(A/N: I have noticed my early chapters are complete trash but I'm too lazy to fix it lol.
Anyway, next chapter coming in like 1-2 days... probably)
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"Here are the mission files I received directly from the Higher Ups. Your job is to execute the mission given there." Makima spoke to Geto and Gojo, who were currently in the class. Shoko was nowhere to be found, but that wasn't a problem as she is a rare Reverse Cursed Technique user, so her job would be mainly in the medical department.
"Again?" Gojo complained about being given too many exorcized missions these days. Every time the balance tilted like this, the world would balance itself back by raising the power of the other side to match.
"We are currently short-staffed, so it can't be helped, my beloved student." Makima gave him an innocent smile, but Gojo wasn't convinced by that half-hearted reply. He pouted lightly but still accepted the given missions.
"If we don't do it, then who will?" Geto had a helpless smile on his face as he received the composed files handed by Makima. He skimmed through it and found that today's work was almost double that of yesterday.
"Why are there so many, by the way? Didn't we already exorcize a ton already?" This amount of workload was kind of overwhelming for them.
"It would take a lot of time to travel between places. It would be dark when we finish all of this given that we exorcize a Curse in less than 10 minutes." Geto glanced at Makima because of this insane workload. At this point in time, they were still considered the strongest duo and went on the mission together.
Rubbing her chin a bit as if contemplating, she came up with an idea. "You could do it faster if you two split the job in half. It will certainly be doable with the records of you two. After all, aren't you boasting around that you guys are the strongest?"
"Of course, we are the strongest!!" Before Geto could say anything, Gojo chimed in. He put his arm over Geto's shoulder and said,. His tone indicated that it was not just empty words but a fact.
Geto was visibly annoyed by this man-child named Gojo, but he didn't deny what he said.
"So it is settled; you two will split up and do half of the work together." Makima's facial expression never changed once when she spoke with them. It seemed quite cold for anyone looking at it, but the two of them were already used to her usual cold and aloof demeanors.
They got up from their seats and proceeded to leave the room while yawning.
"Before you leave, let me remind you to make sure you put up the 'Curtain' before dealing with the Curse. You don't want to get scolded by Principal Yaga like last time, do you?" Her eyes fixed on Gojo. It was quite hilarious since the Jujutsu High needed to put up some gas incidents to cover their mishaps.
"Geh!" Gojo diverted his attention and whistled in embarrassment.
After they both left, a mysterious smile lingered on her face; her eyes shone with strange interest.
"Now let's see how you deal with it. I'm looking forward to your performance, Geto-kun." Sitting at her desk, Makima looked out of the window with a visible mirth in her eyes. She took out her cigarette and puffed out a mouthful of smoke.
At this point, Veilhem slid the door open and looked at Makima. She quickly turned to look at him and blinked; obviously, she was confused by the sudden appearance of him.
"Oh my, what are you doing here, Veilhem-san?" She smiled sweetly at him as he handed her a cup of coffee. He had been learning how to make decent coffee, though he rarely drank it himself.
"Just want to check on you and the kids. By the way, I've seen you doing something lately. What are you planning?" Veilhem was quite experienced in reading Makima's thought process. He was sure that she schemed something but couldn't really tell what it was.
"Umm… I'm not going to tell you yet." She tilted her head to the side cutely and put her index finger on her supple red lips. Her smile revealed a slight narrowing of the devilish eyes and a gleam in the shadow cast by her hair.
"Hmmm... being mysterious and all, huh? Fine, keep that little secret of yours." He chuckled at her response, patting her head. Her thoughts were a little extreme but he could try to fix her over time. It was his current objective.
"Well, if it doesn't affect our current lives, then you can do anything, I suppose." He mumbled and retracted his hand. But she caught it midway and pulled it toward her. She placed his hand on her cheek, rubbing against it affectionately. Sometimes he really wondered if Makima was, in fact, a cat. Albeit, he didn't delve into it much.
"You can rest assured that this plan only ensures the safety of your life. If it executes correctly and no other third party is involved." She let him go and propped up her cheek, revealing a devilishly charming smile.
Suddenly, she was reminded of the notorious Kashimo and her brows furrowed a bit.
She suspected that it was him who orchestrated the Curses last time and probed at her through Veilhem. That guy was dangerous and needed to be eliminated at all costs.
"Well, let's see, where are we?" Shaking her head, she decided to look at them through her shared vision with a flock of crows.
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Geto's side
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Same day as usual, exorcizing Curse and consuming them orally, it had strangely become part of his life. The higher the Cursed Spirit level, the more disgusting it tasted.
Holding an orb that radiated blue light in his hand, Geto took a deep breath and put it in his mouth, swallowing it in one gulp.
It tasted like vomit and dirty rags mixing together.
Simply disgusting.
But this was the downside to his curled manipulation technique. Due to this technique, Geto gained the power that made him classified as a Special Grade Sorcerer.
He moved to the next location on the files by subway train, complaining about Makima giving him the sudden heavy workload.
She was an oddball just like every other sorcerer he had met, if he had to say. She normally didn't express much reaction and sometimes did an action that was very difficult to comprehend, like the bold move with Shoko.
"Guess every sorcerer is a lunatic." He sighed as he looked at the scenery outside. The peaceful rice field exposed across the landscape slowly changed as time passed.
It was because of this that motivated him to become a Jujutsu sorcerer. It was only a few years ago that he realized he could see these cursed spirits and deal with them. One could argue that he was lucky to have a gift for it, allowing him to protect both himself and everyone around him. After all, they were simply ordinary humans who couldn't perceive cursed spirits like him.
It wasn't like he took it for granted that this technique was a gift from heaven. He felt like he had a responsibility to do something with the power given to him—to protect the normal lives of these people from the monsters lurking in the dark, outside of their perspective.
While he was enjoying the small ride on the subway train, a ding sounded, indicating that it had arrived at its destination.
Geto idly dragged his feet in the direction of the suburban village printed on the file. Aside from the location, the content was simply blank. Finding the cursed spirit would be more difficult as a result.
Walking through the village, he asked the first person he met a few questions about the Cursed Spirit, but it seemed the man was unaware of it.
Geto nodded helplessly and began to gather some more information before he acted. He released some of his curses in the arsenal to help him in this regard.
However, it seemed like this was just a fake report. Two hours had passed, and he still found nothing.
Thinking of the time wasted here, Geto sighed and decided to leave, but as soon as he prepared to leave, he received a signal from his Cursed Spirits.
Geto ran in that direction fast, but unbeknownst to him, a crow with yellow-ringed eyes was watching him from afar. It narrowed its eyes slightly as if it were smiling, given the fact that the crow knew how to smile in the first place.
Soon, Geto saw an old house and an old woman drinking tea appeared in his vision.
"Sorry for my intrusion, but have you seen some strange phenomena here?" Get asked in a hurry.
Startled, the elderly woman picked up her glass to give him a closer look.
"Strange? Now I think about it, yes. But who are you, young man?" She appeared to be a normal old grandma next door and showed him her kindness despite him rushing in without a word.
"I'm Geto Suguru, and it was reported that something strange happened nearby. I was sent to deal with it, but rest assured, Mrs.Yashida, it will be done soon." He quickly explained his situation and left the information about the Jujutsu World outside.
Hearing that, she had an understanding smile. "Maybe you could sit down and have some tea, young man." She said.
"Could you guide me to the place where you see it?" He smiled meekly and clapped his hands. Although it was nice that he was treated warmly, he was dealing with deadlines right now and couldn't afford to take this slow.
"Of course, youngsters these days are so impulsive." She got up from her seat and led him to the basement of the house, holding the candlelight.
Geto followed behind her silently as he began to inspect the surroundings. It was quite dark in there. He barely managed to see what was in there through the dim light of the candles.
At the end of the basement, Geto's eyes widened in pure shock upon seeing it.
It was a child; his body was heavily malnourished, and bruises covered most of his body. He was severely harmed and needed medical care immediately, but instead, he was locked in an iron cage.
"This is the strange thing I want to report." The old lady explained as if the whole thing wasn't odd.
"He is my grandson; both of his parents passed away in a car accident. It was unfortunate for us." She began to explain.
"Huh? But why do you lock him up?" The revelation perplexed him.
"This left the kid with trauma and developed a mental issue. He said he often sees things like ghosts and monsters latching on people. Sometimes he even acted like he was possessed by something." She cried as she continued the story for Geto.
"I have tried to call doctors and even shamans alike at the village to treat him, but their efforts were in vain. I called you because I'm already desperate. Please save my child; I beg you!!" The old lady, as she grabbed his shoulders, her eyes brimmed up with tears, finally burst out like a broken dam.
Facing this sudden development, Geto could only act with a reassuring smile to comfort the old lady.
"Don't worry, I will do my best to save the child. You could take a rest while I check on the child."
After he sent the old lady out of the room, Geto unlocked the cage and walked inside.
Perhaps because of the creaking noise of the gate, the small child slightly opened his eyes. However, upon seeing Geto, he began screaming in horror. Taken aback by this, Geto took a step backward while showing his hands up, indicating he meant no harm. After confirming that the child relaxed a bit did he continued to walk forward.
"Don't worry, I will save you."
Geto examined the child's wounds and provided treatment. Following the young boy's release, Geto went to see the elderly woman and briefed her on the circumstances, expressing his hope that they could transport him to the closest hospital.
He had no idea this would turn out to be rather... unfavorable for him.