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The season that arrived in Suguru's hometown was autumn. The harsh winds forcefully struck the trees he used to climb, stripping them bare of every leaf and transforming the landscape on his way back home into a dry and gloomy one. Suguru was disappointed that the path to his house transitioned from a green landscape to sharing all the eerie features of the cemetery in front of the small forest by the river.
His classes ended in the afternoon, when the sun turned the clouds orange and stopped warming his skin enough to need a sweater. His way home was lonely. His mother worked until midnight, cooking for a diner in the only busy area of the town, near the station. His father returned alone only on weekends, smelling of car grease and drunk enough to pass out in the genkan.
Suguru said goodbye to his friends as he crossed Hiroba Park. He had given up suggesting hanging out in the few playgrounds (which Suguru occasionally pruned to prevent them from being covered in weeds), but enough rejections made him stop trying. Momo's mother awaited her with a hot meal for dinner, and Takashi was too much of a bookworm to waste time if there were assignments to be completed the next day.
He didn't always have only two friends. Before, Suguru was surrounded by much more company. His calm demeanor, like his mother's, made him easy to get along with, and people just showed up and stayed.
That was until the beginning of that school year when Suguru believed that his friends, with whom he had been since kindergarten, were trustworthy enough to disobey his mother and tell them his biggest secret.
After his big revelation, his group of ten was reduced to two, and his walks home became solitary.
The park was empty. He had to cross it to reach the dirt road that led to his house. The only sound was that of old metal swinging, creaking hinges loudly. Suguru watched the swings swaying visibly through the air and regretted it instantly. He clenched his fists on the handles of his backpack hanging on his back and fixed his gaze on his feet before quickening his pace.
Suguru's head made him see strange things, monstrous beings that should only appear in nightmares. Before, he had a less painful explanation of what they meant: he was special. His mother assured him that it was just a strange power he shouldn't worry about. Later, his classmates and his father told him the truth: he was lost his mind.
The creatures were easy to ignore. Suguru tried to ignore them from the first day they appeared everywhere he went. Avoiding them became a habit. They never stayed in the same place for more than two days, freely wandering, crawling, and whispering in an incomprehensible dialect. Suguru thought he heard them mocking him. Although at other times, when the resentment of being able to see them was diminished by a good day, he believed he regretted it.
The dirt road was not a euphemism. The town was not entirely paved. The old lands inhabited after the town's growth were just a couple of houses on the outskirts, bordering a small forest up to the cemetery. These were small houses due to limited space and had traditional Japanese architecture. Suguru had a small mixed-breed dog that his father trained to be aggressive with everyone except the family. It watched Suguru from its corner in the garden, with critical eyes assessing whether he was an enemy or not. Every time he returned home, he passed through that scrutiny until the animal turned its snout towards nothing and went back to staying like a statue.
The house was made of old wood, creaking under his feet and announcing his arrival to an empty home. Suguru's room looked sterile, boring compared to the rooms of his old friends. But it had a couple of valuable possessions: a cassette player that his mother brought home after no one claimed it for a week at her job, a vibrant blue quartz that Momo gave him, and a small blackish sphere that seemed to contain the starless night trapped within itself. It appeared in his room one morning after a vivid nightmare. He had kept these three things since they became his possession, even from his mother.
Suguru knew his mother had a weakness for his father. If the man wanted something, his mother would smile and fulfill any whim.
Suguru's few belongings disappeared in the same way. One day, his mother told him that he would have a brother with whom he would share all his space. And the room kept shrinking until it became so plain that Suguru felt like a stranger in it. But his brother never came home. And his old things didn't either.
Suguru slumped onto the bed with a deep sigh. His backpack was filled with homework, unlike the fridge with a few leftovers from the previous day. His stomach growled, and his head ached. Ten-year-old kids from TV shows didn't come back to an empty house with the only wish that the day never ended. School days were bearable, unlike weekends.
Xue Geto came home shortly after midnight. Suguru had leftovers for dinner while finishing his homework, and once again, he failed to stay awake to welcome his mother home. Thanks to her, he had rice with soft curry for breakfast, and the day started better than the previous one.
Until Momo suggested to their old group of friends to go to the newest local attraction.
"Don't be cowards!" They were in the cleaning hour. The end bell had rung a couple of minutes ago, and the only one doing the cleaning was Suguru. Nobody included him in the conversation, of course. Takashi left immediately, and Momo seemed oblivious to the clear decision of the rest of the group to isolate Suguru. When Momo turned to him for support, Suguru let out a pathetic «eh? » before she complained again.
"A crappy adventure. That place smells like urine", Yamamoto said. "My older brother smokes weed with his friends and says it's not interesting at all".
"Abandoned cabin?" Suguru dared to ask, tentative and looking solely at Momo. With his intervention, some faces soured, as if the fun had come to an end just because Suguru was joining. He observed some leaving without saying goodbye, with the word «weirdo» floating amid whispers.
"Yes!" exclaimed Momo.
The other girl in the group, Yue. Who oversaw cleaning the hallway, took pity on Momo and an attempt to convince Yamamoto, she nudged him. It didn't take much effort. A silent conversation that lasted briefly but was enough for him to agree.
"All right, see you at the entrance."
Momo turned to Suguru when they were alone. She smiled at him with all her teeth and gave him a victorious thumbs up. Suguru didn't want to go to that house. It was a dark and terrifying place, one where his mind would surely play tricks on him, and his madness would once again distance him from people who were not yet so scared of how strange he was. But it was the first time since the beginning of the year that anyone other than Takashi or Momo let him join.
Takashi, Yue, and Nozomi were at the entrance, as promised. They greeted Momo and glanced at Suguru before starting to lead the way.
Being an outcast was not instantaneous as his mother warned it would be if he revealed his secret. It started as something slightly fascinating. Questions from his friends made amidst harmless laughter; curiosity to know if Suguru was making it up or not. But no accusations of madness. Until Suguru didn't stop and told them everything about the monsters that followed each of them. Detailed and chilling explanations that he kept in his head for a long time: «Yamamoto has a centipede licking his face» or «Nozomi has a worm that always vomits on her food».
Suguru should have stopped at the first signs of disgust. But he had never been an outcast. People came one after another to stay around him and be friendly.
Until it wasn't like that anymore.
The worm and the centipede switched shoulders, sometimes lasting longer with some than with others. Sometimes Suguru brushed off the tiny, winged creatures chasing Momo, but he stayed silent if she noticed his evasive actions.
At that moment, there was no familiar companion leaving school with them. They passed through the park, and Yue had the terrible idea of walking ahead and swinging a bit, with the lumpy monster that Suguru avoided the day before on the way back home adhering to her.
The lumpy companion that screamed as it moved toward Yue's back like a large hump was not the only one to join them. Suguru stopped listening to the conversation happening beside him and the one he was notably excluded from, opting instead to feign indifference to the slimy blobs following the same path as the group.
Some monsters lamented, mainly the smaller ones that were barely the size of Suguru's arm or his outstretched palm. Only the larger ones laughed. Those that reached beyond Suguru's torso. And when he realized that annoying sound of mocking laughter came from inside the house, Suguru had to come to a sudden stop before stumbling into Momo's back.
"We've arrived", Yoshida announced with both arms open in welcome. A single push was enough to make the creaky wooden door give way, welcoming them with a foul odor accompanied by the unmistakable scent of urine. Yoshida smirked knowingly, unlike the complaints from all of them. "I told you so."
Suguru shifted nervously. Yue's eyes were watching him.
"Let's go in before it gets dark" she said, "care to do the honors, Suguru?" It might not have been a surprise. Suguru guessed that regaining his circle of friends was going to require a bit of bravery. Still, his eyes sought Momo's. Her face was still twisted in a disgusted grimace before she met his gaze and gave him a thumbs up.
Momo didn't think twice before puffing up her cheeks and taking Suguru's hand to drag him along.
"I'm leading! You cowards, follow me."
The house was an old cabin-like structure. It had been abandoned for as long as Suguru could remember, and the town's only patrol used to search for small delinquents around its perimeters more than twice a month. Yamamoto told stories about his famous older brother, whom he admired for being a delinquent. And its windows would sometimes light up, visible from Suguru's house as small bright points among the foliage of the trees.
Suguru covered his nose with the sleeve of his sweater as he held Momo's hand with the other. Their short steps made them move slowly to the foot of the stairs, where part of the wood was splintered and missing pieces. His palm was sweaty, and Suguru was too nervous and focused on the mocking laughter echoing somewhere out of sight to realize that their footsteps and Momo's were the only ones echoing in the unnaturally silent place.
The door made a loud noise as it closed behind them. Suguru's entire body tensed at the thunderous sound that reverberated through the entire house. It was like bones crunching, just like when he slept in an awkward position and then they adjusted with a bit of stretching. The house seemed to lament. Momo's slow progress halted, and disbelief let out a scared groan from her mouth. The thrill of adventure turned her face into a panicked pale before letting go of Suguru's hand and attempting to run back to the door.
Suguru was forced to swallow his words before they left his mouth, staying silent in the face of the fleeting attack that unfolded before his eyes. From the darkness, a projectile launched, a spit with teeth and many pairs of eyes, some of them fixed on Suguru, as a warning that he would be the next to be bitten.
Momo screamed as the jaw full of small, dirty, and sharp protrusions sank into her ankle. She fell to the ground and writhed in protection of her injured foot.
The monsters never attacked. They spread their slime, vomited on bento boxes, and lamented or mocked Suguru with an irritable little voice. But they didn't cause harm. Suguru was frozen.
He was slow to move, one step after another until he ran and knelt. Momo's eyes looked at him with an expression Suguru had never seen before. He would never forget it. Like a deer being hunted, filled with tears and absolute terror.
"Suguru?" Momo whimpered when Suguru stopped by her side. She twisted out of his reach, looking at him with fear and doubt. Unsure if the pull that knocked her to the ground had been his fault.
Panic crossed Suguru's mind as he understood the situation. His mouth couldn't stop itself:
"N-no, it wasn't me. Th-there's something biting your ankle, it attacked you suddenly." Rushing didn't help. Momo always nodded understandingly at Suguru's nonsensical explanations, finding them entertaining. But she never told him she didn't believe them. This time she couldn't pretend that she didn't believe what Suguru was telling her either.
Momo bit her lips, preoccupied by pain and uncertainty. Suguru kept his palms open, listening to the giggling laughter of the monster sliding between the walls. A slight tremor behind him betrayed its presence, but Suguru instantly regretted finding it.
It was immense. A mass of sprouted flesh that spilled its contents in small burst pustules. It had eyes on the underside that detached with every step of its only two human legs. Two feet at different angles that landed hard and firm steps. It dissolved and rejoined. It swallowed itself and detached.
Suguru didn't know what to look at, just that he didn't want to see it.
He closed his eyes, fear gnawing at his stomach until it escaped like desperate tears from his eyes.
Momo's voice behind him called for him, confused by Suguru's terror towards nothing.
Lunatic was what they called him behind his back. But the monsters in Suguru's mind didn't cause harm. They lived in his head. His mother told him they would disappear if he ignored them and didn't talk about them. But that creature was smiling at him and spreading across the floor at his feet.
Another piece detached and flew straight towards Suguru's head, shot just like the first. That was enough to set him in motion; another step from the creature, and the next one-bit Suguru's foot. The pain was immediate, burning like when oil splashed on his skin or when the wooden rod his father kept under the sofa marked his back.
Momo shuddered hearing him scream. Suguru turned towards her as quickly as the pain set in and pushed her just in time before another piece bit into her stomach.
It was so fast that Suguru didn't land well, and they both hit the wall hard.
"Enough, Suguru! Don't hurt me!" shouted Momo. "Please... Suguru", she pleaded softly, like his mother's lament on a Saturday night.
Suguru held his breath, watching Momo shrink back, paying no attention to her ankle in favor of covering her face. She trembled and pleaded.
"It's not what you think, Momo, the monster..." Suguru couldn't say anything more when pain pierced through his shoulder in small spikes, puncturing his skin. The sight was of small bloodshot eyes turning simultaneously to meet his gaze.
Another step vibrated on the wood. Laughter and whining. Suguru couldn't hear either of them well; his heart pounded in his ears, and his breath mingled with the eager panting of that creature.
It was going to happen again. Another projectile of flesh, teeth, and eyes. Suguru hurried to cover Momo's body with his own, and his own face with his arms. His palms tingled; cold sweat warmed at the tips of his fingers as his mind begged the plea to be able to escape from this nightmare.
He had had a vivid dream last summer. A monster had followed him from the cemetery, hiding under his bed until Suguru woke up with the sensation of hairy spikes circling his feet. He made the bed that day. But he woke up feeling light.
In his dreams, he had eliminated the monster with a flash of his palms. It was dark, and Suguru was equally afraid of the creature as he was of waking his parents with his commotion. But it was a nice feeling to be stronger than his fears, even if only in his dreams.
The impact didn't reach his body. A loud noise that hit the wood made him open his eyes.
Suguru covered his mouth. Madness was evolutionary. It had started with whispers of those distant and indecipherable voices. Then, small elusive and disgusting creatures that disappeared if he focused enough on something else. Until one day they appeared and didn't leave.
Now, Suguru was experiencing another degree of madness. An animal on two legs stood in front of him, presumably protecting him. A large brown cat that used its body as a shield, just like he did to protect Momo. It took a moment for him to calm down enough to be able to verify it, and it was too late. The cat wasn't alone. A blue bear hit Momo in the back of the head, and her eyes closed. Suguru let out a hysterical scream, lunging towards him on instinct. He acted once again without thinking, receiving a quick direct hit to his neck, which immediately put him to sleep.
Suguru woke up with a terrible pain in his neck.
Despite opening his eyes, he couldn't see anything sharp. His vision failed at first, unfocused. Ashamed by the sudden rush of memories that loomed in his mind.
He was lying on a soft surface, a rough-smelling and old fabric. His body recognized the worn sponges of a sofa he was used to. A familiar sensation flooded him. The ticking noise from the wall clock and the soft illumination of the curtains swaying in the air were something familiar.
He was in his living room.
And he hadn't alone.
Two long legs clad in black cargo pants and military boots extended over the seat that his father always occupied. A man with an imposing demeanor was observing him. Scared, Suguru sat up unsteadily. Relief was fleeting as he recognized that it wasn't his father, but the stranger's terrifying face wasn't enough for the relief to linger.
A small exclamation of surprise escaped his lips, and he introduced himself, oblivious to the terror in Suguru's eyes. The man, Yaga, had a shaved head, dark glasses, and a square chin. Eyes hidden under a pair of dark glasses, but undoubtedly, studying every corner of the poor-looking house where Suguru lived. He remained with crossed arms, his sturdy body occupying the entire seat as he decided how to initiate a conversation with a frightened deer.
"You woke up. "His voice was terrifying too", Suguru recognized. He was frozen, thinking of his mother and her advice to run as soon as he recognized danger. But even though Yaga looked like he belonged to some gang, he seemed receptive. Suguru saw Yaga's face contort into a sour grimace, undecided. "I won't hurt you", he said, like any delinquent pretending to negotiate.
It was a curious choice of words. Suguru had seen enough TV shows to form a couple of ideas in his head.
Suguru's distrust was evident, making Yaga sigh before giving up and abandoning plan A ("not underestimating ordinary kids. They might not be stupid").
Plan B was the classic one used to explain a world that common humans had never seen. Isolated cases that usually happened with prospects at an age more than just children who one or two years ago were still wetting the bed. Yaga made a suspicious move that made Suguru nervous. He rummaged on the sides of the couch, causing the wood to creak due to the abruptness of his movements, trying to catch something Suguru's eyes couldn't quite see.
Upon straightening up, Suguru's eyes widened, the nervous sweat on his palms turned cold, and then something madness happened. Aga picked up teddy bear on floor and for on it in his lap before starting the introductions again.
"This is Bumbling. He saved you from that curse a while ago. Do you remember?"
"Bumbling?" Suguru asked incredulously. He was looking at a faded blue bear, bulging stuffing, and mismatched limbs waving with little enthusiasm.
"He's a clumsy bear. That's why his name is Bumbling. No more to the story."
Suguru remembered his dream where a moving teddy bear saved him and Momo. A dream that felt so vivid to be just that. Yaga guessed his thoughts. Suguru was an expressive kid, especially when negative feelings overwhelmed him.
"Your friend is fine. I'll take you to visit her later", he promised, hoping that would reassure Suguru. It didn't, of course. He wouldn't be at ease until he saw her. "What's your name?"
"Suguru Geto", he stammered. He gave his real name on an impulse so quick that seconds later, he felt guilty.
Yaga nodded to the information. The name didn't tell him anything about what he seemed to want to find out about Suguru upon hearing his name.
"That house is quite far from the inhabited path of the village. How did you and your friend get trapped?"
Suguru pursed his lips. His mouth pressed into a disgusted frown as if he had a bitter aftertaste. He wasn't too innocent not to realize that this was some kind of interrogation. The possibility of Yaga being a cop was unbelievable. He wasn't in uniform, and he didn't inspire trust. Cops at least pretended in front of kids. And although he was kind, Yaga hadn't even smiled during the whole conversation.
A family member of Momo's? Suguru remembered her frightened face. And the accusations.
"Am I in trouble?" Suguru asked. "My parents will be back soon", he said, tempting his luck. His mother wouldn't be back home until after midnight. And his father... it was best for Suguru if he didn't hear complaints about him. Dodging the answer made Yaga frown. He ran his free hand through his nape, scratching his palm with the short sprouts of freshly cut hair.
"Do you remember the curse?" he asked, giving careless pats to the teddy bear before deciding to get to the point. "How long have you been able to see them?"
Curses? Suguru needed just a second to associate the term with the monsters. Specifically, the aberration that had almost killed them. Curses. Suguru took a breath through his mouth, and it wasn't enough. His breathing hadn't been calm, but it wasn't an issue heading towards a panic attack. However, the revelation was about to lead him down that path.
Those curses he had been seeing for years were real. Tangible. And dangerous.
The monsters he thought lived in his mind had always been there, vomiting on the food of his old friends, drooling on his mother's head during market trips, and sliding under his bed every weekend when his father returned from work.
Suguru didn't need to answer the first question. But Yaga was still waiting for the remaining one. Still, Suguru avoided eye contact, unwilling to respond. He stared at his balled-up palms on the old couch fabric. An adult was asking him about hallucinations he believed made him madman.
What if he was making it all up? The teddy bear rocking both legs with button eyes staring fixedly at him, the man named Yaga looking like a thug, and that madness story where he was attacked by a shapeless curse.
Suguru knew his mind was damaged. A therapist had confirmed it to his mother. She had suggested not interacting with the hallucinations. That was easy when they only existed without trying to harm him or engage in conversation. Two things that changed in a single day.
"Three years", Suguru confessed under his breath.
"That's quite a while, then. Your age? You look nine, maybe eight?", Yaga hummed in recognition. He thought about his next plan to follow with this turn of events called Suguru Geto. He had to leave, but there was enough time for one more awkward conversation.
"Do your parents know?", Yaga let go of the teddy bear, allowing it to wander around. Suguru's eyes followed it. Yaga explained further, "This curse thing, have you discussed it with them?"
"My mom knows."
Yaga didn't inquire about his father. Suguru had been ready to invent something that would spare his father from this strange situation. Whether it happened in his head or not, Suguru hated bothering him.
"I need to talk to her", Yaga said. Suguru became nervous. The teddy bear's advances stopped, and its hollow eyes turned towards him, drawn by the fear emanating from each of his movements. "You said they would be back soon. I'll wait."
"Mama won't come back." Suguru's confession slipped through his lips; Yaga raised one of his thick eyebrows, looking intimidating over the lenses of his glasses.
The lie resulting from Suguru's defensive attitude drew another sigh from Yaga's tired chest. He rubbed his head again and complained quietly to himself about dealing with scared kids.
When he realized where Suguru's eyes were going every now and then, interested in his moving technique, Yaga made another impromptu action plan.
"Bumbling is different from curses", he explained. "It's alive thanks to cursed energy, yes, but it's not hostile. Think of it as a little puppet I can control. I'm a sorcerer, and in simple terms, that's my cursed technique." Suguru listened in silence. The word "magic" was trying to slip mischievously and treacherously from his lips. Yaga saw the cynical mockery trapped in Suguru and decided to push, "You're one too. A sorcerer. You have a cursed signature, and apparently, quite an unusual technique..." Yaga paused to rummage in his pocket. Before continuing, he extended his palm, showing a tiny watery black pearl on it, "unusual."
Suguru recognized it. His little sphere, the one he kept in his room.
"Is it yours?" Yaga asked. Suguru nodded as discomfort returned. His house had been searched, specifically his room. And not only that, Yaga seemed to read his mind: "This object had the presence of cursed energy in it. Your mark. I borrowed it. Sorry for intruding on your room." Suguru said nothing. He was giving a rather quieter first impression of who he really was, but the initial trauma was just settling in his head. Undoing three years of self-conviction about curses was going to cost him more than just the few seconds Yaga was giving him. The sphere bounced in Yaga's palm, tossed a couple of centimeters into the air before returning; a flamboyant move with the intention of catching Suguru's attention. "Do you remember how you contained the curse inside? It seems to be contained, but it will eventually be released if not exorcised. Something must be done with this."
"It was after a nightmare. It appeared on my bed at dawn."
"That doesn't say much."
Suguru was discouraged halfway through trying to explain something he didn't really understand himself.
Bumbling, the teddy bear, had approached Suguru, tentative, taking short steps until its fingerless, soft cotton hand brushed the back of his hand. Suguru shivered at the contact.
"I must go. I'll leave Bumbling in your care", Yaga stood up, the sphere returned to the pockets of his pants, storing it without any intention of returning it.
Suguru would have complained if Bumbling hadn't been so close to him. The caution wasn't unfounded; he remembered that the same stuffed animal had dealt with a curse that knocked him to the ground with a single blow.
Suguru became overly conscious of the entrances. He watched the door of his house and even the school's. His seat by the window gave him a tempting enough view of the main entrance to not turn around after a few minutes to make sure no terrifying man crossed it.
The seat in front of him was empty. Momo hadn't returned the next day. Not the day after that. For two weeks, Suguru spent his free time waiting for either of them to return and give him answers.
Yaga promised to accompany him to see Momo. It was a blasphemy to gain his trust and make Suguru lower his guard. The other concern distracting Suguru from his classmates' efforts to make him feel excluded was Bumbling. Yaga's bear. It was hidden in Suguru's empty backpack, taking up all the space, leaving him no choice but to store all his books in his locker. Curses (which he could no longer just call monsters) instinctively kept their distance from him. Without making a fuss, simply avoiding him like all the other kids.
Suguru arrived home much calmer than the days when he shuddered at the touch of the curses crawling in his path. It was challenging to maintain his determination to ignore them. Bumbling freed up the space in his backpack as soon as the bell rang, fleeing to some hidden corner away from everyone else's eyes, and accompanied him from a distance. Suguru could see it jumping from side to side, landing awkwardly on its uneven limbs, and it was less stressful than keeping his eyes forward for fear of making eye contact with the curses wandering the streets.
His father's old car was parked in front of their house. The entrance gate wide open, just like the door. A pair of shoes randomly tossed on the genkan floor, and the sound of trash TV blaring loudly. Suguru glanced at the wall clock above the entrance; it was too early for his father to be home. He tiptoed down the corridor towards the stairs; the weight of his steps made the old wooden floor creak, but the TV was so loud that he went unnoticed. He thought he heard Bumbling behind him. Another pair of footsteps making the wood sound. When they stopped, Suguru couldn't help but turn around to check if it really was Bumbling. And it was. The deformed teddy bear was behind him. Standing. Still, with button eyes watching something in the living room.
"Suguru, how was school?" Yaga was sitting on one of the living room sofas, accompanied by his father, who ignored both with the remote-control switching channels. His mother, Xue, limped from the kitchen to meet him, with a couple of beers that she handed to both Yaga and his father. She was off that day due to her sprain, but the look on her face suggested that she seemed ready to run anywhere but there. Just like he felt. There were so many people in his living room that the room felt alien.
Xue wiped her hands on her apron, silently taking a seat on a chair placed near the sofa where Kenta Geto, her husband, stood firm in his conviction to appear annoyed. Suguru looked at his mother, who seemed more concerned that his father's eyes met hers. Yaga, on his part, observed the dynamics without making any comments. The TV was the only thing disturbing the uncomfortable silence until his father lowered the volume before settling back on the sofa and taking a long sip of his beer.
"They asked you a question, Suguru", Kenta said. His eyes met his son's when he looked over his shoulder, finding Suguru clinging tightly to the handles of his backpack. He stammered out a rather gruff «fine» to Yaga, only to seek his father's approval the next second. Kenta nodded, pointing with the bottle to the empty space on the sofa that Yaga was occupying. "Come. Sit", he ordered.
Bumbling obeyed the command as well. He passed by Suguru, pushing him in the process while heading towards Yaga's side. Suguru complained about the slight assault, whispering a scolding that only made his mother purse her lips.
Things had been tough with his mother that week. Suguru had the brilliant idea of introducing Bumbling to her on an early Sunday morning; he had been interacting with it and trying to remember how dangerous it was every time he gave in to let Bumbling get too close. It was soft and light, a handmade plush from every angle. So Suguru ended up giving in. In a few days, Bumbling began to grow on him; keeping it a secret from his mother whenever she asked about his day became an unpleasant feeling. He had to tell her. Telling his mother about his concerns didn't always help him feel better, but it was the right thing to do. And doing the right thing always improved things.
Suguru approached stealthily as Xue heated up the leftovers he had stored in the refrigerator. She was still in her waitress uniform, a knee-length dress, with her thighs visible where the apron, smelling of beer, covered her rear by a few centimeters. Xue didn't drink, but the cigarette provided enough peace for her to rely on one daily. Suguru surprised her smoking, with the kitchen window open for the smoke to escape. She let out a scream upon seeing him peeking through the kitchenette and tossed her cigarette into the sink as soon as Suguru appeared in front of her.
"What are you doing awake at this hour?"
"Hi, Mom! I... want to show you something", confessed Suguru. He was nervous; his palms were sweating as he fidgeted with his fingers. Bumbling was hiding at the end of the hallway as per Suguru's instructions. It was challenging to keep it still, but when Suguru told him the plan, it strangely became docile. Xue saw enough stress in her son to set aside her fatigue and pay attention.
"Show me", Xue leaned her hip against the countertop, with her eyes on Suguru. She wasn't in the mood to deal with anything other than a good cigarette and perhaps a shower.
Suguru thought a bit more before giving the signal to Bumbling to approach. His mother looked exhausted, but she always was. And she tended to be more receptive when his father wasn't home. It was the moment.
Bumbling emerged from its hiding place, staggering due to the deformity of its uneven legs. Suguru turned to look at it, with his mother's gaze following his. Bumbling tripped over Xue's bag, where she used to sneak in the old restaurant pantry among her tips, and a couple of apples slid onto the floor next to the bag.
The next thing happened simultaneously: Suguru opened his mouth to introduce Bumbling, a practiced smile on his lips, shaky and more like a sour grimace. He couldn't start the presentation; his mother recoiled with a scream, and Suguru panicked. Xue shook her head, hysterical, her hand pressed firmly to her chest, lips tightly sealed, avoiding Suguru's touch, who, frightened, waved his hands at Bumbling signaling it to stop.
"It's just a stuffed animal, Mom! It won't hurt you!"
Xue was breathing heavily, her eyes turning to her son, anxious and bewildered.
"Did you do that?" Xue asked carefully. She feared hearing the answer. Suguru, of course, could only respond with madness:
"Bumbling? No, he belongs to a sorcerer! Giving him life is his power, but he's a good stuffed animal, Mom, he won't hurt you."
"Who is Bumbling?"
"That's his name", Suguru explained quickly when his mother raised her eyebrows, alternating her gaze between him and where her ring finger pointed at Bumbling amidst the spilled mess from the bag. "He's a stuffed animal with powers."
Xue opened and closed her mouth instantly. She bit her lips repeatedly before squeezing her eyes shut.
"Oh, my God", she sighed.
“Mom?" Suguru asked, "forgive me for scaring you", he said. "I wanted to introduce him to you, he..."
"Enough, Suguru", his mother interrupted him. "Enough."
"But..."
"No! I told you to ignore those stupid hallucinations. There's nothing there!"
Suguru listened in silence. He stopped when his mother scolded him, unsure. As if turning suddenly, Bumbling would disappear, and his mother would be right again. But he did a double take, making sure to see Bumbling standing still. The stuffed animal was very real. Bumbling wasn't a hallucination. Or was it?
"You can't see him", Suguru whispered disappointed. It wasn't a question, but still, his mother took a bitter gulp. Suddenly, Xue couldn't handle her trembling legs. She crouched down to Suguru's level, embracing his legs while her hands gripped her hair.
"What am I going to do with you? What's happening to me?" Xue lamented, "I'm losing my mind"
His mother fell silent, shuddering at the sounds of the bag when everything returned to its place. Suguru didn't know what to say, and getting upset with Bumbling was the only response at that moment. Why couldn't his mother see him? Why had he been hiding all this time? He had made Suguru believe he was different from those curses. And there he was, talking nonsense again and causing a crisis for his mother.
Xue acted evasive from then on. Suguru felt her eyes on him when his mother thought he wouldn't notice. It might be to apologize; she always apologized, even if the outburst was small or not her fault. But most likely, she was just nervous because his father was present.
Yaga wanted to be anywhere but in the living room of a troubled family. Trying to recruit their son for a battlefield they weren't even aware of. The hardest part of being a teacher of non-sorcerer children: dealing with their parents.
"I imagine Suguru hasn't told you anything about it. But I'm here because the last time I spoke with him... ". « He found out that the things he has seen over these years are not mere hallucinations », Yaga didn't finish his speech. A shitty introductory phrase he thought of on the way before being told to shut up.
"Suguru is forbidden to talk to strangers", it was his father who interrupted with noticeable annoyance. Instantly, his mother's clapping palms sounded out of tune in the room filled with displeasure.
"Are you a talent scouts? Suguru is a very good kid! He has the best grades in his class", Xue added desperately, sounding ridiculously convinced of her words, although they were true.
They both knew he wasn't any talent scout. It sounded like nonsense. And in that godforsaken little town, something impossible.
Yaga hesitated. The signs were clear: a father who always having an aggressive posture, as if he wanted to prove something; a trembling mother, with a persistent gaze on each of the faces present; and the boy, Suguru, clenched his fists on his knees, looking down and scared.
"Let's cut to the chase, what is this about? Have the social services sent you?" The question was for Yaga, of course, but it didn't seem to be directed solely at him. Kenta's displeasure was painted with his own ideas or the tinge of an accusation.
Xue stiffened, confused by her husband's suspicion. If the man felt cornered, for some reason that Yaga preferred to stay out of, it must be related to an issue with Suguru. It was no surprise that the parents of sorcerer children hated their own. It would be easier if Suguru had no reason to turn back on his path if he chose to be a sorcerer.
"No", Yaga replied bluntly. Kenta judged his appearance once again, from head to toe, before deciding to believe him. The beer in his hand decreased in quantity by half after a long sip; then, less defensively, his curiosity navigated between his son and Yaga.
"I'll get straight to the point", he said. « Damn it » he added in his mind. "I'm a sorcerer, and I've come to extend my invitation to your son to join the school that sponsors me. It's not blasphemy. The signs are simple: Suguru has proven to see curses that common eyes don't see", the difficult part (lunatic explanations for non-sorcerers) was said. Yaga expected the bewildered looks he was receiving, so he hurried with the part that interested most: "The school offers financial support. An amount for the student and another for the family from the moment Suguru starts his education until he comes of age."
Yaga squared his shoulders, awaiting a response. Suguru watched him, having forgotten his previous submissive attitude, with his head bowed. He didn't look displeased. Of course, the first movement that came from him was to look at his mother.
Kenta's laughter stole everyone's attention.
"Like Harry Potter ?" he mocked, "this is unexpected."
Yaga also expected skepticism, even sarcasm. Non-sorcerers were... difficult.
"It's more complex than a children's story. I assure you, Suguru will find answers to all his questions. It's a new world that will open before his eyes", Yaga quoted some forgotten brochure in his mind with promotional garbage, "you and your parents are invited to see the facilities at any time."
Suguru looked at his parents; he didn't want to reveal the sudden emotional wave that was running through him. He loved Harry Potter! And although clearly in the story, there were no terrifying curses trying to kill you in an abandoned house, or vomiting on children's lunch, the sudden realization of experiencing something incredible hit him hard. He felt special. He wasn't a lunatic.
Xue waited for her husband to say something to that thug-looking man spouting nonsense in their living room. But Kenta was interested in the second part of the proposal, much to his mocking.
On the side, Suguru continued to plead with his mother, with a pleading look, to speak. He begged for support. Xue had the words waiting on her tongue, but still hesitated to speak. She didn't want to give the impression of being foolish to her husband for perhaps believing in Yaga, even if it was just a little.
"Is this institution a boarding school? Do they have any credentials to justify themselves as...?"
"Don't overthink it", retorted Kenta. "Hippies, shamans, witches, whatever they want to call themselves, they're the same old charlatans. Catholic schools exist; don't be dazzled; it's the same crap", he said, though there was no way Yaga would take that man seriously. Kenta also didn't expect to be contradicted. For him, he wasn't offending anyone; it was no secret that religious people and their propaganda annoyed anyone. They should be used to it. A simple raised eyebrow from Yaga was the only sign of any dissatisfaction with his harsh words.
"What about the financial aid and paid education expenses? The boy is quite dedicated, a good student. We expect nothing less than a full scholarship", said Xue.
"The school covers higher education, as well as accommodation and meals. The family will receive a monthly check of one hundred fifty thousand yen," Yaga recited. Although only one-third of that money would be directed to the parents. And the remaining amount to the student for personal expenses. But the conversation dangerously approached sounding like the negotiation of a human trafficking business. Despite saying he wouldn't try to interfere with another family again, there he was, refining a sales pitch to convince Suguru's parents.
"So little?" Kenta tried his luck. An attempt to negotiate. It was a bait that Yaga didn't take. Noticing it, Kenta shrugged; his beer was back in his mouth.
"As long as it's all legal. I don't want trouble with the law", he added.
Jujutsu Technical Institute was indeed in compliance. In society, it was an old school for the wealthy in a private area. They issued certificates and had agreements with the government. Any of its graduates would have the freedom to join a university with a recommendation. Some improvements in the system thanks to the change in power two decades ago. Yaga was grateful that the world of sorcery was returning to the path of old glory. Expanding.
The small price to pay was dealing with small minds like Suguru's parents.
"Here's a brochure", Yaga said. The paper slid from Yaga's pocket to Kenta, offering it and waiting for it to be accepted. It was Suguru's mother who dared to leave her isolated and self-imposed seat to take it from Yaga's outstretched hand. Suguru also received one, different from his mother's, more colorful.
Explaining to the parents of the discovered children was taboo when Yaga himself joined. The proposal to include the parents of children from non-sorcerer families was his earliest preparation. A part-time existence between ordinary life and one they were never exposed to before being discovered.
"Camps?" Suguru asked. The brochure material contained drawings by a talentless artist, but colorful enough to catch the attention of children. There were flashy words: ritual technique, curses; then, the curriculum proposed camps, self-defense classes, and the boarding school. Suguru's parents looked at Yaga simultaneously as Suguru's eyes waited. Yaga frowned. The camps were a facade with a catchy name. It would be more accurately described as an introductory workshop to sorcery, merely a filter for candidates that the Kamo clan considered worthy of associating with them.
"Spare classes", Yaga said before adding the most disheartening part, "are not included in the free plan." Yaga explained. Suguru understood immediately. If it came down to money, the conversation was over. There was no need to ask anything else. "Self-defense classes are free. You can attend them in the summer vacation." That cheered Suguru up. The brochure still felt unreal. His heart continued to resent the mix of emotions in his chest: curiosity, happiness, and fear. He was avoiding thinking about how terrifying the curses were, just because an equally terrifying stranger told him and his parents that Suguru was special.
With the promise of having a new place to try to fit in, Suguru could no longer avoid remembering that in his village, he no longer had anyone who wanted him around. He had Momo longer than anyone else, besides his parents. But being special drove her away too.
"I'm good at sports", Suguru assured, trying to keep Yaga interested in thinking he was worthwhile. His parents might not let him go. And if his mother couldn't accompany him... he didn't want to leave her alone.
"I haven't given my authorization yet" Kenta halted Suguru's thoughts, looking at his father sitting back on the couch, the bottle abandoned by his feet, and annoyance on his face.
"I think it's a good opportunity", Xue said. She continued absorbed in the brochure. She automatically opened her mouth when the thought crossed her mind, unaware that she was deciding for herself rather than seeking her husband's opinion. Kenta quickly disguised his displeasure. But he didn't dare order her to simply stay silent. Yaga watched them. His eyes were still hidden behind sunglasses, but it was evident they were focused on them. Suguru expected to meet his mother's eyes when she stopped staring at the brochure, but she overlooked him, addressing his father: "Suguru should be with people like him."
•
Even though the arrangement for Suguru's enrollment wasn't supposed to start until he turned fourteen, Yaga returned three months later. Right in winter. Many things had changed in the village. Suguru no longer walked home with any of his classmates. Momo never returned to school, and for the first time in his life, he felt special.
It was a defense mechanism, of course. Seeing Bumbling walking alongside him reminded him that he wasn't alone. The tingling sensation in his palm was a sign that some incredible ability awaited discovery.
But three months passed, and Suguru still hadn't discovered it.
"Hey." Yaga was sitting on one of the swings in the park. He wasn't swinging and looked uncomfortable, occupying a space too small for his body. His long legs were stretched out, while his arms crossed over his chest. He wasn't alone. There was another stuffed animal with him. A toad. Suguru recognized it.
"It's Gamabunta!" Suguru pointed excitedly. Yaga instantly smiled as Suguru ran with more enthusiasm, erasing the look of misery from his face as he headed home.
"Do you know him? It's a fairly new anime."
"I have a lot of free time to watch TV!" Suguru replied. He ran to pounce on the toad under the empty swing. After spending so much time with Bumbling, the initial fear had completely disappeared. Still, Suguru screamed when the toad plush jumped out of his hands after trying to lift it.
"And have you had time to practice your sorcery?" The teasing was there. Suguru could understand that it was a joke. But at the same time, a real question. And failure was one of the situations Suguru couldn't handle. Loneliness was easy to deal with. Failure always whispered in his thoughts and affected his dreams.
Suguru knew how to avoid getting into trouble. Primarily because his mother didn't like bad news. And being a magnet for misfortunes, Suguru wasn't exactly good at warding them off. Lying felt wrong. But not telling the truth wasn't exactly a lie.
Yaga shared his theory with him before leaving the last time. He believed that Suguru somehow managed to trap a curse inside a sphere. It remained alive inside, and it couldn't be exorcised without breaking the container first. There must be a purpose for it to become a sphere in the first place. A utility.
Nothing had come out of Suguru's palms. Not a spark of magic. Just itching.
Suguru shrugged, his hands busy on the handles of his backpack to suppress the nervousness of trying to lie.
"I'm close to achieving something."
"So that's a no", Yaga decided. Suguru pursed his lips, offended. He had been practicing daily! Without results. But it couldn't be that easy. Suguru gave him a reproachful look, convinced that Yaga was being an adult, doing what adults love to do: belittling his effort because, for him, whatever Suguru had to achieve with his palms probably wasn't a challenge. "Oh, come on. Don't look at me like that; I never said it would be easy."
"I'm trying", Suguru replied.
Yaga kept his serious face, sunglasses on, shaved head, and square chin. Without doing or saying anything more, just observing Suguru's determination.
"I know", he said after sighing. Suguru lost some of his anger hearing that. The fear of disappointing him diminished how indignant he had felt. "I figured this might happen. Children of non-sorcerer parents have no ties to sorcery, nor to the methods of enhancing their control. It was going to be challenging for you to discover it on your own." Yaga paused to rub his head. Suguru waited in silence. It seemed like the beginning of a speech that ended with a « but » even though Yaga didn't add it. But there was more. Something Yaga found hard to say.
"I'll keep practicing!" Suguru asserted. He wanted to know more about the sorcery school. Would it be like Hogwarts? Did they have a uniform cloak? Did they use wands? But Yaga was just being a mysterious old man with a grumpy face. So Suguru just kicked at nothing for a while until he thought to ask, "Are you here for a new lesson? Or to talk about the school? My father doesn't come back until the weekend, but you can wait for my mom at home."
"No, no more meetings with your parents if I can help it", Yaga said, "actually, that's the first. I have a hunch."
"That sounds great!"
Yaga didn't share the same opinion.
Without calling it, Gamabunta returned from the sky, landing on Yaga's legs in an elegant landing after such a long stride. The toad's mouth opened like a large wallet. It was a briefcase, and its insides were a large pouch with two opaque glass jars covered with a scroll. Yaga took one of them.
"These jars are containers; they hold cursed energy in small amounts thanks to a seal. And inside here is the sphere you created."
"Why is it trapped?"
"Precaution", Yaga said nonchalantly, "the sphere is, to a certain extent, the same as these jars. But without a seal, its effectiveness must weaken over time. The purpose must come into the equation before the curse escapes from this little prison." The jar opened immediately after Yaga removed the scroll. The sphere was intact. The inside still looked alive and murky. Yaga continued his explanation, hoping his reasoning didn't sound too much for a child: "Using a cursed tool or any technique to exorcise the curse inside would invalidate the main principle of the nature of any cursed technique: exorcising. Your technique must be able to do it on its own. Doing it with any external method would eliminate the sphere."
An old man rambling, Suguru didn't expect it from Yaga. If it were his literature teacher, that man could spend the entire class bragging about a sunrise. Suguru was interested. And he hated showing that he didn't understand whatever they explained to him. He would figure it out. But Yaga was there, right now, observing him, waiting for... a response? Nodding and pretending to understand so he would keep talking? Suguru did the latter. Yaga sighed again.
"I get it!" Suguru hurried to defend himself. His arms moved frantically in front of him; he liked theories. And mystery. He thought of one of those paranormal movies and Harry Potter; perhaps the answer was just a spell that would make them explode? Send them to the afterlife? "My magic is like a jar. But that jar doesn't kill curses, it only traps them. I just have to figure out how to kill them."
Yaga sighed again, a tacit response: Suguru was wrong. The excitement of the explanation went from his head to coloring his cheeks with embarrassment.
"I think you are the jar", Yaga said. "It makes sense. Exorcists binding them to your cursed energy. The sphere is just a container, and the prison is yourself." The sphere was small, soft to the touch. Like a firm dango ; even if squeezed, it maintained its shape and filling. Yaga offered it to him, “the first part of this theory is that you have to swallow it."
"What?"
"Without chewing", Yaga indicated as if it were a terrible joke. Suguru waited for him to laugh. Some sign that revealed he was just teasing him. But it didn't happen. On the contrary, Yaga shook his hand, with the dusty sphere that had been gathering dust on Suguru's shelf for weeks. He took it hesitantly; his stomach screaming at him to run home and eat the delicious curry his mother left that morning for when he returned from school. The sphere was clean, at least the surface had no visible dirt. He glanced at Yaga in a double take for ask his in silence the inevitable question: "Is he sure I should do this?" and he just returned an unperturbed expression. A boring yes.
He wrinkled his nose reflexively and brought the sphere to his lips. His throat began to itch, as if something was about to happen. And that time something did happen. The moment Suguru's mouth closed around the sphere, its size decreased considerably, sucked into his throat like a vacuum to mere dust. The worst came next. The taste: It was horrible!
Yaga finally had a response other than sighs and a bitter face. He stood up surprised.
"Incredible, I was right! That was an immediate response of your body to your cursed technique; surely you would have discovered it on your own sooner or later", he said excitedly. Suguru tried to smile with tightly pressed lips. His hands kept holding his mouth, and if he wanted to show Yaga that he was okay, he had to let go, smile, and continue with the lesson. But it tasted worse than the worst thing Suguru had eaten before! And that was spoiled milk custard. If he freed his mouth, he would surely vomit it all, "Come on, tell me, Suguru, how do you feel? Anything noteworthy?"
The flavor! Suguru almost felt tears welling up in his eyes. His palms suddenly didn't seem like the best way to contain the inevitable vomit rising his throat. Being tough was never his thing. Suguru had tried to mimic Yoshida several times, embarrassed about wanting to have the confident and mature look that surrounded him. But he was too soft to pull it off", Suguru was betrayed by his palms that set his mouth free, thus fully revealing the displeasure on his face. Still, the most painful betrayal was that of his throat, which, once it had a clear path to the outside, spilled without warning the two tuna onigiris he had for lunch onto Yaga's shoes.
"Damn it", Yaga grumbled.
Suguru's face flushed with embarrassment. He raised his head, with an apology ready. The taste of bile was replaced by the rotten taste of the curse, and the rice pieces from the vomit mixed with the slimy sensation of the sphere melting in his throat. His body writhed in shivers. Disgusted and crying from the effort.
Suguru whispered an apology, afraid that the lingering disgust would threaten to empty the remaining remnants of his breakfast still in his stomach. Yaga made a grimace at the mess on his shoes, bent down, and held Suguru's shoulders with both palms. Shortly after Suguru managed to control the unstable feeling pressing on his stomach, Yaga handed him a water bottle. The sore throat immediately eased. After finishing the bottle, Suguru felt the gritty remnants of an undissolved pill at the bottom. Yaga had mixed painkillers before giving it to him.
"It worked", Yaga repeated, devoid of the initial excitement in his voice. A statement. Suguru had emptied his stomach, and he felt unable to eat anything that tasted good for at least the remainder of the day. But the curse was successfully absorbed. Its presence seemed to be exorcised.
"Did it?" Suguru replied just to say something. He had forgotten about it for a few minutes, at least while he was trying to contain the nausea, in a struggle against the vomit trapped in his throat, and the dilemma between swallowing it or further dirtying Yaga's shoes. He was in the middle of a lesson. A self-discovery of his " magical " powers. The ones that turned out to be disgusting. Yaga must be some kind of teacher. Or just a boastful man, because Suguru didn't need to ask more questions; he immediately started explaining.
"The cursed spirit's cursed energy was still present when it was trapped in the sphere. Minimal, but it was still there, coexisting beneath yours. Now there's no trace. It's as if it has been exorcised by swallowing it."
Suguru made a face. His lips still pursed with disgust.
"Is my power eating them?" he asked dejected by the possibility. Yaga nodded. Suguru's shoulders slumped. He had been holding his breath without realizing it. "That's horrible", the ground rose as Suguru kicked it, the vomit had turned into mud with foul-smelling food chunks. Suguru felt just as disgusting.
"Don't get discouraged."
"That sounds like a dumb and disgusting power. You have a cool power, that's why you don't understand."
"I've already said it, brat, they're called techniques, not powers. Pay attention", scolded Yaga. He crossed his arms and ignored the present need in his head to clean up the mess on his shoes, prioritizing the importance of reassuring Suguru. "We've discovered the purpose of the spheres; now it's time to figure out the utility."
"I don't understand", Suguru confessed frustrated. His stomach had started to flutter, threatening him with another retch. It hurt like something seeking release. A gas, or a burp. Or more vomit.
And the idiotic adult in front of him just kept saying metaphors that Suguru didn't understand.
"Is something wrong?" Yaga asked when he saw Suguru's face. Genuine concern, putting aside the exasperation for Suguru to discover whatever his cursed technique meant.
And yes, Yaga was right. Something was wrong. Suguru stared at the ground, clenched his lips, and took a deep breath trying to ward off the nausea. It was the feeling. His stomach was empty. His belly felt strange but no more than that. But definitely, something wanted to come out.
It felt like a shiver. It came from deep inside him, pulsating to get out. But contained until Suguru guided it on its way out. A black mass formed at his feet, where Suguru expected to empty his stomach again, and the shiver left his body at that moment. Suddenly, it was there again, the curse resurfacing from the black puddle. Suguru screamed in panic before stumbling over his feet while trying to step back. The curse slipped out, with the same hairy claws as an insect, and an elongated beak that night had almost gouged Suguru's eyes out.
He didn't remember the nightmare. Not the details. Only the initial fear and the satisfaction of winning. But having that creature in front of him, and with his stomach churning, made Suguru falter for a few minutes before regaining composure.
The curse didn't move an inch until Suguru had the idea that it should go back the way it came, and the curse obeyed his thoughts. As quickly as it arrived, it left.
The silence lasted only as long as Suguru's amazement at understanding what had just happened.
"Excellent!" exclaimed Yaga. Suguru snapped out of his stupor upon hearing him; Yaga's gaze was filled with astonishment. "Curse manipulation!"
Suguru repeated the name. His power? Well, not really. He would have to say, his cursed technique. Suguru looked at the empty space, then at Yaga. Again, he didn't have to say anything; Yaga was already talking about it.
"You asked it to leave, and it did, right?"
He did.
Without Yaga asking for it, Suguru returned to that sensation. That present shiver, but expectant to emerge; his mind was in the black puddle with his eyes waiting for the appearance of the cursed spirit.
Not long after, both were there again. Still until Suguru thought of something. The spirit had wings, so he made it fly. And Suguru's command was obeyed.
The next lesson Yaga gave him was to capture curses in spheres. Suguru found the grace in it, calling it "attraction and molding", the steps to achieve it. Some resisted when they exceeded the level Suguru had on his own cursed energy. But it was only a matter of time for the resistance to become zero, and they fell into his palm, trapped in a perfect sphere.
Bumbling was joined by Gamabunta, a gift from Yaga when Suguru got sick to his stomach after trying to ingest more curses than his tolerance could withstand. Three a day was the limit Yaga imposed on him. But Suguru complained about it. He could do better, he knew it; he just had to push his limits a little, and he would get used to it. Just like he did with the taste. It was still terrible, the most unpleasant thing he had ever tasted in his life, but the stomachache no longer lingered long after swallowing them. The taste was the only inconvenience that persisted. Nothing Suguru couldn't mitigate with a little, or a lot, of chewing gum.
His arsenal was rapidly growing. Although he had Bumbling, he refused to help him collect more curses, so Suguru soon learned to use others to help him subdue new ones. The town was small, and Suguru's patrols covered its entire circumference. Some days he collected them, others tortured themselves by absorbing them. Soon, in a year, the count rose to thirty curses. Only the small ones, they didn't fight or resist much beyond wriggling and trying to escape. Suguru tried not to feel that he was ingesting only garbage that would be useless in a fight.
Until one day was different. A school trip to the beach of the neighboring town gave Suguru his favorite cursed spirit: a salmon-colored manta ray that had caught his teacher's ankle with its tail. The other kids kept trying to ignore him, making him feel as if he didn't exist, which forced the teachers to keep Suguru company throughout the trip, staying by his side even during recreational activities. They were a small group, after all, only seven to five children attended each year. The other teacher panicked and ventured into the sea to help her, leaving Suguru unsupervised at the foot of the sand, just like the other children.
The manta ray wasn't strong, just elusive. When Bumbling stopped Suguru's advance toward the sea, and he had to leave all his other curses the task, he was surprised that the manta ray came out of the sea on its own just to chase him, the owner of the curses that were attacking it. Slightly intelligent, Suguru concluded before starting to run. Class three? Would that be what Yaga had said? If he managed to capture it, it would be something great to tell him on his next visit.
Bumbling abandoned his grumpy statue attitude and soared into the air, throwing the manta ray to the ground. Suguru waved his palms, calling his curses (a worm long enough to coil around itself, his most powerful curse and the first; the mosquito that attacked him in his dreams, and a deformed curse with two arms and a huge mouth). He was tempted to name them, but Suguru stopped when he thought of himself as a dark reference to a Pokémon trainer. The idea excited him so much that he felt embarrassed every time he thought about it again.
The stingray was pierced, wriggling in the sand, unable to escape the lock that Bumbling immobilized it in. Its button eyes watched Suguru, waiting to be absorbed. It was stopping him for himself, despite Yaga's orders not to encourage Suguru to exceed his limit of curses ingested per day or to try fighting those of higher grades than Suguru's current training.
He didn't waste any more time. He raised his open hand with the breathing exercise he had practiced, and the itching on his skin, as well as the tension in his fingers, became present. The curse began to detach, like drool sliding into his control. Barely a thread of its form, unlike fourth-grade curses that quickly transformed into a rope coiling instantly around themselves. Just extending his palm and absorbing them was enough to contain them.
It was the first time Suguru had to use both hands to shape the sphere. Yaga had said that his control over cursed energy should be greater than that of the curse he had subdued before planning to absorb it, thus preventing it from revealing itself. Suguru took twice as long to create and trap it. The weight was similar, the size slightly larger. But he had done it. The smile on his face slid wider and wider as he quickly studied the sphere in his palm.
The hustle interrupted the fleeting appreciation of his work. His classmates shouted the name of their teacher after the other teacher realized he was having trouble in the water. Suguru, like everyone else, tried to tiptoe to be taller and observe the situation from a distance. The teacher was safe, with one arm around the neck of her teacher. She raised her hand to reassure everyone. Soon the lifeguard approached both, too late to be of help if Suguru hadn't intervened. But his teacher justified everything with a simple ankle twist, and they ended up receiving a warning from the lifeguard only.
The rest of the afternoon underwent a change of plans. The sea was prohibited in the activities, and Suguru gained the company of his teacher with a sore ankle in the rest area.
•
Suguru's reputation as a lunatic was getting the better of him in his sanity. Every time he let his common sense slip and gave in to the foolish need to comment on any nonsense with his only company, Bumbling, whom the other children clearly couldn't see, Suguru deepened the social hole he found himself in.
That plushie didn't even answer. Suguru doubted whether its nature was closer to a robot or a puppet, and Yaga saw through Bumbling like a pair of lenses into Suguru's life. But Bumbling was the difference between being completely alone and not being.
The other person who spent time with him was Yaga.
Suguru estimated the time between his visits. Yaga never gave him a specific day, and whenever he asked, he only answered with, « I won't be back », as if he wanted to make sure Suguru didn't wait for his visits. Nevertheless, he returned. Every three weeks and two days from the naming of Suguru's cursed technique.
He didn't try to wait for his mother at night anymore. Xue was paranoid since the visit. The noises had stopped sounding like simple creaks, or the old wood being hit by the wind. Small hisses coming from Suguru's curses made her look over her shoulder twice and excuse herself to her room to sleep if Suguru asked to spend time with her.
Conscious humans, they were called. Another of Yaga's explanations. Some humans in contact with curses and aware of their existence experienced these symptoms. Until she acknowledged it, Suguru's mother would continue in limbo between glimpses of the witching world and the ignorance in which most non-wizards lived.
The story with his father was different. Suguru was used to only exchanging words with him at weekend dinners and lunches. Suguru's grandparents died when he was five, and with them, the family trips to visit them. Suguru wasn't interested in baseball, and his father had no interest in swinging a ball in the park to hit a target, so father-son basketball wasn't on the list of activities that could bridge the gap between them.
But he asked about witchcraft. Suguru was surprised the first time. He descended the stairs with the smell of fried eggs lingering in the house, his father at the table, waiting and drinking despite it being before noon, his mother out of sight, hidden in the kitchen. Kenta Geto's eyes left his newspaper attention and rarely he asked about something other than Suguru's performance in school.
"How about the ghosts?" he asked with a crooked smile, a fun mood due to the drink, and the fact that he really had no interest in the answer. Still, it surprised Suguru, who had just settled into his place at the table.
"Any progress?" Suguru looked at his palms before raising his head. His heart fluttered with excitement, while his stomach tingled with an unpleasant sensation. Without details would be best, as his father clearly was waiting to mock him. But, even if it was a less than honest interest, Suguru wanted to impress him. Get some recognition, as happened after getting good grades. He had been trying hard.
Of course, he wouldn't correct his father referring to curses as ghosts, nor did he dare to try to get him to take it more seriously.
"I've caught some. Professor Yaga taught me how to control them", Suguru explained. Even if he summoned them, he couldn't make a presentation. His father gave a half-hearted nod and a simple «okey» as a sign that he wasn't ignoring him. Suguru came up with the silliest idea. He said it on an impulse to help his father understand.
"Like a Pokémon trainer." All he got was a laugh. Like the ones he dedicated to his mother when she prayed at the small altar to the only relative, she had in Japan before she also died. He only sighed at the hours his mother spent bent over before telling her, « Go to sleep. Your sister is dead, she can't hear you », and turning off the lights.
Curses were invisible to the understanding of non-sorcerers. The disasters they caused transformed into images or events in their brains that they could comprehend. Some other minds were more intelligent; their eyes could see through the deception of cursed energy and perceive reality. It wasn't always clear. The levels ranged from fogged glass to absolute clarity. Suguru didn't want his parents to delve into that world. Surely his mother would be frightened. And his father... Suguru was afraid to see his father too much. Because that meant he became unpredictable. And his mood swings not only scared his mother but also him.
Bumbling freely roamed Suguru's parents' house, and at school, or anywhere Suguru went. Avoiding Kenta and Xue, but not hiding from them. It was like dust in the air. Ignored by those who couldn't see it, but still present. That week Suguru had freed his father from a curse hanging on his shoulder after two consecutive days staring at him surreptitiously, waiting for some acknowledgment of the creature hovering around his neck. There was nothing more than a couple of complaints about his sore shoulders.
So Suguru concluded that, although his mother was possibly a conscious non-sorcerer (he had no way to check it without asking, which wasn't going to happen. Suguru preferred to keep at least the goodnight kiss his mother still gave him on weekends if the only condition was that both would continue pretending that witchcraft didn't exist), his father, in the end, was completely oblivious to anything supernatural. Yaga had warned him «under no circumstances, and only if strictly necessary in combat, should he play with the curses under his power ». But Yaga also said, «you must practice your ritual technique for yourself. You are the first registered user; no one will know your abilities better than yourself ».
So Suguru let himself be impressed by his new acquisition: the stingray. And he let the control he had over curses get to his head a little. That morning, he could have let his ego cloud him. He ordered the worm to swallow Yoshida's lunch and vomit the remains into Takashi's backpack. And although Nezumi deserved to trip on the last step of the stairs with the maximum risk of scraping his knees for mentioning Momo and speaking disparagingly of her just because he knew Suguru was listening, Suguru's small acts of revenge didn't end there.
Suguru could defend himself against other children. He was good at sports, and it wasn't a secret that he was tough with fists in fights; after all, he had been friends with Takashi and his group. When his former friends wanted a target to take it out on, they usually didn't turn their gaze in his direction. The silent treatment was the right way to make Suguru feel miserable; that's why they decided to make him invisible. But vomit ruining Takashi's books, Yoshida's hungry stomach, and the slight smirk on Suguru's lips when Nezumi stumbled straight to the ground due to his loose shoelaces, of which Suguru had no knowledge, needed a punishment to soothe the wounded egos of his old group of friends.
Someone decided that Suguru's desk mate (who only spoke to him because it was impossible to ignore Suguru if they shared a table) and the kind Haruko, whom Yoshida herself forced to switch cleaning schedules with her just to avoid coinciding with Suguru, were to blame. In summary, the only two classmates of Suguru who gave him more than one glance. Revenge went wrong. The next use he found for his curses had a better outcome.
Suguru tried to convince himself that riding on the back of the stingray was a stupid idea; he thought of the major downside: death, and the advantages: a terribly cool sky trip on a stingray and practicing his control over curses without hurting others. He considered it as he finished a tough melon bun, so the time was longer than if it had been a delicious bun. Finally, the negative arguments against it not being a great idea lost. Suguru fell off the stingray twenty-two times in a row. His appearance at the end of the day was worthy of someone who had been beaten up. But after swallowing his own sobs on the twenty-second fall, on the twenty-third attempt, instead of letting himself be swayed by the stingray's back, Suguru had the fins grasp his calves and hunched over the head to avoid the butt fall that left him on the ground longer than the other failed landings.
The journey to and from school no longer seemed like a lonely and miserable trip. Bumbling kept walking; Suguru didn't risk adding extra weight to his precarious balance, turning his head skyward disapprovingly with his button eyes at the increasing distance Suguru added from the ground. Houses with two floors were scarce in the town. Except for a few structures in the center, near the main square. Suguru didn't increase the distance beyond ten meters from the ground. Enough to cause vertigo in the first few days and limit his mobility to zero for fear of not being able to bear the sight. When Suguru dared to peek, he realized it wasn't a big deal. It was just the height a canary could reach. Flying higher wouldn't be smart if Suguru didn't master it. He squashed the idea in his head as soon as it arose.
He landed near his house's backyard if his parents were close by. Although the non-sorcerers' blindness manipulated his brain, Suguru feared facing the consequences of being caught jumping from the sky. To what extent was blindness effective? He would have to ask Yaga. Suguru flew over his parents' house as a precaution. It was Friday; his father was coming home late. But Suguru was Xue's son, and the paranoid instinct in parenting was a difficult whisper to silence once obtained.
Two black cars, with wide tires made for mountainous terrain, were flanking his father's old car. The scrap looked more useless in between two cars of that league. Impossible for them to belong to anyone in the town. He approached a little, intrigued by the two men in suits guarding the entrance to his house. Black sunglasses, impeccable suits, and as firm as soldiers.
Suguru had only seen characters like this in movies. And they weren't exactly good people.
But it could be Yaga! Important personnel from the witchcraft school? Suguru considered it. The idea excited him immediately. If he thought about it, it made sense. It could be the famous camp, or ... what else?
Suguru realized that he didn't have any other alternatives in mind. He looked for Bumbling nearby; the stingray didn't hesitate to obey his thoughts and lowered its altitude.
That was another issue about control. If Suguru didn't keep his thoughts clear, commands and desires influenced his curses in the same way. They were puppets that obeyed. Just that. No trace of independence after being devoured by his technique.
After several minutes passed, Suguru gave up. Bumbling was too small and possibly had already hidden somewhere or might have returned to his master. That made sense, if one allowed oneself to dream high, of course.
Suguru headed to the back entrance, where his mother's peach trees covered the old orchard. He jumped to the reliable branch he liked to climb and held onto the trunk before landing on the ground.
"You must be Suguru Geto." Suguru's heart raced. The surprise of the closeness and the appearance of a person behind him made him stumble over his own feet. He fell onto the ground, staining his uniform with mud and rotten fruit.
A palm appeared in front of his eyes, extended in an offering of help. Suguru hesitated before wiping himself off on his shorts and accepting it. The woman didn't smile after examining him; her expression remained impassive. Suguru was still dealing with the aftermath of the surprise to realize how quickly and deftly he was manipulated with a hand on his shoulder and prompted to walk into his house.
The back door was open, leading into the kitchen, where the coffee pot was hot and the pitcher half full, and there was a nice fruit basket on the countertop. Suguru didn't have time to be impressed by the amount of expensive fruit overflowing from the basket. A variety of faces turned in his direction when the hand on his shoulder stopped them in front of the living room. Among the guests was his mother, this time sharing a seat with his father. On the same side of the coffee table, accompanied by two ostentatious individuals, the visitors.
With a single glance, the woman dressed in a fine kimono, with winter colors printed, stole his breath. Her eyes met his over her shoulder, assessing him like an annoying mosquito buzzing around her. The room fell silent. Suguru tried to move towards his unusually composed parents. They seemed nervous to please, and remaining impassive was the method they found most suitable to the woman's tastes before them.
Fuyuka Gojo, the second daughter of the current head of the Gojo clan, introduced herself. She had a firm voice, cold like the meaning of her name, winter, and imposing. She arrived twenty minutes before her guards, scattered around, identified the mysterious and most recent discovery of Yaga Masamishi.
"I apologize for the delay, madam", Suguru took a tentative step towards his parents, but was stopped. He was good at reading the room's atmosphere. He had to be after the shouting sessions started in the early hours of the morning, and the next day after breakfast.
Xue was hunched over herself, with the back of her hand covering her mouth. Her hair in a loose bun with the bangs disheveled covering her face. Kenta was sitting sprawled on the sofa, leaving little room for his wife, where she seemed to be sobbing hidden under her disheveled appearance. Hands clenched on her thighs and no liquor in sight.
Fuyuka was unaffected by the discomfort around her. She took her time to nod, this was an implicit permission for the woman still holding Suguru's shoulder to speak again.
"I can confirm that the boy's ability is curse manipulation, as reported by Madam Kamo", the first reaction on Fuyuka's unchanging face was displeasure. This was the second occasion Suguru heard the surname Kamo and with the same reaction following shortly after mentioning it, "He has been seen descending from a semi-third grade curse, which he controlled for over two blocks."
Were they all sorcerers? Suguru felt both terrified and excited. Did they all see curses? Were there as many as him? He knew about Yaga, and what little he disclosed. If there was a school, it meant that there were many more sorcerers. But that was the first time he heard more than one person casually discussing the existence of curses.
The second reaction Suguru saw in Fuyuka was interest. Her eyebrows were slightly raised, and her lips in a tight thin line curved at the end of her raw expression.
"A pleasure to meet you, young Geto."
"The pleasure is mine, madam", it was clumsy, Suguru smiled in the only charming way he knew and that worked with adults. He glanced at his parents again but got nothing from them.
"Gojo", Fuyuka interjected, " you must refer to me as Madam Gojo, do not forget."
The instruction had the full tone of a reprimand. Still, Suguru couldn't quite affirm it. It felt odd, and silly how he felt inhibited for not knowing the surname of someone who hadn't even introduced herself.
Kenta grunted in the background, tired of staying silent. Containing his bad mood in the face of the visitor's pomposity was possible under the initial promise of negotiation. The presence and confirmation of Suguru's abilities were essential to start the supposed chat. And with all the pieces on the table, Kenta decided it was fair for him to take charge of the conversation.
Suguru couldn't feel the relief of his father finally breaking in when his stomach churned at his father's demanding demand.
"Show this woman your magic."
Of course, the title "Madam Gojo" was extended to his parents. Fuyuka demanded to be called with respect. And Kenta's defiance was deliberate. There was no sign of annoyance from her, but her guards were offended by how wrong his father's entire sentence was.
All eyes were on him again. This time laden with expectations that Suguru immediately tried to meet. It happened at school. At home. And in any circle of people where he was involved. At the end of the day, he was pleased to meet the challenge after so much effort. He never minded how exhausting it was. Suguru nodded dazedly, hurrying to concentrate enough not to make a fool of himself the first time he had an audience and his father expected something from him in his sorcery skills. His father wouldn't be able to see him, but everyone else would. They would surely testify to it, and he would please himself accordingly.
He positioned his palms, and the swirling black void where his curses were stored extended in front of him. They had already seen his stingray; it was the biggest and prettiest curse he had (calling it pretty was a stretch, but at least it wasn't grotesque), and his toad. «I should impress them, so why not both? » So, he did. One fell to the ground, acting like a common toad, and the other slid from the deep black towards the ceiling, hovering like a kite held by a string.
Curses could stay still or perform tricks Suguru wished. It just required him to think about it with a clear image, and voila! A couple of flips. A satisfied smile crept onto his lips as the circus tricks proved harmless. Curses were aggressive by nature, or elusive for the lower ones. They were human parasites after all. Suguru, pleased, sought approval from Madam Gojo and his father, who, of course, was not even remotely impressed. Meeting his gaze, he understood that any spectacle Suguru was going to star in was over. And Fuyuka had no comment. Even Suguru's teachers would lavish praise on his performance. A part of him believed it would happen again.
The expectation in Suguru's eyes must have been too evident for his father to guess that any stupid trick their guests expected was done. Kenta extended the arms he had kept tightly at his sides, palms under the armpits. He cleared his throat, bringing attention to himself with a response of displeasure from Fuyuka for the minimal class action. But unlike his usual arrogance in a man as haughty as his father, this one refrained from mocking remarks. Intimidated by the company. And clearly hoping to get something out of this exchange. Because Madam Gojo was there for a reason.
Fuyuka's voice had a slight charm now present. She had let Suguru's father make an offer, willing to let him be ambitious enough to buy her silence with a little more money if the deal convinced her.
"We accept your offer, Geto", At that signal, Fuyuka's assistant, a short woman with skin wrinkled by age, handed a paper envelope to his father, and to Kenta's surprise, also to his wife. Envy reignited his interest. It was the elderly woman who explained:
"The negotiation is individual. With this, we ensure that both of you relinquish custody of your son without any future inconvenience."
Suguru lost his breath. The stingray and the toad dissolved roughly into a mass swallowed by darkness. His cursed energy wobbling due to his emotions, as the main cause of his instability. He heard it right. He was present. Relegated to an exhibit about to be sold. And the situation was too unreal to process correctly. Though panic was immediately in order. His eyes wide open, scared, legs so weak that they stumbled at his mother's feet in a frenzy. Scared, Suguru clung to Xue's legs. And she dared to shiver.
"Behave, Suguru!" his father grunted. And for the first time, Suguru didn't shrink after hearing his father's scolding. He resisted the painful, tight grip with which his father held his arm, forcing him to stand up and move away from his mother.
Xue clenched the envelope, palms pressed against her face hidden beneath a full, thick fringe she used as an extra shield in case her constant feigned expressions let slip something real.
"Mom!" Suguru pleaded. No one was making more of a fuss than him. Even his father gave up after two tugs that caused an ugly tearing sound of fabric. Nothing in sight, but the seams of Suguru's favorite sweater gave way over the shoulder and ruined it forever. "Mom! What's going on?"
Behind him, Fuyuka stood up in one fluid motion. Her kimono didn't seem to be even slightly wrinkled, not even disturbed by her perfect walk around the living room towards the exit.
"Saori, accompany young Geto with his luggage. Yasu, you're in charge of his transportation", Fuyuka began barking orders. One by one, heads nodded in acknowledgment. Then, Fuyuka lightened her bossy tone and addressed the older woman, "Miyo, I leave the preparations in your hands. And the welcome."
The chorus of farewells to the infamous woman made Suguru commit the mistake of turning in her direction, and in his misfortune, meeting her cold eyes. Suguru expected rejection. Negativity like the one he was receiving from his parents. But the fear that crushed his heart intensified when the elegant madam Gojo inclined her always firm head, and her sweet lips, in contrast to her pale skin, smiled at him in acknowledgment. Not in farewell. Instead, it was: «see you soon» .
In his pitiful scene, Suguru missed his father's movements. The traitor. He signed the paperwork proposed on the table like a receipt for the purchase of real estate. A couple of signatures here, a fingerprint there, and courtesies from the man directing him that his father gladly accepted only because of the initiative of the figure highlighted in the documents.
"It's your turn, Mrs. Geto", Yasu requested. The woman who had been behind Suguru all that time.
Suguru didn't expect an immediate response from his mother. Not when he had been kneeling for minutes. Sniffling an explanation to his mother's immovable wall in that defensive pose. They weren't words as such. A timid nod before she dared to reveal her face.
Of course, when his mother's wrist was within reach, Suguru clung to it shamelessly. Xue tried to escape just once by shrinking before her father's hand intervened again, and Suguru was put in place with his father's true strength.
"No!" Suguru shouted, throwing himself wildly forward. His knees clung to the lumpy surface of the carpet, and his chin tried to propel him back towards his mother. But Kenta restrained his body by pressing both palms against his arms, trapping him. Before Suguru could provoke his father enough to invoke his true disciplinary methods, his mother's free hand, the one that had been clutching the offer envelope, covered his sticky cheek.
Xue eyes were irritated and dark circles on the cheeks that makeup couldn't conceal. Her lips were moist, with traces of having abused the soft skin. The blood from her wounds couldn't be seen over the red lipstick she chose for the occasion of saying goodbye to her son.
"I'm sorry, Suguru", his mother pleaded. Pity lined her eyes, and her gaze was laden with mercy. Suguru felt his skin prickling; she was acting just like when she scolded him for not getting something he really wanted. A new backpack after his was torn. Shoes when his began to feel too tight. Then, his mother would crouch down and convince him to endure the pain in his feet for a few months until she got him shoes from a neighbor's son. Or she'd mend his old backpack. "These people", she said without looking around, as if afraid to even see the people she was entrusting her only son to, "are like you. They believe you have a bright future. You'll be better off with them."
"But Mom...?"
Xue closed her eyes, and her lips curved into a small smile after something amusing crossed her mind.
"Mom and Dad need to live their lives", she explained. "Give us the chance to do that." She looked up. Suguru had stopped, though his chest continued to rise and fall at an anxious pace. But when she looked at him again, there was only a plea. A sincere request from someone tired of having him in her life. How could he refuse? How could he say no? "Please, Suguru. Do it for your mother."
Suguru lowered his head, biting his lips to avoid protesting. Or asking again: Why?
Contrary to the anger beginning to rise silently in his chest, like a vine of thorns around his heart, Suguru bid farewell to his parents. His father looked the same as when his football team won the game, eager to rummage through the fridge for a cold beer to celebrate the victory as if it were his own. He patted Suguru's back, with a heavy palm, in an awkward and very mistaken attempt to convey some of his own joy for an inhumane deal. He looked proud and was so absorbed in the almost tangible sum of money in his pockets that he became affectionate. Suguru shuddered at his closeness, and the touch so present of a palm that remained on him and did not strike and flee.
Still, the most notable thing was that his mother didn't smile despite having made it clear she agreed with his father. She stroked his hair a couple of times and reflected with the hidden gaze of Suguru's sad eyes, avoiding facing them again. But if Suguru had wanted to convince himself that this situation had been orchestrated behind both their backs, he couldn't cling to the naive idea. At the foot of the stairs was a small suitcase that had appeared under the cupboard, hidden awaiting necessity. It contained the nicest clothes in Suguru's closet, second-hand clothes, and a few cheap garments that his mother's tips from a month could afford for important occasions.
The suitcase would have remained hidden if Suguru hadn't managed to impress those people from the Gojo clan. But, although it was a possibility, failure didn't cross his parents' minds. Suguru searched for any excuse within himself, any that would convince him to give his parents one last look, to hug them and say goodbye. He wanted one last kiss from his mother. He wanted to be praised for meeting their expectations, even if it meant being abandoned. Suguru wanted to believe in their words. That, despite the money, his parents' choice was driven by genuinely believing he would be better off elsewhere because he was different.
But it took too long for him to convince himself that by loosening his lips, he wouldn't beg his mother again to let him stay with her. When the tears stopped suppressing his chest and exhausting his breaths, Suguru was already seated in the backseat of one of those luxurious cars. His parents growing more distant in the window, leaving them behind as the distance separated them. The journey was long. Crying had drained him enough for the sight of the trees passing by like indistinguishable greenish patterns to lull him to sleep.
They had slid through the rocky streets of his town, taking Suguru away from what was once his home. His eyes, still moist from recent tears, focused on the fading landscape. The familiar roofs and grasslands, the familiar streets, all disappeared as the reality of his new life began to settle in.
When the car stopped Yasu, the woman who accompanied him, urged him to get out. Suguru's steps were slow and hesitant as his eyes met the vastness of the Gojo clan's residence.
The destination was not as he imagined. It was a majestic place. The roofs soared high and intricate, painted green in a landscape where no tree bore foliage of the same color to make the tiles stand out.
The air was heavy with incense, seemed to belong to a different reality. Every step echoed on the gravel path beneath his feet. Yasu confidently led him through the gardens, where the shadows of the few remaining leaves on the trees danced in the faint sunlight. The servants, equally attired, watched them in impeccable uniforms. Some exchanged fleeting glances among themselves when they inevitably crossed paths. Others did not dare.
The atmosphere was tense, as if the place held whispered secrets between its corridors and fearful people.
Finally, they reached the imposing entrance of the residence. Yasu opened the solid wooden doors, revealing an illuminated interior, full of luxury and opulence.
Suguru felt small in comparison to the grandeur of his new surroundings. Of his future role in this place. Which, he was unaware of.
Another elderly woman, different from the one madam Gojo put in charge of him, appeared at the end of the journey. She seemed annoyed at having been made to wait too long. She was dressed in a kimono that easily blended with the shadows, upright despite her age, her hands not daring to leave her lap. A posture befitting a woman of high class.
Suguru held his breath, feeling the scrutiny upon him as the tired eyes of this old woman met his own. Once again being observed and judged like a piece in a showcase.
Insecurity struck his chest, wanting to shrink into himself under so many expectations. Because that's what it was about, right? Those were his mother's words, and even his father's. Also, the people from the clan who barged into their living room, of whom Suguru doesn't remember any faces. There was potential in him. Yaga confirmed that several times (although he never mentioned that it could lead to him being traded for a big check).
Yaga said that all sorcerers went to the technical sorcery school. That Gojo clan was made up of sorcerers, who might also be related to him. If Suguru was optimistic, he could even hope they were good people. The wealthy were intimidating. A first impression wasn't everything. Living with them until he was old enough to be a student. And then... Return?
What could he expect from a father he feared and a mother who tearfully begged him to leave? Who or what was he expecting to return to? Suguru was obedient. He lowered his head and introduced himself without anyone asking him to.
There had to be a purpose (for himself, independent of whatever his new destination might be), something his heart could cling to. Because his determination was the only thing, they couldn't take away from him.