Notes:
I warn you at once that this is going to be a long chapter. I hope you enjoy it because I know that some of you may be shocked by what you are about to read.
Anyway, I won't take up any more of your time, enjoy the reading ❤️
Chapter 20. Binding Vows and The Truth About Utahime Sensei
Continued.
"Well, now that Yoshio is gone. We can start with our more mature talk" commented Satoru looking at his guest – "I can tell you have too many things to ask us, don't you Yuta? Who of the three of us will be your first victim in this interrogation?"
"Even I don't know where to start" Yuta commented, looking at the four of them, "I have so many things I want to ask"
"Okkotsu, there are many things we must tell you, but there is also much for which we must apologize" Shoko commented, remaining very serene.
Yuta let out a sigh at those words as he looked intently at those who were sitting next to him.
Katsumoto looked down when he heard that. He looked full of sorrow and anguish.
"Okkotsu" said Ijichi, being the first to speak as he stood up. –"I, Kiyotaka Ijichi, as the leader of the assistant directors of both the headquarters and the sorcery academy, and on behalf of your assistant Yoshida Katsumoto, would like to start this conversation by apologizing to you" he said, bowing deeply. -"I am sorry that you discovered the whole truth in such an unexpected way... I was the one who provided all the information to Yoshida so that you could discover the truth about your children and, by the way, so that you could find Maki"
Katsumoto, all trembling and with tears in his eyes, also stood up and bowed in apology.
"I beg you, my lord, to have mercy on me and forgive me for not revealing all this to you sooner. But, above all, I implore you to have pity on me for having disobeyed your initial order after that mission in the mall" he said with a broken voice- "I know you ordered me not to investigate anything about those children, but that strange encounter with them, added to their huge physical similarity with you, I know that my disobedience deserves a punishment, but I beg you to consider the extraordinary circumstances that led me to act in this way"
Yuta took a deep breath. Yuki's words about not trusting the headquarters staff kept rolling around in his head. Still he wanted to hear the whole truth from those four.
His finger tapped the table.
"Then why didn't you tell me before I visited that tomb? But, more importantly!" he raised his voice, "I want to know why they decided to take me out of the country and did not keep me informed about everything that was happening here during these seven years, why the hell did they deny me all this information?" answered Yuta with a voice full of pure annoyance towards all those present.
There was a moment of silence in the face of such questions.
Ijichi took a breath before answering that. –"Wel… I know that saying 'I'm sorry' won't solve anything Okkotsu kun"- he adjusted his glasses- "But there were some situations seven years ago that prevented us from telling you the truth at the time" he looked at that sorcerer with fear " If only we had prevented you and Maki from separating... none of this would have happened... maybe everything would have been so different."
Both he and Katsumoto took their seats again.
"Then Ijichi, did you know that Satoru separated me from Maki?" he looked with pure fury at those two. Yuta's blood was really running strong all over him.
The leader of the assistants looked down.
"All of us here were aware of what had happened…"
Yuta was furious, he made fists with his hands, which were resting hard on the wooden table. It seemed that he would break that piece of furniture in a fit of rage.
Satoru grunted and to warn his guest not to get upset.
"I already told you why we couldn't tell you at the time Okkotsu"
"No! You just said it had something to do with a stupid binding vow! So basically you haven't explained anything else!" he looked with pure annoyance at his former teacher.
"Not all binding vow are stupid Yuta and you of all people should know that" Satoru commented too seriously.
Those two looked at each other murderously, so Shoko decided to intervene.
She called the attention of those two by clapping her hands so they would turn to look at her. –"Let's go point by point, okay?" - she looked at both of them seriously – "So let's start from the beginning and for that, Satoru" - she looked at her friend – "better let me explain it, you are not good at teaching and much less good at explaining what happened" - she commented, gently moving her cup of tea.
Gojo grunted again at that comment. "OK. This time I'll let you explain this whole first thing"
"Okkotsu took a snack from this plate please and then eat it" she pointed to the plate containing some sashimi in front of her.
That order was quite strange to Yuta, but even so, he did as the doctor asked, taking a piece of sashimi with chopsticks.
"Well, now Okkotsu tell me what is a binding vow?" she asked with her gaze fixed on him.
Yuta took a breath.
"A binding vow is a pact made by a sorcerer. It consists of giving something in return to receive something else" he explained before eating the food.
"Right. And just as you just ate that piece of sashimi that will give you energy, the binding votes will give you something in return" Shoko explained, "Now, tell me, how many types of binding votes are there?"
Yuta found that question strange, that was something basic in the world of sorcery that every individual should know.
"Well, there are two types of binding vows. The first one is the one you make with yourself and the second one is the one that..." he kept silent all of a sudden. At that moment he understood what both Shoko and Satoru wanted him to understand.
"It is that vow that is made with another person in exchange for getting something" answered the Albino looking at his student. "As I said Okkotsu, I had to do some things to protect all of you"
"But..." Yuta hesitated slightly on the subject, remembering that the consequences of breaking a vow with another person can bring with it a calamity worse than death.
"What was that binding vow? Is it something you can reveal to me without punishment or penalty?" he asked seriously. Noticing how serious the others were on the subject.
Satoru let out a somewhat scandalous laugh when he saw the serious faces of his friends.
"Stop making those scared faces!" he snorted, "That vow was apparently already broken by someone else several years ago!" he took a traditional candy that was served on a large plate on that table, "I wonder what divine punishment will have fallen to the idiot who broke the vow we made with those big fishes, because I can swear that I was NOT the one who broke it if that's what you think" he said with too much emotion before that result.
"The previous high commanders were involved in all this? Aren't these vows only for exclusive use to invoke more power?" Yuta questioned coldly.
Satoru began to explain after tasting that sweet.
"In theory, this type of vows are more dangerous than you think. Generally, they are used to increase one's power or enhance some cursed technique, but in the world of sorcery they are not only used to obtain such advantages" he said pointing to Yuta.
"If you know how to use them to your advantage, you can even control certain people or even torture them. The old high commanders were very adept at imposing these types of vows to keep many under their control and ensure that they carried out their orders. However, abusing them also carries its risks"
He continued explaining.
"And yes, most of those scum were also involved in this separation of yours and Maki's" He took one more candy between his fingers. –"But those old geezers didn't count on the fact that a vow of this kind loses its validity when one of the other parties involved breaks the deal, and added to the fact that if the others who made the vow die, it is completely annulled..." He smiled admiring the blue of that candy.
"And curiously all the big fish involved in this, started dying about three years ago, several of them were fished out subtly with an ancient technique that throughout history has been used to kill enemies, I would say that they used a technique that even the high commanders came to use from time to time to kill people who no longer served them" he said with great joy while eating that candy. Savoring it in his mouth and tearing it apart with his teeth.
"Subtly? What do you mean by that?" Yuta questioned as he noticed how Satoru said that.
"Okkotsu"-again Shoko named him, causing him to turn to look at her.
"There are many ways to kill a sorcerer, but there are two in particular that even a sorcerer with the reverse curse technique can neither cure himself nor cure others" She raise a finger, "The first is decapitation and the second is..." She raise two fingers to give the guest the answer.
"It's..."
Satoru clapped his hands, "Let me help you! I'll give you a hint to show you that I'm not such a bad teacher!" he said with a big smile.
"Okkotsu, what's the one substance that the reverse curse technique can't cure completely if you have a large amount of it in your body?"
Yuta was shocked with the answer that had come to his mind
"Poison..." he answered with surprise.
"Bingo!" Satoru said pointing with joy to his guest –"Some time later it was discovered that the first two high commanders with whom we made that binding vow died poisoned"
He moved both hands from one side to the other –"Who was responsible?" he shrugged his shoulders and his arms were raised a little.
"We don't know yet and we don't even care to know, but we should thank whoever did it for starting to eliminate that scum, just as we should thank the one who broke the binding vow because only then did the other big shots die one by one quickly, thus speeding up the dissolution of this deal" he sighed with relief and leaned back in his chair.
Although the albino had his suspicions about who had poisoned those high commanders.
Then, Satoru raised his voice.
"Well, almost all the scum were eliminated because there's still Director Gakuganji, who surprisingly has always been on our side" he grimaced as he continued speaking, "However, there's also old Naobito Zenin. Who did not make such a vow, but has kept himself in line since seven years ago with certain issues"- he pursed his lips a little- "I guess that old drunkard must know something too" he twiddled his fingers- "Well they say The devil knows more because he's old than because he's the devil"
"But!" Yuta interrupted because he didn't fully understand, "Why would the bigs fishs also get involved in this business of separating me from Maki? I don't understand..." he commented with frustration and confusion.
The air escaped Satoru's lungs in annoyance.
"Those old geezers were convinced by someone else that the relationship of the two of you was a potential threat" he played a little with the chopsticks he held between his fingers.
"Are you telling me that someone else intervened to separate us?" Yuta questioned with confusion and more anger in his voice.
"Correct answer! That person managed to convince both the bigwigs and other sorcerers of the three clans that your relationship with Maki was just a threat," Satoru commented, stuffing some sashimi into his mouth.
"And who the hell was that person?" asked Yuta very furious.
Satoru simply shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know..." He lied a little. –"Maybe that's up to you to find out... Although" he took between his chopsticks one more piece of meat. "I have a feeling that that someone must already be paying his Karma in the least expected way..."
"But why would anyone see my relationship with Maki as a threat?" Yuta questioned in confusion.
"I see it this way Okkotsu!" he said with his mouth full and pointed his chopsticks at him.
He noisily swallowed that piece of sashimi "You, a special class sorcerer and incidentally a distant relative of this clan with great power and Maki, a Zenin of the direct line, clearly the fear of you two joining together was latent for both that person and the big shots since you two were not going to be easily controlled"
Then he took some sweets from the table, separating several of them, exemplifying what he was saying "that was why, in part, the bigs fishes also agreed to separate the two of you" he took a white candy separating it from a green one.
Yuta wrinkled his nose in annoyance at everything he was hearing.
"Simply put, someone wanted you two out of the game" he ate that white candy.
"And you could not intervene because of that vow?"
"That's right!, and that was because several members of the three clans had been forced to make such a binding vote, under threat of not being able to reveal at the time any of the decisions they had made. Nor could we interfere in the plans or actions of the others involved since we would be violating the said vow" Satoru lowered his shoulders.
"Our hands were practically tied. Besides, at that time the relationship between the three clans was a total disaster; we were in a constant war, using dirty tricks to eliminate each other and show who was superior. That vow was actually to prevent us from interfering in each other's actions!" he twisted his mouth in displeasure- "I must admit that that had been a very unfair way of keeping us in line" he devoured another three chocolates.
After eating the candy, he continued to explain.
"And well, three years after you left the country, we finally achieved an amicable relationship with the Kamo clan. This came about when Utahime's former student, that boy named Noritoshi took over the leadership of his clan after the death of his father. But with the Zenin clan..."He made a sound of distaste. "That story didn't end well at all, and even less so when Naoya took over the leadership around the same time. Also, some Zenin seemed to be obsessed with you and Maki splitting up, as your relationship jeopardized his hierarchical and political status within the clan" he pointed at Yuta again with the chopsticks.
"Why would we jeopardize they hierarchy within the clan?" Yuta asked with confusion.
"Imagine if at that time you had married Maki, that in one way or another would have made us related to them, a little distant but somehow we would be related" he waved his hands- "And who knows, maybe even you would have had the opportunity to be considered the leader of that clan, in case Naobito had not yet designated a successor at that time, since they always choose as leader the person who possesses the best cursed technique."
Satoru brought his hand to his chin, he seemed to have come to a conclusion –"Although I suspect that old drunk at that time had already chosen who he wanted for his successor" the image of Megumi came to his mind.
"But I have a feeling that that idiot Naoya did something to make them put him and not someone else in charge of the clan, besides, with a dead Maki there would be nothing and no one to stop him!" He crossed his fingers – "but that doesn't matter anymore. What is important here is that you know that since that time, I already had other plans for you and that's why I thought of sending you abroad and bringing you back when you were ready"
Yuta seemed frustrated with what was being explained to him.
"And that's why you helped to separate me and Maki?"
"I repeat, I did not separate you two!"—Satoru placed his hands on the table again.. "My plan was simply to send you both abroad together, so you two lovebirds could have lived comfortably for seven years traveling on your eternal honeymoon, but that day, as I said, someone else intervened and made the two of you separate"
"But you could have intervened, don't you think? You could have simply protected Maki while I returned!" Yuta claimed.
"Okkotsu, I told you, I couldn't intervene because breaking such a promise is very dangerous. "I'm not naive enough to risk all of you like that."
"So what you are trying to tell me is that the person who intervened that day to separate me from Maki belongs to the Zenin clan?"
Satoru clapped his hands together, "Bravo! I thought you'd never come up with the right answer!" he smiled, "That's right, someone from that clan conspired and did all this to take you away from your beloved Maki. So now it's up to you to find out who it was"
Yuta let out the air in frustration as he continued to listen to everything else his master had to say. Not only did he have to catch a murderer, but he would also have to find out who separated him from the love of his life.
"And since we are talking about that day seven years ago" he moved his teacup, "I must confess that on that day I simply decided to put you two to the test, I wanted to see if it was really something more than a simple teenage romance" Satoru leaned back in his chair, "but I see I was wrong, even you two were immature enough"
Yuta only twisted his mouth at such an answer.
Satoru continued speaking, "So I just moved my cards my way. And so that they wouldn't try to kill you because you were my trump card, the best I could do was to drag you abroad" he sighed, "But I never thought that all this would take an unexpected turn with the two of you ending up having children so soon. Didn't you know about abstinence or contraceptives or condoms?" he said with irony.
"Satoru, you haven't bitten your tongue?"asked Shoko with some intrigue and hinting that he too had had a child in an unplanned way.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Shoko" Gojo scoffed.
"I think that if you know perfectly well what I'm talking about..."
Shoko stared her friend in the eyes for all that he said. She knew that he was not going to accept or even talk about that "other" main reason why he had also decided not to intervene in the separation of Yuta and Maki, which was the envy he once had for that young couple.
Satoru clapped his hands and, without further ado, ignored his friend, he snapped his fingers.
"Well, to sum it all up; The previous bigs fishs were persuaded by someone else to separate the two of you. This person, along with other allies, acted from the shadows to distance you from Maki, as they saw your relationship as a threat that put their political interests at risk" he pointed to himself- "And I, your charming sensei, could not intervene, as our binding vow stipulated that whoever interfered in the other's plan or revealed this information would receive a punishment worse than death. And I was not going to risk any of you with such a cruel punishment"
"I think you could have explained it that way from the beginning, you know?" Shoko said, looking at her friend.
"I just got carried away, I wanted to give the whole thing more drama!" Gojo replied with a big smile.
Yuta sighed in frustration. "Even so, you could have given me clues…"
"I'm not good at giving clues and even less when things get too complicated. Besides, as I said, I couldn't break that vow because I had someone important to protect besides you and all your friends" said Satoru giving a quick glance towards the garden, seeing how Yoshio was running in that place, playing with those servants.
Yuta also looked at that scene.
"So if you didn't tell me anything for seven years, it was because if you broke that vow, was your fear that calamity would befall Yoshio?"
"Something like that…" -Satoru sighed-" Although actually when I made that vow, Utahime and I had not yet conceived Yoshio. So practically in the beginning I didn't want anything to happen to her or to any of you, although unfortunately tragedy came to us in the least expected way..." he scratched the back of his neck "I guess that was a Karma that was sent especially to me for not having prevented your separation with Maki" he said that with a touch of regret in his voice.
Shoko sighed when she heard her friend's name and took the floor.
"Practically after your departure from the country and the accident that Utahime had, let's say that things were not very pleasant for everyone at the academy and we had to make a series of decisions for the good of everyone but they were not easy at all" she commented looking at Yoshio playing several meters away from them.
Satoru growled.
"Don't even remind me, that letting all your friends go and incidentally not keeping track of them was a pretty tough decisión"
At that moment, a question crossed Okkotsu's mind as he watched Yoshio run through the garden. He quickly remembered something else Mai had told him in her letter that had to do with her teacher. That's where he was going to start asking.
"By the way, speaking of Utahime sensei, why isn't she here with us? I haven't seen her since I arrived either..."
Shoko now took the floor.
"Unfortunately, Utahime could not join us at this time due to her medical condition..." She took a breath before continuing to explain.
"For several years now, Utahime has been dealing with chronic migraines that, at times, completely incapacitate her. These episodes are sometimes so intense that they force her to resort to being medicated with strong sedatives and on her worst days, these headaches become so severe that they even make her lose consciousness" She sigh in pain- "It is heartbreaking to see her like this and unfortunately all this started because of an incident that happened seven years ago..."- answered the doctor with a raspy voice due to the lump in her throat.
Yuta was puzzled by that answer.
"May I ask…" he moistened his lips, "What happened to her seven years ago?"
he questioned and then observed how everyone there was pained by that question.
"It was too devastating an event for us…" Ijichi replied, "She ..." his jaw tightened.
Instead, Satoru just made his gaze to the side watching his son run. His hands made fists on the table at such a memory.
Then the leader looked at Shoko. "You'd better tell him. You are her doctor"
"But you are her husband and the father of her child" Shoko commented seriously.
"But you're her best friend and the truth is, I'd rather you tell her. You explain better than me, don't you" commented Satoru with irony.
Ieiri let out the air with too much annoyance at her friend's reply. Then, she looked at the guest sorcerer.
"Okay" the doctor took a long sip of her tea to gather her courage and remember the event that marked her.
"Okkotsu, it happens that seven years ago, at the end of May..." she paused, pursed her lips a little, took one more breath because just remembering it made her heart ache too much.
Yuta could feel it. Shoko was really hurt by that memory.
The doctor cleared her throat and drank some tea to get rid of the knot that was choking her. –"It was at the end of May, when Utahime had a mission to the south of Kyoto... I remember it very well since in those days I was with her in that city, as well as we were starting to organize and prepare everything for the arrival of your Twins"
A soft smile appeared on her lips. It seemed that a pleasant memory crossed her mind. –"Yes, Utahime was the one who helped Maki the most in her first months of pregnancy, taking her under her charge protecting her in Kyoto city"- she looked at Yuta- "And yes Utahime took great care of Maki, as she reminded her to take her vitamins and eat healthy, as well as giving her jobs that were not heavy at all, but made Maki get bored easily"
Satoru was in a bad mood when he heard all that. A noise of utter disapproval came out of his throat when he heard those words from his friend.
"I will continue to say that that was not the right way to take away ONE OF MY STUDENTS... what she did was the abduction of a person!" whispered the albino. He seemed quite indignant.
"But if Maki didn't come to you for help in the first place, it was for a reason, don't you think? Or do you think she would go to the man who separated her from her boyfriend and father of her children and did nothing for them for seven years?" Shoko asked with too much irony.
Satoru again grunted at that answer.
Yuta at that instant could see that it was true what Mai had told him in her letter about Maki leaving with Utahime and that had upset Satoru, who seemed to still resent that decision, as he only slightly twisted his lips, which then lowered. It seemed that he had remembered something rather sad.
"I must admit that those were days full of happiness for the four of us..." to Shoko's mind also came the image of Mai –"I remember it quite well because even Utahime gave the first onesies to your children, I remember they were in white color because we didn't know yet what those babies would be" the corner of her lips was lowering and her voice was filled with melancholy.
Yuta continued to look at her intently, watching her eyes water.
"But everything changed because of that damn mission…" said Shoko with a lump in her throat "If Utahime had never agreed to go, none of this would have happened…It was supposed to be a simple supervision, a routine mission together with the second year students... but it wasn't like that, something else happened in that mission... I even still remember what we said to each other before saying goodbye"
Yuta didn't dare to ask, so he kept quiet and listened to everything the doctor kept talking about.
"I should have done everything I could to stop her..."
Flashback
Seven years ago.
May 29, 2020
"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you? Utahime sensei" Maki asked with her arms crossed, "Because I can be of great help to you!"
Utahime quickly shook her head. "AND RISK YOU AND THESE BABIES!" she commented, putting her hand on that little bulging belly that was barely protruding under the baggy summer clothes Maki was wearing, "No! You three are staying here!" she scolded.
"But I can still be of help. I can still fight!" Maki commented with a grimace.
"But at this moment and until these little ones are born, you are under my care and under my orders, so I will not risk taking you" commented Utahime behaving like a mother, "Besides, I promise I will be back soon. It's a simple mission and once I'm back, I promise that we will prepare everything for the arrival of these two!" A big smile was drawn on her lips- "I'm really excited about buying the crib and putting it in the room where you are sleeping. Especially, because since you moved in, the house feels more cheerful"
Maki sighed and her face softened into a smile. –"Okay, whatever Grandma Utahime says!" she patted her belly.
"Hey!, I'm not too old to be called a grandmother, not yet!" the teacher commented with a slight pout.
That made them both giggle a little, until Utahime noticed the time on the clock on her desk.
"Maki. Can you tell the students to get in the car? please"
"Okay, but you still have time to take me!" said Maki leaving the office with her hands on her hips.
During the time Utahime took Maki under her tutelage, she lived in the teacher's apartment. That was a comfortable and somewhat spacious place with a spare room, so Utahime did not abandon Maki and her babies.
She was the most excited for them to be born. And Shoko watched tenderly as those two got along. It seemed that this girl had made Utahime smile again and even brought out her maternal side.
"I say you abandon this mission and stay. You could pass it on to Tanabe so he can go with those sophomore guys" suggested Shoko, who saw that sweet scene between those two.
"You know I can't leave it to just anyone" commented Utahime, looking at her best friend, as she finished arranging her paperwork.
"If that's the case, why don't you just give it to that idiot Satoru" the doctor shrugged, "I heard he's here in Kyoto"
Utahime's face changed to one of complete disagreement.
"I can't leave my missions to that idiot! He doesn't know how to write reports. Besides, as I told him yesterday, I can take care of my decisions and my missions on my own. Above all, I don't want to see him or speak to him for a long time, especially after what he did to those two..."
Shoko raised an eyebrow at that.
"Yesterday you saw that idiot?"
Utahime bit the inside of his cheek a little. "Yesterday we met to talk about Maki and Yuta's situation and why he acted this way. But this is a hopeless case, we took three steps back, Satoru didn't give me details. So now I have to protect Maki no matter what"
"I guess you and he only talked, didn't you?" Shoko questioned as she noticed how her friend's voice changed when talking about him.
"I'm already late!" said Utahime with her face turned to the side, trying to hide her slight blush.
"So you slept together? Was it make-up sex?" asked the doctor, reaching into her robe.
"I'd say it was more rather it was farewell sex…" She sighed a little sadly, "You really can't talk to that idiot. I couldn't convince him to bring Okkotsu back and more that Maki and her children will need him!"
Shoko smiled slightly. "Well then, this is one more reason for you to abandon this mission and we'd better go and drink a little to forget about him and to think of a plan to protect Maki and her babies"
"You know I have to stay sober to take care of those three. Besides, I promised that we would go with Mai to the mall to start buying things for the twins. I also have to take care of all the other students"
"You really sound like you're the mother of those two" commented Shoko with a smile. –"Could it be that you are reflecting your desire to be a mother in them?"
Utahime sighed in disappointment and her hand went to her belly.
"I don't know. I just want to support them as much as possible. They are alone in this world and now that there are two babies on the way, I don't want them to suffer. So we must prepare everything and by the way I have a school to guide, maybe more than being a mother I am a teacher" she looked at her friend as they both left the office.
"Always so responsible" complimented the doctor.
"By the way, you did get what I asked for, didn't you?"
Shoko nodded. "I got the number of a colleague who is an obstetrician-gynecologist. She is the best in her field and the best thing about it is that she works here in Kyoto"
Utahime sighed with relief. "Seriously, thank you very much Shoko, I don't know what I would do without you" she said with a big smile as they approached the exit, where the three sophomores were waiting for her, while Maki was talking a little with them.
Utahime's gaze focused on that green-haired girl. "I really want to take good care of Maki and her children. Especially since they are going to be born in a world where sorcery is taking a course full of suffering, so I want to do everything I can to make sure they live happily"
Shoko smiled at Utahime's words, she knew she was very kind and now she understood more why everyone in that academy loved her.
"That's why everyone loves you. Always being so maternal with the kids that are not yours, I really can't imagine the day when you will have your own baby"- the doctor commented with a soft smile. As she put her hand on her friend's shoulder, who smiled at her and held her hand affectionately.
Utahime sighed at those words.
"I really wonder sometimes if I'll be able to have a child" she seemed discouraged about it.
Even so. The doctor had a strange feeling and that was something strange about her.
"I'll repeat it one more time. Are you sure you want to go? As I said, better give this mission to someone else"
"I've never seen you so worried, why are you so insistent that I don't go?"
Shoko did not want to worry him with her feeling alerting him that something bad might happen.
"Maybe because I already want us to go buy the stuff for those babies and then go get some beers" she lied.
Utahime let out a chuckle.
"I promise I'll be back soon. Like I said it's just a simple mission and once I'm back, we'll go for both. But mostly we'll go have a few beers at our favorite place"
"Then" Shoko patted him on the shoulder some more "come back soon"
Back to the present.
"Unfortunately Utahime after that mission would never be herself again..." said Shoko with too much sadness on her face, her tears started to run down her cheeks.
Yuta swallowed hard. "W-what happened on that misión?" he asked with his heart pounding in his throat.
Mai had told him something very superficial about what she had heard happened on that mission. But he wanted to know in more detail what happened.
The others present kept silent. Ijichi wiped away a few tears as he remembered what had happened. On the other hand, Gojo had a very somber face, he was so serious that he didn't seem to be himself.
Katsumoto sighed. He had only been working with them for a short time, even so, he had heard from Mr. Ijichi something about that case that marked a before and after in that academy.
Shoko wiped away some tears.
"Something attacked Utahime and that group of sophomores very mercilessly..." the words could not come out of her throat. Even Ijichi gave her his hand to give her strength and comfort, but she looked at him with too much sadness.
Yuta could feel it. Whatever had happened had left a horrible scar on all of them.
"Did they find out what attacked Utahime and that group?" Yuta questioned.
At that moment, Ijichi took the floor and began to tell what had happened. -
"We discovered that indeed they had successfully completed the mission they were given, however, when we noticed that they did not return, Satoru, myself and other sorcerers were asked to go and look for Utahime and the students" he sighed and a shiver ran through his spine when he remembered that event, "I still can't get that heartbreaking scene out of my head... since we discovered that that group had been ruthlessly murdered by a traitor from the academy..."
Satoru grunted at the memory of that "BUT NOT MORE RUTHLESS THAN THAT THING THAT ALMOST POSSESSED UTAHIME'S BODY!" he commented tapping his index finger against the table – "IF WE HADN'T ARRIVED IN TIME, UTAHIME WOULD DEFINITELY BE DEAD OR PERHAPS CONTROLLED BY THAT MONSTER!" he took the air with fury from his lungs – "EVEN SO, I REGRET NOT HAVING ARRIVED MUCH EARLIER TO SAVE HER FROM THAT CRIMINAL!"
"Killer? possessed? monster?" Yuta was surprised by what he was hearing.
"What did they really find that day?" he asked in shock.
Gojo bit his lower lip. He hated to talk about that subject. Still he was the one who would tell Okkotsu what happened.
"When we arrived at the scene of the crime, we noticed that Utahime was not among the pile of corpses, so we began to look for her all over the area of that old abandoned village where they had gone" he was furious when he told this story.- "We were against the clock, so we advanced in a hurry until we found her in an old house..." His blood boiled at the memory, his face was quite tense. "There we discovered the traitor and, by the way, we discovered the identity of that disgusting thing that wanted to possess Utahime's body!"
Yuta's eyes widened in surprise at that answer.
Ijichi explained, "We discovered that there was an infiltrator in the academy..." he commented seriously.
"How did they discover that?" asked Yuta, looking astonished at the four of them. He could not believe his ears.
Ijichi nodded his head.
"It turns out that a month after you left Okkotsu, there was a robbery at the academy. Someone stole 3 cursed objects, more specifically 3 cursed wombs related to the paintings of death" He adjusted his glasses again- "We were able to detect this theft thanks to a former student of Utahime named Kokichi Muta, who managed to find it thanks to his puppets. He prevented the thief from advancing beyond Tengen's location, but this time he managed to escape. Even so, the puppets managed to capture his face and with that image we were looking for this man for the following months"
Okkotsu was shocked at all that had happened once he left Japan.
Satoru took the floor again "BUT IN THE END WE MANAGED TO FIND THAT BASTARD!"
His hands were shaking with fury- "AND BEING THERE AT THAT DAMN CRIME SCENE, WE NOTICED THAT THE ONE WHO WAS ABOUT TO OPEN UTAHIME'S FOREHEAD, WAS THE SAME GUY WHO HAD STOLEN THE THREE CURSED UTERUSES POSING AS ONE OF THE ACADEMY'S STAFF!" Satoru was really burning with fury. -I STILL REMEMBER WITH DISGUST THAT SCENE WHERE THAT GUY WITH THE FOREHEAD ADORNED WITH A SURGICAL SCAR ALONG WITH TWO OTHER LOW LEVEL SORCERERS WERE GOING TO "PRACTICE" AN OPERATION ON UTAHIME TO OPEN HIS FOREHEAD ON THAT OLD WOODEN TABLE. I STILL REMEMBER WITH DISGUST HOW I FOUND THEM STICKING THE SCALPEL IN THIS HEIGHT OF HIS FOREHEAD- he pointed to the side of his right temple- "LUCKILY I DIDN'T LET THEM MAKE A DEEPER CUT"
His breathing was agitated and full of fury as he continued to narrate that scene and his hands were nailed to the table, making it thunder a little.
"THEY WERE ABOUT TO COMMIT A GREAT AND INHUMAN CRIME, SO I HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO KILL THEM ALL QUICKLY AND WITHOUT MERCY. THE TWO SORCERERS THAT ACCOMPANIED HIM, I KILLED THEM IN ONE MOVE, BUT I TOOK OUT ALL MY ANGER ON THAT STUPID BRAIN, WHO BEFORE DESTROYING HIM COMPLETELY WITH MY OWN HANDS, REVEALED THAT HIS PLAN WAS TO USE UTAHIME TO DESTROY THE ACADEMY FROM THE INSIDE!" he looked at his hands-"JUST REMEMBERING HOW THAT GRAY MASS WAS LEFT IN MY HANDS TURNS MY STOMACH!"
Yuta was horrified by everything he had heard. –"And who the hell was that guy or that thing?"
Satoru looked seriously at Okkotsu
"It turns out that this guy was nothing more nor less than a very old sorcerer who had a technique where he transplanted his brain to another host to control it. Apparently he had many victims in the past, among them the worst sorcerer in history, Noritoshi Kamo..."
Yuta swallowed saliva.
Satoru continued explaining. "This wretch before trying to enter Utahime's body, possessed the body of a first grade sorcerer who worked for the academy, the poor devil had been reported missing months ago"- he leaned back in his chair- "But we discovered that it was because that thing had killed him and possessed his body. And so he wandered around until we killed him. Tengen seemed to be the most relieved to know that that thing was eliminated, even Tenge told us that that thing was called Kenjaku and that they met thousands of years ago, we still thwarted their plans, that whole attack on Utahime seemed to be, as I said, a Karma For us, I will still curse him for having done that to Utahime, for having beaten her almost to death for defending her students, causing wounds all over her body, and at the same time, giving her a serious brain concussion."
Shoko sighed and shook her head. His hands went to his face.
"Seeing my friend on the verge of death and in a coma like that was the hardest blow I have ever received in my life. It really seemed to be a punishment sent from heaven and more than that, it seemed that he wanted to take advantage of the bad situation that the academy was going through to deal a blow to the sorcerous society."
Yuta seemed quite shocked by what he had heard, he had finally discovered the whole truth. Something had attacked that teacher but not out of revenge, for this had simply been a horrible coincidence of fate, an alignment of factors that no one had expected.
The one who wanted to attack the school knew what he was doing, especially because what better than that someone would use Utahime sensei, the one who knew everything about that academy. That event really seemed to be a punishment for the bad decisions taken.
Shoko sobbed lightly and continued speaking
"We applied all the medical knowledge and I exhausted almost all my reverse technique to save her. Still it is a miracle that she is still alive after being in a coma for a whole month and even more with a slow recovery from the broken bones" - she sighed – "And by the way that Yoshio survived makes it a medical miracle" - her gaze returned to Yuta.
The named sorcerer sighed. "Utahime went through a lot... seriously, too much happened while I was gone... and that makes me feel bad..."
"It was really a miracle that she woke up after a month of that coma... but even so, there were consequences both in her health and in the decisions of the academy in general" commented Ijichi with a lowered look, "After that attack, many of our colleagues resigned because they were afraid of being next and that left the situation with the headquarters and the academy more vulnerable"
At that moment, Yuta was struck by something that Gojo had told him before the others arrived to eat and that had to do with Yoshio. "Just a moment, and forgive me for questioning, but Satoru told me that Yoshio just turned six in February. So that means that..."- his eyes reflected uncertainty – "When Utahime was attacked she was already pregnant?"
"You could say that yes, although we didn't realize that Utahime was pregnant until a month after she woke up from the coma because we noticed that her blood tests started to show alterations... just as she started with very peculiar symptoms" answered Shoko taking her cup to drink more of the tea that Umeko had prepared for them.
Yuta was so shocked that he was struck dumb.
"Actually, Utahime and I conceived Yoshio just a few nights before she was attacked. So, one way or another, our son survived that whole unpleasant situation" Gojo looked at his son playing–"Actually this child was a surprise that no one expected, but he came to brighten up our existence. He too can be considered a miracle just like your children, Okkotsu"
Shoko sighed-"Even so, Utahime needed special attention to recover the full mobility of her body, carrying a pregnancy in that state was not easy at all and unfortunately one of the many sequels that she has from that attack are those headaches that she presents unexpectedly"
Hearing that, Yuta remembered the time when he met her again in that mansion once he returned to Japan.
"And the amnesia is also a consequence of that horrifying attack?"
All those present were silent because of this question.
Satoru seemed to be bothered by that topic, that even his forehead was wrinkled by that memory.
"Unfortunately so. Utahime's amnesia is an aftereffect of that attack..." Shoko replied, she was really hurt by that memory "We tried both with my reverse technique, as well as with other people's reverse technique, but it seems that she can never get her memory back" sigh –"such amnesia feels more like it's a vow that's very hard to break. We don't know if it was set by that thing that attacked her or if it was imposed by herself"
"Then..." Yuta held his breath for a moment."Does that mean that the real Utahime doesn't know that she had a son?" Yuta's heart grew small when he asked that question, although he already knew that answer deep down.
Shoko let the air out.
"Indeed Okkotsu..." he said sadly, " The real Utahime doesn't know she was pregnant, much less she knows she gave birth to a baby... So if she were to miraculously regain her memory..." She kept silent for a moment "We don't know how she might react... she might even... reject him"- the words no longer wanted to come out of her throat.
"I understand..." Okkotsu felt too sorry for that woman and that child. They had all been through so much and the reality they were living was just a facade to keep them safe.
They all kept a moment of silence, which was broken by the guest as he remembered what his hosts had said something else moments before that caught his attention.
"By the way... What happened to those cursed wombs, were they also recovered or eliminated?" Yuta asked.
Ijichi was the one who explained the situation.
"Weeks after those wombs were stolen, we had reports that curses were attacking civilians in different areas between Kyoto and Tokyo. So for that mission Itadori kun, Fushiguro kun and Kugisaki san were sent, which eliminated two of those three Wombs. Only one of them has been missing for almost seven years, but we have had no sightings of this reincarnation"
"I understand, but why did that sorcerer want those special objects?"
"We suspect he wanted to reclaim something that was his over a hundred years ago. As I said that brain even possessed the worst sorcerer in history. Still, if that womb shows up there will be no choice but to be eliminated" said Satoru coldly.
Yuta sighed.
"Seriously, this is all a complicated case" he said sadly.
Between binding vow, forced separations, clan fights, the decline of the academy and the sorcery society... what happened to Utahime was just the cherry on the cake to screw up the sorcery society.
Silence reigned for a moment in that kiosk, as everyone turned to look at Yoshio, who was happily playing with a ball he had ordered to be brought to play with his servants.
The boy noticed how his father and the other adults present looked at him.
"Dad, come and play!" shouted the boy, waving his hands from side to side. Very happily inviting his father to join him.
"As I said Okkotsu" Satoru began to speak without taking his eyes off his son –" I also had someone to protect and that's why I took drastic measures"
"It seems so"
"And after all this you heard, I want to ask you a big favor" the leader looked at his guest seriously.
Yuta did not utter a word, he simply stood silently looking at his host.
"I want you to please do not reveal to anyone about my son. Just as I assume that you, Maki and all your other friends are hiding and concealing the existence of your children, so I ask you to hide the information about my son"
Yuta let out a breath. At that moment he understood perfectly that feeling as a father watching over his children. But he still distrusted the albino, something that this man noticed.
Satoru let the air out with disappointment, he could notice how Okkotsu was looking at him with intrigue.
"And in return I won't reveal anything about your children as well as I won't reveal anything about Maki still being alive and much less about your friends, we will continue to pretend we don't know anything about them" he raised his hand, "I promise!"
Yuta took almost a second to answer to that proposal "Okay. I won't reveal anything, but in exchange" he stood up, "I want the rest of the information about them to be completely destroyed"
Satoru just gave a big smile.
"All right!" he stretched out his hand to close the bond, "It's a deal!"
Yuta hesitated a bit on whether he should shake hands with his master as he suspected it might be some sort of binding vow. His look was one of utter distrust.
"Come on!" Gojo waved his hand up and down – "This is a simple gesture of agreement, it is not a binding vote at all because we are not binding a punishment!" he commented with a slight grimace.
Yuta stretched out his hand and squeezed that palm.
"Well, now we both have the same common ground. We are both keeping each other's secret because we are protecting what is most valuable to each other"
"Yes"
Yuta answered, staring at him.
"DAD!" Yoshio shouted again impatiently.
"They're calling me. Well Okkotsu, you, Ijichi and Katsumoto catch up with the case of the sorcerer killer. While I go with my son!" commented the albino, leaving the kiosk happily, "In a while we'll continue talking!" he said goodbye, raising his hand.
Instead, Yuta looked at the attendees, who jumped slightly at the sight of him looking very serious. Even so, they agreed on this case, which was still standing.
Yuta even asked Ijichi as a favor to investigate a particular piece of information, one that Naobito told him was at the headquarters and that could be of great help to him in solving that case of the sorcerer killer.
But the day was not over yet for Yuta, he still had a pending and private talk with both Shoko and Satoru before returning to Kyoto.
Notes:
I hope you enjoyed this information-packed chapter.
And let me know what you thought? I'll be reading your comments.
I also want to apologize if you suddenly feel that the story is moving slow or we are not yet with what you are most looking forward to read, which are the chapters focused only on Maki, Yuta and their children.
First of all, I just want to make clear everything that happened before so that in a few more chapters we can start with all the action between those two, where they will start living together as a family and they will fight each other to recover their love, as well as the chapters where Yuta will finally spend much more time with his children and with Maki.
Seriously, an apology, but I want to do this right because if I don't do this before, it won't have Coherence later on. And more than soon will come all those chapters where Yuta will start to go from being a stranger to being the father he always should have been. As well as Maki will have to play her double life around Okkotsu. Let's just be patient.
I also want to thank you for all the support you have given to this story. Seriously, thank you very much for your votes and comments, that's a great motivation for me not to abandon this story.
As I said, don't despair, in a few more chapters, Maki and Yuta will already have their second but passionate reunion. Just before the kisses and caresses go beyond the clothes, I want to let you know Gojo's real plans with this guy and, by the way, I want Yuki to give Maki a slap of reality about how she feels for Yuta and how this double life of theirs could fall apart and put their children at risk.
Although that said, we are close to an exciting reconciliation 👌 🔥
Anyway, we'll keep reading ❤️