Forget Me Not (Discontinued)

Chapter Thirty Three: Danse Macabre

Upon coming back to the inn, Satoru immediately calls Yaga to gather any information he can on cursed corpses. I nurse my nerves with a sake on the rocks as I catch snippets of Satoru's conversation.

"So it is possible to control a literal corpse like you do with your stuffed animals?...Yeah mind sending me any documents or case files on sorcerers and curse users who have used the cursed corpses technique on actual corpses?...Uh huh thanks again Yaga." He hangs up and walks over to me. "Takara...I don't like asking this but I have to, is there anyone in this village who you have even the slightest suspicion of being behind this?"

I really try to think but the only people I know who are jujutsu sorcerers are me, my brother and Atuy; me and my brother can be ruled out but...it could never be Atuy. For whatever reason I could never see him doing this, besides cursed corpses goes far beyond the scope of his jujutsu techniques. I shake my head.

He sighs before taking me up in his arms and placing me in his lap. "Would you mind telling me what Atuy's jujutsu is like?"

I turn to where I'm straddling him as I start to explain Atuy's abilities, If I had to classify his abilities, I'd say they're a bit like Yuji and Todo's in that it wasn't handed down through family tradition like most jujutsu sorcerers. But it's unique in that he can incorporate non-cursed objects with it.

"How so?"

He uses an unloaded crossbow to be able to use his cursed energy like crossbow bolts. I'd say he's like if Yuji were to refine and specialize his abilities. Atuy managed to do so through a lot of trial and error with my mother's help until he discovered something that works for him.

"Hmm...I'm thinking we should have Yuji, Atuy and Toge work as a team tomorrow when we split up to survey the land. I think it would be good for Yuji to observe someone who's like him in that he doesn't come from any clans or have any concrete ties to jujutsu."

Then I think Chiko should be with Maki and Panda. I really think Chiko and Maki could benefit from working together. I sign to him excitedly.

"Then, I want you, Megumi and Nobara to work as a group while I do aerial recon. Perfect, this works out with each team having one person who is familiar with the land. God we're brilliant."

I gently touch his cheek and stare deeply into his cerulean eyes. Impulsively I lean in and kiss him gently before pulling back to rest my head on his shoulder. He doesn't say anything, just simply wraps his arms around me and presses soft kisses to my cheek and neck. We don't do much that night beyond just seeking out one another's touch.

🌲🌲🌲🐻🌲🌲🌲

The following day we all meet up outside of my family's old shelter where a very confused Atuy meets a tired and irritated Panda. Atuy's immediate reaction is to grab his gun and point it at Panda; who takes offense.

"Do I smell bad?! Is that why you're threatening me!!!??" Panda growls. 

"Dude, he can't hear you he's deaf." Maki deadpans to Panda.

"He looks plenty alive to be pointing a gun at me!!" He roars.

"Not 'death' Panda, 'deaf' it means he can't hear." She explains to the bear.

"Like nothing at all?"

"Nothing at all."

"Humans are such strangely weak creatures." Panda muses aloud.

I turn my attention to a bewildered Atuy lowering his gun. He signs to me, Is that panda speaking? His mouth is moving weirdly and he hasn't attacked anyone yet. What is he?

He's one of Satoru's students and a cursed corpse, but the jujutsu sorcerer who created him gave him free will. I explain to him.

Atuy looks at Panda in awe; Satoru approaches me, "Hey mind signing what I'm about to say to Atuy? I really suck at that sort of multitasking." I nod and he claps his hands, "Ok everyone get in a circle, we're gonna discuss the plan." I touch Atuy's shoulder to get his attention and start translating what Satoru is saying to everyone. "So we're going to split into three groups to do a sweep of the forest for any cursed corpses. Atuy, Yuji, and Toge will take care of the western part of the forest. Chiko, Maki, and Panda will scout the eastern part of the forest. Takara, Nobara and Megumi get the south, and I'll do an aerial of the north. We meet back up at the front entrance around five." He starts to walk away before stopping suddenly, "Oh and if anyone is having trouble I gave the adults flare guns. Let one loose if the situation is getting too hairy. Alright, see ya later."

And with those orders we split up and scout the wide expanse of forest that lay before us. 

🌲🌲🌲🍁🌲🌲🌲

The dense forest surrounding us creates an eery ambiance that has us on our toes. Nobara is the first to break this oppressive silence, "So are we just looking for dead bears or what?"

"We're not just looking for dead bears, we're also trying to find the source of these cursed corpses." Megumi answers while trekking through the underbrush. 

"Ok...so what should we be looking for other than bears?"

"Well it might not just be bears. It can be messy if the sorcerer has started experimenting beyond animals."

I feel my heart sink; what if the sorcerer finds the bodies of those hunters I killed? Will I go to Jujutsu jail? Will I be executed for cursing a human to death? No...there's no way anyone would be able to tell it was me, right?

Suddenly I catch the unmistakable whiff of decay. I hold my arm out to stop the kids from going further and motion to them to crouch down. 

"Shit, it smells awful." Nobara whispers.

"So they decided to come to us..." Megumi says to himself.

I snap my head in the direction of a twig snapping and come face to face with someone I wasn't expecting...my mother's decaying corpse.