Future. | Satoru Gojo

chapter 8, part 1

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"The snow is finally starting to melt." Shoko says, looking out my window. Gojo is on a mission, and we were let out of class early. We are in my flat, and after some convincing, I let Shoko blow her cigarette smoke out of my window. It has been an entire month since my mission with the underclassmen, and Ijichi has yet to go on a mission since. Nanami has been reserved lately, well more reserved than usual.

"Shoko, would you like to join me in the city? I have something I need to do." I ask Shoko. Frankly, I am planning on going either way, with or without her, but the company would be nice on the train ride. She smiles, answering my question without words. Shoko never misses a chance to visit the city... that's the only place she can smoke her cigarettes without the judgmental looks. In the city, we are just normal girls.

I have been planning to visit the hospital that my grandmother was in for a while. Ever since I discovered that her death may not have been as innocent as old age. I want to see if any of her old doctors or nurses may have talked to her, or remember anything from that day.

Why were the curses gone? Did she exorcize them? Or was another sorcerer in the building?

"Well are we going or not?" Shoko asks, disrupting my thoughts. I grab my coat and we begin the walk to the train station.

"What do you even need to do in the city?" She asks, buttoning her jacket. "I was gonna visit the hospital that my grandmother stayed in. Just gonna honor her I guess." I lie, I know that now isn't the time to tell the truth. If I find something questionable I don't want to be interrogated about it later. "Well that's cute." She says, exhaling a cloud of smoke into the air.

-

"Well while you do your thing, I'll do mine." Shoko says, we are nearing the hospital but she insisted on walking me to the front step. She doesn't always show it, but Shoko is a very empathetic person. She knows that for a long period of time I was afraid of the city. "And what does doing your own thing consist of?" I question her, knowing that she is probably up to no good. "Hmmm..." She begins. "There's a pub down the street..." She says, revealing her true intention of joining me. I let out a laugh. "Listen, Shoko. I'll be there in an hour... please dont cause a ruckus!" She nods, and begins to walk the other direction.

Walking up the steps, a wave of anxiety hits me. I will be super disappointed if I find out that my grandparents were not the people I always thought they were, but I'll be even more disappointed if I traveled all this way to find nothing at all. "Screw it." I think to myself, grabbing the door handle and pulling it open. A familiar scent enters my nose, the same scent of hand sanitizer that I smelled the night Gojo and I were on that mission.

"Hi, can I help you?" A lady asks from behind a desk. I approach the desk, putting on a sm"ile. I was wondering if I could retrieve any files you have on Hong Zo?" She turns her head, making a confused face. "It was a few years back, I understand if you guys dont keep the medical records after a patient passes." I tell her while putting on an understanding look. "No, it's just... may I ask your relation to the patient? Or why do you need her records?" The lady asks, raising her eyebrows.

"Oh I'm her granddaughter, and I need them..." I pause, taking a short second to make up a lie. "I was just looking to do some genetics testing... the doctor wanted to know if I have any family history involving illness." I told her, hoping it was enough to convince her to hand them over. The lady smiles and nods to me. "Oh okay. One second." She says, pulling her computer keyboard closer to her. She types for a second, clicks her mouse, types, clicks. "Hm... I see no records for a Hong Zo. Hong... Keji? She was in and out of here from 1998 to May of 2002? Does that ring any bells?"