20. Ashiya Clan
"Dad!"
The cry of a child called him, but that sorcerer could not find where that voice came from
"Yoshio, are you?"
In front of him was an immense darkness, as dense as the universe
Not even his six eyes could find where that voice came from
"Yoshio!"
Gojo screamed while running desperately
The echo of his voice resounded strongly in that place
"Dad!"
He heard that piercing scream again
"Yoshio, where are you?!"
The albino began to enter an immense despair
He started to spin and looked in all directions, but it was useless
Not even his power "served" in that area
Out of nowhere and in front of him a black-haired boy appeared, who looked at the ground with his hands made fists
Gojo didn't know where that boy had come from and he didn't even feel any energy coming out of him.
"Son?" Gojo asked, taking a few steps towards him.
But that boy took a few steps back
"This is all your fault..." said that little boy with a muffled voice.
"What?" Gojo let out in shock.
That child raised his face, his tears were of blood
"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT SATORU GOJO!" That boy shouted as he was dragged into the darkness by several bloodstained hands.
"Dad!" again that cry was present
"Yoshio!" Gojo shouted as he tried to reach him.
"Dad!" That scream was now a heartbreaking one
"Yoshi!" Gojo shouted running after him in that scene while that darkness ate that child
"Gojo-san!"
At that moment, Satoru jumped in fright and almost fell out of his seat.
He had fallen asleep on the bullet train while they were on their way to Tokyo to meet the Ashiya clan.
Gojo's breathing was very agitated, he looked scared everywhere
Little by little he managed to focus on Ijichi in front of him, who was worried about the noises and movements that he made while asleep.
"Gojo san... Are you alright?" asked the assistant standing in front of him.
"What happened? Where we are? And Yoshio?"— Gojo tried to catch his breath
He unbuttoned the button on the neck of that dress shirt he was wearing, he felt suffocated
"In first, I only woke you up because you seemed to have a nightmare, in second, we are less than thirty minutes from arriving in Tokyo and in third... Well, Yoshio must be at school right now"— Ijichi replied to those questions
Gojo actually looked very pale and somewhat out of it.
"I…I see!— Gojo's breathing began to become regular
"Gojo san, are you sure you're okay?" Ijichi asked again.
"I am!" He lied, he was still a little confused.
"You just woke me up from a good dream, now Ijichi bring me a coffee" he ordered looking at the window
"Are you sure?" Ijichi adjusted his glasses.
"I am! Now my coffee, we're almost there!"— Satoru throne he fingers.
"I'm coming!" Ijichi sigh with regret.
"And with lots of sugar!" Otherwise I'll punish you!"— ordered Gojo annoyed
The poor assistant shrieked and hurried with that order
That dream left Gojo very pensive, he patted his cheeks lightly to clear his mind.
"It was just that... a dream" he said to himself rubbing his temples
"I just hope it stays that way..." Gojo sighed, hoping that bad dream wouldn't happen again.
"And good? What do we know about our "new Friends"?" Asked Gojo drinking his coffee
Ijichi cleared his throat. "Well... apparently this "clan" if we can call them that, seems to be attracting too much attention on the Internet lately." He adjusted his tie.
"Attract attention?" That seemed unusual to Gojo.
Ijichi didn't know how to explain that
"From what little I discovered, it seems they are frequently mentioned in Internet forums where they like to discuss "paranormal" things" — Ijichi showed him that tablet
Gojo took it with curiosity and began to slip that information
"Cursed videos? Urban explorations? Applications that take you to "haunted" places?— That surprised the albino a bit
"I saw them perform an exorcism"
"They "cleaned" the old cursed building where I lived"
"I was present when they eliminated a ghost"
"I would pay to have a ghost removed from my house"
"They call themselves shamans, curses? What, if we go back to the Edo era?"
"They're just fakers"
"They exorcised a friend..."
Those comments were accompanied by some very short videos or images showing "curses" and "cursed or haunted places"
"Whoa the former big shots must be rolling in their graves over all of this" Gojo said in mockery.
That idea seemed to please him too much, to use social networks and Internet forums to make himself known
"Apparently this clan likes to "work" attracting the attention of common people, that's why they have become somewhat famous lately, things that were not well seen in the previous administration"— Ijichi said sighing
"Well, it seems that now the past has been buried and it is making its way to the future... interesting, I like what they have proposed so far," Gojo commented, returning that tablet
"However... it seems that the other clans and some shrines are against this 'method of getting clients'" Ijichi explained.
"The reason?" Gojo asked, crossing his arms.
"They only told me that these "topics" should remain out of the concern of "normal" people or that at least "they weren't so flashy"— Ijichi sighed
I said the latter because in those photos and videos, the sorcerers who participated were very young and inexperienced people.
"They're becoming a kind of 'fashion' apparently" Ijichi explained.
"Something very contrary to what it was in our time, where almost all the students and wizards wore uniforms or clothes that made them go unnoticed"— the assistant adjusted his glasses
"Besides that we tried to do our missions discreetly and out of sight of the common people"— he look at Gojo seriously
Gojo snorted at that—"Now that we're free from the bigwigs and their stupid rules "they"—he referred to the other clans
"They want to continue with the same shit, go ahead, at least these people are being rebellious in how to make themselves known" he commented, adjusting the blue tie he was wearing and combing his hair
"Well, now we just have to wait for the leader of the Ashiya clan, a certain Reiko, to explain to us why they use this method" Ijichi said looking at his watch
The bullet train had just stopped at the exact minute of its arrival time
"Reiko huh?" Gojo's curiosity was activated almost immediately.
Once those two men got off the train, they looked for their "guides" with their eyes
"And what are our new friends like?" I wonder what Reiko will be like, will she be a young woman or will she be an old woman?" Asked Gojo very curious
"I don't even know what they're like... they just said they'd see us here" Ijichi answered, looking around.
Both men were standing where they had been told to wait.
They tried to pay attention to all the details to try to find out who their hosts would be.
"And there are no traces of cursed energy either" Gojo adjusted his sunglasses
They both kept waiting as they watched people come and go at that time of the morning
Quickly they were struck by two young men who did not stop looking at them and who were stealthily approaching them
It was a girl with green hair held in a large ponytail, a bright red coat and underneath a skirt set with a half-transparent black blouse.
Next to her, she was accompanied by a young man with blond hair, wearing a black face mask, a sweatshirt with a military print and navy blue jeans.
"E...excuse me, are you Gojo Satoru?"
"Yes, I am. And you are?" He adjusted his sunglasses
Both looked at each other for a moment, especially the girl's face lit up
They started to say something to each other, but in a very low voice.
"Are you sure these are our hosts?" Gojo asked in a low voice when he saw how those were dressed.
"I have no idea... And they don't seem to be sorcerers" Ijichi answered quietly.
"The rumors were true!" Oh Great Gojo Satoru, I am a big fan of yours! You don't know all the things that are said about you on the internet! - Said that girl approaching that man very happily
"Can you give me your autograph?" Can I take a photo with you? — She said joining her hands very happily and taking out her cell phone
That surprised Gojo
That girl kept asking questions. "What are curses really like?" Are they ugly as they say? Is it true that you are a sorcerer? Why doesn't it look like it, I thought sorcerer were horrible old men"
"Hey?" — came out of the albino's mouth
Gojo didn't feel any cursed energy in this girl and tried with his infinity to keep her from getting too close.
Quickly, her partner took her by the shoulder and cleared her throat. "Behave yourself Akiko and hurry up!"
The same thing happened with that boy, he had no damn energy
The girl just grimaced as she looked at her partner
"But Haruka, the rumors seem to be true!" What she said in that forum was real!" Said that girl with great joy
"Rumours?" What rumors?" Ijichi asked confused. "Aren't you the ones sent by Reiko San?"
"Aren't you from the Ashiya clan?" Gojo asked a little confused.
"Clan what? Reiko what? We don't know anyone with that name or surname" — questioned that young man raising an eyebrow
"Actually we...!" The girl was answering that but a man's voice caught their attention.
"You two!"
Quickly those four were approached by a man with short brown hair and very striking golden eyes.
That man was completely dressed in a white suit, highlighted by his very thick coat of the same color and striking golden chains on his neck.
Gojo seeing him felt a heavy cursed energy coming from him
Even Ijichi felt a shiver run down his spine at the sight of him up close.
"Let's go Akiko!" said that boy pulling his friend's hand
"A pleasure, Gojo Satoru!" We must brag about this on the networks!— that girl shouted goodbye
"Tsk!"— that man clicked his tongue—"Fanatics" surely one of our sorcerers got this information out... well"—he sighed heavily and scratched his head looking at Gojo and Ijichi
"A pleasure I'm Hayate Ashiya, my sister Reiko San sent me for you to take you to where I quote you" he stretched out his hand to greet Gojo
"A pleasure, I am the great Gojo Satoru"— He greet with a smile
As he shook his hands, Gojo felt a very heavy cursed energy coming from that guy, it was like a current of electricity
For a moment Gojo looked Hayate in the eye, there was something he didn't give a good feeling about
"It's a pleasure, I'm Ijichi... I was the one who was in contact with your sister for this interview" Ijichi introduced himself, greeting me kindly.
"Yes, yes, whatever... this way, we'll take you there" suggested that guy, taking a few steps through the crowd.
"What was that with those two guys?" Do I even have a fan club?" asked Gojo very excited
Hayate sighed and answered somewhat annoyed
"If something like that, ordinary people are sometimes a big problem..." He put his hands in his pockets
"After the Shibuya incident, some people did not believe that about "the terrorists" and forums began to appear on the internet where they began to speculate and form conspiracy theories about what happened"— he sigh heavily
"In the end they discovered this world of "sorcery and stuff"—he sounded annoyed when addressing Gojo"—"Among those forums, your name sounds a lot as if you were an urban legend"— sigh of annoyance
"Interesting! I am a legend among mortals!" Gojo flattered himself for that
That man continued—"But many times those same people get in the way of missions, tsk! " — they were leaving that station
"I think this is not a good feeling..." Ijichi commented in a low voice.
The three arrived at a car that was already waiting for them outside that great station.
"Come on, come on up, we're running late and Reiko doesn't like being late!" Hayate said opening the back door
"We hope to see you Gojo Satoru in action soon!" that girl yelled from the other side of the sidewalk while being pulled by her friend.
Gojo lowered his sunglasses and gave him a wink and a smile before entering the car.
That idiot from now on would behave like a celebrity with some people
Ijichi just adjusted his glasses, that was very strange and he still didn't give him a good feeling
"Into the hands of those of us who have fallen..." Ijichi commented with a sigh before closing that door.
Inside that car, in the driver's seat was a dark-haired man, wearing a red shirt and a black pans.
And just like Hayate, his eyes had a slightly golden hue.
When you looked at them closely and paid attention to them, you could tell that those two were much younger than Gojo, perhaps in their early twenties.
"It's nice to meet a former criminal like Gojo Satoru," said the pilot, turning a little to look at his guests.
Gojo raised an eyebrow. "I'm not a former criminal."
"Even so, criminal or not, it will be a pleasure to work with a legend like you, although I must admit, I always thought you would be much older" said that young man with a big smile
"I'm not really that old!" And I only allow one person to say that to me!" 💢Gojo let out a bit annoyed
"Jiro!" Let's go, we're already late and I don't want to put up with Reiko being upset!"—His partner blurted out annoyed, rubbing his temples.
"Let's go!" Jiro said very cheerfully.
That guy gave off very little cursed energy, not like Hayate who gave off large amounts
Ijichi and Gojo just exchanged a look of confusion at all this, they didn't really know what was going on.
After driving half an hour from the station almost to the outskirts of Tokyo
They finally reached their destination
They arrived at a modern and luxurious building, where inside, they had some of the best offices in that part of the city.
"Welcome, Reiko is waiting for you inside," Jiro said, opening the car door for them.
"Thank you" Ijichi let out admiring the place where they had arrived
"Fiuuuu! it seems that you are taking "modernity" very seriously, I remember that before we had to go to old residences full of dust when we were going to talk with the leader of some clan"— Gojo said with a big smile putting his hands in his hands. pockets of his pants
"After the death of the big shots that opened many possibilities for the new generations to choose where to make our deals and that is also thanks to you Gojo Satoru"— Jiro commented with a friendly smile
"You'll talk later, this way gentlemen" Hayate said leading Gojo and Ijichi inside that building
Once they reached the reception, Hayate continued to guide them to the area where Reiko was supposed to be waiting for them.
That place had some special and finely decorated "spaces" for meetings or more private breakfasts
"Come in" Hayate said opening the door for Gojo and Ijichi
Inside, the leader of that mysterious clan was already waiting for them, sitting at that table with only three chairs around it.
"The great Gojo Satoru... it's a pleasure to meet you and have you back here in Tokyo" said a woman with a very seductive voice.
Once those three entered that space
They were greeted by a beautiful woman no older than thirty, with long, light brown hair and, like the other two men, her eyes were golden.
Those eyes were somewhat hypnotic, perhaps that was a characteristic of that clan
She was elegantly dressed, in a gray tailored suit and a white corset bralette under that jacket, her whole look was accompanied by white heels
Too much damn energy came out of that girl, but at that moment she was very calm
Gojo at that time showed off his flirtations since that woman was very beautiful
"The pleasure is mine, Reiko San"— Satoru kiss her hand— "It's a pleasure to meet a woman as beautiful as you"
Ijichi gave a slight no with his head and sighed at the behavior of that idiot
"One day he's flirting with the mother of his son and the next he's flirting with this unknown woman"— Ijichi thought
"The pleasure is mine and I have also heard from you Kiyotaka Ijichi"— Reiko cast her mysterious gaze on that assistant
"Eh, from me?" he pointed out very nervously.
"Yes, I have heard that you are one of the best windows that Jujutsu Tech could have at the time, besides that you have a lot of skill with technology, something that we like in this clan"— she looked at him with a flirtatious smile
"Yes, well… I"— Ijichi was very nervous
But Gojo cleared his throat to get Reiko's attention, who took a seat.
"Right, and tell me gentlemen" she put his elbows on the table and laid his face on his hands sexually
"What brought you here? Above all, what has brought the strongest sorcerer the world of sorcery has ever had to my clan?"—
Gojo drew a wide smile on his lips as he removed his sunglasses.
"Well, I'm just looking to return to the world of wizardry and continue to be the best" he replied with great joy.
Reiko nodded her head. "Interesting... an exile wanting to retake his throne, huh?" She looked Gojo straight in the eye.
That look had something hypnotic and mysterious at the same time
"That's right and I'm surprised you contacted us, I thought your clan was already extinct" Gojo replied curiously.
Reiko shrugged.
"Simply the few members that remain had to adapt, you know dear, times change and sometimes clans too, by the way and speaking of clans, Satoru, don't you have descendants?"— Reiko asked with curiosity
Ijichi gulped as he looked at Gojo, he was in a cold sweat.
Gojo was scanning the woman's face and then focused his gaze on her eyes
The atmosphere now felt a bit tense, it was as if they had gone straight into a police interrogation
"I currently..."— Gojo kept a few seconds of silence that were eternal for Ijichi
"I'm the only one of my clan" I answer with a big smile
Ijichi breathed a sigh of relief, as Utahime had begged them not to reveal anything about Yoshio to anyone.
"I understand and wouldn't you like to have a child?" — She playfully approached his fingers to Gojo's hand, who seemed to want to play along
"I..." Gojo had a smile on his face.
Ijichi cleared his throat. "Please Mrs. Reiko, would you be so kind as to tell us how you work, the Ashiya clan?" he questioned, adjusting his glasses.
Reiko stared at him.
"I guess you researched something about us before coming here, right Ijichi?" She looked at the assistant in a sexy way.
"Well, this me..." Ijichi turned very red at that look.
He felt suffocated that he even slightly loosened his tie, the atmosphere had changed again from one moment to another
From being a tense environment, now it was somewhat seductive... perhaps it was that woman's cursed technique
Reiko smiled and stood up—"Basically my clan also works with the "current rules" that other clans also abide by"—she began to walk slowly behind her guests
Ijichi couldn't speak because of the cursed energy he felt suffocating him at that moment.
"We are allied with several temples here in Tokyo and one or another in Kyoto where they request the support of a "special priest" as common people call us, for certain "special" missions or assignments that a "temple priest" cannot do only with prayer" -she gently ran his fingers along the back of Gojo's chair
Those words convinced Gojo above all
"Currently having a shrine on your side makes the work more direct with the parishioners" she said, looking at Gojo for a moment.
"Prayers are already out of fashion, what should be done is to go straight to the point, right, Reiko san?"— Gojo said with a big smile
Reiko smiled coquettishly at him and continued to walk around those two
"That's right, that's why we also use technology such as networks and Internet forums to find curses that are becoming more popular faster and, above all, to find cursed users that we believe are dangerous or have the potential to be sorcerers"— she stopped behind by Ijichi
She brought his lips close to his ear.
"You should know better than anyone Ijichi kun... people today have access to all information with a single touch of their cell phone and easily people have found a new form of entertainment combined with morbidity and things they consider "interesting". "And that category includes "curses" or "ghosts" that we see in tiktok or YouTube videos that "common" people upload to their networks"
Ijichi was very nervous when he felt how that woman placed her hands on his shoulders and her breath ran through his ear
The poor gulp saliva
"Social networks and internet forums have simply made it easier for us to find work that used to take time, that's why the other clans have "criticized" us too much, let's say our way of working is more modern" — she released Ijichi and continued walking back to his place
Reiko kept talking
"And that the strongest sorcerer wants to work for us is a great privilege since both parties would win in this new world." She smiled as he leaned on the table
"And what would my job be here?" Gojo questioned, leaning back in his chair.
Reiko giggled cutely and placed both hands on the table as she stared at him.
"Dear, your job will be very simple, you would help us to eliminate curses of special category or to eliminate users that we consider dangerous after examining the situation, basically your job will be to do the missions that we tell you" — Reiko said with a smile
"I mean what you used to do for the big shots, right?" Gojo smiled at that.
"That's right, but you should also help us look for someone in particular" added Reiko
Both Ijichi and Gojo were thoughtful at that proposal.
"What do you mean search?" Gojo questioned very curious.
Reiko looked at Hayate for a moment, who had been silent in that door since they arrived.
"I can give you the details of that last one, only if you agree to work with us since it is a "family mission"" Reiko replied with a slight smile returning her sight to her guests
"Interesting" Gojo commented, putting his hand to his chin.
That seemed to be quite strange, but Gojo still wanted to go back to his old ways.
Again, that atmosphere changed from a seductive one to a calmer one.
The cursed energy of that place rose and fell depending on what Reiko said.
"And what will I get in return? Why is the price of having the strongest sorcerer so high"— asked Gojo looking at Reiko
"Well, apart from receiving your pay and perhaps regaining the respect of the other clans, what else would you like to receive in exchange for you to work for us?" Reiko asked curious.
"I would like three things: The first is to have certain days off a week, this because I have some "personal" matters to attend to both here and in Kyoto "—Gojo enumerated that
"Secondly, I don't want anyone from your clan to follow me on my days off"
"And thirdly, I don't want civilians nearby during my missions, I'm not used to working with too many people watching me and I don't want Shibuya to happen again" Gojo replied seriously
Reiko got a bit serious for those requests
"Mmm, okay, you'd have your days off and we'll try to keep the curious from approaching you" Reiko said sighing.
"So Gojo Satoru, it being almost 09:00 am and after hearing all this... What do you decide?" Do you want to work together with the Ashiya clan?"— Reiko stretched out her right hand
Gojo saw that movement strange, he carefully approached his hand and before shaking it with Reiko's
This throne his fingers and undid what had been formed by the cursed energy of that woman
"No binding vows, dear Reiko"— his smile was enormous when she destroyed that trick
Reiko grimaced slightly and her face turned serious.
"Remember that I'm still the strongest and I'm still the leader of my tiny clan, so if I decide to work with you it will only be until a "certain" sanctuary recognizes me..."— Gojo settled back in his chair —"And tell me when would it end? our deal?"
Ijichi watched everything carefully because he would witness everything
They knew that if a deal was made between clans there should always be a norm, rule or circumstance that would allow that to be dissolved.
"What do you think if said "rule" is up to you to help us find what we are looking for?" Reiko commented.
"And what is that you're looking for?" Gojo asked again very curious.
"With the passage of time and your missions you will discover it dear, now let's leave it like that, our "contract" will end the day one of the two has first obtained what he is looking for, what do you think?" Reiko replied with a "friendly" smile.
Gojo thought about that for a moment
"Remember that if you accept, you will have missions like the ones you had before and your name will begin to sound throughout the wizarding world again," Reiko commented looking seriously at Gojo.
That atmosphere had changed again, now it was much more tense than at the beginning of that conversation
Gojo took a deep breath, this was a dangerous opportunity, but it was necessary
"Okay, as the leader of the Gojo clan, I agree to work with you, the Ashiya Clan, until the moment this contract expires, that is, when one of the two first obtains what he is looking for... obviously, I will be the one get first" he said with a big mocking smile
Reiko smiled at that—"Perfect... the deal is done"
They both shook their right hands and sealed that contract with a touch of cursed energy.
"Welcome back to the world of Gojo Satoru sorcery..." Reiko commented with a big smile.
After closing that contract, Ijichi and Gojo decided to quickly withdraw from there
"Ijichi... what do you think of them?" Gojo questioned as they went down that elevator.
"Well... the truth is I don't trust them, but the deal is already done" Ijichi commented, sighing.
"I liked them "good", we just have to wait to see how things progress, I guess this will be a good sign, right?"— Gojo commented with a big smile
Ijichi sighed heavily.
"Now, let's go find a new apartment and buy everything my son is going to need this weekend... I'm going to show that I'm the best sorcerer and by the way that I'll be the best father" he said, taking out his cell phone and looking at the screen photo of his son in the background
"I just hope things go well... I really have a bad feeling," Ijichi said with a long sigh.
And that the problems were just going to start
"Are you sure it's a good idea for him to work for us?" Hayate questioned, looking at Reiko.
"Do you doubt my little brother? Without my ideas we wouldn't have gotten so far pretending to be something we're not" — She look at him furiously — "I'm sure what we're looking for has to do with Gojo Satoru... he will guide us to who we're looking for" — she replied with a big smile
Was this the beginning of the end?
Maybe yes
And so... we start this whole new stage
"Utahime, what happened to your neck?"
To be continue...