"Don't scratch it."
Sakura's words were plain and clear, meant to protect her rather than blindly reprimand her, but Kana still brought her hand to her neck anyway. "It hurts," she whispered in her demure, four-year-old voice. She gingerly ran her fingers around the skin of her neck, feeling no roughness nor scar, but knowing well that what was imprinted there was more painful than any injury she could sustain.
"I'll get some painkillers soon," Sakura assured her with a pat on the head. "But first, the elders need to make sure that you won't be wreaking havoc once we get out of this place."
The said place was actually a grand mansion spanning perhaps a hectare of land, with traditional architecture that made it seemingly stuck in the past. The courtyard reminded her of the playground area in kindergartens, but embellished with bonzai trees and some patterns brushed along the sands. But the room she had been from an hour ago was nothing similar to the beautiful façade the building possessed, instead being a dark hellhole where the mark on her neck had been created. Where any noise and screams would never be heard by the outside world.
There had been several people in the room, each chanting things Kana could not understand. But she remembered Naobito and the person Sakura had called Gojo-san in the meeting before. At one point, there had been red flashes and some commotion from the attendees of the discrete ritual, but the job was ultimately done.
"Are you that curious in the mark?" Sakura huffed when Kana did not stop touching her neck. "Alright, follow me then."
Sakura pulled Kana to a pond nearby, where the water was so clear Kana could see the pupils in her eyes—and the mark as well. The design reminded her of those white paper talismans hung at temple gates, meant to purify evil spirits in places. Kana was sure, from Sakura's explanation before the ritual, that the mark would never erase the Corruption inside her. The only thing that it would do was to ensure that she wouldn't go on a rampage should she succumb to the Corruption and transform into a Curse.
"The redness should disappear in a week or two," Sakura remarked, stretching herself. "If you ask me, it's quite well-done. Not many seals look as stylish as this."
"I don't like it," Kana said. "Those people waiting outside the chamber glared at me... Like I'm an animal... After this thing is tattooed on me." She remembered, vividly, how the residents of the mansion stared and whispered when she came out. She tasted bitter when they did.
Sakura suddenly stiffened behind her. Someone approached, whom she recognised as the man named Gojo-san. "Gojo-san," Sakura greeted. "What brings you here?"
"I am simply observing the results of our toil," he explained. Kana stood up and straightened her back, with her head tilted up to properly look at the man. There were dark circles around his eyes and his cheeks were hollow, but instead of appearing weak he displayed a sense of intimidation which the other elders had not possessed. "Come closer," he ordered.
Kana gulped and stepped forward. Gojo crouched and touched the mark. Something sparked within him which Kana couldn't explain. "Good. The seal is holding up, far strongly than expected," he commented.
"I've never seen this seal before," Sakura said. Gojo closed his eyes and returned back to his feet.
"We specially designed the seal for this purpose," he explained. "Involving the cooperation of all the Great Families, a rare occurrence in itself. It took us some convincing, but they eventually agreed to help. If everything goes smoothly, the seal should do its job when the time comes, as long as her Cursed Energy does not grow too strongly. It is very improbable, because her level of Cursed Energy would have to match those with Six Eyes or greater."
Kana didn't understand anything that he had said, but something told her that there weren't any problems with her mark, which was reassuring because she wanted to leave the place so badly. "So, what now?" Sakura asked.
Gojo was about to answer before he descended into a fit of coughs. He stopped a few seconds later as he wiped his mouth. "The elders will be sending a set of instructions to you tonight, but to cut it short, you'll need to meet Kana every week to keep her in check and train her. They are quite eager to mobilise her as soon as possible."
"I'm fine with that. Gives me an excuse to travel," Sakura yawned. "Anything else?"
Gojo glanced at Kana once more before he whispered something to Sakura. Her eyes widened fractionally, before returning to their gleeful state. "Well, that's a hassle, but can't be helped."
"Good. It is time for you to understand," he said. "That some responsibilities cannot be evaded, and some should be evaded."
"You sound very old, Kagaya," Sakura laughed. Kagaya coughed once again before looking at Kana. She quickly hid behind Sakura, afraid of what he would do to her. Would he make another tattoo somewhere else?
Out of nowhere, he took a piece of thin scarf, and wrapped it around her neck. "This should cover it until you find something proper," Kagaya muttered. "I'll see you."
Kagaya left as quickly as he had arrived. The scarf around Kana's neck was very warm, too warm for a summer afternoon like this, but it did its job to conceal the mark. The heat, perhaps, managed to drown the throbs around it. "Who's that?" Kana managed to ask as they were released from custody.
"Just an old friend."
oOo
Kana had never been good with directions. Despite Suguru's careful instructions sent through her phone, she still managed to get lost in Shibuya twice before winding up back to the same train station entrance, sweating more than fulfilling her goal of actually finding her seniors. "Hi, Ieiri-senpai? Yes, I am definitely lost. There's a mini mart in front of me, but there are a number around here so I—. You said Gojo-senpai has found me through Cursed Energy? Oh, okay... I... will wait here then."
There was a loud beep as Shoko hang up. Kana huffed and leaned against a pillar, waiting. She wore her high-collared shirt, as usual, with a pair of shorts. "Akatsuki-san. There she is!" Suguru said. Kana tilted her head to see her three seniors plumbing through the sea of crowds. Suguru, as she had thought, was the most fashionable one, dressed in greys and blacks which reminded her of the people from Matrix. Shoko wore a thin airy blouse and a skirt, paired with cute necklaces here and there.
And then there was Satoru.
"Now, now. Please don't be too judgemental, Akatsuki-chan," Satoru began first when Kana blatantly stared at the large Digimon picture imprinted on his shirt, with corny catchphrases from the anime's main character.
"No, it's just," Kana breathed. "You have a very unique taste, I see." Kana liked certain things, cute mascots among many of them, but she wouldn't dare decorate herself with awkward prints or accessories in public. This man's dedication was admirable.
Suguru scoffed, "We tried our best to dissuade him, but Gojo Satoru is still Gojo Satoru. When he wants something, he'll always get it."
Sounds legitimate.
"So, where should we go now?" asked Kana after the shock had died down. "I am all yours to lead."
"Let's see," Shoko said, rubbing her chin. "Satoru needs a lot of tops and pants, as do you, so we'll go to one of the shopping centres here first. I know one which sells cheap ones at good quality..." Kana nodded as she explained the list of shops available.
Satoru raised his hand and Shoko sighed. "And yes, we might need to go to some accessory shops. Satoru has cracked several pairs during missions. I think that's it then? Detours will be inevitable, but we have our time."
Shoko gestured them to follow her, her footsteps almost a skip. From what Kana had seen, Shoko was the most laidback among the three, her affinity with Reverse Cursed Technique sparing her the brutal lifestyle that the two underwent and therefore the sense of urgency and alertness required. But around certain things, certain people, she seemed livelier and at least engaged.
"This is the first shop, yes," Shoko announced as they arrive in front of a department store with glittering lights and endless racks of clothes, both for men and women. This one seemed to be directed mostly for youngsters, but the sheer size of it still astounded her. Kana had always preferred smaller shops than this stupendous establishment, mostly because she had no reason to buy many garments. But now, it seemed tempting to, especially with the new financial situation she was in.
"Woooowww," Satoru drawled. "Impressive how you know this place. At least your fashion choice is not shi—"
Shoko smacked Satoru's head casually before taking Kana's hand. "I'll leave you guys to play around and get in trouble," she declared. "Meanwhile, Akatsuki-san and I will have some good girl quality time."
Suguru waved them goodbye before dragging Satoru himself. "Come on, Satoru, unless you want to wear a skirt, you should probably come with me," Kana heard him say.
Shoko took her to a section boasted clothes that more or less matched her style, with earthy colours and plenty of cotton shirts that she liked. Kana blinked and turned to her in awe. "This is one of the things I am good at, so don't be surprised," Shoko began, taking a pair of pants and a piece of skirt. Both of them were subtly patterned with flowers, which was not what Kana was used to. She gave them one look and frowned. "Come on! I've seen your wardrobe a couple of times. Let me tell you that for a girl your age, you should expand your range a bit. Besides, if you dress anyway you want, no boys will aim for you, you know?"
"I... Don't really care about those kinds of things," Kana argued carefully.
"Are you sure?" Shoko asked. "If I'm a boy and I look at you, I'll definitely be smitten a bit. You're cute and unproblematic, so what's wrong with trying to maximise those assets?"
Somehow, Shoko's words heated up her cheeks and she forced her gaze to her feet. Being noticed by boys wasn't among the list of her priorities. For years she had tried to focus on ramping up her Cursed Technique and avoid being executed, which consumed much of her time from interacting with people. Anyway, her classmates were far prettier than she was, so boys mostly talked about them—which made Shoko's praise a little bit more shocking than it should have been.
It also didn't help that her only living relative was her uncle, and that Sakura cared even less about beauty and romantic life.
"Alright, I'll try it," Kana surrendered after Shoko pulled out another skirt. Shoko's face brightened and she dug through the racks for even more clothing, causing Kana to stumble to the dressing room with heaps of bottoms and shirts more than she had ever handled in her life. It took her a while, perhaps an hour, to find several pieces which she liked and could actually see herself wearing. Most of the bottom pieces, actually, passed her test of affection, but Shoko's choice of tops did not match her requirements. They were all either T-shirts or shirts with low-hanging collars, which could not cover the tattoo running around her neck. And so, when Shoko sought out some clothes for herself, Kana sneaked out and chose several high-collared shirts, before checking out and meeting her at one of the dress sections.
"Should we go to find the boys?" Shoko asked. "I'm also done here." She pointed to her shopping bag, which was considerably larger than Kana's even though it was Kana in the first place who desperately needed the clothes. But Kana didn't say anything and instead nodded, keeping her own bag close.
They found Satoru and Suguru bickering like two birds in the graphic T-shirt section. "What do you mean disgusting? Look at this! Isn't this the greatest thing you'll ever see?" Satoru said, almost shouted, as he shoved Suguru a T-Shirt with Garudomon plastered on the front and another Digimon slapped at the back.
"Listen, Satoru. I know you really, really like Digimon, but this is the tenth shirt that you've showed me with a similar design and theme and I really think people won't take you seriously anymore, Six Eyes or not, if you wear that in public," Suguru argued crumpling the shirt and throwing it as far as he could (it landed on another pile of folded clothing, which was impressive).
"You're mean," Satoru pouted, before noticing Kana and Shoko staring from behind the racks. "Oh! Oh! Akatsuki-chan! Come, come."
It was Satoru who came to her, not the other way round, while bringing another copy of the same shirt he had tried to seek justice for. "See, see! Don't you think that this shirt is awesome? Look at the designs! Look at it!"
Kana almost staggered back, but didn't as her eyes were forcibly glued to the big bird-like creature staring back. Behind Satoru, Suguru shook his head and sighed. He pointed to the shopping bag that Satoru had accumulated, with similar T-shirts stuffed inside them. Must have been hard to be his friend.
"Umm, how to say this?" Kana began, taking a step back. She glanced at Suguru again. This time he and Shoko raised up several T-Shirts Satoru had chosen, which bore the same big ass graphics that were almost jarring to the eyes. That was when she also noticed a T-shirt hung next to her, which was obviously Digimon themed but designed in a more refined manner and a smaller graphic embroidered as a breast pocket. "What about this instead?" she said, pulling it out and displaying it to Satoru. "It's still Digimon, but I think you'll look... Err..."
Prettier? Less stupid? Funnier?
"More dignified," she blurted out. "Also it's a good design, to change things up a bit."
Satoru raised a brow, but took the shirt still. He hummed, then glanced at Suguru and Shoko. Surprisingly, both of them gave a thumbs up. "Well, I think it's not bad too. I haven't noticed this one," Satoru ultimately remarked. He took one last look before grinning at Kana. "Thank you, Akatsuki-chan!"
Kana smiled back and nodded. "Well, glad to be of service," she responded with a bow. Satoru went away with his new piece of clothing, leaving Kana to finally take a deep breath and approach the other two.
"Great job handling him," Suguru remarked. "Not many people can do that daily, you know."
Kana tensed. "Well, at least he still wants to talk to me," she whispered under her breath.
oOo
The T-shirt she had chosen wasn't bad at all. He rather found it flattering, in fact. Perhaps he should purchase more of these types, rather than just snatching random shirts based on their graphics.
That was weird, Satoru thought as they made their way to the accessory shop. Not like Shoko and Suguru have never told me before. But...
"Say, Kana-chan. I can call you Kana-chan, right?" Shoko began in the middle of their journey. The crowd did not recede even as they steer away from the larger department stores, so her voice was barely heard. Kana nodded absently, still marvelling the gargantuan shops around her. "Why do you always wear those high-collared shirts? Aren't they like, very hot, especially now we're still in the summer and all?"
He saw her freezing momentarily, too slightly for Shoko or Suguru to notice, but not him, before she regained her bearings. "Oh, that," she began with a small smile. "I have a scar on my neck and I... don't really like people to see it," she explained smoothly, almost like she had rehearsed this many times. Of course, Shoko and Suguru dumbly accepted her reason, but Satoru had seen something else than what she was claiming it to be.
Kana glanced at him, her eyes knowing, and telling him to stay silent. The tattoo around her neck was obviously a Cursed Seal, but he didn't know which one. Numerous readings had not borne him much fruit, and so the only choice to have was to ask the person himself, or to find out from other Sorcerers expert in the area. The latter path was not preferred, considering how touchy and secretive they could be. Even his uncle didn't like to talk about it, claiming the area to be 'inhumane' at times. Not like he wanted to ask him, anyway.
"We're here!" announced Shoko.
"Now, how about we make this trip quick?" Suguru suggested immediately. "I am sure we're all starved and tired from our previous trip. Right, Akatsuki-san?"
Again, she absently nodded. "Fine, I promise," Satoru drawled before stepping inside. The shop was special in that it sold several accessories not available in normal retail shops, because the owner himself was a retired Cursed Sorcerer who at the same time specialised in Cursed Objects and also pretty trinkets. The shop was cramped full of accessories, from the walls to any of the display cases to even the floors. It was more of an antique shop to the outside eye, but of course it held its tiny fun secrets.
"Hey, kid!" the owner greeted, taking off his thick spectacles to show off his wrinkled dark skin and a hefty moustache covering his mouth. At first, he smiled, but then he frowned when. "Don't tell me..."
"Sorry, I've broken a few more," Satoru confessed gleefully. "Not that it's bad for you, right? Good business, good business, Hanazawa-san."
Hanazawa let out a deep breath and left whatever he was working on. "Wait here. I'll see if I can find some spare," he said before disappearing behind the curtains.
"Oi, Satoru, can we leave you two for a bit?" Suguru said then. "Shoko and I want to buy some albums from the disc shop. Several new releases from One OK Rock."
"Yea, sure, go ahead," Satoru replied. "How about you, Akatsuki-chan?"
"I'll just stay here," Kana said softly. Suguru and Shoko nodded before rushing out, leaving the two of them standing in the shop awkwardly. Not many visitors came to the place because of how eccentric it could be, so it was just the two of them. Kana didn't seem to mind, because she soon began drifting her gaze to the weird and funny things on the wall.
"You know, it's going to be hard to hide that tattoo forever," Satoru began once the silence was too overwhelming. Kana slowly turned towards him, her body stiffening. "Relax, I'm not going to tell anyone. I promised to keep your secrets, remember?"
Kana was hesitant for a moment, before taking a deep breath. "I don't intend to keep it a secret forever," she reasoned, picking up a figurine. "I'll tell everyone relevant in time, but not now. I don't think they're ready for... who I am. Not that I think they're bad people."
She's foolish, Satoru thought to himself. Friendships were fickle among Jujutsu Sorcerers, but professionalism endured. Finding a close friend like Suguru was a rarity even for him, who had the power to do anything. To her, a Cursed Offering, it would almost nearly be impossible. Everyone would always judge her for what she was, not what she wished to be. He hated to say that he did so too.
"Say, Gojo-senpai," Kana said, her voice lighter. "Why are you wearing spectacles when you break so many of them? Can't you just use a blindfold or something?"
Ah yes, the ever-asked question. She's good at changing topics of conversation. "Well, that won't look so fashionable, will it? Being a Jujutsu Sorcerer also involves maintaining some form of reputation and charm. You won't believe how different someone can look like with different headgears or eye wear on." Suddenly a good idea dawned upon him. "Come, come, I show you."
He snatched one of the weirder spectacles, the one meant to give the person an illusive moustache and thick brows, and slapped it onto Kana's face. Instantly, she sensed something wrong with her face, and turned to one of he mirrors. "Ooh! You look very attractive there! Come, here try some more."
"Wait, Gojo-sen—" Before she could protest, Satoru had fitted another pair of glasses, this time meant to turn the user into an old woman. Her face twisted when she saw her own reflection, but Gojo simply laughed. Then the twisted expression immediately disappeared and she took off her glasses.
"Alright, I get it, Gojo-senpai," Kana sighed. "Glasses can make you attractive, yes. But unfortunately, you also have very weird tastes." She shoved the glasses to his chest and frowned, her glare almost sharp enough to cut him two.
"Maa, don't be angry, Akatsuki-chan," Gojo said. "It's clear that you've never tried these things on, you know? How about this one, heheh."
He fitted her with a rather normal pair, not wanting to trigger her anger (he had once caused Shoko to get angry and boy that didn't turn out that well). Kana didn't budge until he stepped back to let her see herself.
"Are you sure this is not another weird pair of glasses?" she asked, looking up at him. While she was soft-spoken and demure-looking to begin with, the round frame of the spectacles accentuated the idea, elegantly framing her rather dainty face.
Thump
Huh?
"Oh, this is actually very good," remarked Kana as she stared into the mirror. "Now I get why Hotaru liked people with glasses so much. Unfortunately, I don't need them, so I guess this can return back to the shelf." Kana took the pair off and shelved it carefully. Satoru rubbed his eyes. "Gojo-senpai, are you okay? You seem confused."
"No, I'm fine. Yea," Satoru assured her with a thumbs up. "Old man, are you done yet?"
Just then, Hanazawa barged into the room, a couple of boxes of spectacles in his hand. "You know what, kid? If you end up breaking all of them by the end of this month, I swear I'll just let you cover your shitty eyes with loincloth like the girl suggested, yeah? NO BUTS!"
"I didn't say that, Hanazawa-san," Kana muttered quietly, inviting Satoru's laughter.
"Right, right, Hanazawa-san," Satoru snickered, before paying for the boxes. Not long after, Shoko and Suguru returned with two albums and some merchandise which appeared too expensive for their size and quality. After being berated by Hanazawa one last time, they went back to the dorms. Kana didn't talk a lot throughout the train journey, sometimes laughing and adding in the conversation. He would steal glances from her occasionally, before trying to pester Suguru again. All the way, there was this strange feeling in his stomach.
I should probably stop eating too much daifuku.
oOo
"Ahhh, I am so tired," Kana protested, slinking to Sakura's couch like a dried worm.
"You look more tired than during the La La Land Bootcamp," Sakura mumbled, munching on her cookie all the while. "What did you do while I'm away, huh? Marathon around the country or something?"
Kana turned her body so she could face Sakura. Her unit smelled like lavender and sandalwood mixed together, which meant that she had bought a new pack of fragrance after her business trip. "I went shopping," Kana simply said.
"Shopping? You never did that," Sakura said.
"Yea, it's quite fun, actually," Kana yawned. "Can we do it quickly? I am so sleepy."
Sakura scoffed, munching on another cookie before crouching beside her. "Welp, technically I can fake the report. It's no longer important considering how carefully you've controlled the Cage. Damn those superiors." She flicked Kana's forehead, causing her to wake up from her trance and sit up straight. "Alright. You know the drill."
"26 years, 9 months, and eight days," Kana robotically declared, and Sakura took it down. Kana relaxed a bit, letting her Cursed Energy seep through her body every so slightly, just enough to allow Sakura to assess its magnitude.
"Your Cursed Energy levels have increased significantly," Sakura muttered. "Indeed, you've only been limited by the Grade of Curses rather than your lack of ability. There's still room of improvement, of course—not that it matters since those higher-ups are stubborn shits who can't recognise talent. Anyway..."
Sakura touched Kana's palm and closed her eyes. Fortnight assessments like these were part of Kana's routine as a supervised Cursed Offering. Aside from monitoring the pace her Corruption grew inside her soul, Sakura must assess the rate of growth of her Cursed Energy Level as well, among many things. It would signal them if additional seals were necessary in case something goes wrong. While Sakura did not have the Six Eyes or anything along that line, she was accurate in her calculations and predictions that she had been conducting these checks since Kana was four.
Sakura didn't like it, not even a single bit of it. It wasn't because of the taxing procedure or the painful thereafter process of telling Naobito Zenin and other Family heads... It was because it felt like she was reminding Kana that her days were numbered. A young girl like her shouldn't be burdened with thoughts of her own death. Even if her circumstances were unwittingly instigated by Sakura.
"You do realise that one day, I won't be able to back you up, right?" Sakura muttered after a while. "Jujutsu Sorcerers have relatively short lifespans, to be frank. We don't know what will happen to us. Who knows, tomorrow I might as well be dead."
Kana stiffened as Sakura spoke. What was the kid thinking? Was she surprised, or simply disappointed? Was she scared? After all, for as long as she had lived with the Corruption, only Sakura truly supported her. Yaga was simply jumping on the wagon, while Kagaya was severely limited by his family's opinions of her. Her civilian friends, who knew nothing about her circumstance, could provide so little when things turn sour.
The girl didn't speak, visibly mulling it over. Ah, she felt slightly guilty. She shouldn't have been burdened with this. Sakura gripped her hand and then grinned. "Don't worry, I won't be going too soon. I'll try to stay alive until at least I find Shadow Eater and look him in the eyes."
That didn't seem to soothe her nerves. "I don't know, actually," Kana responded. "I would rather not think about it until it comes. I don't like things that I cannot control." She smiled sadly then, that kind she always mustered whenever she realised that hope could only go so far in her life.
Sakura wanted to slap her, for being too demure and too soft. But instead, she told her, "Don't worry. You know those programmes I've been planning with Yaga? It's part of a tactic to keep you safe once I'm gone."
Kana tilted her head. "And how are you going to do that?"
"You'll see," Sakura smirked. "You'll definitely like it."