The warm rays of the sun filtered through the window, casting a soft golden glow on the faces of those still asleep in the room. It was as though the sun was coaxing them to rise and start their day.
With a deep yawn and a few sleepy blinks, Jin reached out to his dressing table, his fingers searching for his glasses. As he put on his glasses, his vision slowly cleared and he looked around the room, taking in the details of his surroundings. His gaze eventually landed on the wall clock, its hands ticking away the minutes.
'It's only 6 in the morning,' he thought, exhaling with relief.
He had been working at the company for three years now. Luckily, he had packed his lunch box yesterday morning, so he had enough energy to finish his work quickly and leave on time at 5 pm. Finally, he could spend more time with his twin sons and have dinner with his father and Kushina-san, who turned out to be an amazing chef.
Jin blushed, remembering how he had mistaken his father for making his lunch, when it was actually Kushina-san who had cooked breakfast also his lunch box, yesterday. Thankfully, Kushina-san wasn't easily offended and just laughed it off.
Last night, Jin finally managed to get a full 8 hours of sleep, something he hadn't done in a long time. When he woke up, he felt so much more energetic.
It was the first time in three years of working at the company that he had woken up feeling refreshed. As time went on and he got promoted, his workload kept piling up. Now, he was juggling his duties as HRIS and branch chairman.
The words "sleep well" seemed to have disappeared from his vocabulary.
His energy was always drained after leaving the office. Even at home, he would continue working and often end up falling asleep at 2 am, only to wake up at 7:30 am. He would then rush to shower and get ready in just 30 minutes, leaving no time for breakfast and sometimes forgetting his lunch box.
"Hmmnn...aadaadaa...." Jin's golden eyes focused on one of his twin babies who had woken up and was squirming in the crib.
"Hush...hush...Hey, Yuuji, my little guy. Do you need to go potty again?" Jin whispered as he picked up Yuuji to comfort him.
After checking that Yuuji wasn't wet or needed a diaper change, he noticed that his son was still restless and kicked his legs, accidentally hitting his twin brother who was still fast asleep beside him. Sukuna slowly opened his eyes and stared (glared) at their father, as if silently asking (command) him for help to shut up his twin, so he could go back to sleep.
Noticing his son's intense gaze, Jin decided to seek his father's advice. He banged on his dad's bedroom door. "Dad! Dad!" he called out loudly. Annoyed, Wasuke opened the door, clearly upset.
"Why are you knocking so loudly at 6 a.m.?!" he grumbled as he stepped out of his room. Jin grabbed his father's hand and urged him towards his room.
"Please, come see Yuuji! I don't know what to do!"
Wasuke approached the restless grandchild, noticing that Yuuji wasn't crying as loudly as usual when he had a dirty diaper. Yuuji's little hand was reaching out as if trying to grasp something.
Wasuke attempted to calm him by holding him close and offering a pacifier, but nothing seemed to work. Yuuji grew even more agitated, tears streaming down his cheeks. Meanwhile, the other twin, Sukuna gazed intensely at the ceiling and walls of the room.
"Call Kushina! She's on the terrace, she'll know what to do!" Wasuke ordered, growing increasingly concerned. Jin rushed to the terrace and found Kushina-san, who was busy with her exercises.
"Kushina-san, please come inside! It's urgent!"
Both of them hurried back to the bedroom. As Kushina-san entered, her violet eyes widened in surprise at the scene before her.
"Kushina, thank goodness you're here! Yuuji has been crying—" Wasuke began, but his words were abruptly cut off as he was suddenly jerked to the side of the room.
Jin's jaw dropped in shock as Kushina-san produced golden chains from her back, swiftly wrapping one of them around his father's body and pushing him to the side.
"What...?" Jin stammered, again startled as another chain emerged from Kushina-san and wrapped around something invisible near his twin sons' cribs.
Jin turned his head to Kushina-san, who was standing next to him. He had intended to scold her since she had used her magic to forcefully push his father into the bedroom wall. The impact of her gold chains could have seriously injured him, but now they were merely attacking thin air.
"Oh MY GOD!," exclaimed Wasuke, his face filled with fear as he fixated on something in the room. Curious, Jin followed his father's gaze and was immediately taken aback.
His mouth remained agape as he witnessed something that defied all logic and reason. It was like a scene straight from a bone-chilling horror flick.
Kushina-san's gold chains, which had failed to attack the empty space just moments ago, were now actually not just attacking a mere thin air. The chains were clinging to a creature that has look can be winning the scariest monster champion in the world.
The creature itself was of nightmarish proportions, possessing a pitch-black body, razor-sharp fangs, elongated claws, and an eerie lack of eyes. The sight left Jin dumbfounded, unable to comprehend the grotesque spectacle before him.
As if the bizarre sight wasn't enough, a putrid stench, similar to that of decaying flesh, assaulted Jin's nostrils. He instinctively covered his nose with his hand, trying to ward off the unpleasant odour.
However, the golden chains acted like flames against a drop of water, causing the creature's body to melt away, releasing steaming vapour. Eventually, it vanished into golden particles suspended in the air.
Jin and Wasuke remained in a state of profound shock, the recent encounter leaving them in disbelief. Meanwhile, Kushina swiftly picked up Yuuji from the crib, comforting him with a tender embrace. Surprisingly, the baby, who had been crying moments ago, fell silent, his tiny hand clutching one of Kushina's long red strands of hair.
Soon, he drifted off to sleep, peacefully oblivious to the danger that had loomed over his life. Kushina gently returned Yuuji to his older twin brother in the crib, and together, the two infants slept serenely, unaware of the harrowing threat they had narrowly escaped.
"What the HELL-..?!" Jin's eyes almost popped out of his head as Kushina appeared out of nowhere, causing him to react with shock. Like she had been teleporting to in front of him. She quickly placed her hand on his mouth, signalling him to keep quiet.
"Shhh... Yuuji and Sukuna finally dozed off. Let's head to the living room so we can chat without waking them up," Kushina whispered, making sure not to disturb Jin's recently put-to-sleep twin babies.
***********
"Are you okay, Itadori-san? You look sick. Keisuke asked. Jin shook his head to clear the confusion in his mind.
"I'm fine. Just some trouble at home." He lied to his coworker. He couldn't stop thinking about what happened that morning in his bedroom. He never believed in invisible supernatural creatures like ghosts. But he saw one with his own eyes. They are real. And extremely dangerous.
If Kushina-san hadn't been there, his twin sons might have been in danger. They could have been hurt. Or worse. He also remembered what Kushina-san told him in the living room. She said that in the Sendai city, there were more creatures like that.
And they were bigger and more varied than here in the village. She had never seen anything like that in her own village. It was new to her too. She only found out yesterday, when she went to buy groceries.
Jin was filled with worry when he found out that Kushina-san had gone to town by herself. He quickly checked her body for any injuries and asked her anxiously,
"Are you okay?" She laughed at his concern and gave him a warm smile. She said,
"It's okay. I'm alright." She then told Jin and Wasuke that she wanted to go to town again in the afternoon to buy some groceries and to look for information about the invisible creatures in the library. She hoped to find a book that would explain their existence. Jin decided to skip work today and planned to ask his boss for permission later.
He offered to drive Kushina-san to the grocery store and the library in his car. However, his father disagreed with his idea. Wasuke knew very well that Jin had an important meeting at 9 a.m. today, where he would represent the branch chairman and meet with other branch heads and the company CEO.
This was a great opportunity for Jin, who might become the branch chairman in Sendai next year. He tried to persuade his father that what they had witnessed that morning was more important than his career. But Wasuke replied with these words:
"Son, I understand your worry. It's natural. I feel it too. But, this meeting is vital for your career. I know you are scared as well. I'm scared too. But if you lose your job because of this, how will you survive? Your two twin sons, Yuuji and Sukuna, still need baby milk for the next three months before they can start eating porridge. We have many expenses. Even if you find a new job in another company, you will have to start from a lower position, and your salary will be much lower than what you earn now. So, I want you to go to work today. You can take a day off tomorrow. Not today."
Jin was speechless after hearing his father's explanation. He had no choice but to go to work. After the meeting with the other branch heads and the deputy CEO (the CEO was absent), he felt very confused, especially when he realized what he had seen on his way to the office.
His eyes seemed to have been opened from the veil that had hidden all of the horrors from his eyes and ears in his entire life. He saw various creatures that he had encountered in the morning.
They had different shapes, sizes, and bodies. There was a small white one stuck to a red traffic light. There were some hanging near the tall buildings. There were even pitch-black creatures that clung to the bodies of the people walking on the side of the road.
He broke into a cold sweat when he realized that these invisible creatures were swarming around the city where he always worked, without him knowing that they existed and that they could harm someone at any time. He tried to act normally.
But how could he act normally when he realized that some of these creatures were also inside his office? Luckily, they were crowded in the bathroom, for both men and women. Jin felt that he could not stand it if an invisible creature was near the room where he worked, he would not be able to concentrate at all.
"Itadori-san, Itadori-san!" Keisuke called out to his colleague, who was staring blankly at his computer screen. He nudged him gently and saw him snap out of his trance.
"You were daydreaming again, weren't you?" he teased while glancing at Rui who was standing nearby with a smile.
"Sorry, sorry, I was just...distracted by something," Jin lied, feeling a pang of guilt.
"What's up?" he asked, forcing a smile.
"Well, we were wondering if you wanted to join us for lunch," Keisuke said, gesturing to himself and Rui.
"We're going to the cafe across the street. They have great coffee and sandwiches there. You look like you could use a break."
Itadori wanted to decline the offer and stay in his cubicle, wallowing in his misery. But he knew that would only make him more depressed. Maybe he should try to cheer up and enjoy his time with his friends. They were always nice to him, and he didn't want to disappoint them. So he agreed to go with them, hoping that it would make him feel better.
"Sure, why not? Let me just grab my lunch box," he said, reaching for the container he had brought from home.
"Oh, you brought your own lunch?" Keisuke asked, raising an eyebrow. "You know, you don't have to do that. The cafe has a lot of options, and they're not too expensive."
"No, no, it's fine. I like to make my own food. It's healthier and cheaper," Jin said, holding up his lunch box. "Besides, I don't think the cafe would mind if I bring my own lunch, as long as I buy something from them first," he added.
"Well, that's true. The owner is pretty chill. He's one of my friends from college. He won't mind if you bring your own lunch, as long as you're a paying customer," Keisuke said, nodding.
"Come on, let's go. I'm starving."
The three of them walked together to the cafe, which was only a few blocks away from the office building they worked in. The name of the cafe was Froth and Furious, which Itadori thought was a strange and funny name for a cafe.
He wondered why the owner had chosen it. Was it a reference to some movie or something? He didn't get it.
When he entered the cafe, he realized what the name meant. It was a pun on the fast and furious service of the cafe staff. He saw waiters wearing roller skates, zooming around the tables and delivering orders to customers. He also saw baristas with fierce expressions, muscular bodies, and tattoos, working swiftly and skillfully to make coffee and other drinks.
It was the first time he had seen such a contrast between the appearance and the profession of the cafe workers. They looked more like gangsters than baristas, but they were very good at their job.
Some of them even wore pink aprons, which Itadori thought were too small and tight for their large frames. It was a bizarre and amusing sight. He guessed that was part of the appeal of the cafe. Maybe that was why there were more female customers than male customers in the cafe. They seemed to enjoy the spectacle of the macho baristas.
"GUYS, I NEED SIX FRAPPES WITH NO ICE AND EXTRA SUGAR, STAT!" one of the baristas shouted in a loud and authoritative voice, as he slammed a tray of cups on the counter.
"YES, CHEF!" the other baristas responded in unison, as they scrambled to fulfil the order.
"Kyaa, so handsome!" a female customer squealed, as she watched the baristas make her drink. She snapped a picture of them with her phone and posted it on social media, probably in her my space account.
Jin could only shake his head and sigh when he saw this scene. He felt like he had entered a different world, where everything was weird and crazy. He looked around the cafe, and let out a great sigh. Luckily, as he sees there were no those creatures in here, unlike in his office.
"Hey, what up, Natsuto. Your cafe is doing great, huh?" said Keisuke to the cafe cashier, who was also the owner. Jin saw a man who looked like Keisuke's age, 20 years old, had a sturdy body with blonde hair, a non-Japanese face and was wearing a purple apron. The blonde man walked out of the cashier's desk with a smile. Then he easily stepped over the counter in one jump, like an Olympic athlete.
"KEI, MY BEST FRIEND! HOW ARE YOU DOING?" He exclaimed as he hugged Keisuke tightly.
Rui just laughed softly seeing this incident, while Jin felt sorry for Keisuke who looked pale because he was squeezed too hard by Natsuto.
"Y-yeah, I am g-great... Thank you for asking. Man, your muscles are always too strong for me. By the way, you know Rui already. And this is also my coworker at work, Itadori Jin-san." Keisuke said, smiling and pointing at Jin.
"Jin-san, this is my friend from college, Tsukomo Natsuto. He is also the owner of this cafe, Froth and Furious." He introduced them.
"Nice to meet you, Tsukomo-san. You can just call me Jin." Jin said, smiling as he leaned forward, giving a respectful greeting to Natsuto. Natsuto didn't return the gesture. He saw that Natsuto seemed silent as he looked at him with a sharp gaze.
"Hmmm... your speaking style is too stiff. Just like a nerd. And I hate nerds." Natsuto said to Jin, bluntly.
Natsuto's words were like an arrow that pierced his heart. He felt hurt when he was judged as an old man based on his speaking style. "OI, NATSUTO DON'T BE RUDE TO JIN-SAN!" Keisuke scolded his outspoken friend.
"It's okay, Keisuke. I'm not offended, really. Honestly, I speak like this because I'm used to using polite language due to the habit of meeting with people much older than me. It's rare for me to talk to people my age. So I'm sorry if I speak stiffly. I'll try to improve myself in our next meeting." Jin replied while smiling softly, trying to make a good impression on Natsuto.
"Hmm... I still kinda dislike your way of speaking. But I have one question for you and you have to answer it." Natsuto ordered.
"Sure, ask anything. I will answer it the best I can." Jin said, curiously. Natsuto approached Jin until he was close enough to whisper something in his right ear.
"What is your type of woman?" He asked, with a mischievous grin.