Corpse Flowers [Jujutsu Kaisen]

🥀 Chapter Thirteen 🥀

"This is my personal theory, but there's no curse more twisted than love,"

It was completely quiet in the car as Satoru drove it down the road toward Tokyo Jujutsu High Technical. He was not alone in the vehicle, however, as he glanced toward the passenger seat and found Seiran sitting in just as much of silence. But her pretty pink eyes were trailing off toward the rear-view mirror to see how the student in the back was faring. Only one of their students had returned with them.

Okkutsu Yuta was passed out asleep in the backseat, completely knocked out from the exhaustion. Both Inumaki Toge and Panda had been picked up from their mission location by Ijichi Kiyotaka, and Zen'nin Maki had been taken by Ieiri Shoko to take care of her injuries. Yuta had been relieved to see that everyone had made it out and his relief and new resolution had idled him to sleep.

"Sensei, while I'm at Jujutsu High, I'll break Rika-Chan's Curse,"

Those were the words that Yuta had told Satoru at the hospital once the boy had recovered from his stupor. And as he saw Seiran's eyes upon the young Cursed Sorcerer, Satoru wondered if she thought similarly. Satoru wondered if there was a part of Seiran that thought similarly in regard to Suguru. He wondered if she felt as if she could break the curse that had befallen Suguru.

Was that... possible anymore?

Such a thought was something that induced frustration, curiosity and irritation within Satoru. He did not feel weak or in desire of anything in life but Seiran – but upon moments as such, he wished that he had the ability to read the mind of his beloved, the one person who meant more to him than the air in his lungs. Yet there was nothing that Satoru could do to get into her thoughts aside from her own permission, and that disgruntled him immensely.

"He is so exhausted, the poor child," Seiran whispered, and Satoru was surprised as he turned his head to look at her. He had not expected her to speak up on her own. He had thought that she was lost in her world. "I wonder if we pushed him a bit too much for his first time on the field..."

It was surprising to see that Seiran had opened the conversation like this when she would never speak unprompted. She would never share her opinion unless it was asked of her or if it was something of utmost importance to the situation. Especially with Satoru himself. This was different. She had deliberately broken the ice.

"... I guess we did, huh?" Satoru commented, glancing at the back of the car where Yuta was sleeping. Seiran gave him a look to lower his voice. He had to fight the urge to not pull at her cheeks. "Right, right, I guess I shouldn't be loud after freaking him out so much already,"

"Right," Seiran said in a low voice, casting him a look of doubt but not dwelling on it. "I understand that you are trying to judge for yourself how far can Riko-Chan go but you must also understand the emotional repercussions on Yuta-Chan. We have to keep his wellbeing in consideration as well,"

"There has already been an emotional repercussion on him," Satoru informed her. Seiran stared at him. "But before I discuss that, we have to drop him off at his dormitory,"

They had arrived at the Tokyo Jujutsu Tech High, and as Satoru pulled the car up to the dormitories, they were met with the sight of Toge, Panda and Ijichi Kiyotaka present there already. The two students did nothing but greet Seiran before hauling the tired Yuta inside while Ijichi expressed his timid displeasure with Satoru's behaviour.

"Well, that's too bad," commented Satoru as he waved off Ijichi's complaints about leaving his students all over the place. "There's something very important that Sei-Chan and I have to discuss – where are you going, Sei-Chan? We're not going to any old office!"