After conveying the last piece of vital information to his colleague, in the mysterious realm of Wistaliss, a slender man with fiery red hair stood at the edge, ready to embark on his daring escape
His white blouse pulsed with cursed energy, the double agent from Westallis Intelligence, knew that every move had to be meticulous. Swiftly extracting the electronic card hidden within his badge, he left the imbued garment draped over a chair – a decoy for the eerie creatures lurking in the laboratory's corners. These creatures, referred to as curses by the director, with their dark blue skin and sinister eyes, added an oppressive weight to the air, making even the bravest shudder.
Navigating through multiple unguarded hallways, outsmarting traps with the electronic card, and ascending from the basement to the rooftop via a ventilation duct, Lightning ultimately arrived at the rooftop, where a parachute awaited his escape. Yet, as he attempted to pull the strap, an unexpected sensation rippled through his hands. Numbness crawled from his palms to his fingertips, leaving him disoriented. His mind raced for a logical explanation, but nothing surfaced. Falling to his knees, Lightning mumbled, 'What is happening?' Covering his burning, sightless eyes with his numb hands, he struggled to comprehend the surreal experience.
Despite the encroaching insanity, Lightning summoned the last ounce of strength to loop his arm through the strap. Gasping for air, each breath felt like his last. Tears eluded his dry eyes. Most would succumb to madness, but inexplicably, Lightning clung to the fragments of strength left within him. As he struggled for breath, the rooftop escape hung in the balance, and the unfolding mysteries deepened
After struggling with what it seemed like an endless agony, the spy x scientist was finally able to hold on to his parachute bag, before dragging his entire body with the strength of his other arm onto the edge of the roof that he couldn't attain because of a thin pair of slender legs that made him spit a woman's name, "Anissa", his most loyal assistant, a short blond headed of 27 years' old whom with a straight gaze took out a syringe from her blouse's pocket after murmuring something in the wind, which unfortunately wasn't strong enough to reach the poor man's ears that were too swollen to let a sound penetrate.
As motionless as a statue, Lightning remained frozen, even at the view of that syringe, his brain was obsolete, he couldn't give any more orders to his tired body that became a weary, dark blue shell with weary grey eyeballs, obscuring his view of the person before him. Despite the blurred vision, an unexpected surge in his sense of hearing occurred. The gentle patter of drops falling from the cloudy sky was enough to stir a dormant rage within him. However, this tumultuous emotion was instantly pacified by the soothing sound of waves emanating from another concealed creature beneath the rooftop floor.
"Come on now," the voice whispered with a wicked grin.
"Silently follow that young lady," the shadow urged, its tone carrying an unsettling weight. "Oh, love, what a twisted curse," it mused before departing, leaving the door ajar in its wake
"C'mon," she murmured through bleary eyes. Yet the beast remained oblivious to her plea, deaf to anything but the language of his kind. In desperation, Anissa reached out, gently grasping his hand, a silent plea for cooperation. The touch triggered a memory of their first handhold, flooding her with poignant nostalgia. Minutes later, the echoes of screams, sobs, and pain faded, leaving behind a haunting silence. Suddenly, the tranquility shattered as a heavy metallic clang reverberated through the air, marking the closing of a door.
That same reverberant sound could be heard near an old hidden house within the woods, a hitting sound that was similar to a hammer was followed by the feminine sound of a fighter
"Resonance" before adding "Itadori he is all yours" the red headed woman screamed after a nice clean landing
"Aaaah" the pink headed guy shouted, following a series of strong punches that were abruptly stopped by the dissection of the cursed body. Yet, without a moment of hesitation, the enigmatic figure known as Itadori seized the opportunity to exploit what appeared to be a heart, aiming to obliterate it. However, in a last-second twist, the creature managed to transfer the organ to another lifeless vessel carefully hidden and stored within the only room of the house and have the cadaver attack his opponent from behind but the surprise assault swiftly turned into a monumental fail after having two of Fushiguro's dogs ripping off his two arms with the strength of their fangs, but that attack seemed to barely faze the aggressor, as if he had yet to reveal his full hand. But before he could attempt another self-dissection, a nail pierced through the left side of his chest, accompanied by a chilling utterance of one fatal word."
"Resonance"
The nail literally ripped his heart alongside his body into shreds.
"Do you think that the corpse that he took as a hostage was the owner of the house?"
"No way, from the intel that I was given the last owner died twenty years ago, that guy must have come to put an end to his life, he must have been the reason why that cursed was brought to life in the first place" Fushiguro said in his usual cool but almost annoyed way.
"I don't know about you but no matter how many times I kill those things; I still can't get used to how disgusting they are. Let's depart before the stench becomes ingrained in me," she remarked as her rose-shaped tattoos faded away
"Mister Ijichi must be waiting"
Sniff, sniff
"What is it divine dog? Did you smell something?" he asked without thinking too much about it. But the dog ignored his master's voice completely and started walking and on his own, suddenly the calm walk turned into a race, the black fury beast didn't waist a second to reach the source of that smell, he was so focused that he didn't even notice that Yujin was at his very right and that his master and Kugisaki were hardly able to move at his rate.
"Hey buddy what got you running like that?" Itadori asked
But the dog didn't even bark, he just started to run at a slower pace and then stopped completely, which gave the opportunity to his master and Nobara to catch up a little, Kugisaki was so out of breath that she couldn't even phrase her question at that moment.
"Why did that damn dog ran away?" she wanted to ask as she was heavily breathing in and out, but all that came out was
"Wy…da… dog…. Away?"
"I think that it was because of that shrine" he said pointing at what it seemed like a very old derelict shrine, it is age was reflected by the moss covering its two-front pillar.
"I still don't get it, why did he run so fast to come here" added Megumi after getting his breath back
"Maybe there is another curse in there "
"I don't feel anything though; do you think we should go in there?" Itadori asked
The dog Barked after nodding, as if he was able to understand Yujin and not only his master's words.
"What do…" He stopped at the moment the dog faded away
"What the hell Fushiguro, why did you release him?" he asked very annoyed by what he thought was his comrade's move
"That wasn't me" he added as pissed as him
"Hey you two, was that door always opened?" She asked perplexed by the inside of the building.
"I think I'll call mister Ichiji and ask him about an old shrine in this area, so don't…" he said before being abruptly interrupted by his two fearless comrade's absence.
"I can't believe those two" Fushiguro sighed before following them after sending a text message to Ichiji.
In the vicinity of the woods, a handsome man arrived after a considerable absence to visit the elderly members of his clan. His striking height and magnetic charm not only captivated those who encountered him but also inspired deep gratitude among the maids who felt privileged to serve his family. It was evident that his reputation had preceded him.
As the doors swung open, a woman who appeared to be in her forties exclaimed, "Satoru!"
"I hope you are doing well, obacha"responded the silver-haired gentleman
"It's been far too long since your last visit. I'm not getting any younger, you know," she lamented, as a maid delicately poured her a cup of green tea.
The tension in the room grew slightly awkward, yet deep down, his grandmother understood that he did not intend to be provocative towards her. Thus, in reaction to what could have been perceived as a contentious statement, she simply sighed, hoping that his way of speaking would not attract any further adversaries.
"Don't worry, Grandma. I'll make sure to be by your side before your last breath," he assured her.
The tension in the room grew slightly awkward, yet deep down, his grandmother understood that he did not intend to be provocative towards her. Thus, in reaction to what could have been perceived as a contentious statement, she simply sighed, hoping that his way of speaking would not attract any further adversaries.
"Anyway, why did you summon me here? I am certain it wasn't solely for a cup of fresh tea, considering I make a point to visit you whenever I can," he inquired.
"Three times a year, and literary 3 years without any news and you call that whenever you can? You must be incredibly busy" the woman retorted, feeling as though he had almost pushed her patience to its limits.
"You mean the 3 years when I was sealed away, then almost got killed by the strongest curse sorcerer?"
"Anyway, let's forget about that, I summoned you here for an urgent matter, it is about an old affair that could tarnish and weaken our clan greatly, it is not just something that could be overlooked by the prodigy of the clan's reputation. Satoru dear I wouldn't have asked you that personally if it wasn't such a private matter"
"Ah are you talking about that old affair with Okuno the cursed user who became a curse himself?"
"How are you aware of that?" she asked in shock
"My hearings are quiet sensitive you know, I just heard some elders talking about it the night of that man's death, Gojo Kureno I think"
"Kureno was one of the few people selected to search a missing body part from Okuno, before his death he asked me to not let go of the searches no matter what, that it was just a matter of years before the clan's shame resurface into the light"
"I know that I shouldn't be asking you that but…" she said after almost bowing
"I'll do it" he abruptly interjected.
"What?" she exclaimed, taken aback by his sudden declaration.
"It is okay, now that Sukuna is no longer and that Yujin was able to absorb all of his powers I can allow myself to disappear for at least a certain amount of time"
"Wonderful I…."
Satoru's phone rang, he obviously shamelessly answered without excusing himself
"What is it Ichiji?"
"I am sorry to interrupt you sir, but I think that we have a problem here, it is about your old students, Fushiguro sent me the location of what he said was a shrine but when I arrived there, there was absolutely nothing, then I tried to reach out to them, but there was still nothing, I just can't find them anywhere, all that I found was the remains of a dead curse that they were meant to exorcise"
"Got it, just stay where you are, I am coming right this second"
"What is it?"
"Grandma have you talked about that family affair thing to father?"
"Yes I did why?" she asked confused
"Oh well I think that he is behind my colleagues disappearances, C'mon old man just come out, I am not going to bite you" he said before feeling a strong wave coming from an opening door
"How dare you make your grandmother almost bow for you to accomplish one of your duties as this clan's head?"
"So you thought that by keeping my students' hostages you'll be able to make me assure one of my so called duties. I see, just give me some time to locate that damn family curse and then you'll…"
"You don't have to, apparently someone already located it and sent your apprentices there, you just have to join them"
"Tell me old man, was it you? Do you have anything to do with this?" he asked staring at his unfazed and unbothered phase that strangely reminded him of one of Megumi's face.
That last started to feel more and more uncomfortable after every step made in that shrine.
"Seriously you two don't run off like that, what if it was a trap?"
"From who? The elders? I don't think that they would risk some kind of war with the Zenin clan, you were their head's after all" Nobara said as she was contemplating the two status in front of her. Two wooden painted status who both represented a man and a woman in a light blue Japanese traditional clothes
"I wonder the name of the god this shrine was built for" Yuji asked
"Well, well, well if it is not the ancestors of that dear Suguwara" said a manly voice
"Who said that?" Nobara asked terrified for a second thinking that the voice came from the status before looking at her right and saw the black divine dog who ran away
"Fushiguro why did you summon him again?" She asked
"But It wasn't me" he said strangely staring at the beast, "seems like I have no control over him in this forest" he added before trying to release him
"What do you mean? You were able to fight with him against that curse earlier" Itadori said
"Still, I gave him some orders that he didn't follow when you were fighting, but I didn't think much of it after seeing him follow my other orders"
"Man talk about something creepy"
"Says the girl wo blindly penetrated a cursed shrine" Divine dog replied
"What do you mean?" Itadori inquired simultaneously.
In an instant, a radiant blue light emerged from the floor, forming a massive circular pattern composed of intricate inscriptions.
"Damn it, I was sure of it" Megumi shouted before disappearing with all his comrades without leaving a trace, just like the shrine that was taken down by the people who created it, but none of them seemed like a woman unlike Satoru's suspicions.
"Did you force mother to use the last amount of energy she had to teleport them there?" Satoru said thinking about his mother's ability to create teleportative shrine to send anyone anywhere with the right location details, but she only used it ones, and since that day her health took a huge hit.
"Never, for ones you should try to use your head instead of immediately jumping to conclusion, since when did you start to look at me as the villain of the story?" His father asked
"I don't have time for that, my colleagues need me" Satoru said as he was about to leave
"Sato please wait"
"Haruhi what have you done to his old students? and how in the world were you able to teleport them without the elders help"
"Oh but they did help me mother, we knew that like always you'll sugar coat the heir of the family so we decided to gather the future members of the family's council and bring them to the forbidden shrine" He said as he sat down before pouring himself a cup of hot tea.
"You conspired against me?" she asked furious but like always keeping it together to not lose face as the grand-mother's actual head of the family.
"I simply did what father would have done at my place, what's best for the family and the world's safety, the fact that we have another curse story in this family is enough, and like you said we can't always relay on my son's reputation." He added before taking a sip of his tea.
"Enough of this chit chat already, where are they?" Satoru insisted
"Follow me Sato dear, my husband is no longer from the living but my authority, questioned or not is still able to make some powerful people in this family tremble." Mioki said before standing up ready to face the elders and give the potential future head of this family a way of joining his students.
"It is a high quality tea you are wasting, not a lot of people have the chance to smell this aroma you know?" The father said
"I am not sure about that" he sighed before leaving
The six eyes uncertainty was justified, after all that same smell and warmth was enjoyed by a woman in her late 20's, within the comfort of her apartment in the middle of the city while her husband was making dinner.
"Thanks again Loid, I was quiet busy today at work, so I didn't have the chance to come back home early.
"Don't think about it twice Yor" The white-haired man smirked, thinking that it was a blessing for him to come back earlier than his pretended wife to cook every single meal that they eat.
"At least let me help you with the dishes" she said cleaning her tea cup before calling someone's name to warn her that dinner is almost ready
"Anya, dinner is almost ready" She said
"Roger that" a cute little voice replied
"Seriously I would love her to focus more on her studies than on that stupid show" Loid said sighing out of desperation
"Don't think about it too much, she is just a kid and like any other kid she just wants to have fun, I am sure that little by little she'll grow onto becoming more and more studious" Yor affirmed
"I doubt it" added Loid
Even though Yor was aware of Loid's motive for Anya to become an imperial stellar student, she couldn't shake off that feeling that something about it was off, I mean at the end of the day all that should matter is that your child is in perfectly good health and have enough food on his table for him not to starve, she thought thinking back about the state of distress that she was in, while learning about her parent's death and thinking of how to raise Yuri all by herself.