That Time When I Fell Down the Stairs and Became a Jujutsu Sorcerer

Chapter 67 - The Culling Game - Part 2

Something was definitely wrong. I could feel it all the way through to my bones. My nerves were shot as I hurried through the streets in Sendai to the grocery store to check on Akie. The spirit hadn't come to check in and he'd always been on time each hour to tell me she was doing okay all alone. I pushed harder, fully sprinting down the road, as my brain raced with horrible thoughts. If anything happened to her I swore I would murder everyone in Sendai before I looped back just to feel like I hadn't been as awful of a mother.

Slamming the door open I immediately sighed with relief as soon as I saw her sitting on the freezer and peeking into the roof. She looked down at me, startled by the noise, and hopped down with a slow landing from her technique.

“Hey Mama.” She said, “Are you okay?”

I nodded, catching my breath against the door, “Yeah… yeah I'm fine. Sorry… I thought you were in… in trouble.” I panted.

“Nope. I exorcized a curse though!” She said happily and my face immediately fell.

“Akie… no…” I pushed my bangs up, “No if your name moved up on the scoreboard then…”

I snapped my fingers, summoning my Kogane. My particular kogane had big round eyes and a tail that looked like a clock hand. Fitting really. I wondered how Kenjaku had managed to make everyone's little game master so unique.

“Oh god Akie.” I groaned, seeing not just a one point difference, but seventeen whole points, “ You've been killing curses haven't you?” She looked at me sheepishly, as if she hadn't considered that I could just pull up her score.

There her name was, clear as day. Akie Gojo…. 17 points.

“I… I'm sorry I–”

“What's done is done Akie.” I said, quickly beginning to gather our stuff, “We need to move. I'm gonna have to try to get as much as possible right away and get you out of here.”

“Why?” She asked, sounding nervous.

“Because we can't let anyone find you here. Transfer your points to me please. I don't want anyone to see your name on the list.” I said, picking up my backpack.

“Kogane!” She called and a smaller purple Kogane with a little hair bow appeared, “Could you please transfer my points to my mom?”

“Sure thing, toots.” The thing replied in its gravelly voice.

With her 17 that put me at 88 points. Twelve more points and I'd be able to make the rule to let us enter and exit the colonies freely. That wasn't much. Three sorcerers would do it but I was already hoping to run into some curses on the way. We had no choice at that point, there was no way the curse users wouldn't come for her. Her name was out there as a target since the day she was born.

“Hopefully my name being near the top will be a deterrent…” I muttered to myself, adjusting the straps, “We're gonna move fast, alright? Stick close and if anything seems weird then tell me right away okay?” She nodded, looking afraid. I wanted to comfort her, but what could I even tell her? We had to rush right away and if being afraid would keep her close then so be it.

I looked at the names on the list in the Sendai colony. Okkotsu was around of course, but he was currently “looking for Higuruma” although he and Megumi already knew exactly where he'd be. Aside from Okkotsu there were a couple other noteworthy sorcerers at the top of the list, but I'd notice their energy coming my way for sure. The ones I was more concerned about were the ones beneath me. The ones who would seek out a child for an easy kill with their cowardice.

Something still felt wrong too. It felt like an ominous lurking feeling, as if a predator was close by. Similar to how it felt when I knew Sukuna was looming. Still, I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. My stomach was twisting in knots, the idea of Akie having to go through a death and then reverse out of it scaring the hell out of me. It didn't feel good when that happened, and I was the most used to it. There's nothing like feeling yourself die. Nothing as hard on your mind as your body giving up or feeling your organs being cut.