Chapter Text
Meanwhile, at the Zoo.
Currently.
“Yuta, Yuudai, we're here!" shouted Yurika standing on a bench, waving her little hands to get the attention of those two.
She and Katsumoto had found a free table in front of the Ferris wheel and the carousel that had the Zoo in the middle of the rest area.
“It looks like they found a good spot" said Yuta as she approached the two.
But when they arrived, they noticed that Katsumoto had a red nose, as if he had received a strong blow on his face, as well as he was putting some ointment on his arms and elbows, where he had some scratches.
“Do you like it here? Pulpomoto and I managed to win it and more than that it is in front of the Ferris wheel" said Yurika proudly, "Yes, I found it”
“It has a beautiful view and good shade" said Yuta with a smile, "Thank you both very much, especially you Yurika”
“Yuta kun! Once we finish seeing all the animals, can we go up there?" asked Yurika very excited, pointing at the Ferris wheel.
“Hehe okay, we'll get on these rides before we leave the Zoo”
“Katsumoto, what happened to you?" asked Yuudai observing how that assistant cleaned his wounds.
“Did something happen Katsumoto?" asked Yuta with concern, "Do you need us to take you to the doctor?”
The attendant shook his head.
“I'm fine my lord... I just... tripped..." he said in pain.
“Katsumoto fell flat on his face" said Yurika putting her hands on her hips, "And even more so when he seemed to freeze for a moment in mid-air and then, bam!! he fell on him face" she exemplified with her hands.
“Froze?" asked Yuta confused looking at the attendant, "Is that true Katsumoto?”
“It's true my lord, it was as if I suddenly froze in the air, I couldn't move and then I hit the ground, even didn't give me time to put my hands down”
“That's right! It didn't move at all, it stayed like that for a few seconds," Yurika imitated the pose, raising one foot as if walking, "And then suddenly it moved, but it fell on its face!”
“That's quite strange, do you think it's some cursed technique?" asked Yuta trying to understand it.
“It's kind of hard to explain, but..." the assistant wanted to talk to his boss in private, since what happened was quite strange, but he didn't want to tell him his suspicions at that moment so he decided to lie “maybe there was a pebble in the way and that made me fall”
“I see...” Yuta was puzzled by all that “even so, don't hesitate to tell me if you feel bad too, okay?”
“So I will, my lord”
“Well!" said Yuta opening the backpack and the cooler to take out the obentos and the drinks they had brought, "It's time to eat!" he said with a big smile.
Once Yuta healed Katsumoto's wounds with his reverse curse technique. The four of them started to eat on that bench while watching the carousel and the wheel of fortune spinning with all those people.
Those mechanical games made Yuta let out a sigh, one full of nostalgia as a nice memory came to his mind.
It was a memory from his childhood, when he was ten years old and Rika was still alive. They had both gone along with Yuta's parents and sister to a carousel like that. Remembering Rika's smile made that cute memory mark on his face, even his eyes lit up.
“Yuta kun, are you okay?" asked Yurika with her mouth full while she saw that the adult didn't take his eyes off the carousel.
Yuta shook his head a little.
“What?”
“I asked if you're okay, you seem quite distracted looking at the rides" said Yurika shaking her head to the side.
“Did you recognize anyone?" asked Yuudai also tilting his head a little bit.
Yuta put some more food in his mouth, as he was eating an onigiri.
He swallowed and then answered, "I'm fine" he smiled, "I just had a memory from when I was a kid”
“Really?”
“And what did you remember?”
Both children asked before biting into their food. Yurika was eating a banderilla and Yuudai was eating some vegetable rolls.
“I remembered when once, I went together with my parents, my sister and a childhood friend to some games similar to these. I was especially remembering Rika chan”
“Who is Rika chan?" their daughter asked curiously.
“Yurika!" Yuudai mumbled because he knew his sister was a busybody.
Yuta let out a small giggle coming from his chest.
“Rika chan was my childhood best friend”
“And what's she like?" Yurika asked with a narrowing of her eyes. She was beginning to suspect that Yuta was a bit of a womanizer or that perhaps he attracted the attention of many women.
Her brother rolled his eyes.
“She was a very beautiful girl. The most beautiful I saw when I was a boy. You could say she was like a beautiful flower blooming in the least unexpected place” said Yuta with much affection “She had beautiful long hair in chocolate color, her skin was very white, her face was fine and beautiful, she was light-eyed, plus she had a nice mole here, on her lower lip” he pointed as an example.
“It sounds like you were really in love with that girl” said Yurika with a smile at such words of her father. And more for how he had described her.
“Yes... I admit it” Yuta scratched his cheek a little, even a drop of sweat ran down his forehead “I fell in love with her at first sight when we were kids. Actually, she and I met in the hospital when I got sick with pneumonia”
“So you also suffered from your lungs Yuta kun?" asked Yuudai surprised at that statement.
“Yes, that was when I was about nine or ten years old more or less, I remember that I was hospitalized that time and that's where I met Rika chan" He took out the necklace where he had the two rings "Even on my birthday, she gave me this ring. I treasure it with great affection because it is a very special gift”
“Is that an engagement ring?" asked Yurika, raising her voice in surprise, "Are you engaged?”
“Hehe, it is and no, I'm not engaged anymore. Let's say it's an object that I always carry because as I said, it's a very special gift that Rika chan gave me and more than that it's like a bond between both of us despite the years that have already passed since the last time I saw her” said Yuta with a smile.
“And what happened to that girl?, is that the name of the woman you are looking for in this country Yuta kun?” asked Yurika with curiosity.
“Yurikaaa!" again, Yuudai rolled his eyes at how nosy his twin was being.
Yuta took a deep breath and pursed his lips for a moment. He was trying to find the right way to say everything else.
Both children were silent when they saw how serious that adult had become. Even Katsumoto who was listening to all that conversation, lowered his gaze as he knew everything that happened, since Okkotsu had become famous for his story with his childhood friend and her curse.
Yuta took the courage to speak.
“She unfortunately died in a car accident almost 16 years ago...”
Both children felt too much sadness at that news. Even Yurika put her hands to her mouth.
“We are sorry Yuta kun..." she said sadly.
“It must have been a very painful loss..." Yuudai commented with a long face.
Yuta let out a small sigh.
“It was," he said as he put on his ring finger the ring that once belonged to his childhood friend . "But Rika-chan is not completely gone. She left me a part of her, one that still accompanies me even today”
“And it is indeed a part of her, a very powerful one... one that to this day is quite scary..." commented Katsumoto looking at his boss and eating a bit. Those words made the children strange.
“Did he leave you anything else besides the ring?" Yuudai asked with confusion.
“What did Rika Chan leave you?" asked Yurika with curiosity.
“Well... mmm" Yuta scratched his cheek, again he was looking for the right words, "Do you remember that day when we met in that alley when I saved you from that curse that looked like a puffer fish?”
“Yes”
“Me too”
Said Yurika and Yuudai shaking their heads affirmatively.
“And do you remember that I was fighting with some kind of big white creature with big claws?" asked Yuta.
“Yes, I remember" said Yuudai, very surprised.
“So do I, and more than that we saw her very closely" said Yurika looking at her brother.
“Well, she is Rika chan”
“Is that creature your childhood friend?" asked Yurika almost in shock.
“She is, or a part of what's left of her. Actually, once Rika chan transcended and was able to rest in peace almost 10 years ago, she left me that shikigami to protect me" explained Yuta.
Both children were shocked to hear that. Their eyes widened enormously and they even looked at each other. They seemed to be mentally exchanging words.
“Yes, I know it sounds strange but let's say that Rika has always accompanied me in everything. And no, she's not an evil shikigami despite her appearance”
“At the beginning she scared us a lot..." Yurika confessed.
“Yes, and even more so when we saw her up close and she spoke..." said Yuudai remembering that day.
“But I promise you that she will never hurt you, on the contrary, I know that she will take care of you too" explained Yuta with a smile.
“Do you think we could see her right now?" asked Yurika excitedly.
“Is there a ritual to summon her?" Yuudai asked curiously.
“Well..." Yuta looked at Katsumoto, who stood up as his phone started ringing.
“With permission my lord, let me answer this call" said the attendant standing up and walking a few meters away from them.
Yuta continued speaking.
“Well. Actually, I would like to introduce them to you, but in a place with less people, especially because being a special category curse, it may scare those who are not sorcerers. But soon you will meet her and I know that she will protect you two" commented with a smile.
“We understand" Yuudai commented.
“And about if there is a way to summon her. Well, Rika only obeys me and even more when I use this ring" he raised his left hand, where the ring was on his ring finger, "I usually summon her when I use it since this is our bond”
“Interesting" said Yurika admiring that object, "It really is a nice ring”
“Thank you" smiled Yuta, "Maybe she can help you two sometime, though”
“Like this?”
“How?”
Asked both children with curiosity.
“Maybe you should only call her name once, only when you feel you are in danger. Maybe that way you can summon her if she wants to meet with you" explained Yuta.
At this explanation, the children looked at each other. They were surprised by everything they had heard.
Katsumoto finished making that call. He sighed. He did not bring good news.
◈━━━━🦁━━━━ ◈
“Yuta kun, can we go to the swings?" asked Yurika after almost ten minutes of having finished eating.
“Okay, go ahead and I'll catch up with you now to go on the carousel and the Ferris wheel" he said with a small smile, while putting some things in his backpack.
Both children nodded yes, took each other by the hand and walked towards the playground they had at the Zoo.
On the other hand, the assistant approached Yuta.
The sorcerer noticed the serious look on his face.
“Katsumoto, is everything all right? What is it that you were going to tell me before entering the Safari?" he asked looking at him.
“Sir, I have news from sede... actually, there are four and all of them are important”
“Is it bad news?" asked Yuta with a sigh.
“I don't know if it can be considered bad, my lord”
“We will only know once you tell me”
“Well, the first news is that our team has just been notified that they found another body with the same wounds as the previous victims of the sorcerer killer, my lord" said Katsumoto in a serious tone.
Yuta sighed.
“And in the middle of a holiday?" he asked with annoyance.
“It seems that even on such a busy day the killer doesn't stop his work" commented Katsumoto. "Anyway, I told the staff that we were busy with another assignment and asked them to lift and collect the necessary evidence. Later we can check if this is another case of the sorcerer killer or if we are dealing with something different” He cast a glance towards the children, he knew that for his boss, being there with them was more important than showing up at the crime scene.
“I understand, thank you very much Katsumoto and what other news do you have for me?” Yuta sighed a sigh of relief, which would be short-lived.
“Well, the second piece of news is that the leader Naoya has finally sent the list of all the weapons he is missing”
“It took him a long time to send it to us" said Yuta with a sigh.
“But that's not all. Leader Naoya has also already demanded an advance on the case of the sorcerer-killer”
“For the time being, we'll see if we send him a simple report with the little we've already found. And tell me, what are the other two news you have to give me?" asked Yuta with annoyance. He was filling himself with endless tasks.
Katsumoto took a breath with his cell phone in hand.
“The third piece of news is that there is another leader who wants to contact you my lord”
“Another leader? Who?" asked Yuta with surprise.
“That one who wants to contact you is the leader of the Kamos. More specifically it is Noritoshi Kamo" said Katsumoto seriously.
“Noritoshi wants to see me?!" Yuta raised his voice in surprise.
“That's right, sir”
“But why does he want to contact me?" he asked with some surprise.
“He didn't give more details, but the leader Noritoshi wants to talk to you and he hopes it will be soon”
Yuta put a hand to his mouth. That really surprised him a lot. Why did Noritoshi want to talk to him? There must be something else behind it.
Though for an instant, he felt that having the leader of the Kamo clan on his side would be a good thing.
“That's fine. We'll make it a priority to talk to the Kamo clan leader. When we return, we will send a communiqué to let us know when we can see their leader”
“All right, my lord”
“And what is the fourth piece of news?”
“Well, sir, that's about Gojo Satoru...”
Yuta sighed with annoyance at hearing that name. He had been avoiding that man for almost a month since the last time he visited the Gojo clan's residence.
“What does Satoru want now?”
“Well, he, like Naoya Zenin, wants a report with results on how we're doing with the sorcerer-killer case”
Yuta rubbed the back of his neck, "I thought I'd given up on this”
“He seems to be the most excited about you solving this case, but there is still something else...”
“And what is it?”
“Well...” Katsumoto swallowed hard “Mr. Satoru threatened to come surprise here to Kyoto to talk to you”
“How?! Satoru is coming to Kyoto?!" Yuta shouted in surprise, "When?”
“I don't know yet, my lord. But Mr. Gojo said that if you don't give him an advance in the next few days, he himself threatened to come and talk to you”
“And you don't know when he will come?”
Katsumoto shook his head.
“No sir. He said it might be a surprise, unannounced visit”
Yuta sighed in frustration. The three current leaders of the three great clans wanted to see him one way or another. He felt that he was between a rock and a hard place and even more so that he had completely dropped the whole case.
But he was especially gripped by a great concern. Now that he was spending more time with his children, he had to prevent Satoru from meeting them.
“We have to find out what day Satoru is going to show up here, so we can keep the children from staying with me. I don't want him to meet them”
“I'll try to contact Mr. Ijichi or some other assistant principal to find out what day Mr. Satoru might come to Kyoto" said Katsumoto as he typed on his cell phone.
“Hopefully they will cooperate. I have Ieiri san's number anyway. Maybe she can help us too" said Yuta running his hands over his face, "And just now that the leaders want to see me, I feel like disappearing the most”
“Do you want me to go back to the department and send a report to sede? We still have the list of victims, which has been updated with the most recent murders" suggested Katsumoto, "We can say that we are still investigating the case and make up some excuse, especially if..." again, the assistant glanced at his boss's children, who were still in the children's play area.
He continued, "Especially if you want to spend more time with Yurika and Yuudai”
Yuta gave a quick glance at his children, who were playing near the swings.
“Thank you Katsumoto, I think we will do what you say about sending a report saying that we are doing what we can and moreover that this is becoming a very complicated case...” Yuta looked at his assistant. Really, he was doing a lot for him “Really, thank you very much for all your help” he added bowing slightly
“There is nothing to thank my lord, and more than this is my job " said Katsumoto, hoping that this would motivate his boss to put effort in this mission.
At that moment, Yuta noticed the mark of the wound his assistant had made on his arm. Despite having used his reverse cursed technique, it seemed to have left a slight scar that would eventually fade away.
“By the way, Katsumoto, how did you say your fall happened? Did something else happen?”
Yoshida looked at his arms.
“It's really hard to explain, sir, but I think I suffered the effect of a cursed technique”
“From a cursed technique? How?”
“It happens that” Katsumoto started to explain “Once Yurika and I went ahead, I started to feel something strange in the atmosphere, it was like an awakening and more when I noticed that Yurika runs very fast and that's why it took me some work to catch up with her.”
“Well, Yurika is very good at sports so she is an agile girl" Yuta defended his daughter.
“I know that, sir, but...” Katsumoto continued speaking “I mean it was as if in the blink of an eye, Yurika came to me to let me know that she had found an empty table because she just left me behind... she really runs very fast and that's when the strange thing happened”
“What happened?" asked Yuta, raising his eyebrows. Yuta thought maybe the attendant must have brought a heat stroke or might have been dehydrated to say such things.
Katsumoto took a breath and continued to explain. He just hoped his boss would believe him.
“That's when the inexplicable happened. I only remember that Yurika returned to my side in the blink of an eye. When she took my hand for an instant, suddenly my body froze. It was as if a strange cursed energy had electrocuted me. I couldn't move, I was completely "frozen". After a few seconds, the sensation slowly began to fade, and when I finally regained control of my body, I fell face first to the ground without even being able to use my hands to cushion the blow. For an instant, what happened reminded me of Mr. Naobito's technique, especially because it seemed to work on the same principle...”
“Katsumoto, are you telling me that they used the projection technique against you?" asked Yuta in astonishment.
“That's right, sir... and I think Yurika was the one who executed it...”
Yuta had a strange hunch and even more so when he remembered that ever since he met his sons, they claimed to see curses and from some time to date, they gave off small amounts of cursed energy.
Katsumoto nodded his head yes.
“And perhaps her technique is that of projection”
Yuta waved his hands in alarm.
“Then!”
At that instant, those two were interrupted by panicked screams.
Suddenly, that area, which seemed like the perfect place to take a break from walking around the Zoo, turned into chaos.
There were black, super long and strange hands coming out of the shadows of the floor, which looked like a dark pit. Those hands began to furiously smash the rides, as well as wreak havoc against the carousel and the Ferris wheel.
But not only from that dark well were those hands coming out, but also some shadows in the shape of animals: frogs the size of a child, also came out shadows that took the shapes of tigers, lions, zebras and even elephants. All a little pandemonium with these creatures attacking anyone who crossed their path. And the worst thing was that the well kept spitting out more and more shadows, as if there was no end to it.
“What's going on?!" Katsumoto cried out in horror at the sight of the scene.
“Quick, call the headquarters! Send some sorcerers nearby, this is an emergency!" shouted Yuta, who started running towards the scene, "I must find my children!”
“Yes sir!" said Katsumoto quickly taking matters into his own hands.
“Rika!" Yuta quickly called out to this curse, who manifested and started attacking those shadows while everyone else fled to different parts.
What had happened? What were those shadows?
To find out what happened, we must go back a few minutes.
◈━━━━🎡━━━━ ◈
Minutes ago.
While Yuta and Katsumoto were talking, Yurika and Yuudai had approached that playground.
Yuudai stopped for a moment before reaching the swings, took out his inhaler and used it as he was feeling a bit agitated.
“Are you okay?" his sister asked with a pout.
Yuudai nodded his head yes.
“I think so. It's just the powder" he said, taking some more of his medicine.
“Are you sure? Why I don't want you to ruin our afternoon!" Yurika demanded.
Her twin just narrowed his eyes.
“I told you I am! You're so annoying”
Yurika didn't keep quiet in front of such a claim “Silly, I only care about you!” she gave him a little punch on the shoulder.
“Well, it doesn't seem so" said Yuudai rubbing her shoulder.
At that moment, both children climbed onto a ride that was available. They played with it for a while before taking turns on the swings.
While on the swings, they saw Yuta and Katsumoto talking. They looked very serious.
“What do you think Yuta kun and Pulpomoto are talking about?" asked Yurika jumping off the swing and landing firmly on her feet.
Yuudai slowly stopped. He didn't jump, he just stopped and stood up and went to his sister.
“I don't know. But they seem very serious. They must be talking about their jobs. You know detective stuff" said the boy with a grimace.
His sister stared at him for a moment. She seemed to be trying to read his mind.
“Well?”
“Well what?”
“Don't do it! I want to know what you talked to Yuta kun a while ago. Did something happen?" asked Yurika curiously.
“Why the hell do you want to know that?”
“Well because I can read your twin mind thanks to our telepathy and something tells me that you "talked about something important" and more than the word "dad" I'm hearing it a lot in my ears" said Yurika with a big smile, moving her hands around her ears.
Yuudai just rolled his eyes.
“You're crazy. And whatever I've discussed with Yuta kun is just my and his business”
“You'll say with our dad, won't you?" Yurika asked.
Her brother just sighed and ignored her.
“It's none of your business!" he muttered. He was really a very proud boy.
But his sister didn't keep quiet and stood in front of him with a smile from ear to ear, "So tell me Yuudai, are you having fun?” she was a very intense girl.
“I must admit that I'm having a good time, it's been quite a fun day" Yuudai answered looking at his sister who again stood in front of him.
“Yup, I'm having a great time too!" replied Yurika with a smile, "Especially because Yuta kun is here. He really is a good man”
Her brother just shook his shoulders with disinterest as he tried to avoid his sister.
“And I think Yuta kun would be a great new dad for us”
“AGH!” Yuudai rolled his eyes once more.
“It's the truth! Besides, haven't you noticed that Yuta-kun is already closer to us, but especially with Mom, with her I've noticed that he's become very close" her smile was still on her lips.
“I say it's just your imagination” her brother was fed up with that topic “Yuta kun is just being nice to us, and more so now that mom is his friend. That's why he lets us stay with him, while dad Gumi and our other uncles are busy. He's just being polite and courteous, no big deal”
“Aha, and how do you explain that we have a room and a bed each in his apartment? And all our new toys? And the new clothes? And that he fulfills our whims?” asked his sister, crossing her arms.
“Well, as I said, it's because he takes care of us there and out of politeness. Papa Gumi also has a room for us when we go to Tokyo," said the boy shaking his shoulders with disinterest.
“Yes, as you say. But I think there is something else behind Yuta's behavior”
“What do you mean, according to you?” Yuudai raised an eyebrow.
“Well, first there's the case that he treats us like we're his children. I mean, not everyone is aware of us like that”
“You just like to be given presents!" her brother claimed.
“And I don't think that's wrong because you're spoiled too and you like to be given things too" she folded her arms, "Besides, haven't you noticed how close he and Mom have become? I mean because they both look at each other like they're in love" said Yurika all excited and clasping her own hands together, "Just like I've seen them holding hands and I can assure you that I've seen them kissing on more than one occasion”
“You're making it all up”
“Of course I'm not making it up! And as I said, I've seen it with my beautiful eyes” she blinked several times to show off her eyelashes “I know there's something there, maybe soon Mom will tell us that she's dating Yuta kun”
Her brother grunted at such words.
“You're just talking nonsense. Yuta kun and mom are just friends. Watching so many romance novels and movies have made you crazy”
“I'm not crazy Yuudai! I've really seen that mom and Yuta see each other with eyes of love and if that's so, I'd like Yuta to be our new dad or who knows, maybe he'll be our real dad!”
His brother could stand it no longer, he covered his ears with his hands. He was furious. He hated the idea that Yuta was his real father “FUCK YOU FOOL!”
“Accept it! You know I'm right. Besides, I'm the older twin and you know that my word has authority!” she said sticking out her tongue and approaching her brother.
“YOU DON'T HAVE IT AND ALREADY SHUT UP!" he said very annoyed, his hands felt like they were itching.
“Stop being a crybaby! We should better ask Yuta kun directly if he is our real father!”
That made Yuudai very angry. Who made his hands into fists, he was really upset.
“Let's ask him directly and get it over with" Yurika turned around.
“NO!" shouted Yuudai in a fit of annoyance, pushing his sister away.
Yurika turned to him and opened her eyes wide when she saw that her brother had pushed her a step. So she hit him back.
The girl pushed him harder, causing Yuudai to fall backwards against the concrete, directly touching his shadow.
And that's when the bomb exploded.
“I HATE YOU, I WISH YOU WOULD DISAPPEAR, YOU FOOL!" yelled Yuudai as he was still on the ground. That made his shadow move abruptly. Just as the shadows around him began to alter.
In that instant, the ground seemed to bubble with a dense and vivid darkness. From the shadows, countless elongated hands emerged, writhing in the air as if searching for something. At the same time, shadowy animal silhouettes began to sprout from every corner, gliding with eerie motion.
Frogs the size of children, horses, tigers, zebras, lions, elephants and birds in the form of such dark shadows began to emerge from that pit, causing chaos.
Both children were very frightened, especially Yurika when she saw those elongated hands coming towards her.
She screamed and managed to move very quickly, avoiding being caught by taking steps backwards at a speed that was even a surprise for her, even so, those hands managed to catch her.
“Let go of me!" Yurika shouted, trying to get free.
“Yurika!" shouted Yuudai, quite frightened. He even stood up quickly.
“Yuudai, run!" shouted Yurika when she saw that now those hands were after her brother.
Yuudai started to hyperventilate from the fear he felt, but he managed to let out a scream when he saw how those hands were also coming towards him. He took a few steps back, but began to sink into his own shadow, which had spread out quite a bit and the shadows around him seemed to absorb the things and people in his path.
“Run away Yuudai! Run! Get away!" Yurika shouted as she tried to free herself from the hands that had grabbed her arms. But when she touched them, the girl noticed how they managed to stay still for an instant.
“This is my fault..." Yuudai said to himself as he managed to get away from that shadow and started to run as fast as he could, but unfortunately his lungs were already burning.
Chaos was unleashed, screams everywhere, animal shadows attacking people and especially, those elongated hands were destroying the Ferris wheel and the carousel, where several people were trapped.
At that moment a growl echoed in the place, the queen of curses had made an appearance and it seemed that even the animals of the whole Zoo felt her presence since they let out bellows of fear.
Quickly some people who were being attacked by those hands and animals made of shadows, were helped by that imposing curse, as Rika's claws eliminated those shadows.
Yuta helped some individuals while he was looking for his children, cutting with one of his swords those shadows. Even Rika helped to lower some people from the wheel of fortune. Holding them in her cursing hands.
“Are you all right?" asked Yuta to a woman and her children once Rika helped him to take them down from the Ferris wheel.
They just nodded their heads yes. They couldn't even speak.
“Now! Run, quick, run away from here!" ordered Yuta pointing to the other side.
There were too many people running everywhere.
“Yurika! Yuudai! Where are they?" shouted Yuta desperately, he was looking for his children. His sight traveled quickly all over the area, trying to find out where those two were.
If something bad happened to them, he would go crazy.
“Sir, this way!" shouted Katsumoto, pointing to an area near the carousel where Yurika was.
“Let me go damn hands!" Yurika shouted. She was kicking for those hands to let go. But one more hand was going straight for her neck. It was going with the intention of choking her.
In that instant, where it seemed that everything was lost for that girl since that hand had grabbed her neck, Yuta appeared, cutting her hands with a quick blow with his katana.
“Yuta kun!" shouted her daughter in relief.
“Where is your brother?" asked Yuta worried and looking at his daughter.
“I am. I told him to run away from here!" said Yurika catching her breath. While Katsumoto helped her stand up.
“We have to find him" said Yuta trying to look for his son with his eyes.
“What the hell is going on?" asked Katsumoto with fear.
“I don't know, but I feel a lot of damn heavy energy. This technique is of unknown category!" explained Yuta.
“Do you think it's a sorcerer attacking us or is it some curse that came out of the blue?" asked Katsumoto with surprise, "In any case, help will come soon”
“I don't know... but this technique is really strong," said Yuta worried, "Let's go, we must look for Yuudai," he said in a hurry, he was about to run”
“Yuta kun, wait!" said Yurika touching his father's arm.
At that moment, something strange happened. At such a touch from that little girl, that adult froze. He didn't move at all. It was like that time at the Zenin mansion when Naobito had used his projection technique.
“Yuta kun?”
“Sir?”
Yurika and Katsumoto asked at the same time when they saw that Yuta didn't move a muscle.
“Yuta kun!" At that, Yurika touched the adult again, causing him to finally move and fall on his face.
“Sir, are you all right?" said Katsumoto worriedly.
“W-what was that?” asked Yuta confused “What happened to me?”
“I-It was me...”
Yuta's eyes popped open when he heard that. "Did you do that to me?" he asked astonished looking at his daughter.
The little girl nodded her head yes.
“Grandma Yuki said that maybe my cursed technique is the technique of...”
“Projection" said Yuta astonished.
“Yes, she said so" commented Yurika, "But I don't understand what's wrong...”
Yuta stroked her head, "Don't worry, together we are going to see how your cursed technique works. But first let's look for Yuudai”
“Even so, this technique or curse that is attacking us is equally or even more problematic... those hands won't stop coming out..." said Katsumoto worried when he saw the hands surrounding them.
“This was caused by Yuudai!" said Yurika scared.
“What?" both adults looked at the girl with concern.
Yurika gulped. She continued explaining, "This came from Yuudai's shadow...”
Yuta again opened his eyes in panic. He had to find his son, but quickly.
At that moment, Yurika put her hands to her chest. She had a bad feeling, "We must hurry!" she said worriedly, "I feel that Yuudai is serious, my chest hurts... he is probably feeling bad...”
“Hurry! We have to look for him over here!" said Yuta taking his daughter in his arms, while they ran to where some shadows in the shape of giraffes were running.
“Come on Rika!” Yuta shouted to the queen of curses, who was still struggling against those hands and those shadow animals.
◈━━━━🦒━━━━ ◈
Yuudai had managed to run to another area of the Zoo. He was running as fast as he could and more than his lungs were starting to burn and his legs were getting tired.
He was trying to escape and more from those hands, which were approaching him very fast.
His legs couldn't take it anymore “leave me alone! I want to be in a safe place!” Yuudai shouted.
But what would happen next made him almost faint.
Yuudai's shadow again seemed to become a pit, those hands grabbed him by the legs and plunged him into total darkness.
Yuudai tried to scream, but in the shadows his voice could not be heard. Everything was almost in complete but strange and warm darkness, as small flashes of light could be seen everywhere like millions of tiny stars in the distance.
The fear was such that Yuudai began to hyperventilate. It was amazing that there was oxygen there. Still, he felt his lungs burning. Which already hurt quite a bit.
Yuudai's eyes began to close. He felt himself sinking, trapped by a sensation he had known since he was born. It was crushing, desperate... but his body was unresponsive. He was on the verge of losing consciousness.
“Dad..." he said in a weak voice as he raised his hands, reaching for one of the many lights he could see in the distance. He felt like an astronaut, one adrift where he could only see many stars begin to fade around him.
“Mom... Yurika...” he said softly remembering his mother and sister, as he saw how that darkness sheltered him.
But one last thought came to his mind. It was something Yuta had said a while ago.
“Rika...chan..." said Yuudai with his little strength before closing his eyes.
But inside that well, the hands and shadow animals did not attack the boy, on the contrary, they seemed to be embracing him carefully. It was as if they were protecting him.
But outside, things were still in chaos.
◈━━━━🦓━━━━ ◈
Yuta, Yurika and Katsumoto were still looking for the little boy while at the same time they had to watch out for these hands that kept coming out of the shadows and attacked them mercilessly. They especially went against Yuta and Yurika.
But Yuta kept cutting those hands, he was getting tired and fed up, until something unexpected happened.
Those huge, elongated hands stopped moving and started to fade away, everything went back to normal all at once.
“Look, the shadows have stopped appearing!" said Katsumoto agitated.
“What's going on?" wondered Yuta, catching his breath from running.
The three of them were now near the bird area. They had run there looking for Yuudai. But it all seemed in vain. He was nowhere to be seen.
“The hands and shadows have suddenly disappeared" said Yurika looking at how those shadows were gone and everything seemed to have returned to normal.
“Yuudai!" cried Yuta in desperation, hoping to see his son hiding out there.
Yuta was really worried. He was frustrated. He needed to find his son.
“Yuudai! Where are you?! Come out! The chaos is over!" cried Yurika worriedly. She had a bad feeling.
“We should keep searching, Rika search above the place" ordered Yuta worried. But then something strange happened.
The queen of curses turned around. It seemed as if another voice was calling her from a distance.
“Rika?" asked Yuta seeing that she didn't obey him. This curse quickly approached the shadow cast by a large rock. Suddenly it entered it and disappeared instantly.
That surprised the three of them.
“Rika!" shouted Yuta in bewilderment. He didn't understand what was happening.
“Sir, what's wrong with Rika?" asked Katsumoto confused.
“I-I don't know. It's the first time he does something like that!" said Yuta totally bewildered.
At that instant, Rika came out of the shadows and in her arms, she was carrying Yuudai, who was unconscious.
As soon as Rika entered the shadows, she immediately went to Yuudai, who had called out to her before falling unconscious. Even within that dense darkness, she fought against those animal-like creatures and the hands that tried to block her way. But that curse proved why she was called the Queen of Curses, annihilating the shadows with a single blow.
“Good job Rika, glad you found him” commented Yuta in a sigh of relief. He thought maybe he had sensed Yuudai.
But what would happen next would give everyone goosebumps.
“Rika, bring Yuudai back to me" Yuta ordered, but this curse was unmoving even with the child in his arms.
“Rika?”
The curse turned to Yuta and growled at him like a wild animal.
That roar made both Katsumoto and Yurika tremble, who began to cry and even more when she saw her brother unconscious in the arms of that creature.
She felt her brother suffering silently, being unconscious, with his breathing getting exhausted.
“GIVE ME BACK MY BROTHER!!” Yurika shouted, stepping forward.
That curse clung tighter to Yuudai. Letting out another fierce growl.
That made Yuta stop Yurika from taking another step “Katsumoto! Take Yurika away at once!”
“But what about Yuudai?” Yurika looked worriedly at Yuta.
“I'll take care of this... it's rare for Rika to behave like this, it happened once before” he looked at his daughter, remembering when Rika caught Maki in her hands in a fit of jealousy “Even so, I don't want to risk you”
“But!”
“Katsumoto, take Yurika to a safe place, quickly, I'll catch up with them soon!" he looked at the curse, "This is something only I can do”
“Yes my lord" the attendant quickly approached the girl, lifted her in his arms and quickly walked away from there.
“YUUDAI!" Yurika shouted crying and kicking, she was afraid that something would happen to her twin. She was afraid that he would start to stop breathing as, to her, her chest started to hurt, she knew that Yuudai was suffering and seeing that curse that once saved him, seeing her angry and with her brother in her arms, really made her fear the worst.
“Rika... give Yuudai back to me" Yuta ordered with a firm voice.
“NO!” said the queen of curses.
“Give me Yuudai!" he shouted in annoyance taking a step closer to that curse.
“THIS CHILD HATES YUTA!" said that creature, trembling, perhaps with anger.
Yuta was surprised by those words “That's not true... Yuudai doesn't hate me”
“HE HATES YOU!” the claws of this curse's right hand grazed Yuudai's cheek, making him a very fine scratch- THIS CHILD, BLOOD OF YOUR BLOOD AND FLESH OF YOUR FLESH HATES YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF HIS HEART!”
“Give me back my son!!" shouted the sorcerer furious at this action “Let go of my son!”
“BUT HE HATES YUTA! HIS HEART SAYS SO!" growled the curse.
Yuta was worried, both about those words and about his son, whose chest was rising and falling with difficulty. Although he was still unconscious, his expression reflected suffering.
“Rika, please...” Yuta approached step by step towards that curse, firmly, but at the same time imposing”Don't hurt my son, I beg you, give him back to me... your mission is to protect him, NOT to hurt him or kill him. You must protect him from everything...please” he begged.
The curse remained silent, even with the child in her arms. It seemed that the deepest memories of the original Rika made her see in Yuudai the little Yuta that the girl had loved in life. She felt a strange connection with him, almost as if that child also had the ability to call out to her.
“Please Rika chan... Yuudai is suffering and we need to help him...”
The curse looked at that child, who was the clear reflection of her beloved “His heart is suffering because of you... Yuta...” muttered the curse.
For some reason, that curse could feel the feelings of that child.
“Rika chan... he needs his medicine... please..." begged Yuta almost with tears in his eyes.
In that instant, the curse approached its owner and deposited that little boy in his arms. Then, it quickly disappeared, it could be said that it vanished in the shadow of those two.
Yuta let out the air of momentary relief, at last they had found his son, but again the concern came when he saw Yuudai very pale.
Quickly, he took out the inhaler from the small pocket that the boy carried in his neck and placed it in his mouth and hurriedly gave the first shot of medicine.
“Please... son... wake up..." Yuta said too scared to see that the little boy was not reacting. His airway was almost closed.
“Come on Yuudai, you must wake up please... son, wake up” Yuta gave him one more shot of that medicine, but he didn't respond.
“Please... wake up son...” Yuta begged to the sky, he was crying that he even had to give one more shot of that medicine.
At that, this little boy started coughing and breathing.
It seemed that he was already regaining consciousness.
“Yuudai” Yuta named it with a relieved face and tears in his eyes.
The little boy took a breath of air “Dad?” said the little boy, his eyes widening and his throat burning. He was still in a daze.
“Here I am, Yuudai," said Yuta caressing his face.
“Dad" said the little one, beginning to open his eyes, focusing his sight on the adult.
“Yes...here I am..." managed to say the sorcerer.
“Y-Yuta Kun..." whispered Yuudai in a daze. It seemed that he had not heard what his real father said since he was barely regaining consciousness.
Yuta hugged him with tears in his eyes, "What a relief, you're okay" he looked at him in his arms.
“What happened to me?" asked the little boy, still a little bewildered.
“Your cursed technique is a case, powerful, but a case" said Yuta caressing his cheek, observing how that scratch was disappearing little by little.
But that scratch was not being healed by that adult, but by Yuudai.
“Reverse technique?”
“Grandmother Yuki said the same thing about my techniques..." Yuudai commented looking at Yuta with tired eyes.
“Come on, let's go get you checked by a doctor and by the way, tell me what Yuki san told you..." Yuta stood up, still with Yuudai in his arms, and carried him in them carefully.
The whole thing had been an up and down, especially with the words Rika had said about Yuudai.
Did her son hate him? She seemed to know the answer.
It wouldn't even be long before Maki arrived at that place.