The Deal
Another day felt like forever. Ugly, stinky people coming to him, asking for help. Most of them carried petty, worthless curses. Nothing to be interested in.
Geto sighed heavily under his nose, rolling his eyes. If only he didn’t need the money, they all would have been dead by the time he found Mimiko and Nanako and killed everyone in the village.
But there was one thing Geto liked in people after all. Not their money, no, no, no. That would be too easy. He liked their stupidity. They were stupid enough to believe he was here to actually help them. The sorcerer sat upright, streching out his arms. Sitting all day, absorbing curses were seriously damaging his spine. He closed his eyes for a moment hearing the door opening one more time today.
Fucking monkeys.
Smiling, he opened his eyes, glancing at the door.
"Ahhh a newcomer! Hello, hello! Come in! What’s troubling you? How can I - a humble monk - help you?".
A woman entered the room. Thin and pale, long hair falling on her cheeks hiding half of her face. From what he could see she was probably in her early twenties, but the dark look on her face made her seem older. There was nothing special about the way she carried herself or the way she looked. Just like some other ill looking human. But what Geto could feel right away was an immense power following behind her. A cursed spirit. A very strong one. The energy around it felt like a bubbling hot water in a pot, ready to spill. It had a shape of a giant viper. For a second he couldn’t believe his eyes. Only one thing came to his mind.
Is she like that Okkotsu boy?
Geto smirked barely visibly.
Cursed spirits like that one were not very common. It was not attacking her in any way. It was just simply following her, yellow eyes gleaming viciously.
These kinds of spirits meant troubles and that was exactly what he needed right now.
The woman came closer. She looked so frail, almost as if ready to fall apart any minute.
"You’re Geto… Geto Suguru, right?" she asked, climbing up the few stairs before her.
He laughed wholeheartedly.
"Am I famous even across the seas now?" It didn’t bother him that people knew his name but she clearly wasn’t from here. A foreginer knowing about him, now that was something that sparked up his attention along with that humongous cursed spirit. Geto felt like a kid on a Christmas day.
"That’s me." He finally replied with a fake grin. "Your japanese is much impressive, my dear."
The woman only nodded slowly, stopping in her tracks. She cut right to the chase.
"My older brother has died a few years ago." She explained. "Ever since his death I cannot help but feel like he didn’t really leave. I have these strange dreams… and I can feel his presence. I think he… he’s become a cursed spirit."
Squinting his eyes, Geto let out a sound resembling something of a rasp but quickly collected himself.
"Huh? You know what cursed spirits are?" The corners of his mouth lifted up again. "Oh my my, who do we have here? Who are you?"
Shifting lightly, she bit her lip, exhaling loudly.
"Does that even matter? I thought you’re the one who could help me with this." She commented, taking a step further.
Geto snorted tauntingly.
"Sweets I CAN help you, but I like clear situations you know? I can tell you’re not a sorcerer, you ooze with cursed energy." A look of disgust on his face couldn’t go unnoticed. "So who are you?"
"I think you already know the answer Geto, but let’s say, a friend." She stated calmly.
Geto laughed, his arms shaking in pure amusement. That girl was a funny one, he could already tell. He really couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this much amused. It must have been during his years in Jujutsu High.
He cracked his knuckle with a mocking grimace on his face.
"A friend? I’m not friends with non sorcerers… In fact I kill monkeys like you. But it seems the zoo you came from had a little surprise up their sleeve… a human knowing about the jujutsu world."
The old wooden floor creaked under the woman’s feet.
"I had a friend once, a really close one. She was a jujutsu sorcerer. There’s not many of them in Europe." Gazing at the monk sitting in the middle of that hideous cult headquarters, the fear the woman thought she would have felt, never really came.
"She told me about the sorcery, cursed energy and about you. That you could help me. You’ve got cursed spirits manipulation, you can absorb and exorcise cursed spirits and I think my brother currently is one of them.“ She lifted her head and looked in Geto’s eyes for the first time. ”She said you’re a cult leader now. I know from her about the real intention behind your religious group too, so finding you wasn’t a problem. My friend was meant to come with me to avoid you killing me after it turns out I’m just a human, but she died a few months ago".
Geto raised his eyebrow, tilting his head to the side. "Ahh… so you come to the dragon’s den and expect not to be eaten?".
She shook her head.
"You see, I knew that coming here and telling you all that stuff would be dangerous so I did my research." She explained. "I've overheard a story about someone called Okkotsu Yuta. That he has a very powerful cursed spirit following him around. It’s guarded by Jujutsu High, name’s Rika."
Geto felt dumbfounded. The girl knew way to much. Any leaks of information from the inside of his group were impossible. His pawns wouldn’t have gone against him. There was something werid about her too, standing before him without an ounce of fear. At the same time he could sense her cursed energy, so thick it felt like he could just grab it and play with it like it’s play dough. Sadness and pain were gnawing on her body. And that ridiculous viper behind her, another one of Rika’s kind.
The woman cleared her throat, stopping Geto’s train of thoughts.
"I am willing to give you my cursed spirit. I know you want it. Help me and I will help you. It’s a fair deal."
Geto scoffed audibly.
"Fair, you say? Why would I make a deal with a nameless monkey, when I can easily kill you and absorb that cursed spirit, huh?"
"That won’t do you any good. If you kill me, you won’t be able to absorb that spirit. My death will not change a thing."
"How so?” Geto challenged.
"Before my brother died he made a promise that he’d never leave me, even after my death, and what he said back then... It must have been some sort of a binding vow. It cannot be broken unless I say so. No cursed technique can affect it." she stated plainly, her eyes focused on his body.
"Why should I believe you? You can’t even see your cursed spirit, sweets."
"Kill me then and when you won’t be able to take it away from me, you’ll only have yourself to thank. You must take my word for it because you have no other choice. You need my brother Geto. I know you know he’s a strong one."
Geto shook his head in a manner resembling something of a dissapointment mixed with resentment.
"You are a monkey after all. All you humans are just mindless animals. Giving up your brother just to prove your point." He frowned, standing up and fixing his clothes. "Should I say I’m surprised you just want to sell him like some product? Not that I care, my dear."
The woman felt like rolling her eyes but stopped herself before doing so. "If there was another way I wouldn’t give him to you. But there’s no other option to achieve what I want if not this way."
Geto took a few steps closer to his intruder, his gaze zeroing in on her eyes, like he was searching for something swimming in her irises. A conviction, maybe.
"And what is it that you want?" He murmured, now getting closer to her ear.
"I want them dead." The intake of a breath was loud enough for Geto to hear it along with her answer. "All non sorcerers, all humans, I want them dead. I want them to pay for my brother’s death and for the death of my friend. Our goals, yours and mine align. I can help you wipe out non sorcerers and you will set me free. Let me join you. After all of it is done, you can kill me for all I care."
For a second the sorcerer was taken aback by her words but he smiled with feigned pity right after.
"Aren’t you scared of dying?" he muttered, brushing a few strands of hair away from her face.
A cold shiver ran down her back.
"My best friend and my brother are gone. I’ve got nothing left." She said quietly. "I’ve already died a thousand times." The cursed spirit hissed, baring its sharp fangs. "There’s nothing to be afraid of anymore, when all the things I feared the most had already happened."
Opening her eyes she looked directly at Geto’s face, hoping he could see that void behind them, the one she saw everyday while glancing in the mirror.
Geto knew he couldn’t exorcise that spirit. It was powerful - that much he could feel and there was that probable binding vow, so killing her would be a waste of an opportunity. Another thing was that he had a feeling this cursed spirit wouldn’t have let him kill her so easily. It would fight to save her, so it wasn’t worth to risk it. The odds were not on his side.
"Ah, so you live for revange?" The smirk creeped it’s way back yet again on his pretty face. "How petty."
"And you live to establish a new order. How grand." She replied with a hint of sarcasm in her tone.
Geto only laughed.
"And I will, sweetheart. I’ve got something to live for in the end."
The woman shrugged. "If you don’t have anything to live for, find something to die for." She blinked, all serious. "I did, Geto. Now tell me, do we have a deal?"
"You’re a funny one. A smart mouth. I used to know someone like you." He laughed at the brief memory of his once best friend. An invincible sorcerer now. “Alright, we do have a deal."
For a second the woman looked surprised. She didn’t expect him to agree so easily. There had to be some kind of a catch. Trusting that monk was like putting a severely injured man’s life into hands of a butcher. But she didn’t have a choice.
Geto took a step back, smiling wickedly.
"Although I’d rather call you a monkey, I’m gonna do a little exception since we’re partners from now on. What’s your name?".
"My name’s…" before she could finish Geto cut her off.
"Or better yet, don’t tell me. I’m gonna call you Doku." He announced, going back to his seat carelessly, the layers of his robe dancing with every little move he made.
"Poison?" The woman wondered, voicing her thought.
"What, you don’t like it? Expected me to call you a flower or an angel’s name?" Geto shrugged his shoulders. "I’m sorry darling, will do better next time, I promise. I believe that’s all for today."
She didn’t say anything, turning her back to leave the place. The cursed spirit narrowed its snake eyes at Geto and followed her right after. But she wasn’t able to see it. She could only sense its presence, very lightly, like the delicate gust of wind on her shoulders.
"I’m looking forward to our little cooperation, Doku. See you soon." said Geto, waving his hand at her back.
He’s gonna get that cursed spirit from that low life no matter what.
Afterall, prey is just a prey.
It has no mind of its own.