Notes:
It's time for Maki and Yuta to talk a little about their past and uncover some truths.
So I hope you like this chapter, which is a bit long ❤
With nothing more to say for the moment, it's time for Maki and Yuta to speak after seven years of absence.
The opening verse is about a song in Spanish.
Chapter 10. Different versions of the same day
"I don't expect love or hate
I have enough of my pain
I curse the episode
The worst thing is that I was the one who wrote it."
Song: Perdón. Artist: Camila.
"Why can't we go with them?" Yurika asked, with her hands folded across her chest.
"Yes! Besides, we already bought the flares and the food we want to share with Yuta kun!" Yuudai replied waving his hands impatiently.
"Because your mother wants to talk alone with Okkotsu" Megumi answered, looking at the twins.
"But Mom and Yuta are just sitting there without saying anything!" Yuudai replied, looking at the two of them.
"Maybe they are talking too quietly" Tsumiki replied, bending down a little to look at the two impatient children.
"But they haven't even moved their lips!" This little guy was very observant. Yuudai had a good eye for small details around him.
"Well" Tsumiki gave a quick glance to those two sorcerers who were standing still "Sometimes adults need a little time to find the right words to address a person they haven't seen in years or to try to start a conversation with someone they just met" she answered stroking Yuudai's hair.
"Mom and Yuta kun have known each other before?" asked Yurika, puzzled by what her aunt said.
Megumi and Tsumiki looked at each other at that question. They didn't know whether or not they should answer it. So they decided to change the subject.
"As we told them, they should not be interrupted, so let's go for one more walk around the festival" said Megumi, putting his hands behind the children's backs to try to keep them away from there.
"But Dad!" those little ones begged.
At that moment above their heads the fireworks flashed again in the sky. Making those children forget about that issue of going to their mother and real father.
"Look Dad Gumi! Look Aunt Miki!"
"The fireworks have started again!"
"Uncle Itadori, Uncle Toge and Aunt Nobara! Look how beautiful the sky looks!"
These children shouted with great joy while with their little hands they pointed to the sky, very excited to see that spectacle that they loved to watch.
Those twins were enjoying watching those fires that illuminated the sky with thousands of colors next to their uncles and their father Megumi, who were trying to keep the twins away from the other two adults who were far away from them.
Those two sorcerers had been in total silence for about ten minutes and still could not speak to each other after not seeing each other for almost seven years.
Maki and Yuta were sitting on a bench on that hill outside the shrine where their children had gathered them.
What should perhaps be a comforting reunion was anything but. It was too tense.
Each one was at the end of that bench, leaving a large space in between.
Both were silent. A somewhat awkward silence but one that at the same time revealed confusion on the part of both of them.
Maki just looked straight ahead, adjusting her glasses from time to time, trying to ignore Yuta as he watched the others in the distance.
On the other hand, the sorcerer who came from abroad was surprised. He looked at Maki from time to time, trying to check that the one next to him was not a ghost or that everything around him was not a dream or a cursed technique.
Yuta even pinched his cheek a couple of times, but the pain and burning were real.
"Em... I..." the words could not get out of Yuta's throat. There was so much to say but his mouth could not complete the sentence.
Maki let out a sigh that expressed that there was too much anger inside her.
The air rushed out of her chest in a noise of discomfort that was only audible once the fireworks finished flashing in the sky.
"I really can't believe this is happening" she said with a grimace on her lips.
"This feels so unreal... and even more so that I come from the pantheon where …" Yuta was interrupted.
"Where is my grave supposed to be?"
"Yes..."
Maki rolled her eyes.
"Boo! Surprise! I'm not dead! And I'm not a ghost either! I might even punch you right now so you can see that I'm 100% real!" she said sarcastically, showing her fist.
"I guess I'm the person you least want to see right now, and maybe I deserve that, don't I" the sorcerer replied at her rejection. He even rubbed his arm a little at the imaginary pain of remembering her blows.
"Correct"
Maki replied dryly and stared at him. Behind her glasses you could see her eyes full of anger.
"I..."
"Believe me, I'm really upset to see you here" she replied with too much contempt.
"You come back when I was already forgetting you. I was already getting used to the idea that maybe you were already happy in another country or maybe you were already dead so I could live a quiet life here without having you on my mind"
Yuta let out the air with too much sadness when he heard that. "I'm sorry..." he apologized softly.
Maki took a breath.
"An apology doesn't do much good..." She continued to look at him seriously.
"And from what you say about my grave, I guess everyone at headquarters must still think I'm dead, right?"
"Yes, in fact, my assistant was the one who found your grave and the information about your 'death' in the headquarters documents... That's why I went to see your grave because I really believed that you had died for the reasons stated in the official reports" Yuta answered staring at her.
"To tell you the truth, I would have liked you to go on believing that I am dead." whispered Maki, averting her gaze.
Yuta looked at the floor at such an answer. He had so many things to ask her that he didn't know where to start.
"Maki ..." he was interrupted.
"Okkotsu, let's get to the point once and for all. When and why the hell did you return to Japan?" asked Maki directly.
Yuta let out a sigh as he heard her address him, calling him by his last name in a very bad way.
So he had no choice but to answer that question.
"I returned fourteen days ago and the reason why I came back to Japan, basically I could say it was for work. Satoru 'convinced' me to return to help him specifically with a mission"
"Ha! So the same idiot who convinced you to leave the country, convinced you to come back? Wow, will you continue to believe and do everything that stupid man tells you and orders you to do? Do you really trust him after all he has done to all of us?" asked Maki, crossing her arms.
Yuta, upon hearing that reply, supposed that something bad must have happened for Maki to speak so badly and in such a way about Satoru.
Yuta's elbows rested on his knees and he laced his fingers together.
"I must confess that at this point I really don't know who to believe anymore, this is so confusing because I don't know who is telling the truth anymore. Besides you are the second person to ask me that question for two nights in a row" he commented looking down at his hands for a moment.
"The second in two nights in a row?" Maki raised an eyebrow.
"Yesterday night I meet Tsukumo san in the streets of this city and she asked me the same question" Yuta answered, looking at her slightly.
"Oh"
Maki sighed when she heard that name. She was suspicious to find out that the blonde meet Yuta once she left her house.
"And with what you just said, it leads me to the following questions" Maki took a little courage "How the hell did you find us? Was it by chance? Did someone tell you about it? Or did you investigate on your own?"
Deep down, Maki sensed that perhaps some report concerning her and her children was not properly destroyed as Mei and Yuki made her promise.
"Although it may seem hard to believe, but meet again was purely by chance, especially since I found with Yurika and Yuudai yesterday and they both invited me to come to the shrine today" replied Yuta with a small smile.
"Where did you find them yesterday?" asked Maki curiously.
"In a park very close to here. I was lost and by pure chance I ran into them again yesterday afternoon" he smiled slightly at the memory of that encounter. "It's hard to explain, but whenever I meet your children again, I feel a strange connection with them. It's as if they call out to me. It's been that way ever since I met them"
"So what Yurika and Yuudai say is real, that you saved them from a curse?" Maki asked with a grimace on her lips.
The sorcerer nodded.
"That's right!, about fourteen days ago I was near a shopping mall and suddenly I felt a great presence of cursed energy in an alley and that's when I saved them from a curse" he looked at those little ones who were playing together with Itadori and Toge.
Maki only sighed at that answer and looked away from where Yuta was watching, "I will definitely kill Ui Ui when I see him for having neglected them. And those children will also be punished for hiding this from me!"
Yuta smiled very slightly when he heard those words coming from her mouth. He had never imagined Maki that way and was still coming to terms with the fact that she was the mother of those little ones.
Both sorcerers were silent again for a few minutes.
Again, they looked over at the children who looked very excited as they were interacting with the other adults who were taking care of them.
Yuta's eyes focused on Fushiguro, watched as he stroked the children's hair affectionately.
"So now your last name is Fushiguro?" Yuta asked, once again breaking the ice between the two of them. I really couldn't believe that was Maki's actual last name.
She pursed her lips slightly before answering.
"It is, I've been married for almost seven years" she replied, looking at the others.
Yuta felt too strange seeing this "family". It was as if something was wrong with them.
He felt a strange hunch with everything he had discovered that afternoon about "the Maki of the hospital". He felt as if "this ghost" was hiding something else from him.
"I'm sorry to ask, but why did you marry Megumi? Aren't you and he supposed to be from the same family? Did you really love him?" he asked with confusion, looking into her eyes.
Maki sighed at such questions. She really didn't feel like explaining that and she didn't want Yuta to know anything about her personal life.
"It's a long story and which is none of your business!" she replied, looking back at her children.
"It's okay. An apology for asking. I guess you must love him too much to keep your family life private" he replied with a cold tone.
"It's anything but love really... it's something you wouldn't understand" whispered Maki. Her voice was tinged with sadness.
That answer left Yuta more intrigued as they fell silent again.
As he was looking at that family and remembering what Yurika and Yuudai had told him about how they were nothing like their "father Gumi", Yuta's heart told him that maybe those two little ones were his and not Fushiguro's, besides his mental calculations about the gestation and birth of those twins didn't add up in case they were Megumi's children.
Both were his spitting image. They were his blood, that's how his being felt. And those doubts would be answered soon enough.
"You have beautiful children" answered Yuta to break the tension but without taking his eyes off those little ones.
"Thank you, they are good children, a little naughty from time to time, but for the most part they are good and obedient and I think you have noticed that" Maki leaned her hands on the edge of the bench.
"Hehe yes, I noticed it from the moment I met them" Yuta smiled at the memory of that moment.
Maki sighed upon hearing that answer.
"Although personally I wish Yurika and Yuudai had never met you…" she replied coldly.
Yuta looked at the ground when he heard those cutting words "Why don't you want me to be part of their life?"
"Because I don't want them to be interested in you!" Maki calmed her pride for a moment, "Even so, I thank you again for saving them" she looked at him.
"It was my duty to save them and perhaps all this was the work of destiny and I am partly grateful that it happened this way because I will not deny it, I also returned to Japan because I wanted to see you again" he replied without looking away from Maki, a small smile formed on his lips.
"See me again?"
"Yes, I always wished to see you once again. Although I guess that wish was also fulfilled, since Yurika and Yuudai intervened with their prayers " he scratched the back of his neck.
Yuta commented that last, remembering that those children had prayed on his behalf to the gods for him to see the woman he still loved again, and it seemed to be so.
Their gazes met, there were too many feelings reflected in their eyes.
Maki raised an eyebrow at that answer, her cheeks wanted to be stained of red by those cheesy words, but her pride and courage were stronger "Damn the time you three met so that you and I could meet again" she cursed under her breath.
"Even so, I'm happy to have seen you again" whispered Yuta.
They both fell silent again as they looked down at their twins.
Yuta really had several doubts that he wanted to resolve, especially now that he felt that the information that Katsumoto had given him in the afternoon seemed to coincide with the information from the Maki of the hospital.
His suspicions began to grow more and more, making him come to the conclusion that these two were his biological children.
That was a clue he wanted to confirm.
And after taking a breath, he plucked up the courage to ask something that had caught his attention ever since he met those children.
"And why did you choose those names for them?" Yuta asked looking at Maki again. His voice sounded too curious.
"What do you mean?" she turned her face toward him.
"I mean… Why did you name YOUR children with the names I had chosen for MY children?" He asked seriously.
Maki shrugged her shoulders.
"I confess that I was very bad at choosing names, so I decided to give them the names you had suggested I liked their meanings" a small smile lit up her face, while she looked him in the eyes again "Yurika which means "Beautiful Lily" and Yuudai which..."
"Which means "Little Brave One or Big Hero" Yuta completed the sentence.
Maki nodded her head.
"Yes, and curiously the names you had chosen in the past seemed to fit perfectly with my children at the time of their birth. That's why I decided to give them the names you suggested" she looked back at her twins.
Yuta had a very serious face. He even seemed to be a little upset by that decision.
"I suppose there must be some deeper reason why you gave them the names I chose for them, right?"
"What are you trying to say?" Maki was again defensive.
"What I'm trying to say is, are Yurika and Yuudai my children?" Yuta asked bluntly.
"What?" came as a whimper from Maki's mouth. She did not expect that question. She thought Yuta hadn't noticed.
"I will ask again, "Are Yurika and Yuudai my children?, Or are they Fushiguro's children?"
"Wow!, You really dare to ask that question even though it's more than obvious? Are you blind not to see whose children they are? The last name says it all!" Maki crossed her arms. "They're mine and Megumi's!" she lied.
"On the contrary, if you look at them closely they look a lot like me, especially Yuudai looks a lot like me when I was a child" added Yuta seriously.
At those words Maki pursed her lips. She even bit her tongue in anger. She was surprised how Yuta had come to that conclusion.
"And by the way, no one takes the names suggested by others for no apparent reason. And you Maki, more than anyone else knew that I really wanted to name my children, or rather our children with these names, so answer me truthfully, are Yurika and Yuudai my children? Why would you choose to give them the names that I chose to name Fushiguro's children? Did you choose them because you know that they are really mine and not his?" Her aura was heavy.
Maki stood up. "I'm too offended by these questions. I can't take this anymore, I don't even know why I decided to agree to talk to you!" she took a few steps. She wanted to get away from him "And I'm telling you once and for all, I don't want you near my children or any of us!"
But Yuta quickly stopped her by the wrist.
"Is this what you wanted to tell me that time at the train station the day you left me almost seven years ago? Did you want to tell me that you were pregnant?" Yuta asked seriously.
Maki's eyes widened when she heard those questions. But the statement he made about her abandoning him really made her too angry.
"I didn't abandon you that day!" she turned around in annoyance to confront him head-on, "Actually, you were the one who abandoned me at that station!"
"That's not true!" Yuta quickly replied.
"Of course it's true! I waited for you for over an hour and you never came back!" replied Maki in a very serious voice.
That statement confused Yuta too much.
"And when I got back to the platform you weren't there anymore! You even ended our relationship by text message!"
Maki raised an eyebrow at that last proclamation.
"What the hell are you saying? Of course it wasn't like that! I never finished
you by message since I couldn't have written you anything, because that afternoon someone stole my cell phone!" She put her free hand on her hip-" You were the one who left me there! That's how I remember it perfectly!"
It was all too confusing. His version, which he always believed was how things had really happened, did not match her version at all.
"This is too strange, your version doesn't match mine…" Okkotsu criticized.
"And so far you realized that something was wrong with our separation?" asked Maki with a touch of irony since she had discovered the truth about the day they were separated some time ago.
"Maki, what else do you remember that happened that day seven years ago?" Yuta asked without letting go of her wrist. He felt that something didn't fit in their versions.
"Do you remember seeing anyone from the academy or the headquarters that day at the station? Do you remember detecting anyone's cursed energy or any curse?" he asked looking into her eyes.
Maki blinked slightly at such questions. She could tell Yuta's pain in his voice and in his eyes as he asked such questions.
She had indeed seen and detected more people with cursed energy that day, more specifically they were people who worked for the academy and for the clans, she even knew who they were after investigating them years later. But she couldn't and wasn't going to say anything either, as her plan for revenge might be affected.
Her eyes darted upward to the left. She was doing some remembering.
"Someone with cursed energy?" Maki said quietly.
"Do you remember any face that became familiar to you at that time?" asked Yuta without taking his eyes off her expressions.
Maki shook her head.
"As I said that was years ago. Maybe I did feel some cursed energy, but I don't remember any familiar faces. And by the way, do you think you could let go of my wrist? You're hurting me"
"Sorry!" He let go of her wrist.
Yuta was satisfied for the momento with that answer, maybe later he would find out the truth, for now he just wanted to hear her version. "Then tell me what you remember happened that day of our separation?"
Maki did some remembering. Yuta could notice it in her expressions, especially in her eyes as they wandered at such memories that still hurt.
"I remember that day we were going to take the train to Haneda Station, you looked so excited because you wanted both of us to leave the country on that stupid trip Satoru wanted us to take" she replied.
"I confess, I was excited for us to leave here together... but you, on the contrary, you looked very distressed... your eyes looked sad and you were very thoughtful all the time, it was as if you were trying to tell me something that was bothering you too much…" confessed Yuta with some pain.
Maki was too surprised to hear that, she thought he had never noticed her subtle signals that she wanted to tell him something important. She felt her heart skip a beat when she heard it.
"That face of yours, full of a kind of concern haunted me for years in my dreams of regret and more because I feel bad that I did not see in time the signs you were trying to give me at that time. And now that we have met once again, seven years later, I want you to please be honest and answer me with the truth" he moistened his lips a little "What you were trying to tell me that day on the platform was that you were pregnant with Yurika and Yuudai?" He ask looking her straight in the eyes.
Maki pursed her lips. Her head turned slightly to look quickly at her children, who were being entertained by the others. They were both her little treasures.
Hearing them laugh and having seen them grow up filled her with thousands of feelings, emotions that she could no longer hide, especially now that she was in front of the real father of her children.
She looked back at Yuta. Remembering that day hurt her too much. But she felt she had to tell him the truth now that he had found her.
"Yes..." Maki whispered "That day I wanted to tell you that I had found out I was pregnant..."
At that moment Yuta's face lit up so brightly that he no longer looked like the gloomy sorcerer who had arrived in Japan almost a fortnight ago. It all seemed to make sense.
His hands went to his face. He looked too surprised.
"What happens?" asked Maki, very confused by his attitude.
"It's just that I'm surprised! I just found out that the children I saved days ago are my children!" he replied with great surprise, "I AM A FATHER!"
Maki sighed as she listened to him. "Yes, Yurika and Yuudai are your children..." she answered quietly.
"Why didn't you tell me at that moment?" He came closer to her, they were face to face, "How is it that you found out about this and you couldn't even tell me?" asked Yuta very shocked at that answer.
"I don't want to talk about it right now!" Maki replied, raising her voice slightly and averting her eyes.
"Okay, but could you tell me what else you remember from that day? Please Maki, I need to know your version of that day!" pleaded Yuta.
Maki sighed, "Okay, I'll tell you..." she sat back down on the bench.
He looked at her carefully as he also sat back down next to her. The space between them had narrowed. They were sitting closer now, but still maintained a small distance.
Maki rubbed her wrist while she continued talking.
"I remember that once you went to buy that bottle of water, a guy bumped into me and I didn't really know when he took my cell phone out of my pocket, so I remember that while I was waiting for you, my cell phone was stolen. I remember clearly that you were taking too long to come back, and I only saw people passing by, I saw the trains leaving and arriving to the platform and I even remember that I saw ..."She keep silent.
"Who did you see?" asked Yuta.
Maki remembered that someone had come to talk to her at that train station. It was someone known for both of them and that after that little chat she had with that person, all that talk made her change her mind about accompanying her boyfriend abroad, but the sorceress decided not to tell Yuta who was that person who she had seen.
"I remember I looked at the station clock and noticed that more than an hour had already passed and you were not back" Maki looked at Yuta, she seemed not to be lying, you could see it in her golden eyes.
"I remember that I looked for you with my eyes and when I looked between the windows of the train when it started to move forward, I remember that I saw you clearly on top of it, you were in a window seat. I had no way of communicating with you and that's when I knew that you had abandoned me"
her voice now sounded annoyed "So in the end I decided to leave. You had left me..."
"Of course it didn't happen that way!" Yuta raised his voice, "I didn't abandon you!"
Maki also raised the light "That's how I remember things happening!"
"But it didn't happen like that!" Yuta began to explain his version of that day.
"I remember clearly that it didn't take me more than ten minutes to return with the bottle of water that you had asked me and when I came back you were no longer there, you had even abandoned my luggage on the platform"
He moved his hands from one side to the other "And when I was looking for you and asking for you to the people around me, I remember that it was at that moment when my cell phone vibrated and that was when I saw your message in which you ended our relationship" he sounded hurt.
"I clearly remember your last text message, which said "I'm sorry... I can no longer accompany you on this journey... nor in this life..."
Maki shook her head.
"That's a lie! I wouldn't be such a coward as to break up someone by message," she answered with pure anger.
"As I'm telling you, that day I was waiting for you for more than an hour, I saw how people passed by and I even remember clearly how the train left the station and that message was impossible for me to send it because they had stolen my cell phone! I didn't write that message! Can you believe me?" she sounded hurt.
Yuta sighed and lowered his face.
"I find it a little hard to believe you, especially that you weren't honest enough at the time to tell me you were pregnant"
Maki sighed.
"I guess you'll never understand. Even the very people you work for have been keeping very important things from you about this separation" declared.
"Maki, what are you trying to say with that?" asked Yuta all confused.
She stared at him
"Okkotsu, I can only tell you that behind all our separation, I am very sure that someone from the sorcery society intervened to keep us apart..." She whispered looking towards her children, who seemed to be very entertained with Itadori, who could carry both of them at the same time.
She could even notice Nobara and Megumi's gaze on her, wondering if everything was all right.
"But I see you're not as smart as I thought you were to realize the truth" Maki looked disappointed.
"What are you trying to say by that?" Yuta really looked confused.
"Forget it!" sighed Maki, rubbing her temples, "It's more than obvious that you wouldn't understand"
"If you explain it to me, I could understand" Yuta tried to approach her.
But she was very defensive.
"I told you to forget it! There's no point in me explaining it to you! It's up to you to figure it out on your own" She looked the other way "But it's more than obvious that someone set us up that day to separate us..."
"Okay, I guess I'll try to find out who it was and why"
He resigned sigh, "But it's not over yet. Maki Do you remember what was the last thing you said to me that day before I went to get the water bottle?"
Maki sighed and rolled her eyes
"Yes" her mouth went from left to right "I told you "Yuta don't be late" and in the end it took you seven years to come back" she looked at him seriously"
"I'm sorry I came back so many years later. I confess that those words still haunt me at night"
"And you didn't even have the value to go after me? Couldn't you get off the train to look for me?" she asked sadly.
"When I was going to look for you, Satoru stopped me and dragged me out of the country"
"You know?, I have a list of people I hate and Satoru is third on that list and you are second on it"
Yuta exhaled sadly when he heard that.
"You have every right to hate me for not getting off the train and coming to search for you. That was my biggest mistake and you don't know how sorry I am for that. I am to blame for that, and it still haunts me to this day"
Maki looked at him silently, her hands folded across her chest. She looked very upset.
"Sorry for all that..." Yuta apologized once again.
"You know, it's hard to forgive you, especially since you took so long to come back," she scolded him.
"I know it took me a long time to come back because my pride was also too much in the face of the pain I felt thinking that you were the one who had abandoned me! I tried to get over you, but I couldn't, in the end I never stopped thinking about you or loving you and that's why even against that negative feeling I came back for you!"
"Yes, you came back... but almost seven years later..."
"But I came back. And now not only do I find out that you are still alive, but I also find out that I also became a father" Yuta said this without taking his eyes off her "Maki, we can make up for lost time!"
"That's impossible because, I repeat, you came back too late!" Maki reproached harshly, "There's nothing you can do now"
"If there is something I can do!" Yuta replied, waving his hands, "And that is to protect you and our children and our friends from a very dangerous killer on the loose"
Maki tried to control her expression when she heard those words.
"Killer?"
"Maki, the main reason I'm here in Kyoto is because I'm in charge of solving a case involving a new sorcerer killer"
"A sorcerer killer?" she asked feigning surprise. Although deep down she was dying of nerves at having been discovered.
"I don't know if you've heard the rumors, but there's a new sorcerer killer roaming this town. And now that I have found you, I must take this case more seriously to catch him. I don't want anything bad to happen to our friends, you or our children" he explained.
"That's just a stupid rumor!" she said, feigning disinterest.
"Of course it isn't!" Yuta waved his hands back and forth, looking desperate because she will take his words seriously, "I've seen the crime scenes and incidentally I've checked the bodies of the victims and I can say that this killer is a threat to all sorcerers in general!"
Maki gulped.
"So this is your mission? Find the killer?" she asked, a bundle of nerves.
"That's right! This is the main reason why I am in this city"
Maki continued to ask discreetly, "And what clues do you have about this new killer?" she was too curious to know if she and Mei Mei had left clues by mistake.
"At the moment I can't tell you what I found. But the only thing I can assure you is that I promise I will protect all of you" He try to take her hand.
Maki twisted her mouth a little at that answer and pulled her hands away from him. "Okkotsu, if you really want to keep us safe, the best thing you can do is to stay away from all of us" she stood up once more.
Yuta also stood up "I don't want that! I just found all of you again after seven years... please, don't ask me to walk away just like that and les" He look at Yuudai and Yurika "And less now that I just found out that I'm a father!"
Maki sighed.
"Yuta, I'm not afraid of that killer. Besides, I can defend myself"
"Maki, this is not a game or a simple case! Who we are going up against is not a simple killer, but someone we should be afraid of!" Yuta explained.
Maki twisted her mouth.
"I am most afraid of all those who still rule this cursed world of sorcery. And above all, my greatest fear is that the Zenin clan will discover that I am still alive and come after my children" She look at him seriously "That scares me more than a stupid rumor that a sorcerer killer is on the loose!"
"Maki, this is not a game, this killer is really dangerous!" explained Yuta.
"I told you, I'm not afraid of that killer! And by the way I think the best thing you could do to protect Yurika and Yuudai is to prevent them from spending time with you. I don't want them to find out that you are their biological father!" said Maki angrily.
"Why don't you want Yurika and Yuudai to know about me?" Yuta asked with confusion.
"Because that would only bring more trouble to all of us. Believe me, for almost seven years, all of us have led a quiet life away from the problems at headquarters and the crap that is currently going on in the sorcerering society. And the last thing I want is for that tranquility to be disturbed by your arrival," She replied with her arms firmly on her hips, "And as I said the best thing you can do is simply stay away from us"
"I don't want that! There must be a way for us to be together without putting you at risk with the headquarters, but at the same time, protecting you from this killer and the Zenin clan! There must be a way to make up for lost time with you and our children!"
"Believe me Okkotsu, all of us are fine as we are now, living a quiet and ordinary life. Besides, as I said, you've come too late. There is no way for you to make up for the time with us anymore" Maki was still with her pride in the air.
"Maybe the past is gone, but we can still live the future which we can build together" Yuta took a step towards her "I know you won't forgive me for leaving but I am completely sure of one thing at this moment, and that is that I still love you completely and I really want to be close to the three of you"
"Okkotsu, don't start with these ridiculous things about love..."
"Maki answer me something, do you still love me? Or do you really hate me?" he asked with his hand on his breast. Feeling those rings against the fabric and her skin.
Maki was speechless at those words, did she still love him? She felt so many things at that moment that it was all very confusing.
Besides that there was a big problem at that moment. And that was that she was the killer Yuta was looking for.
She had to try to push him away if she truly wanted to fulfill her goal as the recognized killer she was becoming.
"Maybe I don't hate you so much anymore after hearing that you saved my children from that curse. But! I Love you? puag! I stopped loving you the day you abandoned me!"
"I understand..." Yuta sighed with disappointment "I know that at this point I shouldn't expect neither forgiveness nor love from you and even more knowing that I could have done things differently. Even so, now that I have found them, I will not give up to defend them and, by the way, to be with you and my children"
"Okkotsu..."
"Once, when I was in another country I heard a phrase that said "It is never too late to start over when you love a person" he moved his hands and put them together as if he was making a prayer "So please Maki, I beg you to let me get close to you... and more than that we still have a lot to clarify"
Maki lowered her shoulders "Okkotsu..."
"Please let me keep in touch with you while I solve this case"
"I don't know if this is a good idea..." she was interrupted.
"Mom!"
"Yuta Kun!"
Yurika and Yuudai quickly went with them. Those children had managed to escape from their uncles.
Those twins really wanted to get close to them. So they both hugged their mother.
"What's going on? Why did they come?" Maki asked her children.
"It's just that you two are taking too long to get to know each other!" Yurika replied, looking at her mother.
"We also want to spend time with Yuta kun!" Yuudai replied.
Both twins looked at the sorcerer.
"We wanted to bring you some Tokoyakis, but Uncle Toge ate them all!" replied Yurika in a grimace looking at the other adults who were at a considerable distance from them.
"If we are taking too long to talk, it's because I was talking seriously with your new friend" commented Maki, putting her hands on her hips.
"That's right, just his mother and I were talking about various topics" Yuta answered kindly.
"You can continue talking some other time!"
"Yes, now it's our turn to spend time with Yuta kun!"
"That's why we invited him to come here!"
"We want to spend more time with him!"
The twins responded by letting go of their mother and ran to Yuta. They hugged him tightly.
Those responses from her children and the sight of them hugging Yuta caused Maki to be shocked.
"Yuta kun we couldn't save you some Tokoyakis and Onigiris! But!" said Yurika.
"But we saved you some Bengal lights to share with you!" Yuudai said, taking Yuta's hand.
"Yes!, come on Yuta, we want to share those lights with you!" said Yurika, taking the adult's other hand.
"Thank you very much, you are very considerate" he replied kindly, taking the hands of the two.
That sorcerer smiled as he saw how those children were addressing him. But he could also feel Maki's gaze.
"Mom! Can Yuta kun come to our house for lunch one of these days?" asked Yurika with a big smile.
"What?" came from Maki's throat.
"You said he could even stay with us at our house for a day!" Yuudai replied, pointing at his mother.
"When did I say that?" Maki raised an eyebrow at such words.
"You said it clearly yesterday!" replied Yurika.
"Yes!, and you promised Mom!" Yuudai replied, "And you said promises shouldn't be broken!"
"TSK" Maki clicked her tongue at the things her children were saying.
Besides, they had inherited her stubbornness.
Yuta smiled at what his children were saying.
"Children, we don't know if Mr. Okkotsu is busy these days or if he should leave town" she answered with her hands on her hips as she looked at the sorcerer, "Isn't that right?"
At those words both children turned to look at Yuta with sad eyes.
"Yuta Kun, are you leaving already?"
"Are you leaving town so soon?"
both little ones asked.
Yuta sighed and bent down to talk to them.
"Yes, I confess I was thinking of going out of town for a few days to see some things about my work. But for your, I can postpone that trip to Tokyo for another day" he stroked their hair.
"Yeih!" both children shouted in chorus and jumped up and down in happiness.
"Yuta will be able to come to our house!" Yurika answered with a big smile.
"Besides, this way you two can talk about more things!" Yuudai replied.
Yuta smiled to see the happiness of those two little ones, who took his hands again.
"Now come on Yuta!"
"Let's get more flares!"
"We also want to introduce you to Uncle Toge and Uncle Yuji!"
"I know you'll get along great with the two of them! We also want you to meet our Papa Gumi and Aunt Miki!"
The twins replied and began to pull him.
"Hehe and I would like to talk to all of them" said Yuta walking hand in hand with the little ones"
The heart of the mother of those twins wanted to become small before such a scene. Now she felt that if her children stopped seeing that adult, they would both be very sad. And maybe she would be too.
She acted impulsively.
"Yuta!" shouted Maki, making the three of them stop in their tracks.
The adult turned to look at her quickly "Yes?" His heart skipped a beat when she heard him call.
Maki sighed with resignation. At first it was so hard for her to speak that even her fists were clenched around her body.
"Do you think you could come eat with us the day after tomorrow at our house?" She could tell she was fighting against her pride, as her cheeks were slightly red.
That question made Yuta smile a lot.
"Sure, I'd love to!"
Maki approached these three.
"I guess he already knows where we live, doesn't he?" She ask, looking at her children.
Those little ones just smiled, hiding their mouths with their hands.
Yuta scratched the back of his neck and smiled nervously at the question, "Yes, yesterday Yurika and Yuudai showed me where they live. I can easily find your house by now"
Maki sighed.
"I guessed as much"
Maki's instinct knew she had not been wrong yesterday when she felt Yuta close to home.
"It will be a pleasure to have lunch with you the day after tomorrow, Maki san" Yuta commented with a smile. He couldn't take her eyes off her and that made her nervous.
"And one more thing..." Maki replied, "Please don't tell anyone about what we were talking about..." she looked at Yuta for a momento.
The sorcerer quickly identified what Maki meant.
"I promise" he said with a soft smile. Meaning that he would not say anything to anyone about having found she and the others, let alone talk about the existence of his children.
Their gazes met once again. You could feel the feelings that, even though seven years had passed, were still palpable.
Maki tried to avoid looking into his eyes. But the language of those two spoke for itself.
Those two children saw their mother's behavior in front of Okkotsu. That made them both look at each other. They seemed to assume something that perhaps they would later discover.
But for the moment, Yurika and Yuudai set about lighting flares together with Yuta, who quickly made small talk with Toge and Itadori, while Maki watched them from afar.
Maki sighed and put a hand to her chest. Now she had to be more careful in her missions and even more so now that Yuta was going to be closer to her and for that she should not raise suspicions.
She wanted to fulfill her revenge. So she would try to carry it out more carefully and that would start from tomorrow, where she would claim the life of one more victim.
At the same time that Yuudai and Yurika were talking to Maki and Yuta.
There were other adults discussing other issues.
"Why did you let them go and not us?" Nobara asked Megumi, she looked very upset. "Our mission was to try to keep the children away from Maki and Yuta! Megumi, you're acting very strange!"
Megumi sighed.
"Because the twins wanted to go with their real parents, besides those two are taking too long and Yurika and Yuudai were starting to suspect something," he answered looking at his friend, "Besides, if I let you go, it's more than obvious that you'll make a fuss to Okkotsu and that would draw too much attention"
Nobara let out the air with too much anger because Fushiguro was telling the truth.
"Megumi is right, besides Yurika and Yuudai are already very fond of Okkotsu kun, so I see it difficult for them not to stop wanting to be by his side" said Tsumiki who was next to those two "Those kids are very stubborn in that sense"
"Besides" Megumi looked at that family, "Yurika and Yuudai deserve to start being close to their real father"
"But you as their adoptive father should intervene!" Nobara commented, waving her hands, "They want you as their real father! You should act like one!"
"I know. But remember that I am not their real father and I don't want to take away Okkotsu senpai's right to at least be near with his children in this way" he was very serious when he said that.
"We still don't know if Maki has already revealed it to him, but I want him to be close to the twins" he looked to where the three of them were.
"Even if this was a lie for their sake, sooner or later they must find out who Okkotsu really is to them" Megumi sighed as he said that "We knew this could happen at any momento"
Tsumiki lowered her gaze when she heard her brother say that. She knew Megumi's feelings, who although he seemed a very cold man, had a kind heart and yes, he loved those two as if they were his own, but he also hated having to lie to them about who he really was.
Nobara could see a side had never seen in Megumi before.
"You..." put her hand on Fushiguro's shoulder "You're mentally preparing to tell them the truth, aren't you? This is getting to you too, isn't it," Nobara asked, unclenching her fist.
Megumi looked at the ground at such a question. His silence said it all.
"I understand..." Nobara understood what Megumi was trying to say without uttering a word, "I think that when the time comes to tell them the truth, everything will change with our family"
"Yes" Megumi put his hands into the sleeves of his Yukata, "For that we must prepare"
"You know? What worries me the most is how Yurika and Yuudai will take it when they find out that Okkotsu is their real father" answered Tsumiki all worried seeing the happiness of those three "Some children can't take this kind of revelations well and may end up hating one of their parents. If not, they end up hating both of them"
"And that's not the main problema" Megumi began to explain.
"Are there still more problems?" Nobara asked worriedly.
"Yes, there will be" Megumi knew too much about the subject, due to all the rumors and reports that some of his acquaintances sent him to keep him abreast of what was going on at headquarters, with the clans and with society.
"And even more so now that Okkotsu has returned, the sorcererry world may enter into a conflict of interest because neither the current leader of the Gojo clan nor the new leader of the Zenin clan have been able to sire a new heir due to their "supposed" infertility problems, This situation puts them in a serious predicament because both clans must already name or present their next heirs this year by orders of the other clans and the higher-ups" he looked at his sister and Nobara as he continued speaking, "And I have a feeling that Okkotsu has something to do with it as well"
"Naming their next heirs?" asked Nobara with confusion.
"Megumi, are you trying to say that maybe Satoru Kun could have brought Yuta to appoint him as his new heir?" Tsumiki questioned. She was quick to understand situations.
"That is my main suspicion" he affirmed.
"So Okkotsu in this situation can enter as the perfect candidate to be the new leader of the Gojo clan, although at first his chances were low as he is a distant relative of the sensei, now his chances are too high because he has a technique that stands out among many, as well as his amount of cursed energy is the highest of all sorcerers currently registered, which makes him the second best sorcerer in special grade only below Satoru Gojo" he explained looking at those two.
"So he could enter into the strong possibility of Gojo sensei naming him as his next heir now that he has returned from abroad and the sensei has apparently declared himself incapable of having children naturally" Megumi watched Yuta in the distance with his children, observing how they shared those sparklers and laughing too happily.
"But why would that be a problema?" Nobara questioned impatiently.
"If Okkotsu senpai assumes that position, it will be a big problem if as the new leader he recognizes those twins as his biological children and once the other clans discover that he had children outside of an arranged marriage and by the way discover that he fathered them with Maki, a Zenin, that will bring problems between both families since Yurika and Yuudai, are a combination between those two clans which do not get along at all and that can only be considered an even bigger problem" explained Megumi seriously.
"What are you trying to say?" Nobara asked, "I'm sorry, but I don't know much and I don't understand some things about the clans either"
Tsumiki imagined the worst.
Megumi sighed, "What I am trying to say is that if one of the two clans could consider the birth and hiding of Yurika and Yuudai as treason..." he explained.
"And what happens in those cases?" asked Nobara, seeing the seriousness on Megumi's face.
"Capital punishment is given to all involved, including the children resulting from that relationship" replied Megumi.
"THAT'S NOT FAIR, THEY'RE JUST CHILDREN!" Nobara shouted for a moment.
"I know, that's why we must keep Okkotsu on our side" answered Megumi, "he can also be our trump card in all this if he acts correctly"
"Both to save all of us and also to save Mai. Okkotsu would have an important role to intervene with those who currently lead the sorcery world, so we need him to cooperate with us no matter what it takes, right?" answered Tsumiki looking away from Maki, who was looking at her children with Yuta.
Nobara sighed as she understood what Yuta's return meant, not only for the lives of these children, but for society in general.
"Damn Okkotsu, your return is really bringing more trouble than help..."
Those three stood watching the others. Above all, Yuta playing with his children. Enjoying that happiness before the real trouble broke out.
11:30 p.m.
After spending that evening with those children and accompanying everyone to the house where Maki lived.
Yuta decided to return to his apartment in downtown Kyoto.
But this sorcerer was in for a surprise when he saw that Katsumoto was there, who was organizing the paperwork.
"Katsumoto?" asked Yuta with surprise, entering the small dining room.
"Good evening and welcome, sir" commented the attendant, standing up and bowing slightly.
"It's a surprise that you are still here, especially after everything I shouted at you this afternoon, I thought you would resign" commented Yuta, approaching the table where the assistant was arranging some documents.
Katsumoto again took a seat.
"I must admit, I did consider resigning, but if I did I would be failing in my duty and my oath as your assistant director"
"Also, I know that you will need all my skills for everything that comes with this sorcerers killer case. And let's just say this is my way of showing you that I can be trusted, by sticking by your side even though you scare me most of the tim," admitted the assistant looking at his boss. "You can still test me one more time and you will see that I can be trusted"
"I understand and tell me how did you get this job? And why do you keep helping me despite what I did to you and yelled at you in the afternoon?" asked Yuta scratching his head.
"Well" Katsumoto lowered his shoulders a little "Let's say that by fate, I was recommended by Mr. Ijichi to enter this job in the first place" he explained "although I must admit that I have neither the skills nor the techniques nor the character to be a sorcerer like you" he looked at Yuta "but even so I wanted to be useful, that's when Mr. Ijichi saw in me the necessary skills to help people, especially to help you sorcerers in this paperwork"
He look at Yuta with serenity. "Besides he put all his trust in me to fulfill this mission and no offense, but" Katsumoto take a breath before blurting out the truth
"Basically I was the last option left as an assistant to work with you since none of the other assistant who were going to be assigned to your command wanted to work with you, due to the rumors about you"
"What were those rumors about me?" Yuta asked curiously, taking a seat in another chair at the table.
Katsumoto stuttered a little.
"W-w-well, rumor had it that you were a sorcerer to be feared, not only because of your rank, but because of how cold and sadistic you could be"
"Did they really say that about me?" Yuta raised his eyebrows when he heard that. "Wow! I must have really scared the hell out of all your fellows"
"Indeed. You gave us all a bit of a scare, but in the end it fell to me to be your assistant, and during these almost fifteen days I have seen that you are not as bad as the rumors said" explained Katsumoto.
"Why do you say that?" Yuta asked curiously.
"Why you have mostly a good heart. You are strong, yes. You are feared, you are. But after watching you treat those children and seeing how you cared about finding Maki Zenin, I could see that you are not evil, you were simply a person who was looking for answers to something that was taken from you" said the assistant looking at him seriously.
"That's why I dared to help you find all the information I told you earlier, even if it was against the rules of the academy"
"And does anyone else know that you broke the rules for me?"
Katsumoto shook his head.
"Try to do it as discreetly as possible and try not to leave any traces of my search. Even Mr. Ijichi won't notice that I did it"
"You have risked a lot to help me" commented Yuta with a slight smile, "I owe you an apology for the way I treated you that afternoon at the cemetery and everything else"
Don't worry sir, I accept your apology and tell me, how did it go with the Fushiguro children?"
"That's the last name you wanted to tell me earlier, right?" he slightly tilted his head back as he brought his hands to his face.
"That's right, sir. Did something happen?" Katsumoto asked.
Yuta sighed, running his hands through his hair, then leaning his elbows on the table.
"Too many things happened tonight which are too complicated to explain! But, to sum it up, I found out that Yurika and Yuudai are my biological children and by the way, I just found out that their mother is indeed Maki Zenin. The "Maki" from the hospital turned out to be the real Maki from the mysterious case you had investigated on your own"
Katsumoto was shocked to hear that.
"So those children are the ones mentioned in the hospital report? So that means they managed to survive?" he asked, raising his voice in surprise.
"Yes, those children are the ones in the hospital report and if they have managed to survive it is because Maki has been helped by my former classmates and friends from the academy in their care and upbringing as if they were a family. It has been that way for almost seven years"
"Did he manage to find his former companions as well?" asked Katsumoto, twice as surprised.
"Indeed, today at the festival I meet all of them. There was Fushiguro Megumi with his sister Fushiguro Tsumiki, as well as Inumaki Toge, Itadori Yuji, Kugisaki Nobara and especially Maki. They were all there together with the twins tonight. They are like a family from what I could see in their Dynamic" Yuta explained.
"Maki? You say Maki Zenin was there? But isn't she supposed to be dead?" asked Katsumoto in confusion.
Yuta shook his head.
"I am one hundred percent sure that the woman I saw today was her. She was not a ghost. Maki Zenin is still alive, although she now bears the surname Fushiguro" he sighed. He was jealous to know that the jet-haired man was Maki's husband.
"You say her last name is now Fushiguro? Does that mean she is married to her cousin/nephew Megumi?" asked Katsumoto more confused than before.
Yuta clicked his tongue.
"Short answer: Yes" He sighed. "Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to talk to him or the others because all of us adults were pretending we were just "getting to know" each other in front of the kids. But in a nutshell, Megumi Fushiguro is my children's stepfather", He sighed with some discouragement. "Maybe I can talk to him and the others the day after tomorrow, since they invited me to lunch at their house"
"I understand, but then who is supposed to be buried in the grave we went to see in the afternoon?" asked Katsumoto with intrigue.
"Unless whoever is buried in that grave is Mai Zenin" Yuta commented before putting his hand to his chin as he analyzed everything he had discovered.
"Are you saying that maybe the twin who died was Mai and not Maki?" questioned Katsumoto as he searched for that report he read in the afternoon at the cemetery.
"It could be, although I couldn't talk much with Maki about what happened seven years ago, the whole truth was half-truth on this occasion" Yuta looked at his assistant. "Only then would the rumor that "One of the twins is alive and the other is dead"
"And by the way, this confirms us the rumor that the twin who is alive is married to someone from the same clan, the reports said it was someone from her direct family, something like a cousin or a nephew" Katsumoto was surprised by what his boss had just said and the conclusion they had reached.
"And Megumi is Maki's cousin in the second degree, although he can also be considered her nephew..." he rubbed his temples " although Fushiguro was born outside the Zenin clan, he is still her almost direct relative" he sighed "All of this is so strange"
"Too much, I would say" commented Katsumoto, surprised at what he found.
"Yes it is, but now there are three mysteries to solve" said Yuta, taking a sheet of paper from the desk and began to write down in order what he had to solve.
"Three mysteries?" questioned Katsumoto.
"Yes. The first one is to find out who this new sorcerer killer is and catch him before he kills more people" he listed writing on the sheet, "The second one is to find out what happened with Maki and Mai Zenin and my children seven years ago from the time I left" he made one more note, "Here it is as Maki says, most likely someone conspired to separate the two of us and that is where the third mystery comes in" he finished writing.
"And that is to find out who is behind our separation and why they did it. Here I suppose we must also find out what else is going on in this sorcery society and at headquarters"
At that instant Katsumoto remembered something urgent that he had to tell Yuta and more that had to do with someone who was also part of the headquarters.
"Sir, I just remembered that you got a very important message!" he said, picking up his tablet.
"A message? Is it from the Gojo clan?" Yuta asked quickly. He thought it might be from Satoru.
"No, it's actually a message from the Zenin clan..." Katsumoto swallowed.
Yuta opened his eyes wide when he heard this, while his assistant began to read what the document said.
"What did they send to say?" asked Yuta.
"It says here that the current 27th leader of that clan, Mr. Naoya Zenin, wants to see you urgently tomorrow at noon. He wants to discuss with you the matter of the sorcerers who were killed and who belong to that clan...He finished reading this.
"This can't get any worse..." Yuta put a hand to his forehead.
"Do you want me to cancel?" Katsumoto commented warily.
"On the contrary, confirm my attendance as a matter of urgency. Tomorrow I will appear in front of Naoya Zenin. Maybe he can give me some information about what I'm looking for"
Notes:
What did you think of the chapter? Surprised?
I hope you liked it ❤
Maybe later Maki and Yuta will talk about more things, but for the moment, I wanted them to talk about their versions of that day when they were separated. Also later on there will be several flashbacks about seven years ago, both about the relationship between Yuta and Maki, as well as about the time of Yurika and Yuudai's birth and everything else that was going on with the other characters. That also includes Megumi and the twins, as well as what happened with teacher Utahime and Gojo.
But for the moment, how are you liking this fic?
And tell me, what theories do you have about who was the one who talked to Maki, was it a Man or a Woman 👀 I will be reading you. You can also leave me your theories on what you think might happen later in the story or your theories on what happened seven and three years ago.
I already gave you a clue about Yuudai, but I can assure you that he has one more, as well as Yurika who also has a technique, since very soon both will show them in this fic, so as I said I'll be reading your theories. Do you think they inherited any of the Zenin clan or any of the Gojo clan? Or any suggestions? ❤
Also, tell me what do you think will happen when Naoya talks to Yuta? I can only tell you that someone else is going to talk to Yuta inside that residence.
We keep reading ❤