Hello old and new readers! For the older ones you may know that I have a couple of unfinished fics. The truth is that I've had a hard time starting up again since I moved to my own house. There's still a lot of work to do and between work and the time I dedicate to my studies, I don't have much time available. This idea came to me one day and I think it's the best way to "stretch my fingers" once again. I'm feeling a little rusty, so take this as a little practice. I just didn't want to abandon my favorite ship. I hope you enjoy the reading!
The Useless Girl
The truth is that he had never turned to look at her twice. Not because she wasn't striking, the hair certainly is a particular feature. He just doesn't usually pay too much attention to certain people, not to someone so weak and small, not to someone who in his many eyes lacks any potential. The truth is that she didn't have anything really interesting to catch his gaze for more than a couple of seconds.
That afternoon that passed as normally as possible, within the abnormal parameters of his craft, was different.
It's been a little over ten years since the so-called Shibuya incident, but the work never ends. Every minute of the day seems to be plagued by fear and bitterness, from every corner of the country, emanating towards the center of Japan and thus feeding the cursed womb that endlessly procreates an infinite number of horrifying creatures.
For someone so used to seeing and exorcising curses almost daily, the last few years have become a bit more exhausting. Not because of its strength, no one yet compares to the great Gojo Satoru, but rather because the non-seers of curses have created particularly disturbing mental images of that which they cannot see, really let their imaginations run wild at the thought of the mystical creatures that wiped out half the population.
It is not a certain science, but he theorizes that this is why they have changed, perhaps even evolved and thus become more difficult to tolerate. They have become so unpalatable that he tries not to eat before a mission, and he is not the most sensitive of men. And not only have they become intolerable because of their disgusting appearance, as if a ball of hair, teeth and saliva were not enough, they multiply with alarming rapidity.
Every week his days off are fewer and fewer, so when he saw Utahime's name lit up on his cell phone screen he was tempted not to pick up. In fact he ignored the first three calls and ended up reluctantly answering after seeing a couple of messages full of insults that, he supposed, would never end up arriving if he didn't answer. He didn't disguise his displeasure in the tone of his voice as he picked up, reminded her that he hasn't had a single day off in weeks and that even the strongest shaman in the world needs a day off to watch a movie or catch up on some series, then complained that he still hadn't eaten and that if the curse ended up being too grotesque, he might not even be able to eat after getting the job done.
"Your stomach is the least of my worries, Satoru. Your movies will still be there when you finish the job."
Utahime wouldn't cease, regardless of his reasons, which in his opinion were totally valid. So Gojo ended up sighing and agreeing, then rushing her and not fully listening to the state of the situation he would get into.
"Yes, yes, yes, send me the location."
A shaman miraculously managed to escape in Yamagata, a small village in Nagano prefecture. Fortunately he escaped unharmed, but someone has to take care of some curse in a deserted hospital. One of the many locations that ended up affected by the events following the Incident. There isn't much more to say, he knows exactly what he has to do, even if it is a Sunday. He puts on the uniform that has accompanied him for about twenty years and makes a short call to Ijichi to arrange a flight, transportation and accomodation.
No more than three hours pass when he manages to see Mount Hachimori, shortly before landing in Matsumoto, a city a few hours from Yamagata. After picking up his suitcase and getting into a cab to leave his things at a small inn, he receives a message from Ijichi reiterating that they are already waiting for him outside the hospital. He usually does this, reminding him that he is expected, as if he is still hoping that he will arrive on time for a meeting.
'At least the inn doesn't look that bad,' he thinks to himself after lying down on the bed to stare at the dark wooden ceiling from which hangs an old-fashioned chandelier. The floor creaks and the frames are, as always, too low for someone his height. Forced to duck from room to room, he thinks he's seen worse. There aren't many options when curses inhabit rural areas or small towns. So he no longer complains as often as he did when he was younger.
He looks at the clock lying on a nightstand next to the bed and realizes he's already twenty minutes late. Although he wishes he could stay a few more minutes in bed, he gets up and picks up the phone to call the front desk and order another cab.
He has always been indifferent to others getting annoyed with him for being late, especially when it comes to unknown shamans. So he is at ease as he steps out of the cab and meets a young boy in a black suit with hair almost as neat as Ijichi's. The admiring look he gives him is enough to make him definitely forget about his procrastination. He smiles candidly and introduces himself, although he knows he needs no introduction.
"Gojou Satoru," he pronounces with a certain arrogance after greeting him and looks up only to find an image he hasn't seen in a long time. His tongue gets stuck inside his mouth, the name is hidden on the tip of his tongue, but it doesn't seem to want to come out. She turns around, sees him with a certain warmth that brings back the memory of their first conversation and when he is about to say her name, she interrupts him.
"Miwa Kasumi, sensei," she tells him, saving him the embarrassment of not remembering her name again.
Satoru widens his smile and approaches her, completely ignoring the other boy who is left with the words slipping awkwardly from between his lips, in the midst of a respectful bow.
He comes too close, makes Miwa's personal space his own and anyone watching might think he is fascinated by what his eyes have found. She reacts immediately, her shoulders tighten against her torso and she leans back just a few inches as the sensei goes over her. However, the curious thing is that she doesn't take a single step back, she just stands there, stunned, looking alarmed at Satoru's smiling face.
"I wasn't told it was you," he comments, almost reproaching Utahime for not having given him this little piece of information. Although it is possible that in fact, she did and he ignored it.
"I guess it wasn't relevant information," Miwa replies, lets out a giddy laugh and looks back, her blue eyes lost in the pavement for a second and then she looks up decisively. I wrote a report about my mission during the afternoon in which you'll find all the information I could gather about the curse; it is a special grade curse, of course.
"Well, straight to the point..." mutters Gojo with a hint of annoyance in the tone of his voice. He picks up the tablet containing the report Miwa has written and looks at it out of the corner of his eye without paying any attention to it. "Next time... don't go to so much trouble, at least if you know beforehand that I'm the one who's coming."
He barely twists his lips into a smile and she returns the gesture with a certain shyness, nods and looks away again at an uncertain point. There is a slight blush that appears on her cheeks, although ephemeral, it is erased as quickly as it appears and Gojo can't help noticing it. He turns, hands the tablet to the boy whose presentation has been completely ignored and walks until he is in front of the hospital façade.
It has already been evacuated, there is nothing but a huge evil aura pulsing inside it. With innate gullibility, Satoru places both hands in his pockets and surveys the five-story building in front of him. Both Miwa and the boy escorting her know the folklore of the Gojo family and thus the cursed technique he possesses. It is impossible for them, however, to know for certain everything his eyes can see, they can only guess and so they do as they remain silent during their inspection.
He raises a hand and immediately a cascade of liquid begins to fall like oil on an invisible and perfect dome.
Usually this spell is performed by the window that accompanies them, but who are they to reproach the great Gojo Satoru?
"Are you coming?" he asks Kasumi, barely turning his face to look at her and after a second of disbelief she nods.
She tries not to babble, but it's obvious to him what she must be thinking. Why go with him? The most powerful shaman in history doesn't need any escort, much less someone like her. He's most likely bored, after Kenjaku everything is a crude joke to him.
Satoru's legs are long and every step is two of hers, so she's forced to jog until she reaches his side. When he notices, he at least has the courtesy to slow down his walk to walk alongside her. He wears a smile painted on his face that she can see every time she gives him a fleeting glance. He on the other hand has seen her completely. She wears her hair up and a suit with a tie, a shirt buttoned to the last button and a dark jacket, almost identical to the suit she wore the day he met her, but with slight adjustments. She has lost the childish fat on her cheeks and her cheekbones make her look more mature. Satoru wonders if he should be making all of these judgments in his mind, which to him are most natural, but he comes to the conclusion that probably not, he shouldn't be making them at all.
"It's been a long time, huh," he comments as he walks a little slower, lengthening the walk to the door.
"Uh-huh," she replies, barely nodding, and feels compelled to continue. "Eight years, maybe?"
"Eight? Where?"
"Well... There was a meeting I was present at but you probably didn't notice my presence," she answers smiling and tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
Satoru shrugs, he doesn't remember, although he makes a small effort that he abandons after two steps. A few seconds of barely awkward silence follow, which he decides to interrupt.
"Miwa-san, are you married?" he asks so suddenly that a ball of spittle gathers in his companion's throat and, after composing herself, she answers.
"What's with that question, Gojo-sensei?" The blush reappears, flushed.
He shrugs again as he walks toward the hospital entrance door.
"I guess it's something people our age usually ask, after seeing each other after a long time."
"Oh..." Miwa nods, genuinely convinced that it's just a social convention. "In that case, no. I haven't married... I haven't had children either," she adds apprehensively, purses her lips and averts her gaze. After a few seconds of painful silence, she continues, "Would it be indiscreet to ask you the same question?"
"Maybe so, since you insist on calling me Gojo-sensei. If you called me by my name I suppose it would be considered a conversation between peers, don't you think?"
"I could never..." she confesses apologetically.
"Then my marital status will remain a secret," he says in a mocking tone, opens the door and steps aside. Ladies first.
In this situation this gesture is far from being gentlemanly, on the contrary Miwa sees him almost about to ask him if he's joking but abandons the idea and simply takes a step inside the hospital.
"And tell me, is there any reason why you haven't married yet?"
Miwa feels a galloping heat rising from the pit of her stomach to her chest. Suddenly the buttons of her shirt are too tight, as are her lips that refuse to let out an answer.
"Do you like women?"
"N-No!" she replies quickly. "No... Not that there's anything wrong with that," she tries to say in a strange stammer.
"Huh, is it because you're too shy, or are you obsessed with your work? Women in this country tend to have few options in that regard, or is it that you just prefer to be single?"
This is a concept that lights up Satoru's imagination and that he actually understands all too well. He glances at her before walking into the first corridor, past the reception desk, and finds her a nervous wreck. She denies vehemently, as if the concept of being a confirmed bachelorette is not to her liking at all.
"I-I'd like to get married someday."
"Huh..." he murmurs, almost disappointed. "In that case you should hurry up, Miwa-san. How old are you? I guess you must be almost thirty. Don't waste too much time or your fertile years will go down the toilet and those can't be recovered."
Kasumi's embarrassment transforms in front of Satoru's eyes and her expression now reminds him quite a bit of Utahime's.
"Did I say something wrong?" he asks sincerely. "I didn't say any lies, women are born and die with the same number of eggs and the older you are, the older your eggs will be."
"Of course I know... Can we finish with the curse? I've been waiting outside for more than forty minutes and I have to go home, have dinner and get some sleep."
Satoru twists his lips, though he understands her urgency to go home and suddenly feels a slight twinge in his stomach. Maybe it's guilt for not being on time.
"I'm sorry I took so long, Miwa-san. I wish I could give you a good excuse but I don't have any," he says almost disinterestedly as he turns his face and looks up at the ceiling.
"It's up there, waiting for us."
"How did you escape? It's too strong for you," he asks as he climbs the first ladder and she follows close behind.
"It was just a stroke of luck, I was very close to the emergency staircase and I was able to get out before it saw me."
"You work alone? Aren't you too weak?"
Miwa seems to fold up on her chest, as if a small arrow had hit her right in the heart.
"I usually work with Momo, but she was injured in our last mission and is still recovering."
"Maybe it would have been better to wait for her, don't you think?"
She nods.
"I can't afford that luxury at the moment."
Satoru stops in his tracks and she bumps into his back. He turns on the stairs and looks at her with some interest, waiting for her to elaborate on her answer.
"Uhhh..." she mutters. "My brother's going to college next year and I have to save up."
"I see," he says and continues, "in that case I feel guilty for making you wait. To make up for it, I'll give you my share of the payment. What do you say?"
"I couldn't accept it! I couldn't even eliminate the curse by myself, what's more... I'm not even helpful being here."
"I won't take no for an answer," he says, continuing on his way and suddenly his smile is wiped off in front of the rooftop door. In the blink of an eye he opens the door, grabs Kasumi's hand and throws her off the other side. When she opens her eyes, covered in dust and messy hair she sees Gojo a few steps away from her, in front of him a cloud of dust and the rooftop door completely crushed into a fist.
Until this moment, neither Gojo nor Miwa had seen the appearance of the curse, they had merely managed to perceive its cursed energy as they approached it. A whitish hand with wrinkled knuckles presses on what used to be a door that now squeaks like a weeping, the tighter it squeezes and the more it bends. It seems annoyed that it didn't catch them.
Satoru senses another movement and turns so fast that Kasumi can't perceive his movements. Before he knows it Satoru has his Katana over his right hand and four fingers the length of his legs fall to the ground emanating a black liquid and a foul smell.
The gazes of both watch the giant arm retract and disappear in a dark puddle that vanishes as soon as the curse howls out of sight. Its shrieks nearly rupture their eardrums, but they are not loud enough to render them immobile. Kasumi hurries to her feet.
"Thank you," she says softly.
"Don't get distracted," he answers and hands her her katana and without saying a word to her, he takes her by the waist and holds her close to his chest.
The scream of the curse is nothing compared to this gesture that leaves her completely perplexed. Static, Kasumi feels her feet rise and lose contact with the ground. A small scream escapes from her lips and she clings ashamedly to Gojo's jacket.
More portals open in the ground and from each one a giant black-nailed hand emerges, desperately trying to catch them. But Gojo quickly gains distance.
"There!" shouts Kasumi suddenly and points to one of the portals where a bundle of hair with two eyes hidden in empty sockets, a thin chin and abnormal cheekbones is hidden.
Satoru smiles and extends his palm.
"Hold on tight," he tells her, and though his tone is smug she knows he's not kidding.
Kasumi's small hands crumple Satoru's jacket as he lifts his left hand to remove his blindfold. Kasumi inevitably watches his face, the pearly glow of his light blue eyes revealed in the moonlight. Like a spell that breaks her hypnosis a sphere of energy with the force of a hurricane is born from the palm of his hand. Kasumi can barely open her eyes and all she can see is a purple halo that grows and roars in a way that leaves her shivering.
Satoru aims this energy at the curse that senses its own death and tries to create a new portal to another direction, but it's too late. Satoru's technique travels at a monstrous speed and destroys everything in its path in less than two seconds.
Kasumi hides her face on his chest, but no debris from the south wing of the hospital touches them. Is today her turn to experience Gojo Satoru's incredible powers firsthand?
She hesitates as she opens her eyes, gasping for air as she sees the perfect circumference of what used to be a part of the hospital. She looks at the small pieces of glass and concrete still scattered in the air and marvels at the fact that nothing can touch them.
Slowly she watches as Gojo descends, no trace of cursed energy left. Just a huge crater in what used to be the first aid unit and pediatrics.
Satoru notices, even takes a little pride in seeing her so stupefied. Though after a few seconds on the ground he wonders if she might not be in shock, as her tender hand is still clinging to his jacket as if they continue to hover.
"Hey, are you all right?"
Indiscreetly he takes her by the chin and gently drags her face to his. At the sight of him, she seems to snap out of her shock but is even more perplexed after meeting his gaze head on. Suddenly she lets go of him as if he were boiling and covers her mouth with both hands. A sound comes from her throat, one of fright.
"I'm so sorry!" she exclaims, stretching out the crumpled cloth.
Satoru looks down on his chest at all the lines that have formed on the cloth and smiles. An embarrassing idea creeps into his thoughts and he tries not to act on them.
"Were you afraid I'd drop you?" he jokes and quickly notices the difficulty Miwa now has in looking him in the eye, she seems to be making a conscious effort not to. Which he finds most charming, though at the same time a bit annoying.
"Of course not..." she says, trying to stretch the lines on the fabric and then realizing that underneath it all are his pecs, Gojo Satoru's pecs. "I'm sorry!"
"Calm down, if you keep apologizing I'll demand compensation for the damages."
"The damages..." Kasumi mutters and turns to the half-destroyed hospital and her prude expression disappears completely. She has forgotten about Gojo Satoru in the blink of an eye.
Gojo observes something that for him was totally unavoidable. The curse had grown too big to get out of there with a building intact. But, as every time he has used this technique, this time he will not leave without reproach for having destroyed a building or two.
"There's nothing to do," he tells her as she continues to stare at the rubble.
"We'll donate the payment," she answers without looking at him.
"What about your brother's college?"
"They need it more than we do."
He has to admit to himself, he's a little touched by the selfless gesture. Not enough to take a little more out of his bulging pocket. Stuff happens, if the Gojo clan donated their fortune every time a curse ruins a building they would be the poorest clan of the big three.
Gojo's belly exclaims, reminding Satoru of its presence. Kasumi looks back into his eyes after hearing his stomach growl and he looks back at her.
"Wanna go grab a bite?"
Please forgive my grammatical or spelling mistakes. If you don't know, English is not my mother tongue. I do my best! But sometimes being the only person who reads the work before publishing, there are mistakes that escape my sight. I hope it was still easy to understand. Thanks for reading anyway.
