Don't Let Go, I Need You

~10~

After the death of Junpei and the encounter of the cursed patchy face spirit, I fell into a fever which lasted for 5 days. Luckily my parents took care of me during those long nights. I could barely move a muscle nor had the strength to eat. Also, I would slip in and out of consciousness recalling the event of letting Junpei go. It haunted me that I couldn't get there in time to prevent his death. I guess I can't save everyone, especially the ones who are nearby. I'm not a superhero; I'm only human.

"Kana, how are you feeling?" Mom asked, sitting on the edge of my bed as she concerningly stared at me. I know I made her scared. I'm the only child she worries about the most.

Sitting up, I grabbed her hand in mine and grinned brightly. "I'm better than ever! With your and dad's help that is." I want to live a long life so I can watch my parents grow old and brothers grow up. I don't ever want them to prepare an early casket for me. Children aren't supposed to die before their parents—it's the other way around.

"Honey... Don't you ever wonder how the curse originated?"

Mom's question caught me off guard because usually nobody in the household talked about it. Mom made it clear that discussing the curse makes her uncomfortable. It came from her lineage, which was why she refused to let me become a sorcerer because she had to watch her older sister die so young.

"It's if you want to tell me." I didn't want to pressure my mom if she didn't want to. Also, I'm scared to know the truth too. Will I get mad at the root cause? Was it for the sake of the world? So why did it have to be my family?

There was an uneasy look on mom's face. "It dates back to the golden era..." She explained that the heavens decided to curse the Ozaki's leader for killing humans for the means of pleasure. Our ancestor was more ruthless and evil than Kamo Noritoshi. They had to be killed before they could ever cross paths with the rising Sukuna at that time. "It's ironic how our clan is the symbol of death, and the future generations' first born dies before adulthood. It's the heavens' way to maintain balance in our lineage." A forlorn expression took over as she stared off into space.

I tried to be open minded about this given information. However, it was only one person who caused this, and everyone had to suffer regardless if they wanted to stray from that path of evil or not. It's just unfair. "That's bullshit. So the heavens want to punish us, but not the Kamo clan? That doesn't make any sense...." I grumbled in annoyance.

"Kana... There's something I need to tell you." Mom's aura felt off from usual, not her being disappointed that I'm a sorcerer but something else. It kind of scared me because she looked really guilty as if she committed a big crime that hasn't been discovered until now. "I'm... You're not my daughter, and I'm not your mom."

"HUH?!" She just dropped a bomb on me. "What?! What do you mean?!" My head couldn't wrap around her words. She never made jokes or even lied to me before, so it must be true? "I-I don't understand...!" Standing up, I paced around the room to relieve some type of stress in me. Memories of my childhood flowed in my head; I recalled the fun, good, and sad moments I had with them all. And now she's proclaiming I'm not her child?! What was this?! "This doesn't make any sense. I look like you. You raised me, and—"

"I'm your aunt! Your mom was the first born who died! She's your mom!"

My mom—no, my aunt's words shook my existence. "H-how?! Why?! I don't get it! I'm confused!"

Immediately, she took me by the hand and dragged me to her room where she pulled up pictures of my mom. "She is your mom!" In all the pictures scattered on her bed, all photos resembled me. I looked just like her from the cursed white hair to our facial structure. It's like I had no drop of my biological dad in me. I'm just a mirror of my mom. How haunting it must be for my aunt who has to relive her niece to follow the same fate as her older sister. "I took you under my wings when she died at 17. You were 3 at that time."