She'd spent yet another sleepless night figuring out the logistics of her plan to trap Choso. Something told her this would be the last of her long nights on this mission. Executing her plan would be difficult; she had meticulously prepared everything. All he needed to do was show up.
Adrenaline sparked through her at the thought of victory being so close. She could almost grasp it.
She finished putting everything together and made her way to find the final piece of her plan. She needed a curse to threaten her life—one strong enough to give her trouble but not something she couldn't handle alone.
While it might be challenging to attract a curse to her location, it wouldn't be as difficult to place a cursed object and invite it. She was well aware that schools placed various cursed objects around their grounds for protection. So she headed there.
The moon hung high in the night sky, filling the empty streets. Her sights were set on the withered-down building that was once a lively school. Her steps echoed quietly on the floor beneath her.
Her breath formed in front of her, mixing with the cool winter's air as she neared the courtyard. She looked around for the cursed object, letting her intuition lead the way. Until she stopped in front of a pavilion, at the end of it a multi-colored stone chimney. She went forward, sticking her hand inside and plucking the stone carefully attached at the base of the chimney.
She closed her fingers around it, feeling it pulse faintly beneath her, filling her sensations with malevolent energy.
—
Once she returned to the location of her trap, she undid the seal, revealing a beautiful sapphire stone. She placed it atop her dresser in her old home and waited.
Mere seconds later, various curses appeared, their bodies grotesque and twisted. She finished them off without a second thought.
"It's always the weak ones who show desperation first," she muttered.
She would continue killing off curses that were too weak. Craving for a powerful curse to challenge her. Then, as if summoned by her determination, signs of disturbance appeared—few whispers, drawn by the presence of the stone and the promise of conflict.
She felt a shift in the air; her wishes had been answered. Emerging from the wall, a navy blue curse with vermillion spots. Its frame was short and wide, with two fangs coming from either end and six arms evenly spread across its body. Though it looked weak, she could feel the cursed energy radiating off of it. Revealing feelings of unease within her.
She took a step back, setting her plan into motion. The curse lunged at her, but she evaded its attack. Now pressed against her wall, parallel to the dresser. She reached behind her and took hold of something.
Moving her body off the wall, driving her fist that now held a poisoned blade into the curse's eye, and dragging the blade down. She rushed past the curse and grabbed the stone, placing it under her tongue.
Seconds later, two blades had fallen from the ceiling and onto the curse's back. Angrily, it moved towards her, making its frame stand taller than before. A black liquid spewed from its hands.
While she hadn't any idea of what techniques the curses would wield once in combat, she was ready and willing to take calculated risks to find out.
Quickly, the curse sent a mist of the liquid her way. As the droplets made contact with her skin, it began to swell, but no pain came from it. Only an overbearing sensation of prickling beneath her skin, like a thousand tiny needles.
She had to push past the urge to scratch at her skin. Quickly she made it out of her room and into the extensive corridor. Sprinting to the opposite end and stumbling to open her sister's room. The curse followed behind, leaving a trail of black goo and dissolving the floor beneath it.
She needed to take more damage; merely causing some skin irritation would not suffice. She left herself purposely vulnerable. Allowing the curse to grab ahold of her and pummel its fist into her.
Asami made no efforts to fight it off, not yet.
The curse threw her across the room, slamming her head onto the wall. True fear arose within her; she hadn't been prepared for that. Her vision blurred slightly, and her lungs were set ablaze.
Blinking away her double vision, she pushed herself onto her feet. She needed to drag this out longer before she could finish it off. Just as if the world had heard her thoughts, the curse's movements slowed. The poison from her blade earlier was finally circulating throughout its system.
Even more conveniently, she felt the presence of a different curse nearby.
Unsure which way he would emerge from, she stood her ground in the center of the room. Continuing to attack the curse in front of her, it only did enough damage to slow its movements. And letting it land some blows on her and even allowing for another cloud of black mist.
She let out a cry, trying to make it sound as real as possible.
A fraction of a second later, Choso stood at the end of the room. A sliver of restrained fury circled him, his eyes showing a predatory focus on her. The being that had driven her to this very moment had now walked into her trap.
Spheres of blood surrounded him. The energy around him hummed viciously. He started attacking the curse, avoiding any moves that put her in danger.
Suddenly she threw the stone she'd had inside her mouth out the gaping hole that'd been left during her last encounter with a curse there. The blue curse took its attention away from Choso and flung itself out of the hole. Asami followed close behind, as did Choso.
The feeling of success overtook her emotions. Her plan had worked. Both curses fell into the hole behind the ground. While she lay only inches away from it.
She sent her dagger flying down and stabbing the blue curse, imbuing a lethal amount of poison into its system. Leaving only Choso alive. She sealed the hole from above ground, embedding her energy into the intricate ruins she'd placed there. Then she made her way inside the house and down to the basement with flickering fluorescent lights barely illuminating the space.
Where she would find Choso surrounded by a glass cage embedded with relics to nullify his cursed energy. A bright spotlight cut through the darkness around the room, accentuating his presence and hiding hers behind the high contrast.
The cage was empty save for an aspen wooden chair in the center. And of course, the two curses who fell in. Choso had already made himself comfortable on the chair, looking uninterested, as usual.
She had thought of trapping him countless times. Yet she never considered what she would do once he was there, at her mercy. She wanted so desperately to get answers from him, but she also felt the need to not spare him another precious second.
He'd done nothing to deserve another day of life when he so easily ended her sisters. Yet the itching sensation to get answers from him pushed forward.
"So, what's your plan, little dove? Or had you not thought that far ahead?" He cooed.
Choso's voice cut through her thoughts; she brought her attention to him. "I've had this planned far longer than you know. You're in no position to question me when you're locked behind a trap." She lied; he was right—she hadn't thought that far ahead. She would have to think quickly before he truly caught on. "Now you're going to give me answers."
"I don't think I will; I don't have much to lose anymore. And I don't feel like answering any of your questions." His words challenged her authority. He leaned back on the chair's sturdy frame, legs spread, and his arms hung behind the chair. The baggy fabrics of his clothes had been slightly torn at his arms, showing his toned arms.
Seeing him like that made her feel—it didn't matter what she felt. She shook the thought from her head and continued. "It wasn't a question; you are going to give me answers willingly, or I'll force them out of you."
"Looks like you're not really in control, are you? You may have me locked away, but now I have no reason to comply." A wicked grin tugged at his features; he had a plan.
"You may not be able to hurt anyone anymore, but you'll repent for the damage you've already caused. I am not afraid to commit heinous crimes to make you pay." She wasn't entirely lying, but most of what she said was to get a rise out of him.
"Nothing out in the world is of any value to me, so by all means burn the world to the ground if you'd like. I won't tell little dove." His voice was low and borderline seductive.
"Mmm, and how about that innocent little brother of yours? Yuji, was it? He's a student at Jujutsu High, is he not?"
His body stiffened, and invisible flames of rage emitted around his body. He met her eyes, shattering her confidence. Had she gone too far too soon?
He had gotten up and was pressed against the glass wall, bashing his fist against it and shouting at the top of his lungs. "You will not go near my little brother. I will rain hell on you before you can look his way." His voice cut deep into her soul.
She'd yet to see him lose his composure like this; he'd always had a calm and unbothered demeanor. His protectiveness over Yuji was beautiful. It sent a wave of anguish crashing into her. She once had that feeling, to protect even if it meant your life.
She'd also know how tragic it felt knowing they could die and you can't do anything to stop it. He had given her that experience. Now he stood there in a similar position.
"Funny you say that when you murdered my little sister and hung her body, leaving it to rot miles away from me." He had no room to be angry because he ended her life, all while she was making empty threats.
He didn't say anything, but his red feelings turned a shade of crystal blue. "Leave Yuji alone, and I'll answer as many questions as you want." His gaze met hers, looking at her through his lashes, showing a raw display of sudden despair and vulnerability.
Asami felt some remorse in the depths of her soul; as much as she wanted to show him some mercy, she couldn't. She reminded herself of what a monster he was. She would never become like him, even if he didn't necessarily know that.
She dragged a lone chair closer to his glass prison, letting the grating noise of the chair legs fill the space. She placed herself on the chair and met his gaze once more. Sitting back and placing one leg over the other. She motioned towards his chair, inviting him to take a seat as well.
He didn't move immediately, but he held her gaze, challenging her command. Everything he did both confused and intrigued her. Why was he still trying to assert authority over her?
"Fine stand if you want; that's not going to change the answers you're going to give me." If letting him stand made him easier to pry answers out of, then she wouldn't stop him. "So that night on the cliff, why did you save me? Why not just let me die or kill me?"
He hesitated, contemplating the next words to leave his mouth. "I already told you, I didn't want you to die in such a human way; it'd be wasted potential."
"What about the change of clothes and being taken back to your cabin?" Her voice tinged with confusion.
His body had now slightly turned towards hers, eyes cold and calculating. "After you fell in, I brought your body back to the cliff," he explained, his tone cold. "I made sure you were still breathing, and I left you there. How you got into my cabin and changed your clothing is unknown to me as well."
Her eyes narrowed, trying to piece the puzzle silently in her mind. "But you had left a note on a door. If you hadn't brought me back, then how'd you leave the note?"
A smirk played with his features as he replied. "You were left in my home; I had seen you laying there and decided to play along to your little game. Nowhere in that note had I said I'd brought you into my home. I may not want you dead just yet, but I certainly don't care for you enough to show you such hospitality."
The pieces began to fall into place, but there were still gaps in the story. The sensation of cold water submerged her, the panic as she struggled to the surface at first, and then the darkness that followed as she gave up. She shivered at the memory, sending a chill down her spine.
He spoke again nonchalantly. "Whoever it was, they had their reasons, just as I have mine."
She flared around the dimly lit basement, the flickering lights casting eerie shadows on the floor. The sense of curiosity grew stronger. "And what are your reasons?" She probed, needing to understand the man who had once held her fate in his hands.
His eyes locked onto hers, a dangerous glint in them. "My reasons are my own, and they're not something I'm willing to share with you just yet, little dove."
She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came. The weight of the suspense, the sinister feeling behind the uncertainty of that night, left her speechless. The silence between them grew thick and suffocating.
Her thoughts raced, and more questions piled up—the uncertainty of what lay ahead gnawing at her. Every instinct told her to push for more, to demand the truth, but she sat unable to find her voice. The suspense hanging heavy in the air. She knew this was only the beginning, and all the secrets he had been hiding would soon untangle, drawing her deeper into a web of intrigue.
Without another word, she turned and walked away. She needed time to process this new information.