(A/N! This chapter will be told before the catastrophe, you're 16 and attending Shibuya High under the Jujo! IMPORTANT: TRIGGER WARNING- A quick sentence mentioning rape, no description of any sort.)
Shinya Hiragi had told you all about when he was smaller and finally met Mahiru Hiragi, his betrothed.
"And she just never gave you a chance?"
"She only kept me alive because I'm useful to her...All because of the Guren kid." He laughs
"They might love each other...But the way our clans are, especially the Ichinose and Hiragi clan. It would never be allowed."
"Right, how it all started..." Shinya says rather bored
"All because a Hiragi and an Ichinose fell in love...But another Hiragi had fancied the Hiragi woman. So, he decided to rape her, giving her his child, forcing her to be with the Hiragi instead of the Ichinose, because of that...The Hiragi's and Ichinose's have never gotten along." You say sadly
"Do you ever think one-day hierarchy won't matter?" Shinya asks you hopefully, ambition in his eyes
"Dude, I hope so. There's only so much these people can handle under the Hiragi's rule." You say, falling back on the front porch, laying there lazily
. . . . .
"Today there's an assembly outside of the auditorium, we'll all be attending. It's in thirty minutes, please be on your best behavior."
It didn't take an idiot to realize the teacher spoke directly at Guren, simply making you sigh as you tapped your fingers against your desk. Shinya speaks up to Guren enthusiastically,
"Mahiru's going to be up on stage today, I wonder what kind of reaction she'll have after not seeing you in so long~"
Guren simply kept quiet, his eyes written in anguish and conflicted emotions. Shinya hadn't been joking when he said Mahiru and him hadn't seen each other in a long time. Personally, you could care less about the school goddess, the times you had met her, she was never in the room. She always had this aura of always being ahead in everything. Occasionally, you were given the opportunity to train with her, but you already knew the outcome. Even Kureto would get absolutely demolished by her, though he could at least keep up with her, barely though.
. . . . .
"Lady Mahiru." You bow your head politely before sparring with her
"May the winner shine through all." She bows her head
"I have the kart ready to take Y/n back to the hospital just in case she breaks her bones again.." Shinya said, clearly prepared
Shinoa, Mahiru's little sister simply snickers.
Right, the bone-breaking incident. You think that breaking a couple of bones during an adrenaline rush wouldn't bother you so much, hahaha, shit, you learned the hard way. Lord Jujo had to beat the "do whatever you must do to assure victory or assume dominance," lesson into you, and boy, did he do his job. So with that lesson, when you went against Mahiru the next day, in order to not get knocked out of the arena, you set off a..certain fuda on your arm which sent you flying back to the floor to deliver a blow to Mahiru's way...
Long story short, you did assert dominance for 1.2 seconds according to Shinya, but you accidentally stepped on Mahiru's traps she set beforehand. Knocking you out before you could curse yourself out for being such an idiot.
Everyone on the battlefield already knew how this would end. In the beginning, when we began sparring sessions, it was a challenge and exciting to watch. But quickly, they grew boring, or entertaining if you enjoyed watching Kureto's pride and ego break every time Mahiru would best him. Mahiru Hiragi was indeed a prodigy, a horrifying one, every single time she came back, she was stronger than ever. Everyone else struggled, including you, to even dodge an attack, unless she pitied you, which was hardly ever.
Mahiru enjoyed breaking her enemies, or at least trying to get their true potential out from her opponent, which you admired, yet looked at it as a powerful weapon.
"Ready? Begin." Kureto announced
You couldn't blink, that was the trick, blink, you lose. Within that quick second or less, she would use it as the opportunity to strike. Quickly you set down a barrier fuda that was, no surprise, contested quickly. Blindly, you take the chance to grab her long, ashen hair in an attempt to yank her away, but before you knew it, she took the chance to grab yours and pull you down, your back first against the dirt, moving out of the way before she kicked you with brutal force.
You reach out for her ankle to attempt to mess with her gracious footwork, but instead, she slipped away cleanly, jumping up she throws multiple fuda your way,
"Explode."
A light growl escapes your mouth as you throw an incantation to disarm them and avoid her before it escalated. Jujo's specialized in brutal power and strength, and exceptional fuda use. Something Mahiru would always show you up in.
The battle lasted 30 more seconds before she had you eating the dirt right under her foot.
"Mahiru Hiragi wins once more," Kureto announces un-enthusiastically, hoisting you up and had Shinya help you with your multiple wounds in the infirmary.
"Untouched again, what the helllll....!" You complain as you press a cold pack against your forehead that began to ache.
"A for effort. You almost surpassed big bro Kureto!" He says trying to cheer you up with his signature smirk
"Thank you, Lord Shinya. But get that shit-eating grin off your face." You sigh, simply earning a chuckle from the adopted Hiragi.
Yep, no matter how much you tried, Mahiru Hiragi was always miles away, prepared for every single outcome.
. . .
This now brings you back to the assembly, you sat beside Shinya, per his request. The entire time you sat there, Shinya had continuously poked at the Ichinose. Irritating you and the Guren teen.
As the school goddess, Mahiru Hiragi gave her speech with a loving and fake smile that could fool anyone who wasn't entranced by her beauty, stood there, the more you could notice Guren opted Shinya out. His eyes lit up just the slightest, his dull purple eyes began to have a life again, the love for her began to grow once more. It was a loving and caring look, the look of admiration of someone who was too far away for his liking.
Since that day, you remember having to stop yourself from looking at him. God, how embarrassing. Was it his compassion and ambition something that made you immediately fall for a lovesick idiot such as himself? It was a couple of reasons why.
When you walked home with Mito that day, Shinya joined you both.
"Y/n? Hello? Anyone home?" Mito knocked on your head with a perplexed look
"Hm? Oh, sorry Mito." You apologize with a soft smile
"Don't tell me you fell for me, Y/n!~" Shinya piped up, laughing
"Ha. Ha. Shinya." You snap back
"Lord Shinya, may I ask why you're walking with us?" Mito looks over at him curiously
"I don't want to stay after school for 4 hours with Kureto." He shrugs
A couple of months into school, many things had happened way too fast. Goshi Norito, the oldest son of the Goshi family joined the group that now consisted of Mito, Shinya, and yourself. Of course, Guren along with Shigure and Sayuri joined willingly.
"Let's all go to crash at Guren's house after school!~" Shinya beamed with a huge smile
"I'll bring the magazine-!Yeowch!" Goshi began only to get punched by Mito seconds later
"You will be bringing no such things." She growls
"You guys are not coming over-" Guren sighed, clearly annoyed yet enjoying it all the same.
"I'll bring the video games!" You cheer beside Shinya, smiling the both of you pumping your arms in the air together in unison.
"You guys are giving me a headache."
"Lord Guren, may I assist you in any way?" Sayuri perks up
"We." Shigure corrects
"R-Right, we.."
Mito caught up beside Shigure and began looking at her in awe, they both seemed to have an awkward relationship but a nice one.
"You know! You could come over one day and I could train you!" Mito said with a wide smile
"N-No thank you." Shigure always kindly denied
Then there was the typical pervert, Goshi who always tried passing over at poor Sayuri, but every single time, she stayed loyal to Guren.
"Gurennnn! Tell Sayuri to go on a date with me!" Goshi whines
"No."
"Dude, you have loyal followers to who you could literally do anything, and you don't-?Ouch!"
"Learn when to shut up, Goshi." You sigh after punching him
And finally Guren, Shinya, and you, the iconic trio.
"Shinyaaaa, Guren's being mean..." You sob as you try getting Guren's attention.
Guren was known to really not care, sometimes he'd pitch in when he was in the mood, however.
"That's how he always is, you just have to push him in the right direction!~" Shinya concludes, laughing
"Shut up you're both annoying."
Shinya soon mocked him which earned him a nice glare in his direction.
But today was much different, you see, you were specifically called up through the PA system to meet Kureto Hiragi in his private office. The principal's office of the student council, of course.
"Will Y/n Jujo please report to the Student Council Kureto Hiragi's office, ASAP."
Mito looked over at you a bit worried,
"B-But you haven't done anything wrong?"
"It could be for anything...Y/n, no matter what he offers you, don't take it." Shinya reminds you
"Hey-" Guren began but was soon stopped once more.
"Will Guren Ichinose also head over to Kureto Hiragi's office, ASAP."
"I wonder what Lord Kureto wants.." Goshi winces
"Lord Guren!" His followers both looked at him with panicked faces
"Stay here with everyone. Y/n and I will be back."
You nod, walking off beside Guren, genuinely terrified. Going into your pocket and counting your fuda, Guren looking over.
"Nervous?" He asks
"I'm preparing for the worst." You reply, shoving them into your uniform sleeves.
Despite your usual teasing, loving, and confident demeanor, Guren had just witnessed you break down in a matter of seconds. Kureto truly scared you, the Hiragi's did in general. Even though you were pretty much a match for Kureto when it came to fighting, now, he had his black demon which could easily overpower you.
Sure, you basically trained as a Hiragi, but you were still undergoing numerous experiments to truly perfect your demon. At the moment, you stood there almost defenseless.
Guren stays silent, not really knowing what to say as he knocks on the door.
"Come in."
Guren opens the door and goes in first, looking bored as you came in afterward, carrying a stoic expression. As always, Kureto's follower, Aoi Sangu stood beside him, politely as if she was just here to watch the show. Kureto simply smiles, a file in his hands.
"Guren. Y/n." He greets
"Lord Hiragi." You bow
"Kureto, what do you want?" Guren stands there, just wanting to get to the point
"I didn't want you here, that was a mistake, but I suppose you could stick around." He says getting up, the file in his hands.
"You can witness Y/n finally submit to the Hiragi's." He sneers
"Lord Kureto, if this is another wedding deal, I don't want any part of it." You say politely
"Wedding deal?" Guren looks confused, his hands in his pockets
"This is no wedding peace treaty, Y/n." He ignores Guren, a hint of amusement in his tone
"...Then what is it you want, Lord Kureto?"
"Come work under me. I think you'll find it to be an experience..." He offers
"I will be staying beside the clan that so graciously took me in, Lord Kureto." You rebuke
"Even if I said I found your brother?" He says, handing you the file
Your heart sank, you felt your body run cold, you couldn't refuse. Quickly you wanted to say yes, anything for your little brother you hoped to see once more. But you knew deep down he could be lying.
"H-How do I know you're not lying, Lord Kureto?"
"It's all in the file. We managed to track him down. A healthy eight-year-old boy, his parents, well, yours as well, are both dead. Apparently, he's been under our...care for some time. Just as you have been. He's going to be prepared to undergo some treatment."
You were just a Jujo. You weren't a Hiragi, you couldn't speak up, but this time, anger arose as you opened the file to see your baby brother, looking miserable as he cried in his cell, alone. You remember it all. The screams and begging cries that came from Yuu as they dragged you away, you swore at the moment the light had left your eyes.
"Touch my brother and I promise you Kureto-!"
"What? You can't do anything. Take the deal and he'll be taken under the Jujo's and you, under my care."
You had sacrificed everything, your body was no longer yours, it was now Jujo property. You were a successful experiment, under the Hiragi's, you'd be treated worse and most likely forced to wed a Hiragi. At least with the Jujo's, you had Mito. If you took the deal, your brother would have to suffer the life of a guinea pig and meet death sooner than he should have. If you didn't, he had a bigger chance of just being tested a couple of times and given life once more.
You swallow your sobs, everything you had done up until now, had just slapped you in the face. This was the day...you had to give up. Forget about your brother. You had to. He was going to hopefully live a better life. Even if the Seraph of the End was coming this December, he was going to survive. You had to believe he could make it. You take a deep breath, your voice almost convincing, but your body language basically screamed, "I will kill you one day."
"Do whatever you want with Yuichiro. He means nothing to me. I could dare less what you'll do to him." You say coldly
"If you don't care for him, I'll give the scientists the go-ahead."
Wait, this wasn't.
Kureto never dealt with this, why now? He was always left in the dark about the experiments. He was the cold type, but he still had a heart. You ball your fists, looking around the room and quickly noticing the fuda that were used for illusions. You throw a disenchantment fuda in the center.
"Y/n? What are you-?" Guren looks confused until he spots the fuda, looking in disbelief at the form in front of him.
It wasn't Kureto, and Aoi most certainly wasn't in the room.
"What the hell are you planning?!"
"It seems I underestimated you...~"
And this is the beginning of how you gave up your humanity to finally participate in the Seraph of the End experiment.
And that was the day, your commitment to your family grew, catching the eye of a certain male that always sat next to you in class.