A/N at the end
CHAPTER 5
{POV: Suzue Kujou}
It had been over 10 days since Yuji had swallowed the third finger of Sukuna and Suzue had been tormented by that strange vision.
The hectic life at the Jujutsu school in Tokyo had kept her mind constantly occupied. Whether it was filling out paperwork, making copies, or clarifying embarrassing misunderstandings that Shoko enjoyed causing... the days had slipped by in what could be called an apparent calm.
The students seemed to have accepted her well and saw her as a reference point, not at the level of their teacher but still someone they could rely on; and she couldn't deny that among the three first-year students, she felt particularly close to Yuji. She felt she had developed a sort of protective instinct towards him that could be defined as almost maternal; to the evident dismay of the binding vow, which weighed more and more heavily on her soul each day.
The relationship with Satoru remained complicated due to his intrusive nature and the way he enjoyed embarrassing her on a daily basis, but working with him had proven to be less stressful than she initially feared. She had learned to defend herself quite well against his teasing.
The matter of her not-so-secret mission had not been touched again, and the visions and losses of control seemed like a distant memory. Suzue had started to feel at home at the Jujutsu school in Tokyo and felt she had found a certain balance.
But that morning... she had woken up from a nightmare.
After all those days of tranquility, the woman she had almost forgotten, Kaede, had returned to torment her nights. This time, in the dream, Suzue was not Kaede but watched her from the outside. Nothing happened, they just... stared at each other in what seemed like an infinite black space suspended in time, in absolute silence.
Kaede was a beautiful woman, with long black hair and a noble appearance, adorned in lavish and ancient ceremonial clothes, but her gaze... Her red eyes were incredibly sad. Suzue, with a shiver down her spine, noticed that she resembled her terribly.
She definitely needed to find out more about that woman and understand why in the last few weeks she seemed to have become indissolubly tied to her. The connection felt more than just a coincidence; it was like a part of her past was calling out to her, demanding to be understood.
Suzue closed the door of her room behind her, with a clear objective in mind; she thought back to the historical archive she had noticed in the school's basement.
"Alright. Let's see how much history is in there."
She turned down a corridor, knowing exactly where to find the person she needed; his room was on the ground floor in the same wing of the building, directly below Suzue's.
She arrived in front of the door and hesitated for a moment; then, she took a deep breath and, gathering courage, knocked delicately but decisively. She couldn't hear any sound coming from inside, starting to doubt his presence.
Then, a few seconds later, the door opened and Suzue saw a rather surprised Satoru; also quite annoyed, but as he noticed it was Suzue, his gaze seemed to soften.
«Suzue» he began, in an uncertain voice, «It's... 6 AM. You do know it's 6 AM, right?»
His blue eyes continued to stare at her a bit confused; no, Suzue hadn't paid any attention to the time and only realized it now. She blushed faintly.
«I thought it wouldn't be a problem since you weren't sleeping.» she weakly tried to retort, but Satoru adopted a mock-offended air, crossing his arms over his chest.
«What? Rest is fundamental for a sorcerer, it's literally the basis—»
«You're already dressed and ready for the day, you've been awake since at least 5 or maybe even earlier. You were playing video games. Even three days ago you woke up at the same time, played video games, and arrived late to class saying you didn't hear the alarm.»
Suzue had interrupted him to calmly state the facts. It was time for Satoru to realize that she, from her room upstairs, could hear everything. And arriving late to class only put her in a difficult position since she had to somehow entertain the three students who, unlike him, arrived on time.
Satoru looked at her frowning, as if he had just been scolded by his mother. The playful glint in his eyes dimmed slightly, replaced by a look of mild chagrin.
«You should sleep more.» she finally concluded.
«You're really observant. You've been up since five too, I hear you pacing back and forth in your room, I feared you wanted to wear a groove into the floor.»
Suzue blushed again and sighed. He always had to have the last word.
She would also have to be careful about what she did in her room, since the person living downstairs seemed to be a light sleeper.
Satoru, who was scratching his head a bit sulkily, continued to stare at her, waiting to understand what she needed at that hour. Determined to get what she wanted, she tried to put on the most innocent face possible and held his gaze.
«I'd like to see the historical archive. If possible.» She realized that unfortunately, it came out almost as a plea.
He seemed to scrutinize her more intensely, becoming thoughtful.
«The historical archive? That dusty room? Don't expect to find much there, the higher-ups wouldn't leave any state secrets in our hands... Why are you interested?»
He said it in an apparently disinterested way, but Suzue had perceived a hint of curiosity in his words; of course, it was strange that she was interested in the old volumes stored in that room, but precisely for that reason she had decided to ask him for "permission" instead of going there alone, to avoid arousing suspicion.
Suzue played the pity card, certain that with that Satoru wouldn't raise further questions. She put particular emphasis on the more dramatic parts.
«When my clan was exterminated, the village was razed to the ground and all the memory of our history and traditions was lost. I'd like to gather some information, I'm the only survivor and I feel it's my duty—»
«Suzue, I get it, I'll take you there.» he quickly concluded.
Suzue smiled under her breath. She had already noticed how sensitive he was to her tragic past, the few times she had mentioned it. Not that she liked resorting to this trick to get what she wanted, but as they say: necessity is the mother of invention.
The door of the archive was exactly as Suzue remembered it. Old and decrepit.
"Historical archive."
Satoru opened the door and Suzue held her breath; inside, she hoped to find some answers about Kaede and those visions that tormented her, but when she managed to catch a glimpse inside, she was a bit disappointed.
The room was really small, but worse, there weren't as many volumes as she hoped. There were at most about twenty.
Satoru entered and she followed a bit hesitantly.
The air inside was heavy with dust; on the sides of the small room, two mostly empty shelves full of cobwebs housed some bound and old-looking books. Judging by the amount of dust, some of those books probably hadn't been flipped through for years and years.
In the center of the room, a small wooden table seemed to be standing by a miracle.
«As I told you, there's not much here. The higher-ups keep anything that could be used against them in their maximum security vaults.»
He spoke with a voice full of sarcasm, but after all, his disdain for the top levels of the sorcerer society was no secret. Satoru leaned against the wall, watching her with mild interest as she moved around the room.
Suzue advanced into the room, looking around and lingering on the titles of the volumes in search of something that caught her attention and seemed promising for her research.
She mentally noted the titles of some books: basic history of the sorcerer society, yearbooks of past school years, jujutsu applied to gardening techniques... there was even a book on general accounting.
"So much useless stuff."
Then, her eye fell on a gigantic volume less dusty than the others, and that had evidently been consulted quite recently.
Genealogy of the Clans
Here was a book that seemed to fit the bill, or at least could be a start. The title alone suggested it might hold valuable information about the Kujou clan and, possibly, about Kaede.
She extracted the book from the shelf, struggling a bit with the weight of the volume, and placed it on the wooden table hoping it wouldn't collapse under the weight of the genealogy of the clans. The table creaked ominously, but held.
Satoru, who had been watching her leaning against the entrance door, approached and looked at the book.
«Oh, that one. Yaga consults it from time to time to better study some new students. You know, to understand where their innate cursed technique comes from, and stuff like that. The last time I consulted it. I looked at the pages related to the Kujou clan.»
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye with a smirk, waiting for her to say or do something.
Suzue looked at Satoru, then opened the book and began to leaf through the yellowed pages. As Satoru had said, the book presented genealogical trees of the main sorcerer clans, both major families and smaller clans. Some even practically extinct.
Like the Kujou clan.
Suzue found the pages related to the Kujou clan, right after the numerous pages dedicated to the Zenin clan. She observed the elaborate genealogical tree that unfolded over several pages and that from the origins of the clan reached up to the modern era; it was immediately apparent how the number of people in the clan had drastically reduced over the centuries.
Despite some missing family branches and many people, the genealogical tree seemed quite accurate in two specific parts: the origins and the modern era. Suzue doubted the accuracy of everything that had happened in between but... it was at least something.
Each person listed in the clan's genealogy was accompanied by a brief description: achievements, recognition, cursed technique...
Suzue ran her fingers over the final part of the genealogical tree, and over a name in particular.
Her father.
She felt a lump in her throat and tried to regain her concentration. Seeing his name there brought back a flood of memories and emotions she had tried hard to suppress.
The book must have been updated the last time at least 40 or 50 years before, since her mother was not yet present, and her father although present was not yet accompanied with an innate cursed technique. Probably, at the time of updating that book, he was still an infant.
From her father, she started to trace the genealogical tree back in search of her. Kaede.
She traced the centuries of the clan going back in time. She searched, searched... But there seemed to be no trace of Kaede. Suzue reached the first name of the genealogical tree, the founder, with a growing sense of frustration inside her. She bit her lip. "No way. She must be here somewhere."
Satoru leaned over next to her, to better observe the book. His face was practically at the level of Suzue's ear and too close. She could feel his breath on her skin, which only added to her agitation.
«Judging by your expression, I was right and you didn't find what you were looking for.»
Suzue, already annoyed by the failure of her search, felt herself flush and tried to look away. His proximity was making it hard to think straight.
It was at that moment, however, that her eye fell on the first name of the genealogical tree and founder of the clan, a man who lived during the Heian period.
Toramasa Kujou
Innate Cursed Technique: none
And then, next to him, his wife, whose name was likely lost to time and not recorded.
Even for her, no innate cursed technique
Yet the couple had produced five children, all endowed with an innate cursed technique: Divine Flames.
For a couple of non-sorcerers to give birth not to just one but to five children blessed with such a powerful cursed technique and to establish a long-lasting clan of sorcerers... It could be considered a minor miracle. It couldn't be dismissed as mere luck.
"A transcription error in the book...? Or maybe, the missing piece I was looking for."
Satoru had said he had consulted the same pages... who knows if he had noticed the same inconsistency. She glanced at him, but his expression remained unreadable.
Suzue sighed and looked at the book one last time, memorizing as many details as she could of the genealogical tree. She felt a strange mix of disappointment and hope. There were still so many unanswered questions, but at least she had a lead.
«Nothing interesting, unfortunately.» She concluded.
She closed the pages and put the book back on the shelf, moving away from Satoru trying to calm the heart that was pounding inside her chest. His closeness, his knowing gaze, it all felt too overwhelming.
«I told you so! I guess it's time to go to the students. Today I want them to practice that exercise I talked to you about yesterday; Yuji in particular could benefit from it.»
Suzue cast one last look over her shoulder, then she and Satoru left the room; he had resumed his usual cocky attitude. Despite his nonchalance, Suzue couldn't shake the feeling that he knew more than he let on.
The day before, he had talked to her about an exercise to improve control of cursed energy and wanted to propose it to the three students. Yuji, in particular, was lacking in that area and being Sukuna's vessel, he would surely benefit from it in the future.
The lesson was to be held outside for safety reasons; Nobara, Megumi, and Yuji were already on the field. It was amazing how those three always managed to look lazy and unmotivated.
Satoru was explaining the exercise to them with his direct and unprofessional manner, and meanwhile, Suzue was thinking.
The founder of the Kujou clan and his wife... Could two persons without a cursed technique be considered the founders of a sorcerer clan?
Perhaps, the person missing in that genealogical tree, a consort or a wife with a powerful innate technique maybe, was the missing piece to solve the mystery behind Kaede.
She thought back to the last vision she had and how the man she had seen had accused someone of wanting to exploit Kaede to ensure her technique was passed on to his descendants.
"...What if?" Indeed, seen that way, it made sense.
The more she pieced together, the more she felt that her Satoru was all but a happy one.
Satoru came up beside her; he yawned and watched the three kids from a distance as they performed the exercise.
Megumi was perfect, while Nobara seemed to be doing pretty well.
Yuji, on the other hand... was making a mess. He wasn't able to control the flow of cursed energy at all, constantly losing control and wasting a huge amount of it. Satoru gave her a very clear look.
"Take care of him, basically."
Suzue, still lost in thought, sighed and approached Yuji, searching for the right words to explain how to better control the flow of cursed energy. The boy had a really focused expression and looked at her, a veil of desperation crossing his eyes.
«It seemed much easier when Gojo-sensei explained it!» he whined with a resigned smile.
«Yuji, you have to remember to stay focused. Cursed energy responds to your emotions. If you lose control, even for a moment, it can be dangerous.»
Suzue began to explain in a gentle tone, with Yuji listening attentively and nodding.
«Right now it seems more like cursed energy is controlling you—»
Suzue suddenly felt it, a terrifying cursed energy. She recognized it immediately, how could she forget it after feeling it days before. The cursed energy of the King of Curses.
Then, it appeared in just a few moments, on Yuji's cheek; a small mouth from which came a voice full of contempt.
« I find it really amusing, Kaede, that you of all people are talking about self-control! »
Yuji was quick to try to cover that small mouth with a loud slap and regain control, but that name, Kaede, now rang in Suzue's ears.
Suzue, petrified, felt her ears ringing. She blinked once...
Twice...
When she opened her eyes the third time she felt disoriented and confused.
She looked around first, then at the ground, panic growing in her head, realizing what she was seeing.
In front of her, Satoru was standing before the three students. Had he protected them with a barrier? His presence was a beacon of calm in the chaos, but his eyes were filled with an emotion she rarely saw in him: concern.
His gaze... was extremely worried and conflicted. He stared at Suzue as if he had just seen a ghost.
She could still see some remnants of flames extinguishing at that moment.
The reality of what had happened began to sink in, and Suzue felt a wave of nausea. She had lost control of her cursed energy in a way she had never experienced before. The intensity of Sukuna's presence, combined with the name "Kaede," had triggered something deep within her.
Around her, within a radius of at least four or five meters, there was nothing but burnt and smoldering ground.
A/N
Facts:
The name "Toramasa" can be interpreted as "Prosperous Tiger."
虎 (Tora): This character means "tiger."
昌 (Masa): This character means "prosperity," "splendor," or "well-being."
We already know that beneath Tokyo Jujutsu High, there's a massive space where Tengen resides, among other things, so why couldn't there be a labyrinth of rooms containing who knows what? Like a historical archive. With a big book on all the known sorcerer clans, both major and minor. It fits our needs, right?
The general idea was a big book that traces the history of the sorcerer society, analyzing the three great families and the various minor clans, their exploits, and so on and so forth.
Of course, something like that could never be fully accurate or constantly updated, which is why Suzue's family tree is stuck at the time when her father was still a child, and many branches have been lost over the centuries!
Satoru sleeps and lives at Jujutsu High, and to me, that's Canon.
Sukuna, as always, is a little troublemaker and knows more than he lets on, but that's nothing new.
I'll leave you with these little pieces of information! ❤️