Fragility (Jujutsu Kaisen)

~ Chapter 24 ~

{Warning: Slight Gore}

As Christmas approached, the days got colder and colder. With the holidays ten days out, Sachiko hoped to drag Satoru to meet the Hanabusa family after he had managed to avoid it since he agreed.  But Satoru was off revisiting a client in Korea who had stumbled across another curse in another of their newly purchased mansions. 

Sachiko spent most of her days with Nanami and Yu as the group got loaded with missions. Almost every day for three weeks, they travelled up and down the East Coast dealing with curses. Slowly, they were gaining a hatred for the season. Sachiko held her coat tightly around her as they walked across the estate's front lawn, where their next job was. Yu walked to the front while Nanami hung back, looking at a tree smashed through the house window.

It was early morning, and a thick fog hung over the suburb. Their assistant almost drove off the road twice, unable to see a metre in front of them. Sachiko hadn't been able to follow where they were, but she knew they were close to her parents' house; she almost considered seeing them while she was close. "Family of four and two maids dead. They are a Jujutsu family; there are a few in this area. They are believed to be murdered by a group of curse users; the motive is not known yet." 

"Why are we on a murder case?" Nanami asked, glancing at the non-sorcerer police, who whispered to each other while staring at the group of teenagers. Yu told him to shut up with a smile; Sachiko glanced at him before rolling her eyes. You had grown increasingly excited about any job as he got stronger, whether it was a grade-three curse haunting an ice cream truck or a gruesome murder. "There are dead people in there. You might want to hide your smile. Just in case there is family around." 

"You are our last resort. All the other sorcerers are out, but Shoko is back at the school awaiting the arrival of the bodies. There shouldn't be anyone else around. These four people were the last of their family, except for an estranged daughter. She has apparently been in contact with them recently," Their assistant explained. The teens glanced around at each other. Nanami stated that she should be considered a suspect. Yu was first to head into the house. The two others glanced at each other before they reluctantly followed him into it. Sachiko glanced up at the entrance to the house and scrunched her eyebrows. She's seen this house when she was visiting her parents. 

Nanami waited for her in the doorway. They could hear Yu inside, who must have stumbled across the first body. Sachiko glanced around the house, trying to take in the scene; the entrance room and the lounge that preceded it were in absolute chaos. Broken table pieces, shattered glass from photo frames, and books were thrown throughout the room as though they fought with them as weapons. "It looks like one side didn't use Jujutsu. They tried fighting curse users off with reading material and a table leg. They didn't stand a chance." 

Sachiko glanced at Nanami and snickered a little. She felt terrible that she found some humour in his words, but she probably would cry if she didn't laugh. Yu stood over two of the bodies as he glanced between them, his face contorting with disgust. "They did not hold back; I'm surprised his head is still attached. He's barely older than us", He commented. He bent down and picked up a picture clutched in one of their hands. Sachiko entered the empty kitchen while Nanami watched Yu's face drop. The brown-haired boy rushed over to his classmate. He held the photo to him, and Nanami's face also fell. "This is Sachiko's family." 

Nanami went into action immediately while Yu rushed out to get their assistant. The blonde rushed into the kitchen to distract her, but she was gone. Sachiko's face was pale as she reached the stairs. Just below the landing was one of the bodies. Their black hair was splayed across the stairs, and her eyes were wide open. Her arms had deep cuts in her arms, similar to the scars that Sachiko sported. The teen girl stepped forward slowly as she heard Nanami calling her name desperately. Her eyes stared at the gaping wound across their lower abdomen. 

They took her reproductive organs.

Sachiko let her stomach rise to her throat, and before she had time to react, her breakfast spilt out onto the ground. "Sachiko, shit," Nanami said, a rare profanity coming out of his mouth as he watched his friend spill her guts over and over. He placed his hands on her back and grabbed her forearm, attempting to lead her away, but she was met with another wave of nausea. As she kept heaving, nothing came out. "Let's get you out of here." 

"That's my Mother!" Sachiko screamed between her gags; Nanami looked away, feeling queasy. She broke free of his grasp as she walked towards where Yu had found the photo. Her eyes glanced between the two bodies of her brothers. Haru was the worst out of the pair. He put himself before everyone else. Daichi's fist was still closed from gripping their family picture. Fat tears began to run down her cheeks as Yu and their assistant joined Sachiko and Nanami in the room. 

"Sachiko, you need to leave." Their assistant said. Everyone stared at the girl with sympathy and worry as she just stared at the body of her eldest brother. Suddenly, a loud and powerful scream ripped through the air; it was so strained and would drop in and out. But it was made of nothing but pure agony. They just waited. It's all they could do as they covered their ears. 

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Why?! Why the fuck does this keep happening?!" She cried and cried as she cradled her head in her hands. Sachiko fell to her knees and buried her face into her thighs, her pants soaking up the blood that was puddled on the floor. Nanami and Yu took the chance to grab their friend. They grabbed her arms and pulled her up roughly. Yu picked her up and threw her over his shoulder as he took her outside. Her sobs gained the attention of everyone who waited outside; whispers broke through the crowd. 

Yu placed Sachiko inside the car, and they locked her in there. Sachiko slowly stopped crying as she leaned against the window, staring at the front entrance. She watched as their bodies were brought out one by one, covered by white sheets and put in a van. Nanami came and unlocked the door and knelt down in front of her. He spoke to her back, but she wasn't listening to her, so he closed the door again and called someone. Yu finally returned from the house and got in the other side of the car. He tried to talk to her, but she just ignored him. 

Nanami got into the car as well as their assistant. Sachiko had moved over for him, so she sat between the pair. Nobody said anything. They just sat silently the rest of the drive, unsure what to say. There is no way to comfort someone who just saw their murdered family. 

Sachiko was taken straight to the Gojo estate at the request of Satoru's father, who waited at the entrance beside Yui, who held a blanket in her hands. Yui wrapped her garment around the cold and pale girl. She was in shock. "Come my baby, let's get you settle in next to the fire with some tea. Satoru's on his way home. He should be here in a few hours." 

"He is?" She questioned. Yui nodded with a small smile as she guided the girl into the main house. Yu and Nanami watched quietly as she disappeared inside the house before they turned to each other. 

"Did she see her Dad?" Yu asked. Nanami shook his head, and Yu let out a sigh of relief. He was kicking himself that he hadn't noticed sooner; her brothers were the spitting image of her, and her mother was like a mirror. He had to resist being sick after seeing her as well. The police and their assistant said it was nothing like they had seen before, that only the sick could do something like this. "Sachiko has forearm scars that match the wounds of her mother. She told us about that attack when she was younger. What if they were going to do the same thing to her?" 

"Just don't talk," Nanami said firmly as he stared out the window. He was glad she hadn't seen her father. Well, parts of her father. They were scattered around the same room her mother was found in. Whoever committed this crime did it because they enjoyed it and needed something.

Their assistant cleared their throat, gaining the attention of the two boys, "I've just been informed that three more murders haven't taken place over the past four nights across the country. All multiple victims but the mother of the family had the same injuries and removed organs as the Hanabusa family." 

"Is there anything else they have in common?" Nanami asked. He saw their assistant's eyes awkwardly shift to the revision mirror and back. 

"Yes, all four women murdered and harvested were inheriters of the Chiyo family curse. They ranged from late forties to early 20s." He explained. Yu and Nanami shared a worried look, but the assistant had more to say. "Until five days ago, there were five Chiyo family curse inheritors who could still reproduce. Now, Sachiko Chiyo is the only inheritor left who can have children."