteen children in that village, Suguru. Stand," she ordered.

He stood, before he could even ask what was happening, she punched him once.

His mind shifted, he felt trapped in the body of a child and then… the curse he unleashed upon the village came before him…