Title: The Vow
Rating: T
DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Jujutsu Kaisen belongs to Gege Akutami. Two highly respected mangaka! I do not own the characters in any way or the story plot. Only the idea of this fanfiction!
MizukixTsukiyomi's Notes: I received some good notes on the first chapter so let's see how chapter 2 does. Hopefully you enjoy it. I didn't expect that many reviews for the first chapter, especially after such a long hiatus. So thank you for taking the time to review.
Now, everything in this chapter is with the idea I would continue, and people like it, so yes, there are some questions you might have but it has a purpose. So please let me know!
Chapter 02: 10 Years Later
Glaring at the scratches and open wounds on her arms, Kagome pressed her pink glow onto the skin.
"Ah! Higurashi-sensei! That hurts!"
"Good," she huffed, glaring at the young teen sitting before her. "I told you many times, Maki-chan not to overdo it when training."
The said girl glared at the empty space, turning away from the priestess's scold. She adjusted her glasses with her free hand as she stared at the open grass field she was using. Everything would have been fine if it hadn't been for Panda going a little overboard in his teasing ways. It got her mad and everyone knew a mad Maki meant someone was getting hurt.
Now here they were, waiting for Kagome to heal her arms at the cement stairs leading down to the grass and track field. Of course, Kagome had caught them at the wrong time when Maki missed a window to dodge Panda's claws. She continued to glare at the Zenin member whom she had been looking after for the past few years, along with the other two waiting for her.
"I'm so sorry, Maki," Panda pressed two fingernails together in front of his chest, "I didn't mean to scratch you like that."
"It's fine," Maki sighed, only to feel another slight burn on her arm. "Higurashi-sensei! You can stop abusing me!"
"Yeah, yeah," Kagome raised a brow. Seeing the bruising and cuts slowly diminish into nothing, Kagome then smiled at her students. "Just keep in mind that hurting yourselves isn't the way, okay?"
"Thank you for helping us, Higurashi-sensei," Panda smiled. "Gojo-sensei said he would oversee our training today, but he then said he had to go out for a last-minute errand."
Kagome's brow twitched as she dumbfoundedly stared at the Panda. One of the oddest things she had come across was training the curse user, Panda, as a student. He was very wise for his age, but he was currently training as first year. And he looked like any regular panda out in the wild. He was cuddly and cute. But from the things Gojo had told her, his curse energy was one to fear.
"Konbu."
Her eyes traveled to the young male with spiky hair who gave her an innocent look. She had come to understand the cursed speech boy who wore a teal turtleneck sweater underneath his Jujutsu High uniform. The turtleneck fabric from his neck stretched to cover up until it stopped under his nose. She and Gojo had helped the boy in many ways to control his curse energy and although it took a lot of trial and error to understand him, they finally were able to hold conversations.
Rice ball fillings were practically in their everyday vocabulary now.
Kagome's brow twitched after hearing Toge's voice. "Satoru was supposed to train you guys today, but of course, leaves last minute. He didn't even tell me or text me."
The three students gulped as they watched their teacher's facial expressions darken. Maki yelped in pain as she felt Kagome press on her wound again.
"Ouch!"
"Ah, sorry!" Kagome chuckled. "That man just really knows how to tick me off sometimes."
'How is that our fault?!' The three internally exclaimed in their heads.
"Okay! All done!" Standing up from her spot on the stairs, Kagome smiled. Ten years had passed since Geto's betrayal. Ten long years had gone by so fast. In those ten years, she was able to control her pure energy a bit better and help everyone in Jujutsu High. Of course, Master Tengen still had his strict rules on her. They were very much still adamant about her not leaving the school grounds unless a Grade 1 or higher sorcerer escorted her.
Most of the time, that was Gojo.
She and Gojo.
They had devoted themselves to teaching young sorcerers just like they had been at one point. The wounds from 10 years ago had left scars in both their hearts, but the scars reminded them why they couldn't just walk away from the jujutsu world. They felt they had a responsibility to lead these kids to be strong and not let them stray away. Here they were now, with three first years who were very promising in their skill.
Sighing under her breath, she reached up to her ponytail to take off the band. Although she was a teacher, her first role was to be a priestess. At least that's what the old men told her. She hated hearing that. Because if she followed through with that ideal, that meant all jujutsu sorcerers had to become her shield.
That just didn't sit well with her.
But in time, she hoped she could change the old traditions to give these future sorcerers more freedom.
Sensing a familiar aura behind her, Kagome turned around and tilted her head up with a smile. Slender legs made their way down to the third step of the stairs before stopping. His white hair was held up by the white bandages around his eyes.
"Satoru-!"
Kagome stopped her call, noticing his serious expression.
"Kagome," Gojo spoke, keeping his hands inside his pockets.
The air around him felt sour. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she felt a dark aura lingering around him. Where was he?
"I need your help." He spoke again.
Kagome pointed to herself, "My help?"
Cerulean orbs scanned the file in her hands. Left to right. From beginning to end. She read it for a third time as she heard scolding and heavy tones being exchanged. What the hell was she reading? Who the heck was she to direct her anger to because this was nothing to brush over?
Even in the dim lighting she was in, she could clearly see the picture of the young boy in the report. This young? Her fingers slowly clawed at the file on the sides. There was no way the big shots were going to let this slide.
Her head slowly rose from the report as she came to face one shoji screen door in front of her. Another five surrounded them with some space in between each one. As she stood in the middle, she glared at the shadows of the men behind the shoji screens. Too scared to show their faces. It only irked her more that they continued to use it as an interrogation room. The last 10 years had been gentle on her with the whole jujutsu society and she had made many connections, but she was no foreigner to this room. She and Gojo were practically in there once a week to either report or argue.
Mostly the latter.
"A complete cover-up and a secret execution?"
Her attention was fished out of her inner thoughts and stared at the Six-Eyes user behind her. Her eyes narrowed back down as she stared at the back of his head. 'Stupid Satoru…why didn't you involve me in this much sooner and not two minutes before this meeting!?' This wasn't the first time he did such a thing.
But she always hoped it would be the last.
"That's ridiculous," Gojo scoffed.
One of the men cleared his throat, making both Kagome and Gojo turn their heads in that direction. "The boy in question gave his consent. He will be executed."
Kagome's eyes widen slightly before composing herself. Standing strong, despite the churning feeling she felt in her stomach, her eyes glared at the shadows before her. "He's underage; this boy is only sixteen." Dropping the file to her side, she raised her chin with confidence. "If he's as strong as this piece of paper mentions, we don't know how many he'd curse to death. That's a high risk."
"Bringing him here was a feat of its own." Gojo added, "he's already turned the tables on three grade two sorcerers and a grade one sorcerer."
Kagome winced hearing the added notes. That wasn't in the report! But if that was true, then this was a job they were intending to drop on Gojo and herself. More than likely they were hoping she agreed to purify the child along with the curse he inhabited.
"That's why you've turned to us."
The men around them stretched out the silence far too long. Kagome's brows knitted together in thought. She wanted to meet this boy first.
Taking a step forward, Kagome caught their attention. "We will be taking Okkotsu Yuta as a student."
"W-What?!" All of them exclaimed.
"No! Don't be thinking we are going to answer that request-!"
"I didn't ask." Her expression was cemented with confidence. She did not sway away from their intimidating tactics. She knew that too well now.
Behind her, Gojo's lips curved into a smile. "Hm, it seems like we have a solution for now."
"We will not allow a curse such as him to be walking on these grounds-!"
Kagome's brow rose, "this is an order from your high priestess. If you have a problem, take it to the heavens."
Resting her head on Gojo's back, she released a heavy sigh. "I really hate when you take me to those meetings. I feel like I'm suffocating."
A soft laugh escaped the strong sorcerer. "You always handle it like a champ though."
The eerie feeling in the air made Kagome tense. The dim lighting by candles and the lanterns on the floor didn't help ease her one bit. She was surrounded by thousands of talismans covering every inch of every wall, including the ceiling. Even some laid on the floor. Her eyes traveled to the thick red ropes being held down with kunai knives and being stretched out to the ceiling. A traditional seal - or so she was told. In front of her, a short black-haired male sat on the wooden chair in the middle of the room. He shook in his seat as he hugged his knees closer to his chest and his feet rested on the chair itself. His head was hidden from them even as she and Gojo had made their presence known for five minutes.
Gojo raised a blade to his eyes. He hummed, thinking out loud as he saw the blade twisted. "What is this?" He questioned, "Okkotsu Yuta, right?"
A tired hoarse voice was heard from the young boy. "It used to be a knife."
"A knife, huh?" Gojo repeated.
"I tried to die," Yuta answered, "but…Rika-chan interfered."
Hearing those heavy words laced with truth, Kagome tilted her head to the side, hoping to get a better look at his face. No doubt he was exhausted. The report had said his curse put up a fight against the sorcerers who tried to retrieve him. Looking above his shaking body, she noticed a black shadow hovering over him. A shadow only she and Gojo could see.
"That's dark," Gojo added, letting the knife fall to the floor. "You're starting at a new school today."
"I'm not going."
Both Kagome and Gojo remained silent at Yuta's quick response.
Yuta's fingers dug into his pants as he hugged his knees even tighter. "I don't want to hurt anyone anymore, so I'm not going outside anymore."
Walking out from Gojo's broad back, Kagome cautiously made her way towards the young boy. "You don't really mean that, do you?" she asked. Although his fear could be clearly seen on his body, she knew the boy wanted nothing more than to live. There was a hint of hope in his aura.
Hearing her soft voice, Yuta slowly raised his head only to be greeted with a smile. A tint of pink slowly painted his cheeks as he saw her getting closer. Shaking his head, he parted his lips, "N-No don't get close! If you get close you'll-!" He blinked, shocked to see her squatting down and still holding her warm smile. Huh? Why was Rika not…?
"Living in here for the rest of your life and drying are two very lonely things, don't you think?" Kagome asked.
He blinked in return still taken back by her proximity.
"I think you deserve to live."
Hearing those words come out of her struck a cord inside his heart. Yuta's face scrunched as he felt his stomach drop with fear. Feeling tears clinging to the corner of his eyes, Yuta tightened his hold on his knees. Was she permitting him to keep going in life? Was he allowed to?
Gojo smiled as he watched Kagome interact with Yuta. As much as she hated last-minute meetings, he knew she was the one to be able to convince the old geezers. Although, he wouldn't say so much convincing since they were a bunch of hardheads who never got out of their traditional ways. And he knew they were keeping a close eye on him and her to make sure nothing happened. Not that he cared.
But they did. They were scared the strongest sorcerer and the Shikon Miko would merge bloodlines.
Scanning the area around Yuta, Kagome noticed just how heavy of a curse laid on him. "The curse you have upon yourself can save many lives…if you let us teach you. We are here to help you."
"Learn how to use that power," Gojo cut in. "It's not like it'll be too late to cast everything away after that. You make up for your wrongdoings starting today."
Noticing his shoulders relax, Kagome smiled. "I'll get a uniform for you, okay?"
"Hm," rubbing her chin, Kagome scanned the many shoes and pants in the large walk-in closet. Jujutsu High was just drowning in money. How that money came in, who knew? She didn't really care. All she knew was that they were able to give strong sorcerers a comfortable living style if they were able to go up the ranks.
She grabbed a pair of black shoes and pants and placed them on the middle wooden table. She wondered what kind of style Yuta would go for.
"Can you purify it?"
Having sensed Gojo there for the last three minutes, Kagome continued her search through the various styles of uniform jackets. Sighing under her breath, she reached for a white jacket. "I could…but it's not a curse that's attached to him."
Gojo's brow rose behind his bandages. "Oh?" He crossed his arms, continuing to watch her as she grabbed another white jacket.
"He made it." Unfolding the jacket, she smiled noticing the style. "He is attaching himself to the curse. If I purify the curse, it could hurt him because he has made a connection to it - a link."
Gojo nodded, "so you could hurt his physical body."
"It's a high risk," she continued, folding the shirt over the pants she chose. "Especially with those types of curses."
Watching her reach for another of the same white jackets on the high shelf, Gojo pushed himself off the door frame seeing her tip-toe. Coming to stand behind her, he reached for the jacket, easily towering over her smaller frame. "So…," he spoke, lowering the jacket to her awaiting hands, "what do you suggest we do with this one?"
Kagome smiled as she grabbed the jacket from him. "I want to help him…but he also needs to break the curse himself. For now, let's watch over him and guide him."
"Are you hoping he realizes and breaks the curse?" He questioned. Following her movements with his head, he watched as she folded the second jacket over the first.
"I won't let those kids lose their way because of curses…their hearts mean well." Her eyebrows furrowed as a blurry image of Geto flashed in her mind. "We will lose this kid if we don't help now."
Watching her head hang low, Gojo exhaled softly before walking over to her again. Gently, his arms snaked around her waist before pulling her to his chest. His chin rested on top of her head as he heard her muffled sniffles she hid behind her forearm. "I won't let that happen. I promise."
Kagome tilted her head back, making him move so she could see his face. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Satoru."
He smirked in return, "I can make promises because I'm the strongest, Kagome."
A pout formed over her lips as she matched with a playful glare. "Show off."
Head leaning to hover over hers, his smirk stretched, "Hey, you're one of those strongest, too. You just won't admit it. You're too humble."
Blushing more at his words than the proximity, she tried lowering her head away from his intense stare (despite his eyes being hidden) only to feel his slender fingers hook on her chin. She blinked, feeling her head locked in place, leaving her to stare at his devilish grin.
"If we keep doing this, Kagome, we are going to end up adopting too many kids," he inched closer, "I think it's time we-".
A knock at the door caught their attention. Both heads looking over to see their principal, Yaga, standing there with crossed arms. Kagome's blush spread over her cheeks and soon felt them getting a bit too warm.
Clearing his throat, Yaga took a step forward. He noticed Gojo's arms were still around the priestess's waist as she tried to fade away into her hands. Leave it to the bastard to embarrass her. "The Yuta kid is waiting for you guys in his room." His eyes landed on Kagome again, seeing the redness from her cheeks having spread to her ears. "Satoru," he glared behind his black sunglasses, "let her go. You're only embarrassing her."
Gojo's lower lip puckered out, displaying a childish look of sadness.
She felt her body free from his hold. Taking one step away to respect their principal, Kagome fixed her clothing.
Gojo rested his hands inside his pockets, "so? What is it, principal? Did he receive the room well?"
Yaga sighed as he saw the two young adults staring at him waiting. "He's a bit lost. As your former teacher and now principal…I want you two to be careful with him."
"We will be cautious," Kagome replied as she went over to a drawer holding the school emblem buttons.
"The kid is bright and with the right guidance, he could be a strong sorcerer in the future," Gojo added.
"Like I said, just be careful." Yaga took a step inside and lowered his tone. "You know I will support both of you after all the work you two put in to help these first years, even the ones from Kyoto. I say be cautious because the higher-ups could try to create problems to purposely have Kagome under their control."
Rolling her eyes, Kagome grabbed one button before holding it up to her eyes. "Don't worry, I always plan ahead."
Watching her stare at the gold button, Gojo noticed a sliver of pink glow go inside the object.
Looking outside the vast windows of the dorm rooms, Kagome waited for Yuta outside his room. They gave Yuta the night to sleep and rest, hoping he could calm down just a tiny bit. After all, they practically forced him to be part of this crazy world. The next morning had arrived, and she was the first to greet him in the hall.
Her eyes scanned the school grounds, always mesmerized by how much they had. She had handed Yuta his clothes and he had received it with hesitation. She reassured him that it was okay to take it and that if there were any problems, he could let her know and she would get him something different. Her eyes connect with her reflection. Her mind wandered back to the image of Yuta's curse. She had only seen its shadow, but not physically. Whatever the curse was, it was strong. She could already feel its curse energy slightly oozing out of the room.
Kagome bit her lower lip in thought. She only hoped she wouldn't hurt him. She had yet to see what the curse was capable of and what Yuta as a sorcerer could do. Perhaps seeing him on a first mission she could gauge their power and decide if a protective charm on the two could help.
Hearing a sliding door behind her, Kagome turned around to see Yuta struggling with the buttons of his white jacket. Her eyes sparkled seeing the high school uniform on him. It fit him perfectly! "It looks good!" She complimented, as she walked over.
Yuta's cheeks blossomed pink, "T-thank you…". He gulped seeing her hands on the gold buttons of his jacket and helping him fix the lineup. He inched his head away from hers, being a gentleman in her space (although she had come to him). From here, he noticed she was about six inches shorter than him. She wore a black long-sleeve dress that hugged her waistline and dropped straight down to her ankles. She wore the same gold button on the upper left of her chest. A navy blue sash was tied around her waist but loose enough to hang down. Her hair smelled rich in vanilla with hints of caramel.
Yuta gulped again, "Um..are you a student here…um?" Wait, he had never caught her name.
Blinking up, Kagome stared at him.
Yuta was awed by her bright blue eyes. It was as blue as the ocean.
"Higurashi Kagome," she introduced herself. "And thank you for assuming I could pass as a student." Her fingers lingered on the gold button as she tried her best to lock Yuta's attention on the conversation. "I'm a teacher here."
"Eh…?" He blinked. His eyes slowly widened realizing he hadn't been using formal speech. "A-Ah! I'm so sorry!" He took a deep bow. "I had no idea! I'm so sorry for being rude!"
Chuckling under her breath, she waved her hand up and down. "Oh stop, I'm quite flattered you think I could pass as a student." She watched him bow over and over again, making her laugh softly at his gentleness. She would leave the priestess thing out for now. There was no need for him to stress about the complicated world they were about to pull him into.
When the time was right, they would talk to him.
Walking past him, she signaled with her head for him to follow. "Come on now, Yuta-kun, everyone is waiting for you."
He blinked, "for me?" Tilting his head to the side, he wondered what she meant by 'everyone'.
"Did you hear about the transfer student coming today?"
Looking to her left, Maki raised a brow noticing Panda coming to sit at his human-sized desk next to hers. Were they ever going to get him one for his size? "I heard about a student."
Panda shook his head, "They say he 'stuffed' four of his classmates into a locker."
She tapped on her desk as the three of them waited in the classroom for Gojo and Kagome to make an appearance. They had been called early in the morning to meet up in the classroom rather than on the training grounds as usual.
"Tuna mayo?" Toge asked.
"No," Panda shook his head, seeing the cursed speech user also coming to sit on his desk, "he didn't kill them, but he gravely injured them."
"Hmm," Maki looked up at the ceiling, "well if he's a cocky one, I'll beat him up."
"Good morning!"
The three first years blinked, unamused as they watched Gojo slide into the classroom with too much morning energy for their liking. His fingers shook like jazz hands as he smiled wide.
"I'll now be introducing…," he twirled in a circle before extending both arms out to the side, "the transfer student! Everyone, get excited!"
Dead silence.
Gojo's shoulders slumped, noticing no change in their expressions. "Please…get excited…".
"You're yelling like there's twenty of us here, Gojo-sensei." Maki scoffed, "Let's get this over with." She rested his cheek on her palm, as she sat sideways on her chair. Her elbow rested on the back of her wooden chair as she crossed her legs. "I heard he's a sour one. I'm not going to be welcoming to someone like that."
Sighing in defeat, Gojo knew these three were very stubborn in their own way. He wondered where they got it from. 'Kagome is just like that alright.' Standing up straight, he smiled and looked over to the closed door. "Come on in!"
"That's your cue!"
Yuta swallowed hard as he heard Gojo's call and Kagome now confirming it was for him. He shook his head as he stared at the vintage wooden sliding door. "I-I can't…I already hear and feel a bad vibe."
Patting him on the back, Kagome chuckled, "They try to be all scary but I promise they are as sweet as honey! Go in and make a grand first impression!"
Yuta laughed nervously as he saw her give him a thumbs-up with sparkly eyes.
He swallowed his fear the best he could. Forcing it down so he could at least muster the courage to open the door. He took a deep breath in.
Waiting for the said student, Maki switched her resting arm, and put her other elbow on top of her desk. 'I'll just ignore him.'
All eyes and ears were alert to the door sliding open. As soon as they saw the male teen take one step inside the room, they felt their blood go cold and their skin crawl with goosebumps. Each step the kid took had them frozen as they felt a wave of chaotic energy follow him. The three quickly twitched their bodies out of the scare.
Yuta cleared his throat as he got to the front of the room and faced the three students before him. His eyes remained glued to the floor ahead. "I'm Okkotsu Yut-." His head quickly snapped up as he saw three bodies charging at him. He ducked down, dodging the spear blade that now had stabbed the area he was standing in. His pupils shook seeing the blade having cracked the chalkboard behind him and the female holding the weapon glared at him - hard.
"Is this some kind of test?" She glared. "Oi…answer me!"
Yuta's eyes moved left to right, seeing her and the other two (a Panda?!) also surrounding him.
Maki pushed her spear further into the board. "You're cursed. This is a place to learn curses. It's not a place for the cursed to be in!"
Yuta's head flinched, "eh…?"
Leaning against the windows of the classroom, Gojo raised an index finger as he kept his arms crossed. "The number of people that die mysterious deaths or go missing in Japan is over ten thousand a year on average. Most of those are casualties of curses born from the negative emotions of people. Among them are also malicious cases caused by curse users. Only curses can affect other curses."
Yuta's pupils shook as he heard Gojo's explanation.
"This is where we learn curses to exorcise curses: Tokyo Jujutsu High School."
Yuta's face dropped with gloom and fear, "p-please tell me that ahead of time!"
Gojo twitched back seeing his confused face. "Huh?"
"Eh?" The three first years slowly turned towards their male teacher. "You just now told him that?!"
Stepping into the classroom, Kagome's brow twitched having heard Gojo's speech. "Satoru…you didn't tell him?"
Gojo tilted his head to the side, "Nope. I thought you would have."
Her brow twitched again. This boy hadn't been told anything? She thought when they had captured him everything was explained! Her glare bore holes into Gojo as he laughed without a care.
The three first years blinked back and forth between the two adults. 'Leave it to them for not communicating.'
"Ah," Gojo cut in, composing himself again, "all three of you should back off now."
"Huh?" The three blinked before noticing two giant clawed hands emerging from the board behind Yuta. As soon as one of the white-clawed hands grabbed Maki's spear, the three of them jumped back to put distance.
"Do not…," an eerie female voice echoed through the room as her hands formed shaking fists, "bully Yuta!"
"W-Wait! Rika-chan!" Yuta shouted, hands shaking as he tried his best to calm the beast behind him.
The priestess's eyes widened as she saw the physical arms reaching towards the first years. The cursed energy around the female curse had her frozen in her spot. It had been years since she felt such a demonic thing. What created this curse, to begin with?
Seeing the hands getting closer to the teens, Kagome shook herself out of her trance and quickly snapped her fingers. A pink barrier emerged around the hands, leaving everyone stunned to see the familiar glow. The hands froze within the barrier, although Kagome could see they were trying to break free from her holy hold.
Yuta looked up and over to Kagome to see her serious expression. Did she do that?
Clapping his hands once, Gojo pushed himself off his resting spot. "Good job, Kagome! Splendid as always!"
She took in a deep breath before sending a wave of her reiki with her other hand to each of her students and the last - and biggest one - to Gojo. The reiki hit each of them on the top of their heads leaving a bump. "All of you just jump right into action and not think…geez." Changing her focus back on Yuta and his curse, she sighs. "Reverse Lock."
Yuta blinked noticing the button on his uniform pulsed with the same pink glow that surrounded Rika's arms. In the blink of an eye, Rika had been absorbed back into the glow and disappeared.
Gojo smirked as he watched what Kagome had done. So she had already thought ahead to help Yuta. He clapped again to get their attention. "So, as you can see, this is the boy cursed by Rika-chan, who just loves him so much…," he came to stand next to the said boy, "Okkotsu Yuta-kun! Everyone, be nice to him!"
Kagome's eyes traveled to see the three first years annoyed as they heard their other teacher speak.
"If you attack Yuta, Rika-chan's curse will activate…or not." Gojo shrugged, "we don't know all the details. Either way, be careful, okay?"
Maki scoffed as she shifted her gaze away with a frown. "Say that sooner!"
Yuta's brow twitched, unsure how to receive the energetic mood Gojo was giving off. And it didn't help the others were still so unsure about him. He gulped. 'I have a feeling this teacher is the problem…!'
Kagome sighed under her breath as she came to stand next to him. "If you're thinking Gojo Satoru is the problem, you're right."
Gojo's mouth dropped open; Yuta turned his head upon hearing her voice.
"Since everyone is all over the place right now, I'll take care of introductions." Kagome used her palm to point to each of the students in front of them. "The one with the really strong build and aiming to be a strong cursed tool user is Zenin Maki. She uses special tools to exorcise curses." Kagome shifted her attention over to the light gray-haired teen, "This is the cursed speech user, Inumaki Toge. He can only speak in rice ball ingredients. You'll catch on soon!"
Toge raised his palm to the side of his face, implying a salute. "Seaweed!"
Kagome's hand changed over to the panda standing on the other side of Maki. "This is Panda!"
"I'm Panda! Nice to meet you!" He greeted Yuta.
"Well," Gojo nodded, hooking his fingers under his chin, "there you have it."
Yuta's sweat drop loomed over his forehead. 'They didn't give me the explanation I wanted most!'
The priestess's attention returned to the three as she gave them the warm smile she knew they couldn't say 'no' to. "Everyone," she spoke softly, "please help Yuta-kun feel welcomed."
Maki blushed, turning away before they fully saw her rosed cheeks. Panda and Toge nodded, understanding her request.
"Lead him as we have paved the way for you." Kagome slightly bowed her head, showing the three she counted them.
"Yeah, yeah," Maki huffed.
"Well, now there are four first-years!" Gojo chimed in. "This is exciting, isn't it, Kagome?"
Walking over to the other three, Yuta was cautious in his steps. Although he wasn't feeling a cold shoulder like in his other schools, he knew they were still wary of him. He didn't blame them now that they had seen what haunted him. He took a peak of the three from the corner of his eyes. 'Three and one animal to be exact…'.
Gojo scratched his cheek, "hm, I think I'll have you pair up for your afternoon jujutsu practice. We can finally split up evenly! You'll be in pairs of two on two! Toge, Panda, pair-up!" He faced Yuta, "Maki, Yuta, you two will pair up."
"Geh!"
Yuta flinched having heard Maki's vocal disgust. 'Did she just do that out loud?!'
Kagome smiled nervously as she saw Maki's disapproval and Yuta's worry. She only hoped this would work out in the end.
Walking down the quiet hallway, Kagome watched the backs of her students only a few feet away. After the training had been explained in the classroom, they were off to get ready. She and Gojo had shared a look of curiosity when they saw Maki leave first, ignoring Yuta. The timidness in Yuta was only going to drive Maki away further. She hated that kind of personality.
Kagome quietly sighed to herself. Leave it to the Zenin clan to be so up their ass.
She shook her head, not wanting to go further into the thought.
Gojo walked beside her as they continued their way down the hall. Both just observing their students in silence.
"Um…".
Kagome and Gojo looked over to see Yuta walking behind Maki. He nervously tried to catch up to her fast pace.
Yuta gulped, "I-I hope we can work together!"
Silence. They continued to walk.
Kagome pouted as she saw no reaction from Maki. Before she could nudge her way into the empty conversation, she stopped as she saw Maki turn her head over her shoulder to look at Yuta.
"You," Maki called. "You were bullied, weren't you?"
Yuta stopped in his steps, feeling a strike of lightning hitting his heart.
"Bull's-eye?" Maki questioned. She stopped her pace but continued to give her back to Yuta and the others. "I totally get it. Even I would bully you. I have a feeling it's because of your curse. It's all over your face that you're trying to look like a good person to other people. It's quite sickening!"
Yuta's shoulders twitched at her speech. Every word she spat out only struck a chord of truth. His lower lip quivered, feeling each of those spats anchor him to his hell.
"Why are you acting like the victim when I can see you're being protected?" She added, her tone laced with more hatred than before."
Yuta's eyes widened slowly.
"Jujutsu High isn't so easy that you can get by without any goal!"
Kagome took a step forward, "Maki-chan-!" A hand landed on her shoulder, making her halt mid-call. Turning her head, she blinked at the sight of Gojo shaking his head with a smile. Her shoulders dropped, catching his silent request.
"Maki!" Panda exclaimed. "That's enough!"
"Bonito flakes!" Toge added, brows furrowed having felt Maki's words pierce into everyone's soul.
She groaned, turning around to face her classmates. "Okay, fine. Get off my case now."
Panda gently placed a paw on Yuta's shoulder, noticing his entire persona had soured. "Sorry about her. She has a habit of acting like she understands others."
Watching his head lower into his chest, Kagome looked over at Gojo from the corner of her eyes. She could have said something and she wanted to, but this was a problem kids had to learn to deal with. Simple communication. They were just kids at the end of the day and Gojo always had to remind her that there would be disagreements and flares up at times. They as teachers would have to just observe and give advice.
Kagome sighed as she felt a vibration from her dress's pocket. Digging out her smartphone, she opened the message. "Oh, Panda-kun, Toge-kun, your driver will be coming in about 30 minutes. Be sure to prepare."
The two nodded before walking past a very quiet Yuta and Maki.
"And just in time," Gojo smiled, having taken out his phone after Kagome, "our ride is here on the mark!"
Kagome's stared blankly at the road ahead. When Gojo had said their ride was there, she had expected Ijichi to wait. She turned her head to the right only to see Gojo behind the wheel. "You wanted to drive?" She questioned.
"Why not?" He chuckled. "I thought a little family drive would be relaxing!"
"We are not a family!" shouted Maki as she gripped Gojo's leather seat from the back.
A sweat drop loomed over the priestess as her ears filled up with Maki's shouts and Gojo's stretched-out laugh. She took the chance to look over at Yuta who sat behind her. "Are you okay, Yuta-kun?"
Blinking out of his inner thoughts, Yuta nodded quickly, "U-Uh yeah! I…I just feel a bit nervous…".
"Don't worry," Gojo smiled through the rearview mirror. "This is an easy training!"
Kagome's brow twitched, 'that's what you always say…'.
"Oh, here we are!" Gojo slowly parked the black car in front of the gates of the school. Turning off the engine from the button, Gojo then got out of the car with Maki following behind.
Yuta felt his body shiver with nerves as he saw the empty school. What were doing at a school? This was the training? His eyes followed Gojo before seeing his teacher opening the door for Kagome and letting her out. His brow rose in curiosity.
"Oi!" Maki called out. "Get out!"
Yuta scrambled out of the car as quickly as he could, fumbling here and there. Shutting the door behind him, Yuta's eyes traveled the four-story building before noticing the other smaller school areas and the track field.
The young sorcerer hesitated to follow Gojo and Kagome as they made their way into the school grounds. The moment he saw Maki following behind, he saw she was carrying a weapon in a large and long leather bag. Swallowing hard, Yuta cautiously followed behind.
Taking the chance to slow down her pace, Kagome waited for Maki to meet with her before copying her speed. Maki gave the priestess a side glare, knowing a lecture was about to come.
"What, Higurashi-sensei?" Maki grumbled, keeping her voice down so the other two wouldn't listen. Although they both knew Gojo was hearing everything too well.
"Don't 'what' me," Kagome raised a brow. She knew exactly why she was next to her. "Maki-chan, try to give the boy a chance."
At this, Maki scoffed, turning her attention elsewhere but her teacher.
"Remember, we all brought you here because you deserve a place in this world." Kagome placed her hand on Maki's head, "You deserve to be seen…including him."
Glaring at Kagome again, Maki pouted, "I hate it when you sound like a mom."
Kagome chuckled under her breath, "Well, I have to grow up at some point, right?"
"Where are we exactly?" Yuta asked, fishing the two females out of their conversation.
"It's just an elementary school," Gojo replied, resting his arms behind his back. "Just an elementary school where some children have gone missing."
Yuta immediately stopped in his steps, shock painted on his face. "M-Missing?!"
Stopping as well, Gojo took the chance to turn to face them. "It happens in places like this. It's probably the work of a naturally-occurring curse."
"You're saying the kids were kidnapped by a curse?" Yuta repeated, feeling his brain freeze at the idea of innocent people disappearing because of things they couldn't see.
Gojo nodded, "Exactly. Two so far."
"Curses tend to settle in spots that many people have memories of."
Yuta's head turned to see Maki now standing parallel to him. "Spots?" He questioned.
"Schools, hospitals…places often remembered with negative emotions are a receptacle for them." She continued.
Yuta was in disbelief, although it was making sense to him. But how were those emotions responsible for curses coming out?
Kagome took a step forward, "our emotions can easily build up at any point. When those emotions are almost to the point of exploding in different ways, anger, disappointment, distraught, depression, loss…they can cause a cure to be born."
The boy's eyes widened as he heard her explain. Emotions? So was he…?
Gojo raised an index finger to get Yuta's attention. "We're here to exorcise the curse and save the children, or if they're dead, retrieve them."
"Huh?" Yuta shook his head. "Dead?"
"Well," Gojo continued with a smile, "after we can get the main problem out, Kagome can fully purify the place. In other words, cleanse it."
Turning to the priestess, Yuta blinked as he watched Kagome wave at him with a smile. "C-Can't you just purify the place now?" That would make things easier right? The whole mission could be done now and they wouldn't have to fight.
Kagome shook her head, understanding Yuta's logic. Although, she was used to new sorcerers asking the obvious question by now. It was something she had thought of as well in her starting days as a priestess. "My powers are like a furnace so to speak. If there are normal humans in here, which we know some kids might be trapped, I could hurt them." Her eyes traveled to stare at Yuta, "and some curses…might be linked to something or someone, so I have to be careful not to hurt that as well. It's best to take care of the bigger problem."
"Higurashi-sensei…," Yuta tilted his head to the side, "are you a jujutsu sorcerer as well? I know you said you were a teacher but-".
"She's a miko."
His head whipped with wide eyes over to Maki who held a stoic expression.
Reading his confusion, Maki raised a brow and glared at the white-haired male, "You didn't explain that either?"
He shrugged, "that's up to Kagome if she wants to explain."
Walking ahead of the group, Kagome lightly patted Yuta on his shoulder before standing a few feet away from them. "In due time. There's too much going on right now in your life, Yuta-kun. Let us get you going first before we dive into more complicated things."
"Complicated?" He repeated lowly.
Turning to the priestess, Gojo continued to speak as he saw her press her middle and index finger together before raising them to the front of her eyes. "The jujutsu world is complicated right now," he whispered to Yuta, "when the time is right, we will explain." Tilting his head back, the corner of Gojo's lips curved into a small smile. 'A new generation of jujutsu sorcerers is our goal. I will be the last person to devout myself to protect the Shikon Miko.' He took a peak at the two first years standing next to him. 'These kids will be the future to protect sorcerers and all non-sorcerers. That is Kagome's wish. My dream…'.
Kagome slowly closed her eyes as she focused her energy on her prayer. "Emerge from darkness, blacker than darkness. Purify that which is impure."
Hearing her soft voice end her chant, Yuta's eyes went up to see a black puddle-like object form in the sky before it spread out like a veil around the school's vicinity. He blinked, noticing no sun was visible and their surroundings had turned night. "It turned into night…?"
"It's a veil," Kagome replied, lowering her hand back down with a smile. "It's a barrier that will smoke out the curse and keep you all from being seen by those outside. I may not be able to purify, but I can assist before jujutsu sorcerers start. It's easy to undo from the inside. You just-!" Feeling a hand clasp on hers, she felt her body being pulled away from her students and towards the school's gates. "W-What? O-Oi! Satoru!"
"Like she said," Gojo chuckled, "it's easy to undo from inside! You'll figure it out if you need to leave!"
"Wait a minute! Satoru!"
Watching them make their way out of school grounds, Yuta noticed the veil slowly coming down. His eyes landed on Gojo continuing to hold Kagome's hand even as the veil began to cover them. They were just going to leave them alone?!
"Do be careful," Gojo shouted, "not to die!"
"D-Die?!" Yuta exclaimed. "S-Sensei!"
The veil completely shut him off from the day world leaving him and Maki within. Taking a step forward, he called out for Gojo once more only to hear Maki's voice.
"Oi! Transfer student!"
Yuta watched as Maki dropped her long leather bag to the floor, revealing the spear she had earlier when meeting him. His eyes traveled to her arms as she held them in her stance over her head before hearing the eerie stutters ahead.
"Don't get distracted," Maki spoke.
Yuta's eyes widened as he saw three weirdly shaped curses about 8 feet tall slowly limp to them as they undid the laces in front of their bodies. Yuta jumped in his spot as the curses before them pulled apart the laces revealing a long tongue and teeth.
"P-Put….me….on! Put….m-me…on!"
"Put me on?" Yuta repeated. He jolted seeing the three curses dash towards their direction. "It's coming this way! Wh-Wh-What do we do!?"
"Don't scream!" She shouted back before dashing towards them as well with no fear. Why was she stuck with the scaredy cat?!
The stare was hard.
He could feel it pierce through him.
Yet, he enjoyed it.
"Stare all you want, Kagome, you know how much I love your attention." Gojo delivered a grin as he turned his head towards the said priestess. As he leaned against the car awaiting his students, he crossed his arms.
"You should have let me teach Yuta-kun about the veil." She huffed, fixing up her clothing.
"Maki knows," Gojo replied, his focus back on the veil. "She can teach him if anything happens."
She continued to glare at the Six Eyes user before deciding it was best to let it go. This man loved to argue with her and most of the time, it was just him getting a kick out of it. Her eyes landed on her veil. "You think Yuta-kun will be okay?"
"I have faith in him."
"Did you ask Ijichi-san to look into Rika-chan's and Yuta-kun's background?" Kagome questioned. She and Gojo had been talking privately about the matter. Both felt something was off when they heard about the case altogether. Something in this mystery was missing and they wanted to know. So Gojo had said it was best to start with the history.
Gojo nodded.
Nodding in approval, Kagome opened the passenger door of the car. Gojo watched her silently as she fumbled through the glove department before taking out a black folder. The white bandages shifted as he raised a brow.
"Are you still on that?" He asked.
Kagome sighed as she opened the folder. "Mei Mei-san and Kento-kun found two fingers."
Gojo's brows furrowed.
"They are coming in about three months to deliver them here in secrecy so I can incase it with my pure seals." She sighed heavily as she saw the picture clipped to the report. "I hate that there is something out there I can't completely purify." This was a classified mission only grade 1 and specials grade sorcerers were aware of. Something the school didn't want the students to be involved in just yet until they gathered more information. This wretched thing they called a special-grade cursed object had her up multiple nights.
Master Tengen had given her a task to figure out how to dispose of them. But how could she when the damn things wouldn't even crack under her pure energy? Her eyes narrowed as she saw the picture of the rotten maroon finger with a sharp black nail. A disgusting-looking thing had her like this?
She needed a vacation.
"You'll be okay," Gojo fished her out of her stress. "If there is one thing those old geezers and I agree to is that we won't let the King of Curses near you, let alone harm you. That shouldn't happen as long as you incase them with a new seal, right? Everything will be okay."
Resting her back on the car, she gently threw her head back as well to stare at the blue sky. "Ugh…but twenty fingers in total? So far we only have two with the ones they are bringing in."
Oh, she was stressing-stressing. Gojo snaked his arm over to the other side of her head before pulling it to rest against the side of his chest. Leaning his head down, he planted one small kiss on her hair. "We'll take care of this together."
A blush crept on her features. "I just want these kids to not worry about old jujutsu traditions. I want them to slowly let go of the thought that all jujutsu sorcerers are to protect the Shikon Miko. I want them to protect humans and eventually learn to purify souls on their own…".
"You speak like you're leaving this world way too soon, Kagome." He gripped the side of her head (careful not to hurt her too much), making her wince and glare at him. "Don't scare me like that."
"Oi! I'm a holy person! Not a psychic!" She grunted.
He released her, "Well, you're safe…here with me."
The world was starting to stir with more curses, and it made her wary of what was to come. She just didn't have a good feeling about this whole thing. Just staring at the picture of the finger made her stomach quake. Why did she feel weird about it? Shaking her head, Kagome closed the folder.
"Did you give Yuta-kun his school ID?"
Taken back by her change in subject, Gojo nodded. "He should have it."
Yuta gulped hard as he cautiously made his way into the halls of the dark school. He wasn't even sure how he had made it here. But here he was, following Maki. His shoulders were beginning to stiffen as he saw eyes from much smaller curses take peeks at them. Maki had defeated the three big curses outside all on her own. He had done nothing but gawk at her amazing skills to fight. Everything about her way of fighting was graceful.
Now they were in the halls, scouting every floor to find the major culprit.
"Oi."
Yuta scrambled to stand straight at the sound of her voice.
"Y-Yes?"
"I want you to remember something," Maki spoke, turning around to face the young teen. "Weaker curses group together. You can see the smaller ones around us, right?"
He took another look around to see small eyes blinking before disappearing.
"They are too weak to attack, so there's nothing to worry about there. Of course, the same thing could be said for humans. So what we're looking for is more than likely on its own."
Nodding, Yuta continued to follow Maki down the quiet hall. It got him wondering about her own feelings towards the curses. This was his first time dealing with such an environment under the circumstances he was in. "Um…Zenin-san, aren't you scared?"
"Don't use my last name!" She immediately replied.
"S-Sorry!
Noticing the small curses hiding behind desks, walls, and even trash cans, Maki couldn't help but let her face twist into confusion. Although they weren't strong, them hiding was definitely out of the norm. She looked at Yuta over her shoulder only to see him screech the second one of the curses scurried away.
Maki stopped her steps and quickly turned to the timid boy. "Hey! What grade are you?"
Yuta blinked with a blank stare. "Like…in English or Japanese proficiency?"
"Jujutsu sorcerers are ranked in grades from four to one."
So there were ranks? Yuta looked down at his feet, wondering if he had been told that information before. He scratched the side of his cheek, trying to recall anything. "I only just came to the school…I don't think I have one of those."
"Ugh! Forget it!" Maki roughly scratched the side of her head, before placing her palm out towards Yuta. "Show me your student ID! You got one from that idiot blindfolded guy, right?"
An image of the 'idiot blindfolded guy' popped into his head. "Ah…Gojo-sensei?" His hand dug into the inside pocket of his white jacket. To his surprise, a small ID card was resting there. Yuta took out the ID only to bite his lip the moment Maki swiped it out of his fingers.
"Well, if you just joined with no prior history, you're probably a grade 4-". Her pupils shook as she read the grade printed on the card. That was no typo, was it? There was no way! The small gray circle above Yuta's picture plainly said - 'Special grade?! Special grade is above even grade 1, right?! This has to be a joke!'
"Zenin-san!" Yuta called, his attention swiping left and right to the end of the hall. Seeing no reaction from her, he called her out again. "Zenin-san! Zenin-san! Behind you!"
Snapped out of her hardened gaze, Maki quickly turned around only to see a large blue lump with eyes and a mouth staring straight at them. Maki's throat went dry seeing the massive size of the curse before them. He filled in the entire area and his hands began to grasp the sides of the walls so he could push through. The floor quaked underneath them as windows cracked one by one to the end of the hall.
In a matter of seconds, the curse crushed part of the walls beside it, letting all the debris and glass spread out. Both Maki and Yuta flew into the air from the explosion but kept their eyes on the curse. Maki grunted seeing the full size of the curse being half of the building. Where was this thing hiding in the first place?!
"Shit!" She shouted, seeing the curse look up at them in the air and began opening its mouth. Twirling her spear in her hand, she aimed the blade downwards. "You're way too damn big! You bastard!" As soon as she saw the many teeth inside of the curse's mouth, Maki froze and noticed Yuta falling beside her and unconscious. She cursed under her breath as she felt some of the debris knock her balance. Her blade collided with the curse's teeth, making her lose her grip and drop straight down into his throat.
She felt the air spike negatively. Her eyes narrowed on the veil.
"Stop worrying."
"This is his first mission, Satoru," she huffed, "of course I'm worried."
Gojo's smile remained on his lips as he looked at the veil from above. "Just trust the process."
Eyes slowly cracking open to the sound of mushed stomping, Yuta slowly stood up and looked around. A red soft texture with blue and red veins covered the walls, ceiling, and floor. "W-Where are we?"
Maki stomped on the floor once again, anger completely melting her other emotions. "We're in this thing's stomach! Freaking let us out! Why the hell are you passing out over this?!"
Realization sunk in, "you Youn it ate us!?"
Irritation twitched on her forehead as she glared at the rookie. "That's right! I thought you were being protected by your curse!? So why the hell are you not doing anything!?"
Yuta shook his head, starting to feel guilt. "E-Even I don't know what makes Rika-chan come out!" Taking another look around, Yuta noticed there was no exit or entrance they could try. "What do we do now?"
Placing her fists on her hips, Maki's eyes scanned her surroundings. "After time passes and the veil goes away, help will come for us. This is embarrassing! Shit!"
"Help!"
A soft desperate cry made them turn around to see a boy around the age of 6 holding another unconscious kid in his lap. Both Yuta and Maki noticed the unconscious kid was around 4 years old and blood was beginning to drip from the corner of his mouth. Maki's eyes narrowed noticing the boy crying for help having a burnt-like mark on the left side of his face and one of his eyes turning purple and red.
"Please!" Called out the boy again. "He's about to die!"
Relief washed over Yuta as he remembered Gojo talking about the two missing boys. Their mission was looking good now. "Thank goodness! You two are alive!"
"No," Maki cut in, "it's not good at all. Look closer."
Yuta turned around again to see both boys breathing fast and heavy. The markings on the older one clearly seen now and he didn't need to know about the effect the curses were having on them to see the younger one was close to death's door.
"The big one's been affected by the curse, too," Maki spoke, raising a brow. "At this pace, both of them could die at any minute."
"No…," Yuta scrambled back onto his feet, "w-what do we do now?! We have to get them out of here!"
"Clearly!" Maki shouted, scoffing at the obvious. "We need to get these kids to Higurashi-sensei and fast!"
"Eh?" Yuta blinked.
"She's the only one who can purify a human body and soul. She is that skilled. Higurashi-sensei is…".
Yuta's eyes watched as Maki dropped to the floor. Feeling the anxiety pulse in his veins, he knelt and noticed beads of sweat clinging to her skin and face. A fever? "Zenin-san! Zenin-san!" Taking a closer look, he gasped at the deep cut on her thigh and the small blinking eyes surrounding the wound. When did she-? His eyes traveled upwards. Did she get cut when they fell into its mouth? "Are you cursed?"
"Is…she going to die?"
Yuta's head snapped up to the faint voice of the kid behind him.
"Please…save us, mister!" Tears weld up in the kid's eyes before blowing up into a loud cry. "Please!"
Yuta stared at his shaking palm, unsure how to move forward or what to do. This was supposed to be a training thing, right? His entire body was paralyzed with only questions and no answers. "But what can I do…?! I can't do-!"
"Okkotsu!"
Yuta's eyes widened as he felt a tight grip on the collar of his jacket. Pulled down to be eye-level with Maki, he noticed her face had gone pale.
"Seriously, why the hell did you come to Jujutsu High!? What do you want to do?! What do you want to have?! What is it that you want to achieve!?"
"I…," his shoulders slumped, "don't want to hurt anyone. I don't want anyone around me to get hurt. I tried to lock myself away and kept trying to convince myself that being alone was the best thing, but…". His memories flashed back to the smile Kagome and Gojo had greeted him with as they talked to him about joining the school. Warm smiles he hadn't received in years. No one dared to look at him with such compassion and hope. "I was told being by myself is a lonely thing…and all I could do was…stay quiet. I couldn't argue or dismiss that. They were right…".
Yuta's fingers curled into his palm as he felt his heart pushing for him to stay alive. "I want to interact with people! I want to be needed by someone! I want the confidence to say it's okay that I'm alive!" Tears slowly uprooted from the corner of his eyes as he stared straight into Maki's orbs. Was she being harsh? Yes. But he knew he needed this. He needed to be true to his needs and wants. It was okay to be selfish, right?
"Then," Maki slowly released her hold on him, "exorcise them. Exorcise curses, exorcise them, and exorcise them over and over! All of those things, confidence and friends, will all come to you after that!"
Maki's brows furrowed as she let her eyes drop to the floor. A memory of the priestess smiling at her when she was a kid and saying the exact same words. Words she hadn't believed in until recently. She had to laugh at herself. Was she starting to use the teachings Kagome gave her?
"That's the kind of place Jujutsu High is…".
Yuta watched as she dropped back onto the floor, unconscious. His eyes remained glued to the empty spot she had occupied in front of him. Was it okay for him to live? To want to live? Would that answer come to him if he fought?
Slowly reaching for the ring attached to his silver chain necklace, Yuta's eyes narrowed before pulling on it. The chain broke off into pieces as he held the ring in his palm.
"Rika-chan." He whispered. Closing his eyes, he placed the ring on his ring finger. "Please lend me your strength."
Her head snapped. Gojo raised his fingers to his covered eyes.
Chuckling under his breath, Gojo smirked as he heard the cries from inside. "So that's her physical form? That's terrifying indeed."
Kagome's eyes watched as purple liquid splattered all over the veil as droplets of them followed. Whatever Rika was, she held an immense amount of curse energy. Her eyes traveled upwards as the energy increased, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand. "We've got some work to do with him…". Training him would be a bit difficult, but if he properly followed, he definitely would go up the ranks faster than any of the current students.
Standing up straight, Gojo pushed his hands into his pants' pockets. "They should be here soon."
Yuta looked over his shoulder as he saw Rika's full form emerge from the curse's stomach. As soon as he had placed the ring on his finger, Rika erupted and began to claw the curse's body shredding it with her claws. He grunted as he felt Maki's body weighing him down. Carrying her and the two young kids under each arm convinced him he had to do some strength training after this. Purple blood splattered throughout the area, making it fall like rain.
Seeing Rika's muscular body and long arms in her cursed monstrous appearance made him wonder why she was like that in the first place. Several tendrils were connected from her white head and her sharp teeth shined under the night sky as her laugh echoed.
The curse that had attacked at first was long dead and Rika continued to play with the purple blood that dripped down from her arms. Her covered eyes stared at the same ring Yuta wore on her ring finger. "It's so pretty!" Her voice was laced with glee. "I'm so pretty!"
Glad she was occupied with the monster above, Yuta looked ahead to see the gate only a few feet away. He felt his body scream for rest but he fought back as his muscles pushed him to keep going. Each step he took only felt heavier than the last.
"I-I can't collapse yet!" He grunted, teeth grinding hard through the pain. "Not yet!" His face scrunched as he kept pushing himself to the gate. Why was it so damn far?! 'I just decided I was going to change, here and now!'
'You can do it, Yuta.'
His eyes widened as he heard the familiar female voice behind him. His heart skipped a beat as Rika's words gave him that physical push. Nodding to himself, he exhaled before continuing his way towards the gates.
"I will!" He shouted.
As soon as he took a step in front of the veil, his eyes met the bright world. He heard one snap before coming face-to-face with his two teachers who awaited him outside. His vision blurred, and he felt a sense of security the moment he saw them. A weak smile curved over Yuta's lips before falling to the floor.
Kagome squatted down as she saw all four bodies lying before them. Gently brushing a few strands from Yuta's forehead, she saw Rika's body returning to the badge on his jacket. The snap still worked. Good. Her smile returned. "Welcome back."
Gojo stood behind her, hands behind his back as he saw the tired look on Yuta's face. "They did very well."
Sitting in the quiet yet busy hall, Yuta remained in his thoughts. The hospital…how he hated being here. He shook his head as it dropped down. His legs spread to rest his elbows on each of his knees. Fingers locked with each other to hide his facial expression. The mission had ended with them finding the two boys, but both were injured and Maki…he didn't know.
"Don't worry about them."
He didn't look up, he knew Gojo had spoken.
"Kagome has purified the kids' souls and injuries. She is healing Maki as we speak."
Well, that made him feel better. "Do we need to notify the parents?" He asked.
"Hm," Gojo thought out loud, leaning against the wall, "We let the higher-ups and our assistants take care of that. Our work is covered. We are usually hired in secrecy to help those who believe it's more than they can deal with. Just let us adults handle it for now, okay?" Looking down at the young boy, he noticed his head remained low. His shoulders were stiff and his whole body language screamed of anxiety and worry. "You don't look so happy about the news. Would you have rather heard something different?"
Raising his hand to stare at the ring on his finger, Yuta sighed. "I managed to call Rika-chan out myself for the first time."
"Ho? Really?" Gojo smiled. "That's one step forward."
Yuta's attention was drawn to a young boy and the squeaking of the metal that walked in front of him. He blinked, noticing the said boy was wearing a hospital gown and his arm was hooked to the IV bag connected to the IV stand. His eyes relaxed, feeling sympathy for the kid as his memories took him back to the time he had been in the same spot.
That was how he had met Rika. She also had been hospitalized for quite some time and a friend had flourished from there. That friendship blossomed each day even after they were able to leave the hospital and live normal kid lives. He smiled to himself remembering how they used to play at the park together, share toys, and walk together to school. The smile stretched out at the memory of his last birthday gift from her.
The ring.
"What's wrong?" Gojo asked.
"N-Nothing…". He replied. "Just remembering something." His eyes dropped back down to his hand. "Just starting to think that Rika-chan didn't curse me. There is a feeling in my heart that tells me…I might have cursed her."
Silent at first, Gojo knew this was something he was bound to think. The kid was still blaming himself somehow. Sighing under his breath, he leaned his head back against the wall. "This is just a personal theory. Love…".
Yuta looked up.
"There's no curse more twisted than that."
Yuta's expression softened, having caught a hint in his tone. "Has something like that happened to you, sensei?"
"Not to your level," he smiled slowly, memories flooding in, "but love can also twist a person's perception of things. Love makes you do crazy things, right? To the point of having the whole world against you just to protect that love." Ten years ago, if things had gone differently…he was sure he would be a different person. And with the topic of love, he was already in that curse himself.
"Would you do anything for the person you love?" Yuta asked. "Even…die?"
Gojo chuckled to himself. "I'd seal myself for a hundred years if it meant for that person's protection and safety."
Amazed by his manly words, Yuta looked at his ring once more. He held back his tears as his fingers curled into a fist. "Sensei…while I'm at Jujutsu High, I promise I'll break Rika-chan's curse."
"Hi there!"
Both males looked to their right to see the priestess wearing a big smile as she walked towards them. As Kagome got closer to their awaiting spots, she nodded. "Maki-chan is getting dressed now. As soon as she's done we can head back to Jujutsu High." She blinked, eyes shifting left and right to see both of them just staring at her. "Is…everything alright?"
Gojo inched closer, making her back a bit. "Just telling him how much you love me."
"Huh?" She raised a brow. "W- What are you talking about?" What the heck brought this on?
"See?" Gojo smirked towards Yuta, pointing at the priestess. "Love makes you go crazy!"
"Who are you calling crazy!?"
Watching the two bicker (mostly Kagome as Gojo continued to laugh), Yuta couldn't help but wonder what kind of things they had to go through to show this type of affection towards each other.
He blinked.
Blinked again.
'Wait…,' he tilted his head to the side, 'are they together?'
As night draped over the city, dark hooded eyes scanned the destruction of the school. From the ceiling, he could scan the damage that was done by the one special grade curse he had heard so much about. Moving his long black hair over his shoulders to the back, he noticed the purple blood on the debris and what was left over from the ceiling.
A thin eyebrow rose noticing the ID resting between two spots of blood.
Wooden sandals clanked on the cement as the adult male walked over to pick it up. He noticed the young black-haired male in the picture and the grade above it. A smirk stretched over his lips reading the school he belonged to. Chuckling to himself, he placed the ID inside his kimono sleeves. He would save that for later.
His eyes narrowed before looking up at the moon hovering over the school. The smirk diminished to a soft smile.
"Kagome-chan's presence always feels so nostalgic."
MizukixTsukiyomi's Notes: Please review! I have a feeling this community is dead, but I hope there are still some hopeful readers that would like this story to continue?
Ja~ne!
