The rest of the night had passed in a blur.
The boy muttered something under his breath and the dark barrier covering her house disappeared before her eyes. The fire was still raging on, and she watched with a heavy heart as a branch of the burning sakura fell down with a large crack.
The boy had whistled before he gave her a mock salute and started walking away.
Sanvi watched his back with wide eyes, before turning towards the fire. Utterly confused as to what had just happened, she made a few steps towards him before realizing her cousin's house was literally on fire. Groaning, she stopped and jogged towards the house.
A crowd had begun to gather as the neighbors came out. Someone must have called the fire department because only a few minutes later the authorities were there.
She vaguely remembers her cousin running up to her and giving her a tight hug. Guilt clawed at her heart, and she wondered how would she tell her that it was entirely her fault. She had been so kind, having agreed to take her in for a few days while her sister and brother-in-law went house hunting.
But surprises never seemed to falter.
The next few days were spent in a hotel nearby. One day, her cousin, Anya, came back with a surprising news. According to the authorities, the cause of the fire was faulty wiring.
Sanvi nodded her head, confused as to why they were blatantly lying. Surely they would be able to figure out the fire started from the gardens? Despite everything, she believed that Anya deserved the truth. However, she had no idea how to tell the girl that she could set things on fire without sounding like she was psychologically damaged by the incident.
That incident at the beginning of April was her first introduction to the world of shamans.
For a few days, she spent her days on the same old schedule, attending her new high school and brushing up on her Japanese lessons.
Since the incident, things for her...haven't been good.
But she did make sure to increase her time for meditation. It was one of the few things that controlled this freaky energy inside her. For a while, she did wonder if the boy and the entire incident were a figment of her imagination. The demon probably wasn't, since she could still see them everywhere in this city.
The thought in itself made her stomach churn. She can only imagine how many demons she would encounter. Just one curse led her to commit arson on her cousin's home, what would happen if she met one in public? In the school? Or perhaps maybe the hospital?
After all, her school was filled with these filthy creatures. Students in senior high were a lot more mean than here in junior high.
That and people in general. While she wasn't particularly a subject of someone's tyranny, she had seen her fair share of kids being bullied here.
She used to come to Japan to visit her cousin and aunt in the summer holidays when she was much younger. And the kids she tried to approach in the playground used to make fun of her.
Not much, she supposes. But after some time, she stopped trying to play with them and started exploring the neighborhood on her own.
That's how she discovered the kind Mrs. Tatsuya and her cats Choki and Toto, with whom she would spend her afternoons.
After finishing her exams in March back home, she moved here to stay with her sister.
Some people did behave differently with her, even now. Some good, others bad. Which was obviously because of her drastically different features.
Her entire facial structure, almond eyes, light brown skin, and long rich, red auburn hair that fell in wavy curls. There was a fair share of comments about her, but nothing particularly nasty. She was reasonably good-looking after all.
(Nothing jaw-dropping, head-turning, drop-dead gorgeous.
Just your average pretty girl, the kind where you take a look at the person in the crowd and wonder how pretty they are, appreciate the view for as long as you can, and then move on with your life, the pretty face and its existence already forgotten.)
But to stop the rambling and coming to the point, she was dreading high school. What if someone bullies her or gets on her nerves and she ends up setting the school on fire instead?
That would suck.
Trying to pull herself from the horrendous thoughts of being an unwilling arsonist again, she focused on the day ahead of her. But it just made her all the more nervous. At this point, she was painfully aware of the fact that she was a ticking bomb. All it needs is one trigger, and everything can end up burning around her.
But at the same time, she knows she can't worry Anya or her sister over it.
For the last few days, they had been suspecting something was wrong. And they were right.
But she can't just tell her cousin that she was a born arsonist. Literally. She had convinced her it was all a result of starting a new school and the anxiety and all. But she wasn't sure how long she can keep up the act with the lack of sleep.
As she walked back home from school, her phone pinged.
It was her cousin, informing her that Sachi (her sister) and her husband, Shinji, would be coming to pick her up tonight.
Sanvi felt the dread coursing in her veins.
Taking a small detour home, she decided to take the long route to the hotel.
On the way, she found a small cafe tucked in between a grocery store and a stationary one.
On a whim, she entered the roadside cafe and placed herself near the window. As she munched on a strawberry tart, with a hot cup of cappuccino right in front of her, she stared out into the empty streets.
A breeze blew, causing the leaves and trees to dance with it. Since the roads were empty, she could almost hear the sound of the leaves dancing. The sky was slowly turning pink, the sun ready to set. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the tart away and leaned back on her chair, eyes never leaving the sky above that she could see through the window.
She could hear the hum of the waitress behind the counter as she hummed a song under her breath while she worked. For a brief moment, she did feel the peace that had been escaping her recently.
When finished, she made her way back to the hotel.
She had just entered the building when the sight of someone at the reception made her stop dead in her tracks.
To reassure her that she wasn't imagining things, she narrowed her eyes, readjusting her glasses.
Her elder brother.
Rihan was a corporate employee back home in a big MNC back home in India. But why on earth would he be here!? She supposes he could have come after hearing about the fire incident. But how did he even get the holiday for it? He was rarely free and traveled a lot for work, always in the west.
Besides, it was not like she was injured. Whatever time he had, he made sure to visit their parents who needed help much more than she did (with her mother being hospitalized and all that).
But he wasn't alone. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed a man standing beside him. He was tall, with tanned skin and a solemn expression on his face.
Rihan turned, meeting her gaze with a solemn expression. The man who was talking to him turned back as well, regarding her with a nod. Sanvi caught sight of the dark sunglasses perched on his nose.
Sighing deeply, she made her way towards them, remembering the incident with the fire and the boy with the dark sunglasses.
It was on Monday, 24th April 2006 when she found herself at the gates of Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School.
Her teeth gnawed on her lips unconsciously and her hand smoothed down her pink kurta.
Transferring to this school was not much of a choice. She wasn't excited at the prospect of fighting demons, or rather- curses- as they are called. To be honest, she'd rather not.
But as if to remind her, ever since that day, it has become much harder to control the energy running in her veins.
She was hyper-aware of every single twitch of her hand, every single moment, every time the warmth simmered under her skin, every time a curse passed by.
It was taking a toll on her sleep, on every thought. What if she starts a fire in her sleep instead? Nothing was safe. It was showing on her face, too. Instead of the healthy, golden glow her skin had before, it was just dull and paler. There were even dark circles forming under her eyes.
It was a decision made on a whim, she admits that. She didn't give much thought to the dangers the man, Masamichi Yaga, mentioned of pursuing the career of curses and all.
Her attention was hooked when he mentioned they could help her with her problem. They could help her control herself so that she wouldn't hurt anyone or accidentally start a fire again. She was desperate.
She couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, couldn't go somewhere without feeling extreme anxiety and it felt like everything was spinning out of her control.
Besides, he did mention that if eventually, she wished to not become a shaman, no one would pressure her in any way.
It's not like she knew what she wanted to do in life.
Desperate people make desperate decisions. And she was desperate. If only she had noticed just how quiet Rihan was in the entire conversation, or how a look of pure dread crossed his face when she accepted the man's proposition.
Sweat tickled her forehead and down her neck. May was approaching fast, and so was the summer heat and humidity. She mentally patted herself on her back at the decision to wear her white cotton palazzo instead of normal leggings.
As she waited for her brother to park his car in a small parking space, her eyes roamed the scene.
Tokyo High was situated high among the mountains, obscured from her sight by the forest. The entrance was through a big Tori gate and a winding staircase that went through the forest and disappeared into the trees.
Her hands tightened around her periwinkle umbrella, and she further adjusted it to escape a ray of sunlight that escaped from the trees and landed on her skin.
Feet shuffled in her direction and her brother appeared. He raised an eyebrow seeing her covered head to toe.
"You can ditch the dupatta you know? It's much cooler here because of the trees." He said, tugging at the long sage-green scarf she covered her head and shoulders with. Sanvi slapped his hand away.
"Can't take the risk. You know how bad my skin gets in the sun. I don't wanna start a school looking like a tomato with pimples."
"You are not even covering your skin." He mused, picking up her bags.
Sanvi walked after him, keeping close.
"Well, there is not much sunlight. Besides, if I cover my face while climbing these stairs, I'm going to be all sweaty. Do you want me to go in looking like I came straight from the bath? That's disgusting."
"All right, all right. Do whatever you see fit." He said, entering the tori gates and making his way up the stairs.
Sanvi followed quietly. A cool breeze blew - a welcome respite. From under her umbrella, she watched carefully as the forest around her thrummed with life. Birds chirped, and some flew around chasing each other. A smile made its way onto her face as she saw a rabbit that scrambled away as they approached.
Her eyes followed a bird, bright red in color, as it flew towards the sky. The trees were so dense that they could not make out the sky clearly, but she did see a silver of the blue sky and soft, fluffy-looking clouds floating away.
A sky that briefly reminded her of a pair of soft blue eyes, hidden carefully behind dark sunglasses.
A wind rose again, and she stopped in her tracks. Some leaves fell, while others produced a soft-whistling sound as they danced with the wind.
"Jaani."
She gave him a glance as he called her name, noting that he had stopped in his ascent.
"Hmm?"
"I'm sorry." He said quietly. She turned to face him, confusion clear on her face. He sighed, and she noticed with concern that his hand was trembling.
"I promised...I swore to myself that I'll keep it a secret. I'll keep you a secret." His brown eyes looked vacant, and he dropped her bag on the stairs where he was standing.
"Huh?"
He came down the stairs, standing in front of her. He raised her chin so that she was looking him in the eyes.
"One day, you are going to come out of this school, and you are going to hate me. You will curse me for sending you here. You will see things I never want you to, experience things I wish I could protect you from-"
Her eyes widened as he knelt down in front of her. He covered both her hands under his, bringing both her palms together. She blinked as he bowed his head to touch their joined hands.
"I am sorry I could not protect you. But after what happened, it was either this school, or you getting hurt. I don't want any of it for you. Believe me when I say I had no choice. I know you still think it's a punishment you deserve, but unfortunately, it's just written in our kismet. You will not follow this path to the end, I will make sure of it. So the only thing I need is for you to survive this school."
The world was too quiet.
"I am scared," Sanvi admitted, muttering under her breath.
Rihan gave her a pained smile, before kissing her hands gently.
"It's so fucking pathetic. I became a shaman so that I can protect people, you know? But when I want to protect the one I love the most, I am fucking helpless. So much for it. You are way too kind Jaani, way too innocent...way too precious for this world. If I only could have kept it that way...I wish I could say that I would be there for you. But I can't."
Sanvi nodded quietly, not trusting herself to speak lest she end up sobbing. That would be humiliating. Rihan raised himself, kissing her forehead and walking back up to the bags.
"You are too kind for this life. People will call it your weakness but don't ever change that."
Even though she noticed the tears on her hands, she didn't say anything.
At the entrance, they were received by Fujikawa Mika, the first-year instructor at Jujutsu High. The first thing she noticed about her was the large scar at the bottom part of her neck. Her blonde hair was short, and her forest green eyes had taken a long look at her.
Sanvi shuffled on her feet uncomfortably, before the woman hummed in what seemed like contemplation. She took a look at her brother and nodded curtly.
"Sharma."
Rihan pursed his lips, before nodding back.
"Fujikawa, long time no see."
They received a crooked, intimidating smile as a reply. Sanvi smiled back tightly before clutching Rihan's white button-down. Fujikawa first led them to the girls' dorm.
"Most of it is empty, other than Ieiri from 2nd year and Takeda from 4th year. So feel free to choose whichever room you want."
They reached a traditional Japanese building at the top of a small hill, and the lady led her inside.
"The boys' dorms are on the left, and the girls' dorms are on the right," she said, pointing to the hallway on the right. "Go on, choose a room. The second one and the fourth one are occupied. "
Sanvi walked toward the end of the hallway, to the door at the end. Opening the door, took in the room. There was a desk by the window, a dresser by the corner, and a bed placed neatly in the middle of the room. Walking in, she made her way to the large glass window. Peering out, she saw a large tree right outside the window.
A peaceful sound of trickling water filled her ears and sure enough, she saw a small creek of water in the distance. The dorm was perched on the top of a hill, so she could see multiple traditional buildings scattered throughout the mountains.
"Argh! Put a lid on it Gojo!"
Sanvi perked up at the sound of a ruckus. Laughter and annoyed shouts reached her ears, and it seemed like it was approaching her room. She felt her stomach flutter, quickly pulled off her scarf from over her head, and patted any creases from her clothes.
Sounded like a girl, she mused. Well, anyhow, I'll be around for a while, might as well get in a good first impression.
Taking a deep breath, she swiped her hair out of her eyes and stepped out of the room, a bright smile plastered on her face.
"Hi! I am the new fir-"
Her face blanked as she took in the people in front of her.
There he was, the boy with the snow-white hair, pretty blue eyes, and dark sunglasses, standing beside a girl. His finger was wrapped around a lock of her hair and he seemed to be tugging at the strand.
Wordlessly, she stared at him, before turning and walking back towards her room.
And she would have if someone had not tugged at her scarf and pulled her back harshly. Already she had an inkling of feeling of the identity of the culprit and slapped his hand away.
"Look! Look! Shuguru, Shoko, this is the arsonist I was telling you both about!" She scowled at him as he over-dramatically gestured in her direction, his hands spread and knees bent.
Sanvi turned to look at Shoko, a tall girl with an adorable face. In fact, all three of them towered over her. And that spoiled her mood even more (if possible).
She really was very cute with short brown hair and a mole under her eyes. She looked at her in surprise, before greeting her with an equally shit-eating grin.
Sanvi sighed.
"Is it true that you fainted when Gojo rescued you and thanked him by prostrating and swearing your life to his servitude?" She asked though Sanvi didn't think she believed any of it herself.
More like informing her of what this guy, whose name was apparently Gojo, had been telling his friends.
The auburn-haired girl gave him an incredulous stare, before making sure to put on her most unimpressed, nasty, and disgusted sneer.
"Have you been born delusional or has your assholery fried your brains beyond repair?"
Shoko let out a peal of laughter, while the third boy snickered.
He was the definition of Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome. He had his hands in his pockets, and she found herself going red under his stare.
He must have noticed her nervousness because out of all three, his expression was the kindest and the most welcoming. Though she for some reason felt that the mischievousness emanating from his smile was a bit more concerning than the shit-eating grin of the Gojo boy.
She could not help but physically cringe at the sight of it.
He pouted (oh fucking god) and shuffled into her space, even though she took several steps back. Putting on a hurt expression, he raised her chin to his face with his fingers.
"It's okay, deny it in front of them. But I'll always remember what you said, when you were safe in my arms, caressing my hair." He whispered, VERY LOUDLY, then pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, a very fake lovesick expression on his face.
Sanvi realized a second later that he was pretending to be her, acting like her when she had pushed his hair out of his face.
"Fuck off, I did not say anything! And I wasn't caressing anything!"
Her face reddened, and she felt a sudden warmth spread through her. Suddenly, a small crackle of fire flared in the air, escaping a little from the skin of her cheekbone. It crackled slightly, before vanishing the very next second. Quickly, she slapped both her hands over her face though it was seconds too late.
All of them had seen it.
He grew silent, looking down at her through his glasses. Which was much more concerning than his being loud.
She quickly slapped her hand over her entire face, shying away from all of them. Horrified and miserable. Either they are going to be scared/creeped out, or they will make her life a living hell by making fun of her for this incident for the rest of her time here.
She wondered briefly which was worst.
The sound of someone coughing to hide their laughter echoed, and it was like all hell broke loose.
Howls of laughter made its way to her ears, and Sanvi groaned miserably. She guesses she knows what direction this is going.
A hand wrapped around her right wrist and brought it down. Scowling, she slapped his hand away (putting extra strength so that a 'slap' sound resonated loudly) and pushed herself away from him. Looking up, she saw an almost maniacal grin on his face as he took her face in.
"Got you all hot and bothered, huh?"
She looked at him, weirded out but also very humiliated. Clicking her tongue, she looked at Shoko and this Suguru guy were both cackling at this point.
Gojo laughed loudly, ruffling her hair.
"Piss off."
"Aww, it's okay! I tend to have that effect on girls."
"I am only losing brain cells listening to you talk." She said and scrunched her nose at them.
I thought that at least Shoko would be different, but guess they are all cut out of the same cloth.
She brought her left hand to rub her forehead, fingers pressing on the sides once. She wanted to leave honestly, but the two upperclassmen were blocking her way. They did not look like they were going to stop anytime soon. Not to mention this stupid Gojo who was also laughing hard, slapping his hand on his thigh, blocking her way to the room.
Where is Rihan when you need him?
And god must have finally noticed her humiliation because the said brother came to her rescue.
"Jaani, come." He had appeared suddenly at the opposite end of the hallway. He raised an eyebrow at the scene. Her in the middle, with a face as red as a tomato, and the three kids surrounding her, laughing like hyenas.
But before he could say anything, his phone rang and he beckoned her with his hand to follow him.
It was Shoko who stopped laughing first. She placed a hand on her chest before taking a few deep breaths, giggles or two still escaping her.
Coming forward, she smiled genuinely and pinched her cheek.
"God, you are so cute! I like you already. It'll be nice having another girl around, looking forward to it." She said, before pulling the dark-haired boy after her. He turned to her, his eyes crinkling at his smile, and called out, waving a hand.
"Introductions will have to wait it seems, but as Shoko said. Looking forward to having you around."
Sanvi blushed, waving at him in a jerky motion.
He was just so handsome. And so gentle. And polite. Unlike someone, who was yet to leave.
She looked at him from the corner of her eyes, as he yawned loudly, little tears at the corner of his eyes. He turned towards her, tugging at a strand of her hair. A few embers crackled near her hair like they normally did when she carelessly flipped her hair.
She could feel his eyes carefully follow the motion. His scrutiny made her uncomfortable. Her fingers played with the chipped gold ring on her finger, pushing and pulling it off her finger.
He stared, a little incredulously, before letting out a small huff of laughter. Humming, he pushed his hand into his pockets like his friend before him.
"I'll see you around Jaani."
She scowled for the umpteenth time, wondering how many wrinkles she'll end up with at the end of this school year.
"DON'T ever call me that!"
"Hmmm..." He hummed, posing in a thinking mode, very fake and dramatic.
"I think no. I quite like it." He smiled."I think I'll stick to it, Jaani."