Chapter 19
He was able to catch up to Rook, thanks to his ability to fly now. Suguru has been tapping into his curse's power, Chusi helped him refine it so he doesn't have a 'toilet' incident again!
However, he hung back and watched.
The kid… fights like Sukuna.
His moves are calculated, precise and deadly. He does it all with a wild smile on his face and even when he's done, he doesn't look like he has had enough. "Ah, it feels good to unleash myself!" he decreed.
"That's a lot of Uba's moves." Suguru said as he came out of hiding.
Rook turned and smiled. "Yeah, after Toji became a dragon it was hard to gauge my power. Maki Sensei has been great at helping me, but, I find I do better learning from Oji." He said. "Is that weird?"
Suguru smirked, "The only weird aspect of that is the fact that 'Oji' was willing to teach you"
Rook smirked but he nodded. "Yeah, he's a tough bastard to say the least…"
"Hey!"
"Dad calls him that too, but… I… respect Oji." He said offhandedly. "He really listens to you when you are concerned about your power. Dad doesn't really he just brushes it off. But Oji listens and gets to the heart of the matter… he does so rather fast too."
"It's because he's been there, many times over no doubt. But Oji shouldn't be trusted completely either… neither should I for that matter."
Rook, paused oddly. He turned and yet Suguru could swear he felt his eyes stare at him through his blindfold. "You can't be trusted? And yet MOM has you look after us? Tsk, I trust mom's judgment more than my dad's!" he laughed. "Also, you know mom knew Oji was training me right?"
"I think she assumed that was mainly Toji?"
Rook laughed a little. "After I had that spar session with Kiyoshi, before I aged again… Oji would always fight me with one finger… after that. It was his whole hand… I never thought I was ready for that, but… I held my own. He was impressed about it too, and he even used his elemental power against me. The lessons got harder, sure but… I have never felt more fulfilled in my life!"
'So heavenly restricted Sorcerers have the same feelings as a sorcerer does in battle.' Suguru thought.
"I learned a lot from Oji and aunt Chusi…"
"Wait, she trained you too!?"
"Where do you think my balance came from?" he laughed. "Oji is great on teaching you the fighting aspect of battle, strategies and what not. Aunt Chusi taught me balance, keeping on your feet, meditation for a clear mind and sound body… by the way there is a curse coming right for us down this street… it's a b-line directly at you…"
He felt it too. Suguru stood at the ready and saw a hulking curse running towards them. The thing appeared to have fused with other curses to make itself stronger and was slowly absorbing them into its body. But… that wasn't the only thing.
Rook froze a little, he appeared slightly pale as he said. "Pops… those are people in there too, aren't there?" he asked. "Can… can we…"
"I'm sorry Rook, we're too late for them…" Suguru could see them too, human faces and arms trying to reach out of the black mass, but, they were froze in place, they died within the curse but the curse has yet to reject or finish digesting the bodies.
Needless to say, he won't be taming this one in front of Yua's son.
He turned to see if Rook was going to go for it, however he is hesitating.
Suguru knew he had to make this quick so he went in himself. Turning his hands to blades, he rushed in and sliced the curse up until it couldn't heal itself, then, he plunged the blades down through the head of it before rendering it to dust.
Rook had rushed over as the body vanished, but he appeared… upset.
"Rook?"
"Oji told me this too…" he whispered. "I… I still freeze up."
Suguru paused for a moment, it's a weakness Rook has. He won't kill a curse if he still sees a human within it, dead or alive.
"What did Oji say?" Suguru asked.
Rook was silent at first. He turned away and said. "It doesn't matter if the human is still alive, if they are trapped in a curse, they are better off dead. Either way, when you kill the curse, you will kill the human inside…"
That does sound like a Sukuna lesson to him.
"Is this your second encounter, seeing something like that?"
"No, it's my fifth."
Rook took a seat and explained it was the reason why Oji brought him to Shibuya all the time to train. He had to get over the notion he can't save everyone. "I watched him destroy the last four that had the same thing, there were people trapped inside of the curse, calling for help… he killed it without hesitation and didn't bother to try and save those trapped inside. He refuses to let me hunt a curse on my own until I get over that. But, what's there to get over? It's a person!"
Suguru took a seat next to him. "He's half right on the notion."
"What?"
"If a person is consumed physically by a curse, they are as good as dead unless they are reached in time. But, if they are not, they become part of the curse, and that curse will use them to lure sorcerers like you… so they can consume you as well. A curse will use everything it can to gain more power and kill their enemies, including giving off the illusion of false hope." He explained. "What Oji was showing you was that despite destroying the curse, the people wouldn't have lived either way. For there were no bodies to claim afterwards, right?"
Rook paused to that. "I didn't consider the notion…"
"A curse can absorb a human within three days. Think of the rules of three for a human. Three weeks without food, three days without water, three minutes without air, that's the threshold for most people to be pushed to their limit. A human will die within that time frame if deprived of these three basics. Which one do you think the curse would use most of all to kill its victim?"
He went pale. "They would cut off their air in the stomach…"
"Yes, so, if you have not reached a person in that time frame… it's maybe too late."
His confidence was gone.
That happy go lucky kid got smacked with reality. Suguru felt bad he had to do such a thing, but, if he struggles with this, he will end up getting himself killed if he doesn't understand how a curse works and how they use humans.
"What we should do is train that sense of smell of yours."
"What do you mean, Pops?"
"With that curse that came at us, did you smell human scents?"
He appeared to realize what he was hinting at. "No, no it was all curse!"
"Let's do a test then, let's see if we can make something work here…" Suguru paused for a moment. "Remember what I said about the rules of three?" he asked.
Rook froze once more and nodded to him. "Ask yourself this, would a curse be that merciful to take their victims fast like that?"
His eyes widened. "Pops… do you mean…"
He nodded. "Sadly I can give you such an example since I am the one who caused it. Two children went missing from a school, they were swallowed up by a curse the day before… but they were saved and found alive." He explained. "I had done such action for the sake of a plan I had in place… I was trying to lure and test out a sorcerer named Yuta at the time."
He saw Rook was giving him his undivided attention. When he explained that a human can last longer in a curse if the curse doesn't kill them right away… and nine times out of ten they don't kill their victims fast… there's a chance to save them.
"But as I said before, let's see if perhaps we can figure out a system for you to notice if a person is trapped and you act, or if it's a trap and you destroy. Sounds good?"
"Of course, please, teach me!"
Suguru nodded. "Perhaps we need to back track and find Toji…"
"Find me for what?"
Suguru jumped! He came out of nowhere.
"Shit, don't do that! It's as bad as Satoru…"
He smirked but appeared curious. "So, what's this I hear about people being trapped in curses? Or are you talking about when a curse eats a human?" he asked.
"Both," said Rook and Suguru.
"I… have trouble when I see a human figure in a curse… I think there's a person inside and I could save them… Oji said there is no point. Pops said that there is a chance depending on the curse and when the person became consumed… but I want a surefire way to know if someone is trapped or not."
Suguru peered at Toji, he can think just as merciless as Sukuna. Yet, he appeared intrigued. In fact, he smirked at the notion. "How things come full circle…" he muttered. "I got a way for you to learn that,"
"Really?" Suguru asked.
"You serious!?" Rook demanded.
"Believe it or not, this is from your great aunt. Who trained me before the clan knew she was doing so. She had a method, in fact she read body energy like you, but she could see deep into a curse to see if they have consumed a human… I am a little rusty on that, but between us I think we can figure it out."
"Do you mind helping him? I'll stick with Megumi if you want?" Suguru asked.
"Good luck, that kid is hiding on me half the time now… he just won't ask for help…"
