She sat in the same work area she'd been in the night before. The dining room, ready to write down the interaction once more. She was pushing past the awkwardness of writing down the tone of the conversation.
Although she was embarrassed about how that conversation escalated so quickly, she was intrigued. He seemed to be tense when she followed suit in his actions.
It could have been a one-time thing, unaware that she would respond as she did. Or it could be something more intricate.
Mere seconds before it all, she was filled with anger and anguish. He'd brought up Natsuki and turned the tables back on her.
When she gave in to his commands to ask a question, his demeanor changed. His voice turned to silk; it filled her ears and made her flush. She knew it was wrong to feel that way. That could have been his plan all along.
To catch her off guard, seduce her, and let him escape. But that wouldn't make sense; he didn't seem too worried about leaving his confinement. Quite the opposite, really; he seemed to be having fun.
He'd mocked her talents, disregarding her months of work and saying she didn't try hard enough. Though he was right, she didn't enjoy the fact that he became aware of it.
And that god-awful nickname he'd recently given her, little dove. What could that even mean?
His answers remained brief and unhelpful; he just had a feeling she was doing something she wasn't supposed to. What feeling could he possibly have? She didn't even want to get started on figuring out how their travel schedules could have possibly aligned.
He was so irritating to talk to. Everything he said only opened the door to more questions.
She also didn't completely believe his excuse for not trying to avoid the trap. He was smart and fast; he could have avoided it easily if he'd been paying attention.
She felt frustrated about how the conversation went down. It didn't make sense to her. He didn't make sense to her.
She needed to clear her mind; too many emotions were flooding her.
Heading towards the front door, she carved a ruin on the door, embedding her cursed energy into it and placing a small barrier around any entrance to the house.
She walked out, heading towards a place where she knew she could find some peace and quiet.
—
She'd been walking for half an hour before she got to her destination.
Near her home, there was a lone bench. Beautiful cherry blossom trees surrounded it, though they were bare this time of the year. She made her way around to the front of the bench and sat down.
Before her was a small pond, currently frozen. But it's still crystal clear. Fields of wildflowers surrounded the area for miles. The winter's snow covered them.
The place looked dull, but it was the opposite for her. Natsuki and her came here often when they were younger. Sneaking away from home to play in the pond and make bouquets from the colorful wildflowers.
They stopped coming after Asami joined Jujutsu High. She was too busy to visit home very often. Oddly enough, she enjoyed knowing this place had never been tainted by the new persona she'd picked up after joining. The last of her childhood innocence colored this scene.
Years had passed, but it all looked the same. Unlike her home, this place seemed very well kept; no signs of time touched this place.
It was just what she needed—a sense of nostalgia—to remind her of who she was doing this for. All her frustrations and anger melted off of her.
Her thoughts becoming clearer, she stayed there, quietly observing the area for what felt like a lifetime. Letting her thoughts escape her mind and feeling only the wind around her.
Her feelings constantly got in the way of her logical thinking. But she knew she needed to control it before it controlled her. Although it didn't quite seem like it, she'd gotten better at controlling them.
She wanted to stay there forever, living in ignorant bliss. Letting the curse in her home die a slow and painful death by starvation.
But she couldn't; if she lingered here much longer, she feared she'd curse the place.
She got up to walk away but noticed some movement in the corner of her eye. She brushed it off as a trick of the light. But she felt something ominous.
Trusting her gut, she approached the area of the movement. She felt the intensity of something grow with every step she took. Everything was silent, save for the crunching of snow beneath her feet.
Before she knew it, she was inches away from a bush. She knew whatever was there would be hiding between those leaves.
As her hands approached the branches, ready to reveal what was hiding beneath them, She felt her ankle being grabbed and pulled. Throwing her on the floor.
A curse emerged from the bush and began attacking her, leaving her no time to react. Quickly, she got on her feet and tried placing distance between the two but failed.
Her close-range attacks were weak; she trained vigorously to make her daggers an extension of her body. But she could never perfect using them with her strength.
She summoned two, one on either hand. The blades were fiercely sharp.
She hooked both blades onto the curse before dragging them down and slicing its abdomen open. Her effort was to no avail, as it regenerated instantly.
The curse with crimson-red skin grabbed her neck, choking her with immense force. While punching her face with its spare hand.
Blood seeped from her wounds, and it made her vision blurry. She tried moving the arm around her throat. She projected her cursed energy into her hand, wrapped around its wrist. Focusing completely on the set path. She felt it exiting her body.
The curse's wrist turned black and was severed. All that remained on her throat was the hand. She expelled a poison from her hand, and at such a high concentration, it instantly decayed the flesh of the curse.
Coating her blades with poison was easier; she created the blades from her cursed energy, and the poison naturally flowed within her. Focusing slightly more energy on blades to coat them with poison was simple.
Letting that poison escape her body at will was harder to do; she'd only done it once before in training.
Asami took a deep breath, fueling her lungs with air, before getting up and making her next move toward the curse in front of her.
"You are stronger than I was informed." The curse spoke, leaving her shocked.
She knew curses could be conscious; she'd encountered several that could talk. But this one seemed simple-minded.
"Informed by who?" She was curious but cautious, still intending to make an offensive move.
"My master said you would give me trouble, but she never mentioned a poison technique." It seemed to be thinking out loud more than talking to her.
She wanted to know more, but she was tired of being confused by curses. She had summoned two blades earlier that were now behind the curse.
Both were flaming red, ready to pierce effortlessly through the skin. She sent them flying into the back of its neck. Before she lunged at it, taking their bodies onto the floor again. Only now did she have the upper hand. She took a dagger out of its neck and stabbed it repeatedly in the chest.
The sound of flesh being pierced and bones being crushed filled her ears. Purple blood spewed everywhere, getting on her clothes and face. Dying the snow beneath them.
The curse started to disintegrate, yet she never stopped pummeling her blade into its body. Not until there was nothing before her. She took an odd liking to the repeated stabbing of the curse.
She picked herself up, letting the blade hit the ground.
This place had been the last of her innocent youth; now it was tainted with her new dark life. Nothing from her past remained pure. Her innocence was completely gone.
She made her way back to the house, ignoring the terrified stares from the people she passed. Simply walking with determination and confidence.
Once she arrived, she undid the protective barrier and entered. Heading directly upstairs.
She entered the bathroom and turned on the water. Turning it to the hottest setting, she let the steam build around the room before stripping herself quickly. Letting the steam hug her body and keep her warm.
She got in and felt how the water scorched her skin and burned her bruises. Letting the pain overcome all her senses, she fell to her knees. She wanted to feel pain; she needed to, and it reminded her she was alive.
It felt like her soul had been torn from her chest at the thought of her past being only a memory now. She was aware this new life would cost the old one. Everything had been torn away from her so she could move forward.
She finished her shower and tended to her wounds. Before heading back down to the basement. She cleaned everything the best she could, but ultimately couldn't hide the bruise marks on her neck or the gashes on her face.
As she reached the bottom of the steps, she inhaled, trying to hide her emotions behind a brick wall. Even if her injuries proved her weakness, she couldn't embrace it in her features.
She stepped forward, letting the same eerie lights as always illuminate her. But Choso was already at the edge of the glass, looking worried and irritated. There was no denying the look on his face.
He demanded answers before she could finish making her way over to the glass box. "What the fuck happened to you? I felt it earlier; you were in danger. So don't fucking lie. You may think you have so much power over me, and I have no space to interrogate you, but I have a damn good reason for keeping you alive. You constantly putting yourself in danger was not a problem before, but thanks to you, I can't get out of this thing. There are so many protective layers that it's impossible to escape. So if you're going to risk your life without my ability to help, you'd better answer my question." His voice was loud and rough, almost frantic, nothing like the way he normally talks.
She said nothing; she only looked at him, confused about how to feel about his speech. She hadn't even really processed everything herself. She didn't even know why she came down here; she didn't have any questions in mind. It just felt right.
"Asami, how long are you going to stare at me? I asked you a question."
Asami
"It was a curse; I knew it was there; I knew it was strong, yet it still caught me off guard. I'm not sure how. It just started choking me and hitting my face. And I let it; for a brief moment, I didn't fight back. Before coming to my senses and killing it, I couldn't stop; it felt too good to dig my blade into it. The feeling rushed over me and consumed me entirely. I would have stayed there longer if its body hadn't disintegrated." Her words were rapid and slurred; they spilled out of her mouth without much hesitation. She didn't owe him an explanation, yet she felt the need to tell him this.
"You're an intelligent sorcerer; stop letting your guard down in hopes of finding something that isn't there. She's not coming back, Asami; Natsuki is dead; she's not a curse; and she cannot reincarnate. You will never find her here again."
How did he know this?
"Why do you seem to know so much about her and about me?" Her heart was racing, and fear crept up her spine. How much did he know? How did he get this information?
"It's something I'd need to show you. It's more complicated than an explanation can give." His voice was very matter-of-fact and had no sense of persuasion behind it. He was telling the truth.
"What are you suggesting?" She displayed a confused look and asked, both confused and curious.
His body language was tense, and he was unsure of how she would react. "Let me out, and I'll show you the whole truth. You need to know if you insist on making such rash decisions."
She let out a chuckle. "Let you out so you can escape. Nice try. I'm not naive."
He persisted. "I'm not going to run away; you can bring me right back here after we're done if you still feel the same way." Again, his tone was affirmative; there were no lies hiding behind it.
She hesitated. "I can't take your word for it; you have no reason to honor any of my wishes, and neither do I."
"I'll make a pact with you; I'll do whatever you want, but it's time you know the story." His tone was now slightly desperate.
"And what would this pact entail?"
"I will come back to this prison if you so choose after showing you what I must. I swear it on my life."
"Fine, I'll do it. But you must make the pact, and you cannot try to attack me when I go in there with you. I'll kill you where you stand."
"I won't." His tone was stern, and his look was cold.
She pressed her hand against the glass, murmuring something under her breath. The layers of protection fell. She opened the door and stepped in. Hesitant but cautious, he was prepared to end his life in an instant if needed.
She walked up to him, reaching out her hand. He took it almost instantly. She had no worry that this would backfire on her. She began whispering something. A vine began to wrap around her wrist. She stopped whispering and looked up at him. He followed in her steps and whispered something before a vine also wrapped around his wrist.
They shared a glance briefly, wary of what would happen next. If they both didn't have the same intentions, the vine would not connect, and their lives would both end instantly.
Thorns pricked where their hands met, the vine intertwined, and their blood flowed together into one, sealing the pact.
"I'll follow you." He said it slightly higher than a whisper.
She stepped out of the cage, and he followed her all the way outside the house.