"Jujutsu Kaisen: The Forgotten Clan"

Chapter 13: Scariest Place on Earth, Day 2 Part B

Grumble.

"It sounds like someone is hungry."

I return Suguru's half-grin with my own.

"I want to walk and clear my head first...last night was rough."

"Me too. Let's go Haibara. Kiyotaka, would you like to join us?"

As the door closes, I start moving back and forth in my chair while rubbing my palms together. After a few seconds, I close my eyes, creating a mental picture of the park. Six people have gone missing, and we have recovered five. Allegedly, there is a curse roaming the park...why would a vampire be working with a curse?

"Has the caffeine kicked in that quickly?" Satoru's glasses dangle off his nose. His left eyebrow reaches for the ceiling.

"I could go for another cup," I smile and bite my lower lip. "It's a habit I've picked up."

I stop fidgeting and place one hand on the table. "Is it common for curses to work with humans or other supernatural beings?"

"That depends." Suguru starts while holding a palm up to Satoru. "There are sorcerers and civilians who use curses for evil. I have not heard of vampires teaming up with curses."

"What type of training have you undergone?" Satoru looks past my shoulder while asking this.

I pause for a moment, casting my eyes at the table before making eye contact with my present company.

"My parents taught me cursed energy control and a basic reverse curse technique. The techniques I have used to date are self-taught." Before continuing, I purse my lips and puff my cheeks out, leaning back in my seat, palms on the table. "While on the run, I learned how to distinguish people by their cursed energy."

Silence fills the room. Suguru's left-pointer finger covers his chin, while his eyes are soft and non-judgmental. Satoru, his glasses cover his eyes but, he is smiling. I turn my frown into a faint smile while looking at both of my classmates.

Grumble.

Satoru gets up and opens the door, "thank you for sharing. How about we go grab something to eat?"

10:00 am – It's a Small World

While sipping an iced tea, I look over the photograph of the missing persons. A thought has been gnawing at me since breakfast and I want confirmation that I am not losing my mind. I let out a low whistle when I see the young woman's picture. Her baby face and pale-brown hair stand out.

"A bit early to exorcise curses, no?"

"I am just looking over paperwork." I grin at Haibara. "We can let one of the others deal with the curse. Is there something I can help you with?"

He sits down and folds his hands over his lap. "Find anything interesting?"

"This is a hunch, our missing person is not in the park. And I can't locate the curse either."

Haibara grins and nods while I am talking. This small gesture makes my eyes turn light purple and my heart feel light.

5:00 pm- Conference Room in the Security Building

"Thank you all for your patience, Sir Shingo will be here in a minute."

"Out of curiosity, why is Sir Shingo joining us? We will have a report on what we found during the mission and submit it to the Elders." I ask in a non-hostile tone.

"Sir Shingo prides himself as a business owner, and wants to keep this investigation discrete," Chihito responds while handing Osomu a stack of papers. Osamu shakes his head at Chihito.

By the time Sir Shingo arrives, it is 7:30 pm. I am met with a gentle nudge from Kiyotaka and a pile of spit in my lap.

"Where are the others, Osamu?"

Sir Shingo's private fleet of sorcerers flanks him from every side. His face is light red, his cursed energy is all over the place and his teeth slowly rub together. While sitting down, he balls his hands up, placing them on the table.

"I sent a text to my comrades and will be here in a moment. Welcome to the debrief, Sir Shingo" There is not a hint of sarcasm in my voice.

Ten-Minutes Later...

Osamu gets up and adjusts his collar. His eyes dart from one corner of the room to the other, and his brow trickles with sweat.

"Now that we are all here. I will go over the notes submitted by the jujutsu college students. Today one curse was exorcised by Haunted Mansion: it is presumed Grade-1 or higher.

Tuesday: an unidentified corpse was found on the rooftop of the security building, two vampires were discovered in Space Mountain, and five of the six civilians were rescued. An autopsy of the corpse and one of the vampires will be conducted by jujutsu technical college."

He stops talking and looks around the room. "The sixth person ran away."

Sir Shingo sits up straight in his chair and stares at Osamu.

"What do you mean a corpse was found on the rooftop, Osamu? And why are we to assume the young woman is a runaway?"

I look at Suguru, nodding my head up. He grins and gestures at me.

"Sir Shingo, the body is unaffiliated with our investigation. They were a fresh victim of the vampire discovered in Space Mountain." The word victim makes me grab my neck subconsciously.

"To your second question, the deceased vampire does not fit the description of the missing woman, and we could not find her in the park."

Everyone's heads bob up and down.

My explanation makes Sir Shingo flinch. He was expecting each civilian to be recovered, dead or alive. My question for him is...

"How long have you known about the vampire, Sir Shingo?" My question is met with a deadpan stare.

"What makes you think...." He is cut off by someone walking through the door.

"I think we have shared enough, Miss Blaise. Please sit down and I can talk with you later. Sir Shingo, is there anything else you need before heading home?" Chihito smiles while gesturing toward Sir Shingo.

"Yes, I need a written report from the Jujutsu Tech students documenting everything that was just shared. You lot are free to stay at the hotel for another night or go back to campus."

Sir Shingo stands up, avoiding direct eye contact with the room. Before walking out the door, he leaves us with a brief message.

"Expect your payment to come through by the end of this week. As for you Miss Santa-Clara, you may want to contact your supervisors before I get to them."

"I am certain they are aware of what I have asked of you, Sir Shingo. There is no point in threatening me."

I smile and sit back in my chair, hands behind my head. Satoru lets out a laugh under his breath.