Chapter 26

He was sweating nervously.

Satoru was outside of the bath door when he paced about. Why is she so blunt with him!? Are Tooru women that confident in their bodies… no… it's not that they are confident in their bodies, but merely… they are that confident in themselves! She doesn't fear the notion that he could be a creeper, trying to get his fix and leave…

Shit, Ryomen was right not to piss her off, also not to piss him off either. It was rather funny since neither one could sleep that night, they found an area known as the arena where they could spar.

He never realized how strong Ryomen was.

Luckily, in the arena, one is to wear a certain uniform if they are going to spar. "This will prevent any crippling injuries, and accidental death." The fae explained.

Neither one of them cared at the time, that was until Satoru went head to head with him. Ryomen… was a beast! One hand he could crush Satoru's head in. One slap and he was sent into the wall. One kick did the same thing and could shatter his ribs!

It wasn't much of a spar session than a beat down. In the end they even had a card as to what you inflicted and what injuries you would have had.

"Huh… sprained wrist? That's it?!" Ryomen demanded.

Satoru on the other hand. "Apparently, you killed me at least ten times in that room… shattered my ribcage just as much, broke various bones… okay… I won't piss you off!" he decreed.

Ryomen took the paper and read it over. He appeared stunned to this. "Uh… Satoru… I wasn't even using my full strength…"

That… made him feel worst!

But it also made it clear, if he ever upset Ryomen… he is capable of killing him easily.

Satoru sighed to that. "Jeeze, I wonder why he didn't go for BOTH Toorus…" he muttered.

"You can come in now."

Satoru jumped to the voice of the fae woman who peeked out the door. He merely nodded as he entered, bathed and then got a tub of his own right next to Yua.

He said nothing the moment he entered the water. But he could feel his face flush with red. In fact, when he blushes, his whole body nearly turned red like a tomato.

"Are you okay, Satoru?"

He jumped as Yua peered over at him. She was neck deep in the water, as well it was a medicated bath so he couldn't see anything else… not that he wanted to.

"Y…yes, I'm okay… just… a little nervous is all… it's not every day that a woman you just met asks you to join her for a bath!" he said and laughed nervously to it all.

Yua smiled to him. "Satoru Gojo… what do you hope to gain in life?" she asked.

He froze to the question, slowly he peered at Yua who was now resting on the edge of the tub but peered at him with interest.

"What… do I hope to gain? Well… I am the strongest jujutsu sorcerer!" he decreed, but then paused. "No… that's a lie isn't it?"

"Not a compete lie but close, I think you are one of the strongest in this generation. I don't doubt that, but being THEE strongest… I have my doubts" she said gently and giggled. "You seem like the kind that just does what he wants to do, but at the same time, you have no direction."

Silence.

Satoru couldn't speak as he looked to Yua who bore a rather proud grin on her face.

Then again, the lessons from his clan began to leech their way into his mind. 'If you ever come across a Tooru, don't engage! They are a plague upon sorcerers, for they are the ones who allowed a great calamity reach such potential it nearly ended us all!'

"Satoru?"

He snapped out of the thought. He sighed aloud. "Look, I'm sorry, I thought… I thought something stupid a while ago and Ryomen set me straight on that…"

She looked curious. "Are you the kind to flirt and dash after you had your fun?" she asked. "I don't put up with something like that either."

"Yes… NO!" he protested. "I… I did think about it, but… not anymore." He sighed aloud. "I have heard terrible things through my clan about yours. But… I don't want to believe them."

She didn't appear offended. "What have they been saying? Do you mind me asking?"

He sighed aloud once more. "Stupid shit." He put bluntly. "My family had always said that Toorus don't understand or realize what it means to be a jujutsu sorcerer. They always value life above all else, to my clan there is something we call acceptable losses. Meaning that if so many people died in our attempt to quell a curse let's say, it's okay if so many people were killed in the process… as if it was no big deal. I heard Toorus on the other hand, they plan with great caution and don't see humans as merely stepping stones or obstacles in their way. They make certain there are very little casualties…"

"I am aware some sorcerers see humans as nothing more than monkeys. I am more than aware of that since most of my clan it was split. Half had technique, the others had heavenly restrictions." She explained. "We never saw humans as lesser beings since. We still came from them, sorcerers wouldn't be sorcerers if it weren't for humans, right?"

"Yeah…" he muttered. "But, why are you and your sister here? How did you two get here and find this place? If you figured that out please let me know, I have no idea how Ryomen and I got here just yet."

"Memory loss?" she asked bluntly.

"Apparently I drank some sort of bath water that was suppose to erase memories to a certain point. Bathing in it did such a thing, drinking it, and it becomes a mind bleacher."

She giggled at that comment. So he started to relax a little. She certainly looked cute when she laughed.

"I don't think I want to know why you drank that bath water…" she said with a shake of her head.

"Apparently Ryomen did too… if we are brothers in law, we probably dared the other to do it and did so at the same time…" he said offhandedly. "You know, being what he is, Ryomen… isn't that bad of a guy… in fact… I really hate to admit this, he has helped me get closer to you."

"Oh really?" she asked.

Satoru went on to explain it was Ryomen who held him back from approaching her the first time his eyes came on Yua. He even told Satoru to hold back, observe for now and leave things be. "He didn't want to come across as a creep. But at the same time we were being careful. He noticed the way you and your sister were sitting, as if you were expecting company."

She was impressed. "He does observe things rather well, don't he?"

"You kidding me, he picked up on it all! I've just been going with the flow as to what he thinks is best. You know when he lifted me out of my seat and sat next to you and yet dropped me on the other side of the table? He told me why he did that and I never thought of it before. Had I sat next to you, I wouldn't be able to see your face, your eyes… or really appreciate you being there… I got a lot to learn"

He went silence once more, but, as he looked to Yua, he found she was just as still. Almost as if she couldn't believe what he saw. "Ryomen is looking out for you too, isn't he?"

"Like a big brother!"

"Who would have thought…" she muttered that last part. Satoru didn't quite understand but shrugged his shoulders to it all.

"What about you?" Satoru asked. "What do you hope to gain from being a sorcerer? I never understood the Toorus way of doing things… I mean for every clan, their goal is to be the strongest and acknowledged right?"

She giggled. "No, not in the least bit. At least for my clan," She said gently.

Now he was hanging off the side of the tub. "Oh? Please, do tell"

She chuckled a little more before relaxing once again. "My clan… we weren't in this for the power, to be acknowledged as the strongest. Since after all, it's a lot more work to be seen as the strongest than to let people know you are, right?" she asked of him.

Satoru had nothing to say. A part of him strongly feels that he often brags that he is to anyone and everyone. "All I know is that some sorcerers live to fight, they live to destroy those around them because they are the strongest. They have the most powerful technique and can do so without anyone stopping them. To me, that sounds like a very pathetic life to live"

"Pathetic?" he asked.

"Well, if all you have is power, nothing more or less. Sure you are going to get your way all the time. Yes, you will be attacked from every which way from others who believe they are stronger than you. And what happens if the day comes where you have taken out everyone, there is no one left to fight, nothing left to do… it becomes a pathetic and very lonely life to live."

Satoru was silent again. He never saw it as that. To him… strange, this is just returning to him now in thought. When one is the strongest, you can do whatever you want and no one can tell you otherwise unless they are stronger. To those with power, life is a breeze since you don't have to look over your shoulder constantly. But to Toorus… it's pathetic?

"One has to be powerful to decree a life of a sorcerer who merely lives to fight pathetic," he laughed.

She merely smiled.

Wait… Satoru slowly turned back to Yua and began to wonder. "Are you… that powerful?" he asked of her.

She shrugged her shoulders to it all. "Maybe? I don't exactly care about it. Let's say that I am the strongest sorcerer in the world… I don't claim that by the way this is just for argument sake. If I am, then that means all others will come after me to prove themselves won't they? There are those who are greedy, out to make a name for themselves, what if someone decided to take me out through underhanded means? They could always lie about the details as to how they did it, all that matters to them is that my life was taken by them. It's too much work to prove that I am powerful, it's better to be quite about it and let the sorcerer learn the hard way." She decreed.

"I… never thought of it like that…" Satoru muttered.

"Also, what happens if I have a family? They will go after my family to get to me right? BUT, if I don't brag about being the strongest or proving it other wise, I'll be left alone with my family for the most part… but, sadly, when it comes to my clan. Even if I wasn't strong, just my last name alone, sorcerers figure that they could get bragging rights for taking out a Tooru… my sister and I are the last of our clan, Satoru."

He gulped nervously. He knew that too about the Tooru clan, and even so. Just as there are many out there to kill them. There are also just as many out there to use them.

"There… was something else my clan told me… if the Tooru was a woman… to bring her back to the clan. Rumor has it that a Tooru woman could give birth to a child with a greater technique than that of their parents… is that true?" he asked of her.

She was silent for a moment. "Yes," she whispered. "That is true" She said.

That tone… she sounds hesitant.

"Did… did something happen to you?" he asked gently.

Yua turned and smiled to him. Covering her chest with one arm, she slowly lifted herself out of the bath and revealed a slightly distended belly.

Satoru froze.

"Is someone using you!?" he demanded.

"I wouldn't say using me… but…" her voice trailed off.

"Does… this mean you're married?" Satoru couldn't help but sound pathetic at this point. He thought that he just wasted his time hitting on a pregnant woman!

"No," she said gently. "But at the same time… would you want someone like me? Someone in this position?" she asked of him as she lowered herself back into the water.

There was just something about this that upset him. Perhaps part of what Ryomen said was brushing off on him. Someone used her and then dumped her… that really is an asshole move! "If you ever see the guy who used you like this, let me know. I'll get Ryomen and we will make sure he pays for that!"

Yua was stunned. "Why go through the trouble?" she asked. "I'm no one special…"

"Oh come off it!" he protested. "One of the last living Toorus in the world, the sorcerers are going to see this as some sort of game! You know what, fuck them!" he decreed. "Miss Tooru, if you will entertain this notion of mine. So no one else messes with you, how about I stay at your side huh?"

She froze to this. "We just met, why would you make a decree like that?" she asked bewildered.

"I don't know, there is just something about you that I can't quite put my finger on just yet. Besides, if you don't feel that way. At least, let me stay at your side… hell I got another sorcerer I could introduce you to! He's not as strong as me, but he will defend you… huh… I got a best friend! Who knew…" he said offhandedly.

Slowly, memories were trickling back into his mind. But he couldn't dwell on that, he turned to Yua who appeared to be on the brink of tears. "Miss Tooru…"

"Yua… just Yua, please" she said as the tears slipped from her eyes. "Satoru, thank you for your offer. I just may take you up on that,"

"Please consider it, but don't feel pressured into it either. I should talk to Ryomen, we ought to do something to help out your clan. I mean, just speaking with you now. I don't see or understand why the council would want your clan to just die out!" he protested.

Yua, appeared touched by his words.

"Miss, it's time to leave the bath" the fae attendant said.

Satoru, being a gentleman turned his back away and even reached for the towel on his head and covered his eyes.

A gentleman never stares!