"Jujutsu Kaisen: The Forgotten Clan"

Chapter 6: New Beginnings Part 2

"We know you are here. Care to walk and chat?" The civilian asks as the three men stop walking.

I keep my voice steady and clear.

"Surprise, you all caught me. Listen, I am new to this part of town. Do you mind directing me to a public telephone?"

"Tell us your name first, sweetheart, and then we will help you out." This comes from the sorcerer with dyed hair. Half of his teeth glisten under the street light.

"How about you chill out with the pet names. We are not dating, and I am not the flirtatious type." I ball my fist inside my pocket in case things get out of hand.

The second sorcerer starts talking and grabs me by the front of my shirt.

"We asked for your name, now give it to us." He is yelling in my face and trying to get a good look at me. My sunglasses cover my eyes, but I close them tightly.

"You see something you like? Let me go." I kick my feet mid-air, squirming like a worm on a hook. The civilian is within arm's reach.

"Let her go. We need to report back for the clan meeting." The dark-blond sorcerer's look-a-like says. Once my feet touch the ground, he says point-blank, "We will meet again under better circumstances." He winks before catching up with the others.

The corners of my eyes wrinkle as I laugh to myself. "We will meet again, I hope not!" I grab my bag and head off.

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"She is right...here?"

"Is this a joke, Satoru? The woman we are after is not here! Are your Six-Eyes malfunctioning?"

"Hey, that hurt." Satoru clutches his chest and places the back of his hand on his brow. "I am doing my best and would appreciate..."

"Forget it." The black-haired dude sees a new message on his phone and says, "look, we need to get going. Yaga wants an update report, and the Elders want us to investigate a subway incident."

"Grand. Happy New Year to us! You two go on and report to Yaga. I will head over to the subway and see what is up." Shoko says this while fiddling with her lighter.

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"Thank whoever is watching me from above for this wonderful day!" I say to myself. "Maybe tomorrow you can send more sorcerers straight to my door?"

"Agh."

"Attention ridders, we apologize for the emergency stop. There is an unidentified object on the tracks. Please remain seated until further instructions are made. Thank you."

"Great! Some curse has started manifesting due to the holiday." I close my eyes and take in my surroundings.

Three baby curses are a kilometer ahead, sitting on the tracks. A semi-grade three and two grade four curses. "This is ridiculous!"

Knock, knock. Knock

"Hello? How may I assist you?" The train conductor looks past my shoulder, fixing his eyes on the wall. Small beads of sweat run along his hairline as his pupils slowly dilate.

"Good evening. Would you let me out of the train? I am visiting a friend at the hospital, and this is the closest stop." I am lying through my teeth to get off the train, exorcise the curses, and leave before other sorcerers arrive.

"Sorry. We are not able to let passengers off or on the train at this time. There has been an accident up ahead and we are waiting for the authorities to arrive. Please go back to your seat. Your friend will have to wait." He waves the back of his hand toward me before turning around. I take a deep breath in, and out before returning to my seat.

There are not many passengers aboard, so, I sneak off to the emergency exit. Picking the lock is not difficult and I use a little cursed energy to disable the alarm.

The curses are oblivious to my presence while wandering down the tracks. Ten minutes pass before we reach the Shibuya stop: an area with a lot of activity during the night. The sounds of footsteps and laughter tell me the New Year festivities have started.

I veer off the tracks and onto the platform. Time for some fun! I make my way over to the stairs, ducking behind a pillar before the curse can see me. Once I am behind the curse, it turns around and lunges for me. I avoid the attack by stepping backward three times.

"You going to celebrate the New Year, curse? How about we cut a deal?"

I want the curse to leave. The less cursed energy I use, the harder it will be to track me. Three sorcerers are five minutes away. The grade-four curses run into the semi-grade three after I somersault to my left. A black hue outlines my purple eyes causing a gush of wind up the staircase.

"Oh, it is chilly down here. Put your jacket on babe." Some civilian couple as they make their way down the stairs.

"I know where the curses are." Shoko puts her cigarette out while waiting outside.

Time for my curtain call.

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Meanwhile...

"What is the meaning of showing up late for the clan meeting?" The current Zenin head yells.

"We ran into some trouble. The kind of trouble created to obey men."

"You are late to the meeting because of a woman? Sit down and shut your trap."

"She is not just a woman; she is my life partner and the person Jujutsu Tech has been after for a while."

"Enough of your musings, now sit. What are you two looking at? Go back to fixing dinner." Identical twin girls grab each other's hands and run off.

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I make it to the street level of Shibuya and catch Shoko out the corner of my eye. We are on opposite sides of the street.

"If you two hurry downstairs, you will catch up with her." Shoko states with a flat affect.

"Are you not coming with us? Besides, she is standing right over there." Suguru points to the place I was just standing.

"Across the street? I don't see or sense anyone dude. Before you ask, I am using the Six-Eyes...there is nothing there. Come on, we need to clean up the curses, talk with the train conductor, and get back to campus." Satoru cocks an eyebrow and peers over his glasses. His gaze will not move from where I once was.

December 31, 2006: 9:00 pm; Kyoto

I make it safely to my second training ground. With the commotion of New Year's Eve underway, I walk through the back gate of the building unnoticed, slowly chipping away the seal on my cursed energy.

After unpacking my bag, placing the food on a table, and opening Miss Apple's gift, I let my guard down. My purple eyes are not sensing danger or curses. I decide on a quick shower and cup of tea with an apple. My head bobs up and down while my eyes flutter shut.