Summary : What happened in mere Two Week? Also spoiler alert ; there will be angst for this chapter.
That's it!
It's finally official that Young Master Gojo has lost his damn mind!
After the tournament, and two weeks later, he started acting stranger than a cat on a hot tin roof every single day.
Some maids speculate Young Master Gojo is just relishing in his mind, while others say he's just basking in his official title as the next strongest Jujutsu sorcerer. And let's not forget the rumour that Young Master Gojo has been cursed by someone else, most likely those clan Heirs who lost in the tournament to make him lose in his own mind.
Maids and Servants in the Gojo Clan didn't think they'd have to deal with an even worse version of their Young Master Gojo, but hey, here we are.
They've been running around like headless chickens, catering to his whims and fancies, lifting equipment like computers, folders, and books in the Jujutsu Sect library that Gojo fancied.
It seems easy enough, right?
Just the servant or the Maid who was scheduled that day had the job of ensuring Young Master Gojo didn't wander off into forbidden territories and lugging his stuff around.
The answer is a big, fat NO. Fucking HARD NO.
The stuff Young Master Gojo wants them to carry around is heavier than a pregnant elephant. Especially those ancient scrolls at the Jujutsu Sect Library. Just one scroll is half a man's height, as wide as a person's shoulders, and probably weighs more than a sack of potatoes. And guess what? Sometimes, our dear Young Master wants them to haul 2 to 4 ancient scrolls simultaneously to his newest special room at the Gojo Clan Estate.
Still, it's not too bad, right? But that's where you're wrong, my friend.
Young Master Gojo, in his infinite wisdom, sometimes gets frustrated after reading the scrolls for like a minute and without shame, orders his servants to fetch another one in the Library. So, in a single day, these poor souls end up making a minimum of 5 round trips, each time carrying at least 2 scrolls.
The cherry on top? The road for cars to the Jujutsu sect has been broken to smithereens due special-grade curse attack and is under repair. So, these poor servants have to walk to and fro, carrying an extra 30kg to 80kg on their backs.
It's a living nightmare for the Gojo clan's staff.
Some of the staff have even started praying to Buddha, begging him to bring back their old, bratty Young Master Gojo. Because, let's face it, even that was better than this madness.
Others, after one too many trips to the chiropractor, are contemplating early retirement, fearing an imminent diagnosis of spinal disease from lugging around loads heavier than their New Year's resolutions.
Today, the unlucky lottery winner who gets to supervise Young Master Gojo is Tanaka Ryouka, a recent high school graduate.
She's been on the job for just a week and already she's been tossed into the deep end. With her slightly tan skin and curly hair, she sticks out like a sore thumb in the traditional Japanese setting of the Gojo Clan Estate.
But desperate times call for desperate measures, and the mass resignations have led the head of the servants and maids to open the doors to anyone willing to apply.
After nine months of job hunting, Ryouka has finally landed this role, which is starting to feel more like a spot on a reality TV show.
Ryouka can't help but overhear the whispers of the older maids, questioning why a gaijin like her was allowed to work at the Gojo Clan Estate. She's nervous, terrified even, that she'll mess up and get fired. But she needs this job, so she listens attentively during training, learning the ins and outs of Gojo Clan etiquette, mastering the art of respectful communication, figuring out how to clean without turning her uniform into a dust rag, etc.
The head of the servants and maids seems impressed by Ryouka's diligence. Just one week in, and she's already been handed a major responsibility - supervising the young master himself. To Ryouka, it feels like an honour, but the whispers of the older maids have her wondering.
How can an 11-year-old cause such a staffing crisis?
Well, it looks like she's about to find out firsthand. Here's hoping she survives the day and doesn't become another statistic in the great Gojo Clan staff shortage saga.
*******
Kushina has made progress in controlling her chakra, although it's not yet at 100%. When she first started relearning chakra control, it was incredibly difficult due to the focus and long meditation required. Now that she can use it, it's more manageable. Kushina is using the Second Hokage's favorite Jutsu, Kage Bunshin, to assist her training and babysit the twins at home.
She initially tried using this Jutsu in the earlier week of training but experienced headaches due to the overwhelming information after summoning too many shadow clones.
She also attempted to summon her contract animal, so she could send a message to someone in Konoha that she was okay and alive. But it was very unsuccessful, as it kept backfiring and causing her to be slammed into a tree trunk. She tried the second attempt, after her chakra control bit more manageable, but still had the same exact result.
It's so frustrating!
Despite these setbacks, her other Jutsu have improved significantly. At least they are no longer acting like the first time she came here. Kushina hopes her chakra control will soon reach 90%, so she can create seals again like she used to before arriving in this world.
As noon approaches and the sun sets, Kushina decides to return home after a full day of training in the forest. Her clones have already cleaned the house, fed the twins (they're both asleep), helped Wasuke and Naoya (the New Kid) with gardening in the backyard, and prepared dinner for today. Kushina dismisses her clones and takes a shower before changing her clothes.
"Tadaima..."
"Welcome back, Jin-kun! Dinner is ready and I've prepared hot water and your clean clothes in the bathroom for you," Kushina greeted as Jin entered the house, looking tired and walking with a heavy gait towards the bathroom to shower before joining the family for dinner.
"Where is Jin?"
"He's still showering. He should be out in a few minutes,"
"Okay, Kushina. Naoya, you help me bring the food to the dinner table,"
Kushina and Naoya carried the dishes to the dining table and arranged them, and the three of them sat down to wait for Jin to finish showering and join them for dinner.
"How was your day, son?" Wasuke asked while eating his katsudon.
"Well, my body is sore after work and finally go training with Natsuto, but other than that, I'm doing fine. Oh, and I tried to apply for the head of the Sendai agency at the office today," Jin replied.
"That's great. Did you get the job?" Wasuke inquired.
"I don't know yet. I think I did well in the interview, but the final answer is still pending," Jin said, feeling anxious about the outcome.
"Don't worry, Jin. You're smart, you'll get in! And if you don't, then they're idiots for not choosing you, dattebane!" Kushina encouraged, patting Jin's shoulder and smiling at him. Jin blushed at the encouraging words from Kushina.
"Thank you for the support, Kushina. How was your day?" Jin asked, trying to steer the conversation away from himself.
"My training is progressing, Jin. I can finally use my jutsus again, dattebane!"
"Oh, how can you be so sure it won't end up like the first time you got here?" Wasuke asked with a raised eyebrow, reminding Kushina of the past incident.
"Hehe... I'm not that good, yet. But I promise, when I use a Jutsu, it won't end up like destroying your living room again, Wasuke-san!" Kushina assured, trying to lighten the mood.
"Hmp! I will hold on to your promise," said Wasuke with a serious face, though a mischievous smile played on his lips, hinting that he wasn't too upset about the situation.
"And what about you, Dad? What did you do all day today?"
"Me, Naoya, and Kushina were busy tidying up the garden in the backyard. Hopefully, by tomorrow, we'll have it ready for planting seeds and growing vegetables like the good old days,"
"That's great, Dad! Mom would be thrilled to see her garden so well-tended," praised Jin, boosting Wasuke's pride.
"Of course! If I neglect it, your mom will haunt me in the afterlife," joked Wasuke, a soft smile crossing his face as he fondly remembered his late wife. Jin couldn't help but chuckle, glad to see his father finding joy again.
"How about you, Naoya? Did you have a good day?" Jin turned to Naoya, who had been quiet, only to witness a moment of panic as Naoya choked on his food, struggling to breathe.
"NAOYA!"
"AH!"
"Oh, Shit-!"
In a swift move, Jin, equipped with newfound super strength but still learning to control it, performed the Heimlich manoeuvre on Naoya, who is a skilled ex-Jujutsu heir clan, but at the same time, he's just a mere 10 years old boy, creating a potentially....disastrous outcome.
"1, 2, 3, COME ON!"
CRACKKKKK
" Ouch!"
"OMG!"
"AH, FUCK-..!"
Despite Jin successfully clearing Naoya's airway, he inadvertently used too much force, causing Naoya to pass out from the impact. Thankfully, Kushina, with her iryo-nin, swiftly stepped in to mend Naoya's injuries.
Welp, looks like today's dinner is quite the most rowdy one yet.
********
"Thank goodness you're here, Kushina-san. I didn't even realize I was exerting too much strength," Jin confessed to Kushina. They were now in the living room, having finished their dinner together and moved the unconscious Naoya into his room.
"Hehe... it's alright, Dattebane. I'm confident he'll be fine by tomorrow morning," Kushina assured him, settling down next to Jin. He simply smiled gently at her words, stretching lightly to alleviate the lingering soreness in his back.
"Do you want me to give you another chakra massage?"
"...Yes, please,"
"Alright then, lie down on your chest here,"
Without hesitation, Jin quickly removed his shirt and laid down, allowing Kushina to activate her iryo-nin and begin massaging his back. This routine had become a part of their daily life for the past week. Jin found immense relief in Kushina's chakra massages; no matter how tired or sore he felt, he would wake up the next day feeling rejuvenated, the ache in his body completely gone. Gradually, the persistent back pain he'd endured for years from sitting in an uncomfortable office chair was diminishing, making him feel like a spry teenager once again.
"Hey, Kushina-san, may I ask you something?" Ask Jin.
"Sure, dattebane," Kushina replied, continuing her massage.
"Why did you just give me a chakra massage? I mean, I appreciate it! I truly do! I love it, honestly! But I'm just confused as to why you didn't do this during the first week of my training?"
"Well, to give a chakra massage to someone else, one must have a higher level of control over their own chakra first. The same applies to iryo-nin. If it's not done properly, it could have severe consequences for the patient," Kushina explained.
"What kind of consequences?"
"There are many possibilities. I've heard of a shinobi who went into cardiac arrest in the field because the medic didn't have enough control over their chakra flow. There are also rare cases where a patient grew new limbs because the medic was pumping too much chakra into them," Kushina warned.
"Wow, that's quite interesting! But did you heal Naoya-kun with your iryo-ninjutsu two weeks ago before you went for chakra control training? Is it safe?"
"Well, in my world, there's only one energy, and that's chakra. Chakra is the source of everything. In this world, there are other energies besides chakra. The most common two are negative and cursed energy. While the third is very rare and it's chakra," Kushina explained.
"Wait, this world has chakra? I didn't know that!"
"I sensed it around the village one week ago. It's quite strange because at first, I was sure there was no chakra in the air, but now I'm not so sure. Maybe because I release my chakra into the air every day to prevent myself from being overloaded by chakra inside my body," Kushina shared.
"So what happens if you get overloaded by chakra?"
"Well, it's different for me because my heritage is Uzumaki. We Uzumaki have very large chakra reserves, and we can reproduce our chakra inside our bodies faster than anyone else. I usually only release my chakra into the air if I don't have many action missions or if I'm actively at war. It can take once every 2-3 weeks. But in this world, I can release my chakra into the air 4 to 8 times a day. And if don't release it then It can become overloaded. It will make me act irrational & aggressively towards anyone resembling wild animal," Kushina explained.
"So it's like a woman on her period?" Jin joked. Kushina immediately smacked his left arm.
" Ouch!"
" Hmpp! You deserve it, dattebane!" Kushina pretended to be sulking at Jin.
"I was joking, Kushina-san, but it doesn't answer my question about Naoya-kun," Jin said.
"Naoya-kun has quite a massive amount of negative and cursed energy inside of him. So even though my chakra control wasn't at its best two weeks ago, it's okay because his cursed and negative energy is different from chakra. It makes chakra quite difficult to flow inside his body to help him heal all his injuries," Kushina explained.
"Could you think that Naoya-kun has some connections to those Jujutsu guys? Because he has quite a big reserve of cursed and negative energy inside of him?"
"I don't know for sure. He's not really open to us yet. Maybe in the future, he can tell us his past," Kushina suggested.
"I hope he will," Jin said.
"Yeah, me too..."
*********
"HUUUURGGEHH!"
Yuna groaned, her body wracked with the aftermath of vomiting. She had been sitting on the bathroom floor for the past 20 minutes, retching into the toilet.
The mixture of stomach acid, dinner, and blood was a sight that no one should ever have to see. With a weakened body, she slowly tried to stand, her bones jutting out more than usual from the weight loss she had experienced in the past 10 days since her diagnosis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) .
As she managed to stand, Yuna washed her hands at the sink, her face mirroring the paleness of her skin. Her eyes were swollen from lack of sleep, and her body was aching from the constant vomiting.
She couldn't help but think about how her life had changed so drastically. She had just married the love of her life and given birth to their first child, but now she was facing an incurable disease.
Fate is really cruel to her.
"I look terrible," she whispered to herself, tears streaming down her face.
She knew that her husband, Toji, would be heartbroken when he found out about her condition. She worried about their son, who was only eight months old, and how he would remember his mother if she died before his first birthday.
Yuna slowly walked toward the bedroom, her thoughts consumed by her impending death. She picked up her flip phone, which Toji had given her for her birthday, and read his latest message.
" My job still hasn't ended. Tomorrow I can't come with you. But you can still go with Megumi and with that Grandma who lives near our apartment as your plus one. I've already sent the money to the bank, so you can go crazy with it. Happy anniversary sweetie - Toji."
She was a little heartbroken that Toji's job was still ongoing and he couldn't come with her. Yet, she was deeply appreciative of his understanding nature.She began pondering who she would take as her plus one for the event.
' It couldn't be Grandma Kikyo, as she was still away on a trip to her son's house. Her other neighbors were acquaintances at best. What about the orphanage caretaker? She would surely enjoy it, but had she already moved out of her old house? No one seemed to know where she had gone. Could she invite one of her old classmates? But that was a terrible idea; they might try to scam her again. So, who would she bring as her plus one? She didn't really have friends... Wait a minute! She did have friends! Maybe she would ask Kushina the next morning, by calling her through the landline. She hoped Kushina could come. Please, God, grant her this prayer. Amen,'