JUJUTSU KAISEN: the lost chapters (english version)

CHAPTER 5 ◇ The cursed ryokan (part 1)

Location:

Jujutsu academy classroom

Acting persons:

Suguru Geto (Jujutsi 3rd rank 1st year)

Satoru Gojo (Jujuzist 3rd rank 1st year)

Shoko Ieiri (Jujuzist 3rd rank 1st year)

Mr Yaga (class teacher)

Time:

03.12.20XX, morning

"Wuhuu to the ryokan!". "God damn it! Satoru, you're not going on holiday, you're going there to work.". Professor Yaga looked sternly at his three protégés on the chairs in front of him. They all behaved as he had expected them to. Shoko listened attentively. Suguru took notes and, as always, took everything in more detail than necessary and Satoru... he had already stopped listening after the word Ryokan. At that moment, he nudged Suguru, causing his pencil to draw a thick line across the page of the notebook. He scowled at his notes. "Dude. A lonely ryokan in the mountains. Hot springs and cute girls in skimpy yukatas. It's going to be awesome!". Suguru sighed. "You're not listening again. The old man just said it wasn't going to be a fun trip. Besides, if the gentleman would look out of the window, he'd see that it's already winter and there probably won't be any girls running around in skimpy yukatas." Satoru grinned at him and elbowed him in the side, causing Suguru to roll his eyes. Sayuri had long since been given appropriate clothes. Long trousers and a turtleneck jumper. At least for daytime. Shoko stood up unnoticed by the two squabblers, stood behind them and gave them a good smack across the head. "And even if there should happen to be girls in skimpy yukatas, you two should manage to keep your bubbling hormones in check and concentrate on your work." Mr Yaga cleared his throat. "Erm. Thanks Shoko, but that wasn't necessary. Now, if I may ask for your attention again: recently, guests at this ryokan have been disappearing without a trace. It's mainly males who don't turn up for breakfast the next morning. The rooms never gave the impression that their occupants had left. The last to disappear was a family of three. The parents had travelled with their four-year-old daughter. They disappeared on the second night of their stay. We have therefore accommodated you as a tour group for two nights for the time being. We assume that it could be one or more level three or two curses. This will be your first mission that you will complete without an overseer. As there are three of you, this shouldn't be a problem. Shoko, however, your main task will be to take care of the injured. Hopefully you'll find them alive. And please be discreet! Now pack your things. Someone will take you to the station in half an hour." The three of them left the classroom. A long corridor led them past other empty classrooms. In the past, when the Jujuzists had been at their peak, it must have been quite crowded here. But most of the people they met here were normal employees who looked after the maintenance of the academy. Some of them weren't even able to see curses. They left the classroom building and, after a few steps, entered a wide paved square from which many small paths led to other buildings. It was actually quite nice here. Especially in summer, when the greenery of nature dominated the surroundings. It all reminded of an old, traditional Japanese monastery complex. This had probably also been Master Tengen's inspiration. He who had created everything here and maintained the protective barrier around the academy. They made their way to the academy buildings where the dormitories and living quarters were located. Each student had their own room here. However, there were also some other Jujuzists who had long since completed their training but still had the academy as their permanent residence. "Ahhh." Satoru Seelig sighed and folded his arms behind his head, "A mission just the way I like it. No boring ghost hunting at some primary school, but something really exciting. And best of all, without a warden!!! Suguru, we could theoretically chill out in the hot springs the whole time and pick up girls." His breath condensed in the cold air. His friend's expression, however, spoke volumes. "Definitely not.". "Let's be honest, guys, as funny as this may sound, we're going there to work. It can't be that a cursed spirit is kidnapping the male guests." "Menno, Shoko, you're such a party pooper!" Satoru moaned. "Shoko is absolutely right. It's our first mission without a supervisor, so we should be on our best behaviour," Suguru jumped into the breach for her friend, "Besides, you're the one who's always complaining about your rank. If we achieve good results, we'll be recommended for a higher rank by the older ones. But at the moment, you're only making a name for yourself with your chaotic behaviour." Behind his back, Satoru mimicked him and Shoko had to pull herself together not to laugh. The small group passed a rock garden and followed an avenue of ornamental shrubs that led to a house plastered with mortar. It stood on a plateau and a handful of stone steps led up to the wooden entrance gate. Behind it was a small wood. But even here, due to the time of year, there was a lack of colour and life. The building looked very traditional from the outside and, to the young people's regret, the interior was rather old-fashioned and sparsely furnished. They took off their shoes in the entrance area, but Satoru kicked them off his feet and they landed in some corner. He left it to the servants to find them again. A neighbouring corridor led into the women's and men's areas. Shoko turned left while the boys turned right. "And let Sayuri out at the station?" grinned Satoru when no one was within earshot. Suguru sighed. "Yes. I'm really sorry that I can't offer her much more than my room at the moment. But with all the missions at the moment... the risk is too great." Satoru grins broadly. "Poor bloke. That you have to share a bed with a girl, too. You have all my pity. ". "We're not sharing a bed!" Suguru roared. How much the subject annoyed him! Satoru who was always making remarks like that. He liked Sayuri. Yes, she was nice and they got on well. But he didn't want her to be embarrassed by Satoru's remarks. "We slept in a bed ONCE, out of necessity! Now I've got a futon and she sleeps in the bed. It's every man for himself!". His friend laughs. "Oh, I love that you're so easy to tease.". Satoru punched him in the side and Suguru looked out of one of the windows, which let pale light into the corridor. Dead trees stretched out towards him. Would it snow soon? "I'm just getting tired of Shoko and you going at it all the time. Sayuri is...". He shook his head. "...she often seems like a child to me. Someone you have to watch out for. Besides, I've never met anyone who can be so happy about the simplest things. The other day she stood in front of a flower shop for ten minutes and admired the display. She also manages to get herself into difficult situations all the time." He thought back to when he had let her out on the roof of the building after an assignment at Tokyo University. The view from up there had been quite beautiful and he had wanted to make her happy. She had been happy too. It only went wrong when she thought she had to climb onto the railing to see more. She almost fell headfirst from the roof. Satoru almost couldn't contain his laughter when Suguru hung over the railing on his stomach and was able to grab her by the waist at the last moment. It took quite a while for Satoru to help them up again. Sometimes Suguru felt like he was in kindergarten. Except that he was allowed to play the carer. For Sayuri and Satoru. "Well, well." Satoru said, stretching, "Maybe she still is somehow. I mean, she hasn't seen much of the world yet. Maybe she can still enjoy things that have become so commonplace and invisible to us." It was astonishing that his friend could utter such clever words. They stopped in front of a door. "So, bro. Let me pack.". Satoru opened the door to his rooms and Suguru caught a glimpse of the familiar chaos beyond. Satoru had gone to great lengths to separate his realm from the rest of the house. Almost all the walls were covered with anime, film or gaming posters. There was an old tube television on the floor. One that still glowed in the dark for half an hour after it had been switched off. His beloved console rested in front of it. On and in the shelf behind it were games and action figures of his favourite anime Digimon. Suguru still didn't understand what it was all about. Only one thing was almost completely missing in the room: books. Apart from mangas, Satoru hardly read anything. Especially not school books. The last thing that caught his eye before the door closed were the countless socks that Satoru took off as soon as he was alone in his room. As the second sock was usually nowhere to be found, he constantly put on new pairs, which inevitably joined the others. Suguru smiled, put his hands in his trouser pockets and strolled to the end of the corridor. This was his room. He tooks a bunch of keys out of his trouser pocket and carefully selected the right one. He hardly ever used the other keys. They belonged to his parents' house. He couldn't even remember the last time he had visited them. He really ought to make up for it. Maybe on New Year's Day. He entered his home. There was order here, even though a few new objects had found their place here since Sayuri had moved in. On the one hand, the futon that he had wrung from the matron with great effort lay neatly folded under his bed. There was no more room for it in his wardrobe, so it had to be stored there. Next to it was a box containing Sayuri's new clothes. There were a few pieces that he would have preferred to make disappear, but Sayuri insisted on her 'treasures'. On the other hand, Sayuri's kettle, which he had rescued from the mall, was now enthroned on his bookshelf. Along with a tea set and a box of teabags. That was all she had wanted to take with her. Without having to think about it, he called her name in his mind. A crack opened up and Sayuri landed on his bed. She was wearing a green turtleneck jumper and blue jeans. The ritual had become so familiar over the last few weeks that it was completely automatic. "Suguruuuu!" she exclaimed happily and then looked around in amazement, "Is it evening already?". He smiled and patted her on the head as he walked past. "No. We have an out-of-town mission and I have to pack for it.". She crawled to the edge of the bed and watched him open his wardrobe and take out his sports bag. He placed the bag next to her on the bed. "So, where are you off to?" she enquired curiously. He took a matching set of clothes from the wardrobe and put them in his bag. "We're going to the mountains. Several people have mysteriously disappeared in a ryokan. A curse is probably responsible.". He went into the adjoining bathroom to get his washing kit. She rocked nervously back and forth on the bed. If he was packing his bag, that probably meant it would be a longer mission. Conversely, that meant she would have to make an effort to stay in the other dimension as long as possible. She couldn't ask him to let her go on missions, especially as his superiors were always nearby. It had been a while since they had done anything together. Suguru always endeavoured to let her out as often as he could, but it was usually limited to the time in his room in the evening before going to bed. Then they usually read or talked. She made him tea and occasionally Satoru came over to play cards. Shoko wasn't usually there in the evenings. For some reason, girls were not welcome in boys' rooms. Sayuri thought back to her last outing with Shoko. When they had bought her clothes. It had really been a fun afternoon. They had strolled through the shops and Shoko had dragged lots of clothes into the changing rooms for Sayuri to try them all on. It had been really strange to see herself in something other than the clothes she was so familiar with. They had laughed and ended up having tea during Shoko's smoking break. It had all seemed like a dream to her. Two friends doing something together. Just like in the novels she had read. He came out of the bathroom. "Don't you want to pack anything? I mean, I know you don't really need anything, but I thought...". He laughed. Her eyes grew wide. "I'm allowed to come? But you're going on a mission. I mean...". "Yes, you are. But without a warden this time. So as long as nothing dangerous happens, you could be there the whole time." She beamed. "Yay!". Then she jumped off the bed and opened her box. A few of her things flew randomly into his travelling bag. T-shirts, shorts, a winter sock and three sneaker socks. A flip-flop and a summer hat. Soon the zip could no longer be closed. Smiling, he sighed and pushed them aside to pack properly for her. "Here, Suguru, you forgot this.". She handed him an old, holey shirt and a pair of worn boxer shorts with an elasticated waistband that had once been more elasticated. He grimaced. "Seriously? Do you have to do that? Do you know Sayuri, it might be better if..." he continued. "No. I like to wear this to sleep." She insisted on her choice of clothes. He had originally wanted to throw his clothes away, as they were clearly no longer wearable. But Sayuri had caught him at it and was firmly convinced that they were still good enough to sleep in. Since then, it had been her chosen sleeping attire. Although everything was far too big for her and she looked like she was wearing a tent. A worn out, broken tent that seemed to be slipping in all the wrong places. "Look...I bought you a new one.". He pointed to a pair of flannel pyjamas that could have been found in a granny's bedroom. Sayuri grimaced and shook her head. She didn't feel like wearing them. Besides, the fabric was itchy. She demonstratively held out his old clothes to him and, considering the time, he gave in and packed them up.