Chap 160: Mahito

At the end of another school day. Takumi can be seen walking out of Jujutsu school gate, with a phone in hand.

"Today was great, babe, yeah, uh-huh, I'll be home soon. Love you, bye." Hanging up, not before saying his sweet goodbye to his wife. Takumi wondered about what could he bring home.

"Sorbei ? Nah too cold, maybe some mochi? Man, there's-" he stopped suddenly.

'Special grade?' As one of the special grades, Takumi has become adept at picking up their sign of energy.

At the rates this been going, there's always at least one special grade born each month. Every time, they brought destruction to a whole city, it got so bad that they had to make a whole siren warning citizens about it.

He was standing over an old bridge, the energy led him below. Under the bridge is the old sewer system of the city.

"Hmmm, I'll probably be home late." Takumi jumped.

Following the winding path of interconnected pipes, through a series of turns and intersections, this dark place feels like an endless labyrinth.

Takumi ran, following the trails that were getting warmer by the second.

He slowed just as he reached a wide open area, 'This is the place.'

If the jujutsu society weren't so understaffed, then he probably would have called someone else to do the job, but considering the curse was in his area, eventually the task would fall right back into his lap later.

Takumi hopped down, taking in his surroundings. This whole part of the sewer was converted to a nest, a natural-born one.

He can see why, above his position is a huge populated town, and they tend to throw things away.

And by simply doing an negative action as throwing things away, the collective small amount of negative emotion began to pile up, to create this one curse.

Who knows how long it has been here? Looking up at the world that had tossed it away.

He looked at the curse spirit with indifferent eyes, with a hand he charged up his curse energy. That action causes the spirit to react, morphing and stretching itself outward.

"What-" A chilling hand touched him, but he didn't see anything. Instinctively, he put up a barrier around himself, and the feeling went away.

The curse reacts, changing itself once more, now making it look more human. A woman, around toddler age.

She wore nothing but some raggy clothes, blue hair, stitches running across her eyes, nose, and cheek; it could've run further down, but he didn't focus on it.

Because Takumi is too busy locking eyes with her, she was looking back at him with heterochromatic eyes, one is a cold blue and the other an innocent white.

'Mahito?' It was just a thought; he didn't verbally say it, but somehow she managed to know.

"Ma...hi...toooo." the girl repeated, the words flowed not so smoothly out on her tongue. "Whattt...issss...thatttt?"

'She didn't know her own name?' It was unmistakable; there's no place he can mistake it. The look was one-to-one. Minus the gender apart, 'wait, was Mahito even a man? No, focus, this is no place to think about that right now.'

Her face previously showed confusion morphed to a smile, it was too wide and inhumane for a person to have. Like she was doing it for the first time.

"Meeee....?" One finger pointing to herself, "Ma...hiii...tooo."

Quickly he realized, this mahito isn't the same one.

'But what do I do with her?' No way he can leave her here, bringing her home or to Senjaku is an absolute no-no.

[Ding] his system made a notification.

[Questline: bring Mahito home]

[Progress: □□□□]

'Oh great, my mom stepped in.' He sighed out loud at the blue screen, 'whatever.'

Takumi was really lucky to meet her so early, things he planned weren't meant to keep a dangerous creature like Mahito around, originally.

During his inner monologue, Mahito crept forward silently, making no sound as she did so. At her height, she measured against Takumi's thigh, somewhere close to his own daughter.

She did not know who this person is, to the curse, this hole is everything she ever known. This hole and the feeling of emptiness inside her, eating away at her core for as long as she could remember.

She did not know who she was before, only a black spot, then, more black spots came, all of the spots then merged into one.

Mahito.

She ran those words again and again in her mind. Mind ? Does she have a mind ? She must have one, right ? How else can she think and remember and knows stuff ?

She looked at the man again, man. The word carried importance. Man, he was valuable, what does man want to do ?

She can't help but stare, into the shape that made up the man. So many shapes, so many colors. Unlike her, one shape, only purple color.

Curiously, the man locked eyes with her again. A flurry of emotion ran through her head. Curiosity, yearning, wanting, greed,.....obsession.

The moment stretched out, she didn't know what man wanted to do, but she waited nonetheless.

"Hi," the man squats down to her eye level.

Hearing the man's words again, Mahito instantly replies. "Hiiii." It wasn't the best way, and she can recognize that. Controling vocalcord was so difficult.

The man seemed to understand her regardless, and his hand reached out, she turned to his face, then his hand.

She fixated her gaze on him, delicate finger compared to his. She touched him, or she felt like they were touching ? There was something between; it had color, too, but it wasn't in the man.

Their hand were intertwined, fingers locking, it was good, she felt good doing this.

"I would like to take you with me." The way the man said it had her unable to pull away.

"I...." she drags it out, it was not intended, but she must know. "Ma..hi...to."

"You are."

Next, Mahito moved her finger and pointed at him.

"Yourrrr arreee."

"My name, is Takumi."

"Ta...ku...mi." she said it over again, and more so in her head.

Mahito was so entranced by what was behind the man's eyes, she could see a magnificent glow.

"I want to take you."

Take ? Take where ? That was what she wanted to say, but her mouth was too useless to say it; she still hadn't controlled it properly.

But she wanted to keep doing whatever the man was doing to her, so she did the next best thing. She nodded.

She was pulled into the man's embrace, something that also made her feel good. Rising up, he then took her out of the hole, and into the sky on a red featherly bird.

Their destination was unknown to her, but she couldn't care less about it. Her sole focus is only Takumi.