𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐒𝐓

chapter thirty-six.

[author's note: things are going to get more serious, starting now. gonna get a little dark and sad, so hold on to ur hats, folks.]

;;

Seiko was beginning to get used to being a loyal dog to Raiden. 

It had been almost been two months since Seiko had been taken from her home.

She spent every day with Toji, bickering and arguing until the sun went down and until it came up. Though they often exchanged snide remarks, they had each other's backs. In any battle, neither of them came back with any injury, thanks to the other. The two often went out on missions, getting rid of those that were corrupt in the Jujutsu world. 

Seiko did as she was told without hesitation. Though she was still her snarky and tough self, she had accepted the fact that there was not much she could do to escape this life, for the time being.

Beside that, Raiden seemed nowhere near the same person she remembered him as.

Raiden didn't have Seiko summoned to that room since the moment they had taken a little visit to Japan. In fact, Seiko hadn't even seen Akari since that day. Whenever he was around Seiko, he didn't try to prod her for answers. It didn't seem as if he had any underlying meaning to keeping Seiko in his grasp, though she knew there was most definetly a reason.

Though, there was something that was bothering Seiko.

Lately, she had been starting to feel something that she hadn't felt in a long time. The constant feeling that her mind was being poked and prodded at. It felt as though hands were gently tugging at different parts of mind, doing their best to unravel her every thought. 

She knew that Raiden was doing something to her, but she couldn't figure out what. There were many things going on. It was a possibility that Raiden wanted to make sure she wasn't acting out of place, as she usually was. Or maybe, he wanted to find out what Seiko's deepest desires and fears were. The possibilities were endless, really. 

Seiko hadn't had a one-on-one conversation with Raiden since that day. It was weird, seeing as Raiden often summoned her to tell her useless words and make her angry. It made her wonder if he was plotting something, and the very thought made her anxious. She needed to speak to him. 

And that was exactly what she'd do.

"Excellent job on your missions," Raiden said with a nod of approval. "You two have done well these past two months. Though, I must say, I am quite surprised to see that you two are working so well together. When I first paired you together, I expected that I would need to separate the two of you at some point."

Toji shrugged and crossed his arms over his torso. "Seiko is very irritating to deal with," he said honestly. Seeing Seiko's dirty look, Toji grinned a bit. "But overall, she's alright."

"I can't say the same about you," Seiko said snidely. 

Toji rolled his eyes. "It's always the kids from Japan," he said. "Every kid I've met from Japan has a bad attitude."

Seiko furrowed her brows. She felt it again, the hands prying at her mind. "Japan?" she muttered. Her thoughts swirled with many things, but she didn't recall being from Japan. In fact, she couldn't recall ever going to Japan. Raiden, unbeknownst to her, studied her carefully. "I'm...not from Japan. I've never been there."