REVENGE「GOJO SATORU X OC」

NINE

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Chapter Nine: Sweet Relief

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"WHAT are we even looking for?"

Aki flipped through a book's pages before replacing them on a shelf. She looked over at the whining male, spotting him leaning on a bookcase, looking at her over his arm. She reached up and grabbed another book.

"Encyclopedias. Topical maps that date back to the Edo period. Books on cool structures in Japan. Anything that will get us a lead on where this place could be," She replied. "Now hand me that book up there."

Gojo sighed. "You're just using me at this point,"

"Why else do you think I would bring you along?" She hummed, flipping through the pages.

"Didn't you say something about going through your old man's stuff? Where's all that?" He asked.

"Somewhere in Baltimore," She replied. "In a storage unit. After he passed away, the police took all his belongings to a storage locker. It would probably take more time to fly back there and search through everything than it would to do this."

"We've been here for three hours," Gojo groaned. "And we haven't found shit."

"That's because you haven't opened a single book since we walked in here," She closed a book in his face, making it scrunch up. "It would go faster if you actually helped."

"I don't have a clue what I'm looking for," He replied, following her as she walked towards a table. "So I'll leave the searching to you."

"Then there's no point in you being here," She said, setting the books on the table before turning to face him. "Don't you have a class to teach, anyway?"

"The kids are with a colleague right now," He replied. "I told Yaga this was more important."

She looked at him for a moment, watching as he ran his fingers over the cover of a book before looking back at her.

"Go tend to your students," She said, seating herself at the table. "I'll call you if I find anything."

"I wouldn't want to leave you here," He said, placing his hands on the table, and leaning down to meet her gaze. She couldn't meet his eyes because of the blindfold, though.

"You have a job and so do I," She said, quirking a brow. "So get out of my way and let me work."

"Call as soon as you find something, if you ever do," He said, pushing away. "If you aren't done, I'll come back around five."

"Alright, shoo," She waved her hand at him.

She flipped through the pages of the books. When the ones she had couldn't answer her questions, she found more. And when those didn't, she turned to the computers. She rested her chin on her knee, her middle finger rolling the center button of the mouse as she scrolled through endless articles.

The ones that she found interesting, she printed off. Soon, she had a small stack of papers beside her. But nothing was standing out to her. These articles were just purely speculation, rumors, and fairytales of the mysterious building hidden in the mountains. It never said where it was located.

She exhaled heavily. She shifted through the papers, her eyes scanning through the words. There were some reports of people seeing it, but she knew that it wasn't true. They couldn't even have gotten close to it due to the guardians set up there. She had forgotten to mention that to Gojo as well.

The sanctuary was guarded to keep strangers away. Only demon hunters and people accompanied by them were allowed to enter. It was to minimalize the damage to the artifacts and research notes there.

But if only she could find where it was and get access. Then, she could do proper research on this mystery demon and figure out what it is and what it's trying to do. If she could do that, then she would be able to end this contract and move on.

She already hated being here for as long as she had, especially after Nathan had stormed out. It wasn't the first time, so she wasn't very surprised when he completely ghosted her. Before taking the contract in the small, remote village, she hadn't seen nor heard from her little brother in six months.

She ran her hands over her face. She could have used him now; Nathan was a whiz at this kind of stuff. Research and investigating wasn't exactly her thing. She just showed up to kill shit and then left again. She wasn't used to being the one to get all of the information. And usually, she was able to name the demon off the top of her head just from experience as a demon hunter. But this...she's never heard anything like it.

And it wasn't like she could charge headfirst in and find out that way. She would end up dead if she did that. Her father had taught her to learn everything about the demon before you go after it. Learn its behavior, its fighting style, where it's the strongest, and where it is the weakest.

What kind of demon would blow the hearts of Jujutsu Sorcerers out and then feed their wedding ring fingers to another demon, probably one of a lower level? It baffled her. Any demon she tried to compare it against never had this type of behavior. It was leading her to believe that maybe she wasn't dealing with a demon, but the devil himself.

She brushed the thought off. It was definitely a demon, but never one she's been in contact with before. She knew this case wouldn't be a there-and-done. She had already been in Japan for almost a week. She had a feeling that she would be staying longer.

By the time five o'clock rolled around, Gojo hadn't returned. Nor at six, or seven. Soon, the library was closed, and Aki was left with her papers and nothing that could help them. She tried to call him to break the news but never received a callback.

Soon after, she received a call from the hotel she and Nathan had been staying in. They'd rented the room out to someone out and she had to go and collect her things. Nathan hadn't paid for another day, and they were booked out.

So now, the woman was sitting in a ramen shop, her bag in the seat beside her. She stirred the noodles around with her chopsticks, blowing the steam off of them. She heard the bell above the door jingle and lifted her gaze from her bowl.

Gojo found her immediately and walked to the table, taking the seat across from her. She quirked a brow at him and slid the plastic menu to him. She slurped her noodles before turning her attention to him.

"It's a little past five, Gojo," She said.

"I had to deal with some things," He muttered, picking up the menu. "Did you find anything?"

"Not a thing," She sighed. "We only have two options now. Go to Baltimore and hope Dad left something behind to help or go searching through the mountains until we find it ourselves."

"Baltimore sounds more logical," He replied, waving the waiter down as he ordered himself a bowl. "When should we leave?"

"As soon as possible, preferably," She said. "The next flight is at 4 AM. But, I don't think it'd be wise for you to tag along on this trip."

"Why?" He asked.

"I can't guarantee that there's even anything in there. We could be making a trip for no reason," She said, bringing the glass of water to her lips.

"It'd be a bonding experience," Gojo grinned at her.

"I'd rather go alone," She muttered.

"Great, you can stay with me tonight," He hummed. "And before you object, I already know there aren't any available hotels due to the festival in town. So that spare bedroom is calling your name."

"What makes you think I want to stay with you?" She quirked a brow with a slight frown. "I'd rather sleep in the park."

"Too bad," He said. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"You're insufferable."

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