cover art by h0pe.lez
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(THIS CHAPTER WILL TAKE PLACE BEFORE JJK ANIME)
Ever since that day...the blonde sorcerer has yet to visit the shop. And it's been weeks since that incident. And that wasn't the only thing that has changed. Himiko recently quit due to her university being far from her job. And so, Haru's routine was back as it was before. All alone. She didn't mind the peace and quiet, and much preferred this.
But of course...she completely forgot about Getou. A monk who knows no consequence and did as he pleased.
"Welcome to--" She irked when she recognized the energy, looking up with a vexed look. The monk came in with a smile, waving at her.
He saw her face, making him laugh slightly, "My...is that how you treat your customers in this establishment?"
Haru retorts back once he came closer, "No, just you,"
"How mean~" He pouts, now leaning over at the counter. Haru silently glares at him, but since she was still on duty she kept it professional.
"Dear customer if you are not going to buy anything then please leave or I'll have to ban you for bothering me," Haru proceeds to guide her hand towards the front of the door with a business-like smile.
"Whaa? That's uncalled for...!" Getou protests. As much as he thought Haru was joking, it didn't appear so. Cold sweat drips past his cheek at how serious she was, 'Woah...for real?'
"*■☆Heeey!! ☆◇○Damn Jujutsu Sorcerer...!!!°■○"
Getou's gaze became cold at the phrase, as much as he did not want to acknowledge the title...he knew well it was directed to him. Getou peers down where he saw the same Curse that would hang around Haru. The dark creature was standing beside the girl, pointing its scrawny fingers at him with a firm glare.
"☆♤●Don't bother my Master!! *÷° Gooo away!! ♡●♤Go Awayyyy!!!°♧☆" He hisses at the monk, waving it's arms back and forth.
"My aren't you a loud one..." Getou snarls, his eyes narrowing at the Curse, making it flinch in fright. The creature jumps back and hides behind Haru's leg. Not before sticking its tongue out at him.
"Enough...both of you," Haru manages to intervene, deadpanning by their behavior. She already felt her energy draining from these two, they always seem to know which buttons to press.
"What do you want?" Her hazel eyes bring themselves back towards Getou. His cold expression quickly changes back to a close-eye smile. She sweats at this.
"The seasons have now changed~ Fall is just around the corner and the trees have started to switch colors.." He starts, leaning towards the counter. Haru made no effort to move back, keeping her face straight as his face became vaguely close.
"Why don't I take you for a stroll? The two of us of course~"
Every once in a while, the Curse User by the name of Getou Suguru would pay Haru visits and would insist on taking her out. Most of the time she would refuse, but since the man offered to buy her some food she would reluctantly agree.
Haru stares at him without an ounce of interest, "Not interested...besides my shift is gonna end late today," It was a lie.
Getou smiles slyly at this, "Lies~ You asked for a half-day off today~"
She stiffens at his words, but she still tried to deny it despite making it obvious now. Getou began to pry even more now confirming that what he said was true. It was frightening how he knew so much.
"How do you even know about that? Are you listening to my conversations?" She irks, just how much is he gonna do this?
"Don't sweat the unimportant stuff Haru~"
"THIS IS IMPORTANT!! IT'S MY PRIVACY....!"
Getou closes his eyes at her outburst, sticking his tongue when he looked back at her irritated face. There was just something about teasing her that pleased him.
"Ah~ I'm sorry...I won't do it again..." He raises both his hands up in the air. It was obvious that it was a lie, especially with that happy aura encircling him.
"Enough...you're only gonna piss me off more..." She grumbles, letting out a sigh. She could feel a headache surface in the back of her head.
"So~ About my offer?" He tilts his head, leaning over the counter to come face to face with her. Haru peers at him, reading his obvious earnest look. She could only sigh at this.
"Fine...but you better buy me some manju and mochi sweets,"
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The trees have begun to change color...now tainted with the orange and red color like the sunset skies. The breeze was fresh, urging the leaves to dance along. It indeed was the season of autumn.
'Pretty...' Haru's gaze solely focused on the chattering trees, admiring their beautiful color. She would have to admit, that fall was her favorite season solely for this purpose. Her gaze softens, recalling her own childhood...when her family would come together to enjoy the simple walks as they admired the changing trees. It was something they would do every year...making its moment special.
"They're beautiful...aren't they? That's why I wanted to take you out," Getou's voice echoes to her side, urging her to peer toward the monk. She saw his gaze focused on the trees, hair flowing past his back. Strangely...she couldn't look away from his silhouette that stood out.
Getou caught her stare, making him smile at her, "What?"
She said nothing, continuing to stare at him with a dazed look. The man blinks, a light blush scarcely growing at the ends of his cheek...he was embarrassed by her gaze. Haru took note of her own rudeness, snapping her attention away from him and back to the trees and the area.
'Now that I notice...' She looked around...taking note that it was just them two. This area was known to be quite crowded around this time of the year, especially with the famous shrine that was up ahead.
"Don't worry...nobody will be bothering us. We have the whole area for ourselves~" He beams, making Haru gasp at this. Before she can complain again when he pulled out a bag of freshly cooked Manju. She immediately recognized its alluring smell.
Haru's anger quickly subsides.
The sorcerers began their walk along with the trees, passing by the red torri that were all alined and statues. For the first few minutes, the duo was quiet...one enjoying the sweets while the other stared with a smile. It's not like they were rushing or anything, They literally had the whole place for themselves. And no curse or sorcerers would intervene with their matter. Getou made sure he did.
"Did you want to speak to me?" Haru asked through nibbles of her Manju. She knew well and foremost that Getou would only invite her to speak and sometimes would drop in the recruitment to his group, which of course, she would reject.
"I wanted to talk about you...and your family," Getou began, his gaze peering over at her to see her reaction. She stopped her nibbling, her expression blank. The monk expected her to be angry but it was hard to tell with the expression she had on.
"What do you need to know exactly...? I thought you already researched me," She began to nibble back at the Manju, finishing up the piece before going to grab another.
Getou snorts at this, "Says the person who has her information concealed,"
Haru says nothing about the fact that it was true. If anyone were to research her, most of her information will be classified or missing.
She made sure it would stay that way in case she would be researched by sorcerers. But it appears that wasn't enough to stop them from suspecting.
"I'm curious...about many things. You're a mystery Haru," Getou continues, his feelings becoming perceptible. This woman that walked alongside him was a walking puzzle, holding many secrets and power. It was unclear why she acted the way she did, especially after what potential she had.
She was powerful enough to become someone to rule the Jujutsu World. And yet...
"It's...quite frustrating..." He mumbles out, but Haru was clearly able to hear his words. She looks back at him, but she utters no word. It was a moment where she had to let him speak about what was on his mind.
Getou comes to a complete stop, urging Haru to stop as well. His hands that were intertwined underneath the sleeves of his attire, now extract away and found a place on her cheek. His large hands tense the contact, while his eyes are narrowed at her.
His words are low as a whisper, "That someone as powerful as you...wasting your life at being normal," Haru could feel his large hands tremble against her skin. Slowly, they begin to draw down towards her neck.
But Haru did not waver at such actions.
There was an obvious ill intent in his dark eyes, but it was only for a brief moment. His anger subsides, pushing himself away from her personal space.
"Well...I supposed that's the nature of an Andou..." He spoke, his voice laced with what appeared to be mockery, "Your clan has always been neutral no matter what...but I figured it's better that way,"
"Since it would be unfair for the rest of us,"
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Getou's visits would be frequent now. And whether she wanted to admit it or not...she has grown accustomed to them.
"#¤○Masterrrr!!♧•■ Masterrrr!!!○*☆" The Curse slurs from her shoulder, clearly about to cry again, "°♧•That man is no good!! ☆♤• I hate! ♡¤•Why does Master have to hang out with him●☆♧"
Haru brought her feet to close, tying the knot of the shoe with a familiar feeling. The Curse now drops from her shoulder and onto the floor. He began to hug her leg, crying, making Haru deadpan at his loud wails.
"Calm down..." She sweats, trying to push the Curse away from her leg, not wanting its snot running all over her pants.
"•◇○Why can't one of us accompany youuuuu! ☆♤○Masterrr!! °♡○Masterr!!■¤♧" He cries, urging the other Curses to gather inside her home. They too also look like they were gonna cry.
"■○□Masterrr...☆°¤" Another Curse wails, its multiple eyes twitching and watering.
Haru began to slightly panic, unsure what to exactly do when the curses were sulking like this. Jujutsu sorcerers wouldn't even believe something like this was possible. Curses crying? Just the thought of it seemed absurd.
Well, nothing was normal when it came to Haru.
"C-Calm down..." She tried to reassure them, waving her arms around as she looked at each Curse that she familiarize herself with.
"I can't take you guys...especially after finding out that his curse technique is Curse Manipulation,"
Just recently she has come to learn that the Curse User, Getou Suguru, was someone that was able to control Curses as well. Though both of their technique were similar in the sense that they revolved around using Curses. But the difference in their ability was that Getou's technique was much more complicated. He was only able to control curses if he ingest it orally...otherwise he can't control them as he pleases.
And Haru's technique... revolves around her eyes...eyes that she ended up inheriting from the Andō Clan. Her eyes are what grants her the ability to overpower the Curses and they naturally become submissive in her presence.
That...was the difference in their abilities.
"Ahh... I'm envious~" Haru's thoughts snap back to reality, peering over at the man beside her. Again the two were on another hangout, outside much preferably for the two since Getou has expressed his displeasure being around the so-called 'monkeys'. They were centered around what seemed like a park with a lake.
They were a few people present around but not as much since the winds have started to pick up. The two were headed to see the lake under Haru's wish.
"Envious?" She spoke after his log sigh. She figured he was speaking about her cursed technique...
"There are times when I sometimes wished I didn't know of things," He spoke suddenly, completely unexpected, "...live a life without worrying about anything..."
There was something about those words that made Haru think. Speculate.
In all her life, she has constantly hidden from the Jujutsu Sorcerers and their world. Her family was no different. It was the very reason why they couldn't live as peacefully as they could...because at the very end....they would eventually get caught.
Haru's parents would constantly worry about her safety, always warning her of the world of sorcerers and taking precautions when it was necessary. She began to remember her father's words on that one summer night...when the cicadas cried.
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"Haru...I want you to remember this," Her father soon began, urging the little girl to look up towards her father with much curiosity. His long hair waves along with the wind, as his eyes sparkled from underneath the moonlight and stars.
"You must always....always hide the fact that you are a sorcerer," He begins, his eyes wavering at the word, "Because there will be people that will try to exploit you from it...or worse...hurt you,"
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'A world where we do not have to worry about anything...' Haru muses, staring at the still water of the lake below. The view was ideal, and it was something Haru would desire for her own family. She disliked the troubles her parents went through to protect her...it hurt her. At some point, she even began to desire to be born normal...without cursed energy or seeing Curses.
But destiny had other plans.
Haru felt Getou's presence, seeing him walk up to her with a cup of what appeared to be the mocha coffee she asked for. He seemed a bit on edge, possibly feeling disgusted by being near the humans. She was gonna buy it for herself but the monk man decided otherwise and went in her stead.
"Thank you..." She mumbles, taking the cup from his hands. Getou seemed pleased when he saw her take a sip with a content look. From the corner of her eyes, she saw him wipe his hand with a wipe. Haru sweats at this.
'Now that I think about it...' She muses, continuing to look at the man before her, 'I've never heard of him speak abut himself...or why he became the person who he is now...'
The only thing she knew was that he was playing the role of a priest to obtain curses from people and exploit them, that he is a Curse User, hates normal people, and that he used to be a student from a sorcerer school. He's never once spoken of himself. And most of their conversations were either random discussions or about herself.
And even when Haru would try to lead that conversation, the man would always smoothly switch the topic and naturally lead the conversation. It was quite difficult...but her curiosity only furthered as he did this.
But...it was impossible now.
Because Getou Suguru stopped showing up.
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Thank you for reading!!