It was awfully quiet inside my wagon, all the seats seemed empty from where I was sitting but I knew for certain someone was napping far in the back of the carriage. There are one and a half hours left to go, I've passed most of the trip looking outside as the scenery changed before me. It was quite boring after a while, the sunlight was gone, devoured by a pall of dark clouds which threatened to bathe the city clean, the locals advised me to be cautious of the heavy weather for the next three days, it couldn't be better, you'd say.
The pen feels hefty tonight too, the more I try to write down the weekly report the foggier my mind becomes, much resembling the weather outside, and I just can't deal with it so I've left it there on the table, discarded, halfway done.
I then tried my luck by laying my head on the seat and going to sleep, letting time pass by but again, the fact I was in a state of constant movement did not help me at all, I couldn't help but stay awake no matter how much my organism demanded to be shut off. The only good thing that occurred during this first part of the trip was the inspector, this middle-aged man came down the aisle not too long ago to check the tickets. It was a great surprise when he started signing back at me, it's not every day I could have a conversation with someone without interfering with their thoughts. He sat down and we started "talking" about each other. He has a daughter back home in the countryside who's deaf, six years old the poor soul, showed me some pictures he kept stored in his breast pocket. They practiced sign language anytime he had some free time, he even complimented me for my fluency. I may have made progress in these months but I'm nowhere near fluent, he's just saying it out of courtesy.
It has been a lovely conversation nonetheless, it kept me grounded on who this is all for. He got up, silence sat in his stead as he went down the aisle. I'm no longer acquainted with silence, it's not the nocturnal quietness that usually lulls me to nod off after a busy day, no, this is lonely, tomb-like silence.
That one, who used to welcome me back into my room the first year and a half as a purifier. Ill advisor, it pointed out all the negatives as I patched myself: you let that curse get too close it could have bit your arm off, that curse could have cleaved your legs if that pillar wasn't in the way, you could have died in vain here, here, and here. It was, and still is, excruciating. But back then I had the convictions that kept me going in the long run, now, so far from home... they're not what they used to be, the lack of meaning behind what was once predominant in my life. But I'd be lying if I told you I didn't have any nowadays.
By the time I'd wake up in the morning, desolace used to greet me at the door, someday a mere envelope with the day's mission or someone in need of my service, which happened once every blue moon. Now, Megumi and Yuuji, living in the rooms next to mine, usually wait outside my door to then go together to the cafeteria. Somehow news spread about my coffee around the school, probably Gojou told them because of course he had, now my moka pot was transferred to the cafeteria so that people wouldn't amass in the corridor for a shot of espresso. Megumi in particular has grown fond of it, so much so that he doesn't drink coffee outside of school anymore. An accomplishment if I have to say so myself, given how much of a caffeine addict he is.
This came as a sort of realization, not about how I can make good coffee, mind you, but about how much I crave companionship, for meaningful connections. Didn't even come to my mind until recently, but looking back, I've led a lonely life. And now that I got a taste of it, I don't know if I'd be mentally capable of going back to how things were before.
______
Gabriele found himself in a covered parking lot, as the dark clouds preannounced, it started pouring down on the city as soon as he had stepped off the bullet train, with some flashes of lighting every now and then. Talk about bad timing, one day he had to go on a mission without the first-years and he got caught in the middle of a storm, all without an umbrella. Fortunately enough there were 24/7 shops nearby the station, so he was able to purchase it together with something warm to eat at the cost of getting a bit wet.
With the sound of raindrops in the background, the exorcist now wandered inside a deserted parking space, using his phone's light to navigate the rather dark place.
"This way, please." He heard a voice next to him, turning left the exorcist shone the light on the Kyoto teacher Utahime Iori, shielding her eyes with her hand. "Would you turn that off? It's not that dark."
"Oh, yes. Sorry..." He put his phone away.
"I imagine Gojou has informed you all about the mole, right?" The young man nodded, "Good, we think there are two or more people feeding intel to the curse intel. One has to be highly ranked, even higher than the principals, we can't do anything about that. The other is someone feeding information to that higher-up... today's target."
"Muta Kokichi." Gabriele interrupted, noticing the distress in Utahime's voice. He can't even begin to fathom how hard it has to be for a teacher to find out one of their students is actively betraying them after they gave them all to guide them towards a righteous path. He may have sounded cynical in bluntly pronouncing his name while she danced around it, but it has to be clear, they weren't after her student. They were after a semi-first-grade sorcerer who allegedly shared classified information with the enemy, thus putting everyone's lives in peril.
"Precisely..." said the woman with a veil of melancholy.
"He's still only under suspicion, so after apprehending the suspect we need to conduct an interrogation." Utahime walked back to a dark green car, opening the door on the driver seat: "Hop in, it won't be a long drive but with this rain, it's better if we go with the car."
And so they went, the first five minutes of the ride were submersed in awkward silence with the older woman glancing at Gabriele through the rearview mirror from time to time. Her point finger drummed on the wheel on tempo with the windshield wipers, the exorcist was watching outside the window in the backseat. Just the fact he sat behind meant he wasn't very keen on conversing, was he angry at her? She got upset at the thought, but she couldn't bear another second of silence in this car. She was about to speak, yet she blocked instantly, not having any concerns to voice. What could she talk about? About the mission? He's very smart, if he had any doubts he would have already asked for clarification by now. Family? Better leave it out. Work? How boring was she? Then it clicked...
"I'm sorry..." she said, the sudden apology made the exorcist shift his gaze to the person in front, eyebrow cocked on his forehead.
"What for?" he asked, curiosity taking over his mind.
"I've been... rather judgemental of you during the exchange event. You're a good kid with a good head on your shoulders, I shouldn't have let my prejudices about your affiliation get a hold of me. You're not like the other exorcists..."
"Stop it..." He cut her off, Utahime glanced at the mirror again in concern, Gabriele was now looking down at his shoes, gripping the fabric of the uniform's pants with an indecipherable expression on his face. "Everyone keeps saying I'm not like other exorcists... it feels humiliating... Just what makes you think I'm different from any of my comrades? Is this because I'm barely 17? What kind of standards do I have to meet to convince you I'm one?" he abruptly lashed out, probably even himself wasn't aware of how emotionally pent up he was. The car stopped at a red light, Utahime took a few seconds to pick her next words with caution as they waited. The truth is always the best option, she told herself.
"Back in 2006, Gojou was just a second-year student at the time, twice as arrogant as he is today." She began, "He and his best friend were handed the very important task to escort the Star plasma vessel to Master Tengen, a middle school girl by the name of Riko Amanai. The end goal was to merge the two so that the former couldn't ascend to a new state and thus become hostile to humanity. However, two groups were after the vessel, a group of curse users named Q who wanted to kill Riko to secure the ascension, and a religious group of commoners who venerated Master Tengen as a deity called Time Vessel association. They wanted to kill Riko to preserve the purity of Tengen, and at the very end they succeeded in their intent."
Gabriele knew everything she was talking about, his mentor labeled it as one of the greatest blows ever inflicted on the heretics. To think his faction would cheer at the death of a middle schooler... it made him sick.
"From there everything went south. Gojou's best friend went insane, people died, and nothing was the same. Three years later when we discovered that both groups were heavily funded by the Church, all hell broke loose. Plotting and sabotaging every occasion they can get, If you're asking what the standards are, these are the standards to meet for a bloody exorcist." As she concluded, silence gained its sovereignty back inside the vehicle, moments after the light turned green and the wheels started to move again. The foreigner felt gut-wrenched, his eyes didn't dare to look at anything but the tapestry of the car's floor as a wave of shame washed over him.
"I'm sorry." He blurted out.
"Don't be." She quickly replied, "It's not your fault, Gabriele. You were nothing but a child back then." Utahime frowned, the last thing she wanted was to make him feel guilty over crimes he himself hadn't committed. How did such a sincere person end up in a cult of evil fanatics?
The car stopped at the side of the road, getting off the vehicle the exorcist stood in front of an abandoned multi-storied building. As he opened the umbrella Utahime walked past him after locking the car, signaling him to follow her not inside the building but in the narrow alley next to it. Amid trash cans and general filthiness, there was a metal hatch door that, once open, led underground to the dark basement. Immediately they caught a whiff of the stench of humidity that pervaded the molding walls as they descended the stairs, careful not to slip. Another metal door crossed their path.
"He's down here." She talked in a low voice, "Keep your senses sharp, his puppets could be lurking around guarding the place."
The door swung open, and Gabriele ignited his hand up to see but also to detect cursed energy. Immediately something was off, the flames appeared to be unmoving. They ventured deep into the basement, dozens of doors on both sides of the corridor that seemed
infinite in its length, yet no trace of cursed energy. "Here." Utahime pointed at the door, and the exorcist positioned himself in front of it ready to bust it open, only to grasp the knob and twist it as he normally would. The light quickly crept into an empty room, a broken chair was all that was left.
"No wonder I didn't detect anything." Said Gabriele, pushing the door until it hit the wall, raising all the accumulated dust in the air.
"So this means Mechamaru's the mole..." The young man looked at Utahime, the glint of innocuous hope she unknowingly had in her eyes completely gone. "Let's go back outside." She paced away from the door, not wanting to process what that vacant room implied, Gabriele gladly followed suit, he couldn't deal with the stink of the place any longer. They went back to the car, luckily for them, the rain had calmed down a little from its raging downpour. The exorcist opted to sit in front this time, maybe he will recline his seat a bit so that he could rest, it has been a long night indeed. They drove towards Jujutsu High, the awkwardness on the way to the building was replaced by a peaceful quietude, as the woman hummed a song while the young man tried to doze off.
"Gojou texted me earlier, looks like the storm won't go away any time soon. You'll have to stay with us until it clears."
"How long are we talking?"
"Two days at least."
"Fuck."
Utahime laughed, relieved the exorcist felt comfortable enough to swear in her presence. She watched him as he turned in his seat again and again until he straightened up in defeat. Looking at him with the tail of her eye, her mind couldn't stop wondering what kind of backstory led him to this life, what tragic tale hides behind those tired eyes and bandaged neck. Gabriele took out his phone, two unread messages from Nobara appeared on the screen, angry he hadn't told her anything about his sudden departure to Kyoto and a list of local delicacies he was supposed to bring back home. He switched chats, with such a list he'd need someone to guide him through the city.
Without warning, the pinky and the ring fingers of his right hand caught fire, the crest of the flames clearly pointing North.
"Stop here!" he ordered. Utahime, taken by surprise, pumped the brakes out of instinct, the wheels skidding against the wet asphalt of a bridge as the car came to a halt, even though she had no idea how she didn't spin completely. "What's wrong with you?! You almost gave me a heart attack!" the teacher quickly checked behind her. Fortunately, there were no cars on the road tonight but that was still very dangerous.
"Someone just released a huge quantity of cursed energy. We were moments away from bursting into flames, I've never felt anything like this in my entire life." Gabriele stared at his trembling hands, "You said Kokichi could gather years upon years' worth of cursed energy due to his heavenly restriction, correct?" Utahime's eyes went wide open.
"How far away can exorcists perceive cursed energy?"
"I don't know, it depends on our affinity to it. I can sense cursed energy up to four kilometers away now."
"That means he's near!" the woman's hands immediately grabbed the steering wheel, "Take me to him!"
"It's not fast enough." The exorcist opened the door. He quickly jogged across the bridge from side to side amid both the scarred woman shouting his name and the rain picking up again. If this was the case, if Kokichi had really released his cursed energy to be located, perhaps he knew of his presence here in Kyoto, with his nationwide range it's very within the realm of possibilities. But it doesn't make any sense, if he wanted them to find him he would have stayed in that room back in that basement unless... he was getting attacked at this very moment, and this sudden release was both a means to make his location known and fend off the enemy.
Filled with a new sense of urgency, the angelic wings sprouted out of his back. Now at the ledge of the bridge, the winged teen checked the fire again that pointed ahead along the dry riverbed below.
"Hey!" Yelled Utahime drenched by the heavy rain as she crossed the road, "Where do you think you're going?!"
"Where does this river lead to? I'm going to fly there." He pointed.
"Fly?! With this kind of weather, you might get struck by lightning!" Utahime wanted to protest, but she too knew they were probably running out of time. The only thing he will encounter other than a sea of trees would be the dam, a fifteen-minute drive and that's if she doesn't get stuck in traffic. But if he's going to fly in a straight line there he'll definitely make it there in no time. This was their best and only option.
"Fine! Text me if you find anything." with that said, she ran back to the stalled car and immediately drove off.
'Wait...She didn't tell me anything...' the exorcist sighed as he watched the car disappear behind the corner. She was right though, birds usually avoid flying during thunderstorms, perching in the trees and waiting for it to end. He can't afford to wait though so he had to consider other options, lightnings have no preferences or memories when discharging on the ground, they simply choose the path with the least resistance. However, there's a tendency to strike whatever stands the tallest, be it a building or a tree. Not an exact science, but as long as he flies lower than the trees while keeping his distance from them should save him from being electrocuted midair.
Gabriele stood by the ledge, letting gravity take hold of him he launched himself into the void to then glide above the cobbles of the riverbed. Veering left and right, dodging exposed roots and eradicated trunks, the exorcist cut his way through the rain as fast as he could manage, while guided by the essence.
One thunderous boom snapped his attention away from the flames, its shockwave slightly destabilized the essence flux on his wings. That couldn't have been normal thunder at all, it sounded more like an implosion or something like that. Not too far ahead there was an enormous, heavily damaged concave wall raising on the horizon, with the debris now part of the riverbed and water falling from the breaches.
'A dam...' thought the exorcist.
Then he saw it, a huge humanoid robot stranded on top of the wall with what seemed a copious amount of blood coming off the giant's "mouth". Gabriele gained altitude, flying directly toward the dam and the robot itself, the cursed energy was still reacting so there was still a chance, ever so slim. He reached the head of the giant, his front completely broken, pierced from the outside judging from the various pieces he found inside what looked to be a cockpit of sorts, something he only noted afterward. The blood, splattered throughout the walls of the cockpit, froze the man's thoughts as his eyes refused to blink at the horror before him. A human used to sit here, now only their lower body was all that was left of them. Viscera, bones, brain matter, flesh, oozing and gurgling, painting the grotesque view he had the misfortune to witness. Resisting the feeling of vomit coming up his esophagus, Gabriele entered while careful not to step on the gore, the odor didn't disturb him, not anymore at least. There was a display on his left, that indicated the flatlined vitals, a clear signal, and the projected activity limit.
'Nine years, five months, six days...' he read, then he noticed something written in tiny characters. 'Armored puppet ultimate Mechamaru prototype #0...'
Gabriele turned to the corpse, even if he had already figured out the moment he saw the robot, he held on that glimmer of hope as the flames kept pointing at the metallic carcass. Yet this... this pretty much confirms it.
Kokichi Muta is deceased.