Don't Come Home Just, Yet | Naruto x JJK

The Consequence

My mind is racing. I need to stay focused. My daughter's life is at stake because of others' mistakes, but I won't let them drag her down. I need to hide her for a while and I know exactly where to go.

"Mama, look out!" my daughter shouts, warning me of an oncoming truck. I manage to steer the wheel just in time to avoid a collision.

"Thank you for the warning, Sweetie. Please stay in your seat and always wear your seatbelt," I say, keeping my eyes on the road. The heavy rain outside demands my full attention as I navigate the car.

"Where.... are we going, Mama?" my daughter asks, her voice timid.

"We're going to Grandpa's house," I reply.

"Why are we going to Grandfather's house?"

"No, not your grandfather's house. Your father's father's house, Sweetie,"

"I didn't know Father had a grandpa too, like you. But why are we going there? And why are you driving so fast, Mama?"

"We need to sleep there for a while, sweetheart. We have to get there before a bad man sees us,"

"Why do we need to sleep there? Who is the bad man?"

"I can't tell you who the bad man is, because I don't even know. But we can hide at Grandpa's house and stay there so the bad man can't find us."

I glance at my daughter and see the sadness on her face. She must be upset about not being able to say goodbye to her friends in Kyoto.

"Don't be sad, sweetie. I'm sure you'll love staying at Grandpa's house. It has very big rice fields, and you can play as much as you want without worrying about getting in trouble."

".....Is Grandpa not as strict as Grandfather, Mama? ....Will I get punished if I make a mistake, like at Grandfather's house?"

"No, he's a very kind person. I'm sure you'll have fun with him. So don't worry."

"....."

"....."

"....honey?"

"..Okay, Mama, I trust you," answer her daughter while yawning widely.

"You look sleepy, Sweetheart. Take a nap, and I'll wake you up when we get there," I say gently.

"Okay, love you, Mama," she murmurs as her eyes begin to close.

"Love you too, Hime,"

*******

“I... need some... time alone,” she mumbled, her legs weighed down as she trudged away from their apartment. Shielding herself from the rain with an umbrella, she attempted to clear her mind after the intense discussion with her husband.

Try as she might, she couldn't shake off the grotesque things he referred to as curses, lurking all around the city. They came in various forms and sizes, emitting a repugnant stench that brought to mind a rotting mouse in sewage water. Some affixed themselves to buildings, while others drifted through the city without a care, and a few even clung to unsuspecting passersby.

'Is this what my husband sees every day?' she wondered, her gaze scanning the surroundings.

Her heart ached for him, knowing that his job involved battling these cursed entities, sometimes even resorting to confronting people with the ability to see them since birth, who had banded together under the name Jujutsu.

Initially intended to protect those unable to see curses, but Jujutsu had devolved into a group rife with power-hungry and callous individuals, more akin to a Yakuza or Mafia than a superhero order. Her husband had been born into this world, subjected to a harrowing ordeal at the age of eight when his own family had callously locked him in a room teeming with curses, deeming him a misfit for lacking the desired abilities.