Honoured and the Damned

Chapter 5: Next Step

"I love you. You... you complete me." — Jerry Maguire

Two weeks after her welcome to the Jujutsu Society Aiko was given her first official mission. A second-grade Curse was found in one of Japan's islands, Yakushima and it was up to her to exorcise it. She was given a packet explaining the location and the curse.

Yakushima is an island in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, known for its wildlife and cedar forests. In the northwest is Nagata Inaka-hama, a beach with seasonal loggerhead turtle nesting grounds. The central Mt. Miyanoura is marked by the Arakawa trail and the ancient Jōmon Sugi tree. In the east, the Yakusugi Museum has exhibits about the region's cedar forests. The western shore is home to a towering Ōko-no-taki waterfall.

Area: 504.9 km²

Max length: 28.3 km

UNESCO Site Id: 662

Coordinates: 30°20′38″N 130°31′26″E / 30.34389°N 130.52389°E

Ethnic groups: Japanese

There were a bunch of pictures about the exact location and the environment of Yakushima, along with the location of where the Curse was last seen.

Aiko flipped the page to read about the curse.

Note: Yakushima is famed as being the home of the Yaku sugi – some of the most ancient living trees on the planet. The island also has indigenous sub-species of deer and macaque monkeys which outnumber the human inhabitants on the island.

The curse was found to be the result of people's admiration and awe of the people which then evolved following the fear of foreigners who visited the island.

Description: Able to change its appearance, the windows have confirmed that they have seen the curse change from one form to another.

The abilities of the curse remain the same despite the change.

There were a few mentioned abilities of what the curse was able to do. It looked formidable but Aiko remembered that Curses of the same rank are usually stronger in the cities and more populated areas than the countryside.

"So? What do you think? Are you up for it?" She looked up at Yaga Masamichi, her teacher at Jujutsu High. He leaned on the blackboard with his arms crossed over his chest. Among the residents—adults— in the school, Yaga had shown her the most compassion. He was the hard-ass type though and a bit of a mother hen. She did not mind, she liked the way he sometimes fussed over her and brought her to speed about the curses and what a sorcerer is supposed to do. She would even go off to say that he was one of the best.

To anyone else, it might have looked like he was worried for her safety or he was underestimating her.

But, she knew better.

He was definitely worried about her safety all right.

"You say it like I have a choice. The moment I landed here in the school and realized that I had a good amount of cursed energy my fate was already set. I don't like to play around the topic so what is it?" She shifted in her chair and uncrossed her legs.