The trip to the school took longer than expected, not because of how far it was or anything like.
But the the fact that Maki was clearly unwilling to participate in socializing made yuta's attempts at striking a conversation feel a tad bit dry.
Thus the atmosphere took on an uncomfortable silence.
Yuta sighed softly due to frustration, it's not like this is the first time he was in a mission with such an unapproachable person, after all he had scene his fair share of things in this line of work.
But the fact that Maki was extremely beautiful made it hard for him to stay silent
She was of average height with an athletic and toned physique. Her long hair tied in a ponytail with bangs and strands framing her face.
The sharp look plastered on her small amber eyes and the red glasses gave her a special kind of appeal.
Her well developed figure was hugged by the traditional jujutsu high jacket. She wore a skirt and black stockings that complemented her fair legs.
Yuta continued to stare completely mesmerized by her beauty. Truth to be told he found this version of Maki better than the post Shibuya one.
Not that he had a problem with her Burns and scars , quite the opposite actually. It probably had to do with the long hair...
Maki who had been walking in total silence, had noticed his not subtle looks, not that he attempted to hide them anyway.
"Stop staring "
Yuta nodded slowly before catching up with her " so you are form the zenin clan right?"
At the mention of the word 'zenin' a scowl crawled into her face, it was clear how much she hated that name.
"What if I am a zenin? Is that a problem for you Mr sword saint."
The venom in her words was a clear sign of how much anger had been building up since her defeat that morning.
Yuta okkotsu was quite understanding and didn't hold it against her. He knew how badly the zenin clan treated women and more so in her case because of her incomplete heavenly restriction.
Her father Ogi was one of the candidates for the clan head position along side naobito the current leader.
This is mainly due to the fact that his son naoya has projection sorcery while Ogi's wife gave a birth to twins which is a taboo in the jujutsu system since they are considered a single person and the potential is shared between them.
This caused Ogi to abuse his children, and their mother who also faced the same treatment chose to vent out on those children... This clan is messed up and it's only one family...
Something was wrong with the school.
Yuta couldn't put his finger on it exactly, but the wrongness settled deep in his bones the longer he stared at the building.
The structure looked too normal intact windows and doors,no visible damage after two weeks of reported cursed activity?
Normal buildings didn't stay this pristine. They absorbed the negativity. They wore it like old scars and this place looked somehow untouched?
Which could only mean someone had gone through a lot of effort to make it look untouched.
He stood at the front gate with his hands in his pockets, eyes half-lidded as he took in the details. Maki stood beside him, naginata resting on her shoulder, her posture clearly tensed but controlled.
"You feel that?" she asked in a confused tone
"The fact that I can't feel anything is exactly the problem," Yuta replied quietly his eyes examining the exterior walls
Stepping up to the main gate he stood there staring at thin air. Taking a step in the invisible barrier was immediately sensed by the experienced sorcerer
"Layered curtain..." Yuta muttered as his eyes narrowed. "High-quality work at that... This isn't a random spirit that wandered in. Someone built this."
Maki glanced at him sideways before looked back at the building. "Then we go carefully."
"Yeah..."
The inside was extremely dark to the point nothing could be seen clearly. Emergency systems were dead. The darkness felt heavy, like someone had carved it out and left it behind on purpose.
Probably a work of a curse that caused this unnatural darkness, and those curtains... Could it be his work?
Maki with silent footsteps her naginata always ready as she scanned every corner. Yuta kept pace beside her, his senses stretched wide through the building like water finding cracks in stone.
He mapped the cursed energy signatures, feeling the deliberate pattern in their placement.
"Eight sources," he murmured still focused in his spaced out cursed energy. "Spread across three floors. They're not moving actively which means they are either waiting for us or positioned around something..."
"Guarding the children?" Maki inquired as she cracked her neck for the upcoming fight.
"Top floor, i can feel their signature in there" he confirmed.
The first curse hit them in the second
corridor , a Grade 1 that exploded out of the darkness with mindless aggression.
Maki was already moving, driving the butt of her naginata into its lead limb to break its momentum, then spinning into a clean blade strike that severed the arm.
The curse screamed in agonizing pain .
Yuta stepped past her and backhanded the mass of ugliness Through the nearest wall making its purple blood Plaster e outward.
The curse dissolved into nothingness leaving a shell shocked Maki at how effortless that looked.
Was this the difference between them and a special grade, truly a Day and night difference.
Yuta okkotsu unaware of his companion's thoughts turned back to Maki who stopped in her tracks. "?"
Maki shock her head to clear her mind, even if the person who stood in front of her was as old as her yet had strength that completely dwarfed her own.
That only means she wasn't training hard enough , until she gained the strength to destroy the zenin clan, she still wasn't strong enough.
Determination flashed through her eyes as maki's ambitions flared higher than ever, much to yuta's confusion.
They found their rhythm somewhere on the third floor.
It wasn't discussed or trained on but It simply happened the natural flow between two people who were both very good at what they did.
One moved, the other had already read the intention and filled the gap. They worked like a synchronized unit covering the others blind spots.
Yuta was careful not to overshadow her. He matched her pace deliberately, letting her take the ones she could handle cleanly and only stepping in when the situation required it.
Not out of pity but rather understanding,he had seen too many talented people burn out from being made to feel useless by someone stronger. He had no interest in doing that to her.
She noticed but didn't say anything, still she didn't have a tinge of frustration in her expression,he could tell that much.
☀️☀️☀️☀️
The last curse them at the top of the final staircase.
the corridor's edges bleeding into darkness around it with unstable ripples. It was the kind of curse that had been feeding for far too long and neared the special grade status.
It looked like one of those Indy horror games that actually were scary. Its body was completely made of shadows that distorted the space around them. Its eye sockets were empty yet glowed like Stars in the night
Maki felt a pressure pressing against her, the primordial fear born of darkness yet this seemingly terrified girl had intention of running.
The cursed spirit lifted its hand and spikes made of darkness lunged out of the walls aimed at their vitals.
Before maki could react a bright blue light shines beside her and was followed soon with the sound of a hot knife cutting through butter.
"I'll take it," Yuta said.
"I can—"
"I know you can handle it on your own" he replied with full confidence in her capabilities and he actually meant it "But those kids have been there since yesterday at least. Time isn't a luxury we have,let me be fast."
She looked at the curse Then at him. gritting her teeth, she unwillingly stepped aside. Even if she had her pride, she knew not to be controlled by it otherwise what makes her better than that cursed clan...
Yuta flicked Excalibur .The plasma edge lit the corridor in pale blue-white, shadows fleeing from its glow.
The curse lurched forward with full attention of piercing him with the tendrils of darkness in its hands.
The shadow strike hit yuta right in the heart... or it seems so. The sorcerer's image faded revealing it was an afterimage.
Yuta appeared right behind the curse completely relaxed as he let his blade dissolve.
He continued walking towards the place not paying any attention behind him leaving a bewildered Maki and an enraged curse.
It turned back to strike him, or at least tried to before a bright cut that split him top to bottom separated it In two
"Let's go" he said as the curse's technique slowly disappeared retuning the school back to its normal atmosphere.
Maki was already moving right behind him, the sight of his strength igniting her spirits even more
.
The children were in a sealed room at the end of that corridor.
Seven of them, all Middle schoolers. The oldest girl had her uniform torn, dried blood on her knee and had dragged an overturned table in front of the group like it could protect them.
They huddled behind it, terrified but still full of life...
Yuta felt something tight in his chest that he couldn't put his hands on.He crouched down to their level, voice soft. "Hey. It's over. You're safe now."
Seven pairs of wide, exhausted eyes looked at him.
"We're going to walk you out of here," he continued gently. "I just need you to stay close and keep your eyes forward in the hallways. Can you do that for me?"
The oldest girl stared at him for a long moment, then nodded.
"Good job" Yuta said, smiling genuinely as he patted her head. "You did well. Keeping everyone together like this… that took guts."
Her expression cracked and tears swelled up in her eyes, she threw her self into his arms and let the facade of strength crumble.
Maki appeared at his shoulder. "Corridor's clear."
" Give me a moment"
Seeing the state of the little girl she softened up and nodded in understanding
☀️☀️☀️☀️
Getting seven scared children through three floors of darkness was slower than clearing the building had been.
Yuta stayed at the back, positioning himself between the group and any potential threat, especially since he could still be here. Even if he couldn't feel him when he spread cursed energy, yuta's unease never faded.
Halfway down the stairs, one of the younger boys tripped. Yuta caught him before he hit the steps and set him back on his feet without breaking stride.
The boy looked up with huge eyes. "Are you a hero?"
Yuta blinked confused
"No..." he said quietly.
"You feel like one of those heroes they keep talking about" the boy replied simply and turned to his friends who joined in agreeing with him
Yuta didn't have an answer for that. He just sighed kept moving.
Outside, Maki called for someone to pickup the children and take them home while Yuta sat beside the injured ones on the front steps.
He moved through them quickly a hand on a shoulder here, a moment of warmth there applying reverse cursed technique so gently they only felt relief.
When he was done, he sat back and looked at the building.
Layered curtains and organized placements those were simply impossible for a newly born cursed spirit. And the fact that they kept the children alive...
This wasn't random cursed spirits.
This was a message or a test... maybe even both...
"You healed them," Maki said interrupting his thoughts. She had come back without him noticing.
"Minor stuff" brushing it off yuta returned to actively monitoring the surroundings.
"Pickup in fifteen," she muttered while hugging one kid to sleep.
They sat together in the quiet, not exactly comfortable, but no longer hostile either. A fragile kind of peace.
Neither of them noticed the figure standing far in the treeline, with a presence throttled to near nothing and the patience of someone who had spent years plotting.
Geto Suguru watched the boy on the steps.
Watched the way cursed energy simply existed around him, totally obeying his control like he was special.
But it wasn't the boy's power that held his attention.
It was the shadow.
Rika.
Geto looked at the shadow for a long time.
Then he looked back at the boy .
A jujutsu sorcerer with the heart of a hero, how rotten.
Geto had a word for people like that , a waste of air
He turned back into the darkness.
He had time.
He had patience.
And the Queen of Curses was right there.
Waiting.