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Geto Satoru has been dead for seven months. And it is easy to forget that.
“I am home.” Suguru announced to an empty house. Honestly, it is so easy to forget that his husband has peacefully passed away last Christmas. It was in this very house. He had held the wrinkled hand as the sorcerer took his last breath, with a smile on his face. It had not been easy to let go. However, he was grateful for the long life they had together that was full of laughter. It is not that he does not want to accept it nor is he proud of his peculiar tendency of forgetting about his husband’s death. It is just that the residual curse energy of the strongest sorcerer that permeates every corner of the house would fool any mildly competent sorcerer for a moment to think Geto Satoru is alive. Trust the strongest to leave the strongest residual energy, the widower thought to himself fondly.
Suguru did not cry on the day. He practically had walked all his life hand-in-hand with death. He was a sorcerer for godssake. Death was not a destination. It was a part of a much longer journey. He knew that first hand as a curse manipulator. His husband used to call him the lord and saviour of curses. Almost all sorcerers eliminate curses. Except him. Satoru had joked it is as though he held the fate of a curse in his hands. Suguru did miss the lips that kissed his hands after such ridiculous observations. ‘Strong, beautiful hands,’ Satoru used to mutter as he peppered kisses on them and gazed up at him with his big blue eyes. Suguru could never get used to them. He adored them every time like it was his first time seeing them. Even if Satoru had grown frail in the last few days, his eyes never lost their twinkle. He kept on joking right till the end.
It should not have been his responsibility to cheer up Suguru at a time like that. But in a way, it was Satoru who took care of Suguru. And for that Suguru had loved him even more. It was nigh impossible to love deeper than he already did but Satoru had a knack for always pushing Suguru. Learning to deal with the loss had been difficult in the first few weeks. In the first month after the event, he had learnt not to look too closely at the corners. It was also advisable not to pay attention to what happens beyond the corner of your eyes. It was February when he clearly saw it. First time Suguru had turned his head, the image had vanished before he could be sure of what he saw. Second time, he had turned he was met with a scowling white haired child in a baby blue kimono. He was forced to avert his eyes as if he was admonished. The child looked exactly how Suguru had remembered.
He was returning from school on his cycle. He always used to glance at the huge gate as he rode past the huge mansion. One day, the gates were ajar, because a train of cars was leaving and he had the privilege to lay eyes on the most beautiful boy he had ever seen. Since then, he made it a point to loiter around making some excuses. Like playing with friends around the area or choosing the tree by the boundary wall for his hiding spot during a game of hiding and seek. He walked by the same street to get crisps. By then, he had collected the information that the boy he had seen was the heir to the Gojo clan. He was homeschooled and rarely ever stepped outside the perimeter. The Gojos were a powerful clan. Suguru had observed the area around the estate was devoid of the weird creatures that he was so used to seeing by then. It surprised him. But it was also the only place where Suguru could breathe easy. No ugly monsters to avoid. He could be just himself. No one would believe him if he told that to anybody.
One day, he saw a flash of white hair at their local ice cream stall. He could barely reach the counter and yet was excitedly prattling something off to the owner. From what it looked like, the owner was also entertaining the boy. Suguru quickly crossed the road to talk to the elusive figure.
“Hello.” Suguru was panting from the brisk walk he took. The other boy froze momentarily and slowly turned around to look at the dark haired boy. Suguru was at least a head taller than this kid. He peered down and repeated his greeting.
“Hello. I live around here and saw you one day in that mansion. Me and the boys always play around here after school. But we never see you.” He tried not to look too long in the blue eyes. It almost seemed as if the whole sky existed in them. He would be scared if he was not so fascinated with the mystery boy.
The boy in question remained unresponsive, almost shy and offended. At least he was not attired traditionally that day. Otherwise, he would be perfect for the role of a young royal, which he was, Suguru thought. Why was this kid scowling? Did he offend his majesty by his lowly presence? He was starting to regret his initiative.
“What is your power?” It was the first thing the Gojo heir had decided to offer to Suguru. Suguru was now more perplexed. “I am sorry. What?”
The heir looked confused too. “What is your cursed technique?” He was more looking around and through him almost as he stood waiting for a reply. Suguru was slightly uncomfortable. He felt the summer sweat seep in his shirt collar. The shirt was sticking to his back.
Suguru taking this some kind of sheltered kid talk decided to entertain him. “I don’t have a technique per se but an ability. I can see things that others can’t. I can warn you probably of monsters and ghosts and such.” It was not a lie anyway. He had already been diagnosed with a very active imagination by everyone around him.
“Don’t talk to me like that. I'm not an idiot. It's you who don't know a thing.” Now, Suguru felt like a child in front of this short boy. Why was he being chastised? He waited for him to continue. He wanted to be derisive about the whole thing but something stopped him. This moment he felt will be etched on his mind forever. He knew. As if he could tell that whatever words come from this weird kid next will change his life forever and he would not be the same anymore. “Look for Jujutsu Tech School. I don’t remember their contact but my teacher said that is where commoners go.”
“‘Commoners’?” Suguru barked out a laugh. “And who are you supposed to be?”
“The strongest sorcerer, of course.” The words came without a beat missed.
Suguru frowned. Not knowing how to respond to awkward delusions he just said, “okay”. Is this how his parents felt when he told them about his ‘visions’? He was mortified. However, he quickly recovered and was reluctant to end the conversation here. “You are dressed normally today.” He continued like the great conversationalist he thought he was. It didn't go unrewarded.
“That day some relatives came to visit us.”
“You remember me?” It seemed it was not time yet for Suguru to stop being surprised. This time it was a warm surprise.
“I do not forget a thing I see.” Then he added, “I also know you use every chance you get to pass by our mansion. Are you spying? Are you a Zenin?” His voice rose at the last question. As if, it was the worst thing on Earth to be a Zenin, whatever that is.
“What?! No. I told you. I live nearby. Name is Geto Suguru. I doubt your esteemed ass has heard of Geto. We are not a clan or anything but my parents run a pretty successful clinic around here.” At that, the white haired boy seemed to drop his shoulder slightly in relief. He called himself Satoru.
“Satoru,” Suguru repeated. The name easily rolled of his tongue. Satoru was wide eyed at hearing name from the dark haired boy’s mouth. He turned away. They finished their ice creams after that. They shared very few common topics to talk about. Suguru learnt that Satoru was a big video game nerd which he himself was not very knowledgeable about. He told him about his favourite authors instead. They both had martial arts in common. That was the last time he saw the eleven year old Satoru.
Or so Suguru had thought for forty years. He had learnt to ignore the presence in his house by now. It was not a curse and did not show signs of turning into one soon. He doubted any of dimwits back at Jujutsu Tech knew anything about the phenomenon. Never in both of their lifetimes have those people been particularly helpful, this time too Suguru would not hope for anything different. Gojo Satoru had always been a baffling phenomenon in every respect through his whole life. If Geto Suguru as his husband, the second strongest sorcerer in the modern era and the strongest sorcerer alive was amazed and puzzled and bewildered, he supposed no one else could do anything about it. And, he could technically disperse the residual curse energy if he wanted. In fact, it would take only a simple flick of his wrist but he was terribly tired today. He flopped on his couch with a cold beer instead.
Suguru felt his feet twitch. He heard a strange aborted whimper and his eyes shot open. He realised two things at once. First, the sound came from him and second, someone’s face was inches above him. He stared. After seeing no sign of movement, he decided to speak. This would be his first interaction with this weird guest. “Move, Satoru.” Geto closed his eyes. The involuntary movements in his sleep had ratcheted up in frequency. If that decreased his quality of sleep, he did not complain. He never liked losing complete control anyway. The lighter his sleep, the easier it was to wake up. Suguru opened his eyes again and saw the presence was gone. Now, he was playing temari in the kitchen? Whatever. He saw his unfinished beer had gone tepid. Had he fallen asleep after just one sip? He downed the rest of it in one go and put down the can harder on the table than he intended. Instinctively, he turned to say sorry to the non-human only to find the kitchen empty. There was singular moth flying around the lights. It made him depressed. And not hungry. He thought it better to call it an early night.
It was an extremely hot night. It was balmy. The kind of summer night that made your skin sticky and hair matted regardless of how hard you tried to keep yourself clean; the kind that made you hyperaware of every fibre of your bedsheet and every cicada outside your window. Suguru tossed and turned unable to sleep. He cursed himself for not noticing the AC had broken down. Seriously, can something for once not go wrong in his life? The AC was fine yesterday and suddenly it decided to give up today? Comfort was not to come tonight. He laid there staring at the fan on his ceiling, his mind fitfully melted in heat.
He woke up to an incessant buzzing of the doorbell and loud raps on the door. What the hell? Suguru’s slippers slapped harshly on the wooden floor as he made to open the door.
“Oh hey Megumi! Come in.”
Megumi when entered his old benefactors’ house he felt disappointed. “Good afternoon,” Megumi greeted. There was no familiar smell of incense. When he spotted the several discarded beer cans on the table, he did not say anything. He started folding the shawl forgotten on one side of the couch. Next, the cans went in the bin. Suguru wished he could ask Megumi to come later. Instead, he walked to the kitchen to look for tea. He found a pack. It was only a month away from expiring. It had been a wedding anniversary gift from a guest. They never found an opportunity to open it, Suguru guessed, with Satoru falling sick almost immediately after.
“You didn’t pick up when I called last night. It wasn’t urgent but I think I dialed at least three times. And you usually text good night in the family group. Nana and Mimi were worried.” Megumi took a seat around the kitchen island. “And you weren’t opening the door this morning either. Aren’t you a light sleeper? I waited for ten minutes— I think, before I heard any sign of life from inside.”
Suguru did not say anything for a while. He meditatively prepared the tea. After pouring two cups, he put one in front of Megumi and took his own to stand by the window. Outside, cars are wheezing by. The plants in the garden looked like they were fighting for their lives. Did he forget to water them again? The afternoon sun was beating down ferociously on the front porch. Was he asleep this late? He heaved a deep sigh before beginning.
“Megumi, are you willing to have a late lunch with me?"
"Speaking of which, did you eat anything since night?"
"I did, I did. Don't worry about it...what?"
"Oh yeah? All I can see is the kitchen is coated with dust. Not a single clean bowl in sight. Nothing but beer cans in the dustbin. So may I know what you ate before you going to bed? I don't think you even had breakfast today, did you? Given how you answered the door…"
"Fuck. Okay you caught me. Happy? I'm living like a bum and you caught me. What do you want?"
"What do you mean by 'what do I want'? This isn't about me. It's about you. I say this only because I care. Don't give me that."
"No, Megumi-kun. Of course not. You know there was this little incident if you remember, of my husband dying? You know, people are generally sad after such events. Of course I'm not okay, genius."
“That would make sense.” Suguru imagined he could say ‘Megumi nodded sagely’ here, but Megumi would never behave like that. Suguru had to give him credit for not rising to his bait. He was the most non-judgemental unpretentious person he ever had the privilege to know. That made Suguru feel even more pathetic. At the same time, he saw the man he and Satoru had brought up– this exceptional adult themselves. He was proud of the fact. Megumi continued, “I wish you’d let us live here. For a while, at least. Let Yuji and me take care of you.” Megumi was looking down in his cup.
Suguru laughed gently. “You will get nothing by taking care of a sad old man like me. I’ll be fine in no time."
“Are you seeing Gojo-san’s kid version around the house?” Megumi blurted, as if he could not keep it in anymore. He hastily explained himself, “like in the corners or shadows or sticking to walls or — ”
“Let's order us some lunch first. But how did you know?” Suguru asked quietly.
“I didn’t. Not really. Some things just fell together when I entered the house. Last week, Yuji drove by here and noticed the neighbourhood to be unusually clean of curses. As if they all ran away. Now, it’s summer and seeing less curses is unusual in itself but an area completely devoid of them is a sure red alarm. Because, I remember you drilling this lesson from the beginning — ”
“‘It is very important for a sorcerer to know when not to act.’ And since there’s no meaning in dispersing every small curse in the street, there was something wrong with me. As expected from our son.” Suguru said the last part rather cheekily.
Megumi looked away. “I didn’t say something was wrong with you. But you should know, we cleaned our house. Couldn’t risk anything happening to our daughter. She is just a normal human being, you know, not like us. She is enough troubled with college, volleyball and what not." He softly added, “Have you checked in with Ieri-san?”
“We speak sometimes. Our schedules—”
“Of course.” Megumi mumbled.
“Huh?”
“No. No. Continue – why you haven't been talking with Ieri-san.”
Suguru resumed slowly. “I did not say I am not talking to Shoko, as you would know if you hadn't interrupted. So as I was saying, I didn’t ask her if she was seeing a tiny Satoru running about.”
“He doesn’t run.” Megumi was alarmed. “Does he? Curse energy gaining sentience should qualify for a curse… But you know best. Of course”
“What? No. Of course not. You know what I meant.” Suguru did not say anything about the temari.
They shared a few minutes of silence as they finished their tea. The food would be here any minute now. Suguru asked Megumi to help him in the garden after and Megumi begrudgingly agreed. “You never let a chance go if it means free labour. And there are so many plants. Whose are they? Not mine.”
“You wanted to check on this old man. So go do your filial duty.”
“Speaking of filial duty, Tsumiki was asking about you. She was upset.”
“Be a bit sharper would you. Do you think after all the things said and done, I would be willing to placate her highness on that day of all days? We are the killers of your father after all. She made her stance clear when she left the house. She was out the moment she turned eighteen. Honestly? I don't blame her. She was much older than you at the time.”
“Still—”
“What do you want from me, Megumi-kun?”
“Fine. You want an answer? For you to do better. Keep the house cleaner. Not drink like some uncouth hooligan. Apologise to Tsumiki for treating her the way you did. You literally ignored her as she was trying to make amends. Whatever be our past, we do see you as our dad, both Tsumiki and me. Be there for your friend, Ieri-san. It isn't only you who lost him. We all lost someone too. But here you are. Acting how noble—”
“FUCK YOU. Don't you dare finish that or god help me. Who the hell are you speaking like this in my own goddamn house? I've wiped your nose when Satoru was busy playing at ‘the strongest sorcerer’ out in the world. I am your father in all senses. Except blood. Is that it? Well, I've news for you son.” Suguru spat. “I don't care how old you are, I'll not have you disrespect me in my own house. If you're oh so disappointed then leave. Finish the food, I'm not hungry. I'm going to sleep in my room.*
Megumi heard the door slam. His jaws aches with how hard he gritting his teeth. Fuck, he was too old to cry over this. He hated this but if not him then who? He went to Suguru's door and paused. He tried to come up with the best way to deal with this but his mind was numb. He gave up and knocked gently. "Dad?" He did not hope for a response.
The garden was cleaned. All dry leaves were buried. The front was washed. All plants were watered and trimmed. The house smelled of incense again.The laundry was done and hung outside. The vases were emptied and filled with fresh flowers. These too came from the garden of the Getos. Stalks of white fragrant flowers had a calming effect over the whole place. After that trade of harsh words, Suguru found himself to be restless. Antsy. He cleaned in and around the house. Had done the long overdue laundry. He saw the black haired boy diligently working outside. His hair had settled down as he aged. Much like Satoru’s. He could say whatever but Megumi was Satoru’s boy. He could never make peace with it. He supposed that was his karma. He put Megumi’s sunflowers near their big family photo over the mantle. That polite boy never visited a house without flowers.
It was almost evening when they were done with the housekeeping. They had dusted and wiped every room except one. That room has remained locked since Christmas Eve, and probably will remain so till some fire razes the house down or Suguru himself decides to open it. The setting sun cast a beautiful glow on the rest of the inside.Takeout boxes of cheap Chinese food were scattered on the table. None of them felt the need to move. Not yet. Suguru turned to thank Megumi. Lately, he has been saying thank yous a lot. Show your true heart as much as you while you still have the time.
“Don’t mention it. It’s weird to hear ‘thank you’ from your own father.” Megumi rolled his eyes. He got up rubbing his palms on his black slacks. It was his way of saying that he has to leave in a few minutes. Just like that, he started gathering all the plastic boxes. “And… um, I'm sorry about earlier. We all really care about you and the things recently has me wound up. I really meant well. I guess Tsumiki just got me. Ieri-san too, she is especially worried. Yuji too I guess... As much as he hates your guts, but yeah I'm sorry. This could have gone better.”
“Apology accepted. Halfway through, it seemed you will prostrate yourself on the floor, kidding of course, but all’s good. Itadori-kun warming up to a criminal? Pardoned but still. Hah, my life is finally worth it, eh? Okay, serious business.” Suguru was gazing at the ceiling as if that would aid him somehow in releasing the words from his mouth. “How was Satoru to you during the last few days? I never got to ask. You don’t have to say anything you don’t want. But you know, for some days now my mind keeps going back to those days. They were puzzling, if I put it lightly.”
“He was his usual self, wasn’t he? Obnoxious, cheerful, loud and affectionate, even if he was bound to bed. He did start apologising for random things he had done in his life. Half of which I had forgotten and none of them were serious offences. He did bring up Toji though. I never held that against him and yet he couldn’t stop bringing it up. Honestly, it was hard to watch such a huge change come over someone. And now you’re doing that, saying ‘thank you’ and what not for the smallest of things. Don’t ever do that. I don’t like it.”
“Sorry, sorry. But you see, that’s why I asked.” Unwillingly, Suguru continued.
He told him about the dream he keeps having, which is more like a hallucination now that he could see it without even closing his eyes. Playing on the off-white cream walls. He is on a roof with no railings. The sun is beating down directly on him. No shadows are casted. It's impossibly bright. He sees a boy with his back to him. He knows who it is. He tries to scream at him. He does so. Then nothing. He wakes up or the hallucination breaks.
Was that why he had dark circles, Megumi asked. Was it? Maybe. Not that he cared, Suguru decided he did not. The old familiar drowning feeling had returned from his early years of adulthood. He thought he had won his battles and put that behind him. Apparently not. So all this was pushed behind a wall. That's the thing with dreams. They are wily creatures. Always hungry for attention. Always hungry for attention. Like little annoying children. Lock them up all you want but they will cry cry cry and push until they have your attention. Suguru was frankly afraid of going to sleep nowadays. Hilarious, isn't it? A sorcerer in his late sixties afraid of nightmares. But he didn't care. He did not want to watch a child jumping off a roof every night. Could you blame him? Probably. But he is in the twilight of his life. He had committed a lot of crimes in the name of greater good and he had also looked the other way in the name of greater good. The world had lost the right to judge him. The only one who could really judge him was here no more. His judge, his executioner, his deliverer, his one and only had leaked out of his nightmares and was now haunting him in guise of a rude child.
“–llo?”
“Oh sorry. Where was I? Yeah, that's all.”
“What do you mean by ‘that's all’?"
“Don't sound so exasparated. You know– Let me tell you the story Satoru used to tell me in the end. So–”
“No. Finish what you started. Don't try to change the topic. We need to talk about that.”
“Megumi-kun. I’m tired. And I don't want to 'talk' anymore. You'll let this old man have his way, won't you?” He had his signature polite mask on, the smile that brooked no negotiation.
He told him about Geto Satoru’s last obsession. In his last week, he kept repeating his childhood stories to him. The stories did not bring the smile on the listener as they did on the teller. And the story was repeated to Megumi.
It must have happened when Satoru was seven or eight years old. The Gojo clan was hosting their annual big family get together. The adults were chatting in the hallroom and the children were left to play as they wished. It was before lunch that Satoru went to find and call Noaya. He looked for him everywhere. Their garden was huge. It had tall trees and thick shrubs. It also included a small pond. When he finally found Noaya, he saw he was playing with a spider. He was cutting its leg off one at a time to see at what point it would stop walking. Satoru could not stop himself from shoving him aside. He cupped the maimed spider in his hand and drowned him in the pond to end its pain. What followed next was a fight with fists, kicks and headbutts between two boys. And Satoru getting locked in the storage room without lunch. He was let out during dinner. His mother wanted to pass him an apple in the room but his aunt stopped her. She said he needed to learn to stop embarrassing the family. A Gojo does not act so crassly.
“'m Glad I am not a Gojo anymore” The story always ended with this refrain.
“Holy… That's a lot but also typical of our families. Do you reckon we ought to check the mansion?” Megumi wondered.
Next day, as the duo drove to the ancestral home, the expected anxiety did not come. Instead, they found the mansion to be just big and sprawling as they remembered but the intimidating factor was gone.
When they entered the Gojo mansion, the first thing that was noticable was the silence. Even leaves didn't rustle. Premonition hung heavy in the air, on the boughs, on their shoulders. Neither wanted to name the dreaded feeling. Could things go smoothly for once? After all the disputes and court cases, the property had gone to Geto Satoru and that by effect was passed to Geto Suguru. Megumi Fushiguro would inherit it next, hopefully sooner rather than later. But Suguru could not care for the property very much. Its splendour had dulled. The clan was not prosperous anymore given the lack of maintenance. They made a beeline to the place Suguru was most familiar with, the kitchen.
Back when he visited his in-laws, Suguru used every chance to escape to the kitchen. The staff there were far more welcoming than the family. He would either find himself in the kitchen or the garden. It could have been his humble background or the fact that he annhilated a bunch of people who thought children of the poor were the reason their village was cursed. Sure, he was almost executed for it, except it would have been a shame to lose such a powerful weapon (truly, the flexibility of morals amazed him) but he had gained the respect of the kind of people that really mattered to him. These people may not be sorcerers but that's why he was here. That's why he was blessed with such a power. He could ingest all the filth of this world if it would mean permanently erasing curses. But the work is ceaseless. It would be an achievement if he had even made a millimeter of difference on this world. It's quite poetical how often he found himself in the dark backstage of things when Satoru was out there enjoying sake post dinner. Well, ‘enjoying’ could have been a stretch but you get the idea. He on the other hand was more comfortable here with the humble folks.
No one stopped Suguru and Megumi from striding up to the working quarters of the house. No one welcomed them either. There was complete silence. It was as if the house itself was mourning. No one came out to greet them. Their presence was accepted like changing of the winds.
“What are we looking for?” Megumi asked.
“I don't know… For the hundreds of times I've been here, I’ve never been actually shown around the house know. Satoru could't wait to leave as soon as he stepped in this house. His family could't wait for me to leave. The servants with all their kindness won't dare to disobey their masters by talking too much to me. But social hierarchy-wise, I was a lord to them. It was inappropriate for me to be in a space where servants belong for too long. I really expected Dan-san to be here though. He used to get me try all kinds of dishes he was experimenting on. Anyway, I don't see anyone here… There has to be some kind of head caretaker still even if everyone is gone or fired. Dan-san… Dan-san…where are you hiding the keys… I know that guy won't leave for anything… Ugh. Fuck it. I'm the owner now. Let's just look through every shelf until we find the keys." The keys opened the garden outhouse. Going purely by his hunch, their answer lied in Satoru's oft repeated story and the storeroom in it. "Let's hope we find something that explains everything."
After rummaging through every shelf, after looking under every vase, they decided it was time to conquer the rooms next. If not keys, then at least for clues to help them unlock the mystery of the phantom.
They slid the doors open and close as they entered and checked every room. Filled with items, clothes and memories and devoid of occupants. They threaded through the maze as one room led to another. Kerchak-open. Shik-close. Scatter the well organised figurines and photo frames. No key. Kerchak. Shik. Next room. No key. Repeat. The ritual made their heads halt. The mad architecture was designed for a opulent and sprawling place. Once upon a time, perhaps laughter echoed within these walls but now it felt imprisoning.
The two men worked in silence too. The quiet itself had gained sort of a personality. Breaking it seemed irreverent. Or they chose it not to air their frustation at a prospective dead end. Suguru felt his breakfast crawl back up his throat. The house was gradually growing warm. His shirt was sticking to his back and his armpits were soaking with sweat.
The structure felt like a Russian doll. Doors led to doors led to doors. Both of them winded deep into the ancestral house without their goal in sight. The Gojo home was akin to museum of rare and ancient artifacts and yet none of them could register the splendour. Everything blended into the background. "Geto-san, it's strange that we have to work this much for one key when we could just break it down. There's obviously a lot wrong with this place."
"I will pay you a million in dollars if you can trace your way back. This place has warped itself into a maze. Can't you feel we are drawing close to the centre of the curse? Just a little bit and — Voila!"
They stood in a larger and emptier room. A single person was sitting with their back to them. "Dan-san? Dan-san?" Dan-san didn't respond to Suguru's calls. His eyes shrunk at what he saw forward. They could see the garden pond from they stood. It was black and no one needed to guess where the missing family members were anymore.
Megumi immediatly went into his fighting stance. Suguru shook his head. He cautiously moved forward.
"Dan? Daniel?" Daniel's eyes were white, his pupils had turned into the back of his head. His jaws were tightly locked. There was dried blood around his ears. Suguru kneeled and shook him. The man toppled to his side without breaking his posture. He was as stiff as marble.
"Megumi, I don't think we want to deal with this. Call the school and let them. This will be one national mess for sure. Let's go with your idea and break a few locks, hmm?"
Megumi was staring at the dismembered limbs floating on the pond. They were in various stages of decay. The place must stink to high heavens. Were their noses that desensitised to not have noticed it when they came here first? No. Must have been 'Dan-san' who somehow prevented the mishap from getting noticed. It didn't help the place was a bit isolated from common residences. No wonder there was no report. "Who was that? Must have been someone really skilled."
"Daniel was a tourist obssessed with the supernatural. Many years ago, he arrived here for his research and then was mesmerised with the power and story of the Gojos. He stayed with since then, pledging them his service. He was already an old man when I met him first. Even Satoru knew him as an old man only. None of us could guess his true age."
Breaking open the store room was easiest thing they did that day. They were greeted by only dust that seemed to stir at the slightest of the breaths they took. All the trapped heat seemed to radiate out of the room. The plants, a single apple and everything else had died a long time ago and were now home to fungus. The energy felt oppressive, though it was slowly receding as the door was open now. "Well, can't say we didn't check every corner now." Megumi agreed.
After the excorism squad appeared, Suguru and Megumi left as immediately as they could. They had answered all the questions. It was enough unpleasantness to savour in a lifetime. Yuji did not bother to invite Suguru in when he dropped Megumi at their house. If Yuji thinks he is better than Suguru, then the only difference between them is Yuji committed the same crime as him while being controlled by a external demon and Suguru did what he did controlled by his own demons. It was for justice and needed no forgiveness from anyone. Both of them were being righteous in their one way with how they treated reach other and Suguru almost respected him for that.
When Suguru finally returned to his home, the absence was immeditately noticable. Well, whatever it was had been solved. Suguru supposed he could be happy about it. Whatever went down would reach him any way soon in a thick report in his office. For now, he had one more thing he had left to do today.
Suguru opened his laptop and bought a ticket to Italy. It was their favourite getaway after a particularly heavy mission and he intended to keep up the tradition.